Silence crept through the air as amber eyes glowed softly among the tree's fluttering leaves, the hums of nature being one of the few claims to life. A figure seemed to blend in with the with the background, only seen by a keen eye which was not difficult itself even if it was clothed by various shades of yellows, greens, and browns. In all scenarios this individual was probably an enemy which it or rather she could be. With no identifiable gender or presence it seemed she was never there...or always; like a wallflower she piqued your interest as one felt a phantom chill down their spine before resuming their usual duties which was a proper assessment of her current situation. Mika had long since kicked her out of the house, claiming she was becoming worse than a neet only reading and such holed up in her room. So for the past few weeks she has been...irritable for the lack of the better word. She had tried taking up another mission though nothing that cut her eye she had clearance for, a simple task to remedy but still annoying. She wouldn't have much trouble going up for a chuunin position as she posses the necessary skill sets for one and the village was in need of them anyway.

Perhaps that will be one of her next objectives aside from purchasing that bar, the Rock Pit was it? as the other bars didn't seem as...elusive. Most bar owners were steering clear of her ever since she killed that one fat ass of a tavern guy a few months ago (though he walked into that as he should've known better than to be irritating a violent bi-polar girl with a hangover) and it only worsened when his son made a humongous ordeal about it though perhaps she could be glad that authorities didn't do nothing about it. While there was no hard concrete evidence that she did it or any witnesses, they just knew it was here. But like most they down care what happens to some unfortunate low-life. Damn she'll miss getting away with such things once she is chuunin. No doubt she give have to tone down on her little games as to set an example for others to follow. Pfft like anyone in their right man would want to take after her. But speaking of games, she missed them and was so enjoying the one she was in the middle of now...even if the other player didn't know what he got himself into.

Harichimo of the Kazako clan. Young medic as per tradition in his clan with a decent aptitude for taijutsu, borderline arrogant though more on the foolhardy side. Family owns a medical clinic where most relatives congregate. Noteable features...none. Likes...simples. Dislikes...normal. Motivation and fears...also average. Although she has been stalking him for the past few hours she didn't didn't understand why she was watching someone so...plain. It was pretty random how she got herself into this situation. A few days ago she had gotten a needing for a fixin however she wasn't in the mood to deal with any of the dealers so she figured she could just take some leftovers from the hospital however that too was a bust as they were low and she didn't want to draw suspicion to a missing load of already dwindling supplies so she settled for the next best thing, a clinic. She had only been there once or twice before just for minor health examinations which she always tampered with; couldn't let everyone know her dirty little secrets now could she.

But back to the main topic, she was there snooping around till she caught sight of some ferns in a small bottle. Curiously enough she totally mistaken the cave ferns for Black Spleenwort of the N.O. Filices family. The Black Spleenwort is a small fern growing in rather circular masses, either on walls, where its fronds are only from 3 to 6 inches long, or on shady hedgebanks, where its oblong-triangular, evergreen fronds may attain as much as 20 inches in length. The pinnae are alternate, slanting upwards; the pinnules thick, leathery, shiny, irregularly wedge-shaped. It is rather variable in form; when on exposed walls, it is more rigid and pointed and yellowish-green, instead of dark green. The sori are abundant, swelling over the edges of the pinnules. This is a very hardy and ornamental fern. Its stalks are polished and dark chestnut-brown in color. It is sometimes called Black Maidenhair, and has medicinal virtues similar to other Maidenhairs, a decoction of it relieving a troublesome cough and proving also a good hair wash. And while the normal dosage of infusion was three tablespoons, she took pretty much the whole thing because again she had some sort of epiphany when she really was downright stupid. But hey her hair looks fabulous.

After Harichimo caught her eye as she snuck out of what apparently was his office, she suddenly felt like she had a new victim..ahem person to infuriate. So she dropped what she was doing and went to her usual sources to allocate info and came out undeniably, disappointingly short. No one! No one that plain would be a shinobi! All shinobi are fucking eccentric and screwed! Screwed! Refusing to believe that was all there was to him she set out to find out more and wounded up here. And if there was a kami, this was so damn boring. All he has been downing for the past while was tense and OH wait he's going in! The target is going in! Without so much of a slight wisp of air she hopped off the tree and slithered her way through the yard, following him into his lair. She paused for a moment as he strode into his bathroom, wondering if it was worth going in and continuing her observations. She would only have to stay behind him at all times as she could only be discovered if she was right in front of him. However she couldn't continue pondering for long when one of his relatives walked past the bathroom. Quickly she hoped out the window but didn't leave, opting to hide under the windowsill in the shade of a tree. She waited for a few moment till she heard the water stop running the rustling of clothes she figured he was clothed now and peeked up just in time for him to examine the near empty bottle of cave fern leaves. He contemplated for a moment till he promptly left though she surmised that he was going to head out for more.

And so she followed him for the next couple hours, slinking through the shadows keep an even pace with him all the while snatching a few hunny buns along the way which she devoured. By the time they arrived at their destination, she had already devised a plan. She produced an empty bottle of sake from the jack of her armor and toss it inside the cave though near the middle. As he was focus on that level of the cave entrance she slinked inside by concentrating chakra to the soles of her feet to walk on the earthy ceiling. Only 20 or so kilometers in, she wrapped some shurkien in wire and tossed them back and forth between stalagmites, faintly making the sounds of a battle along with a couple realistic male grunts ending it off with a shrill scream after a few moments. It was loud enough so it would cause alarm for Harichimo and thus luring him into the spiders web where the fun will begin.

1307~

Chakra 105/110:

Harichimo sat and looked out down the road from where he came. Taking in the scenery of the rocks and wild trails would make anyone embrace the thought of being from the village. But these thoughts were quickly smashed to smithereens. Harichimo quickly snapped up to full attention when he heard a loud crash almost like glass had been broken against the cave walls. He got up and made his way over to see the shards of a bottle spread amongst the ground. He knelt down and picked up a good sized shard which had the faint, tart, and stale scent of sake to it. Not one of his most favorite drinks or ways to pass the time at his age. He looked around to make sure he wasn't followed. He hadn't seen anyone else on the road the whole way here. Maybe it was just his imagination and the bottle had just fallen from the top of the tunnel since most the homeless people liked to get sloshed and drown their sorrows atop the cave entrance which wasn't such a good spot to think of it. Damn drunkards can't even take their trash with them. Bad enough I have to go collect cave ferns in the underground tunnels but no, I have to make sure I don't get myself cut off the glass.


As he was starting to pick up the shards he heard faint sounds coming from the cave. He had to get up and make his way a little further in. It sounded like a fight was erupting inside the tunnels. He heard the metal colliding and the grunts of what he thought would have been a small group of criminals. He thought he had better not interfere and just grab the rest of the glass. As he turned away he heard a shrill feminine scream that froze him dead in his tracks. Someone would have to go see what happened and see if there was anything that could be done. Harichimo took off into the cave to see what had unfolded inside the cave. If there was even a chance to make sure whoever was injured could be helped he was bound to try.

Harichimo ran to where approximately he thought the scream had originated from. He kept an eye out for blood or any other signs of a struggle but he couldn't see any. There were no dug in foot prints or pieces of metal tossed anywhere. The scream hadn't sounded that far into the tunnels. Maybe he was just hearing things from not having anything to do his brain was creating unnecessary drama for him to keep himself busy. But he was so sure the scream and sound were real. He decided to press on a little bit more to see if he had just missed anything by a bit. 

483/1050

Perhaps having the mystifying art of genjutsu right now would've been appropriate for her. Jester has never been one for front line assault, preferring to remain at a distance while she wears here opponent down before closing the line as she strikes the finishing blow. It was mainly how she got along so well with her teammate Suteki Yaku. The girl complimented her attributes so well. She was most definitely the fiercer of the two, a powerhouse if you will while Jet took a more cautious, judicious approach. Suteki was loud, brash, and still young at heart; something unbecoming of those who dwell in their realm. Jet on the other had was playful, sadistic, and mature...when she needs to be. Both girls had skills that suited them. But perhaps it would be wise to learn another skill just to push them farther without overstepping boundaries. Not counting her new sensei, their new teammate made them quite balanced. Yuki was the medic and mid range fighter who was quite versatile as she posses the infamous koton ability. Suteki was the genjutsu expert though her skills with them are questionable as she has yet to display a level of prowess with them (perhaps it would be a good idea to ask next time). Jet's only skills were stealth and weaponry, an craft yet to be finely tuned.

Though it wasn't like it was unnecessarily to go for big explosions and destructive. In fact it wouldn't do it at all for little Jet. She wasn't fond of being ludicrously loud. No need to give her enemy more of an incentive to kill her. Her clan's, if it can be call that, attributes suited the lifestyle of a shinobi. Shinobi were the silent killers; the solider, the assassin. Many past and present generations have forgotten that in favor of fame and glory. But what is more deadly than something you can see or track. A Yuurei exactly. It made them the ideal assassins even if such power came at a cost. They were the ghosts of the ninja world, soulless beings that leave only death and despair in their wake which pretty much was her life before this one though it will all change with time. In fact she hoped she would remain in the stone village long enough to be enlisted into the ANBU. While it didn't hurt to have the extra ryo in your pocket, the benefits of the career were extraordinary. The receive weaponry, armor, masks they provided ample protection and jutsu to ensure no traces are left. They were true predators. Having all records of her history wiped out...mmm that was a tantalizing thought. To completely erase the Jester and Yuurei Jet was more than enough to motivate her. Perhaps with every record of their existence will force them to leave Jetsuda alone. Having so many different personalities and people crammed up in her body was really annoying. It was troublesome as it was just to get them to tolerate each other much less cooperate and let each other take turns controlling their body.

Ah well no need to worry about it now. Jet grabbed a large tskuni and guts the lizard which was pregnant thus creating a large pools of blood. She dragged it along the floor and walls to a fork in the road, two tunnels exactly. She grinned eerily as she hide the dead lizard behind a boulder but as she did so she discovered an old rotting corpse. From the bone structure she could tell it was a male in his late thirties and somewhat bulky. She figured it was a traveler who somehow got stuck here probably from the other side of the tunnels somewhere deep into Tsuchi no Kuni. Eh no matter this works well for us she figured. Grabbing a hold of the corpse's neck whom she now same Samuel Jackson or Sami for short, she headed into the left one making sure not to drop anything. The only way she could be followed was if he overcame the smell of death from the pool of blood and found the scent of the corpse. If he went right he would come to a dead end littered in animal feces, hinting a very large predator inhabited it. If he followed he would arrive at a large cavern with a rushing rapid of rivers and bats littered along the ceiling where she hid with the corpse which she will drop once he arrive.

2065~
Trained:Lightning Release: Lightning Conduction (雷遁・雷導通 ~ Raiton: Raidōtsū)
and Fire Style: Fire Clone Technique (火遁・火分身の術 ~ Katon: Katon Bunshin no Jutsu)
Remaining: 65wc

Deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole. Just the place I need to be. Why do I have to be such a goodie goodie? All these thoughts racing through his head as he descended deeper and deeper constantly pushing himself to go further on in search of the source. What was supposed to be a simple errand to the inner chambers for cave ferns quickly turned in to a stroll the opposite direction of where he was supposed to be. I know I am just a genin but what is anyone supposed to do when they hear scuffles and screams coming from the distance. Well, obviously run away block head. You may be trained by the Tsuchikage but that won't mean much when you find the source and it turns into a one versus how many ever. But of course Akira nor anyone else would forgive you for not doing what you could. And you wouldn't be able to live with yourself being the biggest people pleaser this side of Iwagakure. Hopefully something will pop up soon and give me some indication of whats going on here. 

As Harichimo kept making his way he heard his foot make a disgusting squish in the darkness. He looked down to see he had stepped in a puddle of blood. He knelt down and dragged his fingers through it feeling it was warm and relatively fresh, he had to be close. He saw a small trail as if someone who was stabbed was just trying to hold the wound. He followed the trail down the tunnels. The further he went the stronger the stench of death and decay from the inner chambers arose. Being a medical-nin he had to be able to keep his composure but that wasn't the case. He could hardly keep the stench from entering his nostrils by keeping his nose covered with his jacket. The elders at the clinic where the ones who would deal with life and death situations and were probably use to stenches of the inner caves. But a low ranking member like himself could only be trusted with small situations like broken bones and removals of splinters and shards. This was a whole other test to him.


Now at a fork in the cave the blood trail had stopped as if the person bleeding had just all together. He looked down the two ways but they were both to dark to see anything. It would have to be a complete and random guess on which to go. He couldn't remember which way he had to go to reach the cave ferns and couldn't remember which way was facing out of the caves. He decided  he had to collect his thoughts and try to get his nerves in check. He took a few deep breaths keeping his mouth covered and he could hear the faint sounds of rushing water echoing from the left tunnels. Probably his best shot if he wanted to find a way out. He started down the path with the sounds getting louder and louder he for sure would have a way out if he needed it. 

530/1580

***30 Minutes Earlier***

"Alright guys pack it up we're done here!" The detective called out and immediately the officers began packing up as the detective sipped on his coffee and chatted lightly among his fellow officers whom ignored the tense atmosphere.

"W-wait! Detective!" A young man, somewhere in his early 20s with reddish brown hair wearing a worn barista uniform ran up to the detective in a hurry. "You can't just suddenly leave when you haven't found the culprit. Heck you guys barely did anything except poke around and drink booze!"

"Now listen here son this is how it's going to go" His wide grin suddenly turned into a grime small frown "We came here after being informed too late and once we got here there was hardly anything we could do since there were too many bodies however we did eventually got lucky" He pointed to a brutish handcuff man part of a local gang who was hardly sober and was spurting random stuff at the police and anyone who'd listen. "We gathered enough evidence against him as the killer with an alcohol addiction and mental disability. Your father wouldn't service him no longer and in a fit of drunken rage killed him then booked it"

"What! How the hell did you figure that? That man isn't the culprit! He's just some drunkard!" His teeth grind as his body seethed with rage "You know exactly who the culprit is" He hissed

Rolling his eyes the detective just grumbled "Yea and so what? We could care less about a little brat. What we do care is ridding our streets of filth like you"

"Filth like me!"

"Yea you think I've forgotten you. I remember back when I pulled you into the station after finding you and all your crackhead friends hazing out in a warehouse. It's people like you who made us one of the worst village till Tsuchikage-sama came along. I may not like the youngster but he does he great rewards for keeping the peace" He paused as he looked towards the sky and took a drag of his cigar "The man loves his peace" He smirked "And we're doing him a favor" The group around him burst into laughter.

With an enraged cry, he shot off to the detective with a kunai but was punched in the face and fell helplessly to the ground clutching his bloodied nose. "You guys deserve to die" The detective smirked and brushed his ire off as he waved his hand, signalling all the officers to leave but just before the stained oak door you could hear bitters tears fall as glass bottles shatter.

On top a stone pillar from a church stood one of the village's lone protectors. He was commonly known as Rhino, well it was only common knowledge to those in the force and the kage. He wasn't necessarily one to show his face, much less be sensed at all. Perhaps things were different if he was still the same man from before but once he placed on that mask and took the code name 'Rhino' he eliminated all traces of his former self in order to become an efficient soldier. And today as he was patrolling the village he stumbled across this and from what he heard he had a suspicion. He doubted that she was the culprit but he figured she may have some insight as it was known around the streets she had some valuable information for the right price. Quickly he set off for her...

***Present***

Jet was busy conversing with Sami and before the argument got heated a hand clasped her shoulder. She shuddered before her eyes glowed a fiery crimson and stared at the man, her tone oddly bristled "You know it's very rude to interrupt someone. We were having a very important debate that shall decide the fate of the world weren't we Samuel?"

She puppeteer the corpse to nod in agreement with her as his hand shot out to swat Rhino' s head which he responded by a swift flick off his wrist slicing the hand off. He refused to allow such a disease infested piece of rot to touch him. With an annoyed and mildly disgusted glare at the demented child "What on earth is wrong with you? What are you doing with a corpse of all things? You didn't rob it from a grave did you..."He didn't understand, he couldn't at all. What happened to the sweet girl with a small mischievous side he met a few weeks ago? The one who as visiting deceased family? The one who actually recognized his greatness....no that girl never existed, it was just another font the girl put up. And what really irked him was that he couldn't prove it. Yes there were holes in her stories but she never done anything serious aside from the occasional fight...could she had been involved he wondered. His eyes hardened as he suddenly covered her mouth and shushined out of the cave dropping the corpse with a loud splash.

933~
Training Pet:
E - D
Remaining: 183

Harichimo continued on forward down the dark tunnel blind as a bat with only sound to guide him. The sound of the rushing water bringing him closer to the exit like a siren. He could hear it getting louder and louder until he saw a small glimmer of light shining through the pitch black darkness. He pushed through the last little bit of tunnel when he finally reached the entrance of a walkway inside a huge cavern when he heard a huge splash as if someone had jumped into the rushing waters. Harichimo went to the edge and looked over to see what or who had gone in but couldn't spot anything in the rapids. He at least now had found the exit from the tunnels and a way home. He followed the water and it led to a huge opening overlooking a valley of trees with patches of nothing in between them. He couldn't spot any groups of people or any sign someone had been there at all. So then what had made all that racket in the tunnels, or caused that gory scene near the exit? Maybe it was all just his genin brain creating some huge adventure for him to make a small errand for simple ferns more exciting. Just what he needed to remedy a day of boredom and chores at the clinic. 

He saw a small rope bridge down the side he could use to make his way back home. It seemed stable and had been there for some time without being aged to badly by the elements. As he walked he found a small pocket in the wall of the mountain that housed some of the ferns he was after. He took out the vial from his satchel and took a couple branches off of a single plant for that was all that was necessary. It would only take a small portion of a single leaf to make the herbal medicine it was used in to treat minor burns. He continued down the path as it twisted around the mountain and led back to the entrance of the tunnels where he had started this crazy adventure. He looked around and the shattered bottle was still there laying at the foot of the entrance. Maybe someday he would figure out what happened in the tunnels and not think himself as being crazy.

Harichimo threw the satchel more securely onto his shoulder and turned to leave behind this evening of being down in the tunnels and fern gathering. Now back to the safety and normality that was the clan house clinic. When he got back he went back to his clinic room and took out the vial of fern leaves back into the cabinet where it belonged full and ready to be used. He left locking the door behind him and made his way to his room. He undid his bandages and threw off his jacket and satchel. Undoing his hair and flopping on the bed to see the sun just setting on this crazy day. Another day and crazy adventure over for the Kazako genin. Only to raise tomorrow to the call of another. So is the life on a ninja in the land of stone.

EXIT THREAD

543/2123

Training: