The Mysterious Figure

## **Participants**

### **{ Shane Senju } { Senso Namikaze } { Cyrus Shinigami } { Kane Rinha }**

**ShaneSenju:** In the late hours of the evening as the sun was sitting on the horizon casting a warm orange glow over the Konoha Village. The villagers went through their everyday routine gathering supplies through the markets and getting ready to close up shops soon while  Shane is still in his office sorting through mountains of paperwork that never seem to lessen. The village has been in peace for the most part only having to settle small disputes here and there, but he knew as well as any other shinobi, that can only last for so long in the shinobi world. While he was signing his signature on one of the papers, he looked up from his desk as a knock sounded at the double doors leading into his office. He set his ink pen down and spoke, "You may enter." The shinobi at the door opened the double doors and closed them softly behind him as he bowed his head respectfully to the Hokage. This wasn't any ordinary shinobi, this shinobi was from the Anbu cooperation and Shane had a strange feeling he already knew why the anbu made their appearance now. The Shinobi lifted his mask so it rested on top of his head revealing a middle aged man with a scar on the corner of his lip and small crinkles around his eyes as he spoke to the Hokage, "It happened again. A body was taken before the burial from a family in a small village on our western borders. No one has seen any suspicious behavior besides this..." The Anbu shinobi revealed a small brown pouch and untied the strings of it letting the pouch reveal what is inside. Inside the brown pouch Shane made out a shelled gray snake skin. The Hokage nodded as he came to a conclusion that this was drawing closer and closer to his suspicions. A few years back a jonin shinobi had completely vanished. No one knew how or why this shinobi left, but it eventually was rumored he was dead even though his body was never found. At the time, Shane wasn't Hokage so he didn't have to much information on the subject. Shane didn't believe the rumors and decided to keep it to himself to find out what exactly happened and he had a shinobi in mind to help him with this. He pulled out a scroll from inside one of his desk drawers and unrolled the scroll as he began to write: { I need you to do me a favor. I know you for being a man of your word and can keep his mouth shut when the time comes, but there's been some weird things going on in a village in our western outskirts. They are saying its possibly a "body theif" but that's only partially the truth in my opinion. I need you to find this supposed body theif and their hideout. Also, I don't want you going alone...if my suspicions serve correct than we might have a great danger on our hands. Take someone you can trust with not only your life but the sake of the village as well. Your Hokage, ShaneSenju. } He rolled the scroll up and tied it with a burgundy colored ribbon as he tossed it to the anbu shinobi who catched it with ease. Shane spoke swiftly and sternly to the shinobi, " Deliver the message to Kane Rinha immediately and make sure you give the scroll to him directly." The anbu soldier nodded as he responded, "Of course Hokage." He disappeared from the room as he ran stealthily through the village towards the home of Kane Rinha. Shane laid back in his chair and stared out the window knowing something just wasn't right about this.

**KaneRinha:** Kane is currently inside his home with his armor displayed across the table. He is always making modifications and experimenting with his armor to gain an offensive and defensive advantage in a battle. His new feature to the armor is he found a way to trap the chakra absorbed by the suit and convert it to his own chakra which would increase his chakra reserves. The armor had its limitations on the amount of chakra being absorbed in a certain period of time before it undergoes a "cool down" period. While he was polishing the finishing touches a knock was heard at his front door making him lift a brow since it was unexpected for him to have any guest at this time or any guest at all. He stood up, dressed in his custom made dark blue  jonin flask jacket and shinobi pants with a pair of dark blue open toed shinobi sandals. After all, he was given his nickname from more than just his reputation. His blue hair was always slightly messy with electric aqua blue eyes that were always filled with energy. He has a lean built body frame from the strenuous amount of endurance training he forces himself to do, and slightly tanned skin. He was confused to see an Anbu soldier standing at his door as the Anbu shinobi spoke,  "I have an urgent message from the Hokage himself to deliver to you." The shinobi handed the scroll to Kane who accepted it with a nod as the anbu soldier vanished. He frowned down at the scroll curiously and walked back inside closing the door behind him. He set the scroll on the counter and used another one of his personal scrolls that had his clan symbol on the front along with its blue coloring and used it to hold his armor within it so it could be easier to carry around. He latched the scroll onto his left hip and sat down in a wooden stool near the counter top to start reading the scroll sent by the Hokage. He untied the burgundy colored ribbon and unfolded the scroll. He read through the message quickly, making him having an uneasy feeling about this scouting mission is was being sent on. And the Hokage knows he likes to do things alone, he never worked well in teams or with anyone else for that matter every since he let one of his comrades down and gotten them killed in his genin years because of one small misjudgement. He would never get over that night and his teammate's lifeless eyes staring up at him as her body lay limp in his arms still haunt his dreams on most nights, sometimes he would get lucky and have a dreamless sleep. That's why his parents weren't alive, because they put to much faith in one another and got themselves both killed. If you wanted to survive you could only rely and trust in yourself. That's why he never believed in love either because if you truly love someone that means you have trust in them and his trust was shattered long ago. He vowed to never become as weak as his parents were who believed in working as a team, although he would teach his genin this simply because he didn't wish it upon anyone to become as detached as he is from life. He will only worry about his own survival even though he knew he was very slowly starting to become like his father, which he will never admit, as he developed a sense of protection over his team as their sensei. He placed his weapons in his weapon pouch and headed out the door as big dark clouds started to form overhead foreshadowing a storm soon to come. Kane released an annoyed sigh as if nature had its on way of confirming his suspicions that this mission won't be just a walk in the park. He also came to a slight conflict in the Hokage’s words. Someone he could trust with his life? He reflected to all the people he grew up with as only one kept coming to mind. He may not trust him with his life yet, but he has silently watched the Namikaze occasionally from afar. When their squad walked by he would take a quick glance or when they were being awarded you could catch him watching, but it never became more than a few glances. Who hasn't heard of Senso Namikaze? He was the fastest kid in our academy years and probably still the fastest shinobi he has seen, no amount of training you could do that would help you beat him in a race. Although, he heard of the Namikaze kid being harsh and his eyes that always lacked any human emotions, so you could never tell what was going on in his mind. He is the only one who kept flashing through his mind as he had to make a hasty decision. He wouldn't have to worry about having to look after the Namikaze since he could probably hold up his own in a fight, which would be a deciding factor in his decision. When the chunin exams came Kane was prepared to fight the Namikaze. He could finally prove the Rinhas are a force to be reckoned with as he thought he would be the only one to even stand a chance against the Namikaze who had unimaginable speed that kept increasing as years went by. He also wanted to satisfy his curiosity of the Namikaze. To see if he could get a reaction out of those emotionless eyes and see what really made him tick. He was disappointed they selected someone else to fight him and saw his teammates being there to encourage him on, well mostly Suki Uchiha, Cyrus wasn't much of the encouraging type. The Hokage and the others took notice of the Namikaze performance and congratulated him after the match while Kane went back to the training room to prepare for his own match. When it was his turn to fight he beat his opponent almost effortlessly, and shocked the crowd as though he was trying to prove a point. A Rinha never has been considered one of the power house clans but the Hokage knew from then on to keep a careful eye on Kane Rinha. After that match, Kane never really did anything else that gave him attention instead he let the elders keep their eyes glued on the Namikaze. He hated the spotlight being on him so he just remained as an outsider looking in while the three most feared rising chunin: Suki Uchiha, Cyrus Shinigami, and Senso Namikaze kept making headlines across the village.  No one really knows what happened to the rest of Kane’s team after that night when one of his teammates died in a mission that went horribly wrong and the other teammate refused to have any connections with Kane or the shinobi world as a whole. The Hokage sent Kane on small missions that weren't to dangerous instead saving those for more equipped squads. The Kage did know of the extent of Kane's abilities and would occasionally send him on solo dangerous missions as he gotten older but he would look bad as a Hokage if he kept sending a shinobi out there without a full team to insure his safety. Kane half smirked to himself as he realized this could be an excuse for him to finally approach the legedary Namikaze and spark emotion into those void eyes of his. Once he was outside the house of Senso Namikaze he looked up to see a few drops of rain starting to descend from the sky. He sighed and looked back at the door before knocking three times then placing his hand back to his side while his electric blue eyes scanned ahead curiously and patiently. He could only hope the Namikaze would join him since he was running out of time before the weather became a nuisance.

**SensoNamikaze:** As the sun was setting in the horizon, Namikaze Senso would be on his way from escorting Takashi Aqua and Uchiha Haromi to their homes. Once he finished escorting them, he would head to the ramen shop not to far from the Uchiha district. As he walked passed shops as they seemed to be closing up shop, Senso would see the ramen shop in the distant as he made his way to it, as he approached the shop and lifted the half curtain with his left hand while the other hand would be in his pocket. He would stand there quietly as the assistant cook would turn around, her light brown hues would look onto the small male as he seemed cold but yet friendly, her light blue hair made her almost look like those Rinha's.. "Welcome Senso, please come in." The small girl would say as she bowed, Senso nodding his head would speak in a low tone, "Please Miss, don't bow your head to me.. It is I who should bow my head to you and your father, who feed me such delicous food.. So thank you." -Senso would bow his head as he took a seat on the stool as he sighed heavily. As the young woman knew Senso order, she would never ask him about the order, he would do the usual routine of coming in, bowing his head, sitting in the same stool and then eating the same food, he didn't do much else in this shop. As the cook would be making Senso food, Senso himself would be deep in thought, even if he didn't want others to know, he couldn't hide the expression on his face. He would reach in his black pouch and pull out the small kunai which Suki had left for him since they were kids, it was the kunai which saved Senso life. Even though Senso never got over that situation he always seemed to use that kunai in battle, even though it has his formula on it he never seem to let go of it at all.. Senso isn't known to holding people close to him but once he finds those people who he can trust, there's nothing in this world that will stop him from saving his friends even if he dies in the process, as Senso was deep in thought the sound of the bowl of ramen hitting the counter would snap Senso out of his day dreaming.. He would bow his head and begin to eat the bowl of soup, as twenty minutes went by as Senso was all finished, he would stand up from sitting on the stool as he reached in his pouch for his money, he would over pay like he usually does and put the kunai back in his pouch. Senso would bow his head and head out to his home, the streets were dark and the voice of the villagers would quiet down, the sun was completely set and the birds would be in their homes as well. As Senso walked down the alley way to his home with his hands in his pocket seeking warmth, he would take a left after exiting the alley, he would head up a hill to the district of the Namikaze where he stays at.. As he made his way up the hill he would notice as mysterious figure in front of his home, Senso wouldn't really pay no mind to the figure, he would continue to walk as he consealed his chakra as he passed the figure.. Senso would look from the corner of his eye to see it was Rinha Kane but didn't stop walking as he stepped on the first step of his home, he would take one more step and be on the porch of his home. Senso would stretch and turn around to see Kane not moving, he would sit on the floor board of his porch and yawn as he commented. "A bit late for a date ain't it..? So tell me Kane, what do you want..? A fight, a kiss, some food? If it's a fight you want than sure, a kiss..? Buy me some dinner first. Some food then i'm all out.. " -Senso would stretch his left leg and place his right foot on his lap, as he leaned back and placed his hands on the floor but his head on his hands as he closed his eyes and awaited the answer from Kane.-

**KaneRinha:** The sun has completely set with the night skies taking over and a small drizzle of rain pouring down from the skies. The sounds of rumbling could be heard off in the distance as the thunderstorm drew closer as the hours ticked on. At first when Kane knocked on the door he thought no one was home. He was about to knock a final time before leaving until he heard footsteps behind him. Strange. Whoever is approaching him masked their chakra. He placed a hand on his kunai pouch as he looked in the corner of his eye behind him only to see Senso walking up to the porch and sitting down. He stood there as he relaxed seeing there wasn't an immediate threat and listened to Senso speak. He turned around and placed his hands in his pocket as he stood silent for a few moments. He was slightly confused and shocked by Senso's bluntness and unusual question. He cleared his throat before speaking, " A fight? Possibly, but that's not the reason I came here even though I am curious on how you would fare. A kiss? Well I wouldn't mind taking you out for dinner and getting a bite to eat beforehand, but again that's not what I am here for. The Hokage has requested I go on a scouting mission to find a supposedly... body thief and find out their hideout. But, he also requested I bring along someone I can trust. I'm not saying I trust you completely yet, but I trust you enough to fend for yourself and not become dead weight." Kane looked off into the distance where the rain was slowly starting to increase as he waited for the Namikaze response. If he refused then he would simply go alone despite the Hokage’s orders, but it would be nice to have someone to accompany him and it would serve an opportunity to find out a little bit more about the Namikaze.

**SensoNamikaze:** Senso would sit up as he heard it was a request from the Hokage, Senso would think outloud not knowing he did so. "The Hokage eh..? That dude..? He so annoying when it comes to mission's but eh, Lady Yuna was scary... I still remember those days.. Mmm, kay i'm in." Senso would ignore the rest of what Kane had to say because he truly didn't care, Senso would pick his nose with his pinky finger and flick's it at Kane. Senso would sit up and stand up as he went inside the house as he spoke, "Wait out here yo, don't be trespassing all up in my HQ." -Senso would enter his home as he geared up and got ready to go on this mission, he wore something comfortable due to it being late and a bit lazy. As he stepped out and felt bored, Senso would yawn and stretch as he didn't feel like walking, he would tell Kane in a soft tone. "If i'm coming, i'm going to be bored so hold up conversation okay? If not, i'll return to my HQ, I just bought some hentai anal vids waiting to be seen by me and my eyes. Anywho let's go husky man" -Senso would climb onto the shoulder's of Kane Rinha as he relaxed himself and placed his elbows on top of Kane's head and his chin on his hands, he would try to enjoy the journey ahead. Senso would eat pocky while on top of Kane's head.- "March yo, giddy up."

**Kane Rinha**: Kane didn't mind Senso picking his nose since most guys do it anyway; however, he sidestepped Senso has he flicked at him. He waited patiently as Senso got dressed and a few moments later coming back out of the house and climbing on his shoulders.  He placed his hands right above Senso's knees so he could keep his balance as he walked. Senso's weight wasn't the problem, he could easily carry him around with little effort, but his behavior is what intrigued him and made him a bit skeptical of his decision. This is certainly not what he expected, but he had no choice in the matter now. He let out a sigh before walking off the porch and into the village where the raindrops could be felt pressing against his clothing. Senso wanted him to keep conversation or he would return home. The only issue with that is Kane doesn't know or has ever been the one to keep a conversation going. He would stay silent for the most part and had no desire to communicate with anyone unless he as to. As he was walking into the village towards the gates he finally began to speak, "Tell me about your team when you were a genin, I haven't heard much from your teammates besides the occasional greeting during the chunin exams when we were younger. " This was one of the only topics that came to mind, since he didn't know what to ask about Senso or even if he would tell him anything. Long as he keeps the topics broad and off of himself he wouldn't have to speak much and could focus on the mission at hand.