Starring:
Chiyoko, Suterusu
Date: September 28, 2012
Summary:
Chiyoko sends Stealth on a fake mission to test his abilities
"Chiyoko's test of Stealth"
Deserts of the Land of Sand
Tonight's mission finds the boy code-named Stealth having to do what he does best for quite a long haul. As described by Councilwoman Chiyoko before his depature, he is headed to a small village in the far western part of the Land of Wind that has been struck by a biological warfare attack. The source of the attack is yet unknown, except one of their lead people is an Rogue Ninja of their own village, and it is believed that the culprits will strike Sunagakure itself next if they succeed in wiping out this smaller village. An antidote has been manufactured, but it must be delivered as discreetly as possible so as to avoid it being destroyed by the culprits. The mission has gone surprisingly well thus far, but a rather eerie feeling would begin to set in as the Chuunin reaches a point about three miles from the village.
He was moving fast. Any cover that could be used was, as he raced along on foot. That sense.. it was like he was being watched. It was one of the most dreaded senses of his life, considering that his entire job was never to be seen. Mentally cursing all over again about being put on a team and losing his edge due to it, he'd continue that race. Reaching out with all senses he could, he'd try to figure out what exactly is going on. Indeed, if he is being watched, they will have to be detained and removed before he can deliver the package.
The answer to whether or not the boy is being watched is answered quite clearly as something rather odd appear on the path before him. A young woman dressed in a white, thigh-length nightgown seems to come out of nowhere, appearing to be in rather severe anguish. Her moves are rather stilted, like a marionette, as she turns to face Suterusu. Her forearms are covered in some strange kind of bracer, her eyes wide with pain. She barely has time to mouth 'Help Me' before a blast of fire comes out of a sand dune behind the boy, and she seems to be forced into action to swing the bracer at his chest while poison-tipped blades come out of it to aid in the strike.
"Oh, goody! Someone sent another toy for me to play with!" a rather maniacal voice rings out from behind him, where a woman stands atop an enormous spider puppet. Her black hair flows down in pig tails, her lowcutt, puffy red dress reaching a few inches past the bottom of her hips. White make-up paints her face, along with black mascara and shockingly red lipstick. "I've got a great idea! Let's make you into one of my dolls! I'll give you special clothes and everything!"
He tried to move, that clone coming up to stop the fire, but that put him right into the swing of the blades. Getting clipped, he'd roll off to the side, hissing softly as he'd skid to a stop. Frowning at the puppeteer, he focused himself. crimson eyes watched her, as the clone, half of the skin melted away from the metal core, would rush at her from the side. Causing that distraction, the figure would attempt to dissapear into the shadows of the evening himself. Time to make this fight be back on his terms.
As the clone rushes her way, the puppeteer is quickly replaced by the puppet under her going up on its hind legs and reappears beside it. "Naughty, naughty!" she calls out as she moves her fingers, sending the stilted woman at the Chuunin again, blades coming out of the second bracer as she makes three jagged strikes with her forearm at the man, yelling out in pain. "No touching on the first date!"
Having to deal with that more immediate attack, cursed puppets and twice cursed puppeteers that go rogue. They need to work on having a better system to filter potential crazies out of that set. The mesh shield of wires wasn't quite enough to stop the attacks of the blades, once more getting stabbed. Hopping back, he'd stare hard at the puppeteer. Time to put her on the defensive then. Focusing himself, earth chakra was summoned to his feet, fire chakra focused in his hands. A sudden upheval had a length of earth spring from the ground. Grabbing it, there was a hiss of fire meeting earth and he pulled free from the resulting cloud a rather large daiklave. The weapon gripped in both hands, he'd rush at the puppeteer, swinging the massive blade in a powerful sideway strike. Even if it hit a puppet, it'd probably still put some damage done on whatever defends her, hindering the potential future attacks.
As the rather large blades comes her way, the puppeteer screams, "Ahh!" and attempts to move a puppet into her place. However, she fails to do so quickly enough, and the blade makes a clean slice across her torso. Bloods and bits of cloth fly through the air as she bounces back dramatically. A rather large flap of her dress now hangs down, the lower part of her belly and a rather large gash now exposed as she lays on her back on the ground. "You big meanie!" she yells out, kicking around frantically a little. However, that might only be a distraction as the giant spider breaths out another blast of fire the Chuunin's way, followed by another strike from the woman-turned-marionette. She makes two strikes and then points the side of one of the bracers at Suterusu, sending out smaller wave of fire his way from it as the spider puppet lunges to drive its two front blades legs at his back. "See if I invite YOU to the next tea party!"
The first splash of fire did manage to get him, however the figure got that metal clone up to take the brunt of the second. Burnt and surrounded, he knew that this was not going his way at all. Closing his eyes a moment, back to back with the clone, he thought. Thought turned to action as he'd release the diaklave which would dissapate without the chakra keeping it in shape. Seals whipped through, he focused downward for a moment. The wires were sinunous, snaking through the sand before that metal studded wire would snap up out of the ground like living barbed wire to attempt to wrap about the puppeteer. While she was forced to deal with that, he'd once again take flight. This fight was rough and was not the goal of the mission. If it had to be a running battle, so be it, but staying here would only get him killed at this rate.
"Ahhhh!" the puppeteer cries out as she's wrapped up and sharp wires and falls to the ground. Whether it be a stroke of luck or maybe the girl just tripping up a bit, it seems he is actually going to get away this time. "Let me out! Let me out! Let me oooooooouot!"
By the time the Chuunin reaches the village, an old lady adorned in a long brown hooded robe stands by the gate awaiting his arrival. Her face is not quite fully visible, as she is kind of stooped over a bit, holding herself up on a cane, but that is the person who Suterusu would have been instructed to hand the package off to upon his arrival to complete his mission.
Of course, he'd verify that the surroundings was clear before even remotely getting close enough to deliver it. While timing of the essance was important, he also needed to make sure that it wasn't a ruse, especially with a puppeteer on the loose. Either way, once he verified it was ok, he'd virtually melt out of the ground right in front of her, that bit of stealth doing him good as he'd bow formally and offer her the package without a single word. Getting back was going to be hard if that puppeteer was still out there, but if he could lure her towards Suna..
As the boy pops up out of the ground, the old lady looks him over and then looks down to the presented package. A feeble hand reaches down to open the lid of the box then pull a long vial out of it. She examines it for a moment then pops the cork on it and turns it up to down it. "Mm. That's good," the same crazed voice from before rings out as she lefts her hand to pull back the hood and reveal the same face as the puppeteer from earlier. However, with a puff of smoke, her face changes into one that would be much more familiar, the Coucilwoman who sent him on the mission, Chiyoko. "Congratulations. You passed the test," she says with a smile.
The figure would be caught completely off guard. Ok.. that.. was.. brows furrowed under the cloth as he would stare at her for a long moment, crimson orbs staring all the harder as she showed it was her and said it was a test. Hands flexed slightly before he'd once more give a formal bow. "Council Member. I am glad to hear I passed. Is there anything else you need of me, Council Member?" He'd straighten up as he looked at her. Did he like being tricked? Of course not. But this was the name of the game at times, wasn't it?
"You kept your focus on the task at hand, where many would have gotten overzealous or furious and put everything on hold to continue an unnecessary fight," Chiyoko explains, giving more information as to exactly how he passed. "Even if attacked by a Rogue, the mission at hand always comes first. You've shown significant improvement from our last match, and, for that, I applaud you." Not that she's actually going to clap or anything. "That is all for tonight. You may return home." With that, she returns his bow and turns to walk into a nearby building. No way is she wearing this baggy, uncomfortable robe all night.
