For as long as anyone can remember, bands of macaque monkeys have inhabited the various ancient temples surrounding the Monastery to Raiden. The monks who live in the monastery and care for the temples have long learned to live in harmony with the simians, and often those who visit from afar are equally as fascinated with the temples' inhabitants as they are with the ancient structures themselves. Lately, however, many of Raiden's devotee's have noticed a shift in the monkeys' behavior. Having become increasingly more aggressive with visitors and worshippers alike (to the point of having to close a number of the temples to the public), the Kaibutsu Hunters have been invited to determine the cause of this change. The only condition the monks requested: none of the monkeys may be harmed.
- - -
Aggressive monkeys? The Windrunners and Godslayers had laughed; ever since the attack in the Dragon Tooth Pass, the recently formed office of the Kaibutsu Hunters had been flooded with requests from people all over Lightning Country who didn't understand the true nature of monsters. They thought of the giant lizard that had attacked, and thought any animal showing even mild aggression must be some possessed, other-worldly beast. While it was true that these types of monsters lay in hiding among them, they were not the primary concern of the division. This was likely the natural course of an invasive species finally finding strength in its numbers. And so they had decided to send a single Croweater out for an easy mission. There was of course the possibility that there was more to the story, and given the high population of macaque monkeys combat was not an option if that were true. This was to be a simple scouting mission, nothing more.
The journey to the top of the Monumentum Deo would be a tiring one, but thankfully not lonely. While this type of work could easily be handled by a single Croweater, there was a new Genin Prowler who had recently joined their ranks. The boy needed to learn the ropes, and so had been assigned to shadow Reicheru on this mission. Yamazaki Hayato was the boy's name; short and quiet, but well-trained and good-natured. The two chatted as they traveled, mostly Rei asking questions about the recent graduate's academy days. The two connected in being tinkerers in mechanics, though Reicheru admitted this hobby of hers had fallen largely by the wayside. In contrast, calling Hayato a tinkerer was probably an insult. His eyes lit up as he talked about some of the things he'd built, his familiar enthusiasm finally putting the pieces together of a mystery that had been dancing in the back of her mind: his family name had rung a bell when she'd seen it on the file, but she hadn't been able to place it until now.
"Are you related to Yamazaki Mitsuo by chance?"
"Ah yeah, that's my old man. How do you know him?"
"I wound up in the hospital not too long ago, he was a big help."
"Oh, I'm glad. He really cares a lot about his work…"
The younger boy paused, then opened his mouth again with his head cocked like he wanted to ask a question, but as he did the two Kumo shinobi were greeted by a voice in the distance. "Greetings! My apologies, but unfortunately these temples have been temporarily closed to the public…" a man of about middle age appeared at the top of the path, his clothing minimal but sufficient for the tundra-like conditions of the Monumentum Deo. "Oh, I'm sorry," the man quickly offered at the sight of the pair's Kumo headbands. "You must be here for that very reason. Is this your whole team?" The elder man's gaze shifted behind Rei and Hayato, a glimmer of concern rising in his eyes.
"Yes sir. My name is Nanjirou Rei, Genin Croweater of Kumogakure's Kaibutsu Hunters, and this is Yamazaki Hayato, Genin Prowler." Rei offered the monk with a bow, her voice strong and confident in hopes of alleviating the man's fears.
It didn't seem to help. "I see… I had hoped there might be more of you… or you know, someone with more experience.." Hayato gave Rei a sympathetic glance, but the kunoichi smiled at the man. "Don't let our age deceive you, sir. We were both present at and fought in the Kaibutsu Attack in Kumogakure, and have been members of the division nearly since it's inception. I promise you, you're in good hands, sir…"
The monk seemed to suddenly become aware of his rudeness, quickly introducing himself with a bow. "Gaju, it's a pleasure to meet you Rei-san, Hayato-san." Straightening himself, Gaju rubbed the back of his head. "Some of us have been staying here at the base of the Mountain to intercept tourist and worshipers who did not hear about the closure of the temples. Please, come rest yourselves for a bit. I will notify Monk Chiro that you've arrived - he will have further instructions for you."
Because they usually lived in the temples themselves when they were away from the Monastery, the shack Gaju led them to had every sign of being hastily built. Straining under the pressure of the snow that had collected on top, Rei and Hayato exchanged a concerned glance. Inside, the place boasted no creature comforts. No furniture, the only cooking equipment being a fire pit in the center of the room that also served as the area's heat source. A kettle of tea was coming to a boil as they walked in. The now trio indulged in the hot drink, warming their core as they waited for Monk Chiro to arrive. Eventually the older monk arrived, essentially going over the same information they had already provided to the Kaibutsu Hunters. "So nothing had changed in this area at the time that the monkey's behavior began to change?" Reicheru questioned. "No environmental changes, no new personnel arrivals…?" The wheels in her mind spun, thinking back on a specific report she had seen from one Hyuuga Honnou -- mysterious figures disappearing into the mountains amidst the chaos. Gaju moved uncomfortably where he sat. "Not exactly personnel, but…"
- - -
"What on earth made them think that wasn't important to include in the request?!"
Hayato's usually mild-mannered nature began to unravel the moment he and Reicheru were alone. The kunoichi simply shrugged - she had long grown accustomed to the ineptitude of people. "They see people come through all the time, and really that's not their concern so much as the temples themselves. I can see how that could get missed." Gaju and Chiro informed the shinobi of a woman who had come through the mountain not long after the attack. At first, she had been lost in their memory as one of many tourists, worshipers, miners and researchers that passed through these parts. In the days following their report, however, the oddity of the woman's behavior reminded them of her odd request: to visit the Temple of Cercopes. 'Though old, it is not the oldest, nor is it all that large. All knowledge of it has been lost - even its name is modern, a tribute to the macaque who congregate there - and the structure has not been well preserved. No one wants to go there.' Chiro had explained. At least they had a more definitive starting point now, and had been given permission (albeit begrudgingly) to humanely capture one of the simians for study.
It wouldn't be long before the shinobi came across the first macaque monkeys. Rei signaled for Hayato to stop, and the two observed a pack of five monkeys cleaning one another and sunbathing atop a garden of boulders. "I've read that though macaque adapt well to almost any climate, they originated in warmer temperatures and enjoy sunlight. If we can find another spot like this one, I bet it wouldn't be long before a few of them made their way there… but how would we set…" As Reicheru whispered, Hayato had already begun rifling through his bag of tricks. "Not a problem. I can set a trap if we find a spot." Rei smiled at the Genin. "Perfect, let's head--"Before the words could leave her mouth or her body begin to move, suddenly there was a blur and a loud screeching as one of the macaque dropped down in front of her. What she couldn't see from a distance, Reicheru now saw in the creature that hung in front of her -- an odd distortion of the normally adorable simian breed: sunken face with bloodshot eyes that bulged, elongated teeth and claws, and an odd crawling sensation in its fur that reminded her of the way the slime oozed and wriggled about on King Maji. Though the creature lunged at her just after dropping, the Nanjirou was just barely able to dodge out of its way, sending it tumbling onto the ground behind her. Unfortunately, the commotion drew the attention of the other monkeys, and before they knew it the Genin were dashing what seemed to be deeper into the mountain. The macaque kept on their heels, their hooting and screeching surely drawing the attention of every one of their kind. "Over here!" Hayato shouted, veering off at a sharp angle. In a few bounds, Reicheru saw what Hayato was leading them towards -- a sudden clearing before a canyon that plummeted nearly two-thousand meters below.
Hayato tossed a mechanism at her, one he'd shown her on the hike out there. The boy wasn't sure if she would even need it, but better safe the sorry and separated. Without a word exchanged Reicheru understood, and in unison the duo ran straight at the cliff without breaking stride, propelling themselves off the edge and shooting the grapples into the cliff-face on the opposite side. Even the repurposed ninja wire rocketed them (well, her - Hayato's experience with the tool taught him how to prepare to transition into a run) into the side of the rockface on the other side, Rei couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as she looked back at the angry horde of mutated monkeys gathered on the other side, their numbers only growing with each second that passed. Still, this whole episode had put them even farther from their target than they had been, and with a great number of eyes on them. It was time to regroup and re-strategize.
- - -
"All set?" Reicheru asked as Hayato arrived at the meeting point they'd established that morning. After the chase scene, they had decided to set up camp to allow the monkey troupe time to chill out and disperse. Not having the ability to lay a finger on those little devils made this whole ordeal a bigger pain than it needed to be, and had prompted a discussion between the shinobi over whether placing them under a genjutsu would be technically a breech of the contract -- ultimately, they decided it would be a last resort if things got out of hand. The next morning, Hayato set out to set up the trap they had discussed the day before in hopes of at least one specimen falling victim in the time it took them to get back to them temple, scout it and return.
More aware of the repercussions of not moving as stealthily as possible, the hunters slowly and quietly made their way toward the abandoned temple, finally making it there with little trouble or inconvenience. Perhaps too little? The temple ruin was located in one of the more heavily forested parts of the mountain base, leaving less snow but also less sunlight. Arriving at what appeared to be a pile of rubble with what looked like a bastardized Classical Kumogakurian script engraved on the surviving walls, one thing the two took immediate notice of was the absence of macaques. Hadn't the monks said this was their central hub of sorts, part of the reason no one visited it anymore? As they neared the center of where the temple once stood, the Mark of the King on Reicheru's chest began giving off the familiar burn that indicated something inhuman was nearby… along with something else. Something was off; there was more here than met the eye. "Cancel," Reicheru muttered as she made quick hand-signs - a simple yet invaluable jutsu. Hayato followed suit, and suddenly a whole new world opened up to the shinobi.
[lb2][/lb2]
A winding path leading to a beautiful marble belvedere. As the two meandered toward it, Hayato turned to his partner. "How… did you sense this? My mom's a Yamanaka… I'm no stranger to genjutsu, and I didn't even know… it's no wonder the monks didn't know either…" Reicheru dodged the question, pointing toward the true Temple of Cercopes further down the valley that was visible only from the center of the belvedere. "There." They looked at each other - should they go in? Should they report what they found and let a higher ranking hunter handle it? Did they even have enough to report yet? As the senior member of the team, Rei narrowed her eyes as she looked at the temple. "We still don't really know the cause, and that's what we came for. Something is fishy, but… what? Our answer has to be in there."
Staying alert, still very on edge by the absence of any monkeys, Rei and Hayato entered the temple. The beautiful marble structure was inscribed with the same version of Classical Kumogakurian they had seen outside, illuminated at first by the small flashlight photo jutsu Rei's palm emitted. At first. In the distance, a rumbling like thunder drew nearer and the sound of hooting and screeching became clearer. Suddenly, torches mounted along each side of the wall were engulfed in flame and the doorway blocked by an army of monstrous macaque monkeys - yet, they did not attack. A deep laugh tumbled out of the darkness of the heart of the temple before a pair of golden eyes were illuminated by the torches. "Shinobi? How interesting. How bold." This elicited a rumble of approving hollers from the simian vanguard.
"What was that?" Reicheru's partner had gone pale, his green eyes wide in fright and confusion. The kunoichi's heart sank, realizing quickly the immensity of the predicament they had been placed in was a direct result of her leadership and decision making. This was no place for a fresh academy graduate - they needed to get out of here.
After Hayato spoke, one particular macaque screamed from within the crowd. "Oh really? That one? Very well," the voice responded. A 'snap' echoed on the temple walls before suddenly Hayato was launched backward before the feet of the monkey hoard, trapped and tangled in a mesh wire trap launched out of the darkness with a swiftness that even the Nanjirou had not anticipated. "How does it feel, to be on the other end of your own trap, hunter?" Hayato struggled against the wire as Reicheru rushed to his aide.
As the Reicheru rushed to cut through the trap with her kunai, the voice drew nearer and the rumbling of hooting from the monkeys grew louder. "It might be implausible for the humans to believe that shinobi would get themselves killed hiking in the mountains… I could wipe their memories… but if they broke through the first illusion there's no saying they won't do so again. Alright, better safe than sorry. Finish them." With those two words, thundering howling echoed through the structure and the macaque who had gathered at the door and scaled the walls began to descend on them. If she didn't do something, quickly, this would be the end - there were too many of them. Throwing her kunai down and making hand seals with gritted teeth, Reicheru unleashed Ambiance of the Forbidden: a blast of tornado-like wind that exploded from the center outward, pushing back the horde just as they neared. Most of them were pushed so far as to clear the doorway once more, while those coming from the ceiling had been launched into the marble. Woops. Oh well.
At the outburst, the end of the temple hallways was finally illuminated with fire. There, atop an ornate throne, sat the golden eyed beast: a red-furred monkey of greater stature than any of Kumogakure's shinobi, adorned in gold-plated armor and crown, staff at his side. Both enraged and curious, the Monkey King stood from his throne to his full height, a giant standing at nearly nine feet. Adrenaline outweighed Reicheru's fear as the mark under her collar pulsed. "Come out of hiding, have you? Sorry it won't be quite as easy as you expected to finish us. Should have done it yourself."
The Monkey King's head titled at her words, an expression of shock washing over his face. "You can understand me? That would explain a lot. You could have been interesting… but if you insist." Raising his staff, the Monkey King made a slashing motion in their direction that unleashed a tidal wave of fire that stretched the whole span of the hallway. Repeating the hand seals from a moment ago, Reicheru's wind blast opened a hole in the wall of fire as it reached them, prompting a smirk from the girl. "You're sure not a fast learner, are you?" However, her jab was left before an empty throne. Having used the first attack as a diversion, the Monkey King appeared behind the kunoichi positioned between her and her partner, still only half emerged from the trap. As his staff came down toward the back of her head, the Nanjirou's Mark screamed at her and she drew her blade in famous Nanjirou iaijutsu fashion to block the attack.
The Monkey grinned, pressing down on his staff and forcing her to use both hands to press back against it. With his free hand, the Monkey King reached out and snatched the scarf from around her neck, revealing the red seal King Maji had left in lieu of her death. "Shame. You really could have been interesting. But you've seen too much, and now I know that genjutsu won't work." Leaping back, the Monkey King placed his staff into the belt on his back and began a flurry of hand seals. The marble ceiling above Reicheru and Hayato and the sediment above it began to crack and crumble before giving way to an avalanche that would surely crush and bury them. Hayato finally pulled free from the chakra-infused net, but too late. Rei's grey eyes met his widened, desperate green ones as she dashed toward him. There was no time for words; she had to protect him. The distance to the door was too great, and the avalanche too great to simply push him out of the way. 'I'm so sorry…' were what Reicheru thought would be her final thoughts as she instinctually threw her body over Hayato in spite of it not being enough to protect him. In a moment, the place they once stood was covered in debris and rubble up to the ceiling.
- - -
A few days later, Yamazaki Hayato sat in the office of his commanding Godslayer.
"She kept talking back to the thing, and it kept… I don't know, almost like they were having a conversation, but I couldn't understand him. He wasn't hooting either, like the macaque. It was… I don't know, like an other worldly language."
The Godslayer nodded, jotting notes on the back page of a file. "How exactly did you say you two got out of there again?"
Hayato looked nervously down at his feet before locking eyes with his commander. "It was all Rei. She… changed? I don't know how to explain it… like, a layer that looked like flesh-colored stone grew around her, and this… webbing? But it was crystal-like… this crystaline webbing just shot out like a dome around us. I'm sorry, it's just that I've never seen anything like it before…"
"Yes, well as you know she doesn't remember, having lost consciousness. But that's helpful, thank you Hayato."
The Genin raised his eyebrows in concern. "Is she alright?"
The Hunter set his pen down before giving the boy a smile. "She'll be just fine. As for you Hayato, some people might come asking you about what happened. This is something that the division has been keeping tabs on, and too much information circulating could cause issues with our work here. If you could keep what you say about this incident to a minimum, we won't have a problem." He waited for Hayato to indicate he understood before continuing. "Given the change of circumstances, your mission rank and pay will be adjusted accordingly. Keep up the good work."
"Yes sir. When will we be sent back?"
A pause. "Hayato, we appreciate the work you and Rei did, but this is above your pay-grade."
Hayato fidgeted in his seat. The day he and Rei had met Monk Gaju, she had mentioned being a patient of his dad. Thing was, his dad was a research medic. He didn't have patients. The boy asked Mitsuo about it as one of the first things after he got back, and was given a vague answer about kaibutsu chakra testing -- probably more than he should have said, but in the comfort of his own home he'd given it little thought. "Sir, with all due respect, I may not know what's going on, but I saw what she can do. She knew where the temple was, she knew where the monster was when he attacked, and most importantly she can understand it. Rei needs to be on the next team. And I…" Here, his passion and confidence faltered. "…I can help. I was there."
The Godslayer pursed his lips a moment before answering. "Alright Hayato. That's a bold request, but I'll keep it in mind as we discuss the team this afternoon, but that's all I can promise. Thank you again," with that, he motioned toward the door.
[TWC: 3,688]
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As Hayato had described, a rock-like, flesh-colored layer of she didn't know what grew around her, bursting from the mark under her collar all around her body, up onto her face like a mask. Additionally, she felt her body change - her muscles contorted and grew, her nails grew longer, her eyes saw more keenly. Though she couldn't see herself, she was reminded of the vision from her recurring night terror, of her looking like some sort of monster wreaking havoc on Kumogakure. From that shield burst crystal-esque webs, joining together to create a dome around her and her teammates.
With a sigh, Basalas narrowed his eyes.