Starring:
Date: February 20, 2017
Summary:
A team from Kirigakure is sent to assist the people of a village on an island that is about to be obliterated by a storm.
"Island Evac III"
Land of the Sea
The village of Kirigakure had accepted a series of missions pertaining to the Land of Sea. Specifically a village by the name of Umi. There was a rather large storm coming at them and had requested assistance in evacuation. Teams had been pulled together rather quickly and some teams had actually been given permission to allow students to step in where there were not enough Genin for the teams.
Okumo Kiji had put together a team of three. Hayase, Rie, and Hibiki. She had done this for several reasons. One of which was her desire to see how the two Jinchuuriki handled themselves while still having enough backup to keep them safe. Another had been what she understood of the various abilities present in this group.
On the ship heading to the Land of Sea, she gathered them all as they neared the target area. "Alright. We are on a search and rescue mission. It is our job to find those in the village that are stuck, trapped, or refusing to leave. I know that might be their choice but we are going to take them to safety anyway. Just don't harm them too badly." She glanced around. "I will position myself at the center of the village and use my sensor skills to locate the harder to find individuals. But keep aware of the storm. It's only a few hours away by now and… trust me.. There will be mud. Any questions?"
A search and rescue for a storm led by the former apprentice of the leader of the Storm Brigade… The irony is strong… At least for Kokuo, who probably is using basically any excuse he can to try and make Rie suspicious of Rie. Though the woman looks at all people with caution, some of the accusations the beast makes out of anger can be a little… out of hand. Still, his anger will eventually subside when he stops to realize Kiyoshi brought what happened upon himself, at least in Rie's mind.
Standing with the team on the deck of the ship, Rie nods to Kiji as she speaks then shrugs. "We'll try. I'll probably just scare them myself if they refuse to come… or smack them over the head and drag them, whichever works best." Could she be the least sympathetic person on a search and rescue mission? "Hopefully everyone has mastered the Tree and Water Walking methods, so mud shouldn't be an issue." Who would fail to obtain such basic training when living in a village surrounded by water, after all? "No questions.
Hayase was surprised to go on this mission. It's not because she was unqualified. It's because she hadn't expected to be around so long, and she ought to be in a much dryer place right now. She spends the trip observing her teammates rather than the surroundings. She had exchanged a few words with Rie, but not nearly as much as the other two. So it's to Rie she'd talk along the way, and it's not about her interests or backstory. She's just chatting about what she had to eat for lunch, and other throw-a-way topics. It's strangely lighthearted stuff compared to where they're heading.
Once Kiji briefs them, Hayase gives a nod. That seems like a solid plan. And she grins when Kiji authorizes them to force the victims to safety. It'd be like a parent making an unruly child go to bed. Hopefully they don't run into that kind of scenario. In regards to needing to ask any questions, she replies, "Maybe one will come up."
Hibiki was here of course. He was watching the others closely especially the other Jinchuu. ~THAT ONE! IT IS THEM! I KNEW THE PONY WAS BACK!!!~ 'So?' ~Speak to them! SPEAKS TO THEM!!!~ 'Why should I?' ~Because I wanna see who the pony was stuck with!~ 'Yeah.. Why don't you ask them? Can't you do that?' ~Well I suppose I could try. But they are a grumpy person right now. So scary!~ 'Too bad for you.' Anyways Hibiki started to ignore Saiken and walked over to the others while still staying a bit to the outside. "Yeah I don't really have any questions myself. And I can't promise accidentally doing more than I meant to.. I could destroy debris and it might sorta… Go too far." He shugged lightly. "Anyways I am ready to get to work if everyone else is." He paused. "And uhh.. No I have not learned tree or water walking. Sorta been distracted learning how to do other things.. Or prevent other things and accidents pertaining to said other things." He frowned a bit as he watched Rie. Chuunin. Hmm…
Kiji raised a pale eyebrow at Rie's attitude considering there was a Genin along…. "Be glad you were not chosen to be on one o the teams with students, Rie-kun. Many have not yet learned such. /I/ had not learned such until after I was made Genin. And my incentive was directly from the Mizukage of that time." It was gentle but still a bit of a rebuke.
As to the rest of them… Well, they seemed to be ready enough. The rain had already gotten worse with winds starting to whip up around them. "Alright. here we go. If you run into anything that you need assistance on you are hereby ordered to report it to me immediately. Lives are on the line here and we will not be playing around with those lives for the sake of ego. Now, follow me."
And Kiji moved down the landing plank to the docks, leading them all through some simple but messy mud. By the time they reached the Umi village they would all probably have muddy ankles.
Kiji stopped in the center of the square and opened her mind, searching around her… "Hibiki-kun to the south. Three in a small area and in distress. Rie-kun, go north. five in two groups …. 500 yards from each other. Hayase-kun…" Kiji frowned. then pointed vaguely to the west. "There seems to be an elderly person in that direction but they are not moving. Check on them. "Rie-kun and Hibiki-kun, if you must, allow your …companions.. to speak to one another. Go."
In the meantime Kiji created some water of her own, sending it into the atmosphere in a kind of mist to keep track of the storm's movements
Possibly a bit to Hayase's chagrin, Rie isn't much a small-talker. Most of the girl's chatter would be met with nods, 'uh huh's, and such. To Kiji, she looks over toward her and shrugs. "You'd think Kirigakure would make that pretty much mandatory, all things considered. Being able to survive your own terrain in an emergency situation is a basic need of a shinobi." She's a bit of a jerk, but maybe she has a point.
As for the other Jinchuuriki around, he wouldn't be given just a whole lot of friendliness either, as he can already tell this woman just isn't a friendly person. "We will have to correct that," she replies simply to him with a nod before turning her attention back to the mission leader. "Hai," she responds simply enough and then would hop off the ship to follow the woman toward their destination. Though she doesn't exactly keep her shoes spotless, her use of the methods she mentioned does at least keep her from getting TOO much mud over them and keeps her from sinking her feet into it.
When they arrive, she glances around to get a decent idea of the area then looks back to Kiji. Given her instructions on where to go, she simply nods and takes off toward that group, heading toward whichever is closest and/or visible first to see what trouble they might be in.
Hayase has to smirk when Kiji starts pinpointing the people around them. That sensory ability is extremely useful in times like these. However, she blinks when the team leader mentions the companions of her two teammates. She looks at both Hibiki and Rie. She knows of Hibiki's slimy companion. Does that mean they're both hosts? She's staring at the un-talkative Rie for a few moments, before she shakes herself out of it. That's a question for another time. She heads out, with promises to find the old person.
Her feet and legs are muddy from slogging through the area. She'd tried to stay clean for the first few minutes they headed out, but it's no use. And as she heads in the direction that was indicated she decides to ignore it entirely. What's a little mud? She transfers her Kiri headband from her arm to her forehead, to indicate her status. She doesn't run. The directions were only vague, so she might come upon this old man any time. And how had Kiji sensed that it was an old person? She shakes her head, and starts calling out at regular intervals. Since this person doesn't have a name she knows she'd identify herself and her purpose. But she also keeps her eye out, constantly scanning, since it's possible the target may not be able to respond.
Hibiki had looked at Rie and simply shook his head. "I can promise you making it seem mandatory and acting like water walking is a neccessity. But it isn't. Especially when I have the ability to swim and bend the water somewhat to my will." He frowned in frustration. Anyways Hibiki just shrugged and went about his buisness. Moved on towards the location he was meant to head to and would keep looking for them of course. Should hopefully see them. ~I don't want to speak to the pony! Tell blood lady no!~ 'Yeah I don't think I care. Why don't you just do it if the need arises. Right now it doesn't matter.' ~But!!! WHY!?!? He is mean!~ 'So are you.' ~How dare you! I am the bestest!~ And he ignored him as he searched around.
Rie would find the first 'group' was a couple in their upper 40's. They had yet to evacuate apparently because they were still 'packing'. Or rather, the man was trying to get their cart — full of belongings that would not fit on the rescue transport — out of the deep mud where it was well and truly mired. The woman spotted the hitai-ate on Rie and rushed to her. "Oh good. You shinobi are good at magic. We need all of that stuff."
Hayase would have to search around a bit but finally, she would locate the elderly man inside his shack of a home. He was sitting there quietly in a rocking chair looking out the window of his home, watching the clouds and rain. When he spotted Hayase he would blink then smile softly. 'Go rescue some children, youngster. I'm not worth your time."
Hibiki would have to search around quite a bit before he finally caught the sound of crying children. When he located the shack they were in… he would find that they were stuck. The one door to their home was blocked by three feet of mud from a mini mud slide.
Just as soon as Rie had mentioned not getting too muddy, she gets stuck with this one? Somehow she thinks Kiji figured out what was going on here and sent here to this one specifically just to mess with her. Oh well. As she is approached, she nods to the woman who rushes her and walks swiftly over to the cart, still using tree walking to keep herself from sinking or any such thing.
In fact, that tactician has an easy enough way to do this. "Everyone move away from the back of the cart by at least ten feet,"she instructs them and then would bend down to grab the bottom of the cart with the back of her hands with her back facing it after making a quick handseal. Once she lifts the cart up a bit, she breathes out a jet of flame that one would normally see used for a Fire Dodge jutsu to propel herself backwards and thus (hopefully) the cart out of the spot it is stuck in.
Hayase huffs. It would've been much easier if he'd called out earlier, to signal where he was. She takes a glance around the room, to see if there's anything he might have stayed for. Maybe a pet. But it seems he's just there because he's set in his ways. At peace with himself. Or maybe he's just given up. Either way, Hayase is already striding towards him.
"If you want to help the kids, then live," she says. "If I leave you here, it'll just be teaching them that they'll be left behind when they're old and 'not worth the time.'" She goes right up to him. "I'll help you even if you don't want it, but I could sure use your cooperation. Until I get you to safety, I can't help anyone else. So do I have to drag both you and the rocking chair through the mud?" She'd then offer to carry him, or rather she'd nag at him until he allowed her to rush him to safety. In the end if he didn't give into her constant nagging she'd have to pick him up and haul him away by force.
Hibiki frowned when he finally found them and he just stared at the house for a moment before moving around to find a wall that had not been too covered if at all. "Hmm… Okay.." He just walked up and started to rub acid over a small square portion of the wall. Enough to hopefully allow every kid to get out of the wall. It would take at least like 5 minutes probably but hopefully that wasn't too bad. Anyways it was better than nothing when it came to helping. ~Just spit at it! Much quicker.~ 'I want precision. Not quicker. If it is too quick with no precision I might cause more trouble than actually helping. So let me do it this way okay.' ~But.. QUICK!~ 'We will do it quick next time then…' ~Of course we will! For I am Saiken! The quickest slug around!~ 'And the fattest.'
Rie's efforts would get the cart out of the mudhole…. But again the evacuation orders included only absolutely necessary items… Like a few items of clothing and medicines. Not a full cartload. And the woman smacked her husband on the arm. "See? I told you those shinobi were worth something, Hunny." She looked down at Rie and grinned. "So you're here to help us get to the ship right?"
Hayase's old man would look at her oddly as she laid out the situation. He would argue wth her for a moment about how she should not waste time on someone who would die in a year or so anyway but when she threatened to take him and his chair, he reluctantly allowed her to carry him on her back. And he wasn't very heavy. She could take him straight to the docks.
Hibiki's efforts would work well in cutting through the door. A woman too large for the new 'window' stuck her head up to peer at Hibiki then looking relieved she started handing her two children through the hole. "Oh, thank the Gods. Take them and run! Hurry!" Of course, this would leave her stuck in the house which was just below a hill threatening to slide even more.
"Yes, but I am not here to be a handmaid or to have us die for a bunch of goods. Take only what you need, secure the cart somewhere so it won't topple and your goods might not be carried away by the storm, and then we are on our way. This is not a discussion." With that she begins to do just that, pushing the cart into the closest crevice before covering it with whatever tarp they have on hand and taking some ropes out of a pouch on her back to tie it down and then the cart off to anything around it that can hold it. The two would only have seconds to grab what they need before they are grabbed up by the woman and slung over her shoulders as she darts back toward the ship.
"Who thinks you have one year left to live?" Hayase asks, as she wastes no time in getting him to the safe point. "Live till you're a hundred. It'll set a good example. Especially for Kiri. Our average life expectancy is about, what, twenty?" She says this long before she's within earshot of her comrades. Despite her chatter, she's moving speedily—at very high speeds in fact. She knows she won't be doing the old man any favors by taking it slow and easy, while there are others still out there. Nor does she have any trouble bearing his weight, despite her skinny frame. And by the end of their journey she'd wipe her brow and say, "It was nice meeting you, ojii-san. Stay safe." She'd look around the docks, and the state of the rescue attempts. Scanning for her other teammates. She doesn't like the look of that impending storm.
Hibiki frowned after getting the kids out and made more acid. "I am not just taking them alone. Kids need their parents. So I do not think I will be the one to make that choice of taking them away from that." He put his hands outwards. "Step back a tiny bit. Avoid the acid." He said before spraying the wall with acid. He judged the womans size as best he could and would try to get as much as he could of it. "Now try to get out. The acid should melt that wood away." He waited a bit longer until it was completely melted away. "Can you get out from that?" He looked at the hill with a frown. ~I don't know if that will stay up that much longer.~ 'It will last long enough.'
Rie would come up against some argument and in the end, the couple ended up leaving nearly everything on the cart. It was their fault for arguing instead of moving their butts, though. She would get them to the docks about the same time as Hayase got her elderly man there. Both might note.. the transport ship was nowhere to be seen.
But Rie had another group to rescue and Hayase had a Kiji to check in with.
Hibiki would find the woman blinking oddly at him. "Acid?!" And then she realized this must be a shinobi thing and quickly moved out of the way. Within moments she was able to climb out with a grateful nod to her head. "There is a young brother and sister further up this road. I don't know if they have made it or not but their house is similar to ours so it might have been hit in the slide. I can get us to the docks. Thank you." She picked up her kids, one in her arms the other on her back and stormed her way through the now ankle deep mud like only a determined mother could.
The rain was getting worse, though for some reason the rain was not hitting the village itself very hard whilst anyone could see the storm was gaining in fury outside the tight perimeter.
Once she's dropped of those two, Rie quickly heads back to grab the other groups. Nope, not even giving them a nanosecond to try and convince her to go back and get that cart. As long as there's nothing living aboard, it can't be THAT indespinsible at this point. Moving at a rapid pace, she'd use the coordinates Kiji gave her earlier, pretty easily detect whatever movement and sound there is to detect that points her to them as she heads that way.
Hibiki nods towards the family and started heading towards the others. He continued to look for them until he spotted them. Hopefully didn't take too long like last time sorta did. ~Hello!!! I was trying to talks to you! I think we need to move quicker. The hills are not being that cooperative. I mean just look at all the mud in this area. I feel like if you don't move a little bit quicker you might be too late.~ 'Maybe I can melt through mud?' ~What if they are covered? Might melt them!~ 'Might. And also might save them with slight burns.'
Hayase doesn't have to wait long for further orders. Kiji has sensed yet another stranded victim, and this one is even weaker than the old man. It seems she's getting the ones who are too stubborn to leave. She strikes out in the general direction of the target, but he's much easier to find. He's out in the open. He's also badly wounded, too wounded to move. Hayase goes over to his side. "Are you alright?" she asks, peering down at him.
But the moment she gets a close look at him, she sees he's not alright. By mud, water, or something else his bones had been crushed. The internal bleeding is massive, and he can barely speak around the blood. Despite this Hayase tries to apply some quick first aid, but he's slipping fast. She grits her teeth, and when he raises her hand she gives it a comforting squeeze, just as there's a roar and lightning strikes.
She looks over at the source of the lightning, because the roar doesn't stop there. It's struck a hillside in the most devastating way, and now half of it is crashing into the ocean. Creating a violent wave that rises till it blots out the dim light. She has no choice. Without a backwards glance at the dying man, she turns and runs as fast as she can. Till she's exerting her muscles to the point of tearing. She makes it back in no time, and quickly describes the situation, which culminates into one thing: a tidal wave. (re)
Rie's memory serves her well and she located the second group easily enough. Like Hibiki, the telltale sign was the sound of crying children. The sound was coming from a house, not a terrible hovel at least, but the children's crying was coming from a closet. Upon opening said closet Rie would find the three. A toddler, no older than 3, another no older than 5 and a child who was too small in size to carry the toddler properly. The child looked up at Re, half scared but clearly, he was also thankful for a 'grown up'.
Hayase's sudden return and report set Kiji on edge but she opened her senses in a different direction, noting the push of the air and she grit her teeth. "Collect the other two. Get them and everyone they have so far to the docks. If they can communicate it would make things faster. Now hurry." Kiji then told Hayase their general locations.
She looked toward the beach. "I will deal with the wave. Don't wait for me to get on our ship with them. We can transfer them to the transport if I can manage to deal with this." Her volume dropped and she muttered. "I 'm not Yoichi-sensei damnit." Kiji's back burst forth with blood and her eyes went black on black, then blue and she took flight for the beach, moving much faster than most could run.
As Kiji flew off the rain would suddenly start falling on the village making the mud worse and that hill Hibiki had spotted was getting even more saturated. He would have to hurry. Especially if Kiji couldn't protect them all….
Speaking of Hibiki, he would locate the brother and sister and see that the sister was disabled. There was a wheelchair in the corner but of course, it could not travel well in the mud outside. Not to mention mud had entered the house from the earlier slide. Luckily it did not block them in but the brother looked up as Hibiki entered. He saw the hitai-ate and stood. "Please, Shinobi-sama, help us."
Rie doesn't spare the door or anything between her and her targets… rescue targets… She kicks straight through the front door and quickly finds the kids in the closet. Her crimson eyes look them over briefly as she ponders a way to do this. "You, big one, get on my back," she instructs the eldest before she takes each of the other two under her arms and takes off running out the door. Her eyes widen a bit as she sees that the storm is getting worse in a hurry… in particular at that massive wave headed their way. "Oh Hell," she grumbles, but her brows furrow, and the Shirayuki woman runs with all her might toward the docks to at least try and get to the others so they can come up with a plan of action.
"You be careful, Kiji-san," she tells her grimly. Hayase does have a question, and she leans close to Kiji to ask it quietly. "They're both Jinchuuriki, aren't they?" Regardless of the answer she'd go after Hibiki first. She's not slowed by the rain. In fact, it fizzles and turns to steam as soon as it touches her. She's literally burning away her own energy that creates a red aura around her, and she makes it to Hibiki in no time. The mud is making a mess of everything, and she'd force her way through it to her teammate and the two kids. "We have to leave immediately," she says. "A tidal wave is coming. Can you contact Rie-san and tell her the same thing? Kiji-san's orders." She'd proceed to help Hibiki with the extraction. She takes out a length of wire from her shinobi gear, and uses it to lash the disabled girl to her back. Securely as a shell on a turtle. "Hold on tight," she says, although the girl would be well secured anyway. And Hayase would be able to use both arms to get her through the increasing torrent of mud.
Hibiki frowned and looked around. He might be able to carry the ten year old girl but he wasn't… That strong. Maybe him and the brother could work together? Then Hayase showed up and he was completely glad she showed up. "Oh? Okay sure thing. I will be sure to tell the other one." 'Saiken. Now. Tell the other Bijuu what's going on!' ~But maybe he will be gone for a bit again if they get hit! More time to not be grumpy!~ 'SAIKEN NOW!' ~Baka! Fine.~ Saiken then attempted to focus his thoughts towards Kokuo. Wouldn't be too hard being in the same area if he focused on it hard enough. ~Tidal Wave incoming! Get out now! Tell the tall lady!~ "Okay… Now we can get out of here." He would lead the boy onwards towards the area they were meant to extract people at.
Rie succeeded in her rescue, though, carrying three kids like that earned her mud halfway up to her knees. She made it to the docks, though. A Jounin there ordered her and a lot of the refugees onto the Kiri boat as the wave drew closer, sinking the ship lower and lower as the water receded.
Hayase and Hibiki would manage to get the two to the docks and onto the Kiri ship with a few moments to join the crowd watching Kiji standing in the middle of the bay.
Kiji landed on the water's surface, staying above it easily. This was not going to be fun. Her wings separated from her, forming four blood clones. Each of the five Kijis spread out in a wide angled line, angled so that if she is able to redirect the wave it will not swamp the ships at the docks.
Each of the Kijis went through several hand motions before leaning forward in unison and spitting gushing waves of water from their mouths which gathered the water under their feet as it rolled toward the smallish scale tsunami, gaining momentum. The waves created by the KIji clones (and the real one) were widespread and tall, using the ability to attack more than one opponent at once to provide the coverage needed. Heres hoping she could pull this off…
The waves crashed forward, colliding with Kiji's water. One clone was overcome by the force of the wave. But then Kiji found Jounin stepping in to aid her. She was not Yoichi after all. As two Jounin from the ship joined her on the line, they all held their hands out, using water manipulation at their ranks to hold the wave and Kiji infused it with chakra, reinforcing the wave. However, it was draining to use her skills unconventionally like that.
The tsunami crashed against the wall but redirected itself mostly out to sea. The very tip of the bay was clipped and that hill Hibiki was worried about collapsed, burying several of the nearby houses in mud as thick as concrete. Kiji rode it out but as the water level became more normal, the ship in the docks would face the water coming back to its normal level which might capsize the ship if the chuunin on board failed to keep it steady.
A fellow Jounin caught Kiji's shoulder and let her take a moment before they began to head for the docks again, walking over the turbulent waters of the bay. The refugees on the ship were utterly silent at the power of Kirigakure that had been demonstrated. Both by those on the water and those that had rescued the stragglers. It had been a god day for Kiri.
Rie's going to need a bath and a change of clothes when they get back, but at least she'd done her part in the mission. After setting the kids down, she would nod to the Jounin and make her way onto the ship. "I'll go set up an infirmary area in one of the cabins," the Shirayuki woman says, nodding and then moving below deck to set up an area so that the wounded can be tended to.
The ship is slammed by the water and it sways to the side. Hayase moves to stop a heavy crate that's sliding across the slippery deck. Shinobi are similarly bracing the passengers and cargo when the water hits. Fortunately it's not capsized. Most of the water manipulators who could have lessened the water's impact were out there, stopping the far deadlier tidal wave, but it turns out they weren't needed onboard. Hayase breathes a sigh of relief when the ship is righted. She takes the time to search for her two teammates, and then for Kiji. The villagers pour out their thanks to the Kiri nin, and Hayase finally releases her altered state. She looks down at her trembling hands, and stuffs them in her pockets until they steady. When Kiji returns, Hayase grins at her. "Next time we'll make the wave twice as big, to give you a bit of a challenge," she jokes. She takes one of the available rations to munch as they depart.
Hibiki looked at the water being stopped even a little bit and was surprised. Maybe he could do that and more someday. He did know how to use water somewhat and could try one day. He would just find a place to sit and rest a bit. He wasn't that tired besides the running around but.. Rest it was. As long as he could get it. He didn't exactly go looking forthe others. Felt no real need. ~We did good yes!? Next time I will arrive full size and stop the wave single handedly! Will be impressive I assure you!~ 'You are that fat?' ~Hey! I am not fat! I am skinny! You should see the fat slugs! They are terrible looking!~
The village of Kirigakure had accepted a series of missions pertaining to the Land of Sea. Specifically a village by the name of Umi. There was a rather large storm coming at them and had requested assistance in evacuation. Teams had been pulled together rather quickly and some teams had actually been given permission to allow students to step in where there were not enough Genin for the teams.
Okumo Kiji had put together a team of three. Hayase, Rie, and Hibiki. She had done this for several reasons. One of which was her desire to see how the two Jinchuuriki handled themselves while still having enough backup to keep them safe. Another had been what she understood of the various abilities present in this group.
On the ship heading to the Land of Sea, she gathered them all as they neared the target area. "Alright. We are on a search and rescue mission. It is our job to find those in the village that are stuck, trapped, or refusing to leave. I know that might be their choice but we are going to take them to safety anyway. Just don't harm them too badly." She glanced around. "I will position myself at the center of the village and use my sensor skills to locate the harder to find individuals. But keep aware of the storm. It's only a few hours away by now and… trust me.. There will be mud. Any questions?"
A search and rescue for a storm led by the former apprentice of the leader of the Storm Brigade… The irony is strong… At least for Kokuo, who probably is using basically any excuse he can to try and make Rie suspicious of Rie. Though the woman looks at all people with caution, some of the accusations the beast makes out of anger can be a little… out of hand. Still, his anger will eventually subside when he stops to realize Kiyoshi brought what happened upon himself, at least in Rie's mind.
Standing with the team on the deck of the ship, Rie nods to Kiji as she speaks then shrugs. "We'll try. I'll probably just scare them myself if they refuse to come… or smack them over the head and drag them, whichever works best." Could she be the least sympathetic person on a search and rescue mission? "Hopefully everyone has mastered the Tree and Water Walking methods, so mud shouldn't be an issue." Who would fail to obtain such basic training when living in a village surrounded by water, after all? "No questions.
Hayase was surprised to go on this mission. It's not because she was unqualified. It's because she hadn't expected to be around so long, and she ought to be in a much dryer place right now. She spends the trip observing her teammates rather than the surroundings. She had exchanged a few words with Rie, but not nearly as much as the other two. So it's to Rie she'd talk along the way, and it's not about her interests or backstory. She's just chatting about what she had to eat for lunch, and other throw-a-way topics. It's strangely lighthearted stuff compared to where they're heading.
Once Kiji briefs them, Hayase gives a nod. That seems like a solid plan. And she grins when Kiji authorizes them to force the victims to safety. It'd be like a parent making an unruly child go to bed. Hopefully they don't run into that kind of scenario. In regards to needing to ask any questions, she replies, "Maybe one will come up."
Hibiki was here of course. He was watching the others closely especially the other Jinchuu. ~THAT ONE! IT IS THEM! I KNEW THE PONY WAS BACK!!!~ 'So?' ~Speak to them! SPEAKS TO THEM!!!~ 'Why should I?' ~Because I wanna see who the pony was stuck with!~ 'Yeah.. Why don't you ask them? Can't you do that?' ~Well I suppose I could try. But they are a grumpy person right now. So scary!~ 'Too bad for you.' Anyways Hibiki started to ignore Saiken and walked over to the others while still staying a bit to the outside. "Yeah I don't really have any questions myself. And I can't promise accidentally doing more than I meant to.. I could destroy debris and it might sorta… Go too far." He shugged lightly. "Anyways I am ready to get to work if everyone else is." He paused. "And uhh.. No I have not learned tree or water walking. Sorta been distracted learning how to do other things.. Or prevent other things and accidents pertaining to said other things." He frowned a bit as he watched Rie. Chuunin. Hmm…
Kiji raised a pale eyebrow at Rie's attitude considering there was a Genin along…. "Be glad you were not chosen to be on one o the teams with students, Rie-kun. Many have not yet learned such. /I/ had not learned such until after I was made Genin. And my incentive was directly from the Mizukage of that time." It was gentle but still a bit of a rebuke.
As to the rest of them… Well, they seemed to be ready enough. The rain had already gotten worse with winds starting to whip up around them. "Alright. here we go. If you run into anything that you need assistance on you are hereby ordered to report it to me immediately. Lives are on the line here and we will not be playing around with those lives for the sake of ego. Now, follow me."
And Kiji moved down the landing plank to the docks, leading them all through some simple but messy mud. By the time they reached the Umi village they would all probably have muddy ankles.
Kiji stopped in the center of the square and opened her mind, searching around her… "Hibiki-kun to the south. Three in a small area and in distress. Rie-kun, go north. five in two groups …. 500 yards from each other. Hayase-kun…" Kiji frowned. then pointed vaguely to the west. "There seems to be an elderly person in that direction but they are not moving. Check on them. "Rie-kun and Hibiki-kun, if you must, allow your …companions.. to speak to one another. Go."
In the meantime Kiji created some water of her own, sending it into the atmosphere in a kind of mist to keep track of the storm's movements
Possibly a bit to Hayase's chagrin, Rie isn't much a small-talker. Most of the girl's chatter would be met with nods, 'uh huh's, and such. To Kiji, she looks over toward her and shrugs. "You'd think Kirigakure would make that pretty much mandatory, all things considered. Being able to survive your own terrain in an emergency situation is a basic need of a shinobi." She's a bit of a jerk, but maybe she has a point.
As for the other Jinchuuriki around, he wouldn't be given just a whole lot of friendliness either, as he can already tell this woman just isn't a friendly person. "We will have to correct that," she replies simply to him with a nod before turning her attention back to the mission leader. "Hai," she responds simply enough and then would hop off the ship to follow the woman toward their destination. Though she doesn't exactly keep her shoes spotless, her use of the methods she mentioned does at least keep her from getting TOO much mud over them and keeps her from sinking her feet into it.
When they arrive, she glances around to get a decent idea of the area then looks back to Kiji. Given her instructions on where to go, she simply nods and takes off toward that group, heading toward whichever is closest and/or visible first to see what trouble they might be in.
Hayase has to smirk when Kiji starts pinpointing the people around them. That sensory ability is extremely useful in times like these. However, she blinks when the team leader mentions the companions of her two teammates. She looks at both Hibiki and Rie. She knows of Hibiki's slimy companion. Does that mean they're both hosts? She's staring at the un-talkative Rie for a few moments, before she shakes herself out of it. That's a question for another time. She heads out, with promises to find the old person.
Her feet and legs are muddy from slogging through the area. She'd tried to stay clean for the first few minutes they headed out, but it's no use. And as she heads in the direction that was indicated she decides to ignore it entirely. What's a little mud? She transfers her Kiri headband from her arm to her forehead, to indicate her status. She doesn't run. The directions were only vague, so she might come upon this old man any time. And how had Kiji sensed that it was an old person? She shakes her head, and starts calling out at regular intervals. Since this person doesn't have a name she knows she'd identify herself and her purpose. But she also keeps her eye out, constantly scanning, since it's possible the target may not be able to respond.
Hibiki had looked at Rie and simply shook his head. "I can promise you making it seem mandatory and acting like water walking is a neccessity. But it isn't. Especially when I have the ability to swim and bend the water somewhat to my will." He frowned in frustration. Anyways Hibiki just shrugged and went about his buisness. Moved on towards the location he was meant to head to and would keep looking for them of course. Should hopefully see them. ~I don't want to speak to the pony! Tell blood lady no!~ 'Yeah I don't think I care. Why don't you just do it if the need arises. Right now it doesn't matter.' ~But!!! WHY!?!? He is mean!~ 'So are you.' ~How dare you! I am the bestest!~ And he ignored him as he searched around.
Rie would find the first 'group' was a couple in their upper 40's. They had yet to evacuate apparently because they were still 'packing'. Or rather, the man was trying to get their cart — full of belongings that would not fit on the rescue transport — out of the deep mud where it was well and truly mired. The woman spotted the hitai-ate on Rie and rushed to her. "Oh good. You shinobi are good at magic. We need all of that stuff."
Hayase would have to search around a bit but finally, she would locate the elderly man inside his shack of a home. He was sitting there quietly in a rocking chair looking out the window of his home, watching the clouds and rain. When he spotted Hayase he would blink then smile softly. 'Go rescue some children, youngster. I'm not worth your time."
Hibiki would have to search around quite a bit before he finally caught the sound of crying children. When he located the shack they were in… he would find that they were stuck. The one door to their home was blocked by three feet of mud from a mini mud slide.
Just as soon as Rie had mentioned not getting too muddy, she gets stuck with this one? Somehow she thinks Kiji figured out what was going on here and sent here to this one specifically just to mess with her. Oh well. As she is approached, she nods to the woman who rushes her and walks swiftly over to the cart, still using tree walking to keep herself from sinking or any such thing.
In fact, that tactician has an easy enough way to do this. "Everyone move away from the back of the cart by at least ten feet,"she instructs them and then would bend down to grab the bottom of the cart with the back of her hands with her back facing it after making a quick handseal. Once she lifts the cart up a bit, she breathes out a jet of flame that one would normally see used for a Fire Dodge jutsu to propel herself backwards and thus (hopefully) the cart out of the spot it is stuck in.
Hayase huffs. It would've been much easier if he'd called out earlier, to signal where he was. She takes a glance around the room, to see if there's anything he might have stayed for. Maybe a pet. But it seems he's just there because he's set in his ways. At peace with himself. Or maybe he's just given up. Either way, Hayase is already striding towards him.
"If you want to help the kids, then live," she says. "If I leave you here, it'll just be teaching them that they'll be left behind when they're old and 'not worth the time.'" She goes right up to him. "I'll help you even if you don't want it, but I could sure use your cooperation. Until I get you to safety, I can't help anyone else. So do I have to drag both you and the rocking chair through the mud?" She'd then offer to carry him, or rather she'd nag at him until he allowed her to rush him to safety. In the end if he didn't give into her constant nagging she'd have to pick him up and haul him away by force.
Hibiki frowned when he finally found them and he just stared at the house for a moment before moving around to find a wall that had not been too covered if at all. "Hmm… Okay.." He just walked up and started to rub acid over a small square portion of the wall. Enough to hopefully allow every kid to get out of the wall. It would take at least like 5 minutes probably but hopefully that wasn't too bad. Anyways it was better than nothing when it came to helping. ~Just spit at it! Much quicker.~ 'I want precision. Not quicker. If it is too quick with no precision I might cause more trouble than actually helping. So let me do it this way okay.' ~But.. QUICK!~ 'We will do it quick next time then…' ~Of course we will! For I am Saiken! The quickest slug around!~ 'And the fattest.'
Rie's efforts would get the cart out of the mudhole…. But again the evacuation orders included only absolutely necessary items… Like a few items of clothing and medicines. Not a full cartload. And the woman smacked her husband on the arm. "See? I told you those shinobi were worth something, Hunny." She looked down at Rie and grinned. "So you're here to help us get to the ship right?"
Hayase's old man would look at her oddly as she laid out the situation. He would argue wth her for a moment about how she should not waste time on someone who would die in a year or so anyway but when she threatened to take him and his chair, he reluctantly allowed her to carry him on her back. And he wasn't very heavy. She could take him straight to the docks.
Hibiki's efforts would work well in cutting through the door. A woman too large for the new 'window' stuck her head up to peer at Hibiki then looking relieved she started handing her two children through the hole. "Oh, thank the Gods. Take them and run! Hurry!" Of course, this would leave her stuck in the house which was just below a hill threatening to slide even more.
"Yes, but I am not here to be a handmaid or to have us die for a bunch of goods. Take only what you need, secure the cart somewhere so it won't topple and your goods might not be carried away by the storm, and then we are on our way. This is not a discussion." With that she begins to do just that, pushing the cart into the closest crevice before covering it with whatever tarp they have on hand and taking some ropes out of a pouch on her back to tie it down and then the cart off to anything around it that can hold it. The two would only have seconds to grab what they need before they are grabbed up by the woman and slung over her shoulders as she darts back toward the ship.
"Who thinks you have one year left to live?" Hayase asks, as she wastes no time in getting him to the safe point. "Live till you're a hundred. It'll set a good example. Especially for Kiri. Our average life expectancy is about, what, twenty?" She says this long before she's within earshot of her comrades. Despite her chatter, she's moving speedily—at very high speeds in fact. She knows she won't be doing the old man any favors by taking it slow and easy, while there are others still out there. Nor does she have any trouble bearing his weight, despite her skinny frame. And by the end of their journey she'd wipe her brow and say, "It was nice meeting you, ojii-san. Stay safe." She'd look around the docks, and the state of the rescue attempts. Scanning for her other teammates. She doesn't like the look of that impending storm.
Hibiki frowned after getting the kids out and made more acid. "I am not just taking them alone. Kids need their parents. So I do not think I will be the one to make that choice of taking them away from that." He put his hands outwards. "Step back a tiny bit. Avoid the acid." He said before spraying the wall with acid. He judged the womans size as best he could and would try to get as much as he could of it. "Now try to get out. The acid should melt that wood away." He waited a bit longer until it was completely melted away. "Can you get out from that?" He looked at the hill with a frown. ~I don't know if that will stay up that much longer.~ 'It will last long enough.'
Rie would come up against some argument and in the end, the couple ended up leaving nearly everything on the cart. It was their fault for arguing instead of moving their butts, though. She would get them to the docks about the same time as Hayase got her elderly man there. Both might note.. the transport ship was nowhere to be seen.
But Rie had another group to rescue and Hayase had a Kiji to check in with.
Hibiki would find the woman blinking oddly at him. "Acid?!" And then she realized this must be a shinobi thing and quickly moved out of the way. Within moments she was able to climb out with a grateful nod to her head. "There is a young brother and sister further up this road. I don't know if they have made it or not but their house is similar to ours so it might have been hit in the slide. I can get us to the docks. Thank you." She picked up her kids, one in her arms the other on her back and stormed her way through the now ankle deep mud like only a determined mother could.
The rain was getting worse, though for some reason the rain was not hitting the village itself very hard whilst anyone could see the storm was gaining in fury outside the tight perimeter.
Once she's dropped of those two, Rie quickly heads back to grab the other groups. Nope, not even giving them a nanosecond to try and convince her to go back and get that cart. As long as there's nothing living aboard, it can't be THAT indespinsible at this point. Moving at a rapid pace, she'd use the coordinates Kiji gave her earlier, pretty easily detect whatever movement and sound there is to detect that points her to them as she heads that way.
Hibiki nods towards the family and started heading towards the others. He continued to look for them until he spotted them. Hopefully didn't take too long like last time sorta did. ~Hello!!! I was trying to talks to you! I think we need to move quicker. The hills are not being that cooperative. I mean just look at all the mud in this area. I feel like if you don't move a little bit quicker you might be too late.~ 'Maybe I can melt through mud?' ~What if they are covered? Might melt them!~ 'Might. And also might save them with slight burns.'
Hayase doesn't have to wait long for further orders. Kiji has sensed yet another stranded victim, and this one is even weaker than the old man. It seems she's getting the ones who are too stubborn to leave. She strikes out in the general direction of the target, but he's much easier to find. He's out in the open. He's also badly wounded, too wounded to move. Hayase goes over to his side. "Are you alright?" she asks, peering down at him.
But the moment she gets a close look at him, she sees he's not alright. By mud, water, or something else his bones had been crushed. The internal bleeding is massive, and he can barely speak around the blood. Despite this Hayase tries to apply some quick first aid, but he's slipping fast. She grits her teeth, and when he raises her hand she gives it a comforting squeeze, just as there's a roar and lightning strikes.
She looks over at the source of the lightning, because the roar doesn't stop there. It's struck a hillside in the most devastating way, and now half of it is crashing into the ocean. Creating a violent wave that rises till it blots out the dim light. She has no choice. Without a backwards glance at the dying man, she turns and runs as fast as she can. Till she's exerting her muscles to the point of tearing. She makes it back in no time, and quickly describes the situation, which culminates into one thing: a tidal wave. (re)
Rie's memory serves her well and she located the second group easily enough. Like Hibiki, the telltale sign was the sound of crying children. The sound was coming from a house, not a terrible hovel at least, but the children's crying was coming from a closet. Upon opening said closet Rie would find the three. A toddler, no older than 3, another no older than 5 and a child who was too small in size to carry the toddler properly. The child looked up at Re, half scared but clearly, he was also thankful for a 'grown up'.
Hayase's sudden return and report set Kiji on edge but she opened her senses in a different direction, noting the push of the air and she grit her teeth. "Collect the other two. Get them and everyone they have so far to the docks. If they can communicate it would make things faster. Now hurry." Kiji then told Hayase their general locations.
She looked toward the beach. "I will deal with the wave. Don't wait for me to get on our ship with them. We can transfer them to the transport if I can manage to deal with this." Her volume dropped and she muttered. "I 'm not Yoichi-sensei ****it." Kiji's back burst forth with blood and her eyes went black on black, then blue and she took flight for the beach, moving much faster than most could run.
As Kiji flew off the rain would suddenly start falling on the village making the mud worse and that hill Hibiki had spotted was getting even more saturated. He would have to hurry. Especially if Kiji couldn't protect them all….
Speaking of Hibiki, he would locate the brother and sister and see that the sister was disabled. There was a wheelchair in the corner but of course, it could not travel well in the mud outside. Not to mention mud had entered the house from the earlier slide. Luckily it did not block them in but the brother looked up as Hibiki entered. He saw the hitai-ate and stood. "Please, Shinobi-sama, help us."
Rie doesn't spare the door or anything between her and her targets… rescue targets… She kicks straight through the front door and quickly finds the kids in the closet. Her crimson eyes look them over briefly as she ponders a way to do this. "You, big one, get on my back," she instructs the eldest before she takes each of the other two under her arms and takes off running out the door. Her eyes widen a bit as she sees that the storm is getting worse in a hurry… in particular at that massive wave headed their way. "Oh ****," she grumbles, but her brows furrow, and the Shirayuki woman runs with all her might toward the docks to at least try and get to the others so they can come up with a plan of action.
"You be careful, Kiji-san," she tells her grimly. Hayase does have a question, and she leans close to Kiji to ask it quietly. "They're both Jinchuuriki, aren't they?" Regardless of the answer she'd go after Hibiki first. She's not slowed by the rain. In fact, it fizzles and turns to steam as soon as it touches her. She's literally burning away her own energy that creates a red aura around her, and she makes it to Hibiki in no time. The mud is making a mess of everything, and she'd force her way through it to her teammate and the two kids. "We have to leave immediately," she says. "A tidal wave is coming. Can you contact Rie-san and tell her the same thing? Kiji-san's orders." She'd proceed to help Hibiki with the extraction. She takes out a length of wire from her shinobi gear, and uses it to lash the disabled girl to her back. Securely as a shell on a turtle. "Hold on tight," she says, although the girl would be well secured anyway. And Hayase would be able to use both arms to get her through the increasing torrent of mud.
Hibiki frowned and looked around. He might be able to carry the ten year old girl but he wasn't… That strong. Maybe him and the brother could work together? Then Hayase showed up and he was completely glad she showed up. "Oh? Okay sure thing. I will be sure to tell the other one." 'Saiken. Now. Tell the other Bijuu what's going on!' ~But maybe he will be gone for a bit again if they get hit! More time to not be grumpy!~ 'SAIKEN NOW!' ~Baka! Fine.~ Saiken then attempted to focus his thoughts towards Kokuo. Wouldn't be too hard being in the same area if he focused on it hard enough. ~Tidal Wave incoming! Get out now! Tell the tall lady!~ "Okay… Now we can get out of here." He would lead the boy onwards towards the area they were meant to extract people at.
Rie succeeded in her rescue, though, carrying three kids like that earned her mud halfway up to her knees. She made it to the docks, though. A Jounin there ordered her and a lot of the refugees onto the Kiri boat as the wave drew closer, sinking the ship lower and lower as the water receded.
Hayase and Hibiki would manage to get the two to the docks and onto the Kiri ship with a few moments to join the crowd watching Kiji standing in the middle of the bay.
Kiji landed on the water's surface, staying above it easily. This was not going to be fun. Her wings separated from her, forming four blood clones. Each of the five Kijis spread out in a wide angled line, angled so that if she is able to redirect the wave it will not swamp the ships at the docks.
Each of the Kijis went through several hand motions before leaning forward in unison and spitting gushing waves of water from their mouths which gathered the water under their feet as it rolled toward the smallish scale tsunami, gaining momentum. The waves created by the KIji clones (and the real one) were widespread and tall, using the ability to attack more than one opponent at once to provide the coverage needed. Heres hoping she could pull this off…
The waves crashed forward, colliding with Kiji's water. One clone was overcome by the force of the wave. But then Kiji found Jounin stepping in to aid her. She was not Yoichi after all. As two Jounin from the ship joined her on the line, they all held their hands out, using water manipulation at their ranks to hold the wave and Kiji infused it with chakra, reinforcing the wave. However, it was draining to use her skills unconventionally like that.
The tsunami crashed against the wall but redirected itself mostly out to sea. The very tip of the bay was clipped and that hill Hibiki was worried about collapsed, burying several of the nearby houses in mud as thick as concrete. Kiji rode it out but as the water level became more normal, the ship in the docks would face the water coming back to its normal level which might capsize the ship if the chuunin on board failed to keep it steady.
A fellow Jounin caught Kiji's shoulder and let her take a moment before they began to head for the docks again, walking over the turbulent waters of the bay. The refugees on the ship were utterly silent at the power of Kirigakure that had been demonstrated. Both by those on the water and those that had rescued the stragglers. It had been a god day for Kiri.
Rie's going to need a bath and a change of clothes when they get back, but at least she'd done her part in the mission. After setting the kids down, she would nod to the Jounin and make her way onto the ship. "I'll go set up an infirmary area in one of the cabins," the Shirayuki woman says, nodding and then moving below deck to set up an area so that the wounded can be tended to.
The ship is slammed by the water and it sways to the side. Hayase moves to stop a heavy crate that's sliding across the slippery deck. Shinobi are similarly bracing the passengers and cargo when the water hits. Fortunately it's not capsized. Most of the water manipulators who could have lessened the water's impact were out there, stopping the far deadlier tidal wave, but it turns out they weren't needed onboard. Hayase breathes a sigh of relief when the ship is righted. She takes the time to search for her two teammates, and then for Kiji. The villagers pour out their thanks to the Kiri nin, and Hayase finally releases her altered state. She looks down at her trembling hands, and stuffs them in her pockets until they steady. When Kiji returns, Hayase grins at her. "Next time we'll make the wave twice as big, to give you a bit of a challenge," she jokes. She takes one of the available rations to munch as they depart.
Hibiki looked at the water being stopped even a little bit and was surprised. Maybe he could do that and more someday. He did know how to use water somewhat and could try one day. He would just find a place to sit and rest a bit. He wasn't that tired besides the running around but.. Rest it was. As long as he could get it. He didn't exactly go looking forthe others. Felt no real need. ~We did good yes!? Next time I will arrive full size and stop the wave single handedly! Will be impressive I assure you!~ 'You are that fat?' ~Hey! I am not fat! I am skinny! You should see the fat slugs! They are terrible looking!~
