The Long Journey Home

Cernnunos and Golnax

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Cernunnos
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The Long Journey Home

Post by Cernunnos » Tue Jun 23, 2020 1:32 am

The pale crescent moon shone like a silvery claw in the night sky, replacing the bright city lights that had been abandoned long ago. The duo had been travelling for some time now, Hato had estimated a couple of hours based on the position of the moon. From their current position, they were at least three days away from reaching the village. The two would need to halt their journey shortly to set up camp, Hato would need to locate a suitable location that provided them safe shelter, and offered Hato the chance to sleep. The challenge to long escort missions was combatting sleep deprivation, and a simple nap could result in Hato being caught off guard. As a shinobi, Hato had excellent awareness and control over his body, he was more than capable of outlasting the average person in endurance. Despite this fact, Hato was an inexperienced Genin who had to make sure his own limits were not exerted, to not find himself in a position of fatigue that would end up in the likely demise for Hato and Arisato.

"Hey Arisato, it's getting late. It's best we find somewhere to rest for a little bit. I'll activate my Byakugan to get a better look of things, see if we can find somewhere safe."

Hato concentrated a small amount of chakra towards the Byakugan, his pupils became more distinct with veins bulging near the temples as a result of the increased blood flow. His vision has increased to 500 meters, allowing Hato to scan and evaluate the area for a potential resting place. Hato was unable to sense any more chakra signals nearby, other than Arisato's limited chakra pool and that of nearby animals, namely rodents and birds. He spotted a nearby cave, the entrance was hidden from nearby trees and bushes, it was an excellent spot to rest for the first night.

"I found the perfect place, follow me!"
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Golnax
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The Long Journey Home

Post by Golnax » Tue Jun 23, 2020 1:56 am

The couple of hours that had passed by between the two of them had mostly been quiet with Aimi continually thinking and plotting minor plots to stay hidden. The road was dark save for the view beams of moonlight that shone through the leaves of trees and the stars. There were few if any clouds in the sky and the night was warm but Aimi couldn't help but wish he could use some katon ninjutsu to help light their way without fear of being discovered. The nights were dark and full of terrors in Kirigakure and after a lifetime of those nights it was difficult to ignore the paranoia that someone might be watching them from afar. An application of ghost-lights would have helped put the bannin's mind at ease; alas, it was out of the question for now.

The pair were walking down the road quietly when Hato spoke up, suggesting that they stop and rest for the night. He turned to look at the genin and was at first perplexed. He wasn't tired, not really. In fact if he were to release his stance then the long hours he'd spent walking all that day would feel as light on his body as a breeze against a mountain. Thus it was only natural that his first instinct was to refute this and tell him to keep going on, that he could last a while longer. Sense returned to him though as he remembered that he was supposed to be playing the part of an old man and old men needed to rest at the end of the day. "Yes... yes, that would be a good idea. My old bones could use a break," he replied as naturally as he could in his husky voice. He stopped as Hato did and watched as he activated those telescopic eyes of his.

Truth be told Aimi had never seen the Byakugan used in person before. He'd learned about it back at the academy, of course, along with every other form of kekkei genkai that Kirigakure knew about from the other villages. He knew that the Byakugan could see far and that it could see chakra systems. To what extent these things he could see the bannin did not know, however. The details had long since slipped his mind. Never the less he watched as best as he could in the limited light and stood silently in wonder. He thought briefly about what it would be like to see the world through those eyes before Hato spoke up and announced that he had found a perfect place for them to rest.

"Truly? Good show! My, those eyes of yours must come in handy. Go on then, lead the way," he said, waving his arm to let Hato go where he pleased and followed behind him at a reasonable pace. It didn't take too long for the pair to reach their destination, a small cave in a hillside. Were it not for the rocky roof one would be forgiven in thinking that it might have just been an old animal den that had been dug out and abandoned long ago.

"This looks nice," Aimi said as he inspected the small cave. "We'd better get a fire going to keep us warm... I don't suppose you can spit fire, young man? I'm told ninja can spit fire..." he said, attempting to be dotty as best as he could. If Hato wasn't proficient in katon ninjutsu, it could be the excuse that he needed to sneak off, get some firewood and release his stance for a few minutes, though there was still the problem of how he would get past the young genin to sleep... The Kaguya was beginning to think that he was in for some sleepless nights, which did not bode well for him. He enjoyed his sleep as much as anyone else did, after all...

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Cernunnos
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The Long Journey Home

Post by Cernunnos » Wed Jun 24, 2020 1:07 am

Hato was careful not to disrupt the natural hidden pathway to the cave, being mindful of how his footsteps altered the tracks and position of the bushes. The entrance to the cave needed to remain as it were before, and not be obstructed in a way that made the entrance visible. The two were only to remain for a few hours before continuing their journey to the village, an hour or two sleep was enough to vitalise Hato for the remainder of the trip.

Hato reflected back to the Chunin who was assigned to the original mission, it had been several hours since the Chunin left Hato in the city to complete some "extra work." Although Hato was unclear of when and where to find the Chunin, he felt somewhat responsible for returning back to the village. He was aware of how difficult it was to locate the village. Even with his Byakugan it may prove a challenge, despite how confident he was in his abilities. From the previous uses of the Byakugan, Hato couldn't locate the Chunin and was hoping the ninja hadn't discovered some sort of trouble. He was hoping to find the Chunin back at the village safe and sound, and hopefully, Hato wouldn't be reprimanded too badly for leaving.

The cave was rugged with grass and dirt scattered on the floor, with claw markings on the sides of the cave walls. Despite the cleanliness, it was large enough to cater for two people. He glanced over to Aimi who began to speak to Hato, only to smirk at his comment.

"Boy do I wish, that would make boiling tea that much easier. I can start a fire if you would like."
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Golnax
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The Long Journey Home

Post by Golnax » Wed Jun 24, 2020 3:01 am

That was a no, then, which was ultimately a good thing for the bannin though he did wish circumstances were different so that he could be lazy and just light a fire himself. Being that he was incognito though, the nodded his head and removed his hat, placing it on the cave floor and saying, "Right. Then we need some kindling, and a good amount of it. We should split up briefly and go out to find some. Twigs, sticks, fallen branches and the like. Stuff that's been on the ground for a while. It'll be dry and easy to burn that way. Let's meet back here with what we find in a few minutes, hm? I'll be fine by myself for a little bit. I may be old, but I'm not blind!"

He would smile at Hato as he turned and started to shuffle away. Unlike the genin who was being careful with his steps so as to not disturb any natural paths Aimi was walking where and how he pleased. It not only helped his disguise but it was how he walked normally anyways. Strength gave him an immense sense of pride and thus he never really saw a need to conceal himself when out and about. The way he saw it, if he was found then so be it; he would fight his way out of whatever situation he stumbled into. Truth be told this was one of the few times he'd ever bothered to be stealthy ever and so far it was going well for him! As he walked he picked up a stick or two that he saw laying on the ground. If he felt a twig snap under his foot he'd stop and pick that up too.

All the while though he was steadily, but slowly, putting distance between himself and Hato. He needed to find out just how far away the young ninja would let him stray. Hato seemed to him to be the protective type and fairly devoted to getting the job done. How far away he could separate themselves was something he needed to know as the more distance he put between them the better off he'd be when he went to open his tenketsu again... As he walked he began to settle on a plan to wait until Hato was asleep before doing that. Byakugan or no, his chakra would be visible to the naked eye for a few seconds once he threw open the inner gates. The cloud would be immense and he needed to be certain that Hato would not see. Since he didn't know the range of his Byakugan he had to assume that all the distance in the world would hardly matter, thus it was left to wait until the boy was unconscious... He was a ninja though, like him. He must have had some training to help him stay awake and to wake up at a moments' notice. How was he going to manage this...?

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Cernunnos
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The Long Journey Home

Post by Cernunnos » Sat Jun 27, 2020 6:16 pm

Hato was slightly hesitant to let Arisato wander off by himself, especially at this time of night. He didn't want to insult the old man who insisted on helping, after all, it was only gathering a few sticks and twigs. Hato would be careful to not let the man stray away too far, as long as he was within hearing distance Hato would remain comfortable. From scanning the area earlier with the Byakugan, there was no sign of other human life, guess it wasn't the worst idea to let the old man help out.

"Hmm, okay Arisato. Let's split up."

Before he could finish his sentence, Arisato had begun shuffling away to pick up twigs. It made sense that the old man wasn't going to take orders from a young boy such as Hato, no matter the difference in their physical capabilities. Hato sighed for a moment before turning into the opposite direction to pick up some twigs, aiming for old, fallen branches just as Arisato explained, they would make for a more efficient fire. Meanwhile, he made sure to keep his ears open for distant sounds and footsteps, as a shinobi his ear was trained to hear and differentiate noises, in particular, he focused on Arisato's footsteps.

He returned back to the cave entrance, a mountain of sticks dropped into the centre of the cave where Hato presumed the fire would be lit. As predicted, he was faster than Arisato, nothing too gloat as it would be a surprise if Arisato came back first. Hato would turn around to begin lighting the fire, rubbing the sticks in a method to create friction, hoping for some sparks to fly out and light the fire. It was at this moment Hato realised he forgot to purchase a lighter while in the city, the Chuunin he travelled with was the one responsible for the lighter. He once again wondered where he was, hopefully the Chuunin was safe.
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The Long Journey Home

Post by Taiga » Thu Jul 16, 2020 9:22 am

After all the erratic behaviour, complaining, and drunken stupors Taiga had unleashed upon the village in his anguish towards his failing shinobi career it was quite the surprise to Taiga that being a jounin was rather boring. While the pay was higher his promotion had brought with him a great deal of inescapable responsibilities including the occasional border patrol duty. Still ever the optimist he appreciated the ability he now had to officially leave the village and stretch his legs even if it meant he had to sacrifice the freedom of his personal schedule. He looked to the others around him- a few of the three-day patrol who was scattered about their makeshift camp.

The later night got the more interesting the forest tended to become and with everyone adequately rested it was best they returned to patrol. He fidgeted at his sleeve raising it slightly and revealing the communications fuuinjutsu. Taiga was one platoon leader of many out in the forests tonight and just like them he had multiple fuuin that lined his arm to keep everyone connected and raise any alarms- if need be.

Rising to his feet he approached the center of their camp- 10 other men all around him. Ever since the attacks on Konoha the village had wasted no human resources in keeping the security of Konohagakure on lock.

"Yozei with me- we will head east. Squads 2 west, 3 north, 4 south, 5 hold camp."

The merry chatter of those around them ended sharply as the shinobi moved to action.
East would be quite uneventful for the most part. As the pair moved closer to a cave structure hidden behind a dense set of trees. Needing to take a leak he would break off from Yozei and head towards the cave for some privacy. Before he could start the deed however his eyes moved to their corners as he noticed a flickering light coming from the entrance of the cave.

Lights? There's a fire?

That wasn't normal.

His hand touched the fuuinjutsu on his wrist.

"Yozei- either we got a forest fire or intruders and both of those seem to me like problems- theres an opening to the cavelike structure in the direction I went off in, get there fast, I'll run recon."

A puff of smoke appearing about him, Taiga would leap forward into and through the wall of the cave. His senses felt two figures and the fire- but that wasn't that much information. Moving his way to the top of the cave, he would poke his head the absolute minimum needed to peek out of the ceiling so that he could look down... noting a Konohagakure shinobi and an old folk?

His gut welled- something seemed odd, yet regardless there seamed to be very little risk- besides, Yozei would be here soon?

Taiga dropped down from the roof, his stone body landing right in the fire. He'd step out to the side, brush himself off, and look to the two.

"Evening folks- did you know only you can prevent forest fires?"

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