The Black Lotus Box [Private]

[Okada Kaji]

Dead-locked eyes with narrow sclera shaped like dagger points stared hard. The fierce serpent was frozen in place as if it were affected by its own paralyzing venom, focused entirely on its company, a foreign threat who dared to trespass in its domain. The snake was the color of coal with dull, thick scales, which gave way to a bright yellow underbelly that warned the trespasser to begone or face the consequences. It stood up, flexing and hissed, but when the shadow didn’t move the snake still held fast as it knew what would happen… it could never reach through the glass. The serpent was forcibly pacified, left starring from its artificial ecosystem as Kaji Okada watched it with a downcasting glare.

Kaji was in a chamber filled with specimens like that Oxyuranus microlepidotus, the Fierce Snake, and many other species of serpents, arachnids, toads, and much stranger creatures. It was a facility hosting a factory of the Hidden Cloud’s most poisons and toxins; a location where many deadly concoctions were conceived. A sea of aquarium tanks with a warm humid climate making the room uncomfortable, and smelled like a rainforest. To the back of the facility was another section devoted to poisonous flora, and a closet-like room where fungi were developed in the darkness. Being in the presence of it all had Kaji’s skin crawling, causing him to occasionally scratch at non-existant itches. His instincts as a hunter had him hating this room, wanting to throw his hands together and spew fire jutsu until everything burned. But there he was, waxing poetic as he looked at well-kept specimens. He felt it strange that the fate of this death-breeding facility was in his hands, up for review as Kaji had to consider if the ANBU should foster such a thing in the new design he laid out for the branch. The Toxin Research Lab was an old facility, better known as The Black Lotus Box due to its closed-in, sunless design, and the most commonly ordered poison produced there. How necessary were the evils created in the Box? It was a question plaguing the Grand Commander as he meandered through the lab, looking at the creatures as if he’d take the specimens into account for his decision.

At the time, Kaji was not alone within the lab and more or less stayed out of the way while a senior lab technician took care of the vermin she affectionately called her “babies”. There were also younger shinobi who were placed in the lab. The youth were encouraged to learn on assignments to help with feeding and cleaning. In exchange, they were taught advanced knowledge about poisons on hand in the lab. Kaji observed the younglings for a moment, attempting to gain impressions on the young ANBU and their affinity for handling the constant dangers of The Black Lotus Box.

- Kaji Okada has entered the thread.
- Requesting Ryuichi and Aya.

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

The Black Lotus Box... Ryuichi usually had less of an attraction to using poisons in combat, so this place always seemed to fly under his radar. He was still a bit too empathetic towards others, not wanting anyone to slowly suffer through a death via poisoning, despite it's very obvious beneficial values in assassination, so while Ryu didn't enjoy using poisons, he was forced to at times. On the other end of the spectrum, being able to identify a poison's effects to create an antitoxin was equally important, so it was all good knowledge to have for when one would face against an opponent who DOES value poisons.

So right now he was standing in front of a glass case filled with artificial tree limbs, and leaves. In those limbs were three thin spider webs that were filled with pre-killed insects and dropped in recently, as well as several spiders walking towards their prey looking to prepare a meal. Their front abdomen, and legs were a nice brown while their lower abdomen, the opisthosoma, were much lighter in color. In Ryu's hand was a small note pad for writing down any useful information, and in his other was a metal pen. With him was Aya, who was convinced to come study in order to get more credit towards full ANBU status in case there was ever a test involving this subject.

Looking into the glass, Ryu dug through the small library's worth of knowledge in his head to try and remember everything he could about the specimen before looking into more. Before he knew it he was muttering to himself, as he usually did when trying to recall, or take in information. "Here....I think this is the Loxosceles Reclusa. Also known as the Brown Recluse. It's bite can cause large puss-filled ulcers to form on human skin in small amounts, but when milked and concentrated it can cause death within minutes. But at the same time, most of the side effects make it very clear what's happening and those knowledgeable to it's effects, while also having access to the antivenin can easily be saved, giving away the attempted assassination, and possibly even the culprit depending on how potent the dosage was. That makes just condensing the dosage an unreliable method, and it would require something else entirely to either hide the side effects. Thing is, that's also a challenge due to the nature of it all....so why keep it here? There must be a reason...."

Getting lost in his own ramblings, Ryuichi's quck, yet extremely sloppy, writing already filled an entire page of the notepad in hand, and he was already ignoring his partner who was currently...somewhere. He didn't even bother to think of where she was, or if she was even close. Eventually he looked up from the spider's glass den, and looked around to see if he could spot where she was.

[Otani Ryuichi has entered the thread as his Original body, dubbed 'Ryu-ichi']

 

[Keigo Oen]

The Chocolate ANBU wasnt invited but it didnt matter, Eiji was going to make his presence known especially with the Grand Commander in the wake of it. He could feel his chakra around the Sileo, but he never met the man. And Eiji had much he wanted to speak to the man about... but there was little confidence the young boy had with the subject. Early in the morning Eiji would conceal himself and study in the barracks as much as he could day and night he did this. Not just to be noticed for such mental training but to learn more than he knew with the simple library that was given to the commoners. He needed more than simple history of the village... he needed notes on villains. Poisons. Antidotes. Items. Illegal jutsu. Rights of citizens. And Guard options, did he wish to be an ANBU that was going to take on multiple enemies? Did he wish to hunt baddies? Many things Eiji felt troubled about...

The Black Lotus Box, The former Toxin lab, the location was something that Eiji was familiar with but he hadnt ever studied here. He did however study poisons. He kept a respirator with him in case of a toxic situation with unknown gas sources. Also keeping a scroll on him with antidotes and syringes that would help flush out the system of poisons through his body or someone who he could help. He was no medic... but he did like to think preemptively. Thus this might be a learning experience for deeper understanding of poisons. Things he would have a chance to work with later on in his ANBU Life and as he gained tenure.

'Not trying to look special... Just gonna walk in and try to blend in like the rest...' Of course no one knew he was coming but he was sure to know that he would be interrupting their chances at getting ahead of Eiji, Ryu and Aya at least. He wouldnt let them get ANBU Sennin before him. Though, even still he wanted more to learn and to take the knowledge from this place into the field, and being allowed into the field by the Grand Commander would do justice in Eiji's Mind. Because, if the man knew what Eiji knew, then he would trust the knowledge he would take into a mission, thus giving him a hint of faith in his ability as well as not having to worry about a lack from anything aside from experience.

"Hm...", Eiji would clench his hand around the handle of the door before opening it to meet the distracted gazes of his comrades, but maybe they didnt look at him too caught up in what they were doing to notice but he would not say a word only taking in the last portion of what Ryu was stating. Though his brown pad seemed to note down everything he saw. Eiji was used to writing, his calligraphy classes helped with the strokes of the pen allowing an ever elegant glide from left to right and vice versa depending on how he was writing. The sad part though Eiji was not ambidextrous so he could only do such with his right hand. Either way and at any pace, Eiji would silently waltz from aquarium to aquarium. The room temperature was muggy, but something that didnt bother Eiji all that much... for now. However, it could be noted that Eiji was emitting chakra from the soles of his feet into the chambers trying to get a read on the soil used... clues for any scientist could be found in something that seemed rarely examined. What better than the fifth in line of leadership for his clan... A Clan of Earth Users? Eh. Who knew, he was no expert but, he was well versed.

"Hm..." looking down and leaning into the glass of Theraphosa blondi. 'A bird eater... Eh? Interesting. You take down things that are supposed to be your predators... Seems you've learned alot through your evolution, but how?' Eiji would stop as his focus turned to this one specimen. Just as Eiji leaned in he would notice the spectacle emerging, a lizard would, small maybe even a gecko came from the ground crawling itself along a small twig within the chamber. Eiji couldnt help but tilt his head as his hand would begin shortly gesturing along the thin white parchment. Like an assassin the Bird Eater Spider would move its body quietly from below. Watching and learning about the gecko's movements until the lizard made an ill fated mistake, the Gecko would walk into the thin layer of web laid out catching its limb and succumbing to the spider's trap not long after the Goliath arachnid would lift its body up and collapse unto the defenseless Gecko injecting it with venom before a small tussle would commence but for all the fighting the poison would win at the end of the day....

"...Interesting." He'd read about this... but never seen it in action. The sight got Eiji's blood pumping almost as if he were ready for another show.

 

[Sukuna Kiyo]

Aya was someone who was always studying and improving her knowledge along with her sheer physical strength. She couldn't get any faster than what she was, nothing was faster than basically warping where you want to go. When she's given a chance to learn something new, she took it. Ryu and herself were asked to help out in, what she called, the Snake Pit. She had nothing against reptiles, or amphibians, in fact, she loved them. She was rarely creeped out by them, they did surprise her occasionally though.

When Aya saw Kaji she gave him a familiar smile. "Hello, Kaji-sama, I hope you are doing well." She said with a warm tone of voice. She wasn't sure what his personality was like, but last time she met him he seemed pretty cool. AYa gave the lab technician a friendly nod as well.

Aya went down with Ryu and started their little project. Aya left Ryu to his ramblings, casually placing a cricket on the back of his shirt in hopes it'd crawl into his shirt. SHe was carefully putting food in the tanks that needed to be fed, and cleaning the cages as she went along. She took her own notes, but they were going to learn about poisons more so than the creatures that created them. How do they affect the body? is it venom or a poison, or can you safely eat it? That's what Aya wanted to know.

Aya went along doing her own business when she sensed a new person enters the room. She looked up and saw the figure, she frowned slightly, they're chakra felt familiar, but Aya shrugged it off. She casually went along her route. "I didn't know so many people could fit in this area, kinda crowded now." Aya stated in a jokingly, but with a suspicious undertone.

[topic entered]

 

[Okada Kaji]

</FONTFACE>

<FONTFACE fontface="georgia">While being the Grand Commander did not feel akin to some celebrity status amongst the ANBU, Kaji was becoming used to his presence being recognized wherever he went in the Sileo Tempestas. He feigned ignorance to the occasional wandering eyes from the apprentice ANBU and only glanced at them when he sensed their preoccupation. The first was a studious note taker, and the second student had come with a slight sense of urgency compared to the others. They were both new faces to Kaji, unlike the spirited Aya, whom he had met before on a couple of coincidental adventures. She wore a friendly energy, as she did in the previous encounters, and greeted Kaji in a semi-professional manner. This enlivened a soft upward curvature from Kaji’s lips, a smile by all accounts. His eyes kept the same dull melancholy though, tired, old and knowing, shifting to observe Aya as if he were looking into her rather than at her. “Ah, Miss Aya we meet again,” he said, seemingly welcoming in tone, even if there was a certain coolness to him. “This time under much less critical circumstances— and yet you glow, all the same, a fiery soul.”

Then Kaji retreated to a pause for a moment as the last boy drew closer to where Aya and her studious friend were. Intensity and determination all about Eiji, or so Kaji perceived in everything from his posture to the gait of every step. The two of them began to clash in something of an awkward exchange, with Aya making the Black Lotus Box seem three times smaller than reality. “I take it you all know each other” eluded Kaji as he noted the awkward looks growing between the three apprentice ANBU. “That’s great. Allies should study together as often as possible— it makes for better teammates in the field, maybe even better friends.” Of course, Kaji had no idea how intimately the three knew each other. They could have just been acquaintances for all he knew— however, the ANBU yielded apprentices in small classes, he was sure this was more than a chance encounter.

“When I was your ages, my squadmates all hated each other” Kaji admitted rather awkwardly. “They tried to kill each other, and me, sort of often. That’s the sort of behavior we’re trying to prevent these days in the Sileo. So that’s why we have programs like this one; chances to work and learn together more outside of the classroom or in the field.” A drop of nervous sweat creased on his eyebrow as he considered their surroundings— poisons galore. If anything it would help them foster respect for their peers’ ability to pose a threat. “You kids are getting along well, right? Not giving your handler a hard time, right?”
The old lab technician was across the room and turned around to glare at Kaji as he said that; there was a large snake coiled from one arm, across her shoulders, and down to the other hand where she gave it a loving pat. It seemed clear that she wanted little to do with any students, and her tongue slithered grossly before she turned away once more.​

​

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

Snap!

"A distraction venom!" Ryu said, writing it down. after lowering the hand he had raised to snap. The snap had caused a few nearby animals to stir, most likely to the loathing of the weird lady who called them her babies, but he had gotten it. "It's not to be used alone, but rather as a mixture with other potent venoms. Slow acting ones, at that. If someone cures a poison's effects before it happens, then...they'll be calm enough to completely miss the minor effects of a slower poison. It's not a popular method, since they'll know that they're being targeted, and could do some damage before dying but....it would be effective." He would then close his notepad with a hard clap, and raise his head to look for Aya to share what he had come up with.

When he saw her, his expression would have gone paler if he wasn't already as white as snow. In front of her was the Sennin of ANBU, with his ever surprising gruff appearance that some would call mangy. Ryu simply walked up to the two, as he began to speak to the group as a whole, giving him a slight bow to pay respects. In time Ryu's focus to his surroundings returned, and he noticed Eiji had arrived at some point and was taking his own notes. Having never taken any classes when it came to writing, Ryu's handwriting was nearly chicken scratch, despite the expectations of clarity among any written ANBU work.

Knowing he had practice to do that didn't involve ninja work always made Ryu drag on, and avoid it entirely. However, right now his focus was shifted to the Sennin who had just arrived.

“That’s great. Allies should study together as often as possible— it makes for better teammates in the field, maybe even better friends.”

Hearing this, Ryu kind of....halted. Having not spoken yet, it may not have been noticed but his entire body seemed to tense for a moment. Sure, everything Kaji had said would remain true, but Ryu expected the sennin of ANBU to be more...ruthless. Cold. Heartless. Seeing that this wasn't the case was pleasant in some ways, but unnerving in others. Perhaps it was a facade? A way to lower the guard of spies before sniffing them out. Regardless, Ryu had to answer his question at some point, and he didn't have anything to fear as he did no wrong.

"Yeah we know eachother. We're a squad of sorts....not like we've been on missions all that much, but we lean on eachother." He said to the Sennin with the most respectful tone he could manage, even through his usually bored expression.

"And I don't think we're causing trouble." He added, completely ignoring his finger snap just moments ago.

 

[Keigo Oen]

Contextually speaking Eiji was not used to this sort of study. He was a book smart kid but he often found himself learning in the act of doing. But this was different from both of those methods. This was a simulated situation in which they would study by known facts about these creatures that possessed such potent and viable poisons and other substances. This would give Eiji a new sense of wisdom, being that his heart was pumping with utter excitement. Ryu was there and Aya who both seemed to be into the moment of what was going on. However, Kaji was the main focus of the Endo Brethren.

Though, in all his thoughts of swooning over Kaji, Eiji would pick one notion that would take him off his proverbial feet, 'Aya... Already met Kaji? Shit... How in the hell did she manage that? Is it because she's so damn strong that he sought her out? He spoke to her with such respect. Ugh...'. Eiji's Mind would race at the theories his brain began to cook up. Who knew what all was about to happen? Could he potentially lose his spot because he had become mildly complacent for a period of time. 'Shit I cant let her out do me... I'll figure something out... Just you watch with yo fine behind Aya... Just you watch.'

Kaji, The Leader of ANBU, the one who Eiji wished to impress, the one that held the keys to Eiji's future. Standing there and watching them. Taking note to their ability to learn and process the information infront of them, and that in it of itself was something that took Eiji off his normal game. Though, When Kaji began to speak to the group, Eiji's back would straighten up and lock in place but he would turn and bow to the man before answering, "Indeed sir. I work in the Tea house with my comrade of white hair. Aya does as well I believe but we're never home around the same time.". nodding again he would turn back to Ryu then smirking as he would drop his shoulders a bit, allowing his body to become more calm.

"Seems we do lean on each other, but more over we do more than that... We are earning one another's trust... somewhat.", nodding once again Eiji felt himself gaining confidence, looking down again at the specimen before him the bird eater. The one that would be able to wear down a foe twice its size. It was astounding to know that no matter the size that every organism has a check and balance. However it was still enough to note, maybe they would be together until someone went AWOL. Then the trust would be thrown out the window... when that time came.

Who would be the Bird. And would be would Eaten.

"I'm sure Uri isnt too bad on us... I mean, once I become a full ANBU I'm moving out of the Tea house of course..."'There is only so much PDA that a boy can deal with yanno?' thinking the last part in his head but it was all relevant to the conversation, maybe this would work out for the better? Maybe walking into the small confines of this space would work in Eiji's future favor. Who knew?

 

[Sukuna Kiyo]

Aya smiled at Kaji "Yeah I haven't changed much since the last time we met." Aya stated, it wasn't that long ago. Aya peaked back at her comrades, they probably were a little salty that she never told them about her previous missions, Ryu was there for one of them, but he was more of a background character.

SHe listened to Kaji ask about whether or not they were getting along with each other, she waited for the other two to talk before she took her chance to strike. "We are like a fucked up family, I mean if we weren't on a team I'd totally would have nailed one of these two." She glanced back and looked at Ji and winked. Her tone of voice was light and in a joking tone. "I'm kidding - kinda. But Honestly, these two are the only people I consider friends." Aya stated with a grin, she couldn't really lie, even if she was joking around. "But I'll always put the village first." She stated in a serious tone of voice. She already told Ji how she felt, she loved them, but she was more loyal to the village than friends.

"I'm sure we haven't caused Uri trouble..." Aya trailed off, she was mostly telling herself that, she barely saw him, and honestly since he ditched her on the team's first mission, she didn't really care to get close to him. First impressions are everything, and he failed his. He wasn't a bad handler, she just wasn't close to him like Ryu and Ji. Uri also kept bringing in other ANBU to live in the tea house, when there wasn't any room. So that caused her a little trouble.

"Anyways, Kaji-sama, do you have any favorite poisons?" AYa asked, wondering if their sennin even used poison, or venom in his fighting. She didn't have a favorite, yet. " Like the ones here, not bad habits." She clarified with a small laugh, she knew she didn't have to, but, if you think about it, poison could be considered any amount of things, not just deadly toxins. Her poison was her relaxed attitude, it could easily get her killed if she was not careful. Some ninja couldn't take a joke, but she considered herself skilled enough to defend herself at least.

Aya glanced at the other two again, she wasn't afraid to talk to Kaji in a casual way. If he had a problem with it, he would have put her in her place the first time they spoke. She liked that she could be herself around him, she didn't want to cross him or disrespect him, but she didn't want to be fake. When she wore her mask she was fake, a different person, without the mask she wanted to be Aya.