Kārī Kālls, A Spirit Invasion mission!

[Kanade]

Kanade’s shoulders slumped as she received the news that she was to go on a B ranked mission, and that she would be escorting someone for it. She thought that the Kage had entrusted her with overseeing the missions that needed to be handled to make sure that Iwagakure no Sato, and wasn’t going to be put on baby-sitting duty for some chuunin who wanted to see what it was like to go on a B ranked mission. She had enough of making sure that other people weren’t going to die without an escort mission. Smiling at the messenger in farewell and letting them know she accepted the mission they promptly took off using the quick-step maneuver, she shut the door to her restaurant.

“What’s that boss?” Her waitress was cleaning up the table from the last customer that they had. The table was already lacquered so well that wiping it once would probably have done the job, but the waitress liked keeping busy, and so she was polishing it to a high shine.

“Another mission.” Kanade nodded as the waitress made a silent ‘oh’ and raised an eyebrow.

“You gonna open it?”

“Yeah.” Kanade sighed and the waitress put down the rag, waiting for her to do so with a hand on her hip.

She unfurled it and read, “Kanade, you are tasked with assisting and escorting Yanagida Yukino to the shrine of Kārī, where you will be retrieving scrolls that will assist in the capturing and subdual of spirits from their vaults. You will also be investigating to see whether there are any signs of peculiar activities within the shrine itself. There is rumored to be a scroll that has a way to destroy spirits, rather than merely banishing them. Please look into this rumor as well while you are there.

-Tatsuo.”

As she read, the smile that she felt bubbling up as she recognized the name Yukino, and the name Kārī from the waitress she had only met that month. She had been meaning to knock her up and see what she was doing but didn’t want to be a bother, that and the task that she had been given by the Tsuchikage was to help her on to becoming a bannin. It was a test for her to show her mettle, and she had been distracted by it, reasonably so.

“That smile says you already know Yukino.” The waitress smirked at her, “Lucky gal to have caught your eye.”

“She’s a friend that I met when I was down,” Kanade explained, “You know, before you were here, you short-timer.”

“So does this mean I’m out of work for a while?” The waitress asked, her green eyes pleading and her red curly hair bouncing around her face.

“It means, you and the sous chef will be given a pay advance, and have a vacation from keeping up with this place.” The waitress cracked a wide smile. Kanade held up a finger and shook her head, “Now, I want everything that can be salvaged and preserved to be done before you go on vacation.” She gave the girl a look with a warning tone.

After tying up loose ends, and leaving the key with the waitress to the front door, she gathered her shinobi supplies. She had packed a backpack full of essentials, and some cooking utensils in case they got caught out of doors. She had no idea where this temple was, but wanted to make sure that she wasn’t caught with her pants down, as the expression goes.

Her hair, she had braided so that it fell over her left shoulder, there was no hair-tie available to her that could withstand the heat of the magma, so she had just heated the end of it, so that it blended together nicely. She was dressed in a purple gi with white trim, wearing her necklace that kept others from telling how powerful she was so that she could get the most information possible without spilling the proverbial beans. The forehead protector she had received upon arrival and induction into Iwagakure’s fighting forces was wrapped around her waist and she had gathered her ninja tools.

The staff that belonged to Chiaki seemed to fit poorly into her hands, the creases that had folded over her staff from her previous two bodies just didn’t mesh with the staff, and it seemed to have abandoned her alongside her friends from the past, and so she left it in her room above the restaurant. She shouldered her pack and smiled at her staff, the sous chef had come in for the dinner rush, “You two don’t get into any trouble while I’m gone. I’ll be back when I can." She took out two envelopes with the money that they would be receiving for their work today closing up the shop and preserving the food, and for the coming two weeks as if they had worked it. A paid vacation.

“If I’m gone for longer, I’ll pay you when I get back.” She winked at the both of them and took off across the rooftops, arriving at the restaurant that was still penned in the neat, slanted handwriting. She murmured to herself, “The Vermillion Cafe. Hm.” She entered the restaurant and looked around to see whether Yukino was here, she could hardly forget the iridescent eyes and platinum hair. Catching a glimpse of her, she set down her pack and waved, “Yanagida-san!” she used the last name and honorific since she didn’t want to be rude, and waved the mission scroll in her hand.

[932/??? NANOWRIMO]

[Kao]

A series of loud, insistent taps against her window woke Yukino from a uncomfortably vivid dream. She groaned as her eyes fluttered open and she grumbled irritably as she turned over towards the sound. The light from the full moon outside illuminated her room in a soft white glow. It was the middle of the night, a most unwelcome time for a mysterious tap tap at her window. The woman sat up and squinted, and she could make out the silhouette of a large bird. She paused. She hadn’t seen a messenger hawk in years, not since she was summoned to serve in the Great War a year and a half before its end. There must be some mistake, she thought. Yukino stared at it, willing it to realize its error and take off for its intended recipient. But it simply stared back and her then resumed its tapping.

Hesitantly she slid out of bed and opened the window, and the domesticated bird of prey turned around so she could remove the tightly rolled scroll strapped to its back. A pit formed in her stomach as she read the neatly printed words. Yanagida Yukino. Ah, so it wasn’t a mistake. You have been specially selected for a mission in northeastern Rock Country. Despite your status as a RETIRED SPECIAL JOUNIN, you have been requested to assist those at the Shrine of Kārī.

Her eyes widened as she continued reading the assignment, and by the time she she read the last word her hands were shaking in anger.


The next morning was a blur. At one point Yukino found herself standing in front of a large black chest. Her heart thudded in her chest as she robotically opened it. Cold fingers found the soft fabric of her shinobi outfit. It felt familiar in her hands, and she took a moment to rub the fabric between her fingers. The bodysuit still fit perfectly, the same as the last day she had worn it. Almost as if nothing had changed. The woman then slipped on the cropped grey and white top, tugging at the puffy sleeves until they looked just right. At the bottom of the chest was a small box with her accessories: a white and black curved headpiece with a gold ornament that she wore on the side of her head; earrings shaped like a cloverleaf knot with red tassels that hung past her chin; and her long gloves, fingerless save for the middle finger. She looked at herself in the mirror, and the person that looked back at her was a figure from her past, one that she thought she had left behind completely. At mid-morning, Yukino the kunoichi stepped beyond the threshold of her home and walked toward the Vermillion Cafe.

She should have known quitting wouldn’t be easy. “What the hell do you mean you’re turning in your resignation? You retired! No, I won’t let you!” As the words left his mouth, he quickly realized it was a mistake. This woman was Yukino but she wasn’t Yukino. She wasn’t smiling, she wasn’t twirling her hair. Instead the kunoichi stood stiffly, her hands clasped behind her back. Shit, did she grow taller overnight?

“You won’t let me?” There was something dangerous in her tone. The cafe owner recoiled, but he managed to keep his shoulders square. ”Sorry but you can’t stop me. I resign, effective immediately.” The man started shouting then, and the cafe’s patrons all turned to look at the pair. Yukino raised her palm up to him in a pacifying gesture, but it didn’t help. “You’re causing a scene.”

”CAUSE YOU CAN’T QUIT! Half the customers come here to see you! You can’t leave Yukino, PLEASE! I’ll increase your pay, whatever you want!” The woman sighed. She hated when men begged. In all the commotion she didn’t hear Kanade come in, but she turned when she heard approaching footsteps and her name. She didn’t respond at first, but eventually she bowed shallowly at the bright eyed newcomer. Hello, Kanade-san.” It was only proper; after all, Kanade outranked her.

[Kanade]

Kanade had walked in to an argument in the middle of happening, and it looked like Yukino was winning. She hadn't seen this side of the girl before, gone was the sweet smile and the gentle touch, here was a hardened kunoichi. She had heard that she, herself, had a 'mission face' but she hadn't believed that there would be the stark contrast from the bubbly girl that seemed to illuminate the room as she bounced from table to table to the stoic statue made of porcelain before her. She had guessed that the training she had undergone was probably some of the cause of the rigidity of the stance, but she couldn't get over the formality toward her. She returned the small bow, wondering if she had caught them at a bad time.

"Sorry, official Iwagakure business." Kanade leveled a flat look at the proprietor, her hair flashing a bright orange beneath a building angry red as her eyes turned from a dark incandescent orange to the color of ripe oranges, she didn't really know how to interject herself any other way. "Shall we?" She walked to the door, holding it open for Yukino and waiting for her to finish with the business that she had with the owner of the restaurant. She couldn't even really remember the name from being embarrassed walking into that situation, feeling rather like she was intruding where she wasn't needed. After all, Yukino could fight her own battles, the evidence of that was in the woman that she had seen when she walked through the door. She would have to put on a brave face, and remember to pay the proprietor of the restaurant for losing a valuable member of his staff to the mission.

"I am guessing that you received word of it this morning too?" She tapped the scroll, still in her hand, "Seeing as you are dressed the part. I was half expecting to come here and beg you to join me." Kanade tilted her head and looked the other woman up and down, perhaps a front-line asset? She didn't seem to have any weaponry besides what the standard fare was. Then again, she had seen people rip apart steel beams with their bare hands, so perhaps the lithe figure with curves in all the right place-. She stopped herself before she got too far with that thought, looking away, coughing and reddening slightly, though it would be hard to tell in this light.

"Alright, got everything you need in that little pack of yours? I think that I have enough provisions for us both for the trip, but I don't have the slightest idea where I am going." She rolled her shoulders, her cooking supplies clanking. She felt over-packed, and rather embarrassed that her own outfit wasn't nearly as stunning as Yukino's. By comparison, she might as well have been wearing a potato sack. Still, this was a mission, and they were going to the shrine. She had packed her shrine maiden robes, the traditional white with red bands around the sleeve cuffs and collar, with a red cord to tie together. She felt like it was a tent, though, and hadn't worn them while traveling for a very long time. She didn't have a teleportation anchor, nor any real idea where she was going, so they were going to have to travel the slow way. Which meant, they would need to eat. She could stand there reasoning with herself that what she packed was necessary, or they could set out. Hopefully Yukino would save Kanade from her own thoughts soon.

[wc: 614/???? NANOWRIMO]

[Kao]

Yukino's eyes were immediately drawn to the woman's hair. She hadn't noticed it when they first met, the way the color shifted from one fiery shade to the next. But before she could even think to comment on it Kanade invited her to leave. She turned to bow deeply at her former boss and he returned the gesture with a silent, desperate please. But she was unmoved. Yukino gave him one last look that betrayed not even an ounce of regret. She hated being cold, but she had long ago learned and mastered the art of drawing the heaviest of blackout curtains over the windows to her soul.

Once they were outside of the cafe she exhaled deeply, and some of the tension in her shoulders eased. "Thanks for rescuing me." She had relaxed, but not by much. But when Kanede brought up their upcoming mission, much of the rigidity returned. "I found out last night, actually. Very unpleasant surprise to find out the shrine is in distress. Though Kārī-sama granted me a dream a few nights ago, so I'm not entirely surprised." Her vivid dreams were both a blessing and a curse. They typically had no prophetic elements, but a few nights ago there were hints here and there that had the woman convinced Kārī was trying to reach her, to get her attention. She had ignored it, and now destruction threatened the shrine.

But destruction was Kārī's domain, and it was only right for Yukino to remind whatever - or whoever - threatened the shrine of that fact.

She pulled her pack from her back and opened it so Kanade could see its contents: half a dozen tiny scrolls and a small silk coin purse. "I have rations, sealed in couple of scrolls. Enough for a few days. Basic medical equipment like bandages and gauze, also sealed...though, considering you're a medic, we may not need those. Also a pouch of ryo, my travel documents. The basics. I travel light." Yukino raised a single brow when she heard the clatter of...was that cookware? "It seems like you don't though, Kanade-san. We don't have far to go. The temple is within the Minami no Kabe mountain range, about thirty-five miles northeast of here. I doubt I can match your pace, so it'll take us a while to get there." The kunoichi looked toward the great wall of Iwagakure and sighed. "I'm ready to leave when you are."

[Kanade]

As Yukino explained herself, concern tinged the features on Kanade's face as she realized that this mission meant a lot more to Yukino than she had originally thought. Putting herself in Yukino's shoes, she supposed that she might even try to cross the border into the lightning empire to save her home shrine. Though her help probably would be unwelcome unless it were the direst of circumstances, given her current appearance and the fact that she was supposed to be dead. Her faux core was probably buried in a little grave in the graveyard, honored with the other fallen Kyoukan. They were loyal to Kumogakure, but only loosely. She had a bad habit of thinking, getting caught up in reverie and almost forgot to nod as Yukino finished up about the dream.

"So you are spiritually inclined then?" She thought that the girl was lucky for that. There were priestesses that would give a limb, any limb, to receive a gift such as that. She then thought about a response to the question. How much could she reveal about who she was before she betrayed that she used to be Chiaki, missing ninja from the village hidden in the clouds. Best to keep that she was adept at Jikukan jutsu unless asked, or the situation called for it. She nodded, "Yeah, I like cooking quite a bit, and, well, I don't trust scrolls with the food. Last time it did something funky to the taste." She looked behind her, instantly regretting not sealing the other things in scrolls, "The other things, uh, I didn't really think about sealing. My family and I used to go on backpacking trips into the mountains to our sister shrine. The journey would take about a week, so I am used to packing it all in on my back." She did, however, make a mental note about packing these sorts of things somewhere they could be retrieved easily.

"I had forgotten that I told you that I was a medical kunoichi." Kanade chuckled and nodded, "Well, I mean, I'm not all that fast myself. It usually takes me anywhere from half the time to three times that amount to get to where I'm supposed to be going, and if I am being completely honest I only know the general direction to most places, trusting that I will end up where I am needed, when I am needed."

Since Yukino was ready to head out, they departed, moving at a steady pace, Kanade didn't tire easily, and would only stop when her companion called for it. The training she had endured, and the long hours at the smithy made her endurance neigh unflaggable. She did, however, have a sense for when someone needed a break, and was more focused on others' needs than her own. As they walked out of the gates toward the general direction of their destination she spoke up, "Since we're going to the shrine, maybe you could tell me more about Kārī-sama and your relationship with her. I practice a more holistic worshipping of the spirits inherent in all things, and pay my respects to the Kami of our world, but I only know the barest of details, usually surface ones." Kanade smiled back at Yukino, her hair and eyes brightening as she did with genuine excitement, "I love to learn more about the world around me, and the beings that share our world with us. Kārī-sama seems like she has more to do with my life than I expect." Whether I want it or not, She thought.

[598/???? NANOWRIMO]

[Kao]

Yukino hummed thoughtfully at her partner's first question. "Spiritually inclined.... Not in the sense that I can use tenkujutsu. It's something I have never been able to get the hang of.” At the start of their journey Yukino was rather quiet. She nodded at Kanade’s reasoning behind packing so heavily, and she listened politely as the jounin mentioned her general pace through life. But Yukino was only half listening then. Her mind was elsewhere, already miles away at the shrine. Not long after they passed through Iwagakure's massive walls she would say to Kanade, "Let's not waste time," and picked up their pace. It would take them several hours to get to the shrine even if they moved at a high speed, and she could tell that her partner liked to talk. Even though Yukino felt like brooding, the woman told herself she should make a conscious attempt to chat rather than retreat into herself.

Unlike at their first meeting, Yukino didn't light up when Kanade asked about the kami. Her lips were still in a taught line as she thought for a moment and she pulled the hood of her cloak further down her brow. "She's a multi-faceted kami. She's most known for appearing to people who are on a dark and lonely path who have harmed others, and she gives them the Choice: destruction, or salvation. But, between you and me, the outcome is the same. You die. No one escapes death, no matter what method they use. She lords over the inevitable. The march of time always leads to death. Even She is not immune from it."

"I suppose it makes sense. Time and death spare no one, not even the gods. It's hard for some people to accept but to me it's a simple enough truth to swallow. I've always had a special connection with Kārī and with certain spirits. My father-" she paused, having to catch her voice as it wavered. Though several years had passed already the memory of her father, with his warm smile and kind eyes, was still enough to make her eyes glisten But she held back the emotion, cleared her throat, and continued. “My father always said I have a gift. He pushed me to let Her in more, to let Her use me as a sort of vessel to do Her will, but…I think I’m afraid of losing myself to such a powerful kami. She’s not to be taken lightly.”

During their travels, Yukino would answer whatever question related to Kārī that Kanade had for her. By the time they were near the shrine, the sun had travelled most of its daily distance in the sky and was making its descent towards the horizon. A thick layer of freshly fallen snow created a striking contrast of stark, static white and grey against the sky's dynamic soft pastels of yellows, oranges, and pinks that blended and darkened into deep purples and blues. It was a beautifully nostalgic scene for the woman. Since they were almost at their destination, she turned to Kanade and asked, "Is there anything else you want to know before we go any further?"

[Kanade]

“Well, one doesn’t have to possess Tenkujutsu to be spiritually inclined. My cla-” She stopped and sighed, “My sisters at the shrine weren’t very adept at Tenkujutsu.” She smiled as Yukino told them to pick up the pace and nodded, keeping pace with Yukino rather easily as fast as she was willing to go. The pace wasn’t a grueling one, or so Kanade thought, and she hoped that her talking was not disturbing her companion. She had hoped that speaking about it might help to get some of the thoughts out of her head, to focus more on the mission. What if it backfired though?

She nodded to the multifaceted Kami and wondered whether or not she would be visited by this Kami now. Yukino was as close to a friend as she had in this village, and even now she could feel the barriers coming up. It was to be expected, perhaps, on a mission, but maybe they would be stronger friends afterward. She had hated to admit that she blushed when Yukino had said second date and had wanted to tease her about maybe this being their second date. A nice stroll to the shrine, helping out her sisterhood, but the pall that was cast on the whole ordeal, the worry behind Yukino’s eyes made Kanade think twice about that, tucking that particular quip away for the next time that they met in more jovial circumstances.

The dark and lonely path was definitely where Kanade herself was, and she hoped that she was at least offered salvation. Perhaps she was beyond saving though, the inner voice that shouted self-doubting thoughts, that had only grown with Hanako’s retreat to Kumogakure, with Kirari’s distancing and eventual immigration back to Kumogakure, with her faked death, with the loss of her friends in not only Konoha but Kintsugi. The voice threatened to drown out the rest of what Yukino was saying, and she nodded. It was a bit naive to think that she could have escaped death by way of becoming an elemental body. She herself had tried to, and still had the remnants of that chapter of her life buried deep in her chest. When she mentioned that no one is immune to death she placed a hand over her animus, next to her beating heart, feeling a painful ache rise up, threatening memories and tears. She grit her teeth and looked into the trees, away from Yukino and nodded, swallowing back the tears before looking back at the road again.

Perhaps the Kami of fate thought it was funny, teasing her by sending her a friend who was a disciple of Kari. She listened, and found Yukino almost to the point of tears now as well. Death, especially of family, was a tough subject for the both of them. Damn Tatsuo for sending them on a mission together when he knew both had the same volatility toward the same subject. Hers was known only to him and a select other few; Shinjiro included. She supposed Yukino’s was as well.

She opened her mouth to tell Yukino something, hesitated and stopped for a moment, letting out a cut off barely audible “ah-” before rethinking what she was going to say. What was she going to tell her, I think your father was wrong, letting someone use you as a vessel is the wrong thing. You should protect your life ? That certainly would be ironic, seeing as Chiaki was living in the vessel of Thabisa Enkouten. No, she instead said, “Losing yourself sounds like a kind of hell in and of itself. I have seen people lose themselves to strong emotions, Shinjiro almost killed me the last time it happened to him.” She hesitated and chuckled lightly, “Though Vorashu was really to blame.”

She didn’t really have more questions through the journey, but instead just tried to make small-talk and floated surface level questions, only stopping once for a drink of water. “I suppose that I should ask what the customs are, you know, before we go into the shrine. I know to bow, and pray, and thank the goddess Kari for letting us into her home. I know to take off my shoes, and I was thinking of changing into my shinto robes to respect the people in temple.” She pointed to her backpack, but she shrugged, “I’ll really just be leaning on you and your knowledge of the shrine for the whole encounter.”

She frowned and her features darkened as she remembered the mission, a tickle in the back of her mind bringing it to the fore, “But I suppose I should ask you a favor. If you see or hear anything that is ‘out of the ordinary’ like the mission says, that you let me help you with the problem if I can.” She wanted to be of use on the mission. Retrieving the scrolls wouldn’t be difficult, they only had to show the mission scroll to the shrine head and they would probably relinquish it without a fuss.

The rumored scroll of spirit killing, rather than spirit banishing was another business altogether. There may be only one or two people who even knew about it. Further complicating matters, it sounded like there was either a cultist that had infiltrated the shrine, or that there was a spirit that was displeased with the shrine. The absolute worst case scenario Kanade could think of was that Kari herself was displeased with the shrine, perhaps for housing a scroll that could kill spirits, and was visiting some sort of wrath upon them. Kanade wasn’t conceited enough to think that she stood any sort of a chance of surviving a Kami’s wrath.

“You know their ways, so think of me as a sort of, helper. I know tenkujutsu, and can get us back to the village faster than we came if things get too dicey. Just ask for anything and if it’s in my power to do it I will.” She might be ‘leading’ this mission, but Yukino was the one with the most valuable information and skills, contacts, and clout within the shrine.

As they came up to the shrine there were two priestesses that both bowed before them. She noticed the deep and reverent bow that they gave to Yukino, the slight hesitation in their gazes as they sized Kanade up and then bowed, fully half the depth, to her. She was a stranger after all, but she bowed with the same depth they gave to Yukino, showing that she was in their care before saying as much with her words. Then Kanade turned and gave an expectant glance to Yukino, placing all her trust in this mission into that look.

[WC1120/???? Nanowrimo]

[Kao]

At the mention of Shinjiro the kunoichi cut her eyes at her partner. Shinjiro? The Karagata Shinjiro of Kirigakure? She had only heard of the man in stories told by her former comrades - current comrades, she had to remind herself, having returned to active duty and all - but she didn't know anyone who knew him personally. Not only did Kanade mention knowing him but she mentioned him and his famed genma casually, without an honorific in sight. Yukino only hummed in response but she would keep that information stored to return to at another time. Later when Kanade asked about the shrine's customs she responded with, "It seems you have a handle on the basics. If you want to change into your robes, you can. I'll stay in what I'm wearing now." She tapped her hair ornament to bring Kanade's attention to it. "This hair ornament and my earrings show my status there. You can just follow my lead and you'll be fine." But then she paused thoughtfully, "Avoid looking the head priest directly. He isn't a fan of that from people he doesn't know."

At the shrine, Yukino's expression was grave. She could feel the disturbance in the air. The grounds felt heavy and oppressive, and it seemed like the temperature dropped by several degrees the moment they passed beneath the scarlet torii gate. Their breaths came in visible puffs, hanging thickly in the chilly air before dissipating. Yukino resisted the urge to draw her cloak tighter around her. The two priestesses that greeted them immediately bowed, keeping their heads lowered until the duo came to a stop in front of them. With two fingers Yukino tapped the older girl's forehead and then tapped her own, and she repeated the gesture with the younger miko. At Yukino's touch the younger of the two priestesses gasped, then brought her hands up to her mouth apologetically. "S-sorry! I'm just- I'm honored, Lady Yukino! I didn't expect to be acknowledged by one so- ow!" The elder miko elbowed the girl none too gently. "Forgive her, she's new and still in training and has only heard stories about you."

"Please, there's no need. Ah, this is Kanade-san. She's here to assist." The young priestesses looked Kanade up and down, not entirely impressed, but if she was with Yukino she must be useful for something. "Your name?" She said to the younger miko. She recognized Rika, the elder. Again, the priestess looked pleased to be acknowledged.

"I'm Nanako!"

"Pleasure, Nanako-chan. Now, will you take us to the head priest? We have a few questions." Both priestesses nodded and then turned on their heel and led the shinobi to the main hall. The shrine complex was rather large, composed of multiple buildings. The largest stood proudly near the center of the grounds and it was here where the head priest was waiting for them. An elderly man with wisps of white hair on his head hidden beneath his headdress, he tensed when the double doors to the hall opened. He wore his formal vestments, a black robe with puffed sleeves over navy hakama. He didn't stand, but instead waited for the group to approach. The two miko stopped halfway, bowing deeply as the two kunoichic continued on to approach the raised platform he sat upon. Yukino sat before him with her legs folded beneath her and bowed. A tongue lashing was sure to come.

"Didn't think you'd show," he huffed grumpily as he peered down at them with one brilliant blue eye. The other, white and sightless, bore down upon them even more intensely. "It's been how long? Two years? Three? Shameful. You've left me with these weak miko who can't even protect our shrine on their own. I've lost nearly every hair on my head trying to maintain this shrine without you. I bet you haven't even kept up with your training. How will you become our kami's vessel at this rate? And who is this? I don't remember requesting another."

"Urabe-sama." She paused respectfully, waiting for him to grunt his permission for her to continue. "This is Kanade-san. She, too, is a priestess. She is also a shinobi of respectable caliber, recommended by the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure himself. She comes with knowledge of spirits that I'll need in order to ensure our shrine's safety." Yukino looked to Kanade, inclining her head so the woman knew she could speak, ask questions, and find out just exactly what had been happening at the shrine.

[Kanade]

Kanade indeed did take five minutes to put on the robes, stuffing her shinobi outfit into the pack before they made it to the shrine. The two that had greeted them started to speak about Yukino and her clout here. Kanade smiled to the two as she was introduced and was summarily disregarded by both. This was the reaction that she had hoped for when making the new persona before she had taken Thabisa’s body, but Kanade was still unable to really stomach how far out of touch she had fallen. Before she had been in the bingo book, now she was just another faceless Jounin.

She nodded to Nanako as she introduced herself, wondering whether or not they would be led straight to the head priest or whether it would be a seneschal first. She looked around the shrine as they walked, taking in the scenery but also checking for escape routes, points of entry, and anything out of the ordinary or anyone that pointedly was avoiding eye contact with the two kunoichi. Unfortunately, finding none of these, she walked into the large complex, her eyes and head slightly bowed, looking mainly at her own feet and those of the priestesses in front of her.

As they walked the two Miko stopped, bowed and continued to approach. Seeing Yukino kneel, she in turn did so, deciding to stay in a Zarei position until the head priest spoke. He was chastising her for leaving? Kanade kept her eyes on his feet, her expression neutral like she had been trained in the shrine, in the hospital, in the field, to have but her eyes belied her true feelings for the tongue lashing. Bright yellow in color they stared daggers at the man’s feet while her hair reached a dull red color on the surface, a roiling yellow orange underneath. How dare he speak to two Kunoichi this way. Head priest or not, they were here to help him with a problem.

Kanade took a deep breath as she was introduced, closing her eyes, she repeated the deep seated bow before continuing, “Gūji-sama.” She started, opening her eyes and fixing them on his knees. She couldn’t attest to the fact that he had any hair missing and didn’t notice his eyes, “We are here because we were sent for this mission.” She unfurled the scroll and read it quickly for him before clearing her throat, “Some questions if I may be so bold as to ask. What kinds of unusual activities have been happening recently? Do you have suspicions of a certain individual in particular? Would you be willing to lead us to the scroll that is mentioned that can ‘kill spirits’ rather than capturing them? And do you have the scrolls ready as Tsuchikage-sama requested?” She kept the questions short so that he could answer them to the best of his ability without interruption.

She should have set up a protective seal on Yukino upon entering the shrine, or at least entering the grounds, come to think of it. She scolded herself silently for this as she continued her steady gaze at his knees. Kanade wondered whether or not she would get more information from him or from the Miko, or even from the lower ranked gon-negi that were probably more apt to overhear conversations they weren’t supposed to because of cleaning and other janitorial duties within the shrine.

She waited for the answers as time would only tell what kind of digging they would have to do to complete this mission, or how bad the situation really was. Perhaps the calm exterior belied a roiling inside, much like Kanade, who seethed at the head priest’s treatment of Yukino. Perhaps there was some inner rot that they kept hidden away. She hoped that it had nothing to do with the scroll that could kill the spirits, but knew that it was useless to hope that. If even a rumor of the scrolls existence made it as far as Iwagakure, a spirit would visit their wrath on the shrine. Protected by the goddess or no.


[683/???? Nanowrimo]

[Kao]

Unlike Kanade, Yukino sat with her back straight and head held high. She looked directly at him. It wasn’t a challenge, but a display showing that even though he was the head priest, she was very nearly his equal. Kari, after all, had set her sights on the kunoichi. That status alone elevated her far above the average miko. She didn’t go so far as looking the man directly in the eye and holding his gaze. Instead she looked slightly lower, her eyes politely trained to the folds of his robes near his navel. Occasionally though she did look up, and his mismatched eyes saw straight into her iridescent ones.

It annoyed him. But he knew – or hoped – that temporarily giving Yukino the illusion of control over her fate and allowing her a bit more freedom for audacious behavior would make her more amenable. He also needed to stay in her good graces, just in case. At the mention of the scroll he visibly tensed. Yukino raised her brows in acknowledgement, but said nothing. “Items have disappeared. Sacred items. The mirror and the hairpin. Two of our young miko have disappeared as well. They go missing at night, under the new moon. No one here raises any suspicions.” Urabe stared Kanade down as if contemplating how much he should tell her. Eventually he continued, “Scrolls cannot kill spirits.”

Yukino sighed. “But theoretically. If there was a scroll that could possibly do that-”

“One would not keep something like that here. One would destroy it.”

“If it could be destroyed. And if not?”

Urabe hesitated. “Beneath the honden.” That made Yukino balk, and her gaze flickered to the wall behind him.

“You would keep such a thing beneath the sacred hall, below where Kari resides?” The priest’s silence would have confirmation enough, but the way he suddenly couldn’t meet her gaze told her there was something else. When it became clear he was done talking Yukino scoffed and stood up in a single, graceful motion. After bowing at the waist she turned her back to him and beckoned for Kanade to follow her out of the hall. The doors closed behind them with a heavy groan, and the special jounin turned to her partner with fury flashing behind her eyes.

“That idiot!” The insult came in a low hiss, and she ran her fingers through her hair. For a moment, her eyes flashed red. ”Prideful, arrogant fool. I apologize if you had more questions for him but I needed a moment to breathe, away from him.” The kunoichi chewed the inside of her lip then looked to Kanade. “Do you have any technique – sensory, anything – that can tell if there are any spirits currently on the grounds? In objects… She looked to the door to the hall where Urabe was likely still sitting, “In people?”

[Kanade]

Kanade went through the same motions, copying the protocols of the temple which reminded her of home, and the Kyoukan clan. She found a dull ache had settled in her breast as she turned to leave the hall, a curious place indeed to keep a scroll for killing spirits, if such a thing did exist. She did have other questions, but as the conversation came to a close it was just best to let it lie. Besides, she was a guest here, and perhaps not a welcome one with the suspicious looks she had garnered from more than a few of the priests and miko.

“I do,” Kanade answered the question first, “Since you know what is supposed to be spiritually enhanced and what is not I suppose that it would be best to give the sight to you, rather than using it myself.” She wove a complicated set of hand seals, first tethering herself to Yukino, then sending the appropriate chakra that was needed in order to see what had spirits residing in them, or even spirits that were just wandering around the temple.

She hadn’t used it when she was a priestess for the Kyoukan, but the temple, the grounds, the zen rock garden, and the honden were all the places which she had felt the pressure of something that she couldn’t see around her, settling usually in her chest and around her shoulders like some sort of fox. It was strange, but she hadn’t sensed anything like that since she had gone into the grounds here. Secretly Kanade hoped she hadn’t become something of a spiritual anathema.

“What do you see?” She also hoped that her animus wasn’t visible with the spirit vision, or that might have to bear explaining later on as well. Truth be told, she knew how she worked, but didn’t know how it might appear with different techniques for sensing or seeing the spiritual world. “Anything out of the ordinary, especially toward the Honden?” Kanade placed her hands behind her head in her magmatic hair and felt the warmth radiate through her fingers, letting the pink tether stay connecting her to Yukino. Best to keep something there in case of emergency, though she hoped dearly that this was going to be a non-combative mission. Fighting a vengeful or angry goddess or something that was guarding the honden didn’t sound fun, and neither did getting into an altercation with someone who was spiritually possessed.

[Kao]

Yukino blinked in surprise. She had never before experienced using tenkujutsu or sensory, or any other ninjutsu with similar purposes. But as Kanade's power rushed to her eyes, the special jounin felt a sensation that was both strange and familiar. It evoked a hazy memory. She was in the shrine, her vision blurred with muffled voices all around her. The voices were agitated, arguing over something she couldn't understand. Her legs moved of their own volition, and she felt as if she was being pulled along by her hand by something big and cold. The memory faded as quickly as it came, but it left her with a sharp pain in the back of her head that slowly dulled to a small pulse. Yukino looked to Kanade, suspicion and confusion filling her eyes, but she shook her head and refocused.

The kunoichi turning in place to look around the grounds. What she saw made her blood run cold. Just to their left was a shadowy figure, hunted over and on all fours. It appeared to be the silhouette of some sort of animal - an animal with two heads. There was something canine in its form, but its heads almost looked human. It flickered in and out of view, and although it was alarmingly close to them it paid the women no attention. That wasn't all. There were several smaller shadows at the entrances of the other buildings, all shaped like a four-legged creatures with at least two heads. Some of them had up to five, writhing on long snakelike necks. Occasionally they lowered their heads to the ground or raised them in the air. As if sniffing in search of something. Finally, all throughout the grounds were trails of wispy vapors in varied shades of pink and red.

"Wh-what is this." Yukino walked to the nearest vapor trail, her eyes wide. The vapor was a pretty shade of carnation pink, but there was nothing beautiful about the sense of foreboding it evoked. When she put her hand near it she felt nothing. Yukino lowered her fingers carefully and hesitantly touched it. Her hand passed through it as if it wasn't there. "Can you see this too, Kanade-san?" the woman whispered. "I don't understand what this is." The special jounin looked up and around at each of the shadowy spirits. They hadn't moved much, but they seemed as though they had turned their heads toward the woman when she finally noticed their presence. "There shouldn't be spirits on the grounds," Yukino breathed, "especially not ones that are invisible without specialized techniques."

One of the miko - Nanako, she remembered - crossed the courtyard and gave the kunoichi a wave. The color drained from Yukino's face when she noticed a long shadow draped over the girl's shoulders that wasn't there before. She squinted and realized with horror that it was the silhouette of a worm, its head resting on the young girl's chest. "Kanade." She stood, frozen, as the girl suddenly turned to approach them, her eyes now milky white.

[Kanade]

Kanade, as soon as Yukino asked what 'this' was, channeled chakra into her own eyes, looking at the vapor trail, she frowned and looked at the threads, "They look like a technique I saw used once, a long time ago." Kanade was hesitant to say where, "In another shrine far from here, but it bound the practitioners to things, like birds, or other people. These-" she paused and waved a hand through them, "Look broken."

She looked at the spirits and nodded, at one of them, "I am going to give you the ability to speak to them, do you mind if I channel that chakra into you?" She formed the seals for it but waited for Yukino's permission. She would rather not have to fight the worm, but coax it out with words. If Yukino would allow her to, she would channel the chakra into her and keep her eyes focused on the worm, looking for any sudden or malevolent movements. In a pinch she could hurl herself in front of Yukino, using herself as a shield, but she didn't want to overtly cause alarm to the spirit if it just wanted to talk.

Best to see what it wanted, and see if there was a deal that they could come to, to get it to leave the girl. The other spirits were a problem too, since they were not supposed to be here, in the shrine, "If I were to guess." Kanade continued, edging protectively closer to Yukino, "I would say that they already know about what we know about, and aren't too happy it's being kept here."

jutsu used (maybe?)Show

*Shizumeru • [Vision of Spirits]
C-rank Tenkujutsu (Nin)
Pre-Requisite: Sensory Concentration
After performing the needed hand seals, the user focuses chakra to their eyes, causing the Maroon chakra to flare up around their eyes. This works similar to a doujutsu, but with no physical change to the eye itself, allowing the user to see the chakra of spirits and spirit related objects/people as an aura of Maroon. While useful for a quick glance, it can be used up to [Chakra Pool]/5 posts, before needing to be refreshed.

*Shizumeru • [Voice of Spirits]
C-rank Tenkujutsu (Nin)
After performing the needed hand seals and focusing chakra into their hand, the user places their hand on the head of a Spirit host, or on the object containing a spirit. This allows them to speak directly to the spirit in a telepathic link.