Silent Mist [M/C]

[Molokai]

Taisen read and re-read the mission scroll as he left the Mizukage's office. Former ties to the village? Could he be a missing ninja that's been forgotten about? Or just one of the many poor people of the village that got tired of looking up at the opulent Kage Tower from their squat in the mud? Smart and pissed off is an extremely dangerous combination in a person who feels they've been short-changed by fate.

There were still some pieces that Taisen was unaware of that he expected Tora would be able to fill him in on. What exactly happened at the gate? Who were the guys he killed? How do they know that Tomomi has anything to do with Lightning Country? What does Lightning Country have to do with this, anyway? Could Cloud Village somehow be involved? Many questions, many concerns, hopefully at least a few would be answered when Tora showed up. For now, Taisen waited just outside of the Kage Tower for him to catch up.

This was going to be interesting.

SPOILER: Click to show

Name: Silent Mist
Rank: B
IIC Length: 3 days
Difficulty: Moderate - Hard
Description: Tora's recent mission involving guard duty at the Dead Marsh Gate has lead to a further investigation of a man who has had former ties to the village. Apparently, one of the dead bodies that was recovered from the gate had a message from a man called Tomomi. He can be found in Kaminari no Kuni, in the capital. Find out what this man knows about the failed bombing attempt of Kirigakure.
Objective: Travel to Enrai to gain intel on a man known as Funaki Tomomi. Do not let anyone know of your affiliation to the Hidden Mist Village.
Reward: 15,000 ryo

[Tora Tsume]

Walking out of the Mizukage's office, armed with the 6 kunai he once recieved, Tora was ready to take on this mission. Dressed in his usual attire, covered in his black cloak and hooded up, the Genin was made for spying and going by undetected. His whole life he desired as little interaction as possible and perhaps wanted some sort of excitment like that one.

Of course, he wasn't alone, and had to accompany the former Mizukage who apperantly still did missions. Were they not paying him enough? Or was it the boredom that made him do it? Or perhaps he just wanted to feel like a part of the militia again? Either way, Tora wasn't too happy that he had to keep company to some adult form of a babysitter.

"Lets go then. I trust we can head out of the village pretty easily enough and get to our destination quickly." He said and did a few little stretches. "I want this over quickly, I trust you do do."

[Molokai]

Tora definitely seemed eager to get started. Eager, or hasty? Taisen was all for the charging ahead approach, but the first part of a successful mission was intel. Firstly, it was already going to be difficult to find a single person in an entire city without a physical description, let alone doing that without being detected. Secondly, if this Tomomi guy was the leader of some secret terrorist organization, a pair of unknown faces asking questions about him was definitely going to be noticed. If it came down to it, Taisen was positive he was skilled enough to track and capture the man, but the tricky part was going to be finding him without anybody wondering why there were looking in the first place.

To accomplish this, Taisen needed intel. So, as the Genin stretched, Taisen said, "As much as I want to do this quickly, I don't want to mess it up. Before we go anywhere, it's in our interest to talk about this for a second. Firstly, what exactly happened at the gate? What's the deal with this note Hyobe mentioned? What exactly did it say?"

Once Tora answered, in whatever way he chose to answer, Taisen would move on with his short pre-mission questionnaire, "Secondly, what's your specialty? You seem like you can be pretty stealthy, but can I rely on you in a head-to-head confrontation if it comes to that?" In an effort to make it seem less like an interrogation and more like a mutual sharing of information, Taisen added, "Me, I'm really good at hitting people. And breaking things. I'm also pretty good at tracking and I don't often get lost, so there's that. What about you?"

Again, after waiting for Tora to answer, if he did at all, Taisen said one last thing. "One last thing," he said, "you and I are a team. You may not like other people, but I'm not your enemy. We're going to have to work together in order to accomplish this mission. But know this: I will always put our lives ahead of the mission. So, if I have to drop what I'm doing to come save you, I'm going to be pissed. Any questions?"

With that little pep talk out of the way, Taisen double-checked his items. Grenades, check. Pouches, check. Zipties, check. Goggles, check. Samehada, check. Shield of Boreas, check. Sexiness, check and check. All present and accounted for. Armed with all of this, plus whatever intelligence Tora would offer him, Taisen was set and ready to kick this mission's ass. Turning toward the gate, he set off with a spring in his step and a gleam in his eye. Next stop: the top!

(Move to Water Country once Tora posts)

[Tora Tsume]

Tora sighed. Sure, it was correct to gather intel, but Taisen just seemed to be a little bit stressed about it. Tora just wasn't a big fan of talking, to him it was somewhat of an annoyance to have to explain himself, which was another reason why he prefered to be alone. But in this specific case, he had no choice but to share.

"The deal with the gate is simple." The Genin began talking as he began walking, to save some time while on their mission. "I was watching it when a couple of idiots tried to enter with the dumbest cover ever. Once detected, one began to attack, while the other died...Accidently." He said. It was true, the kunai that killed the older gentelman was thrown by his own hand, but it was an honest mistake. "Then, while throwing the bombs and trying to overpower us, the man began screaming something about hate consuming Kiri. I naturally assumed he was deranged." He said calmly and looked over at Taisen. "Obviously, he was just mentionaning an organization probably named 'The Hate' and from what I gather the Mizukage is awere of them."

With this over, Tora expected some silence, and yet Taisen spoke once again. Yes, it was a drag, but again, information he might find useful in battle. After all, if things came down to the worst case scenario, Tora would need to rely on Taisen. "Why do you think I accepted this mission?" He asked as a slight smile came to his face. It was amusing. "I do not break things. I make thing shappen around me. I create my own fate, by shaping the world around me, quite literally." He said and took in a deep breath. "I assume that if things do come to a head to head confrontation, you can count on me to leave no witnesses to know that Kiri is to blame for their misfortune." He said, hoping it was enough.

With that out of the way, Tora heard Taisen's last comment. It never came to his mind that something like that might happen. Thinking of worst case scenarios wasn't something he exelled at. "If you have a choice between my life, and the mission, I sure hope you'll come back with a report that honors my name. Please don't put me in the same situation. I will not hesitate to leave you if it means completing the mission sucessfuly." He said quite coldly, perhaps even too coldly. Which is why he felled obliged to add "But I'm sure we'll be fine. Shall we figure out a stratagy to smoke out this person?"

[Molokai]

Much to think about.

At least one of Taisen's suspicions was confirmed at this point. Whoever attempted to bomb the village wasn't just some lone lunatic, it was an organization that was for some reason bent on the destruction of Mist Village. The fact that it called itself The Hate, or at least was suspected to, was also a cause for concern. It didn't even bother to mask it's true purpose behind some pseudo-righteous cause, it just straight-up hated Mist so much that it didn't care who knew. That much hatred inspires die-hard devotion. Might make it hard to interrogate a member if they did find one, if they're so consumed with hatred that they'd rather die than give up the group. Also, this Tomomi may or may not be the leader of the whole thing. Could be he's just the handler for that specific mission, or possibly a third man who was positioned elsewhere that nobody noticed because the attack didn't go off.

However, if Tora's story was accurate and one of those guys literally killed his partner by accident, perhaps this organization wasn't so watertight after all. Could also be that they sent those dopes first to lull the village into a false sense of security. Never underestimate an opponent, because everyone is capable of killing you. Just because the initial attack was conducted by idiots doesn't mean subsequent attacks won't have more competent teams to carry them out. This organization had to be dismantled, which would be no easy feat if they were as hardcore as their name sounded. If they were indeed united by hatred for Mist, simply killing the leader won't stop them. Men can be killed, stopped, executed, but ideas live forever. Dangerous, indeed.

Tora's response to his second question did little to increase Taisen's faith in him. Aside from his answer being really exceptionally vague about what his abilities actually were, it also implied that he would kill innocent people who appeared to be "witnesses". This would most certainly not fly with Taisen. If Tora did start going after civilians who were witness to any battle that took place, he would find out the hard way just where Taisen's definition of innocent ended.

Another blow to Taisen's trust in the Genin was his open admission that he would just abandon Taisen if he got overwhelmed. While this was admittedly unlikely, Taisen wasn't thrilled about knowing that he didn't actually have reliable backup. Also, he held the very firm belief that any mission that led to the death of a teammate was a failed one, regardless of the status of the objective. Tora's lack of understanding of this concept would also not fly. If Tora does abandon Taisen, he had better pray that he doesn't survive. Because if Taisen lives long enough to be pissed about being abandoned, honor will be the least of Tora's worries.

With a growing sense of hostility and mistrust already off the bat, Taisen endeavored to put those feelings out of his mind and focus on actually completing the task. "I agree," he said in response to Tora's question, "as far as I can tell, which is not really very far to be honest, if we go there and start asking questions about The Hate and Tomomi, sooner or later someone from the group is going to confront us. When I say 'us', I actually mean 'me'. If you can remain hidden while I attract them to me, it's possible you can tail them to their hideout." It sounded like a well thought-out plan, but it definitely had some potential to go horribly wrong. As the saying goes, no battle plan survives contact with the enemy.

"But that's just what I think," he continued, "you know more about this whole situation than I do, so what do you think?" This was true, Tora did in fact have significantly more knowledge and experience with this group than Taisen. That, and Taisen wanted to keep inviting Tora to be a team player. Hopefully, when it came down to it, they would be able to work together despite both of them obviously feeling like they work better alone. Hopefully.

[Tora Tsume]

There was a lot to think about indeed. In order to lure the organisation out, a simple plan like Taisen's wouldn't work to well. After all, it would both compromise him and pretty much give away the fact someone is looking for the organisation. Going out in the open as bait wouldn't work to their adventage, so Tora wanted to think of a different strategy. Perhaps an in and out operation would work well.

"You're mainly muscle." He said calmly as they found themselves out of the village. "Going out and asking around wouldn't work too well. Besides, it's a large country and we need to find the base of operations." He said and picked up the pace, trying to think of something that would benefit them both. "In order to gain intell, we need to listen. Once we show ourselves and let them know we're looking for them it is less likely to actually find any information on this man." 

Traditionally, once the base was located, or at least the general location of it, the spy would simply listen and see where the information would pop up. They both knew the place where the people came from. The clue left on the cart filled with explosives was a confirmation the explosives were made there.

BOOM! Idea.

"Explosives don't just pop up. No one would make a large scale attack on a village and count on himself to make explosives. They either find some expert or order them from a shop. Each explosive has a patent number, especially the common ones used by the attacker at the gate. These gave use the clue onto Enrai. If we find the man who sold the explosives, we can locate the buyer. After all, he has to keep a log of it all. We find a shop. I sneak in while you distract the sales person. Once I get the log we can leave and see who bought how much. With this we can gain enough information on the buyer, be his name what it is. After all...He had to have those delivered somewhere."

Simple plan with a simple objective. Without letting anyone know who they are or what they're looking for. "You can always just ask around. Say you're looking for an explosive to blow up something small scale. I'm sure you can handle yourself." He said and smiled at the older man, knowing they were getting somewhere, and perhaps even working together in a way. "No casualties. No harm. That way I won't have to fight and waste energy. What do you think?"

[Molokai]

Tora made very much sense.

It was interesting to find out that the way they were able to trace the attackers to Enrai was using the serial numbers on the explosives. What was interesting was that the guys who organized this attack didn't even bother to remove the numbers, leaving a trace leading almost right to them. That, coupled with the very incriminating note apparently left on one of the bodies, implied either that these terrorists were hilariously incompetent or trying to be found. If they were trying to be found, the question then became, why? One thing he did know: if they were indeed walking headfirst into a trap, The Hate would find out soon that Taisen was a very, very bad thing to have in a trap.

What kind of shop just sells explosives to any old person who just walks in? Terrorists seem like the kind of people who would make their own bombs. However, if the bombs truly did have serial numbers it meant they were manufactured by a legit company. Or, as Tora seemed to suggest, by some sort of explosive artisan. Still, the plan was solid. Taisen would make up some story about why he needed to find an explosive salesman, while Tora kept watch. Then, once he found what was likely to be the only one in town, Taisen would chat up the shopkeeper while Tora sneaked in the back and stole his business ledger. Quick, clean, very ninja-like, Taisen approved. Useful, too, that it played to both of their strengths with the tank going first and the assassin sneaking around.

Perhaps opening their interactions with worst-case scenarios wasn't the best way to start off a partnership, Taisen realized in retrospect. Luckily, Tora at least seemed amiable to the notion of working together, realizing that their differing strengths would allow them to do things neither could do separately. This boded well for the mission, provided his prior concerns don't rear their ugly heads again.

"I like it," Taisen declared cheerfully, "let's do that. Once we get there, we'll split up. Just enough that it doesn't look like we're there together, but not so much that we lose track of each other. Once you acquire the ledger, we'll start investigating."

Since they had been walking and talking, they had found themselves on the road heading towards the coast. There were plenty of docks scattered across Water Country, as would be expected in a place called Water Country. Taisen was familiar with many of the people there, and more importantly many of the ship captains, from his many travels in and out of the country. One of them would gladly give him passage to Thunder Country if he asked. He didn't suspect Tora would be very interested in making small talk once their discussion of tactics was over, so Taisen decided to keep quiet and think to himself about what was ahead of them.

Once they arrived at the docks, he would greet the first captain he recognized and ask him if he was going to Thunder. He would then repeat this process until one of them agreed to take the two of them. After this, they would be off.

(Move to Thunder once Tora posts)

[Tora Tsume]

The plan was set. It was great to see Taisen had agreed with him, especially since as a Genin he took charge and thought of their course of action. Traditionally this was the job of the highest ranking officer in the squad, which is this case was the former kage - Taisen. Luckily, he was kind enough to let Tora speak his mind and set up a plan to cause minimun damage and no casualties.

Of course, there was always the threat that these people wanted to be found. Yet, Tora couldn't think of any reason why. After all, if they did know the explosives they bought would bring the mist in their direction they would only encounter scouts rather than a task force. Any terrorist organization should know that a country or a village would never invest their military force to srike a location that wasn't a deffinite threat - which was why scouts like him and Taisen were to be sent there.

"They may want to try and sniff us out. Perhaps try to make us change sides or even force us to. Maybe they want to interrogate us. This is the only reasons I can think of for them to have intententinally left their trail." Said the Genin once they've arrived at the port. Tora wasn't much for small talk indeed, but he still felt that some of his worries were to be said.

Once a ship was found, the two boarded and began their voyage to the Thunder country, where they would need to begin and prepare for their mission - perhaps expand their strategy and maybe even get some information right off the bat if they were lucky enough.

[james]

SPOILER: Click to show

narutoforumrp.proboards.com/thread/58764/random-encounters-thread?page=11&scrollTo=951316

Fortunately, neither Taisen or Tora had to worry about an outside force prohibiting their venture into the lands of Kaminari-no-Kuni. They landed to the northeast of the landmass, just past the reaches of the Jikoku-ten Ocean... the journey to Enrai was still a day or so away, and it was now that these shinobi had to be extremely careful with their actions in a foreign territory. One of the best moves they could have made was to remove their Kirigakure-no-Sato issued headbands had they not done so before, yet that was completely left up to their own decision, judging from the risks that this mission brought along with it.

[Molokai]

An uneventful voyage saw the duo all the way to Thunder Country. Judging from where they landed, they had a bit of walking to do before they would actually be in the city. However, the time to carefully avoid an international incident had already started. Taisen, who was massive, silver-haired, leather-clad and carried a huge sword wrapped in bandages and a shield covered in spikes and blades, didn't often go places unnoticed. Luckily, he never carried his Mist headband anyway. The likely conclusion random passers by would come to was that he was a shinobi or soldier of some kind, but they would most likely assume they were either of Cloud Village or somehow related to the country they were in. It was not the nature of people during peace time to assume that someone was an enemy until they were given good reason to do so.

All that considered, it still wasn't in his interest to do something to draw unnecessary attention to himself. They were in Thunder trying to find a secret terrorist organization launching bombing attempts on Mist village, and their directive was to avoid being fingered as Mist shinobi while doing so. So, while the occasional stare from someone who wasn't used to heavily-armed, highly eccentric people walking around was unavoidable, most people would prefer to mind their own business unless a ruckus was caused. Making a mental note to avoid ruckus at all costs, Taisen headed in the direction of Enrai.

Leaning close to Tora, Taisen kept his voice low as he said, "We've got a hike ahead of us to get to Enrai, but we're already in hostile territory. The Hate aren't the only people that we need to worry about noticing us, especially in a country with a hidden village. Let's just keep our heads down and our mouths shut until we reach Enrai, then we can strategize about how to find the source of the charges. Sound like a plan?" Taisen certainly hoped that sounded like a plan, because that was the plan. Judging by the mileage listed on the signs, it would be at least a day before they reached the city. Which meant they'd probably have to camp if they didn't feel like walking all through the night.

Hopefully Tora didn't mind being a little cold and dirty. Thunder Country wasn't known for it's warm, forgiving nights.

[Tora Tsume]

Once their feet landed on the ground, Tora could feel the air change. It was hostile territory, which meant he would have to lay low and keep himself out of sight as much as possible. His headband was hidden under his cloak, so no one would normally notice it even when he was in the village. He never thought a ninja should show his village, it would be counter productive.

Keeping a low profile alone would be easy. However, he had a guy with him who carried an abnormally large sword and shield, which would make anyone turn his head and watch. It really wasn't the ideal situation for the Genin. However, he had a way to cope and deal with such an annoying complication.

"I think we can manage. If someone comes by you'll just dissappear from sight." He said as he began walking, taking his partner forward and towards their destination. He couldn't spot any type of hostile behaviour, but still some caution was needed. "If you see anyone, or feel anything, please let me know so I can make you invisible. I think it'll be a lot easier to go into the village when I'm alone and not followed by a guy who has huge sword on his back."

[Molokai]

Tora was full of very good points. They both understood that Taisen is the polar opposite of stealth and incognito, but could Tora really turn other people invisible? Naturally, Taisen's ever-wandering mind went straight to all of the mischief he could conduct if he got to be invisible for a day. More to the point, if Tora did turn him invisible, that would both make it easier for them to move about unnoticed and also give Taisen the element of surprise. He was suddenly reminded of great white sharks; gigantic, powerful creatures that were totally silent and nearly invisible. Imagine how much devastation would be wrought by one of his punches if it was done from perfect stealth. He got a tingly feeling in his nether regions knuckles just thinking about it.

Again returning to the point, he decided once more that keeping the chit chat to a minimum was a good idea. Tora didn't appear to be much for personal conversation, but when it came to mission planning he always seemed to have something to say. More importantly, though, it was easier on both of them to keep their senses open to any disturbances if they weren't deafened by their own voices. He gave Tora a nod to indicate that he understood and accepted his idea, then turned his attention back to their surroundings. If anybody, or any thing for that matter, wanted to sneak up on the two of them, they would have a hell of a time doing it.

As they walked, Taisen paid attention to the road signs and their slowly descending numbers. They were getting close, but the sun was definitely going to set before they actually arrived at the city. At that point it would be time to decide if they'd rather walk all night and be there by morning, or rest and arrive later but with more energy. Taisen was all in favor of resting. Not because he was lazy or even tired, but because it wasn't as if The Hate was going anywhere so it would be a waste of their energy to needlessly rush. Plus, Thunder Country tended to get cold at night. While Taisen's adaptable body meant he could essentially fight naked in a blizzard in Snow Country, Tora probably wasn't so durable. A fire would do them both good, and so too would some sleep.

For now, Taisen continued to walk without bothering his partner with small talk. If nothing happened by nightfall, he would propose the idea of making camp to Tora. Either way, they would both be on the outskirts of town by the next day.

[Tora Tsume]

It was clear to the Genin that they wouldn't make it to the city if they kept this pace. Well, not today at least. Unless they ran, they would have to make camp. Obviously, Tora hated the idea of camping, since it was always too dangerous, especially in hostile territory. He would much prefer get to his destination faster. However, other things were to be considered.

If they did run, Tora would have a harder time turning Taisen invisible, mainly because in order to do that he would need to touch him, which is a lot harder in faster motion. Moreover, they want to appear as travellers, or at least he does, which would mean running about and just landing at the village entrance would be somewhat suspicious. That's why there was no choice but to rest.

It was indeed the correct choice. Yet, in order to set camp they would need to set some sort of a system to always be ready. Tora's partner was pretty noticible even when standing still, so it was only natural to try to think of a way to perhaps keep a low profile. Maybe stray a bit out of the main road so that any kind of patrol would overlook them? At any rate, it wasn't up to him, they were two there.

It was already beggining to get darker. The sun was heating less and some of the shadows were getting colder still. Even in summer that country was not consistent. No wonder the terrorists chose it as their base. It was unstable as they were. "I think we both know setting camp is inescapeable. I trust you can make a fire. I'll set up patrol in a large enough radius no one would disturb us. So, lets get off the main road, where my patrol men wouldn't be bothered by anyone but those who want to come to our camp side. Sounds good?"

[Molokai]

"Sounds good."

Taisen was better at making fires than Tora could possibly imagine. He ducked off of the main road and went in a few meters to where they wouldn't be easily seen from the road, but could easily find it again in the morning. Once there, he found a nice flat-ish patch of ground and set about making a shelter. It was easy enough, really. Taisen just gathered a decent-sized log and propped it up between the forks of two adjacent trees. Then, he gathered smaller logs and branches and leaned them against the cross-beam to make a two-person lean-to shelter. This took a matter of minutes to conduct since Taisen was strong enough to move these relatively large pieces of wood around like they were so many twigs.

A few more touch-ups later, such as piling leaves on top to fill in the gaps and making a circle of rocks in which to have a fire, the two of them had a decent-looking campsite. Piling some of the smaller branches in the rock cricle, Taisen decided to really show off. He snapped his fingers and pointed at the unlit campfire, and a gout of flame shot forth from his outstretched fingers and quickly ignited a campfire worthy of weenie-roasting. This fire was also positioned so that the lean-to was between it and the road, so that the glow couldn't be seen by anybody that just happened to be walking by. The shelter itself, being made of natural materials, would be similarly invisible unless a really observant person with night vision was looking for it. Overall, a pretty kickass campsite done in no time flat.

Posting himself beside his literally hand-crafted fire, he took off his boots and leaned Samehada and his shield beside the shelter. "Not a bad campsite, if I do say so myself," Taisen said so himself, "know any ghost stories?" He added that last part jokingly. Just because they were on a life-threatening mission didn't mean they had to be so grim about it all the time. Taisen had been in loads of life-threatening situations before, and the fact that he survived them all had to mean something. A little bit of lightening up went a long way, especially when the stakes were high.

Tora mentioned something about his patrol men. He could only assume the Genin meant he had some kind of sentry technique he planned to set up. This would be nice, as it would allow the both of them to get at least some sleep. Taisen wanted to be up and moving by the time the sun cleared the horizon, so catching a couple of winks would be ideal before then.

[Tora Tsume]

Tora indeed had some sentry techniques. While Taisen went off to set up camp, Tora followed the first few step and then walked about, marking a path where the sentry would walk, making sure it would cover all and any entry from the road to their little camp site. Once done, the seals were formed and the shadowy being rose from the ground. "Patrol." Tora ordered before walking over to Taisen's camp.

Once there, the Genin looked over at the camp his partner had set up. He had to admit he would take a lot longer to make something like that happen. It was a great note to take, taking into account that in some missions he would need to actually learn how to set up camp, which meant some new skills were to be found and trained. Sadly, this wasn't the time to train said skills, and sleep was a little more important.

"Not my kind of thing." He replied to Taisen as he asked about the ghost stories. "But I'd love to hear some. I find them rather interesting." He added, knowing that each ghost story had a certain origin that gave some sort of clue as to what people found scary. That was a lovely thing to know, since he could use that idea of fear and turn his techniques into more powerful against anyone else.

SPOILER: Click to show

Shadow Sentry, Greater
Rank: "C"
Skill: GenJutsu
Effect: Shadow sentry creates either a shadowy or faceless humanoid warrior under the user's command.
Special: "Handseals"
Drawback: ---
Description: Affects anyone who interacts with the Shadowy guard. The user is able to perform this technique at a distance of 7 meters plus 6 meters per class level. The duration of this technique lasts for 5 hours per class level. This technique may be disbelieved once interacted with. The sentry may be commanded to “guard,” where it shouts an alarm if it notices anyone approach within 50 meters, “patrol,” where it follows a route first walked by the user and calls an alarm if it notices anyone approach within 50 meters, and “attack,” where it attacks with its shadowy sword. The sentry is discharged if a killing strike is performed against it.
Limit: Must know the Shadow Perception. Must know Shadow Sentry.

[Molokai]

Interestingly enough, Taisen did know a ghost story or two. Very little, if anything, genuinely scared him, but that didn't stop him from enjoying a spooky tale or two. "I've got one," he began, "A woman, a skilled survivalist who spent a lot of time in the woods and knew her way around rough terrain, returned home after over two weeks deep in the bush without any human contact at all. As she's going through the pictures she took, she finds pictures from each night of her fast asleep." He knew it wasn't much, but to him it was the short stories that left the scariness to the imagination that were the most terrifying. That, and that's the only one he could remember that was pertinent to their current situation. Good thing the creepy shadow man was guarding them as they slept.

Well, Taisen didn't really need as much sleep as normal people. Even if he stayed up all night, he could still operate at max capacity the next day. However, sleeping was still something Tora needed to do and it was also something that Taisen rather enjoyed on occasion. He had spent the better part of a year or so sleeping in campsites like this one when he was on his walkabout hiatus, so he was almost more comfortable underneath a lean-to in the cold than he was in a nice, warm bed. Staring at the crackling fire, Taisen found himself drifting off for what felt like the first time in days. He was sitting up against one of the trees that made up his lean-to, with Samehada close by, facing the fire to his left. As he watched it, his chin rested on his chest and he napped.

Luckily, he had always been a light sleeper. If someone so much as stepped on a twig, he would be awake in an instant. Hopefully, though, nobody would come around and start snapping twigs. If nothing disturbed the two of them, he would sleep until dawn at which point he would rise, stretch, take up his weapons, and quickly knock down the lean-to before getting back on the road to Enrai. If all went well and uninterrupted, the two of them would arrive in Enrai just a couple of hours after dawn. Still bright and early, plenty of time to go hunting for shops.

Tora mentioned something about turning Taisen invisible before the two of them entered the city. So, before they actually came to within sight of whoever's job it was to watch the entrance, he would stop and say, "We're close, anything you want to go over or plan before we commit to going in?"

[Tora Tsume]

Listening to the story Taisen told, Tora remained unaffected. It was sure interesting how it came to be, but he really had no heart to begin analyzing it all. It did not satisfy his need to learn about fear as much as he thought. So, once Taisen was done, Tora just gave him a nod and layed to sleep, uninterrupted untill morning, at least as long as his shadowy being didn't warn them about some incoming danger.

Once they were up, Tora checked he had everything on him and went on to disarm his guard, letting him fall back to shadows. The road to the village wasn't too long, filled with silence just like he liked it. With that he could think up their plan further, and there was much to think about. Interestingly enough, it somewhat bugged him that an arms dealer would be there in some village. But that was to be determined later.

"Alright. You can be invisible for 5 minutes. So, since I assume you run fast enough, I'll turn you invisible when we're close and you'll run ahead to infiltrate the village while I keep a steady pace. Note that while you are invisible, you still can be heard or smelled. So take note of that." He said in response to Taisen's question, making sure he said any little detail he could so that he could execute the mission proffesionally.

"Once there, I'll try to meet up with you. You'll be easy to notice, so just make sure you find me rather than I find you." He said and formed the seals, grabbing a hold of Taisen's arm once they were close enough, turning him invisible to the outside world and allowing him the adventage. "You have 5 minutes. Make them count." He said and began walking towards the village entrance, hoping he would find too much trouble once he was there.

SPOILER: Click to show

Invisibility
Rank: "C"
Skill: GenJutsu
Effect: Makes the target they touch invisible.
Special: "Handseals"
Drawback: ---
Description: Affects anyone who sees the target. The user is able to perform this technique on the target they touch. The duration of this technique lasts for 5 minutes per class level. This technique may be negated. The creature or object touched becomes invisible, vanishing from sight, even from darkvision. If the recipient is a creature carrying gear, that vanishes, too. If the user performs the Jutsu on someone else, neither the user nor their allies can see the subject, unless they can normally see invisible things. Items dropped or put down by an invisible creature become visible; items picked up disappear if tucked into the clothing or pouches worn by the creature. Light, however, never becomes invisible, although a source of light can become so (thus, the effect is that of a light with no visible source). Any part of an item that the subject carries but that extends more than 10 feet from it becomes visible, such as a trailing rope. Of course, the subject is not silenced, and certain other conditions can render the recipient detectable (such as stepping in a puddle). The Jutsu ends if the subject attacks any opponent. For purposes of this Jutsu, an attack includes any Jutsu targeting a foe or whose area or effect includes a foe. Actions directed at unattended objects do not break the Jutsu. Causing harm indirectly is not an attack. Thus, an invisible being can open doors, talk, eat, climb stairs, summon and have them attack. If the subject attacks directly, however, it immediately becomes visible along with all its gear.
Limit: Must know the Glamour Perception.

[Molokai]

As soon as Taisen was granted the gift of invisibility with the time limit of five minutes, he couldn't have possibly been more excited. He took off at a dead sprint that would have shocked the Genin with its speed had he actually been able to see it. Once actually in the village, it would be searching time.

((Move to Enrai))

[Tora Tsume]

Tora could feel the wind blowing him away as soon as Taisen turned invisible. Was he too rash to give such a man such a special gift? It was kind of annoying to think about how much trouble he may cause with just 5 minutes of being completely incognito, considering he was so easily noticed with his massive sword and shield. At any rate, it was time to begin walking to the village and hopefully meet his compadre there.

Walking towards the gate, Tora kept his head down, simply walking by, hoping no one would stop him or question him on his way inside. After a smal hike the gates were visible and he just kept going, right into Enrai - his destination. With that, it was time to meet Taisen and begin their quest.

((Now move to Enrai.))

[james]

With the Invisibility genjutsu cast, Taisen had successfully managed to sprint past the guards, who, understandably, thought that the rush of winds they had felt had been a sudden gust from the high mountains of Lightning Country. The young Genin, however, would meet a stalwart member of Enrai at the village gate, as this was the capital, and with his arms crossing his burly chest, let loose a string of inquiries that demanded Tora to answer before he was permitted within the village.

"What is your name---what is your purpose within Enrai---are you carrying any weapons?" Several questions worthy of mention as the young blonde guard stood smiling before the smaller boy. He would find out his name, his reason for being in Enrai and if he had any weapons on him, they would be confiscated.. of course, he could try to lie to the guard about the latter inquiry, but what good would that do him in the end if he'd been found out?

SPOILER: Click to show

welcome to enrai.