Architecture & Arachnids [open]

[Tsusho Uchiha]

    Most Uchiha in the village had gotten accustomed to seeing Tsusho anywhere and everywhere in the village, be it fixing something, building something, training, or all of the above. They had gotten less accustomed to and more accepted the fact that he was also going to be interacting with various types of spiders, sometimes in his various works as well. He tended to keep them away from the masses, as he was well aware not everyone was as accepting of them as he was, but they were as much a part of his building as training as his tools were.

    Being a bit further away from the village today meant he could do things he normally wouldn't, such as practicing his summoning jutsu. There was a poorly up-kept bridge outside of their area but along an important trading route, meaning if it went out, things could get awkward and incredibly inconvenient. Before he ever raised a hand to create a sign, he already had a good few spiders congregating, mostly watching, as he started to finally raise his arms. He had gotten rather good and rather quick at creating the signs, and as he palm slammed the ground, a puff of smoke covered him for a brief moment, as a large spider, nearly the size of a horse, much larger than he had intended to summon, appeared in front of him.

    He had met this particular creature more than a few times, and despite what most thought of spiders, himself included, this one seemed rather affectionate. At that same moment, a traveler that wasn't aware of hos close he was to the Uchiha and certainly wasn't aware of Tsusho saw the large spider pounce. The Shinobi knew this was an affectionate creature that was leaping on him much like an eight-legged dog might, clinging and making a sound that to anyone else might sound downright terrifying.

    Immediately the stranger sprinted, not towards the scene but away, looking for someone, anyone, making a scene as they started screaming. They had dropped their bags and ran looking for help from anyone close by they thought might help.

OOC

Max HP: 320

Current HP: 320

Max CP: 17

Current CP: 17

insert ooc shenanigans here

MADE BY ★MEULK OF THQ

[Kuroda Uchiha]

    It had been a rather intense month and a half, Kuroda decided. From meeting an odd monkey man near the Fire Temple, and then forming an unplanned team with people he didn't know in order to infiltrate the Temple, to traveling to the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth. During all this, Kuroda had been ambushed twice. One meeting didn't count so much as an ambush as it did a misunderstanding - one that was fortunately settled.

    Masshiro Kurama, Arata Namikaze, Yosuru Shin, the strange assassin, and of all people, Kozakura Senju. Kuroda hadn't returned to the Land of Fire empty handed, but that was a matter of discussion with the Elders before anything else. Hana and Yagura had arrived back home ahead of Kuroda, and he was essentially limping back home after escaping his attacker. He was hurt, but not badly enough to threaten his life. Still, the Uchiha Clan Leader walked gingerly along the road. The sound of someone panicking caught his attention, and a man flees past Kuroda, terrified! They stop, seeming to just realize they had run past someone, and came back - warning Kuroda that someone was being attacked!

    Gritting his teeth, Kuroda quickens his pace - and breathes a sigh of relief when the scene reaches his eyes. A huge spider was pouncing on a man, but the man wasn't screaming for help. Nor would he - Kuroda knew this man quite well. Tsusho Uchiha - about as close to a master craftsman as it gets. Kuroda smiles, and limps towards Tsusho and the great spider, stopping a few paces away from them.

    "Hello there, Tsusho!" Kuroda calls out, his voice straining. He tries to keep on an expression of contentment but can't hide the wince from his injuries. "Still scaring the passersby, it seems."

---

Kuroda Uchiha:

HP: 0/420 - Shinobi Armor (+100HP)
CP: 16/16
WC: 298

Ninjutsu: 9
Taijutsu: 1
Genjutsu: 1
Technique: 1
Toughness: 1
Speed: 1
Stamina: 1

Items: Concealed Mouth Ember, Shinobi Armor

Traits: [BOON] SHARINGAN -LOCKED-, [BASE] FIERCE FIRE (1/1)

---

Hana Uchiha & Yagura Uchiha not present!

---

Summoning: Ginneko Not yet present.

[Tsusho Uchiha]

    It was hard to notice someone off in the distance on the best of days given how focused Tsusho got when he was working on something, but when there was a large creature pinning him down with noises loud enough to block out most others, it was going to go unnoticed. The man laughed as he was momentarily trapped under the weight of the large beasts of a spider, batting at it like you might play fight with a large dog, giving it a heavy pat and finally pushing it off. About the time it was finally getting the point and climbing off the Uchiha, Tsusho looked up as he noticed someone coming closer, only to see Kuroda moving closer.

    The moment he saw the limp his face turned serious, moving closer and putting his arms out staring down the large spider. It had seen Kuroda a few times, but that didn't mean it was going to be anymore friendly towards him, or understand the fact he was hurt if it had the inclination to do to him what it had to Tsusho.

"Not now."

   

    The spider clearly made a few stubborn motions as if he planned to move towards Kuroda all the same, but finally made a hissing sound and backed up. Turning back towards the Uchiha leader, Tsusho walked over immediately looking him over.

"Hey, Kuroda. Could have sworn I saw Hana earlier, guess I wasn't imagining things. The heck happened to you?"

    Again the spider started inching forward, though his inches were more feet, putting him right next to Tsusho, leaving a shadow over Kuroda.

"Damn stubborn spider, I said not now."

    Pushing at it's face it gave another hiss and backed off maybe a few feet at most, more curious than anything what was going on.

OOC

Max HP: 320

Current HP: 320

Max CP: 17

Current CP: 17

insert ooc shenanigans here

MADE BY ★MEULK OF THQ

[Kuroda Uchiha]

    Kuroda notices the spider's excitement and grimaces - he hadn't really gotten used to the creature yet, but it hadn't attacked anyone so far since Tsusho first gained it as a friend. So long as that remained true, there wasn't much reason to order its removal. Thankfully, Tsusho is able to get the creature to back off a bit before the former approaches Kuroda.

    "This? I'm apparently getting popular." Kuroda japes, and then grunts in discomfort. Again, the spider moved forward, and again, Tsusho pushed it back. "Joking aside, I was attacked again. This makes the second serious ambush in less than a month."

    Kuroda moves over to the road fence, and sits on the wooden bar. He heaves a heavy, but relieved breath. He'd made it home, after all.

    "I sent Hana and Yagura ahead of me, and took the time to do some thinking alone." he explains. "Turns out we were being followed. Whether we were followed since we travelled to the Land of Wind, or after we visited the Land of Earth to check on the Fuma, I can't say for certain. But, I have reason to believe that this attack had something to do with the last one, back in the Forest of Death."

    Kuroda closes his eyes, trying to consider what those possibilities might be.

[Tsusho Uchiha]

"Popular huh? You have some rabid fans then."

    His face continued looking serious even through his sarcasm as he was doing everything but picking Kuroda up and carrying him off to the nearest medic. For all that Kuroda might have been older and might have been the leader of their clan, it didn't change the way he treated most everyone as if he was the one needing to protect everyone.

"So did you make someone upset, or was this something less specific?"

    The look of concern on his face was definitely more that of a parent than random worry, doing everything he could not to start making a big deal out of the injuries. He wasn't exactly a medical ninja either, so best he could tell was there was a bad limp and enough bruises and scrapes even he could see, so if there was real damage he wouldn't have any semblance of a clue.

"I noticed them walking by. They didn't look like they were in any mood to stop and talk, especially Yagura."

    The moment Kuroda mentioned being followed he looked towards the spider. It couldn't speak their language but it understood it well enough, and he had spent enough time around Tsusho by now to have some what of an unspoken language through body language and certain looks. The two stared at each other as he turned and motioned with his head, and in a quick leap the spider jumped over both the Shinobi with ease.

"If you find anyone bring them back, do-not-eat-them!"

    His immediate thought was if Kuroda had been followed to the extent that he was ambushed twice, how likely was it he was followed here as well.

"I sent Maboroshi to look around, make sure there is no one close enough to be following you again."

    Walking over, he leaned against the fence near where Kuroda was sitting, looking towards the spider.

"Are you going to do something about it, or is this a case of waiting to see what happens next? I admit I'm out of the loop."

 

OOC

Max HP: 320

Current HP: 320

Max CP: 17

Current CP: 17

insert ooc shenanigans here

MADE BY ★MEULK OF THQ

[Kuroda Uchiha]

    Kuroda blinks as the spider leaps over the two of them, but its actions become swiftly clear at Tsusho's warning.

    "Right... better safe than sorry. I appreciate your proactivity, Tsusho." he says, "Well, better to have people in the loop than to pretend there isn't anything wrong."

    Kuroda turns and reaches into his pouch. He pulls out the damaged scroll and carefully wrapped needle he had acquired from the first ambush attempt, and sets them on the fence post, and then came the damaged head band, and even the thrown away makeshift blow dart gun. 

    "This is going to take a bit to explain..." Kuroda starts. He begins recounting his first attempt at recon around the Fire Temple far to the north, how he'd encountered a petulant shinobi then. The second attempt at recon had ended up bringing him together with Arata Namikaze, whom Kuroda had brought to the Uchiha Village once before, Yosuru Shin, whom Kuroda had found a friendship in, and the real kicker - Kozakura Senju.

    They had all infiltrated the temple and taken something - for Kuroda, it was maps and blueprints of the Temple. Kuroda explains how he had met Masshiro Kurama, and how the Genjutsu shinobi and Yosuru Shin had come to his aid during the first ambush in the Forest of Death, pointing out the blow gun, needle, and other items he'd taken from the fallen. How he had travelled with Hana and Yagura to the Land of Wind, and the Land of Earth; and finally their return home - and the second ambush.

    He didn't have much to say about the second ambusher, other than that they had unusual chakra and were able to absorb some of Kuroda's Jutsu.

    "All in all, Yosuru Shin brought up a point at the end of the first ambush, that I feel more and more is prevalent." Kuroda says guardedly. "I believe the Fire Daimyo may be targeting me to get me out of the way, and turn his attention to the rest of the Uchiha Clan at his convenience. This all started after I took those scrolls from the temple. And I have been hearing rumblings that Kozakura Senju has been stirring something up. Finding allies for some kind of action. Her being seen with me may have tipped the Daimyo's hand."

    Kuroda grimaces.

    "I had hoped to do this later, but I think we need to take control of the Fire Temple." he says. "It's a fortress, and... may be the only chance we have at defending ourselves if the Daimyo decides to destroy us - like he destroyed the Namikaze..."

[Tsusho Uchiha]

    His eyes and then his head kept following the large spider as it moved around searching like an overprotective hound, disappearing out of view a few times but relentlessly looking for anything. By this point it was more familiar with the terrain around this village than Tsusho was, much like he was more familiar with every brick, stick, and metal in every building and structure.

"He crawls around here more than any of us do, so if anything is even a little off he'll spot it. Problem is, he's not the most gentle, or friendly, despite how he acts around me, so if he does find something, who knows how he'll react."

    When the spider left his vision yet again he looked back over, hearing Kuroda messing with something, only to see a scroll, which was either completely mundane or very curious.

"So you actually are becoming quite popular."

    He hadn't taken his eyes off the scroll, raising his brow half way up his forehead at the explanation behind it, but slowly looked back up to meet Kuroda's eyes. He knew full well Kuroda hadn't been gone that long, but he knew he was traveling, the rest however seemed like a mess in such a span of time.

"Just say the word and I'll put a spike through the Daimyo myself"

    Extending his arm he tightened his fist until his forearm muscle was bulging, as a set of metal spikes shot up in front of them. One of the many traps he had set nearby, slowly starting to recede as he relaxed.

"Does this mean I finally get to build my perimeter wall? We don't have infinite eyes after all, and more weaknesses and ways to get in than I care to admit."

    His eyes narrow at the mention of the Senju a second time, not sure what exactly to say on the matter. It wasn't exactly out of the ordinary for an Uchiha to be less than fond of a Senju, and the same in the other direction, so the first mention of one causing an issue even by coincidence was enough for the one in question to annoy him.

"I'm sorry, I thought you just said we need to take control of the Fire Temple. Could you repeat that please..."

OOC

Max HP: 320

Current HP: 320

Max CP: 17

Current CP: 17

insert ooc shenanigans here

MADE BY ★MEULK OF THQ

[Kuroda Uchiha]

    Kuroda smiles sheepishly, but recovers.

    "Tsusho - it may have already come to that point." he says firmly. "If anything I've guessed at is true, then the protection of the Uchiha Clan is paramount. We are not on good terms with the Senju, and who knows how many other clans we've made enemies of during the war. So - the Fire Temple."

    Kuroda grunts, putting the things he'd shown Tsusho away.

    "The Fire Temple is a fortress, as you know. And the monks that live and practice their faith there are all shinobi of varying degrees of skill." he says maintaining the air of Clan Head authority. "It will take the best of us to take control. But, I will not be making this decision alone."

    Kuroda's jaw tightens.

    "I will be presenting this first to the Clan Elders. From there, I will be holding a summit of the Clan to determine how best to move forward." he explains. "If the Clan is not wholly unified in the decision, then it makes our situation all the more precarious. But we must do something to protect our future."

    Kuroda gazes at the ground for a moment.

    "The Daimyo has already destroyed the Namikaze Clan - few of them are left, according to their current Head, Arata." Kuroda says solemnly. "I do not wish this to be the fate of the Uchiha as well."

[Tsusho Uchiha]

   There was an unblinking stare given in response to what Kuroda was saying, and it was hard to read given the emotions going through Tsusho's mind in that moment. Part of him wanted to ask if Kuroda was insane, laugh at the idea that he had brought up, and bury his face in his hands at the sheer can of worms he was opening. This was a path he was, at least personally, just not ready for mentally.

"If you told me we needed to go after the Senju, I'd still be a little surprised, but I think I'd go pack for the trip. This is something entirely different."

    More than once he had imagined himself inside the walls of such a structure. Walking the outside and marveling at the size and height of the walls, even building more of his own. It was quite the impressive building, and at least in their own country there were few if any that rivaled it.

"It it a fortress for a reason, and the claims of no one breaching those walls isn't simple rumor. I..."

    Once again his face was blank, but it was slowly contorting to one of worry, partial disbelief, but a small part of him fancied the idea. His cheek, then the corner of his mouth began to tighten as the slightest hint of a smile formed. The thought of controlling that place was exciting, but the idea of trying to take it was anything but.

"I'm with you, for all the no say I have in the matter, but I imagine you know you'll need to have your plan and your idea polished before you present it to anyone. I don't scare easy, but the idea of what you just shared scares the hell out of me. You are likely to get some push back."

    In the distance the large spider seemed to have been distracted chasing what looked to be a small animal, but it was hard to tell what it was from where they were sitting. It clearly wasn't doing what it was sent to do for whatever reason, all the same.

"I'm more than willing to build us our own fortress. Granted it would.......take some time. I just have to ask a serious question-"

    Pausing and taking a deep breath, he looked over at Kuroda with a serious look.

"Are we sure we won't be making a lot of other clans, or other Shinobi in general angry, doing this? Going after the Senju will only make the Senju angry, but taking the Fire Temple is kicking in a door we can't shut behind us."

OOC

Max HP: 320

Current HP: 320

Max CP: 17

Current CP: 17

insert ooc shenanigans here

MADE BY ★MEULK OF THQ

[Kuroda Uchiha]

    Kuroda pushes off the fencing, and moves over to Tsusho, placing a hand on his shoulder.

    "I appreciate your support - even if it is wary support." Kuroda says. He takes his hand off Tsusho's shoulder and turns to look up the road. "...I understand the danger of what I am going to propose to the Clan. That is exactly why I will propose it in a gathering of the Clan, rather than simply make plans and go forward with them."

    Kuroda sighs.

    "But turning this village into a fortress... I don't think we have enough time, Tsusho. Not if the Daimyo is openly sending assassins after me." Kuroda continues. "If he's willing to send assassins after me twice in the span of a month, then he is willing to move in with an army to snuff us out once the frustration of continual failures finally moves his next decision."

    Kuroda looks Tsusho in the eyes.

    "As far as making enemies of other Clans, well, we already have a great many of them. That's the entire reason we keep a Genjutsu barrier around this village to deter potential enemies." Kuroda says grimly. "And as for that no say remark - I would rather know what you would say, rather than have you bottle up your thoughts out of a concern of insulting me. Tell me, what are your thoughts?"