A Sign of Things to Come [Entering Village]

[Akemi]

It was a more-or-less unremarkable day at the gates; slightly overcast, a hint of fog, possibly ominous but in no way unbelievable. Traffic came and went as usual.

And then this guy shows up.

A tall figure, dressed in a hooded brown robe, walked up to the gates. Everyone around him seemed to give him some room, and some even seemed somewhat shocked at his presence. The reason for their response would become obvious very quickly, the man was carrying another in his arms...

... a little girl with long brown hair, dressed in a blue soldier's uniform, with a shinobi insignia tied around her left arm.

The man stopped in front of the gates and stood there, he seemed to simple stare off as if distracted by something. He would patiently wait until someone came to investigate his arrival. Surely the presence of an unconscious kunoichi would attract some attention quickly enough. If not he might need to shout... but he would wait for that... he didn't feel like raising his voice today.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

"Identify Yourself."

The words were issued plainly, politely, and firmly. Not as a request, but as a command. The Sennin of the Main Branch was in no mood to mess around when the life of one of his own hung in the balance - doubly so when that life was as squishy as Nemoto Senna's. Not only did she appear to be unconscious in the arms of a total stranger, she was also far overdue to arrive at the gates, so much so that it had been whispered that she had gone missing in the most craven of ways: by default. Masao's fingers wrapped and unwrapped methodically around the hilt of his side-sword as he regarded the stranger with a dispassionately flinty gaze. Both men stood no more than ten meters apart. Hidden by crenelations in the walls, sniper teams of ANBU trained their crosshairs on the cloaked man's forehead. And also on Senna's.

 

[Akemi]

"I'm not really anyone anywhere as important as you, Shinobi-sama. I'm just a simple monk." the robed man said, his tone reflected all the fear and respect expected of a commoner addressing a ninja. He made sure not to make any sudden movements or show any signs of hostile intent, it was quite obvious that this man realized that he could be killed at any given moment without any real struggle.

"I saw an explosion from the road during my travels, when I went to take a closer look I saw this little one... and a lot of bodies." the monk explained, "She has your symbol on her, so I figured I'd bring her home for you. She seems stable, I think she just needs some rest." he continued. There was a short pause.

"Oh, and she was carrying this. Not sure why." he said, shifting Senna's weight to put her over his shoulder and free up one of his hands, he reached into a small pouch and pulled out a vial of black fluid. "I don't know much about medicine, but I think it's some kind of poison. Didn't seem to fit in with all the other things she was carrying, so I figured it might be important." he continued, offering the vial to Masao. He was right, for all the unconventional tactics that Senna embraced, she had a particular dislike for poisons and avoided their use when possible. So, where did that vial come from?

 

[Ryu Hime]

[AiT and companion reporting for duty]​

Two identical looking timber wolves walk toward the monk. One wore Anbu attire, mask and robe, while the other was completely in the fur. The unclothed wolf takes the vial the monk offers; grabbing the vial with his mouth. If anyone was going to risk their life in this retrieval of a fellow shinobi, it might as well be one of the Anbu branch. As one could see by the blank mask the wolf was only an AiT. The wolves were huge, almost as big an adult tiger. The with the mask spoke to the monk, “Place the shinobi on my back.” The voice was coarse, but feminine despite the masculine appearance. The AiT thought it was better for her to take the shinobi into the village rather than the monk. “I don’t suppose she carried anything that could identify her.”

 

[Takaki Saeko]

The Sennin’s expression was unchanging as the alleged monk explained the events preceding Senna’s recovery. The man’s refusal to give a name did not sit well with him at all – there were plenty of assassins and terrorists throughout the land who would gladly don a hempen robe and assume a hermit’s tonsure in order to get closer to their targets. True monks often gave up their names for a time however, making it harder to truly interrogate the man on the spot without inflaming tensions with Tenouza. Nemoto herself was in no condition to talk, obviously, but it was apparent that she was alive, if barely.

The vial the man produced caused the Sennin to recoil very slightly. There was no way that Masao would accept it himself – men far stronger than he had been brought down by poison and explosives. However, it might offer some clue to what Senna had been up to, and why she was in her current state. He cocked his head at a pair of wolf-type ANBU nearby, who proceeded to go and retrieve the vial and the girl. It was useful to have them around – their purpose was to take risks and die if needed in protection of the village.

“Trainee, be exceptionally careful with that substance,” Masao warned her. “Take Nemoto-san to the Emergency Ward, and deliver the vial to Chief Isaki Kushin or Regent Commander Tagiushi Moro, and no one else.”

After making sure that Senna was at least safe, he redirected his attention to the alleged monk.

“I would have the name of your order, ser, so that we may compensate your brotherhood fairly for your time and care, and so that Genin may know the name of her savior,” he said, again as a command rather than a request.

[Entry granted to Senna]

 

[Akemi]

The monk allowed the wolf ANBU to retrieve the unconscious genin and the unidentified substance, thankfully the sample was not rigged and it was confiscated without incident. Still, this mess of a situation wouldn't be resolved until the girl woke up and the 'poison' was identified.

The monk reacted calmly to being questioned, although one could get the feeling that he'd rather be back at his monastery praying than dealing with all this 'strange political shinobi business'. Despite his hesitation the monk responded in a calm, peaceful manner: "I am a novice of the Order of the Sanctuary, sir. We're based out of Raiden's Eye." those with familiarity with religious orders would recognize the name as that of a minor order of monks who were best known for sponsoring orphanages and elementary schools. Overall they were not very well known, and although their orphanages and schools had started to spread across the country their membership was relatively low.

Nevertheless, it would be easy enough to verify the monk's identity, as the headmaster of the order was relatively good about keeping accurate records of his monks and where they were stationed.

Unless he was questioned further, the monk would take a short bow to the sennin and turn to leave. Senna would remain unconscious during the entire trip to the emergency ward, but her vitals remained stable.

... now, what had she gotten herself into this time?


[Senna Entered the Village, topic left]

[Minor NPC leaves the topic unless stopped]

 

[Ryu Hime]

“Yes sir, right away.” And with those few words the two wolves were off to the hospital. Considering the fact they hand to go to the hospital to drop of the unconscious shinobi, they might as well give Kushin the vial. They would be in the area he would most likely be located so way not.
[Left topic]
Requesting Senna to hospital Thread.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

"We will be sure to repay The Sanctuary for your efforts. The lives of our shinobi, even ones as squishy as her, are not cheap," said Masao, bowing politely to the monk and allowing him to depart.

Now, there were a few more items on his "to-do" list. He would be sure to notify Legation staff about arranging compensation to the monk's order, and he would have to dispatch a team to survey the area where Senna had been recovered from. In addition, there was the matter of the girl herself. When she was more active, she would have to be questioned about what had transpired to make her arrive in the village in such a fashion. The Sennin ran a hand through his freshly-brushed and styled hair - it was a reminder that even he was not immune to his own justice. Allowing his Spymaster to become trapped in the village of Mist had been a grave error on his part, and one he hoped would be corrected soon.

[Topic left, village re-entered]