[Mission] Becoming a man (Yaseyama)

[Taiga]

The wind slapped at Aki's face like a frigid fist clenched around frozen air as it rushed through the Fjord. It immense power whistled and shook the barren trees of the frozen wastelands of eastern Yaseyama. Below, the fjord churned, its black depths swirling with secrets and the promise of peril. He could almost smell the brine, sharp and metallic, a challenge on his tongue.

Akihiro was alone. No fire, no song, no comrade's breath warming the desolate expanse. Just the gnashing of his teeth against the biting wind and the rhythmic drumming of his own heart, a defiant pulse against the silence.

His orders were to search this icy abyss and ensure safety of the caravan of engineers and workers that were to follow- to move two weeks ahead of the group and collect information to ensure they were prepared for whatever came. Faintly, he could hear whispers of a forgotten civilization, echoing from the icy abyss. Rumors of shimmering towers carved from glacial teeth, guarding secrets older than the mountains themselves. And whispers too, of monstrous guardians, born of ice and legend, their roars chilling the very marrow of the world.

Was it pure insanity driven by the darkness, the cold, and the unrelenting terrain? Or was there more to the whispers that ate away at the edge of his psyche. A fledgling against the frozen heart of the north- but a powerful individual it was upon the northern expanse where Aki would become a man- unbeknownst to him that was the whole reason the Emperor had assigned the young man to this mission.

For now though what little was left of the sun was quickly disappearing behind the mountains. Staying warm and sheltered would be top priority for the young pink-haired prankster.

The howls of wolf packs filled the air, and the shrill scream of something that sounded far more sinister.

[Texas]

What the actual Hell. This was Hell. No it was worse, at least Hell was rumored to be hot. This cold frigid place was somewhere he wouldn't wish upon his worst enemies. When Akihiko was debriefed on his mission, he stopped listening after the beginning part. After being appointed as Chuunin, the child didn't know what he was in for. At first he only heard the he was going to be sent to a whole entirely new continent to help with the conquering of uncharted land. That sentence was the only thing he heard. There was a part of the debriefing that heavily mentioned the cold, of which allowed Aki enough time to go out and buy a plethora of clothing that would keep him warm. The boy was bundled up in fully white gear: a white coat with fir around the rim of the hood. White snow pants, white boots, white gloves, and a white beanie hat.

Although, this was something that still left the child cold. At one point, the boy tried going into the Limbo Realm to escape the cold. He never noticed a temperature change in the Limbo Realm since he did it in a relatively warm area like Kumo. The lesson he learned, was that Limbo provided no such advantages.

Distractions aside, the child started marching in the direction he was assigned to. His unit tasked him with an important mission to scout out their route. The child had spent days testing different routes in order to ensure swiftness and safety. The Expedition unit and Engineering Unit was armed with ways to stay warm and protected, so priority were the previous things mentioned. While traveling Akihiko had a large piece of paper where he was drawing some kind of map. The large piece of paper was going to be cross referenced with a map they started making within the Expedition Unit.

After those days of scouting, the child had determined the best route at least at the start. There was plenty of daylight left, so he decided to bear the cold and continue forward. Eventually, if he found a good spot to stay warm and take a break, he would absolutely do so. They gave him two weeks before they would set out anyways, so Aki wanted to make sure that he would be back with plenty of time.

As the boy continued Ryeunso decided this was a good time to chime in. "Boy, all jokes aside, if you die and leave us stranded in this frigid land, I will make sure that you stay just alive enough for me to torment your mind so long that you will be begging me for death."

[Taiga]

The distant sounds of howling filled the area, and with each passing moment, seemed somewhat closer to Aki. The sun was quickly setting. Less than 2 clicks out in the distance, Aki would be able to see a cave. It's stone presence one of the few things poking out of the snow, other than some weird looking plants with some berries. For some reason, if Aki happened to look towards the cave, he'd be drawn to it more. And more. Something was odd about it. It would call to him- his soul. His being. But only really if he looked. Otherwise he'd just see a snowy ass field.

Trees weren't present without climbing the mountain but there was ample bushes somehow defying nature and going up through the snow.

[Texas]

"THIS IS TOO COLD! CURSE YOU RAIKAGE!" Aki shouted. He just couldn't help himself. The boy was childish by nature and no one was around he could take his frustration out on so he just acted like an old man yelling at the clouds. After a little bit of frustration left his body, the boy gazed upon the area to see his route. It was getting cold and at this point he had made a good headway. Maybe he co..... before his thoughts ran wild with outlandish ideas, the boy gazed upon what seemed to be a cave. Weird that this collection of stones creating a cave didn't seem to be as close to him as it was before. Maybe he wasn't 100% paying attention, or lost some kind of consciousness in the snow.

Regardless of what it was or what it could have been, the pink haired brat couldn't help himself when it came to his inner dialogue. That cave meant potential warmth! So on the way there, Aki would stop by any near by trees and cut off a bunch of branches. It took a little extra time, but he collected a good lot of them and headed towards the cave. Upon the arrival of the cave the boy stopped at the opening and looked in to see if it was dangerous inside. He didn't know for sure, but the child figured he might as well use some of his ninja training and assess a situation before jumping into it. It had seemed some of his common sense was wavering due to the unfair weather conditions.

[Taiga]

Aki would have no issue collecting some wood. No wild life would get in his way, and no weather either... but, the sun was going down quickly and by the time he reached the cave it would already be setting beyond the horizon- barely enough light to see some 15 meters through the mouth of the cave. Something was off about the cave... had it always been here? Either way, the sun was gone and shelter was needed. From what Aki could see poking his gaze inside, he'd notice that:

- It was dark
- It wasn't that warm, but there was no wind
- It had a strange smell
- It looked like past 15 meters or so it was pitch black, completely
- There were some strange looking white chunks- mostly dust, with some larger chunks around it.

It was his choice now: bunker down or find, or make, a new shelter. Outside the wind was picking up and the howling of tundra wolves filled the air more.

[Texas]

Shelter was important, with no wind, Aki could easily make a fire and keep warm that way. At least for the night. When Aki walked into the dark cave a weird smell filled the air. While looking around, he really couldn't see further. The boy went only a couple meters deep into the cave in order to avoid the frigid winds.

The child didn't want to adventure further in the cave until he made some kind of light source. Going pitch black into a smelly cave was not the most ideal plan. The child placed all of the pile of stick on the ground of the cave. The boy would place them all in a formation that resembled a fireplace. The extra sticks he would put to the side, but take one stick from that pile. The pink haired chuunin would place the stick on the ground and start spinning the stick against his two hands. He angrily did this while cursing out the raikage. "Stupid Hayate and his stupid mission. This place has nothing great to offerrrrrr" he held the R as a small smoke began to come from the bottom of the stick. Once he was successful with a minor flame, he would place the stick in the middle of the fire place. Aki would lower his body and blow on the stick ever so gently to increase the fierceness of the flames. In a moment, the fire began to take over the sticks and it created a nice little fireplace! The child got excited and took a true moment to enjoy the heat. After a couple minutes of warming up a little bit, Aki would reach to the side and grab a stick from the pile. He would place the stick in the fire for a little bit until it ignited at the top. Aki had decided he would venture into the cave a little bit, before going back to his campfire.... wonder what was in store, maybe he would get to the bottom of the smell.

[Taiga]

Aki's time making a fire would be entirely uneventful and he'd succeed with flying colors. He would of done good in a now defunct Kumogakure defense organization of rough upstarts called "The Kumo Scouts". At least, the former Scout Master General would of been very proud of his ability to make a fire. Same guy actually sent him on this mission after all. But anyways, back to our story Aki would find himself traveling deep into the dark, stanky cave.

And as he got deeper he'd definitely notice those white chunks started to look more like something he might of recognized- bones was it? And then there was this weird brown stuff every where- definitely the smell... but as things continued... he'd also start to hear something. An extremely, extremely loud snoring noise... coming from.

A frickin' bear.

Turned out the smell was the shit and left over kill that it had gobbled up before it decided to enter hibernation for the season... bears definitely did not have a concept of not shitting where you eat. At any rate... Aki would have seen a bear, but also a path much smaller than the bear was with a crack in the wall.

He might of seen a feint glimmer in the darkness through the crack in the wall too depending on how his torch reflected off the wall.

[Texas]

Aki couldn't help but think about how stink the cave was. It smelled like shit and death! Welp, The boy was shocked to see bones hanging on the ground. It was a combination of different kinds of bones, so it was relatively hard to determine what animal it had come from. He couldn't find any skulls, which would have made the identifying process easier. As he ventured a little bit closer, the pink haired brat noticed that there were streaks all over the walls. Brown!?!? BROWN!?!?! Aki had determined the smells coming from this gross cave. However what could it be from? Was Hayate or Agent A sleeping here for fun? Well he never actually saw A or Hayate... in fact his general at the time was someone completely different.

The boy held his nose with his free hand, while his right hand was holding the fire. After walking a little bit, the child missed the crack in the wall.... in his defense, the boy was utterly shocked by the situation that was laid out in front of him. What should Aki do? The bear didn't seem to move much, maybe it was sleeping. However, if Aki left the bear there, it could come out and kill a crew traveling. The conundrum in the boy's mind kept bouncing back and forth and hurt his indecisive brain. The boy turned around with the flame to collect his thoughts. Upon turning around he found a small space he could fit through near him. It reflected somewhat and caught Aki's green eyes. Maybe while the bear was sleeping, Aki would utilize his ninja training and silently move throughout the cave to see if there was anything useful that could come out of this. If he was silent, he could adventure and take care of the bear later.

With the decision made, the Jinch made his way to the crack and began to walk thorough it. Traveling through the small space deemed to be not too bad due to Aki being a small child in size.

Jutsu UsedShow

Asashin to Supai - Basic Silence
D-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
Akihiko walks silently by avoiding most loud objects. This allows him to walk silently throughout an area, but can be detected with a perception technique or higher.

[Taiga]

Aki would be able to silently navigate the cave without waking the bear... it was a good thing he didn't scream when he realized what the stench was or saw the bear. As he looked about there was really little of note in the main den where the bear slept beyond the crack. The crack however- oh was it ever interesting. As Aki moved his way through the crack in the wall, which wouldn't be all that hard, he'd wind up in a small cavern that was filled with glimmering rocks... iron ore. At the far side of the cavern things seemingly continued into yet another dark hole of "who knows".

It seemed Aki had managed to come upon a mineral rich cave system.

As he looked about the room if he was extra attentive he would hear the pitter-patter of bat wings and notice the smell of guano- if he was familiar with it. Suddenly, a bat would swoop down from the ceiling screeching at him as it went for his face with its feet, aiming to scratch him. While the bats couldn't see well, and they certainly didn't hear him... their echolocation meant they were acutely aware he was there.

Suddenly more bats- at least five would fly for him, them all coalescing around the torch he had in his hand as they went to swarm him.

[Texas]

The child stepped out of the crack and the flames flickered ever-so-slightly. Upon exiting, Aki was taken back by the shiny ore that was around. He didn't understand fully what it was, but based on how much was surrounding the area and how difficult it was to get there... Aki deduced that it had probably some importance to at least revisit the area with a professional. After taking a mental note, the child didn't have nearly enough time turning, before he heard a bat screeching.

When his body turned, the child lifted up the flames only to see a bat flying at him with it's claws going for the face. The boy realized that this was something he didn't have enough time to jump out of the way and instead focused chakra to his head. "YEE" he quickly yelped out before collecting himself and running forward. The boy angled his head and made sure that the bat was going to hit his target... the beautiful face of Akihiko. With chakra released, his head reverse limbo'd. Although it appeared his head was still there, the bat actually flew through his face and continued to propel itself passed the back of his head.

The second the bat started to phase through Aki's head he ran forward. As part of his ninja training he had the capability of running in silence. Since there was an elephant bear in the room, Aki wanted to at least try to attempt not to wake it. The boy would swing the flamed stick around a little bit as he sprinted deeper in the cave. The child would try swatting at the bats as they all started coming for them.

Eventually he would reach the end of the cave, which Aki thought he would have to turn around and fight bats. However, to his luck, there was another sliver in the cave that allowed him to go deeper. He was already so deep... why not keep going? The child would slip in, angle the flames in front of him and hope the bats don't follow.

Jutsu UsedShow

₪Unavoidable Strike
D-Rank Nin-Taijutsu Technique
pre-requisite: [Second Layer of the Limbo Realm]
Akihiko can recognize when a strike is simply unavoidable. By watching down on someone's muscles, he can predict where a strike is going to start and end. By predicting a strike that is simple unavoidable, Akihiko can reverse draw the 2nd layer of the Limbo Realm and create a small and invisible space within his body, which wouldn't normally be seen to the eye from an opponent. Utilizing this technique allows organic strikes, weapons, and other inorganic objects to pass through him.

Asashin to Supa - Faster and Silenter
C-Rank Dicipline
A quieter version of Basic Silence. By honing his muscles in his legs, and adjusting his feet slightly, Aki can run in a silent manor without being heard unless the person seeking him out has a higher perception technique.

[Taiga]

The assault of the bats would be short-lived as they passed through Aki's head, and not understanding what happened, grew angry and continued to attempt to assault his head only to miss and miss again. Eventually, the bats would start to lose interest as he ran to the other side of the cave and would taper off- but all their screeching despite Akihiko's best attempts to be quiet himself would cause the bear to stir. A deep growl- grrrrrr echoed off the chamber walls as a huffy whine followed. Did the bear go back to sleep? Was it awake? Was there another entrance somewhere?

Who knew. For now, Akihiko could rest assured that the slivers and cracks he slipped through were too small for such a large, grizzly creature.

The next cavern Aki entered, as he shown his light, would be filled with stalagmites and stalagmites. Luckily no sign of guano. Interestingly, he'd hear the sound of rushing water... nothing quite as fast as a river, but. some stream. He'd also if he listened closely enough would hear the poooooooooip sound of a droplet of water falling into a larger, still body. But, most strange of all was among the stalactites and stalagmites he'd notice the shimmer of metal and black cloth.

Should he investigate further he'd find a corpse wrapped in oddly foreign but warm looking clothing. Corpse was an exaggeration- nothing more than a skeleton. Given his lack of scientific knowledge however Aki might not realize how odd it was for a skeleton in this situation- the cold, the cave. Generally it made for great mummification.

At any rate, in the corpses hand seemed to be some leather square and in his other hand, a silver stick like thing, no more than 12cm long. A writing implement.

[Texas]

The child was slightly out of breath when he got to the other side of the cavern. It wasn't due to being tired, it was due to being in shock and acting upon it. He really hadn't been in too many situations where he felt somewhat stuck... He was used to large area's or even buildings. Nothing like going deep into a cave. The child couldn't see as far due to not having a fire, so he relied on his eyes adjusting to the dark as he slowly walked forward.

Drips and water flowing was a constant noise in this part of the cave. As the boy walked towards it, he stepped on something that crunched. Upon further reviewing it was a skeleton! The child jumped backwards a bit startled by the whole ordeal. He took a couple moments to relax and gazed upon the figure sitting there. The child noticed that the skeleton had some things in it's hands. What could they be? He reached down and ripped it from the skeleton. The boy held the silver stick and gazed upon the leather square closer. Did it have any writing?

[Taiga]

Upon closer inspection, Aki would find that there was indeed notes. The pages were filled with the scribblings of a mad man in black ink- but as the pages grew thinner in the notepad the ink began to turn red- until it was the unmistakeable brown-red of dried blood with nothing left in the final page. His eyes would particularly linger on the final page- just a few short of the amount of pages in the notepad itself. In large text, was scrawled:

"This land be a waste; you will all die, as I did."

If he scrolled through the rest of the pages he would notice weird text, runes, and foreign languages a mix the common language spoken on the main colony. It was of sorts- some guide book or knowledge of these lands. Primarily, it was focused on an area described to the far south of this continent. It was more lush and hospitable than here.

It mentioned three tribes; and a ruler that was hundreds of years old and considered a god himself.

Odeen.

A scribble of a bearded man with an eye patch lay bare. It seemed, Young Aki, had walked himself upon a variable treasure trove of intel.

[Texas]

Confusion struck the boy as he read the book. Clearly it was an adventurer of some kind that got to this point, but wasn't trained enough to get out and/or survive. The pink haired boy gazed upon the book and after reading the journal, he closed it. The boy held it in his left hand as his eyes slightly adjusted to the area. This cave alone seemed to be rich in resources. Based on the education he received before being sent on this mission, if he found one area with resources... then it was highly probably that a lot of the land could have similar results. This information was invaluable to his company that he reported to.

Akihiko gripped the book tight and held the knowledge in his head. The child decided that he needed to report back asap. So the boy went back the way he came. He did the classic, avoid the bats, go through the cracks, and even continued to walk silently throughout the cave. To the child's surprise when he got back to where he started, the bear seemed to still be sleeping. Hopefully Aki didn't wake him up earlier. The child attempted to walk forward. He stopped at the end of the cave. The fire had gone out, it was extremely dark, and it was cold. Maybe he should start another fire? However, with the bear seemingly sleeping... the boy didn't know what he would do next.

So the child put his ninja pouch down and the book near the put out fire. At this moment, the boy silently stretched his body a little bit and put himself into a deep line of thinking. There was so much unanswered questions. What southern continent was referenced in the journal? What did he mean by we all will die? How did the guy die in the first place? What secrets were hidden in these lands?

[Taiga]

The cold would bite into Aki without any fire; the winds tunneling through the caves mouth and deeper into the tunneling. The bear was, not in fact, fully asleep. It had been in a very light slumber and the smell of an intruder against the incredible nose of a bear was not something that would escape it's rage. Who intruded upon it's slumber? Who dared enter it's cave? It would not be vulnerable and left to the attacks of any intruder. With a roar it sprung awake.

Aki would be shivering by now from the cold as he thought about his next move- well by the time the bear had awoken. It would come hurdling out of the shadows diving for Aki. (15 speed) It was indeed faster than any normal man- but whether the bear could hold a candle to a shinobi was still yet unknown.

Perhaps it was faster and stronger and just groggy.

Immediately following it's attack it would swipe with its left paw in a wide arc (15speed, 20 strength) attempting to maul Aki if he had not managed to avoid the body slam from the mammoth beast.