Team Kurina: The Hunt for the Red Shinobi!

[ZeroNumerous]

Rukksu Ikuyo

"Like I said, it's hopeless. I could point you toward the coma victim, but I highly doubt you could help her anymore than accomplished medi-nin can. The corpses have already been examined and disposed of. Other than the stab wounds inside each vital organ and the slash wounds across their throats then they were completely normal."

[Phecto]

"So anyone else have ideas here or does this seem like a pointless waste of time? The longer we wait the less useful the information the chief claims to have will be anyways. Considering he's contradicted his previous comments to us as soon as it was convenient for him I'm ready to believe he doesn't have anything else of any use to tell us. How bout we just go searching for Kurina and let them deal with this on their own. We have a much better chance of tracking down Kurina than the criminal here and she's actually something that concerns us, while this is somebody else's business." Shunrai looks to Natsumi and Kyoshin to see what they think

[AlienRat]

Another shrug, boy she loves feeling useless. "Okay, I assume by stab wounds through each vital organ the wounds went their skin first correct? It seems like an extreme over kill for killing someone as well. Does it match anything from your citys past? Like.. From the war or something?" Nothing like wild stabs in the dark. "Was anyone near the gate where the guards were found? Were they questioned?"

[ZeroNumerous]

Rukksu Ikuyo

Ikuyo frowns when Shunrai speaks so openly. "Assuming that a criminal is willing to stay in one area for any long period of time is dangerous, and Haigakure doesn't have a large number of shinobi in it." He then blinks, and adds a couple of words off-handedly. "...Does it?"

[Gengy]

"We can't tell you exact numbers, but the village itself is not as large as Konoha, that's for sure." Kyoshin backs away from the desk as well, and looks over at his teammates. "Shunrai-san, I think it's best that we at least try to offer some aid other than come up with more questions. I agree with you, though. I don't intend to stay here a week for someone else's problem... but this may not be someone else's problem."

[AlienRat]

Green eyebrows frown slightly. Usually Natsumi is quite happy to be ignored, arguably better then hiding. "Well?" She asks Ikuyo with more force to her voice this time. "Was anyone near the scene of where the bodies were found questioned? Have you checked to see if someone in the past has used such a thurough method of killing someone?" Although she really kinda doubts all those wounds were needed. Any one vital shot should pretty much kill someone, well, maybe two for cases like Kurina or Matasu. You'd probably need to set Kuro on fire or something. She shakes her head to clear the morbid thoughts before they turn to former team members or police officers..

[ZeroNumerous]

Ikuyo

Ikuyo returned the genin's frown with one of his own. "As far as I know, the only people at the scene were a three-man team of ANBU doing training runs in the area. They didn't see anyone dump the bodies. As for the killing technique.. It was used a bit during the Second Shinobi War between Konohagakure and Haigakure--namely as a method of demoralization employed by a few Kyusuki member. None the less, I can take you to the bodies if you want to see them, or to the survivor if you want to see her."

Ikuyo stands up from his desk, but quickly drops back down when his back pops and grinds very audibly. "Oh! Oh-oh-oh.. Ah.. Sorry, old uh.. war injuries. You understand, right?" He grins and tilts his head back to 'look' at Natsumi with closed eyes.

[Gengy]

Kyoshin keeps his mouth shut and waits for the girls to make a decision. The nagging thought keeps growing.

He's good... but is he this good? And could he - would he - do something like that? Kyoshin looks puzzled and tries to listen to the conversation at hand.

[AlienRat]

Great, she's starting to develop is love for the Kyusuki clan right up there with Matasu's. "Seeing as how I'm not old enough to have been in the war. No. I don't. You don't seem old enough either, unless you're refering to some other war?" She shrugs. "I would perfer to see the bodies first." Her head turns to look at Kyoshin and Shunrai. "Think maybe you two could check on the survivor, see if there is any sign of Genjutsu?"

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D'oh, may have had a goof here, please hold any responces to Natusmi's post if any as I may have to do some editing.

[AlienRat]

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Thanks for waitting guys, sorry for the delay. The post stands.*

For an explaination. I thought just having the Earth & Life Science skill let me do autopsies. I went and reviewed the book for what kind of difficulties I'd be looking at and found out I needed a feat. Talked with Zero, he's letting me do a dumbed down version. Won't get all the bells and whistles of the feat version.

Underlined just so it stands out.

[ZeroNumerous]

Ikuyo

Ikuyo rubs the back of his head while giving you a nervous laugh. "Oh.. Heh. Just a bit of goofin' off, ya know? Well, I can take one of you to the bodies and the other two to the survivor afterward, or the other way around. Who wants to go first?"

[Phecto]

Shunrai shakes her head "Well I can look but I'm pretty sure I won't find anything regardless of if there's anything to find or not." She turns to Kyoshin "You know anything about Genjutsu other than how much they suck?"

[Gengy]

"Only that I don't remember ever being effected by Genjutsu." Kyoshin scratches the hairs on his cheeks. "Of course, that doesn't mean that I haven't, just that I don't remember."

And that Leematsu is supposed to be an expert...

[AlienRat]

Natsumi sighs faintly. We're hosed. She thinks. "Okay, lets visit the survivor first please." She looks to Ikuyo and waits for him to lead on.

[ZeroNumerous]

The Survivor

The three of you are escorted to the hospital, where you're brought before a beautiful young woman in her late twenties. Her body is covered by soft white sheets held in place only by the supple hands resting at her sides. Her skin is flawless, and her golden crown of hair rests calmly upon her immaculate white pillow. Her eyes are closed, her breath is calm, and the silence in the room is only broken by the soft beeping of the EEG recording her heartbeat. She doesn't appear to be been in a battle, or even harmed at all.

Ikuyo speaks first. "Beautiful, ain't she? Thats Makatsui Anni, the youngest of the Makatsui clan and Kurina-chan's youngest sister. The uh.. only theory we have on why she survived was because the attacker didn't want to kill her."

[Phecto]

Shunrai grins and shakes her head "That's possible, perhaps they wanted a hostage. It's also possible though that they were interrupted before they got around to finishing the job, all the damage you mentioned the others had would take a little time to do. Wish we could do something to help her though, even if it probably wouldn't help solve the mystery."

[AlienRat]

Natsumi shrugs. "We might never know for certain. But, if we're tossing theorys out. I think someone or some group of someone's is trying to start up the war again. A method from the Kyusuki clan, and now we have a Makatsui clan ninja unkilled. Which could make people believe Kurina did this but didn't want to kill her sister." But she doesn't add about Matasu really really not liking us anymore, to put it lightly, and capable of doing all of this.

Her eyes close, focusing on a triangle, then the circle within. She opens her eyes, looking over Makatsui Anni's body for signs of a jutsu active on her.

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Natsumi's using Sense Chakra. Zero, new system for me here. No idea what I'd need to roll to see something like a Genjutsu or if Sense Chakra would just pick it up automaticly.

[Gengy]

Kyoshin keeps his mouth shut. There are too many things floating through his head right now, and a bunch of conflicting emotions.

Could he do this? Could SHE? We really only knew her for a few days... but she's still our sensei! And he's still just a kid, like us... Musei-sama, this is the withered plant you spoke of.

[ZeroNumerous]

Ikuyo

"Eh.." Ikuyo absentmindedly mumbles a bit, then picks up volume when he notices. "Well, I guess that's an idea. Pretty much all we got to go on at this point anyway."

[AlienRat]

"I'm curious Ikuyo-sama." Natsumi seems to focus on the unconscious woman's chest for a bit. "Are you just a beacon for bad luck? You've said this case is hopeless. Every question this bunch of genin can think up you've found a dead end or a unexplainable mystery already. Why did you get this case?" She looks up and over at Ikuyo. Her eyes looking him over, her senses still attuned to seeing chakra. "The captain catch you making jokes at his expense or something?"

The tall girl gives a defeated sigh. "She has a, um, hole, or black spot in her chakra system, on her heart. That's, oh, a few years of study and I may know what that even means let alone how to fix it."

[Gengy]

All thoughts in Kyoshin's head vanish, to be replaced with a new one.

What the? Kyoshin wasn't sure he heard correctly. No, no, I'm certain I heard just fine. I just don't know why I'm hearing it.

Imperceptibly, the large genin's weight shifts. His overly large shoulder sack moves from hanging off of one shoulder to hanging across his chest diagonally. With a sigh, he says, "Next time, you girls carry your own food. This big bag is heavy."

[Phecto]

"Maybe he pointed out the captain's contradictions and blatant lying one too many times, he didn't seem happy when I did it. Or maybe the old war injury is actually from a narrow escape after being caught with the chief's daughter." Shunrai puts her hand over the ladies heart to see if she can feel it beating and if she's as warm as she should be "Maybe this is just a body made to look like it's in a coma, something left behind to lead away from the real answers."

[ZeroNumerous]

Ikuyo

"Uh.. I dunno, really. It was just on my desk this morning, so.. I investigated, like my job description says I should do. I dunno if the captain doesn't like me or what, but he seems to know me atleast." Ikuyo keeps his eyes focused on Anni's face, and for once his features seem to soften and you catch a glimpse of something you recognized. For a split second, he seemed to a bit more laidback and sentimental than usual. "I could probably explain that. Simple method of redirecting chakra flow from the heart to the brain, which would cause an overload in brain activity and a drop in heart rate. A genjutsu induced coma."

[AlienRat]

Natsumi shrugs. "I'm impressed, thanks. Do you have an explanation for your own odd chakra system?" She looks down at Anni. This is by far the oddest technique she learned under Tenmai. She can throw a kunai and anything and everything. She could use a taijutsu blindfolded without knowing there was an enemy or not. This one, you have to know. And Ikuyo just gave her enough to know. Her fingers form into a few rapid fire signs, she then puts her hands over Anni's heart. "Genjutsu Kai"

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That was enough to meet the "able to use" definition in the book. Now, to see if my old pal Mr. DiceRoller still hates me.

Perform DC 13 (1d20+14)[4](18)
Dispel attempt(1d20+10)[14](24)

[Gengy]

Kyoshin puts one hand on Shunrai's shoulder, and the other on Ikuyo's shoulder. "Step back please. Give her some room."

On Shunrai, it is a gentle suggestion. The large hand merely a reminder, a word of caution, a possibility of following the thought that brought the hand to the shoulder.

On Ikuyo, however, it is a bit more than that. Kyoshin, ever the gentle giant, is not gripping down, not really. There is nothing unkind in the touch. But the hold is not light. It says 'I'm not letting go till you step back', and while there is room for argument, it would be a silly argument.

After all, it's not an unreasonable request. Natsumi-san is trying to help. If it works, we'll know who our killer is. If it doesn't... but something happens... maybe we'll still know. Kyoshin's eyes harden, though his smile is still light. He watches Natsumi. He watches Shunrai. He watches Ikuyo.

He watches Ikuyo more.

[ZeroNumerous]

Ikuyo

The man just looks at Natsumi with a puzzled look on his face. "Odd? I don't know anything odd about my chakra system." He doesn't pay attention to Kyoshin, and just shrugs off the boy's arm. "If that works, then theres no point in giving her room. If it doesn't, then you're just touching me without any reason."

Anni

Natsumi immediately notices that the woman's skin is cold to the touch, and her breathing is shallow and irregular. After Natsumi releases the genjutsu, her breathing deepens and becomes much more rhythmic. She doesn't awaken, but it becomes obvious that she's no longer comatose. Now she's simply sleeping.

[Gengy]

"Sorry. Sorry. I wanted to be sure." Kyoshin lets his arms fall back to his sides, but not before he gives Shunrai's shoulder a light squeeze. Kyoshin's eyes look down at his teammate, and when she's watching, the big genin stares at her for a brief second, then flicks his gaze over to Ikuyo before quickly returning to normal.

"Shall I go find a doctor, Natsumi-san?"

[Phecto]

"I don't think we should call a doctor. I'd say wait a bit and see if she can be woken up. Before this I didn't think she'd know anything useful, but now I'm curious." She turns a cold glare at Ikuyo "Perhaps he just doesn't trust you, what exactly does the chief know about you to single you out?"

[AlienRat]

Natsumi's eyes stare off blankly for a few seconds. Her thighs press against the bed as she leans forward. After a few moments she takes a deep breath and stretches her back. "Tenmai never mentioned that in the technique.." She clears her throat and glances at Ikuyo, then her team mates. "She should be fine.. Well, Physically. Mentally, she saw her friends die." Natsumi shrugs. Well, she can be cold and heartless, but that doesn't mean she can't understand. "We should ask a nurse to check in on her often. We should let her sleep, but she'll be disorientated and upset when she wakes up."

She looks over at Ikuyo. "I take it you knew her?"

[ZeroNumerous]

Ikuyo

"Know about me? I said he knew me, which is given since we work together. I dunno if he singled me out for this case or what. " Ikuyo turns around and leans against the wall. "Ya, I knew 'er. And her sister, but thats a whole different story."

Anni remains asleep, and doesn't stir or move beyond the normal rise and fall of her chest with each breath.

(EDIT: Bump)