Welcome to Gaia! ::

Saikoro looked down at his fallen comrade and let out a heavy sigh, his lips curving into a soft smile right afterwords. With a graceful dip, the man leaned down and hefted up the small boy's body onto his shoulder and raised back up with a grunt. Taking one last look at the misty night sky that hung over the lapping waves of the shore, Saikoro carried the boy's body back to the hospital and emitted him in for physical exhaustion before turning away and leaving to continue his own personal training.

(Feel free to time skip now o-o)

Kyu was escorted off the ship and into a wheelchair, where he was taken into the hospital by a different route than Hibiki. Kyu was pushed down an empty alleyway by the head surgeon, who bent over to whisper into Kyu's ear, "We'll be taking a slight detour, Mister Hoshigaki." Kyu looked up at the doctor worriedly, but the look was replied with a flash of the man's left forearm. On it was a ghostly, faded image on his arm exactly like Kyu's. The fish boy could only guess that he'd been in the organization so long that the signiture tattoo had gone pale.

Kyu looked forward and smiled lightly; he was in good hands with this man. The doctor pulled into another alleyway, and checked the misty street behind him. He then took back to Kyu's wheelchair, and escorted him into a small building just a block or so down the road from the hospital. The door to the building opened inward as the fish boy was pushed in. The room inside was dark and dusty, with a pale streak of light stretching to illuminate a circle of red and blue symbols in the center of the room. Six lines radiated off of the circle, also made of symbols. At the point where the lines and the circle met, there was a kunai wrapped with cloth and a tag that resembled an exploding tag. Nearby was a small stand with a traditional mechanical tattooing machine.

Kyu rolled his eyes as the small league of varied ninja came from the shadows, all with the initial tattoo bared on their forearms. Kyu scratched the side of his face, and said, "Again? I could really some medication before we put another one on."

Beki, the sly-looking combat-nin in the trademark Kirigakure Chuunin flak jacket that got him into the science-cult in the first place, stepped from the shadows, "Don't you worry about that Kyuzaku, we came with some other gifts." Beki pulled a sizable medical blood bag from behind him, and said, "We have the chief surgeon of the Kirigakure Hospital here to patch you up, along with a very... special... blood transfusion prepared."

Beki handed the blood bag to Suugaku, and said, "Get him wired up. We've got an IV hook over there," he said, pointing into the corner, "Along with some Iodine to clean the insertion point, and pretty much anything else you'll need." Suugaku wheeled the genin into the center of the circle, and walked to the edge of the room, and rolled a small cart and an intravenous therapy hook. The doctor hung up the bloodbag, which Kyu noted had the the letter 'O' in bold and ice blue on the front.

Kyu watched as the doctor cleaned a point on his left wrist, and winced as he watched the needle slip into his arm with absolutely zero pain whatsoever. The doctor proceeded to adjust the drip of the blood with a small mechanism below the bag. Kyu continued to watch the red plastic line that lead into his arm, and said, "So, what is this going to do?"

Suugaku replied coolly, "Well, I'm guessing you boys lost against the Orasaki brothers, correct?" Geki stepped in, and continued, "This blood is from a member of their clan who has been commissioned to donate a pint of his blood-type O blood periodically for bloodline-limit research." Suugaku finished the explaination, "Every cell that enters your body has been altered to give you their bloodline limit. We've successfully given someone a gekkai-genkai like this before using this method, so there's no reason why it shouldn't work for you." He paused, and stood back as the guild's tattoo artist moved in on Kyu's right arm.

"I worked on this experimental procedure personally. I guarantee that in a few weeks, when you're ready to train again, you'll experience a significant change in the type of jutsu you'll can use." The rough-and-tough looking tattooist stifled a laugh, and piped in, "Don't be forgettin' the tat' you're gonna be gettin'."

Geki nodded, and announced to everyone in the room, "Alright men, we're beginning the ritual. Get into your places." The leader of the group motioned the other ninja to stand at the points of the outermost points of the lines on the floor. Simultaneously, they put their hands into a different hand seal. Facing Kyu was Geki, who was performing the Dog handseal. Clockwise, the others held the Dragon, Ram, Serpent, Tiger, and Bird seals. Below their feet, the symbols lit up with chakra-fueled light. The circle around Kyuzaku and the Tattooist lit up, and the burly ninja went to work.

All Kyu could do was watch as the outline of a star was made on his forearm, stretching from his wrist to midway up. A narrow band was made from the wrist-most tip all the way around his wrist. Following that, delicate lines were made to form the form of crashing waves and blowing winds. At the top of his forearm, just below his elbow, the tattooist drew the trace for a thicker band with stars inside it. This process took at least two hours in itself, however, Kyu knew from experience that the next part would only take a moment.

The tattooist grumbled, and announced, "Alrigh' it'z finish'd." The ninja stood up and removed his chair and tattooing setup from the circle. As soon as he left the array on the floor, the circle of ninja changed their hand seals such that the next ninja in clockwise order used the seal before them. This process went on until the ninja used the seal that they began with.

The written seals below their feet lit up with an unearthly glow. The kunai on the ground glowed brightly, and threads of energy connected to Kyu's right arm. One by one, the symbols disappeared from beneath the conjurerors feet, and receded through the energy lines into Kyu's arm. Between the lines of the outline, colored ink spread and colored in the blank skin. Red like blood mixed with ocean blue. Jet black ink filled in the star and the bands. Inch by inch, the ink covered Kyu's arm, until it slowly came to a halt.

The glow faded, and Kyu was left in the narrow shaft of light with a bright new tattoo. Kyu stretched his hand outward, and turned it in the light. Suugaku put his hand on Kyu's shoulder, and whispered, "Time to go to the hospital." Kyu's eyes suddenly felt his eyes grow heavy, and his body began to go limp. He slumped in his seat; he'd be unconcious for the remainder of the trip back.



It wouldn't be long before he'd be in the same room as Hibiki, but still fast asleep. If any nurse or patient were to ask, the story was that he was just in surgery. The next few weeks were slow, but after three weeks, Kyu was nearly back in prime condition again.



A nurse entered the room, pushing a cart carrying a light breakfast of tast and powdered eggs. She crossed the room, and slid the curtains aside in Kyu and Hibiki's hospital room. "Good morning boys," She said, fixing her black-haired bun before gliding the trays of food next to the two boys. "I have some warm breakfast for you two. It's your favorite, eggs and toast!"

Kyu sat up in bed; he'd been awake for hours. He gazed over the cruddy hospital eggs and toast, and shook his head, "Favorite? Just because they give it to us once a week doesn't mean its special, nor do I like it." Kyu threw his legs to the side, and grabbed a piece of toast with his bandaged right hand, and put it between his triangular-toothed jaws.

With the buttered toast between his teeth, he stood up and grabbed his heavy black pinstriped sweater. He said with his mouth muffled, "I'm going down to the beach. I need the fresh air."

The nurse raised her hand in disagreement, "Wait, don't go. You're not full healed yet!" Kyu brushed the hand aside, and pulled the toast from his teeth with his left tattooed hand. "I beg to differ. Hibiki? You coming?" Kyu walked out the door, and fluffed the fur on the coat's hood before popping the hood over his head.

Kyu casually walked out the doors into the street, and dodged the lines of sight of a few doctors that may have recognised him had they seen his blue face. Once he was out of range of the hospitol, he lowed his hood and walked briskly towards the beach, breathing the salty sea air throgh his fishy lungs. The air was pungent from low tide and heavy with moisture, but it felt amazing flowing through the slits in his face.

He felt better than he had in weeks. No! Better than he had his entire life. Save for the slight pain that lingered in his chest and the slight soreness throughout his body, he felt one-hundred percent perfect.

As Kyu approached the beach, he spotted two people, apparently training. Kyu walked up to the beach parallel to them, and closed his eyes. He casually glanced over to them, and his eyes opened wide. The fish ninja leaned over to his friend, "Don't look now, but I spot the guys who helped us out a few weeks back."

The entire hospital stay was a nightmare for Hibiki, and likewise for the nurses that were taking care of him. One of the assistants said that Kuro will be unable to be seen for quite some time, putting the Inuzuka in a rather foul mood. Most of the time he would just glare and ignore anyone who entered the room, and only spoke with Kyu when he thirsted for social interaction. It wasn't until a couple days later that a herd of nurses entered the room with gleaming grins. Confused by the arrival, Hibiki had sat up and dropped his foul mood slightly, out of curiosity. Out of nowhere, a bundle was delivered to the young Inuzuka, akin to a mother receiving a newborn. He looked baffled as he uncovered the top of the wrap and saw a black, vulpine face staring back into his face. The nurses congratulated him on rescuing the mother of the fox, and that they wanted him to see the newborn kit. The mother fox had wandered in and sat down across the room. She also had black fur. Hibiki, spreading insults around like confetti at a party, was furious and told them they had the wrong fox. All Kyu could say from his side of the bed was, "They looked the same to me." Which resulted in a new slew of insults aimed at him.

After explaining several times the physical traits Kuro possessed, it seemed the hospital did not have his Fox companion. His mood worsened after that. It got to the point that the nurses only entered the room when Hibiki was sleeping, or heavily medicated. Most of the time they ignored him and spoke to Kyu, who talked for both of them. It was that morning when Hibiki actually spoke a word of kindness in a while.

When Kyu began to rebel against the hospital's bland schedule and wanted to vacate to the beach, Hibiki readily agreed. "Best idea I've heard in a while." Cloning Sushi-kun's behavior, he snatched up his own Kiri-colored sweater and followed out the door, dodging any other workers in the hospital. He followed his friend without a word as they soon reached the beach.

The Vulpine Inuzuka had to readjust his senses after staying in the hospital for that long. The ocean breeze ruffled his hair as it swept past him; the smell breached his olfactory senses and cleansed them of the disgustingly sanitary hospital air that he began to get used to. The crash from the small amount of waves produced a melodic rhythm that swirled inside his ears, creating an image of a tall woman in a blue dress waltzing with a man in a sandy tuxedo. He closed his eyes, and allowed his other senses to observe his surroundings. The only thing his body felt, besides diminishing pain from his extensive wounds, was that sea wind. Despite his large amount of gloom, despair, and anger at the disappearance of his fox, the beach put him at ease.

Kyu had startled him slightly as he warned Hibiki of the guys from the ship. He didn't jump unnecessarily high, but did tense a little. He felt a slight warmness as he felt slightly embarrassed; letting himself indulge in his senses was one of his weaknesses when out in nature. Shaking his head to remove the ballroom of imagery in his head, he closed his eyes once more and activated his scent tracking. Sure enough, chakra scents began to fill the air. The beach was littered with very meager amounts of smells that ranged in color. Apparently, the beach was very popular recently. Aside from his own and Kyu's scent catching his attention, there were two more that were larger than the rest. Their odor was all over the place just a little ways away; perhaps a favored training spot? Hibiki shook his head again. "You're right." He mumbled, without moving, "Should we say something, like a thank you? Honestly, I don't feel very grateful since I have no idea where Kuro is." You're lucky I'm not ripping the town apart right now looking for him. He added mentally.

Saikoro chuckled softly at his partner's reaction, his eyes glimmering with the glee of his appreciation and wow at the technique that he could only barely tap into. Tossing the rock and down playful the man began to take steps back before turning around swiftly on the heel of his foot and tread his way back into his make shift cave. Now safely hidden from view in the hole, Saikoro dropped his smile and allowed his features to become cold and hard, the stone in his hand dropping from his hand easily forgotten. "Yea, it's pretty awesome, hunh?!" The man said with all the enthusiasm a normal person in the situation would portray but his face showed none of what his words and tone held. His eyes glared with a steely firmness as he watched his team mate before turning his sights in the direction of where the uninvited shinobi were spotted watching. "Now the purpose of this technique is to enhance your reaction time. It enhances your physical aspects and allows you to react and act faster as it works by charging lightning type chakra through your own neuron system. It's as dangerous as it sounds but if done right the dangers are minimal to a rather hyper active brain, but even that is not desirable so do only use this technique in situations where you needed it. Now, I want you to prep yourself and begin charging up a field first... its aspects are similar so you can make it and then condense it into yourself." Saikoro lied. Just three weeks ago the man had explained to Kira that the field he created had destructive qualities and ripped apart matter not enhanced it. If the boy did take Saikoro's instructions and teachings to heart he would understand the reason why he asked for him to summon his field and what to do with it, but if he didn't.... at least Kira wouldn't take up so much of his own training time.

(For the time being I'll be controlling both Kira and Saikoro as Prox will not have access to the internet for X amount of time.)

Kira gave the man a curtly nod, his breath being drawn slowly into his lungs causing his chest to expand with the large amount of air. In one long, drawn out exhaled breath, Kira let his fingers preform the necessary hand seals and focused his chakra. Bit by bit the area around Saikoro and Kira crackled with electricity, though Saikoro himself was hidden inside the cave's indent, and with a fizzing sound the electricity spread away and disappeared into the surrounding area. With a raised eyebrow that quickly changed into a smile, Kira turned to face the two shinobi that were watching them and waved back. Turning his head to Saikoro he pointed at the two, "Hey, it's the two survivors from Frost Country." Kira said before turning back to the watchers, "Don't worry about it, just glad you guys made it out alive. So how's your progress going?"


Saikoro nodded in acknowledgment, his nose wrinkling at the air. The smell of electricity in the air always made him a little sick. Taking a deep breath and exhaling it himself, he rolled his former around the edge of the indent so he could be seen yet again, his violet eyes quietly watching the two shinobi as they conversed with Kira. Taking a glance every so often to his partner, Saikoro nodded in agreement, "It's good to see you guys. Whenever you are ready, you can get your fox from my apartment." The man said in the direction of Hibiki.

Kyu clicked with his tounge and replied to Kira, "Not bad, bro. But the past few weeks have been unkind. Frankly, I my muscles feel about as soft as a ramen noodle. I don't care what those med-nin types say. At this point, the only thing I need is training. That'll bring me back to my old self."

Hibiki seemed excited that he'd be seeing Kuro again. Kyu felt it too. Soon, they'd be pretty much a full team again, save for the missing-in-action teammates they'd lost in their battle with the Orasakai twins. Kyu crossed his left arm across his body, and held it back with his right; stretching out the tendons in his arms as he chuckled at Hibiki's quick attempt to correct his flash of concern for his dog.

Kyu switched arms. He took a deep breath of the briny moist air through his mouth, and let it out through his black-tipped gills. With a quick motion of his tounge, he slid the toothpick around to the other side of his mouth, then pondered aloud, "'Think they'd let a ninja right out of the hospital out on a mission? Maybe if he asked really nicely?"

So? Kira Moto of the Rookie Counter-Assault Squad, and Saikoro Daisuke, also of the Ar-See-Aye-Ess. The leader in fact... Intresting. Kyu heard a strange tone in Kira's explaination. Kyu's initial reaction to the darkened nature of his words was that Kira knew something that he wasn't sharing. Kyu decided that pushing the matter wasn't worth it, Maybe the memory of them, and the pain of remembering them is still a fresh wound on his mind. Saikoro took over the introductions from here. With his smooth-as-silk voice, and those purple eyes that seemed to pierce your mind and soul, he announced Kuro's current condition. Apparently he was well, but his answer to Kyu's question was a 'No'.

The man extended his hand, which Kyu met him on warmly. However, the warmth wasn't returned well. This guy had clammy hands, which is definitely an unpleasant surprise when your skin temperature is naturally colder due to being part-fish. "The name is Kyuzaku Hoshigaki, Kyu for short. I was a graduate from Kirigakue's Honor Academy. The curriculum was based around practical Mission planning and combat, over the more bookish regular academy. Prior to my last mission, I had never failed a job or mission." Kyu retracted his hands after the shake, and Saikoro did the same. The man withdrew his hands to his pockets, then did an about face, and walked towards the village.

As the man walked up the hill away from the beach, his face suddenly changed. That unmoving, somber face suddenly had a grin; and it wasn't the type of grin he'd expect from this guy's personality. It was mischievous and cunning. It was intense, threatening, and at the same time, refreshing. With a tone that seemed unlike the Saikoro that Kyu had thought he was, Daisuke called to them that he was probably going to be assigned something nice. A C rank, or a B rank; most likely requiring a four man team. He continued to insinuate that he wanted both Kyu and Hibiki to join him on this mission, whether the village liked it or not.

Kyu watched the man climb the hill towards the village, and the side of his mouth curled into a smile as he walked after him. Kyu hollered back to the Daisuke, "Heh, they don't have to know that we just came from the hospital, do they?"