Searching For Food and Friends (Social, Open)

[The Librarian]

Ken wandered the streets, stomach growling. For about the hundredth time as he was walking though the crowded streets of the village, he checked to make sure all of his kunai and shuriken were in their slots inside his cloak and that his sword was still on his hip. This is what he got for being a paranoid conditioned soldier from a secret organisation: he got a massive dose of paranoia.

The good thing about that was that he kept his head down and even though he was in a cloak with a very distinctive pattern and wearing a MASK, no one noticed him all that much.

It was a mess down here, Ken thought to himself. So many people, all just filling the streets. Did these people have anywhere else to be? Or was their job literally to just stand in the streets? At any rate, Ken looked around, searching for somewhere to eat. The food in his home was good and all, but with the training he’d done, he needed actual food.

“God,” Ken said out loud, “Is everywhere full?”

Hopefully, someone came along and directed him somewhere, because if this went for much longer, Ken was just going to go home and train some more.

[Deleted]

Shiki wandered through the ever bustling streets of Kumo. Everything felt so fluid and caught in motion in the village. Looking at all the commotion it was almost overwhelming to think about so many people all going about there business. Shiki loved being in a crowd. Being able to walk freely among several people and just be able to slip away onto the next instance was a wonderful freedom. Shiki smiled cheerfully as he made his through the city. He was dressed casually in his black cloak and yellow embroidery. There was a jingle as the various knifes and assorted ninja tools moved as he excitedly moved through the city.

Approaching an intersection Shiki saw a strange kid wearing a mask walking about the town. Well... Let's go see what this is all about then...


Shiki walked up the fellow and smiled. 

[The Librarian]

Ken was suddenly stopped in his path by a kid, no older than fourteen, but not so short that Ken had had to hurt his neck. The boy had tanned skin, white eyes, dark black hair and was dressed like a noble, all finery and cleanliness. Ken’s nose was hit with the smell of cologne.



Ken processed all this information and determined that the boy was not a threat to him, all while his hand moved to his sword. Ken was only just able to stop himself before drawing it.



Don’t freak out, Ken, he's just a kid. But Ken’s soldier senses had kicked in, and we're working into overdrive.



All this before Ken noticed the kid wasn't moving out of his way. Ken took a deep breath and slipped into his persona. “Damn kid,” Ken said, “You shouldn't just appear in someone’s way like that, you could get yourself into trouble.” Ken accompanied his words with emphatic gestures, doing his absolute best to make sure the kid thought him strange.



Of course, just then his stomach gave an almighty grumble, loud enough to make Ken’s stomach hurt with its emptiness.

[Deleted]

Shiki eyed this odd man up and down. He seemed alarmed for some reason. It was strange hearing someone speak from behind a mask. Shiki could see the man's raven black hair stick out from behind it. The man was about 16, maybe 17. Shiki eyed the man silently for a little bit. He was lanky maybe just a little bit over 6ft tall.

But there was something else. Shiki let his pale eyes rest gazing on the man's mask. He's paranoid. That explains the mask... The knee jerk reaction to reach for his sword. His stature seemed like someone who was familiar to trouble. Was he a mercenary? 
Shiki realized that this could be considered rude.

Shiki rocked back and forth on his feet and smiled. "I don't think I've met you before. My name is Shiki." Extending his right arm forward for a handshake.  

[The Librarian]

Ken watched the boy eye him up. Most normal people didn't eye strangers up the way this kid was, especially if they're children. He was experienced, maybe not as worldly as Ken was, but he'd had training. That meant he had to be a shinobi. That let Ken relax a little, but not by much. If he was a shinobi, that meant he had to be a part of Kumo. Unless Blackdraft had snuck in, but Ken thought that was unlikely. 

"I don't think I've met you before," the boy said as he held out his hand, "My name is Shiki." Shiki? The name rang no bells in Ken's memory. 

"I'm fairly sure we haven't either," Ken said, "Bara Ken, at your service." Ken shook the boy's hand. The grip was firm, but not overly so. Ken's stomach gave a growl again. "Say, Shiki," Ken said "You wouldn't happen to know of a restaurant or something nearby that isn't full of people, would you?"

[Deleted]

"I'm fairly sure we haven't either," Ken said, "Bara Ken, at your service." Ken shook the boy's hand."Say, Shiki," Ken said "You wouldn't happen to know of a restaurant or something nearby that isn't full of people, would you?"

Shiki smiled. "There are a lot of good places to eat around here if you are hungry. There is a barbecue place just up the street from here that makes a fantastic place to eat." Shiki turned and pointed a toward the north end of the street. "There is a Ramen shop just down the road that also has a pretty rad sushi bar too. I was just on my way to eat if you'd like to join me to either one."

Shiki let the question hang in the air for a second before turning back to face Ken inquisitively. His smile slowly turned into a frown "I mean... If you want too."

[The Librarian]

Ken, obviously hidden by the mask, smiled. There didn't seem to be a bad bone in this kids body. And his stomach gave a huge lurch at the mention of barbecue. "Unless you have a preference," Ken said, "Barbecue sounds really good right now. Fighting dragon's made of wind is hungry work." Hopefully the mention of his training mishap would throw the young boy off guard. No bad bone he may have, but Ken didn't live this long by letting his guard down to every smiling child. That was interesting job, and not one Ken liked thinking about too much.

Ken started to walk, but realised he had no idea where he was going. So he gestured to Shiki, "Please lead the way." Ken's eyes watched the boy, hidden by his mask. If nothing else, this was going to be a chance to meet someone else from the village. Despite its size, Ken hadn't had much chance to socialise with people inside it. Strange, now he thought about it.

[Deleted]

Shiki's eyes brightened as the stranger mentioned eating barbecue. Shiki didn't want to admit it but he didn't have a single real friend in the village. Sure there were acquaintances here or there. But Shiki outclassed most the other kids his age in his training. The result was that he had very little in common with most kids his age. The man in the mask seemed like a nice enough person despite all his nonsense about fighting dragons. Shiki didn't want to get his hopes up but it was hard not too at the prospect of making a friend.

A bright smile flashed across his face. "Sure thing! The family that owns the place is really good friends with my father. They always bring out free appetizers for me when I go by there. Follow me." Shiki started to head in the direction of the western edge of the village toward the nobles living district. There was a pep to his step as he moved about. 

[The Librarian]

Shiki barely registered the fact that Ken mentioned dragons, but he did brighten at the mention of barbeque.  "Sure thing! The family that owns the place is really good friends with my father. They always bring out free appetizers for me when I go by there. Follow me." Shiki said before starting down the street, a spring in his step. 

Ken followed closely behind, a bit more deliberate in his steps. Ken brought the hood on his cloak up and moved it around his body so his weapons were concealed. No need to display everything. And something was niggling at the back of his mind. This kid wasn't a threat, or if he was he concealed his ability and intentions well. The kid seemed a little lonely: you had to be to just randomly come up to masked people and lead them off to lunch. And Ken refused to believe Blackdraft had graduated to actually sending children into the field. Ken was easily the youngest when he escaped, and no way in hell would they risk losing a child to him.

"So," Ken said, "what does your father do? Is he a shinobi like you?" Casual conversation to most, vital intelligence for Ken. He wanted to not mistrust this kid, but this feeling would not go away. Besides, the kid seemed like he'd be a fun person to be around and god knows that Ken needed some fun. 

[Deleted]

Shiki smiled. This guy was bright. He could tell Shiki was a ninja even though he was wasn't wearing the iconic ninja headband or see the two kunai and senbon hidden in his cloak. When Shiki wasn't on a mission he has a bad habit of not carrying his longsword around. It was a reliable weapon but he had a tendency to rely on his ninjutsu. Rather then confirm his ninja status Shiki decided to answer the question partly.

"My dad is a weapon designer for the cloud village. He helped engineer a lot of the technology used against the gale." Shiki frowned as he mentioned it. Shiki started walking down a rather narrow alley way. It was only a week ago Shiki had killed his very first person in this alleyway. With a wave of indifference Shiki looked over his shoulder and smiled again.

"What do you do?"

[The Librarian]

"My dad is a weapon designer for the cloud village. He helped engineer a lot of the technology used against the gale." Oh, this kid was clever. He absolutely refused to give anything away. But he knew that Ken knew and that was enough. But what was this 'gale' he mentioned? Ken had been in the village for a little while now, but he'd never heard of them. But it was the kid's next question that sent him reeling. Well, that and the fact he'd been led into an alleyway. Ambush central, and the feeling of being in trouble had not gone away yet. 

"What do you do?"

"Ask a hard question next time," Ken joked, working to keep the carefree cheer in his voice. "I'm a shinobi of the cloud, though only a recent graduate of the academy. Before that, I did odd jobs for people. And before that...well..." Ken debated mentioning Blackdraft, to see if he got any reaction from the kid, but they'd been in the alley for long enough now. If an ambush was coming from the kid, he'd have attacked by now.

Whatever the threat was, it wasn't the kid. It also wasn't cliched enough to attack him in the alley. Ken kept his eye out, but didn't expect to see anyone. If it WAS Blackdraft, he wouldn't find them. 

"At any rate," Ken said, waving his hand, "I've had a varied career before I joined the village." Ken's hand, hidden by the cloak, brushed the hilt of his sword. It was a small comfort, but still a comfort. 

[Deleted]

Shiki kept walking and smiled. He listened and smiled as the man continued to talk. They were getting near the restaurant. "You're a shinobi too? You aren't a part of a team are you?"
Shiki looked back curiously as he asked.

Shiki had been doing solo missions for the village this entire time. A partner would mean more dangerous situations and more respect and money with it. But if this guy just graduated... He might not be up for it. He seemed of the capable sort.

[The Librarian]

Ken followed Shiki to the restaurant, and that was when he finally saw it. It was as Shiki talked, so he didn't answer straight away. But it was the electric feeling in his spine that warned him. A sharp feeling, one that Ken had several times before. Ken looked back, and saw three men doing their best to be discreet. Big men, not obviously armed but Ken wouldn't put it past them. Unseen by anyone, Ken's hand gripped his sword. 

"Yeah, I'm a shinobi," Ken said, tearing his gaze away from the men. "No partner or team yet though. I've mostly focused on my training."

The men following them were pros, Ken could tell. Ken may be a novice ninja, but if nothing else he knew soldiers. But one thing he could tell from this distance, they weren't Blackdraft. Blackdraft soldiers would be less obvious. Mercenaries? Slighted individuals from one of Ken's odd jobs?

Whoever they were, they're obviously not trying to hide. So why'd it take Ken so long to notice them? Maybe...No, not possible. Ken couldn't have lost his edge. But then again...

Ken kept his senses open, just in case. This was not going to be like the last time Ken wasn't paying attention while on a job. He still had pains from that.  

[Deleted]

Shiki kept the smile on his face but a twinge of alarm went through him. The masked mans demeanor had changed.

"Yeah, I'm a shinobi," Ken said, tearing his gaze away from the men. "No partner or team yet though. I've mostly focused on my training."

Shiki caught a glance behind him as he turned to listen to Ken. Sure enough they were being followed. Shiki was in an uncertain situation here. It was time to take a moment to observe his surroundings. Up ahead there was something strange going on. The restaurant was one of the most popular restaurants in this part of the city and it was prime lunch time. That being said this restaurant wasn't cheap typically attracting the higher end clientele. The restaurant patio was mostly empty. There were two people standing outside the restaurant who began to walk inside as soon as they noticed Shiki had noticed them. 

They were about average height with broad shoulders. Soldier types. Both were wearing cloaks, one black and grey another an earthy brown. It was a nice day outside. Mid 70's probably. Nothing screamed 'hey i've got some something concealed' like a cloak out when its not cold. Shiki looked at Ken analyzing the situation. 

Fuck. This guy is impossible to read with that stupid mask on his face. Is he luring me into a trap? Are these guys with him? If this came to blows there were at least six of them including Ken. Shiki didn't like these odds. Shiki's hands instinctively wanted to reach for his kunai. But fear of alerting Ken kept his hands still.

There is no way Ken could have known where we were going though... He couldn't have set these two men up in advance if that were the case. 

They were about 20 meters away from the front door of the restaurant. Shiki started to form hand seals discreetly inside his cloak. "Doublespeak."

SPOILER: Click to show

Doublespeak
Rank: "C"
Skill: GenJutsu
Effect: The subjects of the Jutsu can speak about anything they like, but to everyone else, they sound like they are holding a mundane conversation about the weather, the taste of the food, local politics, and similarly banal topics.
Special: "Handseals"
Drawback: ---
Description: Affects anyone who sees the targets. Affects up to the user and 1 creature per class level. The user is able to perform this technique by touching them. The duration of this technique lasts for 5 minutes per class level. This technique may be negated. User understands their companions clearly enough, but judging by the expressions of those around them, nobody else knows what is actually being said. The illusion also modifies facial expressions and mouth movements to match the illusory words spoken. Anyone who spends at least 1 full round studying the conversation is allowed a save to disbelieve the illusion. Subjects of the Jutsu know the gist of what the illusory voices talked about during the duration, that is, they know the topics covered, but not the precise phrases or details.

"I'm not sure whats going on. But things are about to get violent. Who's side are you on?" Shiki said. The playfulness was gone from his voice. It was calculated and cutting. 

To on lookers Shiki was smiling and talking about how much he absolutely loved the heavy miso broth used as a dip. 

[The Librarian]

"I'm not sure whats going on. But things are about to get violent. Who's side are you on?" Shiki's voice changed. Ken had heard that tone before: if nothing else, Shiki was a warrior. It was a warrior's voice, when they've finally resolved to fight. 

"That depends," Ken said, voice still with a charm to it, "Have you ever heard of the Blackdraft organisation?" As he said this, Ken noticed the crowd was beginning to thin out. But the men weren't disappearing. In fact, despite two shinobi clearly noticing them, they hadn't changed pace. They kept advancing. Good thing the crowd was disappearing, otherwise this could get ugly. 

"It's almost academic," Ken said, "This is going to turn into a fight in any case. I hope you're a prodigy of some kind, because my best bet is swinging my sword." As he said it, he flicked his sword so that some of the blade would have been visible if he wasn't wearing his cloak. 

It had been a while since he'd been in a fight. Ken was a little excited. 

[Deleted]

"That depends," Ken said, voice still with a charm to it, "Have you ever heard of the Blackdraft organisation?" Shiki felt relieved all at once. He had no idea who these people were Ken was talking about. "I don't know a thing about them." Ken continued speaking. "I hope you're a prodigy of some kind, because my best bet is swinging my sword."

Shiki realized that Ken had armed himself. It was time to do the same.

Shiki smiled. Shiki he had a friend in this fight. Shiki put his hands inside of his cloak and made several quick handseals.

Conceal
Rank: "D"
Skill: GenJutsu
Effect: A Jutsu that conceals a weapon.
Special: "Handseals"
Drawback: ---
Description: The user is able to perform this technique by touching the target. The duration of this technique lasts for 5 minutes per class level. This Jutsu causes 1 item the use is carrying that is 1 size category smaller than the user (or smaller) to become invisible. The object remains invisible until the user uses the item to activate a Jutsu or other chakra effect, to open a door, to strike an opponent, drop it, or in any way use it to affect the world around you. This Jutsu is most effective for sneaking items past guards or otherwise making the user appear less prepared than they are. The item still creates a noticeable bulge in clothing or packs, but it cannot be seen.
Limit: Must know the Glamour Perception.
This next jutsu would be going back to the Genjutsu tree. Having just mastered the lightning release Shiki realized he might need to give the other branches of jutsu a shot. Going back to genjutsu was almost an obvious choice. Wining by a contest of arms was difficult and would obviously require a lot of training to make sure he wasn’t obviously outclassed in terms of combat with another. But if you couldn’t be stronger then the enemy then it helped to be smarter than the enemy and to take him by surprise. That being said having the element of surprise is critical on not letting the enemy know what exactly you would be doing.

With the release of his jutsu his weapons would become concealed. Shiki kept talking still under the effect of the double speak jutsu. "I'm better fighting from a distance. If you can keep them focused on you I can do something about these guys. We don't know how many of them are here either."

[The Librarian]

"I'm sure it's just the two," Ken said, fully drawing Bara no Ken from its sheathe. The crowd had disappeared, leaving only the two shinobi and the two men. They both drew swords, and Ken grinned behind his mask. "Don't hit me by accident, okay?" With that, Ken rushed forward as fast as possible and attacked first, his sword singing through the air. 

Ken may not have had a specific style fully realised yet, but he did know how to use a sword. And that, he was good at. Ken's first strike met steel as he attacked the first man. Before he could get distracted, he moved on to the next man, his sword swinging fast through the air. Both men were successfully distracted: Ken had made them turn their backs on Shiki.

"So, if you two dregs are the best Blackdraft can send," Ken said cheerfully as he fought both swordsman (Both were fairly unskilled when it came to swordsmanship) "What happened to them? Did their funding get cut?"

Neither man responded, and it was then Ken noticed something messed up with their eyes. They were blank. Almost lifeless. Ken almost lost a hand when he noticed and had to back off and recover. It was Shiki's turn to do something. 

[Deleted]

Shiki saw the flash of steel as the swords made contact with each other. Ken was fast. Shiki smiled. He stepped backwards putting Ken in between Shiki and the two men attacking him. Out of the corner of Shiki's eye he noticed two men coming from the restaurant. They seemed to be lumbering toward him maybe about 30 meters out. One of them had a longsword already drawn another had a shortsword.

The two of them were threats but Shiki needed to help Ken. Shiki had a new technique perfect for this. It was going to take a bunch of handseals to prepare though. Shiki hoped this worked. Ken just needed to buy a little bit more time.

Moving his hands as quick as he could Shiki began to gather as much chakra as he could for this technique. He had only done it once before. He needed 8 more seconds. Just 8 more seconds.

[The Librarian]

Ken sheathed his sword and reached into his cloak, drawing three kunai in one hand and three shuriken in another. Shiki was preparing something, but two men emerged from the restaurant, armed. Crap! Good thing these guys were...whatever the hell they were. This was going to suck. Ken needed to help Shiki prepare whatever it was he was preparing. 

Jumping up and landing on one of his attackers shoulders, Ken released his volley at the two advancing at Shiki. The shuriken and kunai shot forward and hit the enemies by Shiki. Whether they did much more than distract them from Shiki for a few precious seconds didn't matter: the blades definitely hit flesh, because Ken saw the scarlet spurts of blood as they embedded themselves into chest and neck. That had better have killed them, otherwise they had more problems than Ken had initially expected. 

"Any time, Shiki!" Ken said as he flipped backwards, hopefully out of the way of what Shiki had prepared. It had better be good: otherwise Ken could have possibly put himself into a bad position tactically. 

[Deleted]

This was it.

SPOILER: Click to show

Raiton: Monogatari Hidora, 雷光: 物語 紫陽花, (Lightning Style: Legend Hydra)
Rank: A
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: The user creates a massive blast of dragon-like lightning.
Special: “Hand Seals”
Drawback: This technique is extremely loud and unsuited for stealth. This technique consumes large amounts of chakra.
Description: The user forms the hand seals, focusing chakra into their hands. They then thrust their hands forward, releasing the lightning chakra forward. A long, sinuous dragon-like being of crackling blue-white lightning will spring forward from each of the user’s hands, twining around one another. They will extend towards the target at high speed, for a maximum range of forty meters. When they reach the target they rear up and split from one another, before splitting a further time, each into three, creating six grand hydras of lightning that come crashing explosively into and around the target, creating a crater ten meters in radius. These hydras cause extreme shocking akin to severe third-degree burning on the target, as well as applying a fair amount of explosive force due to the generated pressure wave.
Limit: Must have Raiton. Must know Raiton: Hidora.

Shiki clapped his hands together. Releasing his Chakra together Shiki screamed as he unleashed the energy out of his body. Letting go of that much chakra was difficult. Holding the chakra inside your body was intoxicating. The power was like holding back a massive sneeze. The sensation left him lightheaded and spacey but the desire to cast the Jutsu and release the power was consuming. Shiki let the desire take him and felt the lightning rip out of his body.

Shiki felt the intensely powerful chakra rip out of his body turning into lightning. Bringing his arms together in a large swinging motion they made contact. A loud boom erupted through Shiki's body as his hands came together. A massive clap of thunder as a long sinuous dragon like head erupted from his outstretched arms. The Dragon opened its massive maw and roared with the sound of thunder.

The Dragons head was about 5 meters tall and 3 meters wide. The Dragon flew at the two men at a speed of about 45 meters a second. It rushed at the two men and right before contact the dragon split into two smaller heads clamping their teeth and lifting them off the ground. With a massive amount of force the dragons heads slammed them down onto the floor. A concussive wave of dust and wind pushed through the courtyard. There was a 10 meter crater where the men were thrown to the floor. When the men made contact with the floor the hydra's heads broke into three more heads respectively. 

Each of the heads began to attack the the men with a ravenous vigor. The hydras were rampaging on the pinned men crashing into them over and over.

Shiki fell to one knee as the chakra drain took its toll. He was gasping for air and pale. He had some tunnel vision but he wasn't out of the fight. He put one of his hands on the ground to steady himself as he wrapped his fingers around his concealed kunai.