A Winning Essay on Self Denial [Mission]

[Akako]

[col]The sunlight, or what passed as sunlight in what was essentially an underground bunker, shone hotly today. The temperatures were high enough to give absolutely anyone a migraine. Most especially the Water Country native who was not used to such dry heat. Which was why she was oh so very grateful that she had found an empty classroom, one with a working air conditioning unit, to retreat into. It was the better option anyway, to leech on the Academy's electrical bill, instead of falling into a heat stroke and inconveniencing their already busy medics.

For her entire stay in the Sand village, she had been completely been slumming around the academy. Exception, of course, was for those times she had to go around stopping terrorists, disarming bombs, navigating a sandstorm, killing a sandworm, stopping a storm god and... a few other things. Indeed, she has been terribly busy since she's arrived in the village.

She reckoned she'd be busier, still, once she signed contract with the Suna government. There were hearsay, after all, that they intend to hire her for a prolonged duration. Written contract and all, just the way she liked it. You know. To help out at the hospital as a visiting consultant, to act legally further as a mercenary within the village system and to teach the locals in the way of water techniques.

"It's official. This is my classroom. I should ask them to make a placard saying that. Mizushima-hakase-sensei's classroom," she mumbled drowsily, letting the cold air from the conditioning unit to chill her right up. "No, ah, hm, Doctor Mizushima Nanami-sensei? No, no, Doctor Professor Mizushima Nanami... Yes, yes, Doctor Professor. Not bad," she continued, pressing her cheek on the teacher's table. It wouldn't be her first time teaching. But she'd often taught doctors and nurses in training on Hashima Island before. Not aspiring young shinobi who had a penchant for trouble and the powers to do it.

The doctor had to fight off a cringe though. If she were to accept Suna's offer at temporary residency, she'll have to give up the idea of the Leaf Liberation army. There was no conflicting morals in the argument for her. Both were altruistic, philanthropic choices. Each had their pros and cons. But... perhaps it was cowardice on her part that made her feel like it would be better to stay and help Suna, instead of fending off a samurai army in Leaf. War was not a place for a small town doctor such as her. Hopefully, the other Nanami would try to understand, at the very least.

Speaking of aspiring young shinobi who had a penchant for trouble...
|</FONTFACE>
[legend="[b]Out of Character Notes[/b]"]

• Open, especially to cute students!
  
  This thread is after The Wicked Storm but before Murder? on my timeline.

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[Kudo Akira]

Re: A Winning Essay on Self Denial [Open]

Akira was hot, way too hot, and not in the good sense of the word either. Even he as a Suna native thought it was unnaturally hot, and for once he was thankful for being at the Academy. Since they couldn't afford air-conditioning in the house he had decided to spend as much time as he could inside the Academy building. He was beginning to regret his choice of beginning to grow out his hair, as his thick mane of vibrant green hair only made the heat even worse. He honestly couldn't remember if he was supposed to be in class now, or if he had the period free. Though he supposed it didn't matter that much, in this heat he wouldn't manage to learn much of anything really. Trudging down the corridor he decided to find a classroom to go and lie in, hopefully it would be cooler there than in the hallway.

He stopped for a minute and pulled a water bottle out of his bag and took a sip of the lukewarm water, though it would have certainly been better cold it still helped. suddenly he heard someone mutter from a nearby classroom, it wasn't loud enough that he could make out what the person was saying and he walked closer. When he opened the door he was met with wonderfully chill air, and he noted absently that the air-conditioning worked much better here than in the hallway. Inside the classroom sat a woman, clearly as affected by the heat as he was, if not worse. Akira briefly debated whether or not to enter, but the cool air of the classroom made the decision for him.

Entering the classroom he closed the door behind him, and nodded to the woman behind the teachers desk. He couldn't remember seeing her before, and was unsure if she was a teacher or just some random adult whom had sought refuge form the heat in the Academy. Deciding to throw all caution into the wind he turned to talk to the unfamiliar woman. "Hope you don't mind me intruding, I just need some place to escape the heat." He explained and gave the woman a cautious smile. "I swear it's like an oven out there, anymore and I think I would've been grilled alive."

 

[Akako]

Re: A Winning Essay on Self Denial [Open]

[col]As her head had been buried in her arms, she had yet to see who she was speaking to just yet. Still, it would have been rude not to reply and the woman gave a laugh, raising a hand and waving it a flippant motion. "As long as you don't start doing fire techniques or touch the thermostat, you can stay. It's not like I have a class, just yet. I haven't really even been cleared for teaching here, either." So, as far as the Academy was concerned, the both of them were electricity guzzling, air condition hogging, trespassers.

After a moment more to rest her eyes, she straightened up in her seat and fixed her glasses to see just who she was talking to.

She blinked, staring unabashedly.

The kid (it was a kid, right?) was huge! Why, if she stood up, she'd find she was only two centimetres taller than the tiny, green giant. The boy was lean and awkwardly built too, with a lion's mane and shark teeth.

Now, the doctor wasn't one to judge. Not at all. But she couldn't stop herself, considering her brain to mouth filter was poor even on a usual day. The heat had already fried her brain by now and only made things worst. "Woah, kid, you're a student? Just what sort of vitamins do you take? Is this genetic? You must have been hit by one huge growth spurt! Did you file your teeth?" she asked without pause, not even realizing that she may have insulted the boy.

At the very least, she didn't ask if his hair was naturally green. Shinobi genetics seemed to go all wonky and oddly coloured hair was the least of their problems. Although, she had yet to meet anyone with pink hair.

While we're on the subject of pink, the woman's face turned a light pink when her brain caught up with what she just said. Which was an achievement, in and of itself. Often, it was her mouth that couldn't catch up with her brain, not the other way around. "A-Ah, sorry! Did I ask too many questions? Doctor Mizushima Nanami. I mean, I'm... Doctor Mizushima Nanami. Sorry, kid. Just... you look really interesting."|</FONTFACE>[legend="[b]Out of Character Notes[/b]"]

• Hello, hello, lovely!
  
  Welcome to NC, by the way! Interesting faceclaim you have there too.

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[Kudo Akira]

Re: A Winning Essay on Self Denial [Open]

The unfamiliar woman didn't even raise her head to look at him, and he laughed a bit when he heard what she was saying. "I'm pretty sure only lunatics are doing fire techniques in this weather, and I'm not that crazy. It's hot enough as it is." He told her, and he thought about the last things she said. Apparently she wasn't a teacher yet, he wondered what kind of classes she would teach. All the standing made him even more tired, and he walked over to the nearest chair and collapsed into it. He felt kind of pathetic actually, how was he ever going to become a great shinobi if he let himself be defeated by a little heat. Casting a glance out of the window he could see the air shimmering from the heat, okay strong heat, he corrected himself.

He was pulled back to reality when to woman spoke, and he realized she was blatantly staring at him. When he finally registered what she was saying he felt torn between blushing in embarrassment, and laughing at the sheer amount of questions. It wasn't that he wasn't used to questions about his appearance, apparently he was weird even to shinobi standards, but not that many and not asked quite like that. Feeling his cheeks heat up he tried to cover his embarrassment by laughing, though it came out a bit weird. "Yeah, unfortunately being tall doesn't give you an automatic pass." He joked awkwardly before continuing. "I'm pretty sure it's all genetic unless I've been living a lie my whole life. The height and teeth are after my father, and I have my mother's hair." His little sister had gotten the better part of the deal, with their father's brown hair and their mother's height, though she had the same teeth as him.

When she apologized, he smiled and made an awkward hand motion, as if waving away her apology. "It's okay, 'm kinda used to it." He reassured her, and he could feel his blush receding a bit. "Nice to meet ya Doctor Mizushima, I'm Kudo Akira."

OOC: Hello ^^ Thanks, I just couldn't resist. It's a lot more fun to have charas that looks interesting XP

 

[Akako]

Re: A Winning Essay on Self Denial [Open]

[col]"I apologize again. I'm not so used to this dry heat. It's much more humid on the island where I'm from. So, it's taking a bit to adjust. And I think I'm going a bit heat crazy," she explained, scratching her cheek sheepishly. Of course, she ignored the fact that she already had a month, more or less, to adjust to the weather. It certainly did not help that she was wearing a long sleeved, turtlenecked sweater.

It was a relief to see that the boy took no offence to her prodding. In fact, he seemed to take it good naturedly. Which was good news for her, considering her big mouth had often gotten her in trouble in the past. Really, such a big mouth was a dangerous thing to own for a shinobi or otherwise. Thankfully, she was able to keep quiet on her employer's secrets when the need for secrecy came. The doctor was the sort to lie by emission, instead of just lying outright.

"But it's nice to meet you too, Kudo-san," Nanami grinned. Normally, she would have stood up to offer her hand for a shake. But, right now, it seemed they were both rendered pathetic by the temperatures to care. Besides, she had often observed that children were not for such... formalities. "I do hope you aren't ditching class, being here. I wouldn't condone such behaviour. On principle. I don't want to be fired from the teaching job before I could even begin. I'll have to make a show of giving you detention and all that, if you are. Although, if you're here when you don't have school, you're an odd one. Other kids would just get an ice cream and go home. I think?"

Did they even have detention in a shinobi academy? She really wouldn't know. The doctor had, after all, studied in a civilian academy and university and only had private training in the shinobi arts later on. Although, she had heard horrible things of the Academy in the Hidden Village of Mist, before it was frozen over. Something about teachers throwing students out the school windows, while they were several floors from the ground.
|</FONTFACE>[legend="[b]Out of Character Notes[/b]"]

• Any preference as to how you want this topic to turn out?
  
  I was planning to make a class originally, but I saw there were plenty of those in session already.
  
  Do you want to go on an adventure? I could use the money from a self modded mission. I'm not quite sure how that would go, bringing a student along? And maybe we can see if you can get rewards too, if we do that? It could be a side-by-side, dual self modded mission, if I remember rules right.
  
  Of course, I'm okay with a slice-of-life, casual thread too.

[/legend]<FONTFACE fontface="monospace">[/col]

 

[Kudo Akira]

Re: A Winning Essay on Self Denial [Open]

"It's okay, I remember my dad complaining about the same thing, and about how hard it was to adjust to the climate here." He told her, a sharp pang of loss stabbed at his heart when he mentioned his father. His eyes lit up though, when she mentioned not being form Suna. "What is the name of the island? What is it like there, do they have cities above ground? Are there a lot of different plants and animals?" He questioned her excitedly, his eyes gleaming of interest. "Ah, sorry. Guess I'm not the only one affected by the heat, I've just never been outside Suna so it's always exciting to hear about new places." He offered lamely when he realized he had bombarded her with questions, just like her a few minutes ago.

He had always been interested in hearing about new places, and he remembered his dad telling him about his home before he came to Suna. It was maybe some of his fondest memories of his dad, listening to him talk about foreign places filled with wonder. One day when his mother was healthy and his little sister older, he wanted to travel around with them to all these places.

Akria scratched his cheek nervously, and gave a small embarrassed grin. "I honestly can't remember if I have class, but I'm at least 60% sure I'm done for the day." He told her, before quickly continuing, hoping to distract her. He really didn't want to get scolded, and no way he was getting detention. His mother would be so disappointed in him! "We can't afford an air-condition at home, so it's probably unbearable there right now, so it's not really that odd. Plus I don't have the money to waste on ice cream." It was true, he did have money but those were for this weeks groceries. He knew his mom hated that he had to help pay for food, but they could barely afford their small apartment as it was. Not to mention his mother's the hospital bills, speaking of the hospital that was where she was today with his little sister.

He felt a bit guilty for not coming with his mother, but at least there would be an air-condition at the doctor's office so they wouldn't find the heat to bothersome. There wasn't really a rational explanation for his dislike of hospitals, maybe it was the smell, or maybe because it was a sharp reminder of how sick his mother was.

OOC: I don't really have a preference, though an adventure sounds fun. ^^ I've never been on a mission, so some experience could be nice.

 

[Akako]

Re: A Winning Essay on Self Denial [Open]

[col]Seeing the boy's embarrassment, she didn't heckle him further about his class or lack thereof anymore. Besides, she doubted anyone could really focus with this heat. Not to mention, she would be quite the hypocrite if she said that she did not cut classes in her youth as well. Of course, her professors had not minded her occasional absences, considering she turned in her projects by their deadline and had prodigious marks.

There was a moment though, where she internally debated bringing up that point about ice cream. It was none of her business, she would tell herself. Sooner or later though, she knew she would find something to do about it. Maybe later. Ice cream wouldn't hurt her budget too much.

"The island? It's Hashima Island in the Water Country. Just about North West of the Hidden Village of Mist. A small port town, it is, mostly civilians... population, twenty thousand. Although about only two hundred fifty of those are shinobi, often mercenaries. Like I am, really," she hummed in thought, all the while crossing her arms.

With the look on her face, she didn't seem like someone who would talk of her home with rose tinted glasses. If anything, her words were blunt and there was little discomfort in talking about the bad side of the island. "The buildings are old, made of concrete, and they go high up with so many people living there. There's a small farmland but most of our food come from the sea. Not all too peaceful though, even if most of the locals are in denial," she huffed.

"There are... gang wars, for a lack of better term. I own a clinic, try to help out the victims. The beaches on the opposite ends of the ports are nice though. White sand, blue salt waters and I collect seashells whenever I go there. It's no five star resort island but it's where I grew up," she continued with a small shrug. "And, at least it's still habitable anyway. The rest of Water Country is a frozen wasteland. So that's something going for Hashima." She did wonder how her clinic was faring. The doctor had yet to hear about them, even after the last envelope of money she had sent them.

"It's my first time in a big hidden village, honestly. Never even stepped foot in Mist. So, maybe you can tell me something about it, ei, kiddo?"

|</FONTFACE>[legend="[b]Out of Character Notes[/b]"]

• I'll see about getting pre-approval from the Missing Council about a self modded mission and I'll see how I can help you get paid too on the Sand Council side. Tomorrow. Last post before I go to sleep. You have a good day, dear!

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[/col]

 

[Kudo Akira]

Re: A Winning Essay on Self Denial [Open]

He was grateful that she didn't comment on his money issue, while he didn't try to keep the fact that they were poor a secret, it wasn't exactly something he was proud of. Akira listened with rapt attention as she began talking about Hashima Island, and he started trying to picture the island in his head. The place would have sounded idyllic, if it hadn't been for how she talked about the gang wars. Still it sounded very nice, and Akira found himself wishing he could see it for himself. Though that may just be his sense of adventure speaking, just his wish to see something different than the underground city of Sunagakure.

"Why are you here in Suna, if you own a clinic there?" He asked curiously, wouldn't owning a clinic make you want to stay where the clinic was. Though he could certainly see it becoming boring, just doing the same thing everyday, so maybe it wasn't that weird that Doctor Mizushima decided to come to Sunagakure.

He scrunched up his eyebrows in thought when she asked about Sunagakure. He didn't really know what to tell her, but decided to just tell what came to mind. "Well, Sunagakure has a really rich history that goes a long way back. It's been really dangerous lately though, with a lot of different attacks on the city. I don't really know much as mom tried to shield me from the worst of it. The city is kinda divided into three classes; the rich ones who live in the Desert Crown, the middle-class who lives in Sietch Zensunna, and then the lower class and criminals lives in the Grand Palais where the Red Light district also is." He told her before continuing, covering various small tidbits of information, mostly things that anyone could have found out.

When he finished he shrugged a bit and scratched his cheek. He knew he didn't really have any important information, and he doubted anything he said wasn't something Doctor Mizushima could have found out in a day. "Sorry, I don't really know what else to say." He hadn't realized how difficult it was to tell someone about where you lived. It was hard to judge what was useful information and waht was not, not to mention what was common and uncommon to have in cities.

OOC: Alright Thanks, good night.

 

[Akako]

Re: A Winning Essay on Self Denial [Open]

[col]Nanami didn't bat an eyelash at being asked such a question. Many did wonder what the good doctor was doing, far away from her establishment. "Well, since we treat our patients for free, funds are hard to come by. So, I often have to go take on mercenary jobs to support the clinic. Medicine and equipment can be hard to procure, especially if we need to import them. The other doctors and nurses are volunteers... but I like to make sure they have some money in their pockets for helping at the end of the day too," she explained in a matter of fact tone.

It didn't seem like she would say anymore about it though, despite the fact that her eyes said there was more to it. Much like Akira's poverty, it was something she rather not be brought up. Instead, she covered up her pause by fishing out two lollipops from her pocket, the round, red ones that doctor's would give to kids who have been good patients. Popping one stick into her mouth, she offered the other to Akira. "Lolly?"

Say what he would about himself though, Akira knew the basics. And sometimes, the basics were enough to save someone's life. The doctor wasn't really the sort to notice a caste system of any sort, so this was certainly good information to have. Although, she would have probably gotten the gist of it if she went around the village for reasons other than missions. "That's fine. Just means you have to do some more exploring of your home, doesn't it?" the woman nodded. "So, when someone asks you again, you'll know more. At least you know something. Ignorance is a horrible thing."

The woman had no qualms talking, even with the candy in her mouth. The sweet confection was cherry flavoured. Nanami hated cherries with a burning passion, ironically enough. But she would feel stupid if she just spat her own treat out. She must have bought the wrong flavour, because she was pretty sure she had grabbed the lemon lollies.

"Anyway," she continued, only to stop. The doctor just stopped talking. Just like that. But she tilted her head as if listening out for something. Her gaze darted from Akira to the windows, as if looking for something.

That was when Akira would be able to hear it. The ruffling of feathers, the sound of birds taking flight and an eerie, deafening silence. Outside the window, a man in a black suit walked by, eyes boring holes into the two inside the classroom with his intense gaze. He raised a hand to his chin in thought before his lips broke into a small smile.

"Wha-" the doctor mouthed, although no sound came from her mouth and she reached out a hand to the boy. There was a sense of urgency there. But the world seemed content with slowing down around them.

Suddenly, a burst of white feathers, like water from a dam, broke through the windows and flooded the room.

Nothing but white.

When Akira would regain consciousness once more, he would find himself in a dry, dark cellar.

Alone.|[legend="[b]Out of Character Notes[/b]"]

• Alrighty, I've posted for pre-approval on my end. Now here's all you need to do: copy this code, paste it here and survive this topic. When we finish this, we can compensate the madness you've been through with shiny monies (1,500 Yen, which is E Rank reward).

[b]Mission Name:[/b] [url=http://www.ninpocho.com/viewtopic.php?f=506&t=43510]A Winning Essay on Self Denial[/url]
[b]Mission Type:[/b] Self Modded Solo
[b]Mission Rank:[/b] E-Rank
[b]Objective:[/b] A wild [url=http://www.ninpocho.com/viewtopic.php?p=63840#p63840]Torihiki Urikire[/url] appears! Doctor [url=http://www.ninpocho.com/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=67]Mizushima Nanami[/url] is on the case! But Akira needs to survive until then!

• We'll be separate In Character for most of this mission although we'll still be able to communicate (you'll see how) and I'll guide you along. By the end of this, you should be ready for any other modded mission too!
  
  My own mission is as follows:
  
  Your OOC Rank: S-Rank
  Mission Rank: S-Rank
  Mission Premise: Capture Torihiki Urikire, dead or alive, and make sure Kudo Akira survives this ordeal
  
  As of this post, the mission is a-go!

[/legend][/col]

 

[Kudo Akira]

Akira found his admiration for doctor Mizushima increase, it wasn't many people who were willing to help so many people for free. She even went out and did mercenary work so she could pay the volunteers in addtion to get the money necessary to support the clinic. It was amazing! Though maybe he was just biased since he knew how expensive medical bills were and how much of a burden it was for those with little money.. "Tha-That's awesome!" He stammered out, clear admiration coloring his voice.

He would have asked more, but something told him to let it go. There was this look in her eyes, and Akira was smart enough to know when to let something lie. When she offered the lollipops he hesitated a bit before accepting it. It wasn't often that they had enough money to splurge on candy, and his sweet tooth overcame his pride. "Yeah, thanks." He thanked her and stuck the lollipop in his mouth, the sweet cherry flavour of it made him smile. It was really good.

"Yeah, I guess so. Knowledge is power, isn't that how the saying goes?" He said, and scratched his cheek, a bit embarrassed that he didn't know more about his own home city. Doctor Mizushima began talking only to to stop abruptly, and Akira curiously followed her eyes to where she was staring out the window. A man in a black suit was walking by, though he couldn't see what made doctor Mizushima stop. Still it must be something bad, and a foreboding feeling filled him. Does she know him or something?

He barely finished the thought before the world burst into white. Wha- was his half-finished thought before he lost consciousness, losing himself into the darkness.

The first thing he became aware of as he started to regain his consciousness was the hard ground he was lying on. He slowly opened his eyelids, squinting as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. His limbs felt like lead, as he slowly sat up and took in his surroundings. It was dark, but from what he could make out he was in some sort of room. Wherever he was it was clear he wasn't where he had been. Dread filled him as he looked around and so no traces of doctor Mizushima anywhere. "H-hello, d-doctor Mizushima?! Anyone?!" He called out in a shaky voice.

He berated himself immediately, had he forgotten all his shinobi training?! Now the enemy knew he was awake. His mind was racing, was it the man in the suit who had done this? Why was he alone, where was Doctor Mizushima? His hands shook, and he tried to take a few calming breaths. He couldn't afford to panic right now, he needed to get out! Shakily he stood up, and began looking for a door, or any kind of exit.

OOC: Alright, done ^^ Haha, hopefully this will go well, but I trust you to guide me along

 

[Akako]

[col]There was no immediately visible exit in the cellar and it would take a bit for one's eyesight to adjust to the darkness. But, granted, it eventually will. Some of the things the boy would notice would probably be the cracked walls, the stain of blood and other bodily fluids that spoke of others before him... and, lastly, a headset lying on the ground.

The thing emitted static at a crazy rate, the sound suddenly clawing and scratching at the silence from before.

"Brzzsftrgktktt- Kudo-san! Kudo-san! Do you hear me? Listen to me," came the doctor's voice, harsh and ragged. There was a pause and an angry roar along with the sound of metal against metal.

The brat is mine! came a man's voice, background noise to the doctor's own.

As soon as Akira had answered, announcing himself though, the woman continued talking. "The man you saw in the suit is Torihiki Urikire. He's a wanted man, guilty of assault and battery, kidnapping and slave trading, targeting young ones like you. If you see him, do not engage. I repeat, do not engage. Avoid detection if you can. He's a grktztttzttt- jutsu user and he uses long range techniques. Find cover if he targets you. But as much as possible, do not engage. Stay out of his line of sight as much as possible."

"You're in a ghckhtthhcht- right now. You'll need to find a grkktzzzt! Don't trust what you see. Wherever you are, there has to be a way to ghtchgh free. Whatever you see, don't stop moving. Do not stop moving. Or he will catch you. Whatever he tells you, don't listen to him." As the doctor spoke, there was a thumping bass that echoed along the walls. They seemed fragile and below safety regulations, as if a well placed explosion or a couple of chakra enhanced blows could knock them down. The room thrummed at a consistent pace, like a heartbeat, as opposed to the empty silence from before.

The next thing he may have noticed that he was stripped of any weapon if he may have had. That left him with nothing except his own bare hands. A Ninjutsu could have very well been useful in this situation. Or perhaps he could investigate to see if there were other exits. "We'll get you out of that brzrtztkktkt, kid."|</FONTFACE>[legend="[b]Out of Character Notes[/b]"]

• Objective: Find a way out of the cellar.
  
  You won't get to keep the headset after this topic, I'm afraid, unless you buy it from the shop.

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[Kudo Akira]

Akira could find no exit as he felt the walls, squinting in the darkness in an effort to see something. Slowly as his eyes adjusted to the darkness he he could see that the walls were cracked, a tell of the age of the room he as in. His breath hitched as he finally noticed the blood stain on the floor, and other fluids that he didn't want to look closer at. A sudden burst of static noise sent him jumping in surprise choking a scream, and he noticed the headset lying on the ground. Picking it up he carefully put it on.

The static was painful, but the sound of doctor Mizushima's voice calmed his racing heart. "I-I'm here, I can hear you." He shakily replied into the mic, hoping that it still worked. The sound of the man's voice had Akira tensing up again, and he wagered that was the man who had attacked them.

Dedicating all his attention to the sound of doctor Mizushima's voice, he listened rapidly to what she was saying. The static kept interrupting some words, and he furrowed his brows trying to figure out what she was saying. "I didn't catch some of the words! What kind of jutsu does he use? Where am I, what do I need to find?" The questions came out at a rapid pace, as his heart thundered in his chest. Fear was clawing at his throat, and it had only been made worse when he found out who the man was. He didn't want to be sold as a slave, all he wanted at the moment was to go home!

The thumping bass that was echoing along the walls didn't help his anxiety either, and he began pacing the floor making sure to keep the headset on. That was his only link to doctor Mizushima, he couldn't afford to lose it! The walls seemed fragile, and the cracks spoke of age and shoddy workmanship. Damn it, if only he knew some ninjutsu he could have tried to break down the walls with some, but all he had were two genjutsu techniques. Maybe I can use a kunai to hack through the wall, he thought, but cursed when he discovered all his weaponry was gone. Of course, they were gone, he didn't even know why he got his hopes up like that. No enemy was stupid enough to let him keep his weapons, even if he was just an academy student. He couldn't do this! His chest began to feel to tight, the blood was pounding in his ears and he had to blink rapidly to keep back his frightened tears.

Alright, take a deep breath, calm down you've been trained for this... kinda. Think about what you know. He thought to himself, before he tried anything he needed to stop himself from panicking. I'm locked in a room somewhere, the walls are old and probably weak. Doctor Mizushima said not to trust what I see, so the man, Torihiki Urikire, knows at least some genjutsu. Maybe that means he's primarily a genjutsu user? No matter, first priority right now is getting out. His breathing had finally calmed down, and his heart no longer felt like it was about to burst form his chest. Arranging his thoughts had helped, and he could see more now that his eyes had adjusted to the darkness. He spared a split of a second to be ashamed of himself for starting to panic like that, but quickly recovered. Now wasn't the time for that.

Slowly he began examining the walls, tracing it with his fingers in hope of finding a hidden doorway somewhere. There had to be one after all, he didn't just appear in this room. There must be a way to enter and exit it without blowing down the wall. This way would be more subtle too, and would minimize the chances of being discovered escaping. He may not have any weapons, but he still had his brain.

OOC: That's okay.

 

[Akako]

[col]Whatever words had been cut off, Akira would likely not know anytime soon. There was the occasional radio input from the other side but it seemed the talking was the last thing on the doctor's mind. It wasn't too farfetched to think that the woman may have been engaged in a fight of her own. Perhaps, she'd been taken into another cellar, much like the boy had, and managed to escape before Akira did.

The student was a tough and smart little cookie though. A genjutsu seemed likely, considering the implied context in the elder's words. In fact, as Akira calmed down, so did the room. As if matching his own heart beat, the thrumming lessened as he cleared his head. Contrary to his appearance, it looked like the kid was no simple brute. Useful.

Clever.

It would take some time to find anything using his basic sense of touch alone. But, eventually, something did give. At a section of the wall, the one with the most cracks in the concrete, touching would give way to empty air. The concrete rippled at the touch only to still again although it remained intangible. It was a gaping wound, hidden in plain sight.

Beyond the false wall, a different room lay ahead. It was a warehouse, filled with metallic crates of all shapes and sizes although each and every one of them was large enough to at least house a human being. Not comfortably anyway. Dim, yellow bulbs lit what didn't lie in darkness and, like the cellar, there were signs of those before. Except it was much more apparent now, as the stench of urine was heavy like a bad perfume. From one of the metal crates nearest Akira, a moaning and crying sound pierced the air. It was ominous. And looking at the thing made repulsion dance along one's skin.

Were... were there others?|</FONTFACE>[legend="[b]Out of Character Notes[/b]"]

• Sorry if I can't quite match your word count all the time. I don't want to spoil and give too much away, heh.
  
  If it's any consolation, you won't be the first student I've put through craziness. Many a Mist generations had me as a teacher. So many traumatized students. Many hospitalized students too. Why, I managed to even give one a paranoia and phobia of the Mizukage. I was rather proud of that moment, actually.

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[Kudo Akira]

The lack of sound form the head-set worried him, but he tried to distract himself form the lack of more information by dedicating all his attention to finding an exit. The thrumming of the room had calmed down, and it set Akira more on edge. What kind of room was this? He needed to gt out of here as quick as possible. Time went by as he searched the walls, but with no way of telling the time he didn't know how much time had passed. Finally, after what seemed like eternities, he found something. As he touched a part of the wall that seemed especially damaged his hand went straight through, the concrete rippling around it. The fake wall seemed to be an illusion and only cemented Akira's conclusion about Torihiki being primarily a genjutsu user. To his mind this seemed like the work of someone who knew what he was doing.

As he went through the exit the first thing that hit him was the stench. A pungent smell of urine permeated the air, and made breathing trough the nose almost impossible. Horrid moans and crying pierced the air, and made him startle in surprise. In the dim lighting he could see several metal crates in the room, all of them big enough to house a body. The sight of them made his skin crawl, and his sight was inevitably drawn to one of the metal crates closest to him where the sounds seemed to be coming form.

The heartbreaking and nightmarish sounds were coming from that one crate, and Akira carefully walked over to it. Touching the metal of the crate, he inspected it for any way to open it or at least look inside. His conscience was screaming at him to get whoever was in there out, while his survival instincts were shouting that he needed to get out of there and the other would only slow him down. Torn, he hesitated before deciding to at least find out what was going on with the person inside. If he couldn't get the person out, then he would find doctor Mizushima and get her to help. He was sure she wouldn't leave someone to this horrible fate. Hopefully there weren't anymore people trapped in the crates, just the thought made him sick to the bone.

Maybe if he could find a way to talk to the person inside he could find out more, it was worth a try at least. "Hello, can you hear me? Are you alright? I'm here to help." He spoke to the crate, trying to keep his voice as calm and low as possible.

OOC: No worries, I tend to write a lot when I'm excited and having a lot of fun.
Haha, that sounds hilarious XD Yeah, I can see Akira coming out of this with at least some issues

 

[Akako]

[col]The sense of wrongness never left, no matter how noble Akira's intentions were.

As he called out to whoever was in the crate, a panel slid open with metal shrieking against concrete. A frail looking woman, with hair a dirty, forest green, screamed at the boy. Hands reached out, as if she was asking for help, trying to escape from something. Or, rather, someone. But, instead if grabbing the boy, she shoved him out of the way and ran.

Only for an arrow to lodged itself in her head.

Nanami's previous warnings echoed all around: "Don't trust what you see. Whatever you see, don't stop moving. Do not stop moving. Or he will catch you." But as soon as the doctor's voice came, so did the woman's... so hauntingly familiar. Along with the green hair, it wouldn't be too unimaginable what one's worst assumption could be.

The body dropped to the ground with barely a twitch and the suited man from before stepped out of the crate. He looked down upon the dead woman, sniffing disdainfully before his gaze moved to Akira.

"Find cover if he targets you. Stay out of his line of sight as much as possible."

"Weak. Children are such burden for their parents, aren't they? They're all good for nothing. Useless. I'm merely doing everyone else a favour by taking you all away, making you into useful little slaves," the man spoke, as if seeing this as one of the world's absolute truths.

"If you see him, do not engage. I repeat, do not engage."

Yet, the way he spoke was disconnected. His mouth didn't quite move in a way to match his voice. As if he was there, yet he wasn't. It was almost hypnotic. Although, that didn't quite latch on, considering Akira's promising start in the illusion arts. "You don't want to burden your mother, do you? You could just come with me. You'll have plenty of friends. I collect troublesome children, you see. So, why don't you come with me?" he continued, holding out a hand for the boy to take.

"Whatever he tells you, don't listen to him."
|</FONTFACE>[legend="[b]Out of Character Notes[/b]"]

• Marked for Training on Mon Mar 30, 2015 6:39 am with 356 words
  
  Sorry! I was out working the whole day yesterday. Apologies too, for what Akira will experience. Triggered one of the consequences when he stopped to check the crates.

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[Kudo Akira]

Akira took a step back in surprise when a panel slid open, but froze in shock when he saw the woman. She, she looked so much like... mom!. He barely managed to keep himself from stumbling when she shoved him out of the way, and when he turned around to follow her, stop her, talk to her, anything, he was greeted with the sight of an arrow lodging itself in her head. Like a puppet with its strings cut she, no her body, dropped gracelessly. Doctor Mizushima's warnings echoed, intermingling with his mo- no the woman's, she couldn't- she just couldn't be, and when a third voice began screaming he distantly realized it was his own. "Moooom!"

Shock, I'm in shock. Was hos one distant thought, the rest of him was locked in a whirlwind of emotions. Disbelief, sorrow, panic, denial (no,non no nonono) and he could feel wet tears staining his cheeks. When he saw the man (murderer!) panic and rage intermingled with the already existing cocktail of emotions. The man's words were cold, cruel, and they should have made him enraged, should have made him lose control. Instead, he stomped down on his emotions. If that was his mother (please no, it must be a genjutsu, it must!), he had a sister to take care of, nothing, not even his own emotions, would stand between him and his sister.

But in between the swirling mess that was his mind, something urged him to listen. The man's voice was smooth, and convincing, it wanted you to obey. The man spoke again, reaching his hand out towards Akira, something urging him to take it, to listen to the man. His lessons in genjutsu stopped him from listening to the man, he knew this tactic. Hypnotism, the power of suggestion. He subtly placed one foot in a way that he could make a quick dash, while faking reaching out towards the man. Then he ran, ran with everything he had. If he hadn't been scared shitless, or just watched the (supposed, it couldn't have been real.) death of his mother he would maybe have made a witty comment, a parting shot, but now he didn't waste his breath on anything like that. No time to waste on words.

The words from doctor Mizushima still echoed in his head, urging him to get away. He didn't look back as he dodged or vaulted over the crates, making a beeline for the nearest exit. His heart was thundering in his ears, and tears blurred his vision, but still he ran with everything he had. As he ran thoughts that had stayed buried surfaced, and he found himself distracted by them as he ran. He's a genjutsu user, that was an illusion. My mom is saf in the hospital, that's right he couldn't have snatched her from there. Not to mention, Torihiki said nothing about Aimi, my sister, who clings to mom when I'm not there. It must have been a genjutsu. A nasty voice interceded though, planting doubt in his new hope. You don't know how long you were out of it, he could have snatched her from your home. Maybe Aimi was outside playing, or maybe she's dead, killed by the man, or maybe captured.

"Shut up." He whispered harshly to himself, before trying to increase his speed.

OOC: No worries, we all do unfortunately have a life outside the internet. I'm going to be gone from Wednesday to Friday, I'll be at my family's cottage and we don't have internet there -.-
Haha, it's kinda fun to try and come up with his reactions, and try and keep them true to his character.

 

[Akako]

[col] A horribly beatific smile grace the man's face, his eyes glinting with dark promise.

After all, it seemed to him that this would be another job well done, despite the trouble the mercenary woman was posing to him. But, whatever problems she threw at him, as long as he had the kid in his hands... he had won.

Which was why his expression turned into an ugly thing when Akira turned to flee.

Notching an arrow onto his bow, he tried to aim at the kid. However, with the way the boy hopped around cover, he could not get a clear target. The arrow in his hands thrummed, only for the entire warehouse to echo it, much like the cellar from before. And it was oily. The energy coming from it. From him.

"He's a grktztttzttt- jutsu user."

「 G e N j U t S u」​

But, no matter how far and how fast he ran, he never seemed to get much of anywhere. It looked and felt like he was stuck in a spatial loop. He was always a few paces away from Urikire and a few steps away from the woman's corpse.

Until something tripped him up. Something with a purpose. And he landed next to the green haired corpse.

"You're in a ghckhtthhcht- right now. You'll need to find a grkktzzzt! Don't trust what you see. Wherever you are, there has to be a way to ghtchgh free."

「 I l L u S i O n
w E a P o N
B r E a K」​

The dead woman's head lolled to the side, showing a blank face. It was not his mother. But the body was fashioned to be so terribly close to her, perhaps even wearing the same clothes he had last seen her in. But it was not his mother. There was no eyes and no mouth, like a mannequin that was simply there to do its part.

And unlike the rest of the warehouse, which thrummed to the ominous beat, the mannequin and the arrow stayed still and silent. Cold. Real.

"We'll get you out of that brzrtztkktkt, kid."

「 G e N j U t S u」​

Very few shinobi chose to be practitioners of genjutsu. Not only did it require great discipline of both mind and body, the art had the ugly habit of drawing out the ugliness in a person's psyche. Whether that psyche belonged to the user or their unfortunate target. Genjutsu was a horrific thing, in the hands of a master. Especially if it was chosen to be used for malevolent ends. Those weak willed could be trapped in illusions forever and there were very few ways to get out of such things. Often, one's body had to be dealt excruciating pain to differentiate between fiction and reality.

The arrow in the woman's head glinted with a dark promise of its own.

|</FONTFACE>[legend="[b]Out of Character Notes[/b]"]

• It's always fun to put characters through crap you normally would not see them in.
  
  We'll see if we can finish the mission part of the topic before you have to leave. But, if not, that's fine. It's fairly short anyway, since the word count requirement for self modded missions are fairly low and I'm very, very sure we've met them. It's just meeting the IC objective in a timely, none too rushed manner. We're pretty, pretty close, actually.

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[Kudo Akira]

Something was wrong, he could feel it as he ran. This place, the warehouse was wrong, it was thrumming with with energy. Akira soon noticed that no matter how fast he ran he didn't seem to get anywhere, like he was running in place. I'm trapped in a genjutsu, was his realization as he continued to dodge around the crates. Doctor Mizushima's words echoed once again in his head, and his mind began supplying the missing words. Things began to make more sense now, the thrumming of the walls, the disquieting feeling he got. Though before he could finish hos thoughts something tripped him, and he stumbled, falling down.

He landed next to the dead body, and through his adrenalin fueled panic he felt a brief wave of relief when the head lolled to the side. Blank face, it wasn't his mother. It had been so scarily like her, he had believed it to be her for those horrible moments. There was no time to dwell on this though, he had to get out of this illusion. But how? Running made no difference, he seemed to be stuck in a loop. He hadn't learned how to cancel out genjutsus yet (one thing he swore to rectify if he got out), his only chance was pain.

His heart thudded painfully in his chest as his gazed fixed on the arrow in the doll's head. His breathing came out in shallow puffs, and he knew that was his chance. Grasping the arrow, it felt cold. Real. He pulled it out, and before he could change his mind he stabbed it forcefully into his thigh. The pain was unlike anything he had felt before, he had never been badly hurt only a few scrapes and bruises here and there, and this exceeded anything he had ever experienced. He cried out with pain, and had to stop himself form ripping the arrow out. Right now the arrowhead was the only thing stemming the blood-flow, and he distantly thought through the pain that he could have thought of a better place to stab.

OOC: Yeah, hopefully we can manage that.

 

[Akako]

[col]As the boy's mind registered the pain, the world around him faded. Like a watercolour painting, the dark gray and metallic hues were replaced with browns, warm and welcoming in comparison. They were back at the Academy. Back in the cold and cool classroom they were in before, like they had never left in the first place.

Akira was on the ground, behind a few desks. Shattered glass from the windows were everywhere, letting the hot, desert air in. And one of his own weapons (whether a kunai, shuriken, senbon or even knife) stuck out from his thigh, not at all an arrow like it had been in his mind. There were real arrows everywhere though. A whole slew of them. Although, it was no small miracle that the boy avoided becoming a pin cushion.

Because there stood the doctor.

Like some sort of tiny guardian of youth, she had been guarding Akira while he lay trapped in the slaver's illusion. But, it seemed odd that she had been staying on the defensive all this while. That was evident with the conjured metal walls. But, not only had she been on the defensive; she had also been making sure that the wanted man could not get away, with or without Akira. At least, one could assume that, judging by the annoyed look on the man's face and how his eyes kept darting around for an escape. The woman hadn't been speaking at all through a headset, but just through the haze of Genjutsu.

"You awake yet, kid?" she asked with a cough, risking a glance back at the student. As she turned, one could see a snapped arrow sticking in her shoulder blade. It was more a rhetorical question, really, considering how the boy had finally screamed from his long silence. She didn't need an answer. Besides, she was done playing cat and mouse with the scum.

As soon as Akira gave the slightest of confirmations, even the simplest of nods, Nanami rushed forward. For all that she claimed herself a civilian, for all that she downplayed her own strength as a shinobi, the woman was a formidable fighter in her own right. Torihiki looked surprised with the doctor going on the offensive. There was no time as the woman pulled the lolly from her mouth (because, damn, she did hate cherry), twisted the candy around and stuck the handle into the man's eye socket with incredible accuracy and force.

The scream that ripped through the criminal's throat was raw, especially when the doctor stuck another lollipop stick (most likely the one Akira had dropped when he was snared by the Genjutsu) into his other eye. "Let's see you try to target children when you can't see, you slaver scum," she hissed.|</FONTFACE>[legend="[b]Out of Character Notes[/b]"]

• I'm surprised you're on at this time. You're often here when I'm already asleep.

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[Kudo Akira]

The world around him faded, giving place to the warm and inviting classroom. Though the pain was bad, he still managed to scour his surroundings for any threats. Currently he laid on the ground, and the room around him was wrecked. Broken glass littered the room, and arrows, like the one in the illusion, were everywhere and the wall were covered in metal. When he looked down at his thigh, he could see a kunai sticking out of it, and not the arrow he had thought it was. But all this seemed unimportant when he saw doctor Mizushima standing in front of him, guarding him. She had obviously been protecting him, and relieved tears sprung forth from his eyes.

"Yeah." He gritted out, and resisted to clench his eyes shut from the pain. Tears were still streaming down his cheeks, part pain part relief. What he saw next amazed him, and chilled him to the bone. She was fast, strong, efficient. Akira winced as she stabbed the man in the eye with the lollipop handle, and he could feel his stomach turn at the sight. He couldn't fin it in him to feel sorry for the man tough, as the images of seeing what he thought was his mom being killed flashed through his mind. He was still shaking, but now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off exhaustion began to make itself known.

The scream that came from the man made him flinch, still hyped up on adrenaline as he was. Another lollipop stick was used to destroy his remaining eye, and Akira couldn't remove his eyes from the sight, though black spots had begun dancing in front of his vision. The last thing he heard before passing out from the pain, blood-loss and fear was doctor Mizushima hissing; "Let's see you try to target children when you can't see, you slaver scum". It gave him a strange feeling of comfort, knowing that the man couldn't target him again. And then he was passed out.

OOC: I'm usually in class at this time, but I have vacation now so I'm just chilling at home.