Journey to the center of the well

Truth Part 2:

Walking through the door even the slowest of people could see something was afoot. The outside was all dark, dank, and nasty. Making the place look decrepit and giving it a subtle hint of death. Kota had no reason to believe the inside would be different. When he went inside Kota had to admit one thing. For a group of murderous occultists the people had an excellent taste in architecture and decorum. 

The hallway was a type of gray tile. On the ceiling red stones were set inside it. The stones gave off a pale red light that gave the hallway he stood in an air of mystery. It felt less like an ancient cursed burial place, and more of a mysterious dungeon. The difference between the two may not be as noticeable to others. As Kota had his fair share of experiences in the dungeons of various people. He felt right at home. If anyone was looking they could see the face of a man reminiscing over fond members in the hood of his cloak.

Kota tried scuttling closer to Asuka and Guren. “Did we actually have a plan for once we are in? I forgot to ask as I assumed we wouldn’t have made it this far.” Kota kept his voice to a barely audible whisper. The other Jashinists he came across did not seem to be talkative. Kota believed if he raised his voice too loudly, setting off alarms would happen, followed by security measures. It was a guess but Kota really wished he knew that rumored telepathy seal. It was a shame he had no talent in Fuin.   “We can split up to cover more ground and meet back up. That or stick together in case we need to fight our way out.” Kota was spit balling a few ideas. He would be down to stick together with any, the red blooded ninja could come up with, or agreed to.

Depending on the method that was agreed on, Kota would go back to travelling. The hallway would first split into two paths. On one path the sounds of scraping could be heard. It would sound like nails on a chalkboard. Making it harder for those that hear it concentrate. Kota would get to have his first experience with genjutsu, as the sound started to pierce his mind. Placing himself in a state of slight confusion. If the situation was not corrected Kota would find himself getting lost. The sound was made for the unaware and untrained to wander. Increase the overall difficulty of the maze. Allowing others to see any abnormalities, as people used to the temple would be expecting. They would be aware to use genjutsu release periodically to orientate themselves.

WC: 456

Being inside the building brought back many memories of Asuka’s childhood. He upbringing wasn’t too different from this cult, the decor being nearly exactly the same as the “home” he’d had for most of his life. Even the grey tile floors were the same. Asuka would almost be impressed if he wasn’t struck by such chills are the mere thought of being back in that place again. Really, the similarities were uncanny. Luckily, his thoughts were swiftly interrupted by Kota speaking to them in a low voice.

“The layout is very different from the one I know, but I grew upon a cult similar to this one. I’m not sure what you two think, but my guess would be that there will be some kind of shrine or altar somewhere in this building. Finding that may be a good place to start,” was Asuka’s soft answer to the other genin. He didn’t dare let his henge drop, even now, and kept his posture and expression carefully neutral. If anybody were to spot him at all, they’d only see a blank-faced, ordinary seeming cultist. His expression was the most blank either of his companions would ever see it, though if they looked closely they might have seen the slightest hint of pain in his eyes.

He really didn’t like the idea of splitting up, but they needed information, quickly. “I will be fine searching on my own, and Guren likely has experience with these types of missions. Will you be fine on your own? I grew up in a place like this, and should be able to blend in easily enough. Do you have any ways to escape danger?” the young man questioned, looking over at Kota. He wasn’t lying, he had no doubts he’d be able to blend in very easily, years of practice having taught him how to lay low in a cult. Portraying a mindless cultist wouldn’t be even the smallest of challenges for him. He was most worried about Kota’s ability to blend in, the other seemed to stand out even in the cultist’s robes.

When the group agreed to a method, Asuka would move on behind Kota, hesitating at the split in the hallways. Was he prepared to see the same kind of madness he’d dealt with during his childhood? Blood and death weren’t necessarily the only horrible things they’d find in this maze of hallways. The god this cult worshiped may well be the type to accept other kinds of offerings, and if so…. Asuka could only shudder at the thought of what he would encounter next. He’d already had enough of cults for a lifetime.

WC: 441

Upon entry, a wave of chills had spread across Guren's skin like wildfire. Not because of how eerie and ominous the setting was, but purely because of the odd familiarity he had with the place. From the outside, the building appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary. It was old yes, but so was every other piece of infrastructure that Guren had seen in Yugakure. But once inside, it could best be described as a decorative dungeon. The grey stone tiles on the floor seemed perfectly maintained as they were in pristine condition, no chips, scratches, or signs of wear. As he took several more steps, his eyes shifted upward and to each of his sides. The walls themselves were quite ornate, draped with red fabrics which stretched from ceiling to floor. Occasionally there would be plaques of artwork and busts of unfamiliar people whom likely the Jashinists held in revere. Finally the ceilings themselves were a scarlet red, almost as if they had been painted with blood itself. Knowing the Jashinist culture, Guren wouldn't be surprised if they actually were. 

Having taken no more than 10 steps, it finally hit him. Guren recognized this place from the cultural decor depicted in literature he read in the Sunagakure Library when he was investigating the history of his clan. In the process he had read much of the Kyuketsuki and Jashinist customs as well, so he inherently had some knowledge of the satanic cult. Once realizing this, his expression deepened into a more grave tone. The things he had read that occurred in buildings like these could only be described as deeply disturbing. Hopefully, neither Kota or Asuka would need to experience such events. Guren was unsure of what upbringing and background they came from, but anything so vile and sinister was too much for the eyes of genin. 

Although his mind was racing, Guren never once broke stride and instead led his team down the unsettling hallway. When they were a good distance away from the entrance and clearly out of sight from any insiders, Kota scooted towards Guren and Asuka and began to inquire on the next steps of the plan. Asuka would quickly reply with an observation of his own, as well as a thorough and accurate analysis that aligned with Guren's own. Quite pleasing. "The way I see it is for now we need to play the part. We're blending in and no one suspects us of anything. We need to follow some of these insiders and see where they're all congregating at...my suspicion is that Asuka is right, and it's some type of ceremony, ritual maybe." Guren replied in a hushed tone so that only Kota and Asuka could hear him. He said all of this while simultaneously walking forwarding and following in suit behind the distant pair of insiders who were leading the way for the Sunagakure trio. "In regards to splitting up, I don't think that is necessary for now. We should reach this assembly, and then address that plan then."

With that, Guren would proceed down the corridor which narrowed until it reached a singular threshold. Passing through, the trio would be met with a large and dark room which housed a sea of white robed cultists. They seemed to all still be pouring into the room so it was unlikely anything was going on. Yet it could be seen that at the front of the room was a stage. A keen eye could depict the Jashinist symbol embedded on the stage, clearly painted with fresh blood. Within the circle stood a man, who shared the stage with a chained up individual who had been battered and bruised. His wounds were deep enough to be seen from Guren's position, and his rotting stench was enough to fuel the bloodlust of the crowd. This man was damn near dead. Guren could tell that what this crowd was gathered here to see was a live sacrifice performed by a Jashinist and an unwilling victim.

Guren slightly turned his head away from the sight of the stage in anguish as they approached the large crowd. The cultists were loud, cheering and joyful. So much so that their sounds would drown out the faint whispering that Kota, Asuka, and Guren would exchange to each other. As Guren's eyes shifted left, they immediately fell upon another threshold whose opening was obstructed by a large figure. Certainly that would be where the trio would need to head in order to uncover the true secrets of this base. Guren eyed up the man from a distance, his physical stature was massive yet his chakra signature did not seem very potent. Just from this brief analysis, Guren concluded that this hired muscle who stood in the way of uncovering the secrets of this place was likely no shinobi. Instead, he may have been well versed in taijutsu and had been blessed with physicality. The sharpened great axe he bore upon his back was an indication that he was also a weapons expert. But if he were no shinobi, then he likely would be quite susceptible to illusory tactics. Excellent, it was Guren's specialty. And this would be even better, as Guren could likely deploy some form of genjutsu in the most discrete way. 

While facing forward towards the stage, Guren would turn his head back and to the right so that his face was overtop of his right shoulder. He lightly opened his mouth to speak, just loud enough for Kota and Asuka to make out what he was saying. "I apologize for you two being exposed to his atmosphere...no matter how either accustomed to these cultures either of you are," Guren began, referring to Asuka's comment on growing up in a place similar to this one. No one should have to withstand a life so gruesome. Especially at a young age. "In any case, see that door to our left, guarded by that large man? I have a sneaky suspicion that beyond there we'll uncover the true mysteries of this place. I plan on dealing with him and us getting through there before this...display begins. Nothing is required of either of you just yet. Just subtly trail behind me," he concluded. He would hope that neither Kota nor Asuka would have any further questions, as the intent was to move quickly now. 

And with that, Guren would break off from the duo and proceed towards the doorway. Behind him should be Kota and Asuka, following not so close behind. As Guren would approach, the man guarding the door would immediately tense up and look down upon the Jounin. "No entry beyond this way. Get your ass back towards the..." he began in an aggressive and demeaning tone. However before he conclude his programmed response for anyone who approached to close to the door, Guren cut him off. "Stand aside and forget we came through," was all Guren said, in a chilling yet low tone. He did not wish to draw any unnecessary attention during this encounter, but wanted the severity in his voice to be conveyed to the man. While speaking, his left hand was concealed within the sleeve of his robe. Therefore none would be able to see the confrontation seal being formed. Upon hearing Guren's command, the guard erected his posture, closed his mouth, and took a simple step to the side. As he stood to the side, a spiral stairway was revealed which ascended towards God knows where. Guren gave a slight nod to the man, and began to walk past. He turned slightly behind to look at Kota and Asuka, and waved his hand forward, beckoning them to join him in climbing these stairs. The guard would remain idle until the trio completely passed through, and when this was finished, he would stand back at his post completely unfazed by the events that just occurred. To any onlookers, it would seem as if Guren, Kota, and Asuka were entrusted members with authorized access to the stairs. That's how quick and seamless the interaction was.

When Kota and Asuka all stood in the stairwell with him, Guren would just let out "Alright...it's real now. I don't know what lies atop of this stairwell, but trust that we can handle it. I haven't seen combat with the two of you yet, but be prepared to engage if necessary. Genjutsu will only get us so far. Besides, I can only subdue a handful of people simultaneously. If there's multiple people who stand in our way, I doubt they will give me the chance to perform something like that...But, above all else. Utilize teamwork, caution, and wit." With that, Guren ended his briefing, and proceeded upwards towards whatever awaited the Sunagakure trio.

-Exit-
WC = 1463
Claiming 10000 Ryo, 500 Ryo for Jounin Mission Completion, and 10 tickets
492 words towards Poison Mist (1875/1875), claiming A Rank. Additional WC coming from Truth Lies at the Bottom of a Well
971/3000 towards Mystical Palm Aura

Shaking his head, Kota was trying to ignore the scraping sounds he was hearing. It was not that he found the sounds terrifying and spine chilling. He just found them annoying. It had the same mental ting as when someone kept tapping their foot loudly in the library. Kota was unaware that he was trapped in the genjutsu and was taken in.

A memory of a time once passed flowed into his head. Kota was at the table shucking corn while his dad hunted. Recently his mom had not been doing too well. To look after her one of the two men always stayed home. This time was the moment that Kota was watching. The genjutsu was a trip down memory lane. Kota was currently reliving his worst fear and memory of his mother. The lady was the center of the Apollon family. She was right in front of him. The sensation was very strong and everything felt real.

“Kota. When are you going to bring a nice girl. It would be easier for you to hunt and you would not have to worry about me as much.” Kota felt the blush rise on his cinnamon cheeks. “Not anytime soon. Would it be bad for me to stay single? What if I am not even into girls?” The last question he asked in a playful tone. It was a seriously asked question disguised as a joke. She looked at her working son and gave a knowing smile. “You may not like them now but you will soon. I want you with a good girl before all of them are taken.”

At this point in his memory, Kota could feel how his blood boiled. He was tired of beating around the bush. “Mom. I was being polite but it is not going to happen. I have as much interest in women as I do crushing my toe with a rock.” And just as he remembered his mom clutched at her heart. The shocking news triggered her illness. It was at this point that the memory changed. Instead of his dad coming in to rush her to the nearest village, changing Kota’s fate from a hunter to a shinobi. In this flash to the past he held his mother as she died in her arms. A black hole opened in his heart as he almost drowned in endless grief.

A voice in his head apologized for the atmosphere. It was a voice he almost ignored till he realized something. It was not his voice and it sounded too familiar. As he followed the train of thought Kota was able to recognize what was going on. He circulated his chakra and dispelled the illusion from his psyche. It did not take him as much effort as he thought it would. Perhaps the genjutsu was weaker than he thought.

Kota came back to himself. Fear plaguing all levels of his heart. When his mind came back to himself he found himself in the middle of a ritualistic sacrifice. He was only lucky that he was not the one being sacrificed. It was another stroke of luck that Kota got to coast along. He did not even realize when he fell into the illusion. Kota was unaware that the third stroke of luck was that he was following Guren. The vampires all had the ability to manipulate blood. A skill that was only prominent in one rare bloodline. They used their ability to make the blood mist. A mist that had no effect on blood users. It was the only way that Guren did not have his eyes covered. Guren leading the way and the others following kept them on the right path even while they were unaware of it.

“No problemo. I didn’t even notice something was off.” Kota was being more literal when he said that. He legit had no clue the room they were in. A moment ago to him they were in a hallway with two ends. Then he managed to blast himself into the memory of his past. If it was not for him hearing Guren and realizing something was wrong. Kota ran the risk of going seven levels of crazy.

Seeing that Asuka was a bit more silent than usual. Kota decided to check him out. His eyes looked vacant. Kota could not tell if that was his natural shade of pale. He touched him for a moment and tried to give him a check up. Kota was not really trained in medical or chakra checking. He would not be aware of the fact that his intervention could mess up his chakra flow.  As far as he knew. He was the only one that was caught in the illusion. Kota worked on the belief that the illusion he saw earlier was just a relapse from trying to stay sober. Being a ninja could be hard work without a drink in his hand at times.

“Yep. I am ready to brawl.” It was the reply Kota would give as he used his armory seal to call out his quiver. He wrapped four arrows in explosive tags. It was a motion that he was used to. If a prick from one of his arrows did not work. Usually blowing up the target did. If it did not work, Kota would have a different problem to worry about.

WC: 896 TWC: 1,337 (Goal has been met)

[Exit]

Claims:
My skill beloved presence doubles mission rewards. 20,200 (20,000 for mission and 200 for genin bonus) and 100 AP rewarded. As my ap is full I am converting it to ryo. AP becomes 5,000. New total comes out to 25,200 Ryo earned.

10 Tickets

Using 1,000 WC from this to upgrade Archer's Calling rank B to Rank A. Rank B of the skill was learned here.

The further they walked, the colder Asuka seemed to become. Everything reminded him of his childhood, from the decor to the perpetual cold that seemed to radiate throughout the building. It wasn’t quite the same- but it was still close enough to give Asuka the shivers nonetheless. With each step the look on his eyes only seemed to harden, knowing full well the mild horrors they’d seen thus far would only pale in comparison to what they’d find ahead. Cults like these drew their power from blood rituals and mindless worship, the worst was still to come. Nothing would be able to prepare any of them for what they would see, not even Asuka with his own cult upbringing.

He kept walking as Guren gave them his own analysis, though he made a soft noise of agreement rather than verbalize any other thoughts he might have had on the matter. He followed after the jounin, strides slightly longer than the other’s to keep up with his taller companions. He tried very hard not to focus too much on the decor, the symbol he only vaguely recognized as jashinist everywhere enough to have him damn near sweating even in this perpetual chill. He wondered if the others felt as sick to their stomachs as he did to his. He’d never wanted to come back to a place like this again, yet here he was in a place that was nearly identical to the source of his worst nightmares.

Eventually, the corridor he’d followed Guren down opened up into a wide room with a sea of cultists, who seemed whipped into a frenzy of bloodlust by a brutal display in the center of the room. The smell and the sight were enough to nauseate him worse than before, but he made no outward sign of it now that they were among a sea of cultists. If he were too bothered by the display, they would realize immediately he wasn’t who he appeared to be. There was no room in cults like these for gentle souls, better to remain impassive until they were safely on their way out of the building. To do that, though, they first needed to make it through this next big obstacle.

When Guren began to apologize for what they were witnessing, he raised his hand for a brief moment in a silencing gesture. “Do not apologize. I am long since used to such things, and even if I wasn’t, I knew what I was getting into becoming a field medic. I knew I’d encounter horrible things. I cannot speak for Kota, but we are shinobi. We must get used to such horrors if we want to survive and thrive in this world.” he responded, eyes downcast as he fell silent to let Guren finish speaking his plans. It sucked being in this place, and Asuka hated it, but he’d spoken the truth. He had no intention of letting something like this preventing him from finding a way out of here. It wasn’t his time just yet. And he certainly didn’t want a cult like this to continue operating.

He kept his distance from Guren a little longer this time, widening the distance just a little to keep the association between them less obvious. It wouldn’t do to get caught now in front of the vast bulk of this cult, and he made sure to reflect that in his behaviour. If any of them were caught it would likely spell all of their deaths, and he wouldn’t allow that. Thus, he was still carefully heading towards the back stairwell even as Guren cast his Genjutsu on the guard. It took him mere moments to join the jounin, slightly stiff with the anticipation that something may go wrong. So far this had all been far too easy, and he didn’t like it. There had to be some kind of danger ahead, and he wasn’t so sure he was prepared for what they would find.

Even so, he nodded when Guren spoke in the stairwell, letting his henge drop and his long silver hair be exposed once more. ”I am not the strongest combatant, but I will trust in and support you both. I can still defend myself if need be, though I may not be of much use in an actual fight.” He answered, finally letting the facade he’d put up for their entire time in the building drop. The blank expression wiped from his face, it was replaced with barely controlled anger, hints of fear, and a touch of nausea from the display in the previous room. [color=#9999ff]”I swore I’d never allow a cult to do the things I witnessed growing up again, and I’m not about to go back on my word now. Let’s get through these nasty cultists and make it back home.” He intoned, unnatural eyes practically glowing in the darkness of the stairwell. If he looked like a vengeful spirit here to enact punishment with that expression of his? Well, that was his business. They had a cult to take down, after all.

Raising his chin high, he’d wait for his teammates to walk up those steps that might mean their escape- or their doom. Either way, they’d be going down with a fight, no doubt about it. They were shinobi after all, and shinobi needed to excel under pressure.

WC: 903
TWC: 1,344

Claiming 13 stat points towards vigor.
Claiming 10,100 ryo, 10 tickets, and 50 AP.
Claiming the remaining 489 words needed to learn the Fuinjutsu specialty, for a total of 2,000/2,000
Claiming and Choosing to master Genjutsu release for a total of 500 words. Genjutsu Release
Putting the remaining 355 words towards A rank version of Chakra Enhanced Strength for a total of 779/2,500 CES

[Exit]

Approved