The Satisfaction of Solace [Dual Contract Search!]

[Keigo Oen]

"...I think this will be a nice spot." Eiji would speak as he placed his hands on his hips and allowed his eyes, nose and entire body to take in the experience of the day. The daylight had just risen over the horizon and Eiji's father was sleeping in a tent they'd made the night before for shelter from the elements of the night. They came out here from the village on a bi-monthly basis, for the sake of training and meditation. Ever since Bazu had taken his life Eiji and his father would take time out to get through things, to remember and give reverence to the fallen but to also pay homage to everyone that came before them. It was a three day get-away from the hustle and bustle of the city. And it gave them time to get close to one another.

These days though, especially now that Eiji was back in the Academy, it would serve as valuable training time. Allowing Eiji to get his technique down. Learning more and more about his chakra nature. Being able to expand upon the abilities he had been born with and adding to it, allowing himself to reveal much more to his repertoire. You see, Eiji was a gifted kid... he was keen to all forms of jutsu. Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, they all came easily to him. It was a fact that his father would want to hone in and be able to bring out all of his abilities because they would become invaluable to him later on in life.

Today though, Eiji would stand alone atop a large hill a good distance from their camp-site. He was practicing his Doton release, being able to shoot out rocks of chakra and shifting the gravel under their feet. It was an awesome feat especially with how little chakra he was dealing with. Suffice to say, he could only maintain two jutsu at the moment before he'd be completely drained and would have to resort to Taijutsu and that wasnt something he would want to continue.

So high above the steep cliffs and near a rolling stream, Eiji would nod to himself, sitting himself down and trying to draw in chakra, to change the novice into a champion. He had to work... and work he would attempt, because he had so much hanging on his training within his mind. He wanted nothing more than to get strong quickly... and maybe he would be able to find such things if he would concentrate on them... but alas. He was a teen boy, he wanted instant gratification. 'C'mon Eiji... You've got this...', the young, chocolate skinned teen thought.

"....Who's that?", looking over the horizon he would see someone approaching but he wasnt sure who, placing a hand on his katana's hilt he would prep himself for an encounter... or maybe not?

[WC = 477.]

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

Ryuichi was walking slowly through the lowlands, letting the fresh nature breeze brush past his white hair. The young boy let out a sigh, and put his hands behind his head as he walked, looking from side to side, as if looking for something. He had left behind Uri for the day in order to look for a more private place to train himself, due to not having his teacher's undivided attention every single day. To top it off, the training area in Shinbatsu's path was normally occupied by other aspiring, or experienced ninja honing their skills. It wasn't a place for him to train something as coveted, and well known as the sharingan.

When the thought of his eyes went through his head, Ryuichi took a deep breath, and put his hands back down to his sides. With plenty of research he was able to learn what had happened the night he was beaten by the Chuunin. His mother was Uchiha, and held some kind of legacy that was passed down to him just because of her genes. It was something she had left behind for him.

Ryuichi wasn't nearly as talented as someone like Eiji naturally, but he showed the potential to learn anything he set himself on. Though he hasn't learned many jutsu, his control over them is above average for a standard student and his chakra reserves were reasonably strong. He just had to learn how to utilize his gift. His bloodline. His birthright. If he could hone it, he believed he could close the gap between himself, and someone with natural talent. Someone like...

And with that, he saw a silhouette of someone out at a distance. Ryuichi saw, and started to run further up a slight incline so he could get a better look at whatever, or whoever it was.

Soon he saw a familiar face. It was Eiji, the one who was said to be talented in Doton for someone so young. Ryuichi waved, and smiled. "Yo dirt-dude!" He said, jumping a few yards at a time to close the distance between himself, and the other boy.

After a show of above-average agility by doing so , he had found himself closer to Eiji in no time. However, in his last jump he failed to attempt to stop himself since hadn't taken account for the gravel recently loosened by his fellow cloud-student and found himself face-first in the ground. He then sat there motionless, not knowing how to make things not seem awkward.

[WC: 419]

 

[Toraono Michino]

Congratulations! You found the Marine Mammal Contract! Do you wish to accept and continue or try again in 2 months? Please PM me your answer as not to clutter the thread for later.

 

[Toraono Michino]

A peaceful breeze blew over the hilly landscape and the two young shinobi with one elder. A slight chill in the morning breeze came to bring a reminder of the previous night’s cold air. In the distance a few farm animals belted out a long bellow at the air around it and each other. It was a beautiful morning in the land of mountains and a perfect one for training. Eventually the day would warm up the closer it got towards the afternoon but there was plenty of time to train before it got there; or at least there would of been.

In the far distance the sound of rolling thunder slowly began to creep into their awareness. No doubt Eiji’s father heard it before the two boys but as the noise became louder so did another. Before long the noise revealed itself as horses as the men riding them slowly came closer to their sight. There was a bunch of shouting between the riders as they chased down their quarry but the sound that began to overriding the rest was a prolonged scream. It started small at first but as the horse stampede grew closer as did the scream. A trained ear would be able to pick out that it was a male and before long so would a trained eye. Only minutes after the three males would realize that the sound was coming near their way they would they see a young man come into view leaping off the top of a hill. He was wearing a pair of goggles to help keep his eyes from drying out from run speeds and he was carrying a long rectangular box. When his foot hit the ground he shot off. Five seconds later the horses would appear over the hill and began to ride down it after him.

This was all about a good one-hundred yards away from where the two boys and the elder were at but they had a good view of the entire thing. The man in front carrying the large box was holding it tight to his chest as his feet tapped lightly against the earth below home to carry him just ever so ahead of his captors. Looking around it was uncertain where he was heading until it became obvious. Down below from their hill was a large lake with a river that eventually emptied out into the ocean and the young man was heading right for it.
With a leap the man landed on the surface of the water as the chakra coming from the soles of his feet made it appear like rubber for a second around him as he balanced himself out and looked over at the group of men who reigned their horses in just short of the lake. No words were spoken between the two and after a few seconds someone was shooting arrows at the shinobi on the water. The young man’s face changed from one of triumph to one of “dammit”. He started to run a little deeper into the center of the lake as the men on their horses spread their troops out but an arrow eventually caught him in the back of the thigh. A cry of pain and he was down on one knee not too far from where the men now dismounted their horses and were removing heavy leather gear to go swim out after him.

Bandits.

While it was unsure who stole from who first it was more than clear that the group of horsemen where of a certain tribe of bandits that roamed the area. Most were ex-shinobi in some fashion or another as some showed by started to walk out onto the lake themselves while others followed by swimming. The man with his rectangle box could feel the blood oozing from his wound and into the water. His face was panic stricken for all of about a minute when it looked like he had an epiphany that should of been super obvious. Carefully the man placed the long box to float on the water’s surface as he quickly brought his hands together and formed three seals then touched his hand to the surface. The blood that was oozing out was suddenly grabbed by chakra and it was shaped into a seal around him that exploded into energy. The energy quickly came together and in a cloud of smoke appeared a large mink. It’s fur was purple and one eye was sealed shut from a scar. Around it’s long slender waist was a belt with a few pouches and a rapier like sword hung off it. It stood up on it’s hind legs a full three feet tall and drew the rapier from its belt. With a quick few swishes at the air and a sudden thrust the water before the long creature would bend and turn as if it was turned into gelatin to be shaped by invisible hands. A large boulder size globe of water would tear itself away and explode into the air forcing droplets of water to speed at the bandits fast enough to cut through a lot of them like bullets. Yet even as the red draining into the lake started to change the color of the water the bandits didn’t at all seemed phased by the shinobi’s tactics and continued to cautiously advance. The man below lifted his right arm to swat at another arrow shot his way. As he did it lifted his shirt to reveal the Kumogakure headband tied to a belt on his waist.

 

[Keigo Oen]

It was quite the ordeal that he would see as he noticed Ryuichi coming close to is position, but now Eiji would have to play hero, watching the scene begin to unfold he'd stand to his feet, "Tch, such a pain in my ass...", shaking his head he would place a hand on his Wakizashi placed parallel to his waist and fashioned to fit right on the back of his pants. Checking himself to see if he had the proper ninja tools, 'Wire... Kunai...Smokebombs...And the Exploding Tag My Pops gave me.' and his blade nodding as he would think he would be good enough, his eyes werent the best but there was one boy being chased by a group of adults. There had to be something he could do about this right? He wasnt all that strong himself but he would try at the very least.

"Coming?", he nodded to Ryuichi as he'd rush past him flowing down the hill and gaining speed with every step. 'My jutsu wont be good unless we're on the ground... Hell I'm not as good on the water than on land... but if thats a Kumogakurian headband... I will help my comrade.', formulating a plot and strategy Eiji would think again like most times about placing himself in a chess-like scenario. These were the Rooks coming to take a Bishop out. Easy enough right? Not when you were only a pawn yourself. However, pawns could make themselves useful when they needed to be. Alas, Eiji would pull one of his Kunai out and the Exploding tag prepped to on the end. 'Right... This will be my first move.' throwing the prepped Kunai out he would find that he could trigger it just before the boy with the Mink separating him from the would-be captors!

Waiting for the right moment, and hitting his feet against the water, his chakra control wasnt the best, so he would waver a bit with the chakra becoming visible under him, The bomb would explode giving Eiji a chance to attempt help the boy up hoping Ryuichi would follow him to the opposing side of the lake for proper cover. "Follow me!" He wouldnt stop as the explosion blew water everywhere and caused enough smoke and commotion to divert the attention away from him. 'Crap... Pops is still sleeping... and now I'm too far away from him for him to be able to help... Such a pain...' Eiji would think to himself for the moment as he continued running trying to reach a place where they could help the boy.

If they reached a safe spot with and Ryuichi helped, Eiji would continue from there... otherwise they would have a fight on their hands.

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

Ryuichi sat up at the sound of rolling thunder, letting the lingering feeling of awkwardness vanish instantly once a new pressure could be felt in the air. With one swift movement he was back on his feet with his grip around his kidachi, which was in his Haori sleeve as usual. He had no tools on him like Eiji did, but he had some body-swap logs prepared inside of paper seals for storage. This would allow him to use the body-switching technique of things got rough.

He nodded to Eiji as the one holding the box got hit in the leg with an arrow "Shit, let's go." He said, holding the kodachi two-handed beside his face before running right behind Eiji. The white-haired boy focuses chakra into his eyes slowly as they ran. 'I can't go easy on these guys. I wanted to catch Uri, or Eiji off guard with this in training, but I'll have to use it now.' he thought, as his single-tomoe sharingan span to life. With this, he wasn't exactly able to turn the table into their odds, but it closed the gap to a certain extent. His eyes also let him track the movements of the explosive-sealed kunai Eiji threw. He grinned, and put his kodachi away, getting a plan.

With the water clearing, and Eiji heading towards cover, Ryuichi caught up to him, holding a single seal that was helping him gather chakra in his hands. He said to the earth-user "I have a plan. I need you to get that kumo nin out of the water, and to distract them. I can pump as much electric release chakra as I can into the water. It should give us a chance to escape." He said, waiting to see if Eiji agreed with his plan, or had ideas of his own.

He would have to hurry to act, though. The water, and smoke was starting to clear, and when it did they wouldn't have much time to act. They were out for the other nin's blood, and would soon start looking for them since they made another presence known.

[wc: 356]

 

[Toraono Michino]

It wasn’t what the thief was expecting but at the moment he was willing to take whatever he could get.
As the kids came running in the youth and his mink companion steadied themselves and seemingly braced for a fight. A kunai flew into the scene and exploded to throw up water everywhere. One boy yelled over the explosion at the other and both the shinobi and his sidekick twitched their ears causing a wild grin to cover one’s face and a look of concern to jump on the others.

“Yeah!” the youth screamed in a mimic of Ryu’s voice as his formed his hands into seal, “Everyone jump now and I’ll shock the water!”

The explosion of force and water ended revealing the mink and his companion and a bunch of bandits already jumping off the water while others were trying to leap/swim back towards the shore. The shinobi formed his hands through his seals and, if the students paid attention, they would note that these were not the symbols used to attune one’s chakra towards the Lightning element but instead the Water. The little creature below him whipped it’s rapier through the air a few times in a specific pattern until a soft blue glow covered the edge. Waiting until the bandits to start dropping towards the water again the thief dropped to one knee and slapped his hand against the water again with a laugh, looking one particular scarred bandit in the eye,
“Gotcha fool!”

A whirlpool suddenly opened up underneath him to suck the young man down into it. With a flick of the Mink’s weapon two really fast beams of water would shoot out of the whirlpool and grab onto the boys with hand like appendages and suck them down right behind the Cloud shinobi. Hoping the kids could hold their breath the creature sheathed the thin sword and hopped down into the pool to swam after it’s partner in crime. All of this proceeded in three seconds and the box the man had been carrying was nowhere to be found. The hilltops echoed with screams of profanity after the bandits all finally returned to dry land.
As for the shinobi, his partner, and the two unfortunate students who decided to make poor life decisions were all forced through a water tunnel that ended by diving into an underground cave deep under the surface of the lake. About thirty meters from the entrance of the cave the lake floor suddenly shot up into an air pocket. The torrent of water rushed up from the pool inside of the cave and onto dry stone spitting up the jutsu user and the other two along for the ride. The mink skittered ahead immediately and within moments torches began to flare to life and a general warmth started to chase the cold out of the wet clinging to their clothing.

Looking around they were standing inside of a large cave system that ran within the mountains of their village though it was impossible to determine exactly how far this cave was from any entrances within Kumogakure itself; if there was any at all. The stone was all a deep shade of red showing off its rich iron mineral.
The young shinobi who had swept up the students in his escape plan stood up and lifted his box, hugging it close to him like a precious keep sake before darting off into next cave beyond the platform. An audible sigh echoed off the water as the mink jumped back out of the pond it had somehow slipped back into without notice and scurried before the two boys. It stood on his hind legs and spoke up in a rich and well-mannered tone,
“I am so dreadfully sorry…he gets like this after runs. I was really hoping he would explain things before running off but, well, you know…humans. So…what brings you to the area?”

It was clear the creature of the water wasn’t used to dealing with house guests.

 

[Keigo Oen]

'I gotta figure out why that belt was on his waistband... Maybe we're not dealing with a comrade, but a wolf in sheep's clothing.' thoughts seemed swirl around his head as they would be pulled down into the lake. Though moments before, Eiji would spot the handseals, keeping it in the back of his head for the time being as he would try to surmise the idea of what was exactly going down. Had he made a mistake? Who knew, but for now he would make an attempt to follow through with everything... He committed the deed because he thought of the man to be a Cloud Shinobi. Not thinking this could be a man on the run from Kumogakurian officials. Though, it showed his inexperience in the subject. Never thinking that anyone would defect or want to steal from the country... only thinking about the one track of people coming in to attack. And Any shinobi caught on the outskirts would be troubled by bandits. 'And I drug Ryuichi into this... ugh...'

Shooting out of the water into the air pocket and landing on his back, Eiji would let out a yelp of pain. He'd not be in too much pain though, slowing lifting his head from the strong and looking around at the rich minerals around them, these were the metals that the elders of his clan talked about manipulating. The ability to shake the foundation of these hardene Minerals would be exceptional of all leaders of the Endo Clan, Eiji would have to figure it out, and what better way than to keep them in his sights while he would be around it. The chocolate skinned, Endo Clansmen, would look to Ryuichi, "Oi... Ryu, you good bro?", then looking around the scene once again. "We're a long way from home, my man.", nodding his head he wouldnt want to come off as afraid but he did want to figure out what the best course of action would be in case things went south.

Listening to the Mink begin to speak Eiji would take a step back. 'Ok... I must be knocked out or something happened when I smacked that rock... Cause animals dont talk... right?' thinking to himself, looking sporadically between Ryuu the boy hugging the box and now the talking Mink. Maybe it wasnt outside the realm of reason to think the animal could talk. It was also the same animal that cast jutsu and fought with a rapier. So... he'd take a deep breath, before beginning himself, "No need bro... I was training when I saw them coming after your guy here with the box... but I wasnt sure if I should step in until I saw the Kumogakurian Headband on his waist... so I sought to help a comrade.", nodding once again Eiji's portion of truth would suffice? Hopefully, he didnt wanna be fighting a Rapier wielding animal...

Who knew though... things were already getting weird.

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

After Ryuichi had gathered enough chakra into his hands, he noticed the runaway nin taunting the bandits. However, before he could electrocute the water he forcefully canceled the channel as he was engulfed with water. The last thing he saw before being pulled down into the water were the bandits cursing themselves, and some even trying to swim back out in a fruitless attempt to catch them.

After the few moments of holding what little breath he prepared Ryuichi came up to the air pocket with a deep breath, making up for his lost oxygen. The white haired boy simply held a thumbs up to Eiji. With a cough, he would answer him. "Yeah. I'm fine. I don't think this is too far away, though. It's in the ocean connected by the river we were just at...I think." He said, realizing his kodachi was washed away in the water. His thoughts on location, his equipment, and possible injuries were quickly cut short at the mink's statement.

Deciding it would be best to be polite, considering the animal didn't seem aggressive, Ryuichi gave a small bow, and his sharingan deactivated. A talking animal like this wasn't new news to the white haired student, due to a recent encounter with their teacher's own talking bird summon the day he went under his training.

In any case, Ryuichi quickly put together the pieces. "Excuse me, but...You're a contract summon, right?" He asked, looking through the red mineral walls of the cave. When he glanced towards the next entrance he simply nodded in it's direction. "His summon, yeah? If so, would you let us go talk to em'? We kind of want some answers." He looked back at the mink with a small smile. The other nin who had just run off was not only acting strange, but had also suffered a wound from that arrow a while ago.

Not that Ryuichi was any kind of medic to help with that, but regardless he wanted to check up on him.

 

[Toraono Michino]

The small creature before the two kids lifted a hand to the back of his head and scratched at it a little. A nervous energy seemed to exude from the mink as it gave them a nervous laughter. It was sort of high pitched and annoying but it was apparent that the little creature didn’t really want the two boys going any further than they already were. After all it would be horribly disappointing to find out that the thief they thought was one of their own was…sort of not. Yet the small creature wasn’t really sure what else to do except try to escape…but then that would leave the poor kids lost in a network of tunnels that was nigh impossible to navigate without proper knowledge. It just wansn’t in the creature’s heart to bring harm to others - especially kids - but his partner…

“Look it..it’s a little more complicated than that. The Summon Technique is something that involves a mystical pact forged by two creatures of worthy power. I’m…well, I’m more like a pet? A partner? Both? Ugh…this is…complicated. Here, lets just go inside and get away from the cold at least.”

The mink turned and sprinted off on all fours with his rapier dragging sparks behind him as he went. Through the twisting tunnels the aquatic mammal would eventually bring the two boys towards a warmth that was all at once comforting and rejuvenating. Around the corner of one of the many tunnels they traveled through was an orange light that protruded out into the humid darkness. Once they turned the two would see a large round wooden door opened inwards to a well lit high ceiling cave. Sprawled all around was random furniture, two brick ovens in a corner and a large pile of pillows near it that one could assume was where the shinobi rested. The smell of cooking eggs would hit their senses long before the musk of a man and mink living together would. Standing between two ovens with three frying pans going full of eggs being cooked in three different ways was the man with the box. Except now the box was on the ground and the drawers had been opened up to reveal the treasure he had been chased and would have been killed for.

Eggs. Lots of eggs.

“Company!” The mink called out as it skittered into the cave and slowly took off its belt to hang on an iron hook by the door. The youth cooking eggs turned around somewhat surprised and waved,
“Oh hey! My escape plan! Want breakfast?”

 

[Keigo Oen]

Looked to the Mink as he spoke about being.. a pet. Something didnt sit right with Eiji, but there had to be something with this situation. Because Eiji felt overly cautious, and he normally didnt feel this way. Maybe they were under some sort of triggered Genjutsu? Eiji didnt know the Cancel technique, so even if he wanted to break the Genjutsu he didnt have a way of breaking it yet. Though, he would figure that if he was under a Genjutsu that his father would find him standing in a field gazing at the sun ominously by the time this was all over. Who cared though...

"Pet and Partner, eh? Bud, you've got some hats you wear... Also, dont mind Ryuichi... He doesnt have much tact. Heh.", nodding to himself, he was a bit vain about his own ability to decipher things himself. The young Endo clansman would shudder though, following the Mink as it trotted off, "..Not like we gotta choice, we'll keep close for now... but we gotta be on our toes. Keep ya eyes open.", nodding Eiji would make note of everything he saw, trying to keep his friend Ryuichi alive as much as he was trying to keep his ow heart beating for another day. There was no telling what they'd gotten themselves into... but Eiji was sure of himself and his abilities... or rather his ability to think out any situation.

Upon entering through the threshold of the doors, Eiji would ponder on the lighting and such down here, 'Do they have access to electricity down here?' Then he would continue thinking, '...If he was a Kumogakurian, why would he live down here?' speaking internally as he'd notice all the furniture. Sprawled along the ground. No Rhyme or reason to any of it. Then the smell of eggs? Eiji was never a fan, especially since he had an intimate relationship with his bed, but he often cheated on his bed with his pillows and comforter. Alas, he was never up for breakfast... nor was he up by typical lunch hour, but he liked to snack until dinner.

'Escape Plan?' "Eh, Nah, I'm not hungry at the moment... maybe later guy...", looking around once more trying to spot the Mink again, "So... Yeah we kinda helped ya there... Who were those guys chasin ya?"

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

Not very....tact. The off-handed comment thrown by Eiji was enough to almost cause a vein to burst out of his head. 'I'll show you tact when you find an ink bomb in your clothes tomorrow, smarta-' Ryuichi thought with annoyance before cutting himself off to pay more attention to the way the mink and his partner talked. As if flipping a switch, the white haired boy quickly looked the area over. As far as things went this place was far from a recent settlement. Decently crafted furniture inside, and the lingering scent of animal and a sweaty dude were enough evidence of that.

'So if they've been in here for long enough to settle this much, then they don't plan on leaving soon. Meaning either A- They trust us enough to see their hideout, or B- They don't believe we'll be able to tell anyone...be it from disbelief, or forced silence. Regardless I should keep my trap shut and do as Eiji said.' With that thought the aforementioned smell of man, and animal was covered by....dear Raiden, eggs.

Ryuichi walked in to see mountains of eggs and felt like puking. Eggs alone were one of the few things the student would rather die than eat. The textures, the half-dulled flavor (as he puts it) and every other aspect of them grossed him out beyond belief.

With a gag being held back, and a hand up Ryuichi quickly shot down the offer. "Erm no, sorry. Allergic." He lied, not wanting to offend the nin.

"And erm...escape plan? I don't think we helped that much." He noted, looking for a place to sit.

 

[Toraono Michino]

“Oh, more for me then,” the thief replied with such a nonchalance face that it seemed as if the rejection of his eggs made them suddenly invisible. The large mink raised his hands up as if he wanted to say something but sighed and dropped them in defeat before he did; the young man was already stuffing his mouth full of hard boiled eggs by the handful. The long mammal made a growling sound before rushing up to the man on all fours and biting his ankle trying to break him out of his eating trance. Without even so much as registering the pain the man lifted his leg and started kicking; all the while continuing to eat the eggs with a deadpan expression. This probably would of went on until the man finished the entire supply of stolen eggs with no regards to the boys that were brought back to this cave.
The awkward silence of a man fighting off a large weasel while gorging on eggs was interrupted by a shoe. It was small, slender, and made of what appeared to be a soft cloth that had no business flying through the air as fast as it soared over Ryu and Eiji’s heads. The shoe seemed to be carrying a pressure of air all on its own as it struck the man in the side of the head. The sickening sound of bone cracking echoed through the cavern as man and weasel both were lifted into the air by the force of the shoe and into the wall next to the stove. A small imprint was left by the human’s body before he fell down to the ground stunned.
“Absolutely useless, both of ya’z,” came the softer sound of a female’s voice from behind the two boys. Pushing past them a thin woman with wild short pink hair and the aura of sheer attitude exuding from her presence walked over to the man on the ground. She was 5’8’’ and was wearing clothing that looked far more shinobi that the man she was assaulting. A skin-tight black body suit hugged close to her flesh covering everything except the female’s neck. Over the suit she wore small shorts and a tank top, both of which were wet, and one of a pair of soft shoes remained on her left foot. Crouching down she picked up the shoe first and slipped it back up before kicking the man once; then again angrier before sighing in defeat. The large mink that had lead them here was no where in sight. She turned around to face the undoubtedly confused youths and apologized,
“I apologize profusely that he caught you up in this, and I’m sure you’d like an explanation but…the truth is a little…off. I- no, we’rez willin to explain ourselves but you’re going to have ta have an open mind.” She didn’t explain anything further as she walked over to the corner of the cave opposite of the eggs and unconscious thief. The woman lifted her fist and rapped the stone three times with her knuckles. The cave wall shook and literally rolled out of the way like a wheel. It was becoming more and more obvious that this room was not a natural part of the cave system.
Reaching up the woman flicked a switch that caused a generator in the distance to fire up and within a few seconds lights flickered on overhead to reveal a staircase leading into a basement like room. It was full of charts written on boards with words in multiple languages. Landscape pictures, blueprints, black n’ white photographs of different important looking people were all sprawled across a large round oak table. On one of the boards there was a name of lists and lines crossed through them though from the top of the staircase it was hard to tell if it was a hit list or something else.

The two Kumogakure students just accidentally stumbled on a spy network.

The woman was already down the stairs and in a back corner where a smaller stove had been situated. Long before lights had flickered to life she had placed on a tea kettle to start boiling hot water and was making her way back to the table to clear off a place for herself and the two boys. She gave little regards to how much they saw for whatever reason as they decided to settle themselves or stand. She stayed quite for a moment as she prepared a silve tray of tea cups, different tea bags, and sweet hard cakes that softened with the hot beverage. In perfect timing the kettle started to whistle. She lifted it off the hot coil and touched it to down on a wire rack that kept the heat from tarnishing the silver finish of the tray. With a twirl that spoke of a waitress long practiced she walked back over to the table and placed down the platter before sitting down herself and making a cup of tea for herself while imploring the males to do the same after pouring the water in to let the bag steep.

“Now,” she began as her hand gently lifted and lowered the bag into the hot fluids, “to begin with I don’t know yer affiliations but we’rez not in any way associated with the ninja village up in that there mountains. In fact we tend to stay far away from them even if Hiro in there, the Sage, keeps insisting he keep a hold of his father’s headband despite how it’s gotten us into more trouble than good,” she removed the bag and placed it on the tray before taking a sip of the soothing liquids, “but I have a feeling that you two are more than just two kids looking to camp out here in the wilds and on that note I might have a proposition., if ya’z willin to listen.”

 

[Keigo Oen]

This was a situation that Eiji didnt wake up and sign up for... but he would know that in the current state of his being. Eiji was forming thoughts... making moves and trying to figure out what he would do to get him and Ryu out of the situation he'd gotten them in. '... who know whats going to happen... but I wont let Ryu fall. We're in this together...' thinking back for a moment, this didnt seem like anything Kumogakure would be involved with... or vice versa. They didnt have the feel of the Teachers and others back home in the village. And before he would be able to continue his thoughts a female voice would chime through everything. The Silence was killing him for a moment so it was a nice change of pace...

'Whose this...' shaking his head and watching her brush past them, she would seem to be some sort of higher-up. She spoke as if she had some high authority behind her words. Much like Many of the Jounin and Chuunin Teachers had in the academy. Though, this was different, to an extent. She was... more eloquent than the others. Maybe it was her sultry step or just that attractive women did that to a young boy.

Eiji was dumb-founded for the few moments to occur, after she spoke her apologies. So much so that Ryu would be able to notice it, his face would be in awe of what he was seeing. Like nothing he'd seen yet, as he'd not become an ANBU at this moment but there was such determination to know more. Eiji was a boy that liked learning... he may have been lazy about it but he enjoyed reading books on new ideals. Or utilizing a new way of doing the same thing he'd done before. Becoming more efficient. Because efficiency meant he didnt work as hard which meant he could spend more time doing what he loved... Nothing. Nothing at all. Nothing yet that truly caught his attention and awe'd his brain like it ANBU would become for him.

'So they are spies? Who or what do that spy on? And maybe their intel would be good for the Kumo. We could work together... potentially bring about a better peace. I better not say anything just yet...' nodding to her, "Ah, I see, well whats the proposition?", turning to Ryu, Eiji wondered what was on the boy's mind. Maybe he could read it but he wasnt far along in his abilities just yet to even do anything even if he could... but maybe they had no choice in the matter. What if they opposed and were made to do what she wanted then be killed once it was over...

'...We're not in the best position right now.. but, if we play our cards right...'

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

Ryuichi watched in wonder as the man eating eggs, and his mammal companion were sent flying with nothing more than a cloth shoe. In the brief moment of almost comedic golden silence Ryuichi could only looks at the human imprint the man had left behind, not wanting to ever get in the way of whoever had the power to do so.

Then the new arrival walked in, carrying an authoritative air around her. Ryuichi was a bit too stunned to reply to anything in the moment, simply following her into the secret room. Seeing the board, and the large oak table, all suggesting the knowledge of several people, and implying...something being done to them in the form of Xs or marks, Ryuichi flinched, standing in place behind both his partner, and the woman.

'Proposition? Like a deal? I don't think they're out for blood here, since the man saved us from having to confront those bandits earlier...' Ryuichi stepped forward to be beside Eiji. He crossed his arms, and nodded, not wanting to let the building uneasiness in his gut become obvious to the outside world. "Yeah. I'm up to hear it. What's the deal?" He asks, not letting himself waver.

Looking to his left, Ryuichi uncrossed his arms when his eyes met with Eiji's. He was far from a mind reader, despite the rumors behind the sharingan's abilities in combat, but anyone could decipher what this situation was like.

'We can get out of here without much trouble.' He thought to himself, hoping the focused expression, and small grin that formed on his face would help communicate something along those lines to Eiji.

 

[Toraono Michino]

It seemed that the two boys were on board which worked out better than she had thought. Kiki was not a fan of hurting kids and them not cooperating would of left her with no choice but to knock them out and change the base location; again.
It wouldn’t have been the first time the Marine Sage in the other room had done something stupid that eventually forced them to find shelter elsewhere. The mere fact that she had lucked out on two kids willing to take part in their plans so far was already making her wonder just how badly he had stirred things up with the local bandits. Dunking a sweet biscuit in her tea she respected them not partaking of the food and took a bite before she got into her little plans. It had been at least two days since she had eaten last and her hunger could only let her be so professional before the two guests.

“Now,” she said with a mouthful of cookie before swallowing, We’re underground rebels, so to speak, and our job fer the last…three years? Has been to hunt down and apprehend anyone who is messing with the local wildlife beyond normal hunting laws.
“Originally it was a job given to my Dad who was a Kumogakure shinobi long time ago. Due to the nature of the job he had to giv’ up everything he had there and go undercover. Somewhere along tha way he fell in luv. I’m a guessin that Kumo don’t remember much about ‘im and figured he probably died. Truth is he found a network of poachers and bandits but due to bein’ in a rock and a hard place because of his family…he couldn’t report back. So, he took care of ‘em all by ‘imself.”

Kiki sighed and looked struck with a sadness as she kept talking about her father. She gave them a whole story on how he was eventually rooted out of their town they grew up in and executed in public as a message. Both her and her twin brother, who were sixteen at the time, knew who did it and why. So they ran away that night to go find power they could bring back and avenge their father with. However they soon learned that the death of one man wasn’t enough to truly avenge anyone or keep the bastards from destroying the natural wildlife. So, they started a small spy network within certain tiny villages dotting through the countryside of Lightning Country. After some hit and miss the duo had managed to work it out to perfection. So much so that to the shinobi village above it’d appear like no more than just their citizens taking out the riffraff without their help. An hour passed by in explaining all of this.

“…and so,” she said through a sip of her fourth cup of tea,
”It’s down to this. We’ve all but cornered Buoko, the biggest illegal fur trader up in deeze hills, but we’ve hit a stump. See only people who goes in or out of the village he runs out of freely are children. All we would need from you is to sneak in, find his house, break in, and steal the original copies of deeze.”
Kiki knocked around a few folders and picked up one buried near the bottom and handed it to them. Inside was the house schematics, the location, best point of entry, and all sorts of other data they may or may not be able to understand. What was important, what needed to be taken, was a small stack of ten pages of a special treaty he was trying to get signed into local law. The regulations on hunting with this law were so loose that driving any number of animals in the area to extinction was more than feasible.
“He been doin’ that kind of thing for years. Change his identity, move to a new village, slowly rise up into a political power in the guise of connecting the village to network of other villages. ‘Den he changes the laws to allow far more poaching than would be normally allowed but just enough to stay under the eye of Kumo. Six villages so far. Despite our best efforts to ward off poachers they all have the law on their side and its been real hard to fight when professional ninja show up…”

 

[Keigo Oen]

Eiji simply watched, as she ate and composed herself he would stand firmly next to Ryuichi. The story that she told them would be something that he didnt and wouldnt understand... but they were rebels. He tried to dissect her words to find deeper meaning. A hidden message. Something. Though, as she spoke of it, it became clear that this was either a ruse to get them to lower their defenses or... this was completely the truth. However, how many more scenarios were there? Could they be Village slashers? Serial Killers? Nah, Eiji didnt think so... not these people. Especially the Mink.

"Dang... Sorry that happened to ya pops.", Eiji would belt out as she would stop to sigh about everything. Though she continued, and The Chocolate Skinned boy found himself looking to Ryuichi from the side of his peripherals. The story seemed to go on, but Eiji was keen to looking like he was enjoying the conversation, as one sided as it seemed to be. 'She drinks tea like its no ones business...' nodding he would find himself perking up at the second side of this story. Though, he did take note to not forget anything she said... he needed to remember as much as possible.

'Poachers... Hm.' nodding again he would roll his shoulders back, "I see. So you kind of work in tandem with Kumogakure... but under the guise of the rebel group?", speaking it outloud he didnt believe it himself but he did his best to piece everything together. "So you need this guy taken care of?", tilting his head he'd look to Ryuichi wondering what his partner was thinking at this moment. Maybe there was something else going on? Who knew... but this was such a pain in Eiji's ass.

Looking at the house schematics, Eiji would formulate a plot, "Oi... This is possible. What say you Ryu?" The Idea was simple enough, but he wondered how guarded this guy's house and property were. Though, if caught, would they be quick to rat out the rebels? It would test their mettle as ANBU Trainees as well, this was actually a good mission in practice for the duo. Eiji would await Ryu's answer before going through with it...

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

Ryuichi leaned up against a nearby wall during the woman's long explanation of her current situation, and her father's past actions. He was listening carefully, making sure not to mishear any information given to him. Something about the woman's current situation seemed to resonate with Ryuichi, remembering all the things his mother left behind for him, telling about her life as a ninja. Of course, he didn't decide to become one entirely on that basis, but the simple fact that it influenced and inspired him so much let him understand the woman's ambition, and hopes to do what her father loved doing.

Ryuichi didn't speak much at all, only really giving nods, and the occasional small question like "So this is still technically under kumo's orders?", though that question was answered eventually as time went on.

When Eiji held the papers to Ryuichi, he held up a single hand seal, using the snapshot jutsu in order to have it ingrained into his memory. Afterwards he let it grow silent for a few seconds, pondering the structure of the building. He would then hold up a finger to the woman. "Sure, I'll do it. But in return I want your word that whatever laws you break will be for nothing but a benefit for the area. We still don't know why that guy had those eggs...probably stolen." He said, hoping his partner was in the same boat. "We're still ninja in training. We can't just ignore it..." With that, Ryuichi looked between Eiji, and the spy woman Kiki once more, awaiting some kind of answer.

He had no idea what he may have caused. For all he knows, that was on the level of a life threat, and they wouldn't be walking out alive.

 

[Toraono Michino]

Her hands clapped together happily one time as the two youths agreed to help them. This news, this sheer luck was something that brought tears to her eyes briefly before she shook them away. The two boys agreeing to the mission meant that after nearly six years of fighting they would finally get to rest; if everything worked out.
“I promise that won’t ever happen again! In fact if we can complete this mission we won’t need to be rebels anymore. We can finally rest an-”
A groan from the back room echoed down into the chamber where the three were discussing their plan. The young egg thief came stumbling in with a rather nasty lump on his head and his eyes squinting tight against the lights. The large mink had his head poking from out behind the sage’s hip looking down at Kiki with worry. It was almost as if the creature’s face said “I’m sorry I tried to stop him, please don’t hate me.” The moment the woman’s useless brother poked his aching head into the room she shot a powerful glare at the both of them. Mysteriously the other shoe was already in her hand.
“Oi! Useless brother! I told yah all you had to do was wait a couple of days and we’d have food! Why the hell did you steal eggs from the bandits again?”
“They were stolen first!” he replied softly, almost in a whisper.
“And did ya give any back to the one who was theifed? No. It’s bad enough we have to hide out in deez caves from the mercenary shinobi but you keep stirring up the local bandit clans too! How are we suppose’d to work like dat?!”

The brother raised his hand up to respond but had nothing. He only bowed his head and nodded with a deep sigh.
“Now since you’re the one stirrin up tha bee hive, you get to protect dez yougins on their mission. Also, you,” she pointed the shoe at the Mink, “When dey finish the mission I want you to give them a proper reward. Non of this ‘here, have some eggs, we’re even now’ nonsense. It’s thinkin bout food like dat, dat be the reason we in dis pit. No go on, shoo. I need use of the bathroom.” She stood up quickly and pushed pass the man, hard, and removed herself from the presence of the two Kumogakure representatives. Hiro waved at the two nervously and but didn’t seem to be able to speak so his friend stood in for him,
“I apologize for him, he’s…an odd one. I promise he’s good in a fight and won’t let you down but, I pray there will be no need for that. Come this way…”

The mink and his human lead the two kids back to the small cave pond they had emerged from. Hiro silently placed his hands together and began to shift through a few dozen seals like a mantra of some sort before the amount of chakra he had built up could nearly be tasted. Slowly a strange transformation occurred as the young man before them began to grow a sleek coat of fur identical to his partner’s and his face became slightly elongated. When he opened his eyes the man held a controlled calm as he tapped the surface of the water with his knuckles like knocking on a door. A whirlpool opened in his wake revealing a set of stairs made from the water. Energy swirled through the cave curving through the fluids leading into the lake so that traveling through the darkness of the lake bottom wouldn’t be as hard. The sage turned back towards the boys and nodded before diving into the pond beside the tunnel. Within seconds his body darted away from the opening held together with nature chakra and into the lake. His animal companion made a nose of alarm trying to make him stop and explain before darting off, but alas, he was left to explain everything to Eiji and Ryu. Again.

“This tunnel’s end is in the documents you were shown. From here on out we won’t be able to communicate as our part of the job forces us to remain at a distance but if either of you fall into trouble we will know and abandon the mission to save you. That has always been our priority and, unfortunately, it’s also why we haven’t been very successful. If you two can pull this off for us though…the Wild will forever be in your debt. I’ll promise to personally see to it both your names will be known to ever animal from here to Kumo! …but seriously please be careful.”The mink adjusted his belt and rapier before diving in after his master.

The journey through the tunnel and the darkness of the lake would take about ten minutes if they ran the entire way. After about half way through the tunnel the way back started to close off and the way forward opened up more meaning that there was no turning back now. Stairs would suddenly appear before the duo before an opening in the lake allowed them to walk out unseen. The sun above high as the day had gone well into noon. About a hundred yards to their East was the village mentioned in the briefing with kids, and only kids, running around the entrance of the gate. Posted at the gates was a number of adults patrolling to keep out what they assumed would be bandits. About five-hundred yards to their North a splash was heard as the sage and his companion flew out of the lake and into woods that sprinkled throughout the countryside.

The mission was on.

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

Hearing that these guys wouldn't go and do anything illegal if they had their way was more than enough for Ryuichi to agree to get the job done. However, before the woman could even finish her statement they were met with the two that had gotten him and Eiji into this in the first place. Seeing the comically sized bumps on the man's head was enough to make Ryuichi snort. Their bickering didn't exactly get a different reaction, having Ryuichi simply lean back and watch in slight amusement, with most of the previous tension being set aside for the moment.

He stood straight once more when they were passed off to the creature, and man duo. Ryuichi simply followed when he was told to, looking over to Eiji to make sure he was doing fine. 'what's going on in your head my guy...?' he thought, keeping up with the mink.

What he saw after that was something one would expect a performer to do, or something a mechanical ride would do to wow people for their hard earned money. Looking through the tunnel of water Ryuichi could see fish going around if as if nothing was happening, and it was nothing more than a need for a detour.

The man then simply....transformed and swam off, leaving the rapier-wielding mammal behind. Upon hearing his explanation, Ryuichi simply nodded, and knelt down. "We don't need our names to be spread around like that. We're doing this for kumo." Ryuichi said, pulling a turquoise cloth that was tied at his ankle. Getting up, he tied wrapped it around his forehead, tugging hard on both ends to finish a knot on the side of his head.

Ryuichi then walked out of the cave, into the tunnel. Once he reached the other side, seeing the location given to them. Ryuichi didn't go as far as to activate his gifted eyes, or to draw his sword. Such things would just put a target on their heads. Looking to Eiji he simply asked, "So I guess we start by...going through the front gate?"