The Legend of the Mirage Temple [Kaori]

[Suika]

Through her connections within Kumogakure’s spy network, Suika heard rumors about the discovery of a hidden temple up in Lightning Country’s Monumentum Deo. That wasn’t enough information to pique her interest, but further talk about this mysterious landmark caused her to raise a curious brow. According to reports from some of her trusted comrades, a large, intricate structure within the deep mountains was found. It resembled a holy place, they described, and appeared undisturbed by the rough weather conditions that surrounded it. What was most peculiar, however, was that the temple disappeared as travelers attempted to near it. Many claimed the harsh conditions of the mountains and their extensive travel caused them to hallucinate this phenomenon, but many were convinced that there was more to this wonder than what their eyes could capture. Thus, the legend of “The Mirage Temple” was born.

“Interesting,” mused the Chuunin as she found herself with some free time and a spontaneous need for adventure. Suika was usually all work other than her occasional excursions to the market, so this little quest sounded like the perfect excuse to get out of the village and explore something new. “I feel the temple had some type of supernatural vibe… almost ghoulish,” commented one of her fellow Field Agents. The kunoichi was officially sold and prepared herself for the journey ahead. Thanks to her frugal spending habits, she possessed more than enough funds to supply her trip. Mountain gear, snow-resistant attire, travel pack, rations, and other necessities – Suika was fully stocked to survive at least a couple of weeks out there. But an important variable to this journey was missing… what was it?

“Ah, an adventure buddy,” she realized as she immediately listed many friends who might accompany her. “Shizuka… no, she’s busy with Chuunin Exams. Eishi has been swamped with surgeries lately, and Ikko, Siu, and Akira have been MIA. Kano is cool, but that means Eiko would tag along.” Was there no one else? Suddenly, a funny thought invaded her thought bubble. “Heh, if only the Magical Avenger and the Pretty Soldier, Airi, would make her grand appearance again. That’d be something.” The visualization of the quirky enchantress emerging from a stream of rainbows to join her caused her to chuckle. The odds of that occurring again, she figured, was slim to none. “Maybe I’ll make an ad…” And so she did.

Within the bars of Kumogakure, Suika pinned a ‘Call to Adventure’ on their announcement boards. It was a bit cheesy and not her style by any means, but she was feeling in-character to this theme of impulsive exploration. Besides, most drunkards would not take her ad seriously, especially since she set the meeting point at the starting trail of Monumentum Deo. To travel that far was insane for most civilians, and she did not promise a reward that most shinobi would care to take. Her posting wrote:

A CALL TO ADVENTURE!

JOIN ME IN QUESTING THROUGH MONUMENTUM DEO TO FIND THE FABLED MIRAGE TEMPLE. I CANNOT PROMISE WAGE FOR YOUR COMPANY, BUT I CAN PROMISE FULFILLMENT IN DISCOVERING A WONDER. YOU ARE ENTITLED TO HALF THE LOOT WE FIND. MEET EXACTLY ONE WEEK FROM THE POSTING OF THIS AD AT THE STARTING PATH TO MONUMENTUM DEO DURING SUNRISE. I WILL SEE YOU THERE!

SIGNED,

THE ETHEREAL SWORDMASTER

Flash forward. Suika stood at the beginning of the snowy path that led to the mountainside. As the sun rose, the kunoichi scanned the area to see if anyone decided to accept her spontaneous quest. She was highly doubtful that anyone would show, but she’d wait it out just in case. She was fully prepared to trek these mountains by herself. “I do not like the cold…” she thought as she flipped a furry, brown hood over her head. Crossing her arms, she continued to browse around.

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

Kaori swatted away several suitors in the bar she was drinking in, having Mina (or rather Airi) fully manifested, also shooing away any suitors getting near to her. She let out a grumble before hearing the bartender walk around the bar and pin something up. She turned to look towards Mina, drink near her lips, and signaled her to go check it out. Mina rolled her eyes and pushed away the many suitors and eyeballing those that tried to look up her frilly skirt, punching them in the face to knock them out. It was a battlefield to just get to the message, but she eventually went to the message than the bartender posted and ripped it down right in front of the bartender. She apologized and promised to repost it if it didn't apply to her or her 'friend'.

Returning to the seat, she did what she could to cover up her bottom so none of the leches could get a free show. Clearing her throat, she started to read the note to Kaori. Mina had issues reading some of the local landmarks, not sure of how to read those characters. "This village has some stupid names," she commented while stuttering out 'Momentum Deo', eventually glossing over the word entirely. The prospects of dungeon diving piqued both of their interests immensely. Mina stuttered again with 'Momentum Deo' and trailed off while saying the word as someone would with something so impossible to read, especially at Mina's low reading level, properly and fluently.

Mina even read that it was signed by the 'Ethereal Swordmaster'. This piqued at Kaori as she stopped drink, placing the cup down and turned to look towards Mina. "I think I know who that is. My first and only time using that body," she said patting Mina's chest. This caused Mina to recoil and cover herself. Kaori didn't particularly mean to do that, but blindness does have it's perks. "I didn't realize how fabulous my boobs were in that form," she said with a chuckle. Mina looked around with her face turning a bright red color. "Don't encourage the perverts to look. Geez! Now they're going to want us to kiss," she said in a less-than-subtle whisper.

The men went into an uproar upon hearing that and chanted it out. Rolling her eyes, Kaori paid for her and Mina's drinks and stood up, teasing the men a bit. "Sorry, boys! But I'm going to do that in private!" she said with a bit of a chuckle. She hooked her head towards the door to signal to Mina to come along. "Bring the paper. We're going to meet this 'Ethereal Swordmaster' here in a week. Don't need these pencil-heads to follow along," she said as Mina nodded and approached. With a teasing pinch on Mina's rear, the two headed for the exit of the bar. BAM! Kaori face-planted into the wall next to the door, having completely missed her mark. She didn't take into consideration where the door was due to her goofing off with Mina.

Fast Forward...
Kaori was bundled up in that ugly jacket she bought several months ago when she first arrived to the Lightning Country. She was bundled up tight while Mina walked in her usual attire, not seemingly bothered by the blistering cold. She had Mina guide the two to the meeting spot. Mina spotted someone wrapped up in a hood. Mina grabbed Kaori's jacket and pulled on it. It was then that Kaori told Mina to return to where she came from, causing her to walk into Kaori and vanishing from sight. She jiggled the bell upon her throat to get a good look at her surroundings, the sound of the bell could be heard by Suika. Due to there being almost nothing for the sound to bounce off of, Kaori quickly found Suika and approached her.

She rifled through her jacket and pulled out the advertisement. "Responding to your ad. Looking for someone to help you with this dive?" she asked. She had dived into several dungeons in her past, even one where the ancient primordials roamed. After having seen the land of the primordials, her interest was instantly piqued on ancient civilizations and the promise of relics of the past. Kaori turned to look Suika straight in the face. Her eyes looked obviously blind to Suika. "I have a bit of experience exploring dungeons, but I have SOME issues seeing pressure-plates, so you might have to help me out with that one," she said with a warm smile and a bit of a nod towards Suika.

[Topic Entered]
WC: 765
MFT

 

[Suika]

It wasn’t long until the kunoichi’s attention was grasped by the ringing of a bell. Slowly shifting her curious magenta eyes toward the derivation of the sound, she noticed a dark-haired woman walking her way. The woman was bundled in a jacket of odd-fashion; as she strolled closer to Suika, it was apparent that she looked completely unfamiliar. Upon the woman’s approach, the Chuunin quickly glanced at the ad she presented and recognized it as the one she posted at that bar. Responding with a friendly, welcoming grin, Suika nodded. “Yup, that’s my ad. I’ll gladly accept your help.” It was in the moment of her response, too, that the kunoichi noticed the stranger’s blindness. She was tempted to question it, but she quickly remembered a clan of shinobi with extraordinary hearing capabilities. It wasn’t safe to assume, but the way she interacted with her environment reminded her of her old Hashigaki sensei, Pao.

“Nice to see you have some experience. I’m Suika, the dubbed ‘Ethereal Swordmaster’ on the ad,” she greeted with a small chuckle and a bow. “No worries, I’ll keep an even more watchful eye out just for you. And you are?” Although the black-haired beaut before her appeared as if a stranger, there was an aspect about her that felt familiar, but the teen couldn’t put her finger on it. Did she meet her somewhere before? Suika shook off the feeling; she had to focus on the long and potentially dangerous journey ahead. “I was given coordinates to the supposed Mirage Temple,” the kunoichi pulled out a small map from the front pocket of her coat and held it out for Kaori. Due to the thickness of the ink on the parchment, she gestured for the woman to feel it out. “You may not see it, but there is a drawn ‘x’ on the map of our start point. We need to continue to travel north, but veer east once we reach the checkpoint. That is where the sightings of this temple have been seen.”

Suika attempted to rest her hand on Kaori’s shoulder and shot the woman an assured nod. “Let’s be sure to keep close. Although Monumentum Deo looks remote, there’s always opportunistic creatures lurking about.” Thinking about it, it probably wasn’t wise for either of these strangers to place their trust in each other, but Suika’s instincts led her to believe that this woman was reliable. The girl always trusted her gut feeling. With that, the kunoichi led their pilgrimage north. The winds grew harsher as their increasingly elevated path brought even lower temperatures. Native to Lightning Country, the Chuunin didn’t look too affected, but she inwardly wished for warmer weather. Arctic conditions always brought about old, unwanted memories of the ice demon she fought years back. Again, the girl just shook them off.

Along their path, both Suika and Kaori immediately sensed danger approaching. Kaori would hear paws hitting the snow, at least seven of them. Suika, on the other hand, had a grim feeling that a pack of beasts were approaching. This would provide them ample time to prepare accordingly. “Be careful,” Suika warned as she summoned a ghostly weapon shaped like a ninja-to. She held it in an underhanded position and slipped into a defensive stance; she sensed that conflict was inevitable.

A pack of gigantic snow wolves, about eight feet in size, began to surround the pair. They snarled, snapped, and looked starved. It was time to fight!

[OOC: On the path to the checkpoint, Suika and Kaori encountered 7 huge snow wolves aiming to make them a snack. Feel free to mod your portion of the fight however you’d like! For our perception, I rolled for both kunoichi and they were both aware of the wolves’ potential ambush.]

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

Kaori smiled at the girl graciously taking her help and then introducing herself. "Yes, I know who you are," she said. She almost let it slip that she had met her before! Without showing that she made a mistake, she simply smiled at the young girl with a nod. She had met her once before. Thankfully, it was in a completely different form; one that Suika wouldn't have recognized. Clearing her throat, she replied to being asked who she was. "Kaori. Tenkawa Kaori," she said, not having fully embraced the new family name of Yamamoto, nor the changed names of those she grew up with in Konoha.

It was then that the parchment was held out in front of her and she just stared at it blankly. She hadn't learned braille nor had she learned how to map things out using her sense of touch yet. She looked over the parchment towards where she believed Suika was and gave a shrug of her shoulders. "I'll just leave the navigation up to you," she commented. She had a better time navigating through a tight corridor than she had with something written on a sheet of paper. She felt Mina trying to sneak out of her back to read, with only a tuft of blonde hair popping out only for Kaori to place her hand on top of it and push her back in. 'Not right now, damn,' she said internally with a groan being heard, only by her as a response.

After not being able to look at the map, she felt a hand upon her shoulder with a warning attached to it. "Sure!" she said reaching out to pat the girl on the head, but missing completely, patting the air next to her. With that, the two sally-forthed towards the unknown! It felt like they were pioneers set upon a grand adventure! Would've been SO much better if the adventure didn't take place inside of a terrible tundra. She shivered and balled herself up into her coat, clicking her bell from time to time to make sure she was still with Suika, not having lost her in the oncoming blizzard. This place absolutely sucks!

~Oh, I bet you wish you had a fire jutsu to keep you warm, huh?~ Mina, in the body of Airi, stated in a taunting manner. Kaori's lips curled to show her teeth, a bit annoyed with Mina's poking. "So, what exactly are we looking for in this Mirage Temple?" Kaori asked loudly, ensuring she was heard through this storm before stopping for a moment. Her sonar picked up several entities nearby. This caused her to look around, ringing her bell a few more times to confirm what she had 'seen' with her sensors. 8 giant creatures swarmed around them.

The sound of a ninjutsu could be heard as a spiritual sword appeared in Suika's hands. There didn't seem to be much of a way to stop these wolves from attacking. This prompted Kaori to throw off the ugly coat of hers before red flames enveloped her hands to show off a pair of gauntlets. Kaori then clasped her hands together and began to sing a song.

​

Instruments began to accompany her singing, mysteriously appearing in the background as an abominable creature started to sprout from the ground, swaying back-and-forth as if accompanying (or dancing) to the song sung by Kaori. There was a bright glimmer in the Ghost Dancer's eye for a moment before a sparkling explosion enveloped one of the massive wolves, turning the creature completely inside-out before exploding in a bloody mess. Afterward, Kaori took on a defensive posture, forming together a series of handseals, creating a series of clones, appearing like waves of sound around her; coalescing into physical shape.

Without skipping a beat, still maintain her song, she ran up to one of the wolves and delivered a terrifyingly powerful punch, packed with dark energy directly into one of the wolves. The Dark Energy reeked havoc upon the wolf before it eventually melted away. As the wolve's counter-attack, her movement away from the wolves seemed seamless and appearing to match the temp of the song that she sang. One of the wolves that she had lost track of was turned inside-out by her Ghost Dancer, covering her in gore and blood. Kaori jumped back once the song ended and started to take a couple deep breaths. While she was able to escape the attack of the wolves gracefully, it took quite a bit of energy from her.

WC: 753
MFT

 

[Suika]

Crimson blood splattering across the snowy mountain terrain; she could not see it, but that was the sight Kaori was causing with her terrifying creation. Her song was oddly appealing, the kunoichi noted, but did not match the gruesome violence that was expressed through her ghoulish companion. Well, it wasn’t like these wolves didn’t deserve it. Suika, evading a potentially devastating jaw snap, realized she didn’t have the luxury to sit and observe the blind woman’s fighting style. Gripping her spiritual blade firmly, the Chuunin readied herself. The wolf that aimed for her continued its assault; Suika countered it with a swift side-step to the left and then jabbed her blade expertly through its skull. The giant wolf’s eyes dulled into lifelessness. The next two were smarter as they both teamed up against the young girl. One aimed to distract her while the other circled around her and waited for its attack of opportunity. The Chuunin caught on to this fast; she decided to improvise. As the canine lunged out and attempted to claw Suika, she melted into the shadows and into hiding.

The wolves, bewildered, sniffed frantically. Where was she?

Suddenly, the beats yelped loudly as liquid oozed from their eyelids. They both collapsed. Suika, twirling out of stealth and on to the battlefield, examined the wolves – they were dead. “Maybe using the Ocular Assault illusion was too much,” she mused. She hadn’t used that genjutsu before, but it was nice to see that it proved effective. It did take a chunk of chakra from her, so she decided it was best to be frugal with her reservoir from this point on. She turned to confront the rest of the pack.

“Uh…” They were all demolished. The girl approached her traveling companion as she dispersed her ethereal weapon. Her assumption was correct, it seemed, that Kaori possessed shinobi abilities similar to Pao. Although the woman was clumsy with her blindness, she was clearly a force to be reckoned with. “I was about to ask if you were okay,” the wide-eyed kunoichi commented as she scanned the bloodshed around the area, “but you can definitely handle yourself well in combat. Nice job, Kaori-san.” Suika's expression of subtle disbelief transitioned into an impressed grinned. Kaori was strong.

“Should we continue, or should we set up camp somewhere? We still have a ways to go, but I wouldn’t mind stopping to rest if you needed it.” Suika was truly fine with either option. If Kaori wanted to hit pause on their quest, she’d surely honor her request and help set up temporary shelter. If not, the girl would dust herself off and continue moving forward with her sightless, yet powerful traveling companion.

HOWEVER, a red flag emerged that only the Leaf woman would notice. She would feel the winds blow heavier in a more chaotic and violent pattern, contrary to its natural flow at such an elevation. Due to a huge part of this being audial, Suika did not notice too much nor did her instincts warn her of any potential danger. The forecast looked safe for now, but Kaori would sense danger brewing in the wind's song. It wasn't really a matter of if, but when.

[OOC: Kaori and Ghost Ballerina killed 5 wolves and Suika killed 3, both seem to be physically unscathed by the battle. Also, Kaori senses danger in the weather!]

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

Kaori smiled flung some of her long, black hair over her shoulder, out of her eyes. With a single snap of her fingers, the ghastly ghost dancer vanished from view with a shrill scream. Receiving a compliment from the swordsman, whom she wasn't able to see at work, was something that completely bolstered her self-confidence. She was still learning how to fight blind, having relied on the crutch called the Byakkugan for so long, so even if her movements were fluid she still had to concentrate on every single muscle as well as every minute sound from the battlefield. Mina wanted to burst out of Kaori's back, but showed some restraint. The fact that Suika knew about Mina's appearance would give away her previous persona as 'Magical Girl Airi'. And the whole point to a secondary appearance is to protect her own identity.

"Thank you, Suika. You did well too," she said with a little glow. "I think," she finished. It was then that a proposition to camp was made. She didn't use up a whole lot of her chakra, at all, but she wasn't aware of how much Suika had to use in this little skirmish. She shrugged her shoulders a bit. "Doesn't matter to me. Not like nightfall really bothers me much," she said before thinking for a moment. "Well, I guess we can take a short rest. But first," she said as she waved a single hand out in front of her, causing sparkles to flow down her body and scrubbing clean any blood and grime that collected on her. While it wasn't a substitute for a shower, at least it gets the person clean (albeit superficially). She did the same for Suika, cleansing her with a little Prestidigitation spell.

"I'll go set up camp," she said as she took a step forward and came to a pause. Something didn't feel right; a shift in the winds and the sound of something brewing in the distance. She held a hand up to signal to Suika to stop. "This place won't be safe for long. We're going to have to move," she said cautiously. The sound of violent and turbulent winds kicked up in the distance. "We need to either build a shelter right now or find a shelter. We're going to have a nasty storm coming," she said as she pinged her bell to get a lay of the land. She wasn't the native so she didn't know where anything was; exacerbated by the fact that she can't actually, visibly see anything.

 

[Suika]

Suika responded to the woman’s reciprocated compliment with a satisfied grin. Although Kaori carried the bulk of the work in their last battle, her words of affirmation were much appreciated. It wasn’t often that the kunoichi got to engage in combat anymore; aside from the occasional and spontaneous demon battles, her work generally consisted of being in an office or gathering intel with intentions of minimal conflict. She kept up with her training, but it was never quite the same. “Hm?” With a mini shower of sparkles, Kaori was cleaned of any dirt or blood on her as if she had never engaged in combat. Before Suika could comment, she performed the same jutsu for the Chuunin; she, too, was now looking spick and span. “Thank you, Kaori-san,” she stated gratuitously with a hit of wonder in her tone. How did she do that? Also, that technique, with its glimmering aesthetic, appeared mightily familiar…

“You have to teach me that sometime,” she added in amusement. There was no need to speculate; sparkling jutsu were probably just the trend nowadays. As Suika prepared herself to casually set up camp somewhere, she raised a concerned brow as Kaori warned of an upcoming storm. She didn’t sense anything, but the blind shinobi extraordinaire sounded sure of herself. There was no point in doubting someone who could literally identify wind currents through sheer sound; the kunoichi took her word for it. “Hmm, maybe we should set up now, then?” Suika, using her past’s nomadic instincts, scouted the area briefly for a spot to set up camp. If Kaori did the same, she would a find a decent place to set up shelter with enough materials to build something sturdy. Suika, on the other hand, was met with a stroke of luck as she discovered a deep, sizable cave. Upon further inspection, she noticed the cavern was uninhabited and would provide ideal shelter from any type of storm. “Over here,” she called out to the woman. The Chuunin would hum aloud until they rejoined to make the process of tracing her easier for the bell-wielding lady.

Once the two made it into the cave, Kaori would hear the winds pick up as a devastating blizzard conjured rapidly without any more warning. It was now apparent to the two women that it was a violent one. They were protected by the cavern’s solid foundation, but they both would grasp they needed warmth. Suika gathered wood in preparation for this, but she was somewhat embarrassed in that she knew no fire ninjutsu. “Got anything to light this up?” she’d ask, ignoring the fact she didn’t know a basic fireball technique. As a ninja who devoted herself solely to Genjutsu and Taijutsu, she just hadn’t gotten around to it. Once the fire was set, the storm’s duration would provide the shinobi ample time to have campfire talk.

Suika, with magenta eyes glowing in the flame’s crackle (if Kaori did make a fire), leaned into its heat and exhaled a cooled breath. Shifting her eyes toward the dark-haired woman, she casually attempted to stir some conversation. “Do you typically jump into impromptu adventures with strangers, Kaori-san, or is this a first?” It was a simple query; Suika was the curious type, but she was never one to pry too deeply into anyone’s business unless necessary. She sat feeling content with her company and the coziness that the flames brought.

[OOC: A strong blizzard hits! Kaori found adequate shelter, but Suika found the most ideal location for shelter thanks to her lucky socks! The blizzard appeared violently, but the two are completely protected by the cave. The blizzard, Kaori sensed, would last a bit (2 rounds specifically, this counting as the first). The two have downtime to chill for a bit, pun intended.]

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

As the two decided it was time to make camp, Kaori stumbled around to find a tiny cave. She paused for a moment and clicked her bell to get a SONAR image of the cave. The look of disappointment was written clearly across her face. This didn't leave a lot of room, at all, for the two of them to have much privacy; nor did it have much space for the two to keep their hands off of one-another. Her wanting to 'cuddle' or what-not had changed considerably now that she can't actually see what people looked like. For all she knew, she could be with a swamp-monster! Well, then again, she'd be able to smell the swamp on Suika if she was -- indeed -- a swamp thing. "I guess a heat reflector would make this okay. But then again, we'd probably get buried by the snow," she said, almost as if she was talking to herself.

The voice was feint, but Kaori turned to hear 'over here' by the Ethereal Swordsmaster. Clearing her throat, she clicked her bell to get a SONAR image of where she was. The pictures started to get more and more hazy as the winds brought snow, blocking her 'vision'. She trudged to where she believed Suika's voice came from, picking her knees up as she moved through the thickening snow. She got about half-way towards Suika before ringing her bell again. The image got more and more hazy, but something she didn't notice actually appeared to her; a massive area. How she didn't see this? We'll blame the snow for this one.

She made her way through the snow before finding herself at the mouth of the cave. She let out a whistle and moved her head, getting quite the detailed image of the caves and even a ways in through the cave-system. "That's quite an impressive cave you found here," she said before being bombarded with sensory information as all of the sound bounced off of the walls and doing so multiple times. She let out a groan from the sensory information and moved her hands up to cover her ears. Soon after, a terrifying howl could be heard as the blizzard finally arrived, painting everything a sheet of white. She moved a single hand down, off of her ear, to click her bell only to see a massive wall outside of the cave. The reverberation of the bell started to ring in her ears. This is going to be annoying; but at least she isn't going to freeze to death.

"Well, at least we made it in time," she said with a grumble. Kaori heard the logs shuffle around, being able to see their shape cleanly thanks to the god-awful reverberations. She chuckled at Suika, still with her hands over her ears. She removed her hands and formed a couple handseals before creating a small circle with her left hand's index finger and thumb and with a quiet, "Katon: Super small fireball no jutsu" she said with a whisper before gently blowing air through the hole to send out a miniature fireball into the stack of wood, instantly igniting it.

After the jutsu was created, she held a hand up and a paper-fan, one similar to what the Uchiha have as their emblem, would appear in her hand. She lightly fanned the flames before it erupted into a full-blow campfire. After the campfire was fully ignited, she made the fan go away. "Hm? Well, I guess. I lived by myself for a few years. I have a mission in need to continue and a lot of it involves crawling through dungeons or treading dangerous paths. There are these statues, in the shape of dragons, that inhabit evil spirits. They have a bad habit of brainwashing people and giving them false promises of power or immortality or whatever, as a means to get people to blindly follow them. Some of the spirits offer immortality with the exchange of slaughtering young girls born with horns and white eyes," she said. She was hinting about what she had to go through, but didn't make that entirely clear at all.

"Oh, uh. What I showed you earlier? And me creating the fan? That's just magic," she said waving her hand dismissively at the idea. It wasn't much different from Ninjutsu or genjutsu but wasn't always bound to certain elements or sensory input. Simple cantrips that were made to just enrich her life, if even for a little bit. "I was also trying to develop telepathy, but I guess the gods didn't approve of that," she said as she rolled her eyes. Her proximity to the fire caused the ice to thaw upon her extremely ugly coat, prompting her to remove it. With a groan, she felt the rest of her clothes being extremely wet, thus prompting her to start removing articles of clothing. She didn't have much shame considering she wasn't blind and she no-longer gets that 'eyes on me' feeling that most people get.

She started to peel off the skin-tight leather suit, revealing herself to be wearing a fish-net 2-piece suit with a pair of black underwear underneath. She continued to undress, letting the wet clothing plop on the ground next to the fire. Kaori got down to her underwear and took a seat at the fire, back turned to the fire. "Help me out with this clasp?" she asked, in reference to her bras.

WC: 910 -- MFT

 

[Suika]

Suika leaned in further as Kaori shared a glimpse of what sounded like a complex tale. Most would probably question the validity of the blind woman’s reason for traveling and doubt her sanity, but the kunoichi experienced enough of the supernatural to fully believe her. Nodding assuredly as she grabbed her own chin, Suika responded with a thoughtful tone. “That does sound like quite the mission, Kaori-san. It may not look it, but I’ve had my fair share of battles against demons and other dark entities. Needless to say, I commend you for your charge. I’ll be sure to keep a lookout myself for any of these dragon statues.” There was also the bit where the woman shared her possible connection to the target of these foul creatures, but the girl’s instincts led her to not ask. In due time, perhaps, Kaori would unveil more about herself. Suika exhaled a cooled breath as she inched closer to the flame.

“Thanks for the fire,” she asserted as the ice on her gear began to melt off. The protection from this cave was ideal; not only was the blizzard kept out entirely, but its natural design allowed their conjured fire to provide more-than-adequate warmth to recover from the mountain’s frigid conditions. “Mm,” Suika grinned at Kaori’s brush at sarcasm. Magic, aye? Again, that typically would have sounded farfetched, but the Chuunin wasn’t really shocked by any foreign concept nowadays. But again, her ‘magic’ felt very familiar…

“Heh?” Not leaving much room for wonder, her traveling companion unabashedly began to strip down from her now soaking clothes. This caught Suika off guard; usually, undressing for the sake of practicality didn’t bother the young teen. However, the girl was still undergoing a time of transition which prompted a wide range of 'feelings'. Attempting to hide away her flushed face by turning it away, Suika replied quietly to the woman’s request. “Uhm, sure…” she muttered as she approached the near naked lady. The kunoichi attempted to keep her hands calm and still as she assisted the well-curved woman undo her bra strap. Luckily, Suika had recent training with her own, so she didn’t find too much difficulty with the task. “I guess I should follow suit,” she added even more quietly. Clearly, she was trying her best to repress her flustered emotions. The teen girl mirrored Kaori and slipped off her drenched clothing; it was the most optimal thing to do for survival now, right? That’s what she’d remind herself throughout. She was now in her two-piece under garments.

Although not in her birthday suit just yet, it was apparent how much a full-fledged woman Kaori was compared to the tan-skinned youth. The dark-haired beauty wielded a sizeable pair of… yeah. And everything else was just… mhm. Why was it getting hotter in here? Suika, contrary to her, was still in the process of developing, so she had much smaller ‘assets’. For a moment, she felt self-conscious, which was unlike her, especially since Kaori was blind. The teenage years were such a confusing time.

Clearing her throat as she shook her head, the kunoichi tried to regain her composure. “Good call, Kaori-san. We’ll wait for our clothes to dry and head back out into our journey once the blizzard dies down.” With that, the storm would soon calm as the winds would dance in their previous tempo. Once it did, Suika would re-equip herself with her traveling attire and ready herself to hit the road with her new adventure buddy.

[OOC: The blizzard will soon die down during your next post. Feel free to mod that however you see fit and feel free to take control of the next part of the journey/moving forward if you'd like!]

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

The pressure from her bra being unclasped hit her, prompting her to cover herself up while slipping the bra off of her. She turned her head back towards Suika with a big smile upon her face. If only she was able to see the look on her face right now! It would've been something to treasure! She casually stuck out her tongue towards Suika as she could hear her getting disrobed as well. After that was done, Kaori turned to face Suika, still keeping her body covered, but leaving almost nothing to the imagination. She snapped her fingers and another set of dry, clean clothes appeared upon her body; as if showered in starlight sprinkles. Normally she'd have to undergo some kind of transformation sequence, but she foregone that unnecessary step and appeared in a complete copy of the clothes she just wore while the clothes that she had disrobed sat next to the fire. More clothes she'd have to put away somewhere later; or just leave here, either way works.

"You should really consider learning some magic, yourself. It makes life so much more convenient," she said as she waved another hand over the clothes that was drying and just made them disappear using the same spell she used on herself. They weren't in much of a rush right now, otherwise she'd do the same thing for Suika; granted she'd be in a completely different set of clothes since Kaori can't quite see clothing unless it had a very specific silhouette. For all Kaori knew, Suika could've been completely naked this entire time.

Some time has passed and Kaori heard the howling of the winds die down. This prompted her to stand up, walk over to her now-dried, and quite repulsive-looking coat. After throwing it over her shoulders, she turned and looked to Suika for a moment. "Storm should be done, let's get a move on," she said as her stomach growled several times; each time growing more and more 'annoyed' sounding. She performed a couple of quick handseals and sprayed a little spritz of water upon the fire, extinguishing it. She buttoned up the ugly coat and turned to look back at Suika once more, after recovering from the incessant hunger-pangs. "Before we leave, did you bring anything to eat?" she asked. Hopefully it wasn't something that required cooking; she came ill-prepared when it came to food, not thinking this journey would be an epic tale through the blanched mountain-tops. The need for water wasn't a big deal due to her able to conjure up water jutsu or just simply eating the snow that's on the ground -- hopefully not picking up any surprises with the snow.

MFT
WC: 449
[OOC: Sorry for the short post, but awkward transition is awkward]

 

[Suika]

There was a lingering moment where both kunochi stood completely nude in the spacious, firelit cavern. Turning her slightly flustered expression away from the woman, Suika wringed out her clothes in attempts to hasten the drying process. Amid her flapping out her twisted coat, Kaori effortless snapped her fingers, showered herself in sparkles, and was instantaneously dressed in a new set of dry garments. Suika almost vocalized an intrigued, mental “ooo” after her showy spellcasting; again, Kaori’s technique reminded her of someone she once fought alongside in the forest.

“Yeah, you’ll have to teach me that trick sometime, Kaori-san.” she replied with an amused grin. Suddenly, the blind stranger sprayed sparkly magic over Suika. In an almost Cinderella-esque transformation, the once naked teen was now equipped with a darker and tighter style of clothing. It was fit for the harsh conditions of Lightning Country’s mountains, but it was a lot edgier than what the Chuunin was used to; Suika liked it. “Thanks,” she commented gratuitously as she continued to check out her new outfit. Funny enough, she almost appeared as if a more tan, smaller-chested version of Kaori. “By the way, and I’ve been meaning to mention, but do you happen to know a woman named…” It was in that moment, too, that she noticed that the blizzard had finally died down.

Her traveling companion prompted for them to continue their journey to the Mirage Temple. Upon the request of some goods, Suika nodded her head and reached into her pack. “I’ve brought enough rations to last a couple of weeks, namely dried meats, mixed nuts, and most importantly…” Suika held out a colorful, sealed cup for the woman to take as she withdrew another one for herself, “…cups of Kumo’s finest matcha green tea pudding. Bon apetit.” Also passing out a spoon for Kaori and using one herself, the kunoichi unwrapped her favorite dessert and plopped a generous portion in her mouth. She hummed in pleasure as she allowed the sugary substance to dissolve into her mouth. “Alright, onward we go.” The now satisfied kunoichi led her new friend outside of their roomy shelter into the cold outside. Despite the chaos that brewed with the storm that had just passed, it was now calm. The snow on the ground was fluffier than before as the sun shone more brightly and provided more warmth than it did previously. It was the perfect time to continue their quest.

After some time of hiking and probable dialogue, the pair finally reached the checkpoint. A lone, wooden sign was posted that revealed their directions via arrows, quite stereotypical to any adventure story. There was an arrow pointing east, which was where the supposed sightings of the Mirage Temple were seen. Before they would proceed toward that direction, Kaori would sense the presence of a man not too far from them. His presence completely escaped Suika, but the blind woman was able to pick up on it almost instantly. She even knew exactly where he stood to the tempo of his breaths; she had a moment of super-senses. She would instinctively feel, too, that this man was no threat at all. It was up to her whether she wanted to stop and acknowledge him or continue with their adventure.

[OOC: Lol, Kaori rolled a natural 20 on perception. Feel free to hype that up as much as you want. Also, she is given a choice which -might- influence what the next round of post.]

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

After Kaori found herself in a carbon-copy of the clothes she was wearing, she clicked the bell that hung around her throat, letting an echoing ching-a-ling sound resonate throughout the cave. She flipped her hair over her shoulder casually and turned to look at Suika for a moment. "Maybe once this is all over with, sure. Magic is kind of a pain to learn, after all," she said before Suika asked an incomplete question, perking her ears to the words spoken. "Hm?" she asked before Suika's attention was driven elsewhere.

She was given the dessert by Suika. She originally wanted some food, but this would work well enough for now. The dried meat would have suited her hunger a bit more than this frozen delicacy, but she never looked a gift-horse in the mouth. She promptly devoured the sweet delectable and licked her lips afterwards. It was quite tasty! Better than any treat she had consumed in Konoha, for sure. Without a good place to put the leftover cup and spoon, she placed it into her satchel and would need to throw it away when she returned to civilization. Bundling up, she returned to the frigid landscape, following closely behind Suika, clicking her bell from time-to-time so she didn't lose track of Suika's where-abouts. Thankfully, her eyes didn't work, as the snow-blindness would've been a bother to deal with.

The duo approached a sign-post. Great! Something she can't read! Thank the gods she lost her ability to see, because she would love to be able to read this non-sense! She looked at the wooden sign-post with a puzzled look. She could make out it's shape, but any contents within, unless the words were carved all-the-way through, went unread by the blinded kunoichi. She clicked her bell out of curiosity and picked up the ping of a person drawing near, hearing their breaths. From the sound of the breaths, she knew it to be a man. A fire ignited in her arms, causing her gauntlets to appear over the ugly coat and she took a defensive posture between the unknown figure and Suika. "Someone approaches," she said quietly to Suika. However, something about the way the man was breathing made her think differently.

Her posture relaxed after a brief moment, desummoning her gauntlets and stood straight up. "Nevermind, their posture isn't particularly threatening," she would say this to Suika, just outside of ear-shot of the one to approach. Kaori remained on-guard between herself and Suika for a moment, elevating her voice towards the newcomer. "Hello!" she said as she raised a hand up. If the man didn't appear very threatening, she should return the favor and not take on any offensive posture to put the newcomer on-edge.

WC: 454
MFT

 

[Ko]

Threatening was definitely not something the man would appear, nor would he appear anything but well… any feeling. The man seemed almost spacious and lost in his own thoughts. Along the path on collision course with the two young ladies the man was kind of just strolling. There was no purpose on the walk, nor was there any kind of goal towards his strides. Whatever path he was on was just the path that he would walk. No sense or feeling of adventure right now… besides being in the middle of nowhere for the time being.

Dressed in a long, cloaked robe covered the shirt and pants that kept him warm in Lightning Country. Goggles covered over his eyes as he moved closer to the young girls, getting closer he could tell they seemed a little stand offish before relaxing just a bit. He didn’t seem like a threat, which was good because there wasn’t even an aggressive bone in his body… nor any kind of any bone besides…well… bone!

”Oh err…” he stopped, seeing the two, before putting his hand up to them. It was just a casual, almost mimicking the exact approach Kaori was acting. Cautious, yet willing to try once he seemed like he wasn’t a threat. Maybe because he was unarmed, or just the fact he was just seemed distracted and scatter-brained.

”Yo!” He looked at the two of them, though he couldn’t tell if they were both from the same village as he was. It seemed safe to assume so, seeing as one had a Kumogakure forehead protector in view.

” Oh! We’re from the same village.” He would pull out his forehead protector from under his cloak, obviously bounced around carelessly through his travels and got a little caught somewhere. A Kumogakure symbol was hanging from his neck.

”Did you come from the village? You don’t suppose you know where home is again, do you? I got a little lost about…” he looked up to the sky. ”I got a little lost about 3 days ago… I think?” It was obvious that there was some kind of scatter-brain from either from kind of trauma, or being gone this long… something.

”Where are you heading to anyway? I don’t know if there are any villages near here… then again I don’t think I quite know where here is.” There was more emphasis on the word “here” when it came to his sentence. But nothing was holding him back from waffling on to the people in front of him. No embarrassment or nerves to hold back someone who would maybe feel remorse in front of two young ladies.

(Currently feeling: Apathetic)

Spoiler

Scores:
Emotions unlocked: 0
Alignment points gained: 0

 

[Suika]

With a promise to one day teach her magic and a satisfied belly, the two kunoichi approached a wooden sign that directed them to their next eastern destination. Just as Suika was about to verbally prompt the blind Kaori to follow her, the woman conjured fire gauntlets and warned the kunoichi about someone approaching. The Chuunin instantly slid into a defensive stance, scanned the area warily, and prepared to manifest her ethereal blade. “Damn, she’s blind, but that woman has super senses,” she mused for a moment. Before she could get too riled up, her traveling companion relaxed her stance and confirmed with Suika that there was no threat. She trusted Kaori’s judgment at this time, so she, too, decreased the protective tension in her body. However, part of her was still on the defense.

“Hm?” The two shinobi were approached by a very muddled, dark-haired male. Suika simply waved at him as the two parties began to exchange salutations. The aloof man then shared he was also from Kumogakure as he pulled out their village's headband. He did look somewhat familiar, but the girl was not sold one-hundred percent by his story. Any rogue could just so happen to have stumbled upon or have stolen a Kumogakure shinobi’s headband. He was likely telling the truth, but, to be safe, the Chuunin did keep her guard partially up. She wouldn’t reveal this. “Three days on these mountains, aye? Have you been assigned some sort of mission? Maybe if you show me your assignment, I can help direct you.” Suika offered her services casually with a friendly smile on her face. Really, this was just her way of verifying his identity.

Kaori, on the other hand, could practically see through this man’s soul as his intent was clear as day to her. She would recognize, perhaps by his vocal patterns or the way his heart beat, that he shared the utmost truth. Hajime, in the same note, would be able to feel the sincerity (or lack thereof) of Suika’s and Kaori’s words. At least with Suika, he’d feel her to be honestly helpful, but not super trusting of him just yet.

“We are not heading to the village just yet,” she asserted as she continued to observe the stranger’s movements, “Are you trying to get back?”

[OOC: All hail the all-seeing Kaori with the natural 20's *bows*]

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

Kaori lowered her guard the moment the man said he spent 3 days in this bitter-cold hell. She grumbled a bit and wrapped herself up, even tighter in the ugly coat of her's. While it was uglier than sin, itself, it was SO DAMN COMFORTABLE! and SO DAMN WARM! Not that she could see how ugly she looked right now anyway -- survival was a bit more important than attracting people; especially out here. She opened her mouth to try to answer the man, almost expecting Suika (or even Mina) to interject, leaving her with her mouth agape for a couple seconds before she spoke. "Yes, we came from the village," she said as she pointed to herself. "I'm not a native, but," she said as she pointed in the exact opposite direction that Suika was in, completely having lost her bearings on where Suika was.

"She is a Cloud native. I'm escorting her to a place called the 'Mirage Temple'. It's going to be full of traps and stuff; a dungeon, if you will," she explained. The man didn't seem to have been a native if he didn't know that Kumogakure was just around the corner, a day or two hike away. She could detect by the inflections in his voice that everything he said was truthful. At least this guy isn't awful at the art of deception. Either way, she'd have to keep an eye on him (bad pun, sorry). Suika then offered to help him with his mission, but something else came up with Kaori.

Through chattering teeth, she said, "How about recruit him to help us deal with the Mirage Temple? If he's able to survive for 3 days out here in this shit, he should be fine in a dusty, dingy, decrepit dungeon," she commented, her teeth chattering with each word spoken. The sound of clacking could be heard, easily, by those in attendance. It never got this cold in Kononha, so this weather was stupid to her.

"Besides, it wouldn't hurt to have an actual set of eyes with us," she said as she ended up squatting where she was at and groaned because of the cold weather. The cold started to make her face feel like it was frozen in place. She started to form together some handseals. "Don't mind me," she said as she created a small ember in her hands and just placed the hot ember inside of her coat, tucking her arms inside of the coat and using it to warm her up on the inside. As warm as this jacket is, it does very little for the wind cutting through it. Which makes her balancing keeping the flame alive, from being extinguished by the wind entering her coat, and not catching herself on fire quite tricky.

Her teeth chattered a bit more "Can we get going already, brrrrr"

 

[Ko]

The two young ladies were… strange at best. He couldn’t quite feel what they felt, and the smile Suika gave obviously juxtaposed the lock that seemed to be on her heart. Nothing could be felt from her, just an empty void.

”Oh, uh…” He pulled out the assignment. ”I already completed the mission. I was just a messenger to one of the outer villages from the village. Just got a little lost on the way back for my next assignment, that’s all.” His voice was blunt and almost distant and emotionless. It was less a person than more like someone reading off a label. It wasn’t his fault… he just never learned inflections in tones.

He looked towards Kaori as she talked, listening to her suggestion as he survived the mission. However upon further inspection he could see that the girl was feeling… cold!

Something inside of him surged through him, and he suddenly realised that he too was feeling cold. He would cross his arms in, moving them closer to try and keep himself away from this feeling. Had he really been meant to feeling this all this time? Seemed that the air was giving his exposed skin hell, and the cold was seeping through the coat.

”Yeah lets avoid this feeling. I do not appreciate this air hitting us like this,” he would try letting out with constant stutters made, feeling that if he was going to start here any longer then he was going to freeze in place. ”I’m happy to accompany you down a temple, a-anything is better than this mountain.” He would look around a little more, before turning back to them, seeing Kaori’s futile attempt to avoid the cold.

”Which way are you going?’ he would stutter once more, pulling his arms around him more as he tried to hurry off this mountain. This feeling of cold, though new and refreshing, was also horrible and unsettling.

MFT:322 words

Currently feeling: Cold (Thanks Kaori)

Spoiler

Scores:
Feelings unlocked: 1 (Cold)
Alignment points gained: 0

 

[Suika]

Looking through the contents of Hajime’s scroll, Suika was quick to notice the Main Branch’s official seal of approval. It was not one that was easily replicated due to the type of ink used and its purposefully complex design; Suika nodded and hummed as she was about finished reading through it. “So your name is Hajime…” she uttered as she took her final glance and passed the man back his scroll. She grinned, but this time her body language unveiled a more eased kunoichi. She didn’t necessarily trust the man one hundred percent, but then again, Kaori was a stranger to her not too long ago. Upon Kaori’s offers and the man’s request, Suika waved up her hand. “Sure, feel free to tag along. I’m Suika.” At that moment, a cold wind blew and caused chills to run along the girl’s body. She agreed, it was cold as heck.

Resuming her quest with the blind Kaori and the newly added Hajime, the trio went east to the reported sightings of the Mirage Temple. Along the way, they would face a few close calls with local monsters in the area, but they were able to avoid conflict by using their sneak abilities or by tricking the perceptions of those monsters. Soon enough, they reached a point in the higher elevations of the mountains where the mysterious structure was spotted. At first, even with a good look around, the temple would be no where to be seen. The Chuunin held her map out in the air as she continued to scan their surroundings. “According to eyewitness accounts, this is typically where it was marked…” And almost as if manifesting from thin air at her verbal mention, a grand building, which almost resembled a palace, appeared before the three shinobi. It was hidden between two mountain peaks, but it was surely there. The kunoichi’s magenta eyes lit up in wonder; the Mirage Temple was real! However, as soon as the trio decided to step forward, it’d disappear. There was no tangible explanation why this phenomenon occurred, even Suika was flabbergasted by it.

“So strange…” she said aloud as she held her chin. While Hajime and Suika were susceptible to the trickery of the human eye, Kaori, to their fortune, had no such “handicap”. The woman (and only her) would hear a very high-pitched frequency in the air. Where the other two shinobi could see the temple, it was silent, but the frequency would soon reappear as soon as it disappeared. “It’s here once second and gone the next,” Suika vocalized as she continued to analyze the situation. With a stick, she marked an ‘x’ on the spot where the structure faded away.

What could they do?

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

Kaori's teeth chattered as she looked at the general direction of Hajime's voice and nodded. "Right!?" she asked as a form of empathy, knowing exactly how he felt due to this crummy cold weather. With a swift wave of her hands, she replaced the ugly coat with something a bit heavier, a coat that made her look puffy and even quite amorphous. She could've done this earlier without the use of magic, but the cold was just too unbearable on her. The item looked inflated, but it cut the wind to a very bare minimum. It was comfortable, but it was also ugly-as-sin. Her shivering and teeth-chattering almost instantly vanished. A muffled voice came from the goofy-couture coat. "Well, let's do this," she said with her voice heavily muted by the massive coat. Her face wasn't visible through the massive coat. Her ability to pick up sounds was also hindered, so she removed the bell from her throat and held it out in front of her.

"I'm Kaori," she said as her voice trailed off while being muffled, potentially making it difficult for Hajime to have even heard what her name was. If necessary, she'd repeat it for him a few more times. It was then that the three continued to trek through the hostile mountain until a beautiful view of the Mirage Temple was visible; not that Kaori would be able to see. A skirmish here, a quick fight there were a few things the group had to deal with; nothing big or noteworthy. It only appeared for a brief moment for Suika and Hajime, leaving Kaori a bit confused about what happened. It was during this moment that Kaori placed her hands over her heavily covered head. The feeling of excruciating pain ravaged her before disappearing moments later.

She doubled over the best she could, not being able to reach her knees, but appearing more like a doll hunched over. "I don't know what you all just saw, but damnit that was loud," she said as she tried to upright herself. Even through all of the pain, she pointed in the direction of the noise. "So it's down there?" she asked as she still tried to shake off the terrible pain in her ears. The sound of scraping snow could be heard; two strokes. Perhaps the girl marked a big 'X' in the snow.

"I guess the name 'Mirage Temple' wasn't too far-fetched. But something is definitely there!" she shouted out with her voice sounding like a normal tone due to the muffling. She would use her sonar ability, but she would need something extremely loud so the noise wouldn't get muted by the wind or anything else; just the chiming of the bell would get lost. "Any of you all have a ranged attack? We can see if it bounces off of the temple or goes through," she needed to figure out if this thing was a mere sensory illusion or if this actually faded in and out of reality.

 

[Ko]

So their names were Suika and Kaori respectively, huh? Showing that he was a Cloud-nin at least gave them a better position on where he has, even though he was probably completely useless on anything but trying to talk through a situation. Exploration was definitely not his strong suit, as by the evidence that he was now 3 days away from his last destination and nowhere near where he was now meant to be. The silliness of this meant that Hajime would essentially now need to have his hand held to get back home. Most men would find this lucky, seeing as two young and pretty ladies were there to help him, but Hajime hadn’t discovered such a feeling or thought existed.

The group began travelling in a direction (the sense of direction not being a strong suit of his), and would face off against monsters and nature. To learn a little bit of their powers from this, as well as show them some of his ninjutsu prowess to create and to trick.

Eventually the group would find their way towards wherever these two were going. Some kind of temple? Were they some kind of religious fanatics? Had he just walked into a cult without realising it?

Was he now indoctrinated?

The temple was there are sure as daylight, in its spectacular design amongst the mountains. Why anyone would choose to be among such a cold place was beyond him (especially now that he learned that cold places = bad). But as soon as they got closer it would fade away as if it was nothing.

Looking at Suika and Kaori… made him feel puzzled. Yeah why DID it disappear? Things don’t JUST DISAPPEAR like that. Nothing fades away, especially something physical. What was up with it. However Kaori did come up with a idea.

”I have a couple of attacks I could try,” Hajime said, drawing on some of his life force into some blades of spiritualistic level. He winced a little bit, feeling the actual feeling of pain for the first time in what seemed like forever. ”I’ll just try a few of these and see what happens.”

The Chuunin would throw his blades at where he saw the temple, flinging them out to see if they would go through, and if so… to where.

Currently Feeling: Heckin Bamboozled.

Spoiler

Scores:
Feelings unlocked: 5 (Cold, Confused, Clueless, Flabbergasted, Pain)
Alignment points gained: 1 neutral