Starring:
Tsuchi, Shikoge, Rikuto, Akina, Yuuto, Maren, Itami
Date: August 18, 2014
Summary:
What begins as a simple mission of scaring off or dealing a local small time gang changed into a much larger trauma which continuously escalated.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Northern Bandits and the Crimson Mist"
Northern Parts of the Land of Wind
Tsuchi had gathered up a small group to go out on patrol. The whole point of it was to patrol another area where the Stone Tanuki gang was supposed to exist. Their path would take them up into the Northern Parts of the Land of Wind where mountains and desert met and often the wind storms would uncover and bury various ruins and artifacts on a regular basis. Something seen today might not exist a week from now as far as the eyes are concerned. Even as they approach the area, Sora running eagerly with Tsuchi, off in the distance, a wind whips up and flicks along, possibly a sign of another dust storm though it isn't clear.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the group, a trio of the Stone Tanuki gang was indeed up in this area. A ruin had been found and their boss had told them they gotta work this area, see if anything of value was in the old ruin. The youngest of the group was standing 'guard' outside but he felt like he was just being left out. The 14 year old stands outside, his arms crossed and face in a perpetual pout even as the pair inside approaches an old box they found. It's truly too bad for the pair that they weren't brighter. If the 16 year old girl and her 18 year old 'love of her life!' (they have been boyfriend/girlfriend for like 2 months) weren't so busy thinking of what could be a treasure inside, they would realize that the box wasn't dirty or old looking. Very out of place in the ruins.
Back out with the group? Tsuchi spots the ruins in the distances and points, "There we are guys." Sora than tugs at her leg and points to the southeast from their location at the movement of the dust in the distance and she nods before looking back, "Guys, we gotta make this quick. Remember, we're not an archaeological team, we're just here to find out of the gang has been using these ruins and if they are there, stop them. We don't have time to dilly or dally." She shakes her head, "That storm may never come our way or it might be on us within the hour. Just be aware."
"Speak for yourself, I have to dilly." Shikoge calls out from behind a nearby cactus? while he relieves himself, the only visible part of the boy being the handle of his blade. "Maybe later I'll dally, but I'll try to make that quick." A few yet, quick moments later and he'd walk out and catch up to the others before glancing around wondering at what he's to be looking for. Rumors of a gang poking around a dig site was of course the teams objective, but it wasn't the boy's sole mission. They were heading for a 'dig site' and the boy had planned on doing some of that himself. Once there was time to do so of course. Assuming he wasn't distracted along the way.
Rikuto was one of the younger faces within the group, trying to keep close behind Tsuchi though his eyes were often not on the young woman. Raising a gloved hand, the teen shields his eyes from the gusts when they began to pick up and turns to look back towards the other who had gathered there. Lowering his hand, Rikuto grasps at his neckline and pulls up a thin sheet, seeming to prepare for the sandstorm already, leaving less than half of his face exposed to the elements. "Do you have any idea just how many of them we might run into?" Turning to one side when Shikoge calls out, listening to the other teen for a moment before heading towards the ruins.
The masked kunoichi braces herself against the wind and sand, dipping her chin subtly beneath the hood of her yukata while the porcelain mask reveals nothing. Akina keeps her eyes on the group as she takes up the rear, making sure to keep a close watch behind them. Just in case. Ignoring Shikoge behind his cactus (gross), the young woman turns her gaze back to Tsuchi, spying the ruins past her. The mention of the desert storm pulls Akina to glance back at it with masked nervousness. "I agree. The sooner the better."
While the team from Suna has its own orders, a certain Rogue Shinobi of the village has his own ideas from information he got out of a group of thugs on an island through means that were… not so kind. Thus he, with Maren in tow, has made his way to this site as well to check out what might have been going on here that even some of the higher ups that he interrogated didn't have full details on. "Be careful… We've got a bit of a dual threat in this area so close to the village I left," his dark voice rings out in a low tone. It seems so long ago since that happened now… so much has happened. His demeanor is a lot different than when he left the village, a lot darker, but also more confident. That meekness from the days he sat atop the village painting might be all but a dream gone by. Still, today's focus is finding out what's going on here, thus his feet move with purpose on a path opposite the one the Suna shinobi are coming from to this area.
Maren looked at Yuuto as he spoke and nodded. She adjusted the twin swords on either hip. She wore a short kimono with leggings underneath and knee high boots. Her kimono bore no symbols this day, just a nice dull grey pattern. Her crimson eyes scanned the area around them warily. She was aware of what had attracted Yuuto's interest and hoped that she wouldn't be a liability this time around. "I'm ready."
"Come on, guys! I see a storm!" The young gang member calls out, idly playing with his sword, twisting it this way and that as he gets bored just waiting. He ends up putting the pommel in his hand, trying to balance the sword this way and that, grinning as he gets a rhythm going. Inside, the older boy grabs a rock and breaks the lock on the box. It looks like it has been buried here for a little while but not centuries like these ruins. Even as he breaks the lock, the girl grins, "You think there's treasure inside? Boss'll give you, like, a promotion or something if you find treasure." The boy looks at her and then rolls his eyes, "Shut up…we don't do promotions." He leans in, "If this is treasure, we're killing the kid and leaving this stupid gang." Even as the girl grins a little about this, a small bit of reddish gas starts to seep out around the edges of the box lid.
Meanwhile, Tsuchi nods to the trio of genin and states, "Keep it down, Shikoge. Sound can carry in the wind. We don't want to alert the gang we are coming." She then looks forward, "And we don't know how many might be there. Could be the whole gang." She looks back and grins, "Sounds exciting, eh?" She then turns and starts forward with Sora in tow. Even as they start to approach though, the wind is picking up a little. She then looks off to the distance, thinking she might have seen something else over a dune for a moment approaching these ruins.
Sora runs along side Tsuchi at first but slides back to Shikoge and glances toward Tsuchi before saying, "Hey." He shifts his eyes, "What is dilly dally?" He hmms and looks confused as he runs.
Even now, as the Sunagakure team enters into the ruins, the skeletal remains of this ancient village looms at them. A various number of buildings missing doors, frames and tops that were likely made of wood but the rocky structures remain. As they get in closer to the building the trio of Tanuki Gang members are in, the young man outfront spots movement and ducks inside, "Guys?"
Shikoge didn't say much as he followed along with the others that were gathered, though his eyes did wander between the group. Looking each of them over and wondering what their affiliations were exactly until glancing at Rikuto whom was a member of the Miira clan, much like himself. There were a few thoughts that lingered on the boys mind, but nothing that he would speak on. At least at this time. When Sora slides back to him with questions, Shikoge shrugged some, "I think it has to do with having personal time. There will be none of that on this mission." Averting his gaze from Sora to look out ahead of them once again before hurrying his pace to be closer toward Tsuchi, "You probably see it already…" The boy whispered quietly, "But there's a kid playing with a blade up ahead…." A hand reaching for the handle of his own blade, "Dibs."
"It means waste time.. I think." Rikuto answers Sora, faintly muffled with the cloth other his lips. The teen turns back to Tsuchi and furls his brow but then nods briefly a few times but then simply stared at her when the young woman grins at the ides. Looking away from the pair, Rikuto began to look around at the ground of the ruins, "A kid? We're here for bandits not children aren't we?" The teen turns to Shikoge but not for long as he then looks up and towards the direction that was hinted at before hand, trying to see who was being called a 'kid'.
Tensing subtly, Akina dips her chin beneath the hood again as she begins to follow Tsuchi. They didn't know the number of gang members… Exciting indeed. A hand absently brushes at the carefully prepared kunai hidden in her sleeves at the thought. The masked kunoichi feels herself tense ever so slightly when they enter the ruins, her gaze looking this way and that. Paranoid and on her guard.
As they approach the area, Yuuto's eyes would narrow a bit as he looks from spot to spot. Suna Nin… bandits… a boy moving inside a building… And what is that? "We don't appear to be the only ones investigating this," he says in a low voice to Maren. "Let's wait a moment and see what happens. May as well let the others spring the potential trap and run in to save them if necessary rather than jump right into it with them." Thus he'd halt the pace and stand back for a bit to see what happens next.
Maren paused when Yuuto did and waited for him to speak. His eyes were better than hers after all. She nodded in agreement. Suna nin or not she would follow Yuuto's gaze and wait for the 'trap' to spring around them. "We do not have time to babysit either." She sighed softly, crimson eyes watching the events playing out before her where she waited.
Dibs will have to wait, it seems. Even as the kid ducks inside to try to tell the older teens what is going on, there's an explosion out of the place. The two teens around the box were indeed leaving the gang, they were already out of it in a rather horrific way. The building itself is ripped apart, sending rocks and debris in all directions even as the 14 year old who was standing guard is sent back into a wall, his blade through his chest. A red cloud flows up into the air, flicking this way and that in the wind. The misty red seems to be flowing outward from what is left of that building, already starting to fill the street outside of it at ground level like some ankle high odd fog.
Out of the mist, glowing white eyes start to appear, a hissing sound coming out of the area even as the odd thumping sound of feet hitting sandy rock come from within. One pair of glowing eyes…then two…then three and four and then even five appear. A moment later, three of the sets of eyes leap to the rooftop nearby those three figures, dressed in a ruddish red almost black colored clothing with hoods. The figures appear to be wearing old looking goggles that amplify the white glow behind them and typical ninja weapons. The pair that come walking slowly out of the mist to look toward the shinobi from Sunagakure. The black haired ruddished red, emaciated skinned figures look almost like one might expect from normal villagers, a pair of farmers holding sickles. Immediately, they scream out in a hissing scream that echoes throughout the area as they rush toward the shinobi.
Even as they run, one might notice the same ruddish red creeping up the legs of the gasping teenage boy who is impaled on his own sword. A shaky hand coming up to the blade even as his skin takes on the same leathery tone that the others have and then rips the blade free with a hiss before slowly standing up, his eyes glowing white. A little of that red mist hissing out of his mouth as he stands up.
Tsuchi for her part, swallows and stares at what she sees for a moment before looking up at the trio on the rooftop. She then looks forward at the kid who is unsheathing his own blade from his chest and all the mist, "Ok…Akina, Shikoge and Rikuto. Bring down those two and…maybe that one as well. Join me once you bring them down! Weak first, then the strong. I'll keep those three on the roof busy while you do." She points at the kid who just removed his own blade from his chest, "Also, do your best NOT to go into that mist." She then rushes upward with Sora even as the trio of monstrous humanoids on the rooftop start to look around.
The scream from below has all three shinobi like monsters looking toward the streets until Tsuchi appears before them. One starts to do hand seals, unleashing a fireball like jutsu but it seems to have its own red tinge to it as it flies at Tsuchi even as the other two pair pull out a pair of katana each and rush at her. She already is kicking at the with a wide gust of wind that one leaps over to slash at her while the other fails and neary trips, getting a pile of throwing lightning stars for its trouble. It is not down though, quickly getting back up and screeching. Tsuchi, for her part, blinks, "Shit…" And a burst of fire hits where she was standing even as she dodges this way and that while the untripped shinobi cuts at her fast moving form.
Explosions!!! Well, there goes any chance of exploring that ruin for promising treasure Shikoge thought. Saddened at the sight unfolding before him, his hand would drop from the handle of his blade and hang at his side. "We're only here for the Taunki gang though? This isn't them, is it?" Not anymore at least from what he could tell as he watched the kid impaled by his own blade stand moments later with blade in hand once again. "You're the boss!" Calling out to Tsuchi as she heads to the roof. "Take down these three and avoid the mists…" That made it difficult for the boy to use his fighting style appropriately. A glance would be given to Rikuto and Akina before he took off toward the closest of the threats and waited just outside the encroaching mists. As it creeped forward, he'd take several steps back before jumping up to higher ground followed by a few hand signs that ended with a curled finger that reached his mouth and exhaled several small flames in a barrage of bullets.
Rikuto at first tries to shield his eyes from the flash and debris of the explosion with the crook of his arm and slightly bent knees. When the rubble began to settle after falling, he looks at the odd mist that began to flow from within the ruins, quickly taking a few steps back and away from it. "Just what.. never mind." The teen focuses his gaze onto the mists with some disgust but then retrains his eyes onto Tsuchi, having lost sight of her for a moment.
Rikuto watches as one begins to weave jutsu shortly before flames leap from its mouth. Bringing his own hands together into a short chain of seals he tries to interrupt continued assaults against the woman. When the mist possessed shinobi tries to slash her from below, a torrent of wind wraps around her, acting as a line of defense. "Are you trying to take them all at one?!"
Akina turns her head ever so slightly towards Tsuchi to indicate she's listening, eyes narrowing unseen beneath the mask before she turns to focus on the trio on the rooftop. "Affirmative." she murmurs. "A little bit of poison…" Keeping them busy shouldn't be a problem—And Shikoge leaps forward first… throwing fire bullets? She sighs faintly beneath the mask, but turns to follow after him. Making sure that she has his back in case he needs it. The combination of Rikuto's wind and Shikoge's fire, she notes, would be an asset.
Needles suddenly appear between her fingers and with careful precision, Akina throws several sets of poison-tipped senbon at their destined targets.
As Yuuto kind of figured, this place has a trap of some kind, just like any of the other places… When he notices the gas leaking out, his eyes narrow. "…. Figures," he says with a low 'che' under his breath. "Don't breath any of that stuff in. I think you know how the gas he makes can affect you. This is something a bit different, but it doesn't appear pleasant… Let's go."
On the roof where Tsuchi goes to fight the three stronger of the monsters, suddenly there would be an overwhelming feeling of malevolent chakra, intending force all three of the warped beings into a frozen state of fear. A bit different than the Suna Nin have seen him before, Yuuto would appear on the roof near Tsuchi adorned in a black gi with white trim and the Uchiha clan symbol on the back with black pants bearing a flame design up the right leg. His entire presence now basically screams the clan whose name he claimed, including his demeanor and those crimson eyes, a bit dim with him not going into full power just yet. "Not too bright for the leader of the team to volunteer to get herself killed right off the bat," his dark voice rings out nonchalantly. "If you want your Genin to survive, I suggest you think a bit further ahead than that sort of action."
Maren watched the red mist with a raised eyebrow."That.. is never a good sign." She watched as the mist crawled and swirled around the boy with the sword in his chest, somehow morphing the kid into a ….. creature. Well, it wasn't insanity gas but it seemed to have a familiar kind of reaction. She looked to Yuuto then. Should they wait for the Suna Nin to fight or step in to help? Either way she pulled a black mask up over her face, leaving her crimson eyes peeking out over the top, when he told her not to breathe any of the mist in. Truth was she didn't want to let it touch her either. She followed Yuuto closely as they made their way to the roof where Tsuchi was fighting 3 …things.. alone. Yuuto's words to Tsuchi made her grin behind that mask and she turned to the nearest creature that showed signs of dropping from Yuuto's attacks. She drew both blades and tried going straight for the neck, creating a scissor-type of formation with her blades, crossing her swords and slashing open, her arms going wide at the end, crimson eyes nearly as visible as Yuuto's.
The trio fighting the three shinobi on the ground get barraged by fire and then by senbon. The fire misses but the senbon pierce them all. They all look at the senbon in their forms and then look up, hissing at the trio and then racing forward. The two villagers go for the nearest target first, going right after Shikoge with one scythe strike and the other one moves up beside him and opens its mouth screeching out a hissing sound and that mist pours out of its mouth right at him, trying to engulf him much like the previous. The boy with the katana, progressively looking more and more like those villagers races out of the mist and lands before Akina and Rakuto, screeching out its own cone of that mist at them, trying to engulf them both in the mist.
Meanwhile, up above, two of the shinobi like creatures are stopped solid by the genjutsu that Yuuto uses on them. One actually can do next to nothing when Maren shows up and proceeds to cut its head clean from its shoulders. It actually flails at her as it falls, twitching and making gurgling sounds, little bits of that mist hissing out of its form as it falls still. Not enough to be assumedly dangerous though. Meanwhile, one stays still, looking afraid even as the third begins to jump away.
Tsuchi for her part grins at Yuuto, "Nice to have you. Ever think I might have had a plan?!" She chuckles even as she pats Sora and then states, "Besides, I wasn't alone." Sora pipes in with a thumbs up before she turns and takes in a deep breath and fires it off in a huge burst after a few hand seals and up the wind goes before it comes slamming down on top of the frozen in fear enemy who is smashed directly into the stone roof, indenting into it.
Tsuchi grins and then blinks, "Scatter!" She screams as the third that wasn't afraid, the one untouched by the fear jumps up quite high and opens its mouth wider than one might think possible and lets out a screeching rage filled noise as red mist falls down toward Maren, Yuuto and Tsuchi.
"Hello?!" Shikoge offers as he spots two of the villagers running at him. Though as it appears they aren't into exchanging greetings, the boy is quick to grasp at the handle of his blade, pulling it free from the restraints attached to his back and twirl it around above him before holding it before him and using it to block the blow of the scythe. Unfortunately his strength isn't on par with the villager and he is sent sprawling backwards, only coming to a stop as he uses his blade like an anchor to drag against the ground before halting. Seeing another villager coming at him, he'd use his giant blades positioning to attempt to hurl him away from the screeching red mist sent into his face, but was a moment too slow and the mist had manage to encompass him and enter into his lungs. The feeling was weak, but it was there. As if something inside was trying to change who he was and rip into his being. Not ready to give into the mist, the boy clutches the blade anew and swings it at the closest villager before using that same momentum to twirl around and strike once again with more power than before.
Rikuto lowers his left hand to grasp at a short sheath long his hip, his right hand grasping at the hilt when he sees the trio charge forward. When the smaller of the figures charges out of the mists he brings his hands together but low, trying to form another barrier but was too slow. The teen moves his left hand higher to cover his mouth from breathing in the mists. With his right hand free, he grasps at the hilt of his short sword to slash at the mist possessed boy's throat.
The red mist cone spewed at her, Akina pushes off to flip backwards, dodging the attack while more poisoned senbon are produced from her long sleeves. She feels a slight smirk tug at her lips, hidden beneath the smooth white mask as she throws another set of senbon out in a wide arc. Aiming for the Red Mist targets are while also keeping careful tabs as to where Shikoge and Rikuto are around her.
"So your plan was to pray that someone would sweep in to save you?" Yuuto asks, glancing back at Tsuchi and quirking an eyebrow before looking up at the jumping mutant as his eyes suddenly take on the full crimson color of Sharingan. His eyes lock with that of the mutant, causing him to angle his stream so that it doesn't actually hit Yuuto when it comes down. "… Idiot," he says with a faint smirk as he keeps his eyes on the man, intending to cause that body-freezing fear again while the man is high in the air so that he actually falls to his death or at least hurts himself pretty badly when he comes back down rather than landing.
Maren watched the head come loose from the creature's body and watched the body drop. A flick of her crimson eyes allowed her to watch the second creature get slammed into the roof. She quirked an eyebrow and took two steps backwards, spotting the third creature's movements as it leapt into the air and exhaled more of that red mist. She moved, but it wasn't nearly as far or as fast as she needed to move. The mask kept it from entering her lungs much thankfully, and she held her breath as she scrambled away, closer to Yuuto. She stumbled, feeling the drain on her energy. She grit her teeth and dropped to one knee beside Yuuto, focusing her intent and falling as close to meditation as she could to keep her mind in check. "Sorry." She spoke to Yuuto though did not look at him, her eyes were on the creature. Then she stood up, hoping to take advantage of Yuuto's latest attack, she leapt forward, bringing both blades down, aiming for the throat again if possible, though depending on how the thing falls or lands.
Activities were being noted from afar and with her shinobi on the line, Itami thought it best that she ensures they're well. Especially with a mission of this caliber under their belts. She left the village and as soon as she was far enough, she took form and flew off towards the area indicated for the mission. Upon drawing close enough, she went in for a nose dive before dragging herself up and corkscrewing, catching buildings in her spin. They crumble and fall around her, but don't pose much of a threat. They're ruins. Weakened and weathered by time and nature. She sits still before picking up on action taking place inside of a building some distance away from her. It doesn't take long before she trudges through and breaks a hole through the building to see inside. What on earth was…? This gang was much more dangerous than she thought. Seeing these hissing figures was definitely a call back to Suna's siege for her.
The attacks of Shikoge are powerful and strong but the villagers jump back to avoid the attacks well enough. They hiss angrily at the sword wielding boy and glare at him before stepping forward and both try to catch him in a slashing motion right before senbon rain upon them again and they come to a hissing stop. They aren't truly terribly damaged by the attacks but the poison is starting to have an effect and slowly they simply fall before Shikoge. Similarly, the same thing happens to the poor boy who was infected by the mist. Slowly the boy falls to the ground and each of them releases a bit of red mist from their forms as they twitch and fall still.
However, this isn't the largest problem anymore. Itami isn't even the largest problem. As the shinobi are looking to the incoming dragon, who would be Itami, Sora is moving to the edge of another ruin before looking back and calling out, "Hey! Hey!" He points in the direction of the southeast and what they can see is a huge wall of dust and sand coming toward them, "The storm!" He calls more urgently and looks back before then blinking, "Hey! When'd a giant flying lizard get here?"
Tsuchi for her part smiles as Maren finishes off the last one. It didn't' appear to care that it fell, hissing and screeching to the very last moment when its head is removed. Even then Tsuchi will say, "Good job, lets go see if the others need hellll…fog." She looks at the incoming dragon and blinks a few times, "Well, now that's not something I expected to se…" She then looks in the direction of Sora and then at the wall of dust and sand, "Well, haze." She nods her head and then looks back, "We need to move…now." She nods her head and races to the edge and looks down at the others, "Guys and gal! We have to move and now!"
Shikoge was clearly no match for the threats before him and brought his weapon up to block their incoming attacks. His focus for the moments were on the mist infected villagers before him until there was a familiar sound of flapping wings in the air that was soon followed by the crashing of buildings off in the distance. "Dragon…" He muttered, knowing the creature's movements as he has faced against it time and time again. It seems every time he steps out of the village he has to go against this beast, but why now? The timing couldn't have been worse, but luckily with the strength of the other genin the remaining opponents before them had fallen. Slain.
A glance would go toward the other genin gathered followed by a wide, toothy smile, "Well done, but there are more dangers present." He was of course talking about the dragon and figured Tsuchi was as well when she called out to the group below. "Agreed!" Strapping the blade to his back, he'd go through a series of hand seals before curling a finger to his mouth and exhaling a flame that quickly transformed into a copy of himself. A thumbs up was given between the two and separated. The flame clone ran around the building toward the dragon, while Shikoge himself headed off with the others.
When the sudden crash above him sounds, he looks up into the sky, crouching low and bringing up and arm, prepared for debris. The teen's eyes snap lower again, focusing onto the mist possessed boy when he began to move once again but then watched him fall suddenly. Seemingly not willing to take chances, Rikuto moves closer to the now fallen boy to quickly slash his blade across his throat.
"Just what's going on here?" The teen turns to Shikoge and then to Akina as he asked briefly. Look up when a shout rang out, Rikuto was somewhat confused but doesn't argue but watches the flame clone appear and charge into one of the building leading upwards.
The last of their opponents fall, naturally, and Akina exhales a small breath. Intending on turning to see how the others are holding up, she blinks when she sees the coming storm, the dragon… The kunoichi snaps her attention back to Tsuchi and taking a quick breath, she turns to quickly follow Shikoge and Rikuto, joining the others.
Yuuto sighs a bit at Maren as she gets hit, shaking his head. Then things actually get a little more interesting. A Chuunin and some Genin from Suna are one thing, but now there's a Councilman involved, and Yuuto is still marked as a Missing Ninja… Still, he'll just have to let himself not be her priority. As the storm looks to be preparing to wash over, he smirks and turns to grab Maren before literally leaping off the building to sink into the ground with her to be safe from the wind and sand.
Maren looked up and spotted both the storm and the dragon. Her eyes widened at the dragon, it was her first time seeing Itami like…ever. So she was startled when Yuuto grabbed her. She went with it, arms around his neck and a laugh as he leapt off the building with her, though. By the sound of it she was clearly enjoying the ride.
The storm doesn't go unnoticed by Itami as she turns her head to observe how quickly it's moving and how large it is. She'd make it through, she imagines, but there's no use in trying to risk that sort of thing. When she returns her attention to the red mist villagers, she finds herself being attacked by an unstable fire clone. She snarled as it exploded against her, though it caused her no real damage. She retaliated by raising her massive claw and slamming it down to strike at Shikoge, attempting to pick him up in her grasp in the process.
With The storm closing in, she doesn't waste much time in trying to get away. But first, she decides to block off any access paths by blowing a heavy fire against the attackers.
Fire is blowing down across the misty area though what good that does is unclear. Especially as the sandstorm bears down upon the area. Tsuchi nods as Yuuto and Maren leave before looking at the two genin that aren't being grabbed by a dragon. She nods to each, "Come on!" And unless they stop her, she'll work with Sora to grab them up and get them up on to Itami's back before nodding to the dragon and stating, "We gotta go!" She makes sure the genin are settled before looking to Sora, "Like the wind!" And she makes a few gestures with the ferret and there's a burst of wind and she's gone…extremely fast.
Shikoge had assumed he made a clean escape after sending his fire clone after the beast, but he hadn't gotten far before noticing a massive shadow eclipsing his form. There was little time to react after noticing such, but he knew what it meant. With a howl, Shikoge screamed in pain as the powerful clawed dragon hand grabbed a hold of him. He'd try to squirm and kick to be freed, but it was all to no avail. "You can't have me dragon. No matter how many times you come at me. I shall live!" The boy opened his mouth wide and bit down on the dragons scaled hand, hoping to pierce through it's steel like skin.
Rikuto follows Shikoge up and along the path though he doesn't stay too close to the other teen, his eyes looking around trying to assess what had happened. When he looks forward again, he notices only a blur of movement before a scaled limb was in front of him for a moment, watching Itami snatch up Shikoge. "W-what the cloud is that?!" stammers Rikuto. Following his instincts, the teen tries to find cover to shield him from the line of sight of the large beast while trying to figure out what had been going on.
Akina winces and tries to brace herself against the coming sandstorm, but it's useless. Her sight is clouded by the whirl of sand around her, senses only filled with the powerful storm. That is, with the exception of the Dragon. The masked kunoichi barely hears the screams of Shikoge as he's snatched up. She's barely given enough time to take this in and realize that the Dragon had plucked up Shikoge before Akina as well is suddenly lifted into the air. Caught by the beast.
A raised wing is able to block out some of the storm, but not all of it. They needed to get out of here and quickly. Itami tried to minimize the effects against the passengers she was loaded up with. She searched through the rubble and buildings to pick out Rikuto and anyone else to take off once she was certain. A sharp ascent into the air characterized her takeoff and soon heading off above the storm back towards Suna. There would probably be some hospital visits necessary, just to ensure they don't get ill from that mist or inhaled dust.
And the storm covers the ruins once more. The shinobi have all escaped the storm and seemed to have defeated the darkness that escaped whatever seal was hidden in that box. All seems to be right with the world until, in the middle of that horrible storm, a glowing pair of lights appeared near to where that mist burst forth…than another. Moments later, a 16 year old emaciated red skinned female member of the Stone Tanuki gang crawls forth from the sand followed by her short time boyfriend. Both severely infected, both stare at each other, hissing out in the storm as red mist mixes with the storm. Slowly, the boy pulls the box from the sand, closed once more and then both start to slowly walk out of the ruins in opposite directions, the storm occasionally covering them but inexorably they keep pulling up and keep walking, all evidence of their existence covered by the sand.
