The Ghost of Halloween Past

Mission Briefing:

As Guren awoke from his slumber, he looked around in a dazed and confused state. His surroundings: the bed, the floor, the walls, everything looked completely different from his apartment. Judging by just the design of the room, it looked completely foreign from anything he was used to. The decor was uncharacteristic of Sunagakure design, the portraits hanging in the room were all of an unfamiliar village, and a quick glance out the window would confirm that he was no longer in Wind Country. He gathered his bearings and attempted to recollect his most recent memories to recall how he arrived here. Yet he only shot blanks. Not a single thought seemed to explain what could have landed him in such a place. Perhaps he was drugged and that caused his memory to be so hazy? But when would that have happened? Or maybe he was transported to this dimension via a shinobi's space time prowess? That seemed unlikely though considering Guren had not recently combatted with a shinobi capable of such a feat. 

Scratching his head he gathered his belongings and figured he would escape the room he resided in to see if he could gather any clues. The room he was in was small, with only one door in the middle of the wall furthest from him which served as the only entrance and exit to the room. As he approached the door, an eerie and uneasy breeze of air wisped past the back of his neck, erecting every hair upon it. He shivered, paused in his tracks and looked around. "Could this be genjutsu?" he wondered to himself. Quickly, he dismissed this thought. As being the genjutsu guru he was himself, there was a very low probability of someone capturing and retaining him in such an illusory realm. His eyes would see through it. He shook off this thought, then placed his head upon the door knob in front of him. He ever so slightly turned it counter clockwise and pushed the door open. To his surprise he would see a pair of familiar faces standing side by side in the hallway which the door led to. It was fellow Sunagakure shinobi: Asuka and Kota. Although he had brief encounters with the both of them, he had still been well versed on their identities and abilities. He would calmly approach the two and offer a reassuring nod: "So you too, huh? Seems like the three of us have all awoken in this...mysterious...hotel is it? Have you gathered any information on this place? I can tell we're nowhere close to Sunagakure...not even Wind Country."


(WC: 436)

Kota woke up with a splitting headache. “Next time I will avoid drinking between rounds.” He normally never stayed in another person's bed after a night of debauchery. This time was a rare exception. As his bleary eyes got used to his surroundings, he noticed it was still night time. He also noticed that he was alone. Instinct made him feel the tension in the air. Kota was lucky his costume was on the bed. He quickly got dressed in the sexy deer outfit. Making sure his antlers were in place, as the costume just looked odd without it. Kota took the time out to take a gander at his surroundings. He was located in a single room with one door coming in and out. “At least I have a window.” The window is what allowed the moonlight to creep in. It was too high up for him to get his bearings from.

This was not a way Kota wanted to spend his night. It was odd to him that he was moved without his knowledge. He would wake up when someone just as much as breathed too close to him. It made him think the people were skilled but did not want his life, at least at the moment. If such a group of people were after him. They would have killed him a lot more easily when he was inebriated. The rationalizing allowed him to relax. Kota walked to the one door to try it out. As his luck would have it the door was unlocked. Kota was starting to hope that his luck would hold up enough for him to leave.

Leaving the room Kota was surprised to see two other people inside a dimly lit hall. One was a pretty boy with a soft vibe, the other looks like he punches people for fun. While the other two looked normal. Kota had a brief flash of self consciousness. It was brief as his mental state was like screw it. He had a body and was fine with showing it. “No. So far all I have are my thoughts. I guess they do not want to kill us yet. If they did with the ample opportunity we would have stopped breathing as is. We seem to be in an old hotel. It could be a hideout or waystation.”

Kota spoke for a moment without introducing himself. He just assumed both of them had seen him before. As suna shinobi he would not be surprised if they remembered him. Kota felt like he was too awesome to be forgotten. Kota believed he could not recall their names as he had no interest in them. He would have flirted with the pretty one in another scenario besides meeting during an abduction.

The lights started to flicker suddenly as the door Kota walked over slammed without being touched. “They should really work on their electric grid. The flashing light is giving me a migraine. It was better to just keep them dimmed. If they wanted to save power.” Kota was too preoccupied with the lights to notice the door slammed. The flashing lights that were supposed to inspire fear only gave him a minor headache. The slutty deer was still trying to recover.

WC: 543

"Hmm good observations. A hotel seems appropriate. Oh," he paused as he came to the realization that he may not have formally introduced himself to the shinobi before him. "I am Guren, Jounin of Sunagakure. I've heard a little about you, Kota right?" 

He gave a brief moment for Kota to respond with an introduction of his own before he shifted his focus back to the subject at hand. Kota would then make a mention of the poor electrical system within the building. Interesting, that after awaking in a foreign place his main focus seemed to be of the flickering lights. Guren wasn't really phased by it, as it just seemed like a creepy old hotel for now. 

"Yeah, I suppose you're right..." Guren began before the door slammed in front of the shinobi. His head turned in its direction in response, and his eyes narrowed. There was no draft in the hallway the team stood in, as there were no windows or other source of air flow. "Seems like there could be a bit of a spectral presence here. Haunted, perhaps...I wonder if-" 

Before Guren could finish his thought, all of the doors in the hallway leading to separate rooms would fling wide open before immediately slamming shut in unison. A resounding *THUD* would echo throughout the hallway, which would be enough to chill the spines of anyone with fear in their hearts. Guren refrained from reacting, although it was quite spooky. In response he began walking down the hallway towards its end. He would wave to motion for his team to follow alongside him and conduct an investigation. "Let's see what's going on here, shall we?"


(OOC: Maybe one more round of posting then we can wrap this up)


WC: 278, Total = 714

“Yep. Let’s go!” Kota would have no qualms about following Guren. The man was from his village which made him trustworthy enough as far as he was concerned. Kota felt as if he could not trust his own people. Who could he bother to trust?

Kota looked at the walls as they travelled down the hall. A red ketchup-like substance spelled Red rum and Get Out. It was an eerily creepy thing to behold. If Kota had anything else in his stomach besides precious sweets and treats. He would have puked from the smell of the place alone.

A peculiar picture caught his eye. It looked like a scene outside that led to a forest with flashing lights in the background. Kota had the strange urge to touch it. Following the feeling before anyone could stop him he simply did. Kota felt an odd sensation as if his body was being tugged. His vision blurred and he found himself in a familiar scene as he came to. Alone in a field that he vaguely recalled looking like the picture he touched.

Back at the hotel. Kota would appear as if he was possessed. He would touch the painting and become developed in a white light. The while light would flash softly before dissipating. Kota’s body is nowhere to be found. It would be as if he was spirited away.

[Exit]

WC: 229 TWC: 772

WC requirement met. Mission complete.

Claims:
My skill beloved presence doubles mission rewards. 4,200 (4,000 for mission and 200 for genin bonus) and 20 AP rewarded.

4 Tickets

7 SP all going to chakra

772 words going towards the skill Heavenly Body. 772/2k

With the trio approaching the end of the hallway, a picture began illuminating itself and clearly captivated Kota's attention. As it happened, Kota reached his hand up and outward towards it. "Wai-" Guren began as he leaned his body towards Kota. He attempted to prevent him from touching it, but his efforts were too late. Immediately Kota would seem motionless and a resounding surge of light would beckon and blind the entire hallway. Guren closed his eyes in response, and when he would reopen them, he would be in what appeared to be the hotel entrance. He would be facing what revealed itself to be Yugakure. And with that, his body became exceedingly overwhelmed with fatigue. Resultantly, he would lean over to the exterior wall of the hotel, and succumb to a peaceful slumber. Perhaps this really was a dream?

-Exit-

WC: 140, TWC = 854

All WC going towards Genjutsu Amplifier, B Rank (943/1125). Additional WC coming from Trick... or Treat?
Claiming 2000 Ryo for mission, 500 Ryo for Jounin mission completion 4 tickets

A glowing picture was not what Asuka expected when they reached the end of the hallway, and for a moment, he was captivated. He shook his head to snap himself out of it, and as he did Kota had reached out to touch it. He, like Guren, was too late to stop the other genin. As he reached out to grab Kota, Kota touched the painting and disappeared as a brilliant light lit up the hallway. Blinded, Asuka closed his eyes. When he finally opened them three appeared to be in a hotel lobby, and the picture was nowhere to be found. Looking out the doors, he watched as Guren seemed to fall into a dead slumberfrom fatigue, staying upright for a few moments himself. Eventually, though, he too succumbed to the urge to sleep, and fell to the floor without another sound. Was this a dream? Maybe it was all in his head.

WC: 154
TWC: 505

[Exit]

Claiming 5 stat points towards Vigor, Mission Rewards (2,100 ryo, 10 AP, 4 tickets)
Claiming 505 words towards learning the Fuinjutsu Specialty.

Approved