[RP Location] Kyotoshiro Village

[Oni Archives]

They would have come along the forest pathway - apparent that they were at a point that the biome of the area changed, the birds were different and far more plentiful. They resembled cranes yet they were bright red in color - vibrantly so as seen in both the males and females of this species. There was a very mountainous valley that the village was built directly at the base of - overlooking a large sea area that it could be seen that many of the villager were fishing in - a very bountiful and rich market economy full of fishing goods, trappers and tradesmen of all different kinds. The village looked very rural - quaint. However among the buildings there was a singular building that looked more modern and smoke was coming from the stack at the very top. This was the village workshop. It was said that a brilliant inventor and an even more brilliant blacksmith lived here, however its been said that the blacksmith's kiln had long since run cold and he had put down his hammer ages ago. After having a gander at the village there were a set of stairs not far from the main gate where a memorial stone sat with various names upon it of people who had died in honor of the village and Naraka or simply of unfortunate tragedies that had transpired.​

 

[Oni Archives]

Her body was starting to get back to normal after her unfortunate and odd drowning, but there was still a slight heaviness in her chest that made her cautious of exerting too much energy. She stuck out like a sore thumb among the villagers, wearing all white and red with a shinobi headband tied around her thigh, but they seemed to be friendly enough and not paying her much attention. At least from what she had noticed.

On the way to the center of the village, she took time to walk along the small shops set up and admire more of the village. It was a beautiful place. More beautiful than the forest that she had taken care of for years, which was not something she would easily admit. She stood at the water for awhile, watching the fishers do their thing with a small smile on her lips. The thought occurred to her after a few moments that she had actually been right. They were Oni, and even though she didn't know anything about them besides that she never wanted to taste what she did again- she felt a small little victory at her previous guess.

Turning away from the water, she followed the direction of the smoke through the village until she came to the source. For a moment, she stared at the entrance and didn't move. What was she looking for here, and when did she want to leave?​

 

[Oni Archives]

The girl stood outside the doors to the building. It was...not a conventional building at all, there was a lot more to the architecture to this building in comparison to the way that all the other buildings around had been created - this one was much more modern, electrical doors; the very doors that the girl stood outside of in fact did not even have a knob, handle or any particular manual manner of operating the door. It was quite a puzzle piece to get inside of the building but upon enough observation it could be seen that at this side pf the building there was always groups of odd looking shinobi approaching the doors carrying carts of supplies, metals and otherwise and waiting for the doors to open - only to have it do so and allow them to bring supplies in before closing. This happened several times almost every five minutes on the dot exact. Until suddenly the pattern stopped. Had the girl been standing there still looking upon the door after three intervals she would find that next to her would be what seemed to be a young man - black hair about shoulder length in casual clothing holding a brown bag of food with an ice cream cone in his hand. He stood there licking at the vanilla strawberry swirl glistening over the top of the wafer cone simply staring at her. No spite in his face - actually there was hardly any acknowledgment of her at all in his expression alone, it was like he was staring directly through her if anything. Then suddenly it was like he was snapped back to what he was supposed to be doing - the moment that he looked back at the door it started to open and as it opened he hastily ran up to it and through the doors with a cartoonish bounce to his step. The doors seemed to open a bit longer...were they lingering? The time that the doors remained open seemed to linger on and on after his disappearance into the building. Perhaps - opportunity. Meanwhile the merchants along the walk way seemed to pay no mind to this. the various: ninja tool, medicinal, and weapon merchants all seemed to go along as if this kind of thing as well as this odd building was just a normalized part of their day.=​

 

[Oni Archives]

Eiji's look during this post
As Eiji sighed while trying to catch up to the girl nameless girl he had just met, all the information he had just received continued playing in his head. Who was this mysterious masked salesman, what relation did they have to Lord Izanagi, how was Lord Izanagi scouted and how did he become an Oni. Everything just flashing inside of his head as he walked through the village looking for the young girl.

Though he did not see her yet he was sure she had just come in the direction he was walking in. He knew to keep following the large smokestack as it was the direction in which she was told to head for more direct answers. As he continued moving he noted everything around him that was to be seen. If Eiji had caught up with Kasami he would relay the message from Tengu mask to her. After relaying the message he would ask her to allow him to accompany her to the market in hopes of both learning about the young woman and mending any problems he may have caused earlier when he had not noticed her and mistook her for a collogue of tengu mask.​

 

[Oni Archives]

Hands behind his head, Sentou followed Eiji deeper into the village in pursuit for Kasami who had wandered on ahead, however Sentou's eyes were focused on Eiji as he walked behind him; he had heard him mumble beneath his breath due to how close they were conversing with Tengu, it seemed he too knew something about Izanagi, but what was their relationship? For now he kept it to himself, Sentou was more focused on catching up with the girl and finding this mechanic Tengu mentioned.

It wouldn't take long for the two to catch up with Kasami who was staring at building with its doors ajar. He waited for Eiji to finish telling Kasami the details told to them by Tengu about stocking up for the time being, subtle nods as he looked along the street to find quite a few merchants with their shops set up. As Eiji finished Sentou would give the two a departing wave, "Hey, I'll be at the weapon dealers if y'all need me, I gotta replace my weapon. If y'all don't beat me to it, we should probably stock up on some medical supplies, we don't know how long we're going to be here after all." It was clear in how he spoke that Sentou had a serious tone in his voice compared to his usual comical attitude.

There was quite a lot on his mind, and it had been there since even before coming to Naraka, so he made quickly broke off from the group towards the building who's sign signified it dealt with weapons. As he opened the door to the business he could hear the ring of a bell from the door, but as he entered there wasn't anyone in view at the time; whether or not the clerk was just in the back of the building, Sentou would step further into the main room examining the different kinds of weapons on display. As of now Sentou had only ever traveled with a fan as his arms - he felt anything else wasn't needed. However during his first encounter with his father he quickly learned the disadvantages of using such a weapon in close combat. And as he looked around it was then he set eyes on a pair of Tonfa, his eyes glued themselves to them as he found himself reminiscing to that very fight with his father - he had used Tonfas. Anger broiled, however Sentou closed his eyes and took a deep breath to dismiss it before opening them once more to look at the weapon once more. "It'd be ironic if I learned how to use Tonfas and kicked his sorry ass all over the place, wouldn't it? ...I'm sure it took a lot of practice to get 'that good with them... Tch, what am I saying? It probably took him a while to learn sure, but I'll learn them in no time. I will, be better than him." Speaking aloud to himself he could feel his resolve strengthen, his focus after leaving Naraka would be to make that asshole pay for everything.



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[Oni Archives]

Kasami hadn't realized she had completely zoned out as she stood outside the shop, and she had to have been there for at least ten minutes just watching this door open and close as if on a timer. This place and the village itself was weird, but it had its quirks about it that she could see how living there would be peaceful and enjoyable. To a degree at least, she wasn't from here. There was a lot that she didn't know about, it could go either way.

She was pulled from her thoughts when she noticed someone standing next to her, looking at him from the corner of her eye for a moment. As he continued to stare at her, through her, whatever it was- her brows furrowed. Turning toward him more, she was opening her mouth to say something when he looked away, toward the door. It opened again, she could hear it, and it was like in the blink of an eye he was rushing toward it again. Her gaze followed him, expecting to see the door closed. It didn't.

Taking a step forward, she heard the other two that she had come from the forest with coming up behind her. Her expression fell in annoyance for a moment, before she completely cleared it from her face and turned around toward them with a blank stare. They mentioned the freebies, and as the younger one walked away he'd mention medical supplies. As if they were going to stick together. Her hand moved to rub at her cheek, pursing her lips for a moment as she debated on that. It would probably be better if they did, but the thought of it did irk her. He hadn't even stuck around, just went off to get a weapon, so he clearly wasn't thinking strategy about it either.

Alone with the older of the two males, she looked at him for a moment before she turned back toward the building and headed to the doors, stepping inside. There was nothing she had to say to either of them at the moment, and right now she just wanted to check out the place. Mindful not to get in the way, she walked up to the first person that she saw after wandering in and offered a friendly wave and a smile. "I'm looking for the mechanic, are they in right now?"​

 

[Oni Archives]

[[Directed at Shuji in the shop]]

=Suddenly when the male would take the time to notice, it woiuld be apparent that aside him were tapping digits upon the counter, waiting patiently for him to look up from the tonfa so that they could do business. What would be more shocking would be that like all the villagers here - this merchant wore a mask, however his was very startling - and hardly could be identified as a mask. If anything one would think that it was their face if they didnt look hard enough...and even then it was iffy. The man didnt speak, he simply looked at Shuji - noting how he had been browsing the tonfa he knew that this was a good selling opportunity. The villagers here did not use ninjutsu, but it was apparent that they were familiar with chakra, yin and yang and this was furthermore displayed in the way that the merchant took the tonfa out and demo'd them for the curious male. He removed them and gave them a few swings with firm grip so that he could hear the way that they cut the air - and then he showed him the rear heads of the tonfa, sealed with summoning kanji. He took stance and held them firm and focused his chakra and in doing so the rear heads would spout chains, spinning the tonfa on his hand displaying the way the chain slung like a rope on the tonfa and then came back. After the display the merchant put them on the counter before the male and looked him over. He gave a nod and held up a single finger as if to say that he knew he was good for it but - one more thing. With that he reached over and plucked a hair from the males head, dancing around a bit as if excited...it was odd watching all of this with the expression of the mask so unmoving. After he started reaching for something behind the counter and pulled out a small unicycle - hopping on and peddling away to the back of the store where he came from...implying that he had creepily crawled in just to surprise his customer before, and away he went. . . there were no receipts nor refunds.=

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[[Directed to JT - In the streets]]

=The girl known as Kasami had left him alone in the village streets. It was not the worse place to be all things considered. Despite the fact that all of the villagers wore masks they were all peace loving and very productive people. She went off into the building as Tengu had instructed them would be their best bet before - and Shuji had gone off into a weapons shop. Meanwhile, there in the streets had the male looked around a bit he would see another merchant sitting at what would seem comparable only to a conventional lemonaide stand. The merchant wearing a blank mask with two eye slits waved frantically at him - it would be up to him whether he induldged, went on to follow Kasami or followed Shuji's example and browse what more the market had to offer.=

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[[Directed to Kasami: In the factory]]

"No....no im pretty sure that I got everything that was on the list. I dont know what I would be forgetting."


"The door!......The door!? You forgot to shut the door - my work is supposed to be very private here ugh....theres light...natural light...and now theres a person! A-19 look at what you've done!"

"Ahahaha...she looked so lost and alone. I thought I would offer. It was so sad."

"Uugh...you dont even -feel- sadness you dolt...perhaps I made you too realistic."

=Meanwhile, what Kasami had stumbled upon would be what seemed to be a factory of sorts. There were many conveyor belts with various different parts, systems, stamping machines, quality control checkpoints and otherwise and there at the ground floor spanning a view out to the main floor would be two men. One was the very feminine looking male that had been carrying groceries that was being referred to as A-19. He stood there giggling after having sarcastically looked over his grocery list to check what it was he must have been forgetting about; and after being scolded he would direct his view over at Kasami. His general gaze looked calm - almost charming in a girlish way but there was still that emptyness about it. Like he was staring through you. His eyes were wide like a dolls and he never blinked at all. Meanwhile next to him stood a male of orange hair and bright orange eyes that seemed to be glowing resonantly. It was apparent to anyone that had heard tales of the Oni, the Bloody Mists rebirth in Kirigakure or the waring age of Iwagakure who this was. This was none other than Kiyoshi Uzumaki - the Oni that had single handedly revolutionized the technological spectrum and defense grid of Kirigakure as they know it. A brilliant inventor, legendary hand to hand fighter and Naraka's proclaimed Greatest Swordsman Of All Demons.Which to anyone that knew him would understand that this means that the boy before him, the others that had been coming in and the doors could only be thanks to one thing. Everyone that had been seen trafficking in and out were of the Mebu Cyber Initiative. Synthetic human beings constructed by Kiysohi's factory to operate as the perfect stand in for shinobi personnel. The door had not been opening on a timer, it had been opening via a signal relay between a sender beacon - aka the boy which explained why it opened while he observed and for him when he ran towards it. Kiyoshi turned to the girl, affixing a personally crafted cigar in his mouth as he kept it set by his teeth and approached her. Labcoat loose and open revealing a lazy v- neck underneath as he approached her and examined her a moment, mainly her eye...he'd see it no matter what - despite if she hid it behind hair, an eye patch or a slab of lead...he knew it personally. After a moment of silent reflection he spoke:

"Unignited. What can I do for you today eh?"

=As usual there was candy falling from full pockets as he tried to stuff some more of it back down inside his pouches before they fell all over the floor.=​

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[Oni Archives]

As Sentou was following Eiji and seemed to be staring at him intently Eiji would sigh a bit before turning around. The moment Eiji turned around was to stop him from talking about how smoking was bad for him after which he continued on, still feeling Sentou's gaze on his back. Before they reached Kasami, Eiji would speak up to the younger man, "You've been staring at my back some time now... You know you could walk beside me, or ask whatever is on your mind... I'm not that great but I'll answer what I can." Not long after he finished saying this in a friendly but stern manner, the two would have reached Kasami.

As they reached her Eiji would have told her what the Tengu mask stated about the market. After he finished talking he looked at the two younger people he seemed to be paired with before Sentou spoke about going off on his own for medical supplies and Kasami simply ignored his offer of staying together and walked off on her own as well. As always teaming up was tedious for Eiji especially with people he was not familiar with. It had been almost four years since the last time Eiji was teamed up with anyone, "Tch... Genin squad all over again huh? Well maybe I'll get lucky, dad always told me Izanagi was able to keep people alive in ways other than Orochimaru's weird jutsu, maybe great great grandpa is here and I can ask questions. Eiji mumbled to himself for a moment.

As the other two were now out of his sight Eiji began to think about his genin days and how hard it was for him to open up to his former squadmates. Actually beyond that, if anything it seemed everyone always looked down on him, Eiji wasn't someone like an Uchiha nor did he have any clan specific jutsu like the Kurama clansmen. He simply was a hard working Sarutobi who wished to prove himself. He had always dreamed of being like his great great grandpa Hiruzen Sarutobi, but at the moment he was simply trying to find his own path.

After breaking his train of thought Eiji looked over towards what looked like a lemonade stand, the blank masked fellow seemed to be waving Eiji down to get his attention though he could always be wrong as he pointed towards himself as he began approaching the man cautiously for a moment, he would see what this man wanted before once again trying to talk to Kasami and get on good terms with her and talking to the person in the building that had smoke coming from it. But for now, he stepped in front of the man, "Did you need me for something? He questioned the blank masked man with a curious but careful tone of voice.​

 

[Oni Archives]

As Sentou continued to think things over while looking at the pair of tonfa, something strange began to get his attention; looking up Sentou would jump back from the sudden appearance of the merchant, his face distorted and strange completely caught the Kenzai off guard. "For fuck's sake..." Sentou muttered underneath his breath before looking the merchant over once more, the look on his face disturbed Sentou, but as he stared back at the wide eyed male he could see the notches around the eye sockets, it was a mask just like Tengu's. A gentle sigh of relief left his lips as he tried to calm down and as he did so, the merchant would pick up the pair of tonfa before swinging them about with such elegant movement it appeared like he was simply dancing with the objects instead of demonstrating their worth. The eye's of the young Kenzai would brighten and grow in size as he saw the strange kanji's on the rear head of the weapons before they sprouted chains; it was definitely remarkable, such a crafted weapon was at the top of his desire list now.

Opening his mouth to speak, Sentou would pause as the merchant quickly set them back down and held a finger out, "Huh, what is i-" Sentou began to ask before his statement was abruptly interrupted by the hand of the merchant nearing him and swiftly stealing a strand of his hair, "Ow! Hey, wait a second, what was that for?" Sentou tried to ask, however the merchant remained just as silent as he was when he arrived before riding into the back of the store on a unicycle. A look of complete shock was on the face of the lotus warrior, "Just what in the hell was that?"

He could speculate all day as to why it was his hair was taken, however he wouldn't waste the time to continue pondering such a thing. Grabbing a hold of the tonfas Sentou held them firmly in his hand, a well warming smirk on his face as he knew they were now his. Upon his hip were two scrolls, scrolls he used to carry the equipment he had stored through the use of sealing jutsu; grabbing the second of the two he'd unravel the document before placing the objects in question in the center of the kanji written - and with a single hand seal Sentou would channel his chakra to activate the kanji seal on the scroll. Just as quickly as it arrived, the plume of smoke surrounding the manuscript would fade away revealing the Tonfa's had successfully been sealed away into the scroll.

Content with his free purchase, Sentou would retrieve the scroll and place it back onto his hip after rolling it back up and head outside of the shop. At first glimpse he couldn't find Kasami nor Eiji where he had left them, however neither of the two came to get new weapons, perhaps they ventured elsewhere? Taking the moment to look around the village, Sentou noticed Eiji was standing by some Lemonade stand, "Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have ignored him..." Sentou said to himself, when it came to socializing Sentou was terrible at it, no longer the innocent child ignorant to the hardships of the world, it was difficult opening up to people, especially complete strangers. The Kenzai sighed before taking the time to walk towards the lemonade stand, "Yo," Sentou initiated the conversation had the owner of the stand not responded to Eiji beforehand, "What's going on? Getting something to drink?" Sentou asked, he had deeper conversations on his mind, however for now all he could manage was the attempt of breaking the ice between the two. Was it coincidence, or was it fate that Sentou would meet another who knew of Izanagi, on top of that was he meant to be brought here? It was strange, this had to be his first time in Naraka, but something about this very place seemed so familiar..



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[Oni Archives]

Kasami had waited patiently for the mechanic to take note of her, standing with her hands clasped at hip level. The conversation that she had walked in on was amusing to her, a light smirk pulling at her lips. It wasn't the first time she'd been pitied or referred to as, for lack of a better term, a stray.Though, realistically in this scenario she was as close to a stray as she had ever been. She was in uncharted territory, in a strange building surrounded by strange people. They all wore masks, and none of them really seemed to pay mind to things around them- a stranger to their village especially. It was almost as if they only had one thing in particular on their mind. A mission, a goal, whatever you wanted to call it. It was curious how he mentioned that he made him too realistic, but the first thought that came to mind definitely wasn't that he was making synthetic humans.

Her eyes in the meantime meandered around the factory. She took note of the various parts on the nearest belt to her, riding by on their way to wherever they were destined to go. There was no real sign of their use from what she could see, but judging from the technology she had seen in the village so far, it was very advanced compared to a lot of places in her world. She bit her bottom lip for a moment, bringing a hooked finger to her chin as she looked at the moving parts in thought. Pieces were falling into place in her mind slowly, without her really knowing at first just what picture it was painting consciously.

Approaching footsteps snapped her attention back, and she looked up in time to see an orange haired man approaching her. Even the sound of his lab coat as he walked reached her refreshed ears, they were practically brand new. They'd been repaired by Ko and were even more efficient than they had been before she'd gone deaf. A lot of her had been.

Her gaze met his as he stopped in front of her and examined her, a slight tilt of her head as she focused in on his orange hair. That hair color wasn't common at all, and she might have been deaf but there were many stories relayed to her through signing in past lessons and conversations. Her time in the library with other bookworms that knew about things beyond their own village even. For a moment her eyes squinted in curiosity, and then she smiled and reopened them when he asked what she needed. "I was told to come here. By-" She paused looked up toward the left corner of the room as if it would help her remember. "Well, I never got his name. He wore a bright red Tengu mask." Her gaze returned to him, a smile on her face. "Though there was only a mention of a mechanic being here, not a genius. You're Kiyoshi Uzumaki."

Her gaze drifted toward where the boy that had let her in the first place was, for just a second catching glimpse of the candy spilling from his pockets, and then a memory was recalled to her. It was almost like blinking caused it to resurface. A memory of herself and Ko, and her former squad mate, following a trail of candy outside of Konoha and into the forest. They'd never actually caught up to whoever had made the trail, and her squad had dissolved pretty shortly after that. It almost seemed incredibly unlikely that they were linked. She looked back at Kiyoshi and her brows furrowed for a moment in thought before her face relaxed again. It wasn't worth mentioning at the moment. "Are you an Oni?" She'd never have guessed, and it seemed that no one at all knew. It was never mentioned any time he was spoke of.​

 

[Oni Archives]

[[Addressing Jt and Aedus]]

=At first there was only the one that was at the stand that was so conveniently placed her before the factory. As he came to it and inquired if there was something that the salesman would need from him the masked man seemed to laugh. If you listened closely there was a very light sound that was a kin to like a broken intercom trying to push sound out - and he even seemed to struggle with it in tandem with the noise. But soon after the man would slap his knee and shake his head as if the two were there having a merry ole time joking around. He pointed to himself then at Eiji and shook his head to gest that there was nothing He > needed from him. But then he pointed at Eiji and towards himself and nodded his head slow - and with much jubilation, he was certain that there was something that the male would need from him. With that being said he set three cups. empty upon the table apparent from the way that he took them out and nothing spilled forth - and when he put them lip down upon the stand he would gest to them as if hand modeling the cups before shuffling them around. At first it was normal, his speed that was - and then suddenly it started to get blindingly fast and finally - he stopped. Lifting a cup to reveal a red food pill or at least what it seemed like, and another blue one - leaving the third cup at the center downwards still. He gathered them and put the two in one hand and offered to the male pointing at them...rather vehemently with a very slender boney finger as well at that. He was offering the male...drugs? Food pills of mysterious effect? Who knew what these were but one thing was certain. He was almost absolutely convicted that the male would need these...as seen by the way he was still...very quickly nodding his head. The moment that the other male came up to the stand he would look at him and almost greedily as if a child with new toy shy his hands away from him and to the male that had first arrived. Gesting now pretty strongly for him to take the pills.

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Addressing Kasami

=The moment that she had asked this of Kiyoshi he would have upturned his lip a bit as if he was contemplating a few things. Here he was working on a new project and this shinobi that he doesnt know about here in Naraka comes in...but she did look familiar for some reason. He sighed and adjusted his glasses before turning and walking away while gesting with his hand behind him for her to follow, it was along his usual diagnostic run that he would humor her questions. He chuckled and scratched the back of his head at the idea of her calling him a genius: "I suppose genius - with the previous accolades I have under my belt would be a better word then "mechanic" tch. He always simplifies what Im doing. So Tengu sent you huh? Must not be by coincidence then. I'am more of an inventor then anything. As far as the Oni thing? Me? One of those? Do I ever look like someone capable of that kind of destruction?" =He chuckled, they had walked the distance of three checkpoints between warehouses where different parts had been and now on the line were parts very resemblant of human body parts, arms and legs here in this warehouse as he took a seat and spun the chair around to face her, labcoat swaying in the momentum: "Do me a favor - tell me exactly how it was that you got here?" =At this point he picked up a pen and started to tapp it upon his lip, curious to listen and see just where her story would have taken her.=​

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[Oni Archives]

As he got closer to the lemonade stand Eiji's question for the man would have seemed to go verbally unanswered but the man seemed to understand his question and respond through gesturing. The man seemed to gesture that it was not him who needed Eiji, but Eiji who needed him. This was puzzling enough but the man seemed to pull out three empty cups and shuffle them around before stopping to reveal what seemed like food pills.

The man was offering them to Eiji, whos face would become more puzzled. During the moment the pills were revealed Sentou began to approach Eiji at the lemonade stand. As he did the vendor seemed to be wary of Sentou almost moving the pills away from him while still offering them to Eiji. His puzzled face still questioning whether this would do anything for him or if it would be something dangerous that would harm him.

As Sentou was making small talk Eiji would turn his head for a moment, "Well this person seems to be offering me something but, since they haven't spoken or told me what these are, I'd rather avoid taking them. How are things on your end? Did you find what you needed?" He spoke to Sentou in a kind tone before sighing a bit and looking at the sealing mark upon his hand for a moment questioning whether to take out one of his last packs of cigarettes or not while also thinking about what those pills this man was offering him were.
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[Oni Archives]

Having approached Eiji and the clerk at the lemonade stand, Sentou would notice the merchant would shy his hands away towards Eiji as three wooden cups laid against the surface of the stand; from the Kenzai's perspective it looked as if they had just finished gambling, Sentou had spent some time playing a game much similar during his time as a prisoner to Hayato Hyuga. "Ayy, what're y'all playing?" Sentou asked, but his question would be answered by Eiji letting him know this merchant was trying to give him drugs.

Sentou chuckled aloud, "Damn, I thought y'all were betting on something." Taking a moment to pause and gander how to respond to Eiji's question Sentou would grab the scroll he had just sealed his new weapons in and raise it high enough for Eiji to take notice, "Hmm, not too bad, I found a new weapon. I'm excited to give them a try." He finished with a happy look on his face as he spoke about the Tonfas. After speaking he placed the scroll back upon his hip as he looked Eiji over, it seemed he was contemplating something, but it wasn't important to him, instead he figured he'd bring up what he was originally thinking about during their walk into the village. "Yo... so I overheard you mention Izanagi, you know him too huh? What exactly is it that you know about that man? I've encountered him before, and actually trained with his brother. Since I've been on my own I haven't heard a lick about Totsuka, and now I wake up in some strange world where his brother is the ruler? It's pretty fishy if you ask me, I just needed to know if you have any kind of information on who and what this guy really is."



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[Oni Archives]

Kasami was silent as she walked with Kiyoshi, her gaze wandering over everything that they were passing with curiosity. By the time they did finally stop, it wasn't hard to notice what the parts she originally saw were turned into. This factory, this village- all of it was so advanced. Way beyond anything that Konoha had probably ever seen. His words were filtering into her ears, heard but momentarily unresponded to. The strange behavior of the villagers was starting to make sense, including the conversation that she had overheard when she had first walked inside. She was too busy looking around to notice that he had sat down until his voice drew her attention back to him, a small smile on her face as she walked to catch up with him and lace her fingers together.

"Well," she said with a playfully joking tone, "I could find out if you are, but I'd have to lick you. Considering how bad that water tasted, I'll take your word for it." She noticed an empty seat and pulled it over, sitting down with her legs together and her hands resting in her lap. Her hair cascaded down her back, shoulders bare as her kimono hung off of them loosely. There was a seriousness to her gaze, though she seemed to keep a peacefully calm expression on her face. "There are three of us here. The other two are outside in the village still, doing I have no idea what. Probably cashing in on the free items that Tengu said they could get. I know that we all drowned, and didn't come here intentionally." She had stuck around for enough of the Tengu's explanation to know that they thought someone else was responsible for it, but it was hard to say when she couldn't remember what she was doing beforehand. The last thing she did remember was going to the library. "Tengu Mask, whatever his name is, said something about a Mask Salesman."

Her gaze drifted back to some various parts before she looked at Kiyoshi again and tilted her head. "How many of the villagers are real people? Did you make all of them? They all wear masks and seem so... absent- toward strangers at least. I imagine you don't get many visitors here."​

 

[Oni Archives]

[[Addresing Eiji and Sentou]]

=The moment that the male before the shack salesman took his attention apart from him and his wonderous wares he would have shown his disappointment in the males lack of interest in what he had to offer. He had nothing to gain by killing him so he was purely offended by the way that he treated his wares as if they could be some kind of poison or otherwise. He would go take his shack elsewhere and peddle his self-reviving pill and reciprocating aid formula elsewhere. There were plenty in naraka that would need it. With that he made what could only be assumed to be a scoff noise as he slapped both hands down on each side of the stand. He turned sideways behind it and seemed to be sitting - but this could not be confirmed from the angle they were looking at each other at, and with a pull of a chain behind the stand - it started to shake and rattle as if starting up a lawn mower. With that he seemed to ride off down the road inside the stand, disappearing off to the distant north. Who knew where his journey would take him.=

[[Addressing Kasami]]

=The moment that the kunoichi started to comment about licking him to find out - his brow upturned and he had a very puzzled look upon his face. In his mind that was weird but in his time he hadn't met many shinobi with a sensory knack that operating through contact with the tongue. Either way he could only chuckle at the thought - more than likely seeming like a joking laugh at the innuendo that could be made at that statement when more so it was at the idea that doing such a thing would probably be near fatal or at least - very detrimental to someone that would do such. Kiyoshi didnt look it now, but he was one of the most feared Oni in all of Naraka. A chasm of forbidden ninjutsu and techniques and at one time had even separated himself into two different entities in hopes to escape and leave behind the guilt and darkness of his misdeeds passed. Now he was merged back into his complete self, and far more in control...far more curious as well. Three of them. That caused his curiosity to raise and the mention of the tengu as well even more so. The tengu had told them of a mechanic that worked hand in hand with a legendary blacksmith - that blacksmith in fact was the tengu, and he had been missing for years; abandoned his forge never to be seen or bare his face again. The fact that the Tengu met with them and they still leave and breath was enough to get Kiyoshi involved himself. Then came the question - how many of the villager were real people? He couldnt help but laugh histerically, slapping his knee a moment. Had she gotten it already? Was she keen enough to pick up on what was out of the ordinary here?....No - probably not. But there was no way that Kiyoshi could have known that. She knew something was off buty not specifics but he would - as usual, move too fast and jump ahead of things:

"Ah - notice that have you? Well thats why Im here actually. Im sure you probably noticed that this building is far more up to date in terms of architecture, technology and otherwise where as the rest of the village is far more traditional. Truth of the matter is - we dont know. We think that all of the villagers here are dead. Most of them are puppets, some of them just keep to their jobs and focus solely on that. Others deviate and get kind of weird. I built this factory here in the middle of the village to serve as a forward base of operations. Building my troops for an oncoming attack if it were to happen. But these villagers? Well we think that the mask salesman that you spoke of may have already gotten to them and all of them could have been converted into puppets. But they wont attack, not hostile at all. We dont get it. He has them and could do a decent bit of damage with this - but he just keeps them puppeting around living every day lives. Like he wants to orchestrate life itself. I came here to study things and try to learn more. You're little group - may be exactly what I was looking for. I'm thinking the Mask salesman in question I believe is who drowned you all...its how the founding three clan lords came to be here as well. Izanagi, Gengoro, Genkaku - they were all drowned and ended up here and then through a series of events and general survival ended up converted into true oni and came out stronger then imaginable. Its our belief that the mask salesman is looking for candidates to try and control...simulate a replica of these events in hopes that he gets another batch that comes out just like it. So either he may have his own trio of powerful shinobi at his beck and call. Or so he can consume them himself and grow stronger. We aren't sure."

=Kiyoshi sat in the chair with his thumb pressed against his lips contemplating some things. he knew that there was only one sure fire way to get through this with a known result and he had previously spoken with Izanagi a fortnight before hand and discussed a similar turn of action. If something like this were to happen - the only way they could jump straight towards getting a result - Izanagi's plan....they needed to guide the candidates and help them grow stronger. they had to play his twisted little game so they could get to the end of it and see the truth of all this. But he just wasnt sure about this. He had told himself he would never teach again, pass down the knowledge that he had so that he would have to worry about someone young, brash, and careless using his knowledge and teachings to cause someone else the same kind of pain that he had separated himself into two just to sooth his guilty conscience about. He huffed, strands of his hair that had fallen down before his face wafting up and onto his forehead as he did such and he sighed=

"......You've a name now A. It'll be Jinsei. And you Jinsei - need to get her and her newly found pals to Kagetsuchi to speak with Izanagi.

Oh - oh goodie a nam- but wait...why not you? You'd get there far faster.

I need to wrap up some loose ends. Thats all. I trust you."

=With that the newly dubbed Jinsei turned towards the girl - then directed his gaze towards the doors that she had come through and while analyzing it he was able to peer and detect the chakra signatures of the other two outside. The boy giggled and then looked at Kasami=

"Oh boy. I've never gotten to leave the village alone before. How exciting."​

 

[Oni Archives]

As the masked peddler looked at Eiji with an irritated look, he would turn away from Sentou for a moment and bow politely towards the man at the lemonade stand, "Sorry, its not that I believe you wish to bring me any harm, I just don't generally use food pills. I was always told that you only need them if you are Ackimichi or in a place where you will be close to death without them." Eiji said to the man who had by now turned his back on him. His voice was apologetic and sincere towards him. Hoping his apology would make up for his earlier rudeness towards the man in his state of confusion.

After which he would return his attention towards Sentou who was showing off a pair of Tonfa with an excited and happy expression upon his face though after which he would ask Eiji what he knew about Izanagi. This question brought back memories, deep and unquestionably sad memories of his childhood. Eiji was the current youngest Sarutobi lord and the son of the former Sarutobi lord. In the past, his clan was very well respected but due to his own weakness, they had lost some standing during his chunin exams and a few missions. When he was very young just starting out as a genin he met Izanagi one time, though this vague memory was a scary one as the man and his father looked down at him with eyes that seemed overwhelming towards him.

After a minute he shook his head and turned towards Sentou, "I really know very little besides he was a former Hokage, someone well respected by my grandfather and great grandfather. I do know he lead the greatest time in Konoha history outside its founding time thanks to Lord Hashirama, but father nor grandfather nor even great great Grandfather Hiruzen had any records on him for me to know anything more." His voice was melcololy and some what irritated but regardless that is what knew.​

 

[Oni Archives]

The sudden sound of the stand in which the clerk was behind startled Sentou, his eyes glued onto the contraption as the male rode off and down the street leaving the Kenzai amazed. "Whoa....What was that!?" He blurted out unable to control his curiosity; this village was absolutely awesome, he thought. As his mind raced about how quickly the clerk up and left he would soon hear Eiji speaking to him about what it was he knew about Izanagi. "Oh, so he was a Kage huh?" Sentou questioned in what sounded almost monotone; having previously met the kage of Sunagakure it didn't really faze him because of his lack of Shinobi traditions, to him they were just as normal as the villagers they were meant to protect, however the name Sarutobi did ring a bell. "Sarutobi though, huh? You wouldn't be related to the one known as Asuma would you? Back at the Society we heard of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, my teacher told me a lot about them. If I remember correctly, he mentioned an Asuma Sarutobi."

Sentou finished, whether or not Eiji managed to respond to him in a timely matter Sentou would quickly look up from their conversation looking around, "Oh, that's right, what happened to the girl? She was with you before I went into the weapon shop." He quickly noted, despite this village looking peaceful and appeasing the eyes, Sentou couldn't help but remember back to what Tengu said about a Masked Salemans possibly being the reason for them being here in the first place. They knew nothing of each other, but if they were going to get out alive and in one peace they would have to stay together, probably bond even. A slight shrug before turning once more to Eiji as he extended his arm outward, "I know I came off the wrong way, y'know back in the forest, but strangers don't work together well. If we're going to beat whatever this place has to throw at us we're going to need to work together. The name's Sentou, Sentou Kenzai and I'm a Lotus Warrior in training, and yours would be?" Sentou asked as he offered a handshake, should he accept their next priority would be to regroup with Kasami.



​

 

[Oni Archives]

Kasami was quiet as he explained what was going on in the town, nodding here and there just to make sure that he knew she was listening. So her guess was off, not entirely but she hadn't expected these people to be walking corpses. She'd definitely noticed something strange, and had already intended to ask about that far before she'd even seen the parts on the conveyor belts running through the factory. What he did tell her alarmed her slightly, and also made her curious. She wasn't skilled enough with her new abilities to be much of a threat to anyone, much less replicate what happened with the founders. Her gaze shifted toward the other boy that had followed them when Kiyoshi mentioned the three of them getting consumed by the Mask Salesman, an uneasy feeling creeping across her skin. How in the hell did she end up in this kind of mess... she was just going to the library.

For a moment her thoughts shifted her expression to blatant annoyance as she looked toward a distant object, eyes narrowing and squinting as her lips pursed. This was the second time she was abducted, and it was really messed up that the first time she got a new lease on life- not she could potentially lose all of that. Her attention snapped back to the two of them when Kiyoshi started to speak again, having been in thought himself it would seem by the silence that had started to stretch around them. Her head tilted slightly, but if they were going to be stuck in this world she might as well humor the game that she has been thrown into. Plus- she'd get to meet Izanagi. That alone was enough to get her attention.

Rising to her feet, she offered Kiyoshi a smile. "It was nice meeting you, Kiyoshi. It's nice to see you are far more than the stories that I'd heard." Her attention moved to Jinsei as she started to walk toward the direction they'd come from. "C'mon then. Let's find go get the two." She rolled her eyes at the thought as she started to head outside. Considering how her last squad went, she wasn't looking forward to working with other people again. She'd only been with Ko since then and she had been doing just fine. If it was necessary though, she'd have to suck it up and make due. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and released it, opening her eyes at the same time as they walked out of the building. She had been quiet since they headed out, and she was sure that Jinsei was probably already aware of who the other two Shinobi were just by looking at them.

Conveniently enough, they were both right outside the building where she had left the older one when she went inside. It was a slight annoyance that they didn't bother coming inside, like they'd been suggested to do, but she could fill them in. The free voucher she had was still on her mind, but she had no idea what to use it on. She had medicinal concoctions in her pouch that was hidden under her bow, but there were other things they'd probably need. They'd have to decide together, based off their own inventories as if it were a collective pot. Another convenience to her, she had come out just in time to hear one of them mentioning his name and offering a hand shake. Approaching them, she cleared her throat, before she stood there and crossed her ankles and her arms. "We're heading to another village." Her gaze shifted between the two of them for a moment before she pursed her lips. "And my name is Kasami."​

 

[Oni Archives]

[Addressing Kasami]

=After he had finished explaining Kiyoshi watched as Jinsei started to follow behind the girl, he figured that he would take good care in ushering the group - very specific to keep in mind they aren't a team yet. Not till all three of them accept it...and a group was far more divisible then a team. Regardless, he'd do well ushering the team of three to the next village should all go well, and as far as he had planned with the exception of all the typical threats in Naraka, all was within his capability to handle with the exception of two factors that could cause that to go haywire...it would be a test of Jinsei's capabilities without a doubt if they were to come upon either. Though it wasn't likely and he had confidence that it would not occur. As they made their way out and the girl closed her eyes and inhaled he couldnt help but interrupt her breathes with a few words of wisdom.=

"Hey. One more thing. You all have never been here before. Its a prosperous place full of culture and many peaceful havens. But its also a place that only the strong can survive. You'll be tested here. This Mask Salesman issue - its serious. Many threats here you all can handle if you work together. Him? You dont fight, you run. Izanagi, myself, the Tengu if you're lucky enough to see him again, and a few others. We can defend you till a certain extent - and only for so long. But if theres not someone there to assist, he starts getting serious, or you're alone with him. Dont listen to what he says, and do not fight him. And whatever you do. Dont stick around when the tents come out. You too Jinsei, you haven't been programmed to feel fear. But don't for a moment try it - no matter how confident you feel."

=His expression was serious as he said this, looking even at Jinsei with concern in his glowing eyes while he explained and as they would have left the shop they would find that the doors to it - would close promptly behind them. Kiyoshi standing up and taking a walk towards the back lf the factory to his office only to be interrupted by a female voice spoken promptly towards him from another creation of his *Sir - the chakra distortion field above the forest has been disturbed yet again, I fear there may be one more dropping in behind that group.* to this he chuckled, shaking his head. He had a slight idea as to who that could be and why they would be here but that part really didnt matter right now. He knew what it was he had to do and thus - he would go ahead and tie up his loose ends.
[[Meanwhile - Jinsei addressing the group]]
=Jin stood there and listened to the two men outside, he could hear them long before that and came over along with Kasami during the closing of their dialogue only for her too - to introduce herself. Ah yes, introductions. That would be the exquisitely human thing to do wouldnt it? And as such he too introduced himself - simply wanting to fit in and be part of the group, the only group of humans he had been around since his creation besides the trio of Kiyoshi, The Tengu, and One other. However his eagerness made it seem a bit rushed - like he was about to miss his que for his lines in an act as he sway side to side a bit, as if happy - giddy really; and waved very dainty and proper:

"Heh - and I'am Jinsei I'll be your guide. Nice to meet you."​

 

[Oni Archives]

After the man had fully ridden off into the distance Sentou would have reacted as if astounded by the sight, while Eiji himself was more lost. His thoughts had been disturbed since they had first encountered each other though he had kept a calm front up. Inside his head, Eiji was thinking all about everything that had happened, what would happen later in their journey, and how he would be able to work with them or if he would even be able too. After which he would look to Sentou who was still talking, he would hear Asuma Sarutobi before responding, "Yes, Asuma was my great uncle, my grandfather was Konohamaru Sarutobi if you ever heard of him." He said in response to Sentou though avoiding the subject of the twelve guardians.

After that subject, Sentou proceeded to introduce himself to Eiji as he reached his hand out to offer a handshake, Eiji would respond in kind taking his hand and shaking it, "Eiji Sarutobi, though I don't have any special titles or anything, please call me Eiji." He smiled a bit nervously as he introduced himself to Sentou before coming out the workshop would be Kasami who would have someone new behind her. Eiji rubbed the back of his head a bit before she would speak telling them that they had to go to another village. Eiji had no clue how to act around her nor whether she would be any less difficult than she already seemed if they stuck together. He would only be able to wait to see as he looked at the one behind her who was waving and nodded his head to them and spoke, "I am Eiji Sarutobi nice to make both your acquaintances" He said before preparing to follow them.​