Starring:
Fujiko, Kiyoshi (under the name Yoshi), Kyo
Date: January 1, 2016
Summary:
A group of horse-riding raiders have been looting Sukoppu Machi. In light of manpower shortages in Sunagakure, Fujiko has taken initiative to find and enlist mercenaries help to drive the raiders away.
"Desert Khaganate of Sukoppu Machi"
Sukoppu Machi, Land of Wind
Sukoppu Machi has been the center of focus for another random desert raiding party. The Land of Wind is a vast and terrible place for innocent people. It's vastness and harshness of weather makes keeping everything under the reigns of Sunagakure difficult, especially since Sunagakure has had… A degree of trouble lately. Fortunately, she has over some time, convinced two people to do something about it. While her village generally distrusts outsiders, she has taken it upon herself to do what needs to be done. If there aren't any village shinobi able to take care of this, she'll bring mercenaries. That is what Kyo and Yoshi are considered. Mercenaries.
So take a look over what has become of the simple settlement that is the Sukoppu Machi. There are houses that have been burned, and the central oasis that sustains the down has been overused. The people do not look happy, and there are indeed a few dead laid out in front of the doors. There is no wealth left in this town. No gold to give to Sunagakure to turn their eyes towards them. It's a town that will soon be dead.
Fujiko stands beside Yoshi, whom she had brought here after recruiting him from a small nearby oasis that had all but dried up. She actually had a pipe in her mouth, having 'lit one' up. Likely some narcotic drug of the desert, yet at the same time she smoked it in stride as she looked over at the sad sight. "So, you see, this is what they are capable of. It only took an hour, and it takes days to rebuild. Of course, I didn't say you'd be alone. I have a friend that also wishes to help." Fujiko looks up to the sky, before closing her eyes. "She shouldn't be long now. The raiders fight on horseback, which makes her expertise very useful…" She can absolutely assure that.
It mattered not how much the silence grew between them since setting out for Sukoppu Machi to Yoshi. He cared little for conversation these days, and the matter of Fujiko's open ended response still plagued his thoughts. The only thing to break the young man's focus on the train is seeing Fujiko draw to a stop out of the corner of an eye. His lips part as if to pose a question, but not a word leaves it once the scent of rot reaches his nose. He needed not turn to know the source, and yet mud brown eyes look out to the rest of Sukoppu Machi, taking in the truth of Fujiko's words from earlier.
"… This other-…" Yoshi pauses briefly, then shook his head in exasperation. "So it will be just us two then, with you observing and making your report when the time comes then?" Yoshi asks passively without letting his eyes leave the wrecked settlement. He could not do so even if he possessed the desire. It would not have been right to turn away from tragedy. Metal rattles lightly as Yoshi's grip on the sheathe of his Zanbato slowly tightens…
After receiving Fujiko's summon, Kyo would make her way to Sukoppu Machi at the requested time. She rides on Yuuta's back toward the village with her hood pulled up over her head and two of three of her weapons strapped to the side of the enormous horse, that being the spear and sword. Her bow is strapped to her back along with its quiver, ready for use from horseback should the need arise.
As she approaches the village and spots Fujiko and Yoshi, Kyo pulls the reigns to slow Yuuta to a stop. Once they've stopped, she smiles down at them and hops off the horse to step over to more comfortable speaking distance. "Fujiko-san, always a pleasure," she says with a light bow of her head to her before looking to Yoshi and bowing her head lightly to him as well. "Nice to meet you. I'm Umahito Kyo."
Fujiko would stare at Yoshi rather passively as he look out to the desolate town. "Will it just be you two? Will I not assist? Will I even report it?" She waves a hand at Yoshi. "Good questions. I'm not going to answer that. I'm not much of a fighter myself, unfortunately. I'm a performer, with a consciousness. These people did not deserve what happened to them. They are a kind sort of folk." She nods her head to Kyo. "The sort of folk that are in need of heroes. A Hero. What is a Hero? Some fantastical literary element? Shinobi take the lives of the innocent every day. Surely they cannot be a 'Hero'. The Daimyo's Samurai only follow orders, and would prey upon citizens as if they were mere thugs. You two are outside of either cycle. Both of you expect meager return for the task that you have been asked to do. Take the lives of evil people to save the lives of the innocents." Simple and clear-cut.
She crosses an arm underneath her chest as the other strokes along the side of her face, looking between the two before turning her eyes over to the village nearby. She lets them make their introductions.
The rattling stops at the sound of hoofsteps. Thinking for a moment some raider scout had arrived, Yoshi snap turns about to face the threat, gripping the hilt of his weapon tightly. Yoshi visibly relaxes once the introduction is made, though only just. The Umahito smelled too funny, if the whole brief nose twitching from the mini-giant is anything to go by. After a fair bit of studying the woman and offering a belated head bow in turn, the Kirryu's gaze is back on Fujiko.
"You wrong, Fujiko-san. What I do I do out of current necessity. Nothing more. I'm no Hero, and I doubt you'll here many other mercernariers claim to be that." He states flatly, hoping to remove any ideas from catching fire. Rather it sinks in or not, Yoshi focus shifts back to Kyo, expression softening slightly with a heavy sigh. "You may call me Yoshi. And I hope you are actually good with those tools of yours." He states brazenly. Without waiting for a reply, Yoshi sets off for the village proper to seek out any further clues about the bandits that Fujiko failed or couldn't provide.
So taking out some bad guys, if a mercenary can actually call someone that in comparison to themselves. It's not a line Kyo cares much to draw. All that really matters is that they get their job done. The large woman studies Yoshi in return a bit before looking back to Fujiko and nodding in agreement with him. She then looks back to Yoshi and smirks at his words before motioning for Yuuta to follow and starting to move along with Yoshi toward the village.
It was all about the morale boost really. Calling them heroes and whatnot. Inspiring the troops, and this and that. "Very well, Yoshi. By all means, be the antagonist. At the end of the day all that really matters is that they die. Them…" No stealth, not really any need to roll perception. Up ahead, one could see a group of about twenty horsemen that gave a real Bedouin raider kind of feel. They came in on horses, and carried large sickle-blades. They didn't seem interested in the water, but instead seemed interested in causing trouble. "Those individuals." Fujiko specifies "Twenty? I thought there were ten. Oh well. I'm only a mere actor."
It was indeed not long before the horses charged through the village, with these individuals with their large sickle-bladed swords killing anyone stupid enough to get in their way. Not the ninja type at all. As the raiders spread throughout the city, in the middle of the day, a group of five catches a man who had fallen in an attempt to escape. They seem to heckle him, "Where is it? Where is the great wealth of this town? We were told there was gold here… Cough it up or die."
Yoshi does not slow in the least, trusting or caring not if the others kept up. Fortunately, he did not exactly set a hard pace to keep up with. "Pfft… Actor my butt." He quietly scoffs, then aloud he would say, "It doesn't matter their numbers. Anyone dumb enough to act like voltures are either cowards or desperate…"
It is at that moment he spies the cornered man and the raiders. Again, Yoshi began to tighten his hold on the sheathed zanbato at his side, only to stop and curtly peer at Kyo from the corner of his eyes. "Mind if I take care of these ones while you pick off the others?" He asked of her. Upon recieving a favorable answer, Yoshi would give the Umahito just enough to get a head start on the chase before whistling sharply to the group. "Can I trust you to take care of yourself, Fujiko-san?" He asks quietly without looking, assuming she too hasn't taken off by that point.
More horsefolk. Kyo smirks at their sight, seeming a bit amused then looks over at the other two. "May as well… Let's get their attention away from the villagers, shall we?" With that she hops up on Yuuta's back, drawing her bow and then pulling a rather scary-looking spiked arrow from her quiver. She aims the arrow directly at the man among those harassing the villager, specifically aiming it at his heart. Should it hit, any attempt to dislodge it will only prove more fatal.
Fujiko hasn't likely moved an inch. "I am a young sprightly female, and an actor. I doubt they will try and kill me. They'll likely instead return me to their hide-out and cause immeasurable suffering upon me, in said ways immeasurable suffering comes upon a young sprightly female. I'll be fine." She waves Yoshi off to let him play 'angel of death' and simply remains put. It seemed as if she was confident enough that she wasn't taking Yoshi's concern seriously. "Really, I'll be fine." She even sits, and takes her sitar out and begins to play the desert tune as the combat begins. How nice is it to see someone fight, and to play her music to their victory.
Since Kyo was the first to go in, she would be the first that would be aimed at. Her arrow would fly through the air, and dig into the man's chest, yet he was wearing lamellar that managed to just divert the arrow enough so that it entered his lung. A death-sentence in itself, but at the same time it didn't keep him from speaking. "What the… We're under attack! Rally! Rally and kill them!" Three of the four riders would moe in on Kyo, attempting to counter charge and slice her up with blades.
[NPC System]: Raiders roll(s) Charge-Sharp vs Kyo from 15 to 30 and get(s) a 24. - Rolled by: Fujiko
[NPC System]: Raiders roll(s) Charge-Sharp vs Kyo from 15 to 30 and get(s) a 16. - Rolled by: Fujiko
[NPC System]: Raiders roll(s) Charge-Sharp vs Kyo from 15 to 30 and get(s) a 16. - Rolled by: Fujiko
Although tempted to look back and perhaps glare at Fujiko for making light of the situation, Yoshi settled for letting his shoulders sag with a heavy sigh. Meanwhile, Kyo has taken the initiative as somewhat planned, but he could've done without their rushing their position. What with Fujiko just sitting around, acting like an open target.
"So much for that plan." He murmured as he undid the peacebond on his blade. Beyond this however, the man remained patient and hopeful that Kyo would take off, rabbiting this and whoever else listened to the alarm. Because really, what kind of threat does a sitar player and a guy in a blood stained kimono pose to them compared to miss shooter? Yet.
RP: Kyo transforms into YUUTA.
COMBAT: Kyo focuses 4361 stamina to turn it into 5000 usable chakra!
RPCOMBAT: Kyo defends against with a DASH-STEP-II…48
RPCOMBAT: Kyo defends against with a DASH-STEP…36
RPCOMBAT: Kyo defends against with a DASH-STEP…40
COMBAT: Kyo attacks target 1 with TRICKY-ARCHER-SHOT with a roll of: 34
COMBAT: Kyo attacks target 2 with TRICKY-ARCHER-SHOT with a roll of: 42
COMBAT: Kyo attacks target 3 with TRICKY-ARCHER-SHOT with a roll of: 35
COMBAT: Kyo attacks target 1 with TRICKY-ARCHER-SHOT with a roll of: 38
COMBAT: Kyo attacks target 2 with TRICKY-ARCHER-SHOT with a roll of: 43
COMBAT: Kyo attacks target 3 with TRICKY-ARCHER-SHOT with a roll of: 44
As the men come after her, Kyo spurs Yuuta a bit and causes him to flee from the coming strikes. While they gallop, she starts firing arrow after arrow, seeming at random and not actually at the men. However, the arrows begin to collide with each other, they bounce to become a rain of arrows down upon their pursuers. "That all you've got? Maybe I should kill you more slowly."
Watch as three of the five raiders actively coming for Kyo are killed by the rain. These raiders were of course not even remotely strong enough to put Kyo into any real danger… No, the one who could actually put Kyo in danger are one of the Raider Lieutenants, whom are clearly angry that Kyo had just killed Three good men. Add the one that Kyo killed earlier, and that leaves a single average raider behind. He managed to not get hit fortunately. The liuetenant quickly gets on his horse and pulls out something known as a 'Chu-ko-nu'. This was a rapid-fire crossbow, and he was definitely good at using it. "Shinobi…" He growled as he let loose a bolt at Kyo. Before it even neared her, though, he was able to fire another bolt of similar calibur…
Not only that, but after hearing the call, several more raiders come out of the woodwork on their horses. They see another horse, and a female on the horse. Clearly not as much of a threat as… Well… A man clearly stained in blood. They charge him just as the lieutenant charges with his lance.
Where was Fujiko? She was simply watching. Taking notes. There was no glory to be had slaughtering sheep as these two mercenaries were.
[NPC System]: Raider Lieutenant roll(s) Joust on Kyo from 30 to 50 and get(s) a 35. - Rolled by: Fujiko
[NPC System]: Raiders roll(s) Charge Sharp vs yoshi from 25 to 45 and get(s) a 45. - Rolled by: Fujiko
[NPC System]: Raiders roll(s) Charge Sharp vs yoshi from 25 to 45 and get(s) a 42. - Rolled by: Fujiko
[NPC System]: Raiders roll(s) Charge Sharp vs yoshi from 25 to 45 and get(s) a 25. - Rolled by: Fujiko
[NPC System]: Raiders roll(s) Charge Sharp vs yoshi from 25 to 45 and get(s) a 44. - Rolled by: Fujiko
RPCOMBAT: Yoshi defends against with a WEAPON-BLOCK-III…46
RPCOMBAT: Yoshi defends against with a WEAPON-BLOCK-III…66
RPCOMBAT: Yoshi defends against with a WEAPON-BLOCK-II…38
RPCOMBAT: Yoshi defends against with a WEAPON-BLOCK-II…33
RPCOMBAT: Yoshi took 350 damage.
COMBAT: Yoshi attacks target 1 with PHYSICAL-III with a roll of: 42
No glory, perhaps, but it wasn't as if the raiders offered much of a choice. Knowing the blade would take far too long to draw, Yoshi rebonded sheath to blade, and wwaited patiently for the men to draw close. With almost expert ease, strikes were deflected with such force as to nearly dismount the attacker in the process. One glances off the sheathe and into his shoulder, driving Yoshi off his feet.
However, He hits the ground rolling defensively until his feet could be planted, then running after the tail end rider. Every intent in his lunge was to pull the man off hard, hopefully knocking the wind out from him before Yoshi's attention turns to the others. "Come!" He calls out as he stepped hard on the hopefully downed man's neck, stopping short of just snapping his neck. "But know that whatever happens, you brought it upon on yourselves." Yoshi adds, finally sliding the sheathe free and casting it aside. (re)
RPCOMBAT: Kyo defends against with a DASH-STEP-II…38
Uh oh. The big bad, or at least one of them. As the guy fires a bolt at Kyo, she pulls the reigns and makes Yuuta move around the coming shots while she reloads. Drawing back another set of arrows of her own, she sends a flurry raining down upon the man just as she did his comrades. Hoping to use that as a distraction, she takes the opportunity to grab her spear from the side of the horse as he charges toward the lieutenant to try and run him through with it.
COMBAT: Kyo attacks target 1 with TRICKY-ARCHER-SHOT with a roll of: 41
COMBAT: Kyo attacks target 1 with CHARGE-STRIKE with a roll of: 31
COMBAT: Kyo finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Fujiko's turn.
[NPC System]: Lieutenant Raider roll(s) Dash Step vs Kyo (41) from 25 to 45 and get(s) a 33. - Rolled by: Fujiko
[NPC System]: Lieutenant Raider roll(s) Counter Charge vs Kyo (31) from 25 to 35 and get(s) a 34. - Rolled by: Fujiko
Well, Yoshi gets the better end of the deal. After behorsing the man and stamping on his neck, Yoshi would find that he actually had a weak neck. Blood sprayed from his mouth, causing the men to retreat fearfully. Seems as if Yoshi was a big deal and no one really wanted to die. It was a Kill or Be Killed world in the desert. It seems that has attracted the Captain of the Raiders. A man on a large warhorse in full Samurai armor. He seemed to be a cut above the rest. His facial armor certainly depicted a demon of some sort. He drew his blade on horseback, and charged. Oh, did his horse charge. The skill behind this mans swing was another thing. He was definitely someone not to be trifled with. His next technique proved that Kiyoshi might be at risk."Sorry, kid." He seemed to apologize.
Meanwhile, while Yoshi was attacked by the biggest of bads, Kyo got to actually hit the Lieutenant with an arrow. In response, the man dropped his bow to the side and pulled his lance out to counter charge Kyo. Who-ever one this charge would win the battle! At least, that part of the battle… Like true horseback fighting almost.
[NPC System]: Demon Ronin roll(s) Steel Cutting Sword vs Kiyoshi from 55 to 80 and get(s) a 68. - Rolled by: Fujiko
[NPC System]: Lieutenant Raider roll(s) Counter Charge vs Kyo from 34 to 34 and get(s) a 34. - Rolled by: Fujiko
RPCOMBAT: Yoshi defends against with a UNCANNY-DEFENSE…53
RPCOMBAT: Yoshi took 1000 damage.
Yoshi doesn't risk a glance, or show so much as any sign of having notice the grounded man's departure from the earth. It was crucial to maintain an air of dominance amongst men who would all too quickly take advantage of weakness. Seeing their fear eventually drive them to outright flee elicits a sharp clicking tongue noise from the Kirryu. "Vultures." He muttered darkly, rolling his wounded shoulder to test the extent of the damage.
There isn't so much as a wince from any surges of pain, nor could he soon afford it in anycase. The sound of clanking armor and thundering hooves draws him to the new rider, but by then the man is practically upon him. Yoshi can scarcely bring the blade up in time, not that it mattered much in the end. A spray of young blood hits the air as demon's blade cuts right on through and carves a decent chunk of flesh from Yoshi's torse. This time there is no defensive roll, for pain — true pain — momentarily blinded even instinct. By all intents and purposes, it should've been a lethal blow. And yet, after a moment of silence, Yoshi coughs up a mix of spittle and blood before forcing himself to rising again. One look at the broken blade and the remains are cast aside into the sand. "Heh… Karma…" He cracks a wiry grin, then charges right at the armored rider, seeking to do in a very unelegant way to bowl over both horse and man using strength that toppled far larger. With any luck, the former would pin the latter.
RP: Yoshi transforms into BULK.
COMBAT: Yoshi attacks target 1 with PHYSICAL-III with a roll of: 49
RPCOMBAT: Kyo defends against with a DASH-STEP-II…36
RPCOMBAT: Kyo defends against with a DASH-STEP-II…29
COMBAT: Kyo attacks target 1 with SPIKED-ARCHER-SHOT with a roll of: 34
Classic jousting scene? Nope. Kyo cuts it cheap and pulls the reins again to make Yuuta turn around. As he turns, she grabs her own bow and pulls back a spiked arrow, firing it directly at the man's face. "I think I'm gonna keep that bow of yours after I take you out. I kind of like it," she comments with a grin as she fires at him.
[NPC System]: Demon Ronin roll(s) Dash Step II from 35 to 55 and get(s) a 53. - Rolled by: Fujiko
The Samurai would flick his wrist, cleaning the majority of the blood off his blade before retreiving a cloth and sliding it down the blade to clean it. To his surprise though, he hears Yoshi speaking. He turns his head just in time to use his spurs and move his horse forward, dodging his opponent. "Still alive? Not only that, but moving." The mask certainly makes his voice sound hollow. He would soon dismount, and whisk his blade in the air again as he returns it to it's scabbard. "This clearly means you are a special one… Try this then." He stood still, before his blade left his scabbard and returned in an instant. So quick was he with the blade that he was able to, just through force, send a blade of wind at Kiyoshi.
Kyo would find her mark, so confident in the charge, easily taken surprise by an arrow that not only flew into his face, but sunk into his brain-matter. When the metal spikes spread out, he would scream in pain as he fell off his horse. Trying to remove the arrow causes his brain matter to be scrambled. Thus, ending someone else's story.
[NPC System]: Demon Ronin roll(s) Quick-Draw Wind Slice vs Kiyoshi from 50 to 70 and get(s) a 54. - Rolled by: Fujiko
RPCOMBAT: Yoshi defends against with a BLINK…78
The adrenaline rush can only do so much to block out the pain. Having jostled his wounds and miss his target, Yoshi staggers for a step or two, clutching his wound. If he did not end this soon…
His eyes grow narrow after righting himself and facing his opponent once more. The sharpness to them does not fade or flicker from surprise at the sheathing at the weapon, giving away either some experience or blind determination to meet whatever trick the demon had up its sleeves next head on. The former as it turns out is more likely, for there is hardly much of a warning before he seems to vanish for a split second, seeming to have been standing next to the spot the wind blade was meant to hit.
If there's even a remote chance his speed had caught the so called "samurai" off guard, Yoshi is keen to capitalize it but sprinting forward, slower than moments before, and yet fast enough to put most athletes to shame in how fast he cleared the distance. Metal would crack beneath the pressure his hand exerts should he manage to get a hold of the samurai's head, intent at that point to slam him hard enough that no amount of sand on the ground could soften the blow.
COMBAT: Yoshi attacks target 1 with FLING with a roll of: 55
With her current mark dead, Kyo pulls the reins to make Yuuta come to a stop. She then dismounts and walks over to the corpse of the lieutenant to, just as she promised, take his fancy crossbow for herself. Scooping it up, she looks it over then moves back over to Yuuta and stuffs her new toy in one of the pouches on the side of the horse. That done, she hops back onto Yuuta and looks back inward at the village to see if any of these fiends might be left now that the lieutenant is dead and she's claimed a prize.
[NPC System]: Demon Ronin roll(s) Dodge III from 35 to 60 and get(s) a 45. - Rolled by: Fujiko
As Yoshi buries the man into the ground with his technique, Yoshi has likely scared off the rest of the raiders. They may never attack this village, not when their fabled leader was just pile-drived into the ground. The Ronin's head hurt, and it would take him a while to struggle. This leaves him open!
Meanwhile, Kyo has herself a fancy new piece of Southlands tech. The Chu-ko-nu is a little crossbow with a box on the top where bolts are stored. All one needs to do is draw the bow-mechanism back and let it loose. This can be done again and again in rapid fire. Of course, an insanely inaccurate weapon…
Fujiko had set up a small 'shade tent' while she watched the fight happen. That man would have killed her, but this Yoshi individual seems to be doing right well. Fujiko even claps when Yoshi perserveres! Excellent performance!
Yoshi attention from the grounded man never wavers for an instant. While the fabled leader tried to recover, the mercernary began going through the motions of a form eeirely similar to those practiced to the far, far east, only to stop at the point of cocking back a knife hand. If that moment of hesitation isn't enough to cost him a kill, then it isn't long before he's trying to wrestle the blade from his opponent, turning the weapon upon its master in a fluid and strong beheading chop that would rend even metal.
With that deed hopefully completed without complications, Yoshi would for awhile longer as the body fell on its own, then fall back onto his own bottom a short distance away. No pride or joy ever lights up face having bested the Samurai. In fact, it would be hard to guage anything except fatigue and mild frustration from the Kirryu as he combed through his hair roughly.
COMBAT: Yoshi attacks target 1 with CLEAVE with a roll of: 39
With the deed done, Kyo would ride Yuuta back over to where Fujiko sits under her tent. "Well, guess that's over," she says as she dismounts and looks down at the other woman. "Anything else we need to do, or time to head back to Sunagakure?"
The Ronin struggled to get out of the hole he was forced into. His spine felt terrible, but it was about to get even worse. When he finally freed himself, he soon found his neck strike against his own sword, and his head would roll across the sand. The blood would stain the sand for days. It was finally over. Fujiko seemed happy. "I'll dole out your pay as soon as possible Kyo. You're done. That one mercenary seems like he has been places. Maybe I can get him to go more places… Maybe…"
