Return to Sender

Such a bother, or so I thought, to be forced to team with a jounin for the assignment that was to follow. Apparently someone named Uthane insisted on bodyguards upon crossing through the land of fire and into the land of tea. The humility within this one was far too weak for my own concerns. Transport missions came up often but rarely those to escorts someone of self proclaimed royalty to a neighboring country. And to think that I'd be forced to travel with what the village thought was a superior. It was somewhat unnerving. But under his smile, I knew Oboro too felt this way. Considering his pride boils within me, I felt it festering as if refusing the job at hand. However, status was needed to be built and we couldn't do this without swallowing a bit of the festering feeling deep within his throat.

The jounin walked with us, Ryu- something. We hadn't noticed upon first receiving the mission as we were still in shock from the news of being escorted during an escorts mission. The man who accompanied him seemed to be a bit over twenty or so, despite his lack of wear in the face. He had smooth, slightly tanned skin that rested under his dark black hair. His hair looked that of the Uchiha, however his face had key features of the Senju clan. That much was easy to remember, that he hail from the senju clan. Oboro wondered if he knew mokuton or any other unique senju techniques. To be a senju without mokuton seemed a bit anticlimactic, but it was bound to happen occasionally. Tempted to question the worth of the man, I beckoned for Oboro's consciousness before he could speak. "Say nothing of his ability to him." I whispered from within his mind. Perhaps he was going to undermine the Jounin, and this was something we, I, couldn't afford right now. Oboro was yet to regain memories of the majority of his jutsu, Bungee Gomu being the exception. That alone would not allow us to win a fight against a seasoned veteran.

He said nothing for a while as the three would venture through the forest. Uthane was a quiet man, though every now and then he would give out a grunt when he ran into a thin branch or stepped in something undesirable. He was short with slicked back dark brown hair and wore a pair of shades as if to mask himself from the outside world. It was kind of cute. Oboro himself wore no shoes as usual and simply observed Ryu- whatever whenever he wasn't looking. "I wonder," Oboro began to speak, turning his head towards his shinobi ally. His hands were in his pockets and he wore a blank expression as he proclaimed the thoughts that dwelled on his mind for minutes now. "I've never seen you around. Are you normally out of the village for missions?" This was a smooth way for him to introduce himself. The book he'd been reading on personality emphasized making small talk to strike up meaningful conversation.

[518]

Another mission for the leader of the Senju to take on today, though it was much more important and higher ranked than those he previously did in the past few days. These missions asked simple things of a man with complex capabilities, though this mission was different. The scroll, which was located in his dark cloak which covered his body aside from his head, would contain the information on his mission. It was a strange mission, no doubt about it. He was to escort a lower ranking shinobi of the leaf during an escort mission, an escort within an escort. "What an inception." He thought to himself when he first saw his mission's details written in black on the scroll, back at his home a while before this current time where he would be walking with the young genin, Oboro Kurama. For a while they would be walking through the forest towards their intended destination, the Land of Tea. The spoiled, rich and short man they were escorting seemed to know little about caution or anything about stealth for that matter, as he would be stepping on twigs throughout their walk through the forest, along with other things which even lead to him making himself heard as he released a grunt with each undesirable thing he stepped upon, as well as in. Ryujin would simply look at the short man with disgust and disappointment being painted all over his face. "No wonder you hired the leaf to help you get home safely, little piggy." The thought running through Ryujin's calm mind, he had no time for those who thought to be above the shinobi. It wasn't long after this that the boy had spoken up, probably trying to make small talk for the road which waited ahead of them. "Nice to meet you too." Sarcasm, it was quite clear within his response, though not rude, more in a joking manor. "Yes, I sometimes do get out of the village for missions. However a more honest response to your question as to why you have hardly, or at all, seen me around, would be to tell you of my current ranking within the village. It's clear you don't know much about me, if anything. My name is Ryujin Senju, the leader of the Senju clan." His response would wake another question most likely, or at least a response from the young boy, which was what he was trying to get. Small talk meant for a quicker journey towards the Land of Tea and as a result, time would fly by and his mission would be over quicker than he had expected. This would be much better than simply walking the entire way without anyone talking to anyone, a much more boring journey than what Ryujin wanted. He did however make sure not to give away anything of importance to the young boy next to him as he spoke, purposely leaving out the information of him being apart of the village's council. Such knowledge could not only harm Ryujin in the future, but put the boy's life at risk. Anyone wanting to know something about the council could easily find this boy, torture him for the information, and dispose of the evidence. Ryujin did not want this

As his companion answered his question, it only reassured the thoughts he was already thinking. The man was indeed part of the Senju clan. The leader it seemed. He probably had access to a plethora of powerful jutsu that caused my mind to swoon at the thought of. Oboro had recently read a book on clones and wondered if the man had any knowledge of them. We'd devised a plan to create Genjutsu clones that could be used as a medium to inflict mental jutsu upon the enemy, however we were yet to experiment with it as we were busy doing low class, genin ranked missions. However, in light of recent promotion, we'd been allowed on this A rank mission. With the supervision given. Oboro was grateful, to a degree. Perhaps the cockiness within me was what told him that he would be more capable in handling this mission alone. This may have been false, but it was better to lie about being babysat than to have the truth realized.

I admit, a few questions gathered up in my consciousness but I decided it would seem a bit lame to ask him a series of questions as if he were a celebrity. Instead I gathered what he'd given me in order to properly assess the situation and fed all of that to Oboro. He silently listened to me, only mentally acknowledging my observations. Ryujin Senju, head of the Senju clan. Slightly sarcastic. A figure of importance supposedly. The real reason for Oboro being unaware to the existence of Ryujin was likely due to his own lack of lengthy presence within the village. He'd only been there around a month after stealing the identity of Oboro, a genin that was a ninja here. He was yet to be caught against the wall from someone with evidence and he doubted there would be any to raise as every last trace of the original Oboro is now gone.

As he was about to raise his next and final question, the to be stuffed pig that was accompanying him butted in all of a sudden. "Head of the Senju clan eh? I near you bunch are second to that Uchiha clan? I don't really mix myself into too many politics, but I've heard stories of you both." a sly smirk came to his face as he spoke, never taking his eyes off the road in front of him. Ryujin stood in front of him, leading the way as Oboro guarded the back. So far, nothing seemed out of order.

[426]

Their journey continued on, step by step they drew closer to their destination and just as Ryujin thought this mission wasn't going to be as bad as he initially thought it would be, the short little piggy broke that line of thought with his unruly remark. The thought of what the man said gave him chills down his spine, his stomach almost literally jumped out of his abdomen as nausea came about, though for a mere second as he heard the words come into his ears. He merely disregarded the remark, as much as every nerve in his body told him to rip the pig's head from his body, he knew their mission was to protect the man. They'd fail immediately the moment Ryujin even tried to rip his head off, along with the thought of becoming classed as a rogue-nin by his village. The village he so dearly loved. So he merely answered the man's remark with his own. "Second? Then it's a good thing you don't deal in politics, that peanut sized brain obviously knows nothing of the parties involved." His tone as cool and calm as ever, all nonchalantly, even though it took all of his mental strength to keep it that way. "Be quite now, before you get us killed." He spoke up again, his tone clearly as serious as ever. His eyebrows drew closer, like an artist painting his face with a color known throughout the land as "serious", the muscles working his lips slightly tightened to enhance this color on his canvas. With that said, he took precautions and activated his Sensing technique with a simple manipulation of the chakra within his body, requiring no handseals to be used. He extended the range of his sensory to it's max.

"Not bad..." Oboro thought to himself, or rather me. It seemed the Senju wasn't damned prideful and wouldn't take insults to his clan. He considered himself second to none it seemed, which was only natural for a clan leader. Pride could be assumed after all. But pride was one of those things caused by the dark parts in a heart. Pride was something Oboro knew all about. It was something that I am. It seemed despite his serious nature as apposed to the nonchalant one that I carry, we do have something in common. Even if the dark bits in his heart were small, there is always room for growth.

Just as the little pig was going to speak up, he shut his trap as rustling came from the bushes approximately ten meters before our turn in the path. Just by looking at Uthane I could tell that his heart had stopped. Oboro smirked a bit as he was thinking the same as I. "Ready for a fight?" I asked my host. He replied not, though his feet digging into the ground was more than enough for me to know that he'd been itching for this one.

Emerging from the Bush, there was a man dressed in red. His hair was brown and spiky with short bangs falling on his long forehead. His eyelids were peeled back, almost as if they'd been cut to give him a slightly crazier look. He was about six feet tall, easily a hundred and eighty pounds. The sprinted in the direction of Uthane, but of course he would have to go through the Senju in order to get to him.

Just as Oboro was to run after to assist in the fight, from behind the whistling of a throwing knife whirled into his ears. Stepping to the right swiftly, it grazed his head. A small strand of his hair floated to the ground before he turned around with a smile on his face. The second attacker looked similar to that of the first, though this one was smaller in body type. Not much, but just. His hand was now coated in a flame and a devilish smile appeared on his face. Oboro mimicked him before raising his brows and bracing himself, back to Ryujin and Uthane, who stood between them, the scared piggy he was.

"Think you can handle your man Master Senju?" Oboro would ask, expecting a positive answer. He knew for sure he could handle his own.

[416]

It seemed as if the man's words were said to late, the warning given to Uthane was a bit too late as someone already heard them. Just as his sensory activated he would pick up two chakra signatures within 15 meters of the group of three. A rustling in the bushes confirmed that his sensory was indeed working at 100% capacity. Ryujin's serious expression remained within the sight of the one man that had laid his eyes on the one who would bring his death. The man started with his charge at Ryujin, his feet crushing the grass beneath him as he did so. "Oh look, we have an infant on our hands." The young Senju thought to himself as a those muscles which previously only slightly tightened had tightened even more now as they worked together with the muscles located by his cheeks, causing a grin to grow on the young Senju's face. This thought and grin was due to their opponent's laughable movement ability, the speed at which he so "charged" was nothing compared to that of the Senju's. With that said he stood in his place, waiting for his opponent to come closer. The young boy standing about four meters behind him spoke up, referring to Ryujin as "master Senju". This was a clear sign of respect, with no sarcasm to be found in the boy's tone, or so Ryujin at least assumed it to be. "Definitely, show them no mercy, Oboro-kun." His last word escaped his mouth when the one who charged at Ryujin came within one meter of him, his eyes being set on the man the entire time as to not loose focus. Neither was it required of his body to take a firmer stance, staying in his casual stance the entire time. Within a blink of an eye, if it even took that long, Ryujin's following actions would occur; He moved forward with full intention of ending the man's life. He then grabbed one of the man's kunai from the side of his leg which laid dormant inside his item pouch, stopping directly beside the man as his body stood straight. His face mimicking that of his body, staying straight the entire time. With the kunai being held in his right hand, his fingers grasping it tightly, he bent his arm in order for the blunt side of the kunai to touch his chest along with the back of his thumb and index finger. The next move would be his last as he would end the man's life with it. He then thrusts his arm forward and even further, creating what some would deem a half circle in which his arm went from the bent to being straight, extended to his right. The kunai dug right into the man's back, though more to the opponent's left. One inch of the kunai went into the man's heart. His seemingly crazy eyes widened as he merely saw Ryujin appear to his side with an undeniable pain in his back and chest, to which he would quickly slip into the next realm, his body falling to the ground. Ryujin would hold onto the Kunai as it slipped from the man's back while he fell to the ground, holding onto the kunai in case they needed it for any other attackers. He would turn around to notice that Uthane stood frozen in terror, on the brink of wetting himself, to which he would merely roll his eyes. "Let's go, we don't have a lot of time. Nice job Oboro-kun." He would say, by this time Oboro would have taken care of his opponent. The entire time this was happening his sensory would remain active and would so for the remainder of their missions, with these two attackers which they just disposed of being the only chakra signatures within Ryujin's 500 meters of sensory with more than 10 chakra.

With a smile still clear on his face, he was focused on the opponent at hand. However he was still able to hear the voice of his partner call him Oboro-kun. Kun huh? Wasn't that some term of endearment? Perhaps it was as he had called him Master Senju since he was the head of the Senju clan. To be fair, he meant it more playfully than anything, but he wasn't undermining the authority of the Senju. That was to be done after insolence was proven. However for now, the conversation would have to wait as there seemed to be an angsty man with a flame in his fist rushing at Oboro. He was at least ten meters away when he started his drive and that was more than enough time for Oboro to react considering the man's sorry foot speed. The flamed fist rushed by his head ever so slowly and he was able to dodge, trip the enemy and circle back around before the man even knew what happened. The smaller of the pair was now on the ground. It would have been too easy to kill him there. "How about another try?" the Kurama would say playing with his food. Disgruntled the younger of the two missing nin would rise from the ground, wipe the dust from his ass and rush after Oboro again. This time he reached to grab the face of the Chunin with red hot flames in hand but they were quickly ducked. A strand of Bungee Gomu appeared between the hands of the brown haired sadist as they wrapped around the ankles of the target. He'd fall face first into the dirt, hands at his side. Another strand of the rubbery pink solution appeared, this time used to wrap the hands of the assaulter. Now his ankles were tied as well as hands behind is back. "If only I had an apple to stuff into your mouth." Oboro would whisper into the man's ear.

The younger of the two leaf ninja would turn around to see his guide destroy the older of the attacking ninja. Perhaps his efforts were not futile after all and there was a bit to learn from him. However as for his target, well Ryujin had killed him. I suppose it would have made sense for Oboro to kill the younger of the brothers as well. But when has Oboro ever made sense. "I'll be right back." he would say as he lifted the squirming body of his target and escaped into the woods. From within the shrubbery, concealed from the eyeline of Ryujin, he would remove a knife from his pants pocket. It was nothing special, just a rusty old kitchen knife likely used to cut steaks long before abandoned. He slowly stuck the knife into the jawline of the man and would begin cutting a circle around his face. The screams were terrifying. However the hand of the carver would not shake. He would cut perfectly, steadily, until all that was left was the red sinews left on the man's face. As for the layer of skin that was supposed to be there, that was in the pocket of the boy. Blood stains would likely rest on his front pants pocket for good after this.

He returned from the forest without word and would allow Ryujin to continue leading the way. Uthane walked though he seemed a bit silent. "Something wrong escort?" Oboro would ask the man. Though his question was only retired with a quick shake of the head followed by a deep swallow. The two were almost at the Manor.

[608]

As Ryujin turned around he'd notice that the young boy wasn't going to end the man's life so easily and quickly. He started to wonder a bit about what type of person the boy was, after all he was wrapped up in what seemed to be some sort of bubblegum technique, so he could have ended him already if he wanted. The young Senju's suspicion was further raised as the boy whispered something in the target's ear. If that wasn't enough, the boy then excused himself from Ryujin's presence and took the man into the woods. He waited for the boy to return so they could continue their mission, though he couldn't help but wonder why he took the man into the woods and out of his sight. Birds would flock away at the screams which could be heard not long after the boy took the captured target into the woods, which then confirmed his suspicion. "Great, yet another blood-lust little orphan. It seemed to be a trend nowadays. I guess I can leave him to it, I mean I have done some bad things during my lifetime as well. As long as he doesn't betray the leaf, or do this sort of thing to a leaf shinobi, I'll leave him be. Though... This could be useful. If I were to train him, help him hone his skills and shape him into a masterpiece of art in the form of a shinobi of the leaf.." He thought to himself as he listened to the screams of the man. Soon enough the young kurama boy would exit from the ocean of green trees about 7 meters to Ryujin's left. "Done? Clean yourself up so we can get a move on, Oboro-kun." He wasn't angry though, nor disappointed, instead he thought about the uses for such a shinobi within the leaf. "You probably don't know this Oboro-kun, but I have yet to find a team of genin." He said as he continued to walk towards the now close Manor, the pig in between the two shinobi once again with Ryujin leading the group of three.

"I can't tell if he's trying to make small talk or it he wants me to be in his team." Oboro would mentally communicate with me as he always did when needing advice. Admittedly I hadn't been paying much attention since he'd carved the mug of the bandit it and placed it in his pocket. Surely he was to use it for one of his masks again. They always seemed rather ugly. Made me wonder what our original face looked like. "Oboro, what do you think our first fa-". I stopped there. Maybe those things were best left forgotten. My host seemed not to have noticed the beginning of my question as he was still awaiting a reply to his own statement. "I think it's a subtle hint for you to join his ninja squad. Albeit you're not a ninja, but he doesn't know any better." Oboro nodded, but to no one ad Uthane and Ryujin were both walking forward ahead of him.

"That's rather peculiar." Oboro would say to the man walking ahead of him. "Generally Genin flock to teachers part of notorious clans such as the Senju. I never had a teacher. Chunin all on my own. Perhaps it would have helped though." I wondered if this was part of some plan or if he was actually considering the offer for a moment, though I was then distracted by what Oboro was looming at. We'd arrived at a large Manor and Uthane seemed to be pleased as well. "Thank god!" he would shout as he raised his hands in the air and walked towards his home. However, something was lurking in the shadows, suppressing it's Chakra. Just as Uthane was to pass Ryujin, it jumped out of the clearing that led to Uthane Manor. It was just a man, however a seemingly powerful one.

He wore no shirt and had a shaved head, standing easily seven feet tall. His body was that of an Olympian, hardened as a rock. He wore a green pair of shorts. His eyes were blue, hair shaved and blonde. He seemed to be something of our last task. A beast. "My, I've always had a thing for the strong type." Oboro would say, not necessarily to anyone but more so out loud. It looked like the three weren't going anywhere without passing through this wall of a man.

[401]

Their missions were about to come to an end, but to what extend would any opposing threat go in order to prevent the short stacked piggy from being delivered to his home safely? The young boy spoke up to Ryujin in reply to his little statement earlier. He himself wasn't sure whether or not his own statement was some sort of hint for the young boy to join his team, as he never showed interest in an actual team, but one thing was clear; Ryujin wanted to train this boy. Mold him into one of the best shinobi of the leaf. The boy's reply to his own statement made Ryujin wonder if the boy was actually considering the "not an invitation but also an invitation" invite to join his team. "It's more of a matter of me generally not wanting to be apart of a team. I've had a teacher years ago, one could say he was more of a mentor to me.. Though his life ended by the ends of the Uchiha scum. I took their lives in return, and as a result I was immediately ranked to chuunin. So, there was never a need for me to have a team when I was your age. Probably the reason as to why I am not as fond of teams as the rest of our brave Jounin." He opened up to Oboro, the ache within his heart making itself known to Ryujin as he spoke of his lost mentor. His words were barely cold when yet another opponent made himself known. He clearly had the ability to suppress his chakra, which told Ryujin he was of a dangerous caliber. Only those with the same skill (rank, but that's ooc business) level as Ryujin himself would be able to hide their chakra from him. He readied his body as he realized their opponent could be really dangerous. "You're right, he is strong. Watch out Oboro-kun. Little pig stay behind me." He would utter these words with the same serious expression, which he had previously taken on when he spoke to Uthune about his remark against the senju, painting his face once more. "I don't have time for this." A thought he kept to himself as he rushed forward with full force intending to take down his target as swiftly and quickly as he could. The kunai still in his right hand, grasped tightly, would be used to end this man's life as well. Fifteen meters was the distance which stood in Ryujin's way before he would meet with the same location as their opponent. "Die." The single word would thrust fear straight into the man's heart as Ryujin appeared in front of him after he vanished into a blur with his movements. Standing half an arm's length from his opponent, he would trust the kunai into the man's heart just as he trusted fear into the opponent's heart a mere split second earlier. Blood dripped from the kunai as it touched the man's heart, digging two inches straight into it. An almost instant death to the undeserving foe. "Look out for any other enemies. They too might be able to suppress their chakra and hide it from me." He looked at Oboro as he said this, signaling him to keep an eye out for any other unwanted guests.

Ryujin felt the need to open up a traumatic story into Oboro and he was unsure of how he felt it. Apparently, vengeance too was fresh on the mind of the Senju. Oboro had never felt this "vengeance" as it was only felt towards someone who'd done something to harm you. I've attempted to supply him with the feeling, however he never takes the bait. Someone as prideful as him is unaware of loss and therefore is unable to act on absent emotions. Pity really. However all this talk of Uchiha hatred was really melodramatic. He had no personal vendetta against the clan. Really, in fact, the doujutsu prowess in which they possessed was admirable in his opinion. Fetching a sharingan was a goal of his in order to harness it's powerful genjutsu ability. However it seemed that nearly every Uchiha lived in Kirigakure and so far he'd been unable to travel there. Soon though.

However as soon as this final attacker appeared, he seemed ready for confrontation. His build was spectacular, browned muscles bulging from their flesh. Just as Ryujin rushed the man, the steel glint of a kunai was clear in the eye of mine. To a normal person, it likely would have seemed as if Ryujin blurred, however to me it was only him running at great speeds. Oboro saw the same which left us impressed with ourselves. However we were unable to gawk for long as the steel blade was driven deep within the browned muscles of the man who once stood so ominously before us. "That was pretty anticlimactic..." The brown haired slump would mutter as the mass of man fell to the ground, sputtering blood. "Almost like we came here for nothing." a frown would appear on his face as no great enemy had presented themself during this journey. Only a couple of grunts and a brute too slow to protect himself. Even Uthane seemed collected enough at this point. The pig was no longer squealing. Instead of pouting like he wanted however, Oboro turned his back into the forest clearing to scout for more enemies. He was unable to detect Chakra currently, however his eyes worked just fine. So far it seemed that no one was approaching and besides, Lord Swine had made it back to his Manor safe and sound. Their missions were complete. However, I had the strangest feeling as Oboro peeked at the Senju. A feeling of familiarity. "What say we go back now? Wouldn't wanna be bothered much longer?" And with that, Oboro placed both hands on the back of his head and began walking into the forest pathway which led back to the village, relaxed as ever.

[Exit]
[451]
[TWC: 2820]
+1500 EXP from 2 A Ranks

Ryujin nodded at the boy's suggestion to head back home. He waited for Uthune to enter his own home as to be sure he was safe, once he did so he would follow the young boy back home as he walked beside him. "We should meet up again in the future, who knows what might happen in the next few days. I might even think about finally creating my own team, I might decide to stick with what I have. I guess we both have things we need to think about, eh Oboro-kun?" Ryujin said as they arrived at the gates of Konohagakure. His sensory was still active the entire time and his eyes peeked for any unwanted guests wanting to interfere with their return home, though his sensory indicated nothing with more than 10 chakra the entire way home, so they would arrive safely. "Goodbye, Oboro-kun." He greeted the boy, and headed towards the Council to turn his missions in.
[2562 WC - 2 A ranks completed.]
[Exit]