[Yamanaka Tomomi]

YAMANAKA TOMOMI

NINGYO/HIDARI

When the report of strange earthquakes in Himitsu came across their desk, Tomomi practically begged to be assigned to the case - as much as someone as reserved as them could bring themself to beg, at least. Usually they were a shinobi happy to be pointed wherever they were asked, but the assassination of Hayashi Ayame was a personal job to them. The greatest failure of their career and it was a cold case.

Selecting their partner for this mission was difficult. They needed to keep a low profile, so not too many people could tag along, but they still needed someone reliable and who could cover many bases, considering the uncertainty of what they might find. Miroru was a newer addition to the barrier corps, just an apprentice, recently promoted, but she was versatile. Perhaps they also viewed this as a good opportunity for Miroru to learn a little about the Barrier Corps' history and the ways that it had failed to live up to its duty in the past.

On the trip up to Himitsu, Tomomi was far quieter than usual. The usual friendly banter they provided gave way to a quiet seriousness, their mind evidently fully on the mission and not at all on playing conversationalist.

They brought them with the mission report and a map of the area, spending the journey up pouring over the details and trying to prepare for any eventuality. They provided copies for Miroru as well, wanting to give her the same opportunity.

"When we arrive in town, let's be careful who we speak to," Tomomi eventually said. "People who live there may be involved. We don't want to give them a chance to get out ahead of our investigation."

---

Uchiha Miroru Sharp

[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Genin

Yamanaka Tomomi | 296 | notes

By the time Miroru arrived, she'd collected the supplies she took on all her missions- the belt of pouches and the backpack, both packed with "just in case" items... and a few new additions to her loadout. Two were very obvious- the third was less outright attention grabbing.

Firstly, she approached by air. Not by flying, but by... running. Midair. She seemed to have her own surface to sprint on, only to switch to hopping down invisible platforms to descend at a controlled rate, right down to the ground!

The other notable item was her new weapon- a pretty blue gunbai strapped to the back of her backpack. It wasn't marked explicitly as any particular clan or origin, which may well have been intentional.

The third was her clothing- the flak vest and black leather items she was wearing, the latter on hands and feet. Theoretically, the boots likely had to do with her odd ability to run midair, but it wasn't a surety.

She hopped down to a stop before Tomomi and greeted them with restrained enthusiasm, clearly excited to hit the field, but read the mood and noted they were of muted attitude, and reined it in, following along more quietly, and eventually taking the mission report copy once handed over.

"Okay. I can definitely do that. Should we transform to hide our protectors, or our other gear, perhaps?" Reading over the information, she sighed a bit, clearly bummed to read of the assassination, and said quietly, "Are we going to gather information in town before investigating the underground area that got exposed?"

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

Template by: Monkey

MISSIONS
D - 0 | C - 9c/3i | B - 0 | A - 0 | S - 0

[Yamanaka Tomomi]

YAMANAKA TOMOMI

NINGYO/HIDARI

The mission report was somewhat scant on details, if only because there was so little known about this situation. It clarified that while Himitsu was an area known for its earthquakes, the frequency with which they had been occurring was far from natural. A situation just like this had occurred about ten years prior, when Miroru was but a toddler. The investigation into the subject had been swiftly shut down by Kawai Niko before much could be made of it and the earthquakes eventually stopped - until now, that was.

Tomomi stared at the map, their brow furrowed. It was probably slightly out of date, if only because change could come so quickly. The village really needed to go on more cartographic missions to survey far away villages like this. Maybe they were worrying over little details to avoid thinking too hard on the subject, though.

"We'll probably have to talk to the landowner in order to politely access the property," Tomomi explained. They had no plans on going around interrogating civilians, at least not until after the sinkhole had been thoroughly scoured for evidence.

"Other than that, let us keep a low profile. This mission... We don't want anyone to have an opportunity to destroy evidence if we can help it. Whoever was operating beneath Himitsu may have had something to do with the assassination of our Hokage."

Uncharacteristic of Tomomi, there was an edge of cold hatred in their tone, like a freshly sharpened knife.

"Disguising ourselves until we're inside isn't a bad idea."

To that end, Tomomi forged a few hand seals and took on a casual disguise - one that they tended to favor on the road. A middle-aged woman who seemed to be a merchant of some sort, their bag disguised as a backpack brimming with fabrics.

---

Uchiha Miroru Sharp

[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Genin

Yamanaka Tomomi Iwai Sayua | 222 | notes

"That makes sense. And I guess we would do best to play nice with everyone we can afford to, and expose ourselves to as few as possible," Miroru agreed, not super used to sneaky missions. She'd been mostly assigned to jobs where she could crash in like a wrecking ball and make a mess out of everyone present if needed. Now, it was time for subtlety.

"Do... you think so..?" Miroru asked quietly. The gravitas of this mission, if true, superceded everything she'd expected. It was a much heavier burden of responsibility than the- well- hit jobs she'd been assigned to prior.

"Okay. Lemme see what you're going for. I'll follow suit."

As Tomomi adopted their merchant persona, Miroru took a similar one, with some shared features suggesting a family relationship, but close to her own age, with her gunbai replaced with a big bug net strapped to her pack. "Ready when you are!" She chirped, doing her best to bolster Tomomi's apprehension with a little confidence from her own side- if nothing else, she had hopes it might at least reduce Tomomi's sense of needing to baby Miroru.

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

Template by: Monkey

MISSIONS
D - 0 | C - 9c/3i | B - 0 | A - 0 | S - 0

[Sharp]

[googlefont=Roboto]

ONRYO

Himitsu sat like a model village that a child had gotten into. Many signs that once hung over the main street market lay flat on their face on the dirt path, bruised with footsteps. Several stores had broken glass and sagging foundations, and most of the ones that were still intact seemed to be devoid of life.

There were many types of silence that hung over the town. First was the general air of abandon, which seemed to return between each pause in the shinobi’s conversations and footsteps, refusing to be dispelled. The second was the looming silence of the townsfolk, who watched from their windows at the arrival of guests with unwelcoming gazes, and each noise they made seemed to be purposefully muffled. The third was an unnatural lack of bird songs or even the stirring of grasshoppers, a distinct absence of ambience. Cloudless sunshine beamed down on the village, but the silence felt like it painted it in sepia.

Further into the town, near the beginning of the residential neighborhoods, the location of interest couldn’t be more clear. Half of a longhouse still stood like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle, exposed to the elements, with an elderly lady sitting on the floor with her back to the wall. She rested as far from the broken end as she could. Near a side door that had now become the only usable entrance to her home.

The opposite end of the home had caved into the ground below, taking much of her thatch roof with it. There were obvious signs that she had cleared some of the wreckage of her own accord to make a tiny space for herself. Thatch, wood, and junk littered the hole which went down nearly twenty meters. The nature of the hole itself was difficult to determine because of the wreckage.

She could see the outsiders approaching closer to her home. With gray eyes she watched them carefully, sipping tea that was boiled from a stove that was hanging a quarter of the way over the pit. No interaction would be initiated from her, but one could easily speak to her without entering the ruin that she was calling home.

SPOILER: Click to show

Notes

Yamanaka Tomomi Uchiha Miroru

[Yamanaka Tomomi]

YAMANAKA TOMOMI

NINGYO/HIDARI

The silence was utterly unnatural. The recent disasters surely had something to do with the lack of wildlife. When the bird's nest was rattled out of the tree, when the ground itself became a threat, it made sense that woodland creatures would scatter. They wished to seek safer grounds and with each successive earthquake around Himitsu they likely fled farther.

The silence of the people was a little less explainable, but they too probably felt the fear of their lives being uprooted, especially after the collapse of one farmhouse. At any second, everything they had built in their lives could literally fall into a hole in the ground, and where would that leave them?

As the relevant property came into view, the severity of this situation became even more clear. They would need to send a follow-up force behind them to help repair this property and close the holes left in the earth, after everything had been thoroughly investigated.

At least the hesitation of the villagers kept them at bay, preventing them from approaching the two "wandering merchants" as they worked their way deeper into the town. Either the disguises had worked as intended, or everyone here would have remained distant anyways.

Tomomi approached the elderly woman at the front of her home and bowed his head.

"Hello, ma'am. We have been asked to come inspect the aftermath of the earthquake." Keeping the vague disguise for now would be fine - if the woman pressed or expressed concern about their presence, they could reveal that they were shinobi to her at least.

---

Uchiha Miroru Sharp

[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Genin

Yamanaka Tomomi Iwai Sayua | 222 | notes

Miroru stared in stunned silence at the state of the village as they walked. The signs on the ground felt like toppled tombstones to her, with the oppresively somber air the village possessed. She looked towards the broken glass and drooping buildings and wished for a moment she had devoted her energy to studying Doton instead of Suiton.

"It's so... quiet. Not just the people. Everything's quiet. There's just... wind. It's spooky," Miroru muttered as she followed Tomomi, taking cues from them as they moved deeper into the village.

The sight of the cleaved longhouse drew a gasp instantly. It was more of the same- Miroru's intense empathy leading her to immediately imagine how sad she'd be to have half her house sheared off into a pit. She felt so bad for everyone in town, but couldn't see her way to anything she could do to help, and it was hurting her heart by the second.

Miroru bowed her head alongside Tomomi as they greeted the old lady, letting Tomomi do the talking, lest Miroru herself interject and cause problems right off the bat on their first mission together!

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

Template by: Monkey

MISSIONS
D - 0 | C - 9c/3i | B - 0 | A - 0 | S - 0

[Sharp]

[googlefont=Roboto]

ONRYO

The woman finished a long sip as she was greeted by a middle-aged fabric merchant and her bug catching ward. The crows feet on the sides of her eyes were more like hawks feet, with only the slightest glint of the black of her pupils peering through the withered flesh of her eyelids. The dread that she wore on her face started to crease even more, extenuating her wrinkled jowls.

"It’s an odd inspection team at that,” she rasped, revealing a mouthful of blackened teeth. She placed her teacup onto a small plate that had a chip in its corner on the floor in front of her, clearing her throat in the meanwhile. "Sorry. I don’t mean to be rude. I am Miyuki. You are free to do as you will, but many of my things have already been looted and it is dangerous. Please be careful.”

With Miroru’s great eyesight, a closer inspection of the hole would reveal to her a makeshift pathway inside; it was gradually curved, one direction heading southwest and the other southeast. The sheer size of the tunnel mouths looked irresponsible, big enough to nearly swallow the entire property. How long or far they extended, she would not be able to tell without further inspection.

With Tomomi’s passive sensory abilities, they would pick up a signature at the edge of their senses about three-hundred and fifty meters to the south east, beneath the ground. It was stationary at the moment.

"If you do go down there, please, my husband fell during the earthquake. I do not hold out for hope that he lives, but it would put my heart at ease if someone were to confirm his passing.”

The descent itself would require careful maneuvering to avoid being pierced by snapped wooden boards and nails or from slipping and falling. It would be no issue for shinobi, although if it was performed with too much ease with Miyuki’s witness, it might further her suspicion about their true nature.

SPOILER: Click to show

If I miss any essential details, feel free to DM me for edits.

Yamanaka Tomomi Uchiha Miroru

[Yamanaka Tomomi]

YAMANAKA TOMOMI

NINGYO/HIDARI

The tragedy only grew exponentially. The woman had not only lost most of her home, but her husband as well. Whoever was behind this would pay, not only for what they had done to Konoha, but also the trouble they had caused to this resident of Hi no Kuni.

They became away of a presence just on the edge of their perception, down beneath the earth. Unmoving. There was a small chance that it was Miyuki's husband, injured and trapped beneath the wreckage. It was unlikely, though. If people had been down there looting and hadn't seen him or heard him cry out, there was little chance he was alive. Which meant they had to weigh the chances - it was either a looter or one of the perpetrators. More might rest deeper into the tunnels.

Tomomi bowed their head respectfully.

"Of course. We will move carefully and do our best to find him for you. If we can bring back any of your things, we will try to do that as well. Once we finish our assessment, we'll send word for carpenters and shinobi to come and help repair your property," they said. It may be some time yet, but it needed to be done soon for the old woman.

"Thank you for allowing us to examine it," he said.

With these promises made, Tomomi made way to the makeshift pathway. He offered a hand to Miroru.

"Let me help you navigate down first."

They could fake caution until they were out of the old woman's line of sight and then move more efficiently.

---

Uchiha Miroru Sharp

[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Genin

Yamanaka Tomomi Iwai Sayua | ### | notes

"It's lovely to meet you, Miyuki-san. And it's okay. It's not rude," Miroru stated. "A lot's happened. You've got to be anxious about anything else going wrong, so trying to keep a handle on anything you might be able to keep from going sideways makes a lotta sense, you know?"

Miroru winced hard to hear her things were looted. "That's awful... everyone has it rough. Who'd have the heart to take from someone who has it worst..?"

Hearing her husband had disappeared down there as well made Miroru grimace and bow her head. "I'm sorry to hear that. We'll definitely keep an eye out. Thank you, Miyuki-san."

As the two headed over to the pit itself, Miroru took their offered hand and gestured discretely towards the path down she'd spotted, hoping she could communicate its presence to Tomomi and make their descent just that bit safer and less treacherous.

It was a little nervewracking. The temptation to just airwalk to the bottom of the pit was intense, but they were playing their parts, so she just focused on "following," and avoiding nasty foottraps, and keeping both balance and footing. She had to hope it'd be enough until they were out of sight. She could make proper stairs for them then!

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

Template by: Monkey

MISSIONS
D - 0 | C - 9c/3i | B - 0 | A - 0 | S - 0

[Sharp]

[googlefont=Roboto]

ONRYO

"You are kind souls, please be careful down there,” Miyuki said. She lifted her tea to her lips once again and sipped it as she watched them start to descend.

Reaching the bottom of the rubble, the pair of shinobi would have the light of day reaching out in the immediate vicinity. The core of the house's rubble lay at the ground behind them, with bits of furniture and broken glass strewn about the grounds. There were also withered flowers and soil from above that was softer than the rocky terrain that they now stood on. A single Kokeshi doll lay in the center of the path covered in grime, painted heart shaped lips still puckered through the muck.

The tunnels themselves were more visible down here. The carved out sections were over teen meters tall. It was too long to likely be a natural occurrence, but somehow it felt too unrefined to have been carved out by human hands. What was perhaps more concerning is that while the holes that Miroru spotted were the most pronounced, there was a honeycomb of tunnels snaking around with fresh earth and loam upturned underneath it. Many of them were smaller pockets that simply u-turned back into the main tunnel.

There was no torchlight, or signs of human activity outside of what had fallen from above. The two could scout to the south-east towards the stagnant chakra signature four hundred meters down the tunnel. They could explore the opposite side of the greater tunnel that curved to bend southwest, or they could root around in the network of hollowed out holes in search of new paths.

SPOILER: Click to show

Notes

Yamanaka Tomomi Uchiha Miroru

[Yamanaka Tomomi]

YAMANAKA TOMOMI

NINGYO/HIDARI

The tunnels were large and complex, far too complicated to be natural splits within the earth that developed over time. It wasn't even necessarily the complexity, but the purposefulness. These were pathways meant to intersect, meant to carry someone from one point to another. The actual structure was somewhat rough, not perfectly sculpted - a respectable doton user could probably make far cleaner gouges than this. Tomomi couldn't outright dismiss that these had been formed by ninjutsu, but there might be some other method, though when they start thinking about all the theoretical methods there are too many to count...

Observing the doll, Tomomi assessed if it was safe to approach before picking the thing up, looking it over carefully. Poor thing was quite dirty, hopefully it could be cleaned up. They held it out to Miroru, either to inspect or to take to her preference, as they spoke to her.

"I can feel a presence to the south-east. A still chakra signature, someone or something sitting in place. They're not currently doing anything - at least nothing notable enough to pick up. It's impossible to tell if it's an enemy or just a citizen who wandered down here from this distance." While civilians were less likely to have extremely notable chakra signatures, it was still possible that it was a retired shinobi, or just someone who happened to have a relatively large reserve of chakra but not formal training.

"If we head that way, we would need to be prepared for a fight, or a trap. We might alert other people deeper into the tunnels if they're a lookout. However, if we adventure the other way, we might have to deal with them ambushing from behind later," Tomomi stated.

"My preference would be to move to the south-east first, as I prefer not to leave elements unknown, but you are my mission partner, so I would like to hear your input as well."

---

Uchiha Miroru Sharp

[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Genin

Yamanaka Tomomi Iwai Sayua | 270 | notes

"You take care, too, Miyuki-san! We'll be back soon!" Miroru chirped cheerfully before they headed down into the pit.

Miroru peered into the darkness of the tunnels as Tomomi poked about, crouching to finger the fresh, disturbed earth from the exposed honeycomb tunnels. "Whatever's happening is still going on..."

She reached up to thumb on her clip-on flashlight, and took the kokeshi gently. "It must have a lot of significance for such an old lady to still have kokeshi laying around... let's make sure you get home, huh?" She murmured, rubbing the mud off carefully to check the back and bottom for a maker's mark.

"Okay. Let's start by checking on that signature, I think. It's the most solid lead we have, so I'd agree that's the wise place to start. Do you have a light for yourself? I have a lantern packed up, but it'd take a hand to carry- or I can summon Emi! She's got a lantern on her tail, she'd be happy to help look around. She's not big on fighting, though, so... not the best to rely on if it gets messy..."

She nodded, though. "But in the end, I agree. I don't want to leave unknown entities around to block our escape route. Do you think it's safe to use a jutsu or two in preparation before we head down?" Miroru asked quietly. Regardless, she was ready to follow either way.

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

Template by: Monkey

MISSIONS
D - 0 | C - 9c/3i | B - 0 | A - 0 | S - 0

[Yamanaka Tomomi]

YAMANAKA TOMOMI

NINGYO/HIDARI

Tomomi did not bring a light with them. They usually tried to travel by dark. They didn't have particularly good night vision, like some other clans, but they could travel decently by use of the mind's eye, and preferred to do so when possible. It was difficult to decide whether to do so in these tunnels. They were unfamiliar and even with a framework of chakra going out, unexpected drops or cracks could prove troublesome. Yet moving by light would give away their position as they approached.

In the end, Miroru was going to need light to see by, and if they had a pinpoint of light from the flashlight, they may as well have multiple light sources.

"Would you mind allowing me to borrow that lantern? I think we should save summons in case we end up embroiled in combat," Tomomi said. Perhaps summoning someone more suited for a fight now would even be a good idea.

"So long as we're quiet about it, preparing a few jutsu now should be alright."

For Tomomi's part, they would take a moment to pull out a scroll from their pack and unseal Nokogiri.

Then they offered Miroru a vial of antidote.

"If this puppet begins to release a mist in the tunnel, drink this as soon as possible. It's not a deadly poison, but it can make you panic."

If Miroru provided the lantern, Tomomi would take it in one hand and use the other to control Nokogiri. After whatever preparations Miroru preferred to make, the two of them could begin down the south-east tunnel.

---

Uchiha Miroru Sharp

[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Genin

Yamanaka Tomomi Sharp | 238 | notes

Honestly, Tomomi's plan was better- it just wasn't one that Miroru could replicate. At least, it wasn't one that she'd ever tried to replicate. Truth told, her vision had benefited in a lot of ways she hadn't fully realized yet while she'd been training it to function with her super secret custom Zap Fist technique!

... the name was still open to being workshopped.

"Okay," Miroru agreed, handing over the lamp. She nodded at the instructions to be quick, and made fast with a set of handseals. She'd been told to be quick, and this wouldn't take long- at least not with Miroru performing them. In short order, chakra Natured into alignment with Suiton flowed out from her hands and swirled around the body of her Gunbai, settling into a slowly rippling surface just along its form. Then, she nodded Tomomi- and paused at the warning. Her face went pale at the idea of panicking, and she offered a shaky, rapid nod.

It didn't take much to see she was already imagining the impact of what her panicking could look like. She put the vial safely beneath her flak vest, and hefted her gunbai, following Tomomi to the south-east!

SPOILER: Click to show

Kani Ō Tsume [King Crab Claw] activated in conjunction with Arashi (B rank).

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

Template by: Monkey

MISSIONS
D - 0 | C - 9c/3i | B - 0 | A - 0 | S - 0