[PB] Lost Light

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Niro
Tsuchikage
Tsuchikage
Posts: 9844
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 7:00 pm

[PB] Lost Light

Post by Niro » Fri May 25, 2018 10:02 am

Tatsuo had been awaiting the rest of Team 18 for a solid period of time now. After their promotion to jounin, he had begun to take the approach of being much earlier than the arranged meeting time. He had been waiting at the entrance of the Catacombs elevator for an hour or so now, his arms crossed across his chest and his left foot tapping out a steady rhythm in an attempt to pass the time while he leaned up against one of the walls. The elevator guards and he had already exchanged pleasantries and talked for a little bit. They'd informed him already that something major had happened in the Catacombs and that the entire cavern seemed to be brimming with energy and chakra now. If Tatsuo was a betting man, he'd wager that was exactly why Team 18 had been requested by Hibiki for this mission.

Tatsuo had heard rumors about something big occurring down in the Catacombs but hadn't been able to find out if the rumors were true. Apparently another team had been sent down even farther than where they had explored in their last venture down into the darkness of the caverns and while there had encountered another group of humans. They had been swathed in heavy black cloaks and hoods while droning on about ancient spirits before undoing some seals deep within the Catacombs. Their releasing of the seals had apparently let something terrifying loose. Tatsuo could only imagine what had been freed and what would happen if it came into contact with the other large species down there, particularly the gigantic queen spider they had glimpsed last time. Was it bigger? Smaller? Had they come in contact with each other and fought? What about the theorized king rat whose smaller, yet still gigantic, kin patrolled the graveyard? Had it come into contact with it? Tatsuo had a lot of questions and no answers but hopefully this mission would answer them all and more.
#MakeIwaGreatAgain
NameVillageRankTeam
Tatsuo [color=#940839][b]IwaTsuchikageTeam 18 Jousai
Kinomichi [color=limegreen][b]IwaBanninJousai
Kotetsu [color=slategray][b]IwaGeninTeam 7
Ashura [color=coral][b]SunaGenin
Sai [color=#FF14A1][b]Kiri - MND-Rank
Yamato [color=#C71585][b]KiriA-Rank

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Kao
Posts: 8242
Joined: Fri May 21, 2010 8:00 pm

[PB] Lost Light

Post by Kao » Fri May 25, 2018 7:50 pm

Unlike Tatsuo, Kotaru took his time. The youngest member of Team 18 slowly made his way to their meeting point, taking extra care in avoiding the most populated areas of the village. It didn't matter what path he took, because even if he passed only small gatherings of people there was always someone who recognized him. Shying away from the attention, the young Akari took the long way to the catacombs. His sauntering wasn't just because he wanted to avoid people along the way; Kotaru was not at all looking forward to what was waiting for them below the limits of Iwagakure. He still had dreams about that place - particularly the enormous spiders - and being back down there with those creatures and whatever else those cultists had released didn't exactly sound like a fun time.

But if Kotaru was anything, he was dutiful. He performed the tasks assigned him with minimal complaining. Minimal being the key word. As he approached the entrance of the Catacombs he found himself grumbling to himself more than a few times, but when he saw his older cousin he relaxed. The child jounin silently walked up to Tatsuo and after giving a small wave he stood at the older boy's side. "Fuuun day ahead of us," he droned after a brief pause. "I'd rather not go back into a giant rat and spider-infested abyss but, here we are."

Unlike Tatsuo, the younger Akari tried not to think too much about what was waiting for them below. Doing so would make him more worried than necessary, so instead he kept his mind on what was immediately before them: waiting on the final member of Team 18 to arrive so they could go be briefed about their mission.
Kao's CharactersShow
Akari KotaruBanninIwagakure no Sato Team 18 Jousai [color=#1fb8a3]
Komiya ShizuoJounin Iwagakure no Sato [color=#209DD3]
Yanagida Yukino Special Jounin Iwagakure no Sato [color=#a07ac2]
Ishiwara SetsunaChuunin Iwagakure no Sato[color=#E81D1D]
Enkouten Mai Jounin Iwagakure no Sato [color=#CE5412]
Aisu Namie Chuunin Kirigakure no Sato [color=#5bc2d4]
Awai FusaeA-Rank MNKonohagakure no Sato[color=#D95FEA]
Important NPCsShow
Akari Kanehara Akari clan elder [color=#80A0FF]
Sakata KannaIwagakure Councilwoman [color=#3DA43B]
Hazuki Shuran Jinchuuriki researcher [color=#E854C0]
Enkouten Kaizen Iwagakure councilman, clan leader [color=#C65871]
Rock Country Daimyo [color=#AC4A4A]

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Yura
Posts: 4616
Joined: Wed Dec 24, 2008 7:00 pm

[PB] Lost Light

Post by Yura » Mon May 28, 2018 6:39 pm

Mitsuo had been surprised when he and his teammates had been assigned this mission considering all that it involved. He didn't really understand it much, but it seemed that some group of nafarious actors had managed to release..something into the depths of the Catacombs by breaking some sort of seal and now the village wanted to know what could be done about it. Neither he nor Tats nor Kota had any experience with fuuinjutsu which made them an odd choice for the mission, a sentiment that the village seemed to share given the fact that they had been assigned a fuuinjutsu expert to accompany them. Having met up with the man at the village headquarters, the pair now walked together towards the site of the Catacombs.

An averaged sized man in his late 30's to early 40's, the older man's chesnut hair was shorter on the sides than it was on the top and had speck gray peppered throughout. He was dressed in a light gray tunic and beige pants with a rather large leather satchel strapped around his torso. He didn't have the stockiest of builds, though he didn't seem to be completely without muscle, and Mitsuo didn't see any visable weaponry on him which made him wonder how detramental this guy would be in a fight.

"Tell me again about the rats?" The older man asked, a hint of concern in his tone.

"There were a lot of them." Mitsuo sighed as they decended the steps, passing through the gates that led to the Catacombs. He was not fond of the idea of returning to the dark tunnels that ran beneath the village, but recent developments apparently required it. "Most of them were as big as me, if not bigger."

"Rats the size of humans?" The older man remarked, "And you're sure that they weren't spirit-based life forms?"

"I'm not really sure of anything when it comes to this place." Mitsuo replied, referring to the Catacombs. "Between the giant spiders and the giant rats, oh and the giant cockroaches, I get the sense that there's a whole lot down there that we don't know about."

"Fascinating," The man muttered, "I think I'm actually looking forward this."

"That makes one of us..." Mitsuo mumbled in reply. His encounter with the larger than life creatures hadn't exactly been 'enjoyable' and the fact that larger and stronger spiritual creatures now potentially roamed those same caverns, Mitsuo was less than thrilled.

Reaching the end of a corridor, the exit led to the base camp elevator where he found his teammates. "I guess we're the last ones to get here." Mitsuo said as he approached, "Tats, Kota, this is Eto, Masaru. He's the expert that the village assigned to accompany us on this mission."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both."

"You probably won't feel that way by the end of this mission." Mitsuo quipped, "Now, I suppose we should get going. Shall we?"
CharactersShow
NameRankVillageTeamColor
SadakoGeninIwagakureTeam 13[color=#90D2D8]
Enkouten, MitsuoBanninIwagakureTeam 18|Jousai[color=#ff2200]
Retired CharactersShow
NameRankVillageTeamColor
Nara, ShikariBanninKonohagakureMamorinuku[color=#fb8a00]
Takara, MorikoGeninIwagakure[color=#ffeb66]
Inji, AyakoC-RankWaterfall[color=#8080ff]

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Niro
Tsuchikage
Tsuchikage
Posts: 9844
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 7:00 pm

[PB] Lost Light

Post by Niro » Tue May 29, 2018 8:40 pm

"Giant spiders and rats are apparently the least of our worries now." Tatsuo replied to Kota, offering the young jounin a nod of his head as they waited for Mitsuo to show up. "The last team down there had to deal with some hooded guys releasing really old seals. It let out something...huge. Made what we dealt with look like fodder." Tatsuo prattled on, his face contorting into a frown as he paused to think about what horrors may have been unleashed by the act of undoing the seals.

Mitsuo finally showed up with the fuuinjutsu expert and Tatsuo gave a half-bow after he was introduced. Looking between all members of the group, Tatsuo nodded before sweeping his arm out to allow everyone else to step into the elevator room before him. Once everyone was situated, Tatsuo looked to the guards and nodded as a signal for them to take them down. The guards performed the needed seals and touched the seal on the floor which caused it to rumble for a minute before the entire floor began to sink downwards into the earth.

"So, you're good with fuuinjutsu huh? Got any idea what happened down there?" Tatsuo asked as the elevator went down in an attempt to make some sort of small talk. "Did they, uh, inform you of what happened at all? I got some vague details but besides that not much. Just that something really big was now roaming down there and well, we've already seen really big so I just hope it can't get much worse." Tatsuo went on until the elevator finally ground to a halt. The standing torches implanted into the bottom of the elevator gave just enough light to see the torches leading into the base camp along the cliff top.

Whoever had said the area was charged with energy now was right. The very air seemed to hum with barely restrained energy as Tatsuo began to lead the way to the edge of the cliff so they could get down to business.
#MakeIwaGreatAgain
NameVillageRankTeam
Tatsuo [color=#940839][b]IwaTsuchikageTeam 18 Jousai
Kinomichi [color=limegreen][b]IwaBanninJousai
Kotetsu [color=slategray][b]IwaGeninTeam 7
Ashura [color=coral][b]SunaGenin
Sai [color=#FF14A1][b]Kiri - MND-Rank
Yamato [color=#C71585][b]KiriA-Rank

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Kao
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Joined: Fri May 21, 2010 8:00 pm

[PB] Lost Light

Post by Kao » Sun Jun 03, 2018 11:30 pm

Kotaru's lips formed a hard, straight line at Tatsuo's comment about the dangers below. He kept silent as they made their way to the elevator, keeping his arms crossed as his cousin engaged with the fuuinjutsu master. "Yes, well," he started as he tried to keep his attention to Tatsuo and not the fascinating fuuinjutsu on the floor that allowed them to descend far beneath the village. "They told me that there is a copious amount of fuuinjutsu, most of which contained arrays that hadn't been seen in generations, so they were unfamiliar to those who haven't extensively studied seals. Additionally, there were multiple unknown individuals who tampered with the seals and...something was released. They were fuzzy on the rest of the details, but they made sure I knew there was a very high chance that I would die."

When the platform came to a stop and the group stepped off, Kotaru followed Tatsuo and peered over the edge of the cliff. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled and he glanced around in the darkness. It felt much different than before, the sense of foreboding stronger. But he kept his mouth shut instead of voicing how tense he actually felt. After lighting two flares, the child jounin quickly channeled chakra to his feet, seeing there was no point in wasting their time using the ropes to make their descent further into the abyss.

"We should just make our way down the cliffside without bothering with any ropes. Do you know which way to go?" he asked, jarring the fuuinjutsu master out of his awestruck stupor.

"I believe so, I-"

"Well come on then. Try not to fall behind." Kotaru looked toward his teammates to be sure they all had the same idea and then he began to run down the side of the cliff at a moderate pace. Masaru hesitated, but after a steadying breath he too followed the three shinobi downward. The light from his flares was only enough to see a few inches in front of his face. It was a long way down - a very long way down - and when they finally reached flat ground Kotaru tensed even more. The last time they had been here, there had been a slight breeze. But now the air was completely still, as if the cavern was holding its breath in anticipation for what was to come.
Kao's CharactersShow
Akari KotaruBanninIwagakure no Sato Team 18 Jousai [color=#1fb8a3]
Komiya ShizuoJounin Iwagakure no Sato [color=#209DD3]
Yanagida Yukino Special Jounin Iwagakure no Sato [color=#a07ac2]
Ishiwara SetsunaChuunin Iwagakure no Sato[color=#E81D1D]
Enkouten Mai Jounin Iwagakure no Sato [color=#CE5412]
Aisu Namie Chuunin Kirigakure no Sato [color=#5bc2d4]
Awai FusaeA-Rank MNKonohagakure no Sato[color=#D95FEA]
Important NPCsShow
Akari Kanehara Akari clan elder [color=#80A0FF]
Sakata KannaIwagakure Councilwoman [color=#3DA43B]
Hazuki Shuran Jinchuuriki researcher [color=#E854C0]
Enkouten Kaizen Iwagakure councilman, clan leader [color=#C65871]
Rock Country Daimyo [color=#AC4A4A]

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Yura
Posts: 4616
Joined: Wed Dec 24, 2008 7:00 pm

[PB] Lost Light

Post by Yura » Tue Jun 05, 2018 1:23 pm

Maseru paused as he approached the edge of the cliff, hesitating to follow Kotaru down. Unlike the others, this was his first time ever entering the catacombs. He wasn't sure if he was mentally prepared to plunge down into the darkness, especially considering how his three escorts seemed to describe the creatures that lurked down below. Before this he typically sat in an office or was teaching at the academy. It had been years since he had entered the field and even longer since he had to worry about combating hostile enemies. It made the prospect of this journey both exhilarating and terrifying.

"If you think about it too much, you'll never take the leap." Mitsuo said as he came up beside the older shinobi, "There's nothing that could mentally prepare you for what you're likely to experience so you might as well just get on with it. Come on." Maseru watched as the younger boy climbed over the edge and descended into the darkness. He wondered just how easy it was for Mitsuo to read his thoughts. He was right, of course; the more Maseru thought about the situation, the harder it was for him to follow. With a deep breath, he stepped over the edge and followed his companions down into the darkness.

------

"It's so dark down here." Maseru said as he reached the bottom, "I don't think I could even see my hand in front of my own face." The darkness made him uneasy; any of those creatures could be lurking in this darkness and they would never know.

"Yeah, that's about right." Mitsuo replied, standing only a few feet away. Rummaging through the pack on his back, Mitsuo pulled out a small stick-like object, twisting it until he heard a pop. Suddenly the stick began to glow, providing the group with a small amount of light, just enough to see each other and a little bit of the surrounding area. "Much better. Now, who would like to take the lead?"
CharactersShow
NameRankVillageTeamColor
SadakoGeninIwagakureTeam 13[color=#90D2D8]
Enkouten, MitsuoBanninIwagakureTeam 18|Jousai[color=#ff2200]
Retired CharactersShow
NameRankVillageTeamColor
Nara, ShikariBanninKonohagakureMamorinuku[color=#fb8a00]
Takara, MorikoGeninIwagakure[color=#ffeb66]
Inji, AyakoC-RankWaterfall[color=#8080ff]

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Niro
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Tsuchikage
Posts: 9844
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 7:00 pm

[PB] Lost Light

Post by Niro » Thu Jun 07, 2018 12:09 pm

The descent down the cliff side was anti-climatic compared to there previous trek down it. This time no spiders hampered their path down and they didn’t have to worry about making sure any of the spider nests held the bodies of their wounded or dead comrades. It was a straight shot down this time, the group used the ropes to their max length before finally detaching from them and using the Act of Surface Walking to reach the very bottom of the cliff side. As they came upon solid ground, Tatsuo shifted his pack carrying supplies off of his shoulders and into his arms where he began to rummage through it in search of something.

“Yeah, it’s as dark as dark can get down here.” Tatsuo commented as he pulled out multiple flares from the pack. On their way past the supply crates he had grabbed numerous flares due to knowing about the lack of light at the bottom of the cliff. He cracked one of the sticks before tossing it on the ground as a beacon for where they originally landed before cracking another flare. Rearing his right arm back, Tatsuo hurled the flare to the left of the cliff side in the direction they’d be required to explore as a precaution in case something was waiting for them up ahead. Seeing nothing move in the light of the flare, Tatsuo cracked the remaining flare in his hands before slinging his knapsack back onto his back and deciding to take lead.

“I’ll go first, Mits you take up middle position, Masaru next, and then Kota you’re on rear guard.“ Tatsuo called out as he turned left from the cliff and began to walk. The last time they had ventured down this way, they had been attacked by a pack of giant rats and saved by an even larger swarm of giant cockroaches that possessed a meager ability to talk by mimicking the sounds of speech with their fore legs. Tatsuo kept the flare held out in front of him as he led the way, his eyes sweeping back and forth in an attempt to see any lurking foes in the darkness. The jounin doubted whatever had been released would be this close to camp; the sensors in the camp would have picked up a lifeform as large as the one reported by the previous team.

Soon enough the group reached the graveyard filled with the enormous remains of whatever giant creatures lived down here and made their way to the location to die in peace. Tatsuo listened intently as he swept the flare back and forth, revealing the stark white bones of giants. “I don’t hear or see any rats…maybe whatever was released scared them so much they moved deeper into the Catacombs?” Tatsuo mused as he took a moment to close his eyes and focus on expanding his senses. His Mind’s Eye sensory jutsu reached out to its limit and revealed nothing within the immediate area. “I hope the roaches are okay…” He muttered, worried about their buggy friends who had saved their lives last time.

Pressing forward, the cave floor began to slope down once again. Tatsuo knelt down on the sloping floor and pulled another flare out. He twisted the item to cause it to activate before lodging it firmly within the floor as a marker for their way back. “We’re near the tunnel system the roaches showed us last time, guess that’s where it started to get hairy.” Tatsuo called out to the team, looking behind him to make sure they were all still there.

Soon enough, as they continued to walk forward, the soft blue glow of the bioluminescent mushrooms from their last trip down into the Catacombs came into view. The mushrooms usually gathered around the tunnels and inside of them, forming a natural light of sorts. Tatsuo looked up before he entered the tunnel, trying to see if there was any way for them to go upwards. Instead he was met with a familiar sight, that of a cliff wall. “Guess there’s another cliff down here, wonder what’s at the top…” Tatsuo muttered before entering the tunnel system and following the mushrooms.

The tunnel was littered with mushrooms; they grew on the walls, on the floor against the walls of the cave, and even on the ceiling of the cave. The light they provided was bright enough for the group to see clearly within the tunnels without the aid of their flares. The single tunnel soon broke off into a fork of four different tunnels causing Tatsuo to furrow his brow. “I wanna say the roaches took us to the far-right last time. The right tunnel led us to that large room with the bodies of both rats and Iwa shinobi but there was no other exit. The previous team took the far left which led them to the sealing site, let’s follow.” Tatsuo suggested to the team before beginning to walk down the left most tunnel.

More walking was what the team was treated to. The ground began to slope sharply within the tunnel and lead them deeper within the earth. After several dozen minutes of walking, the tunnel revealed an opening on the other end. Tatsuo cautiously exited the tunnel, looking from side to side just in case something tried to ambush them on the other side. Finding nothing, Tatsuo took a step forward, and then another one only to find his second step was unsupported by ground. The young man began to fall forward before catching himself and shifting his body weight backwards, throwing himself to the ground.

“What the hell! There’s nothing there!” Tatsuo cried out in shock, his chest heaving at the possibility of falling to his death. “Let’s drop some flares down.” He told Kota and Mits, bringing out another handful of flares and activating them. He tossed them forward into the black, watching as they fell down and down and down before finally hitting the bottom. The distance between the ledge and the bottom was give or take 100 meters. Tatsuo squinted at the barely visible flares resting at the bottom before running through a series of hand seals and focusing his chakra. He held his hand out, aiming it down at the flares before firing off his jutsu.

A column of bright lightning erupted from his hand and shot downwards, providing enough light for them to get a glimpse of what was in front of them. A canyon, roughly 100 meters deep, and only about 25 meters wide was in front of them. Dug into the sides of the canyon were perfectly round tunnels about 25 meters in diameter. “I guess we’re close to the sealing site but the previous team never reported this canyon.” Tatsuo told his team mates as he looked for a way around. “The previous team took another left after exiting the tunnel and found the sealing site shortly after, think we should get there as soon as possible or look around a bit?”
SpoilerShow
*[Sensory Style • Beyond Senses]
C-Rank Ninjutsu
Prerequisites: Ninjutsu/Control/Instinct stats of 10
This sensor jutsu is used by shinobi to feel chakra sources within a radius of 25 meters. While this jutsu is fairly helpful in sensing chakra, it is unable to actually pinpoint specific chakras outside of 10 feet. This only gives the Shinobi an idea of how many entities with chakra are present in their general area.

*[Raiton • Thunderous Lightning Cannon]
B-ranked Raiton Jutsu
After performing the correct hand seals, a beam of lightning will erupt from the user's hand. The lightning will travel 50m at 20 speed and explode with the force of 4 explosive tags on contact, while applying the Raiton shocking effect throughout the explosion's area.
#MakeIwaGreatAgain
NameVillageRankTeam
Tatsuo [color=#940839][b]IwaTsuchikageTeam 18 Jousai
Kinomichi [color=limegreen][b]IwaBanninJousai
Kotetsu [color=slategray][b]IwaGeninTeam 7
Ashura [color=coral][b]SunaGenin
Sai [color=#FF14A1][b]Kiri - MND-Rank
Yamato [color=#C71585][b]KiriA-Rank

User avatar
Kao
Posts: 8242
Joined: Fri May 21, 2010 8:00 pm

[PB] Lost Light

Post by Kao » Sat Jun 09, 2018 6:41 am

The graveyard was just as Kotaru remembered it. It was dark and silent, the old bones rising high above them like pale trees, some of them so high that the tops were swallowed by the darkness. The only thing missing was the hoard of rats, and although the boy wouldn't admit it, he was glad to see that the giant rats weren't there waiting for them. "Hate to see the thing that could scare away the rats," Kotaru mumbled mostly to himself. He cared nothing for the roaches; they disgusted him just as much as the rats scared him.

Still bringing up the rear, Kotaru followed the group silently through the mushroom tunnel and then through a tunnel to the left. The walk seemed to take ages, and Kotaru had let his mind wander a tad until Tatsuo's shouting snapped him back to the present. He peeked from behind Mitsuo's form to make sure Tatsuo wasn't being mauled, commented, “Fucking hell, watch where you’re going, Tats,” and then he obediently threw one of the flares he had been holding down the the ledge.

There didn’t seem to be much down there, and this was confirmed when Tatsuo shot a raiton jutsu into the canyon to fully illuminate it. As the light faded, Kotaru shrugged. “No need to risk exploring some place that isn’t on the itinerary. If they didn’t report it then it might not be important.” The jounin started to walk forward to make his way left, but then he stopped as a new thought came to his mind. “That, or this canyon wasn’t here when they were last down here.”

The four of them moved on, turning left to get to the sealing site. The tunnel was low and narrow, forcing them - most of them - to duck and stay rather close. The ground was also littered with sharp, jagged rocks that forced them to move carefully. “I’m not in shape enough for this,” Masaru complained. “I don’t know how I did things like this so easily in my youth.” As they made the trek, Kotaru kept thinking about the canyon and the strange circular tunnels dotting the canyon walls. The sight of such a huge canyon made him uneasy, especially since the previous team’s report had been pretty detailed about landmarks that led to the sealing site. Kotaru didn’t have long to mull over the canyon and what it could mean, because only a few minutes after making the left, they found it.

The walls around them opened up into a large cavern, and the once stifling and thick air became fresh as if a slight breeze was circulating despite the fact that they were miles below the village. The lights from their flares only did so much, but they almost didn’t need it. The room’s walls had a dim blue glow, eerily illuminating the long, finger-like stalagmites that hung from the unseen ceiling.

They immediately came across a small seal on the ground right in front of the tunnel’s exit, roughly a meter in diameter. Masaru was the first to notice it, and he gave a small grunt as he squatted in front of it and lightly touched the lines that made up the seal. “Fascinating, this array,” he mumbled as he traced the lines. Kotaru stepped around him and turned around in a circle, his flare held high above his head to see as much as possible.

“Like old times, huh Mits?” he said as he made his way to his friend’s side. It reminded him of the cave back in Khentii Province, the one that had been home to a giant centipede spirit that he and Mitsuo had battled. Back then the air felt thick and the atmosphere otherworldly, but this area somehow seemed a hundred times more oppressive. “It’s hard to describe but it’s like there’s something…in the air. What did they say happened here again?”
Kao's CharactersShow
Akari KotaruBanninIwagakure no Sato Team 18 Jousai [color=#1fb8a3]
Komiya ShizuoJounin Iwagakure no Sato [color=#209DD3]
Yanagida Yukino Special Jounin Iwagakure no Sato [color=#a07ac2]
Ishiwara SetsunaChuunin Iwagakure no Sato[color=#E81D1D]
Enkouten Mai Jounin Iwagakure no Sato [color=#CE5412]
Aisu Namie Chuunin Kirigakure no Sato [color=#5bc2d4]
Awai FusaeA-Rank MNKonohagakure no Sato[color=#D95FEA]
Important NPCsShow
Akari Kanehara Akari clan elder [color=#80A0FF]
Sakata KannaIwagakure Councilwoman [color=#3DA43B]
Hazuki Shuran Jinchuuriki researcher [color=#E854C0]
Enkouten Kaizen Iwagakure councilman, clan leader [color=#C65871]
Rock Country Daimyo [color=#AC4A4A]

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Yura
Posts: 4616
Joined: Wed Dec 24, 2008 7:00 pm

[PB] Lost Light

Post by Yura » Mon Jun 11, 2018 3:30 pm

"I try not to think about those times." Mitsuo responded to flatly to Kota's rhetorical question. It had been a long while since he and the younger Akari had trekked into central Rock Country and stumbled across the cave filed with spirit-like creatures that attacked them the moment that they were discovered. When he saw the canyon earlier, several meters deep, the vast amount of caves cut into the cliffside reminded him of all of the tunnels that he and Kota had found during their other 'adventure'. He couldn't help but feel that those holes hadn't been naturally made and it was likely that the canyon itself hadn't been either. It was that thought that had put Mitsuo on edge (well, moreso), compelling him to keep an extra awareness of their surroundings. "You're right though," He reluctantly admitted, "It feels like there's some sort of pressure emanating from this cave." He had noticed it when they had entered the area. The same feeling of unease and tension that he had felt in his past encounter with the previous giant monster was being replicated now, only it felt...different. "If I'm remembering correctly, the report said that the previous team had encountered a creature of some sort wherever they had come across the cave full of fuuin. If that's where we are right now, then we need to be careful."

With his flare raised high, Mitsuo approached Masaru as the older shinobi studied the seal on the floor. "Any idea what it's for?" Mitsuo asked as he peered over the man's shoulder. With little to know knowledge of fuuin himself, the marking simply appeared to him to be a mere random arrangement of lines.

"It's hard to say, really." The older man replied without taking his eyes off of the seal, "At first glance, it appears to be what we would consider to be a high level seal of some kind given its size and complexity, but it's that complexity that makes it hard to determine what the seal was meant for." Masaru explained to an ignorant Mitsuo, "Making matters worse, it doesn't even seem to follow modern conventional seal structure which suggests that it is an old seal. Or rather, it was. There doesn't seem to be any chakra running though it anymore." The man reached out an felt along the seal, engraved into the stone floor itself. While he had no way of knowing how old the seal was, the pattern that it used suggested that it or whoever had placed it existed more than a century ago, but the carvings in the stone appeared to be brand new. Assuming that that meant that the seal had only just ran out of chakra, it raised a question that had Masaru a bit puzzled: How had the seal been maintained for so long? If his hypothesis was correct, the seal had maintained itself for several decades until very recently, possible when the other team had explored these caverns. That was a long time for a fuuin seal to maintain itself without an influx of energy every now and then. The answer to that question was likely in the complexity of the seal, but he hadn't had enough time to truly inspect it. "My best guess, given the location of the seal and a few other aspects of the seal itself, I think this seal was designed to prevent anyone from continuing beyond this point. How exactly it was meant to do that I'm not sure though."

"Then it sounds like we're heading in the right direction." Mitsuo replied as he stood up straight and peered off into the darkness ahead of them. The older shinobi's words hadn't done much to quell his unease. If there was a seal designed to keep people out, what was it that they were about to find? "I guess we keep moving then." He sighed, "Kota, no matter what make sure our rear route stays clear. If we run into some sort of danger, we're going to want to make a swift exit."
CharactersShow
NameRankVillageTeamColor
SadakoGeninIwagakureTeam 13[color=#90D2D8]
Enkouten, MitsuoBanninIwagakureTeam 18|Jousai[color=#ff2200]
Retired CharactersShow
NameRankVillageTeamColor
Nara, ShikariBanninKonohagakureMamorinuku[color=#fb8a00]
Takara, MorikoGeninIwagakure[color=#ffeb66]
Inji, AyakoC-RankWaterfall[color=#8080ff]

User avatar
Niro
Tsuchikage
Tsuchikage
Posts: 9844
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 7:00 pm

[PB] Lost Light

Post by Niro » Mon Jun 18, 2018 6:52 pm

Tatsuo stuck with the group as they made the leftward march along the edge of the small canyon. The feeling of being watched prodded at him, the hairs on the back of his neck standing straight up as they moved deeper into the area and finally across the seal room. His brow furrowed into a frown as he listened to the others speak and ran it against what he had read in the mission report. “They previous team had mentioned coming across a group of black swathed figures who released a fuuinjutsu which released an enormous creature they were forced to run from. Based on what you said, I’m willing to guess this fuuin held whatever creature the black cloaked guys released upon the team and forced them to evacuate the tunnel.

“That’s how it prevented others from moving forward, by releasing a guard dog on them and forcing them back. The question is now…where is it? What is it? I’ve gotten the feeling of being watched since we found that canyon and it’s only gotten worse as we moved deeper. I’m also willing to bet that canyon was somehow made by the watch dog. Meaning the report is right. Whatever it is? It’s huge.” Tatsuo finished before closing his eyes and focusing on his sixth sense. His sensory began to reach out and a look of confusion came over his face before he grunted in pain and lost his focus on it.

“This entire area is saturated with chakra. It’s so dense it’s blinding to my sensory. It’s like trying to look past a brick wall. However much chakra this seal contained? It was a lot, so much so that it’s filling the ambient environment to a point that it’s causing us to feel it as pressure and stop all sensory.” He explained before Masaru coughed to bring attention to himself.

“Then, if what you’re saying is correct, these seals are far more advanced than most seal work done today. Seals cannot hold living beings which means whatever was released…this seal served as a gateway to a different world. Probably the spirit realm, where most summons and spirits reside. Not many fuuinjutsu users today can create seals that form such a well preserved bridge. Whatever those cloaked figures were after, it must be related to these seals.” Masaru explained, a look of concern spreading across his aged face.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about. This is just the guard system, not even the main seal they were after. That’s even deeper in the cave.” Tatsuo replied, his brow furrowing before he spun on his heel and began to lead the way even deeper into the cavern. The cavern continued farther into the earth before it began to taper off and then open into another room, this one having a ceiling much higher than the previous cavern. It extended so far up Tatsuo could not see where the ceiling actually was, even with the dim glow of the fuuinjutsu. All along the wall and floor fuuinjutsu were carved. The carvings continued far up the walls until the glow faded from sight, yet no ceiling came into view.

Masaru rushed over to the wall, his fingers running over the fuuinjutsu as he tried his best to read and decipher the symbols. The old expert went from section to section of the wall, a confused look still on his face. Meanwhile, Tatsuo looked down and began to scan the floor of the cavern for any clues. Fuuinjutsu were also etched into the floor but something else was as well. Crouching down, Tatsuo brought his hand held flare close to the floor and began to feel it over with his free hand. His face contorted in confusion as he examined the markings on the floor.

“This….this seal is gigantic. It has similar matrices to the one in the previous room but it’s different. It’s almost like each section of this wall is for a different entity, creating not just one bridge to the spirit realm but multiple compared to the previous seal matrix which seemed to be for a single entity. The other markings have me believing this fuuinjutsu did not just open a bridge but grabbed and forced through spirits rather than let them come through of their own accord. For what reason? I am not sure but the seal work implies dozens of spirits were ripped from their realm and dropped off here, in this cavern.” Masaru explained as he moved from seal marking to marking while peering over them with an expert eye before looking back at the group of shinobi.

Tatsuo stood up from his crouched position and let out a deep sigh. “That explains the markings on the ground then. There’s multiple different shapes and sizes of foot prints overlapping each other and leading out of here and towards the canyon. That’d probably explain the ambient chakra in the atmosphere, the fuuinjutsu ripped open some forced portal that allowed chakra from the spirit realm to seep into ours. The question is now…where are those spirits? Are they dangerous? We should report back to Iwa as quick as we can with this information.” Tatsuo finished with a grim look on his face as he ran his eyes over the walls dimly glowing with already-used fuuinjutsu. “And even more so, who released this seal and why?”
#MakeIwaGreatAgain
NameVillageRankTeam
Tatsuo [color=#940839][b]IwaTsuchikageTeam 18 Jousai
Kinomichi [color=limegreen][b]IwaBanninJousai
Kotetsu [color=slategray][b]IwaGeninTeam 7
Ashura [color=coral][b]SunaGenin
Sai [color=#FF14A1][b]Kiri - MND-Rank
Yamato [color=#C71585][b]KiriA-Rank

User avatar
Kao
Posts: 8242
Joined: Fri May 21, 2010 8:00 pm

[PB] Lost Light

Post by Kao » Fri Jun 22, 2018 4:56 pm

Tatsuo's deductions did nothing to put Kotaru at ease. Hooded figures and gargantuan watch dog spirits was one thing; now Tatsuo revealed he couldn't use his sensory. He sighed repeatedly as they made their way further into the cave system, secretly dreading that there was more than likely something waiting for them. The next cave was impressive, and he had never seen anything quite like it. If circumstances were different he would have wanted to explore, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching and lying in wait. As the others ventured further inside the cave, the young Akari hovered by the entrance, unwilling to go too far inside but still keeping close. Like Mitsuo suggested, he needed to ensure their way out remained clear. He watched Tatsuo touch the the seals on the floor, then his eyes stayed on the old man as he darted from one array to the next. But then he heard something behind him.

The only way he could think to describe the sound was a sigh. It was a long, deep rush of air, one after the other and each was barely audible from where he was standing. Tatsuo and Masaru were likely too preoccupied with investigating the seals to notice it, and since he could barely hear it himself there was little chance they would have even been able to discern it from that far inside the cave. Kotaru paused, trying to pick up the noise again, but he heard nothing. He even threw one of his flares down the tunnel, but the light only illuminated the rock walls. 'You're paranoid," he thought, but even as he tried to reassure himself he kept listening for the sound.

Kotaru turned and approached the group just as Tatsuo finished speaking. "Right, well we won't know their intentions unless we ask them. And I don't see any weird cloaked bastards around to ask and it wouldn't be smart to go looking for any stragglers at this point." He looked over to Masaru and his expression immediately twisted into a scowl. The more the Akari thought about what could possibly be down there, released from the seals, the more he was eager to get the hell back to the surface. "Are you done, old man? This isn't a fuckin' academy field trip. None of us are exactly to deal with ancient spirits, and if you don't even know exactly what we're dealing with, we need to go. We're done here."

Startled, Masaru fumbled with his book. "I should- I should probably make notes of the arrays so they can be studied -"

"Hurry up then," he half shouted, half growled, and the fuuinjutsu master hastily began scribbling in his book. With that, Kotaru turned his attention to his friends and lowered his voice. "I heard something, coming from the direction we came. I'd say it sounded like breathing but it could be anything. I personally wanna avoid fighting any spirits. It's not fun. They can't be reasoned with and they don't stop." He looked directly at Mitsuo as he said this, reminded of the huge centipede like creature they had fought once before. They had barely made it out of that situation in one piece. "With Tatsuo's sensory being useless, we're blind down here. So as soon as gramps here is done drawing, we need to get out of here."
Kao's CharactersShow
Akari KotaruBanninIwagakure no Sato Team 18 Jousai [color=#1fb8a3]
Komiya ShizuoJounin Iwagakure no Sato [color=#209DD3]
Yanagida Yukino Special Jounin Iwagakure no Sato [color=#a07ac2]
Ishiwara SetsunaChuunin Iwagakure no Sato[color=#E81D1D]
Enkouten Mai Jounin Iwagakure no Sato [color=#CE5412]
Aisu Namie Chuunin Kirigakure no Sato [color=#5bc2d4]
Awai FusaeA-Rank MNKonohagakure no Sato[color=#D95FEA]
Important NPCsShow
Akari Kanehara Akari clan elder [color=#80A0FF]
Sakata KannaIwagakure Councilwoman [color=#3DA43B]
Hazuki Shuran Jinchuuriki researcher [color=#E854C0]
Enkouten Kaizen Iwagakure councilman, clan leader [color=#C65871]
Rock Country Daimyo [color=#AC4A4A]

User avatar
Yura
Posts: 4616
Joined: Wed Dec 24, 2008 7:00 pm

[PB] Lost Light

Post by Yura » Thu Jun 28, 2018 4:39 pm

"Interesting..." Maseru mumbled as he began copying down one of the many seals that lined the walls of the cave. The designs were so intricate that he had to stop and erase a portion before redrawing it. It was important that he get every detail exactly right, otherwise the trip down here would be pointless; there was no point in studying an incorrectly copied seal. Luckily for him, many of the seals were similar in form with some of them being the exact same seal, allowing him to easily copy some while completely skipping over others.

As Maseru hastily scribbled away in his notebook, Mitsuo took the time observe the rest of the cavern. As Maseru and Tatsuo had pointed out, multiple seals that had lined the walls had been broken. When exactly they had been broken, Mitsuo didn't know (wasn't really his specialty), but the trail of footprints along the floor suggested that it was at least somewhat recently. With all the different shaped and sized prints, it made Mitsuo wonder what kind of spirits had been summoned. In his experience, spiritual entities were capable of being just about anything with all sorts of different temperaments. It made him unease to think that there were several of such beasts now roaming around down in these caves, not just out of fear for his safety but also out of fear for the village. If one of those spirits managed to make it to the surface, the destruction could be tremendous.

When Kota approached, his words sent a slight shiver down Mitsuo's spine. He had yet to have a good interaction with a spirit and as he had learned in the past, fighting one wasn't exactly pleasant. If one truly was following them, they needed to leave quickly. "Agreed." Mitsuo replied, "I already don't like the idea of being down in these tunnels. I really don't want to be trapped down here with a bunch of angry spirits. Though, eventually we're going to have to track those spirits down." He said reluctantly, "They're too much of a danger to let roam free."

"Finished!" Maseru suddenly exclaimed, "Now can we please leave? I'm getting a little claustrophobic down here."

CharactersShow
NameRankVillageTeamColor
SadakoGeninIwagakureTeam 13[color=#90D2D8]
Enkouten, MitsuoBanninIwagakureTeam 18|Jousai[color=#ff2200]
Retired CharactersShow
NameRankVillageTeamColor
Nara, ShikariBanninKonohagakureMamorinuku[color=#fb8a00]
Takara, MorikoGeninIwagakure[color=#ffeb66]
Inji, AyakoC-RankWaterfall[color=#8080ff]

User avatar
Niro
Tsuchikage
Tsuchikage
Posts: 9844
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 7:00 pm

Re: [PB] Lost Light

Post by Niro » Mon Aug 20, 2018 4:21 pm

Tatsuo began to quickly move towards the entrance of the sealing chamber once Maseru had proclaimed finishing his notes on the ancient fuuinjutsu. “Alright, time to get the hell out of this dark place. Never thought I’d actually say it, but I really wish the giant cockroaches were around. I’d feel a bit safer just because of their sheer numbers…” Tatsuo proclaimed as he exited the inner chamber of the cave with all of the seals. The atmosphere remained heavy and the feeling of paranoia only began to grow as he moved closer to the exit.

As his footsteps impacted the ground midway across the entrance room, the entire cavern seemed to shake including the cave they were located in. Tatsuo swung his head around wildly, his purple eyes locking on his party members to make sure they were okay before he began to look for the source of the commotion. The shaking intensified even further before a loud noise cut through the air. It was neither a roar nor a screech but something in between, if anything Tatsuo would describe it as unholy. “I think we found the watch dog!” Tatsuo yelled as he made his way to the exit doorway and began to look around.

Rocks were constantly falling from the unseen ceiling as the area shook but his eyes caught a glimpse of the ground moving at the bottom of the cavern. Upon squinting his eyes and inspecting it further, Tatsuo realized it was not the ground moving but a creature. Its body spanned for as long as he could see while it was easily as wide across as the holes in the side of the valley had been. The bits of light from their flares and torches revealed its color to be a sickly pale. It looked like an earthworm inflated to the size of a skyscraper. “So that’s what caused those holes.” He muttered to himself, placing a hand on the wall to steady himself against the shaking. The enormous creature snaked its way across the ground and began to bore a hole in the base of the cliff side they were on.

A deafening crack drowned out the noise of the shaking and within a moment the cliff side and cave the group was perched on collapsed under the might of the creature. The rocks crumbled and began to fall, the cave collapsing inward into a pit and sending all four members of the group plunging down into the dark below.
#MakeIwaGreatAgain
NameVillageRankTeam
Tatsuo [color=#940839][b]IwaTsuchikageTeam 18 Jousai
Kinomichi [color=limegreen][b]IwaBanninJousai
Kotetsu [color=slategray][b]IwaGeninTeam 7
Ashura [color=coral][b]SunaGenin
Sai [color=#FF14A1][b]Kiri - MND-Rank
Yamato [color=#C71585][b]KiriA-Rank

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