With good intentions [private]

[Rounin Nao]

[OOC: here you go guys, music for the soul: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEWviy_RQSc&list=PLDF5FD375B74ED837 ]

Rounin Satsu was sitting at his desk, going through a report a private investigator gave him. I was about his long lost brother, or at least he believed it to be so.
I has been years since his older brother was taken from him and vanished, and ever since then Satsu worked nonstop to find clues, leads, informants or in general any piece of intelligence about his lost brother. It was just a year ago that he caught wind of something called 'project Apocalypse', but it was no more then words since there was no information about it, no evidence of its existence and no one knew the story besides a few men, Shinobi, telling tales of an ANBU man who was sent into battle to completely destroy the opposing forces, a man believed to be the devil himself.
But those stories, tales to be told around the campfire... or at least that's what Satsu believed, until today when his private investigator gave him a report that might shed light on this story, because in the report was a name, a code name he have heard before... Loky. That same ANBU agent who was sent from secret origins to change the course of a critical battle, the only difference was that this report stated that the man named Loky was sighted at Arcadia not too long ago, and Satsu knew that this man might know what happened to his brother.
Satsu has long suspected that his brother was taken to this 'project Apocalypse' but up until now he had no proof of it, no lead, but it is different now and he needed someone he trusted on this job, someone who will defiantly get the job done and he knew exactly who to call.

"Nina!..."

Called Satsu aloud, knowing the young lady was just outside the door to his office. The large elder-wood door opened and a lovely young lady shuffled into the room and stood right in front of him.
She was not dressed like the rest of the maids, since her father is head caretaker of the Rounin mansion it was only fitting for here to follow in his footsteps. She was wearing a mid length black skirt, a white buttoned shirt, tucked in tightly into the skirt, and a warm smile greeted her master.

"Yes master-Satsu, how may I be of service?"

Said Nina with a young and cheerful voice. As professional as she looked and sounded Satsu knew that there were no barriers between them, after all they did grow up together.

"hey Nina, could you find out for me where is our guest Tao, I need him for an urgent matter"

Replied Satsu, he tried to fake a warm smile, but the young lady knew him too well to be fooled by the cheep trick.

"Satsu.... is everything ok?... I mean, you have been spending an awful amount of time in your office lately and i...um... I mean we, are a bit worried about you"

Said Nina with a concerned demeanor, slightly blushing.

"thank you for the concern Nina, I assure you there is nothing to worry about, it's just.... well I have been working on something very important to me, and soon I hope we all could rest a bit easier"

He said, picturing for a moment him his brother and everyone else in the mansion around the dinner table, laughing, joking about old times and having a good time... together. This image was the only thing keeping him on his tracks, and it also made him smile, a small smile of hope for a better life.

"very well sir, I will go and see if I can locate Tao-san for you"

She said, still her voice uncertain and worried, but never the less she departed the room, closing the door behind her. Satsu now opened a drawer on his desk and took out two pictures, one was of two boys smiling in the sun at the green grounds of the Rounin Estate a long time ago. The other picture was the only proof he received to the existence of the ANBU legend named Loky... a man dressed in black garb and a terrifying mask, the picture was blurry and dark, but it was something.




_______________________________________________________________________At a place not far away___________________________________________________________


In the deep caverns of Arcadia, where not many traveled these days there stood a man. His mid length blond hair dirty from his time in the deeps. Unlike most of his days today he was not wearing his mask, nor his ANBU clothing, today was a simple day and he was not feeling in the mood for mischief or mayhem. Yet the mans senses tingled, signaling that something was changing, unfolding at a place he was not yet aware of. But whatever it was, it was heading his way as well.

'I wonder....'

He thought to himself while looking at his well lit cave, the place he called home for the passed few months. Some times men change the history around them by choice, but some times they are bound by a calling far beyond the basic understanding of any man, a calling echoing through the ages... fate.

 

[Tao]

It wasn't too long since Tao found out what it meant to be a shinobi, to follow an ideal even to the death, even if it meant to forsake the completion of a task given to them. He was staring at the ceiling in his room while trying to process his thoughts and conclude exactly how much he learned that night from these... Students. It didn't take long before a set of knocks came from his door followed by a call of a girl who was working in the Rounin estate, calling Tao to see if he was in the room. Tao got up from his chair and opened the door, the girl seemed to be in a rush of some sort but Tao couldn't really understand why. He followed her to Satsu's office where he found the man who took him in sitting behind his desk with stacks of papers on each side while the man was still in clear visibility to Tao.

"Satsu-sama, did you call for me?"

Tao asked briefly as he entered Satsu's office, looking around a bit before he stepped in even further, the office was in sort of a mess, it seemed like Satsu was spending an awful lot time in here for the past few weeks. He then stood by Satsu's desk and placed his hand on it to give himself some contra while looking closer at Satsu, He clearly didn't sleep a lot, but Tao couldn't figure out what drove him into this condition, but then again, all of this could be only in Tao's head, pure speculations judging upon external appearance and physical behavior.

[MFT]

 

[Rounin Nao]

After Nina's departure Satsu just let his mind assemble a plan. A man as known as him and a detective never the less cant be seen sending people on shady missions, no... this time this needs to look legitimate busyness. He kept looking at the blurry masked man in the picture, wondering whether this man could give him the information he seeks.

It wasn't long before knocks on the door interrupted his line of thought and they opened to reveal his good friend Tao. Tao as direct as ever asked for the purpose of Satsu's summoning for him, this made Satsu crack a smile. If there is someone that can get this job done its him.

"hallo Tao-san, good to see you too...me?, I am fine thank you my friend"

Said Satsu sarcastically with a smile, then he presented a couch on the opposite side of his desk, it was red with golden roses embroidered onto it, one of the best couches in the earth country.

"please Tao-san have a seat... I'll get us a drink"

He said warmly and got up to his liqueur cabinet and poured two glasses of very fine "Guildscraft" scotch, a single malt 29 years of age... expensive to say the least, like most of the Fire country's scotch whiskeys. Satsu stepped back to his armchair and sank into its pillows, he then placed Tao's glass in front of the man and took a sip of his own glass and exhaled in content. It was indeed a lovely drop, but Satsu did not drag his friend this way for drinks today so he cut to the point.

"Tao-san, I need your help..."

He began and looked at his friend with penetrating eyes.

"you see the reason I have called for you today was that I need you to track someone down for me, and I need you to extract some information from him..."

He said and placed the blurry picture of the masked man in front of Tao.

"He calls himself Loky, by the looks of it he is ether ANBU or exANBU... and I believe that he has information regarding my missing brother"

Continued Satsu.

"you see my friend, my brother was taken from our family when I was very young to some sort of unknown secrete ANBU facility I suspect, and I haven't seen him since...but I never stopped looking, not once..."

The detective paused for a breath and took another sip from his drink, the liquid pouring into him and warming up his whole body.

"I have reason to believe that this man was a part of the facility keeping my brother, and I need you to try and contact him due to the simple fact that thanks to my stature and occupation I can't be seen chasing this man on my own. I also need this to look like legitimate village busyness, not to attract any unwanted attention..."

Satsu picked up a sealed pics of parchment and handed it over to Tao.

"this holds fake instructions to an operation tracking down a drug trafficking ring operating in Arcadia, I'll need you to take an academy student with you to keep the cover safe. take this as well..."

Satsu pulled out of a drawer a seal tag and placed it on the table.

"just in case things go south, any person you will attach this to will fall fast asleep for a few hours, use this only as a last resort my friend"

Finally finished he got up from his chair and stepped to the window, looking at the sun setting over the Mansion's grounds he took another sip from his glass and his mind was filled with running thoughts, he only hoped his friend didn't mind him asking this of him so abruptly.... but he desperately needed this task done.

"I apologize for any inconvenience Tao-san... and by the time this job is done you can name any fee you ever wish, and I assure you that it will be granted to you"

Satsu concluded his speech, awaiting a reply as the crimson sun flushed the grass outside, small animals of the mountain were seen hopping and running outside, and Satsu was silent ever eager...ever hopeful.

 

[Tao]

Tao turned his head to look at the couch moments after Satsu offered him a seat, it was a first for him to see Satsu so formal, but what surprised him even more was Satsu offering him a drink, it never happened before and he didn't even know how to refuse his proposal. Then Satsu began to discuss the terms in which he wished Tao to execute his request. Without thinking twice, he figured that he'd take on the request considering that the one that asked it of him was Satsu-sama himself.

"Of course Satsu-sama, I'll help you."

Tao said right before he got up to pick up the photo of the guy named Loky and the envelop containing the falsified mission information along with the seal tag that he stored just in case.

"If that will be all, I'll excuse myself, sir."

He stated and left the office, he didn't take long before he reached the academy, this time it was much easier to find despite the fact that he got lost last time he attempted to reach there, although he did wonder in what shape their training grounds at this point after Tao's last training session there. It was already late, he didn't figure to find anyone still in the academy, but luckily for him, he spotted a child near the entrance of the gates, assuming by how he was clothed he could be a student, but it was too early to make the assumptions considering that kids often wonder around these parts even without being related to the academy, he had to check that for himself first before revealing any information.

"Hey! Excuse me, but are you a student of this academy?"

He shouted while holding one hand next to his mouth in sort of attempt of creating an echo. He hoped that Satsu's decision to take a child along on such a dangerous task was a good idea, considering how much danger will be placed on the kid... Lucky for them, one of Tao's specialties were defensive techniques.

 

[Sousha Kage]

Kage was sitting in class, bored as hell.
Time did not move and he was very not interested in what the teacher had to say.
instead he decided to take out a book he found in the library, the book was called "The art of the shades". it was another book about genjitsu, and all kage wanted was for the day to end so he could go already and start training on the genjitsu techniques he read about.
Unfortunately, today there were no genjitsu classes, so he had to sit there and hear the teacher talking about taijitsu, Kage's least favorite subject.
as Kage started to really get into reading his book he heard the teacher:
"Kage! are you with us? what is that in your hand?" asked his teacher, Mr. Satoshi.

Mr. Satoshi was a big man, bald and with a big beard. though he had rather intimidating appearance he actually was one of the nicest teachers in the academy.

Kage wanted to hide the book but figured it's too late this time, the teacher already noticed him.

"So Kage, what is so interesting that you can't even pay attention when i call you twice?"
then the teacher, without waiting for an answer approached Kages desk, took his book and looked at it.

"Kage, i do support studying, but this is not the topic of this class, please try to pay attention to what I'm teaching". said the man and gave Kage his book back.

Even though he didn't like taijitsu, Kage thought to himself that this teacher is not that bad, so he listened to him until the end of class that day.



At the evening of that day. Kage was on his way to one of his "get away from people" walks, and he also decided to go to the academy to train on the new things he read in the book earlier that day.when Kage was done with his extra curricular training, and started to make his way back home, he suddenly heard someone shouting from afar.

"Hey! Excuse me, but are you a student of this academy?"

"Oh, crap" thought Kage, he really didn't want to be disturbed by anyone, that was the general idea of his trip. he decided to reply the call anyway and as he turned he saw a person, or some sort of a person. this person had very interesting looks. he was tall, with very bright and long hair. he had a special face which on one hand was of a man but had something feminine about it, giving that person a look almost of an angel. this was the first time Kage have seen something like this so when he replied the man his line of thought shifted rapidly from irritation to curiosity:

"Yes, I am a student of this academy" he replied.

 

[Tao]

Tao stopped for a moment as he heard the boy's reply, that was perfect, now all he had to do is to convince him to come along with him and the cover will be safe, the question was how... He smiled slightly and began to advance towards the boy as he continued speaking

"Seems like fortune has smiled upon me once again. Young boy, what would you say if I were to offer you some first hand field experience that academy students would normally wont experience? I can also guarantee you that this will enhance the probability of you graduating from this academy early as well"

Tao stated while he walked towards the boy, he was beating around the bush in quite an obvious way, or rather it would be obvious if the boy would know what Tao was supposed to do on this so called mission, but the deal did seem fair enough, he could also promise him guidance of sorts although he himself probably could provide a very limited amount of teaching considering how little he knows about how the world of the shinobi functions, heck, from what he've seen so far, these academy students most likely know a whole lot more than Tao when it came to anything shinobi related from skills to tactics and even tracks of thought, but it didn't stop Tao from trying, he promised his best friend to get this job done and that is exactly what he intended to do.

"Excuse me, but it seems like I've forgotten my manners, my name is Tao, I'm an associate of a high ranked Shinobi who have sent me on a mission which would require your help, that is also why I've prepared this offer for you as well"

Tao continued, he hoped that his partial honesty would be the trigger that would bring this kid to come with him on this mission, he knew that it was quite a lot to think about coming from a total stranger but then again, how often do students get chances like that to begin with, not something that Tao would know himself, but that is what he assumed at the very least.

 

[Sousha Kage]

"Well, this is interesting" thought Kage. the man in front of him offered him great things. things that any student would of done anything for, and that's why it sounded like they are too good to be true. Words alone are not deeds and deception is not rare in these parts of the land. What is that "experience" the stranger was talking about? although Kage had a hunch that the person in front of him is a trustworthy person, he couldn't just say yes, the whole thing seemed pretty fishy to him, and he was sure the man was hiding something.

"Sir, everything you've said sounds wonderful, but you have to understand that promises alone are not enough. politicians make promises every day, and that doesn't mean that the things they say become true."

he did a couple of steps towards the man, and then continued.

"I need more details, what do you want from me Tao, and how exactly can you give me the experience i need?"

 

[Tao]

Tao tilted his head sideways for a moment as he saw the kid hesitate, he would rather believe that the kid would accept his offer right away then to question him even further, this began to get troublesome. He then stopped walking when he ended up facing the kid and he replied to him

"I understand. Basically, your role in this mission is to serve as my escort and provide me a cover convincing enough to make me a less suspicious person which can be done by your presence alone, this deal is give and take, although while what you provide me is solely your presence, I give you experience and maybe a better understanding of what you'll probably be asked to do in the future."

He assumed, he didn't know for sure what is expected of a shinobi to do at all times, he could assume that what Tao was asked to do is one of them, and the kid would learn exactly what kind of job Tao was asked to preform.

"I'll tell you more about our mission on the way there, if you choose to accept my offer of course"

He continued, he wasn't sure if the kid was interested in this offer of his or not, but he could assume that anyone in his position would jump on it right away, unless they were either stubborn or plain fools. Then again, every person is free to act the way they want, and this kid is yet to graduate from the academy, so he is not someone a shinobi can order around, not yet at least.

 

[Sousha Kage]

Though Kage noticed that his questions are not getting any answers, his curiosity got stronger with every word that the "angel-man" was saying. What is that mission is about? And why the hell would this man need him to just be there?

Curiosity.... days will come when Kage will know that his curiosity is both a blessing and a curse, pulling him around, driving him to do thing that people who lack curiosity do not. The day he met Tao was also a mixture of the latter, He Didn't know that this moment was that thing that will change his life, the point when his destiny takes that turn to become a different path, a path which is not just a mixture of pointless moments that people who lack curiosity call life.

But at the moment Kage was not thinking about all of that. at that moment Kage was just curious:
"Well mister, i think i will go with you, anyway i started to get bored from all of those night walks iv'e been having lately."

And the wheels of destiny started rolling at that simple moment that looked like one of those regular moments, that the people who lacked curiosity, called life.

Kage joined the man, and they started walking together into the night.

 

[Tao]

Tao's smile grew slightly as he heard the boy agreeing to follow him onto the mission, he couldn't believe the words that came out of his mouth thus far were even his own, for a first try in persuasion he did pretty well it'd appear, but somewhere in the corner of his mind he felt like the kid still doesn't trust him enough and will most likely run away in the face of any coming threat, which Tao couldn't blame him to react that way, but those were mere speculations.

"Wonderful, please follow me. Our current destination is Arcadia"

He spoke and began to walk along side the kid towards the entrance to the great underground city. It was the first time he personally been to arcadia and have yet to explore it, he sure hoped that it wouldn't hinder his mission too much. It didn't take too long before they reached the earthy stairway that would lead them lower under the city of Inner Maruishi and into Arcadia. It seemed like it'd take forever to walk down these stairs but once they reached the end, quite an amazing spectacle waited for them. An entire civilization, different in many ways than the one above ground was dormant underground with a huge wide space of carved out caves with well lighten walls and pillars which supported the ceiling, they could hardly tell that it was the middle of the night simply from being inside those caves, everything was quite lively down there, people were digging through the walls in attempts to expand the city even further, some were attending shops that would sell food and other goods and some were just walking around. The people there seemed to go in all shapes and colors, some had very light skin and dark hair while others had very dark skin and light hair, it was very different than the Maruishi Tao came to know, almost like an entirely different country. Tao then stopped one of the bypassers and began questioning her

"Excuse me, did you by any chance see the man in this picture"

Tao spoke while taking out the picture of the masked man Loky.

"Ano, viděl jsem toho chlapa, než, když šel kolem jeskyně na druhém konci Arcadia. Doufám, že pomůže, teď prosím oddálit, jsem pozdě do práce!"

The woman spoke in some odd language moments before she rushed off right past Tao and Kage. Tao couldn't understand a word that came out of her mouth, it didn't seem to be the commonly spoken language that Satsu taught him, no, it was more like gibberish to him than an actual language, but it could as well be the language of the locals of this country that Tao have yet to encounter.

"Any idea what she said?"

He turned to Kage and asked him, he hoped that by some stroke of luck he would know this language in hope that unlike Tao he'd actually be a local from this village.

[MFT]
[OOC: Translation of the previous text:]

Spoiler

Yes, I saw this guy before, he was walking around the cave on the far end of Arcadia. I hope that helps, now please move aside, I'm late for work!

 

[Sousha Kage]

Any idea? this guy is really new around if he doesn't even recognize the local dialect. of course Kage knew what she said:
"She told that she saw this man in the cave over the other end of town." replied Kage.
They continued walking down the market, until they reached the end of it. Kage was leading Tao, who was confused, but Kage knew exactly where they are going.
The cave on the other end of town wasn't just a cave, it was a well known cave in Arcadia.
the locals called it "Jeskyně ztracených duší", which meant "the cave of the lost souls".
there was a legend about that cave and Kage recalled his father telling him and his brother the story of the cave on one of their walks in the outer village fields:
"Years ago the Arcadian people used to punish Kinjutsu users by burning them alive in that cave, And the legend says that their souls are still roaming in the cave, seeking for revenge. some say that you can see a Flickering light in the cave at night, a reminder, from the souls, of the fire that was used to burn them in there."


They crossed the market and started going through narrow caves that had only small torches for lighting. they went on and on for a couple of hours.
eventually, the corridors ended, and they got into a grand hall. there were no torches, and the only light in there was the moonlight coming from a big hole in the ceiling.
"The last ceremony here was here two weeks ago, it was "den ochrany", and most of the village comes here on that day to pray for protection from the old gods. the woman probably saw this Loky guy on that day, in that cave." Kage pointed at an enormous cave entrance on the other side of the hall, in front of them.

The cave was 20 meters wide and went up to the ceiling. there was no light coming from it.
"So sir, what should we do next, go in there?"
Kage hoped that the answer would be no. He was a curious kid, but the legends about the cave made him nervous, and he was staring at the cave, waiting for the fire of the lost souls to appear.

Tao looked like he was thinking about what to do next, and Kage waited anxiously for his reply....

 

[Tao]

Tao was surprised when he saw the kid answering his question effortlessly, it seemed like the local dialect was well known in Iwagakure, it seemed that learning the common language was not enough, he'll have to make up for loses when he would come back. It seemed like Kage already knew exactly what cave the woman spoke of and where it was located, it was obvious since Kage began to lead the way towards it. Tao followed him blindly, he didn't know anything about Arcadia and it seemed quote fortunate that the kid knew so much about this place, maybe he could use the kid to learn more about this village as well. It took a while but they finally reached the entrance to the cave, where Kage paused and asked Tao what they should do next, to him the answer was obvious.

"We're going in."

Tao spoke as he began to advance into the dark cave. He raised his hand and began channeling his energy through the palm so that he could release a ray of light straight to it to give them a better visual aid, almost as if his whole arm was just a big flashlight. As they advanced further into the cave, they reached a large, open space light by candles and lanterns where a man was sitting on a bunch of rocks at the end of the cave. Tao looked up for a moment, he noticed that he couldn't see the ceiling, or rather, it was pitch black, as if they are at the bottom of the abyss but in actuality, the ceiling was burned and covered with ashes from all the smoke that used to build up in the cave and the flames themselves that were used to burn the people, but Tao didn't know a thing about it himself. He began walking towards the man at the end of the cave while stopping his energy from releasing any more light, there was no more need for it at that point. The man had pale skin and blond hair, he hoped that this man could help them get one more step closer towards their goal.

"Excuse me sir, did you by any chance see a man with an odd mask wondering around here? I presume the man answers the name Loky."

He spoke, quite straightforwardly, he figured that there was no use in letting them linger around within this cave for too long, there didn't seem to be a point in doing so anyway.

 

[Rounin Nao]

Eyes closed, he felt it, some sort of shake in the energy around him....

The man sitting in the cave chose this very remote place in the deeps to evade other people, and most of them would not dare go any close to this destination... this place... hunted by shadows of the past, those same shadows who scratched the walls and ceiling of his home, a true hell created by no demon nor devil but by man himself...
yes... Nao remembered exactly what men were capable of doing in the name of faith, science, ideology....greed...

'someone's getting closer.... they shouldn't...they mustn't draw closer'

Thought the man to the echos of his mind, today he was not in the mood for visitors or games. Nao like many other men had his good days and bad ones, although to most people his good days wont seem good at all, but then again he was not most men... not even close to it.
And yet he already saw a light shinning bright at the entrance to his humble home, and he had no choice but welcome them, after all what kind of host will he be if he did not entertain his guests. A man as white as an institutes walls entered, followed by a boy with black hair.

'this is... unusual...'

His thought narrated his feelings, and it was then when the pale man stepped closer, Nao glared at him like a wolf protecting his meat. The blond haired man did not appreciate intruders in his home, but he contained himself, considering the fact that he would mostly manically drive away anyone who would even get close to this place, and that would be on a good day.

And it was a moment later that Nao's face calmed to a stand still. The pale skinned man asked Nao a question, and mentioned a name... a name Nao did not expect to hear from a complete stranger, it was almost like a vision into the past...the mask...the robes....the blood...

"Loky...."

Mumbled Nao softly, almost silent while staring up at the charred ceiling of the cave. And then almost like a different person has taken his place he smiled warmly at the visitors and got up quickly.

"HA! yes yes! of course I know Loky, he and I are.....old friends..."

He said, the last part sounding a bit fiendish. He fiddled around in his left and right jacket pockets, taking out a cigaret box and a lighter. He placed a white tobacco stick between his lips and lit it up, and then re fitted both the cigaret box and the lighter back in their leather home.

"Oh you must excuse my bad habit, it stuck to me and I just can't let go of it, it is truly vile and I would not recommend picking it up in the very first place"

He said as he started walking around the cave looking at his candles and torches, not making eye contact with the pale man. Nao did however took a quick glare at the young boy's eyes, gray... unique.

"Ah! yes Loky you were looking for i believe, well I know him by many names... indeed a curious man he is, what was his original name?...."

He acted perfectly, part of his psychosis mostly gave him an innate talent to lie. The blond man took a drag out of his burning tobacco stick and exhaled slowly, the air in the cave was damp and heavy which made the smoke appear as if it was standing still in the space around them.

"Aha! yes now I remember it was Nao... Rounin Nao was his real name, well that was long ago, before he was called Loky or Subject 46 he was indeed called Nao.... but good sir and boy, he is a good friend of mine indeed and I would like to know what is it that you would like to discuss with him.... after all what kind of friend would I be if I would just throw him to the sharks... so to speak"

Finished Nao, and came full circle around them after checking up on all candles and torches, now he sat back down with a smile eager to hear what the newcomers had to say.

 

[Tao]

Tao looked at the man, his initial reaction didn't match the way he began to act afterwards, so many things felt off about him that Tao didn't even know where to start. He began to talk, saying that he knew who Loky was, that was extremely fortunate, he found a promising lead to get him closer to that masked man whom he was supposed to bring back, but then he said something that caught Tao's attention.

"... Did he say his original name was... Rounin Nao...? Rounin... That name... Sounds familier... Could it be he's related to Satsu-sama...? Wait, is that man, Loky... Is actually Satsu's brother that he mentioned before... Interesting..."

The pieces began to connect and he began to see a much bigger picture off of this situation than before, seems like his target is Satsu's relative, that would explain why he was so eager for Tao to find him, he had to bring him back to Satsu, he could bet that Satsu would have plenty of questions for this man, Nao. He than looked at the blond guy who began to smoke and wonder around the cave, he seemed a lot more cheerful now than when Tao entered the cave too. But he couldn't waste anymore time, he had to start the interrogation here and now.

"Did you hear that Kage, that's great news."

Tao told to Kage briefly before averting his full attention to the blond before him

"Ohh yes, sir. I need to ask Loky to come with me to see a person he haven't met for quite some time, I believe that person is a family member of his, could you please let me know how to find Loky so that I could have him meet his brother?"

Tao spoke, his wild assumption could backfire on him at any time, but it was too late to turn back now, the man he was looking for was definatly the person who Satsu was looking for, he had to do everything within his power to make these two meet up.

 

[Sousha Kage]

they walked into the cave, it was dark and musty. and then Kage have seen an amazing thing, the hand of the man in front of him strated glowing, he have never seen something like this and started to think that the man was maybe really an angel
they walked into the darkness of the cave until they found a man. this man just stared at them, a stare that made Kage uncomfortable, this stare was not right, it was not pure, unholy and it had a lot of unleashed anger in it.
Tao asked about Loki, probably the man in the picture... Kage started to wonder who is that Loki that they are looking for...
the man in the cave stood up, lit a cigarette and started walking around the cave, lighting torches and talking. he was not giving any real answers, Kage thought to himself that he was getting really tired of people not giving a straight answer to questions lately.

And there it was, that brief moment when the man from the cave made eye contact with Kage.
A chill, a chill that Kage will never forget went down his spine, he remembered that chill till his last day on earth, a chill that the only thing that resembled it was Kages last breath many years later.
The man was smiling while he was talking, looking satisfied from the company. but what Kage felt when the blond cave-man looked into his eyes was madness and pain, so big and limitless that words cannot describe it.
the man was done talking about Loky and suddenly Tao turned to Kage:
"Did you hear that Kage, that's great news."

Kage was a bit zoned out because of the eye contact incident so he just replied "yeah, sure..."

Tao completely ignored Kages reaction and continiued:
"Ohh yes, sir. I need to ask Loky to come with me to see a person he haven't met for quite some time, I believe that person is a family member of his, could you please let me know how to find Loky so that I could have him meet his brother?"

So now Tao knows this Loki's relatives? Kage got very confused about the whole situation and was wondering if he should just disappear in the shadows.... maybe this was a wrong decision to get there in the first place, to the place where a demon and an angel met...

but although what the man from the cave of lost souls made him feel Kage felt some sort of connection to that man, and he suddenly heard himself saying:
"maybe you want to come with us and help us find Loki?" he had no idea why he said what he said, and why he even intervened in the conversation in the first place, but now when he said what he said the only thing that was left to do is to wait for the madman, the demon to reply.

 

[Rounin Nao]

'mmmmmm.... Satsu sent them.... Interesting'

Thought to himself the smoking man while he sat there listening to the conversation unfold, right now he was unsure of his brother's intentions or for the matter of fact he didn't really know their intention ether, but Nao already knew about his brothers whereabouts, he never made contact because he was sure Satsu has already forgotten about him with all the years that had passed.
This new information intrigued Nao, yet he did not know what to decide.... should he go with the boy and man, or should he remain in the shadows of the mountain's deep.

'well... they do paint quite the interesting picture now don't they.... my dear little brother the celebrated philanthropist still wants to have his big brother back, I did miss him so.... but decisions decisions what ever shall I do?'

He let his mind wonder into other places, to help him think. And then he got an idea, while he makes a decision on whether or not he should go with them they should pass the time, for the sheer entertainment of it at least.

"well gentlemen...."

He began as he stood up once more, took one last puff from his cigarette and extinguished it on the floor.

"I would love to assist you fellas I really would, but my friend Loky is not really a social fella and he has instructed me to send people his way only if I deem them worthy.... and you see I choose the trial to which you like many others take to try and gain audience with him..."

He stopped for a moment to let them follow his every word.

"and since it seems to me that you both are much stronger then me together, I would like to see your team work... I would like to truly see you two act as one!... So my suggestion is I fight the boy, I am not much of a fighter but I think we match in power haha!..."

He laughed at his joke loudly and cheerfully, yet to him it was funny in a whole different way.

"...ehm*..."

He cleared his throat.

"... and while me and the boy spar, you sir will have the noble task of keeping him out of harms way.... surely you are not to attack me as well, but I believe that if you act well as a team the two of you can take me down easy.... and then if the boy wins I will tell you where Loky is, sounds good?"

He finished and awaited a response from the two travelers.

(Conditional!- If the two agree to the terms of battle, Nao will ready himself and the battle will begin with Kage's move first.)

 

[Tao]

Tao's eyes followed the man while he was talking, something about him didn't seem right at all... The man then proposed to them that they fight him, or rather the young boy fights him and Tao provides support without touching the blond man himself. To Tao it sounded like a simple enough task, he could provide great support, he already managed to learn about barriers, healing and giving his boon to his allies. The problem was the kid, he was pretty sure that he wouldn't be up for the challenge, he acted strange ever since he came into the cave and it took Tao a while to convince him to just come along with him, the deal that the blond man gave them also violates the agreement Tao had with the boy. He had to think, what could be a good way to present this so that the boy would be able to move forward... He had an idea, but it was quite far fetched.

"Kage, lets agree to his proposal... Don't worry though, I'm strong, I can protect you if something happens and even heal you if you get hurt."

He said and began to form handseals, once he was done, he sent his chakra to the boy to place a Genjutsu on him. Thanks to the Genjutsu, the boy's focus should be now enhanced 10 folds at the very least, the boy should be able to react to whats coming towards him as well as how he hits and where he hits in a much, much better way.

"Consider this as a starter boost for you, you shouldn't be afraid, because I'm here and I wont let you get hurt."

Tao said while standing at the ready to send his chakra to Kage for his support.

 

[Sousha Kage]

Fear disappeared, he had the angel on his side... Fear evaporated and what filled in was a sense of power. Tao gave Kage something Kage never had, and Kage was too exited to give it up and walk away. he felt suddenly sharper and stronger, as he never felt before.
And there was something else, he trusted the man from the darkness, he didn't know why, it made no sense, the man in front of him was clearly on the verge of insanity. and still, there was something, a feeling, that told Kage he will be alright and that the man in front of him will not kill him.
somehow Kage never felt safer and so self assured that the decision that he makes is the right one.

"I shall fight you, jeskynní člověk*" said Kage.

He took a deep breath and took a few steps towards Nao, ready for a fight that seemed as a very stupid decision, for the fight against the demon.
they stood one in front of the other, the dim lighting of the torches dancing on their faces... silence... a moment that Kage felt that was long as time itself... they stood there, looking at each other.

suddenly, Kage sprinted towards the man, he jumped and took a swing at Nao....


*[jeskynní člověk- Cave man]

 

[Rounin Nao]

It was exiting, watching the pale man reassuring the young boy that everything will be just fine. It was not that Nao wanted to harm the boy in any catastrophic way or anything, its just a very big promise to make with little to actually control the outcome. Yet it was even more exiting to see the young boy stand strong in front of him, excepting the challenge.

'this is quite the interesting little fella isn't he...'

Thought the man in the black jacket. And then it began, the young boy rushed in for the attack.

'hes eager I see.... good, his passions are strong!'

He narrated his thoughts. He already knew where the swing is going to come from even before it hit, part of his training. But he welcomed the boys fist with ease, the boys hand made contact with Nao's face, and in turn the man made believe it made much more damage than it actually did and he fell backwards on the ground.
He didn't want the boy to know his true strength...yet. He landed on his back, then looked over to the boy with a childish smile.

"you really caught me off guard there for a moment, haha"

He said and chuckled a bit, he then got up on his feet and cleaned himself up a bit. Then Nao took off his jacket and laid it aside while taking out his trusted shades from one of the pockets and dawned it over his eyes. He was now dressed only with his white buttoned shirt and the red bandana around his neck, his black pants and shoes and now it was his turn to impress them a bit.

"OK! at the ready kid!... steady..."

He took a stance, a stance that would look very odd since it involved placing his feet only 3 centimeters across from each other, and his hands to his side with a bit of a backwards angle to them. Then he charged in, he did not use his full speed, he just matched the boys speed. The first strikes were three jabs, two aimed at the chest and one at the face, he made them quite slow. Whether they hit or not he would then follow by channeling some chakra to his feet, running up the wall to the boys right, this time much faster then before. Nao would run until he is directly above the boy, and then he went into free fall, his arms across his chest creating an X shape to them, he twisted mid air when he got close enough and swung his leg with mid strength towards the boys upper back.

"SHOW ME WHAT YOU CAN DO BOY!"

 

[Tao]

It seemed to Tao that the boy got quite a boost to his confidence from what Tao said and did just moments ago, he radiated from focus and his gaze was piercing, he then rushed towards Nao and planted a fist into his face forcing him to lose his balance and fall onto the ground. The blond man then chuckled a bit and got up, undressing and preparing for the fight, it seems that it was right around the time for Tao to get cautious and watch the two more carefully than before. The blond then began to run towards the kid... In the same speed as the kid, Tao didn't expect the man to be at that level, not with the kind of attitude he took towards them, but then again, maybe Tao overestimated the man, still what Tao said was not a bunch of empty words, he intended to keep the kid away from harm and that is exactly what he intended to do. Tao formed some seals again, now was a perfect timing for him to test out the affectivity of the moves he have been working on for so long.

He would channel his energy and send it to the boy, creating a sphere around him, sort of like a shell that would block the oncoming attacks that flew towards him, the shell would be transparent but not entirely invisible and would radiate with light the moment contact was made to it. Once the man sprang towards the wall, Tao deactivated his barrier to let the boy attempt to attack the man himself since he forced to stop the boy from attacking every time he activated the barrier on him, so he had to keep them active for very short periods of time. But it seemed like things only began to warm up as the man climbed to the ceiling and dropped down on the boy like a rock while crossing his forearms over his head, probably in attempt to land that way on the kid, he couldn't let that happen and it would take too much time to reactivate the barrier, unfortunately for him, while the move is powerful and can wistand a lot of damage it had a time lag between each activation, Tao have yet to figure out how to overcome that problem, so instead he had to simply push the kid aside. He formed some more handseals and forced the moisture around the air to create a small sphere of water which instantly would beam out and attempt to hit the kid to forcefully push him out of the way, however if he were to evade the blond man's attack, he would get out of the way of the stream of water Tao sent his way as well.