Starring:
Maikeru, Takeshi, Manami, Nori, Yuuka
Date: August 26, 2011
Summary:
Maikeru takes a small team for a mission at an island village between Kirigakure and the Land of Fire. A wealthy farmer has offered to pay the Onryou for taking care of the village's bandit problem.
"Bandits of Fire"
Island in the Sea
As evening sets in on a small pigmy village on an island between Kirigakure and the Land of Fire, Onryou Maikeru sits in a hut with a wicker couch and two wicker chairs with the three people he brought along for the ride today. First, there is Manami, who sits on the wicker couch by him. This is her first mission as an Onryou recruit, so she has been instructed to stick fairly close to him to ensure her safety-not that he plans to stop her from fighting. Then, there are the two Kaguya, Takeshi and Nori. Takeshi was invited along for obvious reasons, but one might wonder why on earth Maikeru decided to invite Nori along.
"Remember, if you damage any of their houses, you stay behind and fix them," the Jounin says with a glance to Nori, a dark smirk resting on his face. He glances out the window of the hut, taking a sip of a glass of tea that was poured from the pitcher they were provided. "Just a few more moments…. These idiots like to strike at sundown, but they'll turn around and leave if they spot us before we're close to intercept them."
Their mission today, get rid of this village's bandit problem so a wealthy farmer, their client, can make a deal with this village about their farmland that will be beneficial to both parties and bring the villagers out of poverty.
Takeshi is standing behind them at the doorway, except that he doesn't have his cane like normal, back in his 'let's be a chuunin' mode, daikatana at ready and hand holding onto a glass of tea. It was good tea and it passed the time until these idiots showed up. A bandit problem was not uncommon anywhere in or around the nation of water, so it wasn't entirely surprisingly that's what they were here to eradicate.
"So what do we get out of this?"
Manami sat quietly in the counch. She listened her eyes closed and it seems she was meditating. "Come on.. why can I feel it?" she whispered. As she opened her blue eyes. The young woman stretched. "This is rediculus," she whispered. "I mean I don't think its wrong but…. we're hoping to give these people a different way of life, one that improves everyones fortunes."
Nori glances around, a somewhat bored look on his face. "We had a problem with a pigmy a while ago… he had some skill with ninjutsu…," he mentions passingly, his voice low to avoid being heard from too far away. He chuckles lightly. "Suppose it was just the one, otherwise they wouldn't need us." He glances towards the setting sun, and says something crude under his breath.
As Takeshi speaks, Maikeru glances over to him. With a faint smirk, he responds, "A good conscience… and a hefty paycheck from the farmer who wants to help these people make better use of their land." When Manami starts to speak, he looks over to her and quirks an eyebrow. Shaking his head, he says, "Manami, I've already talked to you about the details of this mission more than once. These bandits don't want to play nice and make peace. They intend to terrorize this village until either eternity or they're all dead. So, we either kill them all or let it continue."
He looks forward, taking a sip of his tea again. Despite the fact that they are about to attempt to kill a group of bandits without causing major damage to the village, he seems completely calm, as if this were just another day on the beach. Nori's words draw a slight glance from him. "Hopefully he was actually a pigmy and not someone in disguise," he says before looking out the window.
"These bandits are rather obnoxious, so I doubt they'll make it past our little spy out there."
Outside the raggedy wooden fence meant to keep coyotes and other small predators out, a group of men can be seen walking toward this small village. As they get closer and closer, suddenly, one spits a giant fireball out. It makes a direct hit on the fence, setting it ablaze as the bandits start running toward the village.
"She'll signal us when they're close enough not to be able to run away," Maikeru says, a faint glow of blood red chakra forming around his body.
Takeshi nods at him, "Whichever works for you." Then he peers over at Nori, "A pigmy with ninjutsu? Sounds fun. I doubt these guys have that luxury though." A yawn escapes as he turns back to stare towards the people moving in the night, "Oh really? They're coming."
He moves forward and then sits down, crossing his legs and clapping his hands together, "I'm going to just sit here for awhile. Tell me when it's time." He's chanting some kind of prayer under his breath.
Manami stands stretches her arms a little bit. She looks around. "Normally chakra should feel, I mean ahh…" she exhales slowly tilting her head back a bit. "Chakra flow stable and stead." she murmured. She watched the otheres and then smelled the smoke before she stood. "Soundsl ike their hear.. I'll play distraction, feel free to kill them while I have their attention." she mused aloud to the others making her way towards the door.
Nori yawns, glancing around. "I'm hungry," he says after a moment. "I don't really feel putting a lot of effort into this." He stretches, looking nonchalant. However, Nori being contrary as he is, there is a slight static feeling to the air as he follows suit with the others and focuses some chakra. He then settles back against a tree, and despite his relaxed manner, his eyes peer around sharply for sign of the target.
At the edge of the forest just beyond the wooden fence surrounding the tiny village, the bandits emerge, the flames spat at the barrier glowing against the dirty faces of the men as they sprint towards the village. Their target.
A tiny girl dressed in ragged hides and furs of tiny animals blinks her bright violet eyes up from underneath a messy array of black hair, pausing in the middle of one of the few dirt roads that lead to and from the village. Her eyes shimmer in reflection from the glow of the blaze as it begins to spread along the fence, the bandits quickly approaching. She narrows her eyes, and pulls at the consciousness she feels a few yards away, at the bone cuffs that she had made for Nori. It vibrates against his wrists for a full moment, a silent indication that the bandits had entered completely into the village.
There would be no escape for them.
Rushing down toward the village, the bandits seem ready to storm. They stop in front of the burning fence, laughing and preparing for to overrun the place. In the center of them, a large man, their leader stands, his men waiting for him to give the order to begin their pillaging. "We're back again! We knew how badly you missed us, so we decided to return a little early this time!" he calls out joyfully, raising his hands into seals.
Two bandits flanks him on either side. Three are tall, strong looking men, their hands in seals just like his own. The third is a smaller man, though not exactly lazy looking. He wields a pair of knives, waiting for his chance to take someone on.
"Gentlemen! Tear this place apart!"
When Manami moves for the door, Maikeru calls out, "Manami!" He reaches and grabs her by her shoulder and pulls her back from the door. "I told you to stay close by, not go be a distraction. You are not an experienced fighter yet. Follow orders, or you're going to get yourself killed." Quirking an eyebrow as he looks down at her, he shakes his head and steps in front of the door.
Now seeming a little irritated, the Jounin looks over to Nori with a faint smirk. "Then kill your mark quickly so you can go visit a pub." As he hears a light rattle, he glances down to the cuffs Nori wears, smirk turning rather dark. He turns and walks out the door. "Let's have some fun," he says as he moves out of the hut toward the burning fence, which the flames on seem to be growing larger and larger. "Good evening, gentlemen. I do hope your hadn't planned on leaving this place," he says, his voice as smooth and calm as ever. "The earth has given you a permanent invitation into its bowels."
Manami peers out of the hut. "THey're here." she murmurs adjusting her jacket a little bit. "Lets go." she speaks quietly and looks to the other shinobi. She was psyched it seems. Manami's blue eyes burned with an interesting flame, its a battle flame. "Lets dance." she says manges to say, as she frowns as she slinks back. "I was …" she nods simply. "Yes."
Takeshi opens an eye and stares at the bone cuffs on nori, "Yuuka is here then eh Nori. That's only something she can do." The deck creaks as he stands and walks down it with Maikeru, "No need to worry Maikeru, I'll keep a close eye on Manami. Nothing will touch her." Then he looks over at Manami, "If you need the help, just say the magic words: FInish Him." A clap, "I will do just that. K Thx Bai. Let's crack some skulls."
Manami peers out of the hut. "THey're here." she murmurs adjusting her jacket a little bit. "Lets go." she speaks quietly and looks to the other shinobi. She was psyched it seems. Manami's blue eyes burned with an interesting flame, its a battle flame. "Lets dance." she says manges to say, as she frowns as she slinks back. "I was …" she nods simply. "Yes." She slincks back a bit. "I am sorry." she murmurs.. "I can defend myself!" she snaps at Maikeru and Takeshi.
Nori snorts as he leaves the wall. "Thats the signal," he says, glancing at Takeshi askance with his comment. He walks up to Manami and pushes her aside. However, rather than opening the door, he seems flicker and vanish, the small pieces of straw seem to fall from the roof where he had made his exit, and yet no hole is apparent where he had passed. Pretty slick, eh? Thats a hunter nin for you. Out in the open, Nori crouches low on the opposite side of the roof from where the enemy was, preparing to attack.
The moment that the bandits make themselves known with their little light show, families scream with fear as they take off running, echoing into the growing night. The lone little girl remains completely still while people rush around her, sweeping dirty, tangled strands of messy hair around her innocent violet eyes. Maikeru emerges from the hut just as she takes a small step forward, her tiny arms clinging absently to the worn down teddy bear. "I feel only these three." her higher pitched, soft voice murmurs. Already chakra can be felt around her as she focuses her will, violet eyes narrowed on the three bandits.
"HA! I'm afraid we were invited here first, pretty boy!" the leader of the bandits calls out Maikeru. "You're going to die with the rest of these worms!" He and the three men with their hands in seals begin going through hand seals, preparing for a wave attack. The smaller man seems to disappear for a moment, reappearing near Manami, his blades wielded. It seems he wants to take on someone his own size. He lunges toward Manami, attempting to jab a knife into her shoulder as the other bandits get ready to attack the other shinobi.
"If you can't take the heat… STAY OUT OF THE KITCHEN!" With that, the bandit leader and his cohorts send a few waves of fireballs at Maikeru, Takeshi, and Nori, the last of the three's attempt at hiding apparently not working since there are balls of flame heading in his exact direction.
"Yes, well, she IS here to fight. Just jump in if she seems to be in trouble," Maikeru says with a glance back to Takeshi. His eyes return to the bandit leader, dark smirk still in place. He seems to actually be enjoying watching the arrogant brigand with an eerie calm about him. "Let's see what you've got cooking then, sunshine." The Jounin actually stands perfectly still as balls of fire rain down toward him. He is knocked back a little, the fire balls impacting his chest, but doesn't really seem nearly as damaged as he should have been by that attack.
"Impressive," he says with a faint smirk as looks back toward the leader. "Maybe I'll kill you slowly just to see what you can do." A menacing wink is given toward the large man, and the Jounin simply stands still and waits for his next move.
Takeshi quirks an eyebrow at the men as he walks forward, "Why is it that bandits are always so annoyingly sure of their status in life? Always, without fail." A yawn escapes as the fireballs come at him and he wheels around the barrage to the outside since they had centered on the center of the three. "Yeah, because bandits with ninjutsu is so original it's golden."
He turns back to the bandits, "Oi, shut up and fight or Get the hell off. Seriously, no one cares about your speechs. I'm older than you, try to kill me already." As he waves his hand around to exercise his point, a dagger flies from the cuff towards the attackers.
Manami exhales. Her world slows, voices calling out and on the edge of her conciouness. The attack startled her and for a moment she hoped time would slow enough-in her perception- could she dodge it. She'd be training day and day out for this. Flicker Body technique- moving motion. A dancer's high as she transition from there- to not. Almost. She's a little too slow and the sharp stab of knife flesh makes her reel. "MONSTER' she spits. Her blue eyes burning with rage. She inhaled. "Die." was the only thing she whispered as fingers forms seals.
Nori watches the fireball as it comes in, and leaps towards it. As he meets it in midair, Nori's blue eye flickers, and the fieball seems to curl around him and dissipate. "Huh," he says, descending towards one of the baddies. "That tickled." He lands a few feet in front of them, and then forms a series of handseals. Lightning tingles over his arms, and then he points his fingers towards the men and lightning arcs from his fingertips towards the bandits.
The little girl some way's off doesn't appear all that impressed by the three goons as they follow their leader's, well, lead. Her tiny arms relax to drop the teddy bear on the ground, rolling her shoulders before she releases the henge, the young Kaguya woman standing where the small girl once stood. Yuuka sharply narrows her intense aquamarine eyes, only for her form to blur with sudden speed as she dashes towards the closest goon. Activating her kekkei genkai while in motion.
"Oh, ho, ho," the leader chuckles a bit as Maikeru simply takes the hit. "Looks like we've got a cocky guy on our hands! Let's see if I can wipe that smile off your face!" The large man begins moving his hands through seals again. Suddenly, a dragon of rock rises up out of the ground, flying directly toward Maikeru. As it flies, the bandit leader spits a huge amount of flame at it, creating a giant dragon of flaming rock that flies with extremely malicious intent toward Maikeru.
The bandit Manami is fighting feels himself being choked by some unseen force and falls down to his knees, trying to catch his breath. What is this?…
Despite a large flame flying up in front of Takeshi's dagger, it still gets through and lands in the side of one of the bandits. He grips his side as blood drips down it.
All the bandits, except the one Manami's against, flicker in unison dodging Nori's lightning bolts and reappearing a few feet back. Once they reappear, the three besides the leader send another wave of fireballs at Maikeru, Nori, and Takeshi.
Watching the flaming dragon head his way, Maikeru looks at it like it's nothing more than a pebble being thrown his way. Just as it is about to hit, he brings his hands into a seal, creating an orb of blood red chakra around himself. The flaming dragon falls around him like a flaming mud puddle. "I like that one," he says rather off-handedly, his voice still smooth and calm. "But I think I've changed my mind. I'd prefer that you just die." He reaches down and rolls up the sleeve covering his possessed arm, then removes the glove. After tucking the glove away, he thrusts the possessed hand forward in a fist, sending an enormous form of it flying directly at the leader, intending to grab him and slam him on the ground before tossing him into the air. As he flies, the fist flies again, intending to punch him into the heavens.
Takeshi continues walking and will soon be near the attackers, the ninjutsuists and the leaders. The fireballs fly towards him again, but again the older man just darts to the outside of the guard and continues to move forward steadily. How annoying, he hates ninjutsuists, especially the ones that love to just sit back and watch the fight from afar. That isn't how the old man worked though, but it wasn't like anyone could really do anything against him from afar either.
And that's why it was time to introduce the ninjutsuist to commander fist. A willow leaf palm to the gut, followed by a hard elbow into the side of the head. Hopefully, that bandit will get the message.
Nori steps forward, not so much to the side, as the next blast of fire hits him. "Alright," he says, putting out his singed eyebrow with his fingers. "That hurt." Nori springs forward, and unleashes a couple of swift punches. Still, it seems the Kaguya is toying with his prey, trying to find out how much of a challenge they really are.
Reaching up behind her, Yuuka sinks her fingertips into the flesh of her arm and pulls out the curved, razor edge of a hiltless ivory blade, her opposite arm slumping only slightly as she builds up the bone in her arm once more. The corner of her lips tugs with a dark smirk as she throws the blade at this particular goon, the angled blade designed in such a way to slash at him, then boomerang to attack a second time.
Staring in disbelief as the dragon is blocked by some kind of shield, the bandit leader is silent for a moment. When Maikeru reveals the glowing arm, he calls out, "THAT'S NOT GOING TO HELP YOU, YOU SON OF A-" He is interrupted by being grabbed by a giant hand and slammed on the ground, then thrown high into the air. The fist hits him again, this time punching him higher into the sky. "I SWEAR I'M GOING TO KILL YOU WHEN I GET DOWN FROM HERE!"
The young bandit Manami's fighting doesn't seem to stand much of a chance. He starts to turn blue and falls down on his back, starting to spit up blood after receiving a violent stomp to the throat.
The guy Takeshi's fighting receives a palm to the gut, but manages to dodge the incoming elbow.
When Nori starts striking, the bandit he's fighting is unable to dodge at all, taking several strikes and being knocked down to the ground, bruised and bloody.
The final one takes a blade made of bone to the gut and seems to be getting cut apart from the inside out by the boomeranging blade, falling to the ground bleeding profusely.
As the brigand leader is sent high into the air, Maikeru watches him fly higher and higher. He chuckles a bit, pointing his hand at the man once again. The fist flies at him once more, this time detaching from its host, flying at the man as a massive wave of blood red chakra. Upon impact, it will burst into an enormous explosion, actually making a hole in the low-hanging clouds around him. If this doesn't incinerate the guy, it's quite unlikely that he's going to survive the trip back down to ground.
Takeshi grins, "Haha, still managed to move after that? Then I'll really have to hurt you now." And then he's rushing forward, a staff sliding out from his sleeve to slam agianst the bandit before he pulls on the daikatana at his waist to slice it clean through the other man. "Why are these idiots so easy Maikeru. Next time, don't bring me along if they're going to be this easy."
Manami exhales. She stook a step back. She'd killed. She'd just killed someone. It sort of sinks in, her eyes glazed over a moment as the blue flame of fury dies, and she seems shake almost. Drawing in a deep breath through her nose. She looks around, to her left and to her, trying to get a feel for how much help you can be on the battlefield if any to her fellow Shinobi.
Nori glances around at all the destruction. "Huh," he says. "I think the four of us were a little much for them." He chuckles lightly, and turns away from the fight. "I'll let you guys sweep up. I smelled something cooking over this way…" And Nori walks around the corner of one of the huts.
Yuuka skids to a stop, her feet digging into the soft earth as the snow white of her hair whips around her head. The blue green of her eyes narrows, the red paint vivid against her pale skin as she glancees over her shoulder at the others before idly looking back to the bleeding bandit at her feet. Her lip curls with mild irritation, "Pathetic. All of you." she growls faintly. "Using what little power you have to oppress the weak, you are nothing but pathetic!"
A few pieces of bone fall from the sky to where the bandit leader was, apparently that being all that's left of him. The bandit Manami was fighting seems to stop breathing, apparently choking to death on his own blood.
As Takeshi schools the last bandit with a hit from his katana, he stumbles and falls right into being sliced through. All the bandits have fallen, their oppression of this village now come to an end. Now, time to collect the on the contract.
