Starring:
Shuuren (runner), Satomi, Hisoka, Naota (had to leave early so latter parts of his participation spoofed by Satomi)
Date: March 19, 2013
Summary:
Shuuren sends for an emergency delivery of some medical supplies he needs from Konoha, offering to pay the amount for a higher rank mission than this actually is if the items are delivered speedily, but the delivery team hits a few bumps along the way.
"Emergency Delivery"
Miati Forest - Clearing
A bird carrying a message quickly made its way to Konohagakure this morning. After being decoded, the Hokage was given a message that none other than Nagamura Shuuren had made an emergency request for some very particular supplies to be brought to him with some very specific instructions for their handling. While this normally would be something like a D or C-Rank mission, he has apparently already sent an envoy to the village with enough pay for an A-Rank mission should this be done in a timely manner as he asked. What appears to be an oversized metal briefcase-like container would be prepared and sealed with adhesive tags over it and then given to the team that would be transporting it at the gates of the village. Once given the briefcase, they would be given a map of the Miati Forest with an 'X' over the clearing where they are supposed to meet the client. The keys to passing this mission are to bring the case safely and quickly to the client and be certain the seals are not broken, else the payment received will be dropped down to its normal price.
Satomi visits the zen gardens quickly to pick up Shuuren. "We're up." She says, while speeding towards the Kage's office, where a third team member would meet them. She didn't have her full squad here, instead she requested someone with at least some sensory ability on this mission, just to be safe. "Alright… we'll be there before they know it!" She says while being instructed. Looking at her team. "Alright guys, ten minutes to prepare, Naota you mind picking up the briefcase? We'll meet at the village gates in ten, do one final equipment check and be gone.
Satomi smiles while she's headed for the Nara village to get her items. Even though time is off the essence. She's takes a thorough lead and remembers to always check what you can check. So she'll be the last one to neglect preperations in return for a few extra minutes. She's at the gates one minute early, as you can expect when she's taking point on a squad, sitting down on a tree-stump, legs crossed while quickly going through the team cards, memorizing abilities, strengths and weaknesses in the blink of an eye.
"That was short notice. But I still don't feel comfortable with you going." As the duo approaches the gates Hisoka tries to convince Kurokane to stay behind. Kurokane is refusing as usual. Hisoka sighs and looks on ahead getting the scent of someone near the gates. "That must be one of our comrades on this mission." He mutters. Hisoka looks back to Kurokane and finally yields "Fine." He sighs and lets it end there. Hisoka and Kurokane walk up to Satomi and each offer greetings, though the keep it a bit formal. "Got here as fast as we could…more or less. THat's Kurokane, I'm Hisoka. I guess we'll be working with you today. Nice to meet ya." Hisoka nods.
Hisoka looks to Naota now not noticing him at first due to his scent being mildly familiar. "Oh it's you….the sketch artist." Hisoka bows slightly "Nice to see ya again. So we're all that's going eh? Sorry to keep ya waiting. I'm ready to move out when you are."
Retrieved from the gardens so quickly after becoming part of the team, Naota would nod and was fast to respond. Going with Satomi, he'd eye the case. "Ahh.. alright." A different scroll taken out, this one too blank, but obviously not meant for drawing on, was settled on the floor. That calligraphy he knew so well was put to good practice, the case judged for a moment, before he'd pull out his pen and draw the proper notations and patterns across the paper to create that scroll storage location for the case. Once he was done with that, the case was picked up and placed on the scroll. That done, he'd form the proper hand sign, sealing the case within the scroll. Rolling it up, he'd get to his feet, nodding towards Hisoka with a smile. "Greetings. Rankoro Naota, yes. I am actually assigned to a team now.. and assisting on this mission. I've taken care of the case, so we should be able to travel quickly and rapidly."
Satomi smiles at Hisoka, clearing her throat. "Nara Satomi, I'll be taking point on this one." She says, before totally ignoring him, focussing on his nin-dog. "Oh aren't you a cutie!" She says while looking at Hisoka for permission to touch him, petting him carefully on the head if she gets it, before she gets her composure back. "We'll leave as soon as everyone checked their equipment." She reaches for her pouch and does so once again herself, seeing if she brought everything. Looking over her squad to quickly inspect their equipment as well, should there be no defaults she simply nods. Cold and calculated through her usually bright-smiled veil. "Alright, we travel fastest in a column, Hisoka take the lead, so our smells won't interfere with your nose. I'll be in the middle so I can direct both of you. And Naota'll cover our back, since he can set up a capeable defense should we encounter any issues. Defending the front is always easier. Lets go!"
Whether Hisoka approved or not Kurokane was more than happy to receive Satomi's hand. It wasn't anything new for either of them though. People love dogs, ninken or not. Hisoka nods to Satomi and just waits until she's done with Kurokane. Now that that was settled and with a quick equipment check the mission seemed to be starting. Taking point Hisoka and Kurokane step ahead "Aye. I'll be moving quickly since we're on a time limit." He states and with Satomi's command he and his ninken take off.
Scroll put into his pack of other stuff, it'd be hard or easy to tell rather Naota had all his gear. Considering most of it was pockets of scrolls, or even quick release straps with scrolls. There were also bits of seals everywhere. Plus that pen had found it's way behind his ear again, after making the storage scroll. Either way, he seemed ready and willing to go. A nod was given to Satomi and as Hisoka lead on, onward they would go, he'd do his best to keep alert as a rear guard, while keeping up with the others. He might not exactly be a physical type, but he could move quick enough when needed for the job at hand it seems.
With the team set off, the trip would actually seem to go off without a hitch for quite a while. However, a little past the halfway point, there is a group lurking, waiting for them. It appears the person who sent the message is a mole for some kind of gang, as bandits stand behind a treeline, waiting for a group of shinobi headed in the direction of the intended location to try to jump them and take the case for themselves. While they're not really sure WHAT might be in the case, if it's this important, they apparently think they can get some kind of ransom pay out of Shuuren for it or something along those lines.
Satomi perks an eyebrow once noticing the opposition. "Slow down, but don't show that we know…" She says, while resisting the urge to turn her head to what she just saw. "Naota, remember my Shogi demonstration? Anaguma with the ranging rook?" She asks, while headed down the path, spotting a clearing further down. "Inuzuka-san is your ranging rook." She quickly says, before running her idea through her mind.
"On three we engage left while covering Naota who'll deploy his defenses in the middle of that clearing, once his defenses are up we retreat to his position, go into a triangle formation, while you assault and I support you Hisoka." She says, blinking twice to get a good vision on who she's tackling. "From there Naota will cover our backs while the scroll is safe, and we can pick them off one by one, Naota will take care of whomever is foolish enough to come close. Naota, you have two minutes starting … now."
She says, while making a set of seals. "One… two… three!" She utters, while activating her genjutsu, disappearing in mid-air, as if swallowed, before showing up right in front of a bandit, kunai in her hand, gracefully moving to stab his chest twice, before making the seals for a shadow imitation, connecting to two bandits in front of her (should she succeed), before smirking, stomping the tree on her right side to see one bandit do the same thing to the other.
Hisoka smells a few people up ahead upon further inspection they are revealed to be bandits. He startss to speak up but it seems Satomi and the others have spotted them. Hisoka had no idea what she was talking about when she was speaking about shogi. Hisoka however was able o follow her when she starts to give a plan of attack. Hisoka nods and reaches for his blade. "Now that I can follow. Kurokane watch my back." He nods. When she gives the signal Hisoka leaps high and comes down with his mighty broad blade. The size of the weapon would draw attention and make up for the lack of speed in swinging ability. Hisoka tries to catch as many as possible while Naota sets up the defenses. Even with just one arm he swings the blade quite efficiently.
Naota would look about, tensing slightly, although probably not enough to show he knew they were there. A small nod was given at Satomi's words, Hisoka studied for a moment. The ranging rook.. another person? Interesting idea. Focusing himself, as the other two suddenly rushed the bandits, he'd make it to the clearing as designated. Within the center, he'd semi-crouch, giving him access for the knee pockets that had that flurry of seals put out in a wide ring about him. Easily could fit the three of them together, back to back within the ring as he'd set it up. Once the seals were thrown out in that wide circle, a small nod was given and he'd wave towards the others. "Ready!" With that, he gathered his chakra, focusing himself as he'd watch the bandits, prepared for anything they might send out.
It appears Satomi's brief farce pays off, as the first bandit is struck and falls to the ground, while the ones in front of her are hit with the Shadow Possession and one kicks the other. However, this does cause nosie, which does let the other bandits know they've been found out. Thus, while Hisoka is able to strike a couple of the men down, the other in range leap out of the way and begin tossing throwing knives at him, some more up the path tossing several toward Satomi as well. "Hand it over, and we'll let you all go about your day," one of the bandits calls out as he throws a knife at the shinobi, the bandits seeming to focus on the ones that're attacking right now so as to get rid of them then get to the one who's just guarding himself to get the item.
While counting off exactly two minutes in her mind Satomi glances at the Inuzuka, impressed by his large…. blade. "Stage two…" She simple states, while grabbing a nearby bandit by the arm, stretching it and stepping on it while hearing his bones crack, kicking him right in the face with the ball of her foot, using his dropping body to jump up against a nearby tree and dodge a couple of knifes. Sticking to the tree and using her kunai to block a couple more. She then jumps again, noticing a bandit right below her, spinning around mid air athletically, grabbing his head with both hands, using her force and weight to literaily flip him over and throw him against a tree.
"Might not hit hard, but that sure looks like it hurts." She whispers to herself while stepping on his knee for good measure, making a set of seals, causing her shadows to turn in front of her and rise just slightly, creating small waves right in front of her, which she jumps on, surfing on it, using that to rush towards the middle of the clearing, catching a breath in the safety of the ring, nodding while pressing her back up against Naota, keenly watching with her kunai out. Waiting for Hisoka to join them. "Degrees, where do you smell them and howmany?" She asks Hisoka quickly, pure business, while looking out for any ranged weapons, knowing that any rushing bandit would be in for a nasty suprise.
Hisoka simply hides behind his hulking weapon to avoid getting scraped and torn by the knives. His gaze differed to Satomi then Naota. It seems the attention was on Satomi and him just as Satomi had planned. Hisoka retreats back a bit as he spots Satomi doing the same using his blade to shield from raining knives. Kurokane does so as well bein sure to evade the knives and remaining behind Hisoka. "There were about 15 when we started. I'd say we've cut them down by a little more than a third. But there are more, further back. Doesn't seem like we're surrounded….yet." he answers. Hisoka smiles "Naota did say he was ready. Perhaps it's time for the rest of your plan to unfold?"
She smiles once she notices she ended up where she wanted to be, her core tense from balancing herself. "Need to work on those muscles." She grunts while looking out into the clearing, two arrows flying their way, though stones rising from the ground block them flawlessly. That's Naota's seals for you.
"My shadows travel slow, so I'll need you to pin them down or at least be a big enough threat for them not to notice." She says, while smiling. Feeling relatively safe. "Oh and make sure they don't cut me down while I bind them." She remarks, her eyes scanning the surrounding.
"I'll trust your nose, lets start at the edge of their force and work our way through." She pockets her kunai, getting ready to follow the Inuzuka and trust his nose. Immidiatly climbing up into a tree she spotted, while calculating the angle of the sun, knowing it would extend her shadow naturally. "Shadow form." She whispers while making a set of seals, engulving herself in shadow, before she extends her shadow to more shadows around her, she looks like she's meditating in the position she's kneeling in on that branch. "Shadow skin…" She makes more seals, followed by a triangle. "Shadow bind." She says in the end, her shadows quickly rolling out, amplified in range by the shadows surrounding her, striking the shadows of all nearby bandits, before curling around them, beginning to hold them down while Satomi focusses on keeping the grip up. Trusting her shadow-skin to fend off a stray kunai and Hisoka to do the rest.
As some of the bandits are cut down, they start to look worried, likely wondering if this plan was worth it after all. Of course, hopefully the team will think to leave at least one of the men only incapacitated and drag him along so the source of this can be found, as no one else should have known about this mission. As they are caught, the bandits start to look rather worried, while the remaining ones begin rapidly throwing more knives to try to ward the shinobi off and MAYBE attempt to take them down before they end up the next KOed by them.
Hisoka nods to Satomi and smiles "Kurokane, I'm going wild. Stay back." He whips his sword around channeling chakra through the blade before swinging it. A pulsing wave of chakra is directed at a few bandits at a time stunning them." Hisoka would begin to start lopping limbs with his blade. The sight of limbs being flung into the air would increase the tension and fear the bandits were feeling. "Hmm…am I going to want to keep a few alive?" he wonders flicking blood off his blade and preparing to have another hacking fest. Hopefully this would keep their attention on him giving Satomi's shadow some time.
Satomi just calmly tags the bandits one by one, leaving them completely defenseless against the Inuzuka's onslaught. Satomi never really was one for flying limbs, finding it rather distastefull. "Try to not make them suffer as you …" She falls silently while seeing a head fly. "Down…" She sighs, while looking at the amount of bandits which are massively dwindling. "Not him!"
She yells, while she notices a badge on one of the bandits his shoulders, quickly switching her seals for a shadow imitation, dodging the large blade at a distance. "Stand down!" She yells, while ducking to dodge another swing.
"Just kill the rest and check for any survivors!" She says, ready to dodge another swing, hoping that won't come. Once he survived… if he survived at all she simple walks him into the clearing, having Naota tie him down just outside the defensive ring.
With that guy caught and Hisoka taking out the rest, it would seem all the bandits have been dealt with. Once he is securely in custody, the team is clear to move on to the clearing, where Shuuren is waiting.
Adorned in his normal white suit, the Medical Ninja also appears to be covered in some kind of white shroud as well today. He stands in the clearing, patiently waiting for the shinobi team to arrive with the case. His face seems rather expressionless from what little one might be able to make out from under the shroud, not that one can see much. One might also notice he seems to have some bandages on some of the skin that is actually visible.
Hisoka turns around looking at the carnage and then to Satomi. "Sorry. I guess I got carried away." Kurokane barks at Hisoka. Hisoka shakes his head "They weren't worth it I know just….just lets go already alright. We've got a live one." Hisoka states regrouping with Satomi and Naoto. Standing down as commanded Hisoka lets Satomi and Naota secure the bandit he walks up to them "So….how do you think they figured out we were coming?" he asked.
It would be something to mull over as they made their way towards Shuuren. Surprisingly enough this Shuuren turned out to be a guy in white. "Is this the guy?" Hisoka asked the others. Everything smelled aright…from the scent around him Shuuren was a medic and an active one at that. "We're not late are we?"
Satomi reluctantly drags the man with her, assuming the doctor brought some smelling salts. "Sorry for the slight delay." She says with a deep bow at the client. "We were attacked on the way.." She states, while Naota conjures up the suitcase unharmed, passing it on to the doctor. "It appears someone, somewhere found out about our transaction, since they were waiting. On us specifically." She says, panting a little as they rushed to make it in time.
"I was planning to interrogate him, unless you prefered to?" She asks the client, figuring the added bonus of getting to talk to the enemy might make this a repeated customor… such a business-driven mind. "Free of charge." She says with a slight wink while pulling her shirt down a little. Since it has creeped up just slightly. The captive groans lowly, trying to shrug free of his tight bonds.
As the team approaches, Shuuren watches them silently for a bit. At the question from the Inuzuka, he says simply, "Your timing is good enough that the Hokage will be well-pleased with the money received for such a simple mission." Of course, he then eyes the bound guy that's being drug along with them. "I see," he says, smirking slightly as he glances up to Satomi, looking her over a bit before looking back to the captive man. "Just hold him there a moment, my dear, and he won't be so apt to struggle in a moment," he says, taking the case and setting it down before reaching into his coat to withdraw a syringe. He uncaps the needle while stepping over to Satomi and the large man, giving a mild wink before inserting the needle into the man's arm and pushing the plunger on the syringe to push whatever is contained in it into the man's muscles and bloodstream. A moment later, the man would feel crippling pain, so much that his body would likely lock up and make his will break much easier. With a smirk, Shuuren withdraws another syringe, saying, "I have the antedote right here. Tell me who gave you the information about this mission, and I'll give it to you. Refuse, and I'll give you another dose of what I just gave you."
"Oh I'd answer the doctor, because if you don't… that syringe is going to be the least of your worries." She says at Juro with the most devilish grin, turning towards the Inuzuka. "Good job." She states, while awkwardly patting his shoulder. "Your fighting is quite impressive, though… a little … gruesome." She gets down and sits on a tree stump. "Come here boy." She says, while spreading her legs a little, letting the dog approach her while running her hand through his fur. "Who's a good dog…. yous a good dog!" Making sure she's far enough for the client not to see her human display… because Shinobi aren't humans…
The captive man can't do much but fall to his knees in agony, trying his best not to scream from pain. "It…. It… was… Isa… mu," he finally groans out. Shuuren looks down at him, pondering for a few moments before injecting the antedote, relieving the man's pain, to which the prisoner promptly falls on his face while trying to catch his breath. "Good choice," the doctor says with a nod down at the man. "As a reward, I'm going to have mercy on you. You work for me now, much better than living as a bandit or dying… What's your name?"
"J… Juro… sir."
"Alright, Juro. You and I are going to go pay Isamu a visit," Shuuren says, waving over at the shinobi. "Untie my new employee, and we'll be on our way. I'll be sure to put in a good word with your Kage." He then looks back to Juro, pointing at the case as he says, "Carry that." He is apparently quite confident in his ability to convert someone to his side, as he's going to have a guy that was just going to STEAL that case carry it for him on the way to wherever they're going.
Hisoka nods to Shuuren. That's all he needed to hear. The mission was a success. He glances down to Kurokane and smiles "I guess bringing you along wasn't such a bad idea." When Satomi congratulated him Hisoka looks back and smiles "It was nothing. Thanks to you things went smoothly." He returns the compliment. "Wouldn't have been possible without you." Kurokane barks giving praise to Satomi as well. Hisoka chuckles but it fades quick when he gets a look at the man and his skin. "What…..did you do to him?" When Soren mentions antidote Hisoka swallows oonce. Doctors are scary whn they're not helping people….but no a days everything has been weaponized. When he man confessed everything Hisoka rubs his neck in relief. "Smart guy."
Satomi walks up while untying the guy. "You're lucky, my plan was to pull your nails out." She says with another devilish grin. "And those couldn't be fixed by a simple shot." She giggles, before rubbing her neck. "Untill next time." She says, waving at the doctor before travelling back to the village, in a far more casual formation. "Job well done." She hums to herself, while checking Hisoka and Naota, making sure they're both uninjured and other trivial stuff like that.
"Don't ask things you don't want to know," Shuuren says as he casts a glance toward Hisoka. He then looks to Satomi as she speaks, snickering a bit at her comments before turning toward the path toward Fuuma Alley. "Interesting bunch there… And you'd best not be thinking about running off with that. You only think that shot hurt, but that was just a sample," the doctor warns, yet his voice is as calm as if they were having a normal conversation. "We're going to have to work on your combat skills so you won't get beaten so easily."