[Infernal Prisoner] She Pours Out Her Voice

[Santaru Rin]

Team Leader: Tagiushi Moro
Details: Somewhere in the Aesculapium is a forgotten wing where two items are supposed to be stored. The mission recipient will receive a personal briefing with further information on the task. Retrieval of these items is a matter of national security.

Members: Tagiushi Moro, Suzuki Kiyoko

notes: This is a riddle/puzzle-based mission. As long as directions are followed as written, victory will be had. These items will be useful in Part 3 missions.

Takayama Shimada​

Takayama-taichou was waiting for the duo outside of the Aesculapium. He had chosen a well-landscaped patio near the main entrance--close enough to be noticeable, far enough that being mistaken for a patient was unlikely. The two selected for the mission had been notified two days before via courier. Though outsiders might think of the pair as something of an odd couple, the match up certainly had precedent. The ANBU could scope out new talent among the recent Genin graduates as well as work on developing a sense of leadership in their own operatives. Several missions of this type had been sent out lately, and the technique had met with statistically significant success.

The captain had just recently seen the Vice Commander off to the capital; he still uneasily awaited Takaki's next report. This endeavor of the Commander's had yet to come to a head, and it made Takayama tense. He disliked not understanding what was going on. It stank of the occult to him. The Santaru had been interested in that as long as he had known her--interested in an under the radar yet intense fashion. Perhaps it was just the morbid mindset of those who had survived the Demon Invasion. No one had escaped that event unscathed.

This mission shouldn't be so bad, he told himself. Certainly not on the Vice Commander's level. There was always a chance of death in anything, even walking down some stairs--and just like that, the danger here was negligible as long as reasonable precautions were taken. Takayama just reminded himself of that as he waited to send a girl and an operative off into the nethers of Karubin's hospital.

Thanks for your patience. I apologize for the delay in getting this up--I lost track of time.

Takayama will brief you both on what you need to retrieve, how you should go about it, and who to entrust the items to. Since there are no stats, there's no "real" danger for the two of you beyond failure. Have fun with it and each other.

 

[Tagiushi Moro]

[ooc: no worries!]

Reisting the urge to pull his webbed undershirt up to cover his nose and mouth, Tagiushi Moro, ANBU operative, loudly clicked and clacked his way along the marble floors of the legendary Aesculapium via steel-toed boots. Part of his full, battle ready combat ensemble. He absolutely detested this place, apart from ogling the nurses. It did nothing but bring back the worst of memories. Waking up disoriented and confused, ripping out IVs and ECG leads because the last thing you could remember was your life flashing before your eyes in more ways, places, and times than could be counted; to be present here when comrades that you had fought alongside, sometimes for years, were finally having their life support pulled when recovery from coma, or a vegetative state became improbable. He couldn't even stand the smell of the place. Poorly concealed death, barely masked by corrosive chemicals. It would take much more than ammonia to truly make the place feel clean. Knocking down the walls would be a start.

One thought above all was paramount in the young Santaru's mind: This is where hope comes to die.

The mission assigned to him today, all Moro knew, was that it was ranked lowest in difficulty among the classifications Kumogakure missions were categorized, and that he wouldn't be alone, which was odd for a shinobi of his caliber given the rank. Exiting the hospital into the bright Kumogakure sunlight, he spotted his contact, (well, still more felt than saw, even with those eerily diaphanous walls out of the way,) a man who had actually taught one of his classes when he was a student. Even at this distance Moro could vaguely feel their blood pulling each other, for lack of a better term.

"Takayama-taichou, I would be surprised if you remember me, but i'm Tagiushi Moro." He bowed and would wait for permission to be seated. "I was visiting someone, thank Raiden we're not meeting inside." he half-lied. "So, are you still teaching or have you moved on to bigger and better things?" He smirked almost imperceptibly, with just the slightest hint of tease in his voice. Any more than an iota would have been grossly inappropriate between Captain and mempo. Few ANBU even bothered with small talk.

 

[Santaru Rin]

Okay, moving on... Kiyoko, if you decide to post, you can still participate.

Takayama Shimada​

"Hello, Tagiushi-san," Takayama replied mildly. "It seems like I will be staying in the village for a while again. You know how the mum is." Another man might have shrugged, but doing so would have been out of the captain's character. "She still has me teaching, and lately I've been giving quite a number of briefings and debriefings..."

Takayama glanced around. "I don't suppose you passed a girl on the way in... No? Well, I suppose she'll either show up or she won't. You were supposed to have a Genin partner that we were looking to start scouting, but mmm... Being late." He shook his head. That really said all it needed to.

"As long as you follow these directions, everything should proceed smoothly. You will enter the hospital through the main doors and speak with whomever is at reception. Ask to access the Red Wing." No such wing existed in the hospital, obviously. "The receptionist will try to rebuff you, but remain firm, and you will be led. Eventually, you should find a hall of records--you'll know it's the right one by all the red. Anyway. Avoid reading the records or viewing the photographs in those files. They are not your goal and if you should be distracted by them... You will be sorry. Go to the door at the back of the hall and close it behind yourself. The room will be dark, but you'll see your task soon enough. Complete it as quickly as you can. I am sorry to say that we know little more of the task, except that it is a test. You should thereafter find an old woman. She has a music box; you want that. She also has something else--a mark--which you must also get. Ask her about 'their music' and 'their signs.' But be careful--if she thinks that you are weak, or if you anger her, she may kill you. Don't be fooled by her appearance. Do you understand?"

 

[Miroku Akkuma]

Akkuma got the radio call as he sat in a nearby sake lounge enjoying himself with a few jugs of sake when the call that he'd finally gotten another mission came through. Moving at a speed so fast he was a blur the Jounin anbu in training headed straight for the Aesculapium, stopping briefly to summon his mask. Once the six foot and five inches tall seventeen year old had placed his ripple designed mask on he was ready to participate in the mission. Wearing a pair of Geta sandals with black Samurai Garbs over his anbu gear, a large summoning scroll was tied to the youths back.

After a few minutes of dashing through the Aesculapium Akkuma came upon the contact and his designated squad member for the mission. Coming to a halt once he was close to the two arriving in time to hear the directions given out by their contact, crimson red eyes looked out from behind the mask at the two before him. Once the contact was finished Akkuma said "Sorry for the late arrival but I was only re-assigned mere moments ago. Task understood ready to move out." he said in that devilishly charming voice of his. 'I wonder if Kushin is here today? I'll have to ask him what's so special about this record room next time we have a drink.' he thought to himself being sure to make mental note of checking it at a later date but for now it was focusing on the task at hand. Akkuma hadn't been in the building for years and for a reason he was simply to paranoid to allow any of these Mednin the chance to take his eyes.

Not that he didn't doubt they would be taking them after his death he considered that a high possibility but if has his way they wont get the uchihas eyes. Although it wasn't as if the idea of gene harvesting didn't appeal to him after all it made it possible to achieve certain Kinjutsu prerequisites. I wonder who the old bat is and whats so important about this music box and mark, only one way to find out I guess.' he thought to himself giving a stretch and a yawn before leaning back on the nearby wall.

'Is it bad to wish this were an eventful mission?' he asked himself mentally before shrugging the thought off, of course it wasn't he just hadn't been on a mission in a while and couldn't wait to get to the good stuff. Akkuma needed to also take mental note of Kushins Office room so he would be able to privately vandalize it in good fun, perhaps on a night when boredom gets the best of him. ​

 

[Tagiushi Moro]

“Understood Takayama-Taichou.” He bowed again upon being dismissed. “Take care.”

The mission directive put him on edge. Even taking into account the copious amount of time he spent hanging around Operative Hoshiko in the past, the occult made him uneasy. Soldiers, demons and shinobi were all flesh and blood. They were simple. Stab them enough times and they died. The same could not be said for spirits and the undead. The thought of running into one that was so detached from their own plane of existence that on top of being intangible, it was immune to chakra, the force of all things and a constant in every facet of this dimension, and his reality, terrified him. Not only were they going to be venturing into what sounded like deep into the underbelly of this Raiden-forsaken hospital, it was a closed wing, sounding as if it revolved around the supernatural. This is going to be creepy as shit.

"Sorry for the late arrival but I was only re-assigned mere moments ago. Task understood ready to move out." The newcomer leaned against a wall and yawned.

“Well, you don’t look like a genin, or a girl. Were you hiding something from us all along?” He grinned wolfishly. “Welcome aboard trainee. Let’s roll.” Truth is, Moro was glad to have someone else along now that he knew the details. At least he seemed calm; maybe the paranormal didn’t bother him.

As the two of them strode towards the translucent double doors, Moro cleared his throat and said, “Okay. This first part should be easy. Just follow my lead, you’re good cop. After you drive me off, call with your headset once you’ve convinced the receptionist to take you to the red room.”

Taking a deep breath, Moro made a few rudimentary seals and transformed into a rather crusty, pudgy gentleman, with a sweat stained wife beater, long stringy, greasy hair and pastel pink short-short lederhosen. The ensemble was completed with a five-day-o’clock shadow and rainBRO sandals. He roughly shouldered open the door, swaying side to side slightly and letting his inertia carry him right up to the front desk, onto which he promptly flopped. “Well hellllloooooooooo there sugartits. You musta just fallen off a tree or sumpin’ cause you lookin’ just……PEACHY.” He cackled madly, and then belched loudly.

“Howza bout you and me visit the broom closet?” He pulled a kunai, transformed into a rusty switchblade and pointed it directly at the receptionist and leered. “Only, I ain’t askin.”

 

[Santaru Rin]

Akkuma, I'd asked you to wait until my PM... Oh well!

For this mission, I will be using some OOC notes to clarify your PCs' condition(s), location, & surroundings, as well as things like current goals or some possible options for resolving various scenarios that come up. The options I present will not usually be exhaustive, so you could always propose the so-called 'third option'!

Takayama nodded to them both and departed to take care of the issues that would eat up the rest of his spare time.

Seeing that there was still most of a day before them, and no reason to waste any time, Tagiushi Moro put his plan into action. Perhaps the good-cop bad-cop routine would bear fruit! Certainly, the reception desk would never be the same.

The astringent stink of the hospital was milder here at the front entrance, where fresh air still moved in and out. Unlike many other cultures, Lightning Country medicine believed that fresh air and sunlight were necessary for successful recovery, and so this place wasn't as bad as it could have been. No hospitals were pleasant, though, and the Aesculapium--once the Curatio Domus--had a dark history of its own.

The receptionist glared groggily at Moro with an expression of supreme discontent. The crusty Chuunin had 3 day old, patchy stubble and a hangover that could have stopped a demon cold. He certainly wasn't in the mood to have some insane freak of nature pointing a filthy kunai at him. What the hell had this bozo been doing with that dagger, anyway? Looked like he'd been prying open cans of cat food with it, and smelled like it, too. The Chuunin's watery-eyed glare narrowed.

"If you got sent in for observation, just go down the hallway and take a left into the big blue room that says 'drunk tank," you hillbilly inbred. The receptionist was bristling with hostility, but still managed to give a somewhat professional response.

 

[Miroku Akkuma]

The seventeen year old youth strode with Moro as he listened to the older shadows plan so be it, if he wanted him to rescue the receptionist he would do so. Nodding briefly to Moro in acknowledgement of the plan and his part in it Akkuma casually strode towards the door with his Sharingan activating the anbu in training pulled open the door casually walking in, those crimson red eyes of his glared at the would be assailant (aka Moro in disguise). The shadows right hand moved to his short blue spiky hair ruffling it briefly as if to pass the time of his assessment of the situation, then the Jinkotsus eyes widened. "Here I was hoping it would be uneventful.." he said almost in a murmur to himself as if disinterested in the scene before him, which was true he'd have prefered just to go about it straightforward but it wasn't for him to decide. The shadow in trainings walked forward calmly there was an aura about him that screamed a variety of things at those he approached none of them good, danger, madness, bloodlust and this aura made even more powerful from the sharingan spinning into his Mangekyou Sharingan. The piercing stare aimed at the assailant "You have until the count of three to leave before I burn you alive, I'm on a task and I wont allow anyone to come in my way." he said in an eerily friendly voice as he continued striding towards the man calmly.

"One..." the word came out almost in a hiss as those entrancingly dangerous crimson eyes of his were locked upon the target there was an obvious gap between the two men. Would the other take his offer or not all Akkuma knew was this one thing people answered to more than a good cop, that was an anbu on a mission. Besides if she didn't do as told he'd just have to force her to tell him, he was sure he could come to arrangement with Kushin to fix the matter. It seemed the Moro hadn't moved yet, Akkuma hoped he would because the Uchiha wasn't one to go back on his word.

"Two." there was almost murderous glee in his tone as the second number left his lips that array of mixed malicious and evil emotions projected by his eyes still held their intense gaze. He was a little over half way in between the reception desk and the door, the mans only hope was to run past the anbu or further down the hallway.​

 

[Tagiushi Moro]

"If you got sent in for observation, just go down the hallway and take a left into the big blue room that says 'drunk tank,"

“Heh, NAW. The only thing I’m gonna be observin’ is your manpus-“

A rather charming singsong voice called out behind him, "You have until the count of three to leave before I burn you alive, I'm on a task and I won’t allow anyone to come in my way." Moro turned to face the trainee, and his jaw dropped at the spinning Mangekyou and murderous aura rolling off the man like body heat in the dead of winter. Uh, I was hoping he would grab my knife and tell me to get lost or something. "One..." The Uchiha hissed in practically parseltongue. Moro just stared back at him flatly in disbelief.

"Two." Malevolent delight returned to the trainee’s voice, and that was when Moro realized: Yeah, he’s not kidding!

Moro dropped the 'rusty switchblade' and sprinted out of the hospital with his arms waving above his head, a gesture that only a Horo Horo could really do justice. Moro burst through the double doors, and ran around the side of the building, dropping his henge. He would keep the henge on the kunai for now; hopefully he would have a chance to retrieve it when he walked into the Aesculapium as himself. “Trainee, you were not kidding back there I could tell! Use some discretion for Raiden’s sake!” He hissed into his headset, “Turn your radio to transmit so I can hear the whole conversation.” Moro would be prepared to walk back into the hospital before called if need be.

 

[Santaru Rin]

Make sure to read carefully, the receptionist is actually a man. 8D

The Chuunin was taken aback by the appearance of a skeletal Uchiha-possible-serial-killer threatening his would-be rapist. "Uh..." The Chuunin glanced between the two. "Both of you get out before I press the alarm!" He gave absolutely no shits about claims from weirdos dressed up as psychopomp wannabes--he was more concerned about his own skin and not getting another bad write-up after being assigned a punishment detail again.

His hand hovered indecisively beneath the buttons attached to the underside of the desk. If he pressed one, Aesculapium guards would appear within seconds. If he pressed the button next to it, the HALO fire system would turn on, effectively shutting down a full wing of the hospital, costing tens of millions in damage and lost revenue. Why does this weird shit always happen to me?!

 

[Tagiushi Moro]

“Fall back trainee! If he presses that button this mission is over. We’re going to wait a bit and try a different approach.” Moro spoke into his headset from safety outside of the building. Wiping his face in a downward motion half exasperation and half facepalm, he spent the next hour waiting for things to calm back down. He would go with something simple this time. What part of ‘good cop’ means ‘homicidal sociopath cop’
_______________

Monitoring the front doors of the hospital closely, the receptionist would’ve had to made some kind of report after the incident, a few Aesculapium guards bustled in and out, and searched the grounds to make sure the two strange men were gone. Once things had calmed down and for the most part only civilian traffic had resumed, Moro transformed into a rather busty young woman in a tiny black dress, short, raven black bob hair and bright, crystalline blue eyes.

As tried and true as the Sexy No Jutsu was, it was an excellent fallback, and after so many years of constant use, Moro was now a pro of walking in heels. “Wait here trainee, I’ll call you this time.” He said in his normal gruff voice, which he did to be purposefully disturbing.

He slowly, gingerly pushed one of the double doors open, taking a few slow steps inside and looking up at the walls on either side curiously. ‘Noticing’ the front desk, he timidly made his way up to it and placed his hands on it. He would wait to be addressed, but that shouldn’t take long. “Oh!” His bosom bounced enthusiastically with surprise. “Hello. Umm, well, I’m sort of embarrassed because I don’t have really any details about what I’m looking for other than a name.” He giggled and blushed, coyly looking at the receptionist with one eye and his head turned. “Sorry to bother you with something so trivial, but I need to find the…” He pulled out a notepad and flipped through a few of the blank pages “Red room. Do you know where that is?” He smiled at the receptionist invitingly, leaning over the desk to place his hand on his and giving him a supreme glance at his cleavage. If the man’s physical appearance and lack of hygiene were any indication, most likely he didn’t enjoy female company often and this second attempt would be the charm, with a chest that sells the ending when it's pushed together.

 

[Miroku Akkuma]

Akkuma laughed gleefully as Moro fled in haste at thought of actually being burned alive, along with the receptionists weak attempts to sound confident as he told them both to leave. 'Haha nothing is as true as the real emotions it wouldn't have been as convincing without his terror.' he thought the Anbu in training made no move to stop his fellow comrades exit instead turning to the receptionist, he had to give the man this he'd had courage to dare tell Akkuma he had to leave but things wouldn't bode well for him if he did so again. Moros message came through on the radio and Akkuma smiled behind the mask he'd hear everything he did because he'd left his radio on transmit he would have to be careful to control himself. The Uchihas eyes widened as the Mangekyou Sharingan span within those murderous crimson eyes of his looking into the eyes of the male shinobi behind the desk "Listen to me before you make a foolish mistake. I am on important Anbu business you will take me to the Red Room immediately.." he said using the Uchiha Clans Doujutsu Hypnotic Suggestion [R3] there was power and authority in his voice. "Besides Kushin wouldn't take kindly to the person who turned me away." he said with that same authoritative tone.

Moros worried voice burst through warning him that if the button got pushed the mission would be over, rage filled the Uchiha as very faint amounts of chakra exited his body. If on the off chance the receptionist did manage to withstand the influence of his Doujutsu he would simply have to ensure the button didn't get pushed if the receptionist didn't comply and his arm moved to hit the alarm he would simply use his Tsukiyomi jutsu [R3]. But he honestly believed that his comrade gave the man more credit than he deserved, there was not a single doubt in his mind that Tsukiyomi would fail. There were few who could withstand its power whilst it was used in conjunction with the Mangekyou Sharingan, he would show Moro that failure would not be tolerated.

If necessary he'd perform an interrogation whether it was in the entrance room or within the realm Akkuma created with Tsukiyomi he didn't care. He would make this spineless shinobi before him comply whether he wanted to or not, this was his first mission in a long time and one in his opinion he probably he could have handled on his own. Seeking out Kushin would have been the most assured method of getting to where they needed to, since that hadn't been taken as the first option he needed to utilize any method to achieve the objective. The anbu in training knew plenty of methods proven to work by trial and error he'd found the most effective ones, it took time but he was going to ensure he played apart in the torture division at one point in his career.​

Spoiler

Jutsu Used:
1: [Maintaining] Mangekyou Sharingan - Activated Passive
The Mangekyou Sharingan is a heightened form of Sharingan, and is distinguished from a normal Sharingan through its appearance, which changes the form of the tomoe. The appearance of the mangekyou differs from user to user based upon their own traits, there are hardly ever two Uchiha with the same pattern. In this stage the Sharingan is far more powerful and has the potential to utilize very powerful techniques, although the sheer amount of chakra utilized can have damaging backlash upon the User's eyesight, slowly deteriorating their Vision.
Rank 3: +3 Dodge, +3 Accuracy.
Costs:
Rank 3: .5AP; 900 Cp to initiate, 430 Cp/Rnd
Notes:
-Only applies when the user can see their target and/or attacker.
-Sharingan Rank 3 must be activated for a round prior to activating the Mangekyou.
- The effect of Mangekyou Sharigan replaces the effect of the regular Sharigan and the Mangekyou cost becomes the new overall cost.

2: Hypnotic Suggestion - Doujutsu Genjutsu
The Sharingan's ability to induce illusions into the minds of others is a powerful one, that the Uchiha can learn to overcome the mind and senses of another, subtly altering their mind to put them under a powerful hypnosis, an issuing them commands without the victim even second guessing their own manipulated thoughts.
Rank 3: Allows the Uchiha to hypnotize their target, causing them to either attack a target with a level 1-6 Jutsu, Use/Drop/equip/unequip an item, Switch/Drop/Enter a style, or remain motionless for 2 Ap.
Cost: 2 AP; 400 Cp to initiate.
Notes:
- - Does not use handseals, but requires the Sharingan's Eye contact. This is treated as a Will Genjutsu.
- Upon use, the user must choose an action they wish their victim to perform.
- When causing the victim to attack with a Jutsu, the victim must know the technique and the user must have witnessed the technique performed previously during battle to be aware of it. The target can never attack themselves.
- For any actions involving items, it must be either visible or previously used in battle.
- Genjutsu used this way are treated as fully successful or fully unsuccessful, a victim cannot be partially effected. If it is a 50% or more hit, it's counted as a full hit, Otherwise, it's counted as a miss.

3: [If necessary] Tsukiyomi - Doujutsu Genjutsu
Utilizes the Mangekyou sharingan to create a hellish genjutsu of which the user has complete control. This technique is feared and believed the most powerful Genjutsu, and can last anywhere from 24 to 72 hours in the targets mind, but in reality only lasts a couple seconds. While powerful, this technique causes immense strain upon the user's eye's and leaves them vulnerable by damaging their eyesight, and cannot be used without resting the eye's first.
Rank 3: An illusion that creates a round within a round during which the victim cannot take any actions and suffers -4 dodge. In the illusion, the user gets AP equal to their AP/1.5 +1. When the illusion ends the user will have only spent chakra equal to 50% of the chakra spent in the illusion and the victim only takes damage equal to 70% of the damage dealt to them in the illusion.
Cost: 3 AP; 2000 Cp, Hp equal to 20% of the final damage done.
Notes:
- Requires Mangekyou Sharingan to be activated, and Eye contact.
- All battle rules remain the same if not mentioned.
- Jutsu that last more than one round end when the illusion does.
- May only be used on a target once successfully in a battle. Â
- All damage done in this illusion is "Illusionary" And damage cannot be reduced. Jutsu used in the Tsukiyomi cannot be buffed by Non-Genjutsu effects.
- Physical debuffs, such as bleed, poison and Nin/Tai debuffs and effects do not transfer into or out of the Tsukiyomi created world, but mental ones, generally genjutsu based, do.
- Because the Tsukiyomi is instantaneous and lasts a few seconds at most, this does not dispel any other Genjutsu active on the victim.

 

[Santaru Rin]

The Chuunin stuttered as the trainee's Mangekyou Sharingan took effect. "A-ANBU? Uh-uhh... I-Isaki-sama? B-b-but... I... Will take you..." His voice had become an agonized groan as he struggled against the jutsu. He had begun chewing into the side of his cheek.

By the time Moro entered in his sexier, femme form, the Chuunin was already staggering down the corridor with Jinkotsu behind him. The Chuunin's gait quickens as the corridors narrow and the ceiling lowers. The walls change from placid pastels to filth-flecked, paint-peel brick. The way was tortuous and seems to loop over itself time and again, almost intestinal in its windings. It is only a matter of minutes before Jinkotsu Akkuma must stoop or give up. For Tagiushi Moro, that point comes not much later. The Chuunin, however, seemed to have no such trouble, and easily outpaced the pair. Following his grey vest became increasingly difficult in the deepening gloom. Like a mote of fog, he floated ahead--a will-o-wisp leading two young shinobi to their dooms.

The air grew warm and close and reeked of the wretched stench of a stomach wound. Soft sobbing filtered through the hall. At last, the Chuunin disappeared entirely, leaving the two deep in the stinking bowels of the hospital.

Spoiler

Akkuma is moderately fatigued. Moro is lightly fatigued. The Chuunin is gone; proceed to complete your next directive.

 

[Tagiushi Moro]

Moro followed the trainee and receptionist down the hall, heels clacking with annoyance as he scooped up his 'rusty switchblade' that had been so carelessly ignored. He enjoyed the bounce and sway for a short bit longer and then dispelled his henge as their guide picked up the pace. Their route was winding with what seemed like many switchbacks and hairpin reversals, quite odd for the interior of a hospital, although he was no civil engineer himself, or for that matter, civil in any sense of the word. They walked for what had to have been more than a few kilometers, as even he began to sweat and expire more rapidly. He was determined not to lose their guide, but keeping pace was starting to seem impossible.

Eventually the walls shifted, he couldn’t tell if it had been abrupt or over time as focused as he was on following, but as the chuunin faded into darkness Moro held up his hand to stop. “We seem to be in another building entirely, look at the walls. Well, I haven’t seen a door or another hallway for quite some time, let’s just keep going.”<i></i> Presently he began to sweat even more profusely as the air became cloying, humid and sticky. Something less pleasant than the chemicals of the regular hospital reached his nostrils and he knew they must be getting close. With a warding look at the trainee as barely audible crying could be heard from everywhere and nowhere, they pushed onward.

 

[Miroku Akkuma]

OOC: I apologize for my lateness.

Akkuma smiled as the receptionist broke under his Doujutsu "That is how you do it Moro." the anbu in training said with a devilishly cheeky tone in his voice. The blue haired seventeen year old had to bend as he walked to keep moving forward keeping his Doujtsu activated still, once they had gotten to the point where he thought he had gone as far as possible walking he sighed and grabbed his summoning scroll. Akkuma unrolled the scroll with one hand before performing the necessary handseals for his summoning jutsu, a large lizard like puppet appeared in a puff of smoke. Using his Chakra Strings jutsu he caused the puppet to open up stepping into it and taking a seat "Do you wish to enter was well?" he asked in that devilish tone of his if Moro didn't wish to enter he would make the salamander puppet close itself. Otherwise he would wait for his comrade to join him, after that he'd begin to proceed further down the hallway, in the lumbering puppet only recently custom made for Akkuma.

Having Mastered the Puppeteer technique it was a simple action for the young anbu in training to maneuver the puppet down the narrow hallway, he wondered where the chuunin had gotten off to. But shrugged the thought off he wasn't too worried being inside salamander he knew he was more then safe. The Uchiha masterfully controlled the lumbering puppet with only a few chakra strings, not wanting to expel more chakra then necessary even such a small amount. Hopefully the tunnel wouldn't get any smaller or they might find themselves in trouble there was the slight thought of a Genjutsu but he didn't believe his sharingan would have been able to be deceived so easily. ​

 

[Santaru Rin]

Moro told me his decision, so I'm just modding that in to get things moving again. Thank you for your patience.

Alone in the dark, dank tunnel, Moro took a look at the lizard wagon and decided that he was not getting into that puppet for all the candy in the world.

The pair blundered forward, finding their way as much by feel as by sight. Eventually the puppet became stuck to the greasy walls. The uneven floor provided no leeway; the ceiling, too, was unforgivingly low--now only a bit higher than one and a half meters. Fortunately, the stubby nose of the contraption was touching something wooden--the door.

The enormous chamber on the other side contrasted quite strongly against the corridor in many respects, not the least of which was that this room of records was extremely orderly and clean. The walls were a dramatic crimson hue and met with a barrel vaulted ceiling painted in black, with esoteric white designs describing some unknowable formula. Rows and rows of towering shelves presented themselves along either side of the room, leaving a wide corridor to pass through to the opposite end. Waist-high shelves lined this path, with open books neatly resting on small easels.

The door in the back was ugly, made of wooden slats and reinforced with rusted iron bars. Huge bolts had been haphazardly slammed through it at uneven intervals. The door bulged outward and some parts had even begun to splinter, as though whomever or whatever was behind the door had tried violent escape.

 

[Miroku Akkuma]

Akkuma smiled as his puppet hit the door, unfurling one of his summoning scrolls he performed the necessary handseals to store the puppet away. When the smoke cleared the anbu in training would be crouched opening the door, stepping into the open air stretching and activating his sharingan doing a quick scan of the room. Taking snapshots of the room along with the opened books, next was the door with the haphazardly call placement of the door. Walking over to the door he decided to activate his Mangekyou Sharingan after which he opened the door closing it behind him or after Moro entered with him if he did.

The anbu in training strode forward into the darkness scanning it with his Mangekyou sharingan he would find this old woman, retrieve the music box and this mark. Hopefully the old bird didn't want to fight he wasn't drunk enough to kill an old woman and sleep peacefully, well he would be after he stopped in for some sake at his favourite lounge. Perhaps he'd even invite Moro along than again maybe the old woman would hand over the necessary item and information. He shrugged perhaps he should let Moro do the talking but than again what if she considered him weak, who knew what her morals or values were. For all he knew she could deem him weak in which case he would probably have to hold a lot of self restraint to not kill her.​

 

[Tagiushi Moro]

Blind as a bat, Moro shambled along the slippery floor, trying desperately not to bump into the oozing walls on either side, a task which was made more difficult by the presence of the large puppet in the tiny corridor. So severely stooped over was he, that it felt as if the passageway got any smaller, his knees would scrape the slime underneath their feet. He made no attempt to summon any light source, it was the smell, more than the slime or confined space that deterred him. It wasn’t that it felt necessarily flammable, just that it felt wrong. Like it would actively and maliciously respond to any attempt made at dispelling its inky depths.

With a sudden wet slap, Jinkotsu’s puppet found the door. He dispelled the puppet and then proceeded inside, Moro following close behind, checking his corners. As the door closed neatly behind the ANBU pair, where they now were became all too obvious. Moro couldn’t help but wonder what had become of the chuunin receptionist, since as far as he could tell, the path they had taken led only here.

While certainly less gooey, this room was far more disconcerting than their previous surroundings. Just as Takayama-taichou had described, the walls of the aptly named “red room” were a dusky, although vibrant, almost blotchy crimson, a startling vision of blood washed over the walls again and again when the color began to fade over decades came to mind. Stranger still were the arcane symbols scribbled all over the roof. They appeared to all be done by the same hand. No rhythm or reason was immediately apparent upon first glance, but slowly, taking in the entire image the characters appeared to be somewhat cohesive. As to their actual purpose or intention, however, Moro hadn’t a clue.

The shelves of records were easy enough to avoid. Takayama had been explicit and implicit about what should be done. It was the books, so tantalizingly laid open that drew the eye almost subconsciously. A concerted mental effort on the operative’s part was the only thing that kept him from peeking. He really was desperately curious to know what the tomes contained, but after seeing the maddening one-piece scrawl on the ceiling he knew he would be better off not indulging.

The door on the opposite side of the vast chamber was no less imposing. It bulged weirdly outwards. It didn’t seem physically possible for the door to remain intact in its frame at those angles; but reality appeared to play by different rules here than those that governed the laws of the rest of the universe.

This was clearly a door designed to keep something in, rather than blocking access from without, and with that in mind he reached a shaking hand outwards to grasp one of the rusted bars, once again stepped into expanding, all-consuming gloom, that swallowed him whole before the door had even slammed shut behind him.

 

[Santaru Rin]

Sound Test: Red Tree​

The snapshot of the books fit uncomfortably in Akkuma's mind, like a putrescent corpse crushed into a too-small cooler. The images within spun in his thoughts. The bodies were in the walls. The bodies were in the walls. The entire building was rotting, and the bodies were wedged in the walls, between the stones, ground to paste to serve as mortar. His society was built on sacrifice--and they held up every palace, every hall, every peasant hovel, and that was why the walls had to be red. They had to be red, because that mortar was full of blood, and someone had to remember the sacrifices. The walls remembered, because they were the sacrifice.

He could feel the final cornerstone pinning him to the earth, and knew that out of reach were three more just like him. Four in all to create the foundation. Four who had to die for the rest to survive the coming storm.

"You will make the foundation of our village strong, fallen one," came the voice just at the edge of his hearing. His vision was black. The Mangekyou shared nothing with him. "We praise your gift in Raiden's name." Then the next stone. And the next. And the next. And his body was forced down into the soil, and the bones of the earth embraced him, and there was nothing more.

Moro, oblivious to his comrade's collapse and unconsciousness, continued inexorably toward the door. He had been warned not to look at the records, and he had avoided the temptation through unwavering focus. It opened easily at his touch and the darkness swallowed him, leaving him blinking in the sudden night. The blood-chilling sensation of killing intent directed at his heart like a needle pinned him where he stood until at last his eyes adjusted.

A huge, bare-limbed tree reared up in the center of the room. Each branch ended in a hand reaching up; at the very heights of the crown, they seemed frozen in eternal combat with the unyielding ceiling. Hands petrified in position to gouge, to jab, pushing, punching, contorted with such an excess of emotion that it was incredible that bulging veins and taut tendons could not be seen from where the ANBU stood. The bark of the dead tree oozed darkly in the faint ambient light. An overwhelmingly rich stink of loam threatened to raise his gorge. The floor was soft, like freshly turned earth, and sank unnervingly at each step. There was a small hole in the far wall, at hip height, and bloody prints around it suggested hands scrabbling for freedom.

Akkuma's status: KO'd.

Akkuma, you've failed this mission. New mission sign-ups will go up once I've gotten two missions completed, so I hope to see you on the next go round!

Moro's status: Moderately fatigued, trapped.

 

[Tagiushi Moro]

Silent Hill 2 OST - Ordinary Vanity

The door snapped shut behind him hungrily. He started to push the door with his full strength to allowed the trainee to rendezvous, when an old acquaintance reared its head, so intense as to feel completely foreign, but at the same time comfortingly familiar. Or would be, if he wasn’t so terrified by the unabashed bloodlust that he refused to move, or rather, couldn’t until he could at least see.

Something was here, it knew exactly where he was, and it wanted him to know.

Giving up the door for now, coms giving up not even a crackle of static, he proceeded. This room smells like a three day old battlefield, the soil forgivingly-almost crunching-parting beneath his boots. Kneeling down to take a small portion of the earth he rubbed it between his fingers. Little hard yellowish-white chips were abundant in the dirt. Constantly shifting his peripherals to better see in the gloom, he could barely make out the outline of what appeared to be a tree in the room’s center. Cautiously he approached it, and the closer he got the louder his heartbeat sounded in his ears. In what had to have been his eyes playing tricks on him in the murk, with every contraction of his heart, the tree pulsed in time.

Approaching the base of the tree now, sticky sanguine sap made lazy trails down the natural divots in the bark, but it was the ends of the branches that truly captured his attention. Each ended in a five pointed “hand”. No, they were hands. They twisted, prodded and groped the encroaching ceiling in ways that were all too human. Where in the many hells of Raijin am i? Moro started to question the chances of him making it out of here alive, regardless of what the previously infallible Takayama-taichou said. Blood splatters on the far wall caught his eye, and ever so slowly he creeped over. A tiny hole was visible surrounded by bloody handprints, placing his hand against the wall to attempt to determine the nature of the handprints by rote; it was here the shinobi planned his next move.

 

[Santaru Rin]

The dried prints flaked off at his touch. Rather than desperate scrabbling, they seemed to be a sign of sort.

Peering into the finger-width hole, he determined that it was a keyhole of sorts, shaped to accept a rod. The keyhole was without the metal tumblers which usually signified such a device. The room was, to his senses, practically devoid of any strongly magnetic material other than what he himself carried. He needed to find or approximate whatever locked in, here, if this were in fact a concealed door. The taichou's briefing suggested it could be the way out. The hands surrounded the keyhole, highlighting it... Was that the sign's only function?

As Tagiushi planned, he noticed an odd scent beneath the putrid stink. It was more intense closer to the ground, smelling almost like rotting onions. Among the handprints, someone had scrawled the alchemical symbol for sulfur. A ghostly miasma had arisen over the churned up earth. The mist was barely ankle-deep but slowly climbing; it bore the rancid garlic stench.