Event The Red River Virus.

"Did you hear the latest?" Nao whispered to his contract, eyes darting around the office. "They've found five more cases." The kami's fingers froze mid-stirring, a flicker of fear crossing his face. "Five? That makes it fifty in the city alone!" Nao nodded solemnly. The Red River Virus is a mysterious illness that seems to target only the strong and capable. It was as if the very essence of what made a person vital was being siphoned away, leaving them in a comatose state. The worst thing, it was targeting both chakra users and nonchakra users. The tower buzzed with the low murmur of panic and speculation, as people tried to maintain the facade of productivity while their minds raced with the implications of such a bizarre epidemic.

The Kage's office door remained stubbornly shut, a silent sentinel to the chaos that had erupted beyond it. His absence was a stark reminder of the gravity of the situation. Nao felt a shiver run down his spine. "We need to get everyone together," Nao spoke with confidence, his voice firm despite the tremor in his chest. "A meeting. Now." The Kami, Nao's contract, nodded rapidly, already jumping to his feet. "I'll start calling people."

Nao took a deep breath, gathering his composure. He strode down the hallways, his heels echoing off the cold, empty spaces. The normally bustling office had taken on the eerie quiet of a ghost town. Door by door, he found her coworkers huddled in their cubicles, eyes glued to documents, papers, and newspapers displaying the latest updates on the Red River Virus. Nao would walk to his Sennin office, waiting to receive anyone willing to help in the face of this turmoil. His face was pale and drawn, eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep. Not to mention that he was smoking inside of his office now. Sipping on the coffee he would remain leaning to the desk. A file behind him that was thick...

[This event is welcome to all who wish to participate.]

Prologue <- Link

It has been a week. Two weeks. Two and a half weeks have passed since Kureji's appearance into Leaf. Upon first entering, he had plans to fight the Medical Sennin, Nao. In his mind, it would have to be to answer some questions swirling in his own head. They had agreed to meet up out of the Village and fight there a week from him being let in. But when the time came, Nao had failed to show up. There would have been a hint of annoyance concerning it, but he figured that he'll chill in Leaf a little while longer till heading back to Sand to check up on his daughter.

He was at a local bar conversing with the barkeep, "So there I was, out in Soon's Harbor, rocking it out when this beautiful fan girl decided to come onto stage to talk to me. But before I could ask her out, a huge sand worm erupted from the ground, and lemme tell ya, it really brought the party vibes until it died from water allergies. I was a bit disappointed though. It would have been lit to have a pet Sand worm. Now that I think about it, I shoulda tried harder to shoot my shot with that chick." Most of what he said was true. Except for the fan girl. The woman, he doesn't really know much about but she had been all in his personal space as if were hers, but certainly didn't act like she liked him. He took another shot as the barkeep looked at him with an astounded look on his face, his knowledge of Wind Country's Sand worms is enough to make him nearly doubt the rocker's story.

"Now there was this other time-" he trailed off as he felt the presence of some ninjas entering the bar and feeling their eyes on him. Turning around, he raised a shot glass, "To good health, yeah?"

"Funny you would mention that." One of the ninja had said. "There's been a situation and we'll need some extra hands. You're a mercenary yes? We'll need you over at Hokage mansion and seek out Sennin Nao."

"Oh? Is that so?" Kureji smiled, and started laughing, "Well, I can't keep Nao waiting now can't we? He would slide some yen over to the barkeep before grabbing the whole bottle of whiskey. "I'll be keeping this."

Few minutes later, Kureji, or rather Kyōki would both finish the whiskey bottle and make it inside the Hokage Mansion no problem. He stumbled around as he made his way around, letting out a maniacal laughter that comes with this persona. This is different from his time in Kazekage tower, which he brazenly walked in. In his muddled mind, he did notice that this place was nearly abandoned. In fact... It seemed like the whole Village was like a ghost town. Finally getting to the door where he thinks Nao is in, Kyōki would slap his face, all the while letting out a crazed laughter, trying to sober himself up and think coherently. Instead, he kind of busted into the room and yelled out, "WHERE ARE THE PRETZELS?!?!" Taking a deep breath, he would then say, "Someone call for a Merc?" He would laugh to himself after he said that.

Shun had spent many of his days bouncing between the bar ran by his friend and the Byoin greenhouse, where his herbal knowledge was shining. That is, of course, until the unknown sickness going around caused him to grow more cautious. No one knew what was taking out the townsfolk, and even his dad was given time off work to stay home and keep healthy. Thankfully Shun didn't have to worry about his home garden since his dad had taken over the care for it. He had just made time after his shift at the Byoin to work on some personal physical training when he received a call on his headset. Shun stepped into the house to grab his things, stumbling upon his dad cooking a nice meal in the kitchen.

"Smells amazing, dad."

"I'm glad. Picked some of these last night after you said they should be good to go and thought I'd use them," Shuichi replied, motioning to the plethora of fresh herbs and the tomatoes he'd just grown his first batch of.

"Hate to miss out on it, but I'm needed elsewhere. Nao put out a call." Shun grabbed a slice of tomato and stuffed it in his mouth before slinging his bag over his shoulder and checking he had everything. "You'll have to make it again if it's good."

"Go about your business, son. I'll save you a bit for when you get home." Shun smiled and nodded his head in acknowledgement before heading out the door.

Once outside, he reported back on his headset. "Ashikawa Shun, headed to the office now." He rushed out the door, moving as quickly and directly to the Hokage Mansion as possible. The streets felt too empty, despite the still healthy people migrating in and out of shops on his way. When he arrived at the mansion, Shun made his way through the doors and down the halls until he reached the Sennin office. He realized there was another guest, one he can't say he'd seen before. "Sorry I took so long, I had just gotten home when I got the call."

WC: 352
MFT
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The minutes felt like hours as they crept past. He finished his cigarette before hearing a burst of laughter in the hallway. 'Who in his right mind...' he would think before a subtle sigh left him. No... That was not the way to think about this situation right now. Any help was welcome, no matter who what, or where. His eyes followed the door that barely held on to its hinges, and a yell followed not even a millisecond later. "WHERE ARE THE PRETZELS?!?!" The fingers of the red-haired male grabbed around his chin, wanting to say something but keeping it far away. "Someone calls for a Merc?"
"You are not wrong in that." He commented simply on top of that, this person... Was still a weird one, but so far he thought he was nice. It was then, that the headset started to crackle and he heard a familiar voice ringing through. Once he too got to the office, Nao would only huff. It seemed this was everything that was left of the hidden leaf. He should not be complaining.

"Glad to see both of you could make it... sit down or keep standing, I don't care. Time is of the essence so I will keep this brief." He would directly get to the point and look at the other two in the room right now. "As you both may have been aware of, something is going on inside this village. Something that rarely gets word out, but right now we need to figure out who is behind it." Nao's kami contract would offer them something to drink in the meantime, and after that give two files to both of them. Nao did not have time to scrap words, keep it occupied no nothing. Despite being an advisor, he was all that there was right now.

"In this file, you will notice a few things, not only patients but also photos of locations. Labs and more." he would start. " Rumors are also starting to circulate. Some spoke of a traveler who arrived months ago, bringing with him exotic goods from a distant land. Others whisper of a curse, cast by an angry being. Others fear that some trees in the forest of corrupted. Every bit of detail is inside of those files. While I keep working on a cure, I want you two to find out who, what, or where."

Details file said:

Red River Virus known facts.

Name: Red River Virus
Possible symptoms:
- a sore throat
- moving difficulty
- back pain
- Pupil dilation (not in all cases)
- neck pain (uncommon)
- Fainting

What to expect: a sore throat and moving difficulty may start within a few days, but both symptoms may differ in severity. After the initial onset, a sore throat usually fades away, but never completely. Around this time fainting is experienced by the majority of people.
The experience of fainting may be experienced more strongly in combination with the experience of moving difficulty.
After a few more days pupil dilation is experienced by 50% of people and is mostly experienced after drinking.
Throughout the disease, delirium may be experienced, but only in a minority of people, and may be completely unrelated and coincidental. The majority however starts to go into a coma.
Cause: unknown.
Made worse by: unknown.
Treatment: unknown.
Rarity: 5 in 10 adults. 3 in 10 children.

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Patients currently under observation.

Age: 68yrs Sex: Male CC: Back Pain HR: 123 regular BP: 100/57 Temp: 35.6C/96.1F RR: 18 O2 Sat: 96% on RA History 1: Drunk History 2: Bed Bound

Age: 46yrs Sex: Female CC: Shortness of Breath HR: 104 regular BP: 180/125 Temp: 35.2C/95.4F RR: 19 O2 Sat: 92% on RA History 1: Previous DVT History 2: Works as a Nurse

Age: 19yrs Sex: Male CC: Acute Confusion HR: 56 regular BP: 100/57 Temp: 37.9C/100.2F RR: 14 O2 Sat: 92% on RA History 1: Lives Alone History 2: Alcoholic

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Rumor I statement.

"A traveler had arrived months prior, cloaked in an air of mystery, bearing exotic goods from a land unknown."
"I know him, his silks shimmered under the scant sunlight, and spices filled the air with unnaturally vibrant scents."
"There is something wrong with that man... There is a strange force following him!"
"That man did it! He is new and all of this is happening! He cursed us!"

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Rumor II statement.
"It was then that I saw her a figure draped in tattered shadows, gliding between the trees. Her hair flowed like mist, and her countenance was both haunting and beautiful. As she spun in a dance of lost thought, the evening air trembled with her unearthly melody, teasing the edges of reality."
"I saw her!! She spoke of visions, of travels beyond the veil, but inevitably her laughter faded, swallowed by the curse... She went mad!"
"It is an ancient curse, cast by an angry, forgotten being a wraith!!"
"They are all silly... it's just another cursed object that was carried to us... Probably a merchant or something."

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"Strangely enough... my findings only bring me back to the City... Crater City. They all speak about the same, yet different. What I want from the two of you is still the same. find something out."

[ooc;
You are free to create a topic inside Crater City, either together or solo, I leave this up to you. Make sure it has the following name included; Event - RRV. What I want, is for you to post a piece. prefer. 300 - 500 words. Then I post as an Event holder.

Kyōki would stroke his chin and nod, exaggeratingly as he listened to Nao speak. Even though he is just some crazed persona that, in its own twisted way protects Kureji, he is able to comprehend what is going on. He gladly accepted the drink from the Kami that seemed to work with Nao, however, he was slightly disappointed when he found out that it was just apple juice. Gotta stay healthy, he guessed...

Apple juice aside, he would listen as Nao spoke, with more confidence that the place of origin, or at least the trace, is Crater City. Looking through the files that were handed to him, he merely skimmed through, but his eyes had rested on two of the cases. One was a person had a history of being drunk, and the other had a history of being an alcoholic. Seriously, these people are giving partiers a bad name getting all sick and whatnot. Wait... He was still holding an empty whiskey bottle. He eyed the bottle, trying to see if there were any left before looking at Shun, through the whiskey bottle, and saying "Funnily enough, I was gonna start in Crater City. We got our own ways of working, Kota and I, that are different from you Village people. You can say, being a free spirit gives an edge for us to work on." He started to laugh hysterically for a couple of seconds before containing his laughter and then said, "Alright Ponytail. I'll need you to act tough and 'escort' me out of town." He used air quotes when he said escort, "While we make our way to Crater City, give me a run-down of past enemies of Leaf. and if possible, their motives."

Whilst Kyōki is on a different wavelength than most people, he can come up with some interesting ideas and plans. Which reminds him, better let Kureji know. He surely knows that his other half will want his fair share of fun and put his own twist on the situation. There would be only a slight change that either Shun or Nao would be able to see. A change in demeanor, stature, the laughing had stopped. "Hope you like to rock. Cause Crater City boutta roll."

Shun denied the offered drink and took his file as Nao began to explain their predicament, scanning across the information and taking in as much as he could. His gaze lifted when Crater City was mentioned. He worked in that city for a newly-regained friend. Shion closed down the bar since all this started...I wonder if he's still well. I should check on him after this.

Shun grit his teeth, unsure if his skills would be best used in outside information gathering. He felt his studies in herbs could be helpful in finding a cure, but he needed the experience either way. He closed the file and gripped the strap of his bag as the unnamed guest addressed him. "Ashikawa Shun." He offered his name shortly, turning to address Nao. "Let me know if you need anything more. I'll report what's important and detail the rest with you later."

Shun turned his head back to his temporary teammate, grinning a bit. "Come on, Whiskey, let's get this hunt going." With a boost of optimism inside his head, Shun turned to head out. Despite his wishes to aid with his brain, he won't allow himself to fall behind in action.

Edit: Moving to Crater City, Event thread linked here

Shun speech
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