Starring:
Date: January 21, 2013
Summary:
A team is put together to follow up on the death of the med-nin team, but they got a bit more than they bargained for…
"Unholy Alliances - A Mission Ambushed"
Outside of Kadomai village
The investigation of what happened to the med-nins of Matai forest has been completed, with a startling discovery. The giant moles seen at the gathering site are not indigenous to the Land of Fire, but rather are only found in certain places around Iwagakure. It would appear the team fell under a masked attack by Iwa forces hiding out near the Kadomai village. Protests made to the Village Hidden in the Rock generated protests and news that a small group of rouge Iwa Shinobi have been spotted crossing into the Land of Fire, and Iwa disavows any knowledge of their actions. Therefore Naru, Taiki, Ryo, and Eremi were tapped to scout the cottage, verify Konoha's intel, and if it should be the suspected missing-nin, orders are to capture if possible, kill if necessary.
It is early evening by the time the group arrives. Taiki is here as a fully-trained combat medic, assigned so that anything the group may find can be identified. He himself has been quiet for the most part during the journey here, but he has been friendly toward people when talked to. He peers toward the cottage a short distance away and sniffs the air, helped by his ninken. After consulting them he says, "I can't tell who or what is in there, too diffuse from here."
It was a little unusual for Naru to be on a high stakes mission like this, but despite her affllictions she seemed to be taking care of herself quite well as a dependable shinobi getting used to her weakness. For this mission Naru was brought along for an extra amount of chakra sensing eyes as well as her own insight. With her being in ANBU as well, having this sort of information would have helped to know if their enemy was truly a rogue from Iwagakure or not. Narusegawa remained close by Taiki's side as she peered around, her eye's attempting to take in any sources of chakra from behind those silky folds. Her body was adorned in a hooded cloak with traditional jounin attirement underneath. "Perhaps we should get a little closer then hmm? " Naru suggested. Curious as to what the rest of the team might think.
Clutching the backpack that's slung over his right shoulder, Eremi followed closely with the rest of the group as they made their way toward the designated spot. Other than that he knew little about the mission and honestly, he wasn't really too intrigued by the details. Missions lately for Eremi had all lumped together with seemingly the same goal and desired outcome. When the time came, he'd know what to do.
For now what truly caught Eremi's attention were a couple things. The first being that Taiki was a medic, "Hey, Taiki. Congrats are in order for becoming a medic right?" He'd offer while they made their way. The second was that Naru was…blind or at least appeared that way with her eyes being covered with bandages as if she was ready to whack a pinata. Though he didn't question that. Might be a sensitive issue and when it came personal issues, some people didn't like to open up a bit.
Seeing the cottage off in the distance, Eremi would raise his free left hand just above his eyebrows as if it might help him see in the distance a little better. On the boys arm there was a noticeable sized bandage held firmly in place just before the shoulder, covering a wound or marking of some sort. "At least one of us should go." His cautious side kicking in, "Could be a trap after all."
Giant moles. That was really what Ryo needed. He was along for the original mission. The only one here who wasnt seemed to be Eremi. But it was alright, they could probably use his speed when dealing with these guys. No one knew what type of jutsu they used or if they had more of those interesting little creatures around. As Ryo approached the group he offered a nod. "Hello." is all he states as his eyes seem to scan past them over to the cottage. He had never really fought anyone from Iwagakure. That was the only country he'd really never encountered shinobi from.
The terrain around the cottage is open, and it is on a slight incline. There are several large holes in the cleared out area, probably where trees were, judging by a large stack of fire-wood at the back of the cottage. It's a highly defensible position, but it is quiet, probably too quiet at the moment. As Naru is in fact the ranking member of this team, Taiki turns his attention to her. I agree, we should get closer, I'm just not sure about being out in the open. I do smell something animalish that reminds me ove those moles, but it is faint. Does anyone else with extra senses sense anything?"
"There is…/something/ inside, though I can't tell if it's a person, or just a thing. It could be anything really," Naru spoken up, though it was going to be obvious that something bad might had been in that little house. "If anyone else has any other ideas or can see anything, perhaps one of us should approach this place while the rest of us remain in hiding… At the very least we will be able to catch whatever it is off guard and we won't have to worry about lingering out in the open like this…" Naru suggested, curious as to what others might have had detected. She did exchange a quick glance of Eremi, a faint grin swelling along her lips. " You are pretty quick on your feet…"
Peeking toward the cottage and around the area, there wasn't much Eremi could spot nor hear really. The sound of birds and critters around the place were all present, but there wasn't much noise coming from the cottage itself. So it came to a surprise when Naru said she was able to see something, especially being blindfolded. "I sure don't see anything, but that doesn't account for much." Turning to face Naru who in turn was smiling at him. "I can be…" Sliding the strap off his shoulder and dropping the backpack gently toward the ground to not weigh him down. "I can check it out if you like."
Ryo activates his Sharingan and takes a look at the area and the cottage. "Traces of chakra here and there. A light chakra sign inside the cottage. There are no traps leading up to place. There arent any traps visible… Those holes were from trees. They were likely uprooted with some kind of earth chakra. All the chakra is pretty much faded except for what's inside." Ryo then glances towards Eremi. "I am good with using bait. Quick bait…"
"Whatever scents I'm getting, their faded. Likely that could be because we're too far away for the three of us to get anything definite, but I'm not sure," he says, then glances back to Eremi. "I vote yea on the recon myself, and it should be someone quick," Taiki says as he glances back to Eremi. "But be careful. I don't know why, but something doesn't seem right…" Indeed, nothing seems to be out of the ordinary, for a cottage on the edge of Kadomai…
All this paranoia was putting Narusegawa on edge. Though with the support of the entire team she nods her head in Eremi's direction, " So it is settled then, we should stay out of sight for now, we will be able to close in if things pick up. Ryo-kun will warn you if any traps are springing while Ta-kun can determine if someone is getting closer with a change in scent…" Naru thoughout, and with that in mind ready to leave it up to Eremi to start checking things out. Judging her position she leaned up into some trees above them, nesting herself momentarily while focusing her own chakra, the seal began to bleed across her flesh while her chakra darkened and flickered. She winced lightly taking a deep breath, clarity in her preception had increased but at a cost…
And now it seemed everyone had placed the next start of the phase on Eremi's shoulders. It was a weight surprisingly enough he wasn't sure he could bare, but the most he could do at this point was his best and hope not to let anyone down. "Alright, here goes." Taking in a deep breath, he calmed himself before running forward toward the cottage, picking the straightest path while at the same time giving himself a good distance from each of the holes where the trees used to be. If everything went smooth in no time he'd reach the cottage and be able to check things out from a closer distance.
Ryo more or less watched as Eremi prepared himself to move to the door. He was not sure how he was uppose to signal him if there was a trap. Thats usually why you use extremely fast people as bait. Once Eremi took off, Ryo was unable to see any real change in the local area. He then glances towards Naru. "So if I see a trap what am I suppose to do? Like what signal?" he asks.
Taiki looks around, stretching his ears and nose out as much as possible to try to get a sense of the area. The hair on the back of his neck is rising, slowly but surely as time goes on. In fact, he looks distinctly nervous for some reason or another. But for now there's nothing he can do. "Something doesn't feel right… it's almost as if my instincts are going haywire." Indeed both Shinobu and Nozomi seem on edge, though they don't appear to sense anything out of the ordinary.
"Well Ryo, if you see anything unusual you can yell look out, unfortunately that would be the best way to do it currently… If he is caught in something we can make our move, should be as easy as that," Naru explained, at the moment they didn't have much else to signal them, at least when it came to a moments notice. " I figure you will be able to see /something/ before anyone reacts to anything," He did have a fully developed Sharingan, and Naru was honestly confident in his abilities. Ryo has definitely grown. "You are getting really tense it seems, Ta-kun… try to relax a little bit…" She suggests while peering off to see Eremi's progress. He certainly was quick so she was certain they would have nothing to worry about.
It didn't take long for Eremi to make his way up the inclined hill and toward the cottage. Surprising still was the fact he was able to do so unharmed, but once reaching it he still expected to be ambushed so stayed on full alert. Slowly he'd approach the nearest window and peek inside. It was dark, but he could still make out the appearance of one man, they were badly injured, but from what he couldn't tell. That was more of a job for a medic.
Suddenly Eremi straightened up and took a couple steps back away from the cottage. Something didn't feel right, as if there were outside forces trying to influence his mind. It made him remember the his time in Kiri during the exams, his battle against Berii and the discussion he had with Ogosokamaru in the hospital about it. There was no doubt…this was a genjutsu.
Quickly spinning about he'd wave his hand to get the attention of the others, though he wasn't exactly sure how to signal what it was he was feeling, but it was definitely an area wide genjutsu. Reaching behind his back he'd retrieve a kunai and run it across his hand as if to draw blood. He'd do this for the others to see, but whether they understood his intentions or not was unknown. Though considering he made it all the way to the cottage unharmed, hopefully they'd follow behind and he could tell them anyways.
Everything seems to be going pretty good for Eremi until he stops. From the motions it is obvious that there was Genjutsu in use. That though is not the main thing Ryo's eyes pick up on. He seems some kind of barrier erected. "Thats not good." he states before glancing behind himself. "Yeah, that is not good at all. Anyone good with barrier ninjutsu?" he asks. Ryo then looks towards the others. "I am not sure if it is a trap barrier, but we might want to hurry and try to find a way to bring it down."
Taiki grimaces as he watches Eremi start to signal a genjutsu, causing him to mutter, "Genjutsu, why does it always have to be genjutsu?" But, alas, that is not Taiki's main problem. Just as the barrier goes off his ears twitch and he throws himself to the side quickly. "EVERYONE MOVE!" he calls out. Just in time to as a tree explodes behind him, sending shrapnel everywhere amongst Ryo, Naru, Taiki and his ninken. Taiki and his ninken manage to escape the blast, allowing them to land on a tree. "Not good…"
With her eyes rather impaired Naru had been using other defenses to make her a little more functional against attacks she couldn't see right away. As she swept herself out of the tree a barrage of ribbons made of water began to surge about her body, thrashing and whipping about knocking away the shrapnel away from her as she motioned with a single hand seal, she grimanced slightly as she peered around intently. " Is everyone okay?!" Narusegawa exclaims while she searches around for a target, her eyes were becoming a bit more potent with chakra, while she couldn't see objects her eyes were strong enough to find traces of chakra, perhaps residue from who pulled off the trap…
Looking toward the others, he was hoping they'd get the message he was trying to relay about the genjutsu, but it seemed like they were dealing with their own problems. At first he had no clue what to do upon hearing Taiki call out for everyone to move, but seeing the shrapnel fly out toward the others, Eremi knew that he was out of range for such an attack to bother with worrying about and simply stayed put. Though within that same instance, he could feel the hair on his body beginning to rise and without hesitating to see exactly what the cause was he'd quickly move until the sensation subsided before turning about to see a lightning field go off like some sort of trap. Having enough of this, assuming the lightning eventually subsided, Eremi ran toward the door this time in hopes of opening it. If locked, he'd surely kick it down.
Ryo need not be told twice. The boy pushed off on his legs to dive out of the way of the exploding shrapnel. As he lays there he does the usual check list of making sure his body is not sending any pain signals back. Arms… legs.. man check, torso… head. "All good…" he states as he gets up. "I am good over here." he states before looking back over towards the others. He then glances towards Eremi. "Orders?" he asks.
Taiki looks "up" which, considering he's stuck to the side of a tree is actually accross and toward Naru. "I'm fi…" That's all he gets out before another spout of lightning erupts from the tree he's standing on. He tries to leap, but the lightning catches him and snaps him back, causing the air to get knocked out of him. That's not necessarily a good thing as his mouth opens for a now silent scream. Both of his ninken seem oddly affected as well, as they tense up, every hair standing on end, but all they can do is wimper.
As the fire blast made way towards Naru she was swept up in a burst of flames, skillfully replacing herself away from the maassive explosion with a few stray churns of fire not too faraway from them. Everything appeared to be going fine until Taiki was smacked by one of the lightning attacks, "Ta-kun!" Naru exclaims as she rolls off the ground and begins to move in his direction, " Follow in with Eremi-san! Back him up and make sure he doesn't get caught in a trap we need to see what's in that cottage as soon as possible," Naru ordered, knowing fully well it was becoming difficult to find anymore leads, her senses began to feel abit off as well. For now she stuck close to Taiki ossibly waiting for yet another onslaught of attacks. She kept herself open incase she could pick up on something.
Opening the door, Eremi was sure to see an injured man, but when instead he sees an old man pouring some tea he doesn't know what to think. It was definitely strange and it wasn't something he could just shake off so Eremi would glance back real quick to relay the same thing back to the others. "Something still doesn't feel right about this! Injured man when peaking in the window, man pouring tea opening the door!" Focusing back on the man "Uh, excuse me…Sir. Are you alright?" A look over the man, it was obvious they were, not a recent injury on them. It just didn't make any sense, "I could have sworn I saw an injured man when I peeked through your window earlier." He thought about closing the door and peaking through the window, but that part was obviously trapped and avoiding lightning again if it re-triggered wasn't the easiest.
Ryo vanished in the fireball, obviously he had been a fire clone. The real Ryo took off running towards the door where Eremi was. He really was not use to taking orders from Naru again. Not only that, what the trap was with her and Taiki? He has suspicions that the two of them were on round two of their relationship. Not that the first didnt have enough mangled bodies and tearful nights for everyone in their circle. "I guess both of them are into pain." he states as he makes his way there.
The old man turns and looks at Eremi and frowns. "There is no wounded man. Now take off shoes and have tea. Things will be over soon." The man, who Ryo can't see at this point looks to Ryo and nods. Just then the ground underneath Ryo seems to liquefy, but still looks like solid ground, even as it attempts to swallow him up.
Taiki screams as the seal continues to sap his strength, but manages to get a seal tag up in time to block a hailstorm of kunai exploding out of a tag opposite him. In the meantime some kind of seal seems to glowing behind him, as if preparing for a massive strike while one appears on the ground at the base of the tree he's stuck to, obviously something to keep would-be rescueers away.
There seemed to be more going outside rather than inside the cottage. To Naru's annoyance it was constantly seal after seal they had to worry about… The irritation festering within Naru began to show as her seal gradually began to spread about her body, filtering across her entire flesh rather than just portions. Naru's eyes flickered briefly as she noticed the chakra at the base of Taiki's feet and another flash of light glowing from behind him. If the seal beneath him was holding him in place she didn't have a choice but to try and protect him if possible. The sudden drive had caused her eyes to become enveloped with a familiar chakra, and with just a light squint from behind her black silk came more clarity.
"Kaminari!" Narusegawa incants, a sudden rush of energy igniting over the technique coming in their direction, the rage scorch of deplorizing lightning caused the matter to simply fizzle out of existance… The sudden reaction had caused her to pant heavily, "Come on Ta-kun, we need to keep on our feet… " Naru championed, hoping that he could escape the seal, for now she wasn't sure just how to stop it, not without knowing about the seal anyways…
Sighing, Eremi could do little more than comply for the most part as he stuck one foot behind the other and slid off his shoes onto the porch before entering into the house. "I'll pass on the tea, but thank you." Looking around the cottage, he knew something wasn't right about all this from the moment he first looked through the window and felt that sensation through his mind like someone was forcing their own chakra on his senses.
"So…" Bringing his hands together to form a seal, he'd focus his chakra in hopes of breaking the genjutsu once more just in case it was an actual genjutsu. "What happen…" Before he could finish, the old man before him suddenly disappeared and was instead replaced by a room coated in blood on all the walls. On the ground lied a dying man, a symbol branded onto the mans head intricately done so with the symbol for balance surrounded by a ring and outlined by flame-work. The mans final words, barely able to get out. "Be… betr… betr…ayed" he gasps before he dying.
"TAIKI!" Eremi would shout, figuring if anyone could save the man it would be the only medic of the crew. Eremi would drop to his knees and see a hitai-itei with two boulders etched into held tightly in the mans hand. It was obviously a clue, but he sure wasn't going to touch it.
Ryo felt the earth attempt to draw him in. Ryo tossed his weight forward to make the door of the cottage. He then glanced around at the walls. "Well now. Thats different." It reminded Ryo of Heromu's Tower. They had never actually left a little hut though it seemed like a never ending tower. Ryo then glanced towards the outside making sure there were no more attacks now that the man was dying.
The man dies before much else can be said, but as he does the brand on his forehead glows. The brand is a circle surrounding the symbol for balance, with the ring itself being in flames. The brand develops colors, with each wedge of the circle lighting up in the colors of the element. The area around the house glows as a seal appears underneath of it. The ground shakes, and the seal turns a bright red, the color of explosive tags about ready to go off.
Taiki in the meantime moans and gets to his feet after sliding down the tree. His partners also start to stand even if they are whimpering. "I'm… I'll be okay…" He looks over toward Eremi after his shout and notices the glowing seal. "Lurk… EREMI! RYO! GET OVER HERE NOW!" He then looks to Naru and says, "Get behind me…" He then pulls out three more tags and sets them up in a string. "You've got seconds! MOVE!" Taiki puts his hands out to each far end tag, preparing to channel chakra into it.
Naru wasn't going to be able to stop thhis, especially with the seal already forming beneath the house, with Taiki having things under control kind of she slipped back behind him, kneeling down and readying herself for what was to come she truly did hope that Ryo and Eremi had the speed to dash out of there as quick as possible. There was nothing she was able to do other than sit and watch and hope that Taiki's tags would help lessen the blow or whatever it was he was attempting to do.
"Oh…" Watching the symbol on the mans forehead begin to glow, Eremi knew that this wasn't something he should stick around to wait for, but even as the symbol began to glow brighter and the house started to shake signifying that something bad was going to happen, he quickly retrieved the forehead protector from the mans hand before bouncing up to his feet and vanishing out the door. He didn't stop running until making his way toward the others and spinning about as they waited for the explosion that was about to happen. "I left my favorite pair of shoes behind." Wondering if there was more time to go back before….
Ryo watches Eremi fly past him. "Dont worry about my safety, I'll live…" the boy states as he takes off running behind Eremi. He had seen the glow of the seal on the man. This was no longer about shinobi missions. This was about winning and killing if you did not. As he caught up to Eremi, he also stopped. The boy pondered if he'd ever be able to run as fast as the other. He then looks at Naru and Taiki. She had ordered him to go in there… He'd have to tease her about that later.
The moment everyone is behind him, he thrusts his hands forward and calls out, "Fuin Genpaki, FUIN!" Three walls, glowing blue with energy, spring up forming a large wall of chakra between them and the house. Suddenly the house seems to disintegrate in ball of brilliant yellow light that quickly envelops the world around them. At first the seals seem to be holding, but soon they are overwhelmed, with the leftover energy washing over the group. Fortunately, the seals did their job, and the pain and damage in their area is a lot less than it would have been otherwise. Taiki however falls to his knees breathing hard. "Need to work on better defensive seals…" he gasps out loud. The entire area, to the border of the now non-existent containment barrier, is a wasteland. "I think we've lost whatever we'd find here…" The crater where the cottage was would give testament to that.
A Buzzing torrent of water formed about Naru's body as she kept herself low as the attack washed over them, the waves rippled and spun quickly to catch anything left over from the attacks rather than being hit herself. She sighed heavily and relaxed herself as it appeared their mission was more or less over, there wasn't going to be a lot to recover from the explosion, so for now she just recollected herself, careful to make sure everyone else was okay…. " This mission was a headache…"
Seeing the bright light appear, Eremi brought a hand up to shield his eyes from the light, figuring there'd be no need to defend as Taiki had brought up the seal walls. The last thing he expected was for them to break and the damage to push through, the force of the blow impacting with him and having no way to defend he'd be knocked back, sent tumbling away. Once the area calmed down once again, Eremi slowly rose to his feet and walked back to his feet, "Well that sure hurt, but at least the intel was partially right." Holding out the forehead protector that had the symbol for Iwa engraved on the metal plate.
Ryo turned his back to the light in order to defend. Unfortunately the seal did not hold and he felt the pain of the burn. After all was said and done and they regrouped, Ryo looked at the Iwa forehead protector. An Iwagakure symbol. Despite that he saw the brand on the man's head. "That guy was part of the Recluse." He was certain it was loud enough for Taiki to hear him.
Taiki stands back up, having taken the brunt of that final attack. "I'm going to get yelled at," he says as he looks the others over. "He was part of the Recluse? How did you see that?" he asks Ryo as he looks at the forehead protector Eremi has. He then nods in agreement with Naru and says, "Let's start back, we can figure things out from there…"
