Tales of Dogman, Bugman, and Sharkgirl 1-4

(GM)
School's out. Forever.
After the endless drills of shuriken throwing, martial spars, too many tests to count, and days spent plainly loafing around for some, your days in the Academy are finally over!
The teacher looks proud of you, a rare, numerous class. The rooms here are desgined for twenty students at most, and you mostly fill one up - usually, the teacher had always said, the classes are mostly empty.
It might be because of the war.
"Congratulations on graduating! The ones which did, anyway." he says, no doubt bringing immense shame to the few that didn't. At least the class under you, which only has six students, will be less lonely.
"You can pat yourselves on the back. The life of Ninja will begin for you now."
He then coughs, as he does when he's trying to bring your attention to something serious, some important part of the class. "I said at the start of the tests, that by the end, I'd have something important to announce to you."
"You may have noticed that your fellow student, Sahara Rie, is missing, even though she has been with you on all the tests. That's because she went to Mist, as an exchange student."
"This also means that someone will be arriving to take her place. In light of that, we will do things a little differently this time."
"Normally, the Jounin agree among each other which students they all take, or it is decided by their superiors, depending on what they have to teach the Genin. This year, however, some... complaints have been made to this method by the Jounin."
He lays the papers in his hand on his table, and leaves the teacher's desk. "Therefore, please follow me outside."
The rest of the students rise after him, in confusion.
"You mean I won't be under Niten-sensei?" the class bully girl, Raiko, looks alarmed. "B-but she said it was set in stone!"
The teacher turns after her, muttering a response. "That would be uncharacteristic of both of you."

[Aburame Shinji]
The boy wearing dark baggy clothing puts his hand on Raiko's shoulder. "One door closes; another opens." He mutters through his tall collar that almost reaches up to his nose.

(GM)11/03/2018
"Oof!" she fidgets. "Maybe the Fuuka woman would work too... I've done research into this, you know."
"This decides our future! Please don't let a guy be my teacher." she ruffles her long hair with those meaty arms.
You are led to the courtyard, wherin five adults are standing around. They light up upon your arrival.
The teacher approaches them, reaching into his bag for a set of five pencils, each spent to a different degree.
He shuffles them around behind his back, before presenting them to the figures, some of which you know as local jounin.
There is a petite, smiling woman, a taller woman, a two meters tall man with a mane of white hair, presumably a man in a hood, and finally a grizzled man with a beard and sunglasses.
"Please no genjutsu or other tricks." he pleads, presenting the back ends of the pencils.
It's not as if he could do something about it, but the others presumably could.
"I could have made you a bunch of straws, sensei." Chadou Senju, the class playboy, proposes, while the proverbial die are being cast.
Soon enough, the shorter woman jumps in joy, holding the longest pencil. "I am first! Just as planned."
"Just as expected, I am... fifth?" the white-haired man tells her, glancing on the other pencils.
"...Fourth. No, third. Good. Good riddance."
"You really ground those pencils, huh."
The teacher takes the pencils back, they are apparently vital for his occupation. "Before we start, we should also wait - oh, there they come."
Through the front gate, there comes a girl roughly your age, guided by a Chuunin.

[Sakurai Eiha]
The newcomer has a somewhat grizzled appearance despite her age, with the most evident hint that she's already seen real combat being in her eyes; sharp and alert, but also wary. Her black hair is done in a ponytail reaching down to mid-bad while she wears a dark blue ensemble of traditional japanese pants and a sleeveless crop top, complemented by metal greaves and gauntlets. At her hip sits a Tanto's scabbard.

[Inuzuka Shin]
is wearing is white short sleeved T-shirt and baggy green trousers. The hints of a beard on his face, conjored up by the begginings of pubety. He was the class clown/big boy. A few jokes and snarky quips there and there. Shin's dog Kohaku was there. The dog was very big, looked more like a wolf then a dog. "Oh boy!" Shin chuckled "She looks set to go all out!"

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji adjusts his sunglasses.

(GM)11/03/2018
"That's Mist for you." Chadou says wisely. "She has probably already killed a man."
"Get in a line." the man with the beard orders you, while the Chuunin leaves, having done his job. He waves at Eiha encouragingly.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Oh yea. I heard mist people have to kill their classmates to graduate!" He leaned over Chadou "Do you think she has to kill us now?"
Shin gets into line without complaint.

[Sakurai Eiha]
The foreigner acknowledges the wave with a nod while walking over wordlessly. Her dark gray eyes scan over the gathered posse, noting both the rumor mill chatter but also the distinctive traits therein. Something in the air around her feels a bit eerie, as if lending credence to the claims.

(GM)11/03/2018
The rest of the students assembles into a proper line, much like when you were being picked for a ball game in your years here. The Jounin eye you, with the shorter woman bringing out a piece of paper.
"Senju Chadou!" she shouts, takes a few steps away from the rest of the Jounin, and beckons Chadou on her team.
The boy complies shrugging. He is probably used to being the first everywhere.
The taller woman steps out, then. "Kame Kamiko!"
This refers to the moody, white-haired primadonna on your class. She claims to have a Kekkei Genkai, but has been too bitchy to ever show it.
With the first two hot picks done, the white-haired man considers his options.
He leans over to look at Niten's paper, clearly not remembering your names. "Uhh."
"Inuzuka Shin!"

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Oh boy!" Shin rubs his hands together as he moves over.
His dog doesn't follow.
The Inuzuka turns around "come here!" He yells at the dog
Kohaku comes along. Somehow projecting an aura of smugness

(GM)11/03/2018
The sensei takes his place, and he already has two members on his team!
"Hmm." the hooded man thinks. "Kobe Yuu!"
Yuu, the tonfa-wielding tomboy cheerfully takes his side, leaving the bearded man with the shortest end of the pencil.
"Huuma Kazuma." he decides, and the turn is back to the short woman, who is in fact Niten Kyoko, Konoha's reigning queen of Shogi.
"Sandoori Seika!" that is a surprising pick, since Seika is the flower of the class, who can do Medical Ninjutsu, and is knowledgeable, but not much else. Raiko, the bully girl who apparently had a spot promised on her team, makes a long face.
"B-but." she seems hurt, the sensei not taking notice of her.
The tall woman points to the kid that's hunched over. "The Uchiha kid."
Uchiha Bajinmaru, known as Jin, shuffles over to her.
The tall white man is on his turn again.
"Let's see..." he leans over to the paper again.

Inuzuka Shin
"Who are we going to have to suffer with?" Shin whispers to his dog

(GM)11/03/2018
"Well, Shin." the white-haired sensei makes a difficult expression. "There's not that much left."(edited)
"Aburame Shinji!"

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji walks on over, hands in his pockets.

(GM)11/03/2018
"I'd better not confuse your names!"

Inuzuka Shin
"Shall we call outselves the SS?" He pauses "Or would that be an extra S for squad. Shin Shinji Squad."
He shrugs as he tests the name

[Sakurai Eiha]
Remains silent and still throughout the proceeding, save for raising an eyebrow at the statement of the overly tall man. The whole act seems rather dismissive, and if not even half have been picked and the Jonins are already acting as if the pool's dry, it doesn't bode well for the capabilities of most. Seems like they went for quantity over quality...

[Aburame Shinji]
"The Shinshinsengumi..."

[Inuzuka Shin]
"What do you think?" He asks

(GM)11/03/2018
A few more picks go by. Notably, the tall woman picks Mumei, the girl with an embroided bag over her head, who used to have a real name back in the first year, but no one can remember it anymore. You've suspected some sort of Genjutsu may have been involved in making you forget.
Once five students are left, Niten-sensei finally exclaims: "Raiko Boshi!"
The girl is so happy, she could cry. "Don't play with my feelings, Sensei!" she complains on her way.
One more pick later, the tall man decides on his last student. "You know what?"
"The Hidden Mist girl. Come here."

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji adjusts his sunglasses.

(GM)11/03/2018
"Sakurai Eiha." Niten-sensei fills in. "You sure you know what you are doing? You have two famous clan kids on your team."
The tall man shrugs, not really answering the question.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"So.... Mist...." Shin trails off "Does it rain a lot over there?"

[Sakurai Eiha]
The foreigners, her identity revealed as Eiha, moves closer, her eyes darting between the older shinobi as she registers their quips, then roaming over her now assigned teammates and trying to assess just how famous exactly they are supposed to be. The presence of the wolfhound is a pretty good clue to the use of animals in combat - not the most common of techniques, but a bit reminiscent of the famed Summoning techniques. The other remains more of a mystery for the time being. "It does, actually." She  answers tersely as she comes to a stop.

(GM)11/03/2018
Two picks later, the selection is done, and the teams are mostly chatting among each other as well.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Oh... Well" The boy was taken back slighly by the girls answer "We got better weather here. Isn't that right partner?" He nudged Shinji

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji responds with silence.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"I guess I gotta do enough talking for the three of us!" Shin chucked.(edited)
Kohaku made a noise
"...Four"

[Sakurai Eiha]
Quirks an eyebrow at the answer - or lack thereof - "And here I thought I was going to be the quiet one." She muses with the faintest hints of a smirk and playfulness in her tone.

(GM)11/03/2018
"Errr." the sensei feels a little inappropriate. Your old teacher, happy to have that many students off his shoulders and on his resume, shouts you all goodbye, and returns to the building.
One  team leaves, and your new sensei as well turns to you. "So, whether you know me or not - I am Hachi Ishikawa."
"Come after me."
"Man, this must have been so much more convenient in the old days. But it's a tradition." he stretches his hands, to the height of a small building, while walking with you through the streets of Konoha.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"We will follow you almightly sensei." Shin and is dog followed "Ah yes, the whole war and stuff"

(GM)11/03/2018
"I could have just told the teacher to send you to a place in the woods to begin with. It would have made me a lot more mysterious, you know?" he chats almost like a kid, himself. "It would have meant instant respect, like when you encounter a hermit in the wilds."
"And then I would tell you that if you don't pass the test, I am not going to teach you, like that's something Konoha can actually afford." he laughs sofftly.

[Sakurai Eiha]
As the group gets moving, Eiha's eyes resume their systematic scrutiny, looking over the various streets and buildings encountered along the way. Once again, it wasn't what she saw, but what she didn't see that was particularly noteworthy "You say that, but I see the Hidden Leaf village has been recovering well. Better than others anyway."

[Aburame Shinji]
"What do you intend to do, Hachi-sensei?"

(GM)11/03/2018
"I need to see what you can do." he says, as you pass the gate, and he chooses a seemingly random direction.
"To do that, I might need to push you a bit."

[Inuzuka Shin]
Shin strokes chin "That totally doesn't sound Omnibus"

[Aburame Shinji]
"Ominous."

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Ominous.... That's what I said"
The dog makes a noise
"I did!" Shin protests

(GM)11/03/2018
Taking a boar path, Hach eventually leads you to a clearing.
"Let's see. The ground should be good here." he walks forward into the center of the clearing.
"I'd step away far and wide from me now, if I were you!"

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji stays at the edge of the clearing.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"All right" The duo walks away "But I am sure I could take whatever it is"

[Sakurai Eiha]
Having kept a healthy distance as it were, Eiha took a few steps back to the treeline. She didn't know what to expect, but she anticipated some sort of Jutsu to be unleashed, and she didn't really intend to get caught up in it.

(GM)11/03/2018
"Doton!" the sensei shouts "Nekome Tatami Gaeshi!"
He makes a few seals in the blink of an eye, and kicks the ground. It quakes, ejecting a boulder under his feet, and ejecting earth in a circle.
The grass is burried, and earth flips around, like a series of mats - now clay faces the sky, with a few roots sticking out of it.
The sensei sits himself on the boulder comfortably, and takes out his lunch.
"The rules are thus: To pass, you have to hurt me twice."
"After the first time, I will start dodging. Managing it once is good enough, really, but maybe you are wonder students. That's why the bar is pretty high."


(GM)11/03/2018
"If you try to attack me and fail, I'll take one of your limbs should you feel like it. I am a medical nin, though, so don't be afraid to get hurt doing this."
He opens his boxed lunch, and takes out a pair of chopsticks. "Oh, yeah. You'd better come up with a plan for this."

[Inuzuka Shin]
Shin cracks his knuckles "Well. Lets do this in the best way I know how. Run up and punch"

[Aburame Shinji]
"Are we allowed to use lethal techniques?"

(GM)11/03/2018
"I would say so, as long as they aren't lethal to you." he replies from up on the boulder.

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Taking off limbs sounds pretty lethal to me, it sounds just about fair to return the favor."

[Aburame Shinji]
"Are you certain about this...?"

(GM)11/03/2018
"Considering everything, yes."
He dives in and gets to dine.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Nothing about being a ninja is certain. I guess..." Shin looks at the others

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji adjusts his sunglasses again. As he does, a swift, tiny bug flies out of his sleeve, headed towards the white haired man.

[Sakurai Eiha]
Eiha glances between the older Shinobi and her assigned  teammates. "If you guys want to come up with some sort of plan, I suggest we do that from a place where he can't overhear ev-- nevermind."(edited)

[Aburame Shinji]
"Of course we'll plan."

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Yea..."

[Aburame Shinji]
"But I must ask if you were trained to work in teams, foreigner."

[Inuzuka Shin]
The dog woofs
"Hey! I'm confident"

[Sakurai Eiha]
The raven-haired girl lets out a slightly twisted, eerie chuckle in response to that and smirks. "Not exactly, but being capable of adapting and improvising is vital to being a good shinobi."

[Aburame Shinji]
"I've worked with Shin-kun in the past, so I suggest that you allow me to take the lead on this."

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Fine..."

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Sure, but  let's move first."

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji nods and hops away, slinking into the shadows.

[Sakurai Eiha]
Eiha follows swiftly, seemingly without any difficulty and while being particularly fleet of foot.

[Inuzuka Shin]
follows, not spending that much effort to be in the shadows

(GM)11/03/2018
The birds sing, and you find another clearing to talk to each other upon - if you don't know what to do yet.
The Mist girl is a bit disturbing to Shin, but Shinji seems to be taking her presence just fine.

[Sakurai Eiha]
As the group makes itself scarce, a plan is quickly decided on, more by necessity than anything else. Indeed, against a foe that is significantly more experienced and trained, no individual attack has much of a chance, and a coordinated strike, ideally from the shadow, is the only option that has any real chances of success. While it may not be much against Jonin, Eiha mentions that such shadow strikes are essentially her specialty, and that she is confident to be able to land a hit if the target is distracted enough. With that seemingly settled, she announces her intention to make use of the cover of a tree both until the time is right, and as a means to avoid the earth-release defenses. IF all goes according to plan, of course.

(GM)11/03/2018
You approach Ishikawa-sensei again, from behind a tall tree.
He seems to be taking his time eating the lunch. He must have saved it so that you'd have to deal with more of the ham.

(GM)11/03/2018
A swarm of bugs rises from the ground, approaching him out of nowhere. The clay they fly over ripples, but does not react.
"Good start." you hear him say.
That is, right before the set-up springs.

[Aburame Shinji]
"Now!"

[Inuzuka Shin]
Both Shin and his dog moved up to where the teacher was eating away.
Never one for the bigger complex plans. Shin was about to run over the patch. Instead he jumped over.
He chuckled as he flew in the air.
Kohaku followed.
Taking the ground path.

(GM)11/03/2018
As you step on the clay, it bursts upward, some  bits of earth getting suspended in the air. Moving in this area is going to be difficult.
Eiha's blade is caught in the man's palm, with a 'clink'.
You are pretty sure he did not catch the blade in his fingers or anything, more as if his skin was unreasonably hard.

[Sakurai Eiha]
While the other two made their moves, as per the plan, Eiha bid her time. Acting last, she bolted from the treetops without making a single noise and landing slightly behind and to the side of the jonin on the central stone. Without any delay, she made a quick strike of her blade, aimed at the back, only for her eyes to widen significantly as the otherwise deadly strike was nullified with almost contemptuous impunity. Not allowing herself to be caught dazzled, she quickly shifted her momentum and looked like she was about to strike from the other side, but faked out at the last moment to create an opening.

(GM)11/03/2018
Hachi sweeps his fingers from the blade towards Eiha, later redirecting them towards the asailing bugs.
The air crackles, as a few blades of chakra extend from the hand, and slice through the swarm.

[Inuzuka Shin]
Shin and Kohaku looked at eachother after their sensei shrugged of the attacks.
It was family stuff time. With a poof, Shin used his Chakra to adopt the four limb technique and attacked

(GM)11/03/2018
More bugs are batted away, opening the sitting man's arms up for Shin's attack.
The hand is moved in time to dismiss the first strike. Contrary to what he said about dodging, Hachi does lean back a bit.

[Inuzuka Shin]
The first claw went a miss. But something clicked in his head, and there was an opening to follow through. The other hand managed to connect!

(GM)11/03/2018
The figure explodes, showering you with debris, sand, and clay.

[Aburame Shinji]
"What?!"

(GM)11/03/2018
The figure reassembles itself amidst the dust, and it slowly clears.
The dirt magically sticks to Shin, Eiha, and Kohaku. It's weighing you down slightly, but not enough for it to matter.
"Pretty good!" The teacher exclaims cheerfully.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Pleth" Shin tries to get rid of all the dirt in his mouth
Kohaku sneezed his dog sneeze

(GM)11/03/2018
"Oh, damn! I didn't think I'd have to look out for the bugs when I came up with that."
"Well, let it be a lesson for you not to put all your eggs into one basket." he stands up. "Any of you need medical attention after that?"

[Aburame Shinji]
"They're trusty soldiers, ready to cast away their lives for the sake of victory."

(GM)11/03/2018
"Ah." he seems a bit disappointed to hear that.
"Anyway, that was pretty good. No need for a second round, we can call this off."
"I assumed you'd get the first one out of the way with a jutsu or something. Water is strong against stone!"
The sensei seems seriously worried after nearly having killed you.

[Sakurai Eiha]
Eiha was readying herself for another strike when the wolfhound's own caused a rather unexpected reaction. She was quite aware of the replacement and clone techniques, but devastatingly explosive clones was not something she had seen or heard of before, so although she attempted to move her arms together to defend against some of the damage, it did very little to help. Cursing under her breath, she instinctively bolted back into the nearby tree, ignoring the fact that the contest was seemingly over, as her instincts forced her to move to get out of the way of any more lethal retaliation.
She seemed to calm down somewhat when it appeared like no more attacks were coming and instead words came. She let out a faint sigh and hopped back down to ground level, looking somewhat upset about the turnabout of it all.. or perhaps was it about what she was just about to say? "...My elemental Jutsu still needs work." She stated flatly.(edited)

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Shin muttered.
He was tough, the damage didn't manage to injure him. But Kohaku was slightly worse off. "Yea. I have to think about you too" He said to the dog.(edited)

[Aburame Shinji]
"I believe our strategy went off without a hitch. You've done well, foreigner."

(GM)11/03/2018
*Hachi nods. *"W-Well, you can come back, Eiha. I have something to explain to you all now, anyway."
He goes on a knee next to Kohaku, and the clay stops rippling as he tends to its wounds.

[Sakurai Eiha]
The raven-haired girl leaned back against the tree to relax a little. "I knew I should have bolted back into that tree when the big man made it clear he intended to defend rather than dodge, would have helped me get stronger strikes in, but I didn't think of it fast enough and I just did what I normally do instead. I'm more used to targets that try to evade." She explained as she walked back towards the group, more verbose than before.

(GM)11/03/2018
"Mhm." the teacher nods. "Now, why do you think I picked you as my students?"

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji adjusts his sunglasses. "I imagine it is because you had to pick somebody."

(GM)11/03/2018
The new teacher chuckles.

[Sakurai Eiha]
The kunoichi crossed her arms after sheathing her blade, coming closer. She hadn't complained, but it was obvious she took some significant, albeit not crippling damage in the process. "Beats me, this is my first time in this land. I'm not exactly an expert on local customs."(edited)

[Inuzuka Shin]
"I always imagined it was some sort of super complex and super specific caculations, that involves lots and lots of numbers and late nights that chose all the teams."

[Aburame Shinji]
"But you've seen how it all happened..."

(GM)11/03/2018
"It used to be that way before, Shin!" he laughs. "But I picked you first because I am a martial artist. On a base level, I have a lot to teach you, and because every team needs a backone."
"Then I picked Shinji because every team needs a trickster, and he seemed the best one on the list. He will teach by watching, anyway. My job as a teacher is, then, to make sure he sees a lot."
"And as for you, Eiha, we are incompatible at the first glance." he stands up, and so does Kohaku, now in good spirits. His wound is wholly closed.
"Would you kids kindly step down from the rock now? The clay won't hurt you anymore."

[Sakurai Eiha]
The kunoichi leaned to her side slightly, arms still crossed and an eyebrow quirked. "Charming." She stated flatly from below the molehill.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Yea. Fun" Shin talks backwards of the rock. His eyes on the ground at all times
the dog isn't so paranoid and just walks off normally(edited)

[Aburame Shinji]
"Trickster..." Shinji adjusts his sunglasses yet again, looking somewhat miffed.

[Sakurai Eiha]
Eiha glances over to the 'trickster's hiding spot, raising her voice slightly to be heard over the distance. "Hey see the bright side, at least you had something positive about you." She doesn't sound particularly upset or miffed herself about the lack of anything positive said about herself, being more sassy than anything else.

(GM)11/03/2018
"Oh, all of you were vital to the plan." Hachi steps down from the rock, and then leans his palm on it.
"But when I was a Genin, Shin is the sort of person I used to be, and Shinji is the sort of person I needed to win anything out there."
Hachi's fist is now wholly covered in stone. He turns around to face the three-meters rock, and punches it.
The rock cracks.
"You see, Eiha, this jutsu, is called Hammerfist."
"It is a secret taught only to masters of Earth in Iwagakure. As a Konoha nin, I have no business knowing it."(edited)
He sighs slightly. "So, while I don't have much to teach you in the martial sense, I might have something to teach you philophically."
"That is, the Will of Fire."
The fist of stone falls apart, into the mud.
"I am sure these two will show you the best that Konoha has to offer."

[Sakurai Eiha]
The kunoichi raises an eyebrow once more, not especially familiar with philosophy either. "I look forward to it?" She hazarded.

(GM)11/03/2018
He shrugs. "Besides, there is someone I'd like you to meet later. They can actually teach you, I figure."
"Overall, young'uns, I can teach you some Earth Release techniques if you need it, Medical Jutsus, Fuuinjutsu, and Martial Arts. I can probably try to find some materials for the study of Tanto for you at home." He folds his arms.
"But the most important things, you will teach each other. I, as well, look forward to it."
The dirt has mostly fallen off you, since the battle was done, as Hachi's chakra dissipated. "Now, what would you say to a steak?"
"I hear we just got a shipment of fish food. We could also do ramen - that's a Konoha speciality, Eiha."

[Sakurai Eiha]
Eiha uncrossed her arms and adjusted her outfit and hair slightly, since it seems they were getting back to town and the snare had dispersed. "Sounds good to me." She stated quietly before glancing over. She wondered if the dog master would be quite excited at the prospect of meat, or if that was just a silly stereotype.

(GM)11/03/2018
"Of course, I mean seafood, not fish food. That would be incredibly racist." he makes a difficult expression again, leading the way to town.

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji follows along.

[Inuzuka Shin]
Like a switch was flipped Kohaku started panting
"Steak? Did you say Steak?" Shin said as he.... started panting too. Some drool emerging from the side of his mouth
"Yea... I would love that." He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand "meeeeeat"

[Sakurai Eiha]
Eiha allowed herself a small chuckle at the sight, though she didn't make any teasing or patronizing comments about it as she simply made her way back alongside the others. For someone with such a jarring aura about her, she acted in a relatively friendly manner.

(GM)11/03/2018
...
On the way, the real Hachi comes out of the woods, dismissing the clone. This amounts to leaving it as a statue of himself, likely to scare anyone who runs into it, as it is still two meters tall.

(GM)11/03/2018
With no disagreements to Steak, Hachi chooses Dan's Steakhouse to host your dinner. In the process, he asked you all a bit about yourselves, outside of being a ninja. "What your hobbies are, and such."
He also mentioned he'd have an assignment for you, tomorrow morning - an innkeeper on the road nearby apparently had his cellar infested with rats, and was willing to pay for Ninja help.(edited)

[Aburame Shinji]
"Nature watching."

(GM)11/03/2018
(GM pulls the curtains down)
...











November 24, 2018
(GM)11/24/2018
You were able to get a good night's rest for the apparently C-Ranked mission, and brim with fresh Chakra. The teacher was able to tend to your wounds as well, for whomever that mattered.
As for the mission itself, there was not much to explain. The inn was one day on the easter road away, which you can already cross in much shorter time. You are to identify yourself as Konoha Nin, who came for the basement job, and would be given details on the spot.
Of course, you still have to meet up wherever you'd have agreed to, and make your way over there through the treetops.

[Inuzuka Shin]
Shin yawned as leaped towards the mission's area. He held a piece of toast in this right hand. Every time he landed he took a bite out of it. The toast disappeared down his gullet as he neared his destination.  Kohaku followed, the dog had the forsight to eat his breakfast before going out.

(GM)11/24/2018
The building approaches, and from the distance you can already tell it's not especially well kept. It's in the middle of the forest, amidst the trees, and for someone like you, it would not be difficult to simply end up on its roof with a few hops.
It is three stories, which is a rather big structure to have standing out of nowhere, but the forest seems to have taken its mark on it. The wooden walls, once painted white, are getting infested with lichen, and the door on its topmost balcony seems to be barred.
Not much seems to be going on here. The area is quiet, suspicously so. There are stables, and they seem to be still too - you'd have to look inside to confirm lack of animals, though.
It could just be a quiet day, but this is an important stop on a trade vein. Yet, thinking about it, there weren't any wagons on the way here. You would think that they would embark on the last leg of their journey in the morning.

[Aburame Shinji]
"It's quiet."

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Will it stay quiet though?" Shin replied

(GM)11/24/2018
Kohaku seems to get the idea, observing from the distance, and drawing in anything that would not belong into a forest.

[Sakurai Eiha]
In the mean time, the last member of the team had already begun her own preliminary reconnaissance. As usual, her innate abilities made her rather easy to miss , and so she was able to make her way to the location and begin with nary a soul seeming to register her presence. Hopefully the others would, however.

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji stays eerily quiet and unmoving for a while.
"I think you should be able to smell it, Shin."

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Ok Lets have a smell"

(GM)11/24/2018
Kohaku grumbles slightly, perhaps to notify Shin of something.

[Inuzuka Shin]
Shin turned his head to the side as he digested what the dog was telling him.
"Something is decaying. Hard to make out."

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji nods. "There's a body behind the house."
"And two more inside..."

[Inuzuka Shin]
"That answers that"

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Would be quite unfortunate of those were the owners."

[Aburame Shinji]
"We need to take a closer look. Let's go inside."

[Inuzuka Shin]
"We aren't going to get any more info standing out here"

[Sakurai Eiha]
Eiha sets her gaze upon the decrepit establishment once more before adjusting her scarf over her face a little bit more tightly in order to try to mitigate the smell, which would be quite disturbing even for those without enhanced senses of scent. That done she kept an hand on her sheathed tanto and began to make her way closer, towards the outer wall, making sure to avoid exposing herself to the windows and any other openings. Even refective pools of water did not escape her scrutiny.

(GM)11/24/2018
From the windows, the two bodies do not seem to be on the lowest floor. They might be higher up, however.
Despite the eerie recon, there is food on the table. The building appears to have been abandoned in a hurry.

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji also decides to approach the house with stealth.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"What's the plan....." Shin moved in. "I guess I'll be the one that stays behind..." He looked at Kohaku.

(GM)11/24/2018
The front door has a lock on it, but it's slightly open.

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji gestures Shin to follow him with a wave.

(GM)11/24/2018
The hound investigates the ground instead, twitching briefly.

[Inuzuka Shin]
The boy shrugs and follows. Landing behind Shinji

(GM)11/24/2018
Once you enter the building proprely, you can finally hear slight whining after the floor-boards. It is a weird sound.(edited)
You know you were called to deal with the rats in the basement, but there does not seem to be a basement hatch here. It is also a little odd that the rats do not care for the food.
There is the reception desk, a lobby for drinking, and stairs which lead to the first floor.
The rats seem to be so subdued that you had to actually come close to even notice them. It took a little listening to make the sounds out.
[Sakurai Eiha]
Eiha's eyes narrowed immediately at the odd sound of the floors, immediately reminded of the nightingale floorboards in some feudal lord castles that were designed at least partially to signal the presence of intruders. It was very unlikely something similar was going on in the decrepit inn, but it nonetheless put her on extra guard as she took caution to avoid the chirping boards.

(GM)11/24/2018
When Kohaku steps on the first floorboard, it creaks. Instantly, the rats go crazy, and seem to start moving about frantically.
The floor is otherwise solid, but a proper ninja would probably step more lightly.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"There are definitely rats here." Shin hissed.  "Ideas?"

[Aburame Shinji]
"We should be keeping an eye out for something bigger than rats."
"Let's keep searching the building."

[Inuzuka Shin]
"All right"

(GM)11/24/2018
The higher floors, full of rooms, seem to be inhabited, but abandoned. The guests took whatever they could, but seem to have abandoned some of their clothes, and possibly even wealth, in a hurry.
The rats don't seem to be here.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"I guess burning the whole place down isn't an option"

[Sakurai Eiha]
"While that could be amusing, if the client is even still alive, I doubt it would count as successful."

[Aburame Shinji]
"We could check under the building. I think I know how to get there."

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Well, I hope we can come up with an ingenious way to kill all the rats at once. I don't like the idea of punching rats"

[Aburame Shinji]
"We'll figure something out. Follow me." Shinji heads outside, leading the group out to a wooden hatch in the ground.

(GM)11/24/2018
Just as you come down the stairs, something enters the building.
A rather large rat looks about, and turns tail upon seeing you.
The room is small, there is not much distance, should you pursue it.

[Aburame Shinji]
"That's a giant rat..."

(GM)11/24/2018
It retreats, pursued by a single bug. Unsurprisingly, to the direction Shinji was going in the first place.

[Aburame Shinji]
"It won't escape now. We could continue investigating, or we could go after it."

[Sakurai Eiha]
"I guess it might be safest to look for survivors after they've been dealt with."

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Yea" Shin nodded "They are rats, shouldn't be too hard to outsmart rats"

(GM)11/24/2018
...
The hatch is a good thirty meters away. You arrive just in time to see the rat close the hatch after itself.
The fact it can do this suggests there is something to stand on under it.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"When could rats do that?"

[Aburame Shinji]
"It's rather unusual for one to even get so big. Expect anything."

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Animals can be surprisingly intelligent sometimes. Or big."

(GM)11/24/2018
To be fair, this was indeed a straight-up primate thing to do.
The place smells faintly of blood, as if someone was hurt here. There is also a little blood on the hatch. There are no corpses, however.

[Aburame Shinji]
"I don't like the look of this..."
Shinji walks up to the hatch and slowly opens it to warily peek inside.

(GM)11/24/2018
There is a stone stairway, leading to a long corridor towards the house.
The air is cool and moist.

[Sakurai Eiha]
The foreigner allows herself a faint, mischievous smirk as she jested against the tension. "Cold and humid, faint scent of blood, I'd almost say this place feels homely."

(GM)11/24/2018
Some more squeaking can be heard from down there, but it is dark, all the way through the tunnel, it seems. Some sort of light would help.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Your home sounds like a nice place to visit" Shin said sarcasically.

[Sakurai Eiha]
"It is." She answers cheerfully and unsarcastically, though while still keeping her voice down.

[Aburame Shinji]
"I think you should take the lead, Shin."

(GM)11/24/2018
At the foot of the stairway lies something that has been dropped. Someone's metal, window-less oil lantern, its contents mostly spilled.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Well, here goes nothing" The boy swallowed and took the lead

(GM)11/24/2018
Your eyes manage to slowly get used to the dark at least a little. With the hatch still open, there is at least a bit of light. Light would also betray your position too early.
Midway through the tunnel is also a metal stand, presumably for a torch. The squeaking intensifies as you approach the building, and you step on bits and pieces of spilled rice bags.
Finally, you make visual contact. The basement seems a bit cave-like, only wood and slightly moldy clay.
More importantly, the floor has some candles on it, which give off light. They illuminate a humanoid, but not human, figure, kneeling among them.
Some words, perhaps difficult seals, perhaps different language, echo through the corridor, until it abruptly rises its head.
Still, it keeps on chanting, among the squeaks.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Errr... Know any people who use rats instead of bugs Shinji?"

[Aburame Shinji]
"No..."

[Sakurai Eiha]
The raven-haired Mist kunoichi follows not too far being the young Houndmaster. By contrast to the tense and wary expressions of her companions, she stands just as cheerful as earlier, as if completely unaffected by the oppressing air of the decaying basement. She wasn't entirely joking about the familiarity earlier, but more than anything else, it had to do with her Nindo. To not oneself succumb to fear was the first step on the path to using fear as one's weapon, in her mind, and so to let such things flow off her like water on an umbrella were simply part of her path. Then again her own aura wasn't exactly much better, all things considered...
"Should we kill it before it finishes whatever it's doing?"

[Aburame Shinji]
"That seems to be our mission. Let's engage."

(GM)11/24/2018
The small rats seem to disappear as you approach. Three large ones stay in the room, though, intent on blocking your way.

[Aburame Shinji]
Without so much as a sound, blackness begins to crawl across Shinji's skin. Once the insects assemble in considerable numbers, they take to the air and latch onto the walls and the ceiling, quickly crawling towards the rats.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Well, I guess I am punching rats today"

(GM)11/24/2018
The summoner squeaks desperately, suddenly assaulted by a swarm of bugs. He tries to get away from the ritual circle, but there are only more bugs out of it.
"No!" he shrieks cartoonishly, "It is not yet done-zo!"

[Sakurai Eiha]
Once more, Eiha moved into range but awaited for the rest of her team to strike the first blows, causing confusion and also very importantly causing the rats to rush down the hallway, creating the opening she needed. With the road now cleared, she makes a final dash to the side of the humanoid rat creature currently distracted with the bugs, blade ever os faintly shimmering from the shadows as her tanto lashes out and draws blood.

(GM)11/24/2018
Eiha can now clearly see the humaoid rat-man. Surrounded by bugs already, he blocks a part of the edge with his own sheathed tanto, but it does not make the slash any shallower.
"I'm gonna kill you-zo!" it shouts back at Eiha, clutching its shoulder.

(GM)11/24/2018
The rat-man leans into the blade, making a iai-slash back at Eiha. It is a shame you were not exactly trained for tanto dueling.
With the bit of space he has gained, he slaps the ground with his rat hand, in a movement similar to the snake seal.
The earth rumbles ever so slightly.

[Sakurai Eiha]
While not trained for dueling, Eiha can at the very least see where this is coming, since the beastman is essentially attempting to use her own tricks against her. Partially due to this and due to her childish desire to show off her strength before the Genins of the Leaf, she elects to try to parry the blade with her own rather than back away. Steel clashes with steel with a dull sound, and just barely, thanks to this earlier motivation to strive harder, she manages to deflect the blade.

[Inuzuka Shin]
'Well..' Shin thought to himself. I better try to clean up the small fry.
He charged into combat with one of the smaller rats

(GM)11/24/2018
Assaulted by the bugs, the beastman swings his sword around, getting more exhausted by the minute.
"Damn you-zo!"
Then, much like the last time Eiha fought someone, he explodes. Only into a bit of smoke, though!

[Sakurai Eiha]
The foreigner grits her teeth and brings her arms before her, expecting a repeat of the previous day, but also growing frustrated that she wasn't able to bring down her quarry herself. With the faintest of groans, she doubles back and strikes out at one of the minor rats from behind in her frustration.

(GM)11/24/2018
The rodent squeaks like it never has before.

[Inuzuka Shin]
Shin stomped down of the wounded rat. Crushing it's head.
The ninja didn't let up though. Twirling about he kicked another rat
Kohaku snarled and attacked another rat. His jaws clamping down on it

[Aburame Shinji]
With the violence having concluded, Shinji approaches the center of the cave and adjusts his glasses as he inspects the site.

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Our mission seems over, but we still might want to see if we can't find what this thing was doing here while we're at it."

(GM)11/24/2018
The defeated rodents poof out of existence similarly to their summoner.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"I think we need a shower after this"(edited)

(GM)11/24/2018
Just as you speak, the earth rumbles slightly.
A slight, but not fresh wind blows through the room.
Then, in front of Shinji's observing eyes, a fuuinjutsu tag rises from the ground, floating up into the air. It seems to be causing the dust to rise in the room as it now does.

[Sakurai Eiha]
Eiha backs away from the phenomenon, wary of getting caught into another trap or blast. She also falls back into the shadows, just in case.

(GM)11/24/2018
The dirt starts accumulating around the tag, as if drawn in by its power.

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji continues to observe, sweat on his brow.

[Sakurai Eiha]
"This might not be over yet."

(GM)11/24/2018
Of course, this is not a tag that you know, considering you do not know any tags. The dust starts slowly spinning after it, soon covering it from your sight.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Well, that means that I can still get a big kill!"

[Sakurai Eiha]
"You and me both."

[Aburame Shinji]
"Whatever it is, I think we should stop it."

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Any of you have ranged attacks?"

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji then gestures at the floating tag, directing his swarm to consume it.

[Sakurai Eiha]
"that works too."

(GM)11/24/2018
While the tag is being odd, it is not yet truly dangerous. The bugs quickly infiltrate the cloud of filth.
Soon enough, it ceases to gain more spins, and the dirt slowly falls back on the ground. Some torn pieces of the tag, chakra-left, are left in the dust, the bugs still making quick work of them.
With that, the room is silent again, and you can finally properly inspect it.
There is what appears to be an incredibly dirty lift in one corner, and yet another hatch in the floor, in the corner of the room. There are also a few buckets, cleaner than practically anything else here.
There is also a small rusty metal oven, but it does not seem to be connected to the walls or ceiling.
Some supplies you would expect an inn to have lie about, but mostly in desolate state.
The lift may lead somewhere in the inn that you have not looked. Perhaps a bucket is sent on the hooked rope.

[Aburame Shinji]
"Just what is this place?"

[Sakurai Eiha]
"We should probably start with 'what was that -creature-?'"

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji heads over to the hatch in the floor and opens it up.

[Inuzuka Shin]
Shin opened his mouth and then closed it. "There is the possibility that all of this was done by sensei..... he cleared out the inn... and.... summoned the rats"(edited)

[Sakurai Eiha]
"I didn't know he had a contract with those."

(GM)11/24/2018
Under the hatch, enough that one would have to lean in to reach, is a surface of stagnant water. It seems to be a well in the basement.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Well, lets just carry on. And try not to imagine contracting with rats"

[Aburame Shinji]
"Let's take the lift."

(GM)11/24/2018
The lift consists of two ropes, one of which is pulled. It is a bucket lift.
It is thin enough to be crawled through though, leaning on the walls.

(GM)11/24/201
[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji crawls in and starts climbing his way up.

(GM)11/24/2018
It takes you three floors up, to what you would expect to be a second. There was a closed hatch on the two floors before, suggesting water can be taken from there.
The third hatch is open, and smells of death.

[Inuzuka Shin]
follows

(GM)11/24/2018
It leads into what seems to be a kitchen, with two dead servants, with countless bite wounds of various sizes. They seem to be male and female, and both have a nasty slashing wound as well.
It is quite the disgusting sight up here, but such is the job of crime investigation.

[Aburame Shinji]
"The rats must have done this..."

(GM)11/24/2018
Much like down there, food is still left here. There is a pan with badly charred meat on the stove. The rats did not touch it, the room was abandoned in a hurry, and never reentered by the residents - as far as you can tell.

[Sakurai Eiha]
"And the bigger one, there's a weapon wound too."

[Inuzuka Shin]
"It's clear that they crawled up here" Shin looked around

(GM)11/24/2018
Some sounds seem to come from the outside. Hooves?
Perhaps a wagon is coming by the road.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Lets get moving. They have been here, but no more seem to be around"
"At least, find out who is outside"(edited)

(GM)11/24/2018
You can now hear many more footsteps outside. They seem almost... coordinated.

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Brigands or rival mercenaries, take your bets."

(GM)11/24/2018
There are windows here, so perhaps you can look through one of the rooms.

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji peeks outside through a window.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"We better get out of here!" Shin said "We don't want a 'misunderstanding' to happen"

[Sakurai Eiha]
Eiha meanwhile makes sure not to let herself be seen from outside, getting back into her usual ambush mindset.

(GM)11/24/2018
There are three wagons with what seems to be civilians, alongside a few dozen yari-wielding peasant militia-men. The spear-wielding soldiers are moving in, to surround the building.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Yea, we don't want to be caught." Shin started whispering as he saw them.

[Aburame Shinji]
"I doubt they're enemies. I'll go meet with them."

[Sakurai Eiha]
"True, we're still well within the land of Fire, so if it's soldiers of the Feudal Lord, they should be on our side."

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji heads downstairs.

(GM)11/24/2018
There are already a few soldiers peeking through the open door. You are clearly not what they have expected.
"Eeeh!" one shouts "Didn't you say there were rats?"
"Seems like a kid to me!"

[Aburame Shinji]
"We killed them."

[Sakurai Eiha]
This time the foreigner remains upstairs, preferring not to risk a misunderstanding over what a Mist kunoichi is doing here, given the civilians were probably not given the memo about the agreements between villages.

(GM)11/24/2018
"Ah." he deflates. "You Shinobi?"

[Aburame Shinji]
"Konohagakure shinobi, yes. We were hired to deal with your rat problem."

(GM)11/24/2018
"Tsuchimaru, go call the owner." he points at the apparently lesser ranked member of the militia. "We should confirm that."(edited)
The other soldier runs towards the wagons, careful not to trip over his yari. Eventually, a fat man heads your way, holding a small pouch in the open.
"I should apologize." he greets you. "But then, it's my fault for thinking it's just rats."
"What in the blazes was that?"

[Aburame Shinji]
"I was hoping that you would be the one to shed more light on the situation."

[Sakurai Eiha]
Eiha takes advantage of the time bought by the stalling to relocate her forehead protector. She lowers it around her neck level to conceal it behind her scarf, just in case the civilians can tell the difference.

[Inuzuka Shin]
chooses to let Shinji take the lead.

(GM)11/24/2018
He takes in the state of the lobby with a pained expression. "Well, there have been rats around for a while, and yesterday, someone said that they saw a really big rat that would take Shinobi to take out."
"So I thought some of their kids could have a field day with that... so you actually cleared out the big one?" He gets ahead of himself again.
"A gigantic rat climbed out of the basement and killed two of my servants!"

[Aburame Shinji]
"There were four large ones in the basement. They did not appear there by accident."

(GM)11/24/2018
"There was supposed to be a guy down in the basement sending water, he practically lives there. I wonder what happened to him?" he thinks.

[Aburame Shinji]
"What? Who?"

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Well, those rats weren't normal."

(GM)11/24/2018
"A strapping lad, Iyase, kind of dumb. He's been working here for about the month."
"Either way, the rat guy that climbed out started shouting at the entire inn for everyone to get out-zo or he'd kill 'em all-zo."
"So they did, and now they're back with soldiers because some of them left their luggage behind. That's about the whole story as far as I know." the inn-keeper finishes explaining.(edited)

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji thinks for a while before speaking up. "Follow me, I'd like to show you something."

(GM)11/24/2018
He gestures at a few of the soldiers to come with you, but does.

[Aburame Shinji]
He leads them to the body behind the building, the first one that his bugs discovered.

(GM)11/24/2018
The inn-keeper instantly starts vomiting into the plentiful bushes.
The body's decay is rather advanced. He has likely been dead for days.
"T-that's probably him." he finally admits, after one soldier turns the body around with the haft of his weapon.(edited)

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji appears to be at a loss.

(GM)11/24/2018
"W-well, you deserve your payment." he gets ahead of himself, either ignoring or forgetting the greater picture. "Is it the two of you, and the hound?"
"Oh, the lady."
"You worked rather above your payload here, have you not? Yet, I will need to hire two more people now..." he fishes through the pouch, wondering how much you are due.(edited)

[Sakurai Eiha]
Eiha figures it relatively safe to show herself at this point and hops down from the window. These people seem far too preocuppied with their losses for petty politics. "Three."

(GM)11/24/2018
The Lady would indeed refer to Eiha's appearance.
Shockingly, the merchant eventually fishes out a significant sum.

[Aburame Shinji]
"I can't help but wonder where the rats came from."

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Well the big one was definitely up to something. What, we might never know."

(GM)11/24/2018
The money is handed out, and the soldiers measure you up with their gazes.
[You each gain 2 Resources and 2 Renown!]

[Inuzuka Shin]
"I imagine someone wanted to cover their tracks." Shin shrugged "although I imagine that it would be beyond our rank to know"

(GM)11/24/2018
You know that you will have to present a report after every mission, though its form is up to you, There is probably much to report here, however.
With that in mind, investigating in here was in order, but did not yield much good in the end.
The situation will have to be presented to the leadership of Konoha as you return, and you each have to decide how.

(GM)11/24/2018
...
A few days later, filled with much less exciting missions, you are visited by a Chuunin, who tells you you are expected in the Kage's office in the evening.
He is sure to tell you that this does not really mean anything, most likely they just want a report clarified, or something. You are not going to literally to be talking to the Hokage, don't worry, kids!

(GM)11/24/2018
Hachi seems to encourage you, apparently knowing what it's about. He advises that this is a big part of your self-presentation as well - and that it's just a part of the ninja life that your assignments are not what they seem to be.
That's why it's even more important to recognize when you're out of your depth, but that's a mission you won't learn before making a mistake, he claims.

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji adjusts his sunglasses.

[Inuzuka Shin]
rubs his hands together. He hope that his report was readable enought for the Hokage. He never was good at writing stuff

[Sakurai Eiha]
Meanwhile, the foreigner's own concern was more situated on hoping differences in protocols between the methods of the two villages wouldn't complicate things too much. As for her own report, it focused on a description of the creature: How it looked, behaved, and what it used in battle.

(GM)11/24/2018
...
Worryingly, they do indeed leed you through the buildings to the highest office itself. Next time, you are expected to find your way yourself.
Instead of Tobirama Senju, however, there sits a tall man with long black hair, a pale face, and some mascara. He is wearing a hat similar to the Hokage's, but different, denoting him probably as his stand-in.(edited)
As you enter the room, he stands up slowly. "Team two, under Hachi Ishikawa?"
The shinobi who lead you here are standing at ready all military-like, so you are probably supposed to do the same.

[Aburame Shinji]
It takes Shinji a second, but he straightens out and firmly exclaims affirmations, sweat on his brow.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"um.... Inuzuka Shin reporting." Shin swallowed "Along with my companion Kohaku.... sir"

[Sakurai Eiha]
Being of a quiet and laid back disposition, it doesn't take much for Eiha to shift her posture into a more desirable one, the shift being almost unnoticeable.

(GM)11/24/2018
He nods, sitting back down. "Very well. I am Orochimaru of the Sannin, standing in for the Hokage today."
"I am interested in an assignment you had a few days ago - there are things I would like to confirm."
"Firstly, the Leaf has absolutely no records of rodent or rat domain of summoning. But what you describe certainly sounds like Kuchiyose."

[Sakurai Eiha]
Her laid back demeanor was short-lived under this new turn of event, however, and beyond the obvious regulatory stiffening, her gray eyes in particular narrowed ever so slightly, irises shrinking just the same as she took a closer look. Her short time in the village of the Leaf had given her the impression that the locals were, to a certain degree, soft in their methods and actions. The shinobi standing before here at this time, did not. He was cut of a different cloth, so to speak, and this both caught her immediate attention and intrigued her. If anything, the aura he gave  was more reminiscent of those of the so-called demons from among her own village. How very intriguing indeed!

(GM)11/24/2018
"Following on that, a summon of greater order can become larger, or more poisonous, or smarter. Though they can use weapons, they generally do not become humanoid, with the exception of monkeys."
"With that in mind, are you certain you saw what you describe, on your very first mission ever?" he looks at you intently.

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Positive." The answer came with no hesitation and no wavering.

[Inuzuka Shin]
Shin swallowed as he saw how Eiha responded "Yes Sir" He echoed

[Sakurai Eiha]
At the same time, though, Eiha's body stiffened a little further. Her subconscious and instinct want to make her hand drift towards her pommel in readiness, but her conscious level knew this would be in very bad taste and would look like aggression; a very bad diplomatic faux pas, so she forced herself to remain still.

(GM)11/24/2018
"It is not impossible. After all, the are people in Mist who are close to sharks genetically. It is odd for it to be within a domain of summoning, and one we have no knowledge of." he explains.
"Moving on: Secondly, the tag you describe bears similarity to a different tag, but is not quite the same."
"An Elemental Devour tag is used to catch Jutsus, powerful manifestations of an Element. You describe a self-sustaining one in the report."
He sighs. "If you ever see one like that, please do not destroy it. It could hold valuable information on the technique used for it."
"That is all." he straightens up his papers. "However, if there is anything in your reports that you did not get to say, perhaps for need of having to speak too bluntly, just go ahead and say it."

[Sakurai Eiha]
The foreigner perked up ever so slightly, wondering if there was anything she might have forgotten. Despite her situation, she had been particularly thorough in her report, or at least as much as she could at her young age and lack of experience in bureaucratic shenanigans, so she did not see anything at the time.

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji remains still and silent.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"I..." Shin mentally looked though his mind. "I... don't think.... I mean..." He took a deep breath "I don't have anything further to report sir!"
Kohaku looked at his master.

(GM)11/24/2018
Orochimaru sighs even more deeply than before.
"I see. Then what you wrote is what you know. Thank you for your time." he nods.
"Dismissed."

[Inuzuka Shin]
Shin nodded and bowed slightly. "Come on Kohaku" He whispered to his dog. He moved to exit the Hokage's room.
He was expecting to spend his first missions on painting fences and chasing cats.
But it was clear even to him that their team had stumbled onto something big
and he felt that they hadn't seen the last of this

[Sakurai Eiha]
Eiha gave one last scrutinizing look before excusing herself from the room, it seemed like lightning did strike twice in these parts, so to speak. Ho very curious. "He seemed disappointed too." She noted after exiting, although they had done all they could given the circumstances. As for herself, after the passing rites of the Bloody Mist, her expectations for missions were far different from the houndmaster's...
"Moreoever..." She began, but fell silent. "Nevermind, actually." Not the place or time.

(GM)11/24/2018
It would take a few months for you to stumble over something as big again.
One could say, fortunately.
[You gain 30MP and two downtimes!]
...
[You also gain 1 Nindo!]







December 1, 2018
(GM)12/01/2018
__
Your days from then on progressed a little lazily. With there not being much serious work, Hachi has been training Shin in Martial Arts for a few weeks now, more or less uncertain what to do abut the two of you, and leaving you to your own devices, kind of like the PE teacher that doesn't know what to do with the nerds. He came up with a few acrobacy courses for Eiha, but that's about it.
At the end of a week, after he releases the tired man and his hound from his lessons, though, he turns to you two.
He coughs. "So, I’ve been working on something."
"The tutor I have wanted for Shinji isn't available, but maybe you'll find something fun to do over there, too."
"Meaning, I’ve got a tutor for you, Eiha. It took a lot of convincing!" He folds his arms, puffig up with pride.
"She wants to meet you at the Konoha Arcade. Do you know where that is?"

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji adjusts his sunglasses.

(GM)12/01/2018
The Konoha Arcade is a rather large house near the western walls, mostly attracting tourists.
It is, in simple terms, a house of games. They have those fancy electronic games as well. Though electricity is seen as difficult to use in warfare, due to being easily taken out, it is just fine for entertainment.(edited)
Of course, dutiful students have no time to go to arcades!

[Sakurai Eiha]
The foreigner quirked an eyebrow. The idea of tutors hadn't crossed her mind due to how differently things operate here in comparison to her homeland. "I've heard of it, but never went myself. I don't really have time for that kind of things. I should be able to find it without a problem though."

[Aburame Shinji]
"I know where it is, though I've never been inside."
"And where are you going, sensei?"

(GM)12/01/2018
"I would have to come with you if you didn't know where it was!" he laughs nervously.

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Don't be silly. Someone who can't find a big building in a village doesn't have the perception to be a shinobi."

(GM)12/01/2018
"The thing is that if I went there, they would want to fight me, and I don't want to be embarassed in front of my students."
"Who you are looking for is a woman about my age, named Saki Ishikawa."

[Aburame Shinji]
"I was expecting an excuse for you delegating your duties, but I didn't expect it to be so bizarre."

(GM)12/01/2018
Hachi's age is pretty hard to guess.

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Noted."

(GM)12/01/2018
"It's just a silly tabletop game, but those things can get pretty, uh, serious, in a relationship." he looks embarassed further.
"One day you score a chance win and get the couch for it, the next you lose and then apparently you're not treating her seriously or something."
"Well, enough of my marital trouble!"
"She expects to met you at three, that's about in an hour and some."
Hachi relaxes at last, looking around for an out.

[Sakurai Eiha]
The raven-haired kunoichi does her level best to keep a poker face as she processes the rather strange information being flung her way... or at the very least attempts to. This is quite bizarre. Leaf Shinobi are weird. "I'll be there."

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji adjusts his sunglasses again.

(GM)12/01/2018
...
It's a beautiful day outside, and the Konoha Arcade is a house with its windows shut and sealed, except for one on in the second story. It seems it's important to keep it dark inside.
Sounds of loud entertainment pour out through the closed front door, shouts and digital noises among chopped up music.
No one is standing outside, and no one turned up at the appointed time, so chances are that this Saki person is already in.

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji furrows his brows as he stands next to the entrance, looking conflicted about actually going inside.

(GM)12/01/2018
Someone passes by - a familiar person!
It is one of your classmates, Kazuma Huuma, alongside a group of other friends. One of them has a tactical vest, so they're probably a Chuunin.
"Oh, hey!" Kazuma stops, noticing the baggy boy and the shark-woman.(edited)
Kazuma is a young man of very messy hair, wearing mostly white with some red, and a shuriken holster. He also has another, closed holster on him.

[Sakurai Eiha]
The scene only furthers the strangeness conveyed by the earlier story. Perhaps more so than anywhere else in the village, this location looks - and sounds - like something that really does not belong in a Shinobi village and sticks out like quite the sore thumb. It's a wonder how the Leaf was able to win the First War if they're this lackadaisical... Also, she is not a shark, she only has sharp teeth, smh. "Hm?"

(GM)12/01/2018
"You can go ahead guys." he tells his friends, stopping to talk to you.
"I am going to keep it real with you guys, this is a pretty bad place for a date!”
Kazuma has always been a bit of an insensitive idiot, but his heart is in the right place.

[Sakurai Eiha]
"...Good thing that's not what this is, then?"

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji adjusts his sunglasses. "Why would I come to this place with such intentions?"
"Do you play games, Kazuma?"

(GM)12/01/2018
"I play a lot of darts and stones." he nods. "It’s good training."

[Aburame Shinji]
"Just as I suspected."

(GM)12/01/2018
"And those arcade cabinets are really fun, but sensei has told me to cut those out. Since they don't represent reality well, apparently."
"But there is plenty of regular, non-electric game boards in there. Like pinball, if you know what that is. In the back they have a ping pong table and some shogi too, and it's soundproof."
"There’s also a Shuriken range, but they don't let shinobi in. Kills the point if you ask me!"
"You get to see civilians cutting themselves through the glass, so at least that's funny."

[Sakurai Eiha]
Eiha remains quiet at the description, once more donning a poker face. Sooner or later, she will cap out on the oddness and stop wracking her head over it.... Hopefully soon.

[Aburame Shinji]
"We're here to meet someone, not to play."

(GM)12/01/2018
"Not me, I’m guessing." he nods wisely, and humbly.

[Aburame Shinji]
"No. Saki Ishikawa."

(GM)12/01/2018
"Ooooh." he reels back a little. "The queen of stones."
"Well, I do think I can show you to where she is right now!" he gets a devilish expression on his face. "Follow me!"
Kazuma opens the door, slowly at first to not spook you with the music, and enters.

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji somewhat hesitantly follows along.

(GM)12/01/2018
The building is a bit larger on the inside than it looks, with several different segments of it being divided by walls. Fortunately, there is no entrance fee, but some of the games have price tags on them.

[Sakurai Eiha]
The name of Ishikawa had rung a bit of a bell, not because she knew it, but because of its meaning. However, the nickname presented then confirmed those early suspicions, and made it increasingly curious as to what Hachi had planned with them. For the Land of Fire, that was two out of two that seemed to be expert at Earth ninjutsu instead.

(GM)12/01/2018
In one such corner you can see the electric cabinets that Kazuma was talking about. What seems to be all the rage is a game featuring ninjas moving on the screen made of little squares, trying to kill each other in cartoonish, unrealistic, and impractical fashions.
Kazuma, leads the way to the left, where the music is a lot less loud, aiming apparently for a pair of very spread out tables. They are about the size of two pool tables, covered with glass, with a makeshift landscape inside.
Outside of the mountains and hills made of cardboard and wood is a flat surface painted black, on which two sets of stones just lead a fierce battle, trying to push each other out of the game board, or slip past the other side's defense.
The stones on the table where a game is going on right now are green and light blue. The light blue seems to be winning by a mile.
There isn't a great crowd, but Kazuma's friends are here. In fact, the Chuunin is playing, his hands stuck in the pair of holes, difficult to see in the darkness of the room. He has to be controlling the stones in some fashion.
Opposed to him, controlling the blue, is a woman with a pair of needles through bun, wearing a shinobi cloak, perhaps to conceal the movements of her hands, like a cards player may wear sunglasses.
She notices your arrival, rising her eyes only for a moment, before looking back on the game. It seems to take a lot of her focus.

[Sakurai Eiha]
Eiha glances between the table and the players. Stones. Perhaps that nickname was a referrence to the 'game' rather than to what she does. Still, it's probably best to wait and see, especially given that apparent need for concentration.

(GM)12/01/2018
A few stones are knocked off the board on the chuunin's side, as the blue stones assemble into an arrowhead, and send his formation flying.
It's a bit difficult to obseve them properly during game, but now that they are still, you can see the kanji for 'wind' engraved on each of them.
"It's harder than it looks." Kazuma assures you.

[Sakurai Eiha]
"I can imagine, though I hope that wasn't what he had in mind."

(GM)12/01/2018
With an overwhelming advantage at this point, Saki assembles her azure pieces into a line, and sweeps the board clean of green. The stones stop exactly before the edge, and she then slowly and carefully returns them to her side through the terrain.
The Chuunin rises his hands in frustration. "Aaah! Again! How does she keep doing this!"
"Is this the power of custom pieces!?" One of Kazuma's friends hazards, while they try to decide who's next. Saki, though, steps off the table, pocketing a small pouch which has to hold her stones.
It does not escape your attention that the Chuunin returns his stone to the side of the table instead, which could mean they are local ones.
"I am done for a while." the local ace player says, stepping toward you. Kazuma takes this opportunity to retrieve some stones from the side of the table and take her place, and another of his friends takes the Chuunin's former side.
Saki scans you head to toe. "So, you are Hachi's students, yes?"

[Sakurai Eiha]
With little better to do than observe, Eiha did just that. She had brushed up her observation skills in the past weeks, but even so the concept of the game was still so alien to her that she had a hard time nonetheless. All she could garner was that the pieces were apparently being moved through chakra, which made the game much less of a waste of time than others around. Yanked out of her contemplation, she perked up at the inquiry. "That's right, yeah."

(GM)12/01/2018
"Alright. I am pretty good at Water Release, so that is what I can tutor you."
She has a faint, polite smile, and honestly does not betray much emotion whether through the game, or speaking to you.
"Let’s go to the other table. It's a little broken, so we use it less, but it's good enough for our purposes."
Saki retrieves a few stones from the side of that table, and drops them down another hard-to-see hole, on the game board. The stones are each a different color, representing different elements.
To be sure, there are five stones. None of them are light blue, though.

(GM)12/01/2018
To be sure, there are five stones. None of them are light blue, though.

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Hm, People around here are a lot more versatile than I'd have thought." The foreigner noted. Out of the two Shinobi she'd seen use or discuss elemental ninjutsu here so far, two out of two were knowledgeable about a type of Release that was not of their home land. Was this a pattern? She would need to look into it more.(edited)

[Aburame Shinji]
"What do you intend to do?"

(GM)12/01/2018
"It's just so we don't get ahead of ourselves." she clarifies. "Normally we have this litmus paper test we use to determine one’s elemental alignment, but I'd imagine you already went through that if you are looking for a tutor."(edited)
"But you'll have to prove it to me, before I make an investment, is all."
"If you are aligned to water enough to be worth teaching, you should be able to move the dark blue one over there. Just a little bit."

[Sakurai Eiha]
Another eyebrow was quirked at the mention of the paper test, which did not ring a bell at this point in time, but she preferred not to mention it, given the so-called 'tutor' seemed to be practically looking for excuses to dismiss them at this point. "Fair enough." Eiha let out tersely, doing her best to keep a calm and even tone to hide the mild irritation she was feeling at the set-up, before moving over.

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji quietly observes.

(GM)12/01/2018
The holes are filled, surprisingly, with leather. There is a leather surface to lay your hands on.
"You don't need much finesse at this point." Saki tells Eiha. "It's a lot like the Water Walking Jutsu."(edited)
"Just pour a bit in, see what happens."

[Sakurai Eiha]
Before anything else, Eiha removed her own gauntlets, figuring that they just might get in the way and wondering if the leather would act as resistance or amplifier. There was little point in making it harder than it needed to be, especially in the circumstances. It sounded simple enough in theory, but she didn't say that out loud because the last thing she wanted was to sound cocky then flub, so she just nodded.

(GM)12/01/2018
To your eyes, it sems like all the stones on the board fidget a little.
The blue one, though, springs up, and clinks against the glass. The tutor-to-be sighs.
"Good enough. What’s your name?"

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Eiha."

(GM)12/01/2018
"Alright, Eiha. I’m going to give you a gift in a minute." she looks away from you, oddly. "You can play or something, before I get back from the counter."
A bit asocially, the woman just immediatelly strides to a section of the room where things are apparently being sold.

[Sakurai Eiha]
Immediately, the sigh registered as further hint of what she had suspected; the so-called tutor was annoyed that she -hadn't- flubbed, and would probably be difficult to work with as a result due to not actually -wanting- to do this. She refrained from sighing herself, and decided to focus on the blue piece, trying to use the time she had to try to make it move in a more precise manner, rather than bouncing about.

(GM)12/01/2018
"H-hey!" the Chuunin notices what's going on, and then sighs. "Guess I’ll clean up after her."
He puts his hands through the other side, moving all the stones toward him. Apparently you don't need to be aligned specifically to move any of them, but alignment makes a huge difference in ability.
"She isn't normally THAT bad. Don't know what got into her this time." he tells you apologetically, as he returns the stones.(edited)

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Guess the timing was just bad, then."

(GM)12/01/2018
"You going to play?" he asks. "That table is bad, but at your level, it shouldn't matter."
"...Though if you do, I'd recommend a different color than blue."

[Sakurai Eiha]
"...How come? It's the one I have an affinity with."

(GM)12/01/2018
"Yeah." he nods. "The response is too strong. You can’t keep it down yet."
"But you can still have fun with the game trying to brute force Earth or something."
"If you pick Water now, they're going to be flying all over the place!"

[Sakurai Eiha]
"That's worse than them not moving around at all? The others just barely fidgetted, didn't even lift." As she discusses, she continues trying to practice moving the stone, giving the single piece most of her focus. Learning through action is one of her strong suit, and she fully intended to take full advantage of the few minutes she had. "What are the rules anyway?"

(GM)12/01/2018
"You score a point if your opponent’s rock drops down on their side."
"There is a variant where you score a point if your rock drops down on opponent's side as well, but they don't have that sort of a board here."
"Those are more labyrinthe, you see. So that you don't ruin your formation using up your own stones."
"There is usually a time limit in serious matches, three minutes is the usual. Here, though, there isn't a timer, so we play more of a brawl - like what Ishikawa just did to me."

[Sakurai Eiha]
"So basically, the goal is to get their stones to crash on their side?"

(GM)12/01/2018
"Yeah." he nods "More advanced rules are only for people who are any good at it."

[Sakurai Eiha]
"In that case, opposed chakra forces will be pretty important.. which means I'm kind of screwed no matter which color I pick."

(GM)12/01/2018
"How about you, uh..." he turns to Shinji. "You must be Aburame, right?"

[Aburame Shinji]
"I'm not interested."

(GM)12/01/2018
"I see." he deflates.

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Really now? Even I can tell this is a decent exercise."

[Aburame Shinji]
"It's just a game."

[Sakurai Eiha]
"A game that forces you to fine-tune your chakra control."

[Aburame Shinji]
"If that's what you want to do, then practice properly."

[Sakurai Eiha]
Eiha merely gave a shrug. She had said her piece, she had no incentive to try to convince the boy otherwise. "Suit yourself then."

(GM)12/01/2018
...
A while later, Saki comes back, holding a pouch. She makes for Eiha.
"Here you go." she hands the pouch over.
"Traditional walls to practice water element control are spinning water in a container, or holding items on water surface." she explains.
"For starters, put those tokens on spread leather and try to move them. That is the complete basics."
"Then, get yourself a clay bowl. Wooden bowl is fine too, though I thought clay was better because it’s closer to water."

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Makes sense to me."

(GM)12/01/2018
"When you can keep five of these stones floating on the water surface, show Hachi."
Unsurprisingly, the pouch has ten water tokens for the game in it.
"...Then you'll be ready to learn proper jutsus, more or less."
"I know plenty, since I am bored often." her smile, for the first time, shows a hint of nervousness.
"Even some native to Mist, like channeling water through your sword. But first, you need to learn this."
She seems to try to observe your reaction.

[Sakurai Eiha]
"I could tell as much." Eiha notes bluntly on the comment about boredom, but she seems to have gotten over it by now and doesn't appear offended by it. "Actually, I was thinking of that myself, but yeah, gotta get the basics down first. I never had much time to train elemental release before because I was focusing too much on other fields, especially kenjutsu." She explained, giving the most talk she had so far. "Well, I suppose I shouldn't bore you any further then, I'll go get started." She raises the pouch in emphasis and makes to head back out.

(GM)12/01/2018
Saki nods, perhaps with relief. "See you soon then, I hope. Hachi will tell you where to find me."

[Sakurai Eiha]
" 'Till then." The foreigner concludes before heading out, quite aware that baby-stepping through the basics would probably be an absolute bore to the tutor, especially if results weren't fast enough. Moreover, she doesn't really want to be publicly humiliated by -failing- to provide quick results, so really, practicing on her own in a recluse corner is the best option.

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji follows along.

(GM)12/01/2018
Outside, it is finally mostly quiet, with the more natural sounds of the street resounding here.
You've noticed Kazuma waving at you as you left, probably too busy with his game to say a proper goodbye.
This didn't take that long, apparently. A whole afternoon is yet in front of you.
Just as you are about to leave, possibly going your separate ways, the door behind you open again, blaring some more loud music.
Someone you have not seen or noticed inside steps out, and beelines toward you.
"Hey - I mean, excuse me." they correct themselves to be less rude. "Are you two Shinobi?"
The voice belongs to an older woman who seems a bit out of place in an arcade, and that's what they are. At least with Saki, she is dressed a  bit fancily, but this person seems like a housewife.

[Sakurai Eiha]
"What's it to you?" Eiha inquires a bit sternly as she turns around, only to be somewhat surprised by the appearance of the person.

(GM)12/01/2018
"Well, if you’re young and don't have those vests, does that make you ge-nin?" she elongates the last word.
"I have a bit of an issue, you see, it's not a big issue, but I've been looking for some of those brave gehnin to take it upon themselves."
"Normally I have to submit a formal request, but it's a bit awkard in my situation..."

[Aburame Shinji]
"Tell us about it. We'll see what can be done."

(GM)12/01/2018
Her voice quiets down. "On the other hand, the payment wouldn't be taxed, so..."

[Aburame Shinji]
"Uh..."

(GM)12/01/2018
"Well, you see, me and my husband run a ramen shop, and there is a drunk girl in there threatening customers."
"She’s young like you, but has those stick things on her arms, and hits people with them."

[Aburame Shinji]
"Stick things...?"

(GM)12/01/2018
"Got to be a Shinobi. Maybe you could convince her to leave?"

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Well, well..."

(GM)12/01/2018
She gestures to show something running along the forearm. She may be thinking of tonfa.

[Aburame Shinji]
Shiniji adjusts his sunglasses, pondering it for a little bit. "...We'll talk to her. Take us to your ramen shop."

(GM)12/01/2018
The woman hurries along the road, hopping surprisingly fast in her woode sandals. "It's not far!" she insists.
As you may have suspected, the shop which she is talking about, despite being half covered with fabric to keep it shady inside, can be easily found by the shouting done in yet another voice familiar to Shinji.
"STUPID IDIOT!" Kobe Yuu, the taijutsu-nin shouts toward the street. "STUPID VIDEOGAMES!"
"Why did I even bother!?" she waves the tonfa on a person passing by. "HEY YOU, FATTY! What’s in it for me, I ask!?"

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Small world, I suppose." Eiha notes with a faint, slightly crooked smirk. Aren't they supposed to be too young to be allowed to drink anyway?

(GM)12/01/2018
She has to be very drunk, at about two in the afternoon.
Yuu is, indeed, not of drinking age.

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji takes a moment to sigh before approaching the ramen shop.

(GM)12/01/2018
Despite the fabric in the way, waving in the wind, possibly also waving due tothe tonfa being wildly swung through it, she notices you, and approaches the stand.
"The hell! That you, Aburame? I'm no that drunk yet!"
The exclamation marks do not cease.

[Aburame Shinji]
"What are you doing?"

[Sakurai Eiha]
The raven-haired Kunoichi from the mist walks closer, wiping her smirk and getting a stern expression as the full extend of her malevolent aura surrounds her. "You are, actually."

(GM)12/01/2018
"Eeeh?" she looks around herself, possibly suddenly unsure, before deciding: "I’m venting!"
You can barely see the shop-owner's bald showing from under the counter.
"That stupid retarded idiot Kazuma was supposed to meet me today but then he was busy!" she gets to the meat of things.
"But I just saw him with a bunch of other retards go TO THE ARCADE!?"
"Isn’t he supposed to be a FUCKING NINJA!?" she swears again. "IS THAT HIS FUCKING NINDO!?"

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Should be."

[Aburame Shinji]
"Let's go report their sensei's behavior."

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Is that really necessary?"
"I don't really feel like we have much of a reason to snitch on her, especially since she was talking about a 'potion' and didn't seem to realize what it was un--." Click. "Oh, you mean reporting the one who -gave- her the Alcohol, got it."

[Aburame Shinji]
"Indeed. I wonder if there is even a single decent teacher assigned to our year."

[Sakurai Eiha]
"You sure are a harsh critic eh?"

[Aburame Shinji]
"I wouldn't say so. Which is why it's all the more concerning."
"It's all the more shameful because it's in front of a foreigner."

[Sakurai Eiha]
"I have more important things to do than gossip about little things like this, honestly."

[Aburame Shinji]
"Like what?"

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Like training." She states matter-of-factly, as if that were the most obvious answer in the world.

[Aburame Shinji]
"Oh. That's what you meant."

[Sakurai Eiha]
The kunoichi leans back slightly and stretches her arms a bit. "Even if it was a day off, I just don't really feel like yapping off about people's embarrassing moments. Kind of a pointlessly dick thing to do."

[Aburame Shinji]
"In any case, let's go file that report. I doubt it'll take long."

(GM)12/01/2018
...
In the office, the kindly gentleman handling the report with you explains that this is a bit of a first for Enjou-sensei. Being a master of drunken-style Taijutsu, he has endless records of disturbing night peace and public embarassment, but as far as the officer knows, this is the first time he'd gotten a student of this drunk.
While you cannot expect him to be actually punished, he will probably hear of this one.
...
[You both gain 1 Resource, and find how high taxes in Konoha are!]
December 8, 2018







(GM) Last Saturday at 6:23 PM
...
A week of not much happening later, leaving Eiha to play with her stones, you gain a heads-up that you'd be getting a B-Ranked mission tomorrow, but Hachi was not yet competely clear on the details. You didn't have to go anywhere, but you were to prepare to travel far: To the Wind Country. That was all you were told ahead of time.
Since even ninjas take a while to arrive to the border, this meant that, for once, you actually had to make preparations. Hachi dismissed you early in the afternoon again, giving you plentiful time to get any resources you might possibly not have in your homes.
You were told to wait for him and 'the others' at the Western Gate, seven in the morning. He'd been pretty silent about the details, but said that "Even if it's B-rank, it might not be such a big deal."(edited)
...
In the morning, you are not the only ones at the gate. There is the white-haired classmate of yours, Kamiko, as well as the weird Uchiha kid, Jin.
"We're waiting for our own sensei..." Jin mumbled.
"It's ridiculous!" The white-haired girl complained. "They can't get away with giving us that little intel all the time!"
They, as well, seem to have packed for travel. It's likely that they are the 'others'.

[Sakurai Eiha]
The raven-haired Kunoichi quirked an eyebrow at the sight of what appeared to be a rival team, seemingly set on the same assignment for reasons unknown. This was strange to her, as it was 'merely' a B-rank mission which should be not too difficult to complete even with a single team. Clearly, there was more afoot than met the eyes, and the secrecy surrounding it all confirmed that theory. "Maybe it's one of -those- missions where the more you know, the more chances for something to leak."

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Perhaps." Shin commented "Or this could be a mission that is just so horrible that they can't speak about it!" The boy waved his arms about "Like having to lace an entire city's water supply with laxatives and block off all the toilets!"

(GM) Last Saturday at 6:37 PM
"Hmm." Jin mutters again unamusedly, studying the road's dirt. "Mumei is being really careful, too."
At the end of the street, upon the appointed time, the pair of the teachers appear: the other sensei being Fuuka Kagamine, the tall black-haired woman with an exotic, basketed sword.(edited)
Hachi greets you with a smile, as if this mission is a holiday for him. He seems uncharacteristically excited.

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji stands around under a shadow, hands in pockets.

(GM) Last Saturday at 6:41 PM
"Let's depart right away. We'll brief you in the treetops!" he urges you forward. The other teacher, meanwhile, looks arround in annoyance.
She makes some sort of a gesture behind herself, as if telling someone behind the pair to hurry up. Still, she does not break her stride.

[Inuzuka Shin]
Shin knelt down and patted Kohaku. "Lets go buddy! Field trip until mission!" He stood up and jumped into the trees. The dog sneezed and followed the boy

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Even if that somehow were a thing, I doubt they would need Shinobi for something like that." Eiha noted at the Houndmaster's comment with a slightly repulsed expression at the thought. The contradictory appearances of the Jonins meanwhile isn't particularly helpful, so she shrugs off trying to divine the purpose of this mission for the time being. Though she does make a mental note that she better be right; she quite hates being left in the dark without a good reason, so hopefully good reason there is.

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji furrows his brows as he begins to walk, briefly glancing elsewhere before setting his eyes up towards the trees and jumping onto a branch.

(GM)Last Saturday at 6:45 PM
...
"So, as you might know if you know a little about politics," Hachi starts explaining, amidst the trees, "We are not on very good terms with Wind Country."
"In fact, we'd be at war with them, because of them being allied with someone we are basically at war with. That's mostly fine, though, because Wind Country is not exactly where we are going."
"We have the fortune of not having an open front with the Wind Country, because the Rain and River countries create a neutral buffer. If you go into their countries, you can run into Sand Shinobi, and there isn't exactly a treaty preventing you from fighting."
"But there is a treaty preventing us from claiming territory in those countries, and if we rumbled too much, we could end up getting chased by their law enforcement. Still, there are some Fire Country Citizens and some Wind Country Citizens in there."
The other Jounin takes over, with her own bit. "Yesterday, during the day, the river that creates a natural border between River Country and Fire Country spilled from its banks."
"That's nothing too strange, usually, because it rains a whole lot upstream."
"But now is the dry season. It's unnatural the way that it is."
"Regardless, Shinobi do not just exist to kill!" this seems to be important to her, for some reason. "We are going there to help the population facing floods evacuate."
"There are already some Chuunin of ours working in there, and water walking jutsu helps a lot with these sorts of things. But those few have their hands full, so we are coming in as reinforcement."
Hachi takes over again, after waiting for a bit for her to finish talking. "The river is spilling way too much, though. It's flooding crops it usually doesn't reach, on the opposite side of the river. That's what the chuunin reported."
"These crops are usually used by the Wind. It makes us look like terrorists."
"I mean, the Wind buys those crops."

[Sakurai Eiha]
The foreigner remained quiet throughout the explanations, canning down some comments about the political climate and season, but she was not fully satisfied with this mission. The only logical reason for a lack of information like this to be provided was if the mission was so secret that its participant needed to 'act normal' until the very last moment, and none of this seemed like it justified the cloak and daggers. It was abundantly evident to her that there was more to it; most likely finding out what is behind the sudden rise in water level in the first place and putting a end of it; most likely hostile shinobis of some sort itself, but what then? It still lacked something...

(GM)Last Saturday at 6:58 PM
It seems these two teachers hardly have good chemistry, but at lest they have some respect for each other.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Yea." Shin muttered as he absorbed that information "This totally is just going to be a rescue mission." He turned his head to the others "Do you guys wanna bet that we won't run into the guys that have set this up?"

(GM) Last Saturday at 6:59 PM
"We are trying to run into them." Hachi confirms. "That's why we are sending two teams!"
"While one helps with the evacuations, the other needs to investigate the source."
"Depending on what turns up, it could end up the two of us dealing with it, and leaving you genin to help the people. That is B-Rank."
"But I could end up being needed in the rescue operationgs, since Earth is useful for it. Depending on how bad things are..."
"We'll see." he shrugs.
"How do you guys feel about it? What would you rather do?" he asks. "We do not need to split the teams the usual way, either."

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji adjusts his sunglasses. "I have a question."

(GM) Last Saturday at 7:03 PM
"Go on, Shinji." Hachi nods, amid the leaps.

[Aburame Shinji]
"How would you go about artificially overfilling a river?"

[Sakurai Eiha]
Eiha couldn't help but to give an unamused look for a split second. The mission ranking system in the Leaf was an anathema to her due to cultural differences. As with many other things, the difference was so startling. The Leaf cajoled its Genin by sending them on harmless or near harmless missions for quite some time, as if an over-protective parent trying so badly to keep its chicks out of harm's way for as long as possible. For such a system to exist in the Mist, where Genins were quite literally forced to kill one another - fellow Shinobis - to graduate would have been an utter nonsense...

(GM) Last Saturday at 7:04 PM
"I can think of several ways." the  question is answered by Kagamine-sensei, instead.
"Jutsus can create water, but that volume would require something definitely at least on Jounin level. Certain summoned creatures, especially water ones, could help with their own techniques for water production."
"This is sweetwater, though! Which would limit our suspects a lot."
"Toads can produce oil, but they may be able to produce water. You would need to ask a Sennin, and there aren't a lot of those."
"Clams can probably produce water."
"Another way," she thinks, "Would be bringing water from elsewhere, and sealing it in a very advanced scroll."
"And finally, there is water underground, though they didn't teach you at the academy."
"You know Country of Springs? If you could create hotsprings with your Jutsu, you could probably overflow a river... forever."

[Inuzuka Shin]
"That's a lot of ways" Shin said

(GM) Last Saturday at 7:09 PM
Fuuka seems like a pretty unexpectedly knowledgeable person.

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Summonings huh.." Eiha mutters to herself, this time growing genuinely interested. They did encounter something like that in one of her earlier missions, but this sounded like something on a way different level. "For this kind of volume of water to be transported in scrolls, you would need an outrageous amount of scrolls, or someone with a rare ability to make extremely high capacity scrolls, I'm pretty sure."

[Aburame Shinji]
"I would be surprised if they really were filling it manually and were still not caught."

[Sakurai Eiha]
"We are talking Jounin level techniques," Hachi follows up a bit, "but people that good also tend to act through remotes."
"They can have someone less competent read the scroll, or leave the summons or clones around to continue the work."

[Aburame Shinji]
"Would ninjutsu even truly be necessary to achieve this?"

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Technically, no. I'm not familiar with the layout of this land, but you -could- dam up a river to redirect its flow into this one, or something like that."

(GM) Last Saturday at 7:11 PM
Fuuka responds eagerly. "Ancient technology might be able to do it, too. If someone dug up a machine we haven't seen before, from the old times."
"But that's guesswork!"
"It's a pretty big river. You would need a lot of dam. Which, again, can be done with Ninjutsu."

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Its about controlling the affluents, not the river itself."

[Inuzuka Shin]
"A lot of guesswork and no real answers" Shin said

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Much smaller rivers converge to make big rivers."

(GM) Last Saturday at 7:14 PM
"That's why we need to investigate." Hachi takes the point again. "Ask the locals, go upstream to see where it appeared first. Water only flows down, so there should be a starting point. Or we'd find that dam of yours."
Kagamine tries to rerail the conversation. "So, how do you feel about it? Someone does still need to help the civilians."
"I'll do better helping people." Kamiko speaks up suddenly, while Jin catches up with her.
"I'll do better investigating." he says.

[Aburame Shinji]
"I'll investigate."

[Inuzuka Shin]
Shin looked to his dog. They held the gaze for a moment before looking back "I'll investigate"

[Sakurai Eiha]
Eiha remains quiet for a moment. On one hand, someone like her, despite her efforts at picking up social skills, might not be the best pick to help panicking commoner given the presence she carries herself with, so she doesn't quite speak up, but at the same time, saying one wants -not- to do that would sound quite heartless... So for the time being she merely waits to see where the chips fall. Unsurprisingly, they fall with almost everyone rushing to investigate. Should have known.

(GM) Last Saturday at 7:20 PM
"Then we can switch jobs depending on how much time it takes." Hachi says cheerfully.
"We'll go south, then." the other sensei concludes. "You go north. Jin, you can go with them."
"I'll make sure Mumei understands what's been decided for her." she adds.
"Hmm." Hachi considers. "You can do a lot with four genin, so I'll split with you on the river, and leave a clone to get back into contact with me."
"In case you do run into something you can't handle. You guys seem excited to be given responsibility, so we'll se what we can do." he offers.
"Before we arrive, though, what is your plan? I'll give you a map of the area, but it's, well, kind of obsolete now."

Antar yLast Saturday at 7:26 PM
"How much time do we have?"

(GM) Last Saturday at 7:27 PM
"There's nothing we can do about the disaster anymore, probably." he responds. "Unless you find out it is somehow getting worse."(edited)
"The people on the south, though," he turns to Kamiko, "are on a bit more of a time limit, since whoever is stuck on their roof in the middle of the river, has been there for a good day by the time you arrive."

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Well, for the investigation. We best just get to the river and work our way up"

(GM) Last Saturday at 7:29 PM
The scion of the Kame clan looks a little horrified by that stament, in spite of her brashness.
"That's what I'd do." Hachi says, "But I am also not really good at that sort of a thing at all."

[Aburame Shinji]
"I think we should speak with the locals. See if they've noticed anything strange before the floods began."
"If we don't get any clues from that, we might really have to scope out the river manually."

[Inuzuka Shin]
"So the rescue and the intestigation teams have the same objective at the start? Rescue the locals?"

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Sounds like it."

[Aburame Shinji]
"Which settlement is closest to the river?"

(GM) Last Saturday at 7:37 PM
"There are a few villages." Kagamine seems the more specifically knowledgeable one, while Hachi has a holistic grasp on the general gist of things. "Naturally, both the capital cities are far and away from the river."
"Tani, the capital of River country, is built specifically high enough so that it won't get flooded by either river, the one on the west and the one on the east."
"You might be able to make a small trek to Tani from the river, it takes a few hours for Shinobi - but if you do, you might want to remove your protectors."

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Oh no!" Shin moaned in mock horror "How will they protect us then?" The boy did remove his forhead protector, he even hug back to take one that was hanging off his dogs neck(edited)

(GM) Last Saturday at 7:42 PM
"The villages are on the map." Hachi finally takes it out.
"In case you were actually asking how long we think the mission will TAKE, Shinji, we expect a few days of going back and forth on the river. That's why you're packing travel supplies, even though we'll be there today."

[Sakurai Eiha]
Eiha merely adjusts her scarf like she's done last time. She's not Leaf, so she doesn't really suffer from the whole misrep situation, but eeeh might as well.

(GM) Last Saturday at 7:44 PM
"Again, we don't have a map of how the flooding looks. You'll have to find out about that on your own."
...
As Hachi said, so he does. He leaves a clone on the Wind-Side of the river, once he spots a few rooftops peeking out of the river's bank. Should you return here, the clone will be here, or not far.
The closest village which should, hopefully, NOT be fooded, is a bit to the North of here. A trip to Tani City would be available through the road in there, or directly through the forest.
Fortunately, there aren't a lot of low-elevation villages according to the map, so whoever was here is either dead, or escaped. Perhaps the ruse was set up in these parts to look more natural.
The village itself greets you with a lot of smoke. Considering how your first mission went, this is a bit scary, but Kohaku can smell meat, and Jin informs you it's definitely campfires.
Simply put, a whole lot of temporary refugees are camping here, making the few dozen heads strong village about two hundred strong, until the river calms.
"Are we going in as Ninja, or not?" Jin asks.
"We have every reason to be here, but they made it look like the mission is secret..."
"But Wind Shinobi shouldn't be here, right? It's too far away."

[Aburame Shinji]
"Let them know. It'll save us trouble."

[Inuzuka Shin]
"I'm not the best at talking to people, I guess if we say we are ninjas we don't have to come up a cover story."

(GM) Last Saturday at 8:05 PM
Kohaku shakes the water off him, in a splendid show of the Man Beast Aspect.
"...Did you really never learn the Water Walking Jutsu?" Jin asks, still a bit unconvinced, as you approach the road.
"Even Mumei can run on water, and she-"
"...anyway. Here we go."

[Aburame Shinji]
"You don't need ninjutsu to cross a river."

(GM) Last Saturday at 8:09 PM
The forehead protectors do not go unnoticed, but then again, you are mostly kids.
A manlier man than Jin would have probaly said that it helps for crossing it fast, but he lets the topic go. The kids of policemen tend to be a bit stunted like that.

[Sakurai Eiha]
Eiha remains speechless at the lack of chakra control displayed by her peers. From where she comes, this kind of things is one of the most basic things one learns at the Academy, so she has no choice but to conclude that it must just not be a priority in the Land of Fire. Incidentally, her protector is still obfuscated by her mask. "I can do it."

(GM) Last Saturday at 8:11 PM
"Obviously." he says. "I suppose learning their clan techniques took everything out of them, while the two of us are generalists."(edited)
"I'd also be training, but my Sharingan has yet to even awaken..."
He seems to be a bit insecure about that.
"Hoi! Shinobi are here!" someone shouts in the distance. The word carries fast.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Oh yea. That eye thing is really important for you"

(GM) Last Saturday at 8:14 PM
You've passed about twenty tents now, and finally see the first real building. It seems crowded. Everyone is related between the nearby villages, after all, so some of the refugees get premium spots with their families.
People seem to be gossiping, and watching the river flow.
In front of the largest building sit several fat man around a table, in notable prettier clothes than the rest of the peasants. Seeing you, they hail you.
"About time somebody came to take a look!" the fattest one says, not minding that you are foreigners. "This is magic, magic I tell you!"
There are a few chairs left around the table, which must have been brought from the inside, or somone else's shack. It does not seem as pretty as the men are dressed.
"I'm the local kokushi. Do you have the time to talk?" he asks.
This means he is essentially the mayor, but also the direct servant of the daimyo. A powerful man in a small place.

(GM) Last Saturday at 8:21 PM
It is likely that the others are kokushi of the other villages, who no longer have villages to oversee, until things get better.

[Aburame Shinji]
"We're here to investigate the flooding."

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Yea, and help people"

(GM) Last Saturday at 8:23 PM
"We've been complaining about where the Ninja are when things like this happen, but you came fast!" he laughs heartily.
"I've been to Konoha, it's a long trek."

[Aburame Shinji]
"Indeed."

(GM) Last Saturday at 8:25 PM
"Well, a few weird things happened around here, leading up to the flood. I'm not sure if you know about that." he winks.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Ok...." Shin muttered. The way that he winked seemed a bit creepy. Something told him that this dude knew more then he let on. "What sort of... things?"

[Aburame Shinji]
"Tell us everything you think could be pertinent."

(GM) Last Saturday at 8:28 PM
He starts slowly, as he is describing something he might not quite believe himself. "A few boats toppled over. One man, used to be a sailor, came to me and sworn it must have been a whale, that only a whale does this."
"That's been about two weeks ago."
"To get the specifics, you'll have to find the people who were on the ships, I saw a few here."
"Then, the next week, the village under this one has been hit by a small tidal wave. It didn't damage anything, but you could see it looking down on the river bank from here!"
"I saw that. A cow got toppled over. Just, a wave as tall as a house."
"Not as strong as a tsunami, not strong enough to really damage anything."
"About half the people from the village just came here after that, so you might be able to ask them about it, too."
"I heard similar waves happened down the river."
"Oh, and - some people saw something in the river."
One of the other fat men interrupts him. "I saw it!"
"The water bulged up, like it was boiling, bu there was no bubble! Just all water."
"And then there was a big wave, though by te time it got to the shore it dissipated." he describes passionately.
"You could sort of see wild waters in that place, like when a river is low on a lot of stones, but the water was deep."
"The unrest of the water moved away after it bulged, but it did not disappear."
"It looked like a small spot of boiling water that was moving around!"
The fattest man spreads his arms. "Magic, I tell you!"
"Any of that sound familiar?"

[Aburame Shinji]
"In what way?"

(GM) Last Saturday at 8:35 PM
He shrugs. "For all we know, it could be an exotic animal. But that would not cause a flood."
"We sort of hoped you'd recognize it as the work of another shinobi, you see..."
The fact that you apparently did not leaves him in despair.

[Aburame Shinji]
"It's too soon to speculate."
"When did the flooding first begin?"

[Inuzuka Shin]
Shin rubbed his head. It all was so confusing. "We will get to the bottom of this. I promise"

(GM) Last Saturday at 8:37 PM
"The tidal waves were a week ago, and stopped for a while."
"Naturally, people were a bit scared to go on the water after the ships toppled and all those waves came, but their livelihood depended on them going out there."
"Yesterday, in the morning, you could see the water was rising."
"By noon the village down town was already knee deep in water."
"And now, it's like this." he points at the nothing where the village should be.
"It seems to have stopped rising a few hours ago, but who knows? People are prepared to move out of here, too."
"I'd rather not join my exiled kokushi friends!" he laughs nervously.(edited)
Jin seems distracted by something in the narration. "Do you not have law enforcement around here?"
"The toppled ships sound like piracy."
The kokushi nods slowly at the sharp question. "Some Shinobi were here about the ships, but didn't seem to come up with anything back then."
"We didn't call anyone in the government, because, well, it makes us look bad."
This time, the whole table laughs nervously.

[Sakurai Eiha]
"What strikes me the most as sticking out is the time that passed between the tidal waves and the floods. Normally one would follow the other. I don't entirely rule out an unrelated attack like piracy, but I'm not too inclined on believing in coincidences here, you know?"

(GM) Last Saturday at 8:44 PM
"First ships, then tidal waves, then quiet, and now it's rising?" Jin follows up to that, asking to confirm.
"There were a few days without toppled ships, if you could call it that." the fat man answers. "Only four were toppled, two in the same day. Then people were going around cussing for, let's see, three more days, and then the waves hit."(edited)
"This area has about ten large ships going up and down and around, for perspective. Some pass through here, like the ones traveling to Rain Country, but fortunately, none of those have been touched."
"THAT would make us look bad." he finishes.
Notably, you did not see any ships going here, but it's possible they just left because of the local conditions.

[Aburame Shinji]
"Let's ask the sailors."

[Inuzuka Shin]
"A good place to start at least"

(GM) Last Saturday at 8:53 PM
"Mhm." he nods. "They usually bring their livelihoods, so, just look for harpoons and nets among the tents."(edited)
"Hope you can do something about this, kids!" he cheers you on.

[Aburame Shinji]
"We're shinobi."

(GM) Last Saturday at 8:54 PM
"Of course." he says, seriously.

[Inuzuka Shin]
Shin couldn't help but be infected by the cheer "We will get this all sorted out! Then I'll demand that you build a statue in my honour!"

[Sakurai Eiha]
"..."

(GM) Last Saturday at 8:57 PM
Not knowing of the usual ill fate that meets statues of famous shinobi - and how many times the heads of the two kage had to be re-sculpted within the last year only, due to various mischief - you embark in search of nets among the tents.
"Oh," the one obvious sailor, sitting by the campfire with his wife and kids, says. "My ship is fine!"
"But you might want to ask that long-haired guy over there."
"Usually, he has this really fancy haircut." he pats his head to denote the top of the hair being shaved, and the rest of the hair tied into a bun.
"Hasn't been the same since he lost his ship. Now he's sporting a mullet like that."
That is true. The man he pointed out clearly has not shaved in two weeks, either. He is snacking on a tiny fish from a bucket by his feet, sitting half-naked on a rock. In any other context, he'd look like the village mad prophet.(edited)

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji approaches the man. "Excuse me."

(GM) Last Saturday at 9:02 PM
As you approach, it becomes clear through your various senses, that the fish is raw.
"Whazzat!?" he perks up.
"Whachu want!?"
His glare looks half-mad, kids or not.

[Aburame Shinji]
Shinji looks a bit taken aback.

(GM) Last Saturday at 9:04 PM
The man who sent you tries to cheer you on, though the reaction amuses him.
"Betchu came to take me fish."
"Too bad for you."

[Aburame Shinji]
"Uh... No, we're here to investigate the recent floods."

(GM) Last Saturday at 9:06 PM
"Inwhatstat?"
"Investigate? Investigate." he nods to himself.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"errr.... Find out why they happened"

(GM) Last Saturday at 9:07 PM
The man's eyes are not quite bloodshot, as it turns out, as they are an unnatural pink.
The scelera, too.
"They happened because the river is angry!" he shouts.
"I've seen its rage! It was like looking at the sun!"
Jin approaches the man slowly, intrigued by the eyes.
"Hmm." the Uchiha mumbles. "Are your eyes okay?"
"There's a bit of blood on your chin, did your eyes bleed?" he asks a creepy question. "Maybe I'm imagining it."
"They bled for they stared at the abyss!" the mad man responds.

[Aburame Shinji]
"He's eating raw fish, Jin."

[Sakurai Eiha]
Eiha whispers back to the others quietly. "Think it could be the result of a Genjutsu?"

(GM) Last Saturday at 9:12 PM
"Maybe, or..." Jin thinks.

[Aburame Shinji]
"What exactly did you see?"

(GM) Last Saturday at 9:13 PM
"The water moved on its own, urged by the power within it." the fisherman explains, perhaps grateful that someone is willing to listen.

[Sakurai Eiha]
"Given the floods are real, this is likely to be as well." She adds quietly as she follows.

(GM)Last Saturday at 9:14 PM
"It tore up my net and it crushed the side of my ship, water that shined like the sun!"
"When I woke up, the ship was upside down. Lots of dead fish floating around!"
"The men helped me drag it to the beach, and I collected the river's bounty." he gets a bit more calm, sharing his story.
He reaches into the wooden bucket, pulling out one of the fish. "Look at it! This fish was once in the river's grasp!"
Surprisingly, the fish looks mangled. The mad fisherman did not just do that, it was already that way in the bucket.
"It is the way of the river teling me that it does not want me, but does not want me to die." he seems convinced.

[Aburame Shinji]
"What could have caused a fish to look like that?" Shinji asks the others.

(GM)Last Saturday at 9:19 PM
Its bones are broken, even the skull is mis-shapen.
"Force." Jin answers simply, pondering about something else yet.
He then makes a single seal with his hands, leaving them in the position.
The man rises his eyes at him, blinking a few times.
Jin does not smile, instead asking carefully. "Don't be afraid. Is there something strange about me right now?"
The man wants to say something, but his teeth are shaking too badly.

[Sakurai Eiha]
"That sounds like a yes of some sort."

[Aburame Shinji]
"What are you doing?"

(GM)Last Saturday at 9:25 PM
"Am I glowing or shining?" he asks further. The man almost bites his tongue nodding.
Jin releases his seal. "Amazing."

[Inuzuka Shin]
"You saw someone glow or shine?"

(GM)Last Saturday at 9:26 PM
"Me, because I was gathering chakra." Jin nods.
"This is not supposed to happen, but do you have a shinobi in your family? From Konoha, especially. An ancestor."
"I-I'm an orphan." the man asnwers, suddenly fearful. "Don't know who my parents are..."

[Aburame Shinji]
"He can see chakra?"

(GM)Last Saturday at 9:29 PM
"Yes." Jin confirms. "Sir, you seem to possess some kind of a mongrelized jougan. Your eyes are special."
"You could go to Konoha to find out more about it, but I don't recommend that. They might kill you for possessing it."
He then puts a finger on his mouth, a bit anti-socially.

[Aburame Shinji]
"Why would they do that?"

(GM)Last Saturday at 9:31 PM
The man is silent, having mostly no idea what you are talking about.

[Inuzuka Shin]
"So what do we do with him?"

(GM)Last Saturday at 9:32 PM
"The world of Shinobi is scary." Jin replies simply. "If it's the Hyuuga, they'll put a seal on his forehead. If it's the Uchiha, it's a toss-up between giving him a job, and giving him an autopsy."

[Aburame Shinji]
"You're paranoid."
"But in any case, we now know that the floods are a result of... chakra manipulation."

(GM)Last Saturday at 9:33 PM
"He was saying the water was shining like the sun." the Uchiha agrees.
"So the water itself was loaded with a whole lot of chakra."
"Probably more than he had ever seen, or it awakened from the stress. That also happens."
It should be noted that water from water jutsu does not necessarily have chakra in it, only sometimes it does. It would require a lot to control the river, so the answer is still not whole.
"The simplest solution is that a shinobi was around and did that." Jin says, scratching his head.
When he said he'd do better investigating, he probably did not picture this specific situation.

[Aburame Shinji]
"Not at that scale..."

(GM)Last Saturday at 9:37 PM
The man goes back to his fish, apparently incapable of making sense of Jin's words.

[Aburame Shinji]
"I think we've learned all we could here. What next?"

[Inuzuka Shin]
"We could go to the spot were he lost his boat"

[Sakurai Eiha]
"There could be traces, yes."

[Aburame Shinji]
"That's what I was thinking, too..."
"And with some luck, the same thing could happen to us."

(GM)Last Saturday at 9:40 PM
"Hmm?" he rises his head. "You want to see?"
Apparently, he is a bit saner after someone took him seriously.
"I don't have a boat, though..."
You do have one, Hachi rented it for you when he found out you still can't walk on water, which he assumed to be Academy basics.
It's nothing huge, but can carry five people.

[Sakurai Eiha]
"...If we get attacked, I hope you people at least know how to swim, failing walking..."

[Aburame Shinji]
"We do have one."
"Of course we can swim."

[Inuzuka Shin]
"Never too late to learn"

(GM)Last Saturday at 9:44 PM
"It's on the other side of the river." the mullet man rises slowly, putting a blanket on the fish-bucket.
He then pulls out a string, tying his hair into a bun, which makes him look a little more normal. The top of his head still sports short hair, though, while the rest is long.
Leading the man to your boat, you left the village. Maybe there's nothing.
But there could be something.
...