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

| Calarian and the City of a Thousand Planets |
| Imperial Sworn Sword - Yamada Suzu |
| Rain Province, Northern Akinian Empire |
Part 01

Dispatched to investigate rumored ruins that have caught the interest of the Empress herself, Suzu begrudgingly sets off to look at old rocks.

"I've heard you're in need of protection… Something about a little outing into the Northlands?" Suzu said as she pulled a stool from nearby and inserted herself into the table of men she was addressing. Placing a drink down as she took a seat amidst astonished faces at the table.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" one of the men asked her, "Who told you we're doing anything that needs protection?" he continued pointing a finger at the silver haired woman.

Suzu shrugged and swished her drink for a moment before taking a drink, "Word gets around quick, especially when you've been asking every sword for hire in the countryside. Or so I've heard." she said with a shrug. The men exchanged looks with one another as if deciding something without any words before the first man spoke up once more.

"Look lady, we're pretty sure you don't want any part of this. We've asked a dozen veteran soldiers for their help and they all refused, a woman like you…? I mean no offense but if they didn't want to help us then you won't either."

Suzu raised an eyebrow and let out a small laugh as they insisted she wasn't up for the job, "That's all very nice of you to say, but I wouldn't be approaching you if I wasn't up for your job." she placed her drink on the table and clasped her hands together before her, "I guarantee that if the other dozen you asked refused, then whatever it is you're up to? No one other than me will be crazy enough to accept it, let alone actually fulfill the job."

Taking her drink up once more she finished it as the men looked on, two of them exchanging whispered words as she drank the glass empty. "But if you don't need protection, then I guess I'll go find work elsewhere." she pushed her stool back loudly drawing looks from some of the other inn patrons as she stood to leave. Before she could step away one of the men reached a hand out and took her by the forearm.

"Stay, let's talk a bit more yeah?" the man said as he eased his hold on her and ushered her to sit back down.

Grinning, Suzu took a seat once more and motioned for one of the serving girls to bring another glass. "Go on then." she said as she tipped the empty glass over on the table before her.

The men exchanged some more weary glances before one of them sighed and shook his head, "We're looking to… ehm… Make an expedition of sorts. North, near the border with the Earth, few days riding from here. There's been talk of ruins in the area, we're hoping to find and catalogue them, perhaps hand the location back to the rightful owners if we do find them."

Suzu's eyebrow raised at the talk of giving them back to someone if they were found, "What do you mean by that? Rightful owners? They're ruins no?" she probed as the man spoke.

He laughed and shook his head, "Of course they're ruins, but a lot of ruins up here are just old temples, sites of worship for Taishaku, or the Way of Fire, seeing as those are the two real historically predominant faiths here." he shrugged and moved to pick up his own glass, "It's pretty simple honestly, not much to it, look for something that may not be there. Maybe find it," he took a drink, "maybe not."

Suzu leaned forward a little in her stool as he spoke.
"So what is it that makes the other veterans not want to take this up? Seems clean cut to me, an easy job." she leaned back and shrugged, "Just bring a bunch of academics to look at some rocks and make sure they don't hurt themselves." she watched the men exchange uneasy looks once more before the first man to speak spoke again.

"There be… rumors…."

"Rumors?"

"Rumors, myths, it's stuff to scare the kids out of the forests, keep them inside at night. You know the sort?"

"I'm not sure I do."

The man shifted in his seat, "Rumors of things protecting the ruins. Guardians, so to speak."

Another of the men cursed under his breath and moved uncomfortably, "Not Guardians Isa, Daemons." he spoke to Suzu directly, "There are legends of Daemons in the mountains, protecting something."

"But that's just it, they're legends. Myths, nothing more" the first man interjected quickly as he put up an arm to silence his companion, "Daemons aren't real, we know that much." the man shuffled uncomfortably for a moment, "Only thing is it scares the other sellswords off, spooks them. So we haven't left. Now there probably is something there, everything has a root in science. Maybe a pack of wolves, a particularly territorial bear perhaps. Something, but nothing such as daemons." he nodded before taking another drink.

"We'll pay half now, half after. So, you up for the job, or do we have to keep searching?" he asked as he motioned to Suzu.

She spun the drink in the new glass brought by the serving girl for a little before taking another drink and turning her attention back to the first man, Isa, "Looks like you've got your protection." she smirked.

There was a sound of coins clinking as Isa took a pouch from his pocket and slid it across the table to her, "Half now."

"Half later." Suzu finished with a wink as she picked up the pouch.

The carriage came to a halt alongside a small patch of farmland as rain pattered against the canvas covering the wagon. Pulling her hood tighter around her head Suzu shot a look at Myne, the young woman at the reins that was some sort of archeologist specializing in artefacts of the more novel nature, "Any reason we're stopped?" she ventured to the woman.

Myne turned and gave her a confused look before pointing a thumb behind her toward the covered wagon, "Did they not tell you? We're picking up two more right about here, going to take them with us, they should be helpful."

Suzu narrowed her eyes, "Two more?" she sighed, there were already five scholars and now it would be seven, "With the rumors you really think it's a good idea to increase your numbers with only one hired sword huh?"

"Wasn't my idea, talk to Isa if you have complaints." Myne scoffed as she adjusted her hood and shifted on the bench, obviously not wanting to talk to Suzu any longer.

Suzu shook her head and turned to look back around the wagon past her shoulder. She watched as Isa jumped from the wagon and motioned for two hooded figures standing along the edge of the road to come to him. She watched, unable to hear anything passed over the sound of the rain and unable to read the words from their lips in the dark. She watched curiously as the larger of the two newcomers handed a beaded necklace to Isa just before climbing into the carriage.

"Who are they Myne?"

"A Priest and his wife. They should be able to easily identify if the ruins belong to the Fire or Taishaku." Myne shrugged to Suzu. There was a knock at the wood of the carriage and Myne took the reins up once more, the horse resuming its journey.

They had travelled for close to four days. Their journey taking them across a nearby mountain range and down into a perpetually draped in fog marshlands. The few people that called this place home made their livings off of trapping in the marshlands, and, if the motley crew of academics in the back could be trusted, rarely strayed farther than a few kilometers into the marsh for fear of what lurked in the fog.

They had set up their camp on the first night on a hill that sat outside of the perpetual fog. It was there that the two newcomers, a priest from the Way of Fire and his wife had made their voices heard amongst all members of the group. They had droned on for nearly an hour about how the ruins here were surely of the Way of Fire, ancient and lost in the fog for nearly a century. They based their claim off of a collection of scrolls, letters, and a few hand drawn maps dating back further than Suzu cared to really think about, all of which pointed to the unmistakable truth that a temple lay in the fog of the marsh, though to whom the temple was dedicated remained rather vague in the documents provided.

On the second day they had ventured into the fog and had become quickly bogged down with the surveying equipment that the two academics that seemed to be in love with maps and rock formations had insisted on bringing.

On the third day they set back out into the fog, this time leaving all equipment behind as they searched for a village that was clearly marked on their map but not so clear through the fog. They found it as nightfall neared and, with the help of a golden coin, convinced one of the local trappers to provide himself as a ferryman for their equipment and a guide into the marsh.

Now on the fifth day, Suzu stood with her hand outstretched placatingly toward the ferryman, Keito, as he threatened the scholars with a short blade.

"Get off my damn boat or I'll get you off myself!" he yelled as an unreasonable amount of fear laced his words.

"Now I'm sure we can figure this out Keito, just put down the blade and we can talk this over." Suzu tried as she stood between the deranged man and her charges.

"Ain't no talkin! I ain't goin no more into the marsh! You don't come back when you do!" he screamed as he took a tentative step toward Suzu and apparently weighed his chances against her.

"Sure they do, I'll make sure of it too, and my friends here," she nodded her head back toward the stunned scholars, "wil definitely cough up another coin if you can take us further."

One of the scholars began to dissent at the idea before Isa punched him square in his side, "Of course! We have generous benefactors! We can provide another coin, maybe even two if we find what we seek!" he pleaded, his attempt at sounding calm falling flat as Keito waved his dagger in Isa's direction while he spoke.

Keito wavered a moment, "You lie! You can't protect me!" he screamed as he took another step forward and then another before he leapt at Suzu. In a blur the two fell to the deck of the ferry boat and a short bout broke out as they rested for control over the other. There was a grunt and a cry of pain from Keito as Suzu rolled from off of the ferryman with blood on her shirt. She gave the ferryman a pitiful look as heclasped his bizarrely bent forearm with his good hand.

"Guess the coin is mine if we find the place then." she said as she hefted the whimpering Keito over the side of the boat.

There were no dissenting voices from the scholars as she turned to the rudder and began to coax the boat forward into the fog once more, the sound of Keito sloshing through the muck back the way they'd come and his occasional whimper the only sounds breaking the silence.
 
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| Calarian and the City of a Thousand Planets |
| Imperial Sworn Sword - Yamada Suzu |
| Rain Province, Northern Akinian Empire |
Part 02

Dispatched to investigate rumored ruins that have caught the interest of the Empress herself, Suzu begrudgingly sets off to look at old rocks.

The fog had cleared all at once, as if some unseen force kept it from lingering as the ferry passed into a seemingly new area of the swamp.

Isa appeared to be quite thrilled when they passed out of the dense fog, blabbering on about air density and pressure as if he had been proven right about something that Suzu had no idea about. She turned her head to listen as she kept the ferry moving forward only to be further confused as he began to talk about some sort of field that the others all appeared to be aware of. The Priest, Motoharu and his wife Miyako seemed to be less than excited from the seeming confirmation of some sort of theory of the archeology team.

They continued on for quite some time, the dreary light of the swamp and the bugs buzzing about their only companions as Isa and the other researchers talked in hushed excitement and stole glances around the swamp every so often.

"The swamp seems to end ahead." came the voice of the Priests wife Miyako who pointed just a short distance forward to land that seemed to grow out of the swamp.

"So it does." Suzu agreed as she pulled the ferry up alongside a tree and began to tie it off. "Looks like we walk from here on out."

The archeologists quickly gathered their equipment and made their way off the boat and onto the dryland ahead of them. They were followed shortly after by Suzu and the Priest and his wife who took a few moments to survey the area while the researchers talked in hushed voices and seemed to debate which way to start off in.

After some deliberation the team came to an agreement and gestured eagerly for Suzu and the other two to follow.

The first ruins they had come across were little more than the half buried suggestions of foundations and though Suzu had found them less than interesting the archeologists had spent several days at the first site they had stumbled across taking samples of the materials and digging up further foundations and a few artifacts amongst the ruins. Following this initial discovery they had stumbled across a number of further foundations as they moved ever further inland.

Suzu paid little attention to the more complex discussions that took place between the researchers, but everyone so often her interest was piqued as the group would meander into talk of these ruins being more than simple temples and lost towns. The idea that the information she had been given that had led her here was at least partially correct began to seem more and more likely as they moved further, stumbling across a number of strange effigies the likes of which Suzu had never seen before. They contained intricate designs of sweeping circles and dissecting lines along with a tangled and weathered script so alien that not even the archaeologists could tell what language it was.

Several days passed as they traveled forward, with the group stumbling upon several more of these small stone effigies before they came across a single large stone monolith in the center of a small pond. The rock was unremarkable from the side they had approached, and though it's location certainly raised some questions among the researchers they seemed let down as they walked around the thing. The mood shifted considerably as they crossed to the otherside of the monolith and the full extent of what they had stumbled upon became obvious.

On the other side the monolith possessed etchings of unknown purpose, carved in more intricate patterns of circles and intersecting lines along with surrounding scripts that were far less weathered than the earlier stone effigies they had come across. But the most remarkable part of this monolith was that the etchings were alight with a blue glow of what Suzu could only imagine was some sort of energy.

The team went wild as the weight of what they had found dawned on them, and without hesitation Isa took a step into the pond and began to wade through it toward the monolith to get a closer look as the rest of the team unpacked their equipment at the edge of the water.

Suzu felt an intense dislike for the monolith, the etchings across its surface filled her with unease and the idea of getting closer to it became less and less appealing the more that she looked at it. She turned to survey her surroundings in time to notice a figure in the far distance, something the same general shape of a man but with proportions far larger than what any human could achieve.

"Isa, it may not be safe here." Suzu called out to the man just as he reached the monolith's dry piece of land in the center of the pond, "I think we should move back, gather more of a security detail and return." she reasoned with the man as he seemed to barely even register what she was saying, so focused was he on the stone and it's etchings in front of him.

There was a cry of surprise from Myne or Miyako, which Suzu would never find out as she turned back to look in the direction she had spotted the figure.

But instead of the vague shape of something in the distance she was met with the towering form of something not quite human stood just a meter in front of her. It was well over double Suzu's height, had the same general shape of a human but it possessed a face that appeared almost as if it were the mask of some samurai, though the slits that must have made for eyes let off a blue glow exactly the same to the monolith. Something akin to a foxes face made of porcelain and deeply engraved with the same symbology and scripts as the monolith and effigies of earlier.

The carvings repulsed her as she watched the script crawl across the things' mask, changing form and reorganizing as the beast stared her down. Suzu felt a need to look away growing as the intricate designs of the mask began to shift and change alongside the script and reached a hand for the hilt of her sword.

Before Suzu could react the thing before her had her by the throat, lifting her several meters into the air as it let off unintelligible noises at her. The eyes glowed brighter and from several parts of it's clothed and armored form the same blue light escaped through creases and cracks. Suzu brought the sword from its sheath and slashed upwards at the things' arm.

With a flick of it's arm it sent Suzu flying into the woods at the edge of the pond before her sword could make its mark. She tumbled for far longer than she could honestly feel was even possible before she came to rest among the dead leaves and the dirty ground.

Screams from back toward the monolith brought her back to full focus and Suzu rose to her feet as quickly as she could. The pain in her throat made it difficult to breathe but she pushed it to the side as she began to sprint back toward the rest of the research team.

She made it back in time to watch the beast tear one of the researchers in two, showering the area around it in gore before it turned it's view on Myne and began to slowly walk toward the seemingly paralyzed archeologist.

"Move!" Suzu called out to the woman as the beast covered the distance between them in just a few heartbeats. Suzu threw a handful of kunai at the beast as it reached Myne, which clattered against the things' armor with no real effect to speak of. Pulling her wakizashi from her back Suzu sprinted directly for the beast as it turned away from Myne who was still standing paralyzed in place but unharmed.

Suzu let loose another volley of kunai at the thing, "Myne, Isa go! Run!" she shouted with every ounce of authority she could muster at the two researchers. Isa took off without a thought but Myne remained in place, staring on and rambling incoherently as she shook and cried at the sight of the thing.

Suzu came in low and slid in between the beasts legs while simultaneously bringing the wakizashi across the inside of its calves. She stood up as quickly as she was past it and shoved Myne where she stood as she yelled at her to move.

Myne shook her head and Suzu turned to find the beast gone from where it should have been behind her. In a panic Suzu turned to watch the beast as it crushed Myne beneath it's armored boots, a short cry cutoff as the woman died beneath its weight.

Suzu formed a flurry of handsigns and engulfed the creature in darkness before sprinting around it to come at its flank. She lunged forward and plunged the wakizashi into the unarmored flank of the beast with a satisfying slip as the blade moved easily into the thing,but her seeming victory was short-lived as blue light rushed forth from around the blade with such force as to blow Suzu away from the thing.

Stumbling to her feet Suzu shook confusion from her mind as she lifted the wakizashi up once more only to stare in disbelief at the weapon in her hands. The blade was gone, only the still dripping remnants of the melted liquid metal at the hand guard giving any indication there had even been a blade there to begin with.

With little in the way of pain she peeled her hands away from the red hot handle of the wakizashi leaving thin sheets of burnt skin on the weapon as it dropped to the ground.

Turning where she stood Suzu found the beast where she had stabbed it, the eerie blue glow now illuminating the area to its side where she had stabbed it in its flank. It appeared to be blinded, Suzu took note of the fact that whatever it was, genjutsu worked on it. Grunting with effort she stood and pulled her second and final blade from its sheath at her hip. Weighing the unfamiliar katana for a moment she studied the beast as it stood motionless.

In the woods she could hear the yelling of the researchers and silently noted that were she dead the researchers would be easy to find and take care of as well. With a smirk at the thought she began to pick her way toward the beast.

Molding chakra to her feet she'd move silently over the dead leaves of the forest floor while she approached the beast. Her grip tightening and relaxing on the sword handle as she got closer she wondered if it'd be possible to kill the thing with anything she had at her disposal. Her thoughts were cut short as the beast moved again. Slowly, almost as if unsure of itself the beast raised its hands to each other and clasped them together. Suzu stood and watched in morbid curiosity as the beast's hands formed into a single hand sign.

The game was up the moment that the fingers shifted and it became clear what was happening. Suzu raised the katana in her hands in anticipation as the fox headed creature turned to look directly at her with it's glowing eyes.

Breathing heavily Suzu watched the clouds rolling past through the trees above her. The soft sound of the water in the pond lapping against her reminded her that she needed to get up.

With great care she sat up and took in the scene before her. The closer half of the pond had been sufficiently dyed red by the death of Myne and the first researcher. The strange monolith with its glowing text and crawling script and symbols was now a shattered remain of its former glory, the top three fourths of the stone lay half in the pond and half on the raised piece of land it dominated. The energy that had given it its blue glow had been extinguished leaving what remained of the script and symbols a jumble of nonsensical etchings that looked nothing like what Suzu had seen earlier.

Even with the monolith powerless and the text unrecognizable, the monolith still deeply unsettled something inside Suzu, some base instinct that she had never quite understood tore at her mind to leave this place and never return. But that couldn't happen.

Standing in the water, her left arm hanging limp at her side, Suzu picked her way carefully through the water toward the form of the beast where it lay. Devoid of the energy that had given it apparent life, it was now nothing more than an empty shell of armor and ruffled clothing. It's fox mask leered up at Suzu as if still aware of her, the eyes empty of their glow but the foxes smile ever present.

Not wanting to disturb the armor she left it where it lay and moved in the last direction she had heard the researchers yelling from. After a short while she stumbled across them, further into the forest and at the foot of a set of stairs that seemed to wind themselves up a hill that was on no map Suzu had laid eyes on since joining the band.

The group gave Suzu terrified looks but said nothing until the Priest began forward, supposedly to help Suzu to a seat.

About to take a seat, a jump of lightning fizzizing between her fingers, it began to rain. With a small frown Suzu moved the fingers of her bad arm and brought her good hand to them. At once lightning cracked and jumped in her good hand as she brought it forward to the priest.

The relief of just moments before was replaced with confusion and horror in the survivors.

The rain water ran red along the crevices in the stone bricks, the crimson stream slowly diluting as it flowed along until barely a trace of the red taint remained when it reached the steps leading down the overgrown forest path. The labored breathing of someone nearing death punctuated the ever present downpour into the trees above. Suzu made her way to the figure as it made a futile effort to pull itself to a second unmoving figure from where it lay. Suzu stopped over the figure as they turned to look back at her, "God forgive you for this." the woman said apologetically as Suzu reached down and took the woman by the hair. She lifted her slightly and a muffled noise escaped her throat as the blade in Suzu's hand passed over it.

Looking up once more to the clouds above Suzu couldn't help but to thank them for the cool water.
 
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[ Empire of Akino | Kanazawa, an important city within the Uchiha heartlands ]
[ Operation: Thunder's Wrath | A relatively short collaboration post between @Gerontis, @ChromeHound and @Aliceee ]
[ Kiyomi has a meeting with Zakito, with Matatabi also attending. The three discuss and design a plan that is meant to lure out a large batch of zealots. But not only to bait and defeat the Zealot threat, for the plan is to also take a chance to understand how far their connections on the western continent go - to consider who has been collaborating with this maniac and fanatics. ]



Zakito placed the map down. Various files were placed on the table, all so that it could be viewed with ease. The map detailed the region of where the new city-project of Kiyomi was being worked on. The files? Various profiles on missing-nin and mercenaries, information that was both published in the likes of the bingo-books as what could be extracted from various sources. Courtesy of the intelligence division, Zakito mused to himself.

Placing his hands on the side of the table, he leaned slightly forward.
"The enemy has been battered, outsmarted and cornered these last few months. They have gained some success in their plans, some of which we may not even be aware yet. However, they have sustained losses that will be incredibly hard to recover from. Certainly due to the fact that we have managed to turn the odds around." Zakito's right eye glanced from the papers and map to the two others that were present.
"Right now, the Intelligence Division did their work. The enemy is being lured to the trap that we are setting out. They are once more reaching out to try to find people that they can hire to supplement their forces. Allowing us to trace who are supporting them with resources. Something that we will deal in a different operation. But those sources will be destroyed when the trap springs."

Pausing, Zakito gestured to a marking on the map.
"This is most certainly the point that they will stage an ambush. The surrounding will be to their advantage. The hills and vegetation will make them hard to spot. Which brings us to the lines of defence."
Zakito looked at Kiyomi.
"The Sworn Swords will be masked and disguised. The enemy must not learn that you're heavily guarded. Once the trap is launched, the majority of the Sworn Swords shall engage with the enemy. A few units that will be laying in wait and travel at your envoy's flank will move around. Effectively pinning the enemy and able to destroy them."
Zakito's gaze travelled to the presence of the entity that he wasn't quite familiar with. He had heard that Kiyomi had tamed and could use the Nibi. But he was still doubtful how much trust he could place on the Bijuu. The fact that the bijuu wasn't bigger than a housecat didn't more to reassure Zakito. Yet, he kept his thoughts to himself.

"The second line will be Kensuke and me. If the enemy will manage to get past the first line, we will hold the second. You will continue to head towards the safe-point, where the trap is further set by Meisa and her people. If by some means or reason the enemy manages to pierce the defences, then it is up to the seals and the last line of defence. The Nibi."
Finishing, Zakito wanted to ask questions. He was curious about what abilities Matatabi could conjure to protect Kiyomi. And if the being even was willing to defend her. Certainly, if something could change the situation and offer a better existence for the unusual entity.

Listening to Zakito, Kiyomi was both pleased and disappointed about the plan. She understood her role and what the plan was about. It was a work that required delicate matters that couldn't be rushed or just charged head-on. What made it worse was that she understood that she and Matatabi were the centre-point. Yet, they weren't allowed to engage in combat until the last point. And knowing fully well how capable the Sworn Swords, Kensuke and Zakito were, she had little hope to exact personal revenge on those who had wronged her and those she cared for.
Her eyes locked on the maps and the profiles of those that the Zealots had contacted. All of the missing-nin seemed to be classed as rank A or even S. None of them being a threat to underestimate.
"Those seals are the same as at the palace," Kiyomi said, a frown knitting itself on her brow, "if it will amplify Mata's chakra, we will be fine. The lack of any village or urban centre means that we don't have to worry either about innocents getting caught in the crossfire."

Throwing a sideways glance at Matatabi, Kiyomi wondered briefly if he felt the same as she did. Seeing his pride, she had a hunch.
"If things will go bad, for some reason, we do have a way out. Or we can attempt to summon you." Kiyomi stated, attempting to hide her disappointment by flashing a smile.

The flaming feline had remained on the ground at the beginning of Zakito's briefing, but after a short time, had decided he'd had enough of simply listening to instructions and leapt atop the table. Taking a look at the map, Matatabi tilted his head, studying it closely. He glanced towards the other files as well before looking towards Zakito, his features moving in a way that was akin to a human raising their eyebrow. When Kiyomi spoke, however, the fiery cat turned towards her and stretched, rolling his shoulders. Letting out a long sigh, he glanced towards Zakito before turning back to Kiyomi. "It is as if he doesn't trust us to be able to take care of ourselves,"

Absentmindedly licking one flaming paw, Matatabi continued, his tone casual yet dismissive, "Or perhaps he forgets this diminutive form is merely a representation of my true form." The Nibi did not dislike the Hon leader, quite the opposite really, as the man had proven quite protective of Kiyomi. But Matatabi's pride caused him to bristle at any insinuation that his capabilities were lesser than they truly were. He had no wish to unnecessarily risk the life of his host. Kiyomi had proven to be a rather tenacious girl, one who had earned his trust and favor. With that in mind, however, Matatabi was eager to have the opportunity to let loose. It had been a long time since the beast had been able to truly test his own power and Zakito's plan seemed designed to make it so that he wouldn't get the chance.

"Perhaps you'd be so kind as to allow us an opportunity to vent some… frustrations." Matatabi continued, turning his attention back towards Zakito.

Frankly, Zakito had expected more resistance against the plans. He was well aware of how tempting it could be for Kiyomi to throw herself into the fray. Something he wouldn't have been reluctant to allow her if her role within the Empire was of the highest importance.
"The Void Rose technique can provide a way out," Zakito began as Kiyomi stating that it could provide an escape. If he didn't know better, he wouldn't feel wary. But knowing how much Hiron meant for Kiyomi and to what lengths she went before to do something as defend Hiron's honour, Zakito doubted that she would take any escape.

"I do need to state that I fully entrust you both. I have seen Kiyomi's combat performance and know of her skills. And I dare not to question a Bijuu in terms of power, for I rather not witness such a destructive force, again." Zakito replied, his attention shifting to the Nibi.
"Keep in mind that the goal is to eliminate them without creating a fuss or prolong the fight. If you two will wind up in combat, then so be it. We can't cover everything, despite the intel advantage we got over the enemy. But I still warrant caution."
Zakito wondered how much impact his words would have. He doubted that he could convince the Nibi in not obliterating the zealots and the surrounding area to smouldering heaps of ash and burnt flesh. In fact, it was the mere concept that a bijuu had to act as the last line of defence.

Glancing at Matatabi, Kiyomi stayed quiet. But she did feel the same way, hoping that they were able to vent some of their 'frustrations' at these zealots. Listening to Zakito, Kiyomi did nod slowly.
"Don't worry. We are well aware," Kiyomi said, "I suppose that all now rest is that we start to lay out the trap? Maybe even start to study these profiles as well?"

Picking up a profile, Kiyomi frowned slightly. If it was indeed the case, then the Zealots were going all out. The profile that she was holding detailed a missing-nin from the Lightning country. And throwing a look at the table that was covered with more profiles, gave away that the Zealots weren't just turning to mercenaries from one or two countries. There was even one that hailed from the Rice country.
"I do wonder now though," Kiyomi trained her eyes on Zakito as she continued, "how many of them are really mercenaries? For if they are from surrounding countries, is there a chance that the zealots are collaborating with the neighbouring governments to see the Empire suffer a major setback?"

Stretching out close to Kiyomi so that he could peruse the file as well, Matatabi let out a low growl. "At this point I wouldn't put much past those fiends." Glancing towards Zakito, the beast sat on his haunches and licked his paw once more. Judging from the files he had seen, there were indeed a number of threats that the zealots were gathering. These weren't run of the mill shinobi either. They appeared to be of a significantly higher calibre. That thought alone made Matatabi smile. He might get to let off a little steam after all~
 
Dirty Blades - Part 3
[ Eastern Continent | Wolf Country - northern front | Imperial Forces of the 11th Brigade ]
[ A collab of @Oblivion666 , @RedFox , @Aliceee , @FrostedCaramel and @Oetje | Send out on their respective task, Meilin leads her team to ambush a Rongese patrol. Though successful, the Rongese troops have a few tricks up their sleeve. Revealing that this mission won't be going entirely smooth or according to the anticipation of the Akinian operatives ]

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The cold breeze passed softly through their positions, the movement of the wind causing the rustling of vegetation to follow suit. The sun had started to descend slightly, indicating that a good portion of the day had passed.
Crouched, Meilin stared at the camp that was ahead. It was quite well located. From the treeline to the stakes that outlined the perimeter of the camp was a good distance, that couldn't be just crossed that easily without the use of ninjutsu. And even the techniques she knew made Meilin waver if she could cross it quickly.
To the sides and flanks of the camp were cliffs that made part of a steep rise of the ground, effectively denying them the chance to quietly move around the camp.
Letting her brown coloured gaze fall upon the defences Meilin couldn't discover much. The stakes seemed to just set up as a means of marking the perimeter. It would hardly hold something like a bear or mountain cat away, so far she could see or figure. But that didn't take away that there could be traps lying in wait on the clearing to the stakes.

Waiting, she felt her heart pounding but skipping beats. There was no sight of the enemy forces. No patrols or stationary guards. No sentries that were on the lookout for any potential trouble. Had the enemy just left the camp? Why?
Clicking softly with her tongue Meilin considered what their options were. But right with the use of ninjutsu so close to the camp being forbidden, there was not an easy way to figure out where the enemy was.

Far more composed than she had been earlier, Aoi kept herself to the back of the group as they had made their way to the enemy camp as she worked through her breathing during the movement. Fighting her own impulse to get as far from the sight of the enemy position as possible she crept up closer to Meilin so that she could be heard at a whisper.

"It's not just me right? There's no one home?" she asked as loud as she dared, her voice less than a whisper between children as she pointed toward the camp and the stakes that outlined it with a nod of her head. Through them she could see nothing to hint at the presence of any Rong soldiers. There were no sounds of mess preparations, no movement or shadows beyond the wooden emplacements, not even the sound of soldiers being rowdy in their camp. The whole vista was eerie, and it began to make the anxiety from the earlier bombardment come back to the surface. Aoi clenched a fist in the snow so that no one could see it and waited to see what the next move would be.

Dagrún remained silent. Watching the camp, she was sharp for any signs that betrayed life being present. But there were no enemies that did what could be expected of a military camp. It reeked of being a trap, certainly with the fact that they had been bombarded before.
"They are there, I am sure," Dagrún mumbled back, certain that there had to be foes laying in wait. If she had to set up a trap she would lure the enemy in first.
Glancing at the cliffs, she wondered if the enemy had set up people there.
The grip on the axe's shaft became tighter as Dagrún felt her blood cooling down. "Cap, someone has to draw them out. If ye let me, I can attract some attention. Get those fookers out," she continued.

He was slowly following his team around, one crouched step at a time. His eyes were wide open, scanning their surroundings. His eyes were trying to pick up the slightest sound, be it the cracking of a snow, crunching of snow under the feet of anyone trying to approach them. But there was nothing. Only eerie silence. Deafening silence. In a weird, twisted way, he preferred the overwhelming chaos from earlier. Mamoru listened to both Aoi and Dagrùn, their whispering voices being a welcome change to the silence that befallen them. Upon fixing his gaze towards the enemy camp, he had to agree with the rest of his team. No one seemed to be present at the camp. Not a single sign of movement or activity. It was deeply unsettling for Mamoru, who felt his right hand start to tremble slightly. As if it was eager to grasp Oak and defend himself. But there was no way a sword could keep him safe against his own feelings.

Mamoru never felt this tense in his entire life. Every second, he was prepared to spring into action, to defend himself, his team. Of all the times he could not rely on him, he was unable to summon Tenko. The fox would sniff out any possible ambush, but using ninjutsu this close to the camp was prohibited. He tried to take deep, slow breaths to calm himself down, but it was not working. Actually, it was having the opposite effect. An idea appeared in his mind." Lieutenant, if Dagrùn will head out to draw their attention, and if Ninjutsu will be usable, I can use my Earth Release to deny our enemy firm footing.`` He thought that this time, his suggestion could work and that he could finally be of some worth to his team.

Waiting with his team as they looked on at the current situation, the others would offer up some suggestions. Dagrun wanted to lure them out while Mamoru wanted to use his earth release to hamper the enemies footing. Madoc would rub his head before standing up. "That's the problem Mamoru. If we were not hesitant about using our ninjutsu we would have several plans. Problem being they have sensors like me. Well some way to track our chakra usage anyway. Using your earth release while it's a good idea, would give them a pinpoint on where you are."

Madoc would sigh as he exhaled trying to think of a way to combat this. "If anyone should be bait, then it should be me. No offense Dagrun but you are more likely to try and kill them all by yourself than lure them out. I'm better at getting attention drawn to me and then getting out of dodge. What about dragon dude? Any hope he also know what the plan is right now?"

Meilin shot a look over her shoulder, the expression making it clear that she wanted them to be silent and stay down.
"Stay silent and down," Meilin ordered, her voice hushed but her tone sharp. Turning her attention back at the camp, Meilin continued to wait. She did consider to let someone try to lure the enemy out. Obviously, their enemy was trying to play their patience. But that didn't mean that it could be used against them. The question was, who was the best for drawing the enemy out?
"Dragon dude should know the plan. But I have no clue if he will follow them," Meilin replied back to Madoc as she continued to keep her attention at the camp. "Just stay patient. "
Just as Meilin finished the sentence, a sound resonated. It was soft as if some was kicking the lid of a jar, letting pressured air escaping. The sound was followed with casks being send skyhigh into the air - towards the direction where Orun's unit should be.
"There is your distraction," Meilin stated, a wry smile spreading over her lips. "Stay at the ready. If they fire another volley, we are moving forwards. I take front. Aoi, take left. Dagrún take right. Madoc takes rear. Mamoru stays centre. Make sure to keep some space between us and keep an eye on my pace."
Drawing her short sword, the weight felt somehow pleasant in her hand.

The first volley of casks was followed by silence, only to be launched again.
"Now," Meilin instructed as she moved forwards. Keeping herself slightly low, she would pace forwards. There was no sign that the enemy was watching her unit. And no response once she was certain that she had left the cover of the pine forest foliage.
The soft sound of whatever send the casks high and falling towards a particular direction became a bit louder as Meilin started to reach the palisade. Reaching close enough, she would instantly crouch down and gesture the others to follow suit.
The enemies were out of sight, at first, cause they had positioned themselves behind the tents. They were keeping themselves silent but not on full guard. Bundled together, the regular Rongese soldiers were more concerned with keeping themselves as warm as possible.
Keeping herself low, Meilin narrowed her eyes as she leaned to the side.
The soft sounds was literally the caskets being launched into the air. Red cloaks were using some wind technique while they clearly had someone using sensory. "But why aren't they spotting us?" Meilin thought to herself.
Turning to the group, she would gesture them to come closer. Waiting till they would be close enough, Meilin dished out more orders.

"Dagrún, take the right approach. Make as much of a ruckus as you can," Meilin shifted her attention on Mamoru, "Mamoru, you help her. Stick together and make sure that you get their attention."
Turning her attention on Madoc and Aoi, Meilin began with her next order. "Madoc and Aoi. You guys focus on those red cloaks. Try to use something to pinpoint and try to take them out. I will buy you guys some time and take their attention on the right. Got it? Move."

Following Meilin's lead, Dagrún would seem pretty calm about the situation. Listening to the orders of Meilin, Dagrún nodded. Using her free hand, she would pat Mamoru's shoulder to signal that he should come with her right away.

With her Meilin's words, it was decided. Clenching at the ground for a moment longer Aoi pulled her hand away and turned to Madoc as she began to move back and away from their vantage point. Giving the blonde a nod she began to move toward the Red Cloaks at their launchers.

Mamoru listened to Madoc's explanation and nodded his head in agreement." Understand. Thank you. " He appreciates the fact that he learned why the idea was bad and hoped to learn from his mistake. Upon being told their new orders, he felt a very slight tingle of weird excitement upon learning that he would be paired with Dagrùn. He just nodded his acknowledgement and as he felt the pat on his shoulder, he immediately followed her, staying as low as possible.


 
Áki Hon
The First Trial

[ Somewhere in Konohagakure | Intelligence Division Facility ]
[ A collab between the amazing @Aliceee and @RedFox ]
[ Áki is summoned with dozens of other Genin and Chunin to an Intelligence Division for reasons unknown! ]​

The First Trial
The genin were led into the large hall. Due to the late hour and few candles, an interesting lighting was created. A certain tension lingered about as the genin weren't told much about why they had been gathered away from their teams or ongoing operations.
While some had profiles that clarified that there were some loudmouths present, none of the genin made much noise or questioned what was happening.
This likely due to the presence of operatives from the Intelligence Division, who seemed to punish anyone severely that spoke out of line.

For nearly half an hour, the genin were just packed into the room with each other - the silent intelligence operatives just watching over them.
Eventually, a set of doors would open. An agent of the intelligence division came forward and started to read names of a list.
The respective genin were moved forward in groups and escorted away. It continued in a slow pace, only seemingly increasing the tension that started to plague the room and genin in it.

What could be so important that the Intelligence Division itself pulled me out from my mission. Something really important, Àki thought to himself as he entered what was without any doubt the biggest hall he ever saw. This is how he imagined the halls from the legends Sigrid used to talk about when they were travelling from Bjarnafoss to Konoha. He looked around himself and from what he saw, everyone was as flabbergasted as he was. Most of them, at least from what he saw based on their age, were mostly genin and chunin. He was on the verge of asking questions about their current predicament, but seeing how the others were "nicely" asked to stay silent and wait. So Àki waited with the rest of them, and time both slowed down to a crawl, while at the same time seemed to go incredibly fast.

Then, after what seemed an eternity for the young Hon, the doors at the end of the hall opened and an Intelligence Division operative walked out. He held a scroll from which he was reading their names. Most of the clans that were affiliated with Konoha were present in the hall. The tension in the room got thicker and thicker with each group being escorted out, and Áki felt it was starting to get to him. He flexed and eased his fingers a few times, tried to take deep, slow breaths, anything that could help him keep his calm. As he looked around himself, some of the people present in the hall returned his glimpse with various responses - from a friendly nod of the head to a scoff. He closed his eyes and shook his head, letting out a deep breath, then returned to staring at the gate in front of him. Then, despite him expecting his name to be called out any time, it happened. The sound hit him as if a bolt of electricity ran through his body and together with his group, he marched forward. Within him, fear mixed with excitement.

Being guided into the other room, the scent of blood seemed to fill the air. It was repugnant but it couldn't be avoided. The group of genin were lined up and forced to march in a line as various operatives stood at the side.
The first in the line was instructed to move forward and before the young girl knew it, a bucket of crimson liquid was thrown over her. The action caused her to scream and panic, which caused her to be removed near instantly from the room - back to where they had come from.
A few others failed in a similar fashion as others managed to only flinch and continue. Which saw them being guided to the next room.

Upon entering the room, the stench that pierced his nose made his stomach twist and churn around. There was no mistake in what it was, and Áki had to grit his teeth together, clenching his jaw so hard it was starting to go numb. It took his nose a few seconds to get used to it, but he had a feeling that he could not get rid of the stench from his clothes that easily. He looked around the room without turning his head, and he noticed that they were once again surrounded by Intel operatives, just as stern as the ones in the previous room. When they were ordered to move forward, he did so in unison with a girl in the line next to him.

Within a second, a bucket of a crimson liquid was literally thrown at her. Áki's eyes opened wide, fear and bewilderment plentiful beyond his look. He had a feeling this is what will happen to all of them and he went on to quickly close his mouth and hold his breath back, but he was a split second too late. Some of the liquid slipped past, inside his mouth and the urge to throw up he experienced when he entered the room was back, only it was a hundred times more intense. He stood still on slightly shaking legs, clenched his shaky fists and moved to wipe the liquid away from his eyes, nose and mouth, spitting out the liquid as soon as his hand moved away. He looked at the nearest operative, expecting some kind of reaction for him. Time seemed to slow down as their gazes met, and after a second that felt like eternity, Áki was guided to the next room. He was hoping for respite in it, something his shaky legs could use. But as he expected, none was to be found.

The next room seemed to be divided into various tilts. At each tilt stood what seemed to be a masked figure, armed with a blunt weapon. The previous group of genin was still busy but none seemed capable of defeating any of the masked figures - who seemed to possess far more martial prowess and experience. Yet, some of the genin were picked out and moved to the other side. Whereas the majority was simply picked out - some not even conscious
anymore - and dragged away, from the direction they came from.

Once a ring became available, Áki would receive the instruction to head to the space. There, a masked figure awaited him. The person leaned on a polearm, the end being a blunt but steel end. The dim lighted room didn't allow Ákí to see the eyes behind the mask, giving the figure an odd appearance. Nodding to the blunted blade on the ground, the masked figure seemed to wait for Ákí to pick up the sparring blade.

Instead of a foul stench, this room was filled with loud, clanging noises. Most of the genin who passed the previous room were locked in combat with what seemed to be a superior combatant. Some were already escorted out, on their own or being simply dragged, a sight that caused Áki to swallow hard. He was still a bit shocked from the previous room, and this room was only magnifying that feeling. As they dragged an unconscious person past him, Áki felt like turning and walking back, saying everyone that whatever was happening, he was not taking part in it. But his body didn't want to move. He looked at the nearest empty ring and was instructed to enter it.

He stood there, as if frozen for a moment. He was utterly terrified and confused. What could be the meaning behind pulling them away for their teams, dragging them to this place in the middle of the night, making them for what seemed like an eternity, then straight up pour a bucket of blood on them and then have them bludgeoned to unconsciousness? While he was afraid of finding out, his other part that held an intense dislike for quitting made him step forward and into the ring.

His enemy seemed to possess no eyes, though it could probably have been caused by the lighting in the room. He was nodded at the practice blade and walked up to it, kneeling down to reach for it. He firmly held it in his right hand and tightly grasped it to suppress the shakiness of it. He did not let his eyes stray away from the place where the eye sockets of his opponent were,not for a second. Then he formed the Seal of Confrontation for a mere second before he launched forward, dragging the blade on the ground and raised it in an uppercut motion. The masked man seemed to scoff at the move and easily blocked the strike, and the two weapons were now locked, both sides pushing against each other. Áki quickly realized that there was no way he could overpower his foe in this way and made a slight jump back, ducking under a spear swipe without taking his eyes away from his foe. Seeing a possible opening, he quickly dashed forward, swinging his blade upwards again, aiming at the faceless mask. His strike was easily dodged with a downward bow and Áki smirked as he brought up his leg, his kick landing square in the mask.

His feet hit what he guessed was military grade material, and instead of shattering the mask, his opponent was merely staggered. He wanted to try another kick, but he felt a hand grab onto his leg. Cursing in his mind, he felt his leg being pulled and he was hurled to the edge of the ring, landing with a loud thud. He quickly rolled around to his back, and saw his foe mid air, leaping towards him. He quickly did another roll and the blunt end of the spear landed with a loud clang on the spot his head was in. Taking a quick peek, he saw that his foe had his back to him, and he quickly rolled to his side and delivered a kick to the back of the masked man's right knee. Using the moment his move granted him, he scrambled to his feet and charged his foe, lodging his knee between the man's ribs and pelvis, earning him a loud grunt from behind the mask. He noticed an elbow coming straight toward his head and raised his arm, only barely blocking it. The featureless mask turned towards him and from this close, he saw the eyes behind the mask. This, together with the fact that he managed to stagger, even if only momentarily, his foe, and make him give away any kind of emotion, even if only a slight grunt, reassured him that he was fighting a foe made of blood and flesh, just like he was. Gritting his teeth, he pulled his head back and with all the strength he could gather, he delivered a headbut to the mask. Earning another grunt of surprise, as well as one of pain from Áki, as he felt something warm underneath his forehead protector. Swatting the thought aside, he raised his right hand and grasped the sword as tight as he could and brought the butt down at the forehead part of the mask.

A tiny part of him hoped that the mask would crack and that his opponent would be knocked out as well. His blow landed center on the part he intended to, but it had little to no effect. Pulling his sword hand back, Áki narrowly dodged another elbow and as he raised his head back, he realized that what goes around usually comes around as well, and his chin was struck with a fist. Before he could pick up his guards again, the same hand came back one again, with the masked man's elbow hitting Áki straight in his stomach. The attack was sufficient to break the two from their grappling stance and the young Hon slid back the distance of a few steps and was observing his foe.

There's gotta be more here than what meets the eyes. Overpowering him probably won't happen. But why the hell would they put us against a foe like this, he thought to himself as he observed his foe that showed no signs of exhaustion. He wiped the blood that was trailing a red line from under his forehead guard and dashed at his foe once again. This time, he was stopped in his tracks before he could close the distance and they exchanged blows at a distance. Or rather, Áki was blocking every strike he could, and dodging the ones he could not. His mind was racing, trying to think about a way out of this disadvantageous situation.

Think about it! They led you to a hall and left you there without telling you anything! They let you stay there, wondering about what will happen next! What if - what if they tested our ability to remain calm, facing the unknown that is in front of us? He asked himself this question, narrowly ducking under a wide spear swipe. He took a few steps closer, exploiting the opening left by this move. After that, he had to stand still and defend against another flurry of attacks, dodging and blocking to the best of his abilities. And the second room - where they poured a bucket of blood over us! It came out of nowhere, as if - as if it was to test our ability to remain calm in face of sudden, seemingly overwhelming situations?

Áki knew this was just a hunch, a wild guess, nothing more. But he had a gut feeling he decided to stick to. If he was correct, then there is only one thing they can be testing right now.Our willingness to persevere in front of overwhelming odds! He blocked another blow as the thought crossed his mind. His feet slid back from the force of the attack and as soon as he came to a stop, he used his blade to push the spear into the ground. Dashing forward again, he was continuously pushing his blade against the spear in hopes of keeping it pinned. As he got close enough to strike, he lifted his blade and swung it towards the mask of his opponent. His strike was easily dodged by his superior foe who ducked under the strike and counterattacked with an uppercut of his own. The strike hit Áki square in his stomach once again, and he felt his insides trying to become his outsides. He gritted his teeth to endure it, and as he lowered his gaze, he met the eyes of the masked man for the first time. They were as blank in terms of emotions as the mask was. Determined not to give up, Áki raised his knee against the mask in hopes of knocking his opponent over and gaining the upper hand. He gritted his teeth even more, in anticipation of the pain he too would experience, as his knee met the material of the mask.

The response was a blunt pain in his knee and a noise he could not attribute to either fear, surprise or anger coming from behind the mask. The most important thing was that the man was not on his back.Persevere and overcome overwhelming odds! You can't advance if you don't overcome your obstacles! The thought crossed his mind as he pulled his leg away and raised his knee one more time. This time, he felt his opponent topple forward and Áki moved with him. A second later as he landed on his back, he was standing over him, the tip of the blade at the neck of his foe." Stay dow -"

Before he could finish his proclamation, he felt something blunt hit him in the back of his right thigh, making him lose his firm footing. As he tried to regain it, he felt something pushing away his chest. Looking down, he realized that a leg was doing and before he could secure his footing, he was lifted and literally tossed away like a ragdoll. He landed, back at the distance he dashed from again.Overcome the challenges and not celebrate before they are down, he thought to himself, cursing in his mind. He could have, at least he hopped, pass this test by beating his foe. He took a deep breath in an effort to suppress his frustration with himself and to regain his composure. One quick glance towards the other end of the ring revealed his enemy was back on his feet, seemingly unfazed by the previous events.

Come on, Áki, come on! You almost did it once, you can do it! He kept repeating this to himself as he observed his foe. He took another deep breath and as he exhaled, he dashed forward as quickly as he could. Within a second, the spear came at him swinging from the right. He felt as if time slowed down, as the spear slowly and slowly came closer. When it was about half a meter away from him, he hurled his training blade at his foe and now with his empty right hand, he reached for the spear. Having firmly grasped it in his palm and gritting his teeth, he pulled the spear with his right hand behind himself, as hard as he could. He aimed to propel himself forward even faster while at the same time deny the man a firm footing and pull him towards him.

His heart jumped as he felt himself being slightly propelled forward, while his masked opponent seemed to stumble forward a bit. Ducking to avoid the blade, Áki achieved in getting him off balance, in a spot where he wanted him to be. Trying to brace himself for the coming pain as much as he could. He let go of the spear and clenched his right hand into a fist so tightly, his knuckles turned white. He thrust his hand forward, and in a second, his fist crashed square into the middle of the mask. The adrenaline he felt completely overshadowed any pain he should feel. He thought he heard a loud crack, either from the mask or his bones. The force of the impact carried the man back a few steps with Áki and he landed on his back with a loud thud. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, whether his foe was conscious or not, Áki stepped onto the upper chest of his enemy and placed his shaking, bloodied and quite possibly broken right hand onto the neck, prepared to strike at the first sign of resistance. He wanted to look around, to see if there is a judge around him, or someone who would say when it was enough, but he didn't want to move his eyes away from his foe he hoped he bested this time." Stay down. Please." He muttered this to himself, panting as he tried to catch his breath.

Akí's foe wouldn't remain still. Clearly intending to get back up, it became clear that the masked opponent was mustering to continue fighting. Yet as the masked figure rose up from the ground, darkness seemed to obscure Akí's sight. The sounds around him slowly faded as if he was falling down into a soothing pool of shadows.

He wanted to continue the fight, but the sounds faded completely and the shadows swallowed him.
 
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Dirty Blades - Team Orun
[Eastern Continent | Wolf Country - northern front | Imperial Forces of the 11th Brigade]
Summary: Orun and Aiko have decided a new strategy. Orun will take his team to assault the camp while Aiko draws the fire of the artillery. With this plan in mind they execute the attack and push forward into the enemy camp.
​
Tomiko had remained nearby the two as Orun and Aiko talked about what their next moves were, listening to the back and forth as she tried to figure out where the plan would go. Hearing the plan seem to get finalized, she nodded and moved to stand nearby Orun. Then looking towards Aiko, she thought of something that hadn't really been noted thus far in the conversation. "The bombing only started after we ambushed the enemy, and some of them exploded. Could they be using their own troops as a kind of marker for the bombs?" She asked the two, looking between them for a few moments. As she wondered if perhaps spreading out a little bit wider to cause a couple of explosions would make the enemy think a larger force was coming, like was suggested.

Before she would take her leave, Aiko threw a look at Tomiko. "Possibly," the Cho stated as she would venture out. Once she had taken a location that she was content with Aiko decided to wait and give some time for Orun to relocate his unit.
Rolling her shoulders, she would prepare on her end on to distract the enemy and, hopefully, keep their attention focused.

A barrage of pots would descend on a location, centered between the various Akinian units that were assigned with the operation. With the ceramics cracking, unleashing the mixture that would violently spread and unleash fire, smoke would build up. Small columns would start to rise above the canopy of the pinetree forest.

The squad did not wait. At the sound of explosions and marks of fire in the distance they charged through and towards the camp. They were careful to avoid notice, Orun had no wish for the artillery target to shift to them after all. A watchful eye in the form of Tireo circling high above the forest kept an eye on things as well while looking for where the artillery was coming from.

The caskets seemed to halt after a while, with smoke seemingly to hover over the enemy camp - preventing Tireo to get a clear view over possible enemy locations. However, it seemed that Team 4 was starting their approach.
If the dragon paid enough attention, it would also spot out a figure that waved up to the sky. Located in a small clearing, the figure was Aiko that signalled towards the camp.

The girl watched as the barrage of pots came tearing down on a position that wasn't their own. She hoped that Aiko had managed to avoid being hurt by the pots, but also suspected that the jounin was much too skilled for something such as that to affect her. When the rest of the squad charged, Tomiko charged along with them. Holding her bow in her hand, she was ready to stop and take a quick shot as needed. She was towards the front of the charging squad, and worried about how much resistance they might meet. Still, she was ready to fight alongside the men as they neared the enemy camp...

Upon spotting Aiko waving, Tireo banked left and towards the camp. It was clear enough that they could begin making whatever moves necessary now. Orun down below would continue to move forward through the forest until they reached the outer defenses of the camp, constantly staying alert for more Rong troops set as pickets or patrols.

A loud sign pierced through the air. The resonation being animalistic, followed quickly by shouts that were from human origin. To make matters worse, soon enough flames were produced that started to create smoke. Chaos and violence seemed to erupt out of nowhere in the enemy camp with the smoke preventing Orun and his unit to clearly see what was going on.
A few silhouettes started to become vaguely visible as they stumbled out of the smoke. Coughing and clearly confused, the Rongese soldiers seemed to look for the culprit - only to find none. A few more Rongese started to appear out of the smokescreen. It became clear that the dozen soldiers weren't sure what they were supposed to do.
Only for a few seconds later the smoke to be driven away, if only for a fleeting moment. Calmly, a red-cloaked figure with a clear authoritative aura arrived in vision. Shouting in their unknown language, the red cloak started to seemingly instruct the soldiers to attend to various tasks. Only to twist his head towards the direction of Orun's unit.

At a rapid pace, the instructions seemed to flow out of the redcloak's mouth and as a result, the soldiers started to spread out - but moving towards Orun's unit, using the various tents to stay out of sight from their Akinian foes.

As they grew closer to the camp, Tomiko fell towards the rear of their unit. As an archer, it was more her place to remain at the rear. As such, she fell back towards the rear of the group. Yet even from the rear, she was still fully capable of seeing the chaos and violence erupt at the camp they were getting ready to try to take. As she witnessed the smokescreen, and the confused soldiers emerging from it. Which, thankfully, seemed to be genuinely confused and not planning some deceptive attack. Then it was suddenly cleared, and a red-cloaked figure who seemed in command appeared. The girl felt her gut clench, nerves getting the better of her as it seemed to glare directly at them. Immediately followed by barking in its strange language, and the enemy forces spread out and started moving towards their unit. The girl took an unconscious step backwards, worrying about what had happened as the enemy almost seemed like they had expected the attack. Looking in the direction of Orun, she wondered what the man's orders would be. Still, the girl drew an arrow and gently knocked it in her bow. Ready to draw and fire if the order to attack was given.

With Orun's unit coming to a halt, the wind gently started to blow the smoke and ash into the air - obscuring what was happening at the side of the screen. Loud sounds of shouts, clash of steel and something roaring were mixed with the cracking of wood being tormented by fire.
As the regular Rongese soldiers took their hiding, the visible Red cloak turned towards Orun's unit. It spoke in a language that none of the Akinians could comprehend. The tone did suggest something mocking as the red cloaked individual seemed to spread his arms and gesture to the camp.
Only for several projectiles to be shot up into the air and about to descend near Orun's unit - but nowhere close to be an immediate threat.

The girl again nervously glanced in the direction of Orun, as he seemed to have them just standing there while the projectiles from the enemy were shot off. What more, she noticed the that some of the soldiers seemed to be taking to hiding, and the tone of Red Cloaked figure sounded mocking. Something just… felt off to the girl about the whole situation. Especially with the projectiles being fired, but not near where they would become a threat. "M-maybe we should pull back? They know we're here, they could call a strike on their own." The girl said aloud to nobody in particular, looking at those around her. It did strike her as odd, that the projectiles weren't dropping on them directly. The girl kept her eyes sharp, watching for the enemy or signs that the projectiles were coming in on their squad. Still, she felt it might be better to pull back out of the area instead of mindlessly running into what increasingly felt like a trap.

The question of Tomiko's was met by a look of grim determination on the face of Orun. There could be no doubt what he planned to do as he stood up and shouted his own orders. "Kill the red cloak then kill the rest!" As he finished he slipped a kunai from his leg pouch and threw the weapon, aiming for the nearest Rong soldier. All around him the other shinobi did the same, spreading out as they were wary of the possibility of another exploding enemy and fire casks. Above Tireo circled closer. A message from Orun that the camp was already on alert let him throw caution slightly and move in to see if the artillery might be spotted.

The red cloak would weave a few handsigns, holding the last sign. The engagement that started between the Rongese soldiers against the Akinians did little to stop what was happening.
Between the arrows that had rained down on the ground, a flash of chakra would jump between the various arrows. Only to suddenly flare up like a bright light - blinding all that were in the area, the ray of light so intense that even closing one's eyes would do little.

Upon the ebbing of the light, the red cloak was nowhere to be found. The Rongese soldiers continued their fight, using cover to launch projectiles back or use crude weaponry to hold their ground.

The girl heard the orders loud and clear, then swallowed hard as she too spread out like the others to avoid the projectiles. Though the sudden bright light stole her attention, and then the sudden lack of the red cloak was enough to draw a gasp of surprise. Though her priorities quickly changed back to the people in front of her who might actually kill her. Taking aim, she quickly fired at one of the enemies holding their ground. But she knew they needed to do something about the enemies in cover. "Can your dragon help with taking out their cover?" The girl asked Orun, though she never looked in his direction as she kept firing at the enemies she could see.

The answer was a resounding crash as the dragon dove into the fray, landing upon a screaming Rongese and swiftly snapping his jaws shut to silence the man. The roar that followed as it challenged the rest was deafening. Orun drew his sword and charged in after his dragon, closing the range to the foes to join in melee with them. The other Akinians seemed hesitant about the charge, but followed Orun into the melee nonetheless. As he met with the enemy Orun threw another kunai and then parried a sloppy blow from an axe wielding Rong. Turning on his heel to face the man fully he twisted his blade in a two handed grip and the foe collapsed with his gut cut open.

While the others charged in, the Hyuuga pressed forwards a bit but continued to stay back from the melee. Instead, she would pick off opponents who tried to break away from the melee, or those who decided to try to get around behind their allies. She tried her best to keep calm, despite the fact her heart very much felt like it was about to jump straight out of her chest, and continued to fire arrows at those targets she had. Most managed to strike home, and those that didn't were soon followed by another that did hit its target. She silently hoped that the battle would be over soon, however, or else she feared she might just wind up running out of arrows.

Among the chaos that was happening, the red cloak from earlier who flashed everyone and started running for it, got a good distance away from the fighting. Surely he would report about the enemy movements to his superiors, enabling them to lay a better trap for this heathen scum. When suddenly a pain rippled through his leg as he fell face first into the snow. Growling he turned around and saw no one, just an arrow in his leg. Confused he stood up only for an arrow to hit him in the other leg. Shouting in an unknown language as he looked all around, he started weaving hand seals when an arrow pierced through his right hand.

The Red cloak was breathing heavily when all he saw last was an arrow from the treeline heading right towards him. He took one last breath in before everything faded to black for him.

The fight winded down quickly after the red cloak fled. The process of moving through the camp and finishing off the poorly equipped but fanatic Rong troops was tough, but the well trained shinobi cut their way through them systematically. No surrender was offered and so no quarter was given.
 
Dirty Blades - Part 3
[ Eastern Continent | Wolf Country - northern front | Imperial Forces of the 11th Brigade ]
[ A collab of @Oblivion666 , @RedFox , @Aliceee , @FrostedCaramel and @Oetje | Send out on their respective task, Meilin leads her team to ambush a Rongese patrol. Though successful, the Rongese troops have a few tricks up their sleeve. Revealing that this mission won't be going entirely smooth or according to the anticipation of the Akinian operatives ]

[ Previous Part ]


Waiting for the others to take their leave, Meilin took a deep breath in. She was worried about how it would go but it was way too late to pull out. Clenching her fist Meilin would start to sneak towards the direction she had given herself. Now that they knew where the enemy was, they could act upon it.
Keeping low Meilin started to sneak past the small space that was between the stakes. Moving her hands together, she started to weave the required hand signs at a calm pace - her focus remaining on where the enemy had located themselves.
Located now on the right of their advance, Meilin did wonder how Kazumo and his unit was going to approach. Maybe they could pin the enemy from another angle and make it possible for the enemy to be completely wiped out?

Focusing back on her task, Meilin held the last handsign. There was a warmth that radiated from her stomach. It was pleasant in the current cold condition. And as she held it, it grew only warmer.
Taking a deep breath in, Meilin would situate herself in a spot from where she could unleash a stream of fire, hitting multiple tents and materials that would start producing smoke and ash.
"Okay, just a bit more,"' Meilin mumbled to herself as she would take another deep breath in - finishing the second streak of hand signs.
Aiming the balls of fire high, the destructive force would start to rain down and hit several more tents. Content with her work, Meilin briefly watched how smoke started to fill a certain radius of the camp. Now she could proceed further on.


[ Dagrún and Mamoru ]​

Cautiously, Dagrún advanced to her new position. Once she was content with the spot, she remained crouched. The cold snow wasn't perhaps comfortable but it reminded her of home. And that was enough to bolster Dagrún's morale and desire to take up her current task. There was briefly some worry that she had to watch out over Mamoru.
"I am going in first," the Hon explained in a soft whisper, "Ye best ready yerself, aye? I am going to invite a friend of mine," Dagrún said as she would bring the palm of her free hand to the edge of her axe. Her lips curled down as the sharp steel tore the skin of her palm easily. Pulling her hand back from the edge of the axe, a few drops of blood coloured the snow crimson red.

Leaning to the side Dagrún couldn't yet see any enemy. Slowly she would move past the stakes - careful to not cause any major disturbance. Keeping her body low, as a feline that was creeping on an unaware foe, Dagrún could detect the faint sounds. Now that she knew where the enemy was, she was ready to attract their attention. Placing her axe briefly down, Dagrún weaved the required handsigns before she would place her hand down - the cold biting the small cut at her palm.
"Komdu til mín. Bróðir skógarins. Hjálpaðu mér, í þessari baráttu," the words softly pronounced as a chant.
Within a second, a loud roar pierced through the air. Snow was kicked up as a large creature slammed its way through the tents. A hulking mass of fur and muscle driven by instinct and a pure rage as lust for blood.

Following the large brown bear, Dagrún would fling an axe at one of the enemy. Her free hand already shot towards a knife as she unleashed a battlecry of her own.

The Senju followed the Hon, crouched as well. But while she radiated the visage of a skilled predator stalking its unaware prey, Mamoru felt rather clumsy compared to her. He didn't give away their approach, but he felt that his movements were a bit stiff, compared to hers. Upon reaching their destination, Mamoru heard her whisper to him about being prepared." Understand. I'm ready to go whenever you are." Upon noticing the way she drew some blood from her hand, he realized he was about to see her performing the Summoning Technique. Taking a deep breath as they slightly adjusted their position. It took Mamoru a while longer to detect the exact location of their targets, and they stopped soon after that. As Dagrùn placed her hand onto the snow, she - she started to speak an incantation. It was definitely not what he expected when one performs a summon, but he had to admit it was rather mesmerising to listen to it.

A second later, her soft tone was replaced by a loud roar and an appearance of what could only be described as a force of nature taking physical form. That of a large mass of fur, tearing through their tents like torrential winds would through paper. Mamoru felt awed by the bear, and dwarfed. Despite his height, he felt tiny, as if the bear could easily crush him if he got into its way. As he noticed Dagrùn joining the fray, he emerged from their cover and charged with her. Upon hearing her battle cry, he felt his own resolve being strengthened by it. He swiftly unsheathed Oak and as Dagrùn dispatched one of their foes, he reached for a kunai and hurled it in front of himself, the cold steel burrowing itself into the thigh of an enemy. As he stopped in his tracks, Mamoru felt his hand shake a bit as he knew what would happen. Upon closing the distance, he ducked under a ham fisted blow and kicked the kunai deeper into the man's leg, making him fall face first on the ground. With his shaky hands, he pierced the back of the man with his blade at the place where his heart was, and slightly turned his blade. His mind screamed out and he grasped his blade as tightly as he could to suppress the tremor on his hands. He pulled out the blade and rushed after Dagrùn.


[ Aoi and Madoc ]​

As Aoi crept her way up toward the edge of the tent line she couldn't help but to glance nervously back at Madoc every few seconds, the idea that he may lose sight of her and drift in the wrong direction gnawed at her mind like plague rats at the corpses of the fallen.

A small tuft of snow fell on the Miyazato as she pressed herself into the edge of a tent and bade Madoc to come close. With the blonde close enough to satisfy a barely audible whisper Aoi spoke in a short and serious tone, "You stay on my left, and you stay close, no disagreements. I'll cover your blind spot and make sure you don't stray too far." she suddenly felt the slick warmth that she has experienced in the cave with Dea once more on her hands and her chest causing her to squirm ever so slightly where she knelt in the snow, "I won't have you getting hurt because you decided losing an eye was a cool fashion statement." she said attempting to lighten the mood.

Though she had hoped for a bit more time to plan out a way to take out the Red Cloaks, anything more she hoped to say was cut short as a roar pierced the air followed by the unmistakable Chonobi yelling of Dagrún.

"That's it I guess…" she trailed off as she stood and grabbed Madoc to pull him around the tent and make sure he at the very least started the fight at her left side.

Sneaking along with Aoi, he kept his focus on their objective while glancing at Aoi who seemed rather fidgety. It wasn't until they were hiding behind a tent that she made it known. Ahhh treating him like he was a fragile piece of glass after his injury. He just gave a wink and nod, then a smile followed after her second comment. "Don't need it to work twice. Once is plenty, and damn I rock it." He whispered before a huge roar pierced the area followed by yelling from a woman.

He had jokes in his head but decided against it and simply followed with Aoi, Unsheathing a dagger he readied himself for what was likely hell.

The distraction proved rather useful as they were certainly focusing their attentions on Dagrun, Mamoru and a god damn bear. Making a mental note not to anger Dagrun when a bear was involved. Ahh who was he kidding, he was going to piss her off bear or not. Darting behind tent to tent, probably having left Aoi's watch that she wanted him to stay in. He moved closer and closer to one of the Red cloaks, who only noticed him when Madoc's hand gripped his left shoulder and plunged his dagger into the man's chest three times before booting his lifeless body into the snow.

Weaving some handseals together he would dart towards the next red cloak. Madoc seemed to actually be moving faster with each passing second, snow being blasted from behind him with each step forward. Under the close eye they could see Madoc propelling himself forth with his wind chakra by using it to push him forward. One red cloak tried to prepare themselves but Madoc was already too fast at this point, and ever so quickly was the dagger rammed into their chest, pulled out and ran along their throat. He saw that Dagrun and Mamoru must be getting rather busy as flashes of electricity and quaking could be seen from his point.


[ Mamoru and Dagrún ]​

Screams erupted as the large teeth sank into flesh, ripping flesh and blood apart. As her grizzly summoning started to tear through tents and enemies alike, Dagrún was close to support her companion.
Using her knife Dagrún would parry a jab and return a slash. As her opponent reeled back, Dagrún would utter another battlecry, though she looked around. They were facing multiple soldiers that were starting to encircle them.
Noticing that Mamoru stayed close and didn't seem afraid made Dagrún decide on something.

Noticing an enemy moving forwards to deliver a jab with his spear, Dagrún would dodge the jab. Only to grab the wooden shaft of the spear. Before her enemy could yank her closer, lightning surfaced and jumped around the shaft. Forcing her enemy to drop the weapon and move back - wanting to avoid being shocked.
Gripping the spear firmly, Dagrún would speak up. "I am about to create an opening. Stay behind me," the Hon instructed Mamoru as a blue hue started to shine brightly around the spear - both shaft and spearpoint.
Noticing an enemy moving forward from their right, Dagrún gripped the weapon firmly. Stepping forwards as well, the blonde Hon would perform a sweeping motion. An arc of chakra violently unleashed, tearing through several foes and sending them mortally wounded to the ground.

Mamoru looked up at the sounds of the flesh being ripped apart. He was glad that it was Dagrún who summoned it - having to face an unstoppable force of nature like this would break spirits far more more hardened than his was. His path was relatively clean as he rushed after the Hon and her companion, but as soon as he caught up, he assumed a position on the other side of the bear as Dagrún. He parried a series of blows that ended in a deadlock situation, with his enemy once again being physically stronger. Focusing his Chakra into his right arm, causing a crust of rocks to envelop it. A second later, he pushed the blade back with all his strength and caught the incoming attack with his encased hand. The blunt weapon didn't cause any physical harm to his hand, but was far from a pleasant experience too. Raising his left hand that held Oak, he thrusted it forward. The blade easily pierced the neck of his enemy and as he pulled out, he pierced the man's heart to put him out of his misery. His lifeless body hit the ground as soon as Mamoru pulled out his blade and caused his stomach to twist again, but he managed to maintain his focus.

Hearing Dagrún speak up, the Senju decided not to question anything and just so as he was told. Making another quick dashing movement, he made his way behind Dagrún just in time to guess her intended move. He ducked under the violent arc of chakra she unleashed at the helpless Rongese troops. He didn't even bothered to look at them, they were done for. Raising his head and seeing over the brutalized corpses, Mamoru saw another group heading towards them. Forming the needed seals as he amassed his chakra, he than slammed his palms onto the ground. A second later, the earth started to tremble underneath them, and gritting his teeth, Mamoru sent more of his Chakra into the ground. The earth quaked more violently, denying the Rongs anything even closely related to firm footing." They're wide open!"

An amused scoff would follow as Dagrún once more unleashed an arc of chakra. The sharp crescent of energy would slice through some of the armour, once more heavily wounding those in front. Unleashing another arc, the few soldiers that came rushing were done for.
Breathing heavily, Dagrún planted the spear on the ground. Sweat was forming and rolling down her skin. Clearly winded and on the brink of exhaustion, Dagrún muttered something Chonobi. Only for a moment later to try to straighten her back.
"That was mighty fine, that technique of yers," Dagrún grinned as she raised a fist and bumped Mamoru's shoulder. "Now, we ought to hold this spot. Make sure that none of theirs make a way through this, eh."

The sound of the bear sounded, its snout bloodied and crimson colouring the brown fur dark.
"Ah, Einar had his fun as well. Good lad!" Dagrún said as she would raise a hand and snap her fingers, dismissing the large creature. Now that the fight was done, they could hear the whimpering and begging of the wounded.
"Ah, got a job to finish. How about I do that eh? Then ye can be on the watch for more of those bastards." Dagrún offered as she would pluck the spear from the ground and half turn towards the group of wounded soldiers.

Mamoru stopped sending his chakra into the ground as soon as Dagrún made her move. He then took a knee for a few seconds, resting one of his hands against the ground as he took a few deep breaths. While he was exhausted too, it was for all the other reasons than the Hon. She really went all out on this camp, summoning her bear companion and using the Chakra Arc technique. He was simply exhausted from everything that happened in the last few hours and it all came crashing down at this one moment. He stood up and Dagrún walked up to him, bumping his shoulder and commending his technique. He felt a small, exhausted smile creep on his lips as he slightly nodded as his response."Thanks. Your's was more flashy. I am glad I was not on the receiving end of it. They won't get past us." He replied, giving an assuring nod.

He looked at the large bear, the biggest he ever saw - and probably will ever see.I sure have to remember to be on Einar's friendly side, he thought for himself. He almost wanted to walk up and pat the enormous bear, but he was dismissed before the thought could develop. The begging and whimpering soon filled the air, and Mamoru felt his stomach churn at the sound. He took a few deep breaths to prevent himself from throwing up. He clenched his fists on the handle of Oak to suppress a tremor and nodded at the blonde Hon." S-sure. I'll be on watch while you - you put them out of their misery."


[ Madoc and Aoi ]​

Whistling he would use his sensory too see how many were left. He spotted a couple near Aoi's position and… one running away from Dragon guys position. Muttering a curse in Yakimara he was about to inform them when they suddenly stopped moving. Well he kept his attention on that, as for keeping track of the enemies…. Dagrun and Mamoru seemed to have been running through them as they were pretty well alone except for a bunch of bodies just laying there.

"Madoc!" Aoi yelled as the Yamanaka darted from their position behind the tent and took off without her. Taking off to follow the blonde Aoi quickly found the distance between them growing faster and faster. Noticing the snow billowing behind Madoc she figured he was doing something with his wind release to move like that. Unable to catch up and relatively secure in the fact Madoc could hold his own she split around a set of tents.

Coming out the other side she fell into almost perfect lock-step with a red cloak also running toward Madoc and the commotion he was creating as he fought a pair of the Rong shinobi. Aoi and the Red Cloak glanced at each other as they ran side by side toward the Yamanaka. There was a moment of confusion on the Red Cloaks face that Aoi could only imagine was mirrors on her own before she planted a foot and slammed her entire body weight into him.

The two tumbled with the impact and scrambled back to their feet as quickly as they'd gone down. Their short run now over Aoi eyes the Red Cloak as he began to weave a series of hand signs. Aoi former a single bird seal and the familiar hiss of iron dust filled her ears. The dust flowed out of her sleeves and floated around her body in coils as the Red Cloak finished his hand signs.

With a snap of his fingers the Red Cloak lit the tiniest of sparks, at once the spark expanded into a great length of flame that lashed out as a whip would. Surprised Aoi caught the end of the whip to her side and let out a cry of pain as the flame lashed at her flank, leaving a tear in her clothes and a burn mark beneath. The whip lashed out again and cracked against Aoi's iron as she moved it to shield herself.

The Red Cloak lashed out rhythmically, one strike after another until Aoi dropped the iron between them and dashed toward under the fiery whip. Her timing had been perfect, with all credit going to her enemies inability to switch up his own timing. As the whip cracked in theair above and beyond Aoi she shoved a kunaj into the mans stomach and jerked it violently from side to side dropping the Red Cloak where he stood.

Pulling away from the dead man Aoi continued her run to get back to Madoc.

Keeping his sensory going, he saw where everyone was which was good as they meant they were alive. Kind of worried with Meilin being alone but he was keeping his attention on her. Aoi had a rather lengthy confrontation with one of the cloaks, although he was wondering when she took out the second one. He wasn't actually positive but there were a lot more dead cloaks than they should have dealt with in the time period they started. He was confused as they were more out there but if they were dead he didn't care.

However because he was focusing on keeping track, he didn't pay attention to the one figure that was running right towards him. His attention snapped and he pushed off with his wind chakra just as this small sword barely missed him. Madoc looked at the man who looked at him. ".... That was rude." Madoc said which made the Cloak frown before thrusting the sword towards the blonde Yamanaka. Pushing the sword away with his dagger, he would quickly slam his foot on the ground causing the snow around them to blow in all directions due to the wind chakra propelling it into the air.

In the white cloud Madoc rammed himself forward slamming his skull into the Red Cloaks skull. Stunning the man briefly before following up with a high kick to the man's head. He heard some cracking, most likely a broken nose as the guy fell backwards on the ground. Only for Madoc to place his foot on the man's throat. Madoc's foot started to vibrate as he blasted his foot off the Rongese's neck. This time he heard the wind pressure crush the man's neck, as the enemy just laid there stiff on the ground with a slightly deflated neck.

Exhaling Madoc would scan once more before running back to join Aoi. He debated joining up with Dagrun and Mamoru, but one was a bear and they should wait for the other two groups before any rejoining did happen.

Sliding to a stop in the snow just in time to watch Madoc crush what looked like the last Red Cloaks neck, Aoi breathed a sigh of relief to find the blonde practically unharmed compared to the last time he'd gotten hurt. Quickly jogging up to Madoc she took a look around to make sure there would be no more surprise guests before turning back to the blonde.

The iron dust hiss as it recessed back up her sleeves and Aoi placed herself so that she was part way into Madoc's blind spot. "So much for covering each other huh?" she questioned rhetorically before she sighed, "I honestly don't know if there's anything I or anyone else can do to keep you from jumping into trouble. Especially not when you know you shouldn't."

Turning to look back in the direction of Dagrún and Mamoru, she'd kneel down and wait for some sort of a sign that the fight was over. Not bothering to look up at Madoc she's speak as she continued watching ahead of them, "I'd really prefer you don't do that again if you can help it."

He gave a shrug to her first question "I mean they caused a pretty good distraction. I felt that covering wasn't needed, besides I knew where everyone was." Madoc said as he took the time to relax a bit which didn't feel right to take a breather in a camp that was on fire and had dozens of dead guys in it. Then Aoi's next question came asking him to not do that again which made him sigh as he looked at her. "Just cause I got injured doesn't mean I'm useless Aoi. While I'd love to have you all fight everything for me, that sadly won't work the way you all make me do things." Madoc stated as he patted her on the shoulder.
"Besides I can't die. Y'all would flail like a bunch of fishes without my wonderful help. One eye or not, I'm still a bonafide ass kicker. I also think those ranger guys are taking out anyone that tries running. I've seen several of those cloaks attempt to run only to drop like a rock."


[ Meilin ]​

Moving out of the smokescreen Meilin watched her team at work. There was an unspoken synergy present, one that even seemed to surprise Meilin. There was a moment where Meilin wanted to move in and aid Madoc - as he moved into a fight. But Meilin's worries were dashed in as the windpipe of Madoc's last opponent. Some sounds were coming through from the other side of the smokescreen she had created. But honestly? She wasn't caring or feeling in any way or sense responsible for Orun's unit.

Noticing three sillouthes moving away Meilin's eyes narrowed. A familiar feeling rose from her stomach, causing her hands to itch terribly. Vanishing into the smoke she would start to move towards where she had seen the three targets that were attempting to move away.
With the cover of the smoke, she wouldn't be able to see them. But Meilin didn't need to. She could hear their hasty footsteps, their gear rustling and whispers.
And each whisper seemed to awaken the hunger that seemed to find its way back to Meilin's thoughts. Her right hand moved to her kunai pouch, finding the grip of a weapon. Slithering behind the enemy Meilin saw them hunched forwards and trying to use the cover of the tents to move away.

"Eftir Valdar lofa ég því. Ég mun taka þér höfuð..."​

The words froze the three Rongese as the words reached them. Their meaning unknown except for that they were discovered. As the three turned around, they saw Meilin with a kunai. The Cho glared with such hatred upon her foes that she didn't care that they only saw an angry young woman, clad in ash and smoke. Like she was a ghost of vengeance, ready to exact horrible wrath upon them and drag them to whatever hell they dreaded.

One of them mumbled something, their features turning bleak. It both humoured and furthered angered Meilin. To witness such spineless bastards, to know that she had lost a lot to them and their masters.
Then one of them drew his curved sword, taking a stand while sneering something at his comrades.
"Fuck that," Meilin hissed as she would start to pace towards the 'brave' sacrifice as his two buddies started to turn and run.
The first foe would unleash a battlecry and move in with a feint - attempting to land a quick hew from the top. Only for Meilin's kunai to deflect the attack, the sharp edges sliding across each other. In a fluid motion Meilin would slam a fist into her opponent's side to create an opening.
Without any hesistation the Cho slammed the kunai deep into the skull of her opponent. The crack of bones and soft grunt of her dying foe was barely registered as Meilin whipped her head to glare at the direction the two remaining foes had ran off to.

The two Rongese ran and were almost at the edge of the camp. But before they could move too far and be technically out of camp, a sharp sound caught up with them. One of the Rongese sank frontwards as something penetrated from his neck to his throat. Only the hilt of a sword reaching out of the man's neck.
His companion was surprised but quickly turned around. Just in time as Meilin slammed herself into the last remaining foe. He just had raised his arm to block the Cho's attempt to stab him. Only to have her tumble down on him.
On top of her foe, Meilin drove with all her weight and strength into the man. Her right hand tensed the kunai as tight as possible, trying to bear down on the man. The Rongese clenched a fist and attempted to slam it against the side of Meilin's skull. Only to be seized by Meilin's free hand. Clasped in what could be described as an awkward struggle Meilin located a knee into her foe's chest.
"Want to know what I promised?" She hissed, only to spat in her foes face. He squinted his eyes shut due to the sudden burst of saliva. The mere second for him to squander his grip was enough for Meilin to take the man's wrist and slam it against the ground. All the while forcing the kunai deeper into his arm.
"I am going to take your head."
The soft whispered assurance of the man's death was likely not understood by Meilin's foe. But she saw fear in his eyes. Presumably a similar fear that her siblings had when they were taken from their home. A fear that her mother would have, uncertain if her family would ever know safety before drawing her final gasp.
For a moment, Meilin didn't do anything but hold the man down. Relishing into the fear. Memorizing it and enjoy how he couldn't do anything but fight against a fate. A fate that she dominated.

Suddenly the man yelled back at her. Finding some strength, he would topple Meilin off and quickly scurry to get on his feet. Managing to also get quickly on her feet Meilin would glare at her foe. He sneered something at her before pulling the kunai uit and threw it at her feet. Only to draw his sword and take a stance.
There was something in the gesture of the man that made her hate him and his kind only more. The eagerness to take his head and fulfill her promise only seemed to kindle the fires of her anger higher, to the point that Meilin ran towards her foe without drawing any weapon.
Her opponent readied his weapon and unleashed a quick swing, aiming to slice at Meilin's midsection and delivering a lethal blow. Instead of letting his blade tear through cloth and flesh, it just sliced through air.
At the last moment Meilin slide down and moved through the snow. Her right hand moved outwards and snatched the handle of her short sword from the previous foe.
Getting up, she would direct her sword to deflect a quick strike and attempt to deliver one back. Despite her foe's injury, he still held his ground. And for a moment it seemed that neither could overcome each other in their lethal dance of steel and fury.

Blocking an attack Meilin would lock her weapon with her opponents. Her opponent tried to find an opening to move his weapon away. Moving her weapon along her foe's the tip of Meilin's blade pointed at her foe's shoulder. A wicked grin was followed by a blue hue shooting across Meilin's steel, drilling into the man's shoulder. A grunt of pain escaped her foe as his defence weakened, allowing Meilin to use one hand to slam the weapon out of his hands. All the while directing her sword downwards, directing the sharp chakra to cut through tendons, flesh and clothing at a slow pace.

Snow was kicked up gently as her opponent dropped on his knees, a wheeze escaping his lips. He struggled to lift his head but still managed to do so. Only to be met with cold glare from Meilin.
"Yours first."
Pulling the weapon back Meilin would lash out, the chakra slicing through the man's throat as blood would burst violently out of the wound.


Her gloved hands were covered in blood as three heads seemed rigged to her belt with a piece of wire. One of them still having a kunai stuck in it. Without much explaining, she would venture to where she had seen her team - deciding to rejoin them.
 
[ The Eastern continent ]
[ The 11th Imperial Brigade ]
[ A collab between @Lesli , @Oblivion666 and @Autumn Song | Hylli is meeting her new team, the day after they finish operation Dirty Blades. The Hyuzu gets to meet her mentor and a member of Team 8, Kazumo Sarutobi. The meeting mostly exists out of some exercises and a spar, that test out Hylli's abilities. ]​



Leaning against a post, near the fields that were meant for training Aiko took a bite of an apple. The last supply arrival had seen some new reinforcements coming to the camp as well. There was also news from home that made Aiko's mood to be pretty good, such as the Imperial Gathering of the clans. Of course, there were several things that went through her mind on what she wanted to do when she would return home. But judging on how the campaign was going so far? She doubted seriously that this conflict could be solved in a few months. It would be a blessing if they were ever to return.
Pushing the thought away, Aiko chewed on the bite. Instead focusing on what she had made time for this morning, her curiosity started to rise. A new member had been assigned to her team. While there had been no profile to read upon, the surname already made Aiko suspect a few things. The name of Hyuzu meant something, after all.
"At least, I suppose so," Aiko mused to herself as she would throw the apple away - no longer interested in the fruit.

It was rather refreshing to get the train with his sensei again, it had been far too long. In fact last he remembered training with her was when she taught him the one technique from the Cho clan. He wasn't too aware of what today was entitled, but all he knew was that this time. his brigade leader couldn't yell at him.
As he neared the destination he smiled as he approached Aiko, last he saw her was that operation just a day or so ago. Granted she wasn't supposed to be part of it, yet that issue was already dealt with. Giving her a smile and salute, he had a rather cheeky smile.
"So you didn't really explain what today was about. Is it a new technique, or did something happen and I'm going to be lectured? Cause if the latter…. Then ummm shit?" Kazumo asked, still smiling though so it was a bit uncertain if he was attempting a joke or not.

Jogging to the meeting spot, the white-haired Hyuzu felt a shiver of excitement rolling over her back. So far, she had been assigned to simple tasks and had to share a tent with four soldiers that snored louder than her uncle or brothers. The rumours and stories of the eastern campaign had foretold Hylli that a lot of fighting had taken place. That glory and honour were won and gained. But so far, all that she had gained was little sleep and growing restless for what would follow soon.
Spotting a red-haired woman and a blue-haired young man, Hylli slowed down her pace. She had heard about the Red Rose of Konohagakure. The woman didn't appear threatening, at all. Hylli wondered briefly if the rumours regarding the lethal kunoichi were exaggerated or not. Approaching the pair, Hylli wavered on how to greet them. She wanted to speak up in Chonobi but wasn't sure about the origin of the blue-haired person.

"Good morning, Hylli Hyuzu," offering a quick salute Hylli would hold the position for a few seconds before lowering down her hand and easing her body. "It is an honour to meet you, Lady Cho. And ehm..."

The arrival of Kazumo provoked a smile from Aiko, who waited for the Sarutobi to finish. The fact that he had no clue on what was planned for today was something she had done on purpose. After all, there were multiple reasons why she had only decided to invite Kazumo to meet the new member that would reinforce Team 8.
Just as Kazumo finished, the Hyuzu arrived. The arrival of the girl didn't likely help Kazumo to know what was going to happen. When Hylli wondered over Kazumo's name, Aiko was more than okay to speak up.
"Kazumo Sarutobi. One of my pupils. Much like you have become since setting foot into this camp." Aiko said, throwing a sideways glance at Kazumo. "So, no, you are not in trouble today. Unless you have decided to ignore more orders. However, maybe it is good to focus first on introductions."

Aiko shifted her attention back at Hylli. "Aiko Cho-Hon. I am the leader of Team 8 but also serve as the leader of the 11th Brigade. My chakra affinity is water. But I also am able to use wind techniques. My specialties are focused on genjutsu, stealth and close quarter combat." A smile grew on Aiko's lips. "I enjoy a lot of activities. But sadly, I doubt that it will help to mention them now. Seeing the situation we are in, I do like some time for myself. But instead of reading the material I got back home, I am more focused on reports than anything romantic or fiction. I got two children," Aiko calmly continued as she raised her hand, raising two fingers, "though I tend to care a lot for pupils who prove themselves diligent."
The hand of Aiko shot towards Kazumo's cheek, gently pulling it.
"Your turn, sweetie."

Before Aiko could even respond, a white haired woman would approach a bit casually and like she was reporting in. Kazumo blinked a couple times at her as she asked his name only to look at Aiko with the smile now gone. He already had an idea of what this meeting was now and he was not a fan, so sure enough when she began to introduce herself and even said his name for him he knew….
This…. was a new teammate.
He ever so wanted to frown after the surge of teammates he did have and all the annoying people he dealt with. Only reason he didn't was because he didn't want to get in trouble.
As Aiko finished she pulled his cheek and told him it was his turn which instantly caused his face to fluster as he mumbled under his breath.

His look went back to the Hyuzu before he sighed and would introduce himself. "Kazumo Sarutobi of the As-"Kazumo startered saying before quickly making it seem like he was clearing his throat.
"Of the Sigeberth Lineage. My nature is Earth and most of the Genjutsu's I know is from Aiko herself. I'm good with a bow and most of what I know she taught me, although I am learning swordplay." Kazumo stated leaving his introduction more on the short end.

For a moment, Hylli couldn't do much more than blink and stare. The woman in front of her was the feared and dreaded Rose of Konohagakure? When Aiko pinched Kazumo's cheek, Hylli had to bite on the inside of her cheek to not release a chuckle. She was both amused as confused if she was even at the right place with the right people. However, she did pay attention to what both said about themselves. Once Kazumo had spoken, Hylli decided to shift from Taika to Chonobi, wagering it was worth a try to communicate in the language she felt more comfortable at.
"I hail from the Hyuzu clan," Hylli began, only to regret a bit that she fell in repeat. "My affinity is metal release. I don't want to say that I am yet specialised in any field. But if I have to consider my best skills? I would say that stealth, genjutsu and close combat is my forté. I am interested in board games. Saddly, the quartermaster managed to find my game. So, hopefully, we can enjoy a nice game at another day." A wry smile crossed Hylli's smile as she would place her hands at her hips.
"I don't like surprises. Ehm, I think that was it." Turning her attention briefly towards Kazumo, Hylli did seem like she wanted to say something. As her lips parted, she opted against it. Only to release that she would else look like a fool.
"So Sigeberth lineage? I heard about your ancestors. Maybe we can perhaps swap sagas out. Though my family lineage lacks the prestige or the achievements of yours."

Aiko wanted to say something as Kazumo clearly kept his introductions short. But she understood why. Deciding that he would just get grumpier and close further off if she kept pushing him on, Aiko decided to cross her arms and listen to Hylli's introduction. The girl didn't remind Aiko much of Orun or Hayate. Whether that was positive or negative was a question that would be answered later.
As the Hyuzu began in Chonobi, Aiko smirked a little. She waited until Hylli was done before she spoke in turn.
"Good, nice to meet you Hylli Hyuzu," Aiko said, also swapping over to Chonobi, "today I want to do some easy training. And with the help of my adorable assistant, I think I will be able to learn what you can do." Pausing for a second, Aiko raised her left hand to point with her thumb over her shoulder.
"I set up some stuff. So let's go to it."

Pushing her back from the post, she would turn towards the designated tile. There were a few targets on various ranges set. Pointing where she wanted Kazumo and Hylli to stand, Aiko would focus some wind chakra at her right fingertip. A sharp sound sliced through the air before the mutated chakra marked a line in front of her two pupils.
"First shot is at ten meters. Second at twenty. Third at fifty and fourth at seventy. Kazumo will go first. I want to see creative ways on how you two will hit the targets. But don't over do it, okay? Sweetie?~"

This was so not how he expected his day to go but this was Aiko after all. Nothing was ever as simple as she made it seem. Hylli would introduce herself and his mood did change a bit at the fact she was a bit closer in culture than his other teammates had been. Yet at the same time he just dealt with one Hyuzu who was a specialised Jounin so he was still wary. Then came what Aiko wanted them to start off with. Range training? The twist being they needed to be creative.

As aiko set up the lines of where they would hit from, he gave a nod as he began thinking. Knife in hand he was still thinking as he walked to the first line, and without stopping swung and hit the first target before moving to the second line. "Creative ways….. Ah!" Kazumo mumbled to himself as he snapped his fingers. Waiting first for Hylli to do her first shot.

If anything, Hylli felt a bit comfortable as they were going to focus on some training. Only for her confidence to sink a little upon how far the last targets were set up. Clicking her tongue as Kazumo managed to hit the target without much effort, Hylli pulled one of her knives out of her sheats.
In a fluid motion, she didn't stand still but threw with the weapon at the target - flinging the weapon from the side of her back. Not even glancing but waiting for the thud, she would join Kazumo at the second line.
"Your turn, Master Scylding," Hylli said, though friendly having a clear modicum of respect.

Kazumo watched with his arms folded as she made her shot. It showed she at least had confidence in hitting the target without hesitation at that range. When she joined him and called him Master Scylding, he would raise an eyebrow as that was the first time being called such but would shake it off and take another knife before weaving hand signs. He would then sink into the ground staring at the target for a few second before nodding and submerging himself besides his arm.

Despite being encased in the earth his body moved through it like he was simply moulding it and moving it out of his way, as his arm jolted forward throwing the knife. It would hit the target, a bit to the bottom. Poking his head out he frowned at himself and got out of the ground. Frown on his face he moved to the third line.

Blinking rapidly as Kazumo sank into the ground, Hylli remained silent. She merely took a mental note that he knew such a technique. Waving the thoughts away, she would look at the second target. She could hit it without anything fancy. But the goal was to be creative.

Inhaling slowly, Hylli pulled out two of her knives. With each hand holding a knife, Hylli took another second to aim and consider her approach. Then she threw the first knife to the target but the aim was clearly off, not even going to hit the perimeter. Narrowing her eyes, Hylli threw the second knife with more force. The second projectile managed to intercept the first and cause the trajectory to change.
A thud resonated as Hylli tried to suppress a smile. Joining Kazumo at the third line, she was aware that things were starting to move out of her comfortable range.

He wasn't even concerned over the range yet, Fifty was certainly a good bit off from the target, but well placed enough aim would still make it work out. However….. Kazumo had a more devious smile as he weaved hand signs once more. Only this time two clones appeared. One stayed back with him while the other moved over by the target.
Lining up his shot, Kazumo threw the knife which flew through the air but he seemed to have aimed a bit… high. Only thing was the clone lifted the target into the air catching the knife.
Setting the target back down, the clone gave a thumbs up as it took the knife out of the board and moved out of the way for Hylli.
Kazumo would softly whistle as he moved to the final line but this time pulled out his bow and got an arrow ready.

Seeing the target being lifted, Hylli's lips parted. She was about to point to it as Kazumo walked away while whistling. Turning back to the target, the Hyuzu raised a hand to the back of her head. "Oh, this is a bother." She muttered to herself. Fifty was way past the range that she could hit with the usual tricks. Pulling out a knife, she would start to spin it at a rapid pace. Then an idea struck Hylli.
"Okay, let see if my earth release is as good as yours, Master Scylding!" Hylli spoke up, giving a cheeky wink to Kazumo before she would throw the knife upwards.
Her hands shot together to weave the required handsigns at a rapid pace. By the time that the knife was falling down Hylli managed to snatch it out of the air and fling it low over the ground with all of her strength, remaining crouched afterwards.

The projectile soared fast through the air, not yet losing altitude as it continued. Carefully watching the range Hylli would form a clenched fist with one hand as her other hand formed the Seal of Confrontation.
Just as the knife started to slide across the ground, Hylli would seem to slam her gloved fist against the ground. What seemed to slam the knife only a second later upwards, piercing the target in the centre.
Rising up, Hylli dusted her clothes before joining Kazumo at the last target.

Well he was certainly curious as to what she just did for sure. Had flaws for sure but it could work wonders if one didn't expect it. As she joined him his second and first clone moved into the middle of the field. Each one holding up a shuriken. Kazumo breathed in and exhaled as he notched the arrow with the tip glowing blue. Aiming for a couple seconds he would let the arrow fly, it would fly through the air. It would catch both shuriken's through the hole and pierce through the center of the target, the only thing holding it there being the two shurikens that Kazumo hit as well.
Patting her on the shoulder, he would go and join Aiko and watch Hylli's final shot. Both clones poofing from the field in the process.

Watching the last attempt of Kazumo, Hylli remained silent. Staring at the last target, she felt her stomach slightly turning. She had tried to train and extend her range with her techniques. But so far, she had never reached further than fifty. Pulling out two knives, Hylli kept staring at the target as her nerves started to play up.
There were several ideas that passed through her mind. But they were nothing more than desperate ideas that had major flaws. Biting on her lower lip Hylli narrowed her eyes. Slowly she started to spin the knives in both hands. One of the knives started to shift colour as Hylli spinned them faster around the loop, the steel of the respective knife starting to colourize as if it was starting to heat up.

Taking a few steps back so that she could wind up her throw Hylli would throw one knife up, as it was glowing and leaving a small trail of smoke behind. Performing a cartwheel Hylli threw the second knife at a lower aimed altitude.
Still biting on her lower lip she performed the Seal of Confrontation again. "Come on, little bit more." She thought to herself, feeling the beads of cold sweat dripping down her back as her hands slightly tremble.
As the knives seemed to close in, the second knife suddenly seemed to gain a boost - as if it was suddenly slammed upwards by an invisible clone.
The change in trajectory would ram the second knife into the first, causing the first knife to slam at another angle. But instead of a satisfactory sound of the steel penetrating the target, a small explosion would follow - slamming the target away but not doing enough that could count as damage.
"Damnit," Hylli mumbled as she would hook a thumb behind her belt. "Sorry, seems like I missed what I was attempting."

Aiko had remained silent. Her expression remained neutral, until she caught Kazumo playing a bit dirty. The woman's features briefly betrayed that she was amused, only to become curious as Hylli performed the second shot. Narrowing her eyes, Aiko wasn't sure what had just happened. The Hyuzu hadn't stated she could use earth release. So was it something else?
When Kazumo and Hylli performed the third shot, Aiko seemed to clearly expect nothing but success from Kazumo. As he rejoined her, she shot a look that seemed to convey: "Really?", however with clear amusement.

Returning her attention at Hylli, Aiko wasn't sure what to expect. It was clear from the girl's body language that she was either struggling on how to perform the shot. Or that she had run out of ideas on how to reach for the target.
When she started to spin the knives, Aiko whistled softly. For she recognised the technique that the girl was going to use. Deciding to still remain silent, Aiko watched as Hylli attempted her shot.
The small and sudden explosion didn't phase Aiko and as Hylli rejoined them, Aiko nodded subtly.

"Good. You both performed great. Even if you didn't hit the last target with enough force to make it count, I am most impressed, Hylli." Aiko raised a hand and placed it on top of Kazumo's head. Softly ruffling his hair, she continued.
"I also want to know what our Kazumo thought of it. You are certainly creative and I have grown quite curious to what kind of skills you have. But it seems that you clearly can come up with some nice solutions."
Pulling her hand back, Aiko would glance at the targets for a moment. "The next phase is a small spar. Seeing that Kazumo did cheat, there is going to be a bit of a penalty. For he isn't allowed to use genjutsu in this spar. Once you two are ready, you can head into that tile. The first to land a good and solid hit? That person wins. Or the person that is knocked out of the tile, that also counts."

The bitter taste of failure was eroded as Aiko spoke up. Hylli's eyes widened visibly upon hearing the woman's words. Placing her arms at her side Hylli would perform a bow towards the two others.
"Thanks, Lady Cho. For your kind words. I will strive to do even better next time," raising up from her bow, she would shot a look at Kazumo before back at Aiko.
"Though, if I may be so bold, Lady Cho. I would rather not have my opponent be hampered. I am most curious to see how well I would fare without my opponent being limited."

Aiko's eyebrows perked up slightly. She hadn't expected Hylli to make such a request. "Very well. If that is what you desire. Then Kazumo can use his skills as he sees fit." Aiko responded, wondering how Kazumo would feel about this.

Well he wasn't quite sure what she was attempting but it certainly was creative to say the least. Which he did have to agree with Aiko on, only for the next part being a spar which made him raise an eyebrow. When she stated that because he cheated he wasn't allowed to use Genjutsu's, he kind of snickered but shrugged. "I guess that's okay with me." Kazumo said before Hylli asked if he could use his genjutsus and not be limited. Now this surprised him which also seemed to surprise Aiko as well who allowed her request.

Kazumo would simply nod to Aiko and look at Hylli before motioning her over to the tile. He would leave his bow and arrows with Aiko though as he waited in the tile for Hylli to enter. So far she showed more potential than the others he knew, but first impressions he's seen didn't mean that much if you didn't keep it up.

A smile played on Hylli's lips. Following Kazumo into the tile, she would roll with her shoulders three times. She had a few more knives on her, so she saw no reason to quickly recollect the ones that she had used during the previous assignment.
Taking a respectable distance Hylli would form the Seal of Confrontation.
"Ready whenever you are, Master Scylding."

He didn't even acknowledge her stating that she was ready when he was. Soon as she started speaking he darted right off towards her. Taking out a shuriken it glew a blue hue as he threw it, yet as he threw it closer to the ground at an angle, the blue hue seemed to make the shuriken appear bigger. Which in turn caused it to pick up snow and start flinging it around and up in the air as it sailed towards Hylli.

Hylli's eyes narrowed when Kazumo moved in. Her hands shot together, already weaving various signs as the snow was kicked up by the incoming attack.
Timing her movement correctly, Hylli dove to the right to avoid the shuriken. Sliding over the snow, a few of the knives seemed to shoot out of Hylli's weapon belt towards Kazumo.

"Oh?" Was Kazumo's reaction to the knives shooting out from her weapon belt without her touching them. Tossing two Kunai to clash against them he would weave his own hand seals , as soon as they were thrown. As soon as the last seal was made his body instantly started to sink into the ground, but not before he threw 3 shuriken at Hylli…


The kunai would slam aside the knives, the cling of metal meeting each other. In a fluid motion Hylli would roll and get up to avoid the shuriken. Seeing how Kazumo would start to sink in the ground, Hylli once more brought her hands together. Taking a deep breath in, the Hyuzu formed the various signs. Out from a pouch, something liquid seemed to flow and disappear into the pants of Hylli.
Looking around, Hylli did waver for a moment. For she did realise that she had no way to draw Kazumo out.

Time seemed to go by slowly, almost like he was making the situation purposefully nerve racking. Yet that was when the ground in front of her feet opened up as Kazumo would rise out of it, swinging with his right fist towards her gut. Yet at the same time another Kazumo was also behind her swinging a high kick right towards her.

Waiting, Hylli would never admit that she was getting anxious. But she felt how her nerves started to play up. Every bit of sound attracted her attention. An itch started to bother her at her right hand. "Tch," she tried to figure out what she should do.
Before anything concrete of a counter-attack could pop up, Kazumo's attack surprised her. Looking down, Hylli was too late to block the attacks. The blow to the gut was enough to daze Hylli, causing her vision to blurry and fade out the sounds from their surroundings.
Collapsing on the ground, Hylli barely registered the cold embrace of the snow.

As Hylli collapsed after the punch to the gut, the kick from the one Kazumo hitting nothing. Both would look down at her. Well one looked down the other looked at her still halfway in the ground. The one Kazumo not in the ground would speak up. "Would have thought she'd dodge." He said before the other Kazumo who was in the ground would come on out and would grab her by the arm and start pulling her towards the exit of the tile.

For two seconds, Hylli would be dragged until her hand grabbed Kazumo's wrist. Tightening her grip, she would shift her body quickly. Ignoring the biting cold, Hylli would attempt to shift and kick Kazumo against his leg to force him down. Her free hand shot towards her belt - reaching for a knife.

The sudden impact in his leg caused him to fall to his knee and before he could react a knife was held near his armpit. While the other Kazumo reacted late to this and got to Hylli too late before this sequence happened. Folding his arms he looked at her. "Seems you have a situation. You have me hostage, but is that one me or am I me?" Kazumo said as he started walking towards her knife drawn.

Moving herself quickly, Hylli would listen to what the other Kazumo said. As the other stepped closer Hylli scoffed. Without any hesitation she would ram the knife into the side of Kazumo, driving the steel deep into his side - avoiding any organs so far she knew.
The various knives, that had been knocked away by Kazumo's kunai, would also seem to hover slightly upwards before shooting towards the approaching Kazumo.

A gasp came followed by a poof, which created a smirk from the one approaching as he now darted towards Hylli. Knife still drawn, all he had to do was get to her before her knives got to him. As he got closer though, he would throw the kunai right at her before attempting to sweep her legs out from under her with a kick.

Readying her knife, Hylli would lean to the right to catch the thrown kunai of Kazumo. The various knives that soared towards Kazumo oddly just phased through the Sarutobi. Waiting for Kazumo to try to sweep her from her feet, Hylli would firmly plant one leg in the direction of the sweep.

As she attempted to grab the knife, she would see it barely slip out of her hand. The real confusing part was as she planted her leg for the kick, it would phase through her leg. The Kazumo would smile at her, as a sudden impact would slam into her back. Before she would be placed on the ground with Kazumo putting her feet into the ground.
"Not bad Hylli." Kazumo would say as the one Kazumo faded as the other one sat besides her. He extended his hand out to her for a handshake. "When things seem odd or out of place, usually that's when you want to start making a backup plan. Like maybe those knives you should have positioned behind you, to cover your back."

Accepting the handshake, Hylli did understand that she had lost. There was a bit of a disappointment but she had no trouble to keep it away from her features. "Thanks. That isn't even a bad idea." Hylli would, however, snap her fingers - dismissing the knives from before. Allowing the weapons to vanish, revealing their true nature. "Shame that they wouldn't have really done a lot."
Deciding to remain seated on the cold snow, she scoffed in an amused way. "You are not bad. I was certain at two moments that I was able to pull the odds against you. If anything, I would love to later have a rematch."

A chuckle escaped him when the knives vanished from earlier. "Makes sense as to the no hesitation then. Won't kill if it's not real. But later on…. sure I wouldn't say no to a rematch. Yet for now, we both have much to learn." Kazumo stated before releasing her feet from the ground and helping her up to her feet.

"You both do, yeah," Aiko spoke up. She was leaning against a wooden post with her arms crossed. She had watched how the entire spar had been. Though she had remarks for both Kazumo and Hylli, in overal? Aiko was quite content. It seemed that Kazumo had managed to become more adept at fighting close ranged. Hylli may have lost but she did manage to exhaust more than half of Kazumo's chakra reserve - not to mention showing little hesitation in a tough situation.
"For now, rest out a bit. I have seen enough." Aiko further stated. "We shall soon pick up your training, Hylli. And I believe Kazumo has some matters to attend to as well."
 
Southern Continent | Water Republic | Kirgakure
Collab between @BlueFlameNikku & @Lesli
Operation: False Light (Sugishimo's First Mission)
​

Approaching the point where she would rally with the genin assigned to her Neime pocketed her hands. The early morning fog was distinctive for Kirigakure and many cities of the Republic. It hung low and created a mysterious atmosphere.Yet it didn't stop people from getting up early to venture out. Most likely heading to work.
Glancing at the few people that left their homes, Neime saw no one yet that fit the description that befitted her would be genin. Perhaps it was too early for them? The thought didn't amuse Neime, as she hoped that the genin had an understanding for responsibility.
Shifting her thoughts to what she was supposed to do today, the mission shouldn't be too hard. The neighbourhood was one of the nicer ones in Kirigakure. The rate of crimes was low and poverty seemed to barely exist in this district. Most people worked in the slightly higher circles of society. Or, at least, safe from hazards that many labour-heavy careers had.
Yet, that didn't comfort Neime immediately. People were on edge because of what was going on. And it became abundantly clear that whatever was infecting the quarantine zones of the city, could spill at any moment to all other neighborhoods of Kirgakure. Regardless of social rank or status.

Sugishimo awoke bright and early as per his usual daily ritual. He suited up with all of his gear in anticipation for his first assignment after graduation. After having a quick breakfast his parents waved him off before he took off through the foggy streets. He stopped by the first local fisherman he usually helped set up for the morning but today was different. As Sugi was helping the man, the young ninja let it slip that he had his first mission today. Not a second later the fisherman yelled at Sugishimo like a disgruntled uncle. "Then what the heck are you doing here! I've got the rest handled, you get going and don't make anybody wait on you on my account kid." The genin was shocked at the sudden outburst but then smiled in understanding. He nodded before turning around and started heading down the road once again, a faint shouting good luck could be heard from behind him.

The meetup spot was in a neighborhood that was a little ways from where he lived. So the genin went down a side street here and an alley there in an attempt to make up for any lost time. In doing this Sugi made sure to steer clear of any quarantined districts on the way there. He'd walk out from a nearby side street onto the one he'd been instructed to. Upon looking around at the few denizens awake around this time he spied a kunochi with blond hair, aqua green eyes and orange eye shadow. It matched the description he was given that's for sure. He hustled over to the woman at a brisk pace before stopping in front of her with an inquisitive face. "Hayashi Neime?"

Neime had seen the other approaching her. This was without a doubt the genin that went by the name of Sugishimo. When he asked her name, she subtly nodded. "Correct. The one and only," was her reply at first, "I take it then that you're Sugishimo. You are on time but we still have a lot to cover today."
Gesturing him to follow her, Neime started to already walk at a calm pace. "I will be frank. Today's mission doesn't likely entail any exciting bits. It is best to keep every weapon sheathed and out of sight. Folk are already as tense as they should be. With all that is going on," Neime began, throwing a sideways glance at the genin, "Luckily, you are one of the lucky ones that isn't sent to operate a mission in the quarantine zone. In short? We are to question some people. To figure out if there is any connection here to what is going on in the quarantine. To pulse how much of a risk this neighbourhood is, at least, according to our assessment."
Though there was more to say, she would leave a good enough pauze for him to ask any questions. Figuring that he likely had some due to this being his very first mission.

Sugishimo followed suit just to Neime's right as they walked together. He listened attentively to the start of the mission briefing. The part regarding weaponry was understandable. The genin made a quick check to make sure his general tools were tucked away neatly, leaving only the large scroll on his back. He was rather glad to hear that they likely wouldn't run into any trouble, though the way Neime phrased it puzzled him. Her words suggested that she liked combat. That or she was assuming that Sugi did anyways.

Noticing the obvious pause, Sugishimo took a moment to collect his words. "So I assume we aren't just gonna go door to door to random people's homes. There any specific people we've gotta talk to?" He asked in an attentive tone. The young ninja was fully onboard in helping out with the quarantine issue that was for sure. The thought of whatever it was spreading to his neighborhood made him feel sick to his stomach.

"There are some specific people that we need to see," Neime replied in turn, "some people here had connections in the quarantine zones." Enlisting a pause as they continued to walk, Neime continued. "There could be a bit of hostility. Seeing that we are just with two, it is best if we don't respond with violence. We haven't gotten anything that gives us a free pass to bypass the law on this mission."
He certainly didn't seem to be the aggressive or overeager type but looks could be deceiving, Neime mused to herself.

It didn't take long for them to reach the first house that was on Neime's list. Much like the rest of the neighbourhood, it showed that the occupants had taken care for it. There was no sign that the denizens of the home had anything to do with the disease that ran rampant on the quarantined districts.
"Single father. Has a shop set near the port, where he deals mostly in common supplies. Has some family members in the quarantine zones," Neime mumbled, just audible enough for Sugishimo to hear and understand what she was saying.
"Has no bad track record either. But emotions may run a bit high. How about you take this one first?" The Hayashi gestured to the door while taking a step back, allowing Sugishimo to go first.

Sugishimo continued to listen as the chuunin gave the last of the mission details. The young ninja thought back through the laws that governed the republic in silence. The thought of the rigged judicial system made the boy scrunt his face for but a moment before becoming neutral again. "I don't know what was on the file you received about me. But if it comes down to it I can use genjutsu with your permission, to avoid violence." Since Neime was his superior Sugi had no desire to disrespect her authority. He's yet to see if she's someone whom he shouldn't respect anyhow so he'd play along. Having used genjutsu on other people so often, Sugi hardly saw it as a violent means anymore despite the forms of harm some techniques can cause.

Upon reaching the home Sugishimo wondered if the man inside might know of the young ninja. It was likely a stretch after all since the port wasn't exactly small but word gets around. It wasn't all that surprising to have been given the first house, an obvious first test. Sugi accepted the order and stepped up to the front door. He put on a soft smile before knocking on the door and waited patiently for someone to answer. People tend to be more cooperative when talked to with a smile.

When Sugishimo suggested that he could apply genjutsu, to avoid hostility, Neime considered it. There was no mentioning that they could not do such a thing. "Know what? Go ahead." Neime managed to bring out as there was some faint sound coming from the other side of the door.

At eyeheight, a slide opened and revealed a pair of eyes.
"Huh, who--" the masculine voice halted upon sighting the two shinobi. "One second!" The small opening slid quickly, to be closed. Some more sounds resonated, clearly indicating that the man was unlocking the door.
As the door swung open, they were greeted by a man that was likely approaching his forties. The short haircut did little to hide the few wrinkles that were either out of worries or the influence of age. His clothing did little to hide his wealth, together with the few rings that he had on his fingers.
"Sorry, I wasn't expecting shinobi today. How can I aid you today?" The man asked, his voice cracking a bit - evidently some wariness mixed with being nervous. His gaze kept flicking back and forth between Neime and Sugishimo.

Sugishimo kept his soft smile as he addressed the man. "Mornin' sir, we just need a few moments of your time and we'll be off." The genin took a moment to instinctively look the man up and down, noting his nervousness and cracking tone of voice. Not to mention at least to Sugi the man's door had more precautions than normal. But that was likely because of the more wealthy neighborhood he lived in.

"We're just gonna ask you some questions about the current happenings here in Kirigakure if you wouldn't mind? Mainly about the quarantines as I'm sure you'd guess." Sugi made sure to allude to asking for the man's permission to be questioned. When you make the person you're trying to talk to feel in control they are less likely to cause problems.

The friendly approach of Sugi didn't do much to calm down the visible nerves of the civilian. The man licked his lips as he placed his hands on his hips. "Of course, go ahead. I mean, I don't mind you asking questions." The man began, causing Neime to slightly frown. But the Hayashi chuunin remained silent, opting to let Sugi do his interview without being railroaded by her.
"I haven't been close to the quarantine zones. But I will do my best to answer your questions."

Despite that lack of effect Sugi continued on as he was. "Thank you sir, I'll try not to take up too much of your time." The genin bowed his head a tad before continuing on. "So you haven't been close to the quarantine zones as of late. I have the understanding that you do have some family in the zones. I'm sorry that this is the case and it must make you worry about them. But that is why we are doing what we are doing. We want to bring this quarantine to an end and help those within them." Sugi made sure to pay close attention to any minor reactions from the man.

"If you haven't been around the quarantine zones could you perhaps point us in the direction of someone you know who has done so recently?"

At first, the man just nodded. He paid most attention to Sugi, clearly due to the genin talking. But when Sugi made a mention of the man's family, the subtle signs nearly screamed at both Sugi and Neime. The man leaned slightly forwards, his right hand trembled and his eyes widened. Yet, the man patiently waited for the genin to be done.
"I may know one person. But has something happened? What has--"

"Please do answer the question, sir," Neime decided to cut in. She kept a hand near a pouch and subtly gestured to her companion. This was enough to remind the man with what he was dealing with - allowing him to regain some of his composure.
"Three houses to the right. Hataki is his name. He apparently has found a way in. I didn't ask or know more. I swear it. I only know that he might know something or someone."

Sugi too kept his composure at the obvious signs of distress from the man. He kept on track with their current assignment and listened to their latest lead. Unsure if there was anything else he needed to ask he looked back at Neime for a moment before looking back at the man. "Thank you for your help. But before we go..." Sugishimo then slowly pulled out a small pencil and a notepad. "If it'll help I could ask someone authorized to check on your family members and send you a letter about how they're doing. I'd just need their names and addresses. I can't promise I can get it through the proper channels but if it'll help reassure you at all I can try."

The young ninja honestly wanted to help the older gentleman. Sugi knew he didn't have much in the way of getting such a thing done but maybe the thought would ease the man's worries, even a little.

Neime didn't entirely agree with what the genin seemed to do. But she would keep her silen, letting the genin take the notes as the man was more than eager to give the names and addresses. Once it seemed cleared out, Neime waited for the door to close - quickly followed by the rumbling and rustling that indicated the man was placing the locks back in place.
"We should go to the next. This Hataki person,"
Neime stated, "he wasn't on my list. But seeing that our friend here mentioned him, it won't hurt to pay that person a visit."
Waiting for Sugi to be done with his notes, Neime threw a glance to the direction they would head. It was still quite early but more people were about to get up and go about their business.
"Ready?" Neime asked, before she would start to head in a calm pace towards their next destination.

Sugishimo did indeed take down the notes he'd promised and bid the man a good day before turning around to face Neime. "Y-yeah we should get going." The genin responded with a short stutter. When he looked back at the chuunin, it'd hit him that what he thought was a kindness was a fair bit outside his current authority to even consider doing. He meekly put away the pencil and notepad before following behind the young lady. On that note Sugi had no idea how old Neime was. She didn't look a year older than he did. It'd probably be best to not bring that up out loud. Women tended to be touchy about that subject after all.

Approaching the door of the address that was supposedly that of a mister Hataki, Neime would knock on the door. No response came nor was there any indication that there was anyone home. Clicking her tongue Neime took a step away from the door.
"He might not be home," she started, looking at the various windows. Throwing a subtle look around, Neime didn't see many people on the street. "Let's see if we can go a bit around. I want to see if we can find anything."
Gesturing Sugishimo to follow her, Neime would walk around. There was a small alley-like way between Hataki's house and his neighbour - likely leading to the backyard, judging by the tall wooden fences.
"There, that window," Neime said as she pointed at a window that overlooked the backyard of the home. "It is slightly open. I bet if we reach for it, we can pry it open."
Turning her gaze towards Sugishimo, she would cast a friendly smile.
"Just in and out. Ten minutes sneaking in."

Sugi wondered where this Hataki could be at this hour. He spoke as they went around the back down the alley. "If this Hataki was a fisherman down by the port I could see them not being around, but in this neighborhood?" The genin asked rhetorically with scepticism. When Neime smiled his way at the notion of breaking in the young ninja scratched at the back of his neck. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt. Besides, we've got our suspicions." The shinobi took a moment to inspect the path he'd take and that no one was in the immediate area. "I can get the window." Utilizing his basic shinobi training Sugishimo quietly hopped up onto the wooden fencing and then leapt up to the window ledge. He used one of his kunai to aid in prying the partially open window fully. If successful he'd hold it open for Neime and politely gesture for her to enter first.

Watching Sugishimo moving over the fence, Neime then took the lookout duty. There were some sounds of people nearby. But those came from the street, which was all fine. Nobody could see Sugi from there.
Throwing a glance, Neime noticed that Sugi had managed to open the window. A small smile broke through on the Hayashi's lips as she would follow suit - moving over the fence and scaling the wall using the basic techniques.
"Very gracious," she mumbled, the amusement clear, as she entered. Making sure to stay silent Neime listened if she could detect any presence. But it seemed that there was nobody. That or the household was gone or vast asleep. Waiting for Sugi to enter the home, Neime would walk to the nearby door. For the room they were in seemed to be just a storage for all kinds of items. Some tools, clothing and boxes. Nothing that really attracted Neime's attention.

Opening the door, Neime threw a careful look around. Still there was no sign of life other than her and Sugi. Pushing the door wide open, Neime released a soft sigh.
"Okay, now we are inside. But now we have to find something that proves that mister Hataki has something he shouldn't have. How about I check if there is anything on this floor and you check the ground floor?"

Sugi promptly followed Neime inside. Catching most of her mumbled words the genin looked away as he hid a quick smirk. He dreaded the thought of getting a big head on the first mission in front of his superior. After nodding in agreeance at the notion of splitting up, Sugi made his way downstairs. The genin wasn't being particularly stealthy though he made sure to step quietly. He scoped out the living room, the kitchen and the dining room. Everything seemed well in order and someone definitely lived here, since everything looked cleaned up.

It was then that the young ninja came across a locked door. It likely headed to a basement section within the home. Knowing they were on a time crunch, Sugi decided against getting Neime before proceeding on. Making use of his basic shinobi tools he went to work on lock. If successful Sugi would slowly open it and quietly make his way downwards into the basement.

There wasn't anything in the master bedroom. Nothing underneath the bed. The drawers void of any secret components or places that could hide any secrets. The other room seemed to be something of a workplace, where she had more success to learn about Hataki's business. He held a tight control on his business, trading wares and the costs as profits. But there wasn't anything that Neime considered suspicious. If anything, this seemed to prove that this mister Hataki had nothing to do with the quarantine zone. At least, if they would go by his administration.

Downstairs, Sugi would hear the sound of wood cracking. Only to see a figure at the top of the staircase. An adult man looking down at the genin, though his facial features not being revealed due to the situation of light. Then in all of a sudden the man started to run, heading for the backyard - likely deciding to move over the fence and try to vanish into the nearby market.

Upon hearing the sound of creaking wood coming from beyond the door, Sugishimo instinctively hopped backwards away from the door as it opened to reveal a shrouded figure. "H--" The genin tried to get a word out but man bolted. "Hey!" Sugi shouted as he gave chase on foot through the house. "Neime senpai! We've got a runner going out the back!" With hopes his senpai could nab the man before he made it to the streets.

Thinking quickly Sugi had an idea that might help. Just before the runner could get out to the backyard, the genin made the signs for the Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique. He stopped so as to look out a backyard window to better craft the illusion. It would only be a subtle one. With the illusion the entire backyard fence line would appear one to two inches taller than it actually was. Sugi planned for this to hinder the man's expected vault and maybe cause him to stumble or fall. In theory slowing him down just enough for Neime to make an easy capture.

Much like Sugi had planned, his illusion had the promising effect of slowing the man down. Due to misculation, the man didn't manage to smoothly vault over the fence. Instead he would fall down and produce a loud sound. Various projectiles would quickly follow the man over the fence, producing various soft but noticeable thuds.
"Very nice, Sugi," a voice resonated from the first floor. Having drawn several more kunai, Neime had good sight on the runaway. "I would like to request the mister to please remain where he is. And to refrain from hostile actions. Else we are to resort to less friendly options."

Keeping her sight on the man, Neime spoke again. "I got good sight and will back you up. See if this is our good friend, mister Hataki."

A whimpering could be detected from the other side. Various kunai had pierced into the other fence, just above the runaway as he kept still on the ground. One of his arms seemed to be in a weird shape - likely the aftermath of the awkward fall.

The genin had a hard time containing the joy he received from Neime's praise. His plan had actually worked. Sugi had to take a second to wipe the stupid grin from his face before making his way outside. The illusion had reverted a few moments after the runaway interacted with it, fading away like a mirage.

After hopping the fence Sugishimo stood in front of the man in order to get a good look at him. He took note of the man's likely injured arm and the array of kunai stuck into the wood just above his head. The genin smiled softly all the same at the man before speaking in a calm tone. "You know, you probably shouldn't have done that." Not bothering to ask the man as he'd probably lie, Sugi patted the man down in search of any weapons as well as a form of identification. "Please don't squirm too much so I don't bump your arm there. Whether you are Mister Hataki or not, I'm sure Neime senpai will have plenty of questions for you." The words wouldn't sound inherently threatening but something about his oddly chipper tone may be off putting to the man.

The man continued to whimper, muttering something about his arm. There seemed to be some hints that the person still wanted to get away. But soon enough, a soft sound heralded the arrival of Neime. The Hayashi looked down upon the man, no sign of emotion regarding the situation.
"Mister Hataki. We got some questions for you," Neime started, "regarding the possibility that you have been exchanging illegal interactions with those in the quarantine zone."
Merely had Neime finished or the man raised his good arm up, a motion that failed to convey a gesture of submission.
"I-I only know some people! I swear! I got nothing to do what goes down at the quarantine!"

Neime remained silent, staring down at the whimpering man. Throwing a glance at Sugishimo, Neime spoke up. "I believe that we have some luck. We are going to escort this man to the Shiranui. They probably are most curious to what our friend here has to offer regarding knowledge on the quarantine."
Stepping towards the man, Neime would grab the man by his collar and force him to get up. "All that remains is to escort him. Then we can call it a day." Neime stated, a smile flashed towards Sugi as she grabbed the good arm of Hataki. Twisting it so that he couldn't resist, Neime would continue. "You take the front. We don't want any of Hataki's friends to get the wrong ideas."

The genin didn't have much luck in locating any identification. The man did respond to Neime when mentioned by name so it was likely him anyhow. When Neime started to take control of the situation, Sugi took a step back so that she could work freely. She seemed like someone who gets straight to the point, no nonsense. A contempt nod was the response given in regards to the man's next destination. Though Sugi wasn't entirely sure what or who the Shiranui were. The thought of nearly finishing his first mission so swiftly filled the genin with pride.

"Alright, I'll take point and keep an eye out. Just point me in the right direction as we go since I've never been to the Shiranui." Sugi would lead the way down the various streets and roads, staying perceptive as he did so. At some point he'd turn his head a little so that Neime could hear him easier. "Oi, Neime senpai, do you really think someone will try to stop us? Think they'd just be thugs or something?"

"Good. And best that you never been. I would be worried if you had been to the Shiranui before." Neime began, a slight hint of amusement evident in her tone. Directing subtly where they were heading the majority of people steered clear away from them. Despite them being only two, it was clear that nobody was eager to get into trouble by hindering Neime or Sugishimo.
"Not sure. Weird stuff is happening," Neime said, keeping the grip on the Hataki tightly. "luckily it shouldn't be too far from here."

As they continued on, there was still no sign of trouble. People let them be and Neime was grateful for that. As they passed by a stand where various people stood to buy various vegetables, Neime decided to pose a question.
"So first mission. Not going too shabby, huh?" She started, though keeping her attention on those who were passed by them, "How are you holding up so far?"

Were they heading to some kinda interrogation place? Some form of jail? From what Neime said this guy wasn't going anywhere nice that was for sure. The genin followed Neime's directions and looked on curiously as people gave them a wide berth. It felt awkward to the young man. Having been so used to living by the port where there was lots of congested foot traffic. It did make a peaceful escort seem more possible by the minute.

Sugi looked back at Neime with a smile "Yeah, everything seems to be going great. Can't wait to tell my folks." He took a moment before answering again. "I'm fine. Just glad things didn't get out of hand." He scratched at the back of his neck. "There's quite a few old timers that'd give me an earthful if they found out I acted recklessly on my first mission."

Neime couldn't help but to flash a small smile back. If anything, it was nice that things were going great. It was a bit unexpected that they caught a source of intel so quickly. But that could mean perhaps that they would be allowed to have the day off. Or being sent once more into the field, to get more intel on those who could have a link with the riots that had occured in the quarantine zones.
"Don't worry. I will make sure that---"

The Hayashi had no time to finish her sentence. From the right, a projectile pierced Hataki's neck. Blood spurted from the wound as steel and wood slammed with a strong push into Hataki's flesh. Noticing something on the shaft of the bolt, Neime used all her strength to push the wounded man to a nearby wall.
"Get down!" She yelled while quickly lowering herself before Hataki's head seemed to explode - sending pieces of fleshy bits around.

The genin's eyes widened as he turned fully to witness what looked to be a crossbow bolt pierce into Hataki's neck. Heeding the chunnin's yell, Sugi slid behind a nearby food stall on the opposite side of the street and tucked himself behind the wood. Looking out from his position after the explosion Sugi got a good look at the now nearly headless Hataki. The genin could feel his heart skip a beat as it sped up. He drew one of his kunai and looked out a little further searching for the shooter. Sugi thought about what the angle of the bolt that was in Hataki's neck was at. He would then look in the vague direction that the bolt would have likely been fired from.

Neime also glanced where the bolt came from. It had been from the right, from a nearby rooftop. Scurrying to get herself standing, there were already people closing in. Curious and frightened bystanders that wondered what just had occurred. Cursing softly underneath her breath Neime glanced at the aftermath.
As she expected, there was nothing left of Hataki's head. Blood slowly spilled out of the gaping wound on the paved stones. Approaching the body Neime knelt down and checked quickly if there was anything left of use.
But without a head, even a fresh corpse wouldn't be able to provide much use for the intelligence division. Getting up Neime threw a cautious look around.
"Sugi, you okay?" Neime decided to ask, only now deciding to check if she wasn't hit by anything that could raise some concern.

Sugi shouted towards the surrounding people. "Get back, it's not safe!" His voice cracking as he did so, not being used to such a high stress situation. Making a good guess where the shot came from Sugi stayed put. Whoever this was had too many advantages at the moment. It was better to await Neime's next course of action. Hearing Neime, Sugi checked himself over hurriedly and seemed to be unscathed. "I-I'm ok, I'm ok!" He shouted back before letting out a deep breath. The sight of the man's headless corpse flashed in the genin's mind. What if that'd happened to Neime...or himself? Sugi could feel his body start to shake in distress. He could feel his muscles locking up. Was this really happening right now? Is this guy a ninja too? Question after question flooded through the genin's consciousness, many were more worrying than comforting.

It helped to see Sugi being unharmed. There were more people, slightly pushing each other as they shuffled closer. Throwing a look at the crowd that gathered, it became clear that they wouldn't be able to pursue the one that had ambushed them.
"This is a huge mess," Neime said, though just speaking her thoughts out loud. "Guess we going to hold people off from approaching the body. Perhaps something can be salvaged from it," the Hayashi said, a clear tone of disappointment ringing.
"This is going to be a drag. Get to that spot and try to look as menacing as you can. I will hold that place. Hopefully, some reinforcements can then take over."

Judging by Neime's tone it seemed like whoever that was had gotten away. Then hearing that they were basically just gonna be on crowd control for a bit, the genin relaxed and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "That got real bad real quick." He said to himself. Once he got a hold of himself Sugi got up and went to the directed position in order to keep the crowd back from the scene. He wondered if Neime thought that he couldn't look menacing. To help out in the menacing department until help came, Sugishimo created a single water clone from the heavy morning mist. They'd surely manage the current task better with three bodies instead of just two. After the crowd saw Sugi create the water clone, it likely made some of them think twice about trying to shove their way past.
 
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[ Eastern Continent ]
[ 11th Brigade camp ]
[ A collaboration between the adorable @FrostedCaramel and @Autumn Song ]
[ After a day of her training, Hylli seeks out the members of a called 'team 4'. This done on the advice of Aiko, Hylli manages to find Aoi of the Miyazato. The meeting spiralling into a training session in which the two learn more about each other's bloodline abilities, that seem similar. ]​


It was hard to say if she was getting used to the camp. The idea of being in a military camp wasn't really settled in till she woke up once more. The snoring of the others in the same tent was anything but pleasant. Deciding to move out of the tent and getting ready for the day Hylli noticed much to her agony that it was quite early. The light of the sun had yet to drive away from the remainder of the dark night.
Though not a stranger to getting up early Hylli could do without the obnoxious snoring of her tentmates. Stretching her limbs, she did wonder what today would hold for her. Even at an early hour, the camp seemed to not lack any activity. There was still an abundance of sounds that indicated that people were up and busy.
Deciding that she would report herself for duty to the brigade general, Hylli only realised how stupid of an idea that was. She wasn't part of any unit or possessing any rank to just meet up with the brigade general. Instead, she remembered what Aiko had told her at the end of the training the other day.
She could seek out the quartermaster, perhaps to aid with any small tasks in and around camp. But also to seek out the members of Team 4, for additional training.

Eager to prove her diligence towards Lady Cho, Hylli couldn't help but have her curiosity piqued by the concept of meeting up with this Team 4. Deciding to first seek out that team Hylli would gather her gear and head out.
The walk through the camp was somehow pleasant. It helped to get rid of the last vestiges of sleep that bothered Hylli. Talking and asking around would eventually allow her to reach the line where the tent was placed where Team 4 was stationed.

Aoi hadn't managed to get any meaningful sleep since the teams return from its mission. The sudden return to a sense of semi-normalcy once back in the camp proved too much for her already frayed nerves and sentenced her to a handful of fretful and unfulfilling sessions of restlessness. Instead of continuing the effort of trying to sleep Aoi had left her tent and taken up a spot outside of it in the dark where she could watch the stars and clouds above as she tried to sort her mind.

It was here that she had spent the majority of the night, going back inside the tent only once to grab some warmer clothes to bundle up in. Still staring up at the sky she had only barely even aware of the camp beginning to wake up around her. The soft sounds of grumbling soldiers as they left their warm bedrolls, the clattering of pots and pans as some units went about preparing a morning meal, and the occasional deeper darkness of someone passing between tents around her were the only things that gave away the camps apparent life in the early morning dark.

Noticing that someone sat outside of the row of tents Hylli did waver. She hadn't received any description on what the people of Team 4 looked like. Convincing herself mentally that she had nothing to lose Hylli stepped towards the individual that sat outside without any true purpose.
"Good morning," Hylli began in fluent Chonobi, a small smile accompanying her approaching. "I am sorry to disturb you. But I am looking for the members that are serving an individual known as Meilin Cho. May you know where I can find those that serve her? Or perhaps this Meilin herself?"

When someone began talking near her it took a moment for Aoi to realize that the words were meant for her. Staring up at the stranger Aoi struggled at first to even recognize the language that was being spoken as her mind focused back in on the person.

Blinking a few times her mind seemed to run in slow motion as she struggled to translate the girls words into Taika in her mind. As the woman finished her question the silence between Aoi and the stranger lengthened as she painstakingly deciphered the surprisingly formal Chonobi phrase. With a hint of doubt in her own words she responded as best she could in Chonobi to the stranger, "This is Team 4." she said as she pointed back to the tent, "Meilin Cho sleeps. Is there something I can do for you instead?" she finished, her words strained as she struggled to form the proper sounds needed for the still unfamiliar language.

The silence did little to comfort Hylli. In fact, she was confused about why the blue-haired woman had trouble responding. Was it perhaps sleep that still held a strong grip on the other, Hylli wondered."Ah," Recognising that the other had a heavy Taika accent Hylli decided to swap from Chonobi to Taika. For the accent which the other spoke with made it painfully clear that the conversation would else become quite awkward or grow stagnant.
" I am sorry. I am Hylli Hyuzu. I have recently arrived here. And I was directed to seek out the members of Team 4 by Lady Cho. For matters of training or advice." Enlisting a short pause, Hylli quickly glanced at a spot but opted to stay standing. "I am a genin." She added, feeling a bit awkward for stating her rank.

Giving an apologetic smile Aoi responded to Hylli in Taika, "Ah." she nodded as the girl seemed uncomfortable, "Well then. I'm Miyazato Aoi, member of Team 4. If Lady Cho told you to seek us out then I guess I have no choice but to help." she stood up and faced the Hyuzu offering a more welcoming smile this time around.

"So which matters are you here for? Training or advice?" she asked as she gave the Hyuzu a quizzical look. Stark white hair and a far more mature look than what she expected of most genin gave Aoi the impression that Hylli was the same age as her, if not actually older. She shuffled in place and decided not to ask too many personal questions, opting instead to figure out exactly what it was that the Hyuzu needed from them.

"If it's something I can help with I'll do what I can for you," she looked back toward the still silent tent behind her and then back to the Hyuzu, "otherwise I'll have to wake up Meilin. Which I'd prefer not to, just to let her sleep you know?"

Hylli made a small bow with her head as Aoi rose up. Though Hylli had a hard time to recognise where the name 'Miyazato' came from. Deciding to focus on the current conversation Hylli was more than happy to give answers to Aoi's questions.
"A bit of both would be most appreciated, miss Miyazato," Hylli began, "my current skills aren't anywhere boast worthy. But my best skills have been genjutsu, knifeplay and hand to hand combat."
Nodding to the emphasis that she understood that Aoi rather not woke up the lieutenant Cho, Hylli continued. "I fully understand. I would be already in your debt if you were to aid me in either training or advice."

Considering something Hylli gestured to the ground. "Is it an idea that I perhaps explain in further details? And then allow you to decide if I am worth training or advice."

Aoi couldn't help but to notice the stark difference of this Hyuzu over that of the Dowhon on their first meeting. Though she couldn't say she preferred Hylli over Dagrún, she couldn't lie to herself that she preferred this introduction over the one she'd had with her actual teammate.

"I could help with some of that, though not Genjutsu if I'm being frank." she answered the genin before attempting to decipher what she meant by the final offer to explain. Considering she had no plans for the day, and the team was essentially on a free schedule following their return Aoi had already made up her mind to help the Hyuzu if she could. Still, she'd allow the genin to explain her needs and maybe even get her a little anxious about the chances of receiving the help she sought from Aoi and Team 4.

"Do explain, it'll be easier to decide the more I know about you." Aoi relief with an almost indifferent stare.

A polite smile crept on Hylli's lips as she had already an idea where to start. "That is fine. I am hoping that Lady Cho will grace me with teachings regarding genjutsu. Or the Scylding that I met yesterday. He seemed most capable when he bested me easily in a spar." Pausing, she realised just what she had told Aoi. "So," she quickly continued. "I am a novice but I have been trained in the art of stealth. I have also managed to conjure a trick of my own. Hold on."

Taking a few steps back Hylli drew one of her knives. Holding the weapon at the bottom of the hilt, a blue hue softly spread over the steel. From bottom to tip, the weapon radiated a soft aura of chakra. With her free hand Hylli performed the seal of confrontation.
"It is currently my signature technique," there was a modicum of pride as Hylli spoke about the technique, "as you can witness, I can manipulate the knife to a certain degree."
Removing her hand, the knife would appear to levitate in the cold morning air. "I can give several boosts. To acquire some tactical advantage over foes that just write my knives off as mere nuisance."
Suddenly the knife seemed to be boosted into the air, only to be caught by Hylli with ease. Sheathing her weapon, the Hyuzu placed her hands on her hips. "Other than that, I possess my clan's bloodline ability. It is still something in the works though. Let's see."

Aoi quickly moved forward to stop the Hyuzu from showing anything more where they stood, reaching out to grab the girls shoulder she quickly turned her around and began to push her in the direction she had come, "The soldiers don't like that, not here. Use your jutsu on the training fields and they'll look at you with disgust, use it here? Around where they live, sleep and eat? They might get physical with you, and we lose that argument every time no matter if we win the fight." she spoke in a hushed tone.

She moved to walk alongside the Hyuzu as she led her down the familiar path to the training areas, "Don't get me wrong I don't care if someone does that in front of me, it's the non-Shinobi you need to worry about."

A light blush formed quickly on Hylli's cheeks as Aoi stepped in. Realising her folly Hylli silently hoped for the ground to devour her. She had felt that she didn't perform optimal yesterday. And now in her eagerness to convince this Aoi Miyazato, she had nearly done something stupid.
"I understand. I got a bit excited, sorry," Hylli replied, "I am just a tad new to this all. The environment that I used to be trained in was more or less," Hylli paused, "known territory."

As they continued on their way to the fighting rings and drilling area Hylli wondered about something. "Please, do forgive my curiosity. But would you be willing to tell me more about yourself? I have yet to hear about Miyazato. Is it a clan? And where are you from?"

Waving away the Hyuzu's apologies Aoi just nodded along, "You'll figure it out soon enough." she assures the girl as they went. When she decided it's gift the topic to Aoi she couldn't help but to be a bit caught off guard. She hadn't thought of her family since arriving East, hadn't spoken of them to anyone in an attempt to keep more upsetting realities at bay.

"Sure," she smiled in an attempt to hide her reluctance, "it's a very small clan, spread throughout Akino. Specifically," she pointed into the distance at the mountains just becoming visible in the early morning dusk, "I'm from Mount Amagi, North of Konohagakure. You might know it? It's one of the biggest lone mountains in the land." she shrugged and continued, "Otherwise there's not much to say about that. I'm a Chuunin, and I specialize in some similar things to you, some not."

Turning a corner around a line of tents they came upon the edge of the camp and the training areas beyond, "Is there anything in particular you'd like to train or ask about? I'm sure most of your questions I can answer, or at least know someone he can."

"I heard from others about Mount Agami. I have yet to experience the sight or pleasure to visit it," Hylli responded at first, "I suppose it does now explain your accent. Though it isn't bad." The Hyuzu hooked a thumb behind her belt as she kept walking aside Aoi.
The question if Hylli had anything in particular to train or ask about wasn't one that required much thought from the Hyuzu.
"I suppose that if genjutsu isn't an expertise, we could delve into some ninjutsu? I am familiar with chakra flow. Else, I am more than willing to learn some taijutsu tricks if you want to share some with me."

Hesitating for a moment Hylli patted a small pouch that she carried with her. "I do have metal release, though. But I am up for anything that you are, Aoi of the Miyazato."

Taking a moment to stretch her neck as they approached an empty training area, Aoi was holy that it was too dark to see her blushing at the mention of her accent.

"I can do some Taijutsu sparring, ninjutsu is also a possibility," she said as entered the ring and turned to walk backwards further into it as she spoke to the Hyuzu, "but just don't be surprised when I also beat you like that muscle-man did." she smirked as she eyed the pouch at the girls waist not quite sure what it had to do with metal release.

Watching Aoi enter the ring Hylli realised what she had signed herself up for. The chance that Aoi was nothing less as experienced or capable than Kazumo was better than her being able to defeat the Miyazato. Yet a smile crossed Hylli's lips.
Entering the ring Hylli nodded. "I won't be. Just to clarify? Just taijutsu? No ninjutsu or anything of the sorts?" Hylli asked as she raised her fists up.

Shaking her head at the question, Aoi laughed a little at the Hyuzu, "Ninjutsu is fine, though I know no genjutsu so maybe stick away from that this time." with that she took up a rather light stance as she cocked an eyebrow at the Hyuzu, "So let's see what you can do then yeah?".

"Well, okay!" Hylli said as her hands shot together. Weaving the required handseals, a soft sound escaped the pouch that Hylli had patted before. Something seemed to slip from the pouch and make its way to Hylli's arms.
Raising her fists once more, a certain liquid seemed to spread over Hylli's hands.

A smile crept across Aoi's lips as she watched the genin seem to mold metal over hands. "Interesting." Aoi said as she raised her own fists, "This will certainly be fun." she mused before taking a kunai from her pouch and throwing it toward the genin at the same moment she began a dead sprint to close the distance between them both.

Narrowing her eyes Hylli reacted with a punch. There was a scraping sound as the sharp edge of the kunai seemed to hit something solid. Pulling her left fist back Hylli held her ground, only to throw a right punch as Aoi closed in.

Aoi couldn't help but to be a bit surprised at what she was witnessing. As the kunai clattered off of Hylli's fist Aoi ducked under the girls punch and pressed into the Hyuzu, aiming to simply pushing the girl away she placed her hands on the Hyuzu's stomach and smiled up at her.

Pushed away Hylli released a soft breath out. Holding her fists up she focused on Aoi. Instead of letting Miyazato dictate the next exchange, Hylli moved forwards with what seemed to be a punch from the right. Instead, it was a mere feint in an attempt to land a kick to Aoi's left leg.

As the Hyuzu skidded back with the push Aoi stood to watch her once more. Before she could move on the Hyuzu again the Hyuzu instead came to her.

Opening with the same punch she had already tried Aoi had barely enough time to notice it seemed less focused than the first strike did. The smile on her face only growing wider the Miyazato lifted her forward leg out of the way as the Hyuzu feinted the punch and continued forward with a kick.

Placing her foot back down as the Hyuzu's kick passed her by Aoi reached out to grab the girls leg and attempt to spin her to the ground.

Wanting to place her foot firmly down as Aoi avoided the kick Hylli's eyes widened. Before she could retract her action Aoi's hands already grabbed her leg. Trying to balance herself Hylli found herself on her back.
Staring at the sky Hylli remained still for a second. She realised that Aoi had beaten her in less than a minute, without the need to use a technique.

"Can I redo that?" Hylli asked, her tone still friendly, as she would throw a glance at Aoi from her perhaps somewhat awkward position.

Reaching a hand out to help the Hyuzu up, Aoi beamed at the thought of getting to go again, "Of course! You're actually pretty good, you just picked a bad opponent if I'm being honest." she shrugged, "Your movements are a bit too… obvious? The word is telegraphed I'm not sure you know it or not?"

"If you're going to feint a punch, do your damnedest to make it seem like the real thing all the way through, else a good opponent will figure it out early enough to react."

Grabbing the hand of Aoi, Hylli blinked twice rapidly. She wasn't sure how to take the compliment that Aoi gave her. A wry smile crossed Hylli's features as she wanted to object to the small compliment. Instead, however, she opted to listen to the advice that Aoi gave her.
"Got it." Hylli nodded as if she wanted to place more emphasis that she took the advice to heart. Taking a few steps backwards Hylli breathed in and out.
"Ready!"

"Good." Aoi answered as she raised her hands up in a defensive stance. "Come at me again then, maybe you can land a hit or two." she joked as she watched the Hyuzu, the girl at the very least was motivated which could make all the difference in becoming a vital part of a team or nothing more than a dead weight.

Taking a second to observe Aoi's stance, Hylli considered her approach. Then she would step forwards. Raising her right hand, clenched in a fist, Hylli aimed for the blow to hit Aoi at her midsection.

With the punches aimed squarely at her center, Aoi only had to shift her arms slightly to take the punch to her forearms. The metal causes the hit to be slightly
more forceful than a normal punch, but it was nothing that Aoi couldn't deal with. Taking a step back and to the side Aoi quickly started forward and aimed a jab at Hylli's flank.

Pulling her punch as quickly as she could back Hylli noticed the jab. Instead of attempting to respond to it Hylli launched a punch towards Aoi - aiming it at Miyazato's shoulder. Just as she directed her punch, a wave of pain radiated from Hylli's side.

As her punch landed squarely in the Hyuzu's side Aoi had very little time to do anything about the girls one punch coming for her. Shifting her body as best she could with the time she had her shoulder would be barred by the impact of the girls metal coated fists before the Hyuzu's first grazed off Aoi's shoulder and into the open air above it.

With the Hyuzu focused on her attempted counter and everything already in place Aoi simply continued to jab at the Hyuzu's side repeatedly.

Hylli released a gasp as the first jab hit her. As Aoi was about to deliver another Hylli's hands shot forward to wrap around the Miyazato's neck, in an attempt to lock her in a grip. Only for the Hyuzu to release a grunt as another jab sent forth a wave of pain across her body.

With the Hyuzu remaining locked in close Aoi wound up for another hit but stopped as the Hyuzu's hand clenched at her neck. With her free hand she reached up to grab the girls forearm and stepped back. With a pivot, she brought her other arm up and jammed her elbow into the Hyuzu's own elbow to attempt to free the choke hold and make some space.

Making space as well Hylli breathed a bit heavier than before. There was another flash of pain as she attempted to keep her hands up. A bit of concern flashed through Hylli's mind as she considered a different approach.
Grabbing a few of her knives Hylli would throw a few upwards, a soft blue aura spreading over the steel of the weapons.

Taking a moment to rub at her neck, Aoi watched as Hylli took out a couple of knives and tossed them into the air. She was a bit excited to see just how Hylli intended to use her jutsu, and although she wasn't entirely sure what the girl could do Aoi was confident that she could probably deal with whatever came next as long as nothing crazy happened.

Forming a single bird seal Aoi would drop her hands back to her side and wait to see what came next before doing anything herself.

The knives would rain down rapidly, without harming either combatants. Taking her stance before Hylli would wait three seconds before she would move in on Aoi. Like before, she clenched her right hand into a fist and seemed about to deliver a punch.
Only for her left hand to form the seal of confrontation, creating a soft sound behind Aoi as a knife would be boosted upwards.

More than a little confused as the knives struck into the ground around them, Aoi notes off the general areas they had landed and refocused in on Hylli as she came forward to deliver a punch. Take a step back to better distribute her weight Aoi noticed the girl form another seal and the soft noise of the knife pulling free of the ground behind her. Unsure of what was about to happen Aoi shifted her weight and dove to their right, rolling over and scrambling to her feet as quickly as she could she searched the air for the knife.

Pulling her arm back as Aoi rolled away, the Miyazato would see Hylli adjust her stance to face Aoi once more. And a knife levitating to the side of Hylli. "Normally, I would combine this with genjutsu." Lowering her fists slightly, Hylli continued to explain. "I tend to favour tricks with genjutsu and then deliver strikes with real knives. But as you requested, I shall lay off from the genjutsu."

Waiting for a second Hylli would once more close in on Aoi. This time with a low kick, aimed at Aoi's left side. All the while Hylli performing another seal of confrontation, causing the knife of before to become boosted and fly towards Aoi.

"Fair enough," Aoi agreed, feeling a bit bad she had asked her not to use genjutsu, "next time though." she added as Hylli once more advanced on her.

The kick was simple enough to deal with, simply sidestepping out of the reach of Hylli's leg Aoi focused instead on the knife know flying at her.

There was an incessant hissing noise from beneath Aoi's clothes as the iron dust quickly coiled its way up her forearms and cover her hands as well. With a flash of sparks, Aoi caught the knife in her hand, a fire-like pain shooting up her arm as she did before solidifying the iron dust around it to completely trap the knife in her grip.

Expecting that Aoi would deal with the sidekick, Hylli was about to boost another knife, trying to slowly corner Aoi's movement. But instead of proceeding with the plan Hylli quickly backed away. The odd hissing noise raised some concern as Hylli wasn't sure what happened.
"Huh," lowering her fists once more slightly Hylli observed how Aoi dealt with the knife. "You got metal release as well?" The Hyuzu asked, not able to mask her surprise and astonishment.

The iron around her hands loosening and floating away in lazy coils Aoi took Hylli's knife in her hand and flipped it around a couple times as a small stream of blood moved down her forearm from where the knife has found the flesh of her palm, "Not quite," she released the knife from her grip and smiled as it floated its way back to the Hyuzu, flipping on the way over to present itself handle first, "Magnet release, though the two seem uncannily similar." Aoi admitted.

"But now my trump card has been shown!" she joked. At the same time around her the iron dust began to form into distinct shapes. Some taking on squares or pyramids, others into small spheres and flat things with obvious blades on their edges, "But I think I may have a bit more control over this than you with your metal."

The shapes quickly dissolved back into dust and flowed back up Aoi's sleeves to disappear under her clothes, "Could probably teach you something in that regard, though I can't be sure just how similar they are in execution."

Mesmerized by the display of the iron dust being manipulated without the use of a sign or any visible motion from Aoi, Hylli remained silent. It even made her forget the fact she had apparently wounded Aoi, a thought that quickly surfaced the moment that the iron dust seemed to retreat.
"I am sorry, we should first attend to that," Hylli pointed at the forearm. "I think I got something," she mumbled and dug into a pouch before pulling out some wrapped bandage. Hesitating for a second, she would offer it to Aoi.
"I am sorry. I shouldn't have used the knives. It is quite stupid to use sharp or anything lethal in a spar."

Waiting for Aoi to take the bandage, Hylli did consider something. She would hold up a hand and showcase the metal that seemed to encase most of her hand. "It seems quite similar indeed. Though I use an alloy that is liquid. Until I use my release to warp it. To either make it solid or something in between. Granted, I only know two techniques. And I haven't mastered it to the degree to really cast more than some bits or a limb, at most, when I use it."

Taking the bandage from Hylli Aoi shook her head at the girls apologies, "Had I not wanted to get hurt I wouldn't have done this in the first place."

Once her hand had been wrapped she turned her attention back on the comments of the Hyuzu, "I don't think that's bad though. I mean if you can manipulate your metal to cover your hands and forearm, changing it from liquid to metal and you can also send those knives flying about, then you should by extension be capable of sending your metal about as well," again the hissing from beneath her clothes became evident as more iron dust flowed out and made a simple sphere between them, the dust now appearing to be a solid piece of metal as it floated there, "and if you can form it around your hands you can form it anywhere I'd think."

She shrugged and pointed at the girls pouch, "Have you ever tried to combine two things you already know how to do like that? I mean you're obviously capable of the control needed to do this." she emphasized as she pushed the sphere up into the air with her hand.
Despite Aoi's words, Hylli still felt like she had gone over the edge. But she would continue to listen as Aoi spoke further. Glancing at her metal encased hands Hylli seemed to waver. And then shake her head slightly. "I can cover my hands. Or stretch it out. But the more I stretch it, the flimsier the defence is. To the point that it just obstructs and becomes a hindrance for me," Hylli stated. "As for my knives? That isn't with my release. That is some chakra flow play. Something I could teach you, if you want."

The question if she ever had combined the two things was something that cost Hylli a few seconds. "Honestly? Never ever crossed my mind. I know one other technique but that is to make a metal object loaded with unstable chakra. To then be blown up. Never to combine my metal release with my knife technique." Throwing a look at Aoi's dust, Hylli once more seemed to visibly waver.
"But I am willing to give it a try if you want to help me."

Aoi gave a nod to Hylli and pointed at the ape here above them, "If you can throw those knives around with chakra, then you can do it with your metal. It's just a question of it you can manipulate your metal if it isn't touching you I guess?" she shrugged and the speakers above them disintegrated into a cloud of iron dust, "I don't know how your release works if we're being honest, but I've been told of it by my family given the similarities. So give it a try yeah, I'll help how I can."

Considering the words Hylli couldn't say or think that Aoi's statement seemed to be unreasonable. "Okay, so first ehm," she would manipulate the alloy to become liquid again, forming a sort of odd plash in the cupped palm of her left hand. "Now to make it solid," Hylli mumbled.
Focusing her chakra the metal liquid would slowly but surely start to become a solid mass.

"Now to apply the knife technique." Holding her right hand to form the seal of confrontation Hylli would let the chakra slowly seep into the solid metal mass. Once she was certain that she had applied enough chakra, Hylli tossed the lump of metal upwards.
Waiting for it to fall down Hylli applied the knife technique. Watching how the lump of metal slowly descended and came to an apparent halt in the air - around the same height at what Hylli threw it before.
"Okay, okay. Now what?" she asked, a curious glance thrown at Aoi.

Watching with a grin as the Metal came to rest in front of them, Aoi shrugged and laughed a little, "Well we know you can at least kind of move it around like your knives, try changing its shape maybe?" again she emphasized by changing her own iron dust into a pyramid shape above them.

Nodding slowly, a smile started to cross Hylli's lips upon the newfound success. She would carefully keep control to keep the lump of metal in the air. Moving her hands together she formed the required signs to try to conjure the effect of the technique.
Only for the lump of metal to become liquid and fall on the ground. Causing Hylli to stare at the alloy that now formed an odd stain between her and Aoi. "Oh. That is a shame." Hylli muttered. Kneeling down, she would not yet perform anything to recover the alloy.
"So, what is your input Aoi?"

Aoi frowned as she stared at the puddle of metal on the ground and thought through what may be causing the issue. "Maybe changing its form is too difficult once you've got it under control?" she crossed her arms and shifted a bit, "So maybe for now just work on forming it before you start to move it around? At least then you can get the moving it part down like you do with your knives? After that? I don't know, you might need someone with more insight to metal release than I have honestly." she felt a bit bad not having the answers for the Hyuzu, but it wasn't like she had any sort of real knowledge on the girls release. Plus it was her release, she had to have people she could ask about something like this if it really came down to it.

"Maybe chakra control is your issue? Trying to hard to change the form you lose you control on the chakra causing it to be able to move?"

Hearing what Aoi's input was, Hylli was becoming curious. Using her right index finger, she would touch the liquid alloy. It seemed to respond after a second, starting to creep across her finger to form another puddle in her cupped palm. Rising up Hylli glanced at the liquid alloy. "I already learned a lot today though," Hylli said as she would let the alloy slip back into the pouch. "How do you control that dust though? It seems nearly a miracle to move so many parts around and with such ease as you seem to have."
Considering the suggestion that Aoi said regarding chakra control Hylli seemed to doubt it. "I suppose it could. But my chakra control has been in good shape so far." Managing to prevent her pride from acting up Hylli decided to add another question. "Would you else perhaps know any way on how I could improve my chakra control?"

"Ah" Aoi pointed at her dust and smirked, "I can change the forces that act around the dust not so much the dust itself in simpler terms, I can change how that force reacts in several places at once because I spent quite a long time training under my father and on my own." she felt the answer was too vague but it didn't really expand beyond the work she had put into her release at a young age.

"It's difficult don't get me wrong, but simple shapes are easy. It's when I get into more complex shapes," the dust above them slowly floated down to about head height and formed into the crude shape of a bunny, "that things start to take a toll on me," the rabbit's ears moved as if to listen to something in the distance and the head shifted as well, "these small precise moments while maintaining everything else are almost too much even with the control you just watched earlier." as she spoke a small trickle of blood began to run down from one side of her nose.

The dust once more disintegrated and coiled it's way into her sleeves as she wiped the blood from beneath her nose. "Practice really. Lots of time and practice." she once more offered as if that was somehow any sort of helpful to Hylli.

Intently listening to the explanation of Aoi, Hylli had several questions. But she calmly waited for Aoi to finish completely. The dust forming a rabbit and even moving did conjure a smile on Hylli's lips. But the smile rapidly vanished as Hylli noticed the blood dripping from Aoi's nose.
Staying quiet Hylli took in the information. It seemed odd and yet similar to how the metal release seemed to function. "I think I am starting to get it. Though, please," Hylli raised her hands slightly, "don't exhaust yourself further out. I already dreaded that I would need more time and practice to master the techniques that I know. Or I manage to find someone that knows metal release and is also willing to share some experience with me."
The last sentence was given with a hint of sarcasm. Flashing a smile Hylli made a small bow with her head towards Aoi.
"But this has been most insightful for me, Aoi of the Miyazato. Even if you have some nasty punches."

Letting out a laugh Aoi waved a hand at Hylli, "I've done far worse using my release than a tiny bloody nose." she reassured the girl before continuing, "It'd certainly be nice to find another metal user around, but I doubt you're going to find one worth it out here."

Shifting in her spotting she laughed again and gave the Hyuzu a smile, "If ever you want to taste my fists again let me know, maybe next time we can just focus on taijutsu or maybe mix in your genjutsu and see just how deadly you can be no?"

"Yeah," Hylli said, realising that there was little to no hope that there would be any metal release user around. When Aoi stated she wouldn't mind to pommel Hylli again, the Hyuzu smiled.
"I will. I certainly hope that genjutsu would give a bit of help. Else I really need everything against the likes of you."

Aoi shifted around and shrugged, "More than likely it will make a pretty big difference." she turned to look back toward the camp and the now awake soldiers going about their morning routines. With a frown she pointed in their direction, "I should probably head back before they start wondering where I ran off to. If you need anything in the future just come find us." she added before slowly beginning to walk backwards out of the training area in case Hylli had anything to add.

"Yeah, that is fine. I probably should get to the quartermaster," Hylli replied back as she flashed a smile. "I will try to seek you out once more in the future. Take care." Waiting for a moment as Aoi took her leave, Hylli turned around. A soft sigh escaped her as the realization seemed to dawn in once more: she had a lot of training to do.
 
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[ Saki Yamanaka | Leader of the Tiger Claw unit deployed in the east ]
[ Spc. Jounin | Konohagakure Team 6 member | Captain-Major of the Guardians | Second-in-command of the Tiger Claws ]
[ Border of occupied Sevudia ]


Blood fell on the ground, the crimson colouring the melting snow and growing grass. The panting of the man filled the air as there wasn't any other sound. His eyes widened, attempting to find an escape. As his heart skipped with the beat of his feet, something pierced through the air. A loud thud slammed near his right ear.
Shocked, surprised and fearful he almost lost his balance upon registering how close the arrow had been to its likely mark. Pushing on ever forwards, the man moved with the grace of a fat swine and with the fear of a little lamb.

Watching the man struggle forwards Saki would notch another arrow. She kept her sight trained on the man. Pulling the arrow back, she briefly saw something else in her mind.
A time when she had been happy, where she had been together, felt whole.
Slowly pulling back the string of her bow Saki narrowed her eyes. Lifting the arrow slightly higher, she waited, only to release the feathered back of the missile a moment later.
Lowering her bow, Saki watched once more. The man continued his futile attempt to create distance. To flee and find sanctuary from the ones that had murdered his comrades. The monsters that swooped in the dark of the night upon their hidden camp, only to subjugate the survivors to untold horrors.

"Nice shot," a feminine voice spoke up as Saki's missile pierced the runaway. The arrow penetrated the man from his neck, causing the runaway to fall on the ground - his hands clenching at his penetrated throat.
"Could have just shot him though," the feminine voice continued. Only to be followed by a soft sound, teeth sinking into the delicate flesh of an apple. Namiko chewed on her bite, pointing with her free hand to the shutdown enemy.
"Or else I would have loved to hang him, ma'am."

"No, I needed this." Saki said, enjoying the brief rush of witnessing that her arrow was responsible for putting an end to a Rongese life. The cold anger and disdain she held for these people and what they had done to invoke such emotions from her, it demanded more from her. Turning around on her heels, Saki shot a glance at Namiko.
"Gather your unit. We are going to move out." The Yamanaka commanded, only receiving a nod from the Hon who continued to eat her apple.
Heading back to the ravaged camp, Saki met with a sight that was becoming familiar. The Tiger Claws going through the camp that they had ambushed. Several corpses were still on the ground, left with little to no care. Tents demolished as various other signs of violence.

For several weeks, the Tiger Claw unit had been hunting camps of Rongese soldiers and their infamous 'Red Cloaks'. Much information couldn't be gain from their hunting. For either the officers committed suicide or used their underlings to stall the Tiger Claws to escape. And the ordinary soldiers as most Red cloaks that got captured or killed didn't pose enough information that satisfies Saki. The tiny bits of new information sent back to the camp of the 12th brigade, straight to Hiron Hon - the current commander of all the Akinian forces on the eastern continent.
The current encampment had existed mostly out of red cloaks. And the only useful information that Saki had managed to extract was that there was a sort of difference between those red-cloaked figures.

Approaching where they kept the prisoners, Saki came to a halt. Her piercing blue eyes radiated a cold hatred, peering down upon the captives. When one of the tied down, prisoners glanced at her; Saki didn't hesitate. She stepped forwards and reached for the rope that had the prisoner tightly secured as partially immobilised.
Her fingers tightly wrapped around the rope as she started to drag the prisoner away. One of the other captives spoke up in their language that the Tiger Claws had deciphered as 'Rén'. But the shout was only rewarded with a firm kick to the head by a nearby Tiger Claw.

Registering the various curses and taunts of her prisoner, Saki didn't respond in turn. She kept dragging the prisoner to one of the few tents that were intact. Pushing the prisoner into the tent, she watched as he fell face-first at the ground.
"May you all turn into ash upon the Maker's holy sight," the Red cloak muttered in Rén, only to spit some dirt out of his mouth.
"Save your curses for someone that will give a damn," Saki replied calmly in the same language. She didn't like speaking Rén. It felt wretched. Less refined. As if by vocalising the words, she was no better than these Rongese underlings that seemed to want to sow chaos and wreck the lives of others. For some cause that she had yet to figure out but already hated.
"We will talk," Saki calmly said as she would approach the captured Red Cloak. Saki crouched in front of the prisoner, her eyes gazed into his brown ones.
A grin spread on the Red Cloak's lips, a particular joy spreading in his eyes as he figured himself invincible in the coming battle of wills - his against hers. "I won't betray my people. My faith. My cause. I will say nothing. Attempt your worst."

Saki said nothing. Her eyes seemed to captivate his, holding their gaze with an iron grip. His joy seemed to decay away with each passing second. The Red Cloak's resolution seemed to shake as if something terrifying was gnawing on it.
Then darkness overwhelmed the senses, dominating the Red Cloak. The last thing that he could remember were those piercing blue eyes full of anger and hate.


Leaving the tent, Saki dragged the motionless prisoner behind her. There was no sign of blood. Any sign of violence was absent between the two. Only disturbing change from before was the pale face of the Red cloak, his eyes closed and yet his expression plastered in fear.
Dragging the prisoner to the side of the tent, Saki dropped the motionless body to a few others.

"Send word to the Major General. I think he will like this bit of information..."
 
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[ Eastern Continent | Camp of the 11th Imperial Brigade ]
[ Meilin Cho | Squad lead of Team 4 | Lieutenant in the Axebiters, 11th Brigade ]
[ At her tent...? ]

The last mission had barely been a success. The Gwade Rangers and Kazumo had prevented the escaping of a Red Cloak. And even though Orun's unit had lost a member, they had still managed to complete their part of the plan. But Meilin wasn't pleased.
Her team had performed as the Cho had desired. They had executed the plan flawlessly. They were at best winded at the end of the day, but no one had gotten hurt. A feat that made Meilin proud.
And yet also annoyed.

For their success had nearly been crushed cause another unit had screwed up, falling for an enemy tactic. So when they returned to the camp, Meilin wasn't too pleased. Her mood became even fouler when it turned out that it was indeed nobody less than Aiko Cho-Hon who had reinforced Orun's unit.
Why was that Hyuzu even a specialised jounin? Aware that the enemy could have pulled a surprise on his forces, Meilin felt a growing disdain for the accompanying unit that had performed underwhelmingly in her opinion. But she wouldn't pick a fight or start to vocalise her thoughts or doubts. What good would it do other than to give rise to some friction and exhaustion?

Instead, Meilin retreated to her tent. The fact that they received some time to recuperate from the operation was enough to prevent Meilin from stepping up to the Hyuzu.
Entering her tent, Meilin would release a heavy sigh - wanting nothing more than to throw the weight of her emotions from herself. The worry that she had when Madoc had moved into combat. The fretting that had bothered her when she had assigned Mamoru with Dagrún. The fear that Aoi would be hurt.
Placing her gear at the previous place it occupied Meilin would throw a glance over her shoulder. She didn't expect that anyone was interested in waltz into her tent. Whether she was present or not. Being a lieutenant wasn't a big deal, anyways.

And thus it wasn't a surprise that she found the small and rather dull-looking scroll at her 'hiding' spot. The clothing had protected the fragile paper from the dirt and any moist.
Carefully Meilin placed the scroll down in front of herself. Focusing on her current task, she barely registered the ongoing activity that faintly made it through the canvas of her tent. There was an odd sensation running through Meilin's fingertips as she unfurled the scroll.
What greeted her seemed to be instructions of some sort. And a small place that appeared to be a summoning sign. A frown formed on Meilin's brow as she read through the directions.
It was clear that Jin had scribbled something for her, but she didn't fully catch on what he was trying to convey.
Unsheathing a kunai from her belt Meilin would prick her thumb. Watching as a small bit of blood formed from piercing her skin Meilin placed it on the summoning.
"What do you have for me, old man..."



She couldn't take her eyes away from the scroll. The written guidance promised something, but Meilin couldn't figure out what it was. It was enough to attract her attention - the whispering promise from the directions sufficient to keep the Cho awake.
Her gaze travelled to the piece of paper. It had scribbles of some symbol on it, repeated continuously with charcoal. Every bit of space seemingly being used for the hours of practice.
Confident that she could replicate the symbol, Meilin would read the next direction. It instructed her to scar her skin with the emblem. Something that made Meilin waver for a second. For she still had no idea what Jin was trying to pass on. Other than it seemed to reach something equalling of absurd occultism.

Placing her blanket over the paper and scrolls, Meilin would quickly head outside. Night had already fallen, and so far her team had left her be. The chance that someone was going to check up on her was minimal. Enough to bolster Meilin's courage to prepare for the next instruction.
Moving back into the tent Meilin closed the entrance as tightly as she could. Then she collected a small piece of wood. Wrapping the cloth around it, Meilin carefully placed it in her mouth. Briefly, she would bite upon the cloth wrapped wood. Her eyes darted to the kunai she had used before. Slowly grasping the handle of the kunai Meilin once more found herself wavering.
Reminding herself that Jin so far had benign intentions Meilin would grasp the handle firmer. Channelling chakra through the weapon Meilin continued to do so until she felt a warmth radiating from it.

For a second, fear flashed through Meilin's mind. Who was nuts enough to carve some odd emblem into their skin? For what other reason than to sate their curiosity? To figure out what some old and grumpy fart had bestowed upon her?!

Oetje said:
"MEILIN!"

Turning fast around, Meilin ignored the sharp pain moving through her right leg, she saw a small figure running and almost tumbling towards her. Small arms spread out as the voice seemed to pierce through the air and sounds of their surroundings.

"MEILIN!"
Click to expand...

Blinking twice, she could remember that fateful day when she had managed to unite with two of her missing siblings. Before she could attempt to suppress the memory, another flash moved through her mind.

Oetje said:
Closing her eyes for a moment, Meilin would step forwards with Atsumichi following her. Stepping closer to the girl on the stool, Meilin would kneel in front of her. There was a certain glimpse of recognition in the eyes of the pale looking girl with just a right arm.
Click to expand...

The memory of before flashed in her mind. It burned the image of how she had found Irene. Alone, in pain and sad. As Meilin felt her eyes water, she inhaled slowly through her nose. Then with a gentle and slow movement, Meilin guided the tip of the heated kunai. A few inches travelled, leaving a red trace across her skin - the scent of burnt skin reaching Meilin's nose.
The pain provoked a grunt as Meilin teeth sank into the cloth. It caused tears to roll over her cheeks as she pulled the tip of the kunai away from her skin.

Clenching her left hand firmly, Meilin briefly closed her eyes. The pain ran through her arm as a firm warning that she was crossing the boundaries of sanity. To stop the mysterious directions that seemed to lead to something unknown.

[/QUOTE]
FrostedCaramel said:
"You are awful!"
Click to expand...

Cringing for a second Meilin glanced upon the red trace she had carved into her skin. Breathing in and out, slowly for a few seconds, Meilin focused on her task.


Her eyes were red due to the tears that had flowed over her cheeks. Her right hand trembled and a soft echo of pain radiated through her left arm. Meilin wasn't sure how long it had taken, but the mark was now on her left arm - located at the inside of her forearm.
Feeling dizzy from the pain, Meilin attempted once more to apply her medical ninjutsu to dampen the pain and effects. If anything, she hoped that concluded any instruction of self-mutilation.

Moving her hand away from the odd mark that she had carved into her skin Meilin wondered briefly about something. It had appeared first as some sort of wyrm. But the more she observed it, the less that she seemed sure about what it should represent.
"Focus," Meilin instructed herself softly as she turned to the scroll with the last instructions.
The last few instructions were different. Meilin had gone over them before the self-mutilation, obviously. But even now it seemed still weird. What did Jin mean with trespassing into 'her domain'? What kind of domain? What form of intrusion?
Already too far into the business, Meilin would follow with the last instruction. To destroy any sign of what she had seen. Jin had one clear line at the end.

To prevent any 'outsider' from learning about what she had done. From obtaining what she was going to achieve.

Puzzled but not going to question it, Meilin had no trouble to destroy the scrolls and papers. She had it memorised and had no intention to share what Jin had meant for her. Not that she reckoned that Madoc, Aoi or Mamoru would be curious. Perhaps Dagrún? But Meilin decided to waste moments to ponder about it.
Once the scrolls became a small pile of ash, Meilin readied herself to what she had to do. Bringing her hands together, she formed the following signs.

Rat. Dog. Monkey. Hare. And it was then ending in Rat.

Holding the last sign, Meilin felt some odd sensation. Something was building up in her chakra, spreading it from her hands to her entire arms. Only to spread over her body, engulfing it in the sensation.
Then it happened faster than she wanted. Blinking once, a sort obsidian darkness wrapped around her. Wanting to catch a breath, Meilin felt she was suffocating in the dark.
Only to be back in her tent.

Placing her hands on the ground, Meilin felt her stomach-turning. Before she could hold it back, it poured out. The inside of her stomach thrown out in front of Meilin. Soon the puke filling the inside of the tent with a dreadful scent.
Gagging and wanting to breathe in the fresh air, Meilin moved to the shut entrance of her tent. As good as she could, she would untie the rope and reach for outside.
Only to freeze and stare with a pale face at the scenery.

The world seemed broken. Huge islands were hovering in the distance, in a grey abyss. No usual sound of the camp radiated through the air. It confused and frightened Meilin, for there was no logic in place.
Struggling to stand up, she looked around. It appeared that she was still in the camp of the 11th Brigade. Up ahead, she saw a few figures standing together.
"Hey!" Meilin raised an arm to wave at them as she stepped towards them, forgetting about the dreadful puke that soiled a part of her shirt.
"You guys, what is going..."
Reaching the figured, Meilin slowly halted. She recognised them quickly - for there was no mistaking in their attire. These were soldiers of the 11th Imperial Brigade. But instead of being alive and talking, they were held in some kind of odd suspended animation.
Her hands shot to her head as she tried to figure out what she had done. Her eyes widened as her breathing started to become faster.

Wandering around the camp, it seemed that everyone was in some odd suspense. And nothing to explain why the world was so weird.
Feeling lost and alone, Meilin glanced up. But instead of seeing the sun, there wasn't anything. It seemed as if something was staring down at her. From the grey abyss, it was weighing down upon her and demanding something from her.

Falling to her knees, Meilin felt very small and alone. Breathing became a more cumbersome task with each second, only for some movement to catch Meilin's attention. A silhouette was moving in the darkness.
Finding some newfound energy Meilin scurried on her feet.
"Hello?! Help! Hey!" She shouted, pushing her body to pursue the shadow that moved through the tents.
The shadow was agile and fast as uncaring for Meilin's pleas for help. It continued to move through the tents, giving Meilin the idea that it was searching for something.
Picking up a faster pace, Meilin sprinted with all her might. Only to see the shadow moving into the opening of a tent.
"Please! I mean no harm--"

Her breath stopped. She recognised who's tent it was entering. Quickly following the shadow inside, she saw what it was doing. The shadow was leaning over something on the ground, Meilin's bag.
"Hey. I need your help..."
The shadow seemed to give her some attention finally. A cold shiver ran down Meilin's spine as she saw the shadow straightening itself. A pair of eyes staring straight into Meilin's.
"No... I..."

The darkness returned, creeping around and seemingly holding her in place. It was soothing her worries and thoughts away.


Gasping Meilin shot forwards. Her hands moved to the side of her head. Her fingers were verifying that she could still feel that she was alive. Faintly, the sounds of the camp pierced through the canvas.
Remembering what had happened before Meilin quickly moved to the entrance of her tent. Poking her head outside, she was greeted with a morning scenery - the sun hanging low at the horizon. No islands were hanging in the blue sky either.
Moving back, Meilin couldn't comprehend what was going on. Her sight slowly lowered.

A stain was present on her shirt.
It smelled awfully like puke.
 
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[ Hyuzu meeting Hyuzu! ]
[ A collaboration between @conman2163 and @Autumn Song ]
[ As night approaches, Hylli and Orun share some time at a campfire. The two briefly exchange in some talk before parting ways. ]​

It was early in the morning when Orun sat at the campfire. He had stirred it from the embers left behind from the previous night into a decent flame, crackling happily and giving heat to both Orun and the small pot of morning tea that bubbled quietly. The jounin hummed pleasantly as he waited for the leaves to seep in the liquid. In his hands was the wooden figurine of Tireo that was almost completely finished. Only some fine details remained to be carved out and it was this task that he had set himself to during his wait.

"Evening," a voice pierced through the obsidian coloured night. Stepping towards the light, the shape of Hylli would be illuminated by the campfire of Orun. She would speak again.
"You are also from the platoon, aren't you?" The young woman asked, taking a place at the campfire. "Hylli Hyuzu, lineage of Auði." Holding a flask, she would take a sip and then offer it to Orun.

"Aye, i'm from the platoon too." He replied looking up from his carving to spot the other Hyuzu. "Well met Hylli. Sergeant Orun Hyuzu, Lineage of Soren." Placing the wooden figurine in his lap the man checked the tea quickly to see how it was steeping before turning his full attention back to Hylli. "Hmmmm…." The man considered the flask for a moment before holding up his hand. "Thanks for the offer, but i'll decline for now. I've got tea brewing after all. Care for a cup?"

"Pleasure to meet you," Hylli said as she would raise the flask slightly higher. "Sköll." After uttering the word, Hylli took a sip. A relieved sigh escaped her lips. Throwing a glance at the carving, Hylli subtly pointed at it as she decided to raise a question.
"Nice carving. Been at it for a long time?"

"Several months. I began it before I transferred here with the rest of the platoon. I don't think the likeness is quite right though." Seeing that the conversation could be longer than a small exchange Orun placed a sheathe back on the wood detailing knife that he had been using "I don't believe i've seen you around before. Certainly I would have noticed another Hyuzu in the unit. Are you new?"


"As new as they can be, I wager." Hylli replied, a wry smile following. "I got transferred a few days ago? Been assigned to the same platoon. Had some meetings and training." Pausing for a moment, Hylli shifted her weight to make herself a bit more comfortable.
"I thought I was just part of the supply lines. Doing the more dull work, you know? But I suppose that I shouldn't complain too much. Nothing bad has happened yet."

"Aye. It's a savage and brutal place out here. These chinks.... They're fucking crazy. Willing to blow themselves up if it means taking you with them…" Orun trailed off for a moment. "You're with our platoon so you should be fine. Who's squad are you assigned to?" He asked.

"Chinks," Hylli softly repeated. She frowned slightly. "Seems a bit off. The word," Hylli added as she slightly raised her flask. "And sounds like they are just fighting. Wouldn't you go to the extremes to defend clan and kin?"
Registering that he had asked her a question, she briefly shrugged. "I have yet to be assigned to a squad. Right now though? Sleeping in a tent with four guys that can't stop snoring. I had easier nights, that is for sure."

Orun's look sharpened. "It takes the fear off I suppose, having a nickname for them. Or something like that. Makes it feel more like we can understand them." He shrugged. "Hmm… well that will get easier as you get more exhausted. I remember my first days sleeping in a tent with the other men in my unit. After a while it'll become almost comforting. Almost. Open air is better in my opinion." He reached over and tossed another piece of wood on the fire from the small pile next to him causing the embers to shift and crackle. "Give me the ground over a tent any time of the week in my opinion though."

"Sounds worse than a nick, though. Kinda sounds, bad, you know?" Hylli replied at first. "Much like how Taika have nicks for us. Anyhow, I suppose I will find it easier. But it would be way better if I wasn't stuck between four guys that make more sound than a whole smithery. Or two, at the rate they sometimes go."
When Orun stated he prefered the ground Hylli seemed amused. "The ground? I would rather have a nice warm bed. Soft pillows. Comfortable blankets. And no worry about cold, insects or the weather. But you are more of an outside kind of guy?"

"Quietly sleeping comrades are hard to come by." Orun replied in his own amused tone. "I lived a lot of time outdoors when I was younger. Travelled the Empire and saw as much as I could with Tireo. It was rough at times, but sleeping on the ground at times reminds me of those days. Besides, it's hard to be cold when a dragon sleeps next to you."

"Tireo?" Hylli repeated. She gestured to the piece of wood that he had been carving. "Seems a bit young to travel around the Empire and what not." Taking a sip from the flask, she would place it down between her feet.
"But travelling? To what kind of places have you been? Anything of interest?"

"Aye, Tireo." Tapping his feet slightly he smiled. "Hmmm… I've seen as many of the great cities in the Empire as I was allowed to. I left home when I was fifteen and travelled as far as I could. I saw Amegakure and some small villages in the Rain. I've been to the Cho and the Hon lands. They like a good smith for sure. I saw the Sarutobi city of Ardara, and the Uchiha's Kanzawa. The most interesting journey I made was north into the Lightning though. Got to see and interact with the nomads of the North and travelled to Kumogakure. I did quite a few jobs too. All of the places had their own appeal." He checked the tea again quickly, standing up for a brief moment to fetch a wooden cup from a bag nearby and filling it with the hot liquid. "What of yourself, travel any before you came here?"

Hearing Orun out, Hylli remained silent. When he asked if she had traveled before, Hylli shook her head lightly. "No, I didn't. I attended to my training and duties at home and clan." There was a small shift in Hylli's tone. There was a noticeable pause that followed Hylli's last answer. "Besides, no better place than home. I am not that keen on traveling everywhere. Or needing to see all of the world. Being so free sounds meaningless. So caringless."

Orun thought he detected a slight accusation in the reply given. "Hmmm… I didn't have a home when I left. There was the place my parents had lived, but I have no kin left in the home or a reason to run my father's forge. My parents were both taken by disease the same year I left to travel and they had no other children. My grandparents passed some ten years before that." He sipped the tea in his hand. "It is a difference of opinion I suppose. I had plenty to confine me and I learned plenty of skills. How to sing for a crowd in a tavern, how to shoe a horse, how to speak and understand different languages. I earned my keep and then some, made connections with folk I'll never forget, and I'd like to believe I made myself into the man I am today through it. There was plenty of meaning in my travels."

She would let him respond. But it only provoked the rise of Hylli's eyebrows, ever so slightly as subtly moving on her brow. "So, what made you then decide to enroll into the military? Seeing that you were so free before." Hylli decided to ask. "Kind of sounds like you signed up for something worse than just galavanting."

"At the end of the day we all desire structure and purpose, and I needed to find mine." He replied. "My travels were great, but you can't leave something behind for your descendants by traveling place to place at random." His tone was matter of fact. "The Shinobi Corp was an easy choice."

Hylli had her thoughts about that. She opted to not voice them, keeping her opinion rather to herself. "And that is what you are striving for? To leave something for your descendants?" She decided to ask. "Got already someone waiting for when this campaign comes to an end?" Hylli decided to add, slightly steering the conversation to another topic.
"Aye. If I don't leave something behind for whatever family I have left in this world when I leave it, i'll have failed to contribute to my bloodline." Orun sipped his tea. "Alas i've yet to meet one willing to settle with me yet. Perhaps one day. What of yourself? What do you strive for?"

"Most of all? Survival," the answer was accompanied with a wry smile that found its way back on Hylli's lips. "Other than that? Not much on mind. I once wanted to join the Dragon Guard. But I am leagues away from being able to try my hand to sign up for it," Hylli further stated. "Not to forget, I can't really join them as long as I am stationed here in the east."
Releasing a soft sigh, she would glance at the flask that contained water. The soft crackling of burning wood was relaxing but also reminded her of the hour growing late.
"I should try to get some sleep," Hylli said as she would rise up, picking up the flask, "it was nice meeting you, Orun."

Sipping the tea Orun nodded in reply. "Good to meet you as well." As she left he turned back to his wood cutting, unsheathing the knife to begin adding the final details...
 
Áki Hon
The Second Trial

[ Somewhere in Konohagakure | Intelligence Division Facility ]
[ A collab between the amazing @Lesli and @RedFox ]
[ The trials of Áki continue, as he finally learns the purpose behind them. The Nine Tailed Fox is sealed into the young Hon, changing his life in more ways than one. ]
​
The shadows would slowly pull away. There wasn't any sounds that had been present before. No sense of dread as an odd sense of tranquility dawned upon the retreating of the darkness. Slowly light would take shape from a few candles that seemed to lit a room.
The walls were of dark color but various markings were made into them. There seemed to be a certain purpose reserved from these markings as various patterns were repeated if one was observant enough.

"You are awake?" An unknown voice asked. "You can stay there. If you get up too soon, you will throw up," the voice told Áki, the tone being far from threatening or resembling anything that Áki had been through before.
Footsteps resonated, the volume notably increasing. Until it stopped. A sensation would go through Áki's head, fingers gently grabbing his head.
"Stay still." The voice calmly instructed him as slowly the boy's blurry sight started to become sharper. "We can start soon. I need you to keep laying on your back."

The sounds of footsteps resonated through the room as an unknown woman walked to a nearby table. There were several instruments present. Instruments that belonged in a medical facility as well brushes and what seemed to be a cup of ink.

As the light slowly returned, Áki was slowly blinking to get used to it. Despite being in The shadows only for a few seconds, it seemed that it was much longer. He expected to see his masked opponent in front of him, but that was not the case. His best guess was that the shadows somehow made him sink through the floor to a room underneath the level where he faced his previous trials. His eyes slowly turned to look around the ceiling of the room and the part of the walls that was in his field of vision. Upon closer look, the walls were covered by intricate markings that he was sure were there for a specific reason, but he had no clue what said reason could be.

Then a voice cut through the silence. Or perhaps there were sounds in the room before, and he simply overheard them. His hands moved to support his body in a defensive reaction, but as he realized it was not threatening him, he remained still. The words rang true as his stomach churned violently, and he felt it rise dangerously close to vomiting. He swallowed hard several times, trying to remain calm. He tried to clench his fists, but he could not perform this single motion in a satisfactory way. Partially because he felt a strange weakness, and partially because his right hand shot back with a sharp pain, one that almost made him throw up again. He slowly slid his arms back and lied on his back as he was told to.

" Y-es. I am awake. What - what is going on? What was that with the waiting and the bucket of - I assume blood and that masked man?" He spoke in a slow manner, each word an exhausting experience. He turned his head to the left, then to the right. The room looked like it was equipped for medical procedures, as he judged by the instruments present. The only thing standing out were the brushes and a cup, that he could not tell if it was empty or roll. Then the same voice announced they can start soon, and Áki felt his heart skip a beat. His breathing, slow and steady a few seconds before was now coming in short, sharp gasps." S-start with what? Can-can someone please tell me what is going on? Why - why am I here?" His voice showed clear signs of panic, as he looked around at both sides, hoping for someone to come and save him. Or at least tell him what was going on, or what was about to happen.

"So many questions," the woman said, a sigh of disappointment ringing clear. The woman spoke further, yet changed to a language that was more natural for Áki. Though there was a distinct accent as the woman engaged further in speaking Chonobi.
"Right now, I wouldn't stress yourself further. It will keep you in a bad shape. And if you start vomiting, then it is only going to be much worse."

Turning around, the woman had grabbed a scalpel. "But I do suppose that we have some time. You are here for a purpose. One that is meant to aid a greater good than what most manage." Leaning against the table, the woman weighed the sharp instrument in her right hand. "First, I am going to make sure that your body can be a vessel. I will need to place several seals. Nothing that is going to hurt." A pause was briefly enlisted. "After that, I am going to bring in the Kyuubi. I am familiar that your people don't believe in the sage. So I am not going to try wasting both our time to lie on how you would basically follow in the six sages footsteps."
The woman would take a few steps towards Áki, the scalpel still remaining in her hand.
"Don't worry though. If you do manage to pass the trials, then you are awaiting a future with a lot of opportunities."

That sigh of disappointment stung worse than anything he experienced in the previous hour or so. But despite it, he got answers. Now, with the benefit of hindsight, he was not sure he wanted to know what was about to happen. The advice to keep calm seemed as a ridiculous one, given the circumstances, but he decided to do his best to stay calm, despite the overwhelming weight of the answers bearing on him. Focusing his mind to stay calm, his body followed suit, at least to a degree. He managed to get his breathing under control, even after seeing the scalpel in the hand of the woman talking to him. Then the rest of the answers hit him and the seriousness of the situation started to dawn on him.

He heard only rumors about this Sage of The Six Paths. Rumors, legends, tales he considered to be nothing more but ancient folklore. Tales he never truly believed in. Despite what he held true, it appeared he was about to learn the truth. He was about to be tested to see if he could become a vessel, for the Kyuubi that was about to be brought in. The name itself filled Áki with fear and dread, in a way that caused his mind to go numb for a while. The legends his mother briefly told him described the Kyuubi as the very embodiment of hatred. His breathing was once again spiraling out of control, and it was with great effort he managed to stay calm. His first instinct was to get up and run away. As much as he knew that he would probably throw up and collapse should he tried to, there was no way he would be allowed to escape this room. He overheard the part about the seals not causing him any pain,and as the woman approached, Áki heard about following in the footsteps of this Sage. His eyes were focused on the scalpel, the way it reflected light slightly unnerving, but then he heard the part about a promising future. Something he always wanted, desired, craved. He clenched both his fists, pushing through the pain this caused him."I h-heard only rumors. W-why me? Why was I picked? How could I follow the footsteps of someone who's not even real? How could I - " His voice failed, it simply broke. He realized there was no way, nothing he could say that would stop this procedure. His right hand was going numb from the pain it experienced, and Áki turned his face, from the woman to the ceiling and observed it with a blank look.

The question on why it was him as the subsequent questions that followed did little to halt the woman. With her free hand she would grab Áki by the head and slightly turn it. "That is what the others also asked," the woman calmly replied as she released the boy's head and pressed fingers at a spot on his neck. "I suppose you could think you're special. But six already died. Horrible deaths, really," the woman continued as she seemed to consider something. "But that is what can happen. Also when you don't listen to me. Ah," suddenly the grip was back on Áki's head. The pressure was enough to bring back a wave of pain as holding him down. The pain of the woman's grip and holding him down was followed by a sensation of cold. Like the woman had decided to place some ice against Áki's neck.
"See? Didn't feel anything of this, did you now?" She waved the scalpel that clearly had blood on it. "As for why you? You are young. You passed the previous trial. And the earlier test proved that you are compatible to endure bijuu chakra. Then again," placing down the scalpel, the woman picked up another instrument. A brush. "There is a huge difference between a little ounce of it. And then being subjected to the real deal. If there is any positive to it? You might just see it. That is the most dangerous or hurtful thing of the process. Unless," she shot him a glance over her shoulder. "You are going to resist and be a brat. Then we might skip all of this and just get it all over with."

Turning around, she seemed to wait. "Well? Going to listen to me? Or are you going to resist, struggle or whinge? Cause if a little girl can take it all without releasing one complaint, how come that you can't?"

Áki felt the blood run cold in his veins at the words spoken towards him. He let his head be turned without as much as a hint of resistance. When he heard about six dead persons, his heart skipped not one, but several beats. If he would listen to her, he greatly decreased the chance of him being the seventh dead subject. That was reason enough to listen. Then there was a bolt of pain, sharp pain that caused the young boy to tense his fingers for a few seconds, then he remained completely still. He hissed slightly at the cold sensation, his senses seemingly in overdrive, greatly amplifying every sensation he experienced. When asked if he felt anything, he very slightly shook his head with a neutral expression on his face. He learned that he, in fact passed the previous tests, and he felt a very slight, faint tingle of pride at this statement. Knowing what would wait for him, he probably would fail them on purpose. But there was no way back now. And in fact, he was glad he passed. That he was compatible, even to the smallest ounce of a Tailed Beast's chakra. If the tales his mother told him were true - She just confirmed they're true,dummy. This thought silenced all others he had. Tailed Beasts were told to possess levels of chakra that is hard to imagine for most Shinobi, let alone handle them. If there were signs he could handle it, than he had no right to step away from it.Not that I could, even if I wanted to, he thought once again.

He looked at the woman, now holding a brush and looked her into her eyes. He mustered what courage and determination he could and tried to pour them all into his look, his voice." I - I am not a brat. If there - there's a chance that I am compatible, I have no right to - to reject. Not that I could. I - I am going to listen to every. Single. Word. You have to say to me."

The right eyebrow of the woman slightly perked up. "Yep, she is going to like you." She mumbled, just audible enough for Áki to catch the cryptic response. Grabbing the bowl, she would approach Áki. Pulling his shirt back, the woman started to draw various symbols on the boys stomach. The symbols seemed oddly aligned with the various markings that appeared on the wall. The process didn't take longer than a dozen of seconds before the woman pulled the brush back.
"Stay still. If you mess that up then your chance to not feel anything or not ending up as a bloated mess of blood and flesh is gone."

Letting the warning sink in, the woman would pull a large vase-like object on the table. A certain presence seemed to ooze from it. Just by glancing at the vase, Áki would sense something heavy weighing down upon him. The pressure would make the woman's voice faint away and keep the boy's attention locked on the vase. As if the inanimate object had some capability to keep the boy frozen, forcefully keeping its gaze locked.
Then once more darkness seemed to overwhelm Áki. The feeling was soothing at all, like before. It seemed as if he was plunged into the ocean at the deepest of night. No land to swim towards and each motion making him heavier, drawing him to the dark depths.

If he dared to look down, he was greeted with a grim sight. Two eyes staring upwards. The darkness seems to keep the eyes down but also weighing Áki towards it. Slowly but surely.

As to who may like him, Áki did not learn at this point. He wanted to know, but he guessed that he would learn it, sooner or later. As he felt his shirt being pulled up, he slowly lifted himself to allow the fabric to be pulled away. Even as the brush started to draw something he could guess as symbols on his stomach, he tried to remain completely still, but his muscles reacted to the tingling sensation it caused him. As he heard the next warning, he relaxed himself as much as he could and nodded. He then noticed the vase brought towards him, and from that moment, he could not move his gaze away from it.

Before he saw it, he felt that his body could move. But now, he felt pinned down by some invisible, intangible force. It filled the entirety of the room, its heavy presence causing his body to go completely stiff, unable to do as much as move his finger. He wanted to shift his gaze but he was unable to do so.

Than without a warning, he felt as if he was dropped into complete, utter and liquid darkness. He wanted to scream, but his mouth refused to open. He started to feel dizzy, his mind seemingly sinking down with his body. His body was motionless, but he felt every single muscle in his body trying to move. But he had to remain calm, so he did. His mind was screaming, trying to comprehend what was happening to it. Where was he falling? Why is he falling so long? Will he survive? Will he die? Will he survive? Did he do anything wrong? Why is this darkness so different from the previous one? Than he felt something underneath him. Every part of him screamed to not to turn towards it. But he did. So he turned.

His eyes met another pair of eyes, seemingly staring out of the abyss at him. The eyes were overflowing with hatred, hatred that threatened to devour him. He wanted to turn away from it, but he could not. He was slipping into the darkness, deeper and deeper. As if the pair of eyes attracted him towards them. So he stared into them. Fear filled him, as he slipped deeper and deeper into the darkness.


There was a sound of water dripping. Not to mention the experience of waking in a low layer of water was probably an odd experience. The hall where Áki would awaken was dark but somehow dim lighted - yet any source of light was absent. To his back, the hall seemed to go on endlessly, unable to piece through darkness.
Ahead of the boy were large bars. Their size was enormous and their width wasn't a laughing matter either. Yet there was no sign of what the bars were holding back. No detection of life.

"Ah, it awakens," a deep voice rumbled through the hall. It was deep and yet, having a certain tone of politeness. "I was wondering when the next would keep me company. What is your name?"

He came to himself with a loud gasp and sat up from the wet floor. He had no idea where it came from. He started to look around, expecting to see the room where he was mere seconds ago. But it was not the case. He was in a hall that was somehow illuminated without any source of light present. It gave the room a certain, hard to describe feeling. The first word that came to his mind was gloomy. The utter silence of the room was interrupted by water dripping from pipes present in the room. He looked behind himself, expecting to see a wall behind himself. His eyes looked as far as they could, but the room seemed to continue behind where he could see. He slowly stood up.

This action almost caused him to pass out, and he fell back on one knee. He caught his breath and raised his head, only to see the most enormous bars he ever saw in his life. He had no idea what could be so massive that it required bars of this size. Or that it is so massive it can't fit through, he thought to himself. Then a voice spoke up.

Despite its surprisingly polite nature, it filled the room like thunder fills the air. As it resonated from the walls, Áki felt his insides rumble briefly from it. He looked at the bars, but there was nothing behind them. Nothing physical, at least. He felt the same overwhelming presence as in the room, only that this time it was amplified a thousandfold. He was completely overwhelmed by the voice, and as much as he simply tried to respond, he could not. He opened his mouth but no voice came out. He steadied himself and slowly stood up one more time, this time managing to stay on his feet. When he replied, he tried his best to hide his true emotions, even though he knew it was impossible. His voice was shaky and weak, especially when compared to the booming voice asking him the questions. And he asked back, despite knowing the answer.

"M-my n-name is - is Áki Hon of Bjarnafoss! A-are you the - The N-Nine Tails?"

It remained silent for a moment. Then eyes lighted up from the darkness. They were halfopen and radiated a certain boredom at Áki. From the height, it was most likely that the gigantic creature was laying down, observing the Hon from a distance within the darkness.
"Fancy meeting you," the Kyuubi replied, once more his voice being both polite yet holding a modicum of mockery. "You seem afraid, Master Hon of Bjarnarfoss. Aren't the bars comforting enough for you?"

Àki was expected for a deafening roar that would blown away by a deafening roar, or something would come through the bars to grasp him or crush him. Instead, he was greeted by - annoyed politeness? The eyes that observed him were fixed at him, but there was no hatred flowing from them, seeping into his very being. He was confused, as several of the tales he grew up on were seemingly proven as outright lies within a span of few minutes. But the one thing the tales did not lie was just how massive The Nine Tails was. He felt incredibly tiny, even tinier than he actually was. He looked into those half opened eyes and tried to reply, hoping his voice would not be so shaky.

"No - no, the bars are - they are enough. I am - yes. No, I'm not afraid. It is - that I - I don't know how to put it. You're - you're not how I imagined you - you will be?" He asked this question, but towards the end of his sentence, his voice was breaking again. He slowly stood up and straightened up, trying to stand firmly in front of the overwhelming - and surprising encounter he was facing.

The eyes didn't shift and the darkness made it impossible to see the features of the Bijuu. Yet, there was a soft breeze passing Áki by. Accompanied by what could be described as an amused scoff.
"And how did you imagine me, Master Hon? I suppose that my reputation has been quite sullied by slander and lies. To the point that a complete stranger thinks ill of me. But what have I done to you or any of your kin, hm?" The beast asked, only to continue. "Ah, and if you are not afraid then you must be shy? Don't fret. I have little reasons to be hurtful to you."

When he thought things could not take a more interesting twist, they took one. A twist so unexpected Àki stood there, completely dumbfounded. He stood there, staring into the eyes of the motionless Tailed Beast. The tales flashed back to his mind, tales of senseless destruction and incomprehensible hatred.I don't see any of that in front of me, he thought to himself."No - ni, I'm not shy. I - the tales I heard about you were - as - as - how do I call you? Can I call you Kyuubi-sama? Or Nine Tails?"

"Ah, a stutter it is then," once more the voice of the beast was evidently mocking the boy. "And Kyuubi-sama? What a dreadful name with a dreadful attachment. Will you also bow for me, Master Hon?" The eyes narrowed, likely in delight as the tone barely shifted. "I honestly wouldn't be sure what name amuses me more. The fact your kind goes by my kind's tails. Or the fact you lack any. Would I be allowed to call you Master No Tails in return, Master Hon?"

His look did not shift away from the Tailed Beast, towering over him, despite the words it spoke."N-no. I won't be bowing to you. Just - just call me Àki. And - " The boy sighed. This encounter was definitely not how he imagined it will be, if it ever were to happen in the first place. He took a deep breath and tried again."I didn't mean to offend you. I just - as you said, I grew up on horrible stories, legends and - I feel confused. You're - you're different. In a good way." He added the last words in a hurried manner, hoping to avoid upsetting The Nine Tails more."I - do you have a - no, that's dumb. You just told me you don't like the way my - my kin calls you. So - you must have - you have a proper name. From - front the Sage?"

It remained silent for a few seconds before the beast replied in turn. "I doubt you can offend me, Master Hon. And though I appreciate the gesture of dropping formalities, I am rather not steep to anything personal." A soft breeze passed Áki once more, the beast scoffing in a slightly different manner. "For that, you should approach that wretch you humans fondly call Nibi."
One eye slowly closed as the other remained half open - staring at Áki without blinking once.
"I also don't like being locked up in a stutter. Are you going to be so kind to absolve me of that displease as well?" The Kyuubi asked, though his tone giving away that he already predicted the answer.

He stood there, feeling his feet sinking in lower and lower into the floor. He felt utterly confused at this point about the way reality and tales clashed in his mind, so he took a few deep breaths in an attempt to clear his mind, as much as possible."Fine. Call me M-master Hon. If you won't tell me your name, I - I'll learn it. O-one way or another. " His voice was a bit firmer this time, but still it occasionally broke up."I - I think you know the answer. No. You have to endure me. " As he replied, he looked straight into the eyes of the Nine Tails. His voice might be a bit shaky, his hands slightly trembling. He knew there was no way these things could be ignored by the Kyuubi. The only thing radiating was some confidence in his eyes.

"That sounds quite forceful, Master Hon." The eyes widened a bit, a flash of white being shown - the rows of teeth and fang of size that was the stuff of nightmares. "What ever happened to stating that I was different? In a good way?" The questions rolling easily off from the beast as it casually continued. "Such a shame to be dealing one that can't stay to what they previously stand with."
Slowly the eyes started to close.
"I have learned enough, Master Hon."
The words would bring up a pull that seemed to drag Áki away from the place, back to the soothing darkness that would envelop him once more.

Áki stood there, once again completely caught off guard by the way the Nine Tails answered. He was about to reply when he saw something that he will definitely not forget - teeth that dwarfed him in comparison, and a fang that made him look and feel small and especially vulnerable. When he thought he could not be more confused, he picked up the last words of the Nine Tails and he felt - disappointed? Yes, that was the correct word. He felt disappointed with himself." W-what do you mean? No! Wait! Please -" This was all he managed to get out before being dragged into the darkness once more. He felt his frustration surge despite the soothing darkness enveloping him. He could not tell how long he was in it, it could have been mere seconds or hours. His senses slowly started to return, and he blinked a few times. Than he opened his eyes wide and sharply sat up, looking around to gain his bearings." Is - is it done?"
 
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[ Eastern Continent | Camp of the 11th Imperial Brigade ]
[ Mamoru Senju | Team 4 | 11th Brigade ]
[ Upon coming back from Operation : Dirty Blades, Mamoru has a hard time dealing with his feelings, not made any easier by his exhaustion. He tries to find ways to keep his mind busy from venturing over the events of their mission, with little success. ]

Their way back to their encampment was marked by an incredibly uncomfortable silence. No one wanted to be the first to speak, not even Mamoru wanted to be the first. To make matters even worse, upon their return they learned that the mission was only a partial success. Upon learning this fact, Mamoru's mood was even fouler. He went after the medical corps to have his ear checked out. He learned that his eardrum was not ruptured - the blood he felt at it was from a cut from a shrapnel after the massacred Rongese troops started to explode. Thanking the medics that checked him out, Mamoru went towards their tent. Sitting down in front of it on a bench, he leaned forward until his forehead touched the wooden surface.

He felt a sudden urge of anger. They placed their lives on the line, pushed themselves several times past their limits - and nothing. He clenched his fists and raised them above his head - instead of slamming them down on the table, he slowly lowered them to the surface of the table. His anger was gone, he felt only exhaustion and exasperation. He stood up and went into their tent, taking out his sealing scrolls and the kit for his blades and armour. He went back to the table and slowly undid his modified jacket, letting it hit the ground with his swords. He sat down on the bench and got to work.

Undoing the straps of his swords, he placed Ash on the table as he didn't use it. He reached for Oak and unsheathed it, looking closely at the blade. There was some dried blood on it, and the young Senju looked at it for a few seconds. He killed again.It was either me and my teammates, or them, he thought to himself. He felt a surge of sorrow as he looked at the blade, and he had to clench his fist again to suppress a tremble. He lowered the blade and dipped his cloth into the cleaning solution, and started to work on the blood. As it disappeared from the blade, dripping onto the ground, he felt slightly uneasy. And at the same time, he felt relief. As the earth reclaimed the blood of his victims, so would it eventually reclaim their bodies, making them one with nature again.

Lost in his thoughts, he finished cleaning his blade in a couple of minutes. He cleaned his sheath from within as well, and placed both of his blades onto his sealing scroll and upon performing the required seals, his blades disappeared in a puff of smoke, sealed in his scroll. He leaned down and got to clean his jacket as well. He got the dirt off of it and placed it onto his legs and looked at it. The Akinian color closely resembled the earthen shades he favoured. A brief smile went through his lips and he stood up, placing his jacket onto another scroll and repeated the process as with his swords. Grabbing the scrolls and the kit he used, he walked back into the tent and placed them into his chest and checked the acorn he received from Meilin after operation Wrong Neighbourhood. It was doing fine and showed no signs of rotting. With another brief smile, he closed the chest and grabbed a fresh change of clothes.

He went to clean himself in an effort to clear this entire mess of operation from himself. He felt some of his frustration wash away as he poured the cold water onto himself. A few minutes later, he was walking back towards their tent, but he didn't feel like sleeping at all. He sat back to the table he cleaned his gear at earlier and for a couple of minutes, he just observed the stars on the sky. His mind tried to push out everything that happened, but it failed miserably. It all came back to him - the screams, the curses thrown towards them, the explosions, the blood they spilled. He closed his eyes for a moment and all the images started to flash in front of his closed eyes. In an attempt to force them out, he pressed his palms against his eyes until colors started to appear in his eyes. It still wasn't enough, he still saw them. Growling in frustration, he waited till his vision cleared to stand up. He briefly looked around and thought about walking around their encampment a bit, but quickly decided against it. After standing there for a minute or two, he simply shrugged and turned towards their tent. Upon entering it, he made his way towards his bed and just lied down onto it. As his body straightened up, he felt the entire day hit him at once. He blinked a few times and before he knew, he fell into a deep, hopefully dreamless sleep.
 
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( Eastern Continent | Camp of the 12th Imperial Brigade )
( Junko Shiroi | Team 9 | 12th Brigade )
( Junko's journey to the eastern continent and arrival to the 12th brigade camp )
Color Code: #7351c4

"Pray to the gods if I cross your path and my silhouette hangs like a body bag; hope is a moment now long past, the shadow of death is the one I cast. Chin in the air with a head held high, I'll stand in the path of the enemy line. Feel no fear, know my pride: for Gods and Country I'll end your life."

These were the words the young genin chanted to pass the time while on the voyage across the sea. She sung the morbid words to herself in her native language of Taika whenever she looked over the side of the military ship. Her tone was off at times and she was rarely on the right key but she did so with conviction. After all, her time had finally come. Off to the east was the land where she'd begin service to her home. To teach what happens to those who turn away from Akino's guiding light. Junko couldn't be more thrilled that this was all finally happening. Her smile was genuine and the butterflies in her stomach made her laugh from time to time. Then sometimes those butterflies were her morning rations being vomited off the side of the ship. Since the seas were behaving so roughly this happened more than Junko's would've liked.

The genin was aboard a supply ship bound for the eastern battlefields. Onboard were supplies and reinforcements to be brought to the front. It'd been a rather odd journey to say the least. Before even embarking the vessel Junko had trekked across the eastern controlled regions of the empire and thus was introduced to a very different kind of people, the chonobi. They were people of the empire of course but their language sounded so guttural and unrefined, much like how they behaved. This all became more apparent once they'd made landfall on the eastern continent. As during the dull reunite tasks such as standing guard, patrolling and marching it seemed some of those that she was with overheard her singing on the ship. At times during the march, some of the troops would start singing Junko's chant but in a more guttural and cadence like tone. Apparently it'd become popular among some of the young men in her company. Junko didn't know what to think of this. Were they mocking her? They couldn't possibly enjoy the lyrics, half of them shouting sounded like they'd never spoken a lick of Taika in their lives. Some of them would occasionally look at her with a kind of goofy smile. Usually Junko would give them a cold stare in return but this never seemed to fully deter them. To relieve her boredom the genin would insult any non Taika speakers that approached her in this goofy smiling manner. It was always hilarious for Junko to see their dumb grinning faces when she'd call them ignorant savages or worthless scum; they were always so clueless.

Eventually and thankfully they'd reach their destination, the camp of the Imperial 12th Brigade. Much to Junko's discomfort it was more of the same from when she was aboard the chonobi supply ship. She could hardly hear a lick of Taika being spoken around the camp. Now it was some other guttural but slightly smoother language being spoken about. The genin made a guess that these had to be Yakimara. "Great..." She spoke under her breath with a sigh. Being so unfamiliar with both the Chonobi and Yakimara, Junko could easily lump them both together from what she's heard of both. Cutthroats, savages and dull. At least it made sense that they were fighting wars at the far reaches of the empire. It seemed to be the perfect place for them to belong.

Once Junko was instructed to see a quartermaster of the 12th she wasted no time in finally being rid of her supply guard duties and made her way there. The quartermaster whom spoke to the genin in Taika but with a heavy accent informed her of the unit she'd be joining as he dealt out her gear. The unit was headed by a Captain Drest whilst she'd be reporting to a Sergeant Hyuuga in the meantime. With the directions on what tent to go to and her latest equipment on her person, Junko promptly traversed the camp en route to Sergeant Hyuuga's tent.

On the way the genin looked over her equipment in subtle confusion. It all comprised of some armor, a shield, a shortsword and a spear. She wasn't sure what to make of it all. All of this equipment just seems like it would weigh down most shinobi. Junko settled on this all must be a Yakimara thing and just continued drudging along with the gear. She looked forward to meeting a Hyuuga. She of course knew of them since the Hyuuga were such a known clan within Konohagakure. It'd be great to hear from a familiar accent admits this sea of foreigners.

@GlitchyBugger @Gerontis
 

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[ The Dragon and Bear ]
[ A collab between @Aliceee and @Autumn Song ]
[ Hylli seeks out once more the members of Team 4, as Aiko Cho-Hon had recommended it. While having already met Aoi of the Miyazato Clan. But now Hylli encounters a member of the Tryvvge lineage. A whole new experience that has captivated Hylli, making her want to spend more time with the Dowhon that goes by the name of Dagrún. ]​


Heading back to the tent where she knew that the members of Team 4 were located, Hylli was hoping to come across Aoi again. Though she was keen to meet the leader as well, the lieutenant that she had only seen during the platoon drills. And with a new day, Hylli was once more confident to try her hand to see if she could interact with this so-called 'Team 4'.
Approaching the tent, she noticed someone exiting it. The sighting of the blonde-haired woman was familiar. She had seen her during the previous unit drill, recognising her as one of the sergeants. Yet Hylli had yet to figure out her name.
What did stand out were the blue and swirling markings that ran across the blonde's arms. Markings that made Hylli stare and then realised what they meant.

"Good day," Hylli began as she started to close in the distance with the blonde. "I am Hylli Hyuzu," Hylli began as she did not doubt that Chonobi was going to be the prefered language of the imminent exchange, "I am honoured to meet a Dowhon."

Yawning as she exited the tent, Dagrún was growing a bit bored. There were enough activities to keep one active and entertained. But she longed for another exchange of strength and violence - hopefully testing her skills against one of those Red cloaks.
Once outside the tent, Dagrún scratched the back of her head as she considered her options. Only to hear someone approach her. Turning to the newcomer Dagrún slightly frowned. Then a grin crossed her lips.
"Ah, a Hyuzu, eh?" she said, placing her fists against her hips, "well, pleasure is all mine. What can I do for ye?"

Hylli couldn't help but smile at the accent. It was certainly curious and made her wonder if this was the case with other Dowhons as well. "I was hoping to meet someone of Team 4. I already had the pleasure to meet with Aoi of the Miyazato. She was of great help with training and to understand more of what I could strive for." Pausing Hylli decided to risk something. "But training with a Dowhon would undoubtedly be something I would cherish. If you are willing to honour me in such a fashion."

Dagrún crossed her arms as Hylli spoke. "Hm, ye met Aoi? And she trained ye?" The eyebrows of Dagrún formed a frown on her brow. "Ah, Valdar's balls be damned. I will train ye, sure. Follow me, pup. The name is Dagrún of the Tryvvge lineage," Dagrún gestured Hylli to start following her.
"So, what did Aoi teach ye?"

Quite happy that Dagrún was willing to train with her, Hylli blinked twice. She had heard of the lineage that Dagrún belonged. It was shrouded in mysterious and vague rumours. The most prominent one, that the descendants of Tryvvge could turn into terrifying bears that could shrug off mortal blows with ease.
"She trained me in some close-ranged combat. And she gave me quite the helpful aid with my release. Metal Release, that is," Hylli answered on turn, "She must be quite the team member to have at your side, right?"

Dagrún wanted to scoff. She had started to take a liking to Aoi, respecting the Miyazato for her abilities. But the troubled start did still make Dagrún wonder if the Miyazato would ever be so less uptight and not take so much offence to certain words. Not to mention stop shielding herself behind Meilin, so far Dagrún understood and saw, and make a proper personal approach herself.
"She is alright, aye," Dagrún said, in a casual tone, "I have yet to test my mettle with hers. But alright, ye got the metal release? I heard about ye folks having such a fancy release."
Throwing a sideways glance at Hylli, Dagrún frowned once more. "But what can ye tell me about it? Cause I can't help ye with that. I got me proper lightning release when it comes down to elements."

"Yeah, metal." Hylli became silent as she continued to walk at the side of Dagrún. Only for a moment later to speak again. "I can use chakra to bend and well, try to modify some metal objects. Or should be with some more training," she paused when Dagrún stated that she couldn't help with that.
"That is fine. I am more than happy to learn what you are willing to teach me. I further focus on close quarters and my knives," Hylli further said as she patted on the sheathed knives at her belt.

"That does sound dandy," Dagrún replied, though her voice holding a tone of amusement also one of interest. She wondered briefly what a fight would be against someone that was advanced in regards to metal release.
"Ah, then we can continue your close quarter training. Though I don't like knives that much," Dagrún shook her head lightly to emphasis her opinion. "I am much more fond of axes or swords. Or spears, though I prefer those during hunting." Dagrún considered something. "Perhaps if ye show some promise, I can take ye on the next track and hunt, eh."

For some reason, Hylli had imagined that the Ylfling had some more preference to swords or axes. But she was surprised when Dagrún stated that she could join a hunt. If she would show enough promise, "I will do my best. I haven't ever really hunted. But I am willing to learn." She replied, at first. "If you would train me in close-ranged, I would be most grateful, Master Ylfling. Or do you prefer Master Dowhon?"

Amused, Dagrún snorted. "Ye a nice one, I give ye that. Just call me with enough respect, and we won't have any problems." Dagrún replied as they would reach the training fields. It wasn't that busy, and it could be because of more units prepared for assignments. Thus making it relatively easy to find a tile where they could train.
Vaulting over the railing that marked the tile's boundaries, Dagrún rolled her shoulder as she stepped towards the other side.
"Let us start simple, eh? Just try to throw some punches and kicks. Don't worry about holdin' back, ye?"

Hylli nodded in response before taking a stance. Observing the blonde Hon, she wondered how she should go about it. Then she would close in the distance and would go in with a hard kick from Dagrún's right.

Not moving aside Dagrún would suddenly whip up her defence. The shin of Hylli's leg slammed against Dagrún's arm. Feeling the vibration running through her arm, Dagrún nodded slowly. "Good. Again."

Pulling her leg back Hylli wasn't sure what to think. But she would just follow the instruction, this time with throwing a few punches. The first one aimed at Dagrún's face and following it up at her mid-section.

Leaning aside to dodge the first punch, Dagrún whistled softly. Only for Dagrún to catch the second punch and third punch. Holding the fists of Hylli, Dagrún smiled politely.
"Ah, ye got some strength in there. Again!" Dagrún stated as she released the hands and took a few steps back. "This time, I will give ye a fight back, eh."

Hylli smiled at the compliment and then felt her courage dampening. There was something about your opponent stating that they would now give a fight back - only before taking a full blow with seeming ease.
Breathing in, Hylli would advance as she released her breath. Her first move would be a punch from the right, followed with a quick hook from the left.

Narrowing her eyes, Dagrún would take a step aside to avoid the Hylli's mean right punch. But as Hylli delivered her left hook, Dagrún didn't move aside. The Hyuzu's fist slammed against the side of Dagrún, who simply gave a firm shove in return.
"Lesson one, lass," Dagrún began on a calm tone, raising her right index finger, "sometimes ye got take a punch to deliver one."

Stumbling backwards Hylli's eyes widened as she hadn't expected so much strength from the blonde. Managing to recover her stability, she took in the lesson. "I fear that my endurance isn't as great as yours, Master Ylfling," Hylli replied as she would raise her hands again.

Scoffing audibly, Dagrún would suddenly move forwards. Her first move was a quick punch to the right, only followed with attempting to grab Hyllig by the shoulder and pulling her close - to then bring her to the ground with a fluid motion.

Surprised as Dagrún moved in suddenly, Hylli stepped to the side to avoid the punch. As Dagrún reached out, Hylli considered something. Not preventing the grapple, Hylli would move along until Dagrún attempted to slam her against the ground. Instead, Hylli agilely moved to use Dagrún's strength to her advantage - hooking on to the Hon.

A grin grew on Dagrún's lips as Hylli prevented to get slammed down. "Aye!" The cheerful sound was quickly followed by Dagrún wrapped her arms firmly around Hylli. Only to topple them both and hurl them towards the ground.

The severe impact caused Hylli to gasp. Now on the ground, she attempted to raise a hand to try to punch Dagrún. Only for her to hesitate to conduct her motion.

Dagrún quickly grabbed the raised hand by the wrist. Slamming it down on the ground as she would raise herself, pinning Hylli down, Dagrún looked down. "Lesson two, Hyuzu," Dagrún spoke, "never hesitate. The gods despise that, ye need to remember that."
Getting off Hylli, Dagrún would reach out a hand to help the Hyuzu on her feet.

Knowing that it was over the moment that Dagrún grabbed her wrist and pinned her down, Hylli's lips parted slightly. But she only nodded. As the Hon offered her hand, Hylli took it. "Yeah, I know. It is just that I didn't want to take it too far. Seeing it just training and stuff, yeah?"

Nodding to emphasise that she understood Hylli, Dagrún would reply in turn. "I get ye, no worries. I'm not a fan of hurting another to prove a point. During a training, that is, hahaha." Dagrún would not hold her laughter as she patted Hylli's shoulder.
"Want to try it again? I will teach ye a neat trick."

Somehow the cheerful Dowhon was something that Hylli wanted to experience more. It was so unlike the grim stories and legends that she had heard about them. "I would love that." Taking a few steps back, she waited for Dagrún's instruction.

"I recognise some of ye style to be that of the köttur. An excellent form, though not my favourite. I got trained in the style of the björn and ulfur." Pausing, Dagrún would adjust Hylli's stance to be less rigid. "Though what all styles have in common is that they require someone to know their footing. Ye can strike and deliver a nasty punch. Truly, I like how ye throw them. But if you can't move quickly enough, ye going to lose against someone against me. Or twinkle-toed Miyazato, hehe."

Allowing Dagrún to guide her stance, Hylli would feel slightly odd. But she took the advice of Dagrún to heart. Only to look slightly surprised when Dagrún spoke of Aoi. "Twinkle-toed?" Refocusing on what Dagrún tried to teach her, Hylli did attempt to move slightly by her new stance.

"Nay, nay! When you step aside, make sure that ye do it faster. Ye got to practice, I know. But make sure that ye do. A sidestep can save ye from entering the domain of the fallen too early." Dagrún instructed first, only to faintly smile. "Well, aye. I got some names for my team members. With a modicum of respect. Though I could take Miyazato on and win." Only to pause for a second. "Well, other than the cap. I think she can likely kick my arse."

Nodding, as Dagrún stated that she had to be faster with her sidesteps, Hylli attempted it several times - yet listening to what Dagrún told her. Feeling slightly winded, Hylli couldn't help her curiosity. "You mean Meilin Cho? The lieutenant? Is she that strong?"

"Hmm," Dagrún crossed her arms. "I think that Miyazato and I are most focused on close quarters. But the cap' sure has proven herself. Managed to cover her fights and even watch over the pup of our squad, little Senju." Dagrún stated. "I would love to test myself against her. But I have yet to get a chance. Anyhow, enough small talk. Let's try this out, eh?!"


"Nay! Not bad at all," Dagrún said, a grin plastered on her face. The sun was starting to settle as the blonde hand her fists settled against her hips. "Ye got some fighting spirit, haha! I love it. Hylli wasn't it?" Dagrún asked as she would offer a hand to the Hyuzu.

Panting Hylli once more found herself reunited with the ground. She felt pain aching through her system as she moved her limbs slightly. For the past hour or two, Dagrún had been relentless in training. And holding back was not an option. Taking Dagrún's hand, Hylli softly grunted. She feared that the aching would last till the next day. "Thanks and yeah, Hylli." Resisting the urge to lean over, Hylli kept her back straight. "I do think that I don't want to continue being a punching bag if you don't mind, of course."

Dagrún nodded as she would firmly pat Hylli's shoulder. "Understood, Hylli. Come! Let us end this day with a drink and some supper. I managed to hunt down something nice last day," Gesturing for them to return to the tent, Dagrún continued. "Though, I have to ask. Do ye have like one of those dragons, eh?"

Surprised by Dagrún's invitation, Hylli didn't hesitate to respond. "I would like that. If it is no bother." She replied. Starting to walk with Dagrún, Hylli heard the question. Causing her to shake her head lightly. "I fear not, no. I did attempt the trial. But I was unworthy. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, cause I've seen another Hyuzu summon one. I thought ye Hyuzu had bigger dragons. Ye know," Dagrún gestured, the disappointment evident in her motions and tone, "something worthy of legends. But ye it wasn't bigger than a damn horse. That and I wondered how it tasted. I wager if anyone knows, it must be ye Hyuzu lot."

The question caused Hylli's eyes to widen. She stared briefly at Dagrún, only to burst out in loud laughter. It took a few seconds for her to contain her amusement. "I am sorry, but I doubt that any Hyuzu has eaten a dragon." Hylli replied, finding it both a disturbing yet amusing thought. "Have you ever tasted bear or direwolf?"

"Oh, aye!" Dagrún grinned wide as she seemed to look ahead - yet lost in some memory. "Well prepared bear tastes great, let me tell ye that. As for direwolf? I believe that I did. Unless my old gramps lied to me, but he told me that if I ate it, I would gain the strength and guile of the beast." Still grinning, Dagrúns eyes narrowed in delight. "I am excited to see what kind of beasts prowl these lands. To then slay and eat them, ye know?"

Hylli was still amused as Dagrún stated what she desired. As being a bit surprised that the descendants of Tryvvge ate bears and direwolfs. Somehow, it seemed odd to her. But she wouldn't judge. "I suppose that is an admirable ambition to have. If I do come across a mighty beast, I will do my best to save a piece for you. Or invite you to hunt it down."

"Aye! I would enjoy that, Hylli. I have yet to fight properly with a Hyuzu. But I reckon that ye will make fine hunting or fighting companionship." Dagrún replied, quite happy. As they reached the tent, Dagrún noticed that the others weren't yet around.
"Heh, they are either training or assigned to some guard or patrol duty. Here, sit! Sit!" Dagrún gestured to the clear used campfire, only to move into the tent.

Hylli would comply, feeling a painful surge aching through her body as she did so. Releasing a sigh, she wasn't sure what she felt. The fact that she could spend some more time with Dagrún was nice. But Hylli was still curious to spend more time with the others of Team 4, as Lady Cho had suggested.

"It is just boar," Dagrún stated as she would exit the tent. Holding something wrapped in leaves, with crimson stains, Dagrún would place it down near the not yet lit fire. "I wanted to save it for myself. Ye know? Reminding me of good ol' home. I think that honestly," she calmly continued as placing some wood on the ashes and half-burnt wood of the previous fire, "the others wouldn't be able to appreciate it. Cap' perhaps. But little Senju is too much of a pup'er. And I doubt that either M'angry or Miyazato has yet to eat decent game."

Liting the wood on fire with ease, using her lightning release to rain sparks on the dry material, Dagrún continued to set up to prepare the boar's meat.

Pulling her legs a bit in, Hylli observed how the blonde went to work. It spoke evidently of experience and training. "Who taught you stuff to hunt and such? As I do need to admit, I never have hunted in my life. Was raised in the safety of my clan's compound." Hylli stated, feeling oddly no shame to admit to Dagrún about that fact.

"Me ol' gramps and da," Dagrún replied. "I also learned some by trial and error. Such as what parts are best to eat of some beasts. How to prepare them proper and the like." She continued, continuing her handiwork. "I kinda miss it though," Dagrún said, her voice becoming softer.

"They sound great," Hylli said after a moment of silence echoed after Dagrún's words. "What was home like? For you, that is." Hylli decided to ask, unable to help her curiosity and desiring Dagrún to speak more of her origin.

Smiling as she nearly finished her work, Dagrún didn't mind to respond in proper detail. "My home was the mountains and vales that my kin and people live as well rule over. It borders those Hanta scum, cowardly fiends of Ecla and I suppose our allies in Magnhild. Also, the people of Framí, which I do enjoy. Nothing beats a good ol' tune from a bagpipe, I tell ye." Pausing for a second, Dagrún continued. "We don't like to meddle with many outsiders. People don't like our ways," Dagrún frowned slightly, "but I don't care for that. Nay! What do they know of the way how we proper Ylflings live? Psh, most of them would be helpless pups if they are dumped in the dead of winter, in the wild."

"I know I would. I sadly haven't received extensive survival training, yet. But if you would teach me, I would be most honoured." Hylli responded on turn. "I only know some of your folk, cause the history that we share with the Ylflings. Both from the conflict as your kin entering the service of my people." Hylli said, enjoying the warmth of the nearby fire. "Maybe once this all is over, we could visit your family's lands?"

Chuckling Dagrún would lean back. Staring into the fire, she nodded slowly. "Sure, I wouldn't mind teaching ye a thing or two. Ye seem a proper Hyuzu, so far I can tell." Turning her gaze to Hylli, Dagrún continued. "Ah, yes. The tales of our folk fightin', eh? Glorious tales and sagas have sprouted from it. A good time to be alive, back then, I wager." Pausing for a second, Dagrún raised a hand to scratch the back of her head. "Maybe we can. I first have to find myself, before I turn to home and hearth."

Catching on the sad tone that followed the last sentence, Hylli wasn't sure what to do. She wanted to learn more about Dagrún. What for a purpose she had before she could turn home. Licking her lips, Hylli waited a second before speaking up. "Thanks. And I imagine so, though I am quite happy to be in the present. With being able to share a fire with a Ylfing. Not to forget, I am looking forward to what you're preparing." Hylli said, offering a warm smile. "And if you can't return home, I am willing to offer a chance to come to the Hyuzu compound with me. I am sure that a descendant of Tryvvge can account on hearth and proper hospitality from my kin."

"Heh, I would like that, Hylli." Dagrún smiled as she leaned slightly back. "Much as ye will like this boar. I had to give most away to the quartermaster. But I saved the best parts. It is going to have that proper boar taste. It is a bit intense but very sweet, nutty taste. The best parts are its snout, shoulder, backstrip or those tiny ribs. Also the butt, heh."
 
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~ GM Post ~

Events in the known world.

This GM post serves to bring news and rumours of what happens in the world. While some events might be vague rumours, twisted by the many mouths that spin the tales into something unimaginable, there are many more occurrences that will impact the clans and nations across the known world. Some of these events might be orchestrated in secret or even openly by nations and clans, in a bid to weaken their neighbours or rivals. At the same time, some events are the result of decisions (or lack thereof) in any shape or form.

The current year is 477 ADS,
The current month is the begin of April,
This GM post is not without plots and secretive actions of others.~

* ADS = After the Death of the Sage.

In the West.

[ Wind Country / Sayyadian Kingdom ]​

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Peace has shattered. The soft breeze carries the echo of war. For both the Sayyadian kingdom, otherwise known by many as the Wind country, and the Fang country are amassing their forces. Troops rally to banners, marching to camps. Mothers and wives bid their sons and husbands goodbye, only to pray to their gods for their safe returns. The Sayyadian kingdom has attempted as a final act to make the Fang country step down to offer the life of the captured nobleman. But the Fang has firmly denied the offer, stating that the Sayyadians are nothing but filth. For who captures a noble from a simple errand and then dares to ransom them?
More exchanges have been going back and forth, only increasing in venomous tone and adding to the hostility between the two nations.

Rumours spread by merchants and travelling folk that the Sayyadian kingdom is preparing to invade the Fang. While many military experts are aware that the Fang has fewer resources than their adversary, the chance of a successful invasion are slim. For the Fang hasn't managed to keep their sovereignty for centuries by mere chance or mercy of others.

As both nations ready for war, the people that live at and near the borders prepare as well. Trade dwindles as people stock in supplies. Taverns receive fewer visitors as the rumours tend to stay off any but the curious and willing.
The atmosphere thickens as leaders proclaim what glory and courage can be acquired in the thick of battle. And in the shadows, there is some movement. The operatives of both nations starting to engage in clandestine operations, to undermine their adversaries.


[ The People of the Claw ]​

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The Claw has been occupied and terrorised for the past six decades. The Dread Steel Legion, the military of the Fang, has managed to curb in most revolts and coups. With grim determination and ruling by fear, the natives of the Claw have suffered underneath their occupant's rule. Some managing to escape to neighbouring realms but only a few ever escaping the watchful sight of the Dread Steel Legion.
Many surrounding nations still acknowledge the Claw's existence as a nation but none yet mustering an army to liberate the Claw from its cruel fate.

The imminent war with the Sayyadian kingdom, however, poses a chance. Resistance groups within the Claw are laying low, preparing for an opportunity to weakening the garrisons of the Fang. All in a bid to free themselves and see themselves freed from oppression and religious persecution.

As the Fang gathers troops and settles its attention southwards, in preparation to fend off the likely invasion, the resistance groups of the Claw muster their numbers. Though no revolts have begun, the natives of the Claw are watching ever so cautiously on what the coming conflict will bring. For perhaps, the Claw's saviours will hail from the desert south?


[ The Earth Country]​

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The nation is divided. Many, if not all, already anticipated what would happen—the death of the daimyo, Tamotsu of the Hyuzu Dynasty. As Tamotsu joins his ancestors and his heart turns chilly, strife is quick to follow. For two major political factions have prepared for this fateful moment upon which the fate of the Earth country shall be determined.
The first to take action was none other than Urano of the Konda clan, the consort of the late daimyo. Stating that Tamotasu's will desires that Urano takes charge.
While it isn't strange for a woman to hold political power, many are repulsed by the act, for there has never been a female daimyo. And the quick timing has made it easier for the political opponents of Urano to spread lies and slander. Such as that she denied Tamotsu an heir because Urano dabbled in sorcery, preventing herself from gaining a child. Other vile rumours describe how Urano used poison to weaken Tamotsu till his body gave up. Only for her to take control and take the rule of the Earth country.

As such, the Dragon's Servants have risen. A political faction that has been organised and led by the brother of the late daimyo, Hayate Hyuzu.
Both factions have worked tirelessly to thwart the plans of the other while acquiring allies and resources. Even leading to talks that Lady Urano has secured a deal with the Akinian Empire, gaining silver to bribe and coerce various prominent clans and politicians to her side. However, many people don't believe that Akinians are involved. There has yet to be any sign that the Empire of Akino is willing to engage themselves in the grim succession dispute.

Various sites have already been the target of attacks and sieges. One of the most prominent places to be assaulted has been the city, Shirahidaka, in the far north. The forces of the Dragon's Servants quickly overwhelming the garrison and managing to occupy the city. This development has been a particularly nasty blow to Urano and her allies, for the town held a large reserve of supplies - such as wealth to pay off the wages of various military officials as their units.
A period of bloodshed and chaos is just about to begin in the nation.


[ The Empire of Akino ]​

[ The Fire Province ]

[ The Senju Clan ]
@Nim

​

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The Senju clan has experienced a troublesome period. But it seems that it has come to an end. Though Lord Gakuro Senju isn't the most experienced or suave of his peers, his decision to visit his subjects has left a positive impact. At first, many of Gakuro's subjects were still upset and outraged about the slow responses. Many desiring that the culprits would be found and executed. Upon the announcement that Lord Gakuro sharing the same desires, some of the rebellious Senju subjects have become more cordial. Together with Gakuro's work to listen and improve his subjects conditions, a semblance of peace is once more returning to the Senju heartlands.

In a bid to increase security or else to find any traces of the raiders, various people have spotted Inuzuka clan members performing patrols. The specialised canines are allowing the Inuzuka to conduct investigations, leading to the discovery that the raiders went north and westward, after each raid. Not much has been found or figured out yet still about who the raiders were. Or more so: who possibly could have sent them.
The presence of the Inuzuka clan members briefly seemed to bring back some tension among the local Senju. But as it became clear that the Inuzuka operated on the wishes of the Lord Senju, more appreciation seemed to follow for the young lord.

Furthermore, envoys have been sent to the Sarutobi, Hon and Tokugawa clans. On the command of Gakuro Senju, these envoys will travel to the respective clans to explain the situation. And in hope to prevent hostilities to arise.


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[ The Tokugawa Clan ]
@Oblivion666 ​

The state of the Tokugawa clan has returned to peace and order. The excitement and tension that rose with the likely revolt of Togoshi Subaru have ebbed away. Only for the Tokugawa's subjects in the south to become wary of the Senju. The rising tension has yet to lead to any hostilities, but it has started to demand more attention from the Tokugawa leadership.

Yet, the subjects of Lord Tokugawa are quite content. For news has been spread that Lord Tokugawa prepares to travel to the Imperial capital of Konohagakure. All to meet with the crown, to ensure that justice shall be brought and peace endures.


[ The Hanta Clan ]​

For a moment, it seemed that the refugees that proclaim that they hail from the Lightning were left alone. Only for Imperial troops to halt them and place them in small camps - away and isolated.

In a lightning-fast response, the Hanta heartlands have been taken over by Imperial forces. The previous failures of the Hanta leadership, giving little ground for the crown to continue trusting in the Hanta to maintain border security and governing their people.
This revocation of privileges has sent a small wave through the empire, causing some concern among other clans. Some of the Hanta nobility have requested to plead with the crown to maintain their noble privileges of old, desiring to prove themselves worthy of another chance. With the Empress still planning to travel to the foundations of Amthyr, there has yet to be a response.

Several other neighbouring clans watch with interest to the situation. Some of the locals watch with horror at their eastern borders, dreading that the crown will allow the barbaric Hons to gain influence and land. At the same time, some others fear that the Tokugawa are plotting to use guile and lies to acquire more land. Some of the lower Hanta nobility have considered approaching the Uchiha clan, desiring instead to obey Uchiha commands than to suffer underneath either Tokugawa or Honnic authorities.
But no response has yet been made by the Uchiha, leaving only tension and dread to fester.


[ The Hyuzu Clan ]
@ChromeHound ​

The Hyuzu leadership has worked tirelessly upon dealing with their situation. After capturing some unknown operatives, the Hyuzu has sent fast messengers to alert the crown of these developments. The perpetrators themselves being placed under heavy guard, being refused to see any daylight or be exposed to any gentle breeze.

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In the depths of darkness, the Hyuzu would conduct one of their interrogation methods. They begin first with placing a pouch of their special alloy upon the captured men and women. The interrogators proceed to wait patiently, for the alloy will shift when placed in the vicinity of any that are blessed with the Hyuzu kekkei genkai.
The first few captives wouldn't reveal anything but by the last prisoner, the alloy swiftly altered. Showing that the captive possesses the Hyuzu bloodline ability.
This compelling bit of information has yet to leave the Hyuzu compound, for the Hyuzu leadership attempted to conduct various other interrogations to figure more of these shadowy and unknown operatives.
With not able to figure more from their prisoners, the Hyuzu clan has requested the aid of the crown to bring out all possible information.

Not much long after the request, a small group of riders would arrive at the gates of the Hyuzu compound. The Imperial agents would be clad in grey robes, which hide their features from the curious glances of the residents. Once allowed to engage with the prisoners, bloodcurdling screams would fill the smalls rooms - failing to reach the world outside their prisons.
Two days later, the Hyuzu leadership would be informed of that the origin of their prisoners. A few indeed hailed from the north, of the Earth country. Spies and infiltrants that attempted to bring back some of the Akinian Hyuzu smiths to their ancestral homelands.

Yet, a few other prisoners being part of another origin. More to the west, their master revealed to be residing in the River province. Yet it was entirely unclear who in the River aspired to enslave Hyuzu smiths in such a foul and cowardly fashion.


[ The Omari Clan ]
@conman2163 ​

Stability has returned for a while. But now it has been followed by prosperity. Problems aren't entirely gone though. The reduction of the workforce has led to less production of Elfrine gems. And some of the Omari subject clans have shown signs of becoming wary, for not all promises have been fulfilled.
However, a new source of income is finding its way to the Omari coffers. As the Omari clan managed to acquire a deal with the Imperial Crown, the Elfrine gems are transported eastwards. This increase in income may provide the Omari clan to address some of their problems.



In the North

[ The Dominon of Lightning ]​

[ The Siege of Kumogakure ]
@conman2163 | @Oetje | @Nim | @Aliceee [/CENTER]

Battered walls, weary defenders and a grey overcast creates a gloomy scenery. For the past days, the defenders of Kumogakure had resisted the numerous attempts of their adversaries. Various times were the defenders forced to clog up the cracks of their walls with steel and flesh. Each assault being defied and repelled. But each time with lives lost on both sides.
Victory seemed uncertain, merely a desperate ember against the cold approaching storm. Yet the men underneath the leadership of the Sixth Raikage held their ground stoically, refusing to abandon their posts or halt their fighting.

A meeting would be held. The besiegers, underneath the leadership of Yakamochi Tano, attempted to coerce the Raikage to surrender. Stating that there was no help. No sign of any reinforcements other than the Alaricus approaching to reinforce the siege on Kumogakure.
There are various tales on what followed. A few stories depict that the Raikage grabbed a stone and threw it at the besiegers, declaring that if they wanted Kumogakure, they should be ready to tear it stone from stone. Another version tells that the talks would come to a collision as both sides were too determined to achieve victory - only compelled by honour to not shed each other's blood during negotiations.
One of the wildest variants spins the tale that the Raikage spat down from the walls, which landed in the face of a Tano warrior—leading to infection and loss of an eye for the respective besieger.
Regardless of which story is true, the negotiations, once more, leading to nothing but more hostilities.

Not much later the army of the Alaricus clan arrived. Their arrival met with cheers and cries of joy by their fellow besiegers. All the while the Raikage's troops were forced to wait and watch in agony, their morale starting to plummet. As the besiegers would diligently begin preparing their next assaults, dire news would reach the besieger's camps.
For the patrols and scouts would rush back several times, having spotted approaching forces. From the west, banners held by Hojo and their subject clans. From the northeast, flags of the Sanosuke troops - which were joined further by Sato and Saemund clans.
Forcing the besiegers to prepare for a grim battle.


[ The The Battle of Kumogakure ]​

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Upon the last day of March, a warm breeze would gently move past. The faint light of the sun would pierce through the blanket of dark grey. But on the western horizon, banners fluttered on the passing wind. The Hojo and her subjects had arrived. To relieve the siege and save the people of Kumogakure.
A large cavalry force would surge forwards. The earth trembled underneath the weight of the approaching horses carrying valiant warriors. Within mere minutes, various siege camps were under attack.
Much damage as death was wrecked upon the besiegers as the Hojo cavalry retreated from the sight.

From the nearby hills and forests, large formations of infantry were sighted. On the beat of marching drums, spears were held high by the Hojo troops. Only to be preceded by a hail of arrows to rain down upon the besiegers camp, covering the retreat of the cavalry.
The besiegers quickly formed their defences. Horns would blow in the wind, alerting the other camps as the defenders. The later being able to see the approach of the Hojo forces.

As the besiegers would quickly form their lines, it became painfully clear that the Hojo were outnumbered. Yet, the Hojo took their positions. Their frontlines being formed by rows of spears as their deadly cavalry covered their flanks.
The besiegers would eagerly march forward with the majority of their forces - holding a detachment to hold any sally from Kumogakure's defenders away, to prevent them from intervening.

The massive army would move upon the Hojo forces. Only to be greeted by volleys of projectiles, the Regency forces continued their march. In the centre, a collision of steel and flesh issued. From the crucible of battle, shouts echoed through the morning air as neither Hojo nor Regency force was willing to surrender.
On the flanks, the Hojo cavalry would lock themselves with their Regency adversaries. Lances broke, horses neighed as riders attempted to stay in the saddles.
Blood soaked the earth as slowly but surely; the Hojo troops were fighting a doomed fight.

All seemed lost as the defenders watched with agony on how the Hojo risked their lives. But upon the hour of the wolf, a loud sound pierced through the air. The horn blown by the attendant of the Hojo general seemed to create a surge of determination. Fighting with what appeared to be a second wind, the Hojo troops continued to hold their ground -defying their foes from gaining more turf.

A loud sound quickly followed from another direction. As if they required the echoes of the Hojo warhorn, a sighting of a new force arrived.
Billowing numbers seemed to arrive from the east. The banners being distinctly different from all other parties.
Screams and shouts in their native tongue filled the air; the Sanosuke warriors were the first to arrive at the flanks of the besieging camps and battle. Their large axes hewing both men and mount down with incredible violence.
As the Regency force reeled back from the unexpected arrival of the Sanosuke forces, it became clear that the Tano leadership attempted to recover and realign their troops to hold back the Sanosuke forces.
But volleys of deadly projectiles followed the Sanosuke charge rapidly. Plummeting into the formations of Regency troops, the Saemund forces were quick to join the fray.
Yet this seemed not enough to turn the tide of the fight. For the Regency forces still had the advantage of numbers. And once recovered from the terrifying charge of the Sanosuke and Saemund, the Regency forces started to push back the brave warriors from the frigid north.

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Only for the roar of the Alaricus to emerge. At the depths of the centre of the battle, bloodshed would intensify as the swords of the Northern Lion swung. Not spilling Hojo or Sanosuke blood but turning against the Regency forces.
Surrounded and aware of their predicament, the Alaricus would continue fighting - to oblige to the scheme that they had made with the Hojo forces. Underneath the leadership of their leader, the Alaricus locked shields and hacked down any foolish enough to come in range.

Not soon after, cries sounded from Kumogakure itself. Underneath their leadership, the Raikage's troops moved down their defences and charged at the various siege camps.
Chaos, violence, bloodshed and death dominated nearly half the day before it slowly was replaced with an eerie peace and silence.
Many participants had suffered losses, but eventually, the last vestige of the Regency had been defeated and captured.


[ The Battle's Aftermath ]​

Many lives were lost in the fighting and violence. And for a moment it was unsure if more fighting would continue as the leaders of the Great Clans as Raikage briefly joined each other in a meeting. For the cooperation between the clans had only been sparked by the threat of the Regency council. With the demise of the Regency forces, it was clear that held the clans together was gone.
Still, no fighting would continue. The first to leave were the Sanosuke and Saemund, deciding to make the long voyage northwards - after giving the last rites to their fallen.
The second to leave was the Alaricus, who ceremonially received the sword of the fallen Tano general from the Hojo leader.
The Hojo would be the last to leave the site of the battle, only withdrawing a detachment at Kumogakure as the majority of their forces embarked on their voyage homewards.



In the South

[ The Republic of Water ]​

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Peace has yet to return to Kirigakure. The various small revolts against the local authority as their forces have been halted without much bloodshed. The disease that continues to plague the multiple districts seems to continue - despite the medicine that the authorities are distributing.
The presence, however, of the likes of the Lord Commander has allowed for a positive effect to follow. At the same time, the Shiranui (or Intelligence Division of the Republic ) have worked diligently to uncover the mysterious disease. And eventually, some success would be achieved.
The medicine distributed wouldn't affect the disease, other than taking away some pain. The condition being nothing more than a crystal technique that seems to mutate and grow from the victim's chakra—thus leading to the further discovery that the 'crystal blight' can't be transferred by air or close vicinity with a victim.
Tracking the source of the disease, however, has proven to be complicated. Every time that the crystal infects a victim's body, it starts to nurture and grow from their victim's chakra system - thus mutating the crystal inside the body and making it hard to locate before the late stages, where the crystal starts to protrude through the victim's skin.

Various incidents would occur outside of the quarantine zone. Leading to the assumption that the likely responsible 'Terror of Jiaowei-District' seemed to know enough to escape the clutches of the local authorities. Or worse: having allies among the local populace of Kirigakure.


[ The Nagi and O'uzu Islands States ]​

Formally still vassals of the Republic, the previous defiance that the vassals showed has made it unclear if a conflict would arise. A various flotilla of warships, flying the banners of the Republican vassals, have been sighted. Yet the arrival of a new batch of diplomats send by Jirou, the still-new dictator of the Republic would be accepted.
Negotiations would soon start between the send diplomats of Jirou and the vassal states. It became apparent that the vassal states were sick of the constant demands from their overlords, yet not receiving any privilege or boon in return. Without any reason to stay loyal, the vassal states would make it clear to the diplomatic delegation that they were sick of the yoke that the more significant archipelago nation placed upon them.

The diplomatic envoy, however, would manage to keep the talks going on. To the point that a chance would be provided. If the Republic would invest in the vassal states and show appreciation for past loyalty.

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Not to mention, providing aid to investigate a somewhat troublesome development. For not too long ago, the island of Nagi would be subject to various lightning-fast attacks. A total of five small settlements put to the torch. Two of those small hamlets were murdered without any survivors to be able to tell who was responsible.
The survivors of the other attacked settlements would grimly describe their attackers; as demons appearing in the night, bringing both fire and death. With some unlucky to be caught alive, dragged away, screaming for help or a quick release of death.
 
12th Brigade Camp- Kyoi Hyuuga
It hadn't been long since the training session between Masami and Shikaroku had ended, for the most part they'd certainly shown some promise so Kyoi was more or less pleased with the two of them. But there was a new arrival set to join the team and she had a mission for the team to deploy for very soon, if she knew any better she would believe that the assignment of a fresh genin just before a mission without time to test their mettle was intentional.

Regardless this new girl should have arrived on the latest boat from the homeland, so she was bound to be around camp by now. A quick review of the impending mission was in order whilst she waited for this girl to arrive...

Elimination of a small enemy encampment out past the front line and capture of the officer in charge of it, no red cloaks supposedly meant a low likelihood of ninjutusu users. But it was good to be cautious just in case, especially with enemy numbers taken into account, even without any special techniques a dozen combatants was nothing to sneeze at. They would have support of the Tiger Claws if it was needed and a flare was provided just in case.

Periodically she would use her Byakugan to check whether her new squad member was here yet, and before long she did indeed see that the girl had come to a stop outside her tent. And in seeing that Junko was here, she would stand and open the tent door, giving her new subordinate a small smile after a quick visual inspection.
It might have just been her eyes messing with her, but there was a distinct... hollowness to this girl, the muted colours in her uniform, her eyes and expression. So long as she could follow her orders she should do well enough.

"Junko Shiroi, yes? You're going to be under my care for the forseeable future so make yourself comfortable here for now. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask while we've got the time, we have a mission soon... Leave your equipment here for the time being, you wont be needing that kind of gear for the mission."

@BlueFlameNikku
 
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[ Koike Hon | Scholae and colonel of the Foot Companions battalion ]
[ 13th Imperial Brigade | Eastern Continent ]


For many that enlisted in the Imperial military, the days in the east weren't filled with violence. Aside from the occasional engagements with the easterlings, there wasn't much to worry. But this wasn't the same at the southern side of the frontline.
The 13th Imperial brigade had marched a long distance, to fight on the southern side - aiding their Republican allies, if one could call them actual allies.

Where the days passed away rather peacefully elsewhere, this wasn't the same for those serving in the 13th brigade, the Disciples of Akumu. The Chonobi deity, the lord of the dead, bringer of dreams and nightmares, the master of ravens and vultures.
From the moment that the 13th brigade had set up their main encampment, they started their bloody work. Within a mere week, the Rongese troops at the mountains that created the natural border of west Sevudia were swept clean.
But this achievement wouldn't sate the lust for battle and glory that many within the 13th had. Not a single moment was wasted for the 13th Imperial brigade to push further, their assignments pushing into the Westlands of the fractured realm of Sevudia.
And it was there that the 13th learned of what terrible foes awaited the rest of the allied forces.


Slowly the blue of the sky started to darken. The sun slowly descended into the horizon, vanishing behind the mountain ranges held by the Imperial 13th and their Republican allies. Down in the west, where the men of the 13th had their families, clan and country.
The past day, various engagements had taken place. The Rongese troops attempted to halt the 13th's aggressive pace but paid heavily to halter their Imperial foes. Casualties had occurred at both sides, but neither Rongese nor Imperial was ready to give up.

Watching from his position, Koike held his shield firmly gripped in his left hand. There was a near tangible tension in the air. One that caused every present man to lay low but feel their heart pounding in their chest. Yet as Koike threw a look over his shoulder, he was met with the gaze of eager warriors. Each of them ready, to wet the steel of their weapons with the blood of their enemies.
Even as the day came slowly to an end, none of them seemed tired or willing to return to camp. It was causing Koike to nod before turning back at the front subtly. Slowly the young man would rise above the hill that he and his men were hiding behind.
Much as he had anticipated, the vanishing sun behind the mountains would cast a long shadow over the near fields and hills. The approaching grey overcast did little to make the situation any brighter.

"Skuli, you take the approach east. Move fast and wait for my sign," Koike said, receiving a sound that seemed to resemble a grumble. The grumble accompanied soon by the large man uttering a command, which caused a soft rustling that disturbed the tension briefly.
"Tardo," Koike squinted his eyes to look at their target, "you and your men take the western approach. Once you are there, wait for us to advance. Once we lock them, you mow them down."
Once more, a soft recognition of that his orders was understood, followed. Then the rustling of men moving in their gear reached Koike's ears.
"Well," Koike began as he watched the enemy encampment from his spot, "time for some bloody work."

Turning back, he would slide down the hill. A contingent of soldiers was awaiting him. Their gear seemed quite odd. Ash was spread over their equipment and helmets, creating an unnatural appearance. If their eyes lacked any colour, Koike could be convinced that he was looking at dead men. But the eyes held much life and their breath visible due to the coldness.
Raising his right hand as a fist, Koike would signal the men to follow him. The group would do so without any hesitation, their equipment allowing them to blend in better with the snowy field and hills.
Jogging to their new position Koike threw a look at the direction of the nearby encampment. It had yet to be stirred like an angry beehive.
"Double the pace," Koike commanded as he followed his command himself. The group of soldiers moved quickly to the next hill to take their refuge from being spotted by the enemy. Only to repeat this twice, closing in the distance with the enemy encampment as close as possible.
His breath became more burdensome, not to due to the previous jogging and running. But it was the tension growing more noticeable. His right hand itched for the handle of his sheathed blade. All the while, his senses seemed to go into overdrive - desperately trying to pick up any or all signs. But all that Koike could hear was the laboured breathing of the men nearby as faint sounds of the nearby camp.
Carefully climbing to the top of the hill, Koike crouched as he peeked over it.

The enemy camp was close enough that he could view what went on. Several sentries positioned at the outside of the camp and patrolling soldiers went about their rounds. But the majority of the Rongese enemies were occupied with taking a rest. Either participating in small boardgames, drinking or merely seeking respite at campfires. Nothing that indicated that they were alerted of the imminent danger that was moving ever closer upon them.
Scoffing Koike was disgusted by how the enemy camp was organised. There were some wooden stakes driven into the ground, here and there. Then the tents of the foot soldiers were spread like a nasty disease upon the land, only for the centre of the camp to hold a measly palisade. Yet despite his disgust, Koike understood that he was facing a superior numerical force.
Once he had a good enough sight, Koike would return to his group. Eagerness seemed to make the men flex their fingers around the handles of their weapons. Some muttered soft chants, dedicated to their gods to grace them with their attention. Faint sentences that were to invoke the focus of their ancestors, to guide them in the coming fight.
Pacing back and forth, Koike locked his gaze for several seconds with some individuals.
"What is your duty?" The young colonel asked, not heeding to stay soft or silent anymore.
"To serve the Empress's will," was the response from the men, in unison.
"What is the Empress's will?"
"That we fight and die."
"What is death?"
"Their destiny."
"What is your duty?"
"To hold the line."

Koike repeated the lines another time, the answers coming in conjunction as a response from the men. Drawing his blade, Koike turned around. Raising the weapon, the tip of the blade aimed at the heavens, the colonel, lowered it as he started to jog forwards. The motion was accompanied by his men and the sounding of a horn. The horn resonated throughout the area, rustling the sentries and any men in the nearby camp.
Soon enough shouts followed the bellowing horn as Koike's group was spotted.
"Skjaldborg," Koike firmly ordered as his men caught up with their leader. Only for shields to lock and form a moving wall of steel, flesh and wood.
"Keep the pace," Koike ordered as he peeked through a slid - created by lowering his shield slightly. The enemy was flushing out of the camp to meet his unit eagerly. The air soon enough filled with their crude language shouting orders and likely obscenities at Koike and his men.
A thud, followed by a vibration, caused Koike to raise his shield. A few dozen of similar noises followed, indicating that the enemy was raining projectiles upon them.
"Hold," Koike ordered, the order was causing the formation to stop.
Lowering his shield a little, Koike saw that the enemy had formed a messy line of footsoldiers. There was no sighting yet of the infamous red cloaks, which was not an inherently wrong sign. Sighting that the enemy ran forward, Koike steeled himself - his stomach slightly turning.
"Hold," the colonel ordered his men as the soft thuds and vibrations kept plaguing the formation. All the while, screams and shouts started to draw nearer.

Before the charge of the Rongese could impact the formation of Koike, death arrived in the form of countless projectiles. Soaring through the sky, arrows pierced through clothing and padding - causing men to fall mortally wounded to the earth. Chaos soon befell the Rongese troops, causing their charge to come to an awkward halt.
"Advance!"

The command was quickly followed. The formation of shields came to an abrupt movement as the men stormed forwards. The air pierced by their battle cries, insults and anger.
Slamming his shield and weight into a Rongese, Koike didn't hesitate to turn the shield slightly away. His blade quickly followed and plunged deep into its first victim, effortlessly slicing through the man's padding and flesh. Twisting his weapon first, Koike yanked the sword out as he joined the fray. The charge of his unit sent the Rongese reeling and wavering for a moment.
Raising his shield Koike caught a blow firmly. Pushing the mace of his foe away, the motion was executed together with a hack. The sharp steel bite through the enemy's throat, causing the Rongese to fall - gurgling and suffocating in his blood.
The world briefly filled with the cries of agony, strife and death. It overwhelmed Koike's senses as he found himself in the middle of the dreadful crucible that was battle.
Slamming his shield against his next opponent, Koike remained where he was - keeping his position at the shield wall. "Hold!"
The order was repeated by several others, causing the Imperials to hold their ground, for arrows kept slamming from the side into the Rongese formation.
Trying to listen for a moment, Koike wasn't able to figure out if Skuli and his troops were doing what they had been ordered. Grunting as another vibration moved from his shield into his arm Koike made a decision.
"Slow, advance."

The formation of shields and men moved step by step, each step followed by a small hymn. Any unfortunate enemy on the ground would meet its end swiftly by the advancing Imperials, as they slowly moved towards the opening of the enemy camp.
A few Rongese attempted to halt the formation - only to be chopped down if close enough. Several Rongese would use long spears to try to jab and find weak points at the formation. But they have slowly driven back with each time that the Imperials took another step, gaining more ground and holding it.
"Hold," Koike ordered as his force was now starting to have to trample and destroy tents to keep the line. Then he could hear it. It was faint but noticeable: the sounds of violence nearby—shouts in Chonobi, indicating that Skuli's force had penetrated the enemy camp from the flank.
"Finish them," Koike shouted as he waited. Around him, the formation emerged into a motion of rage and bloodlust. The few Rongese that used long spears to try to jab were suddenly met and overwhelmed.

Watching as his men stormed the camp, Koike glanced at the various columns of smoke - that started to rise high into the sky. Jogging forwards, he would enter the chaos.
The enemy attempted desperately to hold their ground. But their equipment and training were inferior to their Imperial counterparts. Only as Koike watched how his troops mercilessly cut down their foes, he noticed movement up ahead.
A row of shields was formed and held by men clad in decent armour. In front of them were a few red cloaks, at a few feet distance. Their weapons clad in a soft but blue hue.
"There they are," Koike grunted as he would run forwards. Evading the small fights as good and fast as possible, Koike reached the impending clash between the Rongese core fighters and the Imperials soldiers that also lined up for a real battle.
The sighting of the Red cloaks caused a few Imperials to move past the shield wall - their weapons also clad in a blue hue, that radiated an unpleasant sound.
Before either side could clash, tents broke as various projectiles moved through the air. Axes and spears struck various Rongese before being charged from the side. A towering noticeable figure slammed into one of the surprised Red Cloaks, wielding a large battle-axe himself.

"Valdar has your soul, ahaa!" The large man cried out in his native tongue, oddly cheerful before the broad axehead slammed into his victim.
Rushing forwards Koike and others joined the fray, giving the Rongese no time to recover or perform any plan that they had.


Sitting down, Koike felt his body aching. His right arm from constantly swinging and carrying his blade. His legs from the near-constant jogging and running. Not to mention his throat from shouting and yelling.
"Ahaa, colonel!" The voice of Skuli boomed, driving away from the odd tranquillity, "that was a good scuffle, eh? I honestly expected a tad more. But beggars can't be picky, ahaahaa!"

Turning to face the large man, who joined him, Koike flashed a smile. "True. It was a good fight," finishing his reply Koike turned his gaze to the scenery in front of him. Of tents being turning to ash by fire. The soldiers were throwing corpses of their enemy into the fire while inspecting the captured supplies. Underneath the watchful gaze of their officers, the Imperials continued the cleaning up of the enemy camp.
"So what now?" Skuli asked, moving his large hand to his nose to wipe something from it, "this is the fifth camp. And not to belly-ache, colonel, but it is getting kinda... well, dull."

Nodding subtly Koike didn't react to Skuli's comment. In all honesty, Koike was okay with these engagements. The enemy was crafty but caught by surprise, and with enough speed, they had a lot of trouble to hold themselves - much like any force.
"I don't know, Skuli," Koike said after a few seconds of silence between them, "I am not the one in charge of the 13th brigade--"
"No true, but you are what was it again? Scholaa?" Skuli casually interrupted the younger Hon, shrugging lightly afterwards. "Graced by her Empress and all that. I think you should be able to influence Erling's decisions. Or even that of the Major General himself, eh?"

Koike didn't like it. He understood his role and rank. What responsibilities he carried. And what he shouldn't do. And much to his dismay, he found himself agreeing with Skuli. Why weren't they advancing further? Why did Erling keep sending his battalion to risk their hides? Questions that he had received no answers.
"If you want, colonel," Skuli began, somewhat more cautiously. But Koike would beat him to it.
"I can handle Erling fine myself, Skuli. Thanks."
The large man grinned upon Koike's words. "Aye, well, I am going to check on my lads."

"Alright," Koike simply responded as he watched the large man strolling off. The broad axehead was resting on Skuli's shoulder, the crimson stains still bright on the steel.
Turning his attention back at the scenery, Koike sank once more into his thoughts. For some reason, he felt more comfort fighting Rongese than to engage his supposedly superior, Erling, into a conversation.
 
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