The Summary[Private]

[Nanjirou Soku]

The kunoichi winded through the bustling streets drawing eyes here and there to her many injuries now all patched up and her right arm which was in a cast. The misson had not been without it's price and in her non-injured hand held a docket full of papers, the misson report. Arriving at the foot of the Hyuuga household, the kunoichi beckoned one of the faceless who would be milling about."Hyuuga Yukio, if you please. Tell him it's Santaru Soku."With that, the kunoichi leant against a supporting wall closing her eyes for a brief second as a jolt of pain shot uo her shoulder. It was still quite a challenge getting used to the sling but she was getting better at it. She had barely escaped those damn clowns but it had been worth it in the end. In that folder contained some very sensitive information, names, locations, people and pictures. Sure, she had paid for it dearly at the cost of a broken arm and many bruises that littered her face not to mention her back still hurt from the time one of the jokers had quite simply threw her down like a rag doll but in the end, she was alive. "Quit complaining like a old person, Soku. You're fine."

She said reassuring herself. Complaining was for those not suited to this life. Sure, people could srgue she might get wind up seriously hurt one day but that was the ANBU. Great risk for essential information to secure the harmony of the village. In this case, the risk was a few broken limbs in exchange for some valuable information, in her opinion, that was a pretty valid deal. Gritting her teeth as yet another jolt of pain introducted herself, Soku wondered if it would better to to simply find a seat somewhere, ease some of the pain. It wasnt that it hurt a lot, the occasional jolts were somewhat annoying. Her eyes landed on a little fly buzzing here and about landing on her shoulder. They had flies around here? That was just great. She tapped her foot waiting for the Captain to arrive, hopefully not too long.
[Req. Yukio.]

 

[Shirai Sadao]

Hearing why had been summoned caused the Hyuuga to move with haste to meet his Student coming to a stop before her eyes going wide seeing the condition she was in. "Please come in, tell me what happened I thought i sent you on a simple information gathering mission." Guiding her inside the household the man waved a hand to two servents waiting inside sending them to make warm tea and food for the Santaru before taking her to the main hall of the household preparing a seat before sitting down himself.

"So given the state your in I'm guessing you ran into more than you bargained for however pray tell what was it you found. With everything that's been happening while you were away I can assume but would rather it not be true." Waiting patiently he gave a moment for her to take a moment of rest and get comfortable before she spoke wondering what tale she had to tell about the things she'd seen hoping it wasn't anything too serious but being who he was Yukio had come to expect the worst from such situation.

Taking a deep sigh he needed to let himself calm down first, not all too pleased seeing one of his Students torn up as she was. "I am glad your ok however, though as ANBU we do dangerous missions like this every day it doesn't mean i wish to see any of my students fall in the line of duty safe to say its the last thing i want."

 

[Nanjirou Soku]

It was a heart-felt relief to see her teacher again even if it was in this condition. Nodding, she followed him inside taking a seat which he had prepared wincing as a jolt of pain started again with the adjusting of her arm."Well.. it certainly was more than simple. If I had known the caliber of these foes,
perhaps things would not be as bad. These were no mere bandits, that much is certain. The man we questioned, perhaps he was under the impression as such but they claimed to be Frost shinobi, that was my first cause for concern."She looked gratefully to the tea and food that were presented before them and before continuing, took a sip allowing the liquid to clear her throat."Now..the thing that really worried me is when I disocvered the contents of a caravan that they were guarding. It contained upon loads and loads of weapons of all types and sorts. One of the Frost Sennin, a dangerous kunoichi claimed they were being used to supply their army which also further shocked me. I do not know if they had the capabilty to raise that many men to make it a army but she made one purpose very clear,
their intention was to wipe the Leaf off the face of the planet."Digging into her vest, she pulled out a file folder bound with leather straps and the seal of the ANBU on it. She handed it over to Yukio whom if upon opening it, would find specified details and descriptions of these strange shinobi.

"Inside, I managed to jot down a misson report when I got back. It includes more specifics on the cargo of the caravan I discovered and the description of these shinobi, one of them is very odd."Soku paused a moment recalling the peculiar puppet man that had appeared. He was indeed very well-built and the casue for most of her injuries."Some of them were...odd. I had a brief skirmish with the kunoichi upon being disocovered. That did not last long however, another one of them appeared. His appearance was..odd almost puppet-like in a sense..sort of reminds me of Maru. He was commonly addressed by the title "Chief" and he kept calling the kunoichi "My Sennin". The combat I had with him...it was...I do not know how I escaped. She glanced at her arm cast grimacing as the flashback of the memory came to her. Soku hated losing, hated failing a misson but in that instance, the odds were against her. What was one to do? She could fight, struggle but as the enemy showed her, sometimes that was not enough.

The Santaru looked at Yukio, her sharingan eyes gleaming with a sort of ferocity."I know not when they intend to carry out their horrible deeds but Sensei, these are no mere two-bit thugs. They are a fully functional village. The Sennin kept going on about a Kage and a war council. My inner sense tells me these Frost are more than we think. This is a threat, they mean buisness. I gathered what I could,
I would have done more but they were...forgive me...I tried"She took another sip of the warm tea, the need to speak failing her as the cloud of failure hung over her. It just a simple recon assignment but her cover had been blown. How that Sennin had discovered her, was beyond her."My cover was blown..perhaps by my own error. I had wanted to investigwte the contents of that caravan and that was when this Sennin appeared and believe me, she is one crazy woman."That talk about peeling her skin still made her shudder. Secretly though, Soku wanted nothing more than to plunge a cold steel sword into her shoulder. She gripped the hilt of her short blade tightly feeling reassured in the warmth of its grasp.

 

[Shirai Sadao]

Leaning forward at the word of the frosts presence during the mission resting his hands on the desk before speaking his tone was serious it was quite clear he would not joking while talking about this subject. "Yes I know of who you speak, They were the ones who took our Sennin from us and the next steps we take will take the course of the branch and village as a whole." Rising to his feet the Hyuuga turned to face his student gesturing for her to follow him as he stepped out into the hallway. "You've done more during this mission than I could have possibly asked from you and there are a few things that must be done before we continue."

Taking a moment to Adjust his Kimono the area they walked was full of the household guards the number of which only seemed to increase the further the man walked turning his head back from time to time to make sure the AiT was still following him coming to stop at a set of sliding doors waving away the guards to let them pass going through a series of locks as he spoke. "We must prepare for the worst and so I bring you here this will be the only time you see this room for a long time so please...choose carefully."

Pulling the doors to the side what lay behind it was, safe to say, rather excessive rows of weapon racks with numerous types of armament everything from bows to short blades, gloves and knives. "First off I give you this option now, Choose one to add to your own arsenal. I do this to help you improve, we all have hobbies after all and this is mine each weapon crafted with my Jutsu to fulfil a specific task in mind." Leaning against the wall there was a brief moment of pause to allow her to look around the place closing his eyes before his tone grew softer.

"Second of all, this is a congratulations given all you have done to get to this point, the training and the mission at hand I hereby give you the title of ANBU your promotion comes with its own series of risks and rewards but I hope you like what you hear. So tell me what do you think of all this?"

[Soku given the rank of ANBU]

 

[Nanjirou Soku]

She stood with the Hyuuga following him as he took a most interesting path, the amount of armes guards seemed to multiply in number as they proceeded."Where are we...?"Her question was soon answered for her as they came to a set of doors that slid open after much lock-opening. Whatever this place was, it was heavily guarded. Soon enough, they made it inside and Soku took a moment to take it all in. Yukio literally had a entire armory in here to supply a full force. Weapons ranged from everything to bows to knives to swords. She could select a weapon to hold onto if she desired so. The Santaru was still trying to comprehend what she was seeing."This must have taken a while for you to amass such a collection..."She mused her hand trailing over the weapons. Soon enough, her eyes fell on a short knife the excellent crafted steel of the blade glinting out at her as the Santaru handled it with care, the weight of the handle just right as she gave it a little swing. The female gave a little nod in her teachers direction."You wouldn't understand how indebted I am to you. Thank you."

However, it seemed like there were yet more surprises to follow. His next words, the Santaru was not expecting at all. Slowly, she raised her head to meet his, her features at a complete loss how to react to this sudden news.Me? A fully fledged ANBU?"Sensei, I.....I....thank you."She stammered out. Today had perhaps been the best day yet. Of course, with the promotion came more risks but Soku was willing to live up to that."I will not fail you in this role, I promise."She said. A part of her wanted to reach out and hug the older man but for some odd reason, Soku went with a small smile. Perhaps she was still attempting to overcome the shock of what had just happened. For once, the kunoichi felt like she had contributed something for the good of the village. It felt like a personal achievment.

The girl nodded finally soaking it all in and took a final glance at the knife."What do I think of all this? It is a lot to take in, that much I can tell you. Granted, I know a rank up comes with more demanding expectations and roles but I am willing to take it on. After all, Sensei, I didn't get here on my own. You helped me along and for that, I am grateful. If we hadn't met that day in that alleyway, I don't know what I would be doing right now."She said recalling the moment the AiT had run into Yukio by sheer chance, it seemed like. Time sure did fly.

 

[Shirai Sadao]

Turning to face the Santaru there was a gentle smile on the Hyuuga's features almost those of a proud father looking upon his daughter walking over before giving a slight pat on her head. "No need for thanks you earned this where I could keep training you for months or years all that time cannot pass without proper reward given for your efforts. Your growth never ceased to amaze me and if I must say anything its I'm sorry for not giving you this sooner." Taking a few strides to walk through the room his eyes gazed across the assortment of weapons and gear picking out a ragged pair of gloves hidden amongst the various forms of gear.

"We all start small, I am no different in this room are my humble beginnings where i first started out just as you did. I know the trails and tasks we are all required to go through to get to where we are now and you have done is more than I could have ever asked for." Taking a few paces towards the door after placing the gloves back with the rest he slid the door to the side gesturing for the ANBU to leave the room with him.

"Just know from here on out you are more than welcome in the Hyuuga household should you ever need counsel or advice. I entrust you to train those who come after as my duty to train you is now done, for the time being, however, should you wish to learn more i am always able to do so." It was an offer the Clanhead had never given out to others outside the clan but in his eyes Soku had earned to right to walk amongst the Hyuuga clan.

 

[Nanjirou Soku]

She smiled gratefully at the show of praise her mentor showed her feeling his hands brush through her hair briefly. Glancing at the wealon once more, she slid it into a sheath which clicked neatly into place. Following Yukio out of the room, the doors swung shut behind them concealing its contents once again."Don't be sorry. I needed a mentor and you fulfilled that role."She said following the Hyuuga. The Santaru girl knew full well now that this role had been bestowed on her, with it came great responsibilty and risk but there was also the chance for oppurtinity. She musn't wast this chance. Looking at the ANBU mask which hung from her waist, she slid it out and turned it over examining the finer details of the item. It resembled something much, much more than a mere mask. It was a symbol, of hope and consolation. This mask signified her place in the branch, a family that only the best of the best are fit to enter into. She felt honored to be apart of that family.

Stopping at the entrance to the clan compound, she turned and faced the Hyuuga."Once again, I thank you. I may not be that small little firecracker anymore you envisoned but you'll still be the strongest, wisest, captain I met."She said cracking a smile as the wind breeze began to pick uo and the storm clouds began to flood the evening sky."Until next time....Father."The last word slipped out as a thought came to her. She tilted her head at Yukio as if anticipating his reaction to her statement but soon enough, there was a sudden roar of lightning and the Santaru was gone, the storm clouds fading away as quickly as they had come. Today had been a interesting day indeed.
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[Shirai Sadao]

Her words struck home leaving the Hyuuga in to stay in the room glancing across all the old weapons and creations that never saw use until the most dire times settled within the leaf village taking a seat among-st them before pulling a clear table to the side. "Yes....a mentor...if only you have known what I've done in this life then maybe things would be different but that's something for another day." He muttered the words, hearing them trail from his lips in defeat wondering how things would really turn out these days with all that had happened.

As the metallic substance began to form between his hands the Hyuuga had other things to focus on now, between frost and the students very little time could be given over to his own wishes a dead look settling in the mans eyes. It was a look of exhaustion, defeat a man who wondered how much of a difference he was making as the seed of doubt latched on to the back of his mind taking root as his mind began to wander. This would be the thought that consumed him for the next few hours as he continued his work remaining in silence as the guards outside moved into position slowly closing the door on their clan head.

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