From Streets to Dreaming of Sheets [Events: D&N]

[E-Rank] Tear in the Fabric
[D-Rank] Questioning Reality
[C-Rank] Formation of Rifts
[B-Rank] Nightmares Given Life
[A-Rank] Waking Demons
[S-Rank] Into the Maw of Dreams and Nightmares

Total Ryo Reward: 38,750 Ryo
Total AP Reward: 192 AP
Total Dream Tokens: 90 DTs
Total WC Required: 15,500 WC

[Tear in the Fabric]

Kurai found herself staying in the village of Konohakure longer than expected. the assortment of weird occurrences caught her attention relatively quickly as she stumbled about the village. With some funds available she found a place to stay in the meantime as she awaited to hear back from Goto if Konohagakure had records of her sister within the Land of Fire. She was doubtful of the revelation of this and as someone who slept intermittently, the night was quiet as usual until some villagers began to stir and awaken, lamps becoming lit in windows as people awoke to the revelation of baked goods and an assortment of food. For Kurai even one nap in the early hours of darkness led to her waking up and finding a small bowl of hunter's stew awaiting bedside to her. Hungry and typically unable to eat regularly she devoured the warm bowl that appeared. She felt it was likely a blessing to have such a warming meal upon such an odd night as she grabbed her bow and headed out to see what all the trouble was one window looked to what appeared to her as filled with a fluffy substance of something nearby. Dismissing the woe of what was going on, a small assortment of creatures began appearing in the night sky as she knocked her arrow out from her quiver and launched an arrow, finding its mark before the creature disintegrated after impact, the arrow falling to the ground.

As she navigated through the range of streets she was not familiar with, she began to find herself on the rooftops of the village spotting and launching arrows toward the flying assortment of bear cubs and bats and wooden bats with what would be best described by artistic taste of 'angel wings'. As she found herself more attuned to the weirdness of these things coming out and finding some sentience towards the people who also went out to investigate, Kurai found herself with the small lot of 5 arrows gone as such a creature began to launch itself at her for destroying its allies in the witching hours of the night. Scurrying herself to grab and retrieve her arrows to unleash back at the creature that slowly began to amass behind her as she went for the first arrow. Knowing that she might have a shot of handling more of the creatures at this time if she used her black threads, the silent Phantom of this night figured it would be best to avoid drawing any more attention to the relative fugitive from the Land of Demons within the confines of the village. It was best not to stir the pot anymore than she already had done since she had stayed much longer than already planned. Once she grabbed one arrow, she launched it at one of the monsters following her before another swooped to take a swing at her. Dodging their attacks and retrieving her arrows was no place for her to maintain and defeat the horde that was beginning to form. As much as she was not loud she knew it was going to be a problem if she did not get aid as she refused to use her threads in this situation, for fear of being considered a monster like the creatures that were out to get her. "Help!" her voice cracked outwardly though audibly not the greatest to where she was, unknown to her as she was not native to the village nor understood how far she had traveled from the place where she had been staying in Konohagakure.

---

WC: 600, TWC: 600 | MWC: 600/500, TMWC: 500/15,500

Asami was a light sleeper on a good night. Even the crickets and cicadas could wake her some nights. But tonight, it seemed, she would be awoken by sounds of a different nature. The first thing she heard was a distant scream, and the silence that followed was so profound, she was almost convinced it was the echo of a dream. But then she heard another shout, clearer this time. This made her sit straight up in her bed, the veins bulging around her eyes as they focused, looking past the walls of her own house and into the streets nearby. She saw the black and white images of villagers fighting off strange beasts, all over town. Quickly, Asami moved into action, grabbing her katana and kimono and starting to head out the door, only halting when something odd stood out in her vision. A plate of cookies cut in the shape of autumn leaves sat beside her bed, accompanied by a steaming cup of jasmine tea. It was hot enough it must have been recently brewed. But she knew that her family's attendants were asleep for the evening, and none of them would enter her room in the middle of the night for something like this. Not only that, but she had a foggy recollection on the edges of her memory that she had dreamed of having just such a plate. But now was no time to think of that. That would be a mystery for another time - for now, something had to be done about the creatures who seemed to be flooding the streets.

Pulling her kimono on quickly, Asami slides a pair of sandals onto her feet and takes off out of her home compound, katana scabbard gripped in her left hand while she used her Byakugan to search for the closest villagers. While she looked Asami paid particular attention to the chakra network of these monsters. It didn't appear so much that they had chakra than that they were made of chakra. Rounding a corner, Asami unsheathed her sword, sprinting and slashing in a graceful upwards arc through the body of one such creature who was diving out of the sky towards a girl with a bow. Asami watched as it disintegrated in front of her eyes, before turning to the girl in question. "What can you tell me about the situation," she would ask, before stepping and thrusting the tip of her blade through an oncoming beast that decided to charge at her, watching as it too seemed to merely evaporate upon its death. "These beasts aren't natural," she would mutter, readying her stance for the next strike.
_____________________________________
WC: 447 / TMWC: 1,047/15,500

Byakugan Active (5 AP)

AP: 245/250

The moon light streamed into Yukio's open window, the young man in question dozing on his comfortable bed.  Those who knew him would smirk at the sight of drool escaping and beginning to soak a small spot of his pillow.  Yukio took himself and all related shinobi business very seriously, so to see him in such a...silly position would merit teasing of the highest order.  Thankfully, his sleep was unobserved, although the sharp scream that echoed through the night startled the young man from his strange and, now that he was awake, illusive dreams.  "Who was that?" The young Senju spoke aloud, wiping the embarrassing drool from his face.  He took a look at the attire he had on - it appeared luck was on his side, as he had fallen asleep in his training outfit.  He moved quickly, donning his shoes before moving through his house to see if his parents were home.  "Tou-san? Kaa-san? Are you here?" He called out, but neither responded.  He assumed they were out in the village, both of them being Ninja meant odd hours were kept sometimes.  It had been about 2 minutes since the scream sounded out, and Yukio decided he should go help.  He may only be an Academy Student (and an old one, at that, he grumbled silently to himself), but he could certainly help if some civilian was being mugged, he had enough training and chakra control for that.  He dashed from the house towards the sound, and quickly came upon a troubling scene.  He failed to notice the food which seemed to be on the kitchen table - a large bowl of miso ramen, steam still wafting as if it had just been made, and a large glass of juice, his favorite brand.

Two young girls, one with long black hair wielding a katana and sporting a Konohagakure Headband, the other with light purple hair and a bow, which was certainly interesting, appeared to be in the midst of being assaulted by strange looking bats.  As the Konouchi finished a straight pierce through one of the creatures, Yukio was shocked to see it disintegrate into nothingness.  "What are these things?" Yukio addressed the two women, hoping either of them may be able to shed some light on the situation.  His eyes darted around, looking to see if any other creatures descended to attack, or if any other people came by to investigate.

---

WC: 404 | TMWC: 1,451/15,500

Seeing the two come to her aid, Kurai blinked and gave a nod of thanks to the two. Upon being asked what was going on she simply shrugged as she herself was not quite sure. Once the creatures were handled and taken care of, Kurai gave a light bow to the two before maneuvering away. As someone who was not accustomed to others, especially in regards to a proper shinobi village. Before fully departing a soft voice would be heard, “Thank you.” With that the phantom vanished into the darkness now that the present threat was finished with their help.

---

Two nights and upon the next morning, Kurai awoke to the sound of mayhem and destruction outside. It was more of the creatures that spawned overnight that were raiding a trash can. With her arrows collected and bow at the ready, it was time to just help out for once. The shift and change of the wind would likely have picked up the frail woman to closer to where she wished to have been but right now the village of Konohagakure needed an extra hand. The Tau waited about before looking to see if she could register to help at the mission board. She was not unused to such affairs as the underground circuit of shinobi had their own network to get missions out, navigating this method was new to her.

Grabbing an assortment of papers and had her name signed on them, Kurai simply signed them as ‘Kurai’ without a last name. She went to the first designated location which happened to be a child’s home. The ‘Dream King’ in question was a 6 year old from the village and thusly was needing help awakening from the
castle he had formed around himself. His parents were worried and concerned for his well being. Being a foreigner and not allied with the village hidden in the leaves directly, she was not quite sure what to do. As it was a team mission she ended up signing up for, she decided to take on the support role in this situation. Being equipped with shadow clones and her bow, Kurai was able to aid should anything large and out of normal would come the team’s way. It was an easy role to fill as being a bit unnatural looking in the day, there was an air of beauty and grace that she possessed in her mid to late teens but it was not of natural beauty like most others her age. This would also let the others who undertook the mission as actual Konohagakuran shinobi who would likely have a better rapport with the child in question.

Once the initial conversation with the parents provided more information and details the team could use, it was time to help the child out. With the support of Kurai to help pick off stuff suddenly attacking the team, it was a matter of time for the others to help remedy the woes and issues of the slumbering child. There had to be some justification for why he remained asleep and maybe he could shed some light on the whole situation. Without or with additional insight, once this issue was resolved it was only a matter of time before another situation would arrive. Thankfully the village had sent out missives to the families and clan heads about remaining vigilant and calm through the encounters and not to stir too much at the situation. Kurai being reserved thankfully as a person meant she seemed less likely to get involved in some of outlier issues but with the need of bodies to help remedy these sudden outbursts of problems. Once the child was coaxed out of sleep and helped to clean up the mess. It was time for a new task for the team to undertake.

---

Further towards the outskirts of Konoha, Kurai and company made their way to the anomaly that was forming. The concerns of the village was that this may be an origin of the creatures or possibly a larger formation of one, it was not certain in the mission description. As they approach they could see in the distance a large black rift in the sky, roughly 20 meters above the ground. It was large enough to see from a distance so likely it was larger than what it first appeared. However when approaching closer, it appeared to maintain size. The squad was to meet up with other shinobi already at the location which has set up and primed to be begin sealing or something for the anomaly. It being a rift of some sort over a creature piqued the Tau’s interest in how it would be taken care of but it was going to be a surprise for the team for sure as once they arrived, the squad had formed a protective barrier around themselves as owl-bear-lion creatures swung massive claws and tried to bite with their jaws on the barrier.

The amalgamations before them outnumbered them 2 to one which resulted in an even match upon the team with Kurai’s arrival. This was a swing in momentum for the support squad that needed help and protection. As the others likely jumped into action first, Kurai knew her challenge would likely come one close combat took place since it was difficult to not hit someone with an arrow. The moment she could see the owbel’s bodies, she drew an arrow and let the wind carry it to its first target enraging the beast but pulling its attention towards the new incoming force. With the swiftness present prior a few nights ago, Kurai decided it would be best to unleash a better option but refrained from showcasing her bloodline abilities still. It was best not to scare people in this time nor did she want to be lumped in with the creatures of dreams and nightmares. Once all the others were in front of her she stealthily used some black threads to help form handseals to conjure her shadow clones so they too could aid in this encounter.

Once the beasts were defeated and the squad could return to their proceedings it appeared like a simple time from there. Releasing her shadow clones at this point, she collected her arrows and rejoined the team before standing awkwardly nearby. Finding a shady spot, Kurai remained there till something occurred or once the rift was settled and sealed the gate to what presumably is where the creatures came from. Studying or investigating the occurrences did not interest Kurai as she was worried and concerned about her sister wherever she was and if she too was encountering these type of monsters. A heavy sigh came from the soft and quiet girl as the Phantom remained vigilant for more to come their way. There was concerns more would come out but with the volume that they had to handle upon their arrival, it was Kurai’s best guess that once they finished here that the rift would likely have used whatever energy and chakra that fueled it’s ability to maintain itself or summon the creatures further beyond from their own realm of existence. Always much to do.

WC 1,200, TWC: 1,800 | TMWC: 2,651 / 15,500

Asami had returned home after that strange meeting in the streets, when the dream monsters had attacked, but she couldn't say that her sleep had been restful. The eerie beasts continued to appear, night after night, as well as other odd happenings. The most recent was news of a boy who had formed an entire castle around himself, and was stuck in a dream state as some sort of 'king'. Asami had been tasked, along with a small team, to try and wake the boy and dispel the manifestation of his dreams. She readied herself at home, weary bags beginning to form under her eyes, and set off at once to the home of the boy in question, where she hoped to meet the rest of her team.

"We don't know why he won't wake up," the parents said when Asami questioned them. "We think he must have fallen asleep at the park. He went to go play, and when we went later to check on him, we saw this massive fortress... and there he was, standing on top proclaiming himself the dream king! We tried calling out to him, but it didn't seem like he could hear us... When you go to him, be careful. That castle has armaments and defenses you'll need to get past to reach him... Oh, and please don't hurt him. We just want him back safe." Asami listened carefully, nodding and turning to the team that was present. "To the park then.. Let's try and get this finished quickly, so they can all get some rest."

Asami would then take off at a run toward the park, where the castle came into view. There were dream monsters guarding it, as well as ballistas with flaming arrows at the top. Focusing her eyes, she could just see the image of a young boy in the inner tower, wearing a lopsided crown. She looked to her team, making sure everyone was ready before she made her move. Activating her Byakugan, she ran to the front of the castle, throwing palm strikes to attempt to disrupt the chakra within the bodies of the monsters, while using her 360 degree vision to deftly dodge any flaming arrows coming her way. Lacking a proper chakra network, gentle fist seemed to have little effect on the monsters, and so Asami eventually drew out her blade and started slashing and thrusting, working as a distraction so that others on her team could climb the tower and reach the boy.

Whatever methods they employed, she would keep attacking the monsters out front until they eventually dissipated into mist, and the ballista stopped firing. She would know when the boy woke, as the castle and armaments would fade away, leaving them all standing on open grass in the middle of the park. Hopefully the boy would be able to offer some explanation for what had happened to him, if so then Asami would be glad to hear it. With their mission complete, she would return home, though she knew that it was only a matter of time before she was called out again.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Some days had passed, but the problem with the dream creatures only seemed to be getting worse. Today, Asami and the team were called to the village outskirts, where a large rift had appeared in the sky. Some forces had already been dispatched to investigate, but by the time Asami and the others had arrived, they were being set upon by large monstrosities that she couldn't even identify. They seemed to be a strange hybrid of several forest dwelling beasts, and they were savagely attacking at the barriers the researchers had put up in a desperate attempt to survive until reinforcements arrived. Asami quickly got to work, learning from her previous encounters and going straight for her sword.

She took on two of the forest beasts herself, deftly dodging their teeth and claws as she danced around them with fluid movements, spinning and slashing, lunging and piercing her steel into their bodies in any weak spot she could see. She centered her aim on the soft underbelly, the inside of the joints, and the neck, leading the beasts away from the intelligence squad and attacking them until the finally fell, their bodies disintegrating much like the others had. The creatures may have been made in the same way, but they were getting gradually stronger and tougher to kill.

When the rest of the team had finished eliminating the threat, the barriers were finally dropped, and the team was able to get information from the recon squad who got here earlier. They needed to see what they could find out about these rifts, what they were, and where they came from. It seemed it was still a mystery, though the only thing people knew for certain was that they were somehow connected to dreams. If they didn't find out the source of this dilemma, their world might soon be overrun by an entity that no one could readily explain. They still had a lot of work to do, it seemed. Once the team had finished gathering information, Asami returned home for another night of little rest. It seemed to be the fate of many people these days, as no one was able to trust their dreams... there was no way to know what might come out of them next.
_________________________________________
WC: 898 | TWC: 1,345 | TMWC: 3,549/15,500

Yukio was happy to see the two women were safe and, by the time he had gotten there to assist, things seemed to quiet down.  The three of them separated after to go on assisting others, although fate would draw them together more and more as the dreams of those in the village continued to haunt the waking world and chaos descended around them.

---

Only two days had passed when Yukio once more ran into the same two women he met earlier.  The Hyuuga, who he learned was called Asami, and the purple-haired woman was named Kurai, although if she had a family name Yukio wasn’t given it.  He introduced himself to them both, glad to have at least some familiar faces in the midst of this waking nightmare.  Their reasoning for being drawn together once again was due to a shared mission – a young boy appeared to have trapped himself in a dream.  A large castle had formed around him, and he has dubbed himself the “Dream King.” The three departed quickly, first to the parent’s home and then to the area where the Dream King awaited. As the distraught parents explained a little about what had been going on, a plan was beginning to form.  Unfortunately, it appeared the three of them would need to assault this keep, complete with ballistae, and defeat any dream entities they discovered there and then rouse the child from his slumber. Of course, the village and the boys parents wanted his safe return. Having collected what information they could, the trio departed.

Yukio would admit, working with a team was something he quite enjoyed.  He had yet to get any missions with his official team from Konoha, and this madness about the village meant it would be some time before he had the opportunity to do so.  The trio approached the castle, which towered menacingly into the sky.  ”Okay, but why did it have to be such a scary looking castle?” Yukio lamented, and no sooner had he spoken up than the first flaming ballistae shot landed near them, followed by the screeching of more dream entities coming for them. ”Go, and watch each other’s backs!” The battle was truly on at that point.  Kurai was truly impressive with her bow, and her use of Shadow Clones provided much needed support.  Yukio made note to ensure he learned that technique as soon as he was able, being able to make tangible clones to assist in fighting was a life saver, literally in some cases.  Of course, the Hyuuga’s Gentle Fist style needs no description, its grace and offensive capability well known to Yukio as one of the most prominent clans in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Watching Asami disrupt the chakra of these dream constructs was a sight to behold and appeared to be very effective as well.

For himself, he relied on his clans’ specialty: Ninjutsu.  In particular, Yukio’s water jutsu was able to create space and control the battlefield so that neither he nor his squad mates were ever backed into a corner or surrounded. It was his first taste of real combat, and Yukio found his blood singing as he weaved through hand seals and dodged attacks.  Sure, these were mostly just mindless beasts that fell for the most basic of diversions and distractions (He didn’t think a real shinobi would ever fall for a standard Clone Technique like these monstrosities did) but it was a chance to stretch his legs and see what he could do. It was intoxicating.

After several dozen of the creatures were destroyed, they were free to enter the castle and the rest of the mission was quite uneventful.  They found the child a sleep on a grand throne and simply woke him up.  He didn’t appear harmed at all and admitted to the shinobi as they returned to his home that he had slept quite well.  The parents were, of course, overjoyed to have their son returned to them, and the three shinobi departed once more, although this time with a promise to meet again should the village call for them.  Yukio secretly hoped it would happen soon; it was somewhat fun!

---

As the days proceeded, the situation only deteriorated.  More and more of these nightmare constructs were forming, and it was getting to the point that civilians needed shinobi escorts to even move about the town and accomplish simple tasks.  Yukio heard from his parents, who had been ranging beyond the village to assist other towns throughout Fire country, that this was quickly becoming a global occurrence.  Nearly every major hidden village was experiencing these nightmares, and no one was very close to figuring out how to stop them.  Just a day after hearing this news, Yukio spotted it – a rift, like a sucking chest-wound, appeared in the sky.  The village was mobilized, and support was called up.  An investigatory team had been sent immediately but hadn’t been heard from for several hours.  Yukio was volunteering near the city center when the call went out for reinforcements and volunteers.  Spotting both Asami and Kurai, Yukio was quick to join them, and the squad decided to head out toward where the initial team was last seen.

Upon their arrival, it was quickly discovered why the first team was out of communication – they had sealed themselves within a barrier and were beset on all sides by much larger nightmares than Yukio had seen since. Large beasts that appeared to be combinations of owls, lions, and bears, were assaulting the barrier, attempting to tear through it with tooth and claw.  The squad spread out and Kurai, ever quick with her bow, launched an arrow into one of the beasts, enraging it and drawing their attention to the newcomers. Yukio began immediately with a large scale water jutsu to push the creatures back as they rushed towards them, and soon the fighting was on in full.  Asami continued to utilize her clans Taijutsu techniques, although these beasts were much tougher than their last opponents.  She felled two of them with her bare hands, which made Yukio immensely proud of the Hyuuga.  She was truly a testament to Konoha.  Kurai, who Yukio still did not know nearly anything about, was once again hard at work with her bow, weaving shots into the melee whenever she could do so safely.  At one point, she brought out her shadow clones, which he was immensely grateful for.  She must be very skilled, because the Senju teenager never even saw her form the hand seals!

As for Yukio himself, he continued using his water jutsu, moving the creatures about the battlefield and ensuring none of his teammates were ever overwhelmed.  He prided himself on his rather large chakra reserves, so using a large number of techniques did not usually bother him.  However, against these more difficult foes, even Yukio found himself running out of energy.  By the end of the difficult fight, he only had around half of his normal chakra reserves, which had never happened to him before.  Finally, the beasts were defeated, and the initial surveillance squad was able to release the barrier and relay what information they had found to the team.  The major concern was that this rift in the sky may be the beginning of a larger, more widespread invasion by these nightmares.  Something needed to be done, and soon.

Yukio and his squad returned to the village in relative quiet, only encountering a few of the minor nuisances along the way. These were easily dispatched and barely required any effort, at this point.  The group arrived back in the village and gave their report to the higher ups, who thanked them for their efforts. Thinking back on what they had seen, Yukio was concerned that this may only be the beginning.

---

WC: 1,309 | TWC: 1,709 | TMWC: 5,258 / 15,500

Recovering from the recent escapades, Kurai rested her body and her mind to the best of her ability as more things began to shift and stir within the village of Konohagakure. There was a multitude of issues that were now present within the village as the rifts became more of a norm, with a larger one growing off in the distance. It was in the vicinity of one of the towns she resided in briefly and curiosity came to her mind with the town's development of such affairs. The concern she possessed was that of her sister. She heaved a heavy sigh as she grabbed her bow once more before gathering up her equipment to meet up with the group of genin from the village she had become acquainted with. The two of them had not had real proper introductions though they had been working together for some time now. Once at the designated location, a cafe, Kurai would anxiously sit down, her hunter's garb slightly tinged with dirt on the edges though she left the hood down so the others could spot her. Her physique was not too crazy out of the realm of possibility but the frailness lent itself to some likely perceptions of her.

As she waited a waitstaff at the cafe with some bags under her eyes walked up to take Kurai's order, "I apologize ma'am but we're running low on coffee. I can offer other caffeinated teas if you are looking to help stay awake." The waitress proposed to her as she awaited the others. Hesitant to speak, Kurai nodded to her simply as the waitstaff member offered their tea options. With recent affairs, Kurai was not surprised that caffeine was in high demand within the village. A lot of people wanted to stay awake more often than not and was likely using it as a chance to avoid spurring on more issue, surely that would not become a problem in the future. Once the order was placed, Kurai simply waited for the others to discuss any observations they had collected at this time with the hopes of a peaceful gathering over another hurry-up and fight scenario. Uncertain when the others were set to arrive, Kurai rested her bow unstrung, leaning on the side of the table and fiddling with some fletching off an arrow of hers. Her mind wandered to the affairs of yesterday.

WC: 400, TWC: 2,200 | TMWC: 5,658 / 15,500

Asami sat on the porch outside her bedroom, her chin resting on her knee. Her face was a bit ashen, her pale eyes sunken and weary as her head nodded. Like many others in the village, she had been trying to stave off sleep for several days. Tempers were short, and she had been actively avoiding her father lately, in case he would find some reason to lecture her. Training had been able to keep her awake, but she realized as time went on that it also burned through her energy reserves faster, so it was a double edged sword, so to speak.

She glanced upward, and noticed that the sun was already high in the sky. She was meant to meet with the two acquaintances she'd met when all of this started, an effort to discuss things and try and figure out what was going on, and how they could help the situation. Getting up, she slowly moved to the bucket of cold water near the steps and splashed some on her face, invigorating herself a bit before grabbing her katana and buckling her sandals.

She walked at a casual pace through the Hyuuga district and out into the village proper, to a cafe that was bustling with people buying cup after cup of tea and coffee in an effort to keep themselves awake. It was a familiar sight by now, and Asami was no different, though she didn't have much by way of stimulants at her house. The jasmine tea that she preferred wasn't highly caffeinated, and in truth she'd avoided drinking hot beverages lately as they tended to make her sleepy.

When she neared the outdoor seating area, Asami caught sight of the girl she'd met before, a bit of a strange and frail looking girl who favored the bow and arrow. She was good with that bow, Asami had to admit, and she had been useful in their clashes with the dream beasts. She approached calmly, brushing a bit of hair from her face. "Good day," she said by way of greeting, pulling a chair out at the table. "I'm not sure I've actually caught your name.. I am Asami Hyuuga." She bowed her head in a way that was more of a nod, gracefully flipping her hair over her shoulder as she sat down, pulling her katana from her back and resting it on her knee.

"I'm not sure if you've heard any news lately.. The last I heard was that the rifts are growing larger, and there's a particularly nasty one hovering over some village not far from here... If the last rift we saw is any indication, then it seems the larger the rift, the bigger and nastier the creatures that come out of it will be... Has anyone investigated whether Space-Time jutsu is involved? I haven't heard of extra-dimensional activity except in such a context... I suspected ties with Genjutsu at first, but that doesn't seem to be accurate. All we know is that it is tied to dreaming... But what is the source? These rifts aren't central to Konoha, there have been reports of them appearing in other countries as well... It's all so bizarre."

Asami frowned in thought. She was eager to hear if her two companions would have any insight into the matter, though one of them was yet to arrive.
___________________________________
WC: 562 | TWC: 1,907 | TMWC: 5,820/15,500

Yukio’s head slipped from his hand as he dozed off, startling him awake.  He stood, stretching in a vain attempt to encourage some blood flow to help his weariness, and walked into the kitchen.  After preparing himself a hot cup of tea, he prepared for the day.  Equipping his gear, he set off towards the Administration building.  He still had about an hour before he needed to meet his other two squad-mates at the café, so he wanted to stop and get the details for their next mission, that way they could head out immediately.  He knew it was about the Land of Hot Springs, but he hadn’t learned anything else about what they needed to do.  Once at the Administration Building, Yukio retrieved briefing packets for the three of them, thanked the receptionist who appeared ready to collapse into sleep where she sat, and headed towards the small café they were scheduled to meet at.

The situation in the village, and indeed the rest of the Elemental Nations, was getting worse.  Tempers were flaring everywhere due to lack of sleep and still nightmares and beasts were popping up everywhere to cause problems.  The one upside to this, if Yukio had to find one, is that the entire village is getting thoroughly trained in vigilance and awareness training.  When any alleyway could hold a small monster that wanted to gouge your eyes out, you got very good at defeating those ambushes quickly, or you ended up in the hospital.  Which was another problem, people in the hospital were constantly dreaming and it needed to have a huge contingent of shinobi to protect the sick and injured within.

Yukio approached the café and saw the two women sitting in the outdoor area.  He cleared his throat as he neared to alert them to his presence right as Asami finished her statements regarding Space-Time jutsu and the rising issues in other nations.

”You’re too right about other nations starting to have problems.” He paused as he passed out the mission packets to both women. ”Our next target is in the Land of Hot springs; they’ve had a rift open up similar to the one we dealt with earlier.  We’ve been tasked with investigating. We’ll clear the way for the sensory and investigation team to follow in behind us.  The rift is supposedly too high to reach by standard methods, so I’m not sure how they’re going to get close to the damn thing, but that’s a problem for them.” Yukio flagged the waitress down and ordered a hot tea, he was just as weary as everyone else, before he continued. ”Now that we aren’t fighting for our lives, allow me to introduce myself – Yukio Senju, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I’m familiar with you, Asami, I did a little digging into the active Genin roster on Hyuuga members after the Dream King mission, but I’m afraid I don’t know anything about you Miss…?” Yukio trailed off, addressing the young purple-haired woman before him.  She had a series of what could only be stitch lines across her face and body.  Yukio was certain it was a bloodline of some kind, he had a vague memory of hearing about something like this, but he couldn’t put his finger on it for the life of him.

---

WC: 553 | TWC: 2,262 | TMWC: 6,373/15,500

Kurai sat as Asami was first to approach and make for official greetings, a simple gesture of greeting offered to Asami by the Tau. Quiet and reserved, she thought to herself as Asami appraised her thoughts on what had transpired. Giving her the time to elaborate on her thoughts. Kurai nodded in understanding. The Phantom's own thoughts were simpler ones as without proper training, most of what she encountered was the teaching she had for this situation. To her, it was just summons of some kind or wild beasts from within Konoha's village borders that went berserk or experimented on. Those thoughts she kept to herself however as to not stir the pot any further than she had. When the subject conversed about other countries also being impacted, her face paled slightly more than before as she thought of her sister. Her one-track mind on this resulted in her giving her face a light clap on both her cheeks to refocus herself. She looked at Asami about to answer her as another familiar voice rang out towards the duo presently seated. Kurai offered a greeting to the young man with a simple hand wave.

That was when the rather confident Senju arrived. She had met Goto, likely one of the elders of the clan already who had been kind enough to allow her entry and temporary residence while she awaited information from the Deputy. At which point since both had directed the question of introduction to her she nodded as it was her turn to speak. "Koutaishi.. Koutaishi Kurai." She stated bowing her head lightly. "As you've deduced I'm not from Konohagakure." She said quietly as she had been speaking prior to their interactions so far. "I'm a hunter by trade at this moment... I'm looking for my sister but Goto-sama was able to determine that Konohagakure has no records of interacting with her." She said openly about her objective. "I was planning on leaving as soon as he relayed the information however these events spurred and I do not believe it is safe to travel right now." She said staring upward toward the rift that began a ways away from the Land of Fire. Then her head tilted a bit to look beyond that towards the other land in the distance, concerned for what may be ongoing in her homeland of the Land of Demons. Her sister was sure to be safe she hoped.

"I am not sure of the current affairs on what is going on. Nor do I possess the education for guessing. My instinct is telling me there is more than just rifts." She added to the conversation thinking about the affairs of the previous days that felt like weeks ago. The waitress arrived providing the orders to the respective patrons as she stifled a yawn, "Apologies. I am sure you all are working diligently on finding a resolution, the owner has provided these on the house for your work for the village." She said before bowing towards the three of them, Kurai shifting a bit uncomfortably at the gesture. The waitress then continued about her shift as the three remained seated. With consideration of what was to come, the timeline of events was getting dangerous as Kurai looked between the three of them, worse for themselves with some insignificant amount of sleep between all of them. She took a sip of her own tea as she waited to hear what the others had to say on the matter. Without proper education in all of the shinobi arts, her knowledge base was limited in what insights she could provide. Since it involved the trio working together at this time, Kurai began to consider what she saw and understood and what it could mean.

"Maybe dreams are becoming real?" She proposed as a question, uncertain at the sound of it. "Rather than a specific kind of technique. Perhaps what we're seeing is just reality?" She pondered heavily at the thought. As far as the creatures they reacted like one would expect out of them and since dreams are a mixed assortment, it was only non-humans that were really becoming present or real. "No people..." She murmured to herself aloud at the same volume of her normal talking tone. She then shook her head, "Not people.." She seemed to correct herself, her own thoughts drifting to people as a common piece of issue for them to possibly consider in conjunction with all that had transpired so far. "People are the cause... No... People are used... Chakra bodies..." She continued to murmur unsure of her own thoughts as she closed her eyes shaking her head. Her brain was scattered amongst the thoughts. She took another sip of her tea before looking between Asami and Yukio, "Thoughts?" She asked wearily.

WC: 800, TWC: 3,000 | TMWC: 7,173 / 15,500