Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Truth be told, I used to use my attention to detail for the wrong reasons... It kept me fed and coined for traveling until they caught me in the act and sent me off to the Academy. But I used to keep attention on small details to see who I could target... Nothing big of course. Small things like who seemed inattentive enough not to realize bumping into them was more than a 'I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going' or that I was palming the walnut out from under the cup game..." It wasn't far from the truth; although Cruxis neglected to mention that his attention to details came by using his Ryuugan eye; better not to give away all his secrets upon first meeting someone.
Still, Cruxis had established two interesting facts; firstly that this dark skinned, blond haired uchiha was a sensei to these gennin; and secondly that despite his low power by comparison to the Chuunin, Cruxis was able to establish himself as a threat using only a kunai and an old prank. He also had learned the chuunin himself could use genjutsu, but that his summoned ally held greater proficiency. The math in it was simple; if Cruxis could surpass the bird-man, then he would also by the mathematical law of substitution be stronger in genjutsu than the Chuunin. If A was greater than B and C was greater than B, then C was greater than A by the simple mathematical factor. He also noted the Hyuuga was named Nova, and that he aspired to be a swordsman; something that Cruxis could admire as he himself held little talent in the art of kenjutsu. There was a major difference between proficiency with a sword and talent with a sword; and while Cruxis could handle a blade well enough not to cut himself and to execute a few simple blocks; he had never been able to best anyone offensively with one.
He gave a quick, yet polite, bow to the other two students before speaking,
"My apologies for interrupting your lesson... I hope my actions didn't cause too much trouble for you." there was a sense of formality in his voice; that tone a boy uses when he knows he should apologize for something, but doesn't necessarily want to; an obligated apology one might call it.

((I'm currently at a school work-based internship. I'll post when i get home tonight.))

At the mention of a mission involving live, wild bears; Cruxis felt a hint of color move out of his face. Not that he was afraid of the bears mind you, but that he didn't like the idea of being on the receiving end of a mauling attack by a hungry, angry, or otherwise bored bear. It was a part of the reason Cruxis put on the masquerade of a witty bard in public; he could be remembered but not as a target of aggression. A pickpocket would lose a hand, a craps artist would get stabbed by an angry loser; a bard could earn money by playing music without the danger of being beaten to a pulp by bystanders. It was also a factor in his choice to specialize in genjutsu... Cruxis did not like the idea of being cut open, not that he had felt it before; but more the idea of being slit open by anything made him squeamish at the thought; an ironic twist of fate was his study of a genjutsu to use this fear against an opponent; although the reality of it was, as imaginative as the gennin could be; imagination could only take one so far in genjutsu.
It not only had to look real, but feel, smell, sound, and at points, taste real. The slightest detail off and they would break free - and more notably the opponent needed to not know it was a genjutsu to begin with. A lesson Cruxis had been taught was layering minor details in surroundings, hiding a rock in a field for example being the only part of the genjutsu. A minor change that could be overlooked yet still cause trouble.
But beyond basics, Cruxis had much room to improve. He could affect and addle the mind with his End of Reality, but directly influencing perception was training he still had a few milestones to cross in.
However, he also knew he'd messed up by getting into this situation; and as a shinobi it was his duty to accept his punishment; however good his intentions had been at the start of his foolishness. Taking his sword back from the three-eyed Uchiha, Cruxis held a breath for a moment before exhaling his apprehension out. No time to be shaking or fearful - the beasts could probably smell it from a mile away, knowing his luck today.
"I understand Uchiha-sama, and I accept my punishment. Lead the way..." he replied to the Chuunin, not knowing his name choosing to refer to him by his clan name - the next most likely honorific he could think off of the top of his head. Sheathing his sword, as it wasn't likely to do him much good anyway; Cruxis prepared himself to follow the Chuunnin's direction.
'My condolences on being mauled by a bear...' the voice taunted
'Can it... You're not in control of me, not this time.'
'Are we truly going to turn this into a battle of fate and free will? Sound the drums of war then young padawan; and let us see how far you get in that fight.'
'You're not in control either... There's another player in the field and that means there are factors you can't control or predict... It's my story now, I might still be along for the ride, but so are you...'
'You're learning the rules faster than I thought... good. We'll make a master of genjutsu out of you yet... Master of the Desert Mirages.'
'Wait. What did you just go and call me?'
'What? Did I say something? Well, spoilers... You're going to find out soon enough anyway; so as you said - you're along for the ride. Enjoy it while you can and see where your story takes you. Isn't that ever the bardly dream? To be a story as opposed to telling it?'
'I don't know what bards you've been talking with, but I am quite happy telling the story of an adventure rather than risking my life undertaking it..'
'Ah but don't you know? The greatest heroes never ask to be made one.'
Cruxis waited for more, but the voice was gone, it was happening more often now. He supposed he was finally out of the drafting phase and into the real momentum of the story now. If he tried to dodge the plot now, he would trip over it and back in the direction it intended him to go. 'Challenge accepted...' Cruxis thought back, though the voice did not reply...
He supposed this was the end of being jovial about inns and earning his keep through song. Cruxis was going to have to train hard, leave for that assassination mission that had been given to him within ten days time, and hopefully live to tell the tale and put that deed behind him. He knew he preferred to disable opponents rather than kill them; killing meant nothing, surviving meant you could learn something about yourself and maybe live long enough to regret wrongs and right yourself. But missions gave a clean objective; the target was to be killed, the target was to be escorted to x location, the target was to be taken prisoner, etc. If the action was not completed upon the target, the next target would be himself. So best take the opportunity to train with this three-eyed Chuunin now to ensure he did not fail this mission and become that next target. Because he would be on foreign soil, this was not a mission gone through normal channels. Failure meant he would be marked as a deserter, unaffiliated with the mission entirely; and that meant Hunter-nins - and Cruxis knew very well that the Hunter-nins did not give targets the chance to regret their actions.

Takeshi decided that as of this moment it would be best to stay in the background to see what was happening. He still wasn't sure what type of person Notwen was, so he might have something evil planned for all he knew. Ether way, it was time to listen and that's what he did. As it turned out, Notwen did have a plan after all. The plan was to drag Cruxis through a mission, of C ranking. It also seemed like he was leaving the mission invitation open for both Takeshi and Nova as well. The strange thing though was the way this younger male accepted his punishment. From everything Takeshi knew, the young didn't own up that fast without a specific reason, that didn't involve being caught in the act he was committing. This was a rather interesting fact, which he put into the back of his mind and nodded lightly in no real direction. "Sounds like an interesting mission... wild bears, large creatures known for their quick tempers, though my family knew them for their warm hides during the colder months. If you don't mind Notwen, I'd like to join you in this one. As much as you've judged my actions on the battle field, I've yet given you my all so I think this mission might show you exactly what I can offer." He'd noted how Nova had stated if there was anything for them to do while they were gone. He figured that Nova must have mis-heard Notwen's message and missed the part where they could join in if they felt confedent in their own skills. He figured that himself speaking up would give Nova the clearer message so he just waited for the responses from Notwen then the rest of them.

Cruxis let off a small sigh of relief, at least the mission didn't involve directly combating them... Collecting rare flowers wasn't too hard so long as they could avoid bears; and even if they did attract some attention, Cruxis noted that a bear's brain was far less complex than a human's - breaking its mind to disable it would be easier if the situation was absolutely unavoidable. Cruxis's majority of techniques were pranks developed against fellow students and several teachers - oftentimes it was wondered whether Cruxis had been applying his intelligence towards the right things. The boy had a brilliant mind, but often shirked studies he was supposed to be doing to read up on his own interests; and while he could list mythologies and clan histories off the top of his head like nobody's business; but when it came to practical applications; particularly in combat, Cruxis was underdeveloped and had quite aways to catch up.
Still he knew if he made his choices more carefully and aided his teammates, his prank techniques were non lethal and a more useful solution than full on strength; particularly to avoid killing the bears who were only defending their territories. Plus, if they needed to split up, Cruxis did have a few survival techniques to help prevent their getting lost. With his attention to detail, Cruxis had developed a basic genjutsu display technique that allowed him to recall a map of an area from memory either from having been there or having seen a map. He could identify landmarks quickly and accurately, and his variety of general knowledge, though at times useless, was invaluable when there was a topic he knew.
"Do you know anything of their nesting habits? And the general range of their territory?" he inquired, deciding that knowing where they nested, and when exactly they would be entering the range of the bear territory was key to both knowing when to keep an eye out, and places to avoid altogether if possible. He knew that bears were omnivores, and might not seek out meat directly; so at least they wouldn't specifically look for the trio. He also knew that bears were generally nocturnal - it would be best to complete the mission before sundown. Bears maintained a general territory area, but would intimidate other smaller predators out of kills; and often preyed on cubs to prevent predatory competition. Enough to know that bears were not meant to be trifled with without the aid of a group; and Cruxis was glad that there were three of them going.

[70 vs. 100- intel check]

Rissa sighed, making a turn towards the Raikage's building. She was headed for the mission center. With her Dad out, she could take on a Drank and not worry about being scolded for doing something he deemed wrong. She shook her head at the thought, but headed inside, glancing over the missions.

One of the missions concerned the opening of a mysterious box. She frowned a little, reading over the mission details again, before taking it. She always had loved puzzles. Smiling and grinning, she strode out the door, headed to the clients house.

This little house was harder to locate then it seemed. No matter where she seemed to look, she just couldn't spot it. What had the mission info said? A hous with a blue roof, the kanji for rarity on the door. Rissa sighed, shaking her head in frustration as she dropped form a roof top and glanced around herself. At first, she had tried just finding a house with a blue roof... you have no idea how many of those she had found. And not one of them had a kanji on the door. It seems it was a rarity indeed. But wait, what was that? Turning she stared at the door, annoyed at it.

The house was positioned a little back between two larger buildings, it's blue roof hidden from sight should one be searching from above. The owner of the house must have thought himself quite the comedian if he had put those kinds of directions on a ninja mission request. “Rarity indeed.” She huffed, glaring at the house for a moment, before walking forward. All in all, it was a quaint, cute little house, the shutter of the windows pulled tightly shut, and the same blue as the roof top. The walls of the house were a frayish white color, and the door was blue. The symbol in question was painted in white, and stood out in stark contrast to the blue in the dimming light of the evening. There was a small stack of mail outside the door, the owner of the house having apparently neglected the outside world for his secret treasure box inside.

It wasn't too late by the time she had actually found the house, and calming herself, she knocked on the door. The man who opened it was later on in his years, graying hair sticking up in nearly all directions and showing his stress. Could such a little box really be this much trouble...? His eyes too showed signs of stress, blood shot with lack of sleep. Apparently the man had even neglected himself for the sake of his little box.

The man led her inside, bringing her to where the box sat, seeming to laugh at the poor collector's ignorance. “This is it... This is the box Miss.. What do you think?” his voice sounded raspy to the young kunoichi.

Rissa frowned, looking at the box, before picking up and looking it over, examining the kanji, and the etchings in it's side, wondering what kind of wood it was made out of, and where it would open if she succeeded. Smiling lightly, she could recall whenever she and her mother would work on puzzles. Soon enough, she was shaken from her reverie, the older man rather impatient. “Well? Do you have anything?” He asked, seeming flustered.

“Calm down sir, give me a moment. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day~” Her words seemed to quell the man for now, and Rissa set the box down, closing her eyes and thinking things over. Maybe it'll open with a bit of chakra application..? After all, it has the symbols for the different chakra affinities. But if thats the case, then shouldn't I apply the chakra somewhere specific on the box? My chakra is that of the water element.... I wonder if I would need people of other affinities? No no no. That would take too much time. Well, there's only one way to find out.

Eyes still closed, Rissa brought her hands up in the chakra focusing sign, concentrating. Her chakra flowed, collecting in the palms of her hands, then in the finger tips. She realized there was too much then, and focused, the amount of chakra focused in her hand dwindling a bit, but now it was too little. Sighing softly, she repeated the process till she had what she thought would be just enough.

She opened her eyes then, and searched for the water kanji. She had to walk around to the other side of the table to spot it without turning the box. Reaching her hand out, she lightly touched the kanji, tracing it slowly with her fingertips, then tracing the circle around the kanji. Did she imagine that glow just now? Frowning lightly, she kept up her tracing, watching the box intently as she did so. Now she had to be seeing things, as she could have sworn that she saw a seam. Shaking her head, she pulled back and watched the mysterious box, hoping beyond hope that her idea had worked. If not, then she'd have to start all over again in her thought process... Or would she? If this didn't work, then surely she'd just have to apply more chakra? She'd just have to be careful to not break the box. Something told her that that was not what the man meant when he said he wanted to open the box in the mission details.

The trio's arrival was not the most glamorous of returns. They had been unable to bypass the bears though a combination of alert bears, poor decision making, and bad luck; the poor decision being Cruxis's fault though the bad luck and the alert bears were something no one could have really predicted. Notwen had teleported them via an advanced jutsu in order to allow easier escape; out of the bear territory and into the mountain pass where they had entered from; and before heading back, Cruxis removed his cloak and wrapped it around Takeshi's wound in order to help soak up some of the blood that had pooled around the area. Thankfully the Kaguya's kekki-genkai would heal any damage to the bone; and those hard-as-steel bones were likely what had saved him from an actual injury to his spine; which would have led to complete paralysis of the Taijutsu fighter. Cruxis had not been trained in medical techniques or healing, nor had any techniques that could patch Takeshi up, but he knew enough to know that covering the injury would help staunch it and prevent anything else from getting into the wound in the first place.
Before they walked up the mountain pass, Cruxis set a few small traps along the path in order to deter any bears that might be persistent enough to follow them. The trap in particular was another of Cruxis's prank techniques he'd nicknamed "hotseat", which triggered a quick burning sensation upon pressure being laid on the trap; traditionally put on the victim's chair for Cruxis's amusement; thus the name. In this case, Cruxis hoped that any bears who chose to pursue them would be put off by the quick heat sensation and choose not to follow; while any shinobi who accidentally stumbled upon it would likely just give a quick complaint, as the technique itself wasn't lethal by any means.
On the walk back to the village, Cruxis kept unusually quiet, not allowing his lute to find its way into his hands; a habit he tended to have while walking along a long trail. He took the time to analyze things; and in his head the wheels began to turn. How could he avoid this trouble in the future, how the animal mind worked, and how to combat using only illusions were the key thoughts. He was useless with a sword; and the ninjato was just a hunk of dead weight at the rate he actually used it. As he'd mentioned once before; there was a difference between proficiency with a weapon and skill with one.