[Mission] [Yumi] Not Lost

[Samejima]

The lettering on the chest was a simple "Open for direction". Thankfully, the chest's lid was rather easy to lift. It opened to reveal the contents of the chest... Which was just a note.

[col3]|[legend="Note"]Sure you're following the sign?

- S[/legend]|[/col3]
[col]

Tachibana Sora​

|He'd braced himself for any sort of attack that might've come, but none seemed to have been set up as the chest was opened. Taking several steps towards her, he tried to read the note as well, to no avail as expected. "What does it say?" he asked, hoping he'd be of some use at least. If not in reading, or in opening chests, at least in figuring things out. Which may be rather boring if nothing came of it.

[legend="Sleep"][progress]30[/progress][/legend]

Suddenly, there was a chill down his spine. One not caused by the severe climate changes he's been exposed to.[/col]

Muted... somethings were approaching. Sora's body would reflexively tense up, and it was possible that Yumi noticed this and it would put her on alert. The sound was coming from Fall, as if it'd been following them, but didn't seem to be close by just yet, as they wouldn't be able to see even a silhouette if they looked down that path.

 

[Kazumi]

Yumi's eager smile faded as she read the note in her hand. "It says... sure you are following the sign." Concern momentarily gave way to frustration She crumpled the page in her hand and threw it back into the chest. "They are watching us!" She said with frustrated scowl. "Yes we are following the signs you stupid idiots!" She called out to the sky, assured that whomever was watching could likely hear her as well. As her voice's echo quickly faded she felt that chill down her spine and she quickly darted a look towards the fall path. "What... what was that sound?" She asked the man, her frustration giving way to slight fear from that dreading sensation.

 

[Samejima]

[col]

Tachibana Sora​

|The insult slung at the sky certainly gave him a jolt, and woke him up some as well, in addition to the now-possibly-dangerous-scenario. He was standing up somewhat straight before, but his spine was now completely straightened out as he took a few careful steps away from the Fall path.

[legend="Sleep"][progress]20[/progress][/legend]

"Move on for now; sounds far," he whispered, pointing at the path leading to Spring.[/col]

What sounded like howling was coming in from Fall. The crunching leaves were getting a little closer... But still not close enough to make out any sort of silhouette.

 

[Kazumi]

She too had taked a few unconscious steps back away from the sound. "If it is an illusion.. can we actually be hurt?" She asked, not sure she wanted to know the answer. A few moments of pause would ensue while she awaited his answer before she would take off towards the path he indicated. Here she was, an inexperienced student, and she was so far over her head that she could barely even breathe. Was this sort of life really what she wanted? Something inside her relished in the adrenaline, but most of her was just a frightened little girl who was desperate to keep struggling to air.

 

[Samejima]

[col]

Tachibana Sora​

|At the question, the man's expression would harden before it softened a few moments later. "Yes... Once mind dies, so does body," he replied, noting her currently less prevalent willingness to move. Following along, the careful steps towards Spring became somewhat less careful. He hadn't been in a dangerous situation for awhile... It was starting to get his blood boiling.

[legend="Sleep"]N/A[/legend]
[legend="Distracted"][progress]40[/progress][/legend][/col]

Spring was the same as it was before, as if there had been no outstanding objects at all that might have been opened. The chill in the air would naturally have subsided, but the feeling of dread should have gone with it. It wasn't exactly a safe place to be stopping by anyone's measure however.

 

[Kazumi]

She almost skidded to a halt next to the sign as she awaited him to catch up with her. As she did she listened carefully for the sounds of anything following after them. "What is that back there?" She asked a bit more urgently, as he had dodged her question from before. She looked around the area again, suddenly wishing she had not tossed aside her only means of self defense. She looked towards the sign, stared at it a few moments before she frowned. It wouldn't be much, but like the stick she might be able to toss it at... whatever it was. So, she stepped over towards it and tried to try and pry it out of the ground any way she could manage. It was just a sign, so it shouldn't be to difficult to do.

 

[Samejima]

[col]

Tachibana Sora​

|He shook his head, signaling he had no idea. "Sounds like dog... wolf? Not sure." The girl was now attempting to pull the sign free from the ground, and met with some resistance before it did so. "Planning to fight?" he asked, slight urgency in his tone. If they ran fast enough, they wouldn't need to fight... Or bloody any of these strange purple flowers.

[legend="Distracted"][progress]45[/progress][/legend]

"Keep going, might not catch." As he said so however, he felt a tug in Winter's direction. Was there something else of importance back there? He'd find himself questioning the logic of his actions, as that Sixth Sense of his hasn't led him wrong yet.[/col]

The sign came loose rather easily, as if whoever set up the genjutsu knew they would trigger the whatever-those-things-were to try and chase them down. Should Yumi choose to try and take it with her while they ran, she'd find that it was heavier than it looked and would slow them down. If she chose to fight with it however, its weight would allow her to swing at any oncoming attackers and have enough momentum to continue the swing, acting as a makeshift maul of sorts.

 

[Kazumi]

Prying the sign from the ground with surprising ease she called out to him, "Erm... come over her and take this." It was certainly heavier than it looked and with her single arm and small build she wouldn't have much of a chance of fleeing with it, or fighting, for that matter. She would try to her hand or toss the sign to him, depending on his reaction. "You can use it as a weapon or something if they get close. Maybe we can outrun them, but if it is dogs, they can be really fast! So come one!" Urging him onward rather loudly, the creatures likely already knew where they were anyway, she turned and began to run towards the next season once again. Summer!

 

[Samejima]

[col]

Tachibana Sora​

|Taking the sign (and dropping a little at the weight) he managed to keep going after Yumi as she pressed onward to the next season. The heat took over again, and he found himself much more reluctant to move forward. It might even have been better to fight those things with how irritated he was getting with the whole situation.

[legend="Distracted"]N/A[/legend]
[legend="Irritability"][progress]40[/progress][/legend]

He stopped short as he saw the sign from summer, unreadable as ever. There weren't any noises coming from Spring however, and this made him wonder if the presumed dogs did, in fact, pursue them. "Are they... following?"[/col]

Nothing unusual with the rest of the area, hot as ever with no semblance of fauna, and the sense of dread was now nonexistent.

 

[Kazumi]

Breathing somewhat heavily now, she too stopped and looked back towards the exit the had came from. She stepped over and leaned against the sign to relax for a few moments. "I.. I don't know what to do." she remarked with growing annoyance. "I thought this must have been the way, but... if it was, we should have been out of here by now!" She gripped her hand against the wood tightly as she tried to make sese of anything. "What do you think we should do? We followed the seasons... do we need to do it in reverse? Or do something else entirely?" Perhaps she didn't have what it took to be a shinobi after all...

 

[Samejima]

[col]

Tachibana Sora​

|Thinking about things was just going to make him even more irritated. Sitting in place not doing anything too, but mostly the thinking...

Wait no, what was he thinking? He made a living on thinking. Thinking was what he did best. That's why he couldn't protect anyone before he ended up in jail, locked up for who knows how long under suspicion of-

Shaking his head, the thought of his past inaction sobered his partly adrenaline-driven irritation by just a smidge.

[legend="Irritability"][progress]35[/progress][/legend]

He flipped the sign over in his hands. It was the same amount of legibility as it was back in Spring, and he held it out (word-side-forward) in front of the girl. "Please read sign out loud... Might be able to help."[/col]

Instead of looking back at the dilapidated Summer sign, here is the Spring sign in all its glorious legibility.

[col3]|[legend="Spring Sign"]Go in order
Read the signs
The seasons change
Just go in line[/legend]|[/col3]

Complete with the flower in the corner.

 

[Kazumi]

Yumi let out a small sigh of resignation. She read it multiple times before, how was this going to help? "Go in order... Read the Signs... The seasons change... just go in line." She paused a moment and then looked up towards him. "I still don't get it. We went in the order of the seasons and that didn't result in anything but having those... things chase us." She looked back towards the sign she was standing next to. "A straight line maybe? I really don't understand!" She almost yelled her frustration out before she turned and gave the sign that was stuck in the ground a good firm kick.

 

[Samejima]

[col]

Tachibana Sora​

|Controlling his own desire to kick something, he struggled to keep his focus on the matter at hand with this infernal heat. Really, he should be used to it but there was just something about this heat. He set the sign he was holding down on the floor, hoping the decreased weight on his arms would help...

[legend="Irritability"][progress]40[/progress][/legend]

It didn't.

Holding his chin in his right hand and resting that elbow on his left as he thought, he began pacing a little in front of the sign in the ground. He then began to mumble to himself, though the girl should be able to pitch in whenever she had an idea. "Order, read signs, seasons change, in line... First line sounds normal. Second... ruse? Statement? 'The seasons change'... 'Go in line'... " The man paused, seeming to have thought of something... But went back to pacing a few moments later. "Going in straight line, same season each time. When to stop?" And a few moments after that, "Reverse... Should say reverse order. Can try, if you want." He stopped pacing, turning to look at the other paths, which were arranged in a line from highest temperature to lowest. Then an idea hit, face lighting up considerably.

"What if 'go in line' is going in..."[/col]

 

[Kazumi]

"What I want is to get out of here!" She said in a none-too-friendly tone. She regreted the harshness of her tone a few moments after saying it. Her heart was racing once again as that dreaded possibility continued to try and creep its way into her mind. "If you have an idea just say it!... Please." Her tone softened with her last word, trying to contain her anxiety and it shifted to frustration. It wasn't his fault after all... she had no need to take it out at him.

She looked past him down the path where they came from and then towards the path that he was looking towards. "Look, I'm sorry. I just... I can't die here. Not like this. I refuse to let that happen. So if you have an idea, please say it."

 

[Samejima]

[col]

Tachibana Sora​

|Annoyance shot up as the girl snapped at him, forcing his eyes to open wider than they had thus far. It was likely that that outburst would've kept him from dozing right back off in another area, but here...

[legend="Irritability"][progress]80[/progress][/legend]

It didn't.

Eyes closing again as she apologized, he huffed a little, nodding in acknowledgment. He wasn't exactly the most mature person to be dealing with either, so he understood children's tendencies to lash out when in danger, if nothing else.

[legend="Irritability"][progress]70[/progress][/legend]

"Paths all in line. What if 'go in line' is going in Summer, Spring, Fall, Winter?" He'd stuck his arm out to point at the four paths in order from left to right as he said their names. "Writing on sign is left to right, most natural order is same. Best chance I think is this way."[/col]

 

[Kazumi]

She watched and listened as he pointed to the four paths one after the other. She did not entirely understand what he was talking about, but his assumptions were better than her lack of any. "Alright, we can try it I guess. Worst case is we end up back here." If here is the same here where they would be... thinking about it made Yumi's headache a little, and so she decided to not think about it. So, following his suggestion she rushed on ahead of him towards the first path. Summer! This would continue through to Spring, Fall, and finally Winter if nothing hindered their path.

 

[Samejima]

[col]

Tachibana Sora​

|The walk ahead would continue as planned then (with the sign from Spring having been apparently replaced by another), only to be stopped midway by something they did not want to feel - that sense of dread was coming back.

[legend="Irritability"][progress]70[/progress][/legend]
[legend="Distracted"][progress]50[/progress][/legend]

"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed as he took several backsteps. If the girl was in front of him, he would likely have dashed forward to shield her before taking those backsteps. "Thing... got ahead of us?" His brow furrowed. Was there some way to circle around them or something?[/col]

The path to Fall did not seem friendly in the least, and in the distance...

There must have been some mistake, because they left the dog-things in the dust just now in Summer... didn't they?

 

[Kazumi]

Yumi was certainly in the lead for their expedition! At least until the hound blocked their path and the brave Sora dashed his way in front of her to act as a human shield. "Can you blast it with a... a fireball or something?" She asked with an almost frantic urgency as terror began to claw its way into her mind. She had helped Naoki deal with canines before but this... this didn't look like any dog she had ever seen before. If she was able to, she would step over to try and pry out the makeshift maul from the ground to serve as some sort of defensive weapon.

 

[Samejima]

Since they were still in the middle of Spring, though it was still in the distance, the dog's figure could already be seen... and it was still pacing along the edge of the beginning of Fall. It seems the thing was restricted to that area, and any other Fall areas they could've come through. It kept pacing menacingly, as if it knew they would have to pass through at some point and wouldn't leave until they did.
[col]

Tachibana Sora​

|They'd stopped at Spring. This was one of the better areas to be stopping at, with the flowers abound... Thankfully the shock of seeing whatever that was actually being ahead of them caused him to gain momentary focus.

[legend="Distracted"][progress]45[/progress][/legend]

"Fire...ball?" Confused at first, he caught on to the meaning of the question after a short pause. "Can use little ninjutsu." He prepared for the strongest jutsu he had in his admittedly lacking arsenal, performing a series of handseals used for a Wind Release Jutsu.

"Hyakkoryouran..." The flowers behind them started to float, rising above the two humans before they shot ahead directly at the silhouette. It didn't flinch, and the flowers went right through it as if it just couldn't be touched. Shortly after this however, he spoke a single word that apparently comprised the second part of the jutsu. "Haretsu!"[/col]

Just then the flowers, which were now behind the dog, exploded into several substantially large fireballs, engulfing the area in flames and seeming to damage it quite a bit. It flinched this time, but didn't waver... And it didn't look like Sora could do that again. The man seemed to have drained his source of chakra, and looked somewhat apologetic as he tried to stand back up.

 

[Kazumi]

Yumi held onto the sign as she watched the display. A tinge of envy ran through her, though it was suppressed by the dread that coursed through her veins at the beast. As the flowers shot at the beast she thought she noticed something... odd. "Did those go... through it?" A dangerous idea ran through her head. He had said that the illusion was real to them... but was the illusion itself real? She stepped past him and stepped over towards the beast, holding the sign out as if it were a strangely formed spear or shield. "Wait here." She instructed him, her voice quavering as she wasn't entirely sure that this plan was a sane one. She didn't see much in the way of alternatives, however.

When she got close enough she would try and poke the sign out to keep it at bay. The hope was that the beast was just purely illusionary, and couldn't interact with her at all. If it wasn't however... well, she would try and keep it at bay. She would then move back a bit and shift the sign around so that the end that went into the ground, presumably pointed, was aimed at the beast. If she could get him to try and bite it maybe she could shove the blasted thing down its throat? Who knows, but Sora did his part and so she had to try hers.