Spending My Vacation... AT THE LIBRARY! (Bryn & Shizen)

I met on the western outskirts of the Ressa Desert with a small group of ANBU spies I had stationed nearby. We came here to locate and utilize the ancient library these men had claimed to have found. "Well," I began to ask the captain, "How far is it from this location?" And the captain began to give me his report on the situation, "It is exactly 13 miles from where we are now, due east. It is near Mt. Hokori, sir. The tower protrudes from the ground, as I mentioned in my letter to you, but the rest of the library is buried by the sand dunes. You'l have to gain entrance through a window on the top of the tower." I nodded with a firm expression as I listened to the report being given about my destination. I dismissed the spy as soon as I was done, and began to set up camp. The Shinkage, Shizen Tekuta, was instructed to meet me here, and I would wait for him to begin the expedition.

It was hot as hell. I hadn't crawled out of my abode a mile under the ocean in the longest time, it was about time I got some fresh air, even if it was in some barren wasteland like this. I didn't bother bringing my kage robe, I hope it doesn't disappoint all the people I'd be seeing today....but I was wearing a simple deep blue T-shirt and with black shorts. I had my weapon pouch strapped to my waist and black sandals on my feet that were doing a terrible job at keeping the heat from the desert sands from burning my feet. I arrived just as Bryn was speaking to one of his ninja, I approached him and grabbed his shoulder before saying "I really hope this library is worth it my friend." I could already feel the desert sun heating my body and I was drenched in sweat. I felt this was going to be a lot harder than just a simple journey, but I knew that if anyone could handle the trip it would be the Commander and Co-commander of the Rebellion.

"Very well, we have our coordinates. Shall we, my friend? Tallyho!" I said enthusiastically as I pointed off into the distance. I began running forward into the dunes, ready to get the adventure underway. The sun was blaring hot against my skin that was used to the dankness of the inner mountains, but it was a thrill to say the least. I always loved a challenge, and this would be one unlike any other! (Except of course mastering my friend, Otachi, just a couple of weeks ago) In my head, I began to talk to the Yonbi, confirming that he was ready as well, "This one's going to be a tough one, better not let it kick your ass as bad as I kicked it." I said this in my head and chuckled, and felt his angry stare against my conscious. "You got lucky, and of course I'm ready. I remember one of the Bijuu that the Kyubi awakened live deep within these deserts. You'd best be careful in the sandstorms. That is, if we can make it through the sandstorms. This Bijuu was an angry one too, much more hostile than most of us, and still very loyal to the Great Lion. Tread carefully, but I'm sure if we run into it, we can tank its ass, am I right?" he laughed as well, and with a nod, I signified that both of us were ready to press onward. I turned and looked to Shizen to share the knowledge I had just learned while still running forward. "My spies tell me that one of the tailed beasts resides near this library. Also, I do recall reading somewhere about ancient sand tribes that reside out here. They're nasty brutes at that, so be on your guard at all times. We'll keep running until sundown, and then we'll make camp."

A tailed beast lived in this desert? That made this thing tremendously more interesting, but also difficult. I also didn't think living out in this unbearable heat was even possible, I knew the Imperial dune brutes could pull it off but to be capable of living out here in the open sun with no buildings? That was worthy of respect. I nodded and said to my friend jokingly as I began to run next to him across the dunes "You sure you don't want to just ditch this library all together and go for that tailed beast? Sounds like more of a prize to me." I began laughing and then the hot desert winds picked up sending sand in the air and making me cough, seemed even the desert disliked my humor. After I recovered I began to speak again saying "Nevermind that plan then, lets just stick with what you said." I countinued to run through the hot sands, jumping every once in a while to give my feet a break from the heat. This was the beginning of an amazing adventure, perhaps I should write it down.

I chuckled as I politely disregarded Shizen's remark about the Bijuu. Normally, I would have made fun of his lack of a good joke, but the desert seemed to do the work for me. We kept running and running, and after what seemed like an eternity, the sun began to set behind us. I had been running all day, and had be jacket rolled up and wrapped around my head as a turban to keep the sand and sweat from mixing in my eyes. After a few more hours, we set up camp. I started a fire, and he pitched two tents for sleeping in. I decided I would now tell him about the wretched sandstorm we would have to cross to reach the library. "Shizen, old pal, the area this library rests inside is surrounded by miles of raging sandstorms. The locals don't even venture into them, on account of the winds and sand being so fierce that it can tear through the average flesh. We're going to have to think of some way to cross it. We can figure something out when we arrive, but for now, I just wanted to mentally prepare you for what we'll be reaching. Right then, goodnight old man." As I said this, I left the fire and went to bed. I left my door open and the fire still burning near the tent entrance in order for the warmth to reach me. The desert was known to be very cold in the absence of a sun.

A sandstorm that could rip apart the flesh of an average human huh? This was going to be more interesting than I thought. I continued to think about this while we made camp. This whole ordeal was a great idea for a novel...and it would be an excellent collection to the ANBU library. As Bryn would walk away to his tent I would yell out to him with a friendly tone "Sleep well my friend, we have a lot in front of us for tomorrow." After he would go into his tent I would pull an empty note book from my bag and begin writing down the boring beginning of the story starting from Bryn's visit to my village and up until we made camp tonight. After I had finished I retreated back to my own tent and began to rest, anxious as to what the next day would unfold.

It wasn't long before we reached the sandstorms on the next day, which would not have been that big of an issue if the winds didn't cause the sands to pierce through skin. So after traveling for several miles, we were faced with a barrier. The barrier of whirling sand went on as far as my eyes could see in either direction to my sides, and it was so clear-cut and distinct from the environment that we stood in, that the only reasonable conclusion that could be drawn was that it's source was supernatural. "The Bijuu has to be in there somewhere.. but that will be for another time. We have to reach the library. And I think I have an idea as to how we can make it through here. Remember that thing I told you I wanted to show you in private? Well, I think now would be an appropriate time to do so." Not letting him respond, I stood back a couple of feet from him, just in case, and began the transformation. I stood still and closed my eyes. I was still new to this, so it took a little bit of time, but it went fairly quickly still. Then, in a sudden movement, my body grew momentously and transformed. I stood at a towering thirty feet high, the height of an average three-story building, and huge horns shot out from the sides of my head. My legs became that of the ram, and my snout transformed as well. I was now, in full and complete mastery, the four-tailed ram. I was sure Shizen would be taken back, as I'm sure I would be if my old friend just turned into a thirty foot monster right in front of me, but I began relaying my plan anyway in hopes that he would register the information after he was done gawking. In my booming voice, I said, "I figured it takes Bijuu's power to fight Bijuu's power, so here we are. I'm going to run to the left of you, as it seems the sand is being torrented from the North, and as long as you stay close to my calves as I walk and you run, because you're about as big as my calves, you should be protected from the sand. If it fails, well I could always carry you, little man." As I said the last bit, I let out a thunderous chuckle before returning to the matter at hand. "Shall we?"

340/390

I slept fine and was fully energized when we began our journey the next day. I ran swiftly along side my friend until we hit the edge of the sandstorm. I was in awe at this marvel, it seemed to go on full speed, never to end, I could tell this truly was from something with incredible power. I was snapped out of this daze when my friend began to speak to me about his surprise and before I knew it he had transformed into some disgusting ram creature. The creature was truly frightening looking and I couldn't help but laugh at the transformation a little, it was a little drastic. I couldn't help but be amazed though, this person years younger than me was capable of pulling of such a drastic transformation on the fly, it was a message to me about the strength of the next generation.

I listened to his plan to use the monster transformation's power against the power of the bijuu , it was a smart idea, typical of the rebellion leader. I would look up and yell to his towering form "What the hell kind of transformation is that? And where can I learn it." I would laugh and choke on sand again, the desert was a cruel audience. He then explained to me that it was a bijuu and my mind instantly flashed back to the Sanbi which caused me to feel my anger and fear welling up inside me, but there was no time for that. After recovering I yelled up again "Nevermind the explanation for now, I just hope this bijuu of yours can put up against the power of this other bijuu." I approached the leg of my friend and could sense the power coming off it, it felt similar to the Sanbi...I had to keep reminding myself that this was my closest friend and that I could trust his control of the beast for now. But how did he manage to gain control of it? He seemed fine for now so I could trust him with this, but I knew how unpredictable the monsters could be.

I saw the worried expression on my friend's face, so before we took off into the raging sandstorm, I crouched down to look him in the face. In my now booming voice, echoing across the Ressa, "My friend, do not worry. I have mastered the Yonbi, and we are close companions. You have nothing to fear." I then stood up and yelled enthusiastically, "Now let's get this over with!" With a barreling step forward, I started walking into the blistering sand. It smacked me in the side with more force than I expected, but I stood firmly. I looked down to make sure Shizen was close to my leg. He was, so we kept moving. We would go for several hours through the storm before it finally receded. We stood on the other side, inside the dome of sandstorms that went on for several miles in every direction. The library was somewhere inside this dome, and so was the Ichibi. We would have to be careful to find exactly what we were looking for. It was almost dusk, and we would have to make camp soon. My side burned from the storm, but it was tolerable. In causing this slight pain, I had saved my friend from certain death, and that was worth it.

I nodded to my friend as he assured me of the control he had over the beast, I trusted his judgement. Now, was the fun part, braving through this bijuu-powered sandstorm. As Bryn began to walk I would move from one foot to the other, timing it up perfectly to prevent major injuries to my flesh. By the time we hit a calm spot in the storm I had a few cuts on my arms and legs, but that was nothing compared to what I could've sustained were my friend not here. It was getting dark again and we began to set up camp again. As we sat around the campfire I pulled out my notebook and began to continue the story of our journey, I had an idea that I wanted to build on. I wanted to keep a chronicle of all the adventures and battles starting at my induction as kage up until my death. I was already well into the first chapter 'Brothers', I would have it done in no time at all.

I felt a bang against my head, which woke me up with a start. I had a pounding headache, but when I went to rub it, my hands wouldn't move. Each of my arms was bound behind my back, and I was gagged with a rope as well, and my feet were tied together. I laid on the sand next to a campfire and surrounded by several of the sand tribe members. I rolled onto the other side to check for Shizen, and sure enough, he was there too. He was bound as well, and was already writhing trying to break free. I shot a glare at the man closest to me, who leaned in rather close to me and said, "The Empire will pay a hefty sum for two kage of the Rebellion, won't they boys?" The rest of his men began laughing condescendingly, and I could feel the rage boiling up inside of me. I needed to break out of here.

I was rudely awakened from my sleep to the sound of two men talking about turning in rebellion kage for money. I tried to move my arms to get up but they were bound by ropes. So they were trying to kidnap us were they? That's cute. They had my legs bound as well and I could see Bryn beginning to struggle as well. As I began to move one of them yelled out "Hey! The other one's conscious too!" I began to charge chakra to the soles of my feet and began to position my body in a way that I could launch myself up here in a moment, I was about to get many more arms.

Easy. While the man was still bent over up to my face, I began laughing as well. I looked into the eyes of the tribe leader, and said through my gag, "You've made the worst mistake you could ever possibly make, my friend." And with that, I rolled back onto my back, and began screaming. "AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I yelled, and my hair began standing on end, flickering yellow now and again until it was consistently the same hue. My eyes began to glow and my muscles began to bulge. I could feel the power coursing through my veins. My power.

With a final shout, I ripped my arms forward, severing the ropes that had bound them. I reached down to my feet, and then to my mouth, and did the same. I flipped backwards onto my feet. My strength was legendary, and could be matched by no man in this meager world. These men would soon know this to be true. There I stood, yellow hair standing on end, eyes glowing a bright yellow, sparks of lightning dancing across my body. One of the tribe men ran at me, yelling "He broke out, get him!" The other men hesitated, and watched their enthusiastic comrade to see what would happen next. As he reached me, I bent back and let a kick fly up into his chin. His head flew backwards, and his body did not, snapping his neck in two. He fell limp to the ground, dead instantly, with his head hanging on his back. A grin plastered on my face, I said, "Who's next?"

Ah, just in time. My close friend had created a pretty great distraction, guess I should join in. I would curl up and launch myself into standing position releasing the chakra stored up in the form of a puddle at my feet. From this puddle long tentacles came out in all directions, and I used these tentacles to precisely cut the ropes restraining my arms and legs. I then pulled the gag out of my mouth and I spoke to the small group of 4 tribesmen that surrounded my location "Well that was just inconvenient...is this how you treat all of your guests?" One of the men then swiped at the tentacles surrounding me, obviously thinking it was just water and when his blade made contact with the tentacle he screamed and got shocked before falling to the ground. I smirked and then grabbed the other 3 with tentacles, shocking them before throwing them across the room. I would look over to Bryn and nod, it was just like the good ol' days.

Spoiler:

320/350

(OOC: We're not in a room, we're in a desert camp.. I'll let it slide.)

The men around me began retreating, scattering in several different directions from the camp. I turned to Shizen and signaled for them to let them go. They were no threat to us anymore. With a few swift punches, I violently dispatched the last three stragglers, and the situation resolved itself. I nodded towards a group of bundled tents for Shizen to go round up supplies. I looked to the sky, to the west, east, north, and south. Clouds.. dunes.. sand whirling with the desert winds. It all looked the same, and the sun was blotted out by the sands and clouds. There was no way to know where we were. I looked to Shizen, and shook my head. "I have no idea where we are. Please tell me there's a map with all of that equipment?" I pleaded to him.

Like a serpent I moved through the sands of the desert quickly and efficiently, there were many others moving about this normally barren land this day and it had caught my attention. To counteract the effects of the sun on my skin I was wrapped tightly in white cloth though this meant I had to keep myself hydrated quite well. This was accomplished by a hydrating mask with a tube from the front that fed through a body-tight suit which converted my sweat into a fine mist that I could breathe in. This set up left only the palms of my hands and my eyes exposed as I needed to see even if the damn sun was so bright that it was nearly impossible from most angles.

I walked about, stalking those I saw like my prey, blending in with the sands due to the desert staining my clothing with its essence. I found a group of three together at one point and found them to be the most interesting so far, they wore an odd suit that I thought I recognized but couldn't be totally sure. Regardless I saw they were on the move and followed after them, using a genjutsu I made sure to fully blend into the area and obscure my presence to them which was useful as one split off from the others with a sense of purpose and found himself speaking with two figures I recognized quite quickly. Yamakage Bryn Stormblood and Shinkage Shizen Tekuta, all alone with the exception of these people which I now recognized as members of Chikagakure's ANBU black OPs. Their conversation was short but that mattered not to me as I had only managed to track down the hidden snow village thus far and had yet to report it which was making my employers quite restless. This however was an opportunity to find possibly the best hidden fortress in the entire continent and I would not let it slip by so as the shinobi left the kage duo I followed after him and prepared myself for some new entertainment.

Nearly an hour after the meeting with the kage I found this spy on his way back to his team, he would make it close to schedule as to make sure there was no suspicion and investigation. The smaller man was stopping to take a hydration break, based on his tan I suspected he had been out in the field quite a long time and that soon enough he would be able to return home which would make these next actions all the more useful. I moved so fast it was almost like the slithering of a cobra followed by it's strike, a kunai blade between the plates of his protective armor pierced his spine and instantly paralyzed him. I held my new toy by the neck with my blade still stuck in his flesh, turning it slightly every now and then to keep a fresh wave of pain coming to show him who was in control right now. I rolled his hair back on my finger and started to whisper in his ear, "Hey there, want to hear something funny?" Slowly, and with all his might the ANBU turned his head to see my green eyes glancing back into his and mouthed the words "Who are you...?" I chuckled and let a grin form beneath my mask as I prepared an answer to my favorite question, leaning in and whispering once more. "I am someone very dear to you, one might even say I'm your master my little puppet." And with those words something changed with the man, a sense of calmness rushed through him and he smiled at me, "Of course, master."

I pulled back and my blade slid out of the man's back, due to his deep wound he started to fall but I caught him and with a bit of medicinal chakra he was fully healed with no trace of my attack left on his body. I wiped the blood from the weapon on an inner fold of my robes and slid the weapon between the folds of my clothing. "Now that we have our introductions out of the way I believe it is time to have some fun, I've always wanted to try playing with a puppet and this is a fine chance to do so. Unfortunately the spell isn't strong enough to break your will on the stronger secrets such as your village's location but there are other things I can manage." The ANBU rubbed his back for a moment as he faced me, not a single glint of fear was present in his eyes now as he was unaware that I was anything but his new owner. "I am sorry master but you are correct, my conscious mind is a stubborn thing but I'll try my best to give you what you ask." I nodded and waved slightly, he was at least aware of his limitations and was actually trying to compete within himself which was amusing in itself. I turned away and faced the rolling dunes as I spoke this last order. "You are to do as normal, remaining unaware of our interactions until I make it otherwise now be of, run to your team as I make you forget my very face." My puppet slave simply nodded and with a "...Yes master." started running as he had been before I caught him. I waited for him to get a ways out and laid among the sands to conceal my presence. With a loud ear piercing whistle it was done, the chakra signature implanted within the shinobi's psyche receded and he forgot everything that had just transpired. Thinking that he had simply spaced out for a moment on his run and then by shrugging off this feeling went back to what he had been doing as I slithered away to find my next new set of friends...the kage.

I cancelled my jutsu when signaled to by Bryn and the tentacles fell to the sand with a splash. I dusted myself off and walked over to the equipment and began to go through it all. I began to throw out a variety of things such as desert suitable clothes, firewood, and other things essential to survival in the desert, speaking as I did so "Just a lot of clothes, firewood and luckily for us...a few full waterskins." I would then take out a box of four waterskins with a little bit of water dripping off the side. I took two of them out and threw them to Bryn before taking one of the head wraps and wrapping it around my head leaving only my eyes showing. I began to put on a loose whit robe that I found as well, talking as I did "Unfortunately, there was no map in there. I guess they don't really need one since they know the lay of the land so well. All we can do is try to preserve these waterskins, and protect ourselves from the sun...which I've begun to do myself." As I finished the sentence I had fully outfitted myself in desert attire. We were in a pretty dire situation, but there was no time to feel hopeless.

I nodded in agreement with my partner as he began to search the bandits for waterskins. After our scavenging we set back out into the desert. On the bright side, we were through the wall of sandstorms now, so I didn't have to awaken my bijuu to continue forward towards the library. It would be several hours of walking before the sun went down and we were forced to set up camp again. That night, I lay on my mat, relishing the cool breeze of the desert night, but had a prevailing feeling sinking into my spine. The feeling of being watched.

I walked along the desert a ways and deep into the night until eventually I heard something that sounded like people having fun, or at least by the painful screams some of those near by were having fun while others did so in smaller quantities. When I cleared the dune hat obscured me from the party I found myself confronting the two kage I had been looking for, today was a day to make friends regardless of whether my bijuu hunter buddies wanted me to or not. I walked out as the last of these desert scum was tossed to the side. I walked into view of the pair and unwrapped my face to reveal a big goofy smile. "Hello fellow pilgrims, those bandits are fun to beat up aren't they?" I stood there to keep a comfortable distance, on any other day I would be a member of the Raksaka forced to hunt these men down but today I was just a guy in the desert looking for something to do.

I was about to speak to Bryn until I saw a man approach us in the desert camp. I instantly became aware and alert of this man, what logical reasoning did he have to be out in the middle of a desert? The way he introduced himself was very suspicious as well...but I had to try and act normal. I looked to the desert dweller and said to him in an emotionless tone of voice "I wouldn't say fun, more of necessary when they're trying to keep you hostage." It was nice having most of my face covered as I didn't have to worry about my facial expressions giving away my suspicion of him. I finished covering most of my body from the sun before speaking again "So fellow 'pilgrim' what brings you to this secluded bandit camp in the middle of this hostile desert?" I would lock eyes with the man and wait for him to respond.