Starring:
Date: August 9, 2014
Summary:
A team of Kirigakure shinobi under lead by Renai undergo a C-Rank mission to deliver supplies and missives to Sunagakure. They encounter a giant, territorial rattlesnake along the way.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Mother Snake"
En route from Kirigakure to Sunagakure
Mission Objective: Deliver missives and supplies to Sunagakure
Rank: C
Possible Dangers: Bandits or wild beasts
Time: Morning
Weather: Cloudy
Participants: Naoya, Yuriko, Renai
After a somewhat long sea voyage, the merchant ship transporting various goods to be delivered directly at the docks and a group of Kirigakure shinobi would crawl into the small desert port. So far, the vessel has yet to come under attack by either bandits or the forces of nature-a stroke of luck really. It missed a bad current of storms.
The troupe of ninja had been instructed to leave the port for Sunagakure immediately upon arrival and that is how they have found themselves here, crossing the desert under a fairly warm sun. The clouds offer brief respite from the harsh climate, but they have miles to cover with limited shelter from the elements and little in the way of water or game.
Green hair flicks about in gusts of wind from beneath a loose-fitting head wrap, doubling as protection from the sun and sand-laden wind. The Touketsu girl, Renai, leads them on doggedly, her eyes focused on two particular sand dunes in the distance. Her fingers are tucked beneath the straps of a bag containing scrolls of their provisions as well as scrolls containing those for the village, along with bundles of missives. The girl pauses as they come to the top of a dune. She stops and turns to look back to make sure everyone is accounted for.
Renai reaches up to pull the cloth off her lips and asks over the sound of the wind, "How is everyone? Does anyone need to stop for a bit?"
RP: Renai joins the roleplay.
COMBAT: It is now Renai's turn.
It was hard to tell the exact gender of the being following along behind the young Touketsu woman, as they were covered from the shoulders down to their ankles in a thin press with long and loose sleeves though the lack of a bust suggested it to be a male. The young Okumo's head was also covered with a wrapped band across his brow, keeping in place a shorter sheet that covers over his hair, his ears and most of his neck.
"Hot.." was said in reply but only under his breath. Taking in a breath, Naoya answers more clearly, "I wouldn't ask any to stop and rest Renai-san." Raising a hand, the Okumo presses the cloth mostly covering his ears forward, using it to wipe the sweat that manage to bead close to his eyes before fixing it back. The young teen's shoulders slack some as he begins to look towards the faces of the others also traveling with them.
RP: Naoya joins the roleplay.
Led through the desert under the miserable, unrelenting sun, Yuriko mutters darkly under her breath. Not understanding at all how people could live in such a barren wasteland. It's the complete opposite of home. There's no shade, no water. How could people live without water?! She lets out a long sigh and glances up to peer at the clouds, annoyed that they aren't helping at all. But even if they did, she heard that when it really does rain in the desert, it's unrelenting.
Grumbling still, Yuriko dips her chin deeper into the hood of her kimono, shielding her fair skin from the heat and sunlight, following the Renai's impression of where they should go. Only when their leader stops at the top of a particularly high dune does she glances up. "Miserable. Thank you for asking. Can we get this done and over with?" Yup. Naoya pretty much summerized it well with one word.
RP: Yuriko joins the roleplay.
Ahead of the group, a small group of mule deer bound off and into the distance sands hurriedly. Their silhouettes appear briefly over one of the dunes Renai is walking toward and then disappear down the other side, likely toward a nearby oasis. However, whatever had frightened the small flock is hidden among the sands for now, unable to be seen by ordinary means.
The young Touketsu can't help but grin at Naoya's and Yuriko's misery. But, she agrees. It is difficult to come from such a humid climate into such a dry one. "Agreed. I'd rather get there before nightfall. Let's go." Renai reaches up to pull the wrap back over the lower half of her face and nods once in affirmation. Having had her back turned to the running deer, she hasn't seemed to notice the commotion. The kunoichi just turns and starts walking toward the two sand dunes again.
COMBAT: Renai finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Naoya's turn.
The young Okumo raises his head slightly to check the sun's position but then quickly drops his head, muttering. "Hopefully after the sun drops more everything will cool off." Amber eyes note the creatures running about, not quite sure they were though he was confused by the actions of most of the creatures during the trip and simply shrugs.
"If those things are running about.. should be a place for us to collect fresh water." Looking away from the others traveling with them, to either side and even a distance behind them, trying to hope for a spring of some sort or even a mudded patch.
COMBAT: Naoya finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Yuriko's turn.
Yuriko narrows her eyes at Renai's grin, obviously their leader was enjoying this a little too much. She grumbles to herself and dips her chin further, shading her eyes in the shadow of her hood as her gaze flicks to the bounding deer, the sand… Her bright blue green eyes narrow in thought. "Wait." she murmurs softer, an edge of caution in her voice as she stretches her senses. "Ahead of us. In the sand." Yuriko murmurs softer still. "The snake is about twenty feet long."
COMBAT: Yuriko finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Renai's turn.
As the trio approaches the far dunes, a rattling starts up, verifying Yuriko's assessment. The creature moves suddenly, the sand around it shifting to reveal the differences in color. The snake is pale and shaded in hues of brown and tan to blend with the sands.
The slender body moves and begins to coil, blocking their path in defense of her territory. It must be at least twenty feet long and with a girth that could swallow a small child! The massive creature lifts its head and hisses maliciously, exposing fangs dripping with venom and a flickering forked tongue.
Renai pauses a few feet away from the beast at Yuriko's warning. She would have walked right on top of the snake if she hadn't been warned. The Touketsu's eyes harden and she attempts to move to the left around the coiled beast. It uncoils suddenly and moves to follow Renai, rattling tail flicking violently in warning. She freezes in place and just doesn't move for now other than to slowly..SLOWLY lift her hands to form a seal. The kunoichi would sense through the sand beyond, her senses extending through the silted material. "She's protecting a nest." Renai nods in the direction. "About fifty feet ahead, on the other side of these dunes and buried in the ground. We need to get around her somehow. Any suggestions?" She attempts to keep her voice calm and clear, but the baleful gaze of the snake is -definitely- making her sweat.
COMBAT: Renai finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Naoya's turn.
The lazy gaze of the thirsty teen focuses onto Yuriko for a moment when she speaks up before turning towards Renai as she also began to stock stock still. Shifting his attention towards the area before the young woman, he begins to tap at his right thigh lightly before raising his tongue to the top of his mouth while twisting his lips, chittering briefly. Pointing his hands down to his pant legs before in the more difficult tracks before letting his hands drop again.
Eight soil brown spiders slip from within the robes and flow down his arms and cross over his palms. Each spider spun a thread before lowering itself from one of his fingers before skittering off. "She is large.. she would be rather fast for us to handle. I'm not really wanting to fight in this heat either.. mind if we lure her away with a bit of trickery?" A light smile appears on his lips but it fades quickly as his fingers begin to twist as he begins forming a short series of seals. "Let these little ones get into position."
COMBAT: Naoya finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Yuriko's turn.
Hearing the rattling of the tail, Yuriko tenses just slightly, gaze flicking in the direction of the nest. There isn't another snake, just the one… She thinks to herself before blinking in Naoya's direction, spotting the spiders skittering from his robes. A small smirk touches her lips. He was thinking along the same lines. "Divide and distract. She can't protect the nest from all of us, and if we give a wide birth then she won't have a reason to strike at us."
COMBAT: Yuriko focuses 1570 stamina to turn it into 2500 usable chakra!
COMBAT: Yuriko finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Renai's turn.
The large snake moves back to her original spot and coils up, menacingly, seeing that Renai is moving no further. The female glares at the other two suspiciously and continues to flick her tongue against the ground with a constant rattle of agitation. She doesn't seem to like being surrounded.
Renai's immediate internal reaction is to kill it with fire! But, she amends that quickly to kill it and cook it for meat. And, then with Naoya's words, the Touketsu nods. "Agreed. We need to conserve our energy as much as possible. Luring her seems to be the best option." Her eyes scan the area, gauging distance and attempting to summon up the abilities of the others.
Nodding once, Renai moves her arms to pull the bag of scrolls from her shoulder. "I'm going to pull the snake off to the left to give you guys a head start toward the eggs. I can't outrun it, but I have genjutsu." She tosses the bag to Naoya, "Make sure these get to the village no matter what. You and Yuriko will head straight. Tamper with the eggs to get her off me and then run toward the village. It's maybe.. two more miles in that direction. I'll be running really far out of the way so I'll meet up with you guys there." Renai points.
"Sound good?" The kunoichi would await a response before putting the plan into action.
COMBAT: Renai focuses 2045 stamina to turn it into 3000 usable chakra!
COMBAT: Renai finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Naoya's turn.
Clinching his hands together, a second young Okumo manages just inside sidestep the tossed bag, treating it as if it was a plague rotted creature. The actual Naoya slips a hand away and catches the bag. "I was planning to send in a clone as soon as I managed to get an all clear that they found the nest." Looking at the bag curiously he moves it into the upper chest divide of the gown, slipping it into a satchel he wore under it.
"Can you make even a basic clone tag along? We'll stay a good distance away from the nest, no clue if they would be others close by." Glancing towards Yuriko, he nods lightly towards her before motioning towards the clone of himself. Looking back towards Renai, he studies her for a moment before following her direction. "Don't keep it too distracted and end up getting bit. I don't think any of us are actual medics, are we?"
RPCOMBAT: Naoya defends against with a CLONE-TECHNIQUE…16
COMBAT: Naoya finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Yuriko's turn.
"We're not leaving you behind." Yuriko murmurs. "We can get her off of you without leaving you behind." Her bright eyes glance at Naoya out of the corner of her eye. As he nods towards her, she smirks and swiftly clasps her hands together, forming the signs with her deft fingers. Smoke puffs around her, and several copies of Yuriko appear. "Let's get to distracting." Two of the Yurikos head to the right, intending to dodge the snake while also heading towards the nest itself. That should keep it busy.
RPCOMBAT: Yuriko defends against with a CLONE-TECHNIQUE…21
COMBAT: Yuriko finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Renai's turn.
The snake seems to be getting more and more irritated as they talk and move about. She emits a deep hiss and wound tight, her body tensing in preparation to attack one of the ninja. She /does/ lunge once, a sudden dart and retreat in warning. If they stay much longer, she may start a real attack.
Renai nods to Naoya. "She will only follow me so far before she turns back. Using a clone to actually approach the nest is a better idea. That will let us get farther away." She forms quick hand seals to form a pair of clones as well. They rush in behind Yuriko's clones and bound over the writhing coils of the snake. Once they are clear, the actual Renai forms one more hand seal. Sand would leap up around the snake and explode. The attack doesn't seem to be quite as strong with the medium of sand, but it does confuse the creature for a split second. "C'mon!" Renai would motion to Naoya and Yuriko in turn and take off in a sprint toward the direction of the village. Two mile runs in the sand are nothing for Kiri genin, right?
Behind them, the snake uncoils suddenly and takes after the clones heading toward her nest in a rage.
COMBAT: Renai attacks target 1 with DIRT-BOMB with a roll of: 24
RPCOMBAT: Renai defends against with a CLONE-TECHNIQUE…13
COMBAT: Renai finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Naoya's turn.
The spiders, while they were away from the rest of the group made short work, of making efforts or seeming efforts to disturb the nest. Partially lucky for, and in pain because of, the silken cord tethering them to Naoya, they could feel a clone tapping the cords as they are stepped on. From the cords, the scouts also could feel the sudden tug of their host turning into a sprint in a distant direction.
The young teen begins to follow behind Renai swiftly, trying to keep her pace. Amber eyes constantly track the serpent, wincing slightly once it struck the forward most clone. Turning his gaze away, he focuses his attention to the pair to ask, "There was a spider out in these dunes I would like to find.. if we cross it, could we return for it later?"
With Renai's urging, the real Yuriko sprints with her team mates in the direction of the village. Only when they're out of direct danger does she giggle out loud, entertained by the whole experience. "That was actually fun." Behind her, the clones of Yuriko flail about to keep the snake's attention, poofing from existence when it gets within striking range. Hearing Naoya though, Yuriko turns her attention towards him as they fun. She couldn't help but frown a little in concern for the spider that was left behind. His brood wasn't so big after all.
The snake lunges at each clone in turn, snapping at them with her fangs only to be met with poofs of disappointment. By the time all the clones are dispersed, they are out of range thankfully. The mommy snake moves to her nest and circles around it protectively.
Renai glances over to Yuriko with a look of exasperation. How did she find that fun? Scary as scale! She does /not/ like snakes. Slightly out of breath, the Touketsu looks to Naoya. "You said you're looking for a spider? What does it look like?" The Touketsu glanced about for a few moments. "We can look for it on the way back should you wish. Or, maybe we'll find one in the village." With those last words, Renai turns to start walking again. This time the walls of Sunagakure are visible in the distance.
"Now that I think about it.. There is one about the side of your forearm that I would like, but a nicer one is within the land of trees." Closing his eyes as they ran, he hums to himself lightly. Nodding to himself lightly the young Okumo's tone became a little more cheerful even within the heat. "The other one I want from here is smaller than the tip of your thumb.. should be able to kill that snake or most chuunin with a untreated bite in a few hours." The scouts that had been left behind seemingly were closing in on the group, seeming to band together in groups of four and intertwine their silken cords and climb upon them to return more quickly. "I would love to bring a pair home to study, maybe for breeding later on."
Now that they are out of danger, Yuriko doesn't mind her pace slowing, just slightly and keeping pace with the others until Renai starts walking again. Seeing the walls around Sunagakure, it's something of a relief. It's doubtful that they'll see much more trouble now. "I'll help you look for your spider if you like, Naoya-kun. That would be fun too! Maybe after the mission though."
As they approach the village, Renai would request her bag from Naoya. Not everything in there is for the village, after all. She would extend a small scroll to the guards at the gate to gain their admittance. The trio would be ushered quickly to the rendezvous point and Renai would go through the bag, removing the bulk of the scrolls and bundles and handing them over, leaving only those with their provisions and one that seems to be personal to the kunoichi. They are thanked and given a scroll in return to take back to Kirigakure as well as individual stipends for their stay in the village.
After the brief meeting, the three are released to enjoy a few days of relaxation in Sunagakure among the sunshine and dry heat.
