Finally Back [Requesting Entry]

[Kiri]

The orange skies had long disappeared. In their place was the dark night with numerous stars. Thankfully, there wasn't much cloud in the area, so even the moon provided them with some light. Having traveled all day not wanting to waste any more time, especially after their strange and dangerous ordeal in that underground cavern full of chakra absorbing stones, it would be if they were to be attacked along the way. Luckily, they seemed to have reached the gates without any event.

Still, Kiri could finally go back to wondering if this was the right time to return. That unexpected encounter in the underground cavern has momentarily shifted his focus but now that things have settled and they were literally just meters away from entering the village, Kiri could feel his apprehension once more. He would have to face the Raikage soon, ad whether or not he'll be let out with a swift punishment, he'll have to just accept it.

Having left that internal cavern, he no longer has to carry Osu's head as the latter had formed his body whole again. Still, he may have earned another headchop from that reckless final blast he did, of which he had to let his brother's soul and power take over his body for a mere second to truly come up with enough power to penetrate the cavern ceiling. Still, it was dangerous for a few good moments, his bloodlust having been stirred. It was a good thing he managed to control himself before coming out of the influence of the beast.

Back to the present, however, their small little party of Osu, Haji, Hoshi and himself, would finally arrive at the village gates just as the night reaches its darkest hour. The few torches up above the watch towers would glow while a man's head would be seen peering down at them. The enormous gate stood before them, coldly, monolithic. They were, indeed, home.

[Requesting Entry/Osu/Haji/Hoshi]

 

[Osuteno]

Osu listlessly approached the gates feeling quite tired, mostly from having to run on such little chakra for so long. At least with the night sky being out there wasn't any lines of merchants and goods in front of them. Still, he went to the resident shinobi side of the gate and sat down on a cold wooden bench , took out a notebook and began scratching down a few math formulas trying to estimate something and frowned when he was done. He checked it again. He used slightly smaller numbers to make a lowball figure. He wasn't feeling any better. Why could he never go fishing without something nonsensical popping up. He signaled up to a general gate guard, not anyone who had any particular authority to let them in, simply to pass on a message. "Chigokai Osuteno, Mednin. I want you to pass on to the Torre Celeste that I need a meeting with the Raikage, I know it is late but please pass on that we have discovered a potentially Violet Class Threat." Osu casually mentioning a threat level associated with potential danger to the very workings to the village itself. He did not really want to waste time on waiting, it was rather urgent that they started cleaning up the issue now rather than later.

"I am willing to inform a sennin about the general situation but the specifics are for the Raikage's ears alone." He said sending the guard off in a hurry. That was something he really wouldn't budge on and hopefully the others would understand enough that this wasn't something they should speak freely about no matter who it was unless if it was with Ayumu in a private room. he went back to making some estimates and the potentially political implications of the situation, not that he had shared those with the others yet. His biggest concern was specifically the Daimyo whose land they found IT on.

 

[Shouyu Hoshi]

The night was late, the boy was tired, and the agonizing sound of a whirring stomach would pierce the silence of his personal thoughts. Although, he was grateful to be freed of that chakra prison hosting a basilisk. His energies were coming back to him but he was still worn out, ready for nice hot meal, some Kung fu movies, and a nice good night sleep. The path was long and tiresome, lit up by the starry Kumo Sky and struck by blistering cold breezes. Osuteno was back to normal, Haji was probably feeling just as sluggish as he was, and Kiri was lost in thought.

Eventually his eyes adverted to the large gate before them. His mind began to wander, about the battle that commenced with his comrades against an s rank criminal. Quickly the entire fight gave up fast forward play through of the events that transpired back then. Once it was finished he blinked out of a cold stare, 'Oh,' was all he gave as he heard Osu spoke. Hoshi turned his head away from the reminiscent sight and closed them. He took his time to breathe a deep breath with a relieving sigh, he was gaining a bit of relaxation, blowing off steam.

He crossed his arms and turned away from the group, looking up to the stars. Kiri had finally returned home, and Hoshi was also glad to Haji as well who hadn't been around for a long while. Was this all fate, the returning of these people, and the meeting outside the gates? Hoshi shook his head and began to tap his foot lightly against the rocky surface beneath his feet.

 

[Yamanaka Utano]

They had managed to get out of that awful pit only to have to walk until nightfall to reach the gates of Kumo. Haji was tired, opening four gates in a day is never without its punishments. Everyone seemed in a mixed mood as they approached, in a state of exhaustion and apprehension.It's time to face the music he kept thinking to himself. He had tested his story on Kiri, it was the truth, but still so fantastical that he was worried the Raikage wouldn't believe him. He stayed silent all the way up to the gates, his worry was also on what he had seen underground. Huge beasts infused with chakra draining alloy? What seemed like an underground secret directly related to Kumo?

It was a lot to digest all at once, and before he knew it, they were home. Osu shouted up the levity of the situation in a code Haji recognized. His stomach dropped as he realized that Osu might have some insight as to the danger that underground tunnel poses to the village itself. Haji stays silent, preparing for meeting that surely lay ahead of them. Something large was in the works, and Haji could feel it. But more than that Haji thought how he could learn more about what was going on, and his eyes turned on Osu.

 

[Kouin]

The disheveled captain made his daily rounds at the gates just like any other self-respecting anbu would, it had been a fairly quiet morning and an even less eventful afternoon. Kouin was beginning to suspect if it was even need for him to be out at the gates with how much inactivity was coming through. but just as he was getting ready to venture off he could sense three bodies making their way towards the gates. He would jump from the top of gate and land gracefully on the other side to greet the travelers face to face whomever they might be.

As they got closer he began to make out just who the party was, and to he surprise he knew all of them one way or another, whether they knew him was of no matter really, they would of heard of his name at least. Kouin twirled an ornate ball point pen dexterously between his fingers as the moonlight shone on him like a lighthouse at sea. His face was shrouded behind his white mask with his callsign 'Echo' etched into it right above the left eye. Osu made no hesitation in stating a potential threat, even though he looked exhausted he would probably need to gather more information from him. Hail Shinobi, you all seem very tired, and from my understanding you have some rather important information, so lets get you processed quickly and we can handle the debriefing swiftly.

He would call for the clipboard that he mistakenly left on the other side in the excitement of people finally showing up. He would catch it with one hand effortlessly and check the docket, Four coming in, a Chigokai Osuteno, Hachiashi Haji, Shouyu Hoshi and Hasegawa Kiri... There was a note attached to Kiri's name though, he was out with an escort Tsuyoshi Junko, Where is your escort? It is unusual for someone to leave with an escort and not return with them... Regardless I trust in Osu enough that he handled it enough, now passports please and we can move on.

After they all handed him their passports he would cross check the information with what was supplied on the docket for exits and entries, he would assume everything would match up properly and we would hand back the passports. He took in a deep breath now that the formalities were out of the way, he wouldn't know how to deal with whatever the situation was until he knew exactly what this violet threat was.

If there were no hiccups with passports and what not he would motion everyone to part off into the village, Osu I would like to speak with you further on this violet threat you spoke of.

[just to speed things up I assumed no one had a passport issue, after you all post again you'll be free to go except osu who I want to speak with more, unless anyone else wishes to discuss something immediately here.]

 

[Kiri]

As their crew reached the gate, they were greeted by a man who was known to a lot. Well, it would be a disappointment if no one knew of him, though examining his reputation, he is quite known among the big guns. He had only heard of a few things about the ANBU in general and the way he called Osu's name meant that there was a certain level of trust between them. So Kiri would just trust that, especially when they were asked to give their passports and upon examining Kiri’s, there was a moment of pause and inquiry.

Spoiler

Kiri nodded as the other mentioned about the escort that he left with, though he wasn’t sure how he would explain how he returned without Junko’s presence. Should he simply say that they decided to part ways upon reaching Lightning Country as his adoptive father had elsewhere to be? Or should he simply say that he got lost again? No, the latter was an obvious lie and it would be terrible to announce one getting lost in their own home.

He was lucky, though, as Osu’s presence seemed to be enough. It was known that he was Osu’s student and the latter was very much responsible as a teacher. Besides, Kiri would never do anything to harm or betray Osu’s trust, thus, in turn, he trusted the outcome with as Osu being the one to vouch his presence at that very moment.

It was only after their passports were stamped with a re-entry date that he then noticed that Osu and the man took a bit longer, perhaps talking amongst themselves. But Kiri would not let it be. He would not go back without Osu’s presence, so he would have to wait or join in on them if needed be. After all, he was beginning to get a bit worried about meeting the Raikage once more, and without Junko around, Osu was his only presence of comfort.

 

[Osuteno]

"The rest of you feel free to head to the Torre without me," Osu said with a bit of a yawn hanging on his voice near the end.

There was a lot of familiarity with how Echo here spoke his name but Osu wouldn't pry. His own familiarity with ANBU uniforms and rank structure caused him to glance this person up and down. Even if one should unwittingly guess the identity of an ANBU they should never speak or dwell on it, it was simply best not to let the mind start making guesses. Instead he sighed once more tore a page out of his notebook he had been doing math on, and circled a number near the bottom. Leaning in he whispered, "Simply because we do not need even this bit of it getting out I will ask you that you not spread this around and understand that since this is only a third or less of the issue at hand and not what makes this issue Violet Class, I need to get to the Torre to speak with Ayumu immediately despite the time. We found a Dimeritium deposit with a lowball estimate of this much ore visible on the surface of the cavern."

The sheet of paper actual had quite a decent bit of math on it where many ranges were present and the lowest figures of those ranges being used as variables. It all came down to a rather unsettling figure at the bottom. "> 103,000,000 kg" A grossly obscene amount of chakra absorption stone not to be under the village's control to begin with and had been specifically mentioned as being the surface ore. "The greater issues are still for the Raikage's ear first and if a sennin presents themselves before I reach the Torre I may share a bit more... but... at the same time I ask that the others, as well as myself of course, be kept under watch the next few days just so nothing of this issue is communicated and no one presses them that should not know. At the very least until Ayumu-Sama makes a decision about what to do and action is being taken. If that is not enough for you ANBU-San I am afraid that we will simply need to call the Raikage to the gates."

Still, he thought as he looked at this Captain who was apparently familiar with him, it was stuff like that which could either narrow down an ANBU's identity some or cause misunderstandings about Osu himself. After all, his rank of mednin alone was that of an upper level grunt at best, not someone who would naturally be given so much trust to an upper rank ANBU. What if someone thought he was important?! "Though I hope this is taken care of rather quickly, though the hope is small. I am a few days late coming home from my fishing trip anyway and my wife is bound to be terribly worried and upset with me."

 

[Shouyu Hoshi]

Soon enough they were approached by an anbu member. Hoshi recognized the symbol for Echo above his eye. He would stiffen at the sight, out of respect of the high ranking anbu member. His eyes would dart over to Haji, Kiri and Osu, and then to the ground as the man spoke. Osuteno and the captain were exchanging some vocabulary through code, violet threat. He deducted the coding of color dictated the severity of danger.

Hoshi presented his passport, with his rank, dob, and origin along with other necessities. It wasn't long before it was returned and he was deemed free to go by his captain and Osuteno. Hoshi took didn't need a second time to hear it, he was off to the races before he slid to a stop and looked back, forgetting one thing.

He looked back at Kiri who seeme to stall, he was attached Osuteno so, and being away from him so long he could only imagine the emotions Kiri felt. Hoshi was going to tell him something but in the quick time he overlooked the current situation, he developed a new assessment and continued his way into the village. 'I'll see him around anyway... then we will talk,' he thought to himself. Chin to his chest, Hoshi clenched a fist and continued his pondering. 'And I'm almost back to hundred percent. I'll be ready.... I hope you are too... Kiri-Kun.'

Hoshi took off with a light jog into the village. Now was the time to fill his young belly, sleep, and restore all of his energies for the next days to come. The twinkle of the foreign stars int eh expanse above so high so far away lit up the village like the whole town was having a party. Yes, welcome home your beloved Shinobi.

[exit]

 

[Yamanaka Utano]

Something about the ANBU officer that intercepted their party set Haji on edge. He wasn't sure what it was about him that made his insides do a flip, but whatever it was he knew it would not bode well for him to cause any trouble.

He hands his paperwork over without a word and then walks in passing Osu as the ANBU intercepts the bloody nin to catch more information on what inspired Osu to proclaim such a high ranking danger. Kiri stopped before getting too far from Osu and Haji stuttered a few steps at the boy sudden stop. He rest a hand on the young mans shoulder with a meaningful look; it was going to be a rough meeting with Raikage no matter how it got sliced, and having a teacher as capable as Osu around would be a comfort to Kiri. Before Haji got too comfortable waiting for Osu to finish getting past the overly curious ANBU officer, not realizing that Hoshi had already made a B-line for the inner village.

"Shit" Haji said matter of factly. The boy had wandered off into the village with sensitive information and having not been debriefed. "That boy is too carefree sometimes" He pinched the bridge of his nose. He walked back over to the ANBU and Osu out of patience. "Let's get going to meet the Raikage, Hoshi already took off." Haji eyed Osu urgently "We don't have time to sit and chat by the gates, the Raikage needs to know what's going on." Haji said coldly. He wanted to get this over with as quickly as he could. He marched back over to Kiri and waited until Osu decided to move on with or without the ANBU gate keeper. Haji shrugged to himself, silently fuming at the interruption, he tapped his foot in his impatience to be gone.

 

[Kouin]

He would examine everyones passport clearly and carefully, everyone was clear to go, but Kiri was an interesting case, Normally, when you leave with an escort, one returns with said escort; hence them being an escort. Normally this would be grounds for me to put you in jail until further notice, but considering who you returned with I'm willing to let such a matter pass this time, but you do well remember next time. I'm not know for leniency. He would stamp each passport with his approval and hand each of them back to them.

His stomach would make a loud, and audible growling sound; when was the last time he ate exactly? He wasn't sure and now wasn't the time to ponder such meaningless thoughts. He listened carefully as Osu debriefed him on the situation, he only understood a few of the numbers, but what he did understand gave enough reason to warrant an immediate audience with the Kage at such a late hour.

He would let out a heavy sigh. This could be terribly bad. The thought that something like this could fall into the wrong hands could bode ill times for the village if something isn't done about it. He would switch his headsets frequency to and emergency line that he knew the kage would be obligated to respond to. This is Anbu Captain Echo reporting in from the Dragon Tooth Pass, I am requesting an immediate audience with the Raikage for a party of Kumo shinobi that just returned. This is of the utmost importance, potential Violet class threat. He would click the headset off and take in a deep breath. Kouin would turn and start walking through the gates, The Torre awaits. I feel a few sleepless nights are ahead of us.

[Entry granted to all, topic left unless stopped.]

 

[Kiri]

Kiri watched as the passport was stamped. He gave the ANBU a long look before bowing with courtesy. Hoshi was quick as always, already running off without hearing the rest of Osu’s warning. That prompted to Haji commenting about the matter, and Kiri could only agree. With something this grave, it was best to keep the information within a select few and they should definitely talk to the Raikage at once. Even if it meant having to show for his misbehaviour in Leaf, this was another incident that was not of immediate important as the one they had just uncovered.

It wasn’t before long when Osu and the ANBU would finish their talk and should Osu begin to move, Kiri would just follow right behind. Aside from the exhaustion, he needed someone to latch unto, both mentally and physically, and with Junko gone, there was only one other person here he could trust… that aside from the Raikage, himself.

[Topic Leaving with Osu if Osu is Leaving]

 

[Osuteno]

Osu nodded at the words of the others but gave Echo-San a minute more of his time which was repaid with a call ahead to clear their meeting by the ANBU Captain. "Hai, hai I am coming, we should arrive there in enough time to allow the Raikage to wake up and clean up a bit, we are coming in with some heavy news and he may very likely need to start his day immediately, rather we could be waking up a number of poor souls tonight depending on how things go. Thank you Echo-San for your assistance."

If only it were the ore deposit, but even the seemingly abandoned facility wasn't the most dangerous aspect of this situation. But he wouldn't burden the others with certain implications of this issue or why he went with the call of declaring it a potentially violet class threat until the Raikage had made his judgement. Who knows, maybe if they were lucky this whole episode would be shrouded in so much that the others wouldn't hear a word about it ever again. The best case scenario would be no one aside from a handful of shinobi ever knowing about even the minor details of this.

Osu began passing through the village gate, grabbing Kiri's ear and pulling for a couple steps before letting go and started heading to the Torre himself.

[Topic Exit]