[attr="class","pwfbody"] They'd been walking through the woods for what seemed like hours now. At this point, Yousei was beginning to wonder if there really was any merit to these rumors of a forest-dwelling monster, or if it had all just been some tall tale cooked up by villagers with overactive imaginations. But if that were the case, then how had those caravans gone missing? Bandits? Taiyou? There was definitely something going on here, cryptozoological or otherwise. [break][break]
Wait, was that an overturned cart up ahead? Sure enough, a quick inspection of the cart and its contents would reveal that it was one of the missing supply shipments they'd been told about by the merchants guild. [break][break]
Judging from the fact that one side of the cart had been smashed in to the point of being almost completely splintered, it seemed like a reasonable assumption that they'd probably been attacked and forced to abandon it here. That was weird though; if this was the work of bandits or the Taiyou, then why had they left all the goods behind, and why weren't there any bodies?[break][break]
That's when she noticed the footprints leading out of the forest. Ooh-wee! Those things were huge. Were they hunting (the ninja equivalent of) Bigfoot out here? Those weren't the only footprints though, there were also a number of smaller, much more human-sized ones running off into the forest. Probably the merchant party scattering after they'd gotten attacked?[break][break]
As Yousei followed the prints deeper into the woods, she started catching a whiff of something strange. She scented the air curiously; it smelled like something...burnt? Her nose led her in the same direction as the path left by the fleeing merchants, the smell growing stronger and stronger until she finally located its source: a partially devoured human corpse, its flesh charred black and splattered with a smooth, stone-like substance that must've been liquid at some point, she reasoned. [break][break]
The forest itself was in a similar state of disarray, with smoldering trees and more of that once-liquid rock painting the landscape. And upon further investigation, there wasn't just one corpse here either; there were well over a dozen! Merchants, bodyguards, even...wait, were those-[break][break]
Unfortunately, Yousei and Koba's investigation would soon be interrupted, as an inhuman roar suddenly erupted from the depths of the forest- oh wait, this is still the beginning of the story! My bad, my bad. I guess we'll have to do that cheeky thing where we intro with some future events, then flashback to the start. Let's see, how about... [break][break]
[6 Hours Earlier][break][break]
"Helloooooo?" Yousei's voice echoed through the empty halls of the Hirabayashi clinic; a certain medical center in Otogakure run by a certain doctor who definitely wasn't sketchy, or of questionable moral character. [break][break]
"Dr. Kobababuwa? Anyone hooooome?" Place was pretty creepy to be honest with you, especially with nobody else around. Normally Yousei wouldn't be caught dead in a place like this, but circumstances being what they were, she'd decided to make an exception this time against her better judgment. Hopefully this guy wouldn't be too off his rocker. [break][break]
The Kobashigawa Hirabayashi of many hours ago was sat in one of the many chambers of his laboratory. It was a modest sized underground facility, a section of supposedly dead end tunnels and chambers that the jonin had claimed for himself during the reign of the previous Kage. Once upon a time the place was quite difficult to find, a hidden lab for a man who wished not to be disturbed by anyone outside of the few who knew how to reach him. But now, portions of it were open to the public! Individuals were welcome to drop by whenever they pleased largely because the more secretive areas were well hidden and protected as any scientists secrets should be. Despite being much more open and lean than it once was, it was still a rather confusing bit of tunnel to be sure. Many who came to visit often made themselves known by calling for help or guidance rather than a proper knock on the door.
And today was no different. Brows rose slightly as a familiar voice called out for an unfamiliar name. One that sounded an awfully lot like a butchering of his own, oddly enough. A soft hum of amusement slipped past his lips as he turned back to the mirror before him, choosing to take his time to affix the last of the small jingling bells to his hair. Once that was done he would lean into the mirror, smacking his lips and examining the blood red coloration he had liberally applied beforehand. A perfect match for his painted claws, just as it should be. Once everything was to his satisfaction, the shinobi would toss his reflection a quick wink before spinning on his heels. It seemed that someone was here for a visit! It was always a treat to receive unexpected guests. Though they could tell from the tone of the voice that they weren't in any sort of immediate danger, which was disappointing. It was always nice to have surprise incidents to spice things up a bit.
As the red headed shinobi wandered the halls, she would inevitably turn a corner. And when she did, she would find herself faced with the towering figured of the bizarre doctor. Deep red lips would curl into a gentle smile in silent greeting, the good doctor idly rocking between his heels and the balls of his feet. And yet somehow as he did, the bells dangling from his hair failed to make a single sound. "Yousei Shinkiro! What a delightful surprise to have you here in my humble facility. And without injury, it seems! Are you here for a check up, perhaps? Or were you simply hoping to pay a visit to a friendly face." Their slow, gentle rocking would come to a stop as he spoke. "Either way, I insist that you join me for tea. I'm sure that we have oh so much to discuss."
✉ tag -- ( Yousei Shinkiro ) ※ the doctor is excited to have such a lovely guest
[attr="class","pwfbody"] "Ahh!" Yousei jumped with a start as she rounded the corner, only to find herself face to face with the good doctor. Holy red bean paste, did this guy really have to be lurking around corners waiting to jump scare people like that? It didn't help that these old tunnels were more like the setting for a horror game than a clinic; seriously, what kind of weirdo sets up a medical practice in a creepy ass place like this? Anyway, a short fit of internal swearing later... [break][break]
"Oh, uh...hey there, Dr. Kobubobo!" She chuckled nervously as the older jounin rocked on his heels with a little too much enthusiasm for her liking. "N-no thanks, that's okay. Not really a big tea person, you know?" Or a very big person at all, but that was beside the point. [break][break]
"I stopped by because I was wondering if you do, well...custom orders, I guess? You're good at dealing with medicine and drugs and stuff, right? I'm looking for someone that can make me some hyorogan (military ration pills). Like, extra strength hyorogan; something that can help replenish a lot of lost chakra really fast for, uh...reasons." [break][break]
Damn, that sounded kind of suspicious. Well, not that Kobashigawa of all people really had any room to talk. On a scale of one to suspicious, this guy was pretty darn suspicious. [break][break]
That "make sure you have all your organs when you leave the office" kind of suspicious; that "this guy probably has ethically questionable experiments preserved in tanks of unidentifiable green liquid" kind of suspicious. Suspicious like some sort of part-snake part-fox hybrid: a Snox, if you will. [break][break]
Okay, that was getting a little silly now. [break][break]
"So yeah, uh...think that would be up your alley, Doc? If not I could always just get going and, you know..." [break][break]
The good doctor paid no mind to how startled the girl was, simply continuing to offer her a warm and friendly smile as they watched her. "Ko. Ba. Shi. Ga. Wa." A clawed finger extended as he spoke, gently wagging from side to side as he very precisely pronounced each syllable of their name. They were used to people getting it wrong, but few people were as consistently inaccurate as the darling little samurai before him. Fortunately for her there was a certain charm to the air of blissful ignorance that seemed to surround her. Which was why he was oh so disappointed that she turned down his generous offer. They let out a heavy sigh so dramatic that it seemed he was playing to the back row.
"Of course you're not." His shoulders drooped slightly, lips pressing together as some of the joy seemed to be sapped from his features. "Do you have any idea how long it has been since someone simply came by to say hello? To enjoy a cup of tea or ask me how I've been?" A hand reached back to run through his hair, folding his long two toned locks back and away from his face as if ensuring his the sadness in his razor sharp eyes was on full display. "But no. You simply want to use my knowledge to create tools of war. You do know that I am a doctor, don't you?" The bells on his head jingled softly as he shook his head, creating a tragically sad chime that matched to distraught tone of his voice. "...But for you? My dear, sweet little Yousei?" Their chest expanded as they sucked in a deep breath, deep red lips curling into a somber smile. "How could I possibly say no?"
A hand reached out to her, a sharp tipped finger placing itself just a bit too close to the red headed shinobi's face before slowly beckoning for her to follow. With that the doctor spun on their heels, tossing their long silky strands of hair behind themselves as they did. Wooden geta clicked on the hard stone floor as he started off down the tunnel, the sound echoing through the chamber and meshing with the jingling of his bells as he moved. "I assume you are willing to offer payment for such a thing, yes? Exactly how much do you think you will be needing?"
✉ tag -- ( Yousei Shinkiro ) ※ the doctor is so disappointed by his lovely guest
[attr="class","pwf1body"] Man, now she felt kinda bad. Though to be fair, she couldn't really tell how much of the good doctor's little tirade was the truth, and how much was just a melodramatic exaggeration that he was playing up just to mess with her, especially with that last part. He was a snox, after all. Yousei may not have been an expert on snox behavior, but being shrewd, and deceptive, and generally Machiavellian definitely seemed like archetypical personality traits for such a wily mammal. [break][break]
"Sorry, doc. Maybe next time. If it makes you feel better, I've barely had any free time at all lately. With the battle at Onomichi getting closer every day, my schedule has been jam-packed; training, missions, going over the new defense plans...things have been pretty hectic! I imagine you've probably had your hands full down here too, getting ready to help treat the injured and whatnot." [break][break]
As he beckoned her to follow, nearly taking her eye out with those fingernails in the process, the two started off further into the depths of the totally-not-creepy complex, though to where Yousei hadn't a clue. Hopefully not the Tyrant research lab or something, she hadn't brought her rocket launcher. [break][break]
"Sure thing! I should be able to afford them, no problems there. As for how many I need, uh...I guess maybe like, five? I don't think I'll be needing them very often, so-" [break][break]
You sure about that~? [break][break]
Her footsteps came to a sudden halt as she froze up on the spot, the breath catching in her throat as her eyes went wide. She just sort of stood there for a second, staring off into space, before she finally came back to her senses, a hand sliding through her crimson locks as she took a deep breath and tried to regain her composure. [break][break]
"S-so I shouldn't need...too many." [break][break]
Yousei forced herself to start walking again after that, doing her best to push the incident from her mind and refocus on the matter at hand, but it wouldn't take a doctor to tell that something was still bothering her; she never was great at hiding how she felt. [break][break]
