Creepy Crawlies in the Night [M]

[Comatose]

The Haunting in Suna
Rank: B
Shinobi Required: 1-4.
Mission Information: Recently there has been a series of reports of paranormal activity coming from the old estate down the road. A family had rented that place and claimed that they saw images of ghosts and dead people haunting the place and quickly they ran for cover and ran out of the house. Neighbors are moving out of their homes, terrified of the ghouls that reside within the estate. The landlord has asked that a shinobi or two come to investigate.
Special Information: Repeatable. As always with a mission of this rank, there is a chance of injury or death. Genin are permitted to take this mission, however, they are required to find a moderator to GM the process. Chuunin may simply roleplay it as normal.
Reward: 100 EXP and 2,500 Ryo.

It was only befitting that it was nighttime, the light of the moon providing just enough light to see up that road and to the target location, a house. This was no ordinary house however, in fact, it was more of a mansion. The mansion itself took up the space of a total of five family homes, and was perched atop a hill overlooking the whole village. It was said that a wealthy merchant used to live there once, one wealthy enough to buy the whole of Suna out from under the ninja. However, he was a benevolent man, and used his money to make the village better. He was revered, and loved, then one day, mysteriously, disappeared.

When the owner finally foreclosed on his home years later, the landowner and landlord attempted to sell the house, but no one would buy it. Why would you ask? Well, in the night there were reports of moans and groans, and creaks under the floorboards. No one would dare step foot in the house. Since then a mission was set to investigate and possibly fix the problem. Several ninja tried, and left with tales of ghouls and baddies.

Of course, when Youka insisted we took on a task that helped the village during it's downtime I didn't hesitate to choose that particular mission. Just as well, I didn't actually expect her to agree to it after hearing the details, but she did. Though I wasn't afraid of whatever this could be, I wasn't too keen on the idea of coming across something like a ghoul. Did those things actually exist?

"Wow. You know. That house actually looks really spooky from here."

The house hadn't been boarded up of course, the landlord had tried to sell it all the while it was known it held the secret of a ghoul or ghost inside. The way the light shone in through the window and hit the curtains almost made it look like something was looking out at us from inside, waiting for us to dare to come in.

"You sure about this Youka?"

[addy-hime ♥]

It was funny, really. The Shodaime had faced Shukaku without batting an eyelash; was nearly killed by Asato when they first met; planned the murder of the Nidaime, who just happened to be her eldest brother's son; and lied straight to the face of the Council about the web of lies surrounding her life. Yet here she stood, trembling very slightly on the spot she took up behind her fiance's back, thoroughly terrified of the dark mansion that stood before them. Not that she could actually absorb the effect of the lighting on the house: currently, her Kyodai Sensu was opened to its first fold and held to obstruct her view.

"N-nope. I'm not sure about this at all, but we have to! I mean, no one else will do it, and who is better qualified than we are? I can't think of a single ... soul." Her lips parted and she giggled at the pun, but it came out as more of a slightly-unhinged, very nervous chuckle. The kunoichi scooted closer to him as she lowered her fan, although her grip clearly tightened on it, knuckles going pure white in her attempt to seem braver than she actually was. "I really, reeeeally don't like ghosts."

Perhaps the house—or whatever happened to be in it—heard what she said and felt insulted, for a loud crash suddenly echoed out, piercing the silence of the night. Youka literally jumped, her free hand snapping out to clutch Asato's sleeve like it was the only thing keeping her alive. She didn't speak at first, but her face certainly said it all: paler than usual, and cerulean eyes wide like saucers. "Do you think it's really something paranormal? I hope not ... I hope it's some kids wanting to scare people away, stupid as a prank like that sounds."

The Shodaime took a deep breath and stiffened her bottom lip, seeming very childish with her barely-concealed pout and dramatic reactions. But it was she that suddenly stepped forward, dragging Asato with her as if he was the one refusing to go any closer to the mansion. Up the walk she marched, until they were directly in front of the door; a key was procured from her pocket, even though it meant releasing him. It's like jumping in cold water, or ripping off a band-aid, right? Just have to do it quickly and it'll be over, she reassured herself privately as she inserted the key into the door and turned it. The lock clicked open and she toyed with the handle until, finally, the dark interior of the entrance hall was revealed to them.

There wasn't a lot to see here, but she had not expected much from the first room. In actuality, it was merely a place for visitors and the family to hang up coats and place shoes, and could have been a pleasant room in the daytime. A door was on the far side, which presumably led into the direct interior of the mansion, perhaps the living room or dining room. "Are you ready?" She snapped her Kyodai Sensu shut and stepped inside, wanting to run back out immediately. Why? Why did she decide to do this?

[/font]

[Comatose]

Youka actually seemed genuninely frightened, which actually had soothed me more than she understood. For a long while she had displayed such strength, and nearly did everything she wanted to without as much as a single hesitation. This experience let me know that she was at least afraid of some things, or at least hesitant, without the restraint of trying to be strong. Though, she did it anyway, pulling me along with her. Her stubbornness of any direct admittance that she was genuinely afraid was cute actually, and when she had tugged on my sleeve, I took her hand directly in my own, and intertwined our fingers together.

The wind blew eeriely as she dragged me to that mansion's door and produced her key, opening the door to the dimly lit interior and the small hallway before building's actual interior. There was nothing of note there at all, but something did strike a cord in my nerve.

"No. Of course not, something paranormal? You know I've been around the world that's out of the quest----."

There was a moan from behind us, coming from somewhere on the path we had taken to the house, following by a particular and regular tapping sound, almost like the continued footsteps of someone.

"What the. . ?"

Of course, the moon choose now to allow it's radiance to be covered by a passing cloud when the sky had been otherwise clear since. The lack of the proper lighting didn't allow me to see what it was when I had looked back, and quite frankly, the inability to see what was coming put me on edge, it startled me. The noise got ever closer, and closer, or at least sounded like it did. My instincts quickly took hold, and I tightened my grip on Youka's hand a bit a pulled her inside with me, closing that first door to the hallway and quickly entering the interior through the next.

Through the double doors there was no sound at all for a second, the large interior room lit only by the huge chandelier in the center, a grand set of stairs led up to the second floor, and also served as a connection between the west and east wings of the house. In addition to the two doors on either side second floor, there were two doors on the first floor on either side as well. That first room itself could have been a modest dwelling for a Ninja.

After a few seconds, there was rapping at the door, and a muffled moan — a tone too low due to the doors being between the source and where we were. That continued for a bit before suddenly stopping. My eyes met Youka's and surely she saw the surprise on my face. I literally had no idea what that had been, and no intention at all of figuring it out just yet.

"I don't. . . know, what that was."

There was a sudden crash from somewhere in the mansion, akin to what Youka had heard in the first place, and a set of footsteps.

"Heh, well. I guess whatever it is wasted no time in letting us know it's here!"

I yelled it a bit mockingly, almost angrily. Almost in tandem, there were more footsteps, maybe even more than a set or two. What the hell was that?

[addy-hime ♥]

The sudden utterance of a moan so near them made Youka freeze; without him there to drag her further in the house, it was quite possible she would have been rooted to the spot and attacked by whatever it was. Instead, the creature banged irritably against the door, and she watched the unyielding wood, afraid that it would give way and let the thing inside.

"I don't know what it was either," she answered slowly, somehow unsurprised by the new noises littering the house, all 'round them. Blue eyes lit upon Asato as he yelled to the creatures taunting them, as if that would rectify the situation at all. She wanted to bust open a window and escape this hellish building, but what would the shinobi think of their Kage if she were to do something so cowardly? Instead, the Kyodai Sensu was flicked out to a singular section again, prepared to direct and enhance her wind chakra if the need arose. At this point, she would have felt much better if they came face-to-face with their pursuers, because at least then she could rip them apart. Or chastise them, if indeed it was just a group of idiotic teenagers from the village.

"I really want to get this over with," she huffed, turning in a full circle to absorb her surroundings. This room was large and finely furnished, but there did not seem to be anything out of the ordinary ... nothing glaring, anyway. Youka detached herself from his side and walked closer to a tapestry hanging on the wall, studying the painting of what she assumed was the previous owner of the mansion: a portly man with thinning hair, but quite an elegant beard. His features were vaguely foreign, she noted, but the smile on his face was kind; she found the corner of her lips twitching up into a half-smile as well.

It didn't last.

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted something, a blotch of color against the relatively dark shade of the carpet. "Hnnn?" Pink-topped head tilted, curiosity overwhelming her better judgment as she approached the spot, which was only a meter or two away from the staircase. It was a kind of ... rust-brown stain, disgusting from a distance. Why wouldn't someone have cleaned up such an unsightly addition to a beautiful home? When she reached it, however, she realized what it was: blood. "A-asato!" She squeaked, pointing at it with her free hand. "Asato!" Upon closer inspection, it truly seemed that this blood splotch wasn't very old—it hadn't completely coagulated yet, as some parts around the very center looked moist.

[/font]

[Comatose]

I thought I had smelled something foul. My sense of smell toward the particular smell of iron that only blood could produce could be called acute. The smell had passed through my nostrils several times in the past, in quantities and for amounts of time I had rather not have had to smelled blood for. Nevertheless, knowing the smell, and then hearing her call out had already told me what it was.

I quickly walked over to her, and leaned down, touching the blood and smearing it across my thumb and forefinger. It was still wet, and the color crimson still readily visible in it's particular hue. I was no tracker, or professional when it came to reading such things, only having dabbled in such analysis, but the blood indeed was not too old.

"This is not too old, it's still wet. It couldn't have been here for anything longer 4-5 hours, in this heat and lack of humidity it'd dry up fast."

Upon further inspection, tracing the blood to see if it had any particular origin point, one would notice something even more peculiar, though the blood was pooled at this particular point there was more blood elsewhere. Just to the left of the carpet, there were more stains, basically completely dry because of being on the hardwood floor. The stains had a particular pattern, almost as if someone was dragging something somewhere. Tracing the pattern of dragging further, it led to the door on that side of the room.

The landlord wasn't gracious enough to give us any sort of map of the mansion, no, that'd be far to easy. Instead, we were blind to the layout of the house and where that door may lead. It was likely that of the two doors on the first floor one door went to a dining room of sorts, and other to a hallway which would connect to more rooms, and perhaps a day-room / sitting room.

"I don't think we have a choice. . we'll have to follow this here. It's our only clue right now, unless we wanna go back out there. Quite frankly, I don't want to fight in the dark."

I had barred myself from using the Kusanagi in the village's limits, as to avoid the noisy eye of a wayward shinobi passing through. The sword as seen by it's blade and engravings was unmistakable, and it could be a huge problem if anyone else notice what it actually was. So, for the sake of concealing the weapons identity, on top of everything else, I wouldn't use it. Instead, in my right hand I crafted a non-distinct Tsurugi out of paper to use should the need arise. I was sure it would.

To add to suspicion of the direction we were headed being the correct one, for now, again those footsteps echoed through the house, seemingly from the next room over. My hand gripped the doorknob, and jimmied it open just a small amount, allowing a rotten stench to emerge from the room and fill the air.

". . . Uh, are you ready?"

When she was, I'd just throw open that door and give caution to the wind.

[addy-hime ♥]

Youka's eyes followed him and the trail he had spotted; the dragging pattern did not bode well for their immediate well-being. Her first thought was that someone had been injured and pulled into the other room to conceal the evidence, but there wasn't enough blood collectively for a fatal wound, in her meager experience. Eventually she closed the distance between them, the fine hairs on the back of her neck standing up as more footsteps came from just through the door Asato was already opening.

"Ready? Hah," she murmured bitterly, nose wrinkling at the awful stench wafting from the crack between the door and the door frame. "Let's do this!" No matter how sure of herself she felt with the Kyodai Sensu close by, there wasn't any amount of bravery that could have prepared her for what she saw inside that room. It looked like a human at first glance, except for the ludicrous amount of blood spattered over its bedraggled form. The room it stood in was obviously a dinning area of some sort, from the looks of the giant table that took up a good deal of space, reminding her very much of the Council meeting room. The creature was on the other side of that table, but the sound of the door opening made it turn toward them.

"Holy shit." Its jaws, covered in both dry and fresh blood, parted to reveal teeth slightly sharper than the average person's. Youka had no doubt they could rip flesh apart like a knife through hot butter. Its skin seemed to be decaying; indeed, a part of its cheek was actually torn out and hanging by threads of flesh and orange-hued fat. The sight alone made her want to gag, but there was almost no time to breathe—immediately the monster let loose a hoarse groan and lifted its arms, darting at them. It didn't get very far in its first attempt, though, for the table provided a sturdy barrier for its body to crash into with a sickening squelch. Was it brainless, too?

Youka couldn't blame it, not right now. She wasn't thinking properly herself! Without a backward glance at Asato she stepped into the room, the Kyodai Sensu swinging forth with the momentum of her movement. Immediately the stagnant air in the room began to whip wildly, until at the peak of her swing, it concentrated and burst forth. It was almost invisible, with very little dust to suck it its fold as it traveled toward the zombie. All the duo of shinobi would see was the look of dim rage on its face as it was suddenly slammed back, away from the table, and then lifted into the air. It practically screamed as pieces of its skin and muscles were ripped off and sliced open, almost like it was being cut from all sides by a torrent of blades. Thick, nearly-coagulated globs of blood mixed with the new debris until finally, the wind ceased and the monster was slammed onto the ground with a bang.

"Is it dead?!" She squeaked, stepping closer to the table in hopes of getting a better look. Suddenly, there was a moan and the sound of rushing footsteps to her left, as if a body was rushing straight at her.

SPOILER: Click to show

Kamaitachi ( 10 m opening / 20 m blast. )
Rank: C, C
Type: Offensive / Fuuton Ninjutsu
Range: 10+ meters
Chakra: Mid
Special: Size of tunnel opening measures 5 meters, and wind blasts can travel 10 meters; each time relearned, the mouth grows by 5 meters and the blast itself travels an extra 10 meters..
Description: This jutsu was brought to fame by a legendary Suna shinobi from long ago, and was named after a mythical creature able to command the winds on a whim. After channeling wind chakra at either their weapon or limb, the user swings it around and brings forth a most intense tornado, coming out from the weapon/arm. Once it strikes the opponent, the tornado tips upward and takes them up, keeping them imprisoned by the strong currents, and delivering multiple waves of cutting/slicing damage onto their bodies, as well as dropping them hard onto the ground afterward.
Domain: Fuuton.

[/font]

[Comatose]

Even the stench hadn't prepared me for what I was in store when that door opened and Youka walked through. What I had expected was what anyone would have expected, a body, a dead one. Now, I wasn't sure exactly what it was looking at, but from the wounds inflicted on it and the look of it, it should have surely been dead. It's skin had no longer retained any hue I could have called lively, it was not fair, nor darkened, nor sun-kissed; it was a rotten and corpse-like green, almost coarse in it's look. Youka, being closer, and having had time to react faster by entering the room first reacted in the way any shinobi would, attacking the aggressor.

Her sudden controlled burst of wind, surely must have hurt the beast, for when those blades hit it tore flesh, and when the micro-burst of wind pushed it into the wall and onto the floor it moved no longer. I was relieved for a moment, too. She must have killed it, right? It didn't scream or move, it simply lied there.

Is it dead?!

"It must---"

The sound of the lunge and the groan of another one of those beasts behind us alerted me, and before I could even finish a sentence, I shifted and pivoted into a turn, my blade driving through it's flesh. The blade sailed smoothly through it's body, almost as if there was nothing it's way at all, slicing through flesh and sinew alike with no more than a the noise of a squish. I was no newbie to the feeling of driving a sword through the flesh of man, it surely wasn't easy, even with the most tempered of blades — Kusanagi aside. Bone and muscle alike should have proved hard to cleave easily, but there was no resistance.

My sword had been driven through it's center at the pelvis, cutting just above the hips straight through. The legs fell limp, guts were flung through the air at the adjacent wall, and it's intestines fell out just before it hit the ground. The sight was mortifying— even more so than when Youka vanquished the first monster, there were pieces of this being everywhere. It didn't go down as quickly as the one Youka had hit though. No, instead it found it normal to continue to groan, and drag itself forward, my leg instinctively punting it across the hallway far to the other side. That didn't stop it; It continued it's efforts, moaning even louder still.

". . How?"

The louder moans seemed to trigger a chain reaction too, the beast Youka had felled springing to life and slowly rising as there was a loud crash in the main lobby. Moans filled the air after the crash, limber footsteps growing ever louder and closer to the door that I had closed behind me. Things were worse than I could even dream of.

"Youka! There are more coming. I don't think we can take many more of these. They just won't die."

[addy-hime ♥]

"Oh my God."

There were no words appropriate for this situation; it wasn't every day that one ran into decaying monsters, much less ones that refused to die. Youka thought she might be sick when she watched Asato's paper sword slice into its pelvis, and could barely breathe for the foul odor of its intestines and general insides. The worst part, though ... the most horrendous ... it was still moving! A sound of disgust huffed from the girl, even when she heard movement behind her that signified the creature she attacked was also on the move, yearning to get close to them and, well, do what exactly? It had no weapons aside from those teeth; she couldn't imagine wanting to be touched by it, much less bitten.

"Asato. W-what are they? How are we supposed to get rid of something that is already dead?" The words were a mere whisper, hard to hear over the sounds of crashing and moaning from the room they inhabited just a few minutes previous. This mission seemed impossible, certainly much more difficult than a B-rank, and she was glad none of her shinobi had been brave (or stupid?) enough to take it on. She had full confidence in her fiance—they would make it out of this situation, if only they could find a way to permanently destroy the monsters.

She inhaled deeply, almost gagging on the air but requiring it, for she realized that up until now she had been holding it. Fear didn't describe her emotions just then. She was terrified, oh yes, but above that ... it was fight or flight now, and a good ninja knew how to focus on the former of the two instincts. "Is there any way you can smother them in your paper and make a controlled explosion? The bodies can move even when we injure them, but I doubt it would be easy if they were literally blown to bits. We just have to make sure we don't damage the house overmuch." Not that she cared a great deal about the equity of the home! If there were monsters such as these infesting it, no one would ever buy it regardless.

While waiting for Asato to answer her inquiry she turned back to the table, gaze settling on the zombie that actually had the mental prowess to go around the bulky wooden structure. It was closing in on them, but at a slow pace, as if the movement of its legs was a burden. It wasn't an ambling, it was more like ... it was dragging its feet, anything to get to them. "Ugh—" she spit out, snapped her fan shut and slipping it into the custom holster on her back. "It's so very disgusting." Those same hands, now free, quickly performed a set of handseals that very air around her pulsate with color; when at last she ended on the tiger it was held, and that energy focused into a streamlined sphere.

"We're never doing any missions that say ghost, ghoul, or creepy crawly in them ever again. Ever again!" She repeated, just to make sure he understood how very frustrated she was with this ordeal. Meanwhile, Youka lifted her hands, the tiger seal mimicking a gun that she pointed at the monster's head; it was actually startlingly close to her now, so the aiming process was downright easy. "Bang." The sphere, which could be called a bullet, shot out with a rush of wind and pierced its skull with the sound of a wet thud. Surprisingly, it was knocked back by the force of the blow and crumpled to the ground, unmoving.

SPOILER: Click to show

Kaze no Dangan
Rank: C
Type: Offensive / Fuuton Ninjutsu
Range: 20 meters
Special: There is a one second cool down between shots, meaning that the user can only fire three bullets per post. Able to be used with one-handed seals, so long as Tiger is held.
Description: The user performs a set of handseals, ending with Tiger, and holds it. Chakra is focused into the point at the tip of their fingers; a bullet-sized and shaped ball of green energy begins to form. By aiming at an opponent as if using a gun, they can fire this streamlined pellet. It travels the same speed as a normal bullet does thanks to a decrease in wind velocity around the bullet, and packs the same amount of power when it does hit. The drawback is that it shoots in a linear path and, like every other object, is pulled down by gravity as it travels. The farther away the target, the less likely it will be to connect.
Domain: Sunagakure no Sato. Fuuton.

[/font]

[Comatose]

The gravity of the situation and the anxiety of whether or not we could be able to defeat these monsters unscathed was alleviated as soon as Youka shot that beast in the head. When the bullet of wind pierced it's skull, entering whatever was left of it's brain and destroyed it, it moved no longer. Was that the key? It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that it indeed was, the monster could survive with no limbs, in this grotesque state, but once it's brain processes were interrupted it went down for good. Similarly, I entertained the thought that because Youka had knocked it back into the wall with her first attack, it's head effectively battered, that was the reason it didn't move for a while.

". . the head? That must be it Youka. Look it's not moving at all!"

There was a rush in my voice, and immediately after I spoke I tossed the paper sword at the second monster's neck, severing it from the rest of it's body to prove my hypothesis. When the sword cleaved completely through the neck, the body went limp, but the head, it still fought back. It's moans didn't stop, and it bit at the air like some sort of animal. With only a head it could still function, and in so seeing this for ourselves, there was no mistaking I was right. With sheer will, I ordered the weapon to pierce it's skull, and put it down.

In the excitement of the answer, I almost forgot the other pressing matter. There was a bang at the door and a moan, following consecutive and continued banging — no doubt more beasts.

Is there any way you can smother them in your paper and make a controlled explosion? The bodies can move even when we injure them, but I doubt it would be easy if they were literally blown to bits. We just have to make sure we don't damage the house overmuch.

"Well. I'm not sure, but we won't have much of a choice but to hope in a second."

One my hands motioned her back as I expelled paper from my being, allowing it to take the form of the outside of the door on our side as to hold the beasts back when they finally broke through. Though, that wasn't the only function I had in mind for the paper construction, just the most pressing. When the garbled sound of the door exploding into a bunch of splinters after the monsters broke through was heard, the second function was seen. The paper stretched and contorted to the frames of the monsters as they entered, allowing them all to essentially pierce into the hallway, though within the paper.

When I was finally sure the paper held within it all the monsters, I'd close the paper trap around them and kick it into the main lobby. That first layer of paper around them would represent the paper that would blow up, while the next two that was placed around them would attempt to contain the explosion. With just a few seals, that's exactly what happened, in a muffled bang I triggered the controlled explosion, and all there was left was blood and bits of paper.

". . Well. That did the trick." I grinned at Youka. "You witty love of mine."

There were no more moans or movement after that, but the job still wasn't done. We hadn't checked the other wing of the house, where the dining room most likely was. That room had to be the key, I figured. We'd find some greater clue there assuredly. There was no where else the monsters could be coming from, as we when we had went into the other wing the majority had come from behind us. We knew there was only one of them outside, and that just left that other room.

"We're definitely steering away from missions with "monsters" in the title for a while."

Footsteps, but these weren't limber and sloppy. They were controlled and normal; from the dining room, coming toward us.

[addy-hime ♥]

The excitement in Asato's voice at her discovery was both gratifying and funny; despite the gruesome scene in front of her, blood and brains an' all, a giggle actually burst from her lips as she turned back to face him. "Well, I suppose you need to aim-to-kill, even with these monsters. Who knew a shot to the face would do the trick?" She watched with some interest as he tested the theory, severing the head from the neck. Of course, as expected, it continued to try chomping away at thin air. Was it really so starved for human flesh that it would go to such extreme measures? Youka didn't feel sorry for it when he put it out of its misery.

"I have confidence in your abilities."

She smiled in that adoring way only a future-bride could pull off as he motioned her backward, an order the Shodaime followed willingly. No need to get caught in an explosion herself, right? That didn't sound like any fun, worse, in fact, than fighting these stupid zombies in the first place. The splintering of the door made her jump, but his paper captured them effectively, and within moments a dull boom sounded that foreshadowed the bits and pieces those things would be left in. Unless their eyeballs could roll around without the aid of a brain, too, she decided that group was neutralized well enough to drop her guard. The tiger seal was broken and she stepped back over to Asato, leaning up to plant a kiss upon his cheek.

"See! I knew you could figure out a way to do it. Hopefully we don't have many more of those to deal with ..." she paused for a melodramatic shiver, eying up the blood and gore skeptically all the while. Despite her earlier fear, he might have noticed that a calmness had gripped the pink-haired girl—the way she held her body was more confident, because even though she didn't want to be bitten by one of the zombies, she was certain they could take them on now. From a distance, even! "I don't know why we decided to go on a mission in the first place." Oh, wait ... it was her idea, that's right. "I might hold off on them in general for a while, after this. Maybe actually get some of my paperwork done. Aero didn't seem fond of that part of the job, did he?"

Youka was mentally picturing the large stack of documents and scrolls on her desk when the footsteps resounded. She froze, eyes widening as they traveled from Asato's figure to the direction of the dining room. Who could that be ...?

[/font]

[Comatose]

The lumbering and attacking of the living undead was truly a foreshadowing of what was to come, for what came through that door didn't seem natural at all. No, what came through that door couldn't be natural at all, a small thing it was, possibly at once a man, though bearing a striking resemblance to the matter of undead we had just faced.

It's frame was small and seemingly compact, its back bent far too much forward and it's arms almost stuck a 45 degree angle, bent at the elbow. Its face was not the green of rotting, but the blue of cadaver, with the features of it's face far to prevalent and angular due to the lack of muscle. When it bared it's teeth while walking forward, blood seemed to drip from what could only be described as fangs, and sharpened teeth. Much to even my own surprise it spoke up.

What are you doing here? It'd speak in a harsh tone, almost inhuman — guttural, speaking as if we were somehow the one's trespassing in this house.

"What do you mean? What are we doing here? I could ask the same question. Better yet, what the hell are you?"

A brief stint of silence gave way to the understanding that perhaps the creature didn't understand what it was either, or what was going on at all. No one was supposed to live in this house, and the last tenant was the former owner of all the property. The man had disappeared and had never been heard of ever again, eventually his property unused for a number of years was sold. The portrait over the space where we found the original blood pool depicted the man. My eyes opened a bit as I looked over at it and then back to the man. No. .?

"Wait. . could you be Takayanagi-san?"

I was referring to the old owner of the house of course, his name had been Takayanagi as far as I knew. But, he didn't give any retort, instead, the monster reared it's head almost in agony and let out a horrifying screech before more of those forsaken beasts emerged from the available doors. There weren't any before however, no sign of any at all. Were they actually real? I didn't want to find out.

"Hey — I'll hold these things off here Youka, you go get that thing, and try to reason with it — kill it if you have to. I know you can do this. ."

The beast had run off into the house, up those stairs in the entrance and through the left hand side door. Meanwhile, the monsters approached from all sides, I summoned forth a paper companion.

[addy-hime ♥]

What was this, night of the walking dead? First there had been creatures that appeared to be rotting from the inside out, refusing to die without a blow to the head or complete destruction. Now? Now there was this emaciated old man, is body held at impossible angles and his mouth a cavernous put full of razor-sharp ... fangs? Blood dribbled down his chin when he opened his mouth; she thought it would be another moan, or perhaps a screech, but in fact the man spoke in a tone never heard of by her ears.

Unlike Asato, she was not quick to relate this creature standing before her with the previous owner of the mansion. The picture in the past room depicted a jolly, rotund man—none of the features were here, unless one counted the glassy color of his eyes. When her fiance spoke the name of the old man, however, a light bulb clicked on in her mind and she connected the dots. If this leech could indeed talk, then he would be able to verify his identity, right? She waited on edge to hear a response, but instead they were greeted by a wail, which even summoned more of the zombified creatures in response. Wonderful. She was prepared for an immediate attack from Takayanagi-san, and was vaguely surprised when he turned tail and ran instead.

"Shit."

Youka closed her eyes, concentrating the sudden rush of chakra toward them—it was becoming apparent that she would need to utilize her stronger abilities, even though she preferred not to. When finally she opened them again, the oculi had changed completely: streaks of white flickered through the cerulean depths like lightning, and the color of her iris seemed to bleed into the pupil, staining it a similar hue. If ever before one could compare her eyes to the ocean where they had met, now was the time. "Don't worry, I've go—" she sputtered and trailed off as she looked around, focusing on the creatures that closed in on Asato. "Water? They're made completely of water ..." Although this revelation was spoken loud enough for him to hear, she did not bother to elaborate; instead, she turned and went tearing after the previous owner.

She heard his footsteps pounding up the stairs, much heavier than expected from such a wasted body. No complaint there, of course! When she reached the bottom of the staircase she stared into the darkness for a minute, pondering if there would be more creatures up there. "Why do I have to go alone? Oh, that's right ... Asato wanted to get the easy part of the job!" She whined, and then off the Shodaime went, running two stairs at a time in her hurry to catch up with Takayanagi-san. Hopefully her fiance would catch up to her before she managed to get herself into trouble.

No foul creature wants to be stopped doing the thing it most enjoys, and apparently this man was no different. Once up the stairs, he had paused and turned, laying in wait for his prey to surely follow. What he didn't anticipate was the string of hand seals Youka had performed as she tried to catch him, nor, perhaps, the sparkling rope-like object that was now clutched in her right hand, dragging behind her when she came to a stop in front of him. "Sir! I do not want to hurt you, but if you keep this up and don't come quietly, I won't have a choice!" Her voice hitched to a pleading note. There seemed to be a flicker of recognition in his eyes, but then he lunged for her, fangs bared maniacally.

Crack! With a strong flick of her wrist the whip sailed forward, coiling around his thin body; almost immediately a crackling could be heard and the smell of singed flesh permeated the air. A double-dosed shock had been administered thanks to the hidden raiton power in the weapon. He seemed overcome by the pain of it, and when she tugged the whip back, he was spun with the force and collapsed to the ground. It had merely been her intention to injure him, not kill him—Youka shrieked in surprise, loud enough to echo down the stairs, and raced forward to see if he was okay.

SPOILER: Click to show

Shuugoumanako
Rank: B
Type: Doujutsu
Range: Eyesight
Special: Pierces 'B' ranked chakra of Suiton, Fuuton, Raiton and Ranton nature within eyesight. Elements appear in unique colors, usually customizable shades of blue.
Description: The Kekkai Genkai manifests itself as being activated by a more intense change to the eyes ; the users pupils turns an ocean blue, swirling like a whirlpool; the iris develops random blue-white lines that appear and disappear like lightning ; the whites of the eye start orbiting the iris and pupil, almost like clouds.

Raikoukei
Rank: C, C
Type: Offensive / Clan Kekkei Touta / Ranton Ninjutsu
Range: 0 - 10 meters
Special: Base strength of storm rope depends on the user's highest 'Storm Channeling' rank. Each time retrained, additional 'C' ranked shocking damage is stacked, applicable whenever the whip achieves contact with a victim for more than a second.
Description: Forming the necessary hand seals and utilizing their unique Kekkai Genkai the user form a mass of swirling winds, condensing them into the form of a whip. Within this whip lies a small vein of electrically charged water, that, at the user command, can send a powerful electric surge into any caught by the whips touch.
Domain: Sansutsomu. Advanced Storm Channeling 'C'.

[/font]

[Comatose]

Though Youka had told me of her abilities I had never before seen them in action, and quite frankly they were a little intimidating. Yes, one could say I myself was intimidating through my paper prowess, but it was nothing like a Bloodlimit. While I had to learn my power, hone my skills, train to become so very possible she had such a thing coursing through her veins innately. It was a sight to behold, those eyes of ocean blue, lightning striking about the eye. I had seen nothing like it before, it was even more magnificent than Sharingan or Byakugan. She was this powerful? I wondered to myself why she hadn't just tried to fight me back when we first met, she surely could have won.

Though my mind was distracted the movements and speed of these ghouls was nothing to behold. They were rather slow moving in comparison to a ninja, and not very bright. They attacked with a ferocity only akin to a beast, with the same indiscriminate care for any tactics. One by one, and in packs of threes they came at me and the clone, simply lunging as if we were not smart enough to step out of the way. Surely, this was the easier of the two jobs, however, that wasn't the point. The reason I had assigned Youka to defeat Takayanagi-san was to bolster her confidence in her abilities. She was powerful, she needed to know it.

The fact that there was literally no end to these ghouls only added to my wordly suspicion they could in fact be not real at all. No matter how many me and my clone felled, they kept coming, en-masse even, their numbers increasing with each wave.

Water? They're made completely of water ...

I was not too versed in releases myself, barred from the use of any, but I had seen something none dissimilar to this before. Recalling when I had fought to gain hold of the Kusanagi that man, that Li-Clan member, had summoned forth beasts just like this in a way. No matter how many I killed their numbers only grew, and when the technique had finally ended nothing but water stained black remained.

"Tch. This could get annoying."

The endurance test raged on.

---

The creature, Mr. Takayanagi, hadn't expected for the girl to be much of a fighter. He was an old-fashioned sort of man in his life, and his old-fashioned ideals seemed to carry on into this undeath, even with the lack of any real reason within him. The whip had inflicted severe damage to his abdomen, but he didn't seem to notice at all. The singed flesh fell into a puddle of charred and burnt mush, and he simply let out a hiss.

While Youka was in the process of running to him, she'd find herself no longer wanting to get any closer. A mist of ink permeated from his pores, and covered the whole of his body and immediately around him. Special chakra was imbued into this mist that did not allow anything to penetrate it, including her chakra seeing abilities. This was the perfect obstruction of vision, allowing him just enough time to retaliate. His finger scraped against the floorboards as he imbued trickles of ink with his power, firing several senbon out of the mist immediately after it covered his frame.

In the wave of confusion this would stir, he almost literally tossed himself a few feet back, and again bared his fangs at Youka.

---

In the corner of my eye I noticed these happenings and left my paper companion to mop up the fake ghouls. A simple sheet of paper had been fired off in her direction to intercept the Senbon should she not dodge it in time, as I raced up those steps.

"Phew."

[addy-hime ♥]

The moment Youka realized that her target was not quite as dead as she originally assumed, she stopped. The hiss was like a catalyst to their fight: the ink-mist began to swirl into existence, and she began to produce—though encumbered by her whip—another short set of hand seals.

The effect of her jutsu was not instantaneous by any means. She felt highly intimidated by the fact that the mist he was creating was slowly blocking her vision, and knew that it could possibly be a very powerful attack. That was why she planned to block it, whatever it was, and hopefully turn the tables on the old man. There was a quiet scraping sound, and then black needle-like objects suddenly penetrated the mist, aimed to cause her bodily harm. Apparently out of instinct she pushed her unoccupied hand forward, as if it would protect her from the pain that was sure to come ... but no dice. Asato and the creature couldn't see it, but Youka was privy to the green-blue mass of energy that suddenly rushed from the palm of her hand. It smacked into the senbon, which not only reflected from their current course, but actually turned around and rushed straight back to their creator with the same amount of speed and power.

She would waste no time making further plans, of course. Asato's help went completely unnoticed as the hand that had produced the wave started to move, apparently morphing into a half-version of the seals. This would be the first time her fiance had ever seen her ability to perform hand seals single handedly, and now wasn't the time for him to marvel over it. Instead, he could stand in awe of perfect duplicate of the pink-haired Shodaime that had seemingly popped into existence from the very air itself, sporting even the whip that was coiled and bloodied at the real Youka's feet.

"Stop acting like a coward!" They yelled at the same time, voice lacking its empathetic tone. It was replaced instead with a hardness, as if she were quite enjoying this fight ... and, eventually, its outcome. Yes, she was definitely in the zone now.

SPOILER: Click to show

Kazekaeshi ( 30 m push-back. )
Rank: D, C, B, A, S
Type: Defensive / Fuuton Ninjutsu
Chakra: D: Low; C, B: Mid; A, S: High
Range: See special!
Special: Effective in blocking and returning ninjutsu and taijutsu of equal rank. Push-back distance starts off at 10 meters, and increases by 10 more with each new rank acquired.
Description: No one knows the power of Fuuton more than a Fuuton specialist, and this technique was designed by those that met reality sooner than most. Varying by skill and rank, this technique allows the user to take hold of any offensive jutsu used upon them, as along as the attack’s nature allows for whatever is thrown to be controlled. With a great burst of chakra at either their hands or weapons, the user quickly returns the technique back at the opponent, in full effect.
Domain: Fuuton.

Sutomu Bunshin no Jutsu
Rank: B
Type: Offensive / Clan Kekkei Touta / Ranton Ninjutsu
Range: See special!
Special: Clone strength and defense is determined by the user's highest 'Storm Channeling' rank. Clone speed is double that of the user. Up to one clone can be made at a time, plus one more each time retrained. Explosion consists of a mixture of concussive force from the water ; Severing Wind cutters ; and a surge of electricity, and covers a range of 10 meters.
Description: Forming the necessary hand seals and utilizing their unique Kekkai Genkai the user utilizes all three elements and forms a tangible, corporeal bunshin. This bunshin incorporates an aspect of all three elements giving it substantial offensive and defensive powers. Yet, its true power is revealed once the clone has been vanquished as upon such, it will explode in a mighty surge of elemental forces that will be sure to wound any enemy of the Sansutomu user.
Domain: Sansutsomu. Advanced Storm Channeling 'B'.

[/font]

[Comatose]

Again, I had felt I underestimated my fiance's abilities when she quite easily managed to do away with the beast's attack without much fuss. Though my sheet of paper I used for defense wasn't useful for blocking the attack, I used it in another way. The sheet was joined by another sheet, and another, until they formed a rather large bunch, spreading out and tethering to the sides. The sheets contorted and bended at the middle as to form a dome around the mini-battle. This way there was no possibility of any further retaliation from Takayanagi's ink servants. I did well to hold this barrier up, though it took no real effort, allowing her to handle the rest of the battle.

---

Takayanagi was surprised that the woman had suddenly blocked his attack to easily, and it only increased his monstrous rage. A roar bellowed from within the mist, of which to much of his own oversight, he couldn't see through himself. He was forced to dissipate it only to realize he was now trapped in some sort of covering, he didn't have any space to run. So he'd stay and fight, doing whatever he could.

His retaliation came in the form of a weapon, which was tossed toward Youka, indiscriminately. He didn't really know which one was the real one, and simply aimed in between the two, as a offensive measure. The capacity of his thinking was shown here; confused he lunged after the two after this.