Darkness and Decisions [Dual Contract Search]

[Uchiha Takeshi]

Takeshi walked outside of the gates, he had allowed his work since coming back to be completed and had got his problems sorted inside of the village. It was time for him to come out and find out about something that he had been reading about. The offer of what was on the table today was something that he couldn’t resist. The temptation to great but this time he had a purpose and had a goal, he had already summoned a new student with great potential to the gates. Since returning to leaf he had already been informed ot keep his eyes on the kid as a potential recruit. He wanted to see if he truly had the stomach to deal with the harsher side of life.

“Juko, I have already been back a few weeks but have managed to hear some great things about you, you seem to have potential and have been showing some interest inside of my Branch. I figured it was time to meet face to face, and it was time to see if you had the stomach for the branch”

It seemed that the two of them would soon find themselves walking into the forest, it would be an interesting time for the two men from the village. Takeshi was fully prepared for what he was about to get himself involved in but if the student was another matter. Normally though students didn’t go hunting for something like this, they could not understand this so early on. But Juko had proven himself in the eyes of a few of his close advisors and it seemed that his potential needed to be tested. Right now, would be the best time to do such a thing with everyone searching for the missing Hokage.

“So Juko, tell me about yourself, what are your passions. What are your interests and drive for joining my branch. It’s unusual for someone who is so young to want to join a branch with so many risk. It has peaked my interests to say the least and I always want to find out the information needed.”

Takeshi allowed himself to speak as they went deeper into the forest it was clear that this was out of the normal area that wasn’t travelled. It was dark and over swamped with the vegetation that had been allowed to go as far as it wanted. No-one to look at it and no-one to trim it. It seemed that it was a clear sign that this would be the place to find what he had come to look for.

Takeshi allowed the two of them to walk to a set of ruins that was hidden from everyone, it seemed that even the local animals were staying away from this place, even they didn’t want to be near it and it had that feeling about it that even Takeshi got straight away. As he turned to look at Juko he showed some signs to keep the boy safe that he had only just met.

“What happens next, stay calm and do not do anything. I have information that this is the place we want to be, do not say anything or do anything before me”




[OOC: UsingDiscovery of Contract of Your Choice Card for Youkai Contract!]

 

[Senju Gaki]

Despite his best efforts Juko hadnt managed to find sleep for the entire night. Not only was he but days away from the coming student tournament, and he didnt feel nearly as prepared as he had hoped to be, but also he had just a few days ago received a message. A message by nobody else but the current Anbu Head, Sennin and Uchiha Clan leader, Uchiha Takeshi. This was a name so high up the social ladder that Juko felt as if he might have heard that name pop up once or twice in his academy lessons and schoolbooks. The young boy felt a shiver run down his spine, not for the first time, as he thought about what this would mean for his future. Its not like hes just ANY random high ranked shinobi. This is a Sennin were talking about, the leader of the Anbu AND the freaking head of one of the most prestigious clans of the land.
Juko remembered the words of his teacher. They do things that other shinobi would frown upon... i just hope its not something ive done that made him invite me...

Thoughts like this and similar filled up his mind as the young blonde student walked a very unusual path, a path he had before only taken on a few very special occasions. As he jumped from roof to roof the villages great gates were slowly coming into sight. The loud hissing of wind next to Juko's ears pulled him out of his imagination as he took a particular wide jump and was now sailing down towards the ground. Today, he had taken a great breakfest, by adding some sausages to his usual porridge, and left home early. The last thing he wanted to do was keep one of the most powerful men in the fire country waiting.
I wonder what hes going to be like... with that much respondibility i am sure he is very strict...
The last few meters before he would reach the gates Juko decided to walk. He still had more than enough time to arrive and after crossing half of the village in a rush he didnt exactly want to show himself sweating and panting before Takeshi. He slapped his cheeks. Now now, come on. You are going to do great Juko, come on. Theres nothing you have to be afraid of, you have done nothing to deserve punishment or anything in the likes... and you did even spent a few hours with Yukio who is part of the Anbu so Takeshi will surely not do anything that Yukio couldnt have done!
Finally he had reached the gates and passing through the great entrance Juko brushed the sides of the wood with his hand. The rough surface felt... weird. As if touched by more than just his hand, as if generations of shinobi before him had had the very same thought and had touched the very same wall of the gates... Then he felt a sudden sting in his right ringfinger. Atchh....
Rapidly he pulled back his hand and threw a quick glance at the finger only to find a small splinter of wood, embedded into the skin. The shard had burrowed deep into his flesh, to deep to be pulled out easily. Ah goddamnit, this is not the time for this!

Still trying to dig his fingernails far enough into his own finger to pull out the splinter, Juko looked up to see the man standing before him. Green hair, like fresh grass framed a stoic looking face. The body was muscled yet atlethic and clothed in a foreign looking dress that made Juko think of the Shinigamis he had heard of in stories. Fitting, considering he leads the Anbu... The young boy hid his hands behind his back as he was still trying to pull out the stinging piece of wood and showed the most shining smile he could possibly do without getting his teeth to close to his ears.
Before he could introduce himself properly Takeshi adressed him already with his name, mentioning his great potential and interest in the Anbu. Without obviously waiting for Juko, the tall man turned around midsentence and started walking towards the forest.Oh no, Informations? Shit, i hope he wont torture me or anything....
Still fidgeting behind his back Juko almost tripped over a root growing out of the soft forestground and barely managed to regain his balance without falling into the Anbu Sennins back. Shit, if only it werent so dark... i can barely see where were going... and him wearing black clothing is not exactly helping either... His blonde hair seemed to give of a soft yellow glow and he was biting his own lip while concentrating on the splinter. The stinging sensation kept him from keeping track off their path so that he felt utterly lost after a while. He even almost didnt notice that Takeshi had asked him a question, if it werent for the sames questioning eyes throwing a quick glance at the boy.

Ah yes, Sir, excuse me! I, uhm, ive moved here with my parents a few years ago and, er... i like training, porridge and seeing new jutsus! Been always kind of interested in new and shiny stuff, my mother always said i remind her more of a cat when i was a kid because i used to hunt after everything i didnt know... Juko grinned. My reasons for wanting to join the Anbu? Cool new jutsus, getting to wear one of these custom made masks and getting to see the world outside of the town ofcourse! Despite his thoughts he figured he had to phrase his reasoning a little bit more... mature in order to not embaress himself. Well, we were asked this question already in class, you see, and i can just say, i feel like this is one of the most important roles in the village. Yukio told me a little bit about the...er... branch and if people really dont want to make the tasks that the Anbu do then isnt that even more of a reason to join and support them? Also, being the eyes and ears of the village means that the less Anbu we have, the less we can observe what is going on in the world! The young boy had somewhat regained a portion of his confidence while speaking and now swatted a small fly out of the air near his face.
Suddenly the vegetation seemed to just... stop, as if the growth had met with a wall and instead a set of ruins appeared in front of Juko, not particularly big but with weird patterns adorned. Along with the moss that seemed to be growing on almost every possible surface this made them look almost like parts of the grassy ground.
The sennin in front of him turned around and motioned him to sta behind him, showing his resolve to keep him safe should something happen. Just where did we end up anyway?... This does not feel like were still withhin the villages limits... Juko peeked to each side but could not see further than a few trees into the darkness.
He only nodded only when Takeshi told him to stay silent, gulping loudly and even forgetting the splinter in his finger for a moment.

WC: 1224​

 

[Tomomi]

As the two of you were walking in this forest while the sun was high in the sky, you both would notice between your conversations that the sunlight that had been creeping through the canopies was quickly disappearing and it was slowly getting harder and harder to see. However, neither of you mentioned to the other about this rapid decline in light as you continued along your path to some hidden ruins without a care in the world probably because you both were excited to be going on this mission of sorts especially the younger shinobi being Sugihira Juko who had been summoned only a little time earlier to talk to the ANBU Sennin and head of the Uchiha Clan in the Hidden Leaf, Uchiha Takeshi. However if you two would've been paying attention as you walked and began having trouble seeing, you would have noticed nearby bushes shaking as you walked by them almost like you were being watched by someone or something as you traveled. It was hard to imagine what would be following two shinobi from Konoha out here so far in the forest where vegetation had appeared to have given up and it felt like nothing living even existed anymore out here. Regardless of your thoughts though, you both trekked on with Takeshi leading the charge.

Eventually, you would both arrive at these ruins that were obviously not in the best conditions as signs of aging had taken over and moss was growing on some aspects of it. In all honesty, these ruins appeared to be left out here away from civilization on purpose almost like they served as a temple of sorts of some god or were a meeting place of individuals like Stonehedge was, if you believe that. But, they also could serve as a home for people in day's gone past or maybe it was just a fun place that children wandered off to when they wanted to get away from the daily grind of life. As you both stood there looking at the ruins, you would hear a loud thumping noise nearby that vibrated the very ground that you both stood making it appear like an earthquake or small tremor was occurring. But, you both probably knew better than that especially a veteran shinobi like the green-haired Sennin of the village who had his share of weirdness and oddities throughout his lifetime.

There was darkness all around you as you both stood there as the mini-tremors continued to occur every so often. But, you both had come this far already and it would be a damn shame to turn your backs from an adventure like this one especially with the unpredictability and fun surprises that one may uncover if they were to investigate these ruins like treasure, loot, or even something that might prove worthwhile for your village if you decided to bring it back like trinkets, ancient texts, or even remains of people who lived here if you could discover them. The question that you both had to ask yourselves and together is what was going to be your game plan as you were more or less standing right at the entrance of the ruins; you could go straight towards the ruins and try to see what you both uncovered using the entrance or you could take a detour and investigate the outside of these ruins trying to find clues or any pieces of information that might prove helpful to your reason for coming out here today.

 

[Uchiha Takeshi]

Takeshi allowed a smile to come to his lips as he stood there, darkness surrounding him he felt like he was in some sort of enlightenment. Though the adventure that they were on now was something that he couldn’t help but enjoy, it had been so long since he had been on an adventure and this time it was the same experience. Knowing full well that he still had his work cut out for him. He allowed himself to stretch slightly as he looked over towards Juko, the kid seemed willing to entertain what was going to happen, so he didn’t want to waste time around by asking questions but knew that he needed to get to work and fast.

“What you are about to see never happened, what I am about to do you never heard of. And finally, you will not repeat it to anyone. If I find out that you spoke of this to anyone, you will be dead before the sun goes away”

Takeshi knew the threat was probably over the top but also understood the student needed to understand the implications of what he was getting himself involved in. This was serious and something that he didn’t want to be spread around in the sky like it was nothing. As he allowed his hands to come together he formed the well-known hand seals as he looked directly forward towards the ruins, it was clear that he wanted to get this done in two ways. While both exploring and going directly to the entrance.

As he let his hands come to the ground his suspicions would be confirmed bones begun to dig themselves clear of the ground, forming into what once would have been a person. As he watched the five Zombies would begin to stumble up to life around him, moving slowly and walking as if they had no stability. It was more of a shuffle than anything. Takeshi allowed himself to feel the familiar flow of chakra as it left him into his creations. His hands bringing themselves once more together he allowed himself to form the vision of Rin, one of the people that he had under his service for so long, the man now changed and modified to work best in the shadows would be a great assist outside and in a location like this. Even he understood the abilities where necessary for a place like this and he understood that much.

“Rin, I need your service, please check out the surrounding area, search for clues or objects that you may find. Myself and Juko will head inside threw the entrance, but for now I want you and the zombies to look around.”

“Fine, but remember if I am with this weird bunch, you owe me again”

“Always, I will pay up when I complete the task at hand Rin”

“You better”

“Juko please follow me”

Takeshi allowed himself to walk to the entrance as he entered the ruins knowing full well it was time to find out what was really lurking in the shadows. His very soul quivered with excitement, knowing that Rin would watch over the zombies and what they found he was now able to search inside for anything that might be useful to them. Or to find the true secret that he was looking for.

 

[Senju Gaki]

Juko unconsciously took a step towards Takeshi as the environment around them darkened. Shadowy fingers seemed to stretch towards him and faces and empty eyes filled the dark shades in every corner and dark spot in his sight. He gulped. Just where the hell did i end up here... i thought this was suppoed to be.... i dont know, like a teaching lesson or something? Him saying a few words to me and congratulating me to becoming an Anbu or maybe showing some cool new jutsus... Not... us robbing a graveyard or whatever this is!
The young boy watched the sennin in front of him stretch and turn around towards him. When Takeshi started speaking to him again and ended his speech with a more than obvious threat Juko slowly turned pale. Nervously he raked his hand through his hair and giggled. Hehe..., er, yes Sir! Of course, i havent seen anything, i havent heard anything and besides i have a bad memory anyway so i dont even know where were going now... He felt a tiny droplet of sweat run down the back of his neck.
Trying to distract himself from the obvious possibility of death Juko again eyed the overgrown silhouette of the ruin in front of the duo. Whatever this was, he was sure he was not supposed to be either a part of it nor even be here at all. His usually loose shirt suddenly felt very tight and even constricting. Out form the corner of his eyes he suddenly saw Takeshi beginning to move. Before he knew it the same had slammed his palms into the wet and dark earth and from withhin the soil five very dead men arose. No no nononononono what the actualy HELL! Juko jumped backwards, pressing his back towards the mossy wall and froze. His fumbling hands tried reaching for a kunai from his pouch and when he had finally managed to grab one he lifted it high and in front of his body just in time for a sixth body to rise from the dark yet colorless mud.
The man, whom Takeshi adressed as "Rin" seemed less dead than his five other companions that were now shambling about in the near vicinity, yet the fact that he had been summoned in a similar kind proved to Juko that he was probably of a similar kind. What are those!! Sir! Those dont look like Anbu to me!
As he took a few careful steps to avoid the obvious undead he hurried to follow the Sennin, suddenly very much aware of the fact that he had been standing for a moment in utter darkness surrounded by dead and decaying corpses.

WC: 449​

 

[Tomomi]

Unsurprisingly, the Uchiha of this duo would conjure up the undead along with a flutist that went by the name of Rin because Takeshi simply loved the dead. As always, the flutist had some comments towards his summoner and seemed to love to bark out demands and give the green-haired beast a piece of his mind. If only this tainted soul, who never had the chance to peacefully pass to the afterlife, knew that he had truly no say or means of acting up against his "master", then maybe just maybe the flutist would have kept his pathetic mouth closed and knew his place. But, that was also Takeshi's fault for not laying down the law when he had first conjured up Rin moons ago which is why the man flirted with his lady and also still was capable of thinking with his loins if he chose to do so. In any case, Takeshi and Rin would talk before the zombies waddled away with Rin right behind them to scout the surrounding area.

With the zombies and their sassy and dickish flutist doing their own business, this allowed Takeshi and Juko to have some good, old quality bonding time which included Takeshi giving some threats to the boy before they ventured towards the entrance of the ruins which was the most direct route. Of course by now, the poor student of the Hidden Leaf was probably peeing his pants in fear of what he was getting himself into and the consequences surrounding what would transpire if he decided to tattle on his superior. Now, I am merely only the moderator, but it was likely that Juko would disappear if he decided to report Takeshi to the Hokage or one of his superiors. In any case, the direct and straightforward route seemed like it was going to be easy peasy lemon squeezy. One would be wrong to assume that. See, the two shinobi from the Hidden Leaf would walk easily for quite some time before they bumped into something that was not visible at first. It was only after they both bumped into the door-like creature that it revealed itself and its beautiful eyes would shift from a closed position to being wide open and staring right at them:

This creature, if one could even call it that, would just stare at them with its unbelievable amount of eyes that were more or less one hundred at the very least. It would not stir nor would it attack them, but they had definitely alerted it and that was concerning at the very least for them. By now if Juko wasn't crying for his parents or Takeshi wasn't emitting a curse word or two, there was something mentally wrong with them both or they were just crazy enough to not even be phased by all of this. But if they were already stumbling upon some oddities in these ruins that were said to be abandoned since the Fire Country Civil War, one had to question what Rin and the zombies were seeing:

Like Takeshi and Juko, the corpse party had stumbled upon some strange door that had eyes on it that seemed to be focusing on them, but this one also was not attacking anyone so long as it was not provoked or at least, it just wasn't attacking right now. After all, nobody had been in these ruins for a long time or at least that is what everyone had assumed for the longest time. But, it truly did feel like something had been tampering with these ruins since there were two doors WITH eyes that glared and almost felt like they were piercing into the very soul of the individuals who looked at them. The simple question that the two parties had to ask was what were they going to do and possibly more importantly, what the Hell had happened here and who was the culprit behind it!

 

[Uchiha Takeshi]

Takeshi walked through the darkness with Juko in tow, it seemed that he had to prove himself to the Sennin still. Though showing your strength to some of the ANBU already had gotten the student this far, it had now come to that point where he had to prove himself worthy under the gaze of the Sennin. They were stopped suddenly as the two of them would not be face to face with a pillar of eyes, Takeshi glanced upwards at them as they opened, he felt their gaze as he shuddered slightly. Not something he thought would be possible for someone like him, the corrupt energy swirling around him in preparation.

“Well looks like now we are both under the gaze for our sins, I just hope you don’t have as many as me Juko. Let me tell you one thing I regret most in life was not having done this sooner, this information is given freely. Why am I telling you this, because I wish I did it when I was in your place? Now let’s see if these eyes will hold some answers”

Takeshi allowed his hand to come up to his sword, as he decided to try something different, knowing full well that these eyes had been in slumber he wondered if he could awaken their true potential as he stood there. Drawing the blade out tasking placed the edge against his palm, without speaking he drew the blade across his palm opening it and allow blood to drip on the floor as he stepped towards an eye looking at it he decided to offer his blood as tribute, a sacrifice of blood for the unlocking of knowledge seemed to be a fair trade in the eyes of the Uchiha. His desire to unlock what he came here for was something that he hungered for.

“I give blood in return for you unlocking the secrets of what happened here, and a chance to speak to those that are behind this creation. I would seek information and opportunity to improve myself, give me that ability and I will in return share blood between us, let your slumber be no more”

Takeshi allowed his palm to come up as he pressed the bleeding palm to the nearest eye allowing his blood to become slick against the surface of the eye, allowing the purple aura to surround him as he stared at another eye, it was time to see if there was any sign of life before them. Blood could awaken the cursed while tears could bring down angels. The old legends spoke for such things but now it was time to see if those rumours where true.

Meanwhile it seemed that Rin and the Zombie hoard had managed to come across a door themselves as well, Rin stopped the group as he looked around at the eyes in front of him a small grin coming across his face. Rin seemed to be enjoying himself once more, given a slight bit of freedom it was clear that he knew full well on what was expected of him, though to be said that he was eager to see what awaited was another matter.

Though were Takeshi offered his own blood, Rin was a different type of person at the other door, he allowed his hands to come together as he speared one of the zombies with the shadow spikes that came from the ground. Allowing the pain of a grunt to echo out loud, while what little blood came free splattered on the eyes in that few seconds. Knowing full well that the door might be satisfied Rin turned his attention to it.

“Well, blood for answers and all that, now if you don’t mind I would like to see what awaits behind that door. I have to admit Takeshi is letting me off his vice like grip for once and I am interested to see what has caused that action.

 

[Senju Gaki]

Darkness enveloped Juko as he followed the tall greenhaired Sennin down into the gaping maw of the ruins. Oh damnit, why does it have to be so dark in here, i cant even see my own hands in front of my eyes! As if to prove his thoughts to an invisible spectator Juko immedaitely waved one hand in front of his face only to fruond moments later at the sentiment. The thought of having an invisibile someone hovering just a step behind them made him shudder and somewhat skittish he turned around and peered into the darkness behind them. Despite the two only having gone a few meters at the moment it was already impossible to see the entrance they had taken. JUko made a few quick steps to catch up to Takeshi with the result that he lightly bumped into the same. Ah! Sorry, sorry! I, er... didnt see you there... Taking this opportunity to fight off the creepy silence that had spread between them Juko continued.
So, er, where exactly are we going, Sir? And, if you dont, er..., mind me asking, what where those things back there? Juko raised a thumb and pointed into the general darkness where he suspected currently the exit to be. Despite having asked the questions he somewhat feared of getting an actual answer. Every kid knew the Anbu where a dark lot and as Yukio had told him they were sometimes willing to do things that other shinobi would avoid doing. As evident in him threatening to kill me... Juko gulped. Maaaybe i should not have asked that question after all. Especially not in a dark place such as this one.. where i could easily have an "accident" and vanish. Instinctively he did the next step a little bit slower to get some distance between himself and Takeshi.
His shoulder brushed the wall and Juko jumped to the other side. The cold of the stones felt like the touch of a corpse on his skin and the young boy could feel his hairs rising. A cold sweat spread on his skin as he noticed that the steps of the Anbu Sennin had turned into a faint echo. Ah shit, come on! Adrenaline flooded his body suddenly as he dashed forward only slowed down by his desire not to charge head on into a sudden wall if the tunnel where to do a sudden turn. No no no nononon, please dont be gone, please dont leave me! I knew i shouldnt have asked him stupid questions like that, i promise i wont do it again just dont leave me hereee...One hand gripping the small red marble in his pocket and the other extended in front of him he ignored the throbbing pain in his finger as he looked for Takeshi.
When he finally reached the Sennin Juko was so happy that he almost managed to oversee the large eye-filled door in front of the man. Its red pupils seemed focussed on the ninja in front of it albeit Juko could notice a few of the eyes also lazily moving to take him into account. What in the most unholy.....!
Juko whispered to himself as Takeshi adressed him. In... in my place? The student didnt understand a word of what Takeshi was saying. His eyes were still trying to assemble the pieces of what he perceived in the gloomy, reddish darkness in front of him. It wasnt until a cold feeling spread through his back that Juko realized he had been slowly shuffling backwards as if the sheer weight of the demonic doors many eyes was shoving backwards.
From this distant position he now watched as Takeshi coldly lifted his sword and cut into his hand, drawing blood almost instantly. Juko's eyes widened and his mouth opened to call out to the man when he stopped. What would i even call out to him? Watch out, you have a sword in your hand!? Careful, that sword seems sharp? Dont be stupid, he knows exactly what hes doing... he knows fully well where we are and what we have gotten into! Still he could not coax himself into moving forward. Instead he began slowly stepping to the side, moving in a halfcircle around the door to get a better look at the events unfolding in front of him.
The Sennin, after cutting open his palm, stepped forward and demanded that the innumarable eyes gave up their secrets to him. So what is the bleeding for! He must be crazy to wound himself in here, reaching a medic will take a while now! And that is a door he is talking too, eyes or no eyes its a door!
Juko grimaced. Since he had entered the room with the creepy door several moments had passed yet neither he nor Takeshi had suffered a horrible death or had vanished in the deep inky darkness which led him to beleive that there was probably no imminent danger for them. Shit, i will NOT stand here anymore and pretend to be a little kid stared of the darkness! If he can do it, then i can do it too! Juko's scared look into the dark corners around them proved him wrong, nevertheless he decided to show some courage and cautiously edged forward. He stretched out his hand and carefully touched one of the ruby eyes, pressing has hand against the glassy surface. Maybe this is just a genjutsu? How else could something unreal like this possibly ex.... Before he could finish the thought a sudden sting in his right hand made him jump back a step and enter a fighting stance.
However the souce for his pain was neither the door nor a hidden trap or contraption but rather his own stupidity. Looking at his hand he quickly realized he hadnt pulled out the splinter in his right ringfinger and by pressing his hand against the door he had unintentially forced the thorn even deeper into his flesh. Shit... The boy looked up at the other shinobi and frowned before looking at the eye and grimacing even more upon seeing the bloody smudge he had left behind on the eye. Raising his shirt he came a step closer in an attempt to remove the stain.

WC: 1046​

 

[Tomomi]

In the darkness of the ruins, the citizens of Konoha had encountered a pillar of eyes that gazed at them, but it did not attack nor speak to them. The abomination simply towered over them as its presence was making it slightly harder to breathe and was giving a small push away from it which had been made apparent from the younger of this epic duo's struggles. The elder of the group had been through countless conflicts before and had seen Hell and back in many instances as a Dark Sage so he truly did not seem fazed at all by this creation that blocked their passage further into the ruins. This did not mean however that he was the smartest cookie in the world however as he had sliced his own hand open with his sword, spilling his life essence to the ground in the process. His hand would drip his vital source of life as he smeared one of the eyes of the creature with his blood and his partner would do the same even if by accident. Unfortunately for them, these eyes would not absorb their blood and would not even react to what had transpired in front of them. Hell, the eyes didn't even seem to give a damn that Takeshi was essentially bleeding out with no sign of a medic anywhere around which made that he was likely going to die due to bloodloss, oh boy! His partner would not have this same issue however as he just pushed a splinter further into his skin and that was likely his main concern right now to deal with.

Elsewhere, Rin had pierced one of the zombies which spilled the undead's essence onto the door that stood between them. The door however had begun to act up as all of its eyes focused right on the undead flutist before firing off a large stream of fire that would give the perverted soul a fun time to dodge and try to not go back to Takeshi on fire. Its attacks were focused on simply one individual and that was Rin as the zombies stood there emitting simple grunts and groans. The question that Rin would have to address is why did the door react that way that it did when he had speared the zombie; on the other hand, Takeshi and Juko would have to figure out why their door did not react to their sacrifice and just somewhat stood there uninterested in what had transpired. For both parties though, they needed to figure out what they needed to do to get past these odd eyeball doors without losing someone or something in the process. After all, Takeshi would not want to go back to Leaf without a Juko or missing a limb or two while Rin would not want to return to Takeshi begging for help and to be repaired by his maker.

What would they do?

 

[Uchiha Takeshi]

It seemed for Takeshi that he had managed to spill blood over nothing, as he sighed to himself he pondered how to allow the door to open to him. His need to enter inside and try to achieve the goal that he set out for him was apparently clear as he allowed himself to make sure that he was prepared for what came next, but it seemed the old fashion way of blood didn’t work so maybe fire would or even talking to the door would as he sighed to himself it seemed that this would take longer than he wanted it to. But of course, that was for another time he needed to make sure he got inside as he looked over to Juko.

“Well looks like my way didn’t work, I guess if it’s just eyes we could talk to it, hopefully the person watching us will be able to see this conversation and it would at least allow us to try and get into the door of course.”

Takeshi looked back to the eyes as he walked up he checked each eye for a few seconds as he pondered how to go about this. Knowing that the best way might not be to take the old dark route that seemed to not be working. He allowed himself to look at it from a different point of view and take a different stance when it came to how to get around the issues that where taking place. As he pondered his words for a few seconds.

“Who ever is looking and watching over us, I request to meet you in person. I know that these eyes can see us but do not hide behind them. You are better than that. Stronger than that and able to do things that only us mere mortals would be able to dream off. Now step forth and show your true form I wish to speak in person about this matter, see what you can offer and request your guidance. I wish to learn and train beside you as equals please come out from the shadows”

Takeshi allowed his words to linger in the air wondering if they would be heard, though he was losing patience though he controlled himself trying to get the situation under control and not losing control of himself in front of students. It was clear that he had work to be done and still wanted to make sure that he got threw this trial one way or another.

At the same time, it seemed Rin was having a harder time as he was dodging and diving fire beams. Though he had managed to dodge what he could he growled to himself out of the control of Takeshi he allowed his hands to come out as he decided that actions would deserve a response once more spears of black shadows came out towards the eyes, trying to spear them threw in that split second as Rin’s anger got the better of him at that second in time.

“Two can play this game, and if you attacked first then I am just defending myself and that seems like a fair enough response to take in this situation.”

 

[Senju Gaki]

Having wiped off the blood from the ruby-like eye Juko stepped back and squinted his own eyes at those of the monstrous door. Nothing seemed to happen, neither movement nor any other indication that the eye had somehow noticed his actions. He noticed that his body had all tensed up the closer he had gotten to the door and slowly exhaled. For a minute there i thought that door might straightup eat me alive... thank god it didnt... Getting some more distance between himself and the door he blinked at Takeshi who was still standing stoically in front of its many eyes, seemingly ignoring Juko and his bloody shirt. The young boy grimaced. What reason would you have to take me along, only to then have me bore myself to death here in front of this door... if this were a genjutsu test as i thought before hed surely would have done something by now. Something else than standing there like a moss-overgrown statue...
He watched the Anbu head as he apparently thought out loudly and, following his statement, considered the option of an invisible watcher behind the door for a moment. Why would ANYONE sit here in this stupid ruin and.. wait behind a door that nobody in his right mind would ever come close to? I dont get it, i just dont get what Takeshi wants me to do... Turning around Juko took a few steps towards the wall. The door wasnt doing anything anyway and considering Takeshi who was still trying to get in the boy felt more like a nuisance than a help to the tall man.
Takeshis words filled the hall with the sound of demand as he asked for the mysterious, and as far as Juko was concerned hypothetical, stranger to show itself to him. All of this seemed so overdramatical to Juko it might just aswell be part of an oldschool theater play.
He was more concerned with the little wooden prick that was still embedded in his skin and after some consideration he pulled out a kunai and started cautiosly cutting into his finger to remove the splinter. His feet kept moving even as he finally managed to dig out the wooden shard until he was standing in front of the entrance again. The stones that the walls comprised of seemed old to Juko but in the dim shadows it was hard actually gasping their texture or even color. Squinting his eyes he did a few steps towards the wall and then turned around again towards Takeshi. From this position he could see the entirety of the room, which was of no help at all considering the darkness filling the upper area. Maybe we should just blast the door open? Prove our strength and all that? And by "we" i mean you, obviously...
Juko attempted once more to get anything more than incoherent sentences from Takeshi. So far the man had avoided to answer any questions or in any other way react to the boy and they had spent quite some time in here by now. His finger hurt and with growing frustration he thought about taking a look into the passage they had taken to get here. It was just something about boredom and frustration how fear could never compete with these feelings. If a few more minutes passed like this, with Takeshi showing his best rendition of what ever Hero he was portraying and the door just blinking emptily at him, Juko would probably prefer to meet whatever scary things were lurking in the dark than waiting uselessly in the corner of the small room.

WC: 605​

 

[Tomomi]

After the blood offering by both of the shinobi had resulted in absolutely nothing, the green haired one of the duo decided that trying to talk to the eyes would be the next best option to try to get past this interesting creature to say the very least. Oh, he would try to be so polite and try to tackle the matter in such a different light, but the fact of the matter was he was still only talking to a door which just happened to have some eyeballs on it that were staring at him. Sure, he didn't cause the peculiar object to react in a positive way, but he didn't cause it to freak out like the one that his good, old, undead friend was dealing with. That was at least going for him even if talking to the door was not amounting to anything.

However, the door would hear his younger counterpart mention that maybe it was a good idea to blast the door open. This would only cause the eyes to shift from Takeshi to Juko almost immediately as they gave him a gaze that could possibly cause him to have difficulty breathing or even moving! They would not attack however as they watched him move about behind his older and more experienced counterpart doing his own merry thing. As long as he wasn't causing any trouble or instigating anything else, he would be safe from immediate harm, but the door was watching him and waiting for him to attempt something. As for Takeshi, the door's gaze would shift between Juko and him as it wasn't entirely sure of which one of them nor their intentions especially since the green-haired Uchiha wanted to give his own life essence to the creature while Juko voiced blasting it. If I was the door, I would have been on high alert as well. In any case, they had wasted more time standing there trying to communicate with a door which had no master behind it and it was only getting later and later. Eventually, any sunlight that remained would soon be gone and then the real fun would behind. Let's hope you both figure out how to get in soon enough!

Meanwhile, the undead flutist had decided that the best offense was a good defense. However, he was not thinking clearly at all as dark spears thrust into the eyes of this creature and only caused it to shriek out in anger! This would prove to be a bad decision as the eyes would fixate on this undead soldier before the creature shrieked out once again and fired off a fire blast that could not be avoidable by any means. But, you see, Rin had fucked up badly by attacking the door as the creature would continue to release more and more attacks of various elements as they rained down on Rin and the surrounding area where the undead corpse tea party were likely regenerating themselves to be pounded on once more. This bizarre door that contained eyes upon eyes had lost control of itself and just was completely going berserk at this point, but what would Rin and Takeshi's undead army decide to do since they had severely irritated this bizarre creation? If one thing was for certain, it was likely that Rin was going to need to call upon his old friend in order to survive this if he couldn't control himself since his anger had only caused a risque situation to escalate to an all new level.

 

[Uchiha Takeshi]

“Why blow the door down when we can just take a much more appropriate action that doesn’t involve us getting over confident and doing something that we will later regret. Now instead of power lets try this way, a subtler Uchiha technique. If you must know we are trying to find something older than both of us. But apparently this door would see us stopped from that goal, let me have one last shot at getting it open. But be prepared for what awaits if the door does open."

Takeshi allowed himself to sigh as he pondered at that moment in time if there was another way threw the door. Of course, he had given up trying all the usual tricks it was time to play ANBU Sennin dirty. He knew that much, and he allowed his eyes to rotate into the well known Sharingan of leaf. If the door wouldn’t budge when asked, offered tribute or threatened, then there was one final way to open it. Threw the doors own mind and Takeshi was not above doing such things, after all he had these eyes for a reason he would be using them to do so.

“I guess the other ways didn’t work, no worries Juko we will get ourselves threw this door and I know for a fact that it will not take long to achieve the desired goal, it might just require a bit of extra work than we originally wanted. But the situation cannot avoid it, lets see what secrets are behind such a beautiful creation with so many eyes.”

Takeshi allowed the Sharingan to spin as he smiled to himself, though he wanted to have the door open on its own accord, he had tried to the nice route, the blood offering route and now it was time for something a lot subtler. As he allowed his eyes to focus down on the door it already had the opportunity to make easy eye contact but that was just simply because of the way it had been created. Takeshi allowed his eyes to do the hard work as his mind uttered the words and suggested the ideas already, it was as if one part of him was just gently nudging the door to do his bidding though this was the true power of the Uchiha Sharingan and Takeshi rarely used this power in front of anyone else much less an Academy Student.

Open, allow us entry and we shall see what’s behind you.

On the other hand, while Takeshi and Juko where having their time slowed down, it seemed that Rin was already suffering, as the zombies that had been struck down slowly crawled themselves back up and back to life. Though the damage had been done to them already, they had a rather quick and remarkable repair rate that could be considered something of extraordinary. Though that didn’t matter to the Zombies who were just the horde of willing participants in this Dark Sage game.

Rin seemed to be on fire as he was unable to avoid the attack that came his way though he allowed the flames to simply wash over him. The pain was intense and the damage that his body was going threw obviously caused him issues, both things he could not deny. But he decided to withdraw from now with the Zombies. Retreating to a safe distance instead of allowing himself to let things escalate further. Rin was always aware of situations and at the moment though his body burned bright he still continued to let himself just accept the fate that was given instead of retaliating it would seem.

[OOC: Sharingan Rank 3 Activated, Hypnotic Suggestion Cast]

 

[Senju Gaki]

Something... older than us? What? Juko raised one brow as he eyed the older Shinobi standing in front of the door. A second later he repeated the same question out loud. Something older than us, Sir? What, er, what do you mean by that? He couldnt think of a thing that could be hiding here that was older than them, bar the actual ruins and such of course. Then again, he couldnt have thought of a door with eyes on it before either so, who knew. Suddenly, he felt the very same eyes change their point of interest and focus on him. First one pair then another then even more began staring at him until it felt like the overwhelming amount of attention was almost smothering him. His muscles immediately tensed and shut off leaving him in a similar state as a hare being caught by a snake. He felt his joints scream in pain under the unwelcome and unusual burden and only barely managed to sweat. Eeek! Seems like it heard me talking about blasting it out of the way... lets... lets not talk about that again for now, eh?
After a moment the gaze spread out again, keeping roughly the same amount on him and Takeshi. Juko dropped to his knees and coughed hard as life and motoric control returned to his body once more. Looking up Juko once again wondered about his leader. Takeshi didnt seem to notice that the door had just reacted to the young students statement and had instead decided to attempt something a little bit "subtler". Juko tried saying a warning but his lungs denied him that possibility, instead prefering to cough some more for the time being. What does he mean by "a subtler Uchiha technique" ? If he tries to actually hurt that door, im afraid it might try to resist him! Hands and knees on the ground he felt like an invisible spectator as he watched Takeshi open his eyes wide. WIth surprise he saw the same turning read and beginning to spin. Ive heard about that, havent i? Sharin-... something. Sharon..one? Something like that i believe.
Not for the first time did he wish hed have payed more attention in class when the different clans of the land of fire had been adressed. And apparently the land was hiding yet even more secrets that he didnt know about, such as mysterious doors with eyes on them.
Slowly his strength returned and he straightened his back slowly while simultaniously lifting his hands in the air, open palms facing the door. He wasnt keen on getting genjutsu-pinned to the ground again.
Maybe... He coughed again. Maybe this isnt even the entrance? I mean, Sir...er...Sir. Couldnt this be just as well the exit? For a moment he considered proposing to get the corpses in here to help them move the door but in sight of his recent experience with the doors opinion regarding violently opening it he rather kept his mouth shut. Also he didnt really want the corpses in here in the dark with him and that multi-eyed... thing.
He scowled.
What the hell have i just gotten myself into here...

WC: 530​

 

[Tomomi]

The first attempt had failed. The second attempt had failed. The third attempt had failed. Maybe, just maybe this attempt would be the one that got them somewhere as it appeared the green-haired veteran of this iconic duo would attempt one more trick up his sleeve. This trick was using his clan's notorious eyes that were capable of transmitting Genjutsu and Ninjutsu through them if the bearerwas capable of training them hard and making some sacrifices on the way to their true enlightenment of their eyes. Unfortunately for the younger man in this party, he was likely forced to twiddle his little thumbs, which hopefully didn't have a splinter in them, while the elder did all of the dirty work to try to get them further into the ruins and proceed with their "mission".

It would appear that Takeshi would be ready to get down to business as his eyes shifted into that reddish-color with the tomoes appearing once again for this ANBU Sennin. After they did, he began to give a gaze to the eye-filled door as he internally spoke telling it to open and allow them to see what waited behind it for them. Of course, the creature's attention would focus entirely back on Takeshi as he began this process and the eyes seemed to be glazed and unresponsive momentarily as he was trying to put this illusionary technique on them. However, they would refocus their attention as he tried to play with their mind, if they had one. This actually only prompted the creation to react itself by emitting a bright light from its eyes that would blind both of them to the point that they had no idea what was going on nor would they want to look right at the door. Had Takeshi managed to actually have the door react in a positive way to his request and allowed them further entry into these ruins?

When the light from the door disappeared, the two shinobi from the Hidden Leaf would notice that the door was nowhere in site and they were standing in the middle of a graveyard with a mysterious creature sitting on a skull nearby grinning at them with their scythe at their side. The area surrounding them was covered in a thick fog and if they would listen carefully, they could hear the moans and groans of others! However finding them could prove to be problematic as the fog engulfed them, though it was not hazardous or toxic so it appeared to be just normal fog! The question that the two of them would have to address would be what they wanted to do next since it appeared that they had been transported from where they were standing or the illusion that they had been under had been dropped. Neither of them would know one way or another right now, but maybe they would in the future!

Meanwhile at the other door, Rin had decided to retreat after he realized that he couldn't evade the attacks from the door and was set on fire. His allies, the undead tea party, had been getting battered as well and it seemed like it was better for him to retreat and re-access the situation right now instead of taking more damage and possibly having his time of freedom stolen from his hands. Now, he would have been able to see what had transpired with Takeshi and Juko, but it was likely that he would not feel like charging down there and getting involved since Rin was an independent soul who didn't need no man!

 

[Uchiha Takeshi]

Takeshi looked at the figure that was now in front of them he pondered for a few seconds as he turned his attention to Juko for that split second as he leaned down, so he was the same level as the boy and decided to speak straight with him instead of going around things in the mystery. There was no point in hiding the fact that they had gone into a situation that Takeshi probably have never brought him into. As he allowed himself to ponder for a few seconds he took a breath in before deciding to level with the boy.

“From the get go the situation where we in, I brought you along because I had reason to believe that there was a demon down here. Something a lot older and wiser than even myself and probably stronger than myself. We are here to see if it will sign a pack with us to help us in the future, see this is something that only those that know the true depths of despair and come back will go after. I brought you here to see if you can face that hell and still come out the other side, that is why you are here to face a demon and come out of it alive”

Takeshi allowed himself to stand back up and turn around to the creature on the rock, as he looked at the scythe it was clear this was his territory and that they had walked into it, the question would be would they be able to walk out at the end of this night or would they be left here to keep in a constant slumber. Takeshi turned to Juko deciding it was his turn to do the work that he needed to do.

“Juko go speak to that thing, see what the purpose of it is here and see what the true purpose of its creation is. Let’s see how you handle this situation and I believe we can go from there, I think that you’re the perfect person to speak to a reaper. Who knows it might have a think for the blood of a virgin style thing about it so just be careful”

Takeshi allowed himself to look at Juko giving the boy a smile that tried to install confidence in him but to be honest even the Sennin was in unclear waters right now and he had no idea what would happen next, the question here was a simple one would they manage to persuade the reaper to reveal the secrets that where around.

In the mean time Rin and the zombie hoard left the eyes alone, it seemed that they were having no luck but while he at least had some freedom he would use this to sit around and simply do nothing all day, this was the best solution that he could think of instead of bothering Takeshi his little undead hit squad would be staring back at the door but taking up seats around the place to make sure it didn’t move in the slightest.

 

[Senju Gaki]

Before Juko had any chance to prepare himself a white light flashed before him, swallowing the whole world in its pure flash. The light was so intense it seemed to suffocate the boy simply by being there and for a few moments he felt as if he was floating in empty space, a white canvas in every way he looked, filling his world. What... has happened? Have i died? Did that stupid door just fucking evaporate me or something!? He blinked but the world didnt change and with a quite curse he attempted to walk forward, determined to ignore death until it stood at his doorsteps.
He did a step and immediately fell flat on his face as something obstructed his foot. OUCH! Shit! Squeezing his face together as if he was biting in a lemon he rubbed his forehead. When he opened his eyes again he not only saw tears of pain in the corners but also the small piece of a tombstone, sticking out of the grayish dirt to his feet. Looking up he saw more gravestones, some overturned, others simply askew and only but a few standing upright. A dense fog, of the same color as the sky, was hovering in between them, making it seem as if the sky was crawling towards the boy, having eaten away at the edges of the horizont already. Uwaaa!
Falling backwards on his ass Juko crawled back towards the presumed position of Takeshi only to find the man already standing tall behind him. As his eyes widened more and more of the scenery before him came into sight which turned out to be less than relieving as in the middle of the graveyard an enormous skull was lying, half burried beneath broken down pieces of tombstones, mounds of dirt and worse. However, that skull wasnt the worst. That would be the weird figure sitting on top of the skull. A roughly person sized figure that was dressed almost entirely in black cloak and misery was looking down at Juko, in its one shadowy looking hand was a scythe which, despite its technical use as a farm tool, looked no less menacing than a cleaver or a sword would have.
Jukos face responded to that sight by stretching so hard it seemed as if it was trying to escape his face. Eeeek! I didnt mean it this literal!
His eyes glanced up locking on the silhouette of Takeshi, who didnt seem nearly as shocked as Juko. In that moment the man leaned down to Juko until theire eyes were at the same level and talked to him. A... Demon? A REAL Demon? Your telling me that is a DEMON??
Juko blinked. This was becomming surreal by the minute. But... i havent really tasted the "true depths of despair" yet... have i? Oh shit, i hope this is not gonna kill me! He was just about to suggest Takeshi going for when Takeshi spoke up suggesting the very same about Juko. The Joke about his virginity tasted sour on his tongue, but he decided to swallow the angry answer in favor of not getting killed by the Anbu head in this foggy wherever-they-were.
M..M...me? Speak to that... Thing? But, Sir....Takeshi, what can... er... sure...! Rising on shaky legs he eyed the mysterious stranger before turning back towards Takeshi. Something in the eyes of the Anbu told him he wasnt going to take a no for an answer. Might be the Shashankan thing... the red color sure is creepy...
Therefore he turned back again without saying any of the many words of denial that had gathered in his head and took a few unsure steps towards the weird creature. Thinking back to the many-eyed door he raised his hands with opened palms to display his lack of hostility. Still, his legs were slowly tensing with each step, preparing to take him back into safety should the scythe decide to come any closer to him. His nerves felt like ninja wires, cold as iron and taut till moments before breaking.
S..s...so... you...er.... you come here often?.... He froze and cursed himself for the stupid idea. I... i... mean... He gulped. My name..is...is... Juko. This... Juko did half a turn and pointed towards Takeshi. This....is.. .my..er... teacher, i guess i could...er... say. We.. come in peace...Yes.

WC: 721​

 

[Tomomi]

After a few moments to gather their senses, it appeared that the two of them were well-aware that they had been moved to a new challenge in the shape of this graveyard where they could see a female clad in all black that simply smirked at them as they huddled up to discuss what they should do. She had heard their entire conversation as Takeshi and Juko were not being secretive at all, almost like the elder shinobi knew that trying to be quiet and stealth-like would just be a waste of time and effort. Of course, she would not say anything to them as she allowed them to have their intimate moment together where the green-haired Uchiha simply told Juko to take control of the situation and handle it. This could be due to a variety of reasons that included Takeshi becoming bored and/or lazy, a test of sorts for Juko, or the elder just believed that his partner in crime needed to start doing something instead of hiding behind him and likely peeing his pants in fright since he was dragged away from his home into this bizarre region of their village.

Eventually, the blonde would approach this reaper-like woman and introduce himself before instructing that the man behind him was his teacher or something like that. His body language was all that she needed to see to know that he was worried and scared at the sight of her as his legs were shaking and his voice wasn't exactly solid either. But, she had to admit that he was trying to be brave and show courage in front of his teacher so she would allow it. Her initial response to him however was a devilish grin on her face as she moved her weapon of choice in her hand around ever so slightly. "..." would be what they both heard initially from her as it appeared that she was eyeing up this child who would be a good toy to play with if she could get her hands on him. After all, it wasn't common to see a living, breathing human being enter her home since she did live in a graveyard and it was not exactly the ideal place for a date or anywhere close to the village. In fact, it was quite odd that there was a graveyard this far in the forest away from the village and nobody ever checked on it.

In any case however, the groans and moans around them would get become louder and more intense with each passing moment until this woman raised her hand which caused them all to stop. If she was capable of stopping the noises surrounding her with simply her hand, what else would she be capable of doing? The two men would have to find out if they didn't dissatisfy her in the process and so far they were in the clear. That could always change however!

But for now, the reaper-like woman would continue to sit on her skull-like rock as she looked at the boy with the same devilish grin that she showed earlier. Eventually, she would speak to him and what came out was likely not what anyone would be expecting: "Are you a virgin, Juko? It's been so long since I have felt the embrace of a man and I have been yearning for it. Why don't you show me what you can do, Big Boy?" It was quite possible that she gave a wink directed right at him, but considering that the only sign of light was the moon above them, it was quite hard to tell unless one was practically face-to-face with her.

But, she would not wait too long after talking to him before her attention would then turn to the shinobi behind him and she would address him next: "You wouldn't mind if I played with him, do you? I won't kill him or anything unless he upsets me. I just want to see what he can do. You can even watch if you don't trust me, Uchiha." A little snicker would emit from her after these words as she truly hoped that she would be allowed to play with this child if even for five minutes because she wanted to truly see what he was capable of doing and to see if they were worthy of her time and energy.

 

[Uchiha Takeshi]

Takeshi pondered the situation on one side he would be allowing what seemed to be a reaper to be playing with Juko, the other hand that same reaper had amazing power as he looked over to the Reaper that seemed to be having an enjoyable conversation the Uchiha clan head pondered his next few words deciding to step around lightly and not just go in like a bull, he was known for making irrational decisions and making them without warning or any sign that they were needed. This time Takeshi planned on doing the opposite and airing on the side of caution in this situation.

“I am sure Juko could learn a few things from you, but remember he is new to the world that we are both accustomed to and in that scene, I still see no reason for him to come out battered and broken. Now you seem like someone we can trust but as far as demons go if he comes out stronger do your thing, go crazy if you must but believe me my eyes will be always watching and I will be making sure that you do not leave him broken. He came here to earn your trust not have it smeared all over the wall with his body”

Takeshi pondered if he was going to allow this to happen, but this was Juko trial it seemed, the moment that the student would have to see really what he was made of, if it was metal or if it was wood and something that could easily be broken. The Uchiha knew that his one would come later but right now he had to wait and hope that Juko took the right course of action in this situation and would not allow himself to falter in this passing. He allowed the eyes to rotate once more into the very familiar Mangekyo Sharingan. It was the best way to keep a full focus on the situation that was happening.

“Juko I will be watching, remember why we are here and make sure that you have a hard look at yourself. This seems to be your time to have to step up and I cannot help you here, I will be close by and remember that you are stronger than you believe, just don’t falter at this time and you will come out of this stronger, now as for you reaper mind if I just kick back and have a seat and watch I’m sure that you are trust worthy but I have already had an encounter with someone of your kind and rather like to keep an eye on the situation.”

Takeshi allowed himself to lean against a sign that was near by as he watched the situation unfold deciding to watch and make sure nothing bad happened to Juko. It was one of those times that they had a situation that they needed to get themselves involved in and either back out or fully see this threw to the end. He had faith that Juko would be able to pick the correct outcome of this.

 

[Senju Gaki]

The moaning and sighing sounds surrounding Takeshi and Juko suddenly came to a stop upon the strangers hand gesture. The silence stretched on for a few more moments before a female voice rang out from underneath the black wraps. Its suggestion hit Juko with the weight of a thousand akimichi members and with an inaudible murmur he looked down as his face turned so red one could probably see it over several miles even in this bleak world. Im... im... He swallowed hard to prevent all the excuses and accusations from leaving his mouth. No, dont let her confuse you Juko! Takeshi is relaxing so theres probably no imminent danger. This whole talk about old shit and demons and what not, that cant be anything else but a test! A test to see whether i am capable of being an Anbu! Squinting his eyes at the irritating person in front of him Juko breathed in deeply and then exhaled. He didnt show it but he was following the conversation of the two adults, trying to catch any hint that they might pass between each other. After all any task has a solution and who knows what he might be shown if he continued to play along with them.
Its quite obvious that Takeshi either has been here before or atleast knows where we are. Therefore this cant be that much of a dangerous situation after all. Also he is talking to this woman as if they know each other atleast by description... this is everything but a surprise to Takeshi... His anxiousness somewhat receded as he took a quick glance to either side. The fog was still filling the place making it hard to see anything else but a few of the tombstones covering this place. However, the sounds of pain and anguish had to have an origin aswell, meaning there were probably other people in the gray nothingness of the fog. I wonder, is this a genjutsu or nothing more than an elaborate trick? But in either case... why go so far and put in so much work only for the sceneray to be something as unconvincing as this? His eyes followed the curve of the big skulls forehead and came resting on the black shrouded woman again. And why have someone put on a costume such as this one? Takeshi did call her a Demon but.. what demon would clothe himself in dirty black cloth and wear a scythe? What is she supposed to portray, a peasants vengeful shadow?
Making jokes in his mind helped Juko relax a bit and after a second of barely hidden snigger he was almost feeling as laid back as Takeshi looked.
Thank you for your encouraging words, Takeshi Sir, i am ready for whatever trials await me!
Juko allowed his feet to shuffle apart a bit to lower his point of balance. IF this would end up being a text of his battle skills then he was ready to show his abilities any time. He focussed on the "Reaper" as Takeshi had called the woman.

WC: 513​