[Requesting Hakuren] A Candle in the Dark

[Ginyama Senshiro]

Spoiler: Muse (Music+Image)

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Hiroshi wandered through the ANBU Headquarters, his expression solemn as he repressed his emotions and thoughts with a semi-catatonic state and automatically performed any menial task assigned to him within reason without so much as a second thought. Although his shinobi career had hardened him against the gruesome deaths that occurred amidst the battlefield, nothing could prepare him for the loss of his mentor, Izayoi Aoi. After all, the others were simply casualties of war; his peaceful mentor's only 'sin' was simply living too long.

Unmei nuzzled up to his soul and silently assured him "She was a good woman, Hiroshi-kun," she softly cooed. "Only the best make it to the end, that way."

His defenses faltered at her words, his face grimacing in anguish and torment as his fists clenched more tightly. "She isn't dead . . . ," he struggled to deny the reality of the situation. "She just can't be!"

"An entire team of Medical shinobi wouldn't lie to their own village, pup."

"How would you know!?" he venomously retorted inwardly. "Have you even lost someone you care about!? Do you even have anyone you care about!?"

A dreadful silence lingered within him for what seemed like an eternity before the Dread Wolf sighed. "I do have someone I care about," she confessed cryptically. "And when the time comes, I don't want to be around to lose them."

Another moment of silence, then Hiroshi embraced Unmei spiritually. "I'm sorry Unmei-sama," he apologized. "This is just hard on me."

"I know. But please honor her by continuing your training.

Hiroshi absently nodded in the physical world before his resolve started to slowly rebuild itself. With newfound purpose, he made his way to the office of his late mentor, eager to find out who would be able to help him realize his potential.

[MFT: 304]

 

[Ryu Hime]

As Hiroshi enters the room of his dearly departed mentor, he would find the office not exactly empty. Hiroshi probably expected someone else to take the office after the previous occupants demise, but the entity within was not even human. Laying on the desk was a black fox smoking on a pipe and staring at some documents. The creature wore the typical white ornate mask and with its black fur it did resemble an anbu... but does this branch hire animals?

The fox did not even notice the boy or if it did did not give him a glance. A cool breeze blows through the open window as the sound of the night accompanied the animals work. Sudden a bird flies through the window and lands on a perch near the doorway. This was something the fox could not ignore as the winged creature swooped over top of the fox. The vulpine could feel how close the bird was to crashing into the desk and shoots an annoyed glare at the beast. It was then the fox noticing the young shinobi. The fox looks surprised as if it did not expect to be having company. The masked animal tilts its head slightly as if asking the boy why he was even here.

 

[Ginyama Senshiro]

The towering man tilted his head as he saw the scene with the fox and then the bird unfold before him. "They must be joking," Hiroshi thought to himself before he carefully considered his choice of words from that point onward; after all, while it was peculiar for any animal to be left alone within the Obsidian Palace, the reason for this anomaly still eluded the trainee.

"My apologies," he bowed at the waist towards one guest and then the other as he regained his composure. "I am Zasshu and I meant no disrespect by my intrusion. I simply wished to meet whoever would be taking over as my mentor now that Miko had passed."

Hiroshi was careful to dance around using actual names by providing ANBU aliases, both as a formality in the event that the vulpine creature was somehow affiliated with ANBU and as a precaution should more sinister forces be at work.

 

[Ryu Hime]

The fox lets out a deep sigh, which of course causes it to drop its pipe that it was smoking. The fox rolls up the parchment it had been reading and grabs the single candle that was illuminating the dark room with its maw. Ever so carefully it tilts the candle over the rolled up piece of paper and drips a few drops of wax onto it. After placing the candle back to its proper spot it then takes a seal with its mouth it stamps it into the wax. The fox then spits out the seal and with both paws holds it up into the air. The bird recognizes the signal and jumps off its perch. The bird soars over the fox snatching the parchment from its grasp and flies out the window to deliver it to the proper person. The fox then stares at this Zasshu and debates what to do with him. The fox jumps off the desk and walks towards the young shinobi. It walks around him studying his body and posture. The fox even sniffs at his leg to attain the boys scent. If Hiroshi attempts to touch the fox during this it will go to bite him.

Afterwards the fox approaches the door and stands up on its hind legs. Reaching out the animal places its forepaws on the handle and uses its wait to pull the handle down. Leaning on the handle it walks backward on its to feet to open the door. Despite appearing to be some sort of wild beast, it seems to be quite intelligent. After the door was open enough, the fox would run out of the room before it closes on him. The fox would walk down the hall a little, look back and a makes a gesture with its tail as if to begone Hioshi to follow. It then realizes it forgot something and goes over to open the door. Pushing the door open was easier than pulling it opens the door the whole way. It then runs to the desk grabs its pipe and rushes out the door before it closes. Smoking again the fox would guide Hiroshi down the hall.

Down the hall the two of them would come across a pack of sleeping dogs. These beasts were hounds and are used to track down those who have went missing. They have been getting a bit of use recently with people trying to flee the war. The fox stops in its tracks and looks at Hiroshi. Crouching down low to the ground the fox cautioniously creeps pass the canines. Should they be awoken they would be after its tail and the fox would have to make a run for it. The fox was sure about its ability to move silently, but wasn’t sure of the boy. Being able to remain in stealth was an important factor for an aspiring anbu. This will test to see if he had what it takes.

 

[Ginyama Senshiro]

Hiroshi's stoic stature and rigid posture conflicted with the scent of many a sleepless night as the black fox examined him thoroughly. The way the masked vulpine went about sizing him up reminded him of how Miko first evaluated him, causing his resolve to falter briefly before the fox beckoned him to follow it out of the room and down the hall. Now convinced that somehow this animal was at least an asset to the ANBU if not a full-fledged member of ANBU itself, Hiroshi complied.

Soon enough, the towering man and his guide found themselves before a pack of sleeping dogs--ones presumably used to hunt those that would dare betray Sunagakure. As the fox looked to him before carefully maneuvering around its natural predators, Hiroshi understood that this was a test to see how well he could maneuver stealthily.

Knowing very well that his own massive stature would not allow him to simply waltz by without waking the slumbering tracking dogs, Hiroshi opted to be a bit more resourceful than his vulpine guide. Hiroshi started by first taking a few cautious steps away from the pack before funneling excess chakra throughout his entire body. Then he laid down in a prone position and started to crawl like a frog up the wall to his side, then onto the ceiling, and then down just past where the fox awaited his arrival before silently crawling back down to the floor. Without uttering a single word, the towering man stood straight up and motioned for the his guide to continue leading the way.

[MFT: 262]

 

[Ryu Hime]

The fox mentally thanks mother Suna that the boy is not a complete waste of time. Unfortunate there are some that in the Anbu branch that Hakuren has to wonder why they were here. However this would be but the first trial for him to pass before he would have an audience with Hakuren in person. As the two of them travel down the hall the fox would stop in front of a door. The fox gives a quick shiver as cool air blows down from a vent above. The fox pats its paw on the metal door as if to tell Hishiro to open it. The door however would not budge if he tried. Above the doorknob was a dial like that of a combination lock. Upon closer inspection he would notice that instead of numbers, the lock had letters. It would seem like he would need to enter some sort of word to get past the door. Under the nob was taped a piece of paper with some writing on it. It was probably some sort of hint as to getting behind the door.

avoid what is strong
strike at what is weak.​

 

[Ginyama Senshiro]

Hiroshi continues following the fox down to where a massive metal stands stoically between the two and their destination (or so he believes). At his guides behest, the towering man attempts to open the door in any way he can outside of simply dismantling the entire wall itself. After a a minute of so of futile effort, he starts to realize that this is just another test for him to overcome and, as such, starts to examine the door for more clues. First, he notices the combination lock with letters as opposed to numbers. However, knowing very well the sheer number of permutations for the password--if it even was a word--would have taken too long to successfully guess and might even set off any alarms within the building, Hiroshi opted to look for another hint. Fortunately under the handle was a piece of a paper with a cryptic message on it.

"'Avoid what is strong; strike what is weak,'" he mentally repeated the words as the cool wind blew down upon the two from the vent above. "That . . . isn't a good hint for a password." He stood back a bit as he scratched his chin, before he looked up at the duct above him. "But it certainly works for me getting into that room."

After giving the fox a quick bow for helping him get this far, Hiroshi once more crawled up the walls and onto the ceiling before carefully removing the grate covering the vent and entering the ducts. From there, the trainee would navigate his way around the ventilation system towards his destination (should he have to) and finally proceed into the room behind the door.

 

[Ryu Hime]

The fox smiles as the boy takes the correct course of action. There have been many trainees before him that spent hours trying to unlock it. The dial actually did not to unlock the door despite if one were to listen to the tumblers like some sort of safe-cracker. Trying to break down the door was also pointless was a steel wall a foot thick. It is considered honorable face a strong warrior head on. Such ideals had no place here. Hakuren believes that one wins battle through foresight, not strength. These beliefs would not be too strange for a woman that was born with a condition that made her physically frail. It is through this faith that she has risen to the place she is now and she is sure it will help others as well.

Spoiler

Hiroshi would not have to traverse the vents for long for he will quickly find an exit leading into the area he is trying to go. Now behind the trick door he would find himself in a hallway completely devoid of light. Soon a figure could be seen approaching the him from down the hall holding a lantern. As the person came closer he would see that it was a masked woman, but was not dressed in the normal Anbu attire. The woman wore a kimono and on the top of her head was a pair of fox ears. Such animal characteristics were not that uncommon as a few of the clans within Sunagakure possess these traits. The ears on her head were fake, but made from real fur. Anbu do tend to keep their true identity secret and Hakuren thought a little misdirection couldn’t hurt. Among here feet walks a few other critters that wore masks like the fox.

When Hakuren stood in front of the trainee her mask could be clearly seen. To most it would look like a normal anbu mask, although the eyes of the painted face were closed. “Greetings, what bring you here this night?” As Hakuren spoke the voice would become distorted as it goes through a built-in voice modulator. Despite the distortion her tone was gentle and kind.

 

[Ginyama Senshiro]

As Hiroshi stood in the dark hallway with the masked druid and her animal companions with nothing but the dim light of her lantern allowing him to see anything at all, the Dread Wolf within him couldn't help but feel uneasy around her.

"What's wrong, Unmei-sama?" the man silently asked the eternally present entity within him as he felt her tug at his soul.

"She's an Aikayume!" she silently growled, causing him to stare at the ears on top of the woman's head a bit longer than necessary.

"I don't see why that matters," he said as he returned his attention to the woman's masked visage and noticed that the eyes of her mask were closed.

"Just keep your guard up; I can't trust those fox-ears, and neither should you!"

With the true meaning behind Unmei's cryptic message still hidden from him, Hiroshi started to bow before the woman--despite being unable to see through her mask normally, he knew he had to be able to see or sense his presence somehow, and as such he felt obligated to formally greet her as well. "Greetings to you as well," he replied in kind. "My name is Miyamoto Hiroshi, and I'm seeking a new ANBU mentor." He took a casual glance at the animals scattered about her feet. "I believe one of your companions outside believes you may be able to help me in that endeavor."

 

[Ryu Hime]

“Here I am called The Watcher and as my name suggests I am a one who specializes in the art of espionage. If you are one of those shinobi that joined the anbu merely so that you can legally beat up anyone that tries to leaves the gates without a passport, you can find someone else.” Personally if he was that type of shinobi, she would like to throw him out of the anbu branch altogether but she lacked such power. “That is not to say I will forbid you to fight in all the mission I give you, but you must collect foreknowledge first. If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.” These were words of a skilled tactician and the same person said the words on the door.

“If surveillance does not bore you, I have a mission for you.” From under her sleeve Hakuren pulls out a sealed document and if Hiroshi made close enough attention her would notice that it is the same document the fox was looking at in the office. Hakuren was well aware that this boy would likely be coming to her and already created a mission for him. In truth the mission was simply another test, but he will be rewarded as if it was a mission. Should he break the seal and look at the documents, he would find a picture of a woman with a physical description notating her size, weight, blood type, ect. “Her name is Taisen Hakuren and we would like you to do a twenty-four hour watch on her a week from now. Please note that this a surveillance mission so you are not to engage the target.”

 

[Ginyama Senshiro]

"Shit!" he mentally chided himself for his lack of discretion as the woman used her ANBU alias as opposed to her real name like Hiroshi had just done. Perhaps it was easier for him to let his guard down around the woman because she was a human as well as an ANBU; perhaps he subconsciously wanted to prove a point to Unmei that this woman could be trusted despite her apparent family history. Either way, he failed to maintain a level of professionalism to be expected from all within the Obsidian Palace.

"Idiot!" Unmei chimed in as well just before the trainee accepted the sealed documents from the Watcher and bowed towards her once more, opting to read the mission debriefing and dispose of it when there was more light, more space, and less people and animals about.

"Thank you for this opportunity, Watcher," Hiroshi implicitly accepted the mission, hiding the documentation just inside the armor of his ANBU attire before he started to climb back up walls towards the vent. "I will not disappoint you."

[Topic Left unless Stopped]