A village hidden in a crisis

Where the Wendigos are:

Another misty day in the village hidden within the mist. Unlike most of misty fog previously, today's was rather ominous as if something wasn't quite right with the weather. Sitting in his office, Kizmaru was hard at work pushing his pen from sheet to sheet, giving his signature or denying arbitrary requests or bills for certain privileges. He couldn't help but shake the feeling something terrible was about to happen. Placing his pen down on the desk, Kizmaru stood up from his large blue couch chair and turned to look outside of the window. He couldn't see the normal sight of his village or anything in particular really. All he could make out was his own reflection in the mirror of his attire. Looking at his reflection, you could tell he was wearing his white and blue Kage robes, his kage hat and a white veil that concealed everything except for his eyes. Underneath his attire was his yellow button down shirt, his navy blue pants and the ninja tabi he wore in case he needed to move swiftly and quietly on the spur of the moment. Placing his hands behind his back, he let out an irritated sigh since his mind was a nervous wreck. What could possibly screw with his nerves like this? 

The level of paranoia was almost strong enough to the point where he felt as if he was in some sort of inescapable stress genjutsu. He was almost tempted to cast the hand sign for the release technique when suddenly a shinobi had appeared seemingly out of thin air. It was a masked Anbu assigned to the elite Hunter-Nin branch of Anbu foundation here in Kiri. Although they reported directly to him, he wouldn't see them unless it was a state of emergency. So if one was currently present in his office, then surely something disastrous has happened, confirming his ominous feeling he had been feeling all day. "Report, what has happened. I imagine it isn't good news if one of your troupe has come here to seek me out," Kizmaru said dully. Of course his tone betrayed his feelings as he was the leader of the village and if he was to recklessly show his concern, it would make the people under his care worry and fear. Although Kizmaru said to report, he already knew the Anbu of this troupe do not speak at all after putting on the mask as it was imperative that they kept their identity hidden for various reasons. 

Instead, Kizmaru released both of his hands from behind his back and turned to face them, a glare revealed in his eyes as he laid them upon the messenger. The messenger was currently bending the knee, head lowered as a sign of respect. Normally, Kizmaru didn't agree with such a gesture as it made him seem pompous but after a certain incident with two of his shinobi going rogue the moment he came into office and had to deal with them, he was made to set an example, regardless of the intention or rank. After all, these were the remnants of Xyxer's old guard and they probably still had a problem with his disappearance and the sudden appearance of a new Mizukage. Well, if any more problems like rebellion were to arise, he would deal with it swiftly and soundly. For now, he just wanted to know about the report. The Anbu reached inside their armor to fish out an official statement from the captain of the guard. Taking it from the Anbu's hand, the anbu had disappeared as quickly as they had arrived but his presence was still somewhere in the room, awaiting a message or orders to carry out. Reading the document, Kizmaru's eyes slowly began to widen. 

He's always heard rumors of creatures that didn't seem as if they were a part of this earth but he didn't think the myths or rumors held true. On the second part of the island far, far at the end was an island that nobody dared treads. This was where those foul creatures abode reside and it was forbidden to go there unless you have top level clearance. In other words, not even Anbu were allowed to go there with a top ranking officials permission and Jounin were simply just clueless. The island was supposedly watched twenty-four seven to make sure none of those creatures could escape the island and turn the rumors and myths into more than just that. However, in the report he had received, it seems they've become powerful enough to pose a threat to Kirigakure if not all of the shinobi world, if not dealt with quickly. Letting out a smile sigh, he already knew what he had to do. He couldn't risk failure and he decided ultimately, he and hopefully two other volunteers would come to his aid if called. Kizmaru knew what orders he would issue as soon as he was done reading the file. 

"Tell all the Anbu squads stationed around the island to hold their positions. Me, one of my bodyguards and two other volunteers will handle the situation personally on that island. Your task is to simply get me a Jounin by the name of Keita Uzumaki and have him meet me by the small fairy on the other mainland island by the large bridge that connects the two. Is that clear? I will get the other two volunteers myself. You are dismissed." Kizmaru wasn't in the best of moods today as he waved his hand in order to shoo away the Hunter-Ninja anbu. Wendigo, huh? he never thought he'd be involved with something this big but he knew it wouldn't be good for flesh eating creatures of the icy lands to run rampant. The last island of Kirigakure island chain was a bit colder than the rest, because it was closest to the land of snow. It wasn't snowing on the island but you could feel the icy winds if one were to step foot over there. Getting ready to go, Kizmaru exited his office, leaving the paper in a nearby drawer in order to traverse a village hidden in the mist where he would hopefully meet up with his bodyguard Keita. 

Since this mission was of the utmost importance, he opted to remain in his Mizukage persona in order to better convey the severity of this mission to the people who would show up. He'd try his best to brief them without giving away too many confidential secrets but alas, most likely he'll have to tell them a little bit about what was going on. God of Shinobi help them all if this mission fails. 

W.C: 1,115

Keita was simply having lunch in a wonderful little barbecue restaurant, ordering his favorite dishes, as they were the most conservative ones. The food that Keita always like to order was the food that had a good value, to portion size, to taste ratio. Keita was a bit of a person that valued order and a bit of efficiency in his life, and he had gotten flak from some of his friends in the past for doing things this way, because it did not seem like a normal thing to order something based off a fairly arbitrary set of rules that you came up with to be the most efficient you can with your money, but Keita did not really mind when he friends would take a couple of jabs at him because of this, as he was just happy ordering his own thing that he liked from time to time. The waiter had just got back to the table and set down his food, when a member of the Kiri Anbu suddenly appeared, seemingly from nowhere, in the restaurant, and headed right for Keita. Keita was a bit started, but nodded to the Anbu member and asked him why he needed. The Anbu explained nothing, other than the fact that the Mizukage had summoned him for something important, and that he needed to follow him right away. Keita thought this was strange, and took one last glance back at his delicious food that he did not get to eat, and promised in his head that he would make a beautiful and sad calligraphy painting in the foods honor. 

Keita hastily followed the Anbu, which brought them along roof tops and down busy streets, as well as through alleyways, before finally reaching a part of the main island of Kirigakure that was off to the side. They were essentially on the coast now, and the Anbu brought him to see the Mizukage. Keita was not really sure what he needed him for, but still walked up from behind him and stood there, knowing that the Mizukage would address him when necessary. It was strange, and Keita was taken aback by the fairly somber atmosphere that was being exuded by the Mizukage and the Anbu. Well, Keita could not really blame the Anbu for being sober, they usually held no emotions and did not react to things, and by this time Keita thought for sure that it was in their training manual somewhere to be sticks in the mud until the Mizukage called on them, and even then they did not seem to exude any emotions, but this also seemed like a strategy to instill fear in their enemies, or at least tell the enemies that they had no fear of death. Keita was ready and willing to help the Mizukage with whatever was happening, but had hoped that he would have had some time to get some training done before hand, although he found it fairly okay now, he was still slightly uncomfortable fighting in his current state, and took a moment to ready himself, if that was the case today.
===========
WC: 521

Sweat arced from his body as fists sung through the air, cracking with purpose and strength that was honed from years of training. Various muscle groups sung in praise of the hard work and determination that came with such single minded focus. Music wormed its way into his soul as his body continued to contort, performing complex maneuvers and kata as if they were second nature to himself after years of memorization. Inhaling softly, he would transition from one form using his legs to shift his body's weight comfortably and fluidly from one stance to the next. He flowed with the music, allowing it to carry him through his exercises as he worked out the kinks he could feel in his form. He would push his body to the limit, stretching as much as he could before pulling himself back to center. Exhaling softly, he would release the tension in his body and shift himself back into a base standing stance.

Finally finishing his exercises, he would finally take notice of the rather cool and clammy mist surrounding him. The eerie feeling following his every movement now far more pronounced causing him to frown and look about in confusion. He would flash his Byakugan instinctively, the action happening so quickly that it almost seemed like nothing changed. He would glance about and spot a few figures dancing in and out of the edge of his vision. Normally he would attempt to engage and even battle whatever felt comfortable enough to stalk him, however the feeling that emanated from these creatures, and the rather alarming number of them that seemingly continued to increase, stayed his hand from such a brash action. Feeling that he was far outnumbered for whatever was going on, he would spot a gap in his surroundings and turn towards it, moving in the direction of the village proper and closer towards his superiors to get help.

WC: 317

Wasting no time, Kizmaru left the office fully garbed in his Mizukage attire as he hurried through the village at his top speed. Knowing full well how dangerous this mission was, he still opted to take random strangers than his elite Anbu guard for personal reasons. Ironically enough, the help of willful strangers that lacked power always seems to fair better than the straight forward, refined Anbu. Once all their "surefire" plans had failed them and despair settled in, there wasn't much for them to do but become fodder for whatever the hell situation they were dealing with at the time. For this particular instance, he would like to avoid them becoming food for the unnatural creatures and hopefully get people who could keep a level head after all of their plans have failed them. He could only think of one such person when it comes to jobs like this and he figured he would call upon him anyway. Letting his thoughts wander, he wondered how he would deal with such beings as they were virtually impossible to kill. They were basically beings that used to be humans that are in between life and death, consumed by their greed for power, they had gone through grotesque methods of obtaining power and immortality. 

One of these methods includes the consuming of human flesh under the assumption it would absorb the lifeforce of their fallen foes and comrades. Instead, it just turned them into hideous creatures that had their twisted wish fulfilled in the form of what people see now. Giving a small sigh, Kizmaru managed to make it to the point. Of course, he was the first to make it here since as far as he knew, he was the only person to know news of this crisis beforehand. Looking around, there was a small, private ferry prepared for his use after he announced his arrival to this particular location. Accompanying him would be a squad of four Anbu that had originally been stationed on the island where the horrors would await the unsuspecting members. Clearing his throat, the Mizukage had asked if anybody else had arrived here other than himself and anbu that may or may not know about the situation at hand. As if they were one well oiled machine or one being, all four of them had shook their heads, yes. Well, Kizmaru would then proceed to wait for the people he had given out summons for.

He decided he would wait for a few minutes but not too long as he needed to get going soon. He he found comfort knowing his fuinjutsu specialist appeared at the right time and it gave him peace of mind for he  wouldn't have to go it alone and make do with what he has. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he would need all the help he could get in this situation and wouldn't turn anyone willing to help in this particular instance. Folding his arms, Kizmaru let out a gruff sound of groan, awaiting anybody who would show up.

W.C: 508

Keita stayed still for a while, and got nearer to the Mizukage as the anbu that had led him here had made sure that everything was on the up and up. He wondered what they were all called here for, and it even seemed that another person was here for the mission as well, but that person looked slightly inexperienced. Still, more people for a mission like this would not necessarily be a bad thing, as the mission this time involved attacking a group of monsters. Keita was still wondering what they were doing, as he had yet to be informed of the matter at hand, but it seemed that the anbu beside him was not going to say anything of their own volition, so Keita took the chance while they were there waiting to ask the anbu the question that had been on his mind since before he wasa actually called there. "Excuse me, want to fill me in on the mission that we'll be doing?" Keita asked the anbu, and wondered if he would get a satisfying response, if he would get a response at all. Keita was, after all, missing his precious food right now, so he could only lament and hope that the Mizukage had invited him here for something a bit more serious in nature than what would ordinarily warrant an anbu essentially kidnapping him from his food.

Keita looked around at the large hill they were at, and took a second to actually look at his surroundings, and noticed that they were close to a fairy, that seemed that they would be taken to the island in the distance. Keita did not really know much about that smaller island off of the coast, but he did know that it was rich with natural life and a sort of nature reserve, if you would call it that, as there were only a few actual people on that island, and they usually kept to themselves, only getting a few essentials shipped to them by this very fairy once every month or so. Keita's mind immediately was pulled towards a thought of revolt among the people, that would justify his involvement this time, as the people of Kiri trusted Keita quite a bit, but then again, that would fail to explain why this other person was here though. Keita wondered if he was some sort of specialist, or if he could hold his own in a fight, or something of that nature. Keita then realized that he was overthinking things, and that he should just wait until they were all ready and the people involved were all here so that they could start the mission that they were brought here to do. Keita determined that he really only needed to focus on this aspect right now, which would help calm his nerves also. Keita took a deep breath and calmly looked around, and grabbed a water bottle that the anbu had been holding, and decided to take a drink. The anbu offered it to him, Keita did not just take it as he pleased however, and then he went back to being on the lookout for the other people that might be going on this mission.
======
WC: 539

The trip to the village center couldn’t have been any more hectic, the constant threats and growls nipping just at his heel kept him moving at a steady pace as he cleared the various trees, branches and underbrush necessary to get back to society. The first home he saw on his trek was fortunately only a few meters from the brushline, unfortunately for its inhabitants, Teiho had led a proverbial horde of monsters towards their home. Realizing this, Teiho would let out an alarming shout, diving through the flimsy walls of the couples home and tumbling straight into their couch. Breathing hard, he would only point at the hole he had flown through and mention vaguely that they needed to leave with him quickly just before the growls that had been following him had grown far more pronounced. Claws and ghastly forms slowly made themselves visible as they began to tear the rest of the way through the wall, eerie shapes making themselves known as screams of terror and pain rang out around the couple and the young man. Both the couple and Teiho would jump to their feet as the entities began moving towards them suddenly. Teiho would almost be yanked off his feet as he slipped over a bottle and landed on a table, combat rolling over the piece of furniture to maintain momentum and continue pace with the couple as he fled the abode.

The trio crashed through the front door into a sight of near horror. Flames erupted around them as homes burned from the furious actions of the creatures and the panic of the citizens. The screams seemed to echo so much louder now that they weren’t insulated behind walls as the three stood stupefied for just a moment before realizing the situation they were in and running for it. Many a time they had to dodge to avoid being speared from behind, or tripped up by eviscerated bodies. All three had to fight the urge to help those who screamed out for help from their homes, many times turning their heads to glimpse a body covered in flames and ghastly creatures reaching out for them as the beings tore into them. The three could only grimace and brace themselves as they pushed on. Eventually they would reach the end of the district, far away from the screams of terror and would stop to take a breath. They would often stop off at a home or two to alert those within of the danger and to instruct them to flee further into the village. Teiho hoped that he had saved some lives today as he held his knees in a hunched over position, his lungs and heart tearing at his rib cage in fear and exhaustion.

Drenched in sweat, he would stand up fully and look at the other two to see if they were ready to go. Getting the signal to keep going, he would move on towards the city center and catch a glimpse of a few figures standing there among the fleeing citizens. Seeing one of those figures was draped in the Mizukage garb. He would step up to the figure, panting heavily but still wary of the figures surrounding his leader. He would look down at the boy, or man, and finally take a deep breath. Composing himself, he would turn first to usher the two civilians with him as well as another group of citizens that had escaped the hell that was the Western Hokaida district before the monsters had attacked. Seeing them all flee across the bridge, he would turn back to his leader and salute, “Genin Hibana reporting for duty sir!” Short, and succinct as usual. He would await instruction as the screams slowly began to make their way towards them.

WC: 633

Another two candidates had shown up seemingly out of the blue in order to take on this catastrophe at hand. one of them was taller than he was, much taller. Still he had a young, childlike face which Kizmaru had assumed made him younger than he was. The other was a blonde male that also had a tendency to hide his face, similar to the Mizukage but Kizmaru was doing it for personal reason that may affect village morale. Either way, none of those observations were relevant here but he wondered more on what they could do in order to help in this situation they were about to face. Both of the mysterious genin had given Kizmaru a name, 'Hibana' and 'Hisori that's just what he would call them for the duration of this mission. Providing they survived this encounter, maybe he'd call on him later to help out with other tedious tasks. For now, he simply looked past the tall genin to see if the fourth person he had in mind would answer his summons. Unfortunately for him, the person didn't show up and he'd have to make due with what he had for the time being. Giving a low, irritated sigh, Kizmaru decided to go with the original plan of making due with what he had and began to stay from the rest of the team in order to give his briefing. Placing his hands behind his back, he cleared his throat before addressing the members that had gathered here.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I was hoping to have a little bit more time to prepare and get ready but this simply cannot wait and I need every available man on board right now, literally and figuratively. I'm going to try and fill you in with as much detail as I can muster without wasting too much time as  it is urgent. It has come to my attention an ancient 'evil' has resurfaced in the world from the spot they were sealed in long ago and I need your help to solve this dilemma. Each of you have, or may have, some kind of capability that will make you critical to this mission so be sure to pay attention to any orders I give and have them followed to a tee. Now, about the 'evil' we're about to face is one of myth and legend but I assure you they are quite real and very powerful beings. Wendigo. Once human beings like me and you, they have an unhealthy obsession with power and crave any bit of it they could get their hands on. Unfortunately, they had discovered a truly grotesque method of obtaining said power one day."

 Before he continued, he was briefly interrupted by the act and sound of his own coughing. Clearing his throat once more, Kizmaru made a fist to pat his chest using his index and middle finger as the point of contact. He then continued on with his briefing like normal.  "As I was saying, these people, creatures, discovered a truly volatile way of obtaining power. Trick by some unknown entity, believed to be demonic in nature, they were told they could open the power of the fallen if they consumed the flesh of their fallen foes and comrades. Of course, they wasted no time searching for the strongest combatants and bloodlines they could find in order to test this theory and at last, they had succeeded. Unfortunately for them, it had come at a terrible price. The price of their humanity. They were no longer 'humans' by nature and had transformed into hideous creatures that could now only savor the taste of human flesh. Thus they were given the name, 'Wendigo'. They received the ability to use the powers of those they had consumed and even achieved the power of immortality in a sense but they could no longer live among human society without being scorned or attempting to make snacks of the humans that lived nearby. 

"So long before Kirigakure and Tengagakure had established any kind of holding on these islands, they had been living here in secret until a large extermination squad had been formed. At first they attempted to simply slaughter the beasts but it wasn't that easy. Not only could they utilize multiple kekkai genkai and tota, they had regenerative abilities on par with a legendary kuniochi of the distant past that makes them damn near impossible to kill. Even if you manage to succeed in killing a wendigo, their chakra is infectious being able to take the form of a very lethal poison that doesn't affect the body or the physical plane but seeps into their killer's spirit if they have enough greed in their beings or another compatible host. Even if we were to vanquish them here, they'd simply just roam the lands until they spread their infectious spirits elsewhere. As far as the village is concerned, a vast majority of them have been sealed up in a cave here where they would mostly be preoccupied with killing and eating each other but the seal has weakened over time according to the anbu and inhabitants of this island. Some of them managed to escape and it's our job to make sure that they're put back into the cave and strengthen the seal. "

"I don't know how, what or why it happened but the Fuinjutsu specialist that was supposed to be strengthening it every decade or so but he seems to have gone missing and we can't locate them either. So now I must go and investigate what happened to them as well as attempt to incapacitate the escaped creatures in order to put them back into the cave and reseal it." After his very long winded explanation, Kizmaru simply looked through the veil over his face at the four anbu, his body guard and the newcomers he knew little to nothing about other than his name. He had hoped everything that he had just said got through to them although, he couldn't really fault them if they thought it was all a joke or a hoax. Regardless of their opinion, it was all a very real danger to humanity and must be stopped immediately before catastrophe plagued the lands.

W.C: 1049

As Keita waited, he watched as a couple of people suddenly showed up from among the surroundings, both of them seemingly genin, and this was especially true for the one that had announced himself as such, or herself, Keita could not judge from their clothing alone and they were also wearing a mask, so Keita decided not to pry into the matter, as there was really no reason to. Keita was simply standing at the side waiting, and when the two people showed up, it seemed like that was all the time the Mizukage needed, and then started explaining things, and the more Keita listened, the more astonished, intrigued, and nervous he got. Some strange things that were more akin t o spirits, ones that most chakra based things would not really affect in full terms, and there was even some sort of strange disease on them that made them eat people, and the party there could not even kill them, as this would simply release the spirits as they were to wander around and find new hosts to corrupt with their strange alien presence and physiology. It sounded really strange, but all they needed to do was gather them back into the cave and then seal the entrance to the cave. Well, Keita was the man for the job if you needed anything sealed, he supposed, although this would cause him a bit of a headache, as the best way he could think of to seal a large number of enemies in a single place would be the Five Seal Barrier, but getting them to stay still while he set up all five of the seals and activated them was another matter. Hopefully his new team that he was with and the Mizukage himself were pretty good at dealing with all of this stuff, as there would not really be much wiggle room to actually hold them off while he set up the barrier. 

Still, this was a pretty perfect mission for him, if he did say so himself, and he wondered what the other people would be like in combat, or if they were just there to pull supporting roles. Keita finished listening to the Mizukage, and then simply nodded towards him, and then explained what he was thinking up to that point so far as to what they would be doing. "Lord Mizukage, I understand why I'm here, but may I ask what the others' roles are? I feel like we should know the others' abilities, and so I shall go first. I am Uzumaki Keita, and I'm an expert at using sealing jutsu, and for combat I mostly use my clan's famous Chakra Chains to bind and subdue. May I ask what you two can do, and if we should hurry with the subjugation and talk quickly on the way now that we seem to have the necessary backup." Keita would never judge one by their supposed rank or how they looked, as you never really knew if the person you are talking to is a hidden master, or someone who had simply been too lazy or busy with training or other some such to actually get passed the rank of genin. So, since the Mizukage invited them, Keita would definitely give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they were good, other than the one that seemed to appear out of nowhere. It sort of seemed that they were a genin that was fleeing from a monster or two and rescued some civilians, which Keita would thank the ninja for some time later, but right now timing could be tight, and they might need to hurriedly deal with these things as soon as possible, especially if they were close enough to where genin would need to help and evacuate the people from this side of the village. 
=======
WC: 644

Yosei remained silent during the honourable Mizukage's spiel, taking in the information without letting any kind of response show through on his now bare face, keeping a placid smile plastered across it instead. He took in the two people who had joined aside from the village leader, appraising them as best he could through a first impression. 
He who had just introduced himself as Keita of the Uzumaki was rather striking as an individual both in terms of appearance and the atmosphere around him. He shared a number of characteristics with Yosei, such as waist-length hair, a somewhat slender frame and an overall tranquil aura even given the severity of the situation. However, the minor physical similarities didn't mask the massive difference in ability that was almost palpable between them. Whoever this man was, though he had yet to demonstrate any of his power Yosei's intuition told him he was leagues ahead in jutsu knowledge and chakra. Exactly what the limits of this man's abilities were would have to wait as even Yosei wasn't insightful enough to estimate such things based on look alone. Whatever the case, this Keita undoubtedly possessed a degree of beauty that was uniquely his own, and so he had Yosei's respect. 
As for the other, he appeared to be the polar opposite of Yosei. Gruff and graceless, he was one of that sort who only saw clothing as utilitarian and didn't seem to put any effort whatsoever in how he presented himself. That was a terrible pity, but anyone can possess beauty regardless of how they look on a first impression so Yosei reserved his judgement here for now. He decided to respond to the Mizukage and Keita without slowing down their mission too much.
"My goodness, how dreadful," Yosei grinned. "I'm afraid I don't expect to be of much use in this mission if these beasts are as lord Mizukage described. I don't have anything in my arsenal that could deal with such nightmarish foes but I expect that I could serve as a decoy if necessary, being light on my feet and adept at deceiving foes. I wonder, do these creatures retain any human intelligence whatsoever? I tend to fare better against those I can speak to."

WC: 374