It is said that in Kirigakure there is a small detective agency. It hasn't been there for very long, a little over three months at most. Outwardly it appears as a rather unremarkable building situated beneath a majhong parlour. The door of the agency bears a small golden plaque inscribed with the legend

“Di's investigative firm. Services provided include but are not limited to: Missing Person's , Apprehension of Criminals, Deduction of Guilt in the Event of a Crime, Retrieval of Stolen Goods, Inquiry to Spiritual Matters , Resolution of Hauntings , Identification of Supernatural Phenomena. Prices negotiable.”

Word had it around town that the agencies sole employee had been intrinsic in both the capture of the infamous Kabuki Killer and the master thief known as the Magpie. Some had hopes that the detective though still young would be able to do what even Kiri's anbu had failed to achieve and end the reign of the ever elusive Yatagarasu Murderer. These were not the only things said about the detective angency however...

Rumours hinted that :

The Detective agency was much larger on the inside than the outside – which was false.

That the Detective had the ability to interact with spirits and had even saved members of Kiri's population from supernatural creatures – which was true.

That in order to gain his abilities the Detective had made a deal with either an Oni or in some of the more outlandish stories one of the wicked gods of old – which was false.

The even though the Detective appeared as a young man of around twenty he was actually much older – which was true.

When attempting more series cases the Detective called upon the services of his partner who was an Inugami able to shift between the forms of dog and man – which was partially true.

That the Detective was not human – which was true.

Inside the office the aforementioned detective was alternating between a book on the legendary ghost hunter Zhong Kui and a text detailing the modern use of genjutsu and their effects. While Di had no desire to learn the techniques himself he did need to become more adept at dealing with their effects. A detective who couldn't trust his senses was in a bad state indeed. As there was no one about the office Di had not been following his normal practice of keeping up his affected human habits. Di might blink once every half hour and the draw breath at ten minute intervals.  

Though his books were interesting and in the case of the genjutsu primer rather invaluable Di did wish that he had a case to work on. Things had gone strangely quite for the last little while with even Yatagarasu taking a break from their seemingly ceaseless bloodshed. It was not that Di needed the money – he normally ended up charging far less than what would be the norm. But rather the desire to keep up with a human schedule and remain immersed in the world of man.

(502 words)

Dinh had been haunted ever since his first night of staking out away from the small, central village he had grown up in. He had chosen his first destination as Kirigakure no Sato, as based on what he had come to know of that particular village in his homeschooling, it possessed the biggest change in scenery when compared to where he had come from. It was while camping on the village outskirts, just a few hours of walking left to go, that he and Rina were overcome with a deep, hazing fog. Within that fog, Dinh saw the most beautiful woman he had ever set eyes upon. Her silvery hair was long, well beyond her shoulders and reaching to the small of her back. She wore no clothes, which made the whole thing even more so shocking. Her skin was dark and smooth. Her eyes were a glaring blue that seemed almost unnatural. She was unlike anyone Dinh had ever seen before. He was mesmerized.

Dinh, still not having been able to rest properly before entering Kirigakure, spent around thirty minutes in pursuit of this woman, who giggled and laughed and seemed to always just make it out of reach. Even Rina seemed amused by his frustration. The young hosokawa boy sighed heavily and turned back toward his camp, dragging his feet in a Sen-childish display of defeat. That was of course when Rina would chime in.

The fox would say to him in a smooth feminine voice - “What pleases you so much about that woman that you’d chase her into the unknown? It isn’t as if you know her or her intentions. Or are you just some sort of pervert all of the sudden, chasing nude women through the mist?” she finished, draping herself around his neck comfortable as he made his way back toward his camp.

“I’m not sure...there was something about her that just pulled me. I wanted to learn those things and my body reacted. What if she needed help out here?” his face burned a sudden bright blush red. “I am NOT a pervert!”

Needless to say, as the night went on, this game of cat and mouse would take place three additional times. Each time reducing Dinh’s faith that the woman was real just a little more. Rina continues to be dismissive and ask an odd number of questions about the intentions of Dinh and the woman. The night would end very late, the sun almost illuminating the sky as the early morning hours elapsed. Dinh curled up with Rina near the fire beneath a small hand-woven quilt. The two would descend into sleep after a night of excitement.

The morning sun was high, and it dragged the two out of slumber. Rest was not going to be bad with the travel of merchants, carts and feet pattering and tapping by just at the side of the camp on the beaten path. Dinh was able to wrap up and pack away his camp set-up quickly and he immediately began his trek toward the main body of the village. While wandering through back streets and admiring the sights, smells, and architecture of the new village, Dinh spotted something that piqued his curiosity and confirmed to Rina that the poor kid was obsessing over the woman of last night.

“Di’s Invesitgative Firm. I could learn who the woman was!”

Rina groaned in misery, really wishing she could talk the boy out of it but having the wisdom to know she could not. Dinh pushed open the doors, his black lower-face mask and black shinobi outfit being nothing particularly fascinating or spectacular. His white hair and amber eyes would meet with whomever stood behind the service desk and he would ask with some excitement “Hello! How might I go about presenting a case to investigator Di?”

WC: 649

Hearing the ringing of the small bell that was attached to his agency's door, Di quickly marked his place in his books and turned his attention to the potential client. A youth of average height garbed in the traditional attire of the shinobi complete with mempo mask covering his lower features. What stood out most about the figure however was his albinism. Hair the colour of corn-silk and eyes that bore a pinkish red hue marked a rare genetic condition. Something that Di had read about before but never actually seen in person.

Ascertaining the teens origins and status were difficult. Though as Di had noted he was dressed in the garb of a ninja he did not display any village symbols denoting allegiance to any of the major powers. This combined with an accent that was not immediately familiar made Di suspect that the ninja had come to Kiri from a smaller village or settlement and wished to seek his fortune and receive training from Kiri's master shinobi.  

A final thing to note was the fox perched on the young man's shoulder. The beast was of average size and unlike it's master possessed the more usual orange and white fur instead of the rarer pure Arctic ivory. Though Di could well be mistaken, the bone structure of the creature suggested that it was female. There was a chance that the the creature could pick up on his true nature. Animals often had the power to discern any number of hidden things that the majority of humanity was blind to. Well time would tell on that account. Di smiled at the guest and made his best welcoming gesture.

“A good day to you sir. I am the sole owner and employee of this agency and thus all cases are taken by me personally.”

Di gave a slight bow as was polite in Kiri society.  

“My name as you have already deduced is Di and I specialise in personal investigations, crime solving, missing persons or objects and identification and resolution of supernatural phenomenon and events. If you could give me a brief overview of your problem we can discuss how it might be best tackled in order to get optimal results. My schedule is currently free, so if you desire I can start work on this case immediately after hearing the details.”

Di reached to a draw next to his desk producing a thick notebook and a fountain pen engraved with scenes from ancient myth. Checking to see that the ink had not run dry he put the nib of the insturment to paper and readied himself to start taking notes on the young man's circumstances. When solving a case it paid to have as much information as possible as any detail no matter how small could be the linchpin on which the rest of the matter hung.

Di doubted that the young man had much in the matter of ryo, but honestly if the case was interesting enough he didn't care.

(502 Words 1004 Total)

The man who appeared behind the counter to greet Dinh was quick to arrive. He wore black formal attire from head to toe, which contrasted intensely to the intense pallour of his skin. After introducing himself as Di the man would waste no time readying himself to take down the details of the case to be presented. He was someone who wasted no time, while being quite polite in his go-getter demeanor. The process of reaching out to a detective had seemed entirely daunting until the moment Di arrived to be of service.

It was the disarming feeling that swept over Dinh that left him a bit lost for words. His stumbling over what to say caused Rina to vocalize herself. Speaking to the investigator with the a rather serious, tone akin to that of an adult mother figure speaking on behalf of some lost child. “Young Dinh has encountered a rather strange sight while preparing to enter Kirigakure no Sato for the first time. We realized the village named for it’s mist would likely have quite a bit of it, but what we couldn’t have predicted was a woman prancing through it in the night unburdened by a shred of clothing. My master seems to have been smitten by her...or perhaps he is just a pervert.”

Dinh’s face ignited into a red flush extremely quickly as he playfully swatted at his rude and humiliating companion. “N..no, that’s not it. Well, it is, but I’m not curious for that reason. The woman appeared from the mist and sort of beckoned to me. But when I gave chase, she evaded my grasp always. She never spoke. Merely laughed and fled. She woke me from sleep three different times throughout the night. I was never able to catch her.”

Dinh looked down at the floor feeling a bit humiliated by the way Rina had told the story. Though, it was not out of character for the brash fox to say exactly what she thought. She loved to tease and pick. It was part of the dynamic. The young Hosokawa brought his amber eyes back to the man and continued. “I am a newcomer to these parts entirely. To be quite honest, I have no idea what to do first now that I’ve arrived here, but I would rather uncover this mystery now than leave it alone and realize I should have handled it when it came up. What if she’s in danger? Could she be a missing person? A prankster? How could I just let something that bizarre go unanswered?”

Rina would scoff and settle lightly into the top of Dinh’s hair. He looked at Di with a certain bit of obsession apparent in his eyes, but also a forlorn look that spoke deeper than just the mysterious woman. It wasn’t hard to observe that’s Dinh was looking for more than just a strange girl stumbling naked through the mist. Maybe he himself wasn’t even aware of that fact.

“I don’t have much in the way of money, Detective, but I am a capable warrior. I could offer you protection services or physical labor in exchange should you help me.”

WC: 543
TWC: 1192

After hearing Dinh's story Di had some rather strong suspicions as to what was at work here. However it was not the way of the true detective to simply jump to conclusions, he would go over the facts piece by piece and come to the most logical conclusion. The first angle that he should examine was this was some sort of prank being played on Dinh. Of course this angle of thought had it's problems. It was Autumn in Kiri at the moment and anyone who was even the slightest bit familiar with the countries weather knew that the nights could become very cold indeed. Taking midnight jaunts berift of clothing was a sure-fire way to hypothermia, something that could be fatal.

Another factor that suggested against a prank was the fact that Kiri's landscape was home to plenty of sink-holes and pitfalls which became deadly when traversing a shrouded landscape. It would take a very skilled ninja indeed to perform such a task with impunity. Somehow Di doubted that either Lady Ayakashi or Madame Nozomi were parading around the countryside nude seducing young men in the mists.

A second possibility was that the woman was mad. No sane person would subject themselves to the aforementioned dangers, but to a lunatic that was a totally different matter. This theory started to crumble though when one took into account the fact that Dinh seemed to possess at least the basics of shinobi training. Evading a ninja was no easy feat especially when bereft of any tools or specialised gear. Add to this the fact that Kiri's anbu kept a very close watch on ninja within it's borders and the chance that there was an insane kunoichi who had gone rogue was very slim indeed.

The last possibility Di had to consider before accepting his initial suspicion was that the entire experience had been a series of dreams. The events took place in the middle of the night and it was certainly possible for a soporifically addled young mind to conjure forth erotic fantasies. There was a glaring flaw in this theory however. Dihn's vulpine companion had been present during these events. The woman had been witnessed by not one, but two separate observers making it exceedinly unlikely that she was a dream or fantasy.

Which only left Di's initial theory – supernatural visitation. This meant that the case was going to take a turn for the complicated. So be it! No good mystery was ever easy to solve and the detective welcomed a challenge. Before replying to his new client Di covertly slipped one hand beneath his office desk. There he conjured a small working. A miniscue flame like emanation of chakra that would burn on the tip of his index finger. Should any supernatural entities (Excluding Di himself) be present it would take on a ghostly blue hue. No such indicators emerged however as the flame was a healthy red in colour, Di's office was empty of unseen watchers. Extinguishing the tiny blaze Di looked to Dinh and spoke.

“I think you can rest assured that the woman you saw was in no danger. Having examined the circumstances of the event I think we can deduce that what you witnessed was no ordinary prankster or madwoman. Truth be told your experience bears all the classic features of a haunting. An elusive nocturnal figure of seductive mien who seems to appear and disappear at seemingly random intervals.”

Di made a steeple of his fingers resting them below his chin.

“I don't want to alarm you but I think it is likely that you have caught the attraction of a supernatural being. As she has appeared to you thrice it is likely that she will do so again. I don't want to alarm you but until we have ascertained her true identity and purpose you could be in danger. Even well meaning spirits can cause unintended harm, let alone those who are actively malicious.”

Di took a breath before continuing with his explanation.

“ If we want to get to the bottom if this we are going to have to do some research. Hauntings come in a number of different varieties. Firstly you have the most common – Yurei or ghosts who for some reason are attracted to the living. Second are minor kami – the small gods and goddesses who preside over mundane matters and are drawn to humanity. Third are Oni – if a demoness has taken a liking to you then this could be quite a bad situation indeed. Fourth are Yokai – creatures that are neither gods nor demons who live halfway between reality and dream. Lastly you have dragons but I have reason to believe that they are not at play here”

Di was proficient enough at sensing others of his kind and none of his kin had been around Dinh recently.

“Regarding payment – how does a favour to be traded in at a later date sound? Nothing major, but I may need assistance on another case in the future. If this is acceptable what say we meet at the old Hokusawa graveyard just out of town tonight to commence our investigations? By my reckoning the undead are the most likley cause of this and thus we should investigate that possibility first. As this has the chance of being quite dangerous though I will send a message requesting the service of a bodyguard to meet us at the destination. It can never hurt to have an extra pair of eyes and a ready blade”

(922 words 1926 total)

The sound of cicadas buzzing about and the song of a frog's croaking stained the area with it's sound near a small pond created from the seemingly endless assault of Kirigakure's No Sato stormy weather, to those who traveled to this place a small boy could be seen holding a small stick like object with a hook at it's end before he moved it back and then proceeded to  flick it forward with a quick motion into the water causing a soft sound to emanate as the hook with a worm attached at it's end pierced through the small ponds surface. To anyone who dared approach the boy the appearance of sandy brown hair reaching almost down to the base of their neck kept in place by a shinobi hand band belonging to Konahagakure No Sato wearing a black short sleeved shirt with dark gray shorts could be seen fishing,this boy belonged to the ancient clan known as the Senju,but to those closest to him they know him as  Mokuzai.

The young Senju would usually spend his time training as it was one of the things a aspiring shinobi wishing to get stronger would pursue,however this was not the case today. In truth Mokuzai had been running low on cash and made the decision to resort himself to use the natural food source of the land to feed his growing hunger which only seemed to escalate as he had been sitting in the same spot for nearly three hours and had not caught a single fish, he could have easily gotten up and walked off to a convenience store putting a end to his stomach's protest but due to his strong will to not give in it was all to hard for him to just walk away and give up the chance to learn how to procure food for himself.

As he patiently waited for his next meal to come to him he would look at the drifting nimbus clouds floating about in the sky as their slow movements would remind him of the movement of a turtle and he would lightly chuckle at the thought of until suddenly he would feel the force of a light tug through his hands, he know that this meant his meal had finally found him but he would not do anything as pulling it now would cause his prey to flee. He waited and mere seconds later a even stronger pull would grip him and the wire connected to the hook would move to the left fluidly and he know he had his meal ticket and Mokuzai would then grip his fishing rod even harder as he begun to reel in the fish slowly before speeding up after a last confirmation that it was hooked, the fish in a attempt to save it's life put up some resistance but it's simplest nature to eat whatever it could find had been it's downfall as the young Senju throw himself back while reeling finally revealing a Red Snapper that seemed to be on the chubby side and Mokuzai mouth would water in anticipation at the delicious meal that was to befall him.

1.5 hours later

The young Senju was biting into the last few pieces of his delectable tasting Red snapper he had cooked over a fire using a stick he had found nearby near the warmth of a crackling fire, his stomach with had been growling up to that point was now satisfied leaving his mind at ease. He begun to watch the dancing erratic movements of the fire as he let his food digest within his system putting him within a trance as he watched it continue to burn, he had closed his eye's for only but a moment but it would be disturb by the fleeting memory of a blade stained with blood and a scream of a older man.

The thought was so intense that it immediately brought him out of his reverie and throw his breathing of course, Mokuzai would take a deep breath as he rubbed his eye's and stood on his feet now that the peaceful moment was ruined by a nightmare he had back in Kumogakure. But this was not the first nor even the third time he had seen this dream and he wondered if it was really just a dream, he pondered that maybe...just maybe it was a memory locked to him for reasons unknown and right then and there he vowed to find possible answers to his question but today he would put it aside.

The memory had put him in a sour mood and he was now eager to leave as he quickly put out the fire that had dimmed considerably by smothering it under his feet, now that he was no longer haunted by his hunger the young Senju felt it was time to do something about his lowering funds by going on a job and he would begin to make his way back to the administration board of the village. After forty two minutes of travel he finally made it to the administration building and once he entered  immediately started scanning for jobs that would provide a distraction while offering a chance of pay, one particular job caught his eye. It was a simple job which was body guarding a fellow shinobi and a detective and meet them at the graveyard. compared to the other jobs that were currently on the board it was easily the most interesting and he quickly snagged it from it's place and walked to a female clerk before showing her the poster, "Ill be taking this request."





Now that he was fully equip for battle with his blade placed on his left hip and the bandage's tightly wrapped around his wrists concealing secret scrolls for summoning giant shuriken he was ready to move out, within less then thirty minutes running at his full speed he had made it to the graveyard and he would conceal himself within the shadows until the people he would be protecting arrived in which he would then make contact with.


WC:1,069

It was with great attention that Dinh would listen to the words of the professional before him. Di presented himself in a way that burst at the seems with professionalism and a deep knowledge of the topic he was covering. What came to Dinh as a complete and total surprise was the mention of the supernatural. Of course, in a world with the constant presence of chakra, animals who can speak, and in the past even tailed beasts that roamed the earth, that shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise. However, our young Dinh was clinging to the hope of the woman being real. He had never even spoken a word to her and yet he desired her company more than anything. There was no answer to the question of why Dinh had such an empty place in his chest. He was a lover starved of romantic affection. That might have been the easiest explanation.

It was a great relief to hear that Di would be taking on the case in order to help the Hosokawa boy identify the woman or perhaps spirit he had seen that night. Dinh was excited but slightly shaken by the whole thing. Rina would whisper something into his ear which caused him to nod and exhale before he spoke.

“Nothing would be too great a price to repay you for this. Thank you so much Di. I appreciate this more than words could express. As I said, j am a warrior of decent training. Hopefully I am able to provide some form of protection for us as well as the additional guard. I have this...” Dinh trailed off in confusion and embarrassment as he gripped around at the empty hilt on his waist. The worn katana he had been given by his father before leaving home was missing entirely. Rina scoffed and spoke without hesitation when she realized what had happened - “Don’t let that trouble you so much so soon, it was a rusty old thing from that bitter, rusty old man of yours. We will get you a new one.”

Dinh was a bit choked up. The lost artifact had been of some amount of sentimental value. No matter how abrasive and demeaning his father had been, he had still spent years training Dinh. It was his fathers first sword. He turned his head to the side and frowned. Then brought his spirits back up to look to the kind investigator before him. “Sorry. I suppose I did have a weapon here. I don’t have one now. Perhaps the bodyguard is of even more use than I had imagined. Shall we go meet with him?”

WC: 446
TWC: 1638

The evening wind carried the chill bite of the first frosts and Di was pleased that he had donned his overcoat. From beneath the brim of his peaked cap the detective surveyed the expanse of Hokusawa  cemetery. Not exactly what one could call well maintained the graveyard showed signs of neglect with weeds reaching up to encompass headstones and countless small indicators that wild animals had been making the place their home.

Several of the more recent graves had a more up-kept air to them though this was more than likely just the fact that they were not given enough time to fully deteriorate. Di couldn't really blame the folks of Kiri for not wanting to make regular trips to this particular restring place for the departed. Hokusawa was the burial ground for women who had either committed suicide or been the victims of  particularly cruel circumstances. These were the kind of souls that would linger on in the material world instead of passing on into their next life within the great wheel of reincarnation. In short Hokusawa was a sort of containment ground for spirits.

Charms and talismans bearing fuinjustsu seals were reguarly placed around the cemeteries walls by the local monasteries both Shinto and Buddhist. Normally they would keep ghosts confined but like any magical working they were not perfect and sometimes spirits found a way to slip outside of their protective barrier for a time before being drawn back to their mortal remains. Di had read that there was a cemetery that served much the same purpose for men as well but as the apparition that Dinh had seen was certainly female he had focused his energies on this place in particular.

Casting his perceptive gaze across the cemetery Di noticed a human form standing beneath the shade cast by a large tree. Though the light was poor the nightvision afforded to Di by his draconic nature allowed him to make out details far better than any regular human. The figure was short and slight of form though he showed the beginnings of sleek muscle. The clothing was pedestrian enough suggesting someone who valued function over form. Di would place his age at somewhere between 13 – 14 but the sword he wore at his left side and the bandages that Di suspected contained hidden weapons suggested that he was already experienced with combat. After witnessing his friend  Kirei in battle Di knew enough to not underestimate even an adolescent ninja.


Motioning to Dinh to indicate the third member of their teams location, Di turned to face Mokuzai and addressed the youth.

“Good evening. My name is Di and with me is my client Dinh and his companion Rina. You may be wondering why I have requested your service in such an out of the way place. I assure you that our purposes are totally innocent and we have no wish to disturb the sanctity of these interred persons or their valuables. I'm a detective hired by Dinh in order to help him resolve a strange matter he had his companion experienced the other night. He has been visited three times by a female apparition of unknown temperament. Our visit to the graveyard here was to discern if the spirit was one of the local ghosts or something else.”

Di spread his hands encompassing the graveyard as a whole.

“With any luck you won't actually have to draw your blade tonight but just in case things do get out of hand please be ready. Some ghosts may attempt to manifest in more physical forms and even animate objects in order to cause trouble. Oh might I ask your name by the way?”

As Di spoke ghostly blue flames began to flicker to life across the graveyard. These tiny blazes were called Hitodama or soulfires and each indicated a ghost who had yet to manifest in a more complex form. Some of the weaker dead did not possess the ability to progress beyond this state but these were not the ones Di wished to speak to.

“Ahh it looks like the nights business has already begun.”

(687 Words, 2611 Total)

1850 Words - Endurance E1-D3

525 Words - Reaction Time E2-D

As Mokuzai waited he would take smaller breaths   as to not alert anyone of his presence that may have been watching him as he observed his surroundings, the request had told him to meet his contact in a graveyard but he didn't know for what purpose. A cold air would blow around him causing the leaves of the tree he was standing under to dance playfully in the direction of the wind that made a chill run up the young Senju's back, although he wasn't particular scared of the supernatural he had to admit being in the graveyard alone gave him the creeps and he would hope his contact would arrive sooner then later.

Not long after two figures would make their entrance into the graveyard, while concealed Mokuzai would watch them like a hawk spying on it's pray as it wondered helplessly into their range of territory. But then suddenly he was caught off guard, one of the figures dressed in a long coat wearing a hat looked directly his way and at first he though maybe he was just looking at the tree but that idea was smashed as he realized the figure was studying him as he looked up and down and the young Senju would mentally curse in his head as he believed his cover was already blown.

The man would look him directly in the eye before he begun to spoke to him casually meaning that he was indeed the contact so Mokuzai stepped out of the shadows while the man begun to explain the situation to him,“Good evening. My name is Di and with me is my client Dinh and his companion Rina. You may be wondering why I have requested your service in such an out of the way place. I assure you that our purposes are totally innocent and we have no wish to disturb the sanctity of these interred persons or their valuables. I'm a detective hired by Dinh in order to help him resolve a strange matter he had his companion experienced the other night. He has been visited three times by a female apparition of unknown temperament. Our visit to the graveyard here was to discern if the spirit was one of the local ghosts or something else.”  The man known as Di would finish by gesturing to the entirety of the graveyard.

Although he understood the details of the mission it was still a hard pill for him to swallow, his mission was basically to protect them from some unknown creature who may be a violent malicious spirit trying to attack Dinh and Rena which was the client of Mokuzai's client meaning he had to protect them all. There current objective was the exact same reason why the had picked this location, they wanted to investigate if the spirit haunting was possibly a departed soul from the earth who couldn't pass on and Mokuzai would give a slight chuckle as he realized he may have just landed himself in the middle of something bigger then he was.

Di had expressed that with luck on their side he would not have to draw his blade but told him to still be prepared to at a moments notice before realizing he had not asked for the young Senju's name in which he simply said "Mokuzai, Senju“ But the talking would end quickly as Di would look around he could see tiny flames appearing around the air and he recognized them as spirits who passed on but weren't strong enough to get back another physical form, Di simply said
“Ahh it looks like the nights business has already begun.”

Mokuzai quickly put his right hand on his blade's hilt ready to draw it at a moments notice if something were to attack them.

WC:652

Total WC:1,721

Dinh would follow the knowledgeable investigator to the location which they were meant to meet the hired guard. It was reassuring that on an adventure that had the potential to become supernaturally charged, an extra hand was present to bear witness. Dinh had fallen victim to the spookiness of it all, despite not being much of a coward. They were meeting with this guard near a graveyard afterall. Rina, in all her jaded lack of sympathy for her master - whom she saw as silly and misguided for pursuing this woman in the first place, had her fur standing on end. She was clearly extremely uncomfortable with the surroundings. The air itself seemed to feel unnatural. They met up with a young man as they came upon the ghastly looking place. He had brown hair something like that of the mighty oak and his eyes were a lush green.  His stature was short, which lead to Dinh assuming he was a much younger shinobi than himself. It presented itself as something of a relief when Di tookover introductions, providing momentary relief to Dinh as he had a second to think about his next words more carefully. The boy announced himself as Mokuzai of the Senju clan.

“Thank you in advanced for taking up this adventure with us. As investigator Di previously mentioned, I am Dinh and this is Rina.” he would beckon to his...less than charming comrade as she stood in end staring into the graveyard at the graves, barring teeth and saying nothing. “She’s usually more talkative than this..”

With that introduction, Dinh’s attention would be yanked to the side, as he saw ethereal blue lights sparking up and glaring in and out of existence throughout the area, dancing amongst the graves. It was only when Rina began to let a low rumble  escape her that Dinh noticed one flame literally perched on right shoulder, opposite Rina. A grim look of absolute frozen terror spread across his face as he looked over to Di as if to scream for help. He was officially petrified. None of his father’s training mentioned the undead and he was without a single idea of what to do.

As the young man tried to move himself away from it, he stepped upon a flower laying flat on the ground in front of a grave, then when trying to correct himself he tripped over the headstone altogether and his face hit the dirt. Suddenly he was adorned by small blue blazes, like some sort of ornamented Christmas tree.

WC: 426

There was a quick flash of movement to Di's right and he spun to catch sight of Dinh tripping over a headstone as he was set upon by hitodama. This wasn't a good start to things at all. Di had hoped to keep a general air of control in the situation, if the ghosts sensed weakness then they were much more likely to attack. Even as Di watched several Hitodama had begun to shift taking the form of pale hazy figures and then solidifying into the shades of women floating above Dinh.

The spirits came in all shapes and sizes. Everything from mere girls to old crones each garbed in the traditional white kimono that adorned the deceased and the nuno headband placed on corpses. In a cascade of whispers the ghosts entreated Dinh to hear of their fates.

“I shamed my parents – suicide was the only way”  “The bandits took turns before they killed me” “The leprosy rotted my legs and I cursed Amida Buddha for not helping me” “Mummy grew sick of my crying and held my head down in the river till I stopped breathing” “When I found out about the affair I slit his throat and his whores as well. Such pity that the guards caught and hanged me.”

Knowing that he would have to act fast before the spirits began to feed on Dinh's life force Di called out to Mokuzai.

“I'm going to grab Dinh out of there. Could you watch my back please? Chakra infused attacks should hurt them and possible even cause them to disperse till they can regain their strength.”

Not waiting for a reply Di dived forward and grabbed ahold of Dinh's ankle drawing the young ninja back with as much force as he could muster. It wouldn’t' be particularly pleasant being dragged across the cold night earth in such a manner, but it would be even less so if Dinh was drained of life and found dead among the graves come morning.

Pulling the young ninja up so that he could get a better view of the collected spirits Di asked

“Do you recognize any of them from your previous encounters?”

The collected yueri where not the only ghosts who had come to the graveyard tonight however. As Mokuzai would soon learn there was another type of spirit who had come around to feast on the flesh of the corpses that lay beneath the soil. This type of ghost was a called a Gaki and while it's spirit had passed on at one point in the past it had been sent to a realm known as Gakido – the eternal road. Here it was subjected to eternal hunger as punishment for it's sins in life.

Having escaped this prison during the namahage season where the barriers between worlds were thin it came to this graveyard called forth by the malicious feelings of the other ghosts. However the unfortunate traveller had became trapped by the wards placed around the graveyards exterior. Seeing some live victims the ghost assumed a more phyisical form and began to creep towards Mokuzai and his companions.

Far less human in appearance than the pale Yueri this creature had been dead a good while and now bore features more akin to a demon. A dark greenish hide had grown in place of it's old skin and large tusks protruded from it's mouth. It's limbs were thin but covered in wiry muscle and it's belly sagged forth distended with bloated hunger. Most disturbing were the flames that seeped from it's mouth that seemed to devour heat and burning with the sheer cold of the blackest void.

It was big too, possibly seven feet in height even with it's hunched posture. As it eyed Mokuzai there was no doubt that it was hungry for his flesh. Unlike the Yueri it would not satisfy itself with mere energy, it wanted the gorge itself on offal and bone.

Hitodama:

Yurei:

Gaki:

(658 Words)

Just as Mokuzai stood ready to defend against any of the blue flame's that were spirits of those longed since pass he heard the sound of Dinh seemingly freaking out before tripping over a headstone, Di had explained a bit of the situation to him earlier saying that Dinh had a unusual bond to the spirits of the afterlife that now rung true as he was now being surrounded by what he now recognized as hitodama. The situation only seemed to escalate further as the hitodama now took on hazy pale figures of half spirit and half human forms of various types from young to old women before his very eye's as they became what he never thought to see in his lifetime, Yurei's.

The knowledge of what happens in the afterlife is often told in religions in the forms of fairy tales books to him when he was but a smaller sprout in the vastness of his clan's forest, but now that he was seeing those innocent fairy tales come to life it was a surreal event that temporary paralyzed him as he was in shock while his mind tried to take in what was now happening as he would watch the spirits flutter about in the air garnished in white kimono's and nuno headband that he remembered vividly from his child books. With multiple whispers the ghost begun to tell the tail's of what happened before they passed, some were raped and killed, others drown by their parent's own anguish, few were prevented from passing on due to their foolish mistake of their higher power, and a couple took their own lives in a act of regaining lost honor. The list seemed to stretch out infinitely that could drive even the purest of hearts mad by their sickening tales of their fleeting lives.

It would be by Di's authoritative voice that shook Mokuzai out of the trance even he had fallen into the clutch's off, “I'm going to grab Dinh out of there. Could you watch my back please? Chakra infused attacks should hurt them and possible even cause them to disperse till they can regain their strength.”  How fortunate for Mokuzai that a chakra infused attack worked on even the spirits, he wasted no time in weaving quick hand seal's as he proceeded to puff up his chest as he rose his right hand to his mouth creating a small hole before shooting out a jet stream of water in a spiral around himself aimed at the spirits as they disappeared one by one until there was nearly none left but a few.

Mokuzai gave a light chuckle at the ease of how well he dealt with the measly spirits, if thats all they had to throw at him he could do this for hours. He begun to put away his blade as he turned to look towards Di and Dihn but then the heavy sounds of footsteps begun to echo through the graveyard as yet another departed spirit came to explore the three living souls among them however this spirit was not to be trifled with unlike the hitodama,  as the young Senju turned around he would be meant with the appearance of a demon with a dark green hide that seemed to be it's skin while large tusks protruded from it's mouth as it's limbs were  thin and showed signs of what happened when the human body lacked almost all nutrition needed to sustain itself but a shift of glance downwards revealed a  distended belly that was  bloated and sagging against the graveyards floor and Mokuzai would look at it with utter scorn as he said but one word, "Monster."

He did not know this kind of spirit or if it even was once a spirit but as he watched the monster breath flame out of his mouth the very temperature in the air seemed to drop and he deduced that those flame's were not of the same level as regular one's, the young Senju was small however even as normal people go his size would have not mattered as the beast stood seven feet tall and it wasn't even standing but was hunched in a sickening way. It seemed the beast also notice Mokuzai but more as it's next meal as it's mouth surely started salivating with the combined look of a ravenous beast, with hungry hands the beast reached for Mokuzai's body with his right hand as it could no longer contain himself and although the beast had little body weight the lack of proper muscle seemed to only slow it's movements and Mokuzai swiftly rushed towards the creature while unsheathing his blade before flipping forward and impaling  it's hands with his blade causing the beast to emanate a cry that was not of this world as it seemed to go right through to the other end of it pinning its right hand to the ground that also  meant that the size of it was just for show as it was actually really slow and held no body resistance to those of the armed nature.

The young Senju quickly detached his blade from the creature's hands and with a swift flick of his right hands  wrist sliced off it's right hand before it disappeared as it was no longer connected to it's main body, the monstrous being raised it's right arm as if mourning the lost of it's right hand before looking back at Mokuzai while growling like a hungry beast in which he returned with a still focused gaze as he held his blade in his right hand. The creature also seemed to lack brains that was likely blunted by the severe hunger as it now used his left arm in a attempt to grab the young Senju, he easily did a sidestep to the right before running forward along the entirety of it's remaining arm as he flipped the grip style of his blade to Zatoichi before jumping up while flicking his blade upwards slashing off the entire creature left arm which produced a even more sickening unworldly cry to produce from it's mouth before it's remaining arm disappeared into the void and it begun to back up while looking around for it as if it hadn't registered what just happened to it.

Mokuzai had his fill of the creature's presence in his line of sight and tightly gripped his blade poised to end it,as if fearing for it's own fleeting existence on this plane of existence the creature begun trying to make it's escape but it's efforts would be futile. The young Senju would take a few steps forward before lightly jogging and then with a sudden burst of speed he dashed forward at a speed of 10m/s circling around the creature to be in front of it before with a powerful downward swing cut its descendant belly open from it's very top to the very bottom  while saying, "Begone foul creature, back  to where you came." The monstrous creature slowly backed up while looking down as it tried to touch it's stomach with its hands that were no longer with it before it started to fade and as it did so let out one final cry that also seemed to fade away along with it.


Chakra: 140/150

Jutsu Used:

WC:1,264

Total WC:2,985

While it was imperative for every detective to get to the bottom of whatever mystery had been presented to them there were limits. Dinh's reaction to the yurei had been rather severe, though Di suspected that he had overestimated the fortitude of the average human psyche. No point in sticking around the graveyard wasn't as strongly warded as Di had expected and the terror would attract even stronger spirits.  

Looking over his shoulder Di caught the last of Mokuzai's fight with the Gaki. It was clear that the blood of warriors flowed through that one's veins. Gaki weren't the most dangerous thing from the lower realms by far but their eternal hunger made them incredibly vicious. Whats more their presence alone was disturbing enough to most people. Mokuzai had made a distinguished showing and Di would be certain to remember this when enlisting help in case which required a test of mettle.

"Mokuzai let's make for the exit to the cemetery. I don't think our friend Dihn here is in any condition to identify any particular spooks tonight."

Di began to move even as he spoke. Propping Dinh into a fireman's carry and backing up while still keeping eyes on the advancing Yurei. One of the more daring spirits darted forward but was met with the business end of a ball of weaponized chakra fired from Di's palm. Hissing the spectre fell back leaking the spiritual residue of it's being. That would give the other yurei something to think about before attacking the party.  

Securing his grip on Dinh , Di felt behind himself with his still smoking arm. There it was the rusty firmness of the gate leading into the cemetery. Tonight wasn't exactly a resounding success for Di but at least everyone had gotten out unscathed – though clearly a little bit shaken up in the case of Dinh. Mokuzai had even managed to score his own personal victory over a tortured soul which at his age was not something to be brushed aside lightly.

(336 Words)

Exit

Now that the foul creature was gone the young Senju quietly sheathed his blade and hoped that the beast despite it's eternal punishment found its final peace within the clutches of the void, "Mokuzai let's make for the exit to the cemetery. I don't think our friend Dihn here is in any condition to identify any particular spooks tonight." Mokuzai turned back and would see the fainted Dihn being carried like a sack of potato's slung over Di's shoulder  as he made his way towards him, "Yeah, probably for the best if we have dead weight to worry about."

Just as they were making there escape a overly confident spirit decided to attack but before Mokuzai could even redraw his blade Di had shot out a ball that appeared to be made of pure chakra out of his palm, the ball had hit true and the spirit now layed flat across the ground as its physical body now leaked the spiritual energy that held it's true form and now the hording group of yokai stopped in their tracks due to fear of it could happen to them. Running side by side they eventually reached the old rusted gate leading into and out the cemetery, tonight hadn't exactly been as planned but through this experience he learned that there did exist life after death albeit not of the same nature as Mokuzai though if the stories were true he had only just dealt with but a small infant child compared to a all the realms that made up the spirit world.


-Exit Thread-


WC:273

Total WC:3,258


BukiJutsu Sub Spec(Onojutsu):

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