Lost Boys [M | Keneo]

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Lost Boys [M | Keneo]Aug 27, 2024 18:46:07 GMT -5
Hōzuki Keneō
Procrastination is Opportunity's Assassin.
quote
Hōzuki Keneō Avatar
groupMist Shinobi
age 14 years old birthday April 4th rank Genin occupation Stylin'
Following the direction set by Homare, Ken walked along the ground as he could not yet perform the tree climbing technique yet. Walking on water came natural to him, likely for relatively obvious reasons, though something about walking vertically up a tree or wall was still difficult for him to grasp. But seeing as how he was impersonating a hunter, it made sense for him to slog along the ground, as most of them likely did not possess any kind of fancy ninjutsu. Still, he wouldn't put it beyond them. They did bring the ire of the shinobi down upon them when they had taken these children, so they had to have some kind of ace up their sleeve. And after a bit of walking, just as the guard had said, a light approached him from the dark, though it was held by a man, not a fairy.

"Well well, if it isn't Yuto deciding to come crawling back. What's the matter, life in town not up to your fancy after all?"

Hearing the man out as two of his compatriots came out of the woodworks, Ken had already learned one thing out of this whole thing, which was that his face's name was Yuto. Apparently, these guys had imagined that he would end up coming back sooner or later, though the man he had spoken to in town did not seem to be all that willing to do that. Maybe it was wishful thinking on account of the hunters, though this all worked into his scheme quite well. Since he couldn't perfectly mimic the man's name, he just exhaled a deep sigh while mumbling a 'yeah' underneath, which seemed close enough. For a moment, the man looked at one another before one of them started laughing softly while slapping him on the shoulder.

"That's good enough for me. We're all in this thing together after all. Now come along before people see us."

Doing his best not to look up into the trees and arouse suspicion, he just followed after the three that illuminated the path ahead towards the trees. They seemed tall, likely being incredibly old and thick mangrove trees that ran quite deep into the earth with their strange structures. As the group wandered further and further from town, Ken heard one of the men boasting about how clever they had been to wave around lanterns from time to time at various locations, making most villagers afraid to come out this far in fear of the supernatural. Ken had to admit that it was a clever ruse. But if all worked out well, these men would soon have the wool pulled over their eyes in turn. Especially now that they were drawing closer to their hideout.
Shaquille Oatmeal has written 368 posts
Lost Boys [M | Keneo]Aug 29, 2024 12:29:45 GMT -5
Mayonaka Homare
"I will bring pride to the Mayonaka Clan!"
quote
Mayonaka Homare Avatar
groupMist Shinobi
age 19 years old birthday December 26th, 1004 rank Genin occupation Genin Team 2 Member
Homare takes in a breath as it seems their mark was now talking to the disguised Ken, but he seems to believe that this ninja was actually someone named Yuto that might have recently left and that they believed would be coming back to them. It takes a lot of self-control not to breathe out a sigh of relief, but she manages to avoid doing so, ensuring that they don't pick up on her presence. She follows after them at a bit of a distance, though still close enough that she could intervene if something happens that could jeopardize the mission. She's somewhat surprised to see what looks like a small and long-abandoned cabin out in the deep woodlands. It looked like a fairly obvious spot to search for any missing children, and she had to wonder at that.

The other men seem to be leading Ken to it, and then she has an epiphany; the cabin might just be something of a smokescreen, like so many of their other decoys. Something to get a quick look over and through, but which had some secret entrance to another location. Homare is starting to think that these hunters aren't really the mastermind of whatever this plot is, but she's getting even more ready to get in and see what's really going on. The blue-haired kunoichi waits for a few moments outside of the cabin, then slips down as her curiosity grows, but when she peers inside, she can see that the cabin is disheveled, but that nobody is inside anymore. She's confused for a very long moment, then slips inside once she's checked several other windows to ensure that the hunters aren't simply hiding around in wait for any tails to come through their door. She steps carefully and silently, avoiding any central floor to keep herself from stepping on any creaking floorboards.

After a few moments of searching, she looks down and sees that the dust and dirt on the floor is quite peculiar, with the dirt disappearing at a certain point. She then reaches down and carefully, silently attaches a bit of her spider string to the floorboard, lifting it up silently to find a large, hidden door under the ground. She slips inside, continuing her job as a tail, though now quite worried about what she's getting herself into, and even more worried about the well-being of her teammate for this mission.
Babs has written 212 posts
Lost Boys [M | Keneo]Aug 29, 2024 13:32:46 GMT -5
Hōzuki Keneō
Procrastination is Opportunity's Assassin.
quote
Hōzuki Keneō Avatar
groupMist Shinobi
age 14 years old birthday April 4th rank Genin occupation Stylin'
Following the men ahead, they did a quick lap around the trees with their lanterns, likely to keep up the charade that there were fairies out here, keeping the superstitious and the fearful from venturing out here after dark. Ken had to admit, it was a clever ruse, though these guys had to realize that they would eventually get caught when shinobi got involved. Most of the people he knew that had become shinobi weren't afraid of the prospect of the unknown seeing as how they had all taken a life before they were even allowed to become a Genin. As they were doing their laps, he watched as the woman made her way down from her perch and entered into the cabins before they started making their return to it.

Homare was likely going to be just fine, and if he could manage to keep the ruse going for as long as possible before they found out that he was not this Yuto person, he was going to be just fine too. Or rather, if they did not find out that he was in fact not who he said he was, he wouldn't need to bring the wrath of an upstart shinobi down on their heads. If it could be avoided, Ken didn't want to have to beat up these people that were so clearly down on their luck, though he would do what he had to if it came down to it. At the end of the day, he wasn't a violent person at all, though he was incredibly dutiful to the point where he was going to see his missions through. Even if that meant having to hurt a bunch of civilians that were down on their luck and made some terrible decisions as a result.

As the kunoichi disappeared into the shack, she would have a good five minutes before the men eventually decided to make their way back. Dimming the lights and wandering back over in silence, it was a good thing that no one was asking him any questions due to them having to keep a low profile until they were back inside. Because as long as he did not need to speak, he wouldn't need to give away the fact that he could not copy Yuto's voice nearly as well as his appearance. But he was certain that he would be able to get it down properly once they got back. And with a little luck, Homare would be able to give him some kind of sign as to their infiltration being successful and having found the missing kids. So when they opened up the door to the cabin and wandered in, that was when the waiting game started.
Shaquille Oatmeal has written 368 posts
Lost Boys [M | Keneo]Aug 29, 2024 13:53:01 GMT -5
Mayonaka Homare
"I will bring pride to the Mayonaka Clan!"
quote
Mayonaka Homare Avatar
groupMist Shinobi
age 19 years old birthday December 26th, 1004 rank Genin occupation Genin Team 2 Member
As she travels down the tunnel, she leaves behind small strings of her own spider threads, which she hoped would serve as a sign to let Ken know that she was already in place for her own plan to go ahead as she searches along the ground of the tunnel until she finds precisely what she's looking for; a small puddle from the rains that had washed through the countryside the other night. She uses one of her Ninjutsu techniques, this one relying on her use of Water Release in order to merge with and become part of the puddle. Homare thought to herself that when she pops out, it'll probably even be a shock to Ken. After all, it's not like she's a member of the Hozuki clan herself.

So she sits and waits, listening intently as the trap door opens once more and a whole group of men come down into the tunnels, making some remark about how they really needed to try and clean out the walls, because it seemed as though they were getting spiders from the cabin back inside the tunnels. They stepped past the puddle, clearly unaware of Homare's presence, and she's once again relieved to see that her plan seems to be working. Silently, she slips back out from the puddle after all four footsteps move past her, and she keeps one hand on her katana and the other on the head of her axe as she follows after them, doing her best to stay absolutely silent. The group passes by only a few sparse rooms, although from one she can hear children whimpering. Strangely, there's not even a guard by the entrance, so she rather easily slips into the room and uses the basic Academy Transformation Technique in order to make herself look like a child, carefully studying how the children look before she changes her appearance.
Babs has written 212 posts
Lost Boys [M | Keneo]Aug 29, 2024 17:44:55 GMT -5
Hōzuki Keneō
Procrastination is Opportunity's Assassin.
quote
Hōzuki Keneō Avatar
groupMist Shinobi
age 14 years old birthday April 4th rank Genin occupation Stylin'
Upon entering into the cabin, a quick glance throughout the room proved that Homare had already either hidden herself in here really well, or managed to make herself scarce in some other way. Because so little was actually inside of the cabin, he had to wonder whether this was all there was to it as there wasn't so much as a bed in there. So where did they sleep, where did they go to eat. One thing was certain, they didn't do it in here. When the hunters put down their lanterns and took a seat on one of the somewhat battered looking chairs, Ken decided to follow suit, not wanting to stand out from the rest any more than he already did. Still wondering where the woman had gone, he hoped that she managed to make what time he had to waste her count.

"So Yuto, what made you decide to come back into the fold? I thought you said you were too good to be involved with child trafficking."

For a moment, things were looking quite grim as the man that spoke up to him earlier once again started asking questions. Instantly, Ken began scanning the room for something he might use as a makeshift weapon. Looking at the table that stood between them, he was quite sure he could break off one of the legs and use it as a club before the men knew what hit them. But luckily, one of the other men stepped in.

"Give it a rest Botan, him being back now is good enough right? The whole band back together just in time for our revenge against the Daimyo that chewed us up and spat us out."

"...Yeah, I guess you're right. Imagine the look on their faces when their own youth start setting the place on fire. Can you imagine the-"

And just like that, Ken made his move. Rapidly rising to his feet while flipping the table into the air, causing the hunters to falter as one was completely knocked over by it. Tearing the nearest leg off and swinging it like a club, the first person he hit was the one called Botan. Striking fast and hard, he was confident to have broken his nose as he stumbled back against the wall and sank through his feet. Leaping on top of the table to make sure the one underneath it got a good bit of additional weight keeping them from getting right back up, the second was hit over the head with the wooden club once, and then twice by returning to strike the other side of his head. Kicking the table away, he then struck the other man that was already down, making sure he wouldn't get up.

Tossing the bloodied table leg aside, Ken moved around the room to make sure that everyone was out for the count, and wouldn't be coming back up any time soon. With these men taken out, he began looking across the room, finding that with the loss of various pieces of furniture, a lone trap door was rather easy to locate. And with what the hunters had told him, there was no doubt in his mind that the kids were down here. Utilizing his technique to once more alter his exterior, he made sure to pick someone who seemed to wield some level of authority, and who's voice he had heard repeatedly. With his shape changed into that of the man called Botan, he would head down the trap door in an attempt at finding the children, believing Homare to already be ahead of him. But at least now they had a means of escape as the guards were well and truly incapacitated.




NAME: Zōkyō [Augment]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General]
ELEMENT: Suiton
HANDSEALS: --
DESCRIPTION:
Water is malleable, mold-able. Taking the shape and form of whatever container it is put into. While using the Hozuki Hijutsu, this container is normally the shinobi's own body. With this technique the user is able to mold and shape their body's features using chakra. At this level it's mostly capable of simple things. Changing facial structure, changing body portions ect. While in combat this technique is mostly useless as changing your body structure doesn't offer you any real changes in your combat ability. This jutsu is mainly for supplementary use. Blending in with a crowd, changing your face and body to throw pursuers off your trail.
last edit by Hōzuki Keneō on Aug 29, 2024 17:47:02 GMT -5
Shaquille Oatmeal has written 368 posts
Lost Boys [M | Keneo]Aug 31, 2024 9:35:02 GMT -5
Mayonaka Homare
"I will bring pride to the Mayonaka Clan!"
quote
Mayonaka Homare Avatar
groupMist Shinobi
age 19 years old birthday December 26th, 1004 rank Genin occupation Genin Team 2 Member
Homare sees a stranger walking through the tunnel, but he seems to be alone, and his appearance looks somewhat like one of the men that had been taking Ken in his disguise into the cabin. She worries for Ken for a moment, but then remembers that there had also been two other men with them, and they were also nowhere to be seen. Ken was also a member of the Hozuki, so unless the hunters had some other method of hurting someone, she knows that they won't have been able to beat down her teammate for this mission. She ends her Transformation Technique as she leaves the children's cell, although she's confused when she can see that the cell door is wide open and the children still won't leave, despite their soft sobbing noises. Regardless, she moves up to the hunter that she now believes to be Ken himself, and she shoots web just past his right ear so the whooshing noise will catch his attention, then bring his sight back around to see the blue-haired kunoichi with her six arms behind him.

"I've found the kids, but they're not interested in leaving. I also tried to use Genjutsu Kai, on the off chance that it's an illusion that made them like this, but they still refuse to get out. Something weird is going on here. I'll put spider thread all over these two doors here, since we don't know which one is their barracks, and you go ahead of me to see who's leading this... thing. Whatever it is."

Homare speaks in hushed tones, a whisper only barely heard so that her voice won't echo across the walls of the tunnel. Once she's done, she gives him a strong nod, then turns to start her job of releasing spider thread all over the doorways on either side of the tunnel, then hardening the string into something gold and harder than steel, ensuring that even if they had daggers, they wouldn't be able to cut through the stuff and escape. Once her job over both doors is done, she turns back towards the tunnel to go and see for herself that the job is complete.
Babs has written 212 posts
Lost Boys [M | Keneo]Aug 31, 2024 11:27:13 GMT -5
Hōzuki Keneō
Procrastination is Opportunity's Assassin.
quote
Hōzuki Keneō Avatar
groupMist Shinobi
age 14 years old birthday April 4th rank Genin occupation Stylin'
Meeting up with Homare, who seemed to have already figured out that it was him, Ken learned some intruiging information. With the children being entirely unwilling to leave, the young Hozuki wondered as to what exactly these people had done to them that brought about this behavior. Whether they were scared for their lives or their parents lives due to threats made or whatever, it was at that point that he remembered how the hunters had spoken about using the children against the hidden mist and the land of water. Perhaps Homare had been wrong, or her genjutsu dispelling had not been strong enough to take down an ability of this level. But whatever the case might have been, there was something very wrong with these children, and the people that caused it had to pay.

"Try to coerce them out of here by force if need be. They need to get back to their family before the people upstairs wake up and try to stop you. I'll move on, those barred doors can't hold me back anyway."

Walking up to the door he deemed to be the most likely to lead them towards the barracks, he more or less just walked into it as he turned into water, slipping through the nooks and cracks until he was entirely through. Even if the men inside were to try and run or get to the kids for leverage or hostages, the spider's wire Homare had used was more than likely enough to keep them from doing so. Getting eyes on the inside of the room, he saw exactly two people right in front of him, backs turned towards the door, as well as one man sitting at a table by himself. He seemed to be eating, musing to himself as he spoke to the men in the room with him.

"After dinner, I would like to have the next target brought in. It is after all quite difficult to warp one's views of the world on an empty stomach."

Following up his statement with a cackling laugh, Ken knew more than enough at this point. This guy was dangerous. But more than that, he seemed more than willing to do what horrible things he did to children, which should have been the line most people would not cross. Using his liquified limbs to wrap a sufficient amount of water around the heads of the men standing by the door, both tried to frantically grab at him to pull themselves free as their airways were obstructed. Effectively causing both to drown, Ken would keep the water from going inside of their bodies, as that would more than likely kill them as their lungs would fill up. But since that was not the case, he waited for the men to almost turn blue before releasing his grip on them.

Dashing along the ground in liquid form, the man that sat in the room was only alerted to Ken's presence the moment the two bodies hit the floor. Had he not felt rushed, he would likely have guided them towards the ground in order to keep the sound to a minimum, though that was a learning point for another time. Rushing forward like a crashing wave, the Hozuki wrapped the man entirely in water. But this time, he would not keep himself from entering into the man's body as he tried to gasp for air. For what the man had done, which was currently still relatively unknown, he wanted this guy to die. Even though he was still quite young, he could tell the difference between people who acted out of a certain need or to survive, and those who were plain evil.

As was the case with the other two, those outside of the room would not hear the man as he was tossing out his death throes, the water muffling any noise he could possible have made as his lungs and organs filled up. Then, after a little while, all movement ceased as there was no longer any spark of life left. With a hard push, Ken made sure to relieve the man of any leftovers of oxygen as he withdrew all of the water from within before dropping the body to the floor like a useless sack of flesh. Leaving the men who were more than likely just ordinary hunters for the clean up team to find and deal with once Homare got the children out. Pushing his liquid body back through the cracks and into the passage where Homare would likely be working to free the children, he manifested himself again.

"It is done. Lets get these kids to safety."
Shaquille Oatmeal has written 368 posts
Lost Boys [M | Keneo]Aug 31, 2024 11:36:40 GMT -5
Mayonaka Homare
"I will bring pride to the Mayonaka Clan!"
quote
Mayonaka Homare Avatar
groupMist Shinobi
age 19 years old birthday December 26th, 1004 rank Genin occupation Genin Team 2 Member
Homare has already managed to string all of the children together through her spider threads, which would be strong enough to hold as she used her six arms to be able to pull them from the cell. Once they were out of the room, though, they would tug on her spider threads to try and return. This only caused Homare to pull them harder, until finally, the children seemed to snap out of it, looking around themselves in confusion, as though they had no idea what was going on, or where they were. A few moments later, Ken is next to her, letting her know that his part of the job has been done and that they should be getting the kids to safety.

The children seem spooked at first at the sight of Homare and Ken, especially since the younger Genin had seemed to appear next to her from nowhere, but when it becomes clear that they have to go with the duo, they simply comply, especially after the Mayonaka insists to them that they are being brought back home, to their beds and their families. The Kirigakure Genin finally seems to have convinced them to follow along, and she finds it much easier to help them get up out of the cabin thanks to her spider threads. It's a surprisingly short way to the smaller village at the archipelago, although the journey is made somewhat more difficult when a few of the children weakly collapse on the way back home. Homare ends up using her extra arms to carry them the rest of the way, although she's tired once she actually makes it back to the town.

With the return of the children, she's finally able to relay the location of the shack, along with the trap door and the strange gang of hunters down below, locked away in their own barracks and likely finding it extremely difficult to try to escape. With that, Homare herself decides that she and Ken are going to need rooms at the local inn, even though it's normally full of the construction workers that stay in town to make their labor easier. She feels like she could sleep for two days, but at least the mission was complete.
Babs has written 212 posts