Ghostwire Hoshigakure (Mission)

Zeo was too alarmed to really hear Enishis' mumble to blame himself. If he did, he would of said that wasn't about him. The mist had ONLY just rolled in that day. There was no way this had JUST happened, and yet it did. Something strange was going on. But the fact everyone would just vanish didn't suggest they were all dead or anything. But that was conjecture. THe reality was they were now in a ghost town where no one was around. They were alone in their hometown and no trace of anyone else.

Enishi at least got a grasp to shake Zeo out of his own 'alarm' and got him to focus. "R-Right..." Zeo said as he focused. Once more, he opened his Uchugan again... this time to read their chakra and surrounding area far more clearly. He was looking at the ambient chakra, but outside of a strange hue of color-- there was nothing odd about the fog itself. He then looked to Enishi and specifically his own vision. Their chakra-- their souls -- were both stable. No agitation or disruption in their natural flow of one another.

"This isn't a genjutsu." Zeo told Enishi, looking at him and keeping his Uchugan running to stay alert. "There is no disturbance in our chakra to suggest it. Not to mention tried and nothing. This is real, or we should presume it as such. " he explained. But fog alone, even if some obscure jutsu, wouldn't explain the vanishing of all its residents.

Trying to not let his annoyance get the better of him, Zeo wove hand signs-- attempting to conjure a wind jutsu to push back a portion of the fog. He clapped his hands. "Wind Style-- Wind wall!!" he shouted, causing a gust of air to shoot out in all directions.

The wind howled and slashed around Enishi and Zeo, whipping their clothing and hair about lightly-- but the fog remained stable. it parted in a small amount, but nothing more. It didn't behave like a normal mist-- that was for sure. Zeo relaxed his hands as he analyzed the fog. "This isn't a chakra based mist technique. Whatever it is, its not some kind of jutsu or something. But it only just showed up when we got towards the village. "

Zeo reclaimed some composure as he looked around, wondering if they were indeed alone. While his eyes could see chakra and souls-- they were not telescopic and he had no sensory range. "We should explore more of the village. The lack of a struggle or any trace of the people, means something is wrong. But we don't know if we are indeed the only ones here. We should search around and try to find anyone else here. " he said.

WC: 467
TWC:2,971

As Zeo snapped back to reality, the Understudy would look to see if his friend was able to detect if they were trapped by some sort of genjutsu that caused their sight to be clouded with fog. If he could recall correctly, the Uchugan had some level of inherent Genjutsu resistance and chakra vision. Zeo seemed to catch onto the versatility of such an ability, awakening the starry nebula encapsulated in his sight once again to see through the fog. Unfortunately, this wasn't a Genjutsu according to the words of the Kamigawa, meaning that this fog was indeed reality. This muddied the waters by a fair bit. This fog seemed to extend nigh infinitely...the amount of chakra needed to create such a mist wasn't anything to scoff at. Not to mention that Zeo even tried to employ his signature Wind Wall jutsu to push away the fog in an intense gust of wind that ripped away all in front of him. While it did manage to disperse some of the fog - it only lasted for a moment, before recapturing its lost territory. Not only was this fog not a Genjutsu, but it was extremely tenacious as well. However, the conclusion that the Kamigawa arrived to was equally as concerning: apparently, the mist did not seem to have chakra-based properties...meaning that it was a physical fog that wasn't created from chakra - or at least - the standard form of it that most humans possessed. Just what the hell was this fog, and what did it have to do to everyone disappearing in Hoshigakure? Enishi hated to admit it, but he was absolutely stumped on what this whole thing was. It felt like those "impossible" puzzles that couldn't be solved, except the purpose of the puzzle was to simply accept defeat or some other irritating aphorism. Was there truly no point in understanding what was going on?

No.

Enishi couldn't stop thinking. If they stopped now, they would never be able to solve the mystery. Zeo suggested that they would look around and see if they were the only ones left in the eerie ghost town that became Hoshigakure no Sato. It was a wise decision, so the Understudy would take up the Soul Shaman on his advised course of action, "Yeah, we can do that. Let's split up, but don't worry because I'll set something on you - well, both of us technically." The Sage of Pleiades weaved a few handseals before reaching towards Zeo's left side with his right finger, and touching just under his ear. Suddenly, a microscopically small, black dot in the form of a circle was placed behind the Kamigawa's ear, and he would do the same with his own body by placing the same dot behind his right ear. "I put a linked seal on you and me. This is a Telepathy Seal, which is used to communicate with linked partners sharing the same mark. You can communicate with me, and I can communicate with you telepathically. In order to use it, you just have to focus on thinking about talking to me, and the link will start to connect. It might require a small percentage of chakra to work through. It's kinda weird to think about, but it's a lot easier than it sounds. It's a little like this." The Sage of Pleiades wouldn't speak, but internally, he funneled a bit of chakra into the seal while having an image of Zeo in his mind, "Yo, can you hear me?"  At that moment, Zeo could hear Enishi's thoughts and subconsciously would be able to feel that a link between them was established, but only for an instant before it disconnected. "Try it on me a few times on me so you know how it works." Once the Soul Shaman finished trying it out, Enishi would lay out a few guidelines, "This is a global range seal, meaning that unless you're on the other side of the world - you won't have to worry about being too far away from me. We'll also be able to tell where we are location-wise since we're both linked to the same network. Now, I think we should try to explore. I can handle the air. I'll try to see if this fog has upper bounds and if there are any vantage points to head towards. Just talk to me via telepathy if something is up or if you wanna talk." With that, the Sage of Pleiades sprung to action.


In a silent flash - virtually as if the world wasn't fast enough to register the light - clear blue prismatic wings materialized on Enishi's back, spreading out in a glorious shine. Harmless plasma particles siphoned outwards as the wings began to angle upwards. This was an application of Divine Light of Sages - or as the Wraith liked to call it, Ion Release - the ability to fuse lightning particles with natural energy to create unknown energy with special properties. Flight was only one of the dozens of effects Ion Release could bestow on its owner. Without another word, Enishi bent his legs to jump as the wings flapped in conjunction, cutting through the mist as he rose countless meters through the air like a rocket, hopefully, to begin exploring Hoshigakure.

For it seemed as though what was left remained a mere Ghosttown.

WC: 894
TWC: 5015 | 7000 Required WC

(OOC: Placing a Telepathy Seal on Zeo and I for the duration of the mission.)

The seal was working as Zeo spoke out, "So, this is working?" which echoed both in mind and voice, Zeo not exactly versed with it. He knew telepathy was normally a sensory skill, which he never ventured into easily. With them connected, it seemed Enishi wanted to seperate to cover more ground. Zeo was going to protest, but Enishi flew off like some super hero. It seemed becoming Nova may of gotten to his head a bit, which made him a mix of relieved and envious. Show off. Zeo thought, though unaware his thought was immediately broadcasted to Enishi.

With a heavy sigh, Zeo figured it was best he cover the grounds and buildings. However, no matter how far Enishi would fly, he wouldn't see anything beyond the mist. He could soar overhead of the actual structures and area of the town, but if he ascended too high-- he would oddly reach only a certain height and no further-- as if he was flying up with no real progress of altitude. The mist seemed to twist things around. If anything, he would find himself flying back to the ground, or if he flew past the village, he would find himself turned around flying back into the village.

Taking about fifteen minutes on his own, Zeo observed the surrounding the buildings, making his way towards the village center, the academy, and other points of interest within the city. However, no matter where he looked-- not a soul was seen. He would check the inside of the buildings. Some items were across the floor, some loose objects but nothing that indicated a struggle of any kind. It was as if the town had been abandoned for days.. but he had only left the village a few hours. EVERYTHING was fine back then. Something was wrong here. It didn't make any sense.

As he left the confines of the academy, finding no one, not even in Ayato's office... he could only come to one conclusion...

... this was not Hoshigakure at all. It was somewhere else.

However, at that moment before he even vocalized the thought-- movement caught his eye. His Uchugan were deactivated at that time, but he saw it.

Down the street among the fog, he found a single person. A man's shadow outcasted in a suit, holding an umbrella. He was still, almost frozen in the fog, but swayed lightly, as if in a stupor. Realizing it could be a survivor, Zeo approached. "Sir? Sir! Are you alright?!" Zeo shouted to the strange man.

However, he didn't respond. He didn't seem to hear or recognize the voice as Zeo approached closer and closer at a steady pace. "Sir? Did you see what happened here? I'm a Hoshigakure Shinobi-- are you in some kind of trouble?" he called out again.

Still, nothing. The man didn't respond as Zeo was within a meter of him. Concerned for this stranger, Zeo approached closer. Perhaps he was in a Genjutsu of some sort-- even though the fog didn't indicate that or something. Even so, he approached, hoping to assist this lost soul in this strange version of their village.

He reached out to take a hold of his shoulder. "Sir! I'm sorry but I'm going to have to ask you to--"

The figure turned with Zeo's tug, to reveal his skin was completely, utterly pale as ash, his features blank. The man's features were completely blank, just a head with no real nose, ears, features of any kind--- and no eyes! The only part of him was his mouth, utterly silent as it turned, its skin as pale as a ghost.

"G-GHAAAAAAAHHH!!!" Zeo scramed, jumping back away from the grotesque figure. He didn't know WHAT he was, but he clearly was a shade of 'human'. Humanoid, but clearly not human. Slowly, the ghostly figure began to turn, now aware of Zeo's presence. Panic struck in Zeo's chest, frightened by what he just saw as the creature began to inch towards him.

However, that was just the beginning of his problems. Either by the attention from the first ghoul-- or Zeo's unintentional scream, other shadows started to peer through the mist. More similar umbrella-wielding figures emerged. Some were women, some where larger-- but all were grotesquely twisted versions of a person.  Slowly two showed-- and two more, and two more... drawn now to Zeo's position around him. Soft groans came from them, creepy echoes in the fog.

Zeo's eyes were wide with fright as his heart refused to calm down. His cool demeanor was gone in the face of these other-worldly or ghostly foes. "W-What the... What is this...?" he stammered, alarmed by what he was seeing. He actually tried to undo a genjutsu, staggering his chakra awake but to no avail. This wasn't some genjutsu-indused nightmare. This was real. They were real.

Enishi would probably see this from above, and realize the horror around them and what Zeo was now in. A more sane Zeo, would have fought back but he was too shocked by the nature of their foe to react properly.

WC: 859
TWC:3,830

He fell.

Before he could achieve the altitude he wanted to have, Dreaded Destiny deactivated in a flash.

It wasn't only his chakra system that was malfunctioning...

It was as if the very world that they found themselves in decided that this jutsu should not exist.

And so, unceremoniously, the Understudy found himself uncontrollably spiraling to the ground; his chakra system trying to regain potency but astoundingly failing. He didn't get much distance covered before he was in such a state, but thankfully, it seemed as though his landing spot was going to be in a nearby lake. Normally, landing in water when falling at a high altitude usually spelled a death wish for most people since colliding with the impact force of water at tall heights can cause broken bones and fatal injuries...not that landing in the ground was any better, but with water, it is much more certain that death is an inevitability rather than a likelihood. But for shinobi — people who have been conditioned to endure superhuman levels of damage even without chakra — falling in water didn't really have many diminishing returns; the most you could expect was probably a stinging face if it was saltwater. The lake was freshwater as well, so there was really nothing wrong with Enishi landing in the water, also added the fact that being inside water allows one to conceal their presence, and for a Water user like Enishi...it played with his strengths. That being said, he didn't know whether his chakra would come back, so he had to prepare. Crossing his arms around his face and closing his mouth, Enishi braced himself for the impact.

SPLASH!

Huh, the Wraith was pleasantly surprised. The impact from the water didn't work. It was likely the effects of training in Kagutuschi's Shrine, it probably toughened up physically. Well he couldn't think about that now! He had to reach Zeo. "Hey, Zeo. Can you hear me? Where are you right now? I may be able to trace your steps if you give me a rough estimate. It turns out that flying high isn't really possible in this place." Using the effects of his Telepathy Seal, the Sage of Pleiades would begin to reconnect with his partner. Unbeknownst to him, Zeo was currently going through his own predicaments, so while rising out of the water and getting his bearings, the Hawk would wait for his friend's response and act accordingly. 

I have a bad feeling about this.

WC: 463
TWC: 5478 | 7000 Required WC

They were closing in around him. The ghostly beings seemed to be drawn to Zeo now, and if Enishi was near them, they would be drawn to him. As he too would see something-- a mysterious woman seeming to float on the water, obscured by wild black hair. The ghostly woman would look towards him, head slumped-- but only to realize she was a monster as she let out a harsh shriek of anguish.

For Zeo, he didn't even respond to the telepathic call.

Rule one in any horror story-- NEVER SPLIT UP!!

Though Zachary could hear him lightly, his brain was in too much panic to make sense. Best Enishi would be able to tell was the garbled thoughts of alarm he was in. Enough to find him. However, Zeo was surrounded.

If there was any time to use his Persona-- it was now! BUt he couldn't. He tried, urging his Persona to awaken-- but fear crippled him. As he held the 'spirit gun' to his head, trying to invoke He Bo-- he hesitated, unable to grasp the condition and why these spirits were around!

"Come on..." he urged, trying to get his mind straight and He Bo to emerge. "Come on... Come on! Wake up!!" he urged, but nothing came.

However, he soon found him face to face with one of the faceless ghouls. Before he knew it, one lunged its hand to his throat and grabbed it! The grab felt tight on his throat as he was holsted up, nearly choking Zeo. Despite his own endurance, he couldn't break free from fear. It was then his Uchugan snapped open so he could see...

... and that was making itt all the worse. Through his eyes, he saw mass of anguish. Emptiness, dispair, rejection, resentment and a whole mess that could only be discribed as Miasma. A chaos t hat made him sick to look through his eyes, as they grew dimmer with his limiting oxygen. It was as if his very consciousness and essence was being drained out of him, looking into that horror.

He was going to die.... was all that seemed possible as his body and soul began to slip.

Whoosh-- Bang! BANG--BANG!!

Bolts of bright, yet fiery energy shot forth from a distance, smacking right into the faceless spirit that held Zeo. The spirit let go, causing Zeo to gasp with renewed air and shake out of it. HIs eyes deactivated but he soon turned-- half-expecting to see Enishi...

... but it wasn't him.

His eyes widened as he saw in the distance, a bit behind a few lingering ghouls, was a young woman! A black-haired, girl seeming around Enishi and Zeo's age, dressed in red shinobi clothing, akin to a skirt and other things. Her hair was tied into two tails behind her as she held her arm straight, energy glowing as she had what appeared to be 'talismans' between her fingers. Some of them even hovered beside her, circling her.

As Enishi would soon arive, he would no doubt see the mysterious girl too with a stern look on her face.

"YOU IDIOTS!!" she shouted, snapping any of them out of their dumbfounded confusion-- especially Zeo who was still in shock by the ghosts and what he saw with his eyes. "Don't just stand there! RUN!!" With her insult and advice, she caused the talismans around her to fire forward-- becoming projectiles of chakra! They scorched forward and smashed into the umbrella spirits, causing them to groan and lose their balance. Some even vanished as they shattered into bits of chakra.

Snapping out of it, Zeo quickly rose up and ran towards the girl, seeing the path she cleared. As more spirits tried to close in and reach for him, he finally got enough sense to fight back as he extended the spirit gun! This time, using its true intent-- he fired it at the ghouls, producing a similar beam of chakra that smacked one right between the ... 'eyes' if it had any.

While it was curious who this girl was and why she as there... it was not the time to hit a gift horse in the mouth. He soon reached them, and hopefully Enishi would aid in covering t heir escape...

... as more of those ghastly inhuman monsters started to emerge from the fog.

"This way, hurry!" The girl shouted, urging them to follow them down the street!

WC: 744
TWC: 4574

Zeo wasn't responding. This was concerning, but it wasn't the end of the world. The Sage of Pleiades could still establish a link with the Kamigawa, meaning that he was neither unconscious nor dead to some extent. Signing in relief once understanding that his friend was still breathing, the Understudy who was still disheveled in water managed to jump out of the lake quickly. Time was running! This would have been in vain if he couldn't get to Zeo in time. Infusing chakra in his steps, Enishi blazed through the forest, the details of it becoming nothing more than a zooming haze even with his perception. He bypassed sound, reaching the speed of lightning to reach Zeo, and with only a few moments spared...he could see the outline of a street, a man closing in onto another boy. Zeo?! Due to the tremendous fog clouding his sight many meters away, he wasn't able to see the details of the outline, so he pushed his body even further to rush toward them. But he wasn't going to make it in time. He knew it. His muscles burned, groaned, and ached...moving this fast was superhuman even for shinobi; even they had their limits. "Oi! Get out of the wa-"

Whoosh-- Bang! BANG--BANG!!

"YOU IDIOTS!! Don't just stand there! RUN!!"

Light burst through the fog, cutting it away. The light shot through the air like an arrow, a fiery energy launched from an indiscernible direction. The energy shot forth from a distance, penetrating right into the faceless spirit that crept onto Zeo, forcing it to let go for a mere moment, but a moment is far too long a juncture in the eyes of shinobi. A girl shot the bullet, the Understudy managing to perceive such a development before it even transpired. His instincts reflexively turned his head to the origin of the energy and the yell...and it was a girl. She seemed to be around the same age as them, possessing black wavy hair, a red shirt, and a black skirt, as well as a talisman affixed to her fingers. Who the hell was she? A foreigner? A Hoshigakure shinobi? Because of her untraceable background, and those odd talismans...Enishi wasn't sure if he should fully trust her, but she aided in saving Zeo's life. At the very least, the Understudy had to follow her lead in the meantime, after all, she seemed rather used to these types of creatures. Zeo immediately sprinted towards her as she began to guide them, Enishi silently yet swiftly following suit behind the two. The ghoulish-like figures attempted to chase them down, to which the Kamigawa and the girl fired their own blasts to divert their intentions. But more of them came. So they seem to be resistant to most forms of physical damage unless it's something spiritual like that blast the girl fired, and the Spirit Gun that Zeo has... 

However, they're idiots. We are not.

As the girl urged them to turn a corner to the street, Enishi would turn around, facing the ghouls as he weaved an assortment of handseals. "Earth Release: Earth Wall!" Slamming his hand on the ground, a thick bastion of the earth in the form of a wall would extend from the middle of the street between Enishi and the ghouls, rising upwards at astronomical speeds. The wall was as wide as the street, and it stretched many meters tall, effectively creating a dead end for the ghouls unless they had methods to get over or through the gigantic Earth Wall. This was a perfect way to test the intelligence of these ghouls with this defense; slightly smirking once he heard moans of surprise from the spirits, the Sage would head back and reconvene with the two, following them down the street.


"Thanks for the save," he expressed impassively, not sure how that girl would react. 

WC: 646
TWC: 6124 | 7000 Required WC

The sight of seeing Enishi was not lost on Zeo, but in the back of his mind, was 'this is why you never split up!" he thought. But now was not the time. Things were insane as these creatures or ghouls, were creeping out everywhere. Even with a path cleared, Zeo ran towards the girl who led the way as they ran. Luckily, Enishi had the state of mind to erect an earth wall. A nice choice, since Zeo had no Earth release of his own. It barred the spirits path-- but they were not the only ones. They were making their way around the protrusion...

... that and more began to show up, drawn by the commotion and the draw of their chakra. From the crevises and alleyways, other figures were emerging from the fog. School boys and girls with no heads but empty shirts, women with obscured faces by overly large black hair, and other ghouls depicted in horror stories from their region. Even some that seemed to resemble children or flying sheets. They were the departure right of eastern horror myths.

"This way!!" The girl shouted, urging them to follow her as she ran down the street.

Zeo and Enishi would quickly follow her as she ran through a few streets, taking a sharp turn left down one corner, then another to try and throw off their pursuers, often keeping an eye on them both to make sure they were following her. At the moment, Zachary didn't ask questions. Right now escape and safety was the priority, and she knew more than they did it seemed.

Leading them, she found what she was looking for. A simple storefront-- now presumed empty in the village's current state. "In here! Quickly!" she urged, entering the shop.

Zeo darted into past the store's paper sliding doors and Enishi soon followed. With it, the girl quickly slammed the doors shut and urged them back. She then gave a sharp snap of her fingers. From out of nowhere-- mysterious symbols glowed, followed by the 'materialization' of sealing charms that floated int he air. With a mere flick of her hand, she launched them at the door. The seals attached to the door, sealing it shut. With her same hand, she slashed it through the air in a pattern, forming a seal and finally a hand sign.

A pulse of chakra-like energy flowed out from the seal, starting to spread through the entire building where they were. Zeo observed the small flash, and looked to see her. Without saying a word, she sighed out and checked the window nearby. As they would all see, the same ghouls or spirits that chased them lurked outside... however, they didn't seem to notice them, despite their clear presence. If they sought out chakra, they wouldn't find it. The spirits seemed to pass them by, as if baffled by the lack of their presence suddenly.

"Good. We gave them the slip. Those things feed on souls, or chakra to be more specific. Let them consume you and your done for. " she explained, more for herself as if she addressed them as if they were not there. "The barrier keeps them out and conceals our chakra from their senses. It should keep us safe for a little while. "

The girl then turned, looking at them both with a cold and defensive glare. Her gaze was particularly strong on Zeo. There was something about her. She seemed ... familiar to Zeo. Where did he know her from?

"Alright, spill it!" she demanded, pointing a finger at them both. "What are you two doing in here?! How did you get into this area. You'd have to be involved or insanely unlucky to get whisked away by this!"

Zeo felt like he was slapped by a fish by the way she accused them. "Well... I-- uh," Zeo felt speechless, unsure how to answer the girl who saved their lives and now assured them for being involved? ALl the while the air of that girls' arrogant and demanding tone still run true in his mind.

WC: 688
TWC:5262

Enishi's Earth Wall proved to be quite effective in slowing down the pursuit of the ghouls, but it did unfortunately show that these spirits had some form of intelligence. Once the wall was erected, the spirits eventually tried to curl around the earthen bastion which would then cause the girl to speed up on their escape, guiding the duo to move along a corner with her. But the escape plan wasn't done there; the girl has so engrossed in the escape that she didn't even register Enishi's words of thanks. Normally, he'd question the rudeness of her action, but this was a dire situation — the Jugo could excuse some trampled feelings for the sake of surviving. Escaping, once again, was the main priority, especially against beings that Enishi and Zeo both had no knowledge of how they worked or possible abilities they possessed. Soon, she'd urge the two into a shop, to which the two would follow suit as she closed the door and commenced some odd sort of setup. The Understudy looked on with discreet intrigue as she gave a sharp snap of her fingers where out of seemingly nowhere mysterious symbols would glow, followed by the 'materialization' of sealing charms that floated in the air. With a mere flick of her hand, she launched them at the door where the seals would affix to it at once, locking the door tightly shut, and with her same hand, she slashed it through the air in a pattern, forming a seal and finally a hand sign. Chakra harmlessly erupted from her person, but looking at the window, it seemed that the spirits were rather affected by the pulse as she commented calculatedly on the situation at hand.

Just who was she, and why was she so knowledgeable about these spirits?

That was the question running through Enishi's mind like lightning.

The girl then turned, looking at them both with a cold and defensive glare. Her gaze was particularly strong on Zeo, a fact that the Sage easily perceived and noted in his mind; it seemed as though she knew him, but he didn't know — or possibly forgot — about her. She instantly bombarded them with harsh questions, finger-pointing at the two as she demanded to know how the two got roped into a situation like this. Zeo couldn't answer, which added to the fact that he was surprised at her presence, so he must not have much recollection of the girl's identity. While the Kamigawa was stuttering, Enishi's impassive expression wouldn't once have changed, his ice-blue eyes scrutinizing her very being and staring her down like a hawk. Was she an enemy? If so, it would be foolish to act so hostile toward potential targets at this point, especially before neutralizing them. A neutral force? Possibly, but once again, making enemies in foreign territory was an odd decision to make. In a fraction of a second, the Understudy would deduce a few characteristics of the girl by merely analyzing the words that came out of her mouth. For one, she had to be allied with Hoshigakure or the people of the Haven Country; it was the only way that she could feel so free to act openly hostile towards Hoshigakure Shinobi in this territory without repercussions. Second, she was the type to wear her emotions on her sleeves. Well, this made Enishi's job a lot easier whenever he wanted to read her. Zeo was speechless, so Enishi supposed he had to cover for his friend this time. Mentally sighing and retaining his nonchalant attitude, the Understudy tried to counterbalance her brusque and curt words. 

"To be honest, we have no clue. We were just inside the Hoshigakure Outskirts and the main forest where we got transported to this world through some mist, and it couldn't have been longer than half an hour before we crossed paths with you. That being said..." His unemotional expression never once changed, wanting to test if this girl had any sense of self-management or composure. "I believe you have more explaining to do than us. The fact that you knew all about these spirits when we didn't, you have access to techniques that can ward them off, and you understand their patterns enough to create escape methods — you can easily be treated as a threat to our safety; after all, foolish shinobi would see your helpfulness as completely genuine and neglect the possibility for you to manipulatively gain our trust. Well then, are you allied with the enemy? Was this all part of your plan to lure and ambush us in this room?"

Suddenly, a snide smirk appeared on Enishi's expression.

"Why don't you 'spill it', dear savior?" 

WC: 778
TWC: 6900 | 7000 Required WC

At the very least, now they could take a much-needed moment to think, rest and get their bearings. Even with the malevolent things outside roaming the streets. Things were not making sense in Zeo's head as he tried to process things. The woman's accusations at them certainly weren't helping as he raised a hand to hold his poor head. He was getting a headache, and not just from that THING trying to siphon his chakra or whatever else he was trying to do.

However, Enishi was not afraid to explain things clearly as he recovered. He explained well enough their entrance into this haunted village was indeed an accident, for better or worse. But he didn't miss a beat to start arguing and try to poke holes in her own logic-- pressing HER for answers as much as she did. The girl was indeed demanding and superior-acting. Her brow raised at Enishi, almost insulted. "Are you kidding? Its a generic sealing jutsu to keep those things out. Aren't you supposed to be a sealer yourself?! Give me a break. You're not some idiot, are you?" she scolded.

However that last bit really got under her skin as she reached and grabbed Enishi by the collar of his shirt. "Hey, Smart-ass! If I was luring you two into a trap, i would of been better off leaving you there for the Visiors to steal your soul, damnit! You'd be wise to accept my selfless acts of heroism when I give em. You got some nerve!" she scolded, shaking him.

"... Visitors?" Zachary asked, chiming in softly.

As he sat there, looking up at her, she stopped shaking Enishi to realise she did give away the fact she did know more about the situation than they did. She composed herself and lett out a sigh to calm herself down. "Look. I honestly didn't expect to run into any other hoshigakure shinobi here. But now that I have, its only fair to let you know what your up against... Those things outside, I'm sure you can guess WHAT they are... don't you?" she asked, glancing to Zeo.

Zeo struggled to form the words, but he knew. He knew the moment his Uchugan fell upon them. The emptiness and miasma in each one of those things as they tried to choke the life from him. "They're the dead, aren't they?"

"Got it in one, yes. They are befouled and tormented spirits of dead humans who died and lingered with regret. Over time, they take the forms that you saw today. They are called visitors as they are not part of our natural world and escape to venture to ours or other places.... but that isn't relevant right now. " she explained as she looked to the window to see what was left of the monsters wandering away outside. "They feed on the one thing they cannot have. Souls. They get their hooks into you for too long, its over for you. " she explained.

She turned to them both, her expression firm. "Look. We don't have a lot of time. Hoshigakure is at risk of being destroyed in the most cruel and merciless manner possible, so don't expect me to explain everything. So unless you are as stupid as you both look... you should know by now this is NOT Hoshigakure. We are in an alternate dimension. A mirror world created to emulate the space and structure of Hoshigakure itself, created by a powerful space time and barrier jutsu." she explained.

Zachary's face lit with realization. He was right. This was NOT hoshigakure, but a clever recreation. The fog and lack of anything outside of the village limits was likely a part of the limits this dimension provided.

"Likely, you two got swept up in it the instant the barrier went up. Ugh... how annoying. I don't have the time to babysit the both of you with all this. " she continued to grumble about them being there. "You'll just slow me down. So no offense, but too much is at stake for me to just walk you through everything. So you can either go back out there and bumble around like you were doing, or stay here while you can. At least here your souls won't be eaten or worse!" she said firmly.

It took Zeo a moment, but then it clicked. His face lit up as he rose to his feet. "Wait. I remember you! Yeah, your the girl from the festival a few months back. You were scolding me over stupid stuff saying I was disappointing!" he accused her.

Her face looked a bit aback to realize she remembered him and vise versa. She glanced away, clearly remembering him more than he did. "Well... yeah, we did meet. So what. This isn't a social gathering! Now is not the time for such things. Point is, you two are clearly out of your depth. "

A part of her seemed conflicted. One she was prideful in herself and her abilities. She was driven, like this was more than a mission for her. On the other hand, she couldn't deny the simple fact... to accomplish this alone would be far harder if not impossible.

"Well look, I already figured out why this place is the way it is... but one thing that doesn't add up. WHat are those THINGS doing here? This doesn't seem right that they would just show up in this place...." Zeo argued too, though his tone was far cooler.

The girl turned away, realizing she had no choice but to say it. "The answer is simple really. They didn't just appear. They were drawn. Summoned here, by the same person who created this barrier to begin with. And he must be stopped." she said firmly, glancing away from the two boys.

WC: 982
TWC: 6244

Just who the hell did the girl think she was? Not only did she insult the auburn-haired adolescent's Fuuinjutsu knowledge — something that he took a good amount of pride in due to his specialization in the field — but she also grabbed the collar of his shirt! Resisting the urge to spit in the girl's face, an unreadable glare would overtake the light in the Understudy's eyes, entirely focused on the aberration of a young woman before him. Heroism? Selflessness? At first, Enishi's initial arguments were only done as a form of teasing in reaction to the mysterious girl's accusations; any normal individual would have understood that they were acting far too captious in the situation, and Enishi's reversal of who was accusing the other would have brought them back to their senses. But this girl...she didn't understand any of that. She instead double-downed on her so-called "selflessness" and invaded Enishi's space. Enishi Kurosawa was someone who could understand and accept faults in others, and even try to help others with their shortcomings...

But there was one thing he absolutely hated in humans...

Hubris.

The Understudy stayed deathly silent as the girl explained what was happening, apparently, those spirits were that of the dead who still lingered with regret even after passing, resulting in wanting to feed on whatever living beings they could find. Because of that, Hoshigakure would be at risk of being destroyed, as the world that they were currently in could be described as nothing more than an alternate dimension mirrored world created by Space-Time Ninjutsu. This was valuable information, one that despite Enishi being rather annoyed at this moment, would take note of immediately. But unfortunately, the girl would open her mouth again and talk about how they would "slow her down" and they should "bumble around" like they were doing before and let her finish the job. Dear lord, did her arrogance know no bounds?! Either she was insanely powerful or she was full of shit. Either way, it seemed as though Zeo knew her from before, but of course, she shrugged it off. After she finally finished explaining the situation to the Jugo and Kamigawa, her grip affixed on Enishi's collar still wasn't released. 

Typical.


"Get your hands off me, I can't stand the smell of your rancid breath any longer." Ice radiated from Enishi's eyes and glare, forcibly ripping the girl's hand off his color, before looking straight at her. While his claim of "rancid breath" was a lie, the Wraith was not in the most magnanimous of moods. "Let me make one thing clear with you, broad. I don't know who you are, or what your endgame is, but you will not look down on me and my comrade. We were roped into this thing for no reason, so it's only fair for us to get out of this with our collective strength; stop trying to frame this into some "heroism" and "selflessness" out of the goodness of your heart like we're so inferior to you. At this moment, if I wanted to kill myself from hearing your voice, I'd probably jump from your ego to your brain." He paused to recollect his thoughts, before continuing with the most pressing news, "The point is: if you can do this all on your own, why couldn't you do it earlier? Why is this threatening to harm Hoshigakure if you could have dealt with it all by yourself? Now my afternoon's ruined all because of you, by your logic. Look, you clearly don't like me, but we're all in this together, for better or for worse. Right Zeo?" Even though this girl's attitude was getting on his nerves, a notion of potential compromise was fostered by Enishi, the Sage of Pleiades wanting to use his strength as well to take care of the threats.


"Even if you're a 98%, I'm sure an extra 2% of help wouldn't hurt, right?" The Wraith softly smirked.

WC: 658
TWC: 7558 | 7000 WC Required