What Evil Lurks in the Burning Sands? [Chuunin Exam]

[Takahashi Aki]

Spoiler

Michino
Strength 29
Dexterity 19
Arcana 23
Evasion 23
Perception 29
Sanity: 100%

Naoki
Strength 24
Dexterity 18
Arcana 21
Evasion 21
Perception 18
Sanity: 100%

Chiyo
Strength 13
Dexterity 12
Arcana 10
Evasion 12
Perception 8+3
Sanity: 95%

Chiyoko
Strength ??
Dexterity ??
Arcana ??
Evasion ??
Perception ??
Sanity: -166% -> We begin to successfully divide by zero.
Sanity^2: -661%
Something evil is at work here.

[7:35 PM] Melkor|Sousuke: Chiyo using perception(edited)
[7:35 PM] Melkor|Sousuke: t!dice 1d20
[7:35 PM] BOTTatsumaki:
:game_die: Rolling Dice!
[d20 : 18]
In the end, the result was: 18
[7:36 PM] Melkor|Sousuke: Mako's legendary action to go off(edited)
[7:36 PM] Melkor|Sousuke: t!dice 1d100
[7:36 PM] BOTTatsumaki: :game_die: Rolling Dice! [d100 : 89] In the end, the result was: 89
[7:50 PM] Melkor|Sousuke: Naoki, the sound from before
[7:50 PM] Melkor|Sousuke: t!dice 1d20
[7:50 PM] BOTTatsumaki: :game_die: Rolling Dice![d20 : 13] In the end, the result was: 13

Chiyo. A dangerous thought entered your mind. You think about your proctor. You think about your own abilities. You have heard tales of the war hero Masashi Mako. You know of her to have prophet eyes which are very much like that of the Uchiha clan. You don't quite know the specifics of how her eyes work, but you have a feeling in this. This knowledge is something most people carry with them. You second guess yourself and pay specific attention to your proctor. You know that the pupils of a member of the Uchiha clan can change, you know that they turn into yangs. You think it very odd that her pupils came ovals instead of a circle. You think long and hard about it. You focus for a moment longer, at first it doesn't seem like Mako is noticing this. She is far too busy smoking her cigarette and she is off in a world of her own. Then, then her head turns. She realizes that you are looking directly at her, and something of a chill runs down your spine. It's very off-putting, a singular thought is put into your mind. Something is wrong. Something is very wrong. Aside from the bodies beneath the glass, something about your proctor is not fitting the card. Do you mention it to your team? Do you keep this feeling to yourself? Do you perhaps even dare to make a move against her?

Naoki. You squeeze Chiyo's shoulder. You try to reassure her. You might have made her feel a bit better, but you're distracted. The sound from earlier is heard again. This time you're able to figure out where it's coming. The sound is a bang, in fact you hear three bangs go off. You're not entirely sure, but you think the sound be gunfire? From your time in the pits as a fighter, you've heard gunfire go off. People sometimes get real nasty and odd when a bet doesn't go your way. This isn't the first time you've heard the sound of gunfire go off, but this would be perhaps the first time you've heard it go off in such rapid succession. Your ears aren't ringing, which is indeed for the best. Something hits you in the mind. Why is there gunfire going off in Inferno? Who is even capable of using a gun? Your mind begins to run wildly. When you encountered a demon in this terrain before you realize they're more used to using magic. They would have no need for a firearm, which is probably meant there was some poor sap out there. Why in tarnation would there be another individual out here, and more importantly were they still alive?

Michino. Doubt crosses your mind. You wonder if this was indeed the same Mako. Well, she was indeed smoking up a storm, literally. You remind yourself easily enough that this is a test, but this is a very intense test sent out in one of the worst parts of Wind Country. You considered the saying that fear is wisdom in the face of death. You settle down with this. There was no real point in trying to do something really out there, and then getting killed for it. You decide that perhaps now would be a time to make sure you're not under an illusions. You form the hand seals and... everything is okay. It's not like some tremendous fog is lifted from you. No. You just see what you've seen before you. Take from this what you will, is the notion that this is real and things seem fine? Or the fact that you're quite literally standing with company in a place called Inferno.

 

[Samejima]

A series of thoughts occurred to Naoki in rapid succession when she heard the sound again--and this time she recognized them. "Gunshots?" she muttered absently to herself. Why would there be gunshots out here? Was another team sent out here for their exam too? Or... "It's gunshots! Coming from there, sounds like there's more than one gunner." It's gotta be more than one right? I've never heard a single one being fired that quickly. It's probably some merchants or something who haven't figured out this place is dangerous...

Naoki shifted uncomfortably. While every part of her was itching to go help the supposed merchant out there, she couldn't leave without first asking if it would be alright to assess the situation. "It might be a caravan or something, unlikely as it is that they would try and cross this place... Should we go help them? Chances are they're not exactly equipped to defend themselves against the demons out here."

 

[Toraono Michino]

The Toraono’s hands formed the seals, chakra pulsed through his veins into the symbol of power formed by his hands that was supposed to reflected it back through his body in a wave. The spell was something akin to a quick reboot for the chakra system and it was one of the best tools to resist and remove the illusions of ninja. Either demons were on a different level of power than was able to conceive or this really was an abnormally hot part of the desert. His sky blue eyes squinted hard against the glass field and tried to put everything they knew as a group in order.

There was something horrible underneath. It was hotter that the devil’s chair. It was too big to try adding a layer of seal on top of. They weren’t under an illusion.

Was it a prison? If it was why did Mako drag them all out here for? Thinking back to the start this was supposed to be a scouting mission anyways. They found a place of unspeakable terror that they could send for an actual team to evaluate. There also didn’t seem to be much sign of this Arch Demon the group looked for but Michino wasn’t so much of a fool to believe that he wasn’t out there; probably watching them.
The deeply tanned youth started to speak up that perhaps they should pull back and report what they had seen out here before they all dropped of heat exhaustion, when the blind female of their group spoke up frantically about gunshots. The tall youth hadn’t heard the tell-tale pops of chakra crystal/black powder igniting and had to question what she might have heard. Yet so far the girl had seemed on the ball.

So now two fronts laid on them. Go further into the heat and try to help whatever fired the shots in the first place or pull back and report their findings. Before he could even speak the teenager could feel his noble heart overpowering his reasoning,
“Then at least one of us needs to go out there asap, but I also feel someone else needs to return to Suna and report what we’ve seen. I believe this field is a prison and keeping trapped whatever evils lurk below. The four of us alone aren’t enough to seal or deal with the creatures underneath, at least I’d imagine.
“I vote on myself going to help with the gunshots, Naoki to go with me as a guide, while Chiyo and Chiyoko return to Suna quickly to requisition reinforcements to this area.”

 

[Chiyo]

For a fraction of a second when Chiyoko turned her eyes toward the girl, her eyes widened in shock. What the hell was going on here? First demons and Kami knows what else, now something was going on with their proctor? The corners of her full lips turned down in a frown, her golden eyes narrowing as she held the old woman's gaze for what seemed, to Chiyo, like an eternity. Finally the other two members of the party broke the spell, and she turned to look at each of them in turn, her mind running over what she had seen and the others' observations and suggestions until Michino suggested they split up and that she return to the village with Mako.

Hell no! Absolutely not! Chiyo would closer to the boy, shaking her head, her eyes wide again. "No, splitting up sounds like a terrible idea - that lame trope never ends well." Her eyes would then range over their surroundings. Meanwhile, her mind worked overtime, trying to figure out a way she might alert at least Michino, to what she had seen. He at least seemed to know the woman fairly well, so he might have better insight into what she had seen. Her fingers would wrap around the hem of her dress, turning slowly on the spot until she was facing away from the old woman and toward the tall boy. She would stare at him intently, and if he were to take a moment to look at her, he would see her lips form the shape of the words: Something's wrong with Mako.

[MFT | 267]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Spoiler

Michino
Strength 29
Dexterity 19
Arcana 23
Evasion 23
Perception 29
Sanity: 100%

Naoki
Strength 24
Dexterity 18
Arcana 21
Evasion 21
Perception 18
Sanity: 100%

Chiyo
Strength 13
Dexterity 12
Arcana 10
Evasion 12
Perception 8+3
Sanity: 93%

Chiyoko
Strength ??
Dexterity ??
Arcana ??
Evasion ??
Perception ??
Sanity: -166% -> We begin to successfully divide by zero.
Sanity^2: -616%
.

[8:18 PM] Melkor|Sousuke: Psychic event to go off
[8:18 PM] Melkor|Sousuke: t!dice 1d100
[8:18 PM] BOTTatsumaki: Rolling Dice! [d100 : 47] In the end, the result was: 47

Naoki. The sound of a fire arm silences for a moment. It seems very likely that the person who probably emptied the clip was either dead or... Bang. Bang. Bang, Needed time to reload. The notion that this person was even capable of reloading and firing off another round of bullets to be somewhat impressive. You come to the following conclusions, this person or persons were in fact not amateurs. You mentioned a caravan. Indeed very probable. You hear another three rounds being shot. Oddly enough you hear a squealing sound. It was not human, and it did not sound like any animal that you know. You recall the fight you had in Inferno. You make the connection that perhaps it is the demon who is reeling at this moment. You cannot be certain. You have yet to hear a human scream. Your companion Michino makes the suggestion that he should go with you. Pointing him in the direction of where the gunfire could be heard from was easily enough. Luckily it is not across the sea of glass that seems to have stumped you and your companions. It is a little distance for normal people, but you yourself are not really normal. You're something else entirely different.

Chiyo speaks up about the party breaking up. It's something she's not entirely comfortable with and for good reason. Splitting the party was indeed dangerous. Mako's eyes would shift back over to Chiyo. The difference this time was that it was an intense or solid gaze. It was more of a passing gesture really. During this time Chiyo would rotate her body away from Mako. Chiyo would not be the only one who on occasion wanted clearly nothing to do with Mako. Chiyoko, the daughter of Mako, who somewhat had a similar name to Chiyo also adopted this behaviour. "I'm more than capable of going back to Sungakure by myself. Go take Chiyo, the two of you. Go find out who the bloody hell is firing a gun in the desert, and find out why it's not clogging."<i></i> Mako would make a curious gesture. She folded her arm, as if she were going to fold her arms across her chest like a person would if they were not entirely pleased. "I'll be back in a few hours then. No less than one, no more than four... and that's considering I don't run into anything vile out there."<i></i> Chiyo begins to feel something at the mind chipping away. Was it how Mako just spoke to her or was it how she was dealing with the whole thing in general?

 

[Toraono Michino]

The Toraono closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. This was what all the training he had been pushing himself through lately had been for. Now was the chance he was looking for to step up and prove himself strong enough to take care of others and lead. Ever since the incident a few years ago that had shattered his mind and forced him to quit being a shinobi he had dreamed of a day when he could prove he was better. With as much will as he could muster the young male formed a few seals and used his chakra to trick his body into ignoring the heat of the desert for just a little bit so he could prepare to run towards the sound of battle as soon as his teammate pointed it out.
The heat of their home was intense. Even as he tried to hone his mind into believing that he wasn’t hot something in the air seemed to hit his focus and break the illusion he attempted to cast on himself. The boy frowned. It was going to be an intense journey towards whatever the sound in their current state. Running through the heat was only going to drain stamina unless they could figure out a way around it and he had two; one of them he was not okay with, and that was open up his demon throttle a little. There would be no good in using his powers and revealing his true nature right now as it would no doubt be a little bit of a disaster for their trust.

As ‘Chino was going through some stretches to loosen up his leg muscles to move across the sand the plan he had laid up got changed. Though it was really weird to see how much Chiyo seemed to be reactant about going back home with their leader it seemed the problem solved itself as the older woman said she was more than enough to return. The teenager knew this was more than true and figured it probably meant this was where the three Genin needed to learn on how to step up on their own, coordinate with strangers, and overcome the new obstacle.
The moment everyone was moving towards their goal the Toraono slowed down and moved a little closer to the girl he had met some months ago and asked as they ran,
“Why were you freaking out back there? I know you come from a tougher background than what that was…is the heat getting to you?”

 

[Samejima]

Nodding at Chiyo's mention of a trope but not gathering what she mouthed (Naoki wasn't great at lip reading), she continued to listen to those around her. While she was a little disturbed about not being able to figure out a clear plan of action, the least she could do is listen and try to form some coherent action to take. "Alright, I guess we're heading out there together. The noise came from this direction," she pointed, and would go whenever she figured everyone was ready.

Naoki flinched, faltering a little as she ran but recovering relatively quickly, when she heard the squeal. She rubbed at her ears to try and soothe them. "Oh ow... Ugh, what was that? Sounded like..." I've never heard something that ear-piercing, but... "Was that one of the demons?" She steeled her resolve, despite the bubbling pit of dread in her gut. This was not the right action to take for self-preservation. What was wrong with her? Why were they running headfirst into an unknown danger without collecting any kind of information? The little voice in her head that was usually very quiet with its objections to her putting herself in danger was getting increasingly louder, and there was no stopping the trajectory at which she and her teammates were going. The peer pressure of wanting to seem useful kept her going, but Naoki was, in truth, absolutely petrified. Why haven't I gotten over this stupid weakness... I'm a Sunan shinobi for cryin' out loud! Why... Why am I so scared right now?! She was so engrossed in her cycle of self-deprecation and fear that she didn't notice a good chunk of what was going on around her, unable to pay much attention to whatever her teammates were talking about.

 

[Chiyo]

The teenager visibly relaxed a little, sighing softly as the woman said she could return to the village on her own. Even with everything else going on, she felt much more comfortable heading toward whatever was out there without having to worry about one of the members of their group being possessed or something. As she listened to the woman's words, her eyes narrowed and she pursed her lips. Something very wrong was going on, but what could they do without knowing more? Her eyes drifted slowly to the side as her mind turned over their situation, and she was hardly paying attention when the others started to move.

After a moment or two, the sound of crunching sand broke into her daze and she shook her head to clear it, chancing a last glance at the old woman before running after the pair. Luckily Michino slowed down a little and she was able to catch up easily, falling into stride beside him as he spoke. Chiyo would shake her head once again, she was obviously much more shaken by what was going on than she had thought. "I-...I'm not really sure, but I saw something weird in Chiyoko's eye before..." The girl would turn to look at him, a little hesitantly, hoping she wouldn't see anything like she had with Chiyoko. "I mean...obviously I'm familiar with the fact that certain abilities alter the appearance of the user's eyes, but I've never seen or heard about anything like it. Her pupil elongated slightly into an oval, have you heard of anything like that?" Of this the girl was certain, in the process of her research into her own abilities she had learned much about the other ocular techniques, and this didn't fit anything she had read.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The three of them made their way through the lands of Inferno. The land burned and burned. As they made their way next to the glass lake on the side, it was not unusual to hear the crackling of fire or the sight of flame. It was truly a place that was the place of nightmares. Some religions claimed that there was a place where the souls of evil people were sent to by the high powers to pay for their crimes. The further they travelled the more and more things became absurd. There were series of the blackest sand, and in some places there were spots of crimson sand. In other places the sand almost seemed like ash. Was it a simple trick of the mind? No. This was Inferno. There were reasons why this place was on blackout status by the Sungakuran government, and few were sent in there. In this one could come to a simple conclusion, that they were trusted, and trusted not to lose their mind in this ghoulish and frightening land.

Naoki. You recover from the sound. The best thing is that you did not lose your equilibrium. As you travel closer the sound, you begin to hear words and a voice. The voice was male, and did not belong to Michino. The voice was of an older man. It was a murmur of sorts, sometimes containing profanities. The individual mutters about being lucky and having enough ammunition. You hear a series of clicking noise, and the sound of metallic shards hitting the ground. You hear the sound of something spinning, and you make the connection. The individual is reloading their firearm.

Michino and Chiyo. The two of you discuss the conditioning of the latter. Chiyo explains out loud what she had seen. The conversation would come short to an end as the travelling trio would come across the source of the sounds and the subject of their investigation. For Michino, he would perhaps be stuck with the absurdity of something from 'Pretend Wizards' coming true. Michino, you of all people, would be able to identify the type or the profession of the individual that was before you. The Mystic Gunman. For a moment you consider pinching yourself. The individual you see has a hat, has a gun, and a long coat. The unappealing thing for the three of you is the smell. You smell the stench of demon blood, and it smells quite awful. Secondly the individual is covered in blood, but it is not his blood oddly enough. The blood is not human blood, as ... violet would be a very disturbing colour for blood. The individual eyes three of you wearily. Friend. Foe? Fiend? That is the foremost question that comes to mind. Michino, you consider the hours playing with Judori. If this person were a Mystic Gunman, the gimmick was these people had elemental bullets. For Chiyo and Naoki, you both wonder how this person has survived this long out here. The individual is sweating profusely, but it's not from the heat. It's more than likely from the fight.

 

[Toraono Michino]

While the Toraono listened intently to the girl running next to him his mind swam. The heat was really starting to get to him as they picked up their core temperatures to move across the desert. To even walk across a long sanded plane was hard enough but for the people of Suna it was everyday life, however running was still a task trained on the village’s military. Chances were if you were in a desert fleeing from a Suna shinobi they were going to catch you. Yet despite the training Michino found a hard time getting his footing even with the help of chakra. It was as if something was messing directly with their chakra coils.
Before he could respond to Chiyo and explain that it was probably just the desert heat and the woman’s natural morbidity that was causing her brain to play tricks when his blue eyes fell upon a sight that made his heart skip a beat.

For a brief moment, a second in time, the teenager didn’t feel the heat. He didn’t feel the sweat sticking what little clothing he wore to his flesh, he didn’t feel the wavering feeling of his head getting too heavy from the heat and lack of fluids, nor did he feel the sting of the sweat slipping in and out of his right eye as the heat forced fluids out of his body. He couldn’t believe what his eyes were showing him as a blissful gust of wind chose that moment to cool the three Genin and make the long coat of the stranger billow out to show off a lone gun holstered and the other in his hand.
The teenager stopped dead in his tracks and stared for a moment trying to wrap his mind around the situation when the smell hit him. It was immediately nauseating and he had to swallow down his gag reflex to keep from vomiting. It was bad enough his body was suffering from the heat and starting to dehydrate; now there was an ungodly smell.

“We- oh Kami,” the Toraono moved his hand to call out to the stranger but quickly recovered from the smell and tried to talk through his hand, “We’re desert militants from the South, we come in peace…unless of course you share kin with the beasts laying on the ground which I, for my own reasons, have high doubts that you are.

 

[Samejima]

Naoki started to gradually slow down as soon as she heard the mutterings, eventually positioning herself a foot or two behind Michino. Her inner sense of wanting to protect these younger kids was overshadowed by her need to stay safe and have someone else in the crosshairs. Wary of the man before her, nauseated by the smells and heat around her, she felt her mind begin to turn to thoughts of giving up and just accepting life as a genin for the rest of her career.

Thankfully, Michino had a more stable head on his shoulders, and hearing him speak to the man with such poise made her grit her teeth in shame as she attempted to clear her mind of the various distractions in the environment. Did he kill all these... things? she wondered, fearfully, as the sounds of the wind and the conversation before her illuminated the area and the corpses strewn about. She wasn't about to try and speak here, as her state of mind was far too muddled to try and form coherent questions outside of "what the hell happened here" of which the answer was very clearly apparent.

 

[Chiyo]

As her muddled mind struggled to overcome the heat exhaustion, she focused on what was in front of them and keeping her footing on the soft terrain. After running for a while, she finally caught a glimpse of what looked, to her, almost like a light show in the distance. As they grew closer, she watched several violet lights dancing furiously around one bright red light. Periodically, one would flicker and fall before fading away completely. They were still a few miles out when she finally worked out what she was seeing and gasped, a hand clapping over her mouth and nose. Just in time too, as she caught a whiff of the awful smell that had surrounded them in an instant. "Oh my Kami..." she whispered, focusing her vision on the last grotesque figure as it fell to the sands, it's life force pulsating slowly before fading completely.

They had finally come upon the cause of the commotion and she looked at the man, confident that the creatures - probably - wouldn't be getting back up any time soon. The teenager stared, watching his blood pulsing through his veins rapidly from the exertion of the fight. Who is this guy? was her predominant thought, so she was glad when Michino spoke up.

Spoiler

Perception Check?

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Spoiler

[9:26 PM] Melkor|Sousuke: Chiyo's perception cheque
[9:26 PM] Melkor|Sousuke: t!dice 1d20
[9:26 PM] BOTTatsumaki:
Rolling Dice!
[d20 : 19]
In the end, the result was: 19

The Gunslinger twirled the pistol about and then holstered it. The speed to which it was spinning was somewhat difficult to catch. He snorted, and looked to Michino as he began talking at him. He turned his head for a moment it seemed like he was ignoring Michino for a moment. He so much as went to even turn his back on him for a moment, but he then seemed to focus in and honed on Michino. He raised his left hand which was gloved and rubbed the bottom of his chin. "Yee come in peace. Course yee do. Most people say that when they've seen somethin of a heavy show of violence." He spoke, there was a dialect in his voice, but there was something untraceable about it. It was something of an old voice, and words that seemed out of place, or rather out of time. He chewed his lower lip for a moment before spitting, "High doubts? Founded, entirely. Good on your noggin', good to know commin' sense ain't all that dead."

He rubbed the bottom of his chin once again. He looked to the two girls that were with him. "Ladies don't need to be lady-like in this tarnation of damnation. If yee wanna throw up then get on with it. Stomach is an acquired thing." Naoki, the gunslinger looks at you, what he says next might in fact put you on pause, but perhaps the man was a good reader of people. "I, infact, did kill the lot of these scum. I got contracted here by a Soon's Merchant to figure out the glass lake thin goin' on. It's that Emerald Lass, who's dun herself a disservice and married the Daimyo." His index finger and his middle finger pressed against his forehead. "Naup. Not her. Maybe it was that Fish Guy? Fancy folk use titles, kinda annoyin'. It's not the bookish one. He's too far up his own arse. The money lady, not her either. She'd rather make me pay her somethin for doing a good service for you. Imma gonna go with the Fish Guy." Clearly the man didn't really seem to know who his employer was, but he didn't seem to be very happy about it either.

Chiyo. You try to get a feeling about the Gunman. He doesn't strike you as the a shape shifter. He does not seem to radiate a demonic presence either. You get the feeling he's human, maybe even a simple human at that. You don't get any weird feeling from his eyes. They seemed rather ordinary. You are at a slight pause when you consider the man's equipment. He was a gunman, there must have been something about his weaponry that was giving him an advantage. You take note of his pistol and it is a rather ornate looking. The man's gloves too stand out to you. You cannot quite put your finger on it, but there is something 'magical' about them. You hone in for a second and you see purple runes on the glove for a split second glow and phase out quickly enough. Was this man a mystic? Did he even know what a mystic was? Something you may wish to consider asking.

 

[Toraono Michino]

A perplexed looked slowly started to affix the boy’s face rather he liked it or not. The deja vu of the entire situation was beyond the point of bizarre and almost a straight page out of his imagination. Playing a certain table top game with the Steward and his father. Weekly, had broadened the horizons of his mind and the willingness to accept that not everything needed to be solved logically; sometimes you needed the brain to be outside the box. Yet the image and words being spoken to him threw the teenager for a loop. It made him briefly wonder if his entire life was the fabrication of some sadistic god and nothing was real.

A blink of his eyes and he refocused.

“I can understand how’d you think that, but we’re exactly who we say we are,” the male of the trio said as he became physically relaxed to show his peacefulness towards the gunsman in a hopes to get him at least for sure on their side - they might need the skills the man possessed to be in this part of the desert without much bother.
“Were sent out on to scout for a specific entity and came across this glass lake. Perhaps it is destiny we met for we’re probably hunting the same thing.”

Logically the Toraono wanted to place his hands into the seal he needed to flex his chakra just to make sure but thought it’d be bad manners in front of a guy capable of surviving the same heat that was really testing the boy’s patience. There was a tug in the back of his mind, a reminder of how nice and cool his dojo was, where the good water holes in Suna were, how probably a volcano was cooler than where his feet sank into the burning sands. He wanted nothing more than to finish this mission and get back to his little creature comforts but the moment the selfish thought crossed his mind a pang of guilt struck. Michino turned his head back and looked at those ailing on from no doubt the heat more than the smell, (though the previous no doubt made the latter worse).

Could they continue on? As shinobi of Sunagakure they were trained in heat endurance but the Glass Lake seemed to just magnify the already blistering heats of the sun. Almost on que a bead of sweat rolled down into his left eye and he blinked the burn out in annoyance. Annoyed that he wasn’t more properly prepared to support his team in anything but combat that, thankfully, had all but been absent.

[mft]

 

[Chiyo]

The small girl visibly bristled at the suggestion that she might need to puke. She squinted her eyes and, in a pointed gesture, pulled the elastic cloth from around her throat to cover her mouth and nose. Screw that, as if an Uzumoreru would ever be so weak. She gathered her nerves and focused in on the man as he babbled on about his employer - taking note that they were supposedly from Soon. If they managed to not become demon food, her father might have some insight on the situation.

As she studied the man more closely, she felt herself relax a little. He seemed to be at least human, so that was a start. He was clearly a little crazy, but he could fight - which was definitely a plus. Taking in his appearance she found herself focused on his gloves, then a flicker of purple. Her mind went into overdrive. Of course she could have been seeing things - the heat mixed with everything else today definitely wasn't helping - but that color...was it demon blood? The teenager blinked a few times before looking at the bodies of the demons around the man, then back at his face.

Taking a cautious step forward, she glanced at her companions before speaking, her voice only slightly distorted by the cloth covering. "Um, hi - I hate to be that guy, but who the heck are you? I mean, I feel like it's common courtesy to introduce yourself to someone you meet in the middle of hell, don't you?" Her delivery might have been less diplomatic than Michino's might have been, but they were all thinking it.

 

[Samejima]

The very idea of puking when it's this hot out got Naoki feeling so utterly disgusted she could not help but mutter a quick "excuse me" and dash off to get the contents of her guts puked out before swishing her mouth out with some of the water in her canteen. Ewww... When was the last time I even puked? Must've been the bad clam a couple months ago, but uuugh... I'm never getting used to that. She could still hear the conversation as it unfolded, and she figured it would be unnecessary for three genin to bombard the man with questions. She settled instead on plugging her nose to examine the remains of the demon bug-sounding things, in case there was anything to grab out of the carnage. While she searched, cautiously touching the blood if there was no immediate negative effect on her, she thought carefully about the Gunslinger's words.

I've read up a little on the Daimyos of Wind Country... I wonder if I might be able to remember any details about a recent marriage...

[Is there such a thing as a knowledge check? If so I would like one for trying to figure out this daimyo waifu thing. And also perception check for the corpses please thank you and sorry for the long wait]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

[8:16 PM] Melkor|Sousuke: Naoki's perception role for demon corpses
[8:16 PM] Melkor|Sousuke: t!dice 1d20
[8:16 PM] BOTTatsumaki:
:game_die: Rolling Dice! [d20 : 4]
In the end, the result was: 4

The Gunslinger kicked the ground as Michino told him the truth. "Kinda hard to pass that o lake of glass. The side o the desert has always been hot, but lake of glass? Thing is all screwy." He man would take off his hat and would give it a smack or two. It would be very plain to see that there were wet spots on his hat due to the sweat. He would twirl the hat about for a moment and return it to his head. The three of them would see that the man was worn out. His skin seemed far more like a hard cracked leather than actual flesh. One did not get to grow old, be a survivor, and remain a pretty looking thing. The gunslinger would look over as Naoki would run off and do as he had suggested earlier which was puke. Sometimes people had a weak stomach, sometimes people had to get things out. That is exactly what Naoki did. "Beeter out than in." He would say as his eyes swapped over back to Michino and Chiyo now.

Chiyo took the initiative and took a step forward to speak a little more harshly to the man. He made a clicking noise with his tongue. "Well sorry 'I hate to be that guy', but they call me Taki out in these parts here. It's short of Takistar. I ain't from around these parts, so most people screw up my name. Most people dun goof about it, so I dumbed it down to Taki." It would seem that the man before them had a sense of humor. He patted himself down and acquire a small canister from within his coat. He looked at the two of them and he would take a swig of the contents. "I honestly think ma'am you're not really named 'I hate to be that guy. If you parents did, well, I'd like to think they're not too fond of havin' you bouts." He would place a gloved hand under his chin and he would tap the area underneath his chin.

Naoki would return soon enough and would take a look at the corpses. Of all people, and even after throwing up, you mustered the strength to go and stick a finger in demon corpse. The blood would ooze and pour out. This blood was different from the one you were instrumental in fighting years ago when you were in Inferno with Ren. There was nothing really much to take out of this. This was certainly beyond your skillset and experiences at this time. You took away from this experience that the blood was thick and slow like molasses, unfortunately you were not able to tell at this time whether or not there would be any adverse effects.

The now numbered four of you would stand still for a moment. Yet peace was not something that would be maintained here. You were in Inferno, which as Chiyo had put it, this was in fact Hell on earth. Where would you go next?

 

[Toraono Michino]

Michino looked around at the situation at hand as he tried to fight off a heatstroke. The three Genin were tired and this part of hell had already beat them up just by walking through it. He wondered now if the demons he had been sent here to seek out and scout were the very same that were dead and laying in corpse form. His left hand idly went down and gripped the hot leather handle of one of his silver swords as his thumb ran over the pommel. His blue eyes were in deep thought for a moment when his ears caught the stranger responding to Chiyoko in a sarcastic manner.

Despite everything going on the Toraono couldn’t help but crack a smirk.

“Well, we were sent out here to scout and possibly locate a certain demonic force. These things on the ground may very well be that so, mission success? Unless you know something we don’t stranger and we have reason to stay here I’d like to ask you come back to our village so we can further discuss this situation without the stress of the heat. You seem like the kind of person that has a lot of useful info that we could use for the greater good.”

 

[Samejima]

Naoki had been listening to the conversation thus far, and really was very curious about the man's origins--what kind of a name was Takisuta?--but she knew they were here on a mission and couldn't afford to waste time on idle chitchat. Michino seemed to have the right of it, and she decided to try and entice the stranger back home as well. "Yeah mister, I think--unless you have a closer alternative spot to sit and chat--maybe you should come back with us to Sunagakure. I'll getcha a nice spot at my aunt's bar!" she barked out a laugh, then quickly added, "In private of course, wouldn't want any people poking around in uh... this."

 

[Chiyo]

"Well, you might be right about my dad, but my name's Chiyo. See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" The teenager grinned at the man, glad to know he had a sense of humor. For a moment, she turned her attention to Naoki's inventory of the corpses as Michino spoke. It said a lot about the woman's stomach that she could puke then immediately move closer to the source of the stench. Finally the boy had the best idea yet - return to the village. Chiyo was grossly in need of a shower. "Yes, let's get the hell out of here." She turned her attention back to the man. "You look like you could use a place to clean up anyway - I can smell that blood from here and you're covered in it."