Never Forget Your Library Card [Open RP]

[Tokugawa Hanzo]

Hanzo waited all night for his brothers to return to the apartment, but they never showed. He had finished reading his five scrolls and nodded off for a couple hours, but still no sign of them. After snagging a few more hours of sleep, which came against his will, Hanzo awoke to the familiar sounds of people shuffling along the alleyway next to his apartment. Judging by the type of shuffling going on, it was probably Hunky Eruption recovering from an alcohol-fueled rampage at Binge Kitchen the night before. It was already daytime. He peered around the apartment, and noticing his brothers were still gone, became worried. He distinctly remembered a trip to the library which lasted longer than he and Hachidoku had desired. Perhaps his two siblings had fallen asleep in some corner of the labyrinthine complex known as the Bibliotheca Conscientiae.

As he stood at the bottom of the steps leading up to the entrance, he looked up just to marvel at how massive this place was. Upon entering he heard the terse reprimand of a woman speaking in his direction off to his right side. "Hey! You there. You forgot something." The voice seemed like it was targeted directly into his ear so as not to disturb any other library-goers. Surely she could not be talking to him. The last time he was here, he had left in a hurry and in disguise. There was simply no way he could be noticed. "Hanzo-kun, yes you. Get over here!" Kun? Hanzo-kun...yes, she did indeed say that. After only seeing her once, and not even interacting. How did she know his name?! Did she follow him? Were the ANBU involved with what he and his brother had found?

He turned and saw the brown-haired librarian who had called to him. Amaya was her name, he remembered. "Why are you giving me that look, Hanzo-kun? I thought you'd like to get your hands on that little something you forgot about last time." What the hell was she talking about? Hanzo was petrified by either possibility. Either she was referring to evidence he had left at the crime scene he had tainted, or in a weird twist of events this woman was coming on to him. He began to blush ever so slightly as panic set in, the room became hot, and his peripheral vision began to blur. He was completely focused on Amaya. Her next words would determine his reaction. "Your library card, dummy? You want it back? You don't look too well. Is something wrong?"

I am sorry, but I do not know you. We have met maybe once, if at all. You must have me confused for someone else," Hanzo stated politely. Amaya rolled her eyes and handed him a small, rectangular piece of thick paper. It had a girthy poundage to it. He read the front and was surprised to see his name on the paper along with the words, "Bibliotheca Conscientiae Library Card." He was taken aback. "When was this made?" he asked while confusedly looking at the young woman in front of him.

Amaya thought for a second, briefly looking at the ceiling pensively. "It's been about a week now, yeah," she said smiling a smile that appeared quite insidious to Hanzo. "It was after that date you took me on, remember? You took me to that dive, Binge Kitchen. We had half-priced drinks, and that creepy bartender kept winking at you every time he brought another round." She said that last sentence a little too playfully; almost like this was a joke that Hanzo was in on. Did she think he was kidding about not knowing her? Was this woman deranged?

"Date? What date? Look, Amaya, all I know is your name. And I do not ask people out on dates. Surely there must be some mistake. I do not remember coming here a week ago to get a library card." Hanzo was thoroughly confused, and his blushing had not receded; especially not since this woman implied there was some attraction between the two.

"I like it when you play dumb. Lets me know how big of a catch I am," she said as she giggled. After analyzing Hanzo's befuddled face she noticed something was off. "You really don't remember, do you?" She looked like she was about to cry. This woman, about whom Hanzo barely knew a single iota, had apparently just had her heart broken by him. "Fine, just go read your books. They're probably more important anyway!" she screamed, pitch raising as the sentence came to its violent crescendo relative to the silence of their surroundings. And off she stormed, arousing a bit of a commotion from library-goers in the immediate vicinity.

Thoroughly confused, and a bit crestfallen having struck out with an attractive woman due to no fault of his own, he began to browse for some books. He stood in front of the directory and contemplated what looked like a subject his brothers would read. He was here for a purpose, after all.

Directory

• General Works -------------------------------------------- A
• Philosophy, psychology, and religion ---------------- B
• History, General ------------------------------------------ C
• History, Old World --------------------------------------- D
• History, Lightning Country ----------------------------- E
• History, Kumogakure ------------------------------------ F
• Geography, anthropology, folklore, etc. ----------- G
• Social sciences, economics, business, sociology -- H
• Political Sciences ----------------------------------------- J
• Law --------------------------------------------------------- K
• Education -------------------------------------------------- L
• Music ------------------------------------------------------- M
• Fine arts --------------------------------------------------- N
• Philology, linguistics, language, and literature --- P
• Science ---------------------------------------------------- Q
• Medicine --------------------------------------------------- R
• Agriculture ------------------------------------------------ S
• Technology ------------------------------------------------ T
• Military Science ------------------------------------------ U
• Naval science --------------------------------------------- V
• Archives --------------------------------------------------- Z

They would probably be looking up Lightning Country history. Ever since their home village plummeted down a fjord, the three brothers had been on a quest to collect and preserve as much information about the ancient settlement as they could. He set off in the direction of the E section, and upon arriving saw that his brothers were nowhere to be found. No matter, he picked out a few books on local history and began to read. He released his kikai to read two of the books for him, processing the raw data of the page and keeping it in their simple memory until such a time that Hanzo decided he would decipher their findings and absorb their knowledge. He also sent out another handful of the bugs to search for his brothers. They would be around somewhere, and Hachidoku's kikai would most likely set off an internal alarm of sorts for Hanzo's critters. It would be a simple scouting task.

He began to delve into An Overview of Small Settlements within Lightning Country. This would surely be a thrilling read, but Hanzo had chosen it on a whim simply to distract himself from worrying about his brothers so much.

MFT WC = 1,134

 

[Kazu]

Where would he put it? It had to be somewhere difficult to find—nay; it had to be impossible, even for a shinobi—so maybe somewhere like the mountain ranges? Or perhaps he'd stashed one away deep inside the forests? It was even a possibility of some back-channeling, meaning there could be one hidden in Bear or Marsh Countries. Pouring over a book open to a set of maps, the young white haired boy seemed to be fully engrossed in something. It was an odd place for someone to be so focused on something; after all, this was Section G of the library. It didn't get more boring than that—still, the boy seemed to be wholly focused on the books. He seemed to be muttering to himself a little bit, a common trait among those who read way too much. Talking to one's self wasn't all that uncommon, but it certainly did signal that perhaps the child had been reading for a bit too long today. Picking the book up, as he stared at topographical lines, charts of population density, and even of vegetation reports, Kotsuko blindly walked to the bookshelf directly behind him. It was very convenient that Section G and Section F had one shared aisle. Without looking, he flipped through a book he'd left open on the shelf, knowing the page number that he needed to get to. Once he'd arrived at the necessary page, he glanced down to see Isaki Kushin's face staring back at him. His detailed biography was needed in order to try and understand the man's way of thinking, so that Kotsuko could determine where he might have hidden the damn things. Surely a Medical Sennin as well researched as himself had made a point to establish a few other personal, and probably secret, research facilities. Due to the number of years since the man's disappearance, if these secret facilities did exist they would probably be abandoned by now. Kotsuko hoped that, if he managed to find one or more, he'd be able to gain some valuable research knowledge. The former Medical Sennin had a reputation for never sleeping, always being in the lab. Rumors such as those were obviously unsubstantiated, and were most likely highly exaggerated, but that didn't mean they weren't based off the truth. More often than not, the base of a rumor is true—you just have to sort through all the embellishments.

It was in this heavily focused state that Kotsuko was caught by one of the kikai bugs. The young boy had been totally unaware of anyone else near this section of the library, let alone a couple of rows down. Normally Kotsuko wouldn't have noticed the creature, but it decided to land on his open book instead. Its presence snapped Kotsuko out of his mechanical state of research, and seemed to merely confuse the boy at first. What was a bug doing on his book? Kosuko was about to smash it, or at least shoo it away, until he realized what species of bug that was. Kotsuko recognized the kikai bug as a special shinobi tool, and an interesting one at that. The young boy hadn't had much time these days to do research on Kekkei Genkai skills, so a rare opportunity like this was most intriguing. The young boy watched the kikai, noting that its presence must mean that its host human was nearby somewhere. He began to observe the creature, temporarily ignoring his previous research in order to see where the bug might go. As he watched, he noted it was preparing to take off again. Following it, the young boy figured this insect might lead him back to its host. The insect took him down the aisle, turned left, and kept flying for a little bit. Where was it taking him? It turned left again, and the young boy followed directly behind it. As he rounded the corner, though, he came face to face with another kid.

"Excuse me, are you the kikai wielder?" Kotsuko was a direct, impatient, and sometimes tactless young boy. His idea of courtesy was not outright patting down anyone who interested him for secrets about their body. Kotsuko was quite the card. "If you are, could you please explain to me how it is these insects stay alive inside your body? Does the insect's hive network conflict with any of your organs or chakra networks? I'd figure it out myself, but you're still alive. That wouldn't be a very good thing to do..." Kotsuko's voice trailed off as he considered merely knocking the boy out temporarily in order to do a little investigation without complaint. However, after his encounter at the Aesculapium with Shinrya Kitsune, he'd been weary to break too many rules at once. He would have to pick his battles, and unfortunately this one was not worth getting put on some village list. Still, he would very much like to learn about the unique abilities of kikai masters—if the other boy was willing to share, at least.

 

[Tokugawa Hanzo]

Hanzo had finished about a third of An Overview of Small Settlements within Lightning Country when he heard quiet footsteps approach from his side. The book turned out to be a dull read anyway, so he glanced up and saw a teenager that was obviously a handful of years his junior striding up to him. When he made eye contact he saw that the boy's piercing grey eyes were not unlike his right eye's shade. The boy seemed to get some joy out of prodding strangers with questions, and his implication of willingly performing a vivisection did nothing to comfort Hanzo. Nonetheless, the boy was probably just curious about the inner workings of someone with such a rare anatomy.

"Very well," Hanzo began as he turned over his current page of An Overview of Small Settlements within Lightning Country. Answering the boy's questions would be more entertaining than flipping through this old tome, and it would also provide a more lively distraction from worrying about his younger brothers. The thought of distracting himself unsettled him a bit and made Hanzo feel a twinge of guilt. As the page began to settle, Hanzo began to enact his show which he had planned the second the other boy had asked his string of inquiries.

[spoilername="Diagram"]

[/spoilername]​

Hanzo cast False Surroundings upon the page, replacing the text with an image of an anatomical model overlaid with chakra meridians. Hanzo made sure to lead with a warping effect with the intent of making his genjutsu appear to be magic. He then sent a few kikai to fly onto the open pages and skitter around the anatomical model. "This is a little something I learned back when I was an academy student. I had moved to Kumo at the behest of a doctor, and every so often I would receive a little nugget of their expertise. Obviously you should know by now how the chakra meridians are laid throughout our bodies and how the are vital to our ability to cast jutsu. More importantly, a healthy supply of chakra is a necessity of life. This is also true of other creatures, my kikaichu are certainly no exception. I have a symbiotic relationship with them; I give them a source of food and shelter, and they provide me with a natural defense mechanism. My bugs have hollowed out a few holes in my skin and have burrowed small tunnels throughout my body along my chakra meridians in order to feed, grow, and thrive. It does not hurt one bit, and my body has compensated such that it does not seem to impede my function. All in all I am happy with the arrangement, and so are they. Did my explanation answer your questions? And why are you so curious, if you do not mind me asking? My name is Tokugawa Hanzo, by the way. I am an herbalist, playwright, and head of the Tokugawa clan; a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Hanzo, satisfied with his performance, called back his kikai and cancelled his genjutsu. The text returned to the pages, and Hanzo noticed that the section he had turned to described his old village of Shimo Kimura. His twinge of guilt and sadness returned.

 

[Kazu]

"Fascinating," the young boy remarked as he listened to the older teenager. Kotsuko seemed entranced as the other boy spoke, hi eyes fixed on the page and scanning it up and down. It was an interesting subject for the young boy, learning about these intricacies of different Kekkei Genkai. He wanted to gain as much knowledge as he could, after all. As he was listening to the older boy's words, he had begun to bring out a small black book. A pencil in his hand, the young boy began to scribble feverishly to keep up.

• DATA LOG ENTRY #13: KIKAI BODY MODIFICATIONS
  //subject potentially kumogakure shinobi?
  
  + the kikai (alt. kikaichu) feed off chakra
  + symbiotic relationship with host
  + protection & food <--> combat prowess & defense
  + tunnels along chakra network — body used as walking nest
  + openings reveal entrances to inner network (potential weak spot?)
  + apparently painless
  + q: only one species per host?
  + q: born this way, or introduced later in life?
  + q: how long do kikai survive without host?

The young boy looked up from his notes, having been asked a direct question by the older boy. "Why?" The young boy looked confused. He tilted his head and gave the older boy a quizzical look. "Why do birds fly south for the winter?" Blinking a few times, Kotsuko listened to the boy introduce himself and proceed to tell Kotsuko a brief recap of his life. Kotsuko scribbled something else into his notes—probably nothing, but maybe it was a snide comment? As the other boy ended by discussing his clan, Kotsuko responded quite simply by saying, "Never heard of it." Kotsuko truly was a tactless individual. He finished scribbling something else into his notebook before he looked up at the older boy again. "Hanzo, huh? I'm Kotsuko, nice to make your acquaintance." The young boy didn't offer a hand or anything, feeling such pleasantries as being pointless. Instead he merely glanced at the book the older boy was reading. "Shimo Kimura, huh? What is that, some village or something?" Kotsuko didn't realize how insensitive he'd just been. How could he have, though?

 

[Tokugawa Hanzo]

Hanzo was a bit taken aback by Kotsuko's bitter, cold indifference. Judging from his communication style and lack of deference to social cues, perhaps the boy was a bit autistic. Hanzo was not well versed in mental health, however. The only studying he had done on the subject was long ago with his grandmother. No matter, he would try to be polite in spite of how difficult the matter became. "Nobody has heard of my clan for a long time. I may be the final surviving member for all I know. I am actually searching for a couple other younger members that may still be alive," he explained in a matter-of-fact tone trying to match that of Kotsuko. Hanzo left out of the part about these two members of the clan being his missing brothers.

"As for Shimo Kimura, that was my home until a few weeks ago. It was located northeast of here, seated on the cliff face of a fjord. It unfortunately fell into the valley of the fjord. I presume everyone there perished, including members of my family. Thus, I came back here since I had completed some training at the academy and hospital long ago." Hanzo's face donned a look almost as chilling as the brusqueness of Kotsuko's tone. He began to stare out across the library floor as he spoke of the ancient village in the mountains. When he had finished his tale, he turned to the boy and produced a few leaves and herbs wrapped in a thin cloth. "This is a specialty from Shimo Kimura. It is a medicinal herbal remedy for pain." He allowed the herbal compound's aromas to spread briefly before tucking the cloth sack back into a pouch tied to his waist. "I have opened my own herbalist and chakra specialist kiosk in town. Check it out if you are ever in need. I will give you a discount for listening to me. I...must be going now, please excuse me," he stated politely as he gathered his materials and placed the boring book on a librarian's cart at the end of the reading area where he was seated.

The rest of his insects had come back to roost. They had found no trace of Hachidoku's kikaichu nor did they see anyone who looked like either brother. Hanzo took a scrap index card and pencil from a reference desk at the reading area and scribbled a brief note. As he made his way toward the exit, he placed this note near where Amaya once stood. Perhaps she would read it. Hopefully she did.

Topic Left, Thanks for the RP (Sorry it was so short)

 

[Kazu]

Kotsuko listened to the man's words, a placid expression on his face as he did. There wasn't much for him to do besides listen to the man's words with sympathy. Unfortunately, the young boy wasn't one for such things. When the other boy was done, Kotsuko spoke with a sad tone in his voice, "That's a shame. It sounds like it was a nice place." Especially considering there might have been more diverse users of the Kikaichu in that area. Kotsuko would have loved to have visited on a research trip. "Hopefully they turn up soon," the young boy remarked about Hanzo's quest to find the other members of his clan. Perhaps they could provide some valuable information themselves. As the man shifted about, bringing the herbal remedy to Kotsuko's attention, the young boy looked at it quizzically. He wasn't one for such holistic methods, but he tried to keep his disdain for such archaic methods to himself. "Yeah, I'll be sure to do that." He wouldn't visit that shop, unless it decided to sell some very rare and powerful ingredients for his experiments.

And then the other boy was preparing to leave. Kotsuko wasn't too thrilled to hear this, as he'd have loved to ask some more questions of the boy while he had the chance. Unfortunately his chance was walking out the door. As the kikaichu returned to the young boy, Kotsuko decided that he couldn't leave it like that. As soon as the other boy's back was turned, Kotsuko reached to the small gourds of iron sand he kept around the back of his waist and pulled a little bit out. Quickly and quietly, he sent it forward to capture a small group of straggler kikai. There were only a handful of them, but that would surely be enough. Hopefully the other boy wouldn't notice this act. Kotsuko turned the clump of iron sand that the bugs were trapped inside into a small vial to carry around easier. With a few small holes, he'd keep the kikaichu alive, hopefully able to perform some more in-depth research with them later. Quickly, before the other boy noticed, Kotsuko ducked back behind the bookshelves and into another section. He'd return to the books he'd been reading before this incident when he was sure Hanzo had left without noticing anything.

[ooc: Topic Left.]