Intervillage Examination

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Yuuki was pretty darn interested in pitting herself against some of these foreign shinobi with her humongous sword. If they were to provoke her of course. Now, some of you might think that a big sword is unwieldy and a pain to use. But not Yuuki’s sword. Through a long and complex process invented by Shinrya Kitsune, she had become forcibly bonded to the weapon, and rather than a separate spirit inhabiting it, it was her demonic subconscious. It was all very technical and not all that well-documented, but it had worked, and Yuuki was now in possession of a split soul so to speak.

”Konnichiwa Raikage-sama.” Yuuki said to the older man as she approached him. ”Have you come to spectate the exams as well? Or are you going to participate to show them what the strongest shinobi can do?” she asked with a grin, her fangs showing rather clearly. Wait, fangs? Yes. Fangs. Her father is a demon of the vampiric kind. While Chigokai might be referred to as vampires due to their inherent blood controlling abilities, Yuuki was an actual living vampire.

 

[Takayama]

The sky was clear, not a single storm cloud in sight. Of course that would be the case though, the air in wind country was much too dry to allow the sort of thing Taka might have anticipated. All the same, when the leaf refugee had become aware of the wind Daimyo's proclamation the only thing that filled his head was the memories of tragedies that had taken place not so long ago. The blue haired young man looked up, gauging the sky carefully before crossing another set of excited exam goers and adjusting his sunglasses with his bandaged hand.

It couldn't rain here...

The thought set his nerves on edge. If the same trick wouldn't work here then it only meant that they were going to try something else. Taka eyed the registry girls with a cold cynicism, his free hand wandering to a camera he had picked up back in Tsuchigakure before he had left. Visible underneath his shroud as he lifted the camera would be a simple pair of ANBU grade trousers and a few odd belts and pouches. A canteen was among them, as well as two scrolls of message size. There would also be a headband, but not one anyone would find credible or worth paying attention to. The camera snapped, his cold gray optics sliding across their frames and prompting the camera to snap away at each of the girls involved in the registration. He even took a few harmless snapshots of the crowd, one of which he recognized from an incident in stone.

The man had saved his life.

The camera snapped again, hopefully with the sunglasses and bleaching of his hair that had arisen from getting lost in the desert for a few weeks would be enough to keep his identity hidden from that one. Otherwise he was just a stranger in a strange land with a strange purpose. After a few more quick shots the blue haired teenager would start to wander past the available street vendors and bought some small overpriced trinket. Best to keep up the appearance of a tourist if he could help it. The danger these men were in, trained as they were, was all too real to Takayama. The fire Daimyo had found a way to neutralize chakra one way or another and if one way existed, there were sure to be others.

Takayama hoped he was wrong, but the inviting atmosphere, scantily clad women and huge stone walls did little to calm the youth's nerves.

Spoiler

ENTERED: OBSERVER
Non-participant

 

[Toraono Kuro]

Kuro stopped as his spirit brother bade him and he too finally noticed that everyone was truly groveling at their feet literally. He nodded to Sousuke's analysis, of the entirety, before whispering to Sousuke so only he could hear. "My mother is of minor noble birth but even that would not attribute to this, someone has spread some terrible rumors about our village if this is the reaction of people from outside of Sunagakure. Allow me to play the bad cop to alleviate this situation." With that Kuro would turn from his brother and assume a kinder visage even as he invoked his full demonic power and called out all whom had heard his brother's request to stop kneeling.

Akuma Kuro used handseals to make it appear as if he had actually mastered the legendary and defunct kage bunshin no jutsu as he summoned his Sharingan bearing form. Sharingan Kuro would appear beside Akuma Kuro in identical attire. After activating his sharingan he would invoke his hypnosis to get a straight answer as Sharingan Kuro would start questioning the unfortunate selectee after his mangekyou sharingan activated. With a sweeping gesture he found a male that seemed to be in good health using his mind lock he telekinetically lifted the man from the ground and brought him level to Sharingan Kuro's eyes to literally levitate before him. Kuro made sure not to crush the man or cause him pain or outright discomfort. His kinetic grip should feel like soft static electricity was lifting the poor man. Once his eyes made contact with the man in question he would begin with simple direct questions.

"Who are you and where are you from?"<i></i> request an honest answer through hypnosis....

"Do you know who the man you were kneeling before is?"<i></i> request an honest answer through hypnosis....

"Why didn't you stand up when asked?"<i></i> request an honest answer through hypnosis....

"Who or what told you to act in this manner toward us?"<i></i> request an honest answer through hypnosis....

Spoiler

If this action causes this man any direct harm or I sense any compulsion like that of a seal or another form of mind control Kuro will immediately release him and report to Sousuke.

WC: 320
MFT

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Altar Perception​

Sousuke could not react fast enough as he began to play bad cop. He watched as he began to interview the people present. He noticed the subtle change in his avatar's eyes. Hypnosis. This was going to be very tricky. It was a one way door, but Kuro might be ... making things difficult for himself. Suna at this exact moment in time did not exactly have good PR. He started to ask a male of reasonable health a series of questions. Sousuke listened intently as they would forecast the situation that they had come upon. Sousuke would shake his head and look around. He noticed other people falling to their knees. They were just as surprised as he was. His eyes continued to track the movement. More importantly Sousuke began to now start watching roof tops and high ground points. If Kuro's method worked, then something would happen. Snipers? Psionic attacks.

Sousuke would flick his left hand in a gesture of sorts summoning forth the insect contract member known as Kou. He needed eyes in the sky. He needed to know how many people were bowing, if there was a radius to it, so on and so forth. The tiny shy insect would fly up and begin to gather his siblings together to figure this out. They would fly directly above the Kazekage and Kuro and would begin surveillance. While there were people signing in, Sousuke expected there to be something afoot in different directions. Using Nemuri would have caused a grand spectacle which wasn't needed right now ... Nemuri was flashy and quite loud about her excellent good looks. That being said though she did have a skill set that could be used at a different time and place.

Sousuke did not forget about the scantily clad women. He was not exactly sure about this. After all bikini girls really did not want to be that open in the public. There were wanton gazes to be avoided, unless they were of a different profession which ... well to each's own be it their survival in this world.

He simply waited now. He needed to know the results of Kou's intel, and more importantly he needed to hear things from Kuro's interrogation. "Easy Kuro."<i></i> He simply added. He kept his eyes opened. His suspicions were that someone did not want the individual being interrogated talking as evidenced by the lack of answers or gestures earlier. As such there was a higher suspicion that things would get more dire, and if something were to happen to the individual being questioned Sousuke would counter it with a plasma shot to any incoming attacks.

 

[Toraono Michino]

There was a weird ache in his heart upon seeing the man.
　　Tama didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t anything like the human he had been but the soul that kept his mortal form in check recognized the man. Sousuke had looked better, he thought to himself, and he wondered just what had caused him to become so pale. The scientist began to move forward but he caught himself remembering the last time they had seen each other; it had not been pleasant.
　　Between terribly painful words Okibi had spoken the scientist himself didn’t do anything to stand up for the Kazekage or even try to disarm the situation. He just stood there and watched in shock and some horror as his lover burned her last bridge. The events that had followed were even more morbid and just as terrible, and the Ancient was certain that he was going to want to know what happened to his ward.
　　
　　What confused the creature even more was the emotions running through him. His mind seemed to be working in prime condition and he had no desire to go about mucking in the affairs of Sousuke just yet; he really wasn’t prepared. Yet the fake heart his seal created along with his youthful form wanted to go muddle. It wanted to walk up to both Sousuke and Kuro and say “Hey! This is where I’ve been the whole time! How’s it going?” Despite knowing what a terrible idea that was. Tama let out a long sigh and pulled his coat up around him a bit more as if getting a chill. He turned his back away from the bowing people and decided that the man had enough to deal with at the moment without needing a wayward friend to come back crashing into his life. Plus he was pretty sure the Demonbeast King would easily be able to get the truth out of him as to what he had become in his absence away from Suna’s public light.
　　
　　Turning towards the village the legendary creature decided he was going to see if he could still get drunk.
　　
　　[Topic Left]

 

[Sand Council]

Takayama was right to be suspicious of the Daimyo's intentions. The scantly clad ladies welcomed the visitors with a smile but served no real purpose besides distracting the horde of young, wild men that had breeched the gate. He had already seen what a man with near infinite resources coupled with dark intent could do to a homeland. Taka was a wanderer with no him and no master. An unintended state for a shinobi. His intuition would prove right in time and again without intervention and warning another great nation might crumble at a Daimyo's feet. You're such a Baka Taka.

Not far from the shutterbug where Takayama's camera made a permanent record of those beauties and civilians with the sprinkling of foreign and domestic shinobis, Takayama would see dozens of men and women genuflecting before a pair of men. In the epicenter of this dramatic scene was none other than the former Steward, now Kazekage Takahashi Sousuke and his loyal, diligent Boarder Sennin the demon shinobi Toraono Kuro.

The crowd was utterly terrified of the duo. Whimpers could be heard among those who prostrated themselves as well as the harsh muted attempts to 'shush' their children. The Sennin lifted one man from the ground. He was a thirty-something year ok man with worn, tanned features and rough spun clothes that appeared to be handmade. His dark hair had the occasional splash of white and grey that seemed lost among his messy mop-like dark tresses and his face despite his relative youth appeared hollow and sunken as he was pulled upright. He had a look of abject horror as he was taken from the dusty floor, incapable of resisting the demon Sennin's cull.

There were gasps and whispered protests, the occasional muffled cry but nobody intervened. Not yet, they simply cowered.

"Who are you and where are you from?"

"Kobayama Shino, Soons Haven," the terrified man silently answered, subject to the Toraono's insidious gaze. To onlookers it would appear that they, the man and the Sennin exchanged nothing as it was only said psychically. Still they would see the strain on the bound man.

"Do you know who the man you were kneeling before is?"

"The mad warrior king Takahashi Sousuke, third of his name, conqueror of Wind and the man who stole the diamond thone," the man yet again replied without words. His jugulars engorged and his face reddened as he struggled to free himself.

"Why didn't you stand up when asked?"

"Fear," was the only reply.

"Who or what told you to act in this manner toward us?"

"Fear," was the only reply.

Sousuke let blood and forged a seal to call upon his contract summon; into the sky the insect beauty soared. The people raised their heads towards the heavens. Some frozen with fear, others got up and ran. There would be a cacophony of cries, people pushed and shoved and attempted to flee. They were attacking. They were going to kill them all.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Nemuri fluttered about and hovered above the Kazekage. Sousuke facepalmed at the screaming and the yelling. He meant to summon Kou but instead conjured Nemuri. "Seriously? A moth? A pretty moth is grounds for fleeing in terror? She isn't even that large. Like come on. She's my size. She has a lovely singing voice too."<i></i> He looked about. "Kuro. Put the man down."<i></i> Sousuke would shake his head. He motioned to two people still present still bowing to him. "Alright."<i></i> He puffed his cheeks. So. They were afraid of him. Apparently he was a self-declared King of the Westerlands. He was mad. He stole the diamond throne. What is the opposite of fear? Sousuke too was afraid. He was afraid of what had put people in this predicament. He patted the man Kuro was holding. "Seriously. Fear? Come on. You don't know me. Not really. You fear what you do not know. I guess that is why you're afraid... and the whole lot of you. We have to fix that somehow..."<i></i> He placed his hands behind the back of his head. It was time to try out something new in his approach. Something very different. Kuro had scared people, Sousuke had to undo this. He had to fix Suna's public relations. According to Fuu they had to be heroes, and that is what they were not. Heroes did not scare people. Heroes ... did the right things for the betterment of others. Thus ... Sousuke looked deep within himself, and figure it was time to do science. FOR SCIENCE. The better of others would be ... well ... that had yet to surface. "Hey. I'm afraid too. I'm afraid of the Goddess Who Shall Not Be Named and her rack."<i></i> He looked left then right. "Is she here? Is she there?"<i></i> He leaned forward to the bowing crowd and spoke in a loud whisper. "I totally stole the diamond throne because she told me to. It hurt my back. Do you know how heavy the diamond throne is? Nearly broke my back."<i></i> He shrugged, but made motion that his back was in great pain. "Right so. Yanno this shiny broad came up to me. Her chest was bared to me, and boy was she voluptuous. Kuro was there too and my peoples. He was bowing with me so were they just as you are now. I looked up and saw the best rack I had ever seen. Like they were out of this world."<i></i> He made gestures to signify the Goddess's chest and how large it was. "She said to me ... Sousuke, you and me right here right now. I said ... nope! I am not doing anything of that sort with you. She looked at me and said 'You pig.' I said ... I am not a pig, I do not oink... but wait I just did. So... I guess I am a pig."<i></i> Kuro was being scary and fierce. Sousuke had to battle against that with ... something he had trouble with. Comedy. Running the test. Go. Go. Go. Test the audience. Do they like raunchy comedy? Do they enjoy 'corny' comedy? Do they like puns? Undo what Kuro did like now. "So... what do you want? I asked. She looked at me, told me to rise. I did, but then I realized I was fixated upon her excellent racks. Kind of hard to do at times."<i></i> Sousuke made a mocking gazing looking. He allowed his jaw to slacken. "She told me ... dude. Those Sunahoshi they fagertabatme. I want you to do the unthinkable. In broad daylight. Steal. That. Throne."<i></i> Sousuke motioned to himself at that point. "Right so. Like yourself, out of fear of being smited by the Goddess Who Shall Not Be Named, and her rack, I said ... let's do this. So I did."<i></i>

He looked outwards to the sea of people, if they were still around. "Eh? Eh?"<i></i> By the assets of the ancients he hated this. He couldn't tell if this was how a comedy routine worked. He was subjected to them before. He observed them and people used their funny voices all the time. He clapped his hands together. He pointed to the man Kuro had. "I want tribute. In fact ... I really don't want it, but hey if you guys think I am the King, then I haveta be one right? I want this dude ... and that lady over there with the red hair... and that one over there with the blonde hair."<i></i> Three people. He claimed tree people. "I'm going to take a bow. You know this has been great. You people you're all awesome. I am the conqueror of the dishes and the dinner table. I eat way more food than Kuro here. Mad? Eh. Why not. Barking mad. Ruff. Bow-wow. Warrior? Well ... sure. I am a conqueror of not breaking wind. Can you say you're capable of that?"<i></i> He looked about. "Eh? Tough crowd. Can I get a round of applause?"<i></i> He asked as he clapped his hands about in a circular fashion. "Good day. Good night. Good morrow. Come on you three, let's go be sinful creatures and go have a drink."<i></i> Sousuke would grin and motion for the three 'tributes' to come with him. These people were afraid of him. The best way to despell it? Seem approachable. Good natured. Funny. He had to find out what it was that led them to be fearful of him.

[Topic left with tribute]

 

[Toraono Kuro]

Akuma Kuro nodded to Sousuke and as he did so he set the man down on the ground as Sharingan Kuro passed on memories of the truth about Sousuke. He used the power of his eyes to allow his memories and the truth about everything they thought they knew to be shared. {{Takahashi Sousuke has been the Kazekage Steward, he never stole a throne, he is not a king, he is simply Leader of Sunagakure, the Kazekage now by paperwork and nothing else. Suna has been under attack by agents calling themselves the Cabal. We aren't here to attack loyal citizens of wind country. If you want the truth about us please simply speak to us. We will not harm you; we are neither stuck up nor are we evil destroyers or warlords we are simply specially trained people from Sunagakure. Thank you for your time and attention while answering my questions. Here is 400 yen for your trouble and should you ever so wish it please stop by the Toraono Dojo for martial arts lessons. They are free to any and all. We only ask an exchange of knowledge in return. Have a safe day.}}<i></i>

With his message and the truth from his memories passed on he fully released Kobayama Shino of Soon's Haven. Sharingan Kuro then surreptitiously disappeared as he was summoned back to the gates of the Toraono Dojo by Chouryoku Kuro whom alternated Gate guard with his other forms. This was done blazenly with alot of smoke to make it appear that Akuma Kuro had dismissed his clone.

"Let's carry on before someone decides I ate the moon and you stole the sun too."<i></i> Kuro hid how upset about the people of Soon's perception of Sousuke had truly made him. No one should be bad mouthing and spreading rumors about his little brother.

 

[Takayama]

Takayama overheard a trigger word that set his senses aflame. The title of a village, specifically. The utterance of a home like his that had long since been left for dead. It had come from a couple arguing that he had passed by on his way through the crowd. Judging by the sound of things though, they had talked themselves down a bit. He intended to investigate further, but something new quickly stole away at his attention. The shutter snapped again as a strange eruption in the crowd seemed to break the peace, a peculiar insect darting off into the sky above them and two seemingly dangerous men talking to a third. Takayama took a few meaningless pictures of the bug, before turning his gaze back to the scantily clad women with the paperwork. The crowd had gotten restless and was visibly upset, cries and shouts rising up now and again before some people began to push and shove. A full stampede was well underway, but over what? The bug wasn't considerably large, large enough to be unusual, but not large enough to be any real threat.

The people were already spooked.

Only a pre-existing shinobi aversion was likely to be the cause, or maybe the man in question had... Takayama listened to the oddly forced responses of the the single man the duo were interacting with. Trying to hear over the crowd was no simple feat, but he tried as best as he could over the waxing and waning cries around him. A few words emerged more significant than others. Warrior King... Diamond Throne... Fear... This was enough to confirm the blue haired refugee's second theory. These men already had some kind of reputation here, not a positive one. He let his ears do the discerning after that, his wandering gaze trying to catch sight of the scantily clad greeters bearing the paperwork. People who had noticed the direction of his eyes behind his sunglasses would probably think he was some kind of pervert, but with his head generally shifting in the direction of various occurrences around him it would be hard to tell otherwise. Regardless of what they thought, Takayama would not be bothered by it. As the people began to dart and scurry, one thing mattered.

He needed to know where that paperwork was going.

He needed to know who the women were reporting to.

They had to be bringing the papers to an event coordinator, who would then be sharing it with whatever irksome forces might be lurking in the shadows. Takayama shifted, his camera slipping into one of the belt pouches at his waist as he began to move through the crowd. He would make a quick pit stop, stepping through a group he had passed by earlier and responding to some originally mundane conversation that had suddenly caught his attention. It too had resulted in an eruption of screams that had begun to shake the masses even further. Takayama muttered something as he passed them and moved along. He would follow one of the women with the registration forms, whichever was alone, at whatever speed was necessary. Or, if they managed to stick in a group, he would trail them all carefully to whichever building or location they were bringing the paperwork to, unlikely as that may have been in the developing chaos.

Spoiler

FOLLOWING ONE OF THE SEXY REGISTRATION GIRLS !!

 

[Sand Council]

The crowd continued to cower as the mad king went... mad. He rambled on about breasts for far too long. It was concerning, but not as much as the fact that he took a prisoner as tribute. Some whimpered, others cried, the chosen one sobbed, as did the second and third. Pale with fear, they still complied, nobody interceded on their behalf although their loved ones seemed to struggle with simply letting them be. Someone, in fact four someones were being held back and silenced by their fellow citizens. Red-faced and enraged, they struggled to no avail as Sousuke left with his new captives.

The Kazekage, the fiend who steals men and women even in the light of day before crowds of hundreds. A likely pervert obsessed with a religious deity's assets, they could only fear for that unfortunate trio's fate. An announcement made by the Sennin contrasted with what they saw, he stood by idly as these people were taken. Yet claimed to not be a fiend but that he would compensate them. "The are not for sale!" A nameless faceless man in the crowd would declare before he was swallowed by his cohorts, pinned to the ground and silenced for his own safety. Shhh.. it is too late for them.

The Sennin would gripe on their departure about how they were being misjudged despite being the ones that stole three people just then. Still they did not move, they did not protest. Some even groveled and said, thank you sirs.

[Allowed Sennin and Kage to depart]​

---

The girls were done for the day. The chatted and they collected their wares. They would walk off together at first but one by one they would break away as they moved onward and inward into the heart of the village. These girls belonged to various Lords in the district, but only one had the satchel that contained the registrations. She would continue further than the rest unaware that she was being followed.

[Girls Left, Pick a Haircolor Baka]​

 

[Takayama]

Takayama kept his pace casual, eyeing the satchel above all else before winding his way through the crowd. At passing through one group he would mutter something inaudible to all but those closest to him, keeping his shades forward and his steps steady. The other girls were leaving in opposite directions, but this one seemed to have a mission to finish yet. The red haired girl, to be precise. He hadn't yet gotten a firm idea of what her capacities might be, but she hardly seemed to be a threat considering her stature and bikini. All the same, Taakayama would keep his distance and act the part of a tourist, leaning his head at the various trinkets and knickknacks in the vendor's stands and storefronts while keeping the girl in his peripherals. Hopefully wherever she was heading was going to be close enough so as not to seem too suspicious, otherwise he was going to have to alter his methods.

[Topic Left; Following the red-head]