Naruto Fantasy (AU) : The Rise of the New Generation

Gerontis · Nov 30, 2017

[fieldbox=From the West, teal]
Unknown Location - Dragon Lotus.

A collab between Lesli and Gerontis.

Summary:
After the last turbulent objective of Team 8, Aiko has a meeting with Zakito in one of the old hideouts of the organisation - the meeting being possible thanks to the Void Rose teleportation technique.
This takes place after the meeting with Satia and Tomiko, in the middle of the night. Gaining a new objective as information, the fight against the Zealots in Amegakure isn't over yet as another threat looms over the region. Once informed, the two members of the Dragon Lotus part

[spoili]
Waiting in the dark place, Zakito didn't pay much attention to the dust. It had been a long time since somebody had ever graced this place with their presence and while it wasn't perhaps something he had wished for, it was a good sign. It meant that he could hold his meeting in peace without any disturbance from other people. Noticing some movement to the right, Zakito turned to the direction.

Small slivers of black coloured chakra started to form a sphere before cracks started to appear. When the sphere started to break and fractire, the pieces vanished while leaving a familiar person behind. "Sorry for the sudden request," Zakito said as he would shove his hands into the pockets of his pants. "But good to see you doing fine."

"Yeah, about that," Aiko said as her fists were planted against her hips, a disapproving expression flowing over her features, "I was in need to talk with you. What makes you think that a genin is going to replace the losses? She isn't even an experienced one." The jounin said, her voice revealing the slowly growing anger.

"Currently, there aren't many that I could have sent to aid your mission in the Rain province. I figured that you could use a genin for what is to come. From what I could gain from her records and what people observed from the Academy, she seems to have some potential." Zakito calmly answered, "But if you want to pull out of Amegakure, then that is understandable."

A heavy sigh left the lips of the jounin as she shook her head lightly. "No, no. I am just frustrated. Last strike to counter the Zealots, I lost the Hyuuga chuunin. Hiraku Hyuuga. Who apparently was the leader of the Hyuuga. Not that I am afraid that the Hyuuga will resent me. Those guys have resented Kensuke Nimatsu and he hasn't suffered any issues with it," Aiko replied. "Not to mention that I have the idea that one of the current genin is becoming less reliable. Relative to Hiraku," the jounin further said, adding the last to clarify her worries.

So the head of the Hyuuga was dead? Zakito couldn't lie and state that he was overly worried. The Hyuuga wasn't a clan that had little prestige or importance but one couldn't argue that they were a big cornerstone of the Imperial military. Nor being counted as one of the most praised clans in the Fire province. The only thing that kept them standing was their old prestige and kekkei genkei, in Zakito's opinion. "I will make sure that the death of late Lord Hyuuga won't stir too much unrest. I might be able to influence a next leader to rise up. If the genin isn't capable of functioning, then you know what your options are?"

The woman slowly nodded. "Yeah. Even though I hope she will keep it together. Her eyes will provide some advantage on hunting the remaining insurgents and zealots. Even though I wager that the Zealots are running dry on numbers anytime soon." Or, at least, that was what Aiko was hoping for.

"I am certain that will also be the case on your next objective," Zakito said, "You are needed to assassinate Seiji of the Seika family. I got the details here," the right hand of Zakito would be lifted out of his pocket and pull out a small scroll from a pouch. Holding it out to Aiko, Zakito would continue. "Information has reached me that Seiji has connections with the Dread Steel Legion. Various times contributions have been shipped over the border and landed into the coffins of Seiji. The research has been conducted for some time as we both know that the Claw country has been occupied for more than a few decades by the Fang. And the Fang isn't a big fan of Akino."

Taking the small scroll, Aiko would open it as well listening to what Zakito said. She was aware of the situation with the Claw and Fang country. But truth be told, she couldn't care about the Claw or that they were held in a long occupation. The news, however, that this Seiji Seika had ties to them was rather intriguing. "Ah," she mumbled when reading the content of the scroll further. "Treason."

"Yes. An investigation is being held by the Intelligence Division to see how much the Fang is involved with those Zealots. We already know that most of the insurgents are part of the Fang Country. Either volunteers or conscripts forming the bulk. But also the Dread Steel shinobi. Bolstering the numbers and resources of the Zealots." Nodding to the scroll, Zakito continued. "Kiyomi has already been warned but Seiji is gaining popularity in Amegakure. If he continues to gain popularity, Kiyomi could be forced to appoint him as the next Amekage. Which would in short-term avoid a civil conflict in the province but in the long term..."

"Escalate in a conflict that will cost the Empire too much." Aiko said in a soft tone. She read the information in a quick fashion before rolling the scroll up. "What are the perimeters of this assassination?"

"Nobody else than Seiji is allowed to die. The local authorities and forces won't be involved or informed. Meaning that you need to perform this underneath the radar or shift the blame. On who? As long as it won't hurt the Crown then I doubt there will be much of an issue," Zakito answered, "Other than that, I have faith that you can likely perform this on your own. But I will leave you to it."

Storing the scroll away, Aiko mentally sighed. An assassination wasn't much of a bother. But she wasn't so sure that she could keep the genin distracted or held occupied in the barracks for too long. Who know what kind of calamity could follow if she wasn't around to keep tabs on them? "I will study the information once I am back. Which reminds me, how..."

"They are doing fine. Fugiki reported the other day to me that Kei and Akimoto were making a drawing together, for you. But nothing that indicates that you need to worry about." Zakito spoke in a less formal manner, looking away for a second. "I also read them the story of Sigge and the Mountain. Apparently, according to Kei you never read them that story."

A soft smile dawned on Aiko's lips. That story of Sigge, who managed to climb the tall mountain, was one of Kei's favourites. The woman couldn't even begin to fathom on how many times she had read that story to the twins before they had to sleep. Enough to be able to tell it without needing the small book for it. "Good. Thanks," Aiko replied as she felt a bit more relaxed.

"No problem. I would love to spend more time but we both are running out of it. Contact me once Seiji is dead." Just as he had said that, Zakito would dissolve into some smoke - revealing it was a shadow clone.

Nodding just before Zakito had poofed away, Aiko would use the Void Rose technique to move back to Amegakure. Hopefully, she would be able to figure out a way to keep the current formation going on. Despite the previous losses and obstacles that were starting to stack up.
[/spoili]
[/fieldbox]

Gerontis · Dec 5, 2017

[fieldbox=The Rally Point, maroon]
Hiron Hon
Jounin of Team 9 | Major General of the Third Division | Empire of Akino, countryside- Border between the Fire and Grass Province, Uchiha-Hanta clan-lands.

Hiron would continue to attend to his weapons and gear. The jounin did notice that Tentou and Shikaroku start to exchange some words but the man didn't follow the conversation nor willing to put a halt to it. The team would continue to enjoy the break for another half hour before Hiron gave the command that they should get ready to get moving again.

Once they were ready, Hiron took the lead again as he picked up the pace. It wasn't a pace that neither Shikaroku or Tentou would have trouble with. There wouldn't be any point of use to hurry themselves the last few miles from the rally point if they would end up exhausted. Besides, it gave Hiron some chance to ponder for himself.

The Zealots origin and most other information were still unknown. They were responsible for various acts that sit not that well with various people, clans and factions. But why would an organisation such as the 'Zealots' continue to do such work? Most subterfuge organisations that were employed by nations worked in a much more subtle fashion. What made the Zealots so bold?
The eyes of Hiron narrowed slightly as he could try to think of various reasons. One of the reasons why the Zealots operated in such a fashion could be that they were a distraction. A decoy for something larger. More troublesome that needed time. It could be overthinking it but Hiron found himself convinced that there had to be a goal on why the Zealots sought to disturb and occupy the Akinian military in such a fashion. Perhaps they were hoping to buy time for another country to amass sufficient forces to launch a feasible invasion?

Throwing a look over his shoulder, Hiron would lower the pace. Both Shikaroku and Tentou were keeping up but they were nearing the rally point, so there was no harm in taking it a tad easier. Returning to his thoughts, Hiron hoped that they could take out the discovered hideout of those blasted Zealots in one go. Luckily, he wouldn't just be gaining help from Shikaroku and Tentou. Around four teams of the Crimson Blades as another Imperial military team were promised to partake in the mission, from the 'more local' areas.

"Seems we are the first to arrive," Hiron reported as the team just finished climbing a small hill. Their view extended their sight on the surrounding grassland and up north the start of woodland. "We will wait here for the others to arrive. If for some reason they won't be here before the evening falls, we will move to the second rally point." The jounin didn't say what they would have to do if not everybody would be present at the second rally point. There was no need to say anything grim or demotivating.

Allowing his students to take some rest to catch their breath, Hiron remained vigilant. Watching the directions from where he was expecting the other teams to appear from, Hiron wondered how smooth he could cooperate with the Crimson Blades. While a regular shinobi team would aid them, hailing from a nearby outpost, the people who truly knew this land blindly were the Crimson Blades. The military of the Uchiha clan. It existed out of soldiers, guards and shinobi. Though the Crimson Blades weren't superior in fighting quality than the Imperial military or some other clans, they were a frightening force for one of their trademarks: their discipline.

Remembering from own experience how stalwart the members of the Crimson Blades could be, it was thanks to the grim expectation that was put on them. No matter what your role was in the Crimson Blades, you were trained in both physical and mentally fashion to become disciplined. And not to just be able to obey orders and fight in formation or work to the point. There were enough stories on how units of Crimson Blades were told to hold an area, even against the odds of a much large enemy force, and doing so till the last fell. Where most would try to run or seek for a way out, no Crimson Blade would yield any ground without making the enemy bleed for it in return.

Just as Hiron wanted to ask Tentou to scan the perimeter with her bugs, Hiron caught sight of something. Spotting the movement erupted the jounin's musings. "Ah," he mumbled as he locked his gaze on the approaching team. Judging by their uniform, it was a regular Imperial shinobi team. Their dark green flak jackets made that clear.

The man that walked ahead was likely their leader, Hiron thought to himself. Allowing them to near the hill, Hiron would signal them to stop. After exchanging some code words, to identify themselves indeed as allies, Hiron allowed them to climb the hill. Once the other team had closed in the distance, Hiron briefly spoke with the other team leader. Three young men formed together with an older man the Imperial Team that went by the number fifty-two. The older man was a jounin that went by the name of Izo Naiko. Not long after, the three teams of the Crimson Blade would join them.

The latter were much like the Imperial teams made up from four members. Their attire was similar, save it for the Uchiha crest on the back and lack of headbands that showed that they were members of the Imperial military. The flak jacket was somewhat similar, the colour being darker green and having tints of light brown camouflage. All members were armed with a tanto or katana. Yet, around two to three members that were genin and not dressed in the same fashion.

"Probably students or genin scheduled to be transfered to the Imperial military." Hiron thought to himself. He would decide to speak with the leader of the Crimson Blades. After a rather short talk with the Crimson Blade leader, Hiron would turn to one of the genin. The lad wasn't too tall and seemed to be around fourteen or perhaps fifteen? Not that age mattered much, Hiron thought to himself as he nodded to the dark-haired genin.

"You're Yiko Uchiha? I was informed that you will be joining my team for this operation. We will see what happens afterwards," Hiron said on a neutral tone. Gesturing this Yiko to follow him, Hiron would guide him to the spot where Tentou and Shikaroku were standing and waiting. Likely observing the other Imperial Team as present Crimson Blade members.

"This is Yiko Uchiha. He will be reinforcing our team for this mission," Hiron simply said as he nodded to Tentou and Shikaroku, letting them handle their own introductions.
[/fieldbox]

Oetje · Dec 6, 2017

[fieldbox=A Smelly Operation, orange]

Nishi Hirashima,
Leader of Team 11 | Ex- ANBU member,
Kirigakure, east of the city in the rural area.

The first to speak up was Clair. The genin did answer Nishi answer but the jounin didn't expect that the genin would literally throw everything out. Listening, Nishi wouldn't respond to it. Nor was an expression visible to gauge what Nishi's thoughts were on Claire's answer.
The fact that Claire's motivation was revenge didn't do much to change the neutral opinion of Nishi. The jounin was wondering if the genin had any clue on who had killed her sibling as well how to achieve 'revenge'. And what then? It was more often than not that revenge just left a void that could potentially drive a person to a bad state.

"Thanks for being open, Claire!" Nishi replied with a friendly tone, throwing a look over her shoulder to the genin.
"Where I understand that you have your ambition to gain revenge, I must remind you now that you're part of a team. Let us not get too caught up with revenge and personal ambitions, okay?"

Then Yukimi answered. The answer was anything but interesting. She had decided to serve because of her love for the country? If anything, Claire's answer seemed genuine. That of Yukimi made Nishi wonder why the chuunin had decided to not answer the question. But the jounin wouldn't pry any further. But much room for silence wasn't there when Yukimi returned the earlier question.

"I am a kunoichi because it was one of the better professions I could take. It provides a good salary, chance to climb higher as having taught me how to keep myself alive."
The jounin had looked back at the front, where they were heading. Enjoying the brief silence that followed, Nishi threw a look around. They could spot a small settlement, just barely visible due to the surrounding hills. The field that was being used for agricultural purposes as well the fenced areas with cattle made it clear that it was the hamlet that the farmers had their farms and homes.
"Seems we are nearly there. Stick close and pay good attention to the surrounding. It might very well be that the highwaymen decide to ambush us. Which would save us some time," the jounin told the two teens.

But nobody would bother them on their way towards the hills and hamlet. The bitter cold breeze was the only one who disturbed them as the cattle just watched from a distance. Some farmers could be spotted but none made any attempt to move closer to the road to greet or engage in some small talk with the three kunoichi.

Entering the hamlet, the team wasn't mistreated in any form or way. A healthy caution and wariness seemed present but nothing that would be alarming. At least, Nishi hoped that the genin and chuunin would stay clear from just asking questions around and let her do it. The fact that Yukimi was more experienced in battle didn't mean that her social skills were on par. And Nishi had some doubts that Claire was able to subtly verbally hunt after information.
Thus Nishi 'dragged' the two younger and lower ranked kunoichi behind her. Every conversation was led by the jounin and slowly but surely Nishi was fishing out the information that they were after.

The group of highwaymen were operating north of the hamlet, preying mostly on lone or small group of farmers. They weren't well equipped, compared to those who served in the Republican force or even local milita standards. Which explained that they stayed away from large groups or those who seemed well armed.
Once she had acquired the information, Nishi would lead her team just outside the hamlet.

"Seems like the threat isn't that dangerous as I suspected it to be. Which means that we aren't going to kill our targets. We know that they aren't well armed and likely not having a large group either. Which means that we can likely force them to yield once they figure that we are kunoichi. However," the jounin flashed a polite smile, "We need to hide the fact that we are kunoichi. Any suggestions?"
[/fieldbox]

~\The Talentless/~ · Dec 6, 2017

[fieldbox="Fresh meat, turquoise, solid"] Yiko's day was about to be an interesting one, to think he was tasked to serve for a team from the Akino empire he had never met before to help investigate the Zealots, but that didn't matter too much if he met the team or not. He has had enough information relayed to him about the team from the imperial military team leader he traveled with. Led by a Jounin by the name of Hiron Hon, he had a reputation for being pretty ruthless with his students, Or anyone in general. Cold and serious, a man of honor and respect, and was known to push his students to the brink of resigning. It was something to be a little timid about, especially for someone who has a pretty laid back attitude, Yiko wasn't quite sure if he was gonna be able to be on his good side for too long. It honestly made the Uchiha nervous.

Once his team made it to the rally point, He was met by the leader of team 9, and just like Yiko was warned, Hiron looked exactly like how the leader said, cold. Yiko tried to keep a calm attitude while the jounin team leader talked to the others. Maybe he smells fear... lets play it safe. Once Hiron walked up to the young boy, Yiko had this uneasy feeling that made his legs weak. "You're Yiko Uchiha? I was informed that you will be joining my team for this operation. We will see what happens afterwards," The Uchiha Nodded "Yes sir" Keeping it plain and simple to not ruin his first impression and followed the Jounin to meet the rest of team 9.

First off the girl was... strange looking. No doubt from the Aburame Clan, he could tell that just from the attire she had. Known for using Insects for combat purposes. Yiko always thought the clan was a bit creepy, their attire made them seem very unfriendly, whenever Yiko's father spoke of them, and their capabilities, it always sent a shiver down his spine. Yiko knew they were a force to be reckoned with. While the other teammate, He really couldn't tell what his deal with. He seemed calm and collected, almost as emotionless as Hiron. Now that he thought of it, they both seemed rather calm, is this what its like to be in team 9? to Become emotionless?

Both teammates seemed older than he was, almost making Yiko question why he was even on the team, was it because of his sharingan? maybe the fact that he had studied military tactics that not many genin knew? Or was it because they were desperate? Yiko doubted that though. "wow, looks like I'm the youngest" Yiko said silently, before putting a smile on his face and waving. "A pleasure to meet you guys, I've heard lots about this team, pretty exciting to think we're gonna be working together" Ko said with a bow and a smile. He tried to keep it formal, the last thing he wanted was to offend anyone, or make them think he was lesser, at least not yet.

[/fieldbox]

Celestial Scorpio · Dec 7, 2017

[fieldbox="First Mission, Purple, solid"]

Claire Rose,
Genin of Team 11,
Kirigakure, traveling to the eastern gate of the city.

"I know you should worry but my revenge is just the fueling force to drive me to excel. I don't make everything personal towards it. Just a way to progress and become better. One day I hope it can happen but I won't actively seek it and if it happens, it happens. If not then I will still fight and work towards bettering myself." Claire reassured Nishi but it did kind of bug her that the older woman had worries about her and her performance based on her reason to become a ninja in the first place. Looking over at Yukimi she felt that icy gaze and chills ran up her spine.

Smiling she looked away. 'She doesn't seem the social type. I better be careful with her. Having a bad relationship might hurt the team.' Claire thought to herself. Looking ahead she saw the village in the distance and she wondered if Yukimi even was honest about her reply. She doubted it because she looked like the type to have some hidden personal life. She didn't pay much mind to it and once they were at the village she remained silent like asked. Though it made her feel useless as they wondered about for information.

"The easiest option would be to borrow clothing from the village, mostly farmer attire but we could also use the transformation jutsu to turn into farmers. That also would mean we could keep our weapons on us without the need to conceal them with physical clothing." Claire suggested but she wondered if it was too basic of an answer. "We also could transform into merchants that are wandering the roads. I hope it isn't something too basic but there is not much we could do to hide the fact we are kunoichi." Despite knowing the basics of jutsu she wasn't the best at all of it. At times she even struggled with transformation jutsu if the target was highly detailed in their clothing and features.
[/fieldbox]

Jessie Targaryen · Dec 10, 2017

[fieldbox="Draw them out?, #33cccc, dashed, 10, Tahoma"]

Yukimi Yuki | Team 11 Chuunin | Kirigakure

Yukimi didn't even attempt to hide the eyeroll whenever Claire went off about her revenge. This stupid girl thought that her 'revenge' would drive her to become better. Yukimi knew exactly where stupid pursuits like revenge led, a grave. One of the members of her first team had demonstrated that rather effectively during the occupation. Yet, it wasn't Yukimi's business if this girl wanted to be stupid for the sake of petty revenge. So long as Claire decided to go be an idiot far away from Yukimi. For a brief moment, Yukimi even felt inclined to inform the genin of exactly where her revenge would end.

However, that pursuit was soon interrupted when they arrived at the hamlet. Nishi seemed to wish to take care of the questioning of the farmers, during which Yukimi cast casual looks around the hamlet; curious to see if she could notice any other details. She was almost disgusted at the conditions these people lived in. She couldn't possibly imagine herself even deigning to live like... pigs. It took all of her willpower for Yukimi not to show the disgust she felt on her features, and instead portray an unbroken calm.

Not long after they were led just outside of the hamlet, and Nishi asked her question about how they might hide being a kunoichi. After Claire made her suggestion, Yukimi decided to make her own suggestion. "While transformation could work, why bother hiding?" She began, looking at the two for a moment before continuing. "A lone, lost girl would be an easy target for a group of highwaymen, no? Then we ambush the highwaymen." She explained, looking towards the genin as she mentioned the part of the lone girl. "One as bait, and two to keep an eye out. Else, the transformation would work well enough. We would just need to take care to look the part of scared farmers." She said before falling silent once more.[/hr][/fieldbox]

FrostedCaramel · Dec 10, 2017

[fieldbox="Operation Winter Hunters - Hanaguro Team, Orange"]Yamada Suzu "Rabbit" & Namikaze Ino "Panther" | Akinian Empire, Nish District of Hanaguro

A collaboration between @FrostedCaramel and @Nim

Part I
Part II
Part III

The Hunt is on. Operation Winter Hunters is in full swing, and the Sworn Sword Operatives we may not all know or love are getting into some shady business in Hanaguro in the name of Security for the Empire. This time they may cause a small disturbance at the Way of Fire Temple in the Pink District but promptly decide it's not worth it after making a few missteps.

[spoili]
Suzu blinked at the monk in front of her, a far older man than herself, and seemingly far more spritely as well as he went about his duties of cleaning the main yard as if he were dancing along to an invisible band. "Alright." she said questioningly before approaching the older monk. "Excuse me, sir…?" she spoke softly to the man, a warm smile gracing her lips as she did, "Do you have a moment? We have a few questions we'd like to see if you have any answers." she said as she motioned to Ino at her side.

The old monk turned to Suzu as she approached him. A smile broke through the wrinkled features of the man as he nodded towards Suzu. "Oh, I have a moment, miss." He responded while awaiting what the questions would be.

"That's great." Suzu said in reply, she continued to smile at the man before continuing, "We weree told by Priest Utemaro to ask any questions we had around the temple, I hope it's not too much of a bother…" Suzu said as if minding their intrusion into the life of the monk. "We were told that there has been construction going on here and were wondering if you knew anything about it?" she said as she looked around the main yard, no construction in view.

Nodding that he understood it, the monk would flash a smile as he shook his head to indicate that he didn't find it a bother. "Ah, the construction is mostly to renovate some of the inner halls. Some artists and crafstmen have been so kind to offer very cheap aid to keep some of our halls in tip top shape. You would be probably most delighted to come back over a month or two, miss. This is, after all, one of the largest Temples you can find in the western part of the realm. Probably the most beautiful as well!"

'Offered their work for less than normal.' Suzu thought to herself as she nodded along with the monk. She raised a hand to point toward the main building of the temple, "They're renovating that? How thoughtful of them." she said pleasantly, "Any idea why they offered their work? Did someone from the temple approach them or did they approach the temple?" she asked curiously.

"That I don't know, miss. I know some local craftsmen offer their work for free or a cheap price as a means to keep our great temple function as it has done over countless decades," the monk replied as a twinge of pride surfaced when the old man spoke of the temple. "But sometimes the priests seek out a craftsman or two to negotiate about purchasing their services. Yet, I have no real knowledge of how that goes."

"Oh don't worry," she said waving away the mans seeming lack of knowledge on the details, "Is there anyone else that we could ask that may know more about the craftsmen working on the Main Hall? We'd be very interested in speaking to them if we could." she asked the older monk.

"I believe that Priest Hitaro is more knowledgeable about it. Last time and place I saw him was a hour ago in the shrine at the gardens," the old man turned to point at the general direction. "It is likely for his morning prayers. The man is such an example. He even prays in this cold outside."

Suzu smiled and gave a slight bow to the monk, "Thank you so much for the help Sir." she said before rising back up, "We'll leave you to your daily chores then, and go seek out Priest Hitaro." she said before starting to walk away. Only a step away from teh monk she stopped as if she had just realized something and spoke up once more, "And of course we won't bother him if he's praying" she said, once again bowing to the monk and then making her way to the gardens of the temple.

Staying silent as Rabbit spoke to the monk, she kept a careful watch of everyone around them. There was little indication of any wrongdoing outside of the structures, but what appears on the surface can always be a deceit, she knew it well. Once they begun walking away from the monk, Ino finally spoke up "I don't know about any craftsmen that come and help the temple, but it could serve as an explanation behind how the place keeps looking well. But that wouldn't explain why it would upset any of the monks. Hopefully Priest Hitaro will be as cooperative as the other members we have spoke to so far." She said in a calm tone, briefly moving her gaze to the main temple structure before looking in the direction of the garden.

It's possible that that monk simply didn't know anything. He didn't seem the lying type." Suzu said calmly as they walked along toward the location of the gardens. She shook her head, at a loss of an explanation for the happenings at the temple, "You're right, if it's the normal thing that gets done to keep this place looking well, then it shouldn't be something that upsets some of those that live and practice here. Something must be off at the very least." she agreed with Ino before they made their way under a decorative arch and into the main gardens of the temple.

As they entered the gardens of the temple, Ino looked around briefly before spotting a lone priest that stood in there. Approaching him let her see that he was mid-prayer, indicating it was safe to speak to him immediately without waiting "Excuse me, are you Priest Hitaro?" She asked in a polite tone, hoping they wouldn't need to start looking all around the temple to find the Priest.

The lone priest held his hands clutched in each other while his shaved head was bowed forward. Upon Ino's question, the priest would slowly turn and throw a look into the direction of the women. Almost instantly did the calm expression shifted into a different one. Not hiding his wariness with his facial expression, the tone the man spoke only furthered marked that he felt already at the edge. "Yes, that I am."

The way the man responded was much more fitting to the rumours they heard outside of the temple. She bowed towards him "I'm glad we found you, Priest Hitaro, and I apologize if I interrupted any prayers." She said as she rose from the bow "We can wait for you to finish." She said in an apologetic tone.

"I will continue later. What do you two want?" The man asked, eyeing both Ino and Suzu further with clear wariness that didn't yet border hostility. "If you need some guidance or advice then I have to suggest to seek out a brother or priest. I won't be able to give much at the given moment."

Priest Hitaro did not seem hostile, but rather very impatient, a quality that did not suit any priest. Ino decided to not walk around the bushes and be direct "We were informed by a fellow monk that you are the right person to approach regarding the topic of the craftsmen that help renovate the temple." She spoke in a polite tone despite his own tone "Can you help us by answering a couple of questions regarding these men?" The question was still accompanied with a polite tone, and the expression on Ino's face seemed calm.

"No." Was the resolute and short initial answer of the priest. "I don't know you or her," the priest nodded towards Suzu, "I am not under any obligation to help you answering some questions that shouldn't concern you. So no. If you desire to pray, we have a few more shrines about that you can use. For now, I desire to be by myself."

And the priest just turned entirely uncooperative. Ino gave Suzu a brief look to which Suzu simply shrugged at her before turning back to Hitaro "You are not under any obligation, that is very true. But we are here only to help. We heard rumours from outside the temple about something that upset the monks, and we got the approval of Priest Utemaro to ask around. We only do this to help out, not out of ill-intent or anything of the sort. And if I am to be even more sincere," She said and her expression changed into a more serious one "So far, you are the most uncooperative and to a slight degree, even hostile member that we encountered, while we have done nothing to deserve this kind of behavior from you."

The priest simply scoffed at Ino's words. "Hardly my concern. As you stated, I am under no obligation. If priest Utemaro gave you the 'capability' to ask around then bother him some more." The old man said as his right eyebrow perked up. "As far what my cooperation, that is up to myself. Write a letter of complaint if you're so troubled by bothering a man in his morning prayer, miss." The priest replied back in a colder tone. Nodding to them, Hitaro would turn around and start walking to leave the shrine.

As Priest Hitaro begun to head away, Ino considered her options. Stalking him would be wrong and they both had very few places they could take advantage for doing so. Then there was also the fact that there was probably very little she could say to make him stop. Deciding to take a risk, she approached Hitaro from behind and spoke up again "I understand you do not know us, but I knew Ikue Masuzoe. We are trying to prevent a repeat of what happened to him. Please, even if you do not trust us enough to share any sensitive details, is there nothing you can share with us? Even the smallest of hints could help." Ino's voice was one that expressed concern now, and her facial expression was a determined, yet also concerned one.

Turning half around, the irritation became more visible on the wrinkled face of Hitaro. "You are only bothering me. I don't know or how you know of Ikue Masuzeo but his soul should be at peace. Now, leave an old man be before I will have to report you to the most nearby guard post." The priest sneered at Ino before turning once more around to keep on walking away from the two.

Suzu turned to look at Ino and then back to Hitaro, he was being rather unhelpful much to her surprise, and suspicious at that. "I understand we may not be the most trustworthy of folk to show up out of the blue bothering you during your prayer and asking questions, but it is necessary," she said to the priest still smiling at the man, "if you're unable to answer our questions is there not anyone else that could answer them for us? We were pointed to you, but if you know of another we'll gladly leave you be." she asked nicely.

Leave me alone, you damn women!"" The man sneered at Suzu, throwing a glare at the persistent lot. "Go and ask somebody else but leave me out of your poking! Damn youth these days, I swear by the Fire that I am getting done with this,"" the old priest mumbled, just faintly audible for Suzu and Ino to hear, while he continued to walk in a hasty pace away from them.

Turning to look at Ino, Suzu would simply shrug as the the Priest began to leave the garden, "Should we…? Get a bit more persuasive?" she asked the other Sworn Sword, a faint smile evident on her lips as she did.

Seeing how the Priest kept acting and hearing Suzu's question, Ino briefly considered this. She could give her acceptance to go ahead, but doing so out in the open would risk exposure and possibly bring their accepted visit and questioning to an abrupt end, which in turn could bring them to be reported, effectively failing the undercover part of the mission and possibly the entire mission.

Turning towards the Priest, Ino would call out to him one last time "I apologize once more for the interference, Priest Hitaro." She would say while marking to Suzu they will not be following him.

Moving to face Suzu, Panther would make an indication to head out of the garden alongside her, but not follow Hitaro. Once the Priest appeared to be out of hearing range, she would begin to whisper to Rabbit "Considering the lack of cooperation, it is more than likely that he is hiding something. Priests do not usually act like this, but stalking him could potentially do more harm than good by both risking our cover and if there is any zealot activity and we won't uncover it, then they will have a chance to vanish before anything can be exposed. I think it would be in our best interest to take a step back and see if anything changes." Ino stated to Suzu her opinion, waiting to hear the other's opinion.

Suzu simply nodded her head to Ino, if the woman felt it was better to leave the man space she would have to be inclined to agree, she brought a hand up to her hair, pushing a small amount off her face before turning to Ino with a smile, "Perhaps we can lay a trap for that man sometime soon, catch him when he isn't in the Temple," she motioned to the walls surrounding them, "the Pink District isn't exactly known for being the safest of places, even a Priest may end up in trouble from time to time I imagine." she spoke before turning back the way they had entered into the garden.

"Would you like to continue to push our guests hospitality to its limits or call it here and try a new angle?" she asked as she began to head out of the small space.

Thinking about the suggestion and question, Ino wasn't sure. Setting a trap outside could be a good option, as like Suzu said, the Pink District did not hold the best reputation, but on the other hand, as long as they did not know who was certainly a Zealot and if they did, who was in charge and who was not.

"It's too risky to do it when it is just the two of us. As for staying in the temple, I don't think it will be needed. I do wish to pass by Priest Utemaro to see if we could potentially get future access without the need of deception, as we have inconclusive findings so far and do not wish to disturb the members of the temple any further, but if we find something more coherent that is connected to the temple, we will wish to discuss it to him." Was her response. She was hoping that as they had not caused any trouble in the temple, Priest Utemaro might be more willing to hear out such an agreement.

She nodded in at Ino as she walked, "I personally don't think it's a great idea to approach Utemaro again, but you're more than welcome to." she said, the thought of bringing anymore attention to themselves at this point was one she didn't want to have to contend with but would happily allow the other to come to terms with. "I can meet you outside the gate if you'd please? Could probably find something to eat close by and have it ready when you're out." she said calmly as they went along.

"No, you might be right. Perhaps it is best if we both just left." Ino changed her mind at the remark of Suzu. She did not think about it before, but going with that approach would look bad, as it would suggest they still thought there was something suspicious going on. Perhaps leaving without making any sort of requests was the right way "If there is any food you fancy, lead the way." She added as she walked alongside Rabbit.

"As long as I'm no longer hungry afterwards it's fine for me." she said to Ino as they made their way through the main courtyard of the Temple, around them Priests and Monks went about their daily duties, none seeming to pay much attention to the two visitors as they left out the front gate.

Back on the streets of the Pink District, Suzu stopped for a moment to look up and down the streets. None of them seemed to have any markings that distinguished which shops were for food and which were for a far different kind of food. But she figured they'd find one rather quickly and turned right down the street headed in the direction of the docks, sure there would be food at least at the edge of the river if they found none on the streets. As they walked along she wondered how it would be possible to trap the Priest if he ever left the Temple, and just how they'd do it without causing a scene with only two people. As she went over her various options, most of which involved a copious amount of clones for any sort of crowd control that may have been necessary, she found her eyes wander over a familiar face. Were she religious she may have thanked a God for the solution to their problems in front of her.
[/spoili][/fieldbox]

Oetje · Dec 16, 2017

[fieldbox=Team 4- Part 1 - on the move!, burlywood]
In the capital city, Hanaguro, of the River Province.

A collab done by Frostedhamster, Zane620 and Oetje.

Summary:
Team 4 gets up and moves out the next morning from their last search for information. Crossing the river that split Hanaguro in two, they manage to arrange a ferry to move them over to the western part of the large city. Their first objective? The large Fire Temple.

[spoili]
The next morning Meilin would wake up both Madoc and Aoi. The sun hang low on the horizon and Meilin actually felt great. She wasn't entirely certain where her good mood came from but she wouldn't question it too much. After eating breakfast at the inn they had stayed at, Meilin took it upon herself to deal with the innkeeper. She got some money back as they wouldn't stay the full three days, it seemed. The innkeeper was slightly worried if it was due to something of his establishment but Meilin managed to sooth the man's worries away.
Once they left the inn with their possessions, Meilin had the directions to the docks and few ferries that the innkeeper had recommended. Walking at a calm pace, Meilin would make sure that she kept an eye on Aoi but would let the other check out buildings, people and various stands that they passed by. It even had something more of an easy day going out than doing their work and Meilin couldn't help but enjoy the peaceful and easy going pace they were going at.

Arriving at the docks, the bustling activity almost got Meilin lost but she managed to keep the team together while heading to one of the ferries. Ships of various designs and sizes were docked. Either being loaded or unloaded by people while captains made deals with the dockmasters. Then there were various stands that tried to sell their wares as other spots served as a temporary point to stack the boxes and such, before being moved to other points.
Finding one of the ferries, Meilin would once more take it up as her task to deal with the captain. The ferry captain tried to haggle but knowing - thanks to the friendly innkeeper - what the usual price was, Meilin managed to keep it quite reasonable. A bit disappointed, the captain stated that they would move to the other side in a few minutes.

Once it was so far, the team would board the small vessel as several other people would join them. Standing at the railing, Meilin observed the sight in front of her. At both sides was Hanaguro's city while they would sail at some distance past the central island. Where the Taimyo keep and its defences were located, serving as the central administrative point for the River province. Staring at the formidable defences Meilin wondered how it was like to live in such splendour and comfort.

A normal day by any means, they were woken up by Meilin to get a move on towards this temple that Aoi was certain had shady character infiltrating it or messing around with it. He still felt it might be a waste of time, then again all possible leads he got from those guys could be a waste of time. These were after all rumors they were going off of and one involved a bear. Meilin took care of all the talking which was fine by him he supposed, all he really wanted to know was how much this fare was gonna cost him.

They managed to get on the small vessel that would take them to the other side where their destination awaited them, yet before then he felt he should know a bit more about the situation. "So since I don't really follow this whole Way of Fire religion, think our expert here should inform us what we shouldn't do. In case this whole situation turns out to be a sham and we go offending people for no reason."

Woken early by Meilin and her go-gettem attitude, Aoi wasn't exactly upset with the whole order of events that would follow. A quick breakfast at the Inn followed by paying for their rooms and then taking to the streets allowed Aoi to witness the awe of Hanaguro as it awoke from its slumber. The giant, living being of a city began to arise long before the sun had truly reached into the sky. Slowly but surely the living creature that was the city and all within it sprung to life, Aoi noticed that it started off small. People slowly making their way to work here, someone hanging up clothes there, a shopkeeper brushing off the dust on their tables before setting out their wares or sweeping the area immediately in front of their shops. It was small. Almost entirely missed if Aoi hadn't been so intently paying attention to it all, every little bit was a new experience, a first time for the simplest little acts that the people of Hanaguro carried out as just another part of their day.

As enthralled by the city as it rose from its slumber as she was, Aoi was far more amazed by the port they entered into in order to cross the river and make their way to the Pink District. Unlike the rest of the city, the port had obviously been up far earlier, or as Aoi suspected, it had never truly slept in the first place. Oil lamps were burning low as their reserves were depleted, and the glass that lined the top of their poles was black with soot from burning all night, something that would likely be cleaned come nightfall when the lights would be refilled. The docks themselves were already bustling with life. People were busy moving from ship to ship inspecting goods, dockhands loaded boxes onto barges and off of others, while some people crowded around tarps lain across the ground with the mornings catch, yelling at the top of their lungs to the men auctioning off the best fish of the morning to try and get their fair share.

She found herself pressed against the back of a middle aged man, her chin resting on his shoulder as she watched the auction take place, completely enthralled by what to them was just the beginning of their day. The man moved his elbow to move the person off of himself only for Aoi to return, pushing against him harder than before as if to stake her claim to the space that was his shoulder. He turned to her and stared, slightly surprised at the sight of a girl, "Hi!" Aoi exclaimed from her perch just inches from his face, "I just wanted to-" she stuttered as the auction grew intense before her eyes, "The auction it-" a man screamed at another, throwing a paper at the auctioneer as he did, "I had to see it for myse-" the auctioneer turned to the other man, who screamed something Aoi couldn't quite make out about the fish to which the auctioneer nodded his head and pointed at him.

"Get the hell off me girl" the man growled at her, his discontent with Aoi on his shoulder, or the fact that he had just lost out on what Aoi could only imagine was the best fish of the morning or the combined fact that Aoi was likely the reason for that happening struck Aoi all at once to which she quickly backed off the man and bowed deeply, sputtering out apologies rapid-fire at the man as she stared at the worn wood of the dock at her feet. After a brief moment she rose her head only to notice that the entire group had dispersed and the fish on the tarp had been moved elsewhere.

She stood upright, searching for her teammates who she spotted only a short distance away from where she stood. Making her way to them quickly, she slid in next to Madoc as they boarded and sat next to him.

Madoc's thought pierced her mind, cutting off her thoughts about what it must be like to own a boat and work as these people did, "Yeah I can handle that part don't worry." she spoke aloud to them both, not realizing that she wasn't just thinking it to herself as she was probably supposed to be doing.

Meilin considered Madoc's suggestion good, subtly nodding to indicate that she was agreeing with the Yamanaka. She briefly wondered how truly welcoming these monks and priests were. It all seemed odd and foreign to Meilin to enter a temple of another religion. She had never experienced a problem with the Way of Fire but it wasn't simply the faith she had grown up with. Even while Keishi was primarily occupied by inhabitants that grew up with the particular religion, the idea of a sole deity that was almighty struck Meilin as odd. It contradicted what she believed in.
Still at the railing, the Cho almost lost herself in her own thoughts on about what she could find in a temple dedicated to the Fire God. The God without a name. A benevolent deity that seemed to love all.

Meilin's eyes slightly narrowed as her hands clenched into fists. There was a certain angry and jealous part of her boiling up by the mere thought. If such a god was indeed real then why was she suffering? Was it because she hadn't devoted herself to such a god? Knowing that such thinking wouldn't get her any further, Meilin tried to abandon the thoughts and questions.

Straightening her back Meilin decided that she should focus once more on the mission. As the vessel soared through the small waves, breaking them and moving through the openings, Meilin couldn't help to find it somewhat peaceful. There was still some traffic on the waters but it seemed tranquil to the busy markets or streets of the large city.
"Okay, so what is something we should absolutely avoid? I take it that they won't condone us bearing arms, so perhaps we should make certain that we either hide them or 'surrender' them?" She asked through the telepathic bond.

When Aoi started speaking out loud he was quick to nudge her with his elbow and tap her forehead. "Remember to speak through the telepathic bond Aoi. We can't take any risk about private information." Madoc spoke through the mind link, as he gazed at Meilin who seemed a bit annoyed at something before her expression would revert back to normal. Well normal in her standards. She would then ask what he asked, which Aoi said she would take care of everything which was all fine and dandy, yet it would look suspicious if they had Aoi doing everything. She would then ask if they should hide their weapons or surrender them, something he shook his head at. "Well easily seen weapons like your sword is a given on hiding or surrendering. However if this is a hostile environment, I feel we should have some form of weaponry on us. I can conceal my knives, the main question however…." Madoc stopped as he gazed at Aoi. "Would we end up getting searched, or will they end up trusting us if we hand over what appears to be all our weapons? I have two knives on me now, Meilin has her sword. You have…. Stuff? What I'm saying is, if she hands over her sword, I hand over a knife and you hand over…. Again stuff. Would they deem us not suspicious, or would we still get searched? "

Aoi shot a flustered look around the boat as Madoc nudged her side and spoke through their freaky mind connection he had established for the team, "Yeah I know that!" she called out in her mind before turning away from Madoc and Meilin, her face growing red as she shut her eyes tightly. Fidgeting with her hands for a moment she would begin to think in response to what Madoc had asked about their bringing of weapons into the temple, "Well, it's definitely frowned upon, but in smaller Temples they'll normally let you in, it's just a given that you won't commit any sort of crime on holy ground. she turned her face back to the two, now filled with her normal color and her look much more controlled, "If they do insist that we leave our weapons at the front, then I have to agree we do. I can fight with my fists, plus if they used any metal in the construction of the Temple, like nails, I can use those too. So I wouldn't be too worried..

"And I'm sure our fearless leader has some hand-to-hand skills she's trying to keep a secret for when we finally get to that spar?" she thought teasingly as she gave the girl a wink.

Meilin subtly nodded. Giving up her 'obvious' weapons would be a good start. Perhaps it would also come over as a sign of good faith? The Cho wasn't certain if the monks would appreciate or hold the same manners as her clan, that a guest would surrender their weapons as a sign of respect and good faith.
"It might be best to go along what I considered a good idea. I will hand over my weapons that I can't conceal. The same goes for both of you. But it might be good to have some concealed weaponry at the ready in case we will need them. To perhaps defend the monks and priests," Meilin added the last in a smooth and quick fashion in hopes that she wouldn't give Aoi the wrong idea.

"Other than that we are going by different aliases and backstories. To just go there and either state that we are there to help them will not cut it. If something has riled them up, why would they thrust three random strangers that are armed as well? No," Meilin shot a look once more at the central island in the river, on which the Tamiyo had their impressive seat.
"We came from Keishi as we are working for a merchant that is dealing in cloth and wool. I want each of you to think of a fake identity as a reason why you're part of a merchants caravan. I can easily try to pass on that I am a beginning guard that is for the second time out with her father, enlisted in the merchant's service. Something not too far stretched with how we are equipped."

Turning around to fully face Madoc and Aoi, Meilin leaned backwards against the railing. Crossing her arms out front of her chest, a faint smile crossed the lips of the Cho.
"Don't worry. I got some tricks up my sleeve. I just rather not give you a sneak peek if I can avoid it." She replied to Aoi before throwing a glance at Madoc, "I assume that you're capable of fighting without a weapon too, seeing you were a chuunin before even joining team 7. But I don't think we should stress too much for a possible fight."

Well she didn't need to tell him twice on leaving themselves totally unarmed. If he was going to die, it wasn't going to be in some stupid temple and by a monk no less. Besides he could conceal his no problem. That and Aoi's reasoning had some issues to it. Hand to hand combat was great, but if she was the only one able to utilize her ability. She would wind up having to defend them a good bit. Hand to hand only did so much against what could possibly be armed people in the end. That and it wasn't very much so his go to plan of action.

She would then suggest they come up with different aliases and backstories. Hearing what Meilin choose made him snicker. He could see her saying that, although she probably just didn't want to release that sword of hers anytime soon. "Well I guess I could say, that I'm learning the ropes of being a merchant myself, and the merchant is a close family friend doing my father a favor by getting me some experience with dealing with people.." Madoc would then gaze at Aoi wondering what story she would pull off. Although a quick look was thrown at Meilin as she assumed he could fight without a weapon. "Yeah but I do most of my actions without having to punch someone in the face. Just cause I am a chuunin doesn't mean I'm the best at hand to hand combat."

"I don't think you two need to worry about my iron and I, afterall I can conceal it just about anywhere I want." she thought to them both, a smug smile plastering her face as the iron filings in the bag at her waist seemed to creep out of it like ants and slip beneath the girls shirt, disappearing completely. "I can just keep it against myself until it's needed or until it isn't." she thought again before nodding to no one in particular.

As Meilin informed them they would need covers Aoi was a bit lost at figuring out what she was going to pretend to be in order to fall in line with the idea, "I could be…." she thought to the team, casting a lost look to Meilin as she did, "I could just be a caravan hand I guess…?" she thought giving her teammates a small smile unsure of how well she could uphold the part. She had to fight herself from turning her head when Madoc spoke about his experience in hand-to-hand, only to find herself give him a jab in the rib cage with her elbow, "I'm sure you'd do just fiiiiine pretty boy." she teased.

[/spoili]
[/fieldbox]

Oetje · Dec 17, 2017

[fieldbox=A plan of a Genin, orange]

Nishi Hirashima,
Leader of Team 11 | Ex- ANBU member,
Kirigakure, east of the city in the rural area at a hamlet.

The first to respond was Claire. The genin proposed that they would borrow clothes from the villages. Or else use the transformation technique. Not bad suggestions as mere brigands who likely had a way to identify shinobi. The transformation technique would also broaden their options of what kind of disguise they would take. Nishi nodded to indicate that she had heard the genin's suggestion. Now it was Yukimi's turn.

Nishi initially expected more from the chuunin. The fact that the Yuki was a chuunin already said enough. The suggestion of the chuunin was to let one be bait in order to draw out the brigands. It wasn't a bad suggestion but Nishi was against it. It showed in a way that Yukimi was more than eager to sacrifice somebody to gain success. Something that wasn't uncommon for shinobi. Certainly not for the older generation of ANBU that were trained and led during the tenure of the Fourth Mizukage as his predecessors.

"We will go with the appearance of merchants. The reason why is quite simple," Nishi raised a thumb and pointed to Claire, "While I don't mind being the bait to lure out enemies there is the problem that I need to watch over a genin. It won't help much to try to give Claire a chance to gain experience with too much risk attached to it. If you both are close to me, I can react much faster to threats." The jounin explained with a calm tone. Locking her eyes on Yukimi for a moment, Nishi switched her gaze to Claire.
"That having said, we will go with your idea. Use the transformation technique to look like a merchant or a local about to bring his wares to a nearby market. Yukimi and I will follow suit, Claire."

[/fieldbox]

Oetje · Dec 17, 2017

[fieldbox=Into the fray!- Part 2, pink]
Empire of Akino, near Amegakure - the capital of the Rain province. Advancing into the Housha's compound! A collab of Team Etsu (composed out of Zane, Alice and Oetje).

Summary:
After the surprise worked, Team Etsu fights a tough fight against various enemies. With Etsu attempting to clear out the second floor of any foes after the ceiling/roof collapsing, Kitana and Rini are facing a tough situation.

Part 1.

[spoili]
The explosions pierced the air with a shockwave. Debris in the form of shattered wood, rock and dust were send out flying of the windows and up into the air from the explosive tags going off. As the support for the ceiling and rooftop were blasted away, Etsu noticed that the blasts and the sequencing collapse took the nearby enemies by surprise. The attempt to jump backwards caused the jounin to move from the breaking rooftop. Managing to land against the side of the next building, Etsu used chakra to stabilise and hold some footing, instead of falling down like the enemies on the rooftop. Watching the dust being swept up, the jounin remained where she was for a moment. Once the dust was settling down, Etsu reckoned that it was safe enough to move in.

As the explosion rocked the ground and made her ears ring from being close proximity to the detonation. She would pick herself up, having jumped from the stairs to the bottom floor to avoid being blown up. Yet the plan seemed to have worked, she could see a few enemies dead, buried alive, or wishing they were dead as the blast injured them. Yet some of them were still alive and kicking, which made this more annoying than it needed to be. "Let's make this quick. I'll take them down, you take them out." Kitana said not really giving Rini much of a choice in the whole discussion as any wasted time could be fatal. She pulled out her Tanto and would rush into the first enemy who had his back turned to her. When his legs would buckle in on themself as she sliced her Tanto through his ligaments, causing him to fall to his body. She was hoping Rini would be okay with this. She could take them down quickly enough, so if she focused on that and while they were distracted on her. Rini should have no problem killing them.

Rini's eyes shut down as her hands shot to her ears as the explosions went off. In the cover underneath the stairs, Rini also crouched. Feeling the dust whipped up against her together with small rocks, the genin pressed herself as close as she could against the nearby wall. Once the turblent sound of falling rock and wood had ceased, Rini quickly moved out of her hiding spot. The plan had worked so far she could observe but the sight of some people dead between the debris made her freeze. The voice of Kitana pushed Rini out of her brief lockdown. "B-But," she tried to argue but the chuunin already went ahead. Drawing her own weapon, Rini tried to ignore the shaking of her hands at the handle of her katana.

Spotting Kitana attacking the first enemy, Rini bite her lower lip as she followed suit. The first enemy was quickly taken out by Kitana. The later moved with such deadly grace that Rini found herself almost distracted. Closing in on the downed enemy, the genin aimed the tip of her sword towards the chest of the man. On purpose she didn't halt her pace, watching with a numbing feeling how the steel penetrated the clothing and flesh of the man's chest. Staring the man in the eyes, Rini would plant a foot on the man's stomach as she started to pull the katana, letting the sharp edge tear through flesh and blood. "Oh god, oh god," Rini felt her eyes burn as tears started to form. Pulling the blade out, she would quickly look up to see that Kitana was already advancing to combat the foes that were getting up.

Taking a quick look back to see how Rini was doing, she caught the girl stabbing the downed man with what looked like no hesitation. However she had a feeling thats how she had to do it, for her own sake. Moving to the next man who was getting up on shakey feet, would find himself back on the ground when she slammed her knee into his temple. Dazing the man, as she felt her knee throbbing from the impact. She would give the man one more kick to the head to fully daze him, before locking eyes with one man that was up and witnessing this situation unfold. The man charged at her, to which she moved to the side to dodge his blade. She would swing her own at him, but he managed to parry it which caught her offguard, as he managed to send her tanto across the debris filled room.

Once more Rini forced herself to advance. The experience she went through was as if her muscles were taking over while she couldn't stop panicking over the fact what she was about to do. The second man wasn't able to get up and seemed to be more dazed than alive. His right hand moved a bit up but was slammed down as Rini stamped her foot on the wrist. Before the tip of the black steel katana pierced the man's throat, a few tears rolled over Rini's cheeks. Only to fall against the steel of her mask. The gurgling seemed to be the only audible sound as Rini pushed her weapon into the man's throat. Like before, she would let the steel edge rip the skin and flesh. Technically rupturing the man's capability to breath, suffocating him with the blood that flowed form the wound. Looking up, Rini caught sight of Kitana facing off against an opponent that was able to fight back. Deciding to not stand still and allow herself to be locked down by her nerves, Rini pushed herself forwards.

Being on the defensive now that the man managed to disarm her, he let out a rather confident snicker as he approached her, with an overhead swing to which she sidestepped and in the same movement slammed her fist into the man's face. It staggered him slightly but not enough as he brought the back of his hand against her own head. He had more power in his strikes than she did, causing her to stumble back. Managing to avoid the the thrust from the sword, she wrapped her right arm around his and brought her leg up connecting with his neather region. His legs buckled and in this instance she brought her leg up, still holdingonto his arm. Placing her foot against his head, she pushed off with her foot, hearing the man's arm get dislocated out of its socket. The man growled in pain as his grip on his sword was gone and she pushed herself away from him.

The sound of the steel weapon falling on the ground would go together with the gasp for air. Rini had moved forward and as Kitana dislocated the man's shoulder, disarming him, the genin would plant her own weapon into the man's side. Spotting that the man wasn't dying or entirely immobile, the genin would yank her blade out and make another attempt. Unable to catch sight of another foe approaching Kitana from the back.

Rini came just after she pushed off the man, witnessing her stab him in the side. It however didn't fully kill him, causing her to have to do another plunge into the man's flesh. Thinking the situation to be over, she let out a sigh of relief as she started moving to go meet back with Etsu, when a blade slashed at her right side. A sharp intake of air went through her nose, as she turned only to get thrown to the ground. Her blood started covering her right side, luckily missing anything fatal. Picking up a rock, she chucked it hitting the man dead in the face. Staggering him slightly she squirmed to her feet, and moved to go get her Tanto.

Looking up Rini's eyes widened. Seeing how Kitana was smacked to the ground, the genin tried to jerk her blade and attempt to aid Kitana. Before Rini was able to give a swing and drive Kitana's attacker aside, a sharp pain moved through her side. A kick hit her in the side and made her lose balance, thus winding up falling. The pain of the fall caused the genin to lose the grip on her katana. Trying to get up, Rini felt another sharp sensation of pain going through her head as a punch landed against her temple. Dazed, the genin would try to raise her hands to defend herself against the next attack.

Seeing Rini started to struggle against the attacker, caused her to forgo her Tanto and rush towards the assailant. As the man was striking Rini in the temple, before he could dish out the next strike he would get tackled to the ground by Kitana. She would get one punch out, before the man stopped her next swing and gave her a headbutt which dazed her. Allowing the man to throw her to her back, where with his full weight on her would wrap his hands around her neck choking the life out of her.

"I need to get out of here."

Rini couldn't shake the thought of her mind as she felt the weird sensation of blood running down her face. Blinking she wasn't sure if it was her own blood or not. But she was convinced that if she didn't make a run for it that she would die. Throwing a look at Kitana, the chuunin was being choked by the attacker. "I need to get away," the genin heard her own voice but still didn't run or face away. Her right hand moved to her kunai pouch as her body moved. Getting up, Rini would let out a cry before running towards the attacker of Kitana. Leaping forwards, she would use the momentum of her attack and her weight to force the man of Kitana. Before he was able to react, the teen already pushed her kunai forward. Pulling it backwards and stabbing in a repeating but quick fashion, Rini ignored the hands of the man that tried to push her away. On top of her foe, the genin kept stabbing as quick as she could and wherever she could. Only to stop as a sharp pain crawled up on her side. An iron taste flowed in her mouth as she halted her stabbing, throwing a quick sideways look to spot a man driving her own katana in her side. Before Rini was able to react, the man started to press more weight on the weapon, trying to pierce deeper and rupture more of the genin's flesh and blood, from side to stomach.

Gasping for air when Rini got the man off her, she crawled for a few seconds coughing as the air was filling her lungs again. She got to her feet to see Rini stabbing a man, but couldn't stop what would happen next, as another drove her katana into her side. A rise of anger hit her as she lunged forward, ramming her shoulder into him he would get sent stumbling away from Rini. Taking her mask off she would bash it over the man's skull a couple times, when he was able to shover her back and with Rini's katana still in hand did a wild swing. Slashing her across the face just above the nose, almost blinding her in the process. She felt her blood flowing down her face, as the man booted her to the ground. He would place one foot on her torso and raise the katana up to finish the job.

Before the man was able to deliver another blow to Kitana, he would collapse. Blood spurted from the gaping wound as the man would fall in an awkward fashion backwards as a flash of blue chakra almost cut the man in half. The black steel katana that was tainted with the blood of both Rini and Kitana fell to the ground, in front of Etu's boots. Blood stains and spots on the jounin's attire made it clear that she had dealt with the opponents that hadn't fallen to the first floor.
A menacing hue of chakra surrounded the woman's knife, still at the ready to make short work of any hostile in the area. With nobody in the ruined construction moving or posing a threat, Etsu quickly made a shadow clone. The shadow clone would quickly check Kitana and support her while Etsu checked on Rini. Seeing how both her students were wounded, Etsu bite her lower lip.

"Don't worry you two, we are going out. You two did great," Etsu mumbled as she carefully picked Rini up, before making her way out of the compound - the same way that they had come from.
[/spoili]
[/fieldbox]

Lesli · Dec 17, 2017

[fieldbox=Dirty Strike - Team 8 - Part 1, violet]
Amegakure, capital of the Rain Province of the Akinian Empire.
Team 8 collab.

Written by Tim, Jason, Zane, Winter and Lesli.

Summary:
As Team 8 had managed to prevent the insurgents from freeing Soru from his prison and Aiko having a meeting with Satia as Tomiko, Team 8 moves out in the morning. Unknown to the team, Aiko had a secret meeting with Zakito through the Dragon Lotus technique. Gaining information as the objective to take out Seiji of the Seika family, Team 8 is on the move again.

[spoili]
The morning would come early for Aiko's group. The jounin would wake up the genin with also the instruction that they had to report at the courtyard of the barracks. As expected, the weather was nothing more than a hard rain pouring down on the city. A blanket of what seemed to be never ending dark grey clouds casted what appeared to be a dark atmosphere on the city. There was no hint of the sun, hidden away by the carpet of dark clouds. No sign of the rain becoming less heavy. Only the continous rhythm of the pour, only interrupted by some faint ambient sounds of the urban setting around the barracks.
Waiting outside on the courtyard, Aiko had outfitted herself with one of the light grey raincoats. The hood pulled up together with the faint lightning of the weather casted a shadow on some of the woman's feature. The pair of green eyes, however, had a stern look as the jounin kept waiting for the genin to assemble outside. While Aiko was certain that this mission wouldn't be too much of a hassle for herself, the time and chances to take risks were gone. Today's mission would, to start with, not be one that normally would be entrusted to genin. Yet there was no other team or operatives that Aiko felt confident to call in for support. This situation was quite like the phrasing went: she had to row with the oars she had been given.

Neji awoke the next morning and quickly got himself prepared for the day. He packed his bag with the necessary items of a shinobi and made sure that he had everything he would need. He got up a little earlier than he needed to, so he had time to get some breakfasting from the cafeteria in the barracks before he had to head out for his mission. Neji ate his breakfast in solitude as he scarfed down the meal that was placed in front of him. Once he was done he went back to his room grabbed his gear and his rain jacket and made his way to the courtyard where the squad was to meet. Neji put up the hood of his jacket as he walked outside, shielding himself from the pouring rain as he waled up to Aiko sensei. " Good morning Aiko sensei." Neji stood attentive waiting for the rest of the squad to show up.

Waking up to Aiko giving them their instructions to meet at the courtyard, didn't really alarm him that much. All he needed was his gear and bow and arrows. Putting on the protective jacket Aiko had given him before their arrival to Amegakure, he would raise the hood up as he walked the halls. He would soon arrive outside, where sensei was awaiting them along with Neji who had been up early he supposed, as the boy wasn't in the room at the time. Not that it really mattered to him what Neji did that early. Atleast he showed up on time, that was a plus. Nearing both of them he gave a raise of his hand before lowering it. "Good morning sensei." Kazumo would say in Chonobi on instinct, which caused him to look at Neji and give a nod of his head. "Morning Neji." Kazumo said to the young boy.

The girl showed up not long after Kazumo, wearing a simple raincoat with the hood up, and her mask. She didn't greet any of them as she moved to stand among the gathered group. She'd not slept quite enough the previous night, having constantly woken in soft tears from her nightmares. Still, she made sure to arrive on time to the meeting zone. Assuming this was everybody arriving, the genin looked towards Aiko as she waited to hear what their next mission would be.

Satia woke the following morning feeling well rested after having slept a night in a warm bed rather than the tents provided during the caravan journey. She'd set upon her morning routine, taking time to work through a regimented decipline to ensure she presented the best outward appearance of herself. Today was the day she'd be officially joining the team under Aiko's command and meeting the others whom she'd be fighting alongside in the forseable future.

Because of this fact it was then neccessary to once again keep in mind a descent first impression. The young Cho reached into her belongings and pulled forth a brush, working it through the length of golden strands that made her hair before eventually pulling her hair back to secure it into her usual chosen style of a long ponytail. Putting the brush away she withdrew a small box from her bag, opening it to reveal a intricately beautiful hairpin with a small saphire blue stone at the heart of a flower.

It'd been a parting gift from her mother, something she said would keep her safe on her new chosen path. However the flower itself had more meaning than just jewlery, for the flower specifically was one said to have been worn by tenacious female warriors long ago. The flower, while beautiful was said to be able to secrete an extremely lethal toxin, making it an interesting symbol and metaphor to the woman who wore it in their hair to battle.

Once dressed and ready she retireved a raincoat of her own before making her way out into the courtyard to meet with the others. Fortunately it'd appear she was the last one to arrive, which made it easier for her to introduce herself rather than doing so individually which would have consumed more time, which appeared to be a rare comoddity these days. "It is my pleasure to meet with you all" she started, performing the same respectful greeting as before with Aiko.

After pressing her fist against her right palm and giving a respectful tip of her head she continued, "My name is Satia Cho, It seems I'm to be your newest team member" she finished with a small genuine smile.

Aiko waited for the genin to arrive. The first was Neji, who didn't seem to be down about how the last assignment had gone. Then again, the genin was performing gradually better. "Morning Neji," Aiko said back in a polite tone. Not much later, Kazumo arrived. The jounin had some slight worries if she wasn't pressuring the older boy a bit too much, compared to the others. But he was showing progress and certainly seemed ready. "Morning Kazumo," Aiko replied back in Chonobi before her attention was caught by a silent figure that joined them. Aiko's gaze rested on Tomiko for a few seconds as her eyes half closed. The Hyuuga was certainly a rising concern but Aiko wouldn't voice her worries, yet.

Still waiting, a few seconds would pass until another person joined the group. Letting Satia introduce herself, Aiko would speak up after the younger Cho had spoken. "Good. Welcome to the team, Satia. This is Neji Uchiha," the jounin would nod to each respective person, "Kazumo Sarutobi and Tomiko Hyuuga. I would normally allow each of you to introduce yourself further and get more known with each other. However," the tone of Aiko became sterner, "We don't have that luxury of time. Today we will do something, different. First, follow me."

North of Amegakure,
Team 8, first rally point.

Guiding the genin through the large and imposing city of Amegakure, Aiko would keep up a hurried pace. Luckily, more people flocked to the street. Either heading in a similar pace towards their work or having some other reason to hurry. This made it less suspicious, though Aiko doubted that anybody would halt them or find the small group interesting enough to follow. Without any hinderance she managed to lead the group to the more northern section of the city, into an alley. The rain seemed to pour less hard than before but the jounin was more concerned if anybody had followed them. As there was nothing to indicate that they had been stalked the jounin would eye the genin in the small alley. The dim light that reached into the alley between the buildings gave the atmosphere something grim and dark. Fitting for what they would attempt today.

"I will be frank. I rather would have done this myself as none of you have any amount of experience that would make me comfort with entrusting you on this assignment. However," Aiko spoke with a harsh tone and yet soft volume to the genin, "I don't see any other way to start accumulating any experience without being tried out. Today, we will move to kill Seiji of the Seika Family." Letting her words echo through some silence, Aiko's eyes narrowed slightly underneath the cover of the shadow that her hood casted over her face. "He is a politican on the rise. Somebody who has a military past and is quite popular among various group of people who greatly distrust and dislike the fact that shinobi operatives aren't confined to a separate space. While this isn't enough for the man to be sentenced to death, as he has citizen's right, there is a link between him and the Fang country." The jounin would once more pause as she figured that the genin had likely no idea what that could entitle. The diplomatic relationship between the Empire and the Fang country. Then again, the Fang was pretty much hostile to every of its neighbour. And it certainly didn't help that the Fang was holding a strong occupation on the Claw country, which further complicated the diplomatic relations with its neighbours.

"There is more but I fear that you won't need to know of it. What is more important is how we will take Seiji's life. His residence is in a villa, a bit to the west of our current location. It is guarded by a retinue of his own but from the intel I received, nothing too heavy. Obviously, this assassination isn't entirely legalized. So if we screw up, we are our on our own. But if you all will do according to my plan, we will move in and be done before you know it." Throwing a look at each of the genin, wanting to be sure that they understood that the time of jokes wasn't going to be today, Aiko continued. "Seji usually hires a few performers, young women who can entertain Seji in his residence. We will intercept the group he has hired and replace it with our own numbers to move in close and take him out. Which brings me to the next."

Aiko's attention moved to Satia. "Satia, you stated to me that you can play the Erhu and dance? We will need you to perform for Seji. Obviously you will not be allowed to use any of your weapons or tools during the infiltration to prevent any suspicioun or fail to move through a checkpoint. Neji," the jounin turned her head slightly to look at the Uchiha, "You will be outside to keep an eye out on our escape route and if needed to distract any guards that do their rounds. Tomiko," the jounin turned her attention to the Hyuuga, "You will help Neji in his task. Your eyes will be able to help better to locate any guards or trouble. Then Kazumo," a second of silence followed after Aiko brought up the Sarutobi's personal name.

"You will deliver the killing blow."

The green eyes of Aiko were locked on Kazumo's eyes. "I will use a clone to bring you to the point from where you will have a shot on the target. With my clone's aid, you got one arrow to make it count. Don't worry about the rain or getting away. I will keep that covered. My role will be quite simple," the woman stated, "I will be hiding myself in Satia's shadow. If anything inside goes wrong then I will be able to do something about it. Our goal is to only kill Seji of the Seika Family. Nobody else needs to die unless we as a team start to screw up. Let us avoid that, okay? Any questions remaining?"
[/spoili]
[/fieldbox]

Aliceee · Dec 17, 2017

[fieldbox=Amegakure Hospital, salmon]

Rini Yoto's after the attack on the Housha Compound.
A familiar face!

A collab between Sketcher and Aliceee.

Summary:
Being brought back to the hospital, Rini is treated at her wounds. The next day she wakes up and is visited by a familiar face. A promise is made and Rini vouches to 'become better'.

[spoili]
It was hard to fall asleep. The previous night Rini had managed to get a few hours of sleep. But every time that she sunk into what seemed to be tranquility would only end in an annoyance. She wasn't having nightmares or more stress from what had occured at the Housha compound. It was simply that she couldn't really lie well on her back, being more used to sleep on her side. The wounds at her left side and stomach, however, made it impossible to lay on her side or stomach. Even while her wounds had been addressed, Rini still could feel the painful throbbing and aching. Then there was the headache but Rini was sure that she hadn't been hit against the head. A nurse had explained that it was due to the stress and rush of adrenaline that had been too much for her to handle together at the climax of the fight.

Slowly the teen opened her eyes as she looked around. Laying on the hospital bed, there wasn't much to stare or look at. The room was simple and while there had been another shinobi - a middle aged man - in the other bed, she was now all alone. Which she kind of prefered as the silence wasn't bothersome. It had even something soothing to it.

The silence endured with the rhythymic accompaniment of the incessant raindrops hitting on the window. A few footsteps could often be heard crossing the corridor outside the room every so often. Every time it would be the same. The quiet but clear footsteps would grow in strength before diminishing in just a few moments. Very rarely, a squeaking sound would come from turning wheels, but like the footsteps, they would diminish before long.

After a few minutes of this calm, another pair of footsteps was heard. The sound climbed slowly and just as it peaked, it stopped. After a moment of breaking the pattern, something hit the door with rapid succession, echoing a hollow but pleasant sound. A familiar voice could be heard, half muffled. "Mind if I come in?"

Rini's eyes were half closed, just trying to put her mind to rest as well distracting herself with anything possible. Slowly growing wary as there seemed to be a change in the faint sounds of footsteps, the teen threw a lazy look towards the door. Expecting that the door would open and a nurse or other medical personel would enter the room, Rini's eyes widened upon hearing the familiar voice. Trying to sit more upright, Rini felt how the aching and painful throbbing would grow. Reminding her that she wasn't in the condition to just move and be about. "Yes?" She replied back, in a questioning fashion. There was a certain tension that it wouldn't be the person she was expecting. That it was just her mind playing her.

The door knob shifted quickly and the door opened up, revealing a tall young man with a box in hand behind it. "Good morning," Itsuo said with a wide warm smile. He took a step to the side to comfortably close the door with his free hand, turning half away. A worried look washed over his face as he took another look at Rini. He picked a chair up, pulling it just above ground level from the empty bed to Rini's. He took his seat and placed the box on the bed. "I heard you were out kicking butt last night," he said with a playful grin. "I just came here to make sure you didn't beat them too bad."

Staring at Itsuo, Rini wasn't able to produce a word. A mixture of emotions started to rush through the teen. She was angry that Itsuo just entered her room, after not seeing the man for a period of time. Sad that he had to see her like this. Then there was shame that she couldn't provide any evidence that she had improved ever since their last mission. But that all was overshadowed by her joy of hearing his playful words and the fact he was here. Not because of some mission but for her. His words even caused a light blush to tint her cheeks light red while her eyes lowered to her hands, who fumbled together a part of her sheet. "You did? Well," Rini said with a soft voice, "I guess I did pretty okay." Staying silent for a second, Rini looked up at Itsuo. He seemed unscathed, which shouldn't be a surprise for her. "How are you doing?"

Itsuo looked at her up and down, lingering on the bandages. He looked directly in the eyes for a few seconds before leaning back. "I've been alright. Different, but alright," he said. "And how about you? Is your new team leader treating you --and your teammates (I suppose)-- right?"

"I am recovering," Rini said, deciding that it was futile to try to lie about it. She would rub her left wrist for a moment but wouldn't cast her eyes down. "I managed to mess up again. But this time I managed to fight, so I am.. improving?" It sounded as if she wasn't entirely certain if it was the case. "My new team leader is okay. She is different from the previous leaders I had but she isn't bad. Just handles things in a different way, you know?" Rini said as she realised she was about to ramble. Unable to contain a smile, Rini rubbed the back of her head. "But my current team is okay. I just need to get used to it, that is all. And get, hopefully, better at fighting."

"You're underestimating yourself," Itsuo said. "You might need to improve, but if you can get past your trepidation, you could lay me out before too long." He paused before continuing. "For now, don't worry about that," he said. "You've done more than your share already." He shot a look back at the door before placing the box on the bedside table. "What do you plan on doing when you get out of here?"

She wanted to argue right away but didn't. Rini wasn't entirely sure why she didn't disagree with that she wasn't underestimating herself. Perhaps because it felt great to be praised? Not wanting to show that she felt great at the fact he held her in higher regards than she had expected, Rini would scoff playfully. "Before too long? Old man, all I need is just to get out of bed and I will make you sweat during any spar." She decided to not say anything about her share. If anything, she still felt that she could have done more. Much more than what she already did as her share. The question that followed made her think. Lightly shrugging Rini shot a look at the door before turning her gaze back to Itsuo. "I don't know. I probably will need to keep up training. Staying ready for missions. I haven't really given much thought about it actually."

Itsuo leaned his elbow on the table and his head on his hand, looking up. "Hm. I see. That sounds boring," he said. His eyes moved down to stare at her, grinning. "Well. I was thinking it might be nice to meet with someone close to me and go to the nomad bazaar and get some hot chocolate at Apt Café. I suppose, if this person absolutely needed to keep up some training, I guess we could put away some time for that. Hm. Who, I wonder, might like hot chocolate from Apt and fresh fruit from the bazaar?" He stared at Rini with a sheepish smile.

Puffing Rini would cross her arms out front of her chest. She was briefly tempted to ask who he was going to ask out. The thought that Itsuo was meeting with somebody else made her wonder what kind of person he would get together with. Until realisation dawned upon Rini. "Oh. Oh! I mean, I would love that but I got to stay a few days here. That is if I don't want to make the stitches go out." Frowning, Rini would briefly throw a look at the door. "Perhaps we can go in a few days? That is if you won't be away on any mission or assignment." She asked, adding the last sentence after remembering that Itsuo wasn't part of the regular corps anymore.

Itsuo let out a small chuckle after seeing Rini crossing her arms. "Yes, I think that'd be best. Once you're in shape to move around, we can go," he said. "Don't worry. I promise I'll be able to go when you're out of here." He got up to his feet and ruffled her hair. "I'll visit again soon," he said. He nudged the box on the table. "Just in case the food at the hospital is as bad as I remember."

There was some faint drive in Rini that made her want to state that he shouldn't make any promises. The painful fact was that she remembered that ANBU could be sent on deadly missions any moment. Which also made her not question or argue as this could be the last moment between them both. As her lips parted, Itsuo ruffled her hair. Causing Rini to briefly narrow her eyes and weakly swats Itsuo's hands away. "You better." She muttered. Throwing a look at the box for a moment, Rini's features shifted. "See you soon then?" Rini asked, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

Itsuo nodded, smiling. "See you soon, Rini," he said, taking a step back. "Focus on getting better, hm?" After flashing a wider smile, he turned and slipped behind the door. After it closed shut, his footsteps grew farther and farther, stopping once before disappearing entirely.

Rini stared at the door, where Itsuo had vanished. Her eyes lowered to her hands as she whispered something softly. "Focus on getting better," the sentence caused the teen to narrow her eyes. Clenching her hands into fists, she would damn well make sure she would get better. Next time, she would be better!

[/spoili]
[/fieldbox]

ChromeHound · Dec 18, 2017

[fieldbox='Shikaroku Nara & Tentou Aburame | Konoha Genin | Team 9, #4B0082']

At the Rally Point...

When they broke camp and moved out again, Shikaroku kept an eye on Hiron, a part of him wishing he could tell what the man was thinking. The fact alone that Hiron was on edge made Shikaroku more uncomfortable than he cared to admit. He had never seen his sensei quite like this. Whatever situation they were getting themselves into, it was not likely to be a walk in the park...

As they neared the rally point and slowed down, Shikaroku glanced over at Tentou, throwing her a questioning look. The girl shrugged and looked back to Hiron. Wondering if they were already arriving at their destination, Shikaroku surveyed the land around them, curious. They crested a small hill that provided a clear view of the surrounding area. Turning to Hiron as the man finally spoke, Shikaroku wondered exactly who they would be meeting out here. Hiron had made it clear at the beginning of their mission that they would be gathering a force to launch an attack against the zealots, however, Shikaroku had never really received a good idea of exactly how many people that would be...

He did not have to wait too long for his answer. After a short time, another shinobi team arrived and approached Hiron. Behind them came three more teams, these ones appearing to not have headbands. The crest of the Uchiha on their uniforms became clear as they closed the distance and Shikaroku's eyes narrowed for a moment, curious.

Tentou watched closely as the teams approached. When they stopped, Hiron held a brief conversation with someone who she assumed to be the leader of the newest group, before heading towards a younger boy. After a short talk, Hiron lead the boy towards her and Shikaroku and introduced him. As the boy looked them over, she could tell from his expression that her appearance had made him slightly wary, if only for a moment. It was something she was all too familiar with. The Aburame clan did not always fit in well with strangers, and it was often difficult to get past the initial prejudice. She did not blame him, however, and would do her best to be as friendly as possible. Perhaps she was wrong and the boy might show an interest in the clan like Shikaroku had.

When Yiko introduced himself and smiled, Tentou returned the smile and offered a slight bow of her own. "It is nice to meet you Yiko. I am Tentou Aburame." After a moment's pause, she continued, "It will be a pleasure to have you with us on this mission."

As the Uchiha approached, Shikaroku observed him silently. He wondered if this boy would be anything like Neji. Nodding politely towards Yiko, Shikaroku did not yet return the smile. There was still a lot on his mind. Noticing that Tentou had already introduced herself, Shikaroku glanced at her for a moment before turning back to Yiko. "Shikaroku." He said finally. "Nice to meet you."

[/fieldbox]

Lesli · Dec 18, 2017

[fieldbox=Won't happen again, chocolate]

Today is the 'anniversary' that my grandfather passed away, several years ago. I reckon that many don't really know that and that is fine. I don't like to share a lot about myself with others or just open up easily. Now before you ask questions: yes, I am fine. Yes, I cried a little when I cycled home. But I am fine. This song just came up on my random playlist and I decide to keep repeating it until I am done with this post.

And it made me relive the memories I had with him. He was a lively man that always seemed to recognise a funny aspect and make even the most dreadful news somewhat more bearable. He was somebody who I constantly relied on for years and was the one who was always ready for me. The reason why I write this down? Because I owe a lot to him and through this post, I hope to honour him. Perhaps it was a nicer idea in my mind but other than lighting a candle every 18th of December, I want to do something extra. He liked 'heroic fantasies' so perhaps he would have liked reading my posts as well - make a joke or two about them and still getting me to laugh after a second or two of glaring at him. In any case, it feels good to just get that off my chest and write this post.

The day went by without Saki noticing it really. Ever since she was back at the camp, she had been silent. Koike and Katsu had brought her to the part of the 13th Brigade. Much of that wasn't memorized by the Yamanaka. She had just been silent until the burning of Hideki. Which meant that he was gone. Hopefully, in peace. Which meant that she would go home alone.

The thought alone made her feel sick. As if her stomach just tried to rebel against the emotions that raged through the young woman's body, twisting and turning to fight against the anger and depression. Only making Saki feel less inclined to exit her tent. Laying on her mattress, Saki wasn't wearing any of her armour or having her weapons nearby. They were just thrown into the 'corner' of the tent, still showing the marks of the turbulent night raid. The specks of mud and blood. A silent testimony that it had all been real and not just a nightmare.

On her side, Saki stared at the thrown down gear. Crying wasn't going to be something she would do or experience. Her eyes were irritated by the number of tears that had rolled over her cheeks.

A sniff broke the silence inside the darkness of the tent.

She was certain that if she had been stronger she could have avoided Hideki's death. Hadn't she promised after learning that Kaname died that she would protect those important to her? How much was that promise worth if she wasn't able to protect those who were within her reach?
The hands of Saki tensed into fists as the corners of her lip moved slightly down. She knew the painful answer but didn't want to say or think it. Closing her eyes she wanted to just be forgotten by everybody and pass on. To just be able to lose herself in that soothing darkness and silence.

"But what about Koike? Katsu? Hayate? Kiyomi? What will Zakito think if he saw you like this?"

Cringing, Saki tried to ignore the soft whispering thought. A shiver passed down her spine as she knew that it was selfish to just ignore the whisper and wish everything to stop for her. Hadn't she fought enough battles? Suffered enough losses?

"Are you going to let them experience what you are experiencing?"

Opening her eyes slightly, she didn't see the dim darkness of her tent. Not the dirty and bloodied gear or weapons. She could remember their faces one by one. The calm and friendly attitude of Zakito Hon. His way of mentoring and teaching her, his wisdom that always amazed her.
Kiyomi, who was always ready to face and fight odds that would make others waver. Her strong will that seemed to affect others around her and had made Saki always desire to see her shine. And when Kiyomi was realising her dream, Saki remembered how she wanted to be at the side of that courageous girl, defending that light.
Then Hayate, who had that stupid and charming smile of his on his lips. Rubbing the back of his head, apologising for something he shouldn't and trying to find something good in everybody. A trait that Saki had been envious of but that envy hadn't ever prevented her to consider the Hyuzu as one of her best friends.
And Katsu. That little rebel. Always ready to follow her or Koike into the most doomed missions or scenarios. Even when wavering still showing that stupendous amount of courage and loyalty.
Koike, who she could relate a lot too. Somebody who still appeared strong despite his experiences and fears. Somebody who was like a brother to her that didn't need to tell her words but just had to throw a glance to let her know how he felt. And the same counted the other way around.

"I can't let them down," Saki thought to herself. Slowly she would get up and throw a look at the gear that was still there, slowly replacing the familiar faces that gave back her fighting spirit.
"No, I won't let them down."

Pushing the canvas aside that led to the world outside of her tent, Saki appeared in most of her gear. Her weapons on her while her helmet was held underneath her left arm. The light of day reflected by the bits of snow together with the bustling camp made Saki just stand and watch.

A few members of the Guardians stood guard. To watch at her tent, ensuring that the Yamanaka wouldn't just grab her weapons and vanish towards the enemy camp. Saki was well aware that Hayate and Koike were wary about her motivations. Wanting to likely seek vengeance for her loss. And while they weren't wrong, Saki knew something better than to lose herself in vengeance.

She would show them and the world that Saki Yamanaka wouldn't just back that easily down from her duties.
Turning on her heels, the Yamanaka started to head towards the commander's tent in the centre of the camp.
[/fieldbox]

Gerontis · Dec 19, 2017

[fieldbox=A man with a plan?, maroon]
Hiron Hon
Jounin of Team 9 | Major General of the Third Division | Empire of Akino, countryside- Border between the Fire and Grass Province, Uchiha-Hanta clan-lands.

Seeing that his students interacted with the Uchiha genin. Hiron didn't pay much attention to it. From what little he had overheard was that the three younger people were talking in a polite fashion. A good start in his opinion. Knowing from the past, it could have been way worse. Putting that aside, Hiron noticed that the leader of the Crimson Blade operatives was speaking in a hushed manner with some of his people. Hiron wasn't entirely certain if it was due to his own origin that he didn't entirely trust those Uchiha operatives or because the Crimson Blades worked in a somewhat slightly different fashion.

Leaving the genin and chuunin to further exchange words, Hiron would walk towards the regular jounin, Izo Naiko, who seemed to also watch if the others were ready. It didn't take long before Hiron and Izo were joined by the Crimson leader. Intelligence was shared as the Uchiha leader gave away that the objective zone was guarded but not that well. Various openings in the defence had already been spotted without the enemy being the wiser.

Izo had various questions on how many hostiles were present and how well armed they were. Hiron listened to the answers and apparently, there were quite a few enemies present in the objective zone, taking refuge in an underground fortified bunker. What was so important about the zone that, at least, twenty Zealots were heaped together? He had his own theories but kept them for himself. What mattered was that the enemy would be taken out in a quick and efficient manner - without preferable minimal or no losses to their own ranks.

Once the information was given and questions answered, Hiron gave his instructions as the chief command on the operation. The Crimson Blades would move from the north, taking the long route. Once in position, they would start to move slow and steady towards the bunkered down position, waiting for the signal. The team of Izo would move from the south-east to deploy the small chakra mast that they would construct before approach. This chakra mast would disrupt any chakra moulding and thus make chakra based communications impossible. Both for their enemies as for the used ear-communicators. Izo's team's next objective would then become guarding the chakra mast.

Team 9 would move under Hiron's leadership from the south-west. Using one of the openings in the defence, they will open one of the doors from the inside, to then give a flare signal for the Crimson Blades to enter the bunker. Once inside, it would just be a search and destroy mission until all hostile contacts were subdued or killed.

A plan that Izo seemed to agree upon. The leader of the Crimson Blades wavered but he soon agreed upon it. With that done, Hiron would nod and wish them luck. The polite gesture was returned by both Izo and the leader of the Crimson blades.

"Okay, round up," Hiron said as he approached Team 9 and its newest aid, in the form of Yiko Uchiha. "Going to face a rough operation. Going to need to take out a fortified position with, at least, twenty hostiles. The first mission will be infiltrating the enemy position. Once we are inside, we ought to open a path for the Crimson Blades to get in. From there? Search and destroy. Every enemy needs to be killed or subdued. Any questions?" Hiron asked, his right eyebrow slightly perking up as he already imagined that none of the genin were really thrilled with such a mission. Knowing that Shikaroku had killed once, Hiron doubted that the Nara was eager to face lethal combat. And if Yiko was green behind the ears, Hiron hoped that the Uchiha genin wouldn't risk too much on this mission.
[/fieldbox]

~\The Talentless/~ · Dec 21, 2017

[fieldbox="Fresh meat, turquoise, solid"]

When Tentou introduced herself, Yiko felt almost instantly welcomed. Her persona was so much more different than he had expected, which was fine with him, it's always nice to have people who cooperate properly in a team. Shikaroku on the other hand, well he almost seemed like he either didn't care or was too distracted by something else.

Hiron got the team together, it felt weird being part of a ninja team under a Jounin he had never really worked with before, no real team experience. He was fresh meat, he just had to worry about getting this mission over and done with, and then he can relax, maybe enjoy a little food too. The thought of that really was what would get Yiko through the day. His mom used to make him seasoned teriyaki with fried rice and egg. It was almost therapeutic to have right after a long and hard day of training, the little things. He can almost vividly remember the aroma of beef teriyaki hanging around the rooms of his house whenever he came home, I miss that.

Suddenly Yiko found himself daydreaming about his mothers cooking, and suddenly he found himself coming back to reality half way through the debrief. That's when he heard it, he had to potentially kill someone. K-kill? The thought of that made Yiko's eyes widened. He had never really thought about taking someone else's life, which is stupid because he knew that it would happen, but he never really paid any mind to it till now. Was he actually ready to commit such an act? Well is anyone really? To Yiko, Hiron looked like he has killed a few in his day, and he probably knew how it feels to take another individuals life. This thought lingered in Yiko's head for a bit before he responded.

"Is it better to subdue than kill? For information wise I mean. Like say we might need them to give us information about the group we're up against right?" He said trying to obviously avoid asking the obvious question, do we really need to kill? He didn't want to seem afraid of doing what he was asked to, especially since it was Hiron we were talking about. Last thing he wanted was him to know he wasn't sure if the freshly could properly go through with the mission. "Other than that I have no questions." He finished firmly. Hopefully giving the illusion that he was fine, when really he wasn't.

[/fieldbox]

Jessie Targaryen · Dec 22, 2017

[fieldbox=Aftermath, blue]

[ Amegakure Hospital ]

{ A collab between Fieryfly and Jason. }

Summary:
In the aftermath of the battle at the Housha Compound, Ryu awakens from her injuries, and immediately breaks out to go find Eiji. Following this, the two have a brief conversation about her presence, and the events at the compound...

[spoili]

Her head hurt. Throbbing pain echoing as if somebody were routinely hitting the back of her skull with a hammer. Forcing her eye open, Ryu looked around the small hospital room she lay in, wondering how she had gotten here. Turning to the side, she put her cold feet to the floor and looked at the other sleeping patients. It seemed she wasn't in a ward for those in critical condition. That much was good. Looking back and forth, she spotted a nurse going around and checking on each of the others. Some of the others in the ward sat and conversed peacefully, while others tried to chat up the nurse. Then it all hit her like a train, the memories rushing in as she recalled the battle at the Housha compound. Then... Eiji! The girl recalled the horrific images of his arm sailing through the air, the injury.

Ignoring everything else, she focused on that single memory and shot to her feet. Running barefoot down the halls, as she hadn't bothered stopping to get any shoes, she frantically searched for Eiji's room. She heard the sounds of footsteps in the hall, not even seconds after she began to run, and shot a look over her shoulder. She saw one of the male nurses, a kind man she'd worked with a few times while Dr. Tsubaki was having her shadow a nurse to watch their duties. "Ryu! Stop, you haven't been released yet!" He called, to which Ryu ignored his call and continued her sprint. Stopping to look in each of the rooms even as her follower started to catch up to her. However, she spotted the room her sensei was in and forced her way into the room. He was resting, peaceful, and Ryu immediately sprinted to his side. Looking at his bandaged arm, a frown grew on her features as a single tear fell from her eye. "I'm sorry sensei." She said softly, debating if she could heal his arm, but unsure if she could. Deciding against it, she decided to help in any way she could. Spotting the minor wounds that had simply been bandaged, for now, she would form a small ball of healing chakra in her palm and moved it slowly to the first of the small wounds. Which had stopped bleeding, but she wanted to heal them quicker.

Moments later the nurse would open the door, attempting to tell the girl to stop, who turned and glared towards the man. He raised both his hands in surrender, seeing the girl being upset and turned away. Instead deciding to go and let the doctor know that Ryu had woken up, and that the Amekage Assistant seemed to be stable still.

Eiji didn't fully remember how he got to the hospital. He knew there had been some hastily patch work on the battlefield himself to stop the immediate bleeding, but the actual road back was vague. And then he had been in a hospital. People were fussing about him and he honestly just wanted to sleep. Maybe that were the painkillers talking though. He did manage to convey that someone needed to make sure Sachi was okay. After he had been reassured for that for a fifth time, Eiji found himself drifting away, trying to not think about his injury but rather about the victory he had achieved.

The painkillers kept him effectively numb and in a dreamless sleep until he was woken by someone appearing at his side. As he opened his eyes, he gritted his teeth at the sudden pain that flared through him and he had to clamp his mouth shut to not let out a stream of curses. Ever so slowly he turned his head to the left and looked down at his... deformed arm. His nostrils flared as he tried to keep his breath steady. He could handle this, he could. It was fine. Swallowing some rising bile, he turned back to the figure sitting next to him. Ryu. Of course it was Ryu. Ryu who looked like she shouldn't be up either, but knowing the girl she had been stubborn enough to force herself up and about.

"You should be in bed," he said nevertheless. "There are other doctors around to... help me, I'm sure. You got a nasty blow on the head so you should by lying down." His words were spoken slowly and with some effort, but despite that he shot her a reassuring look.

"With all due respect, sensei," She said, shifting her technique to another of the wounds on his body. She wanted to do somebody about his arm, but judging by it being bandaged she assumed the doctors had already done such. "No." She finished her previous statement and continued her work. Trying to look as if she weren't crying a little bit, despite the tears running at a slow yet steady pace down her face. "Does it hurt? I can try to get a doctor to come in if it does. Also... I'm sorry for losing my composure out there. I'm sorry you got hurt as well, I should've done more." She said, still focusing on the task at hand.

"Hey, hey." Eiji tried to raise himself a bit. It didn't work as he automatically tried to push off with his left arm. However there was nothing there. A hiss escaped his lips, but he recovered quickly. His right hand placed itself over the hand Ryu was using to heal him. "This is not your fault, okay? Look at me. Nothing about this is your fault. It was a fight and in fights people get hurt. And I got hurt. It isn't nice and I am not going to tell you that it doesn't hurt, but I am alive, alright?" It was more than he could say from the people that had fallen during that fight. Absentmindedly he wondered when the casualty rapport would come in. How many messages would he have to send out this time?

"Don't try to sit up sensei. Remember when I lost my eye, you made me rest for a while. You need to do the same now." The girl responded in a firm tone to Eiji trying to sit up. The girl did not look at Eiji when he told her to, focusing more on the task at hand. "It is my fault. I should've been faster, stronger, something to stop him. Maybe if I had kept myself in control you wouldn't have gotten hurt. It's my fault." She protested, continuing her work as she spoke, still not looking towards Eiji.

"So that means that the death of the shinobi on your left during the first breach was also your fault. And that of all the other people who died today. All your fault. That is a pointless thought Ryu and not one that I would recommend keeping for very long. If we were all faster and stronger no one would ever die. If we had just been there a second sooner. But I knew what I signed up for when I joined the shinobi corps. In every mission, there was a possibility of getting hurt. Those are facts you have to accept. This is not a safe job." Eiji leaned back against the pillows that were fluffed up so his position was more comfortable. "If you are going to blame yourself for not being faster or stronger then I will blame myself for not training you to be faster and stronger. Do you want me to blame myself for this?"

"You're not allowed to blame yourself for this. I was standing right next to you sensei. I have the special eyes that should give me the edge, I should have noticed. But fine, there is a risk. I won't blame myself too much. At least we stopped the guy who did it, and all his buddies, right? Now they won't attack us anymore." She said, hopeful in her tone that it was all over. That they wouldn't be attacked by enemies any longer since they had beaten back the enemy. Moving on to another wound, she gave the man a quick smile to try to improve his mood.

Special eyes. Eiji frowned as he recalled the memory of Ryu looking at him on the battlefield. "I..." he started wanting to state that they won when he suddenly realized that he had no idea exactly how the fight had ended and what had happened. Where were the rapports on that? Hopefully, Mitsunari was taking care of most of them, but he should have some as well. He couldn't let the man deal with it all by himself. "I wanted to talk about those special eyes," he corrected his sentence. "Your eye during the fight, what happened to it? Normally it is red with three dots."

"What happened?" Ryu said, pausing her healing of Eiji's wounds as she frowned in confusion. "Its always like that. Since I've finally got all three Tomoe. Just red with the dots. Why?" She asked, curiosity in her tone. Moments later she realized she'd stopped trying to heal Eiji and blushed in embarrassment. Uttering a quick sorry and going back to work.

"It didn't look like that," Eiji said slowly. "Also stop," he pushed Ryu's hand away. "Doctors have been taking care of me plenty. No need to use your chakra for this." He shifted slightly before getting back to the topic of Ryu's eyes. "During the fight, what happened? Something changed. I have heard tales of the red Uchiha eyes changing form or something, but nothing substantial. What did you do?"

Ryu looked down at her hands, with a slight frown as she thought she was being helpful. "I don't know what you mean. My Sharingan should just be three tomoe, I didn't do anything. I just fought and then focused only on killing the guy who did that to you." She said in a sad tone as she nodded towards his arm. "What did it look like? Is there something wrong with me!?" Ryu quickly asked, worried that she might have caught some disease or was going to go blind. She'd heard that sometimes Uchiha did go blind, and the thought scared her immensely. However, at that moment she heard a tired sigh from the doorway. "Ryu, I know you're stubborn but you're not ready to be up and about. You took a pretty nasty blow to the head. Why don't we get you back to rest, and I can go back to not worrying whether you're running around distracting my sta-" The doctor said before being interrupted by Ryu. "I'm fine! Eiji-sensei is not. I don't want to rest when I am fine and I can help somebody who needs it more. I ca-"

"Ryu," Eiji interrupted. "Listen to your doctor. Go to bed. I'll be here when you wake up again. Probably won't go anywhere anytime soon so go. We can discuss all that happened later when we are both more awake and capable of actual rational thought."

"I'm fine! I should be here helping you, not laying around like I'm useless again!" She argued, making no inclination that she was intending to move from her spot. The doctor let out a long sigh, looking at the girl. "Ryu. Listen to him. I know you'd gladly work yourself to exhaustion to help somebody else, but you need to look after yourself as well or you can't help anybody." He tried to explain, and for a moment Ryu wavered. "I don't wanna leave though, I want to make sure sensei is alright." She still protested. The doctor looked at Eiji for a moment before speaking again. "In the interest of being able to go back to work without having to worry about you, and should the Amekage Assistant agree, I can make arrangements for you two to be moved to the same recovery room. I have some which aren't being used and are meant for only about four patients. But only if the Amekage Assistant agrees." He said, not having enough time to deal with this at the moment.

"He doesn't agree," Eiji said, his tone even where it before had been at least somewhat energetic. "And Ryu, this is not up for debate. You will return to your room and rest, I will stay here and rest. I am not having anyone waste time on you and me while they could invest it in people who are in far more need than we are. I'm sorry, Mister Tsubaki, for taking up so much of your precious time." Eiji let his head fall back in the cushions, somehow exhausted from the whole ordeal. "That is an order, Ryu," He said then giving the girl a stern look.

"Apologies are on my side, I should have taken more care. Though, judging from the fact she is up and about now, I am fairly certain Ryu doesn't have a concussion. We will run tests to make sure. Ryu, the nurse in the hall will escort you back." The man said, before approaching Eiji. "I know you're probably tired at the moment, but I just need to make sure everything is holding together. Does it particularly hurt anywhere?" The man said as Ryu trudged out of the room to the nurse in the hall. Heading back to her own recovery ward as the doctor checked up on Eiji.[/spoili][/fieldbox]

RoranHawkins · Dec 23, 2017

[fieldbox="A taste of your mettle - Part One - Team 7, green"]

Empire of Akino.

Hanaguro - River Province's capital.

A collab between Nim, Glitchybugger, Roran Hawkins and Gerontis.

Team 7 guards Haruka until their protégé learns of a situation between two of her clans and prepares to move.

After the discussion over what should be prioritised and the current plan for how their guard duties would operate, Kyoi and Karma left the room the team had been assigned by the Taimyo family and made their way to Haruka's room.

The short walk there was quiet. Kyoi would've liked to indulge in some conversation but as far as she could tell from previous interactions, Karma wasn't willing to talk to her in a friendly manner, so she let silence linger as they walked. Outside the door where the Taimyo's guards stood Kyoi would stop and gesture for Karma to go ahead. "I will be outside keeping watch, as per our duties, take care with the young Lady Taimyo." It didn't need to be said, but it felt about right to at least convey some form of pleasantry to the girl.

Once Karma was in the room, Kyoi would flash a soft smile to the samurai guards already present outside and quietly stand by the room from there on out.

Giving Kyoi a brief nod, Karma approached the door. The guards right beside it gave her a long look as she knocked on it twice before opening it. Entering the room, she would quickly feel the door get shut behind her, most likely by one of the guards "Hello Miss Tamiyo. Me and my teammate have been instructed to protect you, with her staying in plain sight while I am hidden. I apologize in advance if this feels inconvenient." She said with a bow towards Haruka.

Sitting in a chair, the young lady was reading the content of a small book. Briefly the attention of Haruka would shift to who entered her room but after a nod she would just continue to read her book. "I understand," she just answered and clearly not minding the presence of Karma in the spacious chamber. Instead she would continue to read her book.

Rising from the bow, Karma begun to focus on suppressing her chakra as she briefly moved near the walls before stopping at a spot which allowed a good view of the chamber and Haruka.

As the young lady continued to read her small book, the genin's eyes moved towards the still badly hidden canvas. Seeing how there was no one around to comment on what she says, Karma figured there couldn't be much harm in attempting to have small talk with Haruka "Lady Taimyo, would you mind if I ask you a question?" She spoke up, trying to be careful in how she approached as there still wasn't much indication for here on where the line stands.

The young woman would twist her head in order to throw a glance at Karma. A second of silence echoed after Karma's question before Haruka would answer. "Depends on the question," was the polite sounding answer as Haruka would wait to see what Karma wanted to ask, before indulging further into her book.

"When we first came face to face, I noticed the canvas that has been tucked away in the side. Would you mind if I took a look at it?" Karma asked in a polite tone, fully knowing that if it was a private painting or still a work in progress then Haruka could very well just shut down the request and not answer any further questions.

"I rather not," Haruka answered, the answer given in a polite fashion. She would turn her gaze back to her book as adding another comment to her answer. "I thought you were here to be guarding."

And the request was shut down, with the added comment making it sound as though she had passed a line "I am here as a hidden guard, yes. Apologies if I passed a line." She replied before going back to moving her gaze around the room and listening in silence.

"A 'hidden' guard that talks? That is a new one," Haruka gave as only reply. Once more the lady's voice was polite but this time there was a clear sliver of disapproval of the small talk. Indulging further into the small book, Haruka would continue to enjoy the peace as tranquility returning to the room. Only for a knock on the door resonating, piercing the silence. Slowly the door would be opened as a servant made a deep bow, announcing that a request was made for her presence. The facial expression of Haruka represented her curiosity as confusion. Closing her book, she would rise up from her seat and place the small book on the table. Nodding to the servant, Haruka would walk outside of the room without paying heed if Karma was or wasn't following in suit. Once the lady exited her room, the guards would greet in a traditional manner and shortly follow with forming a protective but wide formation around their protegé.

Outside the room very little had happened in the short time Kyoi had spent on guard, for the time being she decided against activating her Byakugan if only to put some trust in Karma being able to fulfill her role as the interior guard to the room. However as the servant approached to knock she would make use of them so she had both an eye on the entire situation around the room and the hallway, as well as a sight on the servant's likely normal chakra network.

With her sight active she'd wait for Haruka to exit the room and for her main guards to take the lead in protecting the young lady, as the family's personal guards should. Once their formation was in place she would openly move to follow them as the servant lead the way to whomever wanted to see Haruka and remain quietly at the back of the formation, keeping her eyes active the entire time for the sake of maintaining security despite what strain she may end up putting on them.

While the silver of disapproval in her tone was there, Karma had little time to even think about it as very quickly a servant came, and then both the servant as Haruka left the chamber. Quietly following suit, she would leave the chamber and walk slightly behind Kyoi, who was apparently keeping a lookout using her Byakugan.

The formation of guards and Haruka, followed by Kyoi and Karma , would walk through the halls in a relative calm pace. Yet there was an unexplained tensity in the air, as if there was something dreadful going to happen. The silence of a storm atmosphere, which was visible as the present and bypassing guards were holding their weapons at the ready and servants walking with a faster pace through the halls.

The group would eventually reach towards the spacious throne room, where a large number of servants, guards and courtiers were already present. A loud and deep masculine voice was speaking while the former feudal lord, and now present governor, of the River province resided in his ancestor's throne.

"It is only fair that my family will be given the command to go and see to it that the trade will be done, Lord Tamiyo," a man of average height with short brown hair spoke. The grey lines in the man's hair as the wrinkles betrayed that the man was advancing in age but he still had a strong posture together with a voice that gave him a confident composure. "It is already absurd that my family wasn't given the honour to organise the coming festival. We of the Okakzaki family have fought, bled and died in the name of your dynasty and this land! I thus implore you to pay heed to my advise and request."

As the man finished, there were faintly audible whispers among the gathered crowd who followed the exchange between the man who stood in front of the Tamiyo leader and governor. Takeo Tamiyo, however, seemed to be anything but impressed. As the governor spoke back, declaring that his decision was final, the other man would make a deep bow. But as he would rise up, the flaring red cheeks betrayed the anger of the speaker. "As you command, I will then demand that I will be paid reparations for the damage done by the Nagata family. My youngest daughter's honour still hasn't been repaired, my lord."

More disturbance occurred from hushed talk and whispers from the crowd as a frown appeared on Takeo Tamiyo's face. The plump governor would raise his right hand to command everybody to be silenced. While he answered the speaker of the Okakzaki family, that he would see to it that things would be set right, Haruka would advance around the crowd of courtiers passed with her guards - including Karma and Kyoi to take a place in the back of the room, observing the ongoing exchanges. Eventually, Takeo would send everybody away with a weary voice.

The dismissal of the courtiers would be followed with Takeo and his wife also departing. Haruka remained where she was, eyeing the people until her gaze caught sight of a familiar face. "Captain Aratoshi," the young lady said, flashing a faint smile as the captain approached the group of Haruka. The captain bowed in a short and curt manner, flashing a look at Kyoi and Karma before speaking up.

"I am glad you here, my lady. Things have settled a bit but it is clear that things have been a bit worse than you had anticipated. Already a few of my boys have caught wind of some weird movement in the Uchino district. A few men with the crest of the Okakzaki following a few of the Nagata family."

The hushed report made Haruka narrow her eyes. She remained silent for a moment before speaking up again in a hushed fashion. "Prepare your men to apprehend the Okakzaki that are trailing the Nagata. I will be there as soon as I can."

The answer made captain Aratoshi salute as he stated that they should meet at the Rakuto fountain before taking his leave.

Listening carefully throughout the governor's meeting with the member of the Okakzaki and afterwards to what was quietly spoken between the captain and Haruka, it became evident to Karma that not only were the Okakzaki not held in high regards, but were suspected by Haruka. She has mentioned investigating before, but never to what extent. But Karma decided it would be best to merely observe and guard Haruka quietly for the time being and only interfere if any actual threats should appear, which had a higher probability outside than in here.

Like Karma and Haruka, Kyoi was a silent observer in the goings on of the Taimyo court and the Okakzaki speaker whom was clearly having some trouble with getting anything out of the governor. It was only after captain Aratoshi and Haruka began to speak that Kyoi's warm, passive smile curled a bit, entertained by hearing that the Okakzaki were attempting something underhanded. She had at least been right to be wary of them, even if they weren't in league with the Zealots they were still a factor to be concerned about, moreso if they were to be further disgraced like this.

Quietly she looked to Haruka, deactivating her Byakugan at the same time as she spoke up. "Should one of us," She gestured between herself and Karma, "go on ahead to help apprehend the Okakzaki, Lady Haruka?"

The attention of Haruka shifted towards Kyoi, as the latter asked her question. Considering her options briefly, Haruka would give an answer back to the Hyuuga. "I plan to move out. Perhaps it would be best if one of you gather master Nimatsu and get ready. I don't expect a scuffle but better be prepared," was her answer as Haruka visibly pondered on something else. "I will also need to get something. I suggest that the team will meet me in the courtyard within thirty minutes."

Listening to Kyoi's suggestion, Karma briefly wondered if Kyoi forgot that their mission was to protect Haruka, not serve as additional help unless they received a change in their orders. She turned to look at her teammate after hearing Lady Taimyo's response "Kyoi, you go find Kensuke. I'll continue escorting Haruka as we still have the instructions of keeping Lady Taimyo safe." She said, wondering if her teammate will try to argue back or such.

"Understood, I'll be as quick as I can." Kyoi plainly said, briefly nodding in response to both Haruka and Karma's word. And without another word she hurried off to the room that they had been assigned to fetch Kensuke.

"Yeah, no thanks," Haruka replied as she frowned slightly towards Karma. "I will meet you two with your leader at the courtyard. Captain Aratoshi's men will suffice for the few precious minutes without your aid," Haruka said on a clear tone that she didn't wish for a discussion. "Now hurry before you will lose your team member as I will need to do something on my own." The young woman would say before taking her own leave.

For a brief moment it appeared as if there wouldn't be any trouble, but then Karma heard the disagreement of Haruka, not waiting to hear any more words as the young lady and her guards would leave the room. She appeared very keen on doing whatever this was on her own, and while Karma knew she could follow Haruka without her approval, she figured that could only cause for a lack of trust, so instead she began heading towards the courtyard. There was no need to have 2 people go find their team leader, and she decided to go and ensure the courtyard was secure prior to both her team and Lady Taimyo's arrival.

He'd had breakfast and had paced around the entirety of the citadel with a notebook in hand, only accompanied by the mist that hung over the valley. It seemed that the river made the morning mist as much of a persistent companion to the town's inhabitants as Amegakure's rains. He'd drawn notes, not on the defences, but on all ways in, over, through, under and past the walls that surrounded their protégé. He mapped the place in his head, finding vantage points in case of attack as well as escape routes to evacuate from any place inside the palace. He pretended to be an intruder and scanned weak spots, trying to come up with several plans of his own through which he could abduct or take Lady Haruka Tamiyo with the resources they knew the zealots to possess by now. He was concluding these findings in a more accessible set of notes for the other members to study and read when he heard a knock at the door. It took a few moments for him to arrive at the door, dressed and armed as if going to war.

"Kyoi? What's going on?" He asked with a glance in the hallway. The real Kensuke carefully listened, lying down on the ceiling.

Kyoi was relatively quick to reach the assigned quarters, none the wiser of whatever situation was going on between Haruka and Karma due to the pace she set herself. Upon arrival she had knocked and soon Kensuke was stood at the doorway dressed for battle. "Haruka wanted the whole team to gather at the courtyard, we're moving to intercept some Okakzaki clansmen before they assault members of the Nagata clan. There's bad blood between them due to some kind of affair, so I came to fetch you whilst Karma stayed with Haruka, as far as I know."

Regaling Kensuke with the full details on the grudge between the Okakzaki and the Nagata could wait until later on, so she gestured for him to follow. "Are you ready to go, Kensuke?"

Kensuke dropped from the ceiling into the clone he'd fabricated, replacing the immaterial illusion with himself. He offered Kyoi an apologetic shrug as he fastened his replacement katana in the saya. "Let's go."

The appearance of the real Kensuke from the rafters brought a small chuckle from Kyoi before she took off.

And soon enough the pair arrived at the Courtyard, no doubt finding at least Karma already present, if not Haruka and the retinue of guards that belonged to captain Aratoshi.

[/fieldbox]

Lesli · Dec 24, 2017

[fieldbox=Dirty Strike - Team 8 - Part 2, violet]
Amegakure, capital of the Rain Province of the Akinian Empire.
Team 8 collab.

Written by Tim, Jason, Zane, Winter and Lesli.

Summary:
As Team 8 had managed to prevent the insurgents from freeing Soru from his prison and Aiko having a meeting with Satia as Tomiko, Team 8 moves out in the morning. Unknown to the team, Aiko had a secret meeting with Zakito through the Dragon Lotus technique. Gaining information as the objective to take out Seiji of the Seika family, Team 8 is on the move again.

[spoili]
She watched the crowds as they walked through the city, wondering which of these people might be one of the enemy. If any of these people were with those responsible for ripping away her big brother. Shaking her head, Tomiko tried to force any memories of what happened away for now. She needed to focus, and forced the thoughts away best she could. Still, the Hyuuga's mood sank everytime she looked up, at times swearing she could see Hiraku in the crowd. Alas, it never proved to be true no matter how hard she hoped. "He's gone, get a grip of yourself." She muttered in a soft, yet annoyed, tone towards herself. Soon enough they would arrive in some alley, a dark place that sent a slight feeling of unease through her body. Though not long after, they would find out what the mission would be today, and she hoped it meant revenge on those bastards.

They were going to assassinate somebody for a link with some... other country? Tomiko frowned slightly under her mask as she wondered what this had to do with their enemy. They needed to die. Looking towards Aiko without speaking, she simply nodded and looked towards Neji. Looking towards the boy for a few moments, the genin decided not to speak at the moment before speaking. "No questions, ma'am." Before falling silent once more, and instead turning her attention towards the new girl. Tomiko wasn't sure what to make of her, but she decided it wasn't important. She then moved to stand near Neji, waiting for the order to move out from there.

A new squad member? And she was a Cho just like sesnei. Neji smiled and nodded his head at the new girl Satia who would be joing their squad he would have to propery introduce himself later as sensei already had the squad on the move. They walked through the crowded streets of Amekagure. Neji stayed ever vigilant, in a big city like this you never knew who would be hiding in the shawdows waiting for their moment to strike. Neji didn't notice anything out of the oridnary though and soon enough they were in an alley when Aiko sensei stopped. Neji intently listened to their sensei. Today's mission was different, though they had been fighting against the zealots, today they would not. Today their mission was to assaisnate someone who was gaining too much power in the city. Someone who had some ties to a foreign country that the empire wasn't exactly on friendly terms with. Neji's job was to make sure that their exit route was clear, and if they had any guards come by to distract them, Neji nodded his ehad at Aiko sensei to let her know that he understood. Neji was excited? Was that the right word for this? Neji wasn't sure but he was feeling somethinf different about this mission than the other missions so far. Neji had been thinking recently whether he would want to be apart of the regular army corps, or try and become an anbu assaisn like his older brother. Today's mission would help see if he had the stomach for this line of work.

After he had shown up a rather gloomy and depressed Tomiko would arrive not that long afterwards, opting to stay silent this morning than speak to anyone didn't bother him none. What was curious was the new woman coming towards them and stopping to greet them. Raising an eyebrow out of curiosity, any questions were instantly answered when she introduced herself as Satia Cho, the newest team member. Well its a good as time as any to jump on a team he supposed, might be a bit dangerous but the way she carried herself made him feel she knew how to handle herself. However no room for talk before they were off towards their destination. Weaving through the busy streets granted them no suspicion for their hurry as most people were currently in a hurry. They would eventually come to a stop in this dimly lit and rather grim looking alley, almost felt like that one alley where he and Koike found that dead body of the homeless man. Their was no dead people in this alley obviously, yet the atmosphere didn't change at all.

The mission today was to claim the life of a politician who is quite popular among several groups, of which dislike the idea of shinobi's not being confined to their own space. That wasn't so rare though to find people that disliked shinobi and what they could do, so he can't be arrested or sentenced to death for speaking his mind. It is afterall what politicians did, and if they could get several groups on their side in the process then that was a good day for them. It was a world he was going to have to get used to soon, although it made him wonder if his popularity started to rise would others attempt to assassinate him? It didnt help Seiji that he seemingly had a link with this Fang Country it seemed, yet they werent here to ask questions it was to claim the man's life.

Thats when she gave out the roles for each of them to perform, Satia since this man liked young women performing for him would be the distractor. Neji and Tomiko were on lookout and guard distraction duty. Which left him being the one to take the shot to end the man's life. Something which he could do, could have done without the pressure of one arrow only. Yet she would take care of getting him there and apprently getting him out as well. No pressure at all, yet he simply shook his head to show he had no questions

The new team member regarded each of the new faces with a polite and respectful nod as Aiko introduced them, making a mental note on names as she would need to learn them now that she'd be working with them in the field. After the introductions were done Satia remained silent, merely listening as Aiko gave her misison brief with a few instructions for how they would execute her plan, figeratively and litterally. When asked Satia gave a nod and a smile, "Understood ma'am" she replied.

When it looked like they were ready to move and begin their first step towards the start of their mission, Aiko mentioned if any of them had and questions. The young Cho would look around, waiting to see if one of the more experienced had a voice of concern before she'd speak up, giving a small polite cough into her hand to gain the attention of the Jounin. "You mentioned intercepting the performers due to entertain at our targets home, how do we intend to remove the performers, should I assume non-lethal methods?" she asked.

It was a fair question, the performers could be removed passively without having to kill them, however that meant that they could potentially make for a loose end if someone where to investigate the death of their mark. Satia would always prefer a non lethal method if it could be helped, she had no lust to kill after all. But, she couldn't help but feel leaving them alive could pose a genuine risk, unless of course Aiko had already considered it, which was entierly likely and probable.

None of them had questions, which Aiko found slightly worriesome. This was their first assassination and they weren't even briefed on who gave the mission. Or other important details. Not that it was the task of an assassin to question his or her higher ups but some capability to think for oneself wouldn't hurt. Just when Aiko was about to split the group up, Satia spoke up. Turning her attention to the younger Cho, Aiko wouldn't give an answer right away. For a second, silence echoed after Satia's question before Aiko's answer followed. "We will do so non-lethal. I want to simply knock one out and let you replace her. I got a few possible options on how I can take the first target without leaving any kind of trace behind. Or," the jounin considered something quickly. "If you feel up for it, I will allow you to try to take care of it. You stated that you know toxics, so perhaps something to sedate a person enough that they will be knocked out?"

Satia was serious about her question and believed in it so whole heartedly that she didn't shy away when silence leaked into the atmosphere between them. The younger Cho awaited the reply of her now teacher and when she replied Satia gave a nod to both confirm and acknowledge Aiko's proposal to her question. "I believe I have a thing or two that'd give us that result, I will get it done" she replied confidently.

The Genin gave pause to consider carefully for a moment any other questions she might have about their mission. Admittedly she didn't think to ask more about who gave them the order and why, but that'd likely be chalked up to the fact Satia was the least experienced here in terms of actual field work. Never the less, Satia wasn't finished just yet, "In the event that everything doesn't go to plan, do we have a secondary contingency?".

"Good. I will allow you to handle the situation of swapping with one of the performers," Aiko would reply back with a curt nod. She was curious on how well the genin would do and if this was either due to Satia's confidence. Or because she felt that needed to prove herself? The gods only knew how many genin had the idea that they would need to provide proof that they were competent in various fields. "In case that everything doesn't go as planned, I can get you and Kazumo out of danger. It will cost me a lot of chakra but I will just have to converse my reserves as much as I can. Tomiko and Neji will need to watch to not get too much on their back. But if that does happen then I will be able to provide a distract for them to get away." Was Aiko's next answer on Satia's question. Waiting to see if anybody else had a question, Aiko remained silent.

Neji stood and listened to the exchange between Aiko sensei and Satia, his new squadmate had some reasonable questions. Those questions made Neji start to think of some questions of his own. " Do we have any idea what type of security this man has? How many personaly guards does he have around his home, also if Tomiko or I should need to take out guards you want us to be non letha unless being lethal is absolutely nessecary correct?" Those were just two of the questions Neji thought of, at the moment he considered them to be the most important.

"What is the area around his home like? So Neji and I can find a good vantage point." She said quickly, forcing her tone to remain neutral and quiet. Just loud enough for the others to hear, before falling silent once more as the genin worried about what would happen if they needed to distract guards. Neji would have to go for certain, seeing as his eyes wouldn't give him away on the spot.

Running her right hand through her hair for a moment, Aiko would wait to see if more questions would follow. "Distracting the guards will be quite easy. Start a small fire to conjure some smoke and burned scent to attract their attention. Or something like that to make the guards attention shift to a certain area will be enough. The less guards that are knocked out, the better. Else we wouldn't need to work our way around to enter and then just kill one guy. But in case when things go sour then non-lethal is what I prefer. Only in the most dire of situations should we resort to lethal." Aiko gave as answer on Neji's question. The jounin then turned her attention to Tomiko. "The villa has various buildings at its perimeter. So there will be a few vantage points. But the exterior of the villa won't grant too much of vantage point or cover. Then again, I have only some bits of information myself. So you can find an answer to your question once we get there."

"I assume no communicators, but if we need I can temporaily extend my Byakugan's range. To try to see guards inside the compound." Tomiko added, looking towards Aiko with a blank expression. She left out the fact that it cost her the extended range of the Byakugan to extend her vision, but she figured that wasn't an important detail at the moment. With no other questions for Aiko, the genin fell silent once more.

Satia would be the first to ask a question which had some good enough reason to be asked, yet after she asked a question, the other two would then begin asking their own questions as well. He had no need to ask any questions, he was told she would get him in and out and thats all he needed to know for his part of the plan. He didn't need to ask any questions regarding the assassination, he remembered that genjutsu Aiko placed on him and how any time wasted or hesitation any second thoughts could be a consequence. So he continued to keep himself silent, he just hoped these questions would end at some point.

Aiko threw a look at Tomiko, when the Hyuuga made her assumption. "No communication during an assassination with divided roles?" Aiko brought up as her eyebrows slightly perked up, not to patronise the genin but hopefully clear out that wasn't a smart assumption. "We will communicate or else your and Neji's role will be redundant. Or else Kazumo won't know when to take his shot." The jounin would wait a second but decided that enough questions had been asked. That and it was time to get going anyways.

"Kazumo," Aiko started as she conjured a shadow clone. Nodding to the shadow clone, the jounin continued with the instructions. "You will go with a shadow clone of mine. The rest of you will follow me. We will head to the place where Seiji's hired entertainers will group before heading to his villa. Once Satia has taken her place, you two," Aiko turned her attention towards Neji and Tomiko, "Take up a place around the perimeter. Because Neji has more experience, he will deal with communication. In case things might go ugly or you're not certain, you call me in through the communicator. I should be able to provide aid but that shouldn't mean you can take risks as a leisure."

North of Amegakure,
Team 8, Replacement phase.

It didn't take long to lead and move the group towards the point where the entertainers would group up before heading towards Seiji. There were several personal guards - as their gear differed from the city's watch or the Imperial military. Counting six guards from their position on the rooftops, there wasn't an easy approach. The entertainers were located on a small plaza, talking with another man. Likely a herald or chamber-man of Seiji. Watching the situation, Aiko could already devise various routes and approaches on how she would tackle it. But instead of giving instructions how she wanted the group to act, Aiko decided to do it in a different fashion.

"Very well. There are six guards and seeing the early hour, there aren't many people without a reason to pass or approach this plaza." Aiko paused as she would roll with her shoulder and turn towards the genin. "I would advise a cautious approach and see if you can spot a person who you can replace yourself with," Aiko said to Satia as the jounin would approach the younger Cho. The shadow of the genin wasn't long or big due to the sun being hidden behind the dark rain clouds.

"Ma'am, what about the communicators that the enemy still has? Wouldn't we want to avoid using them if possible?" The genin asked quickly, remembering how Aiko had previously ordered not to use the communicators unless absolutely nessecary for that exact reason. The question also served to hopefully explain her assumption a bit more, as the girl was getting a little tired of constantly feeling like an idiot.

"Oh that is right. You guys aren't that familiar yet with the codes," Aiko mumbled, feeling frustrated that it wasn't yet fully implied with the education of the Academy. For various reasons that Aiko could understand but that didn't entirely made her situation easier. Pondering quickly on how she would solve this, Aiko would instruct the genin with the following.
"In case of danger, you alert me with the code 'Green'. Then you state how many hostile targets, with a number. In case of suspicioun, you state color 'Yellow'. Then simply the direction from the villa. Color code 'Orange' is that you have been spotted and are in trouble. State from one to ten, on how pinched you are. One stating that you have been seen but the contacts not showing any sign of concern. Ten being that you're about to be taken down."
Once she noticed that nobody had any questions, Aiko stepped on Satia's shadow, she sunk into the genin's shadow in a rapid pace.
From the communicators, the woman's voice sounded again. "Neji and Tomiko, I expect you two to aid Satia if there is any need. Do move on high ground and keep an eye out for any trouble. In case that there is something amiss, try to create a distraction for Satia. But only when it is absolutely necessary. We don't already want to make them grow suspicious."
""

After the questions had been answered and everyone on the team was satisfied, Satia took her leave from the group to find herself an appropriate position in which to make her move from. She didn't run, choosing instead to simply walk as to not arouse suspicion from anyone unseen that might be watching, after all even the most experienced Shinobi couldn't determine at all times whether someone unaccounted for was watching.

The young Cho said nothing as her eyes swept over the plaza upon her approach, absorbing details and making notes as she walked. She'd pulled the hood of the raincoat over her head and moved at a pace that wouldn't arouse suspicion, as if she were perhaps looking to move through the area without stopping. Of course as she made a closer approach to her collection of targets, she began to gradually alter her movements.

She'd picked her insertion point at an adjacent alleyway south east of the plaza, a stones throw from the closest entertainer which was perhaps a risky move. It was not without reason however as Satia began to piece together an action plan in order to secure one of the entertainers so that she may switch with them. But before that she'd need to pick a target and that meant observing them for the important details.

A few of them appeared to be carrying instrument cases, which would be what one might think to be her natural selected target. However in Satia's mind any of these cases had the opportunity to contain an instrument she was unable to play, therefore jeopardizing her position and by extension the mission. This was not acceptable and for that reason Satia eliminated all of those carrying equipment from her target roster.

Silently she continued to watch for a moment, her mind working in details such as gender, height, build and object on their person. Only after a few short minutes did she decide to pick out a rather young looking petite female, appearing to be carrying very little save for some smaller baggage for personal items. Satia deduced that the young girl might be a singer, an ideal choice all things considered.

Choosing an entertainer intending to use her voice held a much greater stability to the mission, even if the method itself was not something Satia was neccessarily comfortable with as she tended to become nervous and some what embrassed when singing in front of others. The mission was more important however and she'd have to suck it up if it meant holding together the integrity of the plan.

"I have a target, though I will require a distraction north west of the plaza, wait for my mark" Satia said in a low voice over her communicator. She'd wait to give them enough time to get into position, keeping her eyes firmly on her target as she watched and studied the young entertainers behaviours. Her position placed her at the furthest perimter of the group, which became another valid reason for Satia's choice in target.

After a few minutes had passed Satia gave the go ahead as the entertainer had drifted as far as she was likely going to from the main group, "Now". She'd extend her arms to the side, opening her hands as ten throwing knives fanned between her fingers, interestingly enough she then threw all of them into the walls of the alley either side of herself before bending her back leg and kicking from the ground to push herself forward at speed.

From a nearby rooftop, Tomiko sat with her back to the small wall running around the perimeter of the rooftop. Below, the plaza seemed rather empty to girl as she scanned the area wondering just how the Cho planned to replace the target. Perhaps all Cho could just casually slide into and out of shadows? She shook her head at the thought, she certainly hadn't heard of some kekkei genkai allowing the Cho to do something like that. Her focus for a second shifted to Satia, then back to the target group. Addressing the Uchiha on the rooftop with her. "I think she will need a distraction. Plaza doesn't have too much cover." She said in low voice that was barely but a whisper. Looking towards the guards, Tomiko wondered what might grab their attention just long enough for Satia to act.

Her thoughts quickly interrupted, however, as Satia asked the two for a distraction to the north west. Tomiko didn't respond, as she simply stood then was off towards the side Satia needed them to be on. As she moved, the genin kept a close watch on the targets as well as her ally to make sure the situation didn't change. Her Byakugan couldn't quite make out what Satia was doing down there, simply that it did not involve another person. Stopping on another rooftop, Tomiko immdiately took her place behind the low wall once more and waited for Neji to catch up, trying to think of a simple distraction. One which would draw attention towards them, but certainly not too much else the mission would be foiled before it really began.

The moment the boy caught up to her, Tomiko began to speak. "I'm thinking I might be able to simulate a lightning strike. It won't be perfect, but it might work well enough to ignite some of the crap up here. A fire hopefully will work. Maybe you can draw their attention somehow?" The genin said, moving quickly to first gather some of the debris spread about the roof, it seemed like it might work fine even with the rain. After making herself a little pile, Tomiko began moulding her chakra in an effort to make a powerful enough strike to start the flame. Waiting for the signal, and hoping that Neji was in position.

"Now." Came the sound of Satia Cho's voice, immdiately Tomiko extended one arm towards the sky and for a moment she heard a slight hissing. Then the silence was shattered by a when clap of thunder broke out as the accompanying bolt hit her hand, then the debris she had piled up. While the bolt had been nowhere near loud or powerful enough to be a real bolt, it seemed to work and cause the debris to catch flame. As Tomiko rushed off to the next roof over, she heard Neji yell about a fire, as the gaurds turned towards the source of the disturbance.
[/spoili]
[/fieldbox]

Lesli · Dec 28, 2017

[fieldbox=Dirty Strike - Team 8 - Part 3, violet]
Amegakure, capital of the Rain Province of the Akinian Empire.
Team 8 collab.

Written by Tim, Jason, Zane, Winter and Lesli.

Summary:
As Team 8 had managed to prevent the insurgents from freeing Soru from his prison and Aiko having a meeting with Satia as Tomiko, Team 8 moves out in the morning. Unknown to the team, Aiko had a secret meeting with Zakito through the Dragon Lotus technique. Gaining information as the objective to take out Seiji of the Seika family, Team 8 is on the move again.

[spoili]

Walking away from the others, Aiko's shadow clone would place a hand on Kazumo's shoulder once they had made some distance. As the real jounin would occupy and demand the attention of the other genin, a flimsy cloak of green chakra would surround the Sarutobi. Once fully enveloped, which seemed to take only a second, the cold temperature seemed to have faded for a moment. Only to return, slightly milder. Standing next to Aiko, Kazumo would still be in the same alley. Only for the sky to appear different. The clouds which the rain poured from had vanished and a dim light seemed to have replace the sun, yet not radiating the same warmth as the sun. A muddy grey sky seemed to be dominant, with various specks and floating islands having replaced the clouds in the sky.

"Welcome to the Void," Aiko said as she pulled her hand from Kazumo's shoulder. Behind them, they were able to see the group. But it seemed as if the group was frozen, nothing more than locked in what appeared to be suspended animation of their last location. "I know you got a lot of questions but before you ask, I don't know everything about it. It is called the Void for various reasons and it will serve as our means to get into position. Without many obstacles barring our way." Starting to walk down the alley towards the street, the jounin continued. "I do recommend to stick close. First warning is that if you get lost and no understanding on how to create a rift, you'll be stuck here. Many who got stuck here were only found crazy and unable or unwilling to return."

As they walked a bit away from the others, his gaze would rest on Aiko's clone as she placed her hand on his shoulder, that was when his eyes widened at seeing a familiar green light. It didn't even take long for the green light to envelop him, yet once it faded it seemed like not much had changed but a lot did. It was no longer raining, the bright light from the sun was now dimmer, the sky looked muddy but grey like a storm was approaching. Yet the most eye catching details were no clouds but floating islands and time was frozen for everyone but them. No one was moving, not a thing was moving it was literally like time was frozen in place. He almost wanted to touch something to test if it was really time being frozen or if everything would be stiff like a rock.

Just then he was welcomed to the void by the clone of Aiko which caused him to raise an eyebrow as he looked up at the floating islands. Kinda looked like the name would fit, but at the same time he thought the void would be less.... colorful. Just as he was about to ask questions, she beat him to the punch saying she didn't know everything about the place. Yet the way she worded it made it seem like a transportation kind of method. Halt everything to get someplace without obstacles. Did that mean time was at a halt for everyone but them? It made him wonder how long it was in here for those out there. If this was the same technique Aiko used back then, then time was different for both parties. Hearing to stick close or else he could get lost since he had no ways of getting out, which might drive him insane. Not wanting an example of that, he made sure to stay close to Aiko's clone. "So I assume this wont be handy with actually assassinating people? If it removed obstacles, then it would prove no problem to just go to the target while he sleeps and suffocate him in his sleep. I guess tampering with people while in the Void would bring them in here?" Kazumo asked her as this was his main question about hearing some details just now. Seemed like the most important one he could ask anyway,

"It has proven quite handy indeed. Over many generations of those who know of this place and using it for their own benefit, many others died. Hard to defend yourself from a bladed assassin that appears out of nowhere and also vanished into nothing," Aiko answered. "Yet, it isn't foolproof. Traveling in a way like this can be quite limiting and," the shadow clone paused for a few seconds, "Random." Entering the main street, the present people seemed to be still there. But frozen in action and time. "Not to mention unpredictable," Aiko gestured to the frozen people before continue walking. "While we are here, undetected and apparently unaffected, time goes on for everybody. Just at a much slower pace. What you see here is just the Void reflecting the situation of a recent time. It can very well be that this lovely person," the jounin gestured to a man that was about to enter a restaurant, "Wasn't there at all when we entered the Void. As confusion as that sounds, that is just the tip of the iceberg of this place."

Walking through the crowd, Aiko seemed to have little problem to navigate. "And good question. I could very well do the assasination on my own. Just open a rift and enter the Void nearby the villa of the Seika family. Then bring Seiji here and proceed to either leave him here, stranded. Or assassinate him. The problem is," the jounin would point out to the sky, towards one of the floating nearby islands, "There is no telling on how vast the expanse is. We might be out of luck and not even get close to the villa. Or this expanse is as large as half Amegakure. The Void is ever changing and even if you open a rift to it, you can spot differences. Making it hard to navigate in a place that you might be able to walk blind in."

The way she spoke made this place sound both like a handy technique to have but at the same time, it could very well punish you. Sounded like a hard and dangerous place to master. Yet time was flowing normally for others just slower than it was for them. It was as she said a random and unpredictable place, seemed like the best use for it was to use it to travel, or as she performed on that one guy, forcibly bring them here. Which popped another question into his head, as she explained that the void gave a reflection of a recent time, so some people in the reflection could very well have left the area.

She would then answer her question saying she could very well do this on her own, and do as he thought could work. Yet she sais the problem was the expanse was vast and the possibility of getting close to the villa might not be possible, as she would point at one of the islands. He looked up a bit shocked. So a possible destination could be on one of those floating islands way up in the sky? This place was ever changing so... even though they were in Amegakure, the possibility that the landscape was the same as Amegakure was rather slim? How did people manage to navigate in here anyway? "One more question. People that got lost in here or were left stranded in here. What are the odds we would end up running into them?"

"Very slim. You have a larger chance of hearing about an Uchiha or Hanta enter the lands of the Tokugawa right after the Tokugawa Conquest," Aiko replied, at first, "There might be some people who strand here by accident but without any way to sustain oneself, they will likely die soon." The jounin continued to lead her student through the streets. Eventually reaching the point where they could see the place where they needed to be. Only broken in half. "See what I meant?" The shadow clone pointed to the structure that seemed to have suffered some odd earthquake as half of the complex was gone, literally forming the edge of the floating island they were located on. "The structure will be more than fine but here in the Void, it can appear like that. For some unknown reasons it can just 'end' an island at such an arbirtary fashion. And when we would exit and enter the Void, we possibly be finding ourselves on the other half or some other island that has the entire complex. Some call the Void thus for a reason the realm of the Bergljot. Though I haven't ever met or seen any sign of the goddess. Anyhow," Aiko nodded once more to the half complete structure.

"Time to get to business. We can easily climb over those walls but let us imagine if we were outside the Void. How would you bypass the walls that surround the villa complex and not to forget, the guards. Who are likely not keen on strangers getting too close or staring too long at the defences."

"Considering they still hardly enter those lands, I'd say those are some really low odds." Kazumo said making a note to self about that, although he still wouldn't drop his guard. While the odds were low, one could still hit the jackpot on odds lower than one percent. Yet they would soon stop at what was their destination, the only problem being it was split in half. She assured him outside the Void the building was fine, the void was just capable of doing these things. In fact if they were to leave and come back, the chances the building would be whole was very possible. This was a very curious place, it made him want to do research on it but that might require asking Aiko about it later. He doubted such a place was common knowledge to the public. She would state for them to get to work, although she threw a situation at him. While they could get over the walls right now, she wanted to know how hed go about it as if they were outside the Void.

"Well that depends on a lot of factors I'd say. I could use my earth ninjutsu and tunnel under the walls and get in that way, granted I would be on guard at all times. I guess one way would be to get some intel? Maybe a caravan is delivering goods to the place, and I happen to be hired help?"

"That is a good answer," the shadow clone said, content with the given answer. Gesturing Kazumo to follow her, Aiko's shadow clone would walk through the empty gate. There were no signs of any life around the defences of the villa. It seemed pretty much abandoned. Walking around for a bit, the shadow clone spoke up. "Best to study what the terrain looks like. If Tomiko and Neji are doing their job, they will know how heavily guarded each sector is. With combining the information, we will know what direction we can flee into if I won't have enough chakra for another jump. Which," the jounin added quickly, "I should have. So no worries." Flashing an apologising smile to the genin, the shadow clone would continue to scout and explore the area. The villa was build and designed in a typical Taika fashion. There were various spots on the rooftop that would give a way into the building as there were windows. While they were open right now for them, Aiko knew better. The Void could be quite deceiving and they could encounter the problem that the windows were perhaps shut and even locked when they would exit the Void right in front of them.

Using chakra to scale the walls to a nearby spot on the western side of the villa, Aiko reckoned that Kazumo wouldn't sit back and wait for a sign to follow her. Once she had reached the rooftop, she glanced inside. The window was barely small enough that allowed them to enter the interior but would have to do. Spotting people inside, Aiko squinted her eyes. A large table was in the centre of the room as various well armed as armoured guards were present. Held in a suspended animation by the Void. "This has to be the place," Aiko mumbled softly.

Smiling to himself that his answer was passable, he would follow behind Aiko's clone through the empty gates which normally no one could ever say they've done. Not unless they didn't care about their own security that is. Although it seemed pretty void of life so far, even the streets had more people than this villa seemed to. No guards or anything. He knew that the potential of this just being an image was rather high but it still came as a shock. His attention would drift back to Aiko's clone as she said to study up on the terrain to later on if they did their jobs combine information for the easiest way out, in case Aiko didn't have enough chakra for another jump although she assured him she did. He would follow her while taking in what the area looked like, or atleast what the Void let him look at. It seemed to have quite the bit of openings as well. All of which could just be an image being presented to them.

He would still trail behind Aiko's clone, using chakra himself to scale the wall, where they would soon come to the rooftop with a window that jsut barely allowed them to get into the interior. Peering inside he would see what she could see as well. The area in which most likely the assassination would play out. It was a good spot for it, well as good as it could get anyway. "Looks like it.. Hopefully the others do their part well enough, to make my part easier."

"One way to figure that out," the shadow clone replied. This time her voice being grim. Pushing the window, it would reveal that it was unlocked. There was the thought to move inside and allow Kazumo to take the shot but it could enlarge the risk of being discovered. But if the window was locked then they were with another problem as well. Moving inside through the uncomfortable opening of the window, Aiko would drop on to a wooden flooring. It was a balcony in the room that would allow to a few other spaces, evident by the presence of the closed doors. None of the guards appeared in the Void to be on the first level but Aiko wasn't certain if they could rely on that. Waiting for Kazumo to enter, the shadow clone would focus on moulding her chakra.

"I guess so." he said back as she would push open the window showing it to be unlocked. She would be the first to move through the small opening, and once she had done so and moved a bit away he would climb through the small space too. One thing for sure was, he wasn't going to be escaping through that small opening anytime soon. "So should we try to find an easier out from inside? That window doesn't seem the best for such cases."

"We got the Void for that. It will be our escape route. Unless the others will mess it up so badly that we have to stick around," was the response of Aiko. The shadow clone would place a hand on Kazumo's shoulder while gesturing him to kneel down to stay out of sight. Once the genin had done so, they would both be imbued with some green appearing chakra. Before a second was passed, the two would be in the same room without nothing changed. Save it for some instruments playing while somebody was singing.

May it be an evening star
Shines down upon you
May it be when darkness falls
Your heart will be true
You walk a lonely road
Oh! How far you are from home

Mornie utulie (Darkness has come)
Believe and you will find your way
Mornie alantie (Darkness has fallen)
A promise lives within you now

May it be the shadow's call
Will fly away
May it be you journey on
To light the day
When the night is overcome
You may rise to find the sun

Mornie utulie (Darkness has come)
Believe and you will find your way

Mornie alantie (Darkness has fallen)
A promise lives within you now
A promise lives within you now

[/spoili]
[/fieldbox]

Naruto Fantasy (AU) : The Rise of the New Generation

"Teddy Bears never forget."

"Teddy Bears never forget."

Stormraven

No tricks up my sleeves

K-Pop Addict

Jessie Targaryen

Guest

God's in His Heaven, All's Right With the World.

Stormraven

Stormraven

Stormraven

Secret Shadow

Fierce Rebel

The one who gets stabbed a lot...

Secret Shadow

"Teddy Bears never forget."

No tricks up my sleeves

Jessie Targaryen

Guest

RoranHawkins

Guest

Secret Shadow

Secret Shadow