A matter of either great importance...or great annoyance

[Legacy]

Gene sighed deeply and with the dull grace of a man twice his age he lifted the Coffee mug up to his lips, sipped its contents and then set it back down before continuing to power through a large stack of files taunting him at his desk. It was that time of year again and pretty soon he'd be tasked with suring up the ranks of not just the Anbu black ops but another more personal project as well. Luckily, there were few mission requests sent directly to him since returning from a lengthy operation to quell bandit insurgents in the region; Tenzin and the team placed under the promising Jounin's care had done a fine job, making Gene's role of supporter all but obsolete save for a few medical bumps along the way. At some point Gene thought, he would have to put in a good word for Tenzin and his attest personally to the young man's leadership capabilities but for the time being there simply was just no room for Gene to move around as he wanted to. "Another C-135." Gene sighed again, this time with more than just a little irritation in his breath. The term 'C- 135' was a reference to those of prior service standing within Konoha's military who for some reason or other, were deemed unfit for continued service; the problem with these cases was that many if not just about all of them, were in fact, perfectly fit for service. Their skills were sharp and their minds sharper still but due to certain insurmountable differences with the regular Shinobi force they weren't allowed to work in groups...a problem considering many of Konoha's operations were centered around squads. To this effect it'd fallen upon Gene to pay these individuals a visit and promptly interview or screen them in however way he saw fit and then determine from there if they were fit to serve. Those who were would be submitted up for reinstatement and those who weren't would be permanently exiled from the force but what Gene did not disclose was that some of these individuals would be 'born again' under new identities within the Anbu black ops. Naturally, the individual in question knew nothing about these files or their circumstance as the only standing member with access to the subject matter was Gene or Uoza himself. More than once he'd joked about getting a secretary but Gene knew better than that.

In this business, you couldn't trust anyone.

Standing and moving with a purpose Gene fitted himself in his White Buntaicho robes and mask before burning the file to ashes in his hands. Afterward, he'd headed out of the dimly lit office space and through the labyrinth of secret passageways leading back out into the village; it was time to pay one Aburame Jizo a visit. If the man were as accustomed to bad experiences as the file seemed to indicate then perhaps Gene could afford to skip through the bullshit and cut right to the heart of the matter. Of course, they never come quietly - do they?

[Zao]

The former Anbu and Aburame could be found just outside of the village gates, within the forest was a type of sacred area of the clan in which they had a handful of bug nests that were concealed underground. The entrances were hard to spot and guarded by various clan members. Jizo had been 'retired' from the secret organization for only a few years or so at this point, the needs of his clan having pulled him away from the cloak and dagger that had for a time become his sole life within the village. Currently the jounin had recently handed off a team of newly promoted chuunin whom had been assigned to him for the last couple of years, being a jounin it was his place to train and mentor the next generation of young shinobi who were suppose to take his place in time.

While this new 'life' of his was something he could do, it truly wasn't what he desired within his heart as the time spend within the Anbu was something that had shaped him into something that other shinobi within the village were not. All the things that he'd done to protect the village, the threats that had been eliminated without anyone knowing aside from his teammates and the Hokage. It had shaped the man into someone who could truly never do anything else without feeling as though something was missing within him and he couldn't help but often think back to his team, the Tanto team and there mentor who lead their squad on so many missions from the time of his youth to only a few years ago.

It was only about a half hour later that the man dressed in his dark clothing, the large grey swarm container strapped firmly to his back in tow, as he could be found on the road that lead back to the nearby village gate. Both hands within his pockets as a simple looking pair of black sunglasses set almost at the tip of his nose. The messy mop of black hair appeared to have not been combed in quite a while and was simply left to do its thing as the man traveled at a slightly slower than normal place. Currently on his mind was the retirement of his former squad leader from the regiment and the man wondered who had been chosen to take over the squad with the absence in leadership..."I wonder why my old friends are up to..."

[Legacy]

It'd taken Uoza a considerable amount of time to locate Jizo since unlike many of the other families or clans existing within the village, the Aburame didn't seem to have a set location where one could find them all. To that effect, tracking the man proved to be problematic as it required Uoza to play the door to door game and inquire through word of mouth on the man's whereabouts. However, his efforts did pay off as the trail on Jizo would later turn up a region just beyond the village walls along one of many dirt beaten paths. Fitting considering just who the man was.

"Are you Aburame, Jizo?" Uoza called out from at least the distance of four great swords. His voice was slightly muffled by the mask covering his face but the man stood firm and resolute as he awaited an answer.

[Zao]

"Hmm…" It would appear that someone had been tracking him down, the man's bright green eyes lifted from the almost dazed state they had been in as he walked forward, the finger tips of the left hand reached up and adjusted the simple looking sunglasses pushing them towards the bridge of the nose now hiding the bright green eyes from view of the man. The masked figure before him couldn't help but cause a faint smile to cross the man's face now as he saw the familiar mask of a fellow Anbu member, something he had been missing since his leave. As the black clothed man allowed for the slightly armored arm to return back to its resting position he replied in a casual tone towards the masked man now. "Yes. How may I help you?"

His voice was a casual tone but it seemed short, as though he didn't wish to waste time with unneeded pleasantries with the figure before him. Jizo's feet shifted slightly, but in an nonthreatening manner now as the former member's body turned slightly to the left now yet the head of the Aburame remained locked onto the unknown figure. Though he had worked with other members within the organization he had been gone for about two years at this point and just because had that common thread didn't mean he was familiar with Gene. After all a lot could change within such a long period of time. But he was pondering why a member of his former group would be looking for him, had something occurred within their ranks? He was aware that his former squad leader had stepped down, moving into retirement, but for the inner workings of the group he was no longer privy to that information.

[Legacy]

"I'm here to discuss the events leading to your occupational separation," Uoza answered plainly. It'd been another way of saying he wanted to pry into the man's service record openly without appearing to try and interrogate him. Another one of those weird proprietary nuances that the Buntaicho had picked up along his own journey into leadership. Frankly, he hated the idea of having to feel out a person before getting to the heart of a matter but that was just another part of his job. "I believe that it would be in both of our best interests to talk elsewhere, agreed?"

[Zao]

"I see." So it did concern his former association with the secretive organization and that was the reason for the full uniformed appearance of Gene at the moment as well. As he spoke the man couldn't help but turn his head slightly to left now allowing for himself to glance over that shoulder back in the direction of the clan breeding grounds that he'd left a short while ago. Normally any clan member, be that Aburame or those from another clan felt a strong attachment to their clan to the point that it was as equally as important as the village.

Yet, for Jizo it was a bit different as from before his time in the black operations group he had come to the personal conclusion that his clan and even the shinobi within the village were simply tools for the village to employ to protect the whole. It was this reasoning which helped to drive him during his years in rhe Anbu and it was that sole reason that leaving it caused such an absence within the man's heart and mind. But now was not the time to reminisce over the past as he affixed his hidden green eyes onto the mask man.

A simple nod was the only other response given to his second request, after that nonverbal body language he would allow the member to lead him elsewhere...

[Legacy]

And so, the masked man led away. A single leap into the branches above preceded by traveling further North around the village and toward one of the many training fields, though - they weren't headed for a training ground. No, in fact, they weren't headed anywhere. This was a conversation that could not and would not wait for a stationary location; Uoza would learn what he could about the man as they traveled. "Start from the beginning, I'd like to hear your story for myself." He'd say calmly.

[Zao]

The two men were quickly able to disappear into the air, soon traveling on the branchs of tree on the not so beaten pathway that would lead them away from anyone else. A secret chat between two similar men as Jizo followed in step until they would ascend into the tree tops where he wpuld take a second to pull even with the Anbu allowing for them to move shoulder to shoulder at this point. "My story..."

There was a slight pause, in which the jounin glanced out of the corner of his eyes towards the masked figure on his left hand side now. This man wanted to know his story? Jizo's head remained straight forward as the wind actually pushed back the messy hair revealing his narrow face and pointed chin. "With the death of my father, I was forced to retire from my former line of work to stabilize certain things within my family and the Aburame clan." Short and to point, the Leaf nin never was one to waste time with big words or side talk and wanted tobgrt down to what ever the matter at hand.

"But being a normal jounin doesn't really feel right..." A bit out of character for the man, he couldn't help but to add his own thought on being a jounin outside the org.

[Legacy]

Not hailing from a particular clan himself, Gene didn't truly understand the intricacies involved with dealing with one. However, based upon what he knew about other families like the Awai, Hyuuga and Inuzuka from his run ins with some of the clan members he could only surmise that whatever Jizo had been referring to must have been a troublesome matter. In fact, he was actually glad that he was born into a relatively small family line of lineages and things of that nature; still, his respect for those of varying clans extended as far as the sun could reach.

On the other hand, he knew exactly what Jizo meant when he'd mentioned not quite fitting in with the rest of the standard military force. After all, he'd been with the Anbu black op ever since he'd turned fifteen and the transition back into regular life was...well, challenging to say the least. There were nuances that a standard rank and file ninja just wouldn't grasp or certain habits that if anything, held no place in a true mission setting but that was just a part of the job..wasn't it? "Trust me, I know exactly what you mean. It's actually for that reason why I came and found you today." The cloaked figure landed with a soft thud upon a thick branch and then pushed himself off of it just as quickly. While airborne, he'd spun around to face Jizo before tossing what looked like a small red scroll toward the man. A test of reflexes really because had the man dropped or missed the scroll then he'd be assed out of important information about what to do when their time together drew to an end. Though...considering the man's mannerisms Gene hardly thought that he'd actually let it slip.

"You can call me Uoza. I ain't into forcing a decision on those who show promise or making things sound more glorious than what they are; that said, what I just threw at you is your invitation back into the organization. However, you're by no means obligated to accept my offer. If you aren't certain then abandon the scroll and in an hours time it'll blow up. Your opportunity from there will literally go up in smoke." By now, Uoza had resituated himself to face forward. He wasn't expecting Jizo to remain in his shadow when he'd done so and figured the man would likely open the scroll, see the meaning and veer off course to follow its instruction but otherwise he continued speaking as normal. "So there you have it, the ball's in your court now."

[Zao]

The two men continued to bound almost in sequence with one another now, speaking back and forth as the man began to actually go into the reasoning for finding on him this day. At the mention of him not fitting back into the regular ninja society being the reason for his searching out the Aburame the man actually let his left eyebrow raise slightly, beginning to wonder if this meant what he was currently thinking. "What is that reason?" Jizo spoke, his voice deep but his volume soft, almost like that of a whisper, as he waited for the man to speak once more.

Without a word the man beside him suddenly bounded forwards and twisted in mid air demonstrating his acrobatic skill set and a small red scroll seemed to appear out of no where as it was tossed in his direction. The right hand lifted with precise moment but the scroll didn't make it to his hand, no, a stream of tiny black insects had appeared like smoke from the right arm coming from under the right forearm bracer. It appeared to almost be stuck in mid air as the smoke wave of insects slowly retracted the scroll back into his hand in that moment, before it was securely grasped by Jizo now.

His eyes became affixed on the small scroll that was firmly held in the hand before him and then glanced back up to the man whom had thrown it to him, listening as the man who identifyied himself as Uoza now begin to spill out the specifics. For the first time both corners of his mouth raised and then the man flipped his palm upwards as the insects moved without a vocolized word from their host unrolling the invitation back to his home, back to the Anbu. "I've never been more certain, an Anbu member is whom I truly am." That was the last words spoken by Jizo to Gene now as his eyes shifted from right to left reading the words written upon the scroll and without a sound the man had disappeared into the shadows of the forest the two shinobi's had been traveling through...

JutsuShow

[True Shadow]
A-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
Prerequisite: 35 Instinct
Taking the art of hunting into the realm of combat, the user is able to stalk a target with the skill rivaling any professional, moving up to their full speed while shadowing the movements of their prey and moving with the utmost silence. So long as their (Taijutsu+Instinct)/2 is higher than the target's Instinct then they will be able to approach them undetected by traditional means. Often this means the target isn’t even aware of the user's presence until the attack has already begun.

[Legacy]

When he could no longer feel the presence of the Aburame behind him Uoza shifted direction and began heading for the Northeast sector of Fire country. A preemptive captain if nothing else, he'd decided to go and patrol the outermost forested areas while there was still a decent amount of light out and now that Jizo had received his new directive the masked man could only assume that there was one less matter on his plate to handle. Not exactly the most traditional means of recruitment but when have I ever been traditional? Besides, that guy's got some aura about him...I'll just have to trust that I've made the right decision. A passing thought; perhaps with a few...minor tweaks, the organization could return to its former glory.

[Scene close]