The Allure of Darkness

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Nafan~
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The Allure of Darkness

Post by Nafan~ » Mon Jan 02, 2017 10:04 pm

The dark shrouded almost everything as the ever present clouds above Kumogakure denied the moonlight from reaching solid ground. Outside one of the many masterpieces of chakra engineering, the lightning lamps that dotted the roads, provided cold white light in halos. The light did not quite penetrate far enough through the window high in the grand Ishiguro tower to touch the man in the corner, but that was how he wanted it.

He stood, overlooking the sleeping figure before him. The shadowy figure had done this many times before, and he took a decisive stride forward to begin. With a gentle hand he jostled the sleeping man awake, but placed a finger over the painted white mouth on his crimson mask indicating silence. "We must be quick and quiet. You are summoned." the man whispered, no more than deepened tones beneath the sound of his breath.

The black hood and robes obscured all of the man's body apart from that red mask. Upon its brow was painted in white were two symbols; the first the symbol of Kumogakure, and beneath it the symbol of the legendary mythic organisation of StratOs. What an agent of a black operations organisation that supposedly didn't exist was doing calling Ishiguro, Zippo from his bed in the dead of night was as mysterious as the rest of him.

"Tululila, Talila Tulula."
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zippo
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The Allure of Darkness

Post by zippo » Tue Jan 03, 2017 1:14 am

7 hours ago
The burning colors in the sky represented disagreement locked and recycled in time, the everlasting fiery relationship between night and day. To many a sunset indicated the day was about to end, a sign for most to close shop. To clock out. To few it indicated that the night was about to begin. To clock in. In the case for Ishiguro Zippo, it was time for him to finish his monthly seminar. For the past few years, ever since he became one of few living masters and researchers of space and time, he has gained a following.

After taking a long and heavy look to his small audience, he said to them: "I'll be going now." As soon as he said this he had the youthful urge to perform the technique which allowed him to bend space and time to the point that he would appear at another location in the area. Just to fuel his ego. But a lot has changed recently. The very thought that Mikuyo would be in the hospital because of him hindered his personality's natural flare. It weighed on him for weeks. He couldn't mourn because she was still alive, but for a while his heart still felt heavy. The fate of his other teammate Setsuya led him down a negative path for a good year, influencing him to become a hunter ninja.

Once he placed his foot on the final step of the podium, he looked back at them and softly grinned before walking away. The new Zippo was indeed becoming seasoned; not just in persona but as a ninja of Kumogakure.

One of his followers appeared in front of him, there to congratulate him.

"Tetsumi. Before you speak, care to join me for a drink?"

"Of course Zippo-sama."

"Please. Let's skip the sa-ma already and go straight to the sa-ke."


After a short hour of delightful drinking, the two continued talking about their week and the training that lied ahead for Tetsumi. Zippo informed him that it's not easy to become a manipulator of space and time, but concluded that he was a great acolyte. One he wouldn't replace in the world as his first student.

This gave Tetsumi a sense of honor before his last thudding glee on home. Zippo made sure the Jounin made it back in one piece. For Zippo, the amount he took tonight wasn't a lot for him. Although he knew in the morning there was going to be a kick all over his head by the sober god. If there ever was one, of course.

Finally home, he was ready to hit the sheets. Too much time talking, researching, teaching, and not enough time resting. Even though the liquor played a role making him feel so tired so soon, most of it was from being a busy bee. Even though his mind raced through a variety of things, as soon as his curly mane touched the pillow, he was kicked in the temple by the sleep god. If there ever was one, of course.
Now Zippo felt something touch him. His eyes opened and his chakra started to channel.

The one who touched him gestured for him to be quiet. He didn't understand.

"We must be quick and quiet. You are summoned."

Summoned to where? By who?

He was going to ask the person, "who are you" but figured everything out when he saw and could make an educated guess on what the shinobi represented. Rumor spoke of these people from one ear to the next, but even Zippo didn't know a lot about them. A lot of potential proof revealed itself tonight, and ever the one wanting to know everything, with a single nod he kept quiet and agreed to the shinobi's terms... for now.

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The Allure of Darkness

Post by Nafan~ » Thu Jan 05, 2017 7:02 pm

The black figure then stalked over to the open window and leapt out. The night swallowed the black cloak that surrounded him, the sound of the wind battering away at it lasting only moments in Zippo's ears. The figure spun around to face the window, hoping the Zippo was following, and extended its left hand. A blue glow started to emanate from a ring on its outstretched fingers while it waited for Zippo to take its hand.
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I know it's small.. but there's not really much else he's doing rn. The super interesting part is mostly on Zippo's side atm coz he's being mysterioussss. That and Banri is the fun fun part.. haha.

"Tululila, Talila Tulula."
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The Allure of Darkness

Post by zippo » Mon Jan 16, 2017 1:15 am

The night was quite clear, but was this moment? It was surely quite a stretch to go anywhere with this figure, but as a charmer who recently became hungry for knowledge, he needed to know...

Lips sealed after witnessing a blue glow, with an arm stretched he took the person's hand...

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The Allure of Darkness

Post by Nafan~ » Fri Jan 27, 2017 2:37 am

As soon as Zippo took the man's hand the light flashed brighter once more and enveloped the two of them, before vanishing. There was no sign of the two men any longer. Instead, they were moving in a way that Zippo was all too familiar with. The well-known feeling of the pressure on all sides, squeezing him through holes in time and space yet seeming to stretch him for eternity. Somehow it seemed to last an age but at the same time take only an instant before their travel was complete.

The swirl of blues and white lights that had surrounded them disappeared, leaving Zippo deposited on a cobblestone floor standing upright. The shinobi stood in the middle of a great stone hall that stretched impressively large. A hundred men or more could have banqueted there, tables and benches and all. There was a dais from which two braziers burned brightly with the same lightning-fuelled lights as the city of Kumogakure did. Between the two sat a high backed stone throne, square and blocky in nature. Worked out in muted green jade at the head of the seat was a symbol seen in many legends. The symbol of StratOs, the black operations division that supposedly did not exist. Parents used tales of the group to frighten children into behaving, usually with some level of success.

Sitting in this grey throne in the centre of the grey room was a man dressed entirely in grey himself. A straw hat sat on his head, combined with his dishevelled clothing and barely tamed stubble the man was a picture of ruggedness. His black, all-consuming eyes devoured the distance between them hungrily, sizing up Zippo as soon as he appeared.

Between the man and Zippo was a marble chess board built into an ornate table. Atop it sat crystalline white chess pieces, reflecting the light in jagged angles and turning it into a harsh shimmer that surrounded them. In contrast the black pieces were rounded to the point of being bulbous, and made of the darkest onyx that light seemed to avoid giving them much detail at all unless one looked close.

"You have been summoned before Lord Roppongi, Banri." The masked figure said to Zippo, before turning to the man. "My lord, I present Ishiguro, Zippo, as requested." he finished in an equally brisk manner. The man in the throne simply lifted a single finger from the rectangular arm rest in response. The masked operative seemed to understand, however, and soon another flash of light took him from the hall entirely, leaving the two alone.

The man in the chair was known to Zippo. He was one of the rarely-seen Bannin of Kumogakure. Rumours rarely circulated surrounding the man, but he had been seen announcing the Ninth Raikage quite recently and he had looked much cleaner and well dressed there, nearly regal. There had also been some talk of him playing a role in the final capture and execution of the traitorous Lord Murakami, but the details were vague. Other than that, he was a public figure that seemed to remain very private. Perhaps this had been why.

"Ishiguro, Zippo. The illusive man." his deep voice rumbled across the hall, placing a bemused emphasis on the word illusive. "I understand you are a Jounin who has made quite a large name for himself capturing runaways. Alive, even." he continued, a smirk of entertainment twitching a side of his lip up. "Do you perhaps have an idea of who I am? Or perhaps, what I represent?"

"Tululila, Talila Tulula."
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The Allure of Darkness

Post by zippo » Fri Feb 10, 2017 10:48 am

Time felt short between where he was, the past, and where he manifested into, the untapped future. If this moment of uncanniness were to be explained in music, Zippo would feel the sensational thriller genre of total eerie. If anything, one would be confused hearing it as a dirge.
Golden eyes with blue scatters began to shimmer in the dim room. The cobblestone felt small, and so did Zippo's sense of self. He was entering what he thought was a mystery, was in reality a whole plane of the unbeknownst; a apparition's world.

He could hear someone speak, so he tried deciphering it, ready to put himself into his realm when necessary. He was willing to come because he knew he had an escape plan. Possibly the only flaw he made was to stay in the village as his real self and not his clone. Usually he left his clone in the real world, and kept the real him at bay. But he arrived to Kumo in person to surprise his sister on what he encountered yesterday: A dragon!

Still, such an adventure is peanuts compared to what duty he's to fulfill next. And the name Banri sang in his ears, which meant something big. When Banri spoke, Zippo responded with total seriousness in his voice:


"Yes, sir. I have my theories on what I am encountering. I may not know fully on what you represent here, but am willing to not only listen, not only learn, but understand."

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The Allure of Darkness

Post by Nafan~ » Fri Feb 17, 2017 4:08 pm

"Good." Banri replied, "That will make this much easier." As he spoke his face never once implied that anything was good at all. He was stern, and serious, and seemingly disapproved of all he saw.

"You are a much more.. celebrated.. figure than I usually scout. However, there are things that those even in such bright places can do to assist me. Therefore, I will ask you. Are you aware of the political situation in the village?" Banri queried. Before he could make his demands he had to fish for just a few more precious facts. The man knew the power of knowledge, and he already held many cards to play against this 'Illusive Man'.

"Tululila, Talila Tulula."
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The Allure of Darkness

Post by zippo » Sat Mar 04, 2017 10:21 pm

The air was starting to feel thick. Even though Zippo had nothing to hide, it seemed as if his reputation was starting to stab him in the back.

"You are a much more.. celebrated.. figure than I usually scout.

Where there was fame for one in the eyes of many, there was infamy in the eyes of few. In his case, it wasn't necessarily infamy, but distrust. Or was it all a test?

"However, there are things that those even in such bright places can do to assist me."

Nonetheless, he needed to open this door of aberration. Unlocking it first required intellectual insight. In his response, he would do his best to make it a no-brainer that he could be reliable rather than a liability.

"Therefore, I will ask you. Are you aware of the political situation in the village?"

The golden-eyed man placed one hand to his chin and groomed it.

"In my studies, I would have to assume Hayate's return brought some light into a fog."

He knew the basics, that Hayate was now the Raikage and whatnot. The conflicts that occurred. But besides that, he had nothing. But as a man who valued knowledge, and hungered for more, he brought forth an air that he knew more than that. In fact, the cold-reading aspects In my studies produced the indication that he at least mulled over the politics.

Adding the ambiguous light into a fog could open a pathway to a lot of interpretations. Maybe things few would or were supposed to know. Was there a schism? Between Hayate and Banri? Zippo would have no clue.

Maybe he would be more informed on the man's next response.


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