[Shouki Kumori]

… Taking another, deep breath after that experience, Kumori made sure to stop the bleeding on his foot with a piece of cloth before he could get Asuka to treat it later. However, an open wound leaking blood out could also prove a sort of weapon due to his Hijutsu, but he couldn’t just contaminate the rooms he was in right now.

Still walking on the wall to get around, Kumori noticed the cracking noise from the doorway they came from, revealing a faint source of light from a crack on the wall that had fallen down to enclose them. Kobashi was nowhere to be seen… so he must’ve phased through to the other side. And with the spikes gliding across the lower floor again, Kumori’s ears finally registered that they had a sort of mechanism going on underneath them. Therefore, he stayed on the wall, not wanting to reactivate that mechanism again…

Instead, he launched a shuriken to the middle, immediately transforming the shuriken into a basic Clone of himself with a few handseals. "Stick to the wall, prince charming," he'd warn Asuka in good time before launching his weapon.

And he’d use the light received from the crack in the wall to observe this strange room and its strange game, from the wall and from his Clone’s position on the floor, including the puzzle that was laid out in front of him and Asuka. If his Clone didn't trigger the trap again, it'd inspect the puzzle further.

For safety’s sake, Kumori would desire to get his sharpened hearing back to full capacity… that blunder earlier could’ve killed him. Performing one handseal, he’d cast Kai on himself before taking another look at the room, wondering if his perception would’ve changed in any way. Would his sharp hearing return, or…?

And what sort of puzzle was this? He desired more details.

Jutsus Used:

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Buki Bunshin no Jutsu [Weapon Clone Technique]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 0
DESCRIPTION:
Using one, large weapon or item or a group of smaller ones, Isamu employs the Clone Technique using his equipment as a medium. Unlike its elemental counterparts, the Buki Bunshin retains no Ninjutsu or Genjutsu capacity, but does retain its creators physical abilities and techniques. When attacked, the clone(s) will revert back into whatever it was created from.


NAME: Kai [Release]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low- High Depending on the rank of the genjutsu
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General]
ELEMENT: None
HANDSEALS: 1
DESCRIPTION:
Kai is a technique invented to counteract the targeting of Genjutsu, working by halting one's chakra flow with a hand seal before drastically increasing the rate of chakra flow within oneself, forcing the opposing chakra out of the body. This can also be used on another person by manually forcing a surge of chakra into their body through direct contact, breaking them of their mesmerized state. One's skill to break an illusion depends on their skill and understanding of Genjutsu, as some may prove too powerful to escape by conventional means.

[Shimizu Asuka]

Asuka saw the small amount of light Kobashi had given them and heaved a sigh of relief. He didn’t have any kind of sensory or enhanced senses to get around the pitch blackness, so he appreciated even a little light. As Kumori warned him to stick to the wall, the man did so, not bothering to deal with the scrapes. They weren’t bleeding too much, and they’d heal eventually. He could take care of them when he could actually see to do so.

If there were more light, Asuka had no doubt he’d look frightful, all covered in blood along his arms and the areas where he’d been scraped. No blood in his hair yet, but he doubted that would last for long.

Asuka would watch with narrowed eyes at Kumori’s clone. Was there another trap to consider? Or would they be able to freely solve the puzzle? Currently, he was mostly concerned as to what would happen if any other traps were triggered. So far, it didn’t seem like it, but he couldn’t be certain. Worst came to worst, he could always damage the keep with his fish monster jutsu to escape. He was fairly certain two teams of jounin would be more valuable to the village than an in damaged keep, and if they lived the damage could always be repaired.

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Shouki Kumori Shimizu Asuka Sourei Kobashi

It was risky throwing a shuriken in the middle of a pitch black room, and there was certainly not much to observe because of how dark it was - including Kobashi not being around anymore - but Kumori would find that there would be no triggering the spikes again. Now they could *try* to inspect the room.

Kai did not work in this case, but the small sliver of light did case a bit of color into the area and gave away one small detail - there was what appeared to be a large piece of fabric hanging on a wall nearby the sliver. It was, difficult, to say the very least to tell what this fabric was, aside from the fact that it was heavy and large. The team would have to try and investigate this, carefully, of course, but it seemed that at least moving around was pretty safe right now since there had been no more traps thus far. However that did not mean there would be none later if they were not careful.

There would be a lot to consider, were it not for the currently only path that they could take and that is to try and look at the fabric since there was no other way to look at anything given it was very dark in the room indeed.

SPOILER: Click to show

Posts Due: 8:50AM Saturday November 18th 2023

Notes: Kumori checks for more triggers and traps and finds nothing currently, including no genjutsu. However the small sliver of light that Kobashi provided from the outside does show a piece of fabric.

OWL

[Sourei Kobashi]

While he had managed to at least create a small gap, it was barely enough to let in a thin beam of light within the corridor he had just came from. For a moment Kobashi struggled with the decision as to whether to rejoin his comrades or continue with his endeavor. While he heard a momentary sound of pain from within he was not hearing any further calls of alarm that might indicate one of them had died. The silence could be both of them having died, but Kobashi chose to believe they would be fine without him a bit longer.

Pushing the chakra infused blade into the stone slowly the Sourei after the several seconds had passed used his clan's bloodline once again, this time increasing the density of just his sword so as to suddenly increase it's weight in an attempt to force the blade down and through the material to create a larger cut through the door and allow more light and air to flood through the opening. It was taking time and delaying his return to the room, but he figured the absence of light would prove a large enough issue to warrant the time spent doing it.

Made by Riley at THQ!

[Shouki Kumori]

No trigger… good. Kumori relaxed some more and allowed himself to step on the floor once more, giving the green light to Asuka: "Kai’s not doing anything… but the floor’s not the trigger. Good riddance.” Kumori felt a bit beside himself having to cautiously walk towards the only object of interest that the sliver of light was able to illuminate – a large piece of fabric hung nearby. The fabric almost looked out of place, hanging on the wall like that – Kumori would approach it and subsequently try to run a hand across its frame, figuring out if it was made of cloth, leather or some other material.

He could hear cracking sounds from the wall where the sliver of light escaped from – turning his face towards it, he already assumed that Kobashi – due to the latter’s absence – had phased through to the other side, and that he was now providing them more light into the room via his action. Kumori would make sure to thank the man, should this work.

But it was peculiar… the fabric was heavy. Kumori attempted to lift some of the fabric with one hand and could tell from that, almost as if it was storing something or someone.

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Sourei Kobashi Shouki Kumori Shimizu Asuka

Kobashi's efforts did not go without some success as pushing down and increasing his density it allowed for the very thick wall to move a little more. It seemed to be stacked against him though, in such a manner that it was very difficult to move out of the way. This would be why Kobashi might find that although he was able to pour a little more light and oxygen into their locked room, he was also mostly not making much progress on what was going on inside.

The sliver of light revealed a little more of the fabric that was hanging there through Kobashi's efforts. It was now slightly more visible as the color brown. It was made of a very thick hybrid fabric of cotton, silk and wool it seemed. Kumori would find it quite heavy to move aside but not something he wouldn't be able to do given that he was quite large and strong. Once the fabric was moved a bit he would notice - still just from the shadows of the light sliver - that there was something very uneven behind the fabric of the tapestry.

Behind the tapestry there was more brick wall but one particular brick was just sticking out like a sore thumb and it definitely appeared to be like a button more than anything else.

Would Kumori push it?

SPOILER: Click to show

Posts Due: 8:50PM Sunday, November 19th 2023.

Notes: Kobashi's efforts give a bit more light into the room, Kumori is able to see through this that the fabric is a tapestry of sorts (see and feel) and it's quite heavy. Behind it is an uneven brick sticking out, that is more like a button than anything else, will he press it?

OWL

[Shouki Kumori]

A wooly fabric, almost like a blanket, was what Kumori was touching. While heavy, he was capable of moving it aside, his hand meeting a bricky surface that was immediately assumed to be the wall – just as quickly did he also notice a random… brick, or part of the wall, that was sticking out like a sore thumb. An OCD-inflicted individual would’ve been compelled to press the brick back in, but Kumori wondered what that would do.

Still, better than being left in the dark like this. The Keep was to remain intact, so why not figure out how it all worked? He could use that knowledge to report back to Lord Toru, should their forces fulfill the mission.

"There’s a brick sticking out, almost like a large button. Stand clear,” Kumori warned Asuka one more time before pushing the brick back in. Should this prove to do nothing, Kumori’s next plan would be to aid in smashing down that stupid wall separating the two and Kobashi. The light was helpful, but they still had to reach the enemy up floors-

Wait, now that he thought about it… it’d been awfully quiet. You’d assume that, once a trap like this was set, that the Hozuki would’ve caught winds of it and leaked down to assassinate them. Kumori could either count himself lucky or paranoid.

[Sourei Kobashi]

While Kobashi had spent a good amount of time trying to split a line through the center of the door it seemed that the mechanism which allowed the door to move in the first place had helped to distribute or otherwise shift some of the weight from his blade making even the keen edge unable to force its way through the material of the door.

Still, he had managed to make a slightly larger gap, likely it was allowing a little more air and light into the corridor he had come from, but it also made it a bit easier for sound to travel allowing him to hear Kumori's statement that he had found an odd brick and planned to press it in. It seemed extremely reckless to Kobashi, but at the same time it was not as if he had any better solutions to offer. He could potentially offer to scout by phasing through the connecting walls to where the others were trapped, but it could easily leave him fighting multiple enemies on his own or some timed trap could kill his comrades.

Preparing himself, Kobashi pressed himself up against the wall, but slightly away from the crack and simply tried to focus his hearing as he listened for any changes that might come after Kumori pressed what seemed to be a button. While there was nothing Kobashi could do to truly help, he was at least prepared to phase through the wall and render help the moment something happened. Remaining outside for the moment was just to ensure they did not all immediately die from something.

Made by Riley at THQ!

[Shimizu Asuka]

This whole situation reeked of a trap, and Asuka narrowed his eyes at Kumori as he observed what he’d been touching. Frowning as the much older man’s warning sunk in, he held the senbon he’d taken out earlier tighter, his grip on the weapon bruising. Kobashi seemed to have let more air and light into the locked room, though, and that much Asuka was grateful for. ”Be careful, I can’t heal you from death,” he warned, keeping his distance from Kumori and the brick. Better to have a person hanging back a bit in case there was indeed a trap to deal with.

Kumori could probably take significantly more damage than Asuka could, anyways. The man was huge.

Observing was his only real course of action. Whether it was the right thing to do or not would only be able to be told with time, unfortunately. He was ready to react should another trap be set off, but there wasn’t much else to do until Kumori pushed the brick back into place. Internally, he was glad that there was someone else to take the position of the reckless frontliner on the team from him. Though, it was unfortunate there weren’t really any other options besides this at the moment.

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Shouki Kumori Sourei Kobashi Shimizu Asuka

The moment that the brick was pushed in something shifted in the mechanisms and it might have been a good idea for the three of them to step back, well, if they were cautious. If not, then perhaps they would continue to stand there, nearby.

There was a woosh and a whirl and suddenly four wall mounted torches were lit up all at once - this might hurt the eyes a little from the pitch darkness to the light, and might cause them to squint from the natural abundance that suddenly came. The torches revealed four tapestries immediately.

Kumori was holding onto a brown colored one with a small embroidery on it about a foot wide that spoke of Earth. To the left of that, where they had come from there was a yellow tapestry with quite a large sign for Lightning.

Opposing the yellow, there was a tapestry of green that had the word for Wind written on it. Opposing the Earth sign they were holding, there was a Fire sign right across the way.

But something was missing in this corridor of tapestry colors. They had to figure out what was missing and why, and how to get out.

SPOILER: Click to show

Posts Due: 9:20AM Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Notes: There are four torches that lit up revealing four tapestries.

OWL

[Sourei Kobashi]

Seeing the flash of light suddenly radiating outwards from the crack and not hearing any sounds of distress Kobashi lowered his density to slip back through the now cracked wall and into the room. What met him was the sight of four tapestries with two being on his left representing lightning and earth while the two on his right seemed to represent wind and fire.

It did not take a genius to see that the one element of the five basics was missing from the arrangement and that unless it was supposed to be place where he came from which seemed doubtful, the only logical place it should have been was the dead end that should have been a path forward. With the reports of Hozuki being in the keep and now there seeming to be some sort of barrier involving the application of water, Kobashi did idly wonder if the boss of the keep was a Hozuki himself or perhaps had some sort of obsession with them.

Rendering the necessary signs with his hands, Kobashi made use of the *Water Clone Technique to produce a liquid copy of himself from the surrounding moisture. The lack of available water meant that it was more costly than it should have been, but the other water based techniques he was capable of seemed like they'd be problematic to try and use right now. With a slight upwards nod, the water clone went to investigate the far wall, running it's watery hand along it while the real Kobashi tried to keep an eye on the rest of the room, watching for the emergence of any possible attackers or traps.

Made by Riley at THQ!

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Sourei Kobashi Shouki Kumori Shimizu Asuka

Kobashi got back into the trapped room and would notice the change in it, he was quick to figure out what was missing as it did not take a genius. Perhaps the Hozuki infestation was an obsession? It was strange, they were such a diplomatic sort, and yet here they were rebelling en masse for one reason or another as if they had nothing better to do.

Either way, Kobashi created a clone whilst the other two stood off to their sides and the clone wandered up brushing himself up against the wall. The water from the clone was taken in, and then the wall clicked and groaned before beginning to rumble opening downwards like magic before their very eyes.

Beyond the wall?

Zaizen and Ichigoni were there. Zaizen was taking a brief moment's respite, and Ichigoni was fixing up his foot which had bled quite badly. Now, the two parties were back together and they had only one way to go and that was up. At least once the slightly delayed party was now out they would take a right, the other two would just join up with them and move forward. It was back to the same ol' kind of winding staircase.

SPOILER: Click to show

Posts Due: 12pm Friday November 24th CST.

Notes: You found the other team, they are resting. A little rest or up the staircase?

OWL

[Shouki Kumori]

Finally, some light… and by the sounds of it, this was different from the scraping of metal that indicated the spikes that were built to flick up from the ground. The light was too sudden, however, and made Kumori rub his eyes and step back as losing his sight was still a moment of weakness. But nothing dangerous followed suit…

Instead, he spotted four tapestries of differing colors, one of which was held by Kumori himself. A brown one with an embroidery symbolizing Earth. A yellow one to his left, which spoke of Lightning- this was clearly a gathering of the five basic chakra natures, but upon glaring at each one… Water was missing, if Kumori’s hunch meant anything.

Kobashi had joined them by then, and the team was reunited – he, too, immediately knew that a tapestry symbolizing Water was missing, and a Water Clone was sent to the part of the wall most likely to have been meant to uphold that missing piece. Hozukis… and the Water theme, Kumori pondered, It’s possible that the boss is a Hozuki too, at this rate…

The wall folded away upon Kobashi’s action, apparently triggered by an action from a source of water – such as a Water Clone. On the other side of the wall, they met up with Zaizen and Ichigoni once more, and the staircase was waiting for them again. The staircase itself could quickly become a battlefield, so Kumori went up a bit and planted 8 shurikens at the far edges in a fashion that’d form two ‘squares’ of stairs.

Turning back to his teams, Kumori sort of expected those crafty Hozuki to just leak through at any point now. It was a marvel that they hadn’t already, but his foot was still stinging in pain.

[Sourei Kobashi]

Kobashi watched as the wall opened up at the touch of his water clone, his legs bending slightly and his right hand going to the hilt of the ninjato at his side while the path forward slowly was revealed. Rather than enemies however what he saw was Zaizen and Ichigoni on the other side. It seemed that both their paths had simply circled back around to a center point where they could then ascend. Some might have thought it then a waste that they had split up, but Kobashi believed it would have been worse had they stayed together given it would have left far less room to move out of the path of the spikes which had struck Kumori and Ichigoni.

While his hand did finally leave the hilt of his blade, Kobashi still kept his guard up and was ready to increase his density until he confirmed they were who they seemed to be. Even as Zaizen was bandaging Ichigoni Kobashi made his way over and quickly pulled a hair from Ichigoni's head much as he had done earlier to greater success. Kobashi's gut told him that these were the individuals in question since the architecture made sense and there were no extenuating circumstances to draw his suspicion, but it was always best to verify rather than assume.

Were it to be proven that these were in fact their allies then Kobashi would speak up towards Asuka "I think it would be prudent to fully heal the wounds on the feet. Mobility could prove key in the fight ahead." It was a suggestion offered rather than a direct command. Kobashi was not certain how strained Asuka was at this point nor exactly how grievous the injury to either of the me, best to just leave it to the doctor's judgement at that point.

After speaking Kobashi simply moved to the winding staircase that ascended upwards and waited there as a guard while the others finished their first aid.

Made by Riley at THQ!

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Shouki Kumori Sourei Kobashi Shimizu Asuka

Kumori wandered up the stairs ahead of the team and planted some shuriken to try potential assailants, but none came. Kobashi stood near the bottom of the stairs as a guard, letting some first aid to occur. There was nothing but silence that stretched on and on, in a total disorienting manner. It was as if the place had shut down, in comparison to earlier when it was shaking and rumbling with combat. It was as if they were or had fallen into a trap, but there was no indication of such... And there was no way to go but up it seemed at the moment.

Which was, technically speaking, good for the team since they needed to get up to the top to complete the mission properly...

Once the first aid was given - whether by their own hands or the hand of Asuka, though Asuka appeared to be primarily dawdling along with the rest of the group - they could proceed up the winding stairs. There was no indication of enemies here either, and the only way they could tell anything was the occasional window that dotted the stairs that showed how high they had climbed.

If they did not stop or do anything strange, they might end up at the very top of the stairs where a burst of fresh sea air would hit their faces...

They were now on the roof and further inspection would yield what *appeared* to be a very empty rooftop, but for those with keen senses and sensory they might be able to notice something was off.

SPOILER: Click to show

Posts Due: 12:15am Sunday November 26th CST

Notes: The team has taken a little rest for some first aid, Asuka is unable to provide first aid in this round, however if the team(s) choose to go up eventually they will in due time get to the roof... There is something off feeling about this area. Unsurprisingly.

OWL