Starring:
Keisuke, Aoitsuki, Kiku, Kitaru
Date: June 28, 2012
Summary:
"Team K" is sent out into the village of Kitori to cease a massive incoming bandit raid. They set the traps and turn the village into a battle ground, waiting for an inevitable blood bath.
Poster's note: Profanity filtered in obvious places.
"Kitori Bandit Invasion"
Kitori Village - Land of Water
With the new leadership of the village wanting to put forth a good impression and all, Keisuke has been one busy Swordsman lately. Of course, the last S-Rank Mission he went on lasted three or four years, and he handled that by himself, so it's not like he's not used to this sort of thing. It seems he and his team get to play the good guys today. Normally, Genin would be sent for this kind of mission, but the town and an investor that plans to buy their farm land and pay them to work it were willing to ante up to pay the extra cost due to the sheer numbers they will be facing.
A crew of bandits with enough members to be considered a battalion has been ravaging an island in the Land of Water in any way they please. Farms have been stripped of goods, houses burned down, women and children taken from their families. Because of their numbers, the townspeople have been unable to fight back successfully. Each time there is a revolt, its leader is beheaded in the center of town for all to see. This island is one of the sources of commerce in Kirigakure, so the town's survival is key in the recovery of the village.
So, here come the giant Swordsman known as Kaguya Odori Keisuke and the three Chuunin who seem to be his team of choice as of late. He literally has a Chuunin for each post of battle, a heavy hitting Taijutsuist who is learning to use Seals, a quite skilled Shirayuki, and a Genjutsuist that uses mirrors and can bend around corners. There really aren't many situations a team like this shouldn't be able to handle, and that is why they are on a ship approaching the island now, a couple hours before sunset, when the bandits usually attack. Sitting at a round table below deck, Keisuke glances around at the three Chuunin at the table with him. A map of the island has been rolled out on the table, the Swordsman about to go over their battle plan. "Kiku, since you're still a bit injured and because this is one of your specialties, you will be stationed here," he says as he circles a large building in the center of the town.
"This is a community center that all the residents in the town should be moved to by now. Kitaru and Aoitsuki will assist you in placing spikes of my bones at all the windows and doors. Once you're done, I will use them to create a barricade around the building when you go inside. When you go in, your job will be to create Seal Barriers as a backup, just in case they have some way of getting through. I doubt it, but it's better that we be prepared because we need these people to survive." A brief glance is cast around at the Chuunin as he asks, "Are there any questions on that part before I contiue?" The town itself is set right in the middle of the island, surrounded by farmland and fruit-producing forestry.
Kitaru was intently studying the map, memorizing position of buildings as well as the surrounding terrain as best as he was able. Knowing the area from a map wouldn't be as good as the bandits who terrorize the area, however having a general feel for the location would be an improvement over going in blind. He'd simply give a shake of his head in response to the question. He figured this was only the beginning and that his part would be outlined soon in how to help with the mission ahead of them.
Kiku shakes her head a bit. She has her orders, and has always carried them out when assigned to her. Its usually during this time that Keisuke can count on Kiku to remain calm and focused around him. The Kaguya who wears the bones of those she's killed in the form of armor. She sits there calm and composed. Seals on her armor and weapons seem to be glowing slightly as she relaxes there. She was informed to bring extra seals with her. The girl takes a few breathes, as her bone mask keeps her emotions from showing. Those who look at it, would not see her eyes either, as she has closed though, and a black make up makes the mask appear to be a hollow skull…
The woman already has a feeling that she knows what the plan is. THey sit inside the building, while Keisuke deals with the bandits. Any manage to break through, then they'll likely attack. Save for one thing. Kiku opens her eyes a little bit. Those pale blue eyes seem to speak a little bit more then she does as her quiet voice travels the room. "Is this not a job for Genins if you are involved?", she asks. "Or are there skilled Shonobi in the ranks that might slip by in the confusion?", the woman asks. "Cause if they slip through your bone barrier, my seals are not going to stop them for very long."
"If they slip through the barrier they are going to die," Aoi replied back to Kiku, slightly crossing her arms along one another as her eyes kept on the map, taking in the surroundings as she began to understand the mission. A soft sigh escapes her lips as she attempts to understand the situation further, there ws always a possibility of running into another shinobi, though it wasn't alarming to Aoi one bit.
" Even shinobi can easily be killed," Aoi commented once more about the subject. She was dressed in her usual beautiful attire, a short skirted blood red kimono garbed along her curvacious and elegant form, she ran a few fingers through her golden locks of hair, she was just interested in ending this mission as quick as possible. " There is nothing to worry about if we are capable…and I believe we are,"
"It would be were it not for the sheer numbers of the enemy," Keisuke replies to Kiku's question, looking at her directly. "As for slipping through, there is a plan for that as well." He listens to Aoitsuki's comments for a moment, giving a nod in agreement. "Yes, but only one of you is going to be stationed inside. If for some reason Kiku fails, I have a plan to take over her position without leaving mine."
Moving the pen to a watch tower directly beside the community center, he makes a circle around it as well. "Kitaru, your position will be here once you are finished helping plant the spikes. Your job will be to use your expertise to thin the numbers that are able to get to the community center. If they get past us and our clones, take them down immediately." He then makes a circle on each side of the village, the latter a bit closer inside. "I will be stationed at the edge of town closest to the docks. Aoitsuki will be at the other. That side of the island is covered in jagged rocks, so the numbers that come from that side should be significantly fewer, but we need you over there just in case. You should have little issue fighting them from a ranged position. Kill them all on sight. Mercy is not an option with these kind of numbers. They would not show us that courtesy."
Pointing to the last circle, closest to the docks, he says, "Most of them will be coming from my position. I had some of the farmers dig a trench across the fence between the village and the fields and fill it with water to give us plenty of ammunition. The numbers that are able to get through should be pretty thin. Feel free to Genjutsu the incoming waves a bit if you get bored, Kitaru, but conserve your energy for those that break through, as that will be the point when you are needed the most." With that, he reaches down to a bag beside him and grabs three Clematis Swords and three flares, placing them on the table. "If the numbers get too heavy for you, shoot this flare up, and I'll assist you with the swords."
Kitaru would nod affirmatively, studying the specifics for where he is assigned as well as gauging distances from it to the different points for support. "It shouldn't be an issue for me to assist as I can. I will conserve the main amount of my energy for if they get close to the building however." Sword and flare taken up, he'd store them within his posessions. "Do we expect any high power enemies, or is this going to be a relatively straight forward drain and kill them later? Should we watch for anyone specific when defending the location in terms of a bandit boss?"
Kiku listens to the plan. In short, her job is to basically let the others thin the herds, wait for the people to smash up against the barrier, and then personally kick their arses back out the holes that they make. The girl watches for now. Her voice is silent though she does want to say something. She moves in her seat slighty as she looks over her seals on her armor. She looks at the sword and the flare taking them, though she's not sure what to make of them.
The mission made sense, and there wasn't going to be any other sort of comments from him. Aoi merely nodded her head as Keisuke further explained the situation, it seemed to be an easy slaughter but of course one had to be weary of any sort of shinobi that was destined to spice up the battle just a bit more… With that she sits herself up and rises to a stand, taking the sword and flare tucking them snug within her kimono. She didn't reply back, but it was obvious from the look in her eyes she was ready to proceed..
"There may be a few with decent hand-to-hand or sword skillls, but much else is rather doubftul. Their strength is in their numbers," Keisuke replies to Kitaru, looking at him and then back to Kiku. By now, he can tell rather easily if something is on her mind, though he normally isn't caring enough to ask. This is a mission, though. "Kiku, I'm going to need you to stand up for a moment," he says as he returns his eyes to her. Since there are no quesitons from either girl so far, he figures now's as good a time as any to do what he needs to be sure Kiku and the villagers will survive this fight. He waits a moment for Kiku to stand, not explaining what he's going to do so far.
Kitaru would nod in response to the answer. Getting to his feet himself, he checked over his gear as he'd step to the side of Aoi. She was a solid shinobi to work with and he was glad for her support. This looked like it'd be a simple enough slaughter, for him it was going to be a challenge to make sure he kept enough back in case of any that break through. Pondering for a moment, he'd pull something from a pocket, focus on it with a small flare of chakra, before offering it to Aoi. A small smile touched his lips for a moment as he looked at her. "For luck. You need help, break the glass. I'll get the signal, hai?"
Kiku gets up. SHe doesn't say anything at the moment. She does wonder why she's standing up, and what Keisuke is going to do to her. THe woman says nothing though. For the moment, her eyes focus, and her lips give a small tug. Not a lot, but enough that Keisuke might see. "Yes sir.", she says. The woman takes a moment to adjust herself.
Aoi was unware of what Keisuke was about to do but needless to say she stood up too, gaining her footing and even accepted the what Kitaru had to offer her. " Sure," Aoi simply replied back, though she was feeling content that she wouldn't even have to worry about such a thing, she tucks that also within her kimono, and just waits to see what was going to happen next…
Once Kiku stands up, Keisuke stands and walks around the table to her. "Hold still," he commands as he places a hand on her shoulder over her normal armor. Once the hand is there, bone begins to move out of his hand and spread over her, encasing her armor that is already there and even adding to it. By the time he is done, her armor is completely made-over and has some extra spikes and such for flare and weaponizing. She has been officially Keisuke-branded and actually has the armor she has always wanted, just not in the form of him being dead. "If you start to wear down, I'll take over."
Ataru whistles softly once the armor is done, a nod given towards Kiku. "Looks good on you." He'd glance between each person then. "If we're ready to go, shall we get going? How far from the village are we from here? It may be faster to run on the water than wait for the boat.." He'd roll his shoulders in a shrug. Obviously, it seems that Kitaru was ready to get this show on the road, as it were.
Kiku blinks a few times as bone starts to from around her shoulders, and down her arms. It moves around the elbows to allow her to still move her elbow, but it thickens a bit so that the elbow isn't an easy target to get to. Her covers her chest and legs a bit, and her mask grows a little thicker with two small horns coming out the top of it. She blinks a few times as she tests out the movement. "In short if I get tired, you're going to use the armor to move me.", she says. The woman gives him this look like, should she trust armor he can use to remote control her body? Though she likes the look of it. The woman takes a deep breath, focusing her mind.
There was still no comment from Aoi but of course she was at least a little interested in what Keisuke had to offer, she simply arched an eyebrow, arms hidden within her sash, there was a slight impatience hinted in Aoi's voice as she finally spoke however. "Are we ready?" The blonde simply asks with a slight raised voice. " I concur… Going by foot may be the best idea for now,"
"Exactly," Keisuke says with a nod before turning to look out the porthole. "That's the plan actually. We don't want to give the bandits any indication that we're there until they're already in the middle of a field of their own blood." Spotting the island not too far away, he turns to walk out the door and head up onto the deck of the ship. "Let's go." He tosses the captain of the ship a small pouch of money before moving to jump over the railing and start running toward the island. His quite long silver hair sways in the wind as the shirtless giant runs toward the island. A rather intense, calculative look shows in his eyes as he moves onto the shore and begins running through the forestry toward the village. One may never see Keisuke so focused or enjoying himself as much as when he's preparing to massacre an army.
Kitaru would give a mute nod. Following the jounin as directed, he leaped off the ship with a foot planted on the railing smoothly. Landing on the water, he took off, doing his best to keep up with Keisuke, although he wasn't nearly as fast as the swordman to be sure. Once on land, he'd prepare to get the bone chips they were to spread out within the village, doing a fast scan of the surroundings to relate the map to what they see within the village itself. Looking up at the tower, a small nod was given. This should definitely make it interesting, a new way to test exactly how far he could push himself to complete the mission.
Aoi showed graced as she moved amongst the water, patting softly as if she was more so glading rather than running, her pace was surprisingly quite too and though the same size as Kiku she was weighted down by a mass of armor, if anything Aoi was as light as a feather, she carried very limited shinobi equipment even for missions like this. As soon as they began to reach land though Aoi began to slow down, becoming a bit more stealth as she looked over the rest of the group, she remembered the lay out and slowly began to make way to her designated location, she moved quietly and slowly, keeping alert for anything suspicious.
As the team runs along, they might notice Keisuke actually spreading shards of bone out across the area in hidden spots. He plans to know the moment the bandits touch the shore. If Kiku starts to get too slow, he uses her armor to speed her up a bit. If he wanted, he could probably make her fly or even fly himself, but he's shown no signs of doing so as of yet. When they finally come into the town, he doesn't even bother to slow down until they finally reach the community center, where he stops and looks around. After a quick glance-around, he starts to focus chakra, and Larch Bone begin to grow out of his chest and back, forming spikes that fall off into piles for the team to pick up and begin planting around the building. It seems he doesn't want to waste any time getting prepared for the mission, as it won't be too long until the morons come for their last attack on this village. "At least the people here know how to listen," he points out. The streets are empty, the only sounds of human life coming from inside the building.
.
"At least that's one boon for us. Now as long as the ditch is dug, it should be an easy slaughter." He took up a handful of the bones, a nod to the others before he'd head off for the building. The side closest to the tower was covered carefully in every conceivable spot he could see with the bone chips he had on hand, making sure that Keisuke had good coverage. Once that was done, Kitaru was up that tower, getting to the top to get organized. Mentally, he'd prepare himself, focusing that chakra as his dark cloak sprung into life. The almost tangible sense of malice it sparked seemed to float down from above, a thin layer over the village itself as he started spreading out his influance to capture those that would be attacking soon in his genjutsu.
Kiku catches up after a few seconds after the team. She goes straight to work on creating the seals. She's not going to be jumping as high as the others, or wall running while in the heavier armor. Though, She knows first hand the Keisuke could just float the armor wherever he choose to. She, however spreads her seals accross the building, and thne takes a deep breath, and craves a rather large seal on the door. The Door has been SEALED! Mwahahahahaha! Err, back to work. Kiki just takes a seat in front of the door, looking at her…rather small blade. The girl shrugs.
Mentally Aoi was already prepared, she moved around quickly, picking up the massive bolts of bones and starting the barriers along the path way, once she picked up a few more she began to close off her position as well, shoving the bones through the ground she sanctioned herself off near the docks, having a clear view of where enemies might come from and even more so a position to manipulate all the water she needed to lay waste to these bandits, though it wasn't like wind was her only source of power either… She kept herself quiet and alert, training her eyes to pick up on anything that might feel out of the ordinary…
Once the bone spikes are set in place, Keisuke brings his hands in a seal to control them, causing the spikes to grow large and larger into vines of bone that form a very stout barricade around the building. "Kiku, get inside," he commands, leaving the door uncovered until she goes in. "We'll see how easy. The individuals will be an easy target, but the mass may be another story, depending on their strategy." With that, he looks back to Kiku, waiting for her to get inside, casting a brief glance to the sky… The sun is starting to set.
Kitaru finally got set up above, he was focused and prepared for the battle ahead. More and more of that dark cloak was pulled in to help him with that defense. Ready and waiting, it would just be a matter of time. Of course, with the evening coming, it wouldn't be as easy to find the targets, but considering what was going on, most likely that wouldn't matter very much anyway.
Kiku sighs a bit as she walks into the building. She hates being the weak link. THe woman takes a seat, waiting for the attack. She doubts that anyone will make it past Keisuke's barrier. If they manage to do that, her seals won't be much to pass through, but it'll give her enough time to get up. She pops her neck, and gets out some rations, nibbling lightly on them.
With Kiku inside, Keisuke finishes barricading the building and walks toward his position closest to the docks. "Be sure you watch your side of the village, Aoitsuki. I've got this one," he says as he moves to his place and places a bone spike in the ground. This one actually forms out into a chair big enough to be a throne, which he moves to sit in as he waits for the sun to set and mark the coming of the bandits. "Make your finally preparation," he calls out. "You've got about thirty minutes." Of course, the chair itself will be split into several auto-weapons once the fight actually begins.
The Chuunin had best prepare quickly because thirty minutes really isn't a lot of time. As the sun drops past the horizon, the sight of dozens of lit torches comes into view as the massive group of bandits makes its way toward the village. Their leader stands out front of the group, holding a torch high and leading his men. He's actually a fairly big guy, only a few inches shorter than Keisuke himself. The small army of riff-raff would look quite intimidating to most people, but this Swordsman spent years taking down armies on his own. This is like clocking in for work to him.
As the leader of the bandits notices that the streets seem to be emptier than usual and the man in the throne at the edge of the village, he blinks and starts to making his way more hurriedly toward them. "What the robin are you doing?" his gruff voice rings out as he stops about fifty feet from the trench that was dug.
"Enjoying the sunset while I wait to kill all of you," Keisuke replies rather dryly with from his throne, a faint smirk on his face.
"That'd be a neat trick!"
"Oh, would it?" Keisuke replies with a chuckle as he points his right hand out at the bandits. Four bullets of bone fly from his fingers twice, spiraling and drilling through the skulls of ten of the bandit henchman to kill them almost instantly. As their bodies fall to the ground, Keisuke stands up from his chair and stretches out a bit. "Well, how about we perform a bit of magic here?"
"Kill him!" the leader shouts out, motioning for the bandits to begin charging the village, which they do immediately, storming like mad men toward a prize.
Kitaru was ready, the torches of course just made his life that much easier. Considering that they were distracted, trying to attack a swordman of the mist of all things! Kitaru got to work. That dark cloak had more chakra poured into it, the dark malice spreading a little wider as he started linking minds. Most of the mob was easy to gather up, Kitaru made a mental line even with the throne of bone. Anyone and everyone that got to that point was linked, he prepared to start dropping people as soon as they got too far past Keisuke.
Aoi didn't attack just yet…She kept herself hidden, resting near the side building, though she was focusing a torrent of chakra and channeling it directly into the water before her, That was her own preperation, expanding her chakra until many things of senbon began to take form and shape under the water, and as they stormed for now she kept on with her preperation, biting down on her bottom lip she kept the focus, Her end of things might have gotten a few people but soon enough she would rain so much hell on them it will perhaps stagger the bandits and quite frankly demoralize them… For now she let them mass…
As some of the bandits begin to fall from Genjutsu, Keisuke chuckles a bit and brings his hands into a seal. Not many of these guys are going to get past, it seems, as about nine forms of him rise up from the trench in front of him. All the forms of him then do something he rarely does, except in a more dire battle… He draws the Kubikiribocho, the Executioner's Blade. In massive swings and combinations, the giant Swordsman strikes at the bandits over and over, obliterating a few men with each strike. A few torch lights are seen coming from Aoitsuki's side as well, a few dozen bandits beginning to pour slowly from her side of the village, her own small onslaught headed her way.
Kitaru nodding to himself as he'd start tagging the bandits, dropping those that crossed his line. As the other set of fires was seen from the other side, he'd peer in that direction, focusing himself, he'd ease up those links on Keisuke's side to direct attention towards Aoi's side. Once again that line was formed, about 15 feet short of the ditch that had been made. If any of the men made it over that, he would attack with that link and subsuquent draining. Of course, Kitaru had an eye out for the boss, that one was going to be made to pay for even forming this army, just as soon as he gets a little closer in range.
Aoi raised a hand, suddenly as the men came storming in her direction the water along the deck rose and crystalized into ice, and leaping over the dock raining a hail of deadly ice spikes right ontop of the enemies to bring about a quick death. Aoi wasn't paying attention to what was going on else where… Her mind was keeping her own part of the mission complete and ready to bring any sort of backup to the others if necessary.
With Kitaru's help in bringing some of the line down, Keisuke is having very little difficult in bringing the bandits down. Of course, their numbers seem to be thickening by the second on his side. The moment he chops one man down, five more pop up in his place. "The roaches just keep popping back up!" the Swordsman calls out with ten voices as he continues striking down upon the oncoming bandits again and again. A clone of his head appears next to Kitaru in the tower, saying, "Hey, kid. Let me know when it looks like they're all out of the woods so I can show you kids what I did on my last trip here."
Startled, he glanced at the head, stunned for a moment before laughing with a shake of his head. "Hai. It looks close to the end from what I can see on your side. Aoi-san is having a bit of a battle on her own side, however I've not had to help over there. If you do it now, most of them should be caught in whatever you had planned.. Kiku-san, Aoi-san and I could probably clean up any left when yer done, hai?"
"Exactly," the head of Keisuke says with a nod. "Just shout 'now' when it's time." With that, it dissipates and falls into a small puddle on the ground outside the tower. It's not long before all the torches have comes and all the bandits have come out of the woods. A rather evil grin rests on Keisuke's face as he slices through the bandits, one after another. The giant Swordsman apparently has some rather evil plan that he cooked up long before this day to be sure his team was the winning team.
Aoitsuki continued her own assault, raining down senbon after senbon to cut into the targets, it was taking up quite a lot of chakra but some how she managed… Forming up the water and then crystalizing it into ice, the docks became ravaged with icy spikes cutting and stabbing into each individual, most of them dropping like flies from suddenly impaled and others needing an extra set of ice to drag them down, forcing them into submission to be impaled yet again by another volley of ice… It seemed to just keep coming and coming…
With the signal given by Kitaru, a single, the original Keisuke jumps back over the trench and brings his hands into a seal. The reason he got out of the way becomes clearly obvious as spikes of bone drive up from the ground all over the field in front of him, the area across the trench. Suddenly, the battlefield in front of him has become a spike pit that has filled itself with screaming and mangled bodies just by being created. The amount of thought this man puts into a battle and to killing is suddenly a bit more clear, as he prepared beforehand to create a massacre. This scene is something one would only expect to ever hear about in tales like that of Vlad the Impaler.
Kiku just sits there, just now figuring out what drove Keisuke to drink that nasty drink he likes so much. To past the time, and keep from getting bored when he has to wait…
As they kept coming Aoi simply kept on with her jutsu, switching to water jutsu instead, sending wave after wave of pericing volleys into the target. Lucky for her though there was no one heading in her direction, she took a slight step back, cranking out chakra and filling the water below, she constantly attacked wave after wave, hopefully the deck becoming so slippery it is hard to even move…
After using that jutsu to such a massive effect, Keisuke takes a few seconds to pause and breathe. Even he can get winded after a bit. He has yet to master the Dance of the Seedling Ferns, but the use of something like that may be proof that he is not far away from attaining it. Once he's caught his breath, he moves back across the trench and grabs a spike of bone from the ground, actually ripping it from a fresh corpse and turning it into a Camellia Sword to throw it spiraling around the part of the battlefield he has been attacking to take down anyone remaining that may have been missed by the spikes. Like he said before, no survivors.
Kiku sits inside the barriers, getting frustrated a bit. "Keisuke! I swear that if I don't get one kill in this mission, I'm taking it out of your pay!", she mutters. The girl gets up, and paces a bit. She is a Kaguya, and can smell the blood in the air, along with the screams. Pacepacepace….Almost like a wild animal. She's certain he can sense her frustration…
Aoi finally began to relax her jutsu, she was running out of gas to be quite honest…Panting quietly she just didn't seem to have the same vigor as Keisuke and eventually dropped to one kne as hopefully the last of the last was long dead. A sigh escapes her lips and she releases the chakra she had pumped into the water, letting out once gasp and finally speaking into the bone Keisuke had given her. "Running out of chakra now.." She spoke softly though she was almost certain that Keisuke could just sense it..
"You have no control over my pay. I control yours," the voice of Keisuke rings out from nearby Kiku, a head of him floating nearby. "Complain, and you won't get paid for this mission at all." With that, it dissipates once again. Outside, once Keisuke is satisfied that the field on his side is clear, he turns and moves over to Aoitsuki's position. He quickly reaches over to his shoulder and grabs a Camellia Sword from it, giving a nod to the girl before closing his eyes for a moment to feel out around the area where he has left the bone shards. After a moment, he tosses the blade, sending it around a corner to impale a man directly through the heart. As it flies back around, his body is drug rather limply… The leader of the bandits. "Game over, bluejay," the Swordsman says as the blade goes all the way through the man, finishing him off, and, with him, the last of the bandits that are standing. "All that's left is to slit the throats of the ones Kitaru took down with Genjutsu."
Kiku frowns a bit, and grumbles. She goes back to sitting, waiting for him to get done with his fun. She punches the ground, leaving a rather sizeable hole next to her. Her seals glow a bit as her skin hardens. Yeah, somebody isn't happy. Once she's out of here, she's smashing things….
Keisuke stepped in quite nicely, clearing the battle field for her like it was nothing, though to be fair many of them were already quite worn out from her assault… She watched as Keisuke stabbed his blade into each individual slicing and dicing… It seemed to be what the kaguya was best known for. Rising back to a stand and the battle coming finally to an end, Aoi nodded her head at Keisuke's request. "Good idea," Aoi replies back jumping down from her position to join up next to him, summong a small dart of ice to slice into the necks of unfortunate beings stuck in a genjutsu.. She began to find each individual, leaning down and easily slicing their throat.. Bandits was one group of people Aoi had no paitence for… And killing them was an even greater solution for her…
Keisuke and Aoitsuki walk around for a bit, finishing off the last of the bandits. A vast majority of them have bled out on the field of bone spikes. Once they are done, he walks up to the community center and makes the bones guarding the door part. He then opens it and looks inside. "Kiku, our job is done here. You and I are going to have a talk later about doing your part in a mission, no matter how boring you think that part is. The repairs for this floor are also coming out of your pay. Now let's go before we miss the boat." Glancing to the head of the village, he gives a nod.
"We'll send you the bill. Be sure you torch all these bodies. I'm sure their ashes will make for good fertilizer to make your fields rich enough to make up for the trouble they caused you." That said, the Swordsman turns and starts to make his way down the path away from the village. He lifts a hand to wave for Kitaru to come from his position and follow. A moment later, all the bones he created for the battle, save for those guarding the center, the swords he gave the team, and Kiku's armor turn into dust and fade away into the wind, leaving only their bloody aftermath. All in all, another bloodbath of a mission accomplished. This team is going to be severely battle-hardened if they keep hanging around Keisuke.
