[fieldbox=Going for a Hunt, #9A2EFE]
[color= #9A2EFE]Zhang Hsiao | Outpost | Sacred Sword[/color]
Hsiao walked through the encampment of the Sacred Swords. Most of the red cloaks were at lunch, but there were still a few out and about. There was some commotion up ahead in one of the larger tents just outside the Sacred Swords' camp, where the ranked common soldiers would usually be about. Just as Hsiao was about to go in, a sizeable man flew out of the entrance with his ear bleeding, turning and yelling. As the burly man whimpered on the dirt and snow, Hsiao made her way into the tent.
A woman with a bloodied mouth stood in the middle of the tent, letting out a war cry to the skies as she bent her knees and strained her muscles. There were a few other soldiers lying around, groaning in pain. The crowd seemed to be split in two, one half cheering and the other jeering. Another
woman, someone who seemed a lot less like a warrior than a dancer, seemed to be trying to get people to calm down. Just as the two groups locked and started wrestling and punching, people started to slowly notice the newcomer, and as they noticed her, they stopped their fights one by one.
The woman at the center of the tent had one of the soldiers in a headlock when everyone stopped. After a moment's hesitation, she let go of the soldier, dropping him to the floor, and shrugged as if to convince people that she had no idea what was going on. Hsiao's eyes went over to the two women in the tent and gestured to the exit with a nod.
"Ai. Jore." As the two started to move through the crowd, Hsiao left the tent. The quiet remained until all three were out in the snow, and then all signs of the ongoing fight returned.
"Getting into some more trouble?" Hsiao asked, sighing. She looked down at where the earless man was. As the man noticed the group, he let out a small squeal and started running.
Jore let out a loud hearty laugh.
"Just some roughhousin'," she said gleefully.
"He'll be just fine. Nobody died from a missing ear before."
"I'm not sure if that's true," Ai said with a caustic tone. Hsiao shook her head, clicking her tongue, but there was a strangely amused smile on her lips.
"In any case, we're heading out," she said pointing her thumb over her shoulder.
"We need to track a small party--"
Jore's eyes glowed brilliantly as she heard her friend's words.
"HAHA! I've been itchin' fer a nice good rumble!" But the glow dissipated as Hsiao continued.
"--and follow their movements. Sorry, Jore." She gave an apologetic look at the warrior. Ai seemed strangely disappointed as well, upon hearing their job. Both the warrior and the acrobat heaved a heavy sigh in unison.
"I s'pose that's better than stayin' 'ere," Jore said half-heartedly. A few moments passed where the only sound they could hear was the sound of the fight in the tent behind them.
"Well… Who are we going after?"
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox=Another Trek, wheat]
Eastern Continent, Wolf Country.
13th Brigade, Torrad's company.
Camp in unknown territory.
A collab between Sketching and Gerontis
Summary:
Koike and Katsu go out scouting, but an unexpected visitor disturbs what seemed to be a smoothly proceeding ambush.
[spoili]
Don on his equipment, Koike let out a soft groan. He hadn't slept that well but that would be no excuse to prolong or pardon himself to partake in today's activities. Once ready, Koike left his tent and shot a look around. It was kind of an odd but satisfying experience to witness that the camp always seemed the same. Soldiers were attending to their tasks or taking care of their equipment. Few were taking a break together, sitting around and talking or enjoying some rations. For a moment, Koike wondered how many mornings like these he would experience. Driving the thought away, he would turn to his right and walk to the nearby tent.
"Katsu, get up. We are going to move out in thirty minutes or so." Koike ordered as he imagined that Katsu prefered this kind of waking up, to having a weapon dropped next to him. Deciding to wait for Katsu to be ready, Koike once more took in the scenery. There was something to it that he enjoyed but wasn't entirely certain what.
After a few moments, the cloth of the tent started to move. It seemed almost as if an infant was walking out. It only became clear that the one leaving wasn't Katsu, but Tanpo. He barked a few times at Koike with the usual look on his face. He started to run away, disappearing behind some tents. Only a second later, he reappeared and stared at Koike meaningfully and barked again. He disappeared once again, his barking signalling his location.
A surprised expression crossed Koike's features as the juvenile direwolf appeared out of the tent. When Tanpo ran away, Koike wasn't entirely certain of what the purpose was. Perhaps he had waken the canine? Deciding to wait, Koike frowned when the direwolf came back and barked again.
"Ah," Koike mumbled as he decided to follow the canine. As he did so, Koike already gain an idea of where Tanpo was leading him towards. With the juvenile canine leading the Hon towards the spot where the practice targets were standing, sure enough there he found his friend and aide. Practicing with the bow of yesterday. Watching for a dozen seconds, Koike would attempt to get Katsu's attention with a sharp whistle.
Just as the high pitched whistle reached his ears, Katsu let loose one the nocked arrow, pinning it to the side of where most of the arrows had accumulated. He turned to glance at his friend before jogging up to the young man and the direwolf, who seemed to be staring intensely at Koike after the whistle.
"G'morning colonel," he said with a cheeky grin.
"What can I do you for?"
"Getting ready. We are going to move out. Long ahead of us," Koike replied as he shot a sideways look towards Tanpo.
"So get whatever gear you need. Hopefully, today," Koike returned his gaze back on Katsu.
"We won't be taken by surprise. Torrad and some other groups already have moved out." Shooting a look at the bow, Koike had an additional question in mind. But he decided to ask it later.
"Alright. I just have to get my swords and I'll..." He paused and looked down at the bow. His eyes rolled up as he continued to remain silent for a few more seconds.
"I think I'll bring this too," he said resolutely.
"I'll meet you in just a few minutes." He scratched Tanpo behind the ear, loosening his stiff gaze at Koike.
"Hey, could you grab my stuff from the tent? I'll meet you once I'm done here, hm?" Tanpo seemed to be too preoccupied to listen, but once Katsu stopped scratching the direwolf, he barked and ran off again. Katsu turned back to his friend.
"Even if we don't have to face anyone, it might be a good idea to get used to carrying it, huh? I hope Torrad won't mind if I borrow some stuff here."
Half amused as Katsu declared he would bring the bow too, Koike wondered how fond his friend had grown over trying to master the weapon.
"It might be a good idea. And you got my approval, so it is okay. Meet me at the northern entrance of camp once you're ready." Koike replied back. Making his way towards the point, already most of the group was gathered. There was the question Koike asked himself, on how experienced each of these men were. There had to be some greener members in the ranks than only existing out of veterans of the past conflicts. Waiting for Katsu and Tanpo, Koike spotted a large black canine making way towards the group.
"Almost thought you had fallen asleep," Koike joked as Akumu would close in the distance, in a most relaxed pace. Gaining no reaction from the large canine, Koike shot another look. Hopefully, Katsu wouldn't take too long.
Katsu and Tanpo arrived soonafter. Katsu had strapped the bow with the quiver sideways to across the back of his waist and right shoulder, just above his swords. He made his way to the front to show that they had arrived.
"Good, time to get going," Koike said as Katsu arrived. Now that they were complete, they could get going. Moving out of camp, Koike would hold a relatively easy pace. Trekking through the snow was one thing but it was another to climb the various hills and watch for the vegetation. Walking at the front of the group, Koike watched for signs of tracks or hints of Torrad's or other units moving by. He couldn't find much and after ten minutes had given up on being able to verbally jab the Sarutobi captain for it. Moving towards the east, the vegetation started to become less dense. The few hills would be left behind them. As the first break would be held, Koike gestured Katsu to come.
"Soon, we will have to leave this scrub and woodland. I don't like the idea to move on the plains where an enemy patrol can ride us down. But," crouching, Koike would start to make use of the snow to draw lines to clear out what he was planning.
"We don't have to move out of the vegetation. I want us to scout till the edge of this woodland. We will be moving eastwards and see what we can find. If we find nothing, we will go south and slowly make a course back for camp. Because of our position being so far from Hayate, I will need you to later report to him about our findings. Not any time soon but once we have gained more intel."
"Things would go quite differently from last time, probably," Katsu said uneasily.
"But if Torrad's men came through here, at least we don't need to worry too much. There didn't seem to be any signs of a fight so far, so we should be just fine." His voice didn't sound too convincing but his face didn't betray any sense of doubt.
"Are we set to meet up with the captain on the way back?"
"We will be fine, without a doubt. Torrad took care of the camp we found last time.No need to fret about the captain. And no," Koike replied,
"We won't meet the captain on our way back. He went north with an unit. The more riskier direction cause the enemy army is still in that direction. We are to see if we can figure out if there is a supply line that feeds the enemy with supplies and manpower. If that is the case, I want the supply route to be sabotaged or raided. It would be anything beneficial if the enemy is able to recover better from the night raid."
"I see. That would be troublesome indeed," Katsu said, nodding.
"We could probably pull something like that off if we do find any help going their way." He stared off towards their route for a few moments.
"I wonder if it gets warmer in spring," he muttered to himself with a small shudder.
"Let us hope that spring will bring back some warmth. But we can't sit and wait for that." Gesturing to Katsu to get moving, Koike would start to walk. Followed in tow by the two direwolves and small unit of Torrad's men. A cold breeze passed the group as they would move out of the hidden camp and start to slug into the forest. The absence of leaves, dark as gloomy clouds and cold breeze created a sombre atmosphere. Four long hours did the group continued to move through the snow towards the east. When Koike finally ordered for a break, he beckoned Katsu to come. Staring at the east, Koike had a frown upon his brow. His gloved right thumb hooked behind his belt.
"Soon enough we will come to the end of the woods. Not sure what we can encounter past that."
As they came to take one more break, Katsu kneeled next to Tanpo, ruffling the direwolf's hair. He looked over at Koike and then onto the horizon.
"Hm. I could go to check," Katsu suggested.
"To see if there's anything within the immediate vicinity to look out for." He plunged his hand into his satchel, pulling out a crumbled, cold sandwich made from the previous day's dinner leftovers. He took a bite off it, breaking the stale bread, as small bits fell on the ground for Tanpo to leap at.
Thinking for a moment, Koike shook his head lightly.
"No," he said,
"Not if you need to separate yourself." Koike asked, his frown growing as he considered a plan.
"If anything, we will continue to move eastwards. Then I want to see if we can cross the plains and find tracks or anything to provide information on movement. It is clear that the enemy has enough manpower to disperse troops to do patrols and perimeter checks at such a distance."
Katsu nodded as he lowered his hands to his side, prompting Tanpo to try and snatch the sandwich out of his hand.
"I see. Well then," he said with a quick move, pulling the sandwich away from the direwolf.
"Let's hope we don't get any nasty surprises."
Nodding, Koike indeed didn't hope either for nasty surprises. But there was at this moment no telling. Not only because they had not ventured this far eastwards. But a nasty habit of their foes seemed to be having something new in their way, at every new clash. Once the break was over, Koike started to lead the group towards the east. The fact that the vegetation became less dense went together with the tension rising in the air. The soldiers that accompanied them were perhaps at home with this kind of warfare and operations, that didn't make feel Koike any better.
Reaching the forest's edge, Koike watched over the flowing fields of white. Here and there were was still some vegetation but so far he could see, those patches were just a few. Narrowing his eyes, Koike grunted softly.
"Katsu, how far could you use your sensor technique?" He asked, shooting a look at his comrade, as a plan started to hatch in Koike's mind.
"Hm… I haven't tried the regular sensory technique in a while," Katsu answered.
"The highest I could go was a hundred meters last time. I'm not sure if that'll be too much help." He gave an apologetic look at the colonel.
"I might be able to see more from up high, however."
Biting his lower lip, Koike considered his options now. He had hoped that Katsu could sense further away. But they had to work with it.
"It is okay. We will do it in the old fashioned style. Never failed us before," he said, flashing a grin towards Katsu to appear motivated. Taking the lead, Koike wondered if he should ask Katsu to use his sharingan to be on the look-out for chakra signatures. Yet as far as they could see over the plain, there was no sign of life. It almost caused Koike to ponder what could survive in a realm of snow, cold and ice. Remembering what his own people said, what would herald the end of times, caused Koike to frown.
For a good twenty minutes, the small group trekked through the snow. As they climbed various small hills, Koike made notes. Even producing a notepad and using a pencil to make crude sketches as notes. Then as they climbed another hill and Koike wanted to state they should get a break, one of the men spotted something in the distance. Pointing at a small group far up in the distance, north of them, Koike narrowed his eyes.
"Can't be one of ours. I told Torrad to make sure that I would be the only group moving out of the woods." He grumbled. Which meant that they were staring at trouble impending, if they wouldn't get moving.
"Okay, ready up. We are going for an ambush. Check your gear. Katsu, with me." Koike ordered with a stern voice as he would take a few steps forward, waiting for Katsu to come closer.
"Doesn't seem to be many. Can you pick something out this far with your sharingan?"
As he nodded, the boy's jade green eyes twisted and turned into a crimson red hue.
"Hm… Just a few men and… Huh. Those clothes…" He turned to Koike for a brief moment.
"I think there might be some troublesome people down their. There are four that I can see with sizeable and refined chakra pools. They have the same uniforms the ones we faced in the raid had." His eye wandered around the area a bit.
"Huh?" He focused on one spot for a moment but his eyes soon turned back to their original colour. He muttered to himself,
"I guess I just imagined it."
"Great. Time for us to show who truly reigns supreme," Koike grumbled. He turned around and gave various instructions in Chonobi. To which the soldiers nodded or simply grinned as response. Dropping his bag on the ground, Koike rolled with his shoulder as he turned around.
"We will move slightly forward. The men will stay cloaked from sight and sensory. Ready to deliver a barrage on my sign. You and I will face them first. If things get hectic, I can call in for a volley and we get perhaps an opening to either move or tip the scales in our favour." He instructed Katsu. Shooting a look over his shoulder, he saw how the soldiers of Torrad's company started to prepare.
Katsu looked back at the soldiers that were preparing to intervene, and turned back to their target.
"Alright, but don't get too caught up," Katsu said worriedly.
"It's not the time for bravado." His mind went to the fight at the camp raid, remembering the look Koike had shot him when he killed Koike's opponent.
Scoffing, amused, Koike nodded.
"No bravado. Promised." He replied. With the soldiers moving into hiding out of sight, Koike would start to descend from the hill in a walking pace. Akumu followed in tow, the dark fur in stark contrast with the white snow.
"I think that we do have to get rid of them as soon as possible. No prisoners either." Koike spoke up as he flexed the fingers of his left hand. The familiar sensation ran down his arm, faint but still noticeable. He had no illusion that the enemy had noticed them but that was okay. If the soldiers could move further and stay hidden, all that he and Katsu had to do was to hold up or lure the enemy into the ambush.
"When have we ever?" Katsu responded, sighing. He followed Koike down the hill, looking over at Akumu for a moment. He pulled out one of his swords as they reached the bottom.
"They probably noticed some kind of movement, but we should be alright," he said.
"Let's set it up."
Nodding after Katsu's word, the two young men would hold their position with the large, black direwolf. The group that came to approach started to close in the distance, at an easy pace. As the two parties started to have less distance in between them, Koike was hoping to see some difference among the red cloaked individuals. Anything that could betray a leader or officer among them. Drawing his sword, Koike let the blade rest against his shoulder. With the group of red cloaks coming closer, Koike clicked his tongue.
"Let us see if this works," He mumbled, audible for Katsu, as he raised his left hand up in the air. Assuming that speaking up directly wouldn't work, due to the language barrier, Koike would wait to see what the reaction would be. The hairs on Akumu's back started to rise as the canine lowered himself, his stomach touching the snow.
The younger of the two sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, his sword sheathed once more.
"This was exactly what I meant," he mumbled.
"There aren't many different ways this can go from here, and none of them seem particularly good."
The opposing group came to a halt but no verbal came. They seemed to eye Koike. Their weapons were still sheathed. This brief moment allowed Koike to eye their foes. They seemed to not enjoy much protective gear. Though that didn't mean that they were less dangerous. One of the four then spoke up in their foreign language. One that Koike didn't know.
"Guess that I won't be able to buy much more time." Koike thought to himself. With no verbal response coming from Koike, the same Red Cloak spoke up again. As the verbal answer was still not returned, the four Red Cloaks rushed forward.
"Here we go," Koike grumbled as he grasped the hilt of his blade. Chakra shot through and surrounded the blade of his sword in a mere instance.
Grumbling, Katsu drew his swords as their contact escalated. As one of the red cloaked men quickly made a series of handseals, Katsu lunged forward to interrupt, but another one of the soldiers intercepted him. As the brutish man slided between the two, Katsu's eyes flashed red. The man's swing of the hammer grew clumsy halfway through, allowing Katsu to duck under it with a cut to the man's ankle, aiming to move forward to the one he was protecting, but before he could, the man finished casting his technique. As his hands slammed on the ground, ice tendrils reached out from the ground and at the two shinobi.
Spotting Katsu moving and getting engaged into combat, Koike also didn't hesitate to move in. The incoming ice tendrils wouldn't faze Koike and causing him to halt. Readying for a slash, the Hon would actually mould the chakra in his blade different than from normal. By the time that the tendrils were close to him, he would lash out with an arc of chakra soaring through the air and snow. Oddly enough, it cut through the tendrils and caused the ones that were heading to Koike to just collapse into snow. Whistling hard, Koike ordered Akumu to stay close.
Spotting movement at his right, Koike saw how one of the enemies skidded through the snow to position himself at the Hon's flank.
The ice-user dug his hand into his cloak to pull out his sabres just as Katsu had come within range. Just as the young nin was about to drive the man through, he felt something grab him by the hood, stopping him mid air. He kicked towards the ice user, letting out a strong gust of wind from his feet to push him back and sent himself over the burly brute that tried to grab him. Sliding out of his cloak, the boy swung his sword down towards the man's head, but the sword didn't connect. A sharp metal clash sounded as the phantom of the broken sword passed across the man's face. The broken edge of the sword sunk into the ground and the snow flew up in a flurry behind him with a metal arrow sticking out of it.
Skidding to a halt, Koike was in time to parry an attack. A red cloak had move straight at him. Armed with two long knives, Koike's assaulter made an attempt to deliver a second strike. Instead of moving out of the way of the attack, Koike would maneuver his blade. The jab with the knife slammed against the chainmail but didn't pierce it. Feeling the vibration though, Koike wouldn't waver with his next attack. In a rapid movement he sliced the man's throat by a sidewards slice. Blood spurted briefly out of the gaping wound as the red cloak sank down into the snow, his hands and arms slightly twitching.
Trying to turn around, Koike felt how how he was driven backwards by a strong punch in the side. Stumbling, he tried to keep himself standing as another wind gust slammed against him. Falling with a hard smack into the snow, Koike felt how the hilt of his sword slipped from his grip. Before Koike's opponent could land another attack, a low growl pierced the air as Akumu moved in. Despite the size, the beast moved in rather agile and fast. Giving little quarter for his foe to focus a wind blast, the direwolf lunged forwards and pounced the attacker. Causing both to roll into the snow with Akumu on top.
Just as Katsu was landing, spikes of ice rose from the ground. The boy kicked off one of the spikes, and while he avoided being impaled, he fell on the ground on his back. Next to his head he saw the metal arrow that splintered his sword. His eyes moved forward again, just in time to prompt him to roll as another arrow of the same kind blasted past the snow and earth right where his head had been just a moment earlier. The bleeding brute caught him by the neck, unfazed by the cut on his ankle. After a moment's blind struggle, Katsu swung his leg up around the arm and brought the other up to the man's elbow with a boost of wind, bending the man's arm the wrong way. As the man cried out in pain, Katsu gasped for air. Another arrow whizzed by where Katsu had been when he was being held up, but instead it took the man's broken arm clean off. As the ice user tried to move past the brute to take over, Katsu grasped the metal wires on his bracers.
Grunting, Koike tried to get up quickly. Picking up his blade in the same motion, he tried to gauge how well Katsu was doing. Before he could move into aid his brother, another sound caught Koike's attention. The whimpering of Akumu as he was blast aside by a strong punch of air caused Koike to turn halfway around. Grabbing the blade with both hands, Koike would start to walk towards the red cloak that got up. The man sneered something in their foreign language. Provoking a response of Koike before he started to pick up his pace.
"Come on then," he grunted as he noticed that the other pulled out a sabre. With the two reaching each other, snow would be whipped up as both came to a slower pace. The sharp edges of the swords connected, briefly locked against each other as one edge bite into the other. Stepping to the right, Koike directed his blade for another attack. His opponent managed to perform a deflect, directing the attack upwards.
"Koike!" Katsu called out to get his friend's attention to the arrows that had landed beside him. He lashed out as the ice-user moved to attack the apparently vulnerable boy, whipping the wires forward. A wide gash appeared along the man's torso and another on the man's wrist. Katsu pursued quickly to finish the man off, but he felt a strong grip around his foot just as he closed in on the lean man. The one armed warrior pulled him and with a ridiculous force, swung him up in the air. As he started to fall down, something collided with him mid air, shattering some steel and passing through him.
A deadly dance would be performed by Koike and his opponent. Despite having various cuts and being pounced by Akumu, Koike's opponent was able to keep standing and fighting equally against the Hon. Parrying a strike, Koike tried to counter attack. Only to hear Katsu shouting his name. As his counter attack got blocked, Koike would release the handle with his left hand. His opponent would push the Hon's blade aside, to try to land a jab of his own. Focusing chakra into his left hand, Koike would step aside and avoid the jab. Before his opponent could react, Koike placed his left hand on the man's face. Releasing the focused chakra, the dense force would be shot forwards. The sound of bones snapping, skin and flesh ripping by the point blank burst would be followed by the soft cracking of snow as Koike's foe fell on his back.
Turning around, Koike's eyes widen. Without any word, he tried to race through the snow towards his brother. The blue chakra at his sword started to create a hissing sound as the force surrounding the blade became more dense and focused.
The snow rose like dust where Katsu fell on the ground. The brutish man fell on his knees. The ice user wrapped the man's around his shoulder and said something in their foreign language. He seemed to be moulding his chakra at the same time.
Katsu laid on the ground with a few shattered knives and broken bow around the torn flesh at his side. He slowly sat up, grunting.
"Ah..." He looked down towards where the fight was happening, before struggling to get to his feet.
Casting a look at Katsu, Koike felt slightly relieved to see that the other was still moving. Seeing that Katsu had been shot, Koike instantly searched for the culprit. Spotting only four combatants, Koike spat on the ground as he would position himself between them and Katsu.
"Can you move?" Koike asked, trying to come up with a plan to move Katsu away. He could call in the Sarutobi but didn't want to yet waste their surprise volley.
"Yeah," Katsu said, getting to his feet.
"It just… grazed." He drew his second sword with his right hand as he pressed on his side with his left. His left hand let go with a grunt of pain as he collapsed back on the ground.
"I… I can't..." His breath grew heavy and weary.
"Keep an eye out," he said in a single breath.
"Up ahead… On the hill..." As if on cue, another arrow flew through the air, towards Koike.
Keeping his attention on the enemy in front, Koike heard what Katsu said. Wanting to ask something, Koike was barely in time to evade the incoming arrow. Seeing how one of the enemy was trying to help a comrade, trying to flee, Koike cursed softly.
Shouting something in Chonobi, Koike would drop his weapon and produce various handsignals while kneeling down. Creating half a sphere of air as defense against the arrows of the hidden sniper, behind on the hill, a volley of arrows would follow. Fired from the longbows, the archers didn't waste any time with surprising the four enemies. The first volley caught the two combat ready red cloaks by surprise. One would drop on the ground, dead before he would hit the snow. The second would grunt before sinking on a knee.
"Akumu," Koike shouted. The large black direwolf had managed to get back on his claws. Having shaken off the punishing blast, the beast sprinted to close the distance, heading towards Katsu.
"Katsu, I am going to pursue them. I want you to get back."
Katsu tried to move, but could only let out a painful grunt.
"Ah… I'll go back," he said hesitantly.
"Just… Be careful."
Not responding, Koike focused on the scenery in front of him. The archers behind on the hill had a great position as the second volley would mow down the remaining foes. Not dismissing the wind sphere just yet, Koike tried to spot where the sniper could be. Akumu would aid Katsu to get away as Koike shouted something in Chonobi, gaining a positive response from the soldiers.
"Come on, you coward. Where," Koike grumbled, releasing the wind sphere as Katsu was moved away. Reaching for his blade, Koike squinted his eyes for any sign of the enemy sniper.
Nothing happened for a few seconds until one covered in lightning chakra tore through the air towards the colonel.
Rolling away, Koike would avoid the arrow. The sizzling lightning infused arrow would not hit too far from the colonel, though. Getting an idea where it came from, Koike started to sprint forwards. He was certain where the arrow had came from and silently vowed that he would see to it that the mutilation of his brother would be avenged. Reaching the small hill where the arrow had been shot from, Koike did slow his pace by a bit. Keeping the chakra flowing into the blade of his steel, the hissing became more menacing as he reached the top.
Spotting three figures, Koike felt his rage building up. His eyes narrowed briefly, his grip on the hilt of his blade briefly looser than before. Quickly eyeing the two visible foes, Koike's gaze rested for a moment on a woman with a bow. The culprit who had wounded Katsu.
"Your death is named Katsu," was what the Hon said in a low and threatening voice.
"A name to remember for sure," the young woman said with a grin. Upon closer inspection, she seemed to be even younger than him. Her accent had a familiar tone and it was definitely not distinctly foreign. The warrior next to her grasped her axe tightly and said something in the foreign language. The young woman took a step back.
"Well. Sorry to cut this short, but we should be leaving," she said as she begun to turn on her heel.
Even though focused on eyeing his opponents and considering how to deal with them, Koike was surprised that the woman had understood him speaking Taika. It raised questions to mind but he discarded them for now. The grin would be only more fuel for the Hon's anger and desire to seek retribution.
"Why the hurry?" Koike asked calmly, as he would release two arcs of chakra towards the two enemies.
The warrior moved between Koike and the archer, slashing the chakra arc with her hand axe's own arc. From the smoke that rose from the clash, the war axe flew spinning towards Koike.
Leaning to the side to avoid the war axe, Koike would listen to anything that could betray enemy movements. Waiting for the soft crack of snow beneath boots, the Hon tried to keep his own anger under control.
The two started moving almost immediately. They moved away from where Koike was standing, towards a rockier area.
Catching on, Koike would release a gust of wind from his blade to slam the smoke aside before he started to give chase. Keeping in mind that he shouldn't stray too far or risk too much, he also told himself that he could try to prevent the fleeing enemy from reporting back.
The archer appeared from around one of the boulders that littered the area, swinging the larger axe her ally had earlier, from the side.
Barely in the nick of time did Koike lower himself to avoid getting the edge of the axe bite into his chest. Moving a few paces forwards, the Hon would turn around with the tip of his blade aimed at the archer. Not detecting the other, he reckoned that she was acting as a delay or decoy. That meant that his attempt to prevent the two from alerting more enemies had failed. Taking a moment to observe the archer once more, Koike slowly inhaled and exhaled. Then he started to walk towards the archer, the tip of the sword still aimed at the archer's chest.
"Oh?" The young woman grinned as she saw him dodge the swing. She heaved the axe up with apparent ease, something strange for someone of her stature.
"It would seem you have me at a disadvantage, Mr Death." She hoisted the axe up over her shoulder as she took a defensive stance.
The only sign that her words irritated Koike was that his eyes narrowed briefly. Once he was a few steps away from range, the Hon made a dash forwards. His initial strike would be a sidewards heave from the left, the blade handled by both hands as the chakra sizzled through the air.
She swiftly moved the axe to her right to deflect the shot with the chakra covered bottom of the axe handle.
As his opponent deflected the blow with her axe handle, Koike would not hesitate to slide the sharp edge down, towards the fingers of the archer.
With the deflect, she sidestepped to avoid the slice. The she pushed the axe's handle back over her shoulder to spin it over the other side, and grabbed it from the bottom to swing a wide heavy attack from the opposite side.
Letting his blade slide down, Koike would pivot to return briefly to his stance. Wielding his sword with only his right hand. Eyeing the movement of his opponent, he would move the blade of his sword in the path of the attack. Blocking the attack, his blade hitting just below the steel head of the axe. Grabbing the sword by the pommel, Koike would try to pressure enough weight and speed to force the axe away.
If he could just create one opening.
"Hm?" The archer seemed surprised as the axe moved back. She seemed to lose her balance as she stumbled backwards, leaving her wide open.
Pressuring the axe away, Koike would shift his hands slightly. With a quick motion he would halt the blade's motion and was about to bring it down to let the edge slice and bite into the archer's neck. The deadly song of steel moving through the air would mix together with the sissing of dense chakra.
The ground beneath the archer's feet shifted and just as the sword moved to where her body was, she was thrust backward away from the sword. A young, childish woman appeared atop a boulder across the man, right behind the archer. She leapt down on the ground with an extravagant spin and slammed her hands on the ground. The ground started to shift and the snow started to melt before liquified earth bursted out like a blazing river between the two parties. The acrobat seemed to be dressed for the heat.
"This is where we say goodbye," the archer said with a sheepish grin.
"Until next time!" As the acrobat formed a few more handsigns, the boulder behind them moved to reveal a makeshift tunnel, clearly the work of ninjutsu.
Koike's eyes narrowed as his sword didn't bite into the archer. Cleaving just air, the Hon quickly recompossed himself. Gazing at the newcomers with a stern expression, only briefly eyeing the liquified earth that was set as barrier. Frustrated that he hadn't been able to land a lethal blow Koike didn't pursue the two. Spitting in the direction they had went, he would decide to head back. There were other matters that required his attention.
Heading back to the forest edge, half of the accompanied Sarutobi were waiting for him. Together, they would return to camp. None of the soldiers that had accompanied him or Katsu had received any wounds, making it back without being pursued. Great care was taken by those soldiers to remove their tracks and keeping their chakra suppressed. Walking briskly towards the few tents that were set up as medical tents, Koike was already pointed out where Katsu was layed and treated. Pushing aside the canvas, Koike's eyes had to adjust to the interior of the tent as he entered from outside.
Seeing Koike walk in, Katsu slowly sat up.
"Ah… Hey," he said sheepishly. He seemed to be quiet for a few seconds before letting out a small chuckle.
"Haha… Sorry, I broke the sword you lent me." He gestured to the shards of the broken knives and the hilt of the sword Koike had given him after his own broke some months earlier on a mission. After a few more moments of silence, he spoke up again.
"Did you find them?"
The Hon didn't seem to mind the sword that much. Shrugging lightly as he crouched next to Katsu, he didn't answer right away.
"They got away. I could have gone further but we have inflicted some deaths upon them. Despite that they likely won't feel that even with their numbers," the last sentence was filled with a bitter tone but Koike decided to put that aside.
"Don't worry about the sword.--"
"And also Torrad's bow," Katsu added hesitantly.
"And… some of the knives Hayate had made for me..."
Briefly, it became silent in the tent as Koike just nodded. Throwing a look at the broken knives and hilt, where a only a small resemblance of the blade remained, Koike scratched his chin.
"A few knives that Hayate could likely repair with ease. As for the bow or other weaponry? Don't fret so much. It is more important that you are alive." Deciding to sit down, Koike released a sigh.
"Easier to repair a weapon than pulling somebody from the dead, I wager."
Katsu started to laugh, but quickly doubled over in pain.
"Ah… It hurts to laugh," he grumbled. He looked up at Koike with a meek smile.
"You'd know. You pulled me from the brink before, remember?" His hand went up to feel the burn scar under the phoenix mark on his chest.
"I remember. Was in the Tea country, if I remember correctly." Though a ghost of a smile dawned on Koike's lips, he didn't look back with much joy.
"I guess that you owe me two by now then, heh."
The young soldier gave a small nod in response.
"I guess so. I'm sure I'll have the opportunity to repay you soon," he said, looking down at the closed wound on his side.
"A whole new land... " he muttered. He looked up at Koike and dropped his legs from the side of the makeshift stretcher.
"Any news from the Captain?"
"If you don't mind me saying, I hope you won't. Between you and me, I rather not get stuck in a tent like this. Or getting a new addition to the collection," Running his right index finger over the scarred nosebridge, Koike would shake his head afterwards.
"No. Not yet but that is okay. I expect him by the evening. There will be likely some report or meeting being arranged. Cause the Republic did also sent a force to a similar task. Let us hope that they won't have encountered much hostiles."
"I see." Katsu looked down for a moment before pushing himself up to his feet, slowly getting up with a wrinkled face.
"Hm..." He placed his hand on the closed wound for a moment.
"I should get walking again before..." he said to himself.
"I suppose I'll have to visit the blacksmith soon anyway."
"What you should do is taking it easy. For now. When I want to move out, you better be able to walk. So place some effort in sitting still." Koike replied back.
"As for the weapons? Don't fret over it. We will get them fixed once we make it back to the main camp." Getting up, Koike seemed to have something he wanted to say but decided against it.
"Rest for now. I will be back once I have news or made new plans." Nodding to his friend and aid, Koike would turn and exit the tent. Returning to the cold, he briefly considered to take out another company of soldiers. Perhaps they would be able to track and pursue the enemies of before. But he decided against it.
[/spoili]
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