Starring:
Date: November 21, 2015
Summary:
With heavy rains, a nearby village is in danger of being flooded and needs help with preparations
"Muddied Waters"
Land of Fire
Entering into the new day, one would expect to be greeted by the warm and bright embrace of the rising sun
over the horizon as its beams of light penetrate through the many trees and brush that make up the Land of Fire.
Like a trumpeting bugler beckoning all to awake to start the day. Instead what greets those waking up is the
darkened sky of thick, black clouds and the pitter patter of falling rain as it encompasses the area; turning dirt
into mud and forming puddles where the water has no where to drain.
It was an unexpected change in the plans Eremi had made for both himself and Chiasa he thought as he
waited out front near the gates to Konohagakure. His form covered by a long, black cloak to keep himself dry to an
extent as the rain simply beaded off the material. There was a chance Chiasa might not even show at the scheduled
time, expecting the mission to be postponed until another day. It was a possibility Eremi hoped would not occur as
he counted down the seconds until the girl would arrive, giving her a bit of leeway until simply going to the
girls house and dragging her out.
Rain is definitely not her friend. Not when she has something to do. She had taken one look outside,
sighed and went about rearranging some things. A quick braid to her long hair and taking a few moments to find her
cloak.
When she does arrive, she'a tad bit late and covered by a dark green fabric from head to toe. Only her
face shows, pale white in the gloom, and her feet poke out occasionally as she walks. "Eremi.." She calls to him
as she arrives, her steps having been quick enough to make her out of breath. "Sorry.. I didn't know it was
raining and couldn't find…" Her arms move to gesture to the fabric, but she doesn't continue making excuses.
"Sorry, I'll be more prepared next time." Curious, Chiasa takes a moment to look about and then her eyes settle
back on him. "So, what's the plan?" So far she doesn't know much of the details other than 'Meet me here.'
Turning to face Chiasa as she arrives, Eremi extends a hand from within his cloak to greet the girl before
tucking it back away in the protection of his outfit. "It's fine. We'll just have to pick up the pace a little.
Come on, I'll tell you the plan on the way. It's nothing dangerous, but I'm not sure how much time we have if the
rain doesn't let up." With that, Eremi would turn about and take off in a bit of a sprint, only going as fast as
he thinks Chiasa would be able to keep up with.
Chiasa nods once to Eremi and takes off behind him. It takes her a few minutes to get warmed up, the rain
not aiding the fact that she's naturally just not a very fast person. But once her limbs loosen up, she can keep
up fairly well.. so long as she doesn't trip over everything. Which she does. Terribly.
There is one particular instance where she slips on a root poking out of the ground and goes flying
headfirst into a tree with a small squeal. It's embarassing. When she catches up, Chiasa just can't look up at
Eremi, her cheeks flushed with shame. "Sorry. I… uh…" She mumbles a bit about better shoes and learning to run
really fast and just falls quiet, trying to focus more on where she's putting her feet.
"Don't worry about it." Eremi offers as he snickers quietly to himself from within the hood of his cloak.
He had thought about moving to the trees though, once getting far enough from the village, to help the cover
ground more quickly. However, that didn't seem like a good idea considering Chiasa's uneasy movement within the
rain? Or perhaps it was nerves. "So, like I said earlier, we aren't going to be coming up against anything
dangerous. Well, we were going to, but…"
Glancing up toward the darkened sky, a few drops hitting his face before he focuses back on the road
ahead. "There's a small village not too far from a river that is worried if the rain doesn't let up, the river
might crest and their town will be flooded. Luckily they put out the contract fast enough for us to be able to
respond, so we're going to help them put up some sand bags and the likes to deter the water."
She's listening to him but she seems distracted in how she's glancing about, trying to keep an eye on
everything just in case another tree root tries to surprise her. Part of it is likely nerves as well. She's seen
Eremi demonstrate his ability before so she assumes he's pretty powerful. So anything he gets sent to do is pretty
important, right?
His words do seem to calm her though. She responds with a peppy, "Oh really? Sand bags? I can handle that
maybe." Knowing what's going to happen, more or less, seems to give her far more confidence. Just this rain. It
makes sand heavy which has her slightly worried. Wet sand to her is like the weights that Daichi wears. It holds
her back and can train her at the same time… except.. she doesn't actually ever use it if she doesn't have to.
Mind else where, Eremi steps in a puddle deep enough to soak a foot. He'd mumble under his breath, but
ignore the discomfort as he continues on. "Well, I imagine sand bags at the very least. I guess we'll see when we
get there. Who knows, maybe the contract was a trap and we're walking right into an ambush!" He'd joke, only to
suddenly remember that might be something that Chiasa actually fears. "I mean…Yeah, sand bags. It's an easy
mission. D, tops. We'll arrive, help out how we can and head back home to dry off and maybe enjoy some nice tea or
something." His own being spiked of course.
Chiasa turns her head and makes a D: face at Eremi when he mentions possibly being ambushed, which of
course breaks her concentration and causes her to slip and slide a little. She slows to a jog to regain her
footing and then catches back up with him, grimacing. "Or.. we could go get some sake. I don't like to just drink
tea when I'm wet and cold and…" Her voice trails off as she mumbles about the general conditions that rain
causes. Yeah, it's needed, but boy, does it suck.
"But yeah, we'll see when we get there. The most important thing is to keep the villagers safe. If we have
to fight, so be it. If I have to embarrass myself, well… It's worth it." She turns her head again to Eremi then,
smiling with a bit of determination.
Eremi catches sight of Chiasa's face and does his best to smile back reassuringly. "The only thing you
should have to fight today is a cold." The rest of what the girl said mostly being ignored. He doesn't mind having
someone to drink with, but he doesn't like having to share his sake. "We're not too far now. I think I can hear
them up ahead."
Through the rain and roar of the wind, the sounds of shouting voices can be heard off in the distance. As
the two get closer the small village comes into view; several shacks and huts make up the town with some livestock
caged off in one area and crops in another. The villagers can be seen scurrying about, doing their best to unload
sand bags from a few carts stacking them up before the river crests.
Chiasa stops running as they get into the village, taking a moment to assess the situation. She watches
the people running about and the rising water and then looks to Eremi. "What do you want me to do? If the bed of
the river is earthen, I can deepen it to buy us more time. I can likely help with the bags, but.. I don't know if
I would be able to move that much sand quickly enough." If they are about to be ambushed, Chiasa is entirely
unaware, her mind focused singularly on helping the villagers now that they are here. As she waits for his answer,
Chiasa closes her eyes, starting to focus her chakra. Physical strength will do her little good here. But she does
have the ability to combat the water directly.
Eremi glances over toward Chiasa, a puzzled look upon his face, "I, uh…I forgot you could do that."
Staring briefly at the girl in perhaps amazement, "Deepen, sure, if you think you're up for it. Maybe even create
a trench to direct the water else where? I'm not entirely sure what you're capable of, but I'm ready to be
impressed if you're up to it?" He wouldn't wait for a response on what the girl planned on doing, there wasn't
much time for chit-chat. "Heyo. Shinobi from Konoha here to help." Eremi moved through the panicking villagers and
toward one of the carts to start loading up a few of the sandbags. Where the villagers were able to get one or
two, Eremi managed six within his arms. "These are kind of awkward." He'd offer as he walked toward the stack and
start piling them up.
Chiasa nods and looks to him. "I'll admit.. I've never moved a river before, but I'll give it a try. I'm
not really sure what else can be done." As he stops to help with the bags, Chiasa moves to the edge of the river.
The woman closes her eyes again and kneels to place her hands on the ground, feeling through the earth as far as
she possibly can. Mud.. rocks… She's trying to see if there are any deformities that with a shifting of the
earth might cause an unexpected result.
Chiasa rises, chewing on her lip and looking at the nearby houses. It's a possibility that if she isn't
careful in how she does this that she could collapse them all. Sighing, she turns to look for Eremi, shouting to
him above the hussle and bustle, "Tell everyone to get away from the houses near the river." She doesn't say why
since she doesn't want to cause some crazy mass hysteria. If anyone does that, it should be Eremi. Instead, she
just starts taking off her clothes, and stowing them underneath a lean-to to keep mostly dry. All the way down to
her undershirt and pants. She even takes off her shoes. The rain quickly soaks through her braid and plasters her
bangs down against her forehead. With that accomplished, Chiasa takes off running down one of the docks and dives
into the river at full speed so she can cut through the current and go straight to the bottom.
Setting the last of the sand bags down, Eremi inclined his head toward Chiasa upon hearing her warning.
Did she misunderstand what he had meant by 'making a trench'? A definite possibility as the girl suddenly jumps
into the ever-rising river. Whose current was moving fast enough even Eremi wouldn't dare dive into its icy
depths. "The similarities…" Sighing with a shake of his head, Eremi shifted his attention to the nearest houses
that bordered the river. There were a few straggling villagers panicked and unsure how to help. Quickly moving
toward them, Eremi directed them toward the sandbags in the carts. "If you create a line, you can pass the bags
between each other and cover more ground that way."
She understood him.. He just wasn't specific enough. Chiasa is a person who has been mostly under her own
power for at least an entire year. She's grown out of taking orders.. or at least, not assuming she knows all the
things about the orders.
When she hits the bottom, she attaches herself to it with tree walking abilities, but it doesn't stick at
first. The woman is swept off her feet by the current, carried several yards downstream and away from the more
congested area of the village. She tries again as soon as her feet hit a rock and manages it. Well, now or never..
She starts focusing, channeling her chakra into the earth beneath the river, slowing starting to create the trench
Eremi asked for. The water would start rushing past her faster to fill the empty space, but she isn't sure what
effect she might be having above.
"Excellent job, everyone. Keep it up" Eremi offered as he grabbed an arms full of sand bags once again and
carried them to the wall. Were the bags made of a stronger material, he'd simply toss them and not worry about the
contents spilling out. A suggestion for next time he thought as he started placing the bags once again to fill up
holes in the 'wall'.
It wouldn't be noticeable at first as the raging river continued to do just that. Rage. However, where it
was once slowly creeping to the edge, inches from cresting, the river now struggled to reach flood stage. It
wouldn't last, for as the rain continued to fall eventually the river may peek, but it bought the village and the
villagers more time to prepare for the inevitable.
Chiasa continues creating the trench for as long as she can manage to hold her breath. She just wants to
get it deep enough so that the swift moving currents will continue the accelerated erosion process for her and
hopefully give the villagers more time.
After a few more moments, she can be seen sludging out of the water and climbing back up onto solid
ground, drenched and coughing. Having done what she can manage there, she head back to Eremi to see if she can
help with anything else. She walks to him, a brow lifted in question. "Do they still need help with the bags?" The
woman seems a little out of breath and tired, but she's still got enough wind in her to toss things around if
needed.
Eremi smiled briefly as he caught sight of Chiasa emerging from the waters. The glance casted would fade
away as she approached, his focus shifting back to the workload before him. "You should probably get dressed
first." He offered as he continued to pack the sand bags tightly together. What water may manage to get through
once the flooding begins will be miniscule at best. "You've done plenty so far, but I heard the villagers
mentioning one of the cattle got spooked and ran off into the forest. Perhaps you could sense them out? I'll keep
working on the barrier if you don't mind."
She looks to the spot where her clothes are, sighing a bit. It's going to take her all day to get dry.
Chiasa nods to him and goes to slip back into the rest of her things, though honestly, it's not like she was
entirely naked. She could manage with just putting on her shoes. But she gets everything and nods to him again as
she heads into the forest. The kunoichi pauses at the forest's edge and kneels to touch the ground, her eyes
closing as she feels through the vibrations of the earth to find the stray beast. After a moment, she rises and
takes off at a quick, but cautious pace, thinking she might have a good idea of it's direction at least, but
she'll need to get closer to know for sure.
The sand bags were starting to all be used up, creating a nice barrier to fight back against the river for
when it finally floods in perhaps another hour or so, compared to the minutes it would have been were it not for
Chiasa's quick thinking and perhaps, drastic measures. The villagers as they handed off the last of the sand bags
to one another began to collapse almost where they were, exhausted from their combined efforts, greatful to not
have to rebuild. Eremi looked as Chiasa ran off into the forest, keeping an eye on the girl until she disappeared
within the trees. His gaze would linger for a few moments, thoughts far away from where they were, his stance
motionless against the wind and the rain.
Chiasa pauses in her tracks to sense through the earth again. The stray cattle likely isn't far. She
continues on until she finds it, but keeps her distance, not wanting to spook the thing away with an unfamiliar
face. She pauses, considering what to do. She could go back to find someone who knows how to deal with it, but it
might wonder off even further. That would just waste time. No, surely she can handle it herself. The woman bites
her lip and steps out from the trees toward the beast, a hand cautiously extended, her steps slow and even.
"Alright, nothing to worry about… I'll help you get home.." She speaks softly, hoping to calm the creature.
At this point, there wasn't much left for Eremi to do except wait for Chiasa's return. Not unless he
wanted to try looking for the girl himself or doing some unnecessary antics like carrying a tree over to help with
the barrier. No, that was for the fools to do he thought as he grabbed for the smallest gourd at his side and
drank from his contents. His lingering gaze on the forest to where Chiasa had disappeared shifted to the rising
river. "Not much longer now." He muttered to no one in particular
Chiasa reaches forward to touch the beast, to pet it, which is a huge mistake. It seems the thing doesn't
want to be touched. There's a bellowing, a shout, a high yip, and then the sound of galloping as the beast runs
away from her - the new threat - and back into the village.
The kunoichi on the other hand just resigns herself to curling on her side with a whimper and hugging her
stomach where the thing headbutted her. She shuts her eyes tight, waiting for the pain to recede, mumbling, "I
will.. be..back.. in a …second.. Er..emi.. I'm gonna.. murder…… -grumblemumblegrumblemumble-…"
The sounds of commotion back in the forest catches Eremi's focus, taking it away from the river and
turning it to the charging cattle. Not wanting it to run right into the sand bags, ruining the peoples hard work.
Eremi slipped loose the gourd from his hand, leaving it hanging from the cord attached to his side and raced
toward the creature. It would lower its head, prepared to trample whatever was in its path, but found what stood
before it a much more difficult target to plow over. As the two collided, Eremi dug in his feet the best he could.
The mud preventing much traction as the cattle pushed him back several yards. Deeper his feet would dig in until
eventually the cattle ran out of running room and could push no further. "There, there…" Eremi offered as he
released the cattles head and pulled his feet from the mud with a loud pop from the suction.
Eventually, she does get up and in doing so, gets sick. Chiasa moans afterward and forces herself to stand
up and start walking back. She has no idea where that stupid beast went, but she's sure it went 'home.' And if it
didn't, she's having steak for dinner. The woman emerges from the trees, leaves and twigs stuck to her cloak and
mud soaking into her clothing from her lost battle with the cattle. She stops a few feet away from it, glaring at
the creature balefully, and generally, just looking a hot mess. She sees the trenches Eremi's feet must have made
in the mud and calms a bit, not quite so jealous since he got attacked as well. Grumbling, Chiasa massages her
bruised tummy with one hand, waiting to see if there's anything else she needs to do.
Frowning at his mud covered legs, it was going to be a miserable stroll back to the village he thought,
thinking Chiasa must have ended up the better of the two during this excursion. On her return, Eremi inclines his
head upon seeing the girl and stifles a laugh. "Ah" Ahem. "Well, yes. We are done here. The contract completed.
Let's return back to Konoha and perhaps visit the baths before maybe grabbing a bite to eat and something to
drink?" He didn't wait for a response as he started to walk away. The villagers behind them offering waves of
thanks as the two depart.
