{OOC: This is an SS-Rank mission, so it will be a rather long thread. Strafe will be acting as the NPC for this mission, Sadao, while Bokuden will be accompanying me as an ally. Link to the mission details can be found here.}

Pounding. It was nonstop, constant, so painfully debilitating that Nagare couldn't bother to stop it. His skull was being smashed with a hammer violently, or so it felt. But no, he was still in bed, having woken up almost half an hour ago and now stuck with no motivation or possibility of getting up. The pain was too great, worse than a sword in the stomach. 5 more minutes of sleep may have helped, but that sleep would never be reached, not with the metaphorical hammer continuing its goal, bashing away. He slumped to the left in his bed, and shut his eyes tight, waiting for the pain to wane away. The fragmented light found its way through his blinds, and it assaulted his closed eye lids, interrupting his senses further, beckoning him to rise. No hope of comfort in this state, not at all. He shifted under the covers and poked his feet out of the blanket, and soon, he was standing. A large accomplishment for one in his condition. He continued to fight his senses and move step by step out of the room, headed for the restroom. He entered through the doorway and found himself in the familiar, tiled area. The mirror in front of him was dim in these quarters, but he didn't bother to turn on the light; the house was already naturally alight thanks to the sun outside. He stared at his reflection, crimson eyes glowing in an indirect way, possibly a result of the stray beams of light. He finally figured that he should do something after 3 minutes of stagnant staring at himself. Shower? Shower.

Hot water ran down his back as it splashed down onto Nagare, leaving him to meditate for a moment on what could be causing these harsh migraines. They were like nothing he'd experienced before, in terms of pain, but he didn't know what he could do to stop them altogether. He'd already tried natural remedies, but none of them worked. Luckily, the pain began to dissipate a bit, and by the time he exited the shower, it was gone, without a trace. Just like all of the others...the migraines came in waves. He dried himself off with a nearby towel on the rack and then wrapped it around his waist, brushed his teeth and "bothered" to tidy up his appearance, and left the restroom to grab something fast to eat. Fastest option: cereal. So, he ate a bowl of cereal. His eyes wandered around his living room as he contemplated the migraines further...that wasn't all that had been happening. He'd been having nausea and vomiting, out of the blue, as well, and random bouts of intense pain across his whole body. His eyes finally looked down to his arm, and noticed a mark on his bicep.. It certainly wasn't natural, but rather looked as if it was a Fuuinjutsu seal.

With a new lead and suspicion as to what the seal was, how it got there, and how he hadn't noticed it before, Nagare got dressed in a casual set of plain, monochromatic clothes, equipped himself with Aubade and a set of ninja tools, and made his way to the front door. He left the house, walked down the paved road that led directly into the central hub of Kumogakure, and went to the Academy to research all he could about Fuuinjutsu seals and what the one that had been branded on his arm meant. Surely enough, there was a wall full of scrolls guarded by a Jounin, specifically made for research of jutsu and chakra. After asking for a bit of guidance from the man, Nagare was directed to the area that held scrolls and reading on the topic of Fuuinjutsu. He read each scroll, one by one, until he had read nearly 6 of them (they were in-depth and comprehensive passages, so it was a long effort to read those six). None of them had held revelations in the brand, though, although he did learn something; certain seals could be traced back to the Fuuinjutsu specialists who used them, since it is using their unique chakra to maintain a hold on the victim.

Nagare looked at the sun outside, still hot and ablaze. It was cloudy, yet humid, an unpleasant feeling overall. Maybe 2, or 3 PM? He left the Academy and found a spot to rest at while he practiced the tracing technique. Sitting with legs crossed, he made a horse hand seal and focused his chakra into his central body, before letting it branch to the seal. He could feel a familiar chakra within, not his, but one that had been used on him in the past. One that had a medical aura about it...medical ninjutsu. The first suspect that came to mind was Sadao, because naturally, Sadao had been the one to heal Nagare's broken arm so long ago. But why would Sadao want to leave a seal that did all of these horrible side effects? Would they get worse, and more importantly, was Nagare's life in danger? Only person who could explain was Sadao himself, so Nagare went to his house. The building seemed far too quiet by the time the Sannin arrived, and Nagare pounded on the door with a clenched fist. "Sadao! What the hell?" His resolve broke when the migraine began to creep back into his head, and out of anger, he kicked the door down to find a destroyed living with no one around. The rest of the house was similarly deserted and derelict, with ruined appliances and holes in the walls along with small fires that must have been recently set. Nagare now had proof enough; Sadao had just escaped the house after ransacking the place. Just enough suspicion to make him a primary suspect. Nagare stormed out of the house, setting his next destination. He needed someone to help him take down Sadao, and he knew just who to recruit for the cause.

Within minutes, Nagare stood outside of Bokuden's home, and knocked on the front door softly.

(1,029/10,000)