Starring:
Rune, Akio, Yama, Obukuen
Date: September 22, 2016
Summary:
Now that things have taken a bit more of a frontline in terms of the strange group of kidnapped teens, the Nidaime Tsuchikage leads a few genin to where she thinks another couple of kids might pop up.
"Land of Despair - Solitary Bros"
Land of Earth
Within Iwagakure, a strange occurrence was popping up: a very muscular woman showed up fighting a bear puppet and spoke of her friends having been kidnapped. Now that Iwagakure was aware of this situation, they could start sending out people to find the missing and kidnapped. According to the fighter, Koizumi Koharu, there were thirteen others just scattered around the Land of Earth. Two of them were found, so now Rune herself was leading a small patrol group of skilled (?) genin to the northwestern reaches of Iwagakure's borders and then some.
The team itself took half a day to reach their destination, and from there, they were forced to just look around. "Be sure to leave no stone unturned," Rune warns as she trails along. They were in a rather large open 'field'. The earth here was rather flat, but occasional an outcropping of rocks would interrupt the smooth surface. The rocks tended to be spiky, acting as miniature mountains were one the size of an ant or something. Truthfully, there didn't seem to be anything of interest here. But Rune knew there was something suspicious because there was the faintest of chakra signatures here. She just couldn't figure out where or how.
Akio was just yawning a bit as he looked around via the earth. That was the best chance he had to see things. That was for certain. Anywho he would send his chakra out in pulses every….. ten or so seconds. Hopefully that allowed him to not miss anything. "So do you expect us to find anything out here?" He asked of Rune. Then he just continued on longer. This was boring, but it kept giving him something to do besides just sit around waiting. He… Disliked having to wait. Especially when everything he was waiting for was a haunted past that wanted to drag him back.
Obukuen was grateful to be picked to go along. To be honest, he hadn't had many real opportunities. He was doing his best though, so I guess that's all he could do. Sadly at the moment his best wasn't going to be much help. He wasn't like the others with their special sensing abilities. He had his shield on his arm and walked about with the rest of the group, doing his best to survey the area. Guess it was possible he might see something out of the ordinary.
"Leave no stone unturned! Understood!" Yama repeated those orders as he went along with the group, yes, still shirtless. He just couldn't find anything that worked! "Can anyone explain the woman with the bear? I understand the mission, but her specifically!" Was there anything about her he should knor or…? "I will await an answer!" Until then, he'll be searching around here.
Rune blinks a bit at Yama, trying to separate the commotion above ground from any hints that might be below. "There was a fighter. And there was a puppeteer. We were able to 'capture' both, though the fighter was more cooperative in sharing information. The puppeteer simply rambled about despair and darkness." Rune taps a foot against the ground, 'listening' for anything suspicious with her earthen sense. Both the Tsuchikage and Akio would be able to detect that there was an empty space below the ground some yards away. No one else would notice anything strange, though. Rune's eyes turn in the correct direction, which happened to hold a series of rocks that looked suspiciously to be in the shape of a bear … A very triangular bear that strained the imagination, but a bear nonetheless.
Akio frowned and raised his head a bit before focusing chakra. Rune seemed to spot the same thing he did so he just gestured that way for the other two. So he started walking along a bit towards that location. His senses focusing on that spot rather than anything else. "What do you think is down there?" He whispered to Rune. The others would hear if nearby. He was just walking there slowly.
Obukuen pauses in his search, thinking, "The…annoying guy and that girl right? I didn't realize…" He chews his lip, taking in the information. Wouldn't do to be so unaware, he'd best do better with his assessment of people, but that was easier said than done. When he notices Rune looking in a particular direction he follows her gaze, peering at the spot though taking some time to discern the shape of the bear but one would assume this is what caught Rune's attention, Akio's as well. He hurried over, keeping his shield ready, "We haven't triggered any traps so far, this place has been clear as far as we know which is different from the beach. Guess anything would be possible at this point?"
"Oh…" Yama was still confused, but that answer was probably as good as any, at the moment. He kept close with the group, still looking around the area they were in and keeping vigilant. "Anything to report thus far? I have not seen anything," he whispered. Yes, whispered! "I will continue searching."
"If I remember the report correctly, it's probably a cavern that some of the captives are in," Rune would reply to Akio. "The last report on this case mentioned that things had traps all over the place, so let's proceed with caution." She would give a small nod to Obukuen. "Hai, those two were actually some of the friends that the fighter mentioned. The three of them are currently in a safe house somewhere within Iwagakure. They didn't feel particularly safe around others, so I let them have their own space. Away from the puppeteer." Said puppeteer was in a jail cell and getting questioned.
Suddenly, something seemed to get triggered. Obukuen might have spoken too soon about the traps, as the bear-shaped rocks would suddenly shift themselves a bit. … Their heads were literally rolling along the ground before they suddenly exploded! Explosive tags or some sort of bomb? Pretty much. It was a bit surprising how odd the trap was, but explosions weren't the only goal of said trap. It also served to blanket the area in a thick screen of smoke that made seeing and smelling difficult, and the blast likely is making everyone's ears ring, if they aren't careful.
Akio looked at Rune and nods quickly. "I see. That is okay. I figure that they are safest that way at least. Some people may not want them here even if they are… The victims here." He looked around for a moment until suddenly he saw the heads roll off and onto the ground. He quickly made a dome of earth that was barely budged by the explosion before dropping it once it was done. "That…. Was annoying." He frowned and just started to look around from traps. He didn't want more of that to happen. At all.
Obukuen was looking to Rune as she explained things, nodding a little. No doubt they would get the information needed, though he'd rather not hear about that. He was well aware what when on when prisoners were question and it wasn't to his taste. Of course then the heads were rolling, and exploding around them. He focused and channeled his chakra into the ground where a barrier of earth shot up to try and block the explosion, though he still turned and raised his shield against the barrier. Probably for the best, as his barrier rumbled then burst apart. His shield could only do so much and the shrapnel and fire of explosion hit him. He growled a bit, biting down against the pain over his back, shoulders, and legs. But it was expected, and he brushed aside the dirt. Peering about he was at a loss, the smoke and debris clouded the air. This wasn't good, and he kept his shield up and ready.
Yama kept himself quiet, mostly as he was still focused on searching out anything that he may be able to find. He might not have been good at it, but the only way he was going to be is by training himself here and now. When the bear heads came rolling off their bodies and onto the ground, he frowned first, but a look of realization cleared his face as he placed up his defenses and endured the explosion. Still, it was…pretty loud and he wasn't happy about his ears ringing.
"This is where the fight begins," he spoke aloud while gathering his energy. He was going to need it going forward.
Despite people keeping a careful eye out for other traps, they continue to be triggered. Perhaps that's because there was actually an enemy keeping an eye on things! No, not really. It's just the fact that once one trap triggers, the rest will follow. IT is fairly similar to how dominoes work, really… The dust that was blinding everyone would prevent the group from seeing several nets suddenly shoot out to try and trap the group! And then following the net happened to be a number of kunai and senbon, all of which are poisoned.
[NPC System]: Traps roll(s) Net Fling (Rune) from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 33. - Rolled by: Rune
[NPC System]: Traps roll(s) Net Fling (Akio) from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 22. - Rolled by: Rune
[NPC System]: Traps roll(s) Net Fling (Yama) from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 39. - Rolled by: Rune
RPCOMBAT: Rune defends against with a EARTH-DOME…45
[NPC System]: Traps roll(s) Multi Poisoned Sharp (Rune) from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 38. - Rolled by: Rune
[NPC System]: Traps roll(s) Multi Poisoned Sharp (Akio) from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 29. - Rolled by: Rune
[NPC System]: Traps roll(s) Multi Poisoned Sharp (Yama) from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 36. - Rolled by: Rune
RPCOMBAT: Rune defends against with a EARTH-DOME…45
Rune would make a handseal, and the earth itself shifts to make a protective dome around her person. She wasn't quite quick enough to block the initial explosion, and she ended up with ringing ears and a few burns from the explosion. However, the Sasaki was quick to finish that dome, and the net and other sharp poisonous objects would fail to penetrate through her defenses. "Che… This is annoying…" she mutters to herself, the woman sending a pulse of chakra through the ground to try and figure out where the other traps happen to be. She was also trying to investigate the empty space she and Akio noticed earlier.
RPCOMBAT: Rune defends against with a TREMOR-SENSE-II…49
RPCOMBAT: Akio defends against with a CRUMBLE…36
RPCOMBAT: Akio defends against with a CRUMBLE…55
Akio saw more traps go off and his only reaction was to….. Crumble. He moved a bit and looked at Rune with a slight head ache. "I wonder if you can just remove the earth here? Open it up?" He asked. "That way we could see what is underneath easily." He chuckled lightly to try and ease the tension. "Anyways… What do you want us to do Rune? I am up for basically anything if it would help. Alright?" He smiled towards her.
RPCOMBAT: Yama defends against with a BIDING-TIGER…38
RPCOMBAT: Yama defends against with a BIDING-TIGER…36
RPCOMBAT: Yama defends against with a TENSE…10
[NPC System]: Traps roll(s) Explosives (Damage) vs. Yama from 350 to 700 and get(s) a 551. - Rolled by: Rune
RPCOMBAT: Yama took 551 damage.
"OW! You cowards! Come and fight me man to man!" Yama shouted. "Woman to man!" He added, giving it further thought. "Whatever you are! This is not how fighters engage one another!" He was busy attempting to fight off the net, having already worked himself up enough to have the sharp weapons fall out of his body. "When I escape, you will feel my wrath!"
RPCOMBAT: Rune defends against with a MULTIPLE-EARTH-STYLE-WALL…65
"That is probably a good idea," Rune says to Akio, making another handseal. It is then, seemingly without effort, that several walls appear to shield the small group of Iwa-nin from all sides. Not before Yama got hurt by another explosion, but they were all safe and sound at this point. The woman takes a breath, glad that there was a small respite from the series of traps. Then she looks down at the ground. "I believe it was here, yes?" she inquires, making a few handseals. "Akio-san, if you could lift that side up and over while I do the other?" And then the earth begins to peel itself backwards, revealing the hollow interior… … …
Akio looked at Rune and smiled. "I thought so." He looked at the walls and nods somewhat. Was a good skill to have really. Oh and then he was asked to help her and he blinked a few times. "Umm I umm. I guess. I am not SUPER good at earth I feel. Probably not as good as you, but I can do it I think." He started to peel the earth. Not as quickly as she was but it was peeling at least. And it would of course reveal the interior. He frowned a bit and looked at it for a moment. "So…….."
Yama managed to work his way out of the netting, but he was going to be feeling that poison for a bit. Still, he acted as if it wasn't a big deal and kept pushing forward. Wouldn't be the first time he's tangled with poison, won't be the last. "This is the best time for you to learn how to be best with the earth. I know nothing of it, so I will trust you to do what you must," he nodded encouragingly to Akio. "What have we found?" He inquired once the earth was pulled back to reveal more.
Gazing upwards happens to be two young men. One of them had spiky black hair and red eyes, and he looked as stiff as a board. The other was pretty grumpy-looking. He had this really interesting hair that was sort of like a mohawk, but it stuck out forwards from the top of his head. They were both reasonably tall, and the latter looked like he lifted every now and then. "A-ha! I told you that sitting here peacefully would allow us to have the most positive outcome!" the rather stiff-looking one would say. "Shut up, idiot. Just because we got found doesn't mean that sitting on our butts would do anything." "What? You dare call me an idiot? I would have the teachers on you if we were at school!" "Yeah yeah…"
"… I see we've stumbled upon two more interesting characters…" Rune says with a quirk of her brow. "Could you two please step out for the time being? We will all travel back to Iwagakure and you two will get to see your friends again." Rune then glances back at Yama and Akio. "Are you two doing alright? Do you think you can hold up? Also, do you sense anymore traps?"
Akio eyes the two of them with a small frown. "These… These people… Are just.. A mess. Rune do I have permission to just tie them up in metal and carry them home that way?" He asked as he eyed the two of them. "And I am fine." He said to here. His gaze would turn to Yama for a bit before shrugging. "He can carry one of them." His gaze went back to the two new folks. "Well anyways we should hurry back. I don't sense anything yet but.. Should be careful anyways." He just waited and watched things unfold. Either that or would head back in the lead for Rune to handle those two.
"What do you mean by mess?" Yama was genuinely confused. "They do not appear to have wasted themselves," he looked further and even sniffed at the air to get an idea of what scents he could pick up. "I still feel the poison, but I will be fine. I can walk it off and have it out of my system soon. It was not strong enough to debilitate me." Having his muscles feel numb wasn't comfortable, though and it showed as he moved his body. He had a good sense of how it worked, but there were a few oddball twitches here and there. "I haven't seen any traps. I trust you both will see them better than I will."
"It should be fine to leave them be, Akio-kun…" Rune says, perhaps a bit doubtful of her own words. "If they prove to be trouble, we'll have to keep them bound. But for now, they'll be fine." She would nod to the other two when they share information, and she lowers the earthen walls that she created while also creating a sort of staircase to allow for the two teenaged boys to climb up. The straight-laced fellow would bow and respectfully thank each one of them while the other would offer a gruff 'thanks' and just follow along. Likely unwillingly.
The trip back to the Hidden Stone was a long one because the found pair would often bicker before slipping into silence. Then they would start up their bickering again. Really, they were just complete opposites in terms of personalities… Rune eventually threatened to have the pair gagged, and they stopped their friendly 'discussion' until they were back in Iwa and reunited with their friends. All that being said, the team weren't any closer to figuring out who set all this up, but they at least found some of the missing teens.
