The Dangers of Halloween! (IO)

Missions:

He finally had the freedom to travel as he pleased, only to find himself on a mission to babysit some random travelers that look like children wearing costumes. Luckily the rest of the team had been there as well, so it was not as mind numbingly boring as it might sound. Still, it wasn't particularly exhilarating either. Still, the silver lining had to be that he was being trusted around not only civilians, but children. He couldn't imagine the village having any doubt about his control over the wolf within, otherwise these children would never be found again and he would be the villain in this story...

The wolf was keeping an eye on the children, occasionally shouting things like,  "Only take one piece!" or "Hey, you can't take that other kids candy!" But it failed to have any sort of real impact on their actions. Some of the older children were hiding something under a sack. He would have investigated but it reeked of rotten eggs, so the wolf would gladly let someone without such a keen nose investigate just what was going on there. And just what did they need a whole bag of toilet paper rolls for? Were they expecting the candy to explode out of the other end? This whole thing was baffling. 

Despite the children being a handful, the wolf couldn't help but keep noticing a strange figure, just outside his field of view. Every time he would look directly at the figure they would be gone. Could it just be his mind playing tricks on him? It seemed to be doing that more and more often for some reason. Nightmares and images of chilling things were regularly waking him up at night. Maybe this was just another one of those. It felt especially likely since the wolf couldn't smell anyone either. That meant that the figure wasn't there, or that it had known to stay out of the wolfs scent range. If that were the case, it meant that this creepy figure had far more knowledge about his kind than he was comfortable with. 

"Have any of you guys seen that odd figure that seems to be tailing us?" Loghain would ask the team, not sure what answer he would have preferred. If they did see it, he wasn't crazy but that would suggest that they might have bigger issues at hand. 



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Youta had an easy day helping his father at the tool shop. Everything was pretty slow today because it was Halloween. They had a few people come it last minute looking for a few things but he had to leave early. His team had been tasked with watching over some of the children this evening. It did not seem like it would be a hard mission and it would be an easy night. So he would meet up with Sabastian. He would wear a simple costume of a blacksmith. This was not really a costume but just his work outfit from the day. Because he did not have time to go home and change. He would say to Sabastian “So what are you dressed up as? More importantly, what is Zeref going to show up as?” And they would watch this troublesome Groups giving commands “Quit pushing!” And “make sure to share with the little kids!”

They were watching over this group when Youta sees something that looked like a hooded figure out of the corner of his eye. They seemed to be following us. But it’s Halloween, maybe they are just going house to house like us. And the fact they are hooded could just be a costume. But when Sabastian asked about the presence of a guy tailing us. Youta says “I thought it was just me. Do you think it’s a shinobi or just someone playing a prank? Let’s switch up routes to make sure it’s not just someone trick or treating.” He would try to covertly activate his meigan and saw a lot of chakra flow for it to be a normal citizen but that does not necessarily mean anything. But he would deactivate it and say “He seems to be strong but it’s hard to tell in such a large group of people. It is easy to lose him with so many shinobi out with their kids. Should we tell or ask Akabayashi what he wants to do?”


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Walking around in his costume of an orange wig, fake muscles and a towel tied around his waste the Terumi was evidently dressed up as Kyousuke Snow the previous kage. As Loghain shouted at the kids to ensure they obeyed the etiquette of the holiday the Nova merely shouted things that seemed dumb compared to his normal self. "My brain is a muscle and my muscle's are glorious!", "Seventh gate open!", and "My bulging biceps make my boisterous beatdowns breathtakingly beutiful!" All of these were followed with an exorbitant amount of flexing and posing.

The man would sometimes even use his advanced sage transformation to turn the visible parts of his actual body gray like the kage along with giving him the black sclera. It was all a part of the costume.

With the older kids clearly up to something funny the man would approach and yell. "Eat those eggs not throw them, they are filled with magnificent protein!" The Nova would flex like he was Shia Lebouf at the end of the Just Do It video. One of the teens would of course hit the man with an egg right in his foam muscled chest. Promting the killing aura around him to be released and the teen to wet himself. "I'm going to play jump rope with your large intestine if you don't take your asses home." He would say calmy yet threateningly. The two would run off hopefully in the direction of their houses.

Loghain seemed to have noticed someone following them, but Akabayashi was too busy acting like a moron to notice. "By the power of protein powder and kreatine, we have a lurker." The Vulture would say lowly to only the group. "Youta keep an eye on him see if he keeps following us, Loghain let me know if you can pick up his scent. The man would then flex and yell more ridiculous work out tips.

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“These guys are either going to laugh at me or call me crazy when they see the costume that Ima be wearing tonight, it’s bound to atleast make a statement”, Zeref would say to himself as he put on his costume in the mirror. This year it was pretty hard for him to make up his mind on what he wanted to be , or if he wanted to be anything at all. He didn’t really have any heroes and he kills monsters for a living so nothing like that excites him or scares anymore. 

So this year he thought the best option would be to try and manifest the future and with that he would be dressing up like the Hogokage. He found some old seamstress who gladly took his money to have him match their current Kage. Zeref had a huge grin on his face from just thinking about how people are going to act when they see him, because he was sure that nobody would ever expect for him to come out dress like this. As he finished getting ready he looked at his clock and realized that he was already late and that everyone else was probably already out starting without him. 

He quickly ran out his house and made his way to meet up with the rest of the team, and upon meeting up with them he could see them quickly at work watching over the kids and making sure they behave. “ mybad for being late , dressing up like the hogokage took a little bit longer than I had expected, hopefully I didn’t miss to much”, Zeref would say with a smile as he looked over to one of the older kids and grab a candy bar out of their bag, before telling the kid if he wanted the candy bar back he better go knock on some more doors.

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Their sensei was dressed up in a rather odd outfit, fake muscles adorning his otherwise tall and lanky body. And he kept saying the most strange sentences, ones that didn't seem to be aimed at anyone in particular nor did they fit into the context of anything that was going on around them. Zeref had not arrived yet, but he would surely show up sooner rather than later. 

It would seem as though it was not all simply in his mind, as Youta had spotted the oddity as well. That was a temporary relief, albeit only a minor one since that would mean that someone was likely following them. Youta was able to detect them with his eyes it would seem, though pinpointing how strong they were and determining motive was next to impossible. The wolf would listen to Akabayashi, keeping his nose honed in on their surroundings. There were a great deal of people out and about, but his senses were keen enough to differentiate a sugar covered child from a blood covered cultist, or so he had hoped. 

Zeref would approach, his unique scent well known to the wolf. Loghain would shift his position, glancing over at their approaching comrade. "That is an interesting outfit," The wolf would say, cracking a grin. "If you really wanted to look the part you should have gotten contacts to make your eyes look white." It would seem as though the wolf was the only person who had not dressed up for this event. A missed opportunity to wear a big, wool coat and dress up as a sheep. 

Suddenly there was a very familiar and distinct scent in the air. Blood. "I caught wind of something. The smell of blood hangs heavy in the air coming from" He would sniff again, pinpointing the metallic smell, "that alley." He would state, keeping his voice low as to not scare the children. "I can watch over the kids while you guys investigate." He wasn't sure how best to split up, but he figured he was the fastest among them and could therefore keep the children herded and safe with the least effort. 

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Youta saw that Akabayashi showed up in a bunch of fake over defined muscles. He seemed to be yelling at children in a joking manner. Something about the brain being a muscle who knows what he is talking about there is no telling with him. Akabayashi looked kinda strange but seemed to be having a good time. He seems to like to do this stuff but who knows. Later he said something about using their intestines as a jump rope, which is more of what is to be expected from him. He was always an extremist when it comes to this kind of stuff. Zeref joins in dressed as the hogokage “how original. just kidding who cares let’s get to work.”

Akabayashi said to keep an eye on him so Youta would activate his Meigan and look around. He would say “There he is again, definitely following us but it’s weird I am not getting a good read on his chakra’s nature. This is the first time that has happened.” He could tell there was chakra there but usually Youta could tell chakra natures but this guy seems to be using something to try to his chakra. Maybe if he concentrated a little harder but thenthe man seemed to just disappear “He is gone I lost him.” He would say to Akabayashi. What did not even seem to be fifteen minutes later Sabastian would say he smelled blood in the alley so Youta would turn to Akabayashi “what is the plan sir?”

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It seemed a short while before the last member of the group arrived. An apology on his lips and a smile upon his face. "Didn't even know you weren't here." The doctor would say turning to hear Loghain's comments on the costume. "You should have also bought rose scented pauperie for between your ass cheeks. To say as if your shit is the only shit in the land that does not stink."

Using some paper and a pen the man would begin writing he would hand one sign to Zeref that said I am a pureblood filthy humonculus. and the other stating Transplants are wrong. I am a pureblood. "Just say things like that and you'll be spot on."

The doctor would keep flexing opening the various gates and performing awful kung-fu moves around himself. After a bit Youta mentioned he could no longer see the freak from before, so the doctor would just leave the stranger alone maybe they were just keeping watch on their child from a distance or some shit. A little after that Loghain said he could smell blood from an alley in the direction of the strange person from earlier.

Youta asked what to do while Loghain suggested staying behind to watch the kids. "I will watch the kids with wood clones. If we have to track the blood you and Youta are our go to. We will all go together to see what the problem is." Forming seals for wood clones two would sprout from his body and stand watch over the street.

"My muscles make me mighty macho!" The two clones would yell flexing eachother their fake muscles. The real Akabayashi would then let Loghain take the lead he had the nose for this type of work more so than any of the others. If someone was hidden in the alley the wolf would be the first to know.

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As he made his way to the group everyone he had run into had given him compliments about his costume and it actually made him feel better about his choice but once he got to the group they all had some shit to say about it. “What the hell , when did u lot become such ass holes huh ? That’s my job “, Zeref would say jokingly, he didn’t mind a little banter here and there especially when it was coming from his friends. Right when he thought the jokes were over his sensei had pulled out a notebook and been and wrote down something and handing it to him. As Zeref read it he could already tell it was jokes about the Kage , and honestly he couldn’t help but find them
Funny as hell. He immediately burst out laughing which made the kids stop and look at him. 

“Keep it moving ya little shits” , he would say angrily to the kids. It seemed like everyone else was being and asshole so he couldn’t miss out on it. Once youta ask what to do he was going to blurt out a plan like he normally does but today he thought it be best to listen to sensei and see what his idea was. So once the clones took watch of the kids , Zeref followed behind everyone else as they made they way down the street.

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Youta was having trouble tracking this shadowy figure, as did the wolf. Loghain found himself surprised at the level of skill this mysterious cloaked person had, for they could elude those with keen tracking and sensory type abilities. The blood smell was the only thing he felt might have been a slip up. Of course it was rather challenging to hide the smell of blood after a recent attack. 

Doctor Terumi made a valid point. Tracking this blood down was exactly what his canine sense of smell was for. Nodding, he would watch as the man formed seals and created clones that formed from practically thin air. They looked exactly like the Doctor, down to the smallest details of his person and costume. It was rather impressive, and the extra bodies to watch the children allowed the whole team to investigate the alley. If this target was good enough to keep away from the groups combined radar, they might be in for a fight with an experienced warrior. 

Loghain would do as instructed and take the lead towards the alley. This was not only because he could lead them by his nose, but also because if they were attacked it placed him between the enemy and the others on the team. He didn't want anything to happen to them on his watch. The blood scent would get stronger and stronger as they made their way deep into an alley. Finally, they would find a person tied to a fence, strange symbols carved into their now lifeless body and their gut cut open allowing their innards to just hang. Blood dripped from them, pooling into a red puddle on the ground. The person's mouth was stuffed with a gag, preventing any opportunity to scream for help. This wasn't the first time Loghain had encountered a gruesome sight, but it didn't make it any easier to witness. 

The blood was still dripping, and the coloration of the body looked like it was a fresh kill. Their culprit might still be around...

Loghain would dart his head back and forth, looking for any signs of the hooded figure. Everything in his gut was telling him that person did this. He slaughtered a helpless civilian in cold blood. Despite his best attempts, the smell of blood was only here, meaning that the figure had gotten away or somehow avoided getting any blood on themselves. Rage would begin to swell in the wolf, failure seeming to be their outcome. Just then out of the corner of his eye he would spot something moving. Looking, he would see the hooded figure, bloody knife in hand, standing at the end of the alley and just looking at the party, almost as if taunting them. The wolf wouldn't wait for orders. He was going to end this now!

Charging down the alley, the figure would raise his hands and a billowing black fog would come out filling the entirety of the alley and causing the whole group to choke and lose sight of him. It was hard to see anything beyond this smoke-like fog, but when it finally cleared the alley was different. A large moon hung in the sky, full as can be. The air was cold, and naturally foggy. This was nothing like Hoshigakure weather.

"Is everyone okay?" Loghain would ask, hoping that nothing bad happened. Then in the distance, he heard a harrowing sound.... The sound of wolves howling.

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Youta would follow Sebastian with his dojutsu activated and with his adrenaline pumping throughout his veins, his senses seemed extra heightened.  He remembers though that he had to calm down. A mind not focused could get not only himself killed but his teammates.so he shook off all the nerves and started to focus again.  Our team leader Akabayashi told us to try and follow the scent of the blood that was found in the alley.  Our leader made a few clones it looked like they had the exact same chakrand a and elements as him but yet they were a little different so they were mostly clones. Then you could tell that Sabastian caught the scent of the blood was coming from. He started to take off following it, so Youta followed as fast as he could. Youta could watch his teammate and keep track of him even if he was not physically able to.
 
They would continue down the alley to where even Youta could smell the blood and it was overwhelming.  It was almost nauseating and Youta was watching Sebastian’s back.  When he turned around, he saw a person with a bunch of weird writing and runes on them he was not sure what to say or do. He just instinctually turned and said “Akabayashi, you are going to want to see this, like now. Hurry up please.’ He was trying to keep his nerve and turned away quickly. He would see Sabastian’s stance and demeanor change when Youta saw a lot of chakra out of the corner of his eye. 
 
Suddenly the alley fills with smoke.  Do not know if it is from a smoke bomb or a technique but Youta had to focus and looked around.  He saw the person went up onto the roof, but the smoke was so thick he could barely whisper out “he went on the roof.” When all of a sudden he turned around after hearing what sounded like wolf howls.  “Sebastian, do you smell anything because I see 2 or 3 people?” he says people like a question. “Their chakra is really strange and in a strange shape.  Akabayashi what is the plan last I saw the man probably responsible went up on the roof and something else was probably attracted to all that blood.”
 
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