Sato Hibiki - Monstrous Disappointment

Haunting of Mayberry Mansion:

The sun passed behind the large cliffs of the village, casting the buildings in a soft darkness momentarily as lights began to switch on in the streets below. The sky above remained a tapestry of violet and azure as light from the sun still crept into the sky and reflected of the blanket of stormy clouds. Hibiki sat perched upon an outcropping on the cliffs edge. It was in fact the very same cliff he had climbed as part of his training before graduating the academy though he could more fully appreciate the view now that his confidence in surface walking had grown. He made his way down the rocky cliff face at a light jog before hoping stretches, trusting his strength and balance to control his descent. At worst he would have plenty of time to summon Jorogumo and use its arms to reach the cliff or slow his descent.

He veered off before reaching the bottom of the cliff using a shortcut to avoid the village proper and the tiered walkways and buildings that surrounded it. Tonight he was heading towards the old Mayberry mansion. Apparently it was haunted by some kind of monster or ghost and Hibiki couldn’t wait to try and find it and hopefully befriend it. If it was indeed a ghost then Hibiki wanted to offer to make it a puppet body. He had been giddy at the idea all day since he accepted the mission. Imagining a ghost friend that could wear his puppets. Such an ally would be invaluable and would certainly make him a much more versatile fighter.

Hibiki wanted to wait until dark for the most authentic haunted experience he could get. So far as he could figure no one had actually died from the hauntings and had only come down with unforeseen illness or been unlucky. The occurrences only tended to happen when people came to tear the mansion down as well. Hibiki considered that the ghost or spirit was unlikely to be too malevolent and likely just targeting people that wanted to destroy its haunting ground. Hibiki felt like he could understood, he certainly wouldn’t like it if people tried to demolish his home and he was likely to cause more damage than unlucky occurrences if someone tried more than once. Apparently, the night was filled with either blood curdling screams or children laughing so he considered if maybe some kind of family lived in the mansion. It was certainly big enough after all.

Hibiki slowed down as he drew closer to the mansions location, finding a position that he could scout out the mansion from the outside for a while in case he could spot one of the ghosts moving around and perhaps call out to them first. After and hour or so he thought he spotted movement within one of the windows and squinted in the dark, trying make out more details but unsuccessfully. He removed Jorogumo from storage displacement and attached his threads as he sneaked closer, allowing the puppet to glide ahead just above the ground before throwing his mothers voice through the puppet. “I have come to treat with the spirits of this place. Step forth and let yourself be known so we may discuss your home on friendly terms. I understand you have had some trouble with workers trying to demolish the place?”

Hibiki awaited a response and not long after a loud scream pierced the air before a rumbling voice spoke loudly though Hibiki could not tell precisely from where. “Leave now or face my wrath! Tell the others to leave this place be or I shall be forced to unleash my power and doom your village to destruction with plagues and uh…..other really bad and terrible things!” the short speech was punctuated by another scream. Hibiki considered the pause to be a little less encouraging and made him doubt this ghost was as powerful as it claimed to be. Though the scream had been quite interesting Hibiki couldn’t help note it was identical each time, similar to his own ventriloquism technique and he began to worry that it might not be a monstrous ghost after all.

Hibiki walked forwards, forsaking some stealth but keeping Jorogumo ahead of him just in case a real threat presented itself. The remains of the mansion itself was still imposing and though the roof was partially in ruins the majority of the building appeared to be largely intact if in need of some much needed repairs or replacements. “I don’t want to kick you out of here but if we don’t come to some kind of deal then they will send someone that will, or someone to just blow the whole house away with one blast!” Hibiki paused to await a response and shrugged before calling out again. “Well ready or not here I come!” Hibiki entered and took in the entrance section and stroked his chin before leaping up and over a crumbled and collapsed wooden staircase to the first floor. He cursed loudly as he landed for his foot had gone right through a rotten plank and dangled from the ceiling of the room below. Stupid rotten planks. As he pulled himself up he saw a figure at the end of the corridor to his right, something large and shrouded in darkness accompanied by the loud sound of rattling bones.

He dashed towards the figure leaving Jorogumo to trail behind as Hibiki ran up the wall and along the ceiling towards the shape, making the hand signs of Ram > Tiger > Ox > Dog before exhaling a gout of water that from Hibiki’s perception appeared to spray forward and arc upwards towards the floor of the corridor, quickly thickening into a thick glue like substance “Water Release: Starch Syrup Capturing Field.” Hibiki allowed his surface walking to drop and twisted as he fell making further hand signs of Ram > Ox > Snake before firing of a arrow like lighting bolt that sizzled as it contacted the syrup starch capturing field, hopefully shocking whatever creature Hibiki had captured with it. Hibiki landed lightly on the sticky water and moved across it with ease thanks to his surface walking.

Hibiki approached the creature and was disappointed to find what appeared to be an old coat with rattling pieces of bone or stone sewn to the insides. A further inspection of the so called monster also revealed several thin wirers that extended into small pulleys at the top of the wall, allowing them to shake and move slightly. Hibiki sighed to himself and released his held technique, allowing the water to flow normally again and spread across the floor with little resistance. Doesn’t seem like there are any real ghosts hear at all. Pushing down disappointment, Hibiki continued onward following the trail of the wires and discovering several other non-lethal traps or monster like apparitions that turned out to be a clever wire tricks and shapes in shadowy places. Though he appreciated the ingenuity of some of the contraptions Hibiki was tired of stalking through room after room and he had discovered some tell tale signs of the mansion having been lived in. one section of flooring appeared to have been replaced with shiny nails and strong planks of wood whilst the rest was left to go to ruin. Hibiki figured that perhaps only certain sections or paths were put in use and he had also found a bed up in an attic room with cleanish looking covers. At the very least they were not in a ruined condition as much of the other rooms had been and even a comfy chair and table that were perfectly intact were placed in the room.

Hibiki Called out again and his voice echoed slightly as he did so. “Come on out and talk, I know there aren’t any ghosts. I found the wires and lanterns. They were still pretty cool though and I don’t want to accidently hurt anyone with one of my jutsu.” As expected, no reply was forth coming though Hibiki did notice the flickering of a light seemingly around the corner. He snuck along the ceiling, manipulating his chakra strings to have Jorogumo float just above the floor so no footsteps would be heard, with a few more deft moments he made the puppet open the door. As the screen door slid to the side something let out a yell of terror that made Hibiki flinch for a moment before he spotted the source, a man in rough, well-worn clothing standing in the corner of the room with a dagger held out in a shaking hand. “M-monster”. Hibiki jumped down from the ceiling and cocked his head, looking around for the monster and revealing Jorogumo’s additional arms in readiness, prompting another yell of fright from the man. Hibiki looked between the man and his puppet realising the confusion. During this time the man had seemingly realised his mistake but still looked apprehensive.

“Thanks. I named her Jorogumo. She is just a puppet see.” Hibiki moved the strings and waved his arm, causing the puppet to mimic the movement with three of its arms. “She is perfectly harmless, well so long as you don’t attack me that is, so are you the one setting all the traps and scaring off the workers? Also how did you make them ill, some kind of contact poison?” The man straightened up and relaxed a little but did not put away his knife as he responded. “Poison! I did nothing of the sort, little bit of sneezing powder is all then one of them reveals he has a cold and every panics. Worked much better than expected. Tricky part is the deep booming voice and making sure they don’t see the wires. I thought about being one of your lot once, you know a shinobi but settled for becoming a wanderer instead. Can still use a little genjutsu, nothing powerful mind, as you have seen. Otherwise its all wires, smoke bombs and flash paper. Found this place a few months ago and suits me lovely, nobody bothers me and its nice and quiet up here. Since its practically ruined you won’t get any thieves and bandits stay well clear of the village. I was planning to leave sooner before that great bloody storm appeared above the village seems safe here but whenever I try to go I get all turned around so I’m stuck here for the while.”

Hibiki listened patiently and considered everything the man had said. “So you would leave if you could get past the storm?” The man scratched his stubble and shrugged before replying. “I guess so, better than getting thrown in prison or worse now that you know I’m here, don’t like my chances in a fight. Even if I could win that would put me on the wanted list. Don’t mind tricking a few construction workers but no interest in ninja business.”

“Well if we grab your things and follow me you can stay at our inn, family run and so long as you behave I can tell the administrators that you helped get rid of the ghosts, I mean it would technically be true if you help me take down the traps, then I can ask that they let you out of the village safe and sound and give you a temporary pass through the storm.” Hibiki made the offer as enticing as he could but was prepared to use Jorogumo to simply capture the man if he made any sudden moves or looked like he would disagree. “Well guess I don’t really have any better options. Lets get started on these traps then.”

The next few hours passed quickly as Hibiki helped the man disable the traps and then gather his things and pack them away, Hibiki using Jorogumo to carry a small trunk of the strangers goods. As they traded ghost stories whilst they worked. Hibiki led him back to the inn and explained the situation to his mother who was not happy at being both woken in the middle of the night and discovering that Hibiki had slipped out of his room and had gone hunting for monsters, let alone brings a strange outsider to the inn. Fortunately, Hibiki’s mother relented but her tone of voice informed him that the discussion was not over and Hibiki was sure it would continue for several days until his mother decided she was satisfied he had learned his lesson. Then she would just hold it over his head whenever he did anything wrong, Hibiki much preferred that stage as he could always beat a hasty retreat.

The next Hibiki led the stranger to the gate and explained the situation, leaving the guards to sort out a temporary pass or question the stranger as they saw fit. He hoped they would just let him go but ultimately it wasn’t his decision to make. Hibiki had enjoyed swapping stories however and he ran a couple through his head as he walked over to the mission office to accept his pay and report to them what had happened. He was sure they would be pleased that the demolition could proceed though part to of him was sad about it. He was sure that had the man not been there it would attract some ghosts or spirits eventually.

[Exit]

TWC: 2233

Claiming mission rewards:
8000 Ryo - (x2 from Beloved Presence)
40 AP - (x2 from Beloved Presence)

Claiming WC: 2233  - 25% discount on training as stats full

Jutsu:
- Genjutsu Art: Demonic Illusion: Flower Garden - 750 - 750/2233
- S/T Art: Fall Distortion - 750 - 1500/2232
- Water Release: Bouncy Wall upgrading to C-Rank - 375 - 1875/2233
- spending 358 wc towards (Incomplete) Sealing Art: Dark River Breaking Seal - 429/1750

Approved