Starring:
Date: December 16, 2011
Summary:
Needing an extra bit of funding, the traveling team embracks on a mission of bringing back a Fisherman back to his work place, by choice or by force. Also, the team begins to practice their investigation skills for future missions!
"Fishy Investigation: Enforcing Employment"
Mist Forest
Ryoji could almost kiss his informant for bringing in the good-bad news to his doorstep as soon as the sun was up. But for what reason? Just the simple fact that thanks to Kiri throwing away so many of their own shinobi into the war effort there was now a gapping hole to fill in regards to carrying out missions and thus, bring in more reveneu from both within and without the village. Which is where Ryoji, and a soon as he managed to round up Naru, both would come in! As for what exactly there mission would entail however…
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"Hmmm… Heheh, well Naru-hime. Looks like where here.", Ryoji states boldly before taking in a deep breath. "… Aaaaahhh, boy do I love this lake sometimes…. Hmm.. but why does it feel like I'm forgetting something now?", He asks more of himself then of Naru, blissfully ignorant that he had just drafted the Uchiha in place of Ei (presumebly running off to hunt down umbrella man)… as well as the fact that he never did bother to even hint at what they would be doing beyond reminding her to pack and dress lightly DESPITE how bone chillingly cold the heavy mists enveloping much of Kirigakure tended to be; especially so early in the morning.
It was quite cold, the kind of cold that no one from Konoha could really get use to. Naru sighed softly, once again approaching the Ryoji with only the clothes on her back and a surpisingly lightweight bag of feathers for all she knew, with his arms crossed over one another she approached him with a rather bare and frowning expression, without Ei in sight she was sue that this probably wasn't going to be in her favor, but nevertheless she just had to ask the question. "Where is here… Ryoji-sama?" Naru questioned with a tilt of her head, clearly there was a beautiful lake before them but she had no idea why they were here… It couldn't have been training or else Ei would have been around as well. For now she left the comment open ended, curious on what was to come.
Ryoji remained silent at first, then would abruptly spin around on his heel to say something but hesitates in answering. "… Ah, hmm.. your better off asking that ojiji-san behind you about that.", He states mysteriously as he crosses his arms over his chest. And with or without Naru turning around within the next thirty-seconds, said old man, completely bald and standing at barely over four feet in height with typical fisherman garb on, would clear his throat loudly before speaking up. "I'mma guess'n you two be the ones that they decide to throw out for the hunt eh?"
"Undoubtly." Ryoji replied without missing a beat. "Just freaking f***tastic! Send'n me foreign shrimp when I paid good money for real workers!", The cantakerous old man stated gruffly without a care that both Ryoji and Naru could hear him just fine. "…. Che… Fine then. All I want you two freaking shrimp. Is to find me this man—" He tosses over two scrolls. "And either bring'em back so he can get back to work on the fishing or take his place for the day.. or two. If he wind up being dead or somethin. AND don't ya be forgetting either! I want this man found in the next three hours two so I best hear two running off by the time I'm half way back home. Ya got it?"
"Sounds…fine…to me..?" Naru simply replied back with an almost hushed tone, it made it difficult for her to pay respects for a man that simply was rude, but they did need the money right? Naru groaned slightly under her breath, taking a look at the man on the scroll, finding the man seemed much better than taking his place fishing for a few hours, she had the patience but their "boss" would break it. " Sounds like finding him will be the best of the options, Ryoji-sama, It should be easy right?" She spoke up as if trying to reassure their hire that they were fit enough shrimp for the job. " This will be cake,"
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Oi, Naru-hime. If your gonna address me either you Ryoji-sensei~ or Hai, Ryoji-dono! Or just plain on Ryoji-san o-kay?", Ryoji stated dryly as soon as the old man was out of earshot. "As for this whole.. mission being cake.. Meh, not at all likely I'm afraid", Ryoji stated, rolling his eyes near the end and casually doing a few air gestures throughout his speech before turning to start walk along the edges of the Lake. "Hmmm…. But it aught be easy enough though if what I suspect is true as to why they had us meet here of all places… but can you guess it Naru-hime?", Ryoji asks as he half-turned back to offer the Uchiha a very Kitsune like grin.
'I don't think I understand, Ryoji-DoNo," Naru explained with a slight grin, hoping for some insight… Ryoji being the awesome ninja he was… she was hoping for some quick results but perhaps every ninja, no matter how powerful they might have been had to start from the bottom to figure things out… Unless their genkai allowed, Narus eyes would be of any use on this unfortunately… " Maybe they met us out here because… they really do want us to fish instead, because the person doesn't exist? I really don't know…"
Ryoji canted his head and scratched it for a few seconds after listening to all that Naru had to say. "Hmm… A very likely scenario Naru-hime truth be told… but not the reality of things, because from the how vehement old man sunshine was he was being rather genuine in his desires.. as for meeting here well.. Heheh.. there's is something fishy about that.. Like say perhaps a double play? Or perhaps better yet a secret way of telling us that the man where searching for was last seen here hm?… But why such an elaborate scheme… even I am hesitant to put to prediction.", The Iga admitted in that same nonchalant tone before comming and turning part way to stare into the nearby forestry. "Hmmm… Tell me Naru, What is wrong with this picture?", he asks simply. (Perception Skill roll - 20 or higher)
Naru blinked for a moment hearing his words, it was quite apparent that Naru wasn't able to comprehend what was going on, and even more so what the Iga was talking about. She proded a finger poking into her ear as if she truly was trying to think, but nothing in particular would come to mind, she merely sighed and shook her shoulders. " I still don't quite understand… Ryoji-dono… If he wants us to find the person…Why would it be a trap…?"
Ryoji merely shrugs. "If we had time beforehand I would've taken you on a bit of.. how would you say.. investigation training as part of the survival lessons I had planned out for you and Ei… That is, If you still want me to really as your sensei even after finally meeting Tessy-kun?~", He asks lightly without breaking his scan of the forest until something about it just pops out at him. A scent by the way he started to sharply sniff at the air and approach the tree line. His focus eventually drawing him lower and lower until finally with a small cry of "Got it!" Ryoji would pluck off one of the tangled branches a torn piece of leather with a small, familiar design along the side.
Now unless Naru's memory is sharp or at least her attention to details were to be so, even that small bit of leather (which is offered for Naru to get a good look at) would reveal it to be a piece of the water bag their bounty had in the picture. And giving the broken makeshift path cutting into the forest well… its pretty obvious at least SOMETHING had come in through there. Maybe even recently? "Hmmm…. Looks like we're on the right track… but.. should we really go in there?"
"Unfortunately I do wish to continue under Tessen, but I don't see the harm in learning a few other things… Trainig is training, and right now Tessen just wants me to do the best I can for now until he has a particular regiment for me…" Naru spoke softly, crossing her arms as they walked, some investigation training would've been nice, especially if she was going to be running around other vilalges for awhile, she appraoched the three now as well and looked at the small peice of leather that Ryoji had torn, surpisingly, Naru attention to detail wasn't necesasarily sharp but the odd peice of leather jogged her memory rather quicky. " Haven't we already seen this before…Somewhere?" Naru questioned curiously, tilting her head to the side " Looks like he got caught into something… Or maybe something worse… I think we should go in thre… after all what can we possibly lose? As long as we are "alert" right?"
Ryoji was afraid she'd say that, but was nontheless grateful to her for not suggesting that they split up two. NOT that he was afraid of being on his own a forest shrouded in mist so thick compared to the outside that within a meter of walking past the tree line everything just about fades away beyond a three foot radius. "I dunno seeing as I'm blind.", Ryoji deadpans then smiles brightly as he slowly starts to blaze their way through. "Also Naru-hime. While I do advocate that being alert is good n'all. It does a person little to precieve danger comming yet be unable to react due to their physical limitations. A fact that as an uchiha you'll soon come to see for yourself someday… if it hasn't already happened that is.", He reprimands lightly as they marched their way on through. At which point after a few minutes of careful treading Ryoji finally comes to a stop altogether, shaking his head after place his face against the palm of his hand. "…. Can get a rid as things stand now….. What about you Naru-hime?"
The mist seemed to be too much for Naru as well, though she did take what he said to heart, it was best to precieve danger before it even occured, having the premeptive was necessary for winning battles, or even avoiding them, however as Naru carefully looked around the mist, her sharingan had turned to flourishion but still she couldn't see a single thing to help penetrate the thick mist, it was just the two of them against the natural habitat of Kirigakure. "Id rather be lost in a forest than this mist.." Naru complained in a low tone, answering his question to quite honestly say she couldnt see a thing…
Ryoji could only sigh heavily in response and rake a hand through his hair as he started to pace back and forth for a minute or two. "…. A Wayard Hidden Mist Techinque?", Ryoji paused in his pacing to think aloud, then shook his rapidly before starting to pace again. "…. hmmm… Looks like we've got little choice then but.. to either try and wait out this mist or.. to set a trap for him… though I'm not sure how we can go about doing that…", Ryoji admitted. In an attempt to find some answers in his pocket, all that was left was the usual lint, teaspoon, a piece of string, and his to do list. ".. Any, er.. other ideas hm?"
"I can use my fire to maybe make some of this mist evaporate a bit quickly, however that might give away our position… If theyt are using this technique they must be hiding something, the best way would be for us to wait this out.. and see just what exactly it is they are tryin to hide, other than their presence…" Naru thought quietly, patting a finger along her cheek, she ws sure that her idea of waiting would helop
Odo walked along through the dense mist, his bootsteps getting closer and closer to the other two, but he doesn't know it yet. Though being in the mist, he draws his sword slowly. The metal sings against the sharpening cuff at the mouth of the sheath, making an eerie sound effect in the still, misty air. He stops, sniffing the air, looking around himself, listening for anything that might hint towards someone being around him. He heard a couple voices, but couldn't distinguish where they were coming from.
Ryoji listened quietly and began to stroke his chin as soon as Naru said her piece. "Fire… Fire is not such a bad idea.. hmmm…. At the very least even if it gives away are position, we can use it to our advantage. Perhaps an ambush?", He asks more to himself, head canted at a complete angle. "… Yosh! Alright Naru-hime! Here's iz the plan—" Without a second hesitation Ryoji's hair immediatly started to squirm around, grow, and drift away to start chopping down branches and gathering whatever sparse fallen logs nearby the could to gather them all in one place nearby. The effort visibly straining him from the look on his face despite the free flowing and speed that the tendrils moved at. "… fff… whew~… alright Naru-hime. Shape'em up into dummies for me won't we? Need to… *snorts*… catch my breath a bit… afterwards… whow~………. Burn the rest in front of the dummies… ah.. after.. after grabbing the extra cloaks from.. my bag.", Ryoji just barely managed to spit out before slowly forcing himself to stand.
It, may have been a bit of a mean spirited thing for him to just toss the bag over to the Uchiha before begining to climb up into the canopy… but in his state of mind, the Iga really didn't care. Or even seem to show the faintest hints of it.
Naru blinked, surprised by the idea but certainly was going to go ahead with what he had spoke about, a light sigh escapes her lips before she quickly nods her head to do what was necessary to create this ambush. She began to shape the branches and pull them in together, mostly gathering them up like woven locks of wood with a wire, peering up at Iga who had jumped into the Canopy… Naru would have getting up there when the time came… However for now she began to second part of the plan, motioning through her hand seals she shouted. " Katon! Bakuhatsu no Jutsu!" blowing a condensed fire wave to explode into the few branches infront of the dummies, while condensing some of the steam, right after the attack Naru scrambled to climb up the three, joining Ryoji in the canopy . " How is that… Ryoji-dono?"
Odo would listen to the voices continuing, unable to make out more than just one male and one female. He heard the rustling and breaking and fashioning of limbs, or so he thought. Couldn't be sure, but he headed towards where the sounds were coming from. Almost directly back where he had come from. Now, he hears the preparation of a fire breath jutsu, and blinks as flames shot and stopped about ten feet in front of him. He leapt to the side, and landed next to a tree, then he realized that the voice making the jutsu was none other than, "Naru. Ryoji." He guessed, but that would be the only other male voice around Naru, or so he believed. "What are you two doing out here? I don't know where Ei went, but she -was- just behind me. Ei!"
"Steel-kun…" An exhasperated whine that could be heard from where Ei was expected to be — some feet behind Odo. As she caught up, now holding the umbrella in front of her so she move more easily without it bouncing against her side as she tried to keep up with the man, she grumbled quietly to herself about how he should pay better attention to his charges. Then, taking a deep breath, she situated the umbrella so it hung snuggly over her backpack and looked around briefly before her eyes focused ahead, more specifically where Naru and Ryoji were assumed to be.
"Weeeelll, your certianly gonna attract alot of attention with it.", Ryoji admitted plainly with a large imaginary sweatdrop falling along the side of his face. And appearantly within minutes? Or was it seconds? SOON ENOUGH the duo do actually attract quite a bit of attention. Unfortunatly… it was Odo and Ei. Welcome faces-er-prescence for the Iga on any other occasion, but now… Now they were just minor kinks in the Iga's "carefully" crafted plan to lure out the runner. Ryoji sighs heavily and mouths the word "Bothersome" as he, with great relunctance, swung around to stand upside down beneath the very same branch he had perched upon. Just before said manuever however Ryoji makes sure to whisper for Naru to stay hidden just incase.
"Hehehe-whooo-weee~ If it isn't Steel-kun!… *sniff* *sniff*.. And Ei-hime? I thought you were—", Ryoji cuts himself off with a few headshakes and turned around fully now to face the grounded duo in the general direction. "Nevermind, nevermind~ But uhm.. as for why we be here Steel-kun well… How bout a wild guess first, neh?", He smiles brightly at the duo. The red headed ones eyes now narrowed to kitsune like slits as he seemed to peer right past the duo.
Meanwhile, less than a quarter of mile away from the strangely little party 'camping' in the woods, a man quickly stops digging up something with a startled yelp before whipping around towards the sound of the explosion. "… What in the..?…! No, h-he.. that man wouldn't go that far.. would he?", The dark haired man asked aloud, blinded and bound in place by the hope that the explosion was something better than what his wild imagination kept trying to hint at. In time he could not ignore his fears even after attempting to go back to his digging. Thus, without another moments hesitation the fisherman garbed man took off into the forest…
Naru herself stayed hidden, not saying a word, listening to Ryoji's words, the point was to attract as much attention as possible right? Either way she sweat dropped as well while staying within the forested trees, eventually peering out to wave at Ei-sempai as she came into view. " Ei-sempai!" Naru squeaked, low enouh to hush her voice, her atone and position in the tree obviously met the two were up to no good… Or was doing something comically serious…
Odo looks up at the hanging Ryoji, and shakes his head, "Well it seems like you two are really just getting into trouble, or trying to piss me off more by not telling me outright." His attention went to where Ryoji was peering at the moment, "What or who are you looking for." he stated, not asked. Up to Naru, Odo nearly scowled, but kept quiet waiting for Ryoji's answer as he went back to looking for basically nothing out in the mists where Ryoji was looking as well.
Ei had stayed quiet, letting the big boys talk. After all, Ryoji had not actually asked her anything — ignoring the half-formed question, of course — so she didn't directly answer. When the young Uchiha poked her head out of the trees, however, she perked up and smiled brightly, waving back enthusiastically. After the continued exchange between the two males, she blinked and looked over at Odo with interest. "Did you… just…?" After a moment of thought and a faint blush spreading across her cheeks and just as quickly fading away, she shook her head. "Ryoji is blind, but I'm sure he'd be looking at me if he wasn't~" A bright smile spread over her face at this, her attention seemingly focused solely on Steel-kun for the moment.
Ryoji's hand balled up into a fist reflexively as soon as Naru's head popped out. He even raise it a little as if preparing to bop her back into cover. But thankfully for Naru, he manages to resist the urge to better focus his attention purely on Ei and Odo. At first Ryoji merely listened calmly with a blank expression on his face even as he 'felt' Odo's rage o' meter spike up from his earlier jest. Then started to smile a little and open his mouth part way for another one of his "patent" blind jokes just to see how far he could press the Reizei before getting down to business. Almost regretably however Ei beats him to the punch; leaving the Iga smiling a little out of pride of her and a little disappointed at himself for not saying it first— "Wai-wha-what?", Ryoji just barely manages to say before his hold on the tree branch evaporates all together.
He falls flailing around.. AND YET, by some miraculous.. miracle! Some part of his mind reacts on the vague thought of 'Oh yeah, I should like.. save myself somehow' before tendrils of hairs fly up to latch onto the branch above him.
Sadly, though he avoids hitting the ground, he doesn't manage to quit stop himself from falling far enough to hit another branch on the way down. Butt, Twig, and Berries first…
"GAH!… Mm-ha-maaah… owwwwww..", He emits before slowly falling to the side off the branch slowly and hitting the ground face first.
Naru didnt know what to say or what to do for that matter, simply a sweat drop trickld down her cheek while she sheepishly looked off to the side… Ryoji was rather clutzy at times… she was actually begining to second guess if they were actually on a mission or not. With that she scratched the side of her head and disappeaed back into the bushes, not wishing to anger Ryoji any longer, she maintained some silence and crossed her arms along eachother like she was pouting. " Why should I take cover if you are falling out of trees…" Naru complained quietly under her breath, It was an annoying situation.
Odo's forehead got that little vein poking out, and he has to internally count to 10 before he just turns off and walks away towards the mists. He didn't know the direction he was going anymore, trying not to kill some kids at te moment kinda superceded that worry of sense of location. "Okay, have fun-" he says without a backward glance as he starts to walk away with a little glare at Ei as he passes her.
There was /nothing/ about the series of reactions at the course of events that was not amusing to some extent. Ei was hard pressed not to bust out giggling and even had to bring a hand up to press her fingers against her mouth to help resist the urge. Of course, Odo went and ruined the moment and she ended up flinching slightly at the glare. "Ah, wait! Steel-kun, it was just to get a reaction out of Ryoji… and it succeeded," she added the last part quietly, some amusement returning to her expression before she coughed and forced herself to become more serious. "Please don't go… I'm sorry, Odo-sama, for not taking the situation seriously."
Inwardly, Ei could hardly care less if the man left — he wasn't any fun — but she did understand that not all situations called for fun and she was quite sure her sensei would prefer for him to stay. Whether or not her apology was enough to get the Reizei to stay, she'd quickly turn to walk over to Ryoji and crouch down by him with a worried expression. "Er… Well… that was the best reaction yet! but… um… are you alright?"
Out of mists and shadows Shun would seem to materalize from just within the Reizei's peripheral vision in passing. His.. her(?) purpose being to stop or at least slow down Odo's retreat by prescence alone should Ei not succeed in convincing Odo to return first. In which case, Shun stays outside of sight or sound for that matter..
As for Ryoji's reply to Ei, he only curls up into a ball along his sizes, muttering names as a single tear starts to form along the rim of an eye. It doesn't look like he'll be recovering anytime soon…
"… I can't believe.. *pant*.. I, ran.. all this way… to justa see a bunch of idiots fool'en around.", A voice would suddenly speak up next to Naru. And should see first before taking action it would be clear that the man in questions was the very same guy they were looking for. But… how the heck did he manage to get so close without so much of a sound? Was he secretly a ninja too? If so, he wasn't exactly the brightest of ninja because appearantly he doesn't so much as notice Naru sitting next to him until after she does something. Which in a nutshell can be summed up to a loud girly scream followed by the man falling back to a loud girly scream as attempted to dodge out of the way of any off the bat attempt at 'harming' him.
(Atk roll must be 20 or higher to hit if attempted)
Naru didn't move from her spot, if anything she was attempting to use this close range to her advantage, while her sharingan continued to watch about the area the man that joined her in the tree caught her off guard, but allowed enough time to quickly establish a genjutsu link over the man to hopefuly subdue him for work. " Aren't you suppose to be working at the fishery?" Naru questioned the man with a light grin, truly a mask on her face, maybe she had learned somethnig from Ei after all, because deep inside she was quite freightened. Finally looking him in the eye her sharingan seemed to amplify her perception, and even more so allow the genjutsu to have a stronger effect on him. The man should've attacked because just as quick as he began to speak the man could feel his lungs collpasing, and air not able to escape his lungs.
"Whats wrong, can't breath?" Naru taunted with a sly smile, tilting her head to the side before shouting out. "Ryoji-dono! There is a man in the tree!" She screamed and slipped away, hopefully to attract attention to him, while his suffication would hinder him just long enough for the grand pounce!
Odo stops when he sees Ryoji's little counterpart coming from the mists, along with the voice from the tree, and Naru's scream… and the guy's scream. Odo's mind started playing a game while he turned around with a contemplative look. Who's scream was higher pitched and more babylike. Whiney Naru, or the weak man who probably just got Naru's angry side. He tossed the idea about until he reaches where Ryoji is sitting and he looks up the tree. "Naru, stop suffocating him. We need him to talk~" and he would slowly draw his tanto.
When she didn't get any real response from her sensei, Ei blinked and started to chew her lip slightly. Glancing over at Odo, she licked her lips and inwardly grumbled. She'd /just/ apologized for not taking this seriously but… but… >.< Leaning forward, she brought up a hand to cup around the side of her mouth and whispered, "Do you need me to kiss it better?" She sounded very serious, but it was more or less her way of getting him back into gear. Surely something of that caliber would snap him back to his serious mood, she thought.
Then she heard what Naru was calling him and she raised an eyebrow. "Dono? That's interesting," she murmured, looking thoughtful on the matter. Seeming entirely unbothered by the presence of the man, she glanced up toward him and Naru. Then, hearing Odo, she gave a slightly nervous chuckle and shook her head lightly.
It took a little time but eventually it look like Ryoji was gonna recover! :D But then, Ei just had to say something; inadvertantly bringing about a series of things. First, Ryoji freezes up complete. Next came the reddening of the face until the Iga was at best one shade away from that of a ripe tomato. Then finally a bit of blood trickling out of his nose as he slumped onto his belly… and passed out…
Shun, though a 'faithful' servant to her/his lord/cousin, doesn't seem to notice the changes to Ryoji until the scent of blood finally reaches his/her nose. "Tch! Pervert..", The younger Iga whispered through gritted teeth before 'gracefully' stompin over to kneel next to Ryoji's face.
Well, that was the >intended< action to take place; but about mid-way towards his/her fallen kin something or someone blindsiding Shun from the side, knocking the poor Iga to the ground. With careful examination after the small dust cloud eruption faded away from where Shun had fallen, three downed-er-two techincally downed man have fallen in battle! The latest of course being the girly screaming man/bounty who appearantly immediatly lept away from Naru only to start grabbing for his throat and try to force air back into his lungs WHILE simultaneously making a powerful leap as far away from the girl as possible… and fail miserable thanks to the genjutsu distraction turning his landing on a nearby tree branch into a leg smash, flip, and nose dive towards Shun.
It seemed like Naru managed to get him to double over, the man not quite able to get away from her genjutsu, however almost a few minutes had passed and finally he could feel the air return back to his lungs, Naru smirked a bit as she looked towards him and the rest of the group. " Looks like we found our culprit… Hey idiot, why don't you work for your fisherman, isn't getting ajob hard enough out here after the war?" Naru questioned the man curiously, keeping her arms crossed as she had jumped out of the tree next to his side, she noticed Ryoji seemed to be passed out for awhile… Naru didn't see the kiss but it became apparent that perhaps Ei had some sort of
Unique powers. " I wonder if she is part of a clan… I never asked…" Naru quietly thought to herself, though her attention soon turned to Odo, she snarled her nostrils at him. " When are you going to stop being such a jerk?!" she shouted out in a fit, It seemed like she had already forgotten about his Epic battle with Tessen, the one moment she t
As Odo ignores the other three at the moment, he reaches to grab the guy by the neck and push him up against the tree trunk, scratching his cheek for a moment with his knife. "Ok, we need some information. My friends here are going to ask you a question. LACK the information, I cut you. WITHHOLD the information, I gut you. do you understand?" To prove he wasn't playing, Odo reaches his tanto just so far to the guy's chin as to deliver just a touch of sharp pain by slicing such a small part of skin to let out a drop of blood slowly.
Ei is simply amazed and… to be honest, rather flattered by the sudden fainted Iga. A blush of her own, while much more faint than Ryoji's, comes to her face as she lifts a hand to cover it and her mouth. Well… not what she intended, but it seemed there was no negative consequences from Odo, thankfully. She might get yelled at later, though… Humming thoughtfully to herself, she glanced toward Odo as he started to interrogate the poor bastard that had 'stumbled' across their haphazard group. Feeling there was nothing she could do to help, she looked back to Ryoji and reached out to poke his cheek gently. "Are you… still alive? Sorry about er… well, whatever," she mumbled, more overall to herself than anything. She somehow doubted he'd actually come to so quickly after… that.
Shun is needlessly to say was more than happy to finally have the pressure on the Iga's back removed. Though the bounty's removal doesn't change the fact that Shun was still a little bit too dazed to express any gratitude or even rise back to his/her feet without staggering back into a kneel.
As for Ryoji well… his leg twitched signifying that there was /some/ life left him… just not enough to bring him around just yet.
"Oooh.. awwww… myHurk!", Daichi aka the bounty though his name had been mysteriously left out of the description on the pictur, managed to emit before being man-handled back onto his feet and into a tree. A baaaad position to be in made all that much worse thanks to Odo's being the one at the reigns. "Wha.. what? Your gonna cut me!? Please oh please oh please don't" He pleads over and over again, but immediatly stops talking all together when the blade pierces his neck. He even almost faints.. but appearantly Daichi was made out of juuuust the right stuff to avoid that happening. For now. "… Huh?.. What?.. What are you……. *gulp*…… I-I.. I just didn't want to *peers back at Odo and starts to tear up*… *sniffles*… I… I wanted to try and become a shinobi.. *hiccups*.. but, pops kept rejecting the idea.. *coughs*… So.. So, I, Raaa-ha-ha-aaaaaan!" Cue full blown out crying!
Naru frowned at the Daichi, not really paying any interest in his stories, she didn't feel like messing around anymore. " His story really doesn't matter, we need to bring him back to his master so he can get back to work, theres no way in heck I'm going to be doing the fishing for him," Naru complained to Odo, hoping he would go along with the grab him and bag him technique. Naru peered up at Odo with her arms crossed along one another, turning her eyes back on Daichi, her sharingan slowly fading away. " Letting you run away isn't an option in this mission,"
With all the noise from the man answering Naru's questions, the other girl looks up and sighs. "You sound like a whiny brat to me, nothing more. If you really wanted to become a shinobi, running away wasn't going to get you that. Your father may not have agreed with your choice and you may have needed to struggle to get what you wanted; hide from your parents so you could train, even. Running away gets you nowhere except most likely lost. It's best you go back to your simple job of fishing." Ei was clearly annoyed with this 'Daichi' and his antics. It disgusted her. She'd gone through the same thing, except she didn't run away… well, until she 'ran away' with Ryoji, but that was different, honest!
Turning her attention back to Ryoji, she sighed. Maybe she did over-do it this time. She could have been convinced he was just playing but this… Nah, he wasn't joking, he was really out. "You better wake up, Ryoji-kun, or I might really give you a kiss. This isn't how the story books go, you know? It's supposed to be the other way around," she claimed, peering at him curiously.
"
O-kaaaaay~ As.. Hmm… well, I suppose it would be nice?.. *shrugs*.. as kiss would be, I guess.. It won't be necessary for this small chapter Ei-hime~", Ryoji's voice seems to singsong from all around the small little clearingn. And yet, the downed twitching boy's mouth doesn't move. Infact, just as soon as his voice reaches everyones ears, the boys body actually begins to melt right before their eyes! And while at the sight of seeing Ryoji (and Shun appearantly soon after) melt might bring out a screams, confused looks, chuckles, and etc.. etc.. ultimately such reactions change or any other actions can not stop the duo from disolving into a pile of eyes.
Yep, a pile of eyes and other squirmy fleshy organs. c.C;
Meanwhile the real mccoy comes stepping along with Shun from around the very same tree that Odo had Daichi pinned up against. Scratching his chin for a short while before turning to Shun to state simply. "It seems they still aren't quite to snuff Shun-kohai. Any suggestions?"
"… Chakra Core?"
"No,no. I already tried that last week."
"Grater merger numbers.."
"Hmm… Possibly…. *sighs*… Just how did that old man managed to perfect this technique.", Ryoji trails off into a whisper. Afterwards, he simply shakes his head when no answer readily pops into his head and finally seems to take in the surroundings fully. "… Oh, Ohayo everyone~", He greets with a short wave, then turn his eyes on a now passed out foam mouthed Daichi before nodding sagely. "Ah, good. Looks like everything worked out on its own. Is that not right Shun?" Shun merely rolls his/her eyes and leaves Ryoji's side to examine the squirming mess of flesh organs. Some which even dissolvign upon touch. "Hmpf! So rude despite my assistance in avoiding waking up earlier today… *sighs* oh well, and in any case, thanks Steel-kun for apprehending 'ol Daichi here. *peers up and waves at Naru* Same to you Naru-hime~ …. But as for you Ei."
Without missing a beat, Ryoji strides over to Ei with a serious look on his face; but instead of speaking for all to thear, Ryoji would lean forward to whisper in Ei's ear, "Please don't dispell my test dummies in the future, neh?"
So it seemed like everything did work out quite perfectly, Naru herself crossing her arms along one another while letting out a tired sigh, she grinned up Odo and nodded to him. " Nice work, huh? " Naru spoke, of course she wouldn't attempt to stop Odo from squeezing the poor guys neck, though watching that physically the man was drained to the point he passed it, it caused a grin to come over her lips, getting this guy back to where he needed to be was going to be easy now, a special bonus for him not being dead. " Well looks like we are done here, Right Ryoji-dono? We should just take him to his boss now…"
So it seemed like everything did work out quite perfectly, Naru herself crossing her arms along one another while letting out a tired sigh, she grinned up Odo and nodded to him. " Nice work, huh? " Naru spoke, of course she wouldn't attempt to stop Odo from squeezing the poor guys neck, though watching that physically the man was drained to the point he passed it, it caused a grin to come over her lips, getting this guy back to where he needed to be was going to be easy now, a special bonus for him not being dead. " Well looks like we are done here, Right Ryoji-dono…." Naru's eyes widened for a moment, taking look over a odd…fleshy…flesh thing with eyes seeming to seep. With her eyes litteraly popping out from her face she pointed in the general direction. " That guy… vaporized them… Or… Is this a genjutsu?" She questioned the group, she hoped she wasn't the only one seeing this.. " Can anyone else see this?!"
Odo didn't really want to wait. When the guy passes out from being one-hand choked, Odo would let him fall and step out of the line of said fall. Then, grabbing the guy by the ankle, would start dragging him unceremoniously in… some direction. Stopping not five feet from where he started, looking around in the mist, "Ryoji. Where the hell are we going? Tell me quick, I'm not very patient right now." His tone was less aggressive, more in-charge and alpha-male than anything else. That confidence and boldness that is left up to a leader, or, in some cases, the big brother most people look up to. His eyes met with the disgusting mass and he blinks blankly. "Wow, I'd poke it with a stick, but that make things worse… great, Ryoji! Get us the hell out of here."
The voice had made Ei blink, but even that couldn't prepare her for just what happened to the body in front of her. She yelped and jumped back, tripping over her own two feet and landing square on her bottom. Despite her wince, she continued to shuffle backwards a bit until she met a tree. After her shock had dissipated, she set her head in her arms and groaned softly. Feeling stupid, she took a moment to gather herself while some conversation went on around her. By the time Ryoji got to mentioning her, she was on her feet and looking slightly ashamed. However, when her name was said, she blushed and coughed, for once unable to actually look at Ryoji.
When he walked up to her, she tensed up slightly as if expecting more… harsh words, but his command was not something she'd expected. "Hey now, don't blame me," she hissed back quietly. "All those comments were very much meant for you, Ryoji-/dono/." Was she… jealous that Naru was using such a title with him? Well, no, not really, but she did find it rather odd.
Ryoji had to literally hug himself and bow a little at the waist in a poor attempt to try and physically hold back the laughter threatening to bubble to the surface. Unfortunatly, he doesn't entirely succeed since a few short bursts of made snickering and chuckling do manage to escape his hold. When he eventually recovers (by which time four minutes at least have past) Shun is already dutifully scooping up a few samples into the cloak pockets before meandering over to give Odo's sleeves a few tugs. As soon as the Reizei's attention falls upon Shun, the Iga is quick to point in some seemingly random direction and whisper softily a "Follow me" tonelessly before starting to walk off with or without him in tow.
"… *snickers*… Naru-hime~ Over here already! Stop worrying about a bunch of failed clones and get a move on ahead with Shun and Steel-kun before they steal the credit for this misshun, neh!?", He calls up at her without so much as a glance in the Uchiha's direction. No. For now Ei definetly still had Ryoji's attention and would recieve a broad, genuine smile before Ryoji dared to even say a word. "…. I know Ei-hime, and I did hear and.. *chuckles*.. to an extent felt those words through the clone… I just hope next time you'll be more…. *headshakes negatively*… nevermind.. just, even thought what happened yesterday happened I….. *sighs*…. Just ease back on the teasing a bit.. won't you?", Ryoji quietly pleads with Ei, and would patiently wait however long it takes for an answer before doing anything further.
Confusion, ws the only thing that seemed to be prevelant in Naru at the moment, it seemed like everyone else had taken the akward flesh puddle much lightly than she did, she grinned slightly at Ei, she seemed to be just as afraid as she was, but at least she wasn't yelling around screaming like Naru had been. " Ugh…" Naru cursed herself quietly under her breath, was Ei truly that perfect at being able to handle situations.
"Maybe my training needs a different approach…" The girl thought to herself before finally peering up at Ryoji shouting at her to go and get some mission credit, she gulped for a moment and hastifully began to catch up, smiling once at Ei before going on to move with Odo… Perhaps it wes best for her to keep quiet for awhile… Take in the scenary so to speak, she peered at Shun for a moment and merely sighed, Ryoji and Shun was an interesting match up. Shutting up didn't last too long though, as Naru approached Odo she finally began to drum up so conversation. " So why do they call you Steel-Kun… Tessen-sama called you Odo-san, hai?" She questioned the man, hopefully his patience was enough to at least answer some questions.
Odo would follow Shun as quickly as she/he would let him know what direction and start leading the way. He really didn't have much to say until Naru brings him out of his little trance to answer her question. "Because I smell like steel, apparently. Ryoji has a way with naming people what they smell like." And he left it at that, still dragging the guy by the ankle through whatever Odo walked through/over.
The smile, though in any other situation would have excited Ei, now unnerved her a bit. Her gaze still could not entirely focus on his face, but with glances, she was able to effectively gauge the expression on the Iga's face. After listening quietly, she smirked somewhat. "If your clone hadn't fallen and hurt himself at my first mild comment, the rest would have been saved for another time. I also warned you not to expect that I wouldn't tease you, did I not?" Though her face was still tilted away somewhat, her eyes had shifted up to his face as she spoke. "Although, you are right… I should have just a bit more tact in front of Steel-kun and Naru-chan. Otherwise I may damage your reputation, no?" She raised her eyebrows at this, not seeming to mean it so much as a 'I'm the problem' as it might have sounded. In fact, she seemed a tad bit amused at it still.
<
Ryoji smile faltered over the falling part. The pain obvious still fresh in his mind by the way he winced along it, but nevertheless preservered to continue listening rather than out of cowardice running away from Ei's… assessement. Then came the bit about damaging his reputation which, despite noting the tone in her voice, Ryoji still flinches as if struck before turning away to start walking off after Trio. "… I don't have a reputation to damage Ei, nor do I have a problem with you.. *grumbles*.. teasing me.. Its just lately you've been becoming so bold with it and.. with what I've heard that women o-often give mixed signals and…." He trails off, growing increasingly more flustered with every word that he has to stop and take a few calming breaths. "… Let's just head back to the hotel because I'm still tred." Ryoji emitted weakily, after half-turning back to face Ei briefly before starting back up in his casual attempt to catch-up…
"And for the blade you carry as well.", Shun speaks up without turning away from the path. But would in Naru's case partially turn his/her back to state bluntly. "And thus far you've lucked out and that as well.. though for how long… one can only speculate.."
Ei tilted her head at him somewhat and started to grin before biting it back… by literally biting down on her lower lip. "I told you before… that a /girl's/ imagination can be wild," she murmured faintly. "However… regardless of what you have heard of /women/," she noted the difference, "I promise you that I intend for there to be no mix-up with my signals. I am sorry to cause you worry, discomfort, or any other negative feelings and, at your request, I will do what I can to keep myself in check more effectively… I make no promises on my success or failure." Without a second's hesitation, she would, of course, follow after Ryoji with a very well-renewed sense of self confidence.
