Mission Details:

The day started out with a simple sentence: "It's about time you go meet your uncle Sero." The words spoken by Jun's grandmother were empty at the time, loaded with little to no meaning. Of course the girl had heard of her distant uncle and his odd habits. She knew he lived in an island off of the coast of the village. She had also heard it was infested with spiders and something about the efficiency of eating dead bodies. All in all, the man seemed strange from what she had heard, but what of it? If grandmother wanted her to meet him, then by all means. They could host a family dinner or something. What was it to her? She'd do her part, say hello, sit and eat. If she could fit a training session with her newfound uncle, even better. He was, after all, her grandmother's boss, technically speaking.

Jun should have known right then and there that it wasn't going to be that simple. She now stood at the edge of a forest, covered by a thick layer of fog. At her side stood Gin, strapping a giant tower shield to her back. "Take this shield to your uncle. There are ruins in the middle of this forest. He should be there," the older woman instructed.

"Hah? What do you mean should? And can't I just seal this thing in a scroll?" The teenager asked. The impatience was evident in her expression. She didn't particularly want to carry out this task but knew that she had no choice if she didn't want to spend the next month in a hospital bed.

"No can do, kiddo. I want him to see it as soon as you go in there. Besides, wouldn't want to make this little trip that easy for ya," her grandmother countered. Both were bullshit excuses. Jun would seal the giant tower shield into the scroll as soon as she was out of her grandmother's line of sight. "Now get going," she said, pushing the younger girl forward. She probably meant to give Jun a light shove, but wound up almost launching her against a nearby tree. The younger girl recovered her balance soon enough, though, and began to walk. "And remember: stay on the path!" Gin called to her.

Jun shook her head. "Yeah, yeah, old hag. Leave me the fuck alone and I'll keep being your pack mule," she mumbled, unsure of whether her grandmother would hear. Well, it didn't matter anymore. She was on the path to this forgotten village place. She felt the temperature drop sharply as soon as the fog enveloped her. She could barely see more than a few meters in front of her and the way back was beyond obscured. It was eerie how a place like this could make her lose her sense of time and direction so quickly. She had the feeling that it was the sort of area that would make animals growl at the empty air and compasses spin out of control. It definitely sounded like the type of place her uncle would enjoy, from what she knew.

Deciding it was as good a place as any, Junichi unstrapped the shield on her back and placed it on the ground alongside a scroll. It was an average looking thing, although sleek and functional. No doubt the materials were first rate. She traced her finger along the indentures in the middle that spelled out a word. "... Dumbass? What kind of gift is this?"[/color] the silver haired girl asked herself. No matter. It wasn't her problem. She rubbed her hands together and felt a chill run down her spine. She ignored it as she began to trace a basic shield on the piece of paper. Each hand placed on the seal and shield respectively, she activated the jutsu.

And nothing. No result. Nothing except a small caricature of her grandmother tap dancing appeared on the scroll. Jun gritted her teeth. It seemed like carrying this thing to the village was her only option. Wonderful.

She hoisted the slab of metal onto her back. Cursing under her breath, she kept moving on the path.

[710]

"The day has come." Mokuzai said within the dark of his room. Following his decision to remain in Kirigakure for further training after his visit to Yuki No Kuni to see Lady Verdandi, he was now preparing the last of his things he needed for the next phase, Mokuzai and the others who had participated in part one of the training course devised by the shinobi's Nozomi and Sero knew this day would be coming. The plan was Nozomi taught the first half her way, and Sero taught the second half his way but the real question was "What was his way?" The young Senju despite staying at the manor never meant Sero, to him he was just a mystery as the question to life with no firsthand knowledge.

By the time the young Senju arrived a crowd had gathered and he would sigh in aggravation, he wanted to stand in front of Sero if he appeared but with he crowd he though it be best to just stand on the building seven meters from the masses, this way he won't have to struggle to see through the crowd. Before even four minutes past Mokuzai could hear voices in the crowd telling others to leave or it was too dangerous to pursue, It's not a choice the Senju would have made but to others it was only logical to avoid or run away from something possibly life threatening, especially one that a shinobi known throughout the land was in charge of. Within minutes the large mass of people now dwindled down into a small group and Mokuzai now felt satisfied with the amount of people present and jumped down, just as he landed in a empty spot that was the used to be the middle of the crowd the man of the hour himself appeared "Sero Osada"

The young Senju was stunned, he had been watching the area since he had arrived and not once did he see a hint of the ninja's presence, this small example only proved for Mokuzai to see the gap between their powers and made him feel his decision to pursue this training was even more right then before. The legend himself begun to speak with a tone devoid of any real emotion, "You all have gathered her with purpose set in your minds. There is a need for your skills and it will test your limits. Both physically and of your sanity. I will soon create a seal to take us through this arch. When you step through the seal, you will arrive in a land I have named Hansha. A place of destitution and fear. When you step through you will find yourself within some woods. To the North west of the woods is a village. I urge you, make it there before nightfall. Things go bump in the daylight here but they will do more then bump in the night. Once there I expect you to help as needed. Push yourselves as you can but be aware of your limits. Perhaps you thrive here..perhaps you survive."

Despite the lack of emotion his message to all present was clear, "Choose to follow him and you may become a legend, or fail and perish to a early grave." Mokuzai luckily had already been prepared to die for quite a bit of time, at this point death was just another occupational hazard that came with the life of a shinobi, a few months ago he might have turned back but it was far too late for that now. Sero turned to the arch as he drew hand seals made from his unique chakra that created a mirror that rippled, he simply looked back before telling everyone he would see them there.

With the powerful shinobi gone everyone left now had a choice, surely to those who value their own lives running away was still a option to undertake but once you entered  the mirror you would be transported to the place he called Hansha,With his mind made up already Mokuzai moved to the back of the crowd to take a running start and then rushed forward and took a quiet literal leap of faith into the mirror.




Within seconds the young Senju found himself rolling out of the mirror into a patch of dirt before stopping with a light groan escaping from his lips, as he got up and dusted himself off he could tell that he was still in the same place he was before but different, instead of the manor he was now in a bare patch of land surrounding by a trees. He quickly recalled the words Sero spoke of and realized that he was indeed in the mirror and was now within the woods, the legendary shinobi told each person present that once you entered it was important to set course north west to find a village as from his warning it was clearly dangerous to be out in the wild at night.

With his path already decided for him Mokuzai begun to head northwest of the woods in order to find the village, it wouldn't be long until he was completely surrounded by tree's but something wasn't right as with each step he could hear the sound that resembled the sound of keys jumbling about in ones pocket nearly thirteen meters away in front of him that made him stop moving, as he stood there the sound only seemed to be closing in on him and in alarm he quickly jumped above into one of the tree's and waited for whatever was coming his way to arrive, what would come would be shocking if not alarming about what was to come during his stay here.

Before any real shape came into view first would come the smell.The young Senju knew the smell well as he had became accustomed to it, the smell of a rotting corpse was all to clear to him along with the sound of rattling keys, at first he didn't want to logically put one and one together but sure enough the creature making the sound was no other then what appeared to be actually two  rotting corpse's dressed in armor with one carrying a cross bow and the other a giant sword that curved at it's end. If not for his previous encounters of the super natural with Di Mokuzai may have very well flinched and showed fear for the undead creature's below his feet, but right  now his mind though back on Sero's statement about things that go bump in the night and chuckled as this is what he meant, unfortunately that chuckle was loud enough for the undead soldiers to swing their heads up and see Mokuzai right above them and the soldier with the crossbow was quick to aim for the young Senju's head making him start cursing under his breath at his own foolishness.

Undead Soldiers:

Just as he watched the undead abomination lift their arm upwards aimed at him while pulling back on the draw string Mokuzai jumped from the branch of the tree into another towards northwest, there was no need for him to start fighting now unless he had too, right now he is in a place called Hansha in which he knows nothing about, it would be beneficial for him to gather information about where he was then to waste his energy but first he needed to find that village before he gets stuck out in the dark. As the young Senju jumped from tree branch to tree branch he would hear the persistent sound of the undead soldiers moans
ant their armor making clanking noise as they moved, although they looked rather frightening it seems their rotting bodies weren't built to chase down a ninja and were quite slow, despite having a crossbow the undead soldier couldn't aim it well enough to make sure it hit.

Now further along the path Mokuzai spotted eleven meters out a small disconnection with the tree branch's he was traveling on, such a thing usually meant that it was a path that lead in or out of this forest to a village which was very good news for him, In his haste Mokuzai increased his speed and bursted the full eleven meters in a second and could now see a path that lead further northwest and immediately jumped down. "What a strange place this is, i haven't seen an-" The young Senju choked on his words as he didn't notice that out of the corner of his eye stood a lady that he had accidentally jumped in front of that was carrying a large scroll and what appeared to be a shield, he would simply stare at the shielding wondering why someone was lugging such a thing deep into the forest, however he could hear the skeletons approaching from the woods as the familiar sound of their armor clanking grow closer, "I hope you know how to defend yourself, it seems while on my way here i attracted some nasty creatures, ah by the way im Mokuzai Senju nice to meet you.


WC:1,607

Grumbling and complaining under her breath, Jun continued her march towards wherever this path led. Really, she hadn't been there for Sero's speech and was unaware that it had even happened. She had received no description of this place - what it would remain a mystery to the young Kuroka. She had only been told to follow the path and find her uncle Sero. It was a deceptively simple set of instructions, she knew. Everything with Gin had a tendency to be that way. The white haired girl sighed and adjusted the shield on her back. How could suck a lumbering thing be useful in battle? She supposed it could serve as cover, but it would restrict movement otherwise. Armor would have been a better choice, in her opinion. Then again, she was only a Genin. Her opinion hardly mattered, since her experience was limited.

Jun came to a sudden stop, hearing the telltale sound of someone jumping from one branch to the next. Her body tensed reflexively. She should have figured that travel through here wasn't going to be without danger or risk. She readied herself, summoning her wakizashi into her hands. The blades had taken a more solid form since the first time she had conjured them. Keeping the fine balance between her chakra and her very soul - both of which crafted these blades in combination - was an art. After some diligent training, she was now even able to add more functionality to them. She braced herself for whatever came but... What was the sound that came with the incoming intruder?

It sounded like... Moaning, the kind you would hear from someone who was in intense pain, someone who was dying. But along with it, chains rattled, metal grated against metal. Whoever it was was wearing armor. She readied herself. A wicked smile spread across her face. This would be fun.

A young boy jumped from the dead branches of the tree overhead and landed in front of her. He mumbled something under his breath that the girl couldn't quite hear, but interrupted himself when he turned around and saw her there. He was much too relaxed to be an enemy. Moreover, his first reaction wasn't to attack, but to stare at her - or rather, the shield on her back.

Jun's expression twisted into a grimace. This was disappointing  in more ways than one. Company was last thing Junichi wanted or needed - especially not company that brought with them a bunch of... Whatever those things were. She now saw the silhouettes past the fog. The dark creatures stumbled through the thick layer of mist hanging in the air. Sure, the young Kuroka appreciated the opportunity for a fight, but rarely did she enjoy sharing the battlefield with someone else.

At his question, her expression turned into one of mild annoyance and anger. Could Jun defend herself? Well no shit. She was a kunoichi, a fact she was damn proud of. Worst case scenario, she could hide behind the lumbering shield on her back. She was unable to activate any of its abilities, but hey, it would block strikes and Jutsu all the same. On top of that, there were two short blades in her hands. "Tch, you're an idiot," she said, her first words to the newcomer. She got into a stance next to him anyways her back close to his. "Don't get in my way," she snarled. Arrows began to fly over and around them, missing both by several feet. Still, their attackers were only silhouettes in the distance.

Before their opponents arrived - however many there were - someone else did. Someone else jumped from the decaying trees above ñ, dressed in a black cloak and the infamous mask of the ANBU. A lost ANBU. And here she thought these people were meant to  be competent, experts in all matters of survival. What hell was one of them even doing here of all places? The answer to that came almost immediately. Looking for Osada Sero, huh? That made two of them. The way Jun saw it, she sooner she delivered this shield, the sooner she could get the hell out of here. She dislike this Hansha place already.

Turning towards the man in the mask, she spoke again. "Yeah, you're finally on the right path. Congratulations. I'm sure Sero will be thrilled to see you," she said. Sarcasm dripped from every word. And as she spoke, finally the undead creatures came into view.

[1469]

Although Mokuzai had been thrilled to see another person his arrival and question was meant with the face of annoyance and anger before she spoke as she slipped into a stance that put them back to back, "Tch, you're an idiot. Don't get in my way." The shinobi begun to chuckle to himself at her answer as even though she seemed rather annoyed she put her back to him which was a bold move if she hadn't trusted him enough to back her up, "You got quite a tongue, but i like your spirit!"

As the undead creature's continued  Mokuzai could seem to point out that although he had only been chased by two originally there was now the sound of three more approaching and tightened the grip on his blade for a tougher fight, suddenly a  long hooded cloak and white mask fell from above out of nowhere but waved gently at Mokuzai and the kunoichi, upon closer investigation he remembered that Kirei had dressed himself in such a fashion the last time they had meant on a mission in Kumo and the fact the figure was not alarmed by them meant he knew atleast one of them and the kunoichi held a face of irritation and not familiarity. However his arrival was poorly timed as Mokuzai could now see the undead soldiers behind Kirei and one of them held a large bastard sword up in the air ready to swing down at his friend, although he knew if he had gave Kirei a simple warning he could easily avoid the blade the young Senju's need to protect his friends overtook his sense of logic as he yelled out to his friend while ignoring their words about Sero Osada "Jump, Kirei!"

He quickly bursted past Kirei to the undead soldier holding up the large bastard sword with both hands, as he closed in Mokuzai twisted his left leg to add spin force as he kicked the undead soldier in the center of their body with enough force to send them flying back one meter towards the other undead making them all collide and fall to the floor like pins, after that Mokuzai slowly put down his legs as his back was towards his friend "Kirei..." He then looked towards him with a sweaty faced expression that looked like he was either constipated or really nervous  "Let's clear it!" The young Senju quickly begun to sprint the other way as he yelled out to his two companions "You want to join the dead tonight?! Let's move it!"


WC:451

Total WC:2,058


-exit-


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