[Hyūga Shigure]

"the cult of kibutsuji". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." SUMMON Things had been busy for the young heir of the Hyuuga clan. Not only he had been helping his teammates train to prepare for an eventual upcoming Chuunin Exam, but he had also been travelling with his sensei, and taking on many missions. Still, there was always one thing bothering him in the back of his head: the Cult of Kibutsuji. Ever since they finished the mission to destroy the cell in Sagyo, he had been waiting on the village to give them any further information on the matter. Shigure knew that it was a mission probably above his rank, so the chances of him being assigned to it were low, and that left a sour taste on his mouth. Notwithstanding that, he was still trying to find out more about this cult and its mysterious leader, and even discussed the matter with Yusuke a few weeks prior to this day, while they both trained. He was on his way back to the village after finishing a C-Rank Mission to protect some merchants heading out of the Fire Country, and the mission led him to the border of the nation, close to the mountains of Iksu. He was alone, and it had been a simple enough mission, no troubles on the way. "I think I will get some barbecue when I'm back, I could definitely go for some meat." he said to himself, cracking a subtle smile and trying to keep his mind from going back to the more grim topic, but the image of the eyeless heads of women in that shack in the woods kept on invading his thoughts, and not even food could really lift his spirits much. Almost as if it was fate, he saw a messaging Pidgeon approaching. Immediately activating his Byakugan, he noticed that it carried a message on its legs. The Hyuuga stopped atop a tree branch and waited for the bird to land near him so he could retrieve the message. "It's from the village... Hmm." the message carried the Hidden Leaf's seal on it. Once it was broken, Shigure arched his brows, astounded by its content. "N-no way!" the message had been sent by Yusuke, informing him that he was to rendezvous with him and Senju Kazuto to aid them with locating the headquarters of the Cult of Kibutsuji. Feeling the blood rushing in his veins, the Hyuuga quickly destroyed the message and started heading towards Iksu's mountains, where he was supposed to meet with his mission's team. His heart was beating fast at the prospect of encountering the one responsible for all that pain and all those deaths. Seemed like fate had indeed smiled upon the young man, granting the opportunity to avenge the innocent victims of a fanatic. Moreover, he was also feeling a sense of pride that him - despite his rank - was being assigned to a B-Rank Mission. "Kazuto and Yusuke are probably the reason why... Thank you for the trust, guys! I will not disappoint!" he thought to himself. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." B-Rank Mission On the way to Iksu's mountains [Senju Kazuto Sō Yusuke] [508 words]

[Sō Yusuke]

"the cult of kibutsuji". "You laugh, because you think it is a joke. I laugh because you think I am joking." the meet-up Yusuke sat, waiting patiently at the rendezvous site. He was excited that he got to see the Kibutsuji cult work through to the end, and after enough pestering even got to finish it with the friend it all started with. That being said there was a third party joining them for this mission, his boss. Given Yusuke's excitable nature when it comes to combat missions he was always a touch nervous to work with a direct superior. These nerves led to his current gear situation, he wasn't sure if this was an official ANBU mission with Shigure coming along but he also didn't want to be scolded so he ended up wearing his ANBU uniform under his clothes just to be safe. As Yusuke began to get restless he saw his friend arrive at the meeting spot. "Yo, Shigure-san~" he said with a half-wave/half-salute motion giving a wink. "fancy seeing you here! ready to kick some cultist booty?!". He could see his friend was in high spirits, he knew how much the last mission affected him and the unlikeliness of him being assigned to this mission due to his rank was basically like rubbing salt in the wound, Yusuke was glad it all worked out and the two could finish what they started. As Shigure got closer Yusuke stood up to meet him, "almost got the whole gang together now, we're a little early but Kazuto shouldn't be too far behind, wouldn't be surprised if he was already around scoping the area out aha" Yusuke rubbed the back of his head while he laughed about it with his sudden realization that, that is something he should probably be doing at the moment himself. "Dying to win and risking death to win are completely different. But no matter how many allies you have around you, when you die, you will die alone.." Ref 1 Notes [Hyūga Shigure Senju Kazuto] [words]

[Senju Kazuto]

When he had started his career as an ANBU he had assumed that he would be taking daring missions, not for the sake of glory but simply to fulfill his duties. Pitting himself against dangerous shinobi, traitors, criminals and the worst sort of scum and villainy that had dared to turn their back into the village. He hadn't expect the other sort of black operations, the sort that had to deal with things that he had considered a force for good rather than evil, deal with uprisings in anti-insurgent operations. Cut off the head and the body will die, he had often heard, but not when the monster they were facing was like the legendary eight-headed snake, each head rebirthing after it was cut off. That perhaps had affected him, for he had seen far too much that he could never wipe away from his mind, only hide and compartmentalize. He had checked his gear, his personal arming chamber had been a constant symphony of clicks and clacks as he placed the form-fitting suit over his body, checked that the plates were secured, saw that every piece of gear and equipment was ready and in place and that at long last his long, dark cloak was draped about him, making his silhouette look more an avenging revenant than a man. With that in hand he made way to the rendezvous point, sticking to his modus operandi as he took his moment to look for the entrance of the enclave that served as the lair of the servants of cult. Returning only to reappear as the two shinobi he would be working with ended their conversation. Half a specter, half a man, Senju Kazuto made himself known in midnight clad and wearing a mask fashioned like a relentless oni from the underworld. "Using names so close to the enemy is dangerous, Yusuke." Kazuto cautioned, his tone neutral, his voice distorted by the grills of the mask. "Any information we give is a weapon the enemy could use."

-tag- Hyūga Shigure Sō Yusuke -words- 347 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Hyūga Shigure]

"the cult of kibutsuji". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." RENDEZVOUR It wasn't long after Shigure received the message that he found Yusuke, stopping there to greet his friend. He gave his friend a firm nod and stopped near him to exchange some words. "Good to see you too, Yusuke-kun." he said, cracking a slightly nervous smile on his face, he chuckled lightly and nodded again when he mentioned kicking some cultist ass, and even though he was looking forward destroying this group, the fact that this was his first B-Rank Mission ever was rightfully making him feel a bit nervous and unease. Yusuke informed him that Kazuto shouldn't be far from them, and that he was likely scoping the area for them. "I see... Well, I will use my doujutsu to keep us all informed and..." but before he could even finish his sentence, Kazuto appeared out of the blue, half-specter, half-man. It was impressive to see the man in action, and since he didn't have his Byakugan activated, he couldn't even notice his approach. "Amazing..." he thought to himself. The surprise quickly gave it's place to embarrassment as Kazuto scolded them for using their actual names so close to the enemy. Shigure blushed a bit and scratched the back of his head. "A-apologies... I will be mindful of that from now on." and with that said, he shook his head, slapping his face lightly to help him focus back on the mission. With a frown, his Byakugan was activated and he focused on the enclave of the cultists they were close to. With his doujutsu, the first thing he noticed was a chakra barrier covering the entrance. It was being blocked by five different seals spread around the area. Shigure narrowed his eyes as his Byakugan scanned the area around them. "Five seal barrier... They are not taking chances... I'm looking for them." he paused for a moment. "West, fifty metres, in a rock; North, one-hundred and twenty-five metres, in a tree trunk; Northeast, two-hundred and thirty metres, behind a bush; Southwest, four-hundred and fifty metres; East, six-hundred and forty metres, inside an abandoned shack." he informed them of the location of each seal. The problem? To break the five seal barrier, all seals needed to be removed at the same time, but they were only tree. Shigure relaxed his Byakugan for now to conserve chakra and looked back at his teammates for further instruction. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." B-Rank Mission Spotted five seal barrier [Sō Yusuke Senju Kazuto] [400 words]

[Sō Yusuke]

"The Cult of Kibutsuji". "You laugh, because you think it is a joke. I laugh because you think I am joking." Game plan Yusuke sighed and began to chuckle while rubbing the back of his head "haha damn, chewed out in record time, you brought your A-game today Ka-!...Buchou-san" Yusuke bit his tongue almost immediately making the same mistake he was just scolded for. The mission had officially begun. Shigure took the lead using his Byakugan he not only discovered a five-seal barrier but was able to pinpoint the exact location of each seal. The only issue being the destruction of all five simultaneously when they were spaced so far apart... Yusuke was'nt too adept at things like this, having not learned any bunchin techniques beyond what was required to pass in the academy, if they didn't need to be destroyed at the same time he could easily take them down one at a time in no time. "Hmmm... that should'nt be too difficult to deal with between the three of us. I don't have much in the way of clone techniques but I do have access to some summons, only issue is communication to synchronise." Yusuke sat down in deep thought. "what do you guys think? I'm more of a "do" guy aha" He lefgt the floor open for anyone with a different plan. "Dying to win and risking death to win are completely different. But no matter how many allies you have around you, when you die, you will die alone.." Ref 1 Notes [Hyūga Shigure@konohaharu] [220]