Enter the Web

[Sia]

It had been a while Maido supposed. Who could she ask for help now that she had come back to Iwa? She had Hisayo, Kayoko, Frglfrgblrgr, and the Octopus. There was a troubling matter in some of the underground forests. A large spirit spider had made home in a corner, causing it to look more like a terrible, haunted, evil maze than a farm. Such things were Maido's expertise and since she was in the area, it bode well for her to check it out. Adjusting her armor, she one white braid, then her one black, her red eyes glowed in the night as she strolled the underground streets of Iwagakure, making her way towards the farmlands. She thought of Kotaru and the other's, and how they might be up for a game.

She gathered Hisayo and Kayoko and summoned Frglfrgblrgr. Kayoko remained in her human form and walked behind Hisayo, with Maido as the four of them strolled around the streets, slowly making their way towards a guard post in order to send a message to Kotaru to see if he was around and up for some fun. It had been a long time since Maido has seen him and she knew many things had changed, what with the war and all. She carved off a bit of her cloak with her claw, and fashioned a large umbrella. Playing with it as she walked, her cloak regenerated and she paid it no further mind.

The message was short, but the gist of it was as so;

It's been a while since I've seen you, care to tag along on an adventure and catch-up?

-Maido

She changed direction suddenly and her pace hastened. No longer tip-toeing quietly along the ground, Maido began to float softly above it and skated quickly towards a new destination. The paper had been touched, her fuuinjutsu had sensed it. Was he home? Or out and about at work? For a moment, Hisayo, Kayoko, and the others struggled to keep up. Breathing in their mists, their bodies suddenly booned. Taking from Maido's reserves, the group caught up to her quickly, though Kayoko asked Maido to "Slow down, damnit." Maido nodded towards her and grinned before skating through the air towards the Akari compound. Truthfully, she wasn't entirely sure if she was even allowed on the premises but that typically didn't stop her. The five of them then leaped over the wall. In the dark, they tread through the underground and Maido began to feel out with her chakra. In her mind's eye, many figures began to take shape and come to her sight. She narrowed it down, and felt it out. She tampered with a mist and began to extend its range. If he was here, they would find him. By now, several Akari had indeed noticed their presence. Not exactly unwelcome, but definitely a bit of a surprise.

It would certainly be a shame if he didn't even stay there.

[Kao]

The guard posts within the village proper normally didn’t receive much work, specially since the war’s end. The men lazed around more often than not, waiting around for the stray order from a superior to run some menial errand. So it was quite a surprise when Maido and her posse strolled up with a message in hand for the bannin Akari Kotaru, no less. The two’s relationship has blossomed and wilted years ago, and it wasn’t common knowledge to the general public and the lowly foot soldiers of Iwa that they had been carnally involved. But this guard did know of Maido and her rank and strength, so although he was as a bit peeved to have to run an errand for a Kiri woman, he knew he’d better do as he was told since two bannin were involved.

Instead of delivering the message himself, the guard sent the message through a ninbyou, a small grey ninja cat with a marking the shape of a red cross on the crown of her head. She hurried through the streets with speed rivaling a seasoned chuunin, weaving in and out of human legs and through dingy trash-filler alleys. The feline eventually made her way to the Akari compound and scales the dark brick wall, then hopped from rooftop to rooftop in search of the elusive bannin. Eventually the cat stopped in front of a two-story building in the compound’s western sector, and she sat down expectantly in front of the ornately carved mahogany doors.

Less than a minute went by and the doors eventually swung open, and a short statures Akari sauntered through the doors. His brows were furrowed and his lips were locked in a frown, but his sour expression didn’t stop the ninbyou from bounding up to him and rubbing against his legs, her chest reverberating with a loud purr. Kotaru looked down, surprised and intrigued, and his expression softened marginally. The cat turned around to reveal the tightly rolled parchment strapped to her back. He kneeled and removed the scroll and gave her a grateful scratch beneath her chin before opening it. ’Maido?’

How unexpected. Kota hadn’t spoken with her in what had to be years now, so the sudden invitation was certainly a surprise. A proposed “adventure” with Maido would have alarmed most people, but Kotaru saw it as an opportunity to take his mind off things. Between the war recovery and the situations with Tastuo and Ume, he welcomed the distraction.

He wasn’t sure when and where Maido would want to meet, but knowing her she was bound to pop up sooner or later. With that in mind, Kotaru burned the letter in his hand and then started to make his way out of the compound and toward the tea shop-slash-sauna he owned. But before he could head out, he heard a growing commotion near the compound’s gates. He passed a couple of Akari who were grumbling about a group of trespassers, so with a roll of his eyes Kotaru went to see just who these so-called outsiders were.

[Sia]

It was the eldest Muramasa which noticed him first. From afar, his chakra signature entered her range and his unique signature flourished. In her eyes, a darkness. A troubled, clouded, dark child. He reminded her of herself in a way, Maido supposed. Maido listened to the ruckus of the Akari clan, several of which she realized she had seen around at festivities here and there. Her mind drifted momentarily to thoughts of arm wrestling and she remembered a cousin that had particularly seemed to rub Kotaru the wrong way...

Or the right one.

Hisayo twitched and she shot a glance over her shoulder. Maido's movements hadn't slowed much, but it was enough for Hisayo to notice. This was her purpose. She scanned the area thoroughly, taking in her surroundings. She noted the smell, the light sources, the exits, and the hiding places. She scanned the grounds quickly but shifted her attention back to the ruckus afoot. It smelled vaguely of blood here, yet it wasn't coming from Maido. Kayoko noticed it too but neither of them particularly paid it any mind. In a stroke, Maido opened her glowing red eyes. One hand came up and her students became silent. In the light, Kotaru's figure could be made out eventually, though Hisayo and Kayoko weren't particularly familiar with him yet. He did smell like the others however, Hisayo noted.

A light red mist began to encroach from afar, following behind Kotaru as he walked, trailing along the ground and inching nearer to his footsteps but never quite touching. Maido was excited to see him, for many reasons. For one, it had been some time. A war had happened after all and she had been quite busy. Nevertheless though she was in good company for now. He rolled up upon them and the mist stopped short, tickling at the back of his head in a wisp akin to a tendril.

Hisayo saw him first, but Maido spoke up a moment beforehand, "I hope the war treated you well, stranger," jeered Maido playfully. Her voice was soft but loud and Kayoko turned at the sound of it, Maido's voice catching her attention over the rambling of the others. Kayoko spoke up suddenly then, "We should eat before we go." To which Maido wholeheartedly agreed. It would be nice to catch up for a bit and plan the mission, perhaps. Still, she couldn't help but notice a few key components had changed about him. His eyes, his markings, his extra parts. They were more refined now, and poised. With purpose he walked, yet lazily so. He had achieved greatness and to Maido, it appeared to bore him.

So then, they would need to have some fun. "Tell me about your clan, I don't know much about them but I've heard that they're very....Kiri." The last word lingered, leaving Hisayo and Kayoko to exchange odd glances but otherwise not pay it particularly any mind. Kayoko thought about food, particularly dumplings and soup. It had been a little cold lately and she could do with a warm meal before they set out. "Where can we get something warm?" She asked Kotaru. Hisayo noted that Kayoko was particularly polite in tone when she asked, something that struck Hisayo and Maido as rather peculiar and odd. Hisayo did have to agree though, some food and tea was beginning to sound good. "I slept through most of the war." Maido said grimly, her face no longer smiling. She had meditated and learned a lot during the war, but had mostly been absent unfortunately. Deep underwater she had stirred and missed the worlds many wonders, including the boys of other villages.

[Sia]

whoops