[Souzouteki Emi]

As a gate guard, Emi does not leave the village very often. This worked well for his position as well as his membership on the guardian corps, but it was necessary for him to go on out missions in order to remain sharp and reliable. Today, as part of his defensive duties, he was tasked with exploring the mines and caves of Tsuchi no Kuni in order to weed out any wild animals or criminals that may have made their homes there.

He had been assigned to this mission with one Himishi Jou, a genin who he hadn't met personally before, but who he had seen the name of on the registry during the time of the Chuunin Exams several months ago - a note that he was away traveling to Mizu no Kuni and anyone pretending to be him should not be given entry, alongside several dozen others. It would be interesting to meet with him now and learn his skills.

In preparation, Emi sat outside the mouth of the cave, waiting for Jou to arrive. He had the most recently updated map unrolled over his legs and was examining all the passageways, doing his best to commit them to memory before venturing inside. There were sure to be several new cracks and crevices that had formed with the shifting weight of the mountain, and they would have to record those and mark them on the map to bring back to the base as well.

He was so engrossed in this work that he may not even notice when Jou arrived.

[Himishi Jou]

It has been some time since Jou was sent out on a mission, the last time being before the previous Chunin Exams. This was, however, his first time being given a C-rank one which is often given to ninja of Chunin rank or higher. Jou had passed the Exams, but remained a Genin by his own choice. He personally believed that he still wasn't ready yet due to certain things the young Himishi had gone through at the Exams which gave him time to reflect and question himself. Maybe, despite his rank, it was still believed that Jou was capable enough to do this mission due to him passing...but it wasn't exactly far-fetched for a Genin to go on these sorts of missions, and are usually paired up with someone else.

Souzouteki Emi was the name of the person that Jou would be accompanying on this mission. A Chunin, therefore, making him Jou's superior, but the young Himishi wasn't familiar with the name.

Jou was en route to where he is supposed to meet Emi, traversing up one of the mines. As he walked, Jou patted himself, making sure he had his ninja tools and first aid equipment. He nodded a bit to himself in confirmation of having everything he needed on him, but sighed lightly shortly after. "Maybe I should look into getting smoke bombs...also wires..." Jou pondered to himself, resting his hand on his chin...but before he could get too deep into pondering, Jou was now approaching the cave, and he noticed someone sitting. Normally, Jou would be a little more cautious, but he recognized the face. He's one of the gate guards who Jou often sees. Did that mean he was Emi? He appeared to be holding a map similar to the one Jou was also given.

"U-Um...Hello." Jou greeted with a small wave and a little smile. "I'm guessing you're Souzouteki Emi?" Jou asked as he stopped in front of him and then bowed. "I'm Himishi Jou, you're partner for this mission."

Souzouteki Emi

S.A.

SPOILER: Click to show

TOMOKENZANGAN [Tōzasō] (All Seeing Eye [Present Aspect]
Having seen his sister die and having a near-death experience himself, Jou was able to awaken the Himishi clan's dojutsu, the Tomokenzangan which has the ability to alter the perception of time. First, Jou only had access to the Tomokenzangan's first ability, Iwakusō (Past Aspect) which has given him the ability to view not only his own but others' memories with great accuracy and clarity. It can select these events and recreate them in his or other people's minds, making the sensations from these moments very real. Not only that, but it has the potential to probe or even steal memories if the target is willing, restrained, or physically/mentally weakened. Then there is Tōzasō, the present aspect. With this ability, Jou is capable of reading/analyzing a situation in a matter of seconds and can pick up on the most minute details, making this extremely useful on the battlefield.

Enhanced Speed
Although he has been and still is training his mind, Jou has been mostly focusing on his body. Wanting to be able to physically keep up with his dojutsu's enhanced vision a little better, Jou has done a lot of training with his ability to physically react to things, making him a lot more faster compared to most his rank and lower when it comes to movement.

[Souzouteki Emi]

Someone approached, though Emi hardly noticed until Jou's shadow was over him, cast over the map. Then Emi came to attention - he really needed to focus more often! It'd be bad to have someone sneak up on him. He'd been getting better at that kind of awareness lately, but he supposed he must have been so focused that he slipped back into old bad habits. He would need to work harder to make sure that didn't happen.

Rising to his feet slowly, not very harried by his own distractability, he would return the bow, though his posture was a little sloppy.

"Himishi Jou... It's nice to meet you," he greeted. Now that he saw him again, his face was very recognizable. Emi would remember him from here on, he was sure. "I am Souzouteki Emi. Sorry that I was lost in thought when you approached," he offered, fiddling with the map in his hands in order to work out excess energy.

"I was working on studying this map. These three passages here are the newest openings in the ground, so they might have additional paths splintering off them now that we'll need to check for and record on the map. I was thinking we could start there - travel to the farthest edges first and then work our way back." It seemed like the most efficient path to him.

[Himishi Jou]

Jou was anything but judgemental. With the sort of upbringing he had, Jou took notice of Emi's posture when he bowed, but the Himishi showed no signs that he did, only giving him a small and welcoming smile. Jou still had his fair share of slip ups when trying to be formal, so he understood really well.

"Oh don't worry about it. I kind of know what it's like, to get lost in thought, I mean." Jou added before rubbing the back of his head a bit, all with a sheepish smile on his face. After the Chunin Exams, there had been plenty on Jou's mind...on top of the disappearance of his cousin. Just thinking about it was enough to make Jou briefly look to the side, but fortunately, Emi continued to talk about the mission, which was enough to shift Jou's attention back to him. Despite everything going on, Jou was still on a mission, and he needed to focus.

"I noticed those too when I went over the map earlier." Jou added as he pulled out the map that he was given as well and opened it so that he could pay attention to Emi without having to breath down his neck. Jou then nodded at Emi's suggestion. "Sure we can go with that." Jou added before looking down at his own map one more time. "I've heard that this mission was something that needed to be done regularly. This is my first time." Jou commented, a bit of a sheepish chuckle escaping his lips while giving the planned location that they would be traversing through another look over before rolling it back up, memorizing it a bit.

"I'm ready whenever you are, Emi." He claimed before looking back at Emi with a little thumbs up, trying to be more confident like Taki...and quite a few others have suggested. "I-I'll make sure nothing slips by us." he claimed with a small grin. A part of Jou also thought that this mission would be a good opportunity to further work on maintaining his jutsu and, by extension, get better control over his chakra.

Souzouteki Emi

[Souzouteki Emi]

"This is my first time as well," Emi informed Jou. Most of his work was done within the village, because he was part of the guardian corps and was a gate guard. Away work was still needed at times - someone who was guarding the village was expected to keep sharp after all - but he did it less frequently than someone who was a member of an operations team. Since neither of the duo had experience with this mission before, that meant neither could be one hundred percent sure what to expect, but if it was a routine mission then nothing too ridiculous should happen.

When Jou stated that he was ready whenever, Emi nodded. He tucked the map away for now, certain that he had fully committed it to memory, and stepped into the mouth of the cave.

The entrance of the cave was relatively wide, but it was clear that as the passage receded, it would quickly become claustrophobic. Emi paused at its entrance to pull some materials from his large back pack, getting a lantern he had decided to pack for this very trip. If they didn't want to explore the caves in total darkness, having a light source was going to be important.

Emi began the walk forward, heading down into the shadowy depths. The cave angled slightly downwards and the surface quickly became craggy, causing the duo to need to half-walk, half-climb at a careful angle, the cave's ground gradually becoming steeper.

There was a soft sound of water dripping, echoing quietly off the walls.

"What... sort of techniques do you specialize in?" Emi eventually inquired, almost in a whisper. He didn't want the sound to echo and carry down to whatever enemies could be lying below.

[Himishi Jou]

At first, Jou was a little surprised that this was Emi's first time with this mission as well, but then he realized that his gate guarding position may cause him to not be thrown into that many missions outside of the village, so Jou wasn't too caught off guard by this. Still, to place two ninja who had no previous experience with this routine mission felt a little strange to Jou. He thought he was going to be paired up with someone who had done this before and that this was part of his teaching, but perhaps he was just reading into the situation a little too much. This does feel like something they can handle without previous experience.

With preparations ready, Jou followed Emi into the cave, making sure to keep his eyes peeled...but, he was quickly finding that hard to do with how dark it was, and the cave only looked like it would get darker the deeper they go. Jou did not bring a single source of light with him, and the thought of not being prepared made him mentally face palm. How could such a thought not cross his mind!? Fortunately, Emi wasn't as unprepared as Jou and had brought a lantern which caused the young Himishi to sigh in relief and then he rubbed the back of his own head, looking a little sheepish.

With that problem solved, Jou went back to focusing as they both traversed the cave. Things didn't remain as smooth as when they had just entered, though with their path taking a more bumpy and descending shift, Jou was a little more cautious with his movements, but showed no signs of falling or tripping. If it all became too much, he would result to focusing chakra around his feet to keep his balance.

There was a bit of an eerie sense to being down here in the cave. The only sounds so far were their footsteps against the rocky surface and water dripping. Fortunately, Jou didn't scare easily...at least that's what he thought until Emi spoke, the first word he said causing the young Himishi to jump a little before turning his head towards him.

"Um...Ninjutsu...mostly katon." Jou added in a whisper before looking forward again. "Oh, my doujutsu can also pick up things regular eyes may miss...which could come really handy in here." Jou added. He didn't bring up his eyes' ability to peer into and manipulate memories though, not because he didn't trust Emi, but because he didn't think it'd be really relevant to this mission...but he could be wrong. "What about you?" Jou asked...but then he quickly waved his hands a bit in a dismissive fashion. "U-Uh I mean, if you want to tell me that is...You're my senior after all, so y-you don't have to." he added, grinning sheepishly.

Souzouteki Emi

[Souzouteki Emi]

Jou divulged his own skills, mostly ninjutsu as well as a special dojutsu. Maybe finding details would be useful down here - if they had to trace anything or figure out what happened, being able to utilize his information tracking could in fact turn out to be very valuable. Jou then went on to ask Emi about his own abilities, before quickly trying to backtrack. Emi tilted his head, confused.

"Why wouldn't I want to tell you?" He asked Jou, plainly. He wasn't sure he understood why Jou would be embarrassed about asking, or why Emi would keep it a secret after asking the question himself. "I focus on ninjutsu and fuuinjutsu, like most of my clansmen." It would be hard to draw down here, but he was certain he could pull it off, especially by lantern light.

As the two descended deeper, there began to be a kind of... odor. Not a pleasant one. It was evident pretty quickly that it was probably something dead, which wasn't a great sign. Using the lamp to cast light around the stone walls, the soft glow fell onto the entrance of a small cave offshoot. Emi squeeze through the tight gap to get inside. Sure enough, there was an animal carcass within, though no sign of what had killed and/or eaten the animal.

"It looks like there is something down here," Emi informed Jou.

[Himishi Jou]

"I-I uh, right!" Was all that Jou could really think of to say as a response to that question before rubbing the back of his head. "Force of habit. S-Sorry." Jou added before chuckling nervously. Here Jou thought things had started off real well...but it looks like he hasn't entirely gotten over being a nervous mess. Fortunately for Jou, this was a mission and not some social event, so he didn't really need to focus on being engaging...which he would have failed miserably at!

Jou nodded and listened as Emi spoke about his skills, being a tad bit more interested in the mention of using fuuinjutsu. "I've never met that many people who practice fuuinjutsu." Jou claimed. The young Himishi does recall hearing a bit about the Souzouteki clan though. Jou wondered about that clan's abilities, and was curious about if Emi is great at drawing outside of just his clan's techniques...but the teen felt like he'd really be getting nosy if he asked such a thing. Plus, they were on a mission and that took priority. The duo had a mine to investigate!

Speaking of...

Jou started to pick up on an odor which immediately brought his complete attention back to his surroundings. A hint of disgust formed on the teen's features but other than that, he didn't make a noise or stop walking. It smelt like something was rotting....like a corpse. The thought of that made Jou shift his attention to Emi to see if he was smelling whatever this was as well, and surely he did. Emi headed in the direction of the odor and Jou followed.

Entering the offshoot shortly after Emi discovered the carcass, Jou looked a little taken aback by what he saw, but didn't freak out. Jou continued to look at the animal remains as his partner spoke. There were no clear signs of who or what did this...at least not to the normal eyes. "Can you keep the light on that carcass and its surroundings please, Emi?" Jou asked before closing his eyes, and once they reopened, Jou activated his Tomokenzangan, turning his eyes from red to violet with black markings. "The carcass still looks fresh enough...so maybe I can roughly figure out what did this...and where it might've went." As Jou said this, the black arrow markings in his eyes started to rotate counter clock wise. He was attempting to retrace the events that occurred here with what information he had. If anything of note turned up, he will attempt to relay the information or take the lead.

Souzouteki Emi

Tomokenzangan: Activated

Jutsu

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Fukkō [Reconstruction]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Kekkai Genkai - Ninjutsu [General]
ELEMENT: N/a
REQUIREMENTS: Tōzasō [Present Aspect]
DESCRIPTION:

With their Tomokenzangan active, the user will survey an area to uncover its past. This is normally done to retrace a battle the user wishes to witness. It is tricky to perform however. In order to observe the past of an area, the user needs to locate certain cues in the present in order to have their dōjutsu create a simulation of what has transpired.

For example, the mark a kunai has left within a tree trunk, or perhaps a crater created by a technique, or even the residual chakra left over after a fight if the user has access to Tōzasō can all be used as words and pages to read the overall story of an area's past events.

Normally this means that this technique is only really useful for looking into the very recent past, where there are plenty of clues left in the present. The more time that has transpired, the less clues that remain. With few clues, the vision that the Tomokenzangan formulates is little better than a wild, fanciful imagining.

[Souzouteki Emi]

The smell was really overwhelming this close up. It kind of made Emi nauseous, but he was professional and un-reactive enough that he did his best not to let it show. Staying calm in this situation was important for himself as well as for Jou, and it wasn't as though Emi had never seen a corpse. In fact, he'd probably seen far too many. A dead animal was the last thing he should be disturbed about.

He knelt over the corpse, holding the light over it for Jou, as requested. His eyes scanned the scene, but he himself wasn't able to see much. There weren't any visible bugs on the body yet, which certainly meant it was relatively fresh, though that would make it odd that the smell was already so strong. The floor of the cave was wet, which probably explained the advanced decay, as a corpse getting wet could make it decay more quickly than a dry one.

The animal had certainly been killed by another animal. There were no artificial marks on it, like clean slices from a blade. Instead it appeared to have been killed by bites and subsequently eaten. The tooth marks were unlike a mammal's, lacking any defined canine teeth, and instead being uniformly sharp, which would usually indicate something like a lizard, though it was larger than anything that naturally lived in this region.

As Jou observed the room, there were a few other surprise clues left lingering in the dark. Some rocks were not in natural places, but rather appeared to have been moved, acting as a small reservoir for water. Too intelligent for a lizard to do. Might've been a human. This hypothesis was supported by, in the mouth of another cave, the ash of a cigarette lying on the floor.

Someone was here with this lizard and they had proceeded further into the cave after the lizard had had its meal.

[Himishi Jou]

With how close Jou needed to get in to investigate, it made the teen wince and cover his nose as well as his mouth...but he still needed to power through this. Fortunately, the corpse was not there as long as the smell would make most think, meaning that he still had pretty fresh evidence to work with. He first scanned the body with his doujutsu, taking in account of how this animal died. "There are teeth markings on it...but look at how sharp they are..." Jou said, though he wasn't sure if Emi would be able to see them in the same amount of detail as he can. "It's from a reptile...but....it's bigger than normal." Jou appeared a bit puzzled by this.

"From the information we gained for this mission, a creature like this shouldn't exist here....so why..." Jou's attention then started to shift towards the areas surrounding the corpse. He saw signs of a struggle...but it was clear that this poor animal wasn't able to put up much of a fight against whatever did this to it. "Wait..." Jou then lowered his hand from his mouth as his eyes set on some rocks that were adjusted in a strange way. For a split second, Jou thought this was due to the struggle...but the positioning of the rocks were way different. "Those rocks over there....they were intentionally placed like that for water." Jou then stepped over to the rocks, giving them a better look before looking back at the corpse. "The timeline between these two are pretty close, but...the positioning of these rocks were man made..." As Jou said that, he looked around for something else. "There's no sign of a human victim..." There were some ideas rolling through Jou's head, but things were even more narrowed down as the remnants of a cigarette caught his eyes.

"I see..." Jou then slammed the bottom of his fist against his palm. "This creature was killed and being eaten by some sort of lizard...one not native to this area." Jou claimed with a snap of his fingers before looking over at Emi. "That didn't make sense to me at first...but judging from the other evidence here, it's clear that this creature wasn't alone." Jou added, pointing the direction of those rocks then to the cigarette ashes. "We're dealing with some sort of beast tamer if I had to guess." Jou added before focusing more on the ashes...then shifting his attention to a nearby opening that went deeper into the cave. "I would say that they headed down that direction, roughly fifteen minutes ago." Jou said before looking back at Emi, putting an end to his little deduction.

"I'm sure if we head down there, we'll eventually run into them." he added with a hint of caution. "I'll lead the way this time." Jou was a little nervous...but he was still as determined to see this through.

If it were agreed upon, and the duo ended up heading further in, both Jou and Emi might soon find out that they were slowly being tailed by two more individuals who had been keeping their distance thus far...

Souzouteki Emi

[Souzouteki Emi]

The analysis that Jou was able to perform was very impressive, a large amount of detail gleaned from very little. Emi was also a detail-oriented person, but that was more a matter of memory and art than of analysis. Perhaps there was something he could learn from Jou in that way, but the dojutsu he had available would make the level of skill he applied near impossible to replicate. Down to being able to identify information that gave him a time-period... Emi nodded as he listened along.

Fifteen minutes ago. That meant that whoever was up ahead would still be pretty close, though could still be reasonably deep into the tunnels. Approaching could be dangerous, but it was also their job. In preparation for the coming potential conflict, Emi rolled out one of his scrolls. He took out his brush and began to draw up a collection of dogs on the textile. It took a bit of odd balance, with the lantern hanging on his arm around his elbow, the paper propped at an angle against the top of the lamp. It made the light cast long and swinging shadows over the cave, making it slightly more difficult to navigate by as he worked. Still, he'd drawn these forms so many times he could almost do it with his eyes closed.

As they proceeded down the cave, there were small evidences of the passing of the lizard and its companion. Small remnants of muddy boot prints, scuff marks of claws upon the stone.

Emi and Jou's footsteps echoed down the cave, making a stealthy approach rather difficult. Then Emi paused - he hadn't remembered such a distinct set of steps at the mouth of the cave. It took his footstep's "echo" just a second too long to stop.

Someone was following them. He curled his fists in his scroll and then reached out with one hand to pat Jou's shoulder.

"Someone's behind us," he whispered.

Then he clapped his hands together in a seal and pushed his chakra into the ground, creating a sort of "trench" between them and their tail. Hopefully that would slow the following opponents down and give Emi and Jou time to react.

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsu prepared:
NAME: Boku Sōsa: Inu [Ink Manipulation: Dog]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: To Use: Medium | To Maintain: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
HANDSEALS: 3
DESCRIPTION:

The dog is favorite among the younger members of the Clan due to, not only their adorableness, but also their versatileness. They can be used by themselves or in groups to attack enemies with teeth and claws. Their bite is quite powerful, able to bite through most fabrics and pierce through into the flesh beneath. Their bite force is also powerful, meaning making them let go is a chore. While dogs can vary in size and shape somewhat depending on the person creating them, their strength remains the same for all designs. On average a dog will be approximately 71cm in length at the withers and tend to weigh around 56kg. They are quite quick [around Tai Primary Adv. Genin speed] and use their speeds to close in and overwhelm their opponents.

Jutsu used:

NAME: Endai Muguramochi no Jutsu [Grand Mole Technique]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low - High
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Doton
DESCRIPTION:

An extremely simple jutsu, as well as an extremely helpful one. To perform it the User will form a single hand seal while pushing their chakra into the ground. By using their Doton natured chakra to push the earth out of the way, the user can quickly create anything from foot traps to trenches in seconds. Used primary to form trenches or foundations for better fortifications, the Endai Muguramochi no Jutsu can also be used to tunnel the way for multiple people allowing the user to lead ambushes as well as create a tunnel system in less than a week. The larger the area of earth one tries to move with this jutsu, the more chakra it takes.

[Himishi Jou]

With a path set, Jou took the lead, utilizing his doujutsu to keep an eye out for more clues or for anything else. For a moment, he did glance back at Emi, silently wondering why the light coming from the lamp was a little shaky. He then got a glimpse at how fast and seemingly accurate the gate guard was drawing. Jou had never seen someone draw the way Emi was doing before, which made the young Himishi a little curious about what he exactly was making. He was confident that he was making something in relation to the mission, but it made Jou wonder if Emi was like this when drawing anything else...betting anything he or anyone else from his clan makes looks really cool. But Jou needed to remain focused, not only on the mission itself, but be able to maintain his tomokenzangan since he was still lacking proper chakra control.

As the duo continued through the area, Jou started to pick up on more evidence of who they were tailing. Jou's eyes settled on the footsteps, and he hummed lightly as he pondered. "An adult male...potentially middle aged..." he whispered, but still spoke up enough for Emi to at least hear him. "Judging from his prints he must weigh about...one hundred and eighty one...no, two pounds..." Jou claimed before his eyes shifted to the claw marks that continued to confirm the hypothesis that he made back then about it being big. He couldn't confirm what sort of lizard it was just yet...but it was clear to anyone how dangerous it was.

Jou then glanced back down at the footprints and tilted his head slightly. "Huh...?" With his eyes, Jou was starting to see..."Other footprints?" They were nearly gone compared to the fresh ones. They appeared to be different from the fresh prints as well....indicating that this beast tamer wasn't the only one here. He couldn't tell exactly how much more with this bit of information. Jou was going to properly warn Emi, but then he felt the man's hand on his shoulder, causing Jou to pause as he looked over to him with a hint of confusion before being warned.

Jou quickly looked over and saw a glimpse of not one, but two figures behind them, but before Jou could do anything else, Emi had built a trench between them using a doton jutsu!

"Tch, looks like they caught on." one of the figures said. "Guess they are ninja after all. Boss won't be happy bout this." the second one said with a hint of annoyance. The figures were two bandits...who started to go into a full sprint towards the two ninja...despite the obvious gap between them now. "We ain't that stupid!" one of them yelled just as the both of them pulled out rope with some sort of hook at the end of them which they started to swing.

Although Jou looked caught off guard at first...his eyebrows rose a bit as he thought of something. "W-Wait...this might be good for us." Jou claimed in a hush tone as he took out a kunai.

After enough swinging, the two bandits tossed their ropes, which ended up getting hooked to some stalactites above where the trench was. They used this along with their running to prepare to swing over. Jou quickly analyzed everything that was happening thanks to his eyes and threw his kunai...which seemingly appeared as if it were going to miss both bandits completely. But the moment Jou threw that kunai, the young Himishi was already pulling out another and tossed it at the opportune time! He quickly performed two hand seals which caused the second kunai to be engulfed in flames...but that wasn't the end of it.

The flaming kunai collided with the first kunai Jou flung, causing them both to deflect off each other and go different ways. The first kunai cut clean through the rope of the first bandit, causing him to seemingly fall into the trench. The flaming kunai, on the other hand, ended up piercing the second bandit's hand, causing him to grunt in pain as he landed face first onto Jou and Emi's side.

"Agh...d-dammit...!" the second bandit grunted as he tried pushing himself up. As he did, Jou started walking towards him. "I might be able to get better information out of him, Emi....but I'm going to be in a bit of a trance if I do." Jou then crouched in front of the downed bandit who was now looking at him with a bloody face from the hard impact. "Sorry but can you watch over me? It shouldn't take long." Jou requested, and if Emi agreed to this, Jou's violet eyes would start to glow as he stared into the bandit's eyes, both of them seemingly going into a trance-like state as Jou began the process of going into this bandit's memories.

Although one bandit was currently down...it was still unknown what happened to the second bandit that seemingly fell into that trench...or at least unknown to Jou.

Souzouteki Emi

~~~~

Tomokenzangan: Active

Jutsu:

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Katon: Faia Tama no Jutsu [Fire Release: Fire Projectiles]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: 火 Katon | Fire
DESCRIPTION:

Activated by two handseals [ Horse then Tiger]. A skill where the user gathering their fire chakra they imbue it into their projectiles. Releasing them from their hands, spiraling about they catch flame in order to add to the damage of those projectiles. This technique can be utilized with Shuriken, Kunai, and Senbon.

NAME: Nagori Ijō [Memory Transfer]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Kekkai Genkai - Ninjutsu [General]
ELEMENT: N/a
REQUIREMENTS: Iwakusō [Past Aspect]
DESCRIPTION:

Through the gaze of the Tomokenzangan and the weakened or willing mental state of their ocular target, the user can share memories between their minds. They can copy the memories of their target for their own use, or display their own memories to the target for whatever purpose they so desire in sharing such information.

This can technically allow the user to steal away the understanding of the fundamentals of a target's technique so that they may learn it themselves, though this does not allow its instantaneous use. The technique can also not alter or change memories of either party, only display or copy them. While this technique is active, both individuals are in a trance like state, leaving them vulnerable to attack.

[Souzouteki Emi]

A great many things happened at once, Jou's enhanced analytical skills allowing him to properly respond to a situation that was quite chaotic. Alone, Emi certainly would have been overwhelmed. He'd been on many missions and would've been able to handle himself, but it would not have gone as smoothly as Jou allowed it to. With the use of two kunai and a flaming technique, he managed to drop one bandit into the trench and caused the other to slam into the ground.

With the bandit prone in front of him, Jou offered to dig for more information. Emi nodded his agreement.

"You look for information. I'll make sure you're safe." Forming several hand seals, the dogs drawn in ink on his scroll pulled themselves from the textile, shaking out their fur and stretching like real dogs, though they were heavily stylized, drawn in an intricate and traditional style.

Emi positioned two to one side of Jou, near the path they'd been following after the lizard and man. The other dog, he brought with him to inspect the trench, trying to find out what had become of the bandit who had fallen.

When he did so, the bandit attempted to throw a blade at him. The kunai skimmed his face and he ducked back in surprise. His canine companion dove into the trench to attack the bandit in retaliation. The man had taken a nasty spill and had, it seemed, fractured his leg, so there would be no running away for him.

On the other side of Jou, a low hiss sounded from deep in the cave. In the dark, Emi's two ink hounds became embroiled in combat, though without Emi's lamplight cast it was difficult to see exactly what was happening. It was just certain that the dogs were protecting Jou successfully for now, allowing him to delve into the bandit's memories.

Rolling it back.

The bandits had been following Jou and Emi almost since the mouth of the cave, standing on the sidelines and observing, waiting to see whether Emi and Jou spelled troubled. Before that, they'd come up this path, just a while ago but not too long ago, doing a perimeter check and getting some fresh air. The duo complained about how the boss was smoking, even in the cave. Before that, they'd been walking with a man. Older than the two of them, almost middle-aged. The man traveled with a mean-looking monitor lizard, the size of a large dog. He chewed the duo out about some heist that had gone sideways and the fact they'd only managed to make off with bare basics. It seemed this trio of criminals had some stolen goods stashed further down in the cave.

SPOILER: Click to show

-

[Himishi Jou]

Upon seeing Emi bring his creations to life, there was a hint of surprise in Jou's expression before it morphed into a small smile followed by a nod. The young Himishi believed he had nothing to worry about and had absolute faith in his partner.

With the plan settled, Jou performed the memory jutsu on the weakened bandit, his now glowing purple eyes staring into the other's. Both Jou and the bandit were completely motionless, the two appearing to be in some sort of trance. Just like the bandit, Jou was now unaware of what was going on around him and completely vulnerable, one of the risks of using this jutsu. He was now diving into the bandit's mind, surfing through it a little, but fortunately, he did not need to go too far back. Jou stopped at the point where this bandit and his partner first discovered himself and Emi. Jou was seeing this memory through the bandit's eyes as if it were his own. It appears that they were aware of the two ninja's presence almost from the start, but Jou was a little more curious about something else. So he dove a little further back to before this.

Jou was now watching the guy and his partner go up the same path that he and Emi were trying to head towards, talking among themselves while doing some sort of patrol. Jou was getting a better picture of where the bandits exactly navigated from to get to wherever location they were calling their base. This was part of what he was looking for, but it looked like Jou needed to go back a little more to get the rest of the info he was seeking. Now, the bandits were accompanied by a third individual who looked a little older than them...and with him was an intimidating reptile...a monitor lizard? It was much bigger than a normal one, and judging by how much the bandit whose eyes Jou were seeing this through were glancing at it, it was safe to say that the two bandits weren't exactly comfortable around that thing which the young Himishi couldn't blame them.

Even though Jou had gotten the information he needed, before he could leave, the mention of a failed heist and stolen goods caught his attention. Where the bandit's base was located...there also appeared to be a secret area hidden behind a rock towards the back of that location holding their stolen items. This was certainly going to come in handy as well!

With the information gathered and some, Jou's eyes stopped glowing and he blinked a few times as the bandit's face fell back down, lying unconscious most likely from his injuries as well as getting his mind probed. Jou then groaned a bit and rubbed one of his eyes, feeling them strain a bit. "Come on...I need to maintain my chakra better." he claimed. He was trying hard to concentrate on not using up too much chakra, which he had gotten a little better at...but it was still a little too much when it came to using his eyes.

"Oh, Emi! I figured out wher-" Before Jou could finish, he turned around and finally processed the ruckus going on around him. He then focused on the sound of fighting that was coming from behind him. Two of those ink dogs seemed to be doing battle against someone...or something.

Jou pulled out a kunai and went to Emi's side at the ready. He heard hissing among the commotion, causing Jou to raise his head a bit. "I think that creature...is a vicious-looking monitor lizard...and a big one at that." Jou claimed as he clenched the kunai. "His tamer must be nearby, and from what I gathered, it's only the three of them. We need to get to their base....which is just past that area." Jou claimed, referring to where the fight was currently happening.

Souzouteki Emi

~~~~~

Tomokenzangan: Active

[Souzouteki Emi]

Jou was up again after a short period, though under threat it had seemed like an eternity. Luckily, he had come away with more information in hand. Some idea of what kind of animal they were up against as well as a true goal to seek - the hideout deeper within the cave.

"Right... We need to get around the lizard. We'll have to be careful. If it's as you said, it might be poisonous." Emi didn't know too much about nature, but he had done basic research on any animals as part of his studies for his drawings. Nature guides with appropriate reference images also usually came with details about the animals within.

From the trench, the sounds of struggle stopped. It appeared as though Emi's dog had successfully subdued the other bandit target, which left just the lizard and the final bandit.

Emi held up his lamp now, casting light in to see the battle. Just in time to see the large lizard latch onto one of his ink canines. It bit down with startlingly force and the ink dog practically popped like a water balloon under its jaws. A nasty bite, one neither of the attending shinobi would want to take for themselves.

On the other side of the lizard, Emi's final ink hound attacked the lizard's leg, biting down and trying to drag it back. The lizard hissed, trying to thwack the dog with its tail.

Emi stomped on the ground. Around him, several vine-like structures made of stone formed from the ground and walls of the cave. They reached out to wrap around the neck of the lizard, helping to restrain it in place.

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsu used:
NAME: Iwatsutakazura no Jutsu [Stone Vines Technique]
RANK: B
CHAKRA USAGE: Medium
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Doton
DESCRIPTION:

A simple restraining jutsu, the user will form a string of two hand seals before stomping on the earth. After they stomp, a number of vines up to ten in all will sprout up anywhere within twenty feet of the user. The vines being made from stone will then wrap around an opponent’s limbs and bind them from the earth. The vines themselves are quite strong and require someone of considerable strength to break out of them.