Starring:
Date: February 23, 2017
Summary:
Raiun City, Land of Lightning, Towa's Mansion
"Off With His Head"
Raiun City, Land of Lightning, Towa's Mansion
The moon lights the night sky as Hiei and his team reach the capitol of the Land of Lightning…Raiun City. He hand hand picked his team himself, choosing Jounin level shinobi only, but he's been quiet about their mission during the entire trip. However, as they now stand outside of the city limits, he turns to Arashi and Amani and exhales softly. "Alright. It's time I tell you about our mission. This mission is infiltration and assassination, handed down to us by the Lightning Daimyo himself. In the residential area there dwells a man named Towa. He is the head of Shipping and Commerce here in the city. However, the daimyo has evidence that he's been involved in money laundering, and theft of city funds. He's too well connected to be arrested, he's got guys that will cover for him. This is where we come in. The Daimyo wants him dead, but it can't look like he had anything to do with it."
Hiei is dressed in his matte black armor, with a mask that covers his lower face. His hair is bound in a tight ponytail, and his two chakra swords are belted around his waist. He's definitely dressed for this mission. "Towa is extremely dangerous. His compound has high security, and he is a former shinobi of Kumo, now retired. Here's his picture." He passes around a pic for Arashi and Amani. He's an older man, with salt and pepper hair. He has a distinguishing mark along his left cheek. A discoloration of his skin that seems to be his birth mark. Hiei looks between the two of them. "This mission is classified as S-rank. If either of you have any doubts about doing this, I would understand if you wanted to go back to the village. But I chose you two for your abilities, and Arashi, this would be good practice for you." He doesn't exactly say why, but he'd know what he meant. "So..what say you both. Back me up on this one. You know my motto. As long as we remember to work as a team, no one can stop us. No one."
Arashi stretched a bit as they arrived at their destination. He was curious what they were here to do since well.. It was a different start compared to anything he has done before. But then as Hiei spoke about what they were to do it became clear and he nods along with the Kage's words. "So it can't be obvious the Daimyo had anything to do with it? I assume it would be easy enough to make it look like rogue shinobi did it. Freelance ones that maybe learned of the money he has been laundering and wanted a quick payday. If that is needed. If not then well.. I guess we will see. Or maybe you have an idea ready already." He said with a raised brow. "Anyways…" He took the picture. "S-Rank? Not an issue. With others here it is less of an issue at least. I imagine having the Kage here makes it a little less dangerous than say I was here alone." He said with a small smile. "So yes. I am ready to do this. I got your back until we complete the mission." He knew what Hiei was stating as well but just nods to his words in that regard.
"I have no doubts about what will take place. I am a medic first and shinobi second," Amani stated. "As you might imagine, my abilities are well within the realm of healing someone or at least knowing how to kill them 'accidentally'," she utilized air quotes. She took the picture and observed it. "He is an older man. You could easily describe his death due to age. Do we know of any habits he has that may contribute to his demise?" She questioned. "He's outlived many at this time and could still be waiting to keel over at some point. Passing peacefully in his sleep or having an unforseen health problem…" She described.
Once the decision is made, the shinobi have no problems moving throughout the city stealthily. Most people are going on about their daily lives as they close up their shops for the night, bring in their livestock, and prepare dinner for their loved ones. Arriving on top of the roof of a nearby building, they are able to see the compound from their current position. The large two story building is surrounded by a wall of stone, with a gate that is guarded by three guards armed with both swords and spears. They are also able to see on the top of the building, six men armed with longbows and arrows. The lights are on inside, and music is also playing. It looks like Towa is currently entertaining guests.
Hiei grins at Arashi and Amani. "Excellent. I knew I made the right choice by assembling this team. Let's be careful, but lets get it done." As the shinobi arrive on the rooftop and Hiei is able to see a bit of the kind of defenses they'd be up against he crouches as lightning sparks off his skin for a moment as he prepares his body for combat. "I've done a lot of missions like this, so I have experience. However, these defenses aren't as formidable as they look." He points to the guards. "We take them out first and clear the gate. Once that's done, we take out the guys on the roof. We will have to be stealthy and not use jutsu that would draw attention. At least not in this stage of the mission." He stands at the edge of the roof while looking at the complex. "Let me know when you're ready, and we will begin."
Arashi followed along and watched closely. "I distinctly remember a mission me and Amani went on where we had to fight this chef. That was interesting but it was a similiar mission in.. Well we had someone we had to beat. This is just a much bigger scale really." He shrugged lightly. "Yeah I can get them alright. I am ready now whenever you both are." He had enough ways to do some damage without being loud at least though his most useful and… SOme could say favourite skills were the louder or more obvious ones.
"Yes, good times all around," Amani commented, halfway paying attention to everyone as she studied the area. She hummed. "Using jutsu with no sound /would/ be my specialty, but some of my clan have taken to being loud and obnoxious. However, I have come to deliver. I have, gasp! Silent skills!" She whispered aloud. "Taking out the guards. Right. Let me just peer into my work here…" She engaged her eyes and peered over the area. "Much better. Let's get this started."
Hiei looks over his shoulder and nods once. "Alright then. I've got the one on the far right." He then leaps off the building, tucking his arms in before flipping several times and lands in a crouch, hero-style. His body then blurs as he attacks the guard. A shot to the solar plexus, followed by kick to the gut and then he strikes with three fingers towards the guy's throat. He infuses the last attack with a little lightning. Even if it doesn't immediately knock him out, the lightning will shred his vocal cords, making it to where he couldn't talk, or make a sound.
Arashi nods quickly and would move to take out the one on the opposite side of Hiei. He wasn't as.. Quick as Hiei but he could do plenty without having to get as close. Lightning was a bit harder to keep quiet at a distance. He formed water and in quick fashion it would rush and surround his target. Hopefully it was able to latch on and hold him in place while also covering his mouth to prevent any noise. If need be he would also try to make the guy pass out but.. Well he didn't have any skill that swiftly did that.. It was kill or injury. Never straight up KO'ed without some injury. Something he likely should work on since all of his injuring skills were pretty loud themselves. More water was on the ground as well.. Formed to act as a quick access if Arashi needed it.
"Guess that leaves center for me." Amani wasted no time in drawing the bow on her back and taking aim. While the other guards were being dealt with, it left the last one in her care to take out. She drew back a blunted tip and imbued it with sound chakra before firing it forward, straight at her target. She wasn't aiming to kill, but a swift knockout would suffice.
The guard that Hiei attacked never knew what hit him because it happened so fast. He remembers the impact and then something striking him in the throat. As he goes down for the count, the one on the far side sees him fall. Before he could even speak, a sonic arrow impacts him in the back, the shock wave of sound making his body vibrate as he shakes and shivers a little before falling over unconcious. Arashi's guard must have been a little more hearty. When the water chains surround him, he breaks out with a strain, tracking Arashi with his eyes before throwing the spear he held in his hand. He coughs a bit, because some water got in his mouth, but it won't be long before he can speak and raise the alarm.
As the shinobi attack, Hiei stands up and surveys the immediate area. He places his back against the wall, out of the sight of the archers on the roof for a moment a he closes his eyes and breathes out softly, extending his senses beyond what can be seen with his eyes. After a moment, he nods once before saying. "Towa is definitely inside. I sense his chakra somewhere on the second floor. We can gain entry from the roof, but we'll have to deal with those archers first." He comments as he watches Arashi's guy stand up and attack. He stays his own hand for the moment. This was Arashi's fight…and he wanted to see how well the Jounin handled himself.
Arashi watched the spear come and instead of being taken down it went right through a clone. The real Arashi grabbed the spear out of the air to make sure it didn't cause a ruckus or go into view of the archers before he would toss the spear to Hiei once Hiei was paying attention. Arashi would then charge his man again with seals prepare except this time once his seals were done he formed needles of storm chakra and aimed them at both sides of the dudes head. These little needles were good for draining the energy outta a guy so he hoped with the water making the guy cough a bit already that this little blast would put the guy down for a bit.
Amani stayed back, posted up so that she could keep a bird's eye view on everything. Taking note of the archers, she withdrew a couple of arrows to fire off at them to clear off those nearest to her. Perhaps she was overthinking or maybe wasn't concentrating enough, but she certainly felt one of her arrows go off center. She sneered to herself and took cover while awaiting the response from the guards. It's possible that things might even turn in her favor.
Arashi's second attempt is much more successful. The guard never knew what hit him as the needles of storm chakra impact both sides of his head. His eyes roll up into the back of his head before he falls face-first on the ground. Meanwhile, the archers are still unaware that their comrades at the gate have been dealt with. So far, so good. However, as Amani fires her sonic arrows at the archers on the roof, she manages to get one of them as he falls off the roof with a slight yelp and the sound of a body crashing against the ground. Having missed one, the alerts the others to her location, and as they now really look around, they spot both Arashi and Hiei. They fire their arrows at the trio, hoping to hit them before they could attack again.
As several things happen at once, Hiei isn't even looking at Arashi as the tosses him the spear. However, his hand extends and catches it just as the arrows start flying. The arrow seems to go through Hiei's body like a ghost due to him moving so fast at the last minute that he leaves an afterimage in his wake. Meanwhile Hiei appears next to Arashi as he charges that spear he tossed him with lightning chakra and throws it back at one of the archers.
Arashi watched his guy drop but didn't seem to notice Amani working on the archers already. And that of course meant an arrow was coming right for him and it would hit him right in his side. Went right through though so it might be easier to work on that way. For now he would have to leave it there after simply breaking off the pointy end. "That's great. Just fantastic." He looked up at the archers. "Do you know what it feels like to pull an arrow out like this?" He asked before forming a few hand seals. Turns out that the water was moving up and up and up the side of the building before suddenly.. Lots of Arashi's started fighting the guys! Kicks and punches and even lesser water jutsu!
"Curses," Amani huffed while guarding herself from the hail of arrows that were fired on them. Sure, she took a hit or two, but it was nothing she couldn't treat. Thankfully, her defense cushioned some of their penetrating power, but not by much. Once the hail was finished, she slipped back out and took aim once again to fire more arrows at the archers to take them out. If she couldn't hit them all, she could at least pick them off and minimize their numbers.
The archers seem to be well trained. While they kept firing at the shinobi, they themselves remained unharmed by most of the attacks from the Kumo crew. Arashi managed to take out one of them, but there were five left and like a well trained machine, they released another hail of arrows aimed at the shinobi. One of them says to the other. "Tell the boss we got company and for him to send out the heavy hitters." The archer nods and begins to make his way into the lower parts of the building through the roof access hatch.
Hiei moves slightly to his left, causing the arrow to miss him. If they weren't trying to be stealthy, he'd have just blown up the building by now. However, the Kage did overhear one of them tell the other to go get help. He couldn't let that go down. "I'll take the runner. Those archers /have/ to go down. Arashi, make it happen. In case we got overwhelmed, I had Yori standing by in the city. I've already sent him the signal, he should be on his way. In the meantime, let's take out the trash." He slides out from cover and cups his hands to his side like he's about to perform the kamehameha. Lightning flows around his body and begins to pool and collect between his palms until it forms a ball. Hiei then takes a step forwards as he thrusts his palms outwards, sending the ball of lightning towards the fleeing archer.
Arashi looked at Hiei and nods towards him. "I have this I think." He said before forming a bunch of seals as he stared at the 4 other archers. "Amani. After we handle these ones could you possibly fix this wound of mine?" He asked and figured it was obvious which one he was seaking of. Or so he hoped. Amani did have wounds of her own but he doubted that it was that bad for either of them if they couldn't find the time. Either way the moment his seals were done beams of storm chakra formed and fired in multiple wide arcs to all collide at the 4 remaining archers. They were not likely to be too loud like the laser beam counterpart but they might make a little bit of sound.
"Feh," Amani grumbled to herself. This was more difficult than it should have been, but she supposes that's the nature of missions sometimes. This time, she was prepared for the hail of arrows and cushioned herself from them so she could keep on ticking. She required more focus for the situation it seemed, so she engaged her eyes once more to maximize on her potential. Once visuals were in place, she proceeded to fire off against the archers once again.
Signal received, Yori makes his way towards the battle in a flash. It doesn't take him long to arrive at all, moments really, before he flashes into place beside Hiei. "Saito Yori reporting in Raikage-dono," he says simply as he arrives, his eyes scanning the battlefield and not even looking at the man in charge. Always plotting and planning he is. "Where do you need me?" he asks after another brief moment, his eyes finally shifting to Hiei.
Between Arashi and Amani, the remaining archers all meet their demise. Lasers and sonics, oh my. The lightning orb that hit the runner, pretty much blows a hole in his torso, casuing him to hit the ground and side forwards until his very dead body stops just short of the roof hatch that leads to the second floor of the compound. Even with the various attacks from the shionbi, they've somehow remained stealthy. Afterall, if they hadn't, they'd be surrounded by a bunch of guards by now.
Hiei pats Arashi on the back a little harder than he means to. "Yes, that's how it's done right there. Good job, you two." He gives Amani a thumbs up before turning to Yori. "Ah, glad you could make it, my student. We've finished phase one and we're about to gain access to the building. As of now, we're going to enter through that hatch and take out anyone that gets in our way. It's time to finish this mission and assassinate Towa. Everyone, take a moment to wrap your injuries and heal. It's only going to get harder from here on out. There's no way they won't notice us once we make it inside. Be prepared for a fight." He places a hand on Yori's shoulder. "I'm excited. We don't get to fight together often. I'm eager to see how well you've learned the lessons I taught you."
Arashi was not expecting the pat on the back to have as much force as it did. He wasn't exactly bulky or anything either so it caused him to stumble a tiny bit. "Ahh yeah. Thanks." He said before looking back towards Yori and giving a quick nod towards him. Since he did know a little bit of first aid himself he would take this time to treat that arrow injury a bit. Maybe enough to where he could wait for Amani to look at it. He doubted it was that bad to begin with but usually better safe than sorry. And so he got to work on fixing it up.
Amani comes down from the rooftops and lands on the ground. "Stupid…arrows, stupid guards. All they had to do is stand there and take them," she muttered and fussed. "Anyway, I should be alright. Quick patchwork will do me well." She moves over to Arashi and quickly sums up his injuries. "We need each of us in, ready to go," she extended her hands to heal up what wounds he amassed. "I see you tried to work out your injuries with a bit of first aid. Good work. You know how to keep yourself alive more than most ninja."
Yori's eyes shift back to Hiei after a moment and he offers a faint yet serious smile. "I'll try not to disappoint you Raikage-dono." As the dust settles from the last attack Yori takes in the others that are there before he looks back to the place they're about to invade. He says nothing further for now, simply waiting for orders or questions from above.
Hiei waits patiently for Amani to do a quick patch job on Arashi. Once they're done, he moves towards the building. He leaps up as his feet stick to the side, and he simply runs up the side of it using tree walk. Once at the top, he motions towards the wooden trap door and pulls it up slowly. He sticks his head down briefly and the turns, looking towards the others and drops down silently. He presses himself against the wall and peeks around the corner while waiting for the others to join him.
Arashi once patched up would move quickly to follow after Hiei. As he moved he focused a little bit more on his chakra. Made sure to stay stocked up just in case this lasted longer than he was prepared for. Better to stay safe in that regard as well. He followed Hiei's lead completely dropping down and sticking close to the wall. He was looking around as they did this. Just to take a closer look at everything going on here. It should be fine either way with the 4 Kumo shinobi here.
Amani keeps a watchful eye over the area to ensure all is clear above before they go into the building. Sensing no threats around, she heads inside with the others and takes a read of the area. "I'm picking up about ten targets, possibly more around, so keep your sense sharp," she begins. "There are two in a room to our left and six others two doors down. They are across the hall and to our left," she offered. "Any others you find, I am fully confident in your ability to dispatch and incpacitate them."
"Awaiting orders on how to proceed," she regarded Hiei.
Once Hiei drops through the door Yori remains up top, holding it open for the others to go in. Only once everyone else is through does he finally drop in himself, closing the door behind himself. He'll continue to bring up the rear until such a time that he's needed elsewhere. But for now this works.
The hallway that the shinobi drop into is well lit. There are five doors, two on the right and three on the left. At the end of the hallway is a spiral staircase that probably leads down to the first floor where the noise of laughter can be heard. Also the smell of alcohol and tobacco can be scented even from where they were. It was also coming from the first floor. Also, the door that Amani indicatee has sounds of it's own. Moaning..seems to be both a male and female.
Hiei nods to Amani as she gives him intel. "Hmm. Good work. One moment." He cants his head forwards slightly, extending his senses for a moment before he blinks and looks back to the group, his voice just above a whisper. "I'm detecting large chakra signatures from downstairs and from the room on the left that Amani indicated. However, the largest is in that room to the right. I'd bet my favorite pet goat that's where Towa is. "Alright guys. This is it." He moved down slightly so that he's in front of the door. "We breach in three seconds. Be prepared for anything. Yori, Amani, watch our backs. This is going to be noisy and it will attract attention. Arashi, when we go in, you know what to do." He exhales softly. "3..2..1.." He draws the katana from is back just before he lifts his foot and kicks the door.
Arashi followed along and looked at both Amani and Hiei. "Alright… So we go in quick and strong. Sounds like my kind of fight." He said before nodding towards Hiei. The moment he started counting down the chakra around Arashi grew a bit stronger and then suddenly with a quick bit of handseals he rushed in and fired a condensed ball of lightning into the room. It likely could kill but it was just as likely to just do a lot of damage and leave them all weakened. Lightning and all tends to do both things. Hopefully any innocents would get the latter effect if there were any inside. Doubted but… Possible right? Either way Arashi wasn't holding back just cause of that possibility. Though as he entered he did try to make sure it hit just Towa or any targets with weapons at the ready.
Amani follows up with the group, listening…seeing…seething. She wanted to yell out to the other room, but she couldn't. What she saw and heard it was just…awful. "Improper technique…." She muttered during the countdown. "She is not actually pleased…" she continued. "Your impotence is laughable and you should feel terrible!" She shouted as they kicked in the door. She continued forward into the room and prepared her attack as she drew back her hand and extended it forward to lash out at their intended target.
Yori is the epitome of calm despite the battle situation going on around him. It's one of his best characteristics, really, that he remains calm and clear headed through these types of situations. As the door busts in and the trio seem to go on a rampage he continues to hang back, hands clasped behind his back, letting them deal with the man in the room while he waits to see what kind of hornets nest they may have stirred up further in.
When Hiei kicks the door open, Towa is sitting on a couch with a woman on his lap. She's half-dressed, and he has no shirt on. The woman is young…way too young o be his wife. When Arashi throws his attack, Towa throws the girl in the way as he himself dives to the side. He rolls and comes back up to his feet. "Ha. Shinobi. I knew it was only a matter of time before that fool made his move. You shouldn't have come here mercenaries. Now the only way you're leaving is in a box." He performs handseals and once he finishes, the shinobi would feel a pressure come over them, like it's getting harder to stand up, they would find themseves wanting to just give up and run away. Another moment later, Towa performs another set of seals before he breathes out, a large fireball big enough to encompass the entire room.
In the meantime, the guards have heard the noise and arrive in the hallway where Amani and Yori are. There are at least four of them right now, they draw their blades and attack, breaking off so each shinobi has two of them to deal with at once.
When Hiei feels the genjutsu aura affect him, he takes his sword and rakes it across his thigh, using the sharp pain to break himself out of it. Then the fireball comes and it seems to engulf him. However once the attack is done, he's standing on the ceiling, unharmed by the attack. "Yeah. I don't really think you know who you're dealing with." Hiei drops from the ceiling, lightning crackling in his fist as he shoots it out towards Towa's chest. "Suck on that."
Arashi wasn't the best at defending genjutsu and it showed as that effected him but luckily he was able to pop out a water clone at the last moment to avoid the hit from the fire. "Uhh… God damn it. I didn't think about Genjutsu being a threat. It isn't exactly what I am best at handling." He was on a knee and was unable to stand up as of now… Like an invisible force was holding him down.
"Nnnngh," Amani growled as the effects of the genjutsu began to descend upon her and followed up with a massive fireball. "If your performance was as big as this fire, I'd be impressed!" She shouted as she dove through the sword attacks by the guards to roll forward and take a jab right at Towa. She could still feel the effects of the genjutsu coming down on her and a certain sense of dread began to come over her the closer she was to him. At this point, she found it difficult to hold back any physical reaction.
"We have a casualty on our hands!" She paused. "We have a casualty on our hands…" Her mixture of fear and glee might be confusing to most, but it was all clear to her. She had an opportunity on her hands!
Yori was expecting them folks to come charging in annnnnnd yep there they are, right on time. He is just waiting patiently for them, looking all the world like nothing else is going on. Then he starts to feel the tug of the genjutsu. In one fluid movement Yori moves, his blade sliding free and slicing along his leg as it exits it's sheath. Without pausing he turns to slice vertically through the fireball, the preciseness of the movement putting the flame out before it can reach him. And still, like fluid, he moves to stop the attacks of the two men who charge him, metal ringing.
In a flash he leaves his attackers staring at where he was while he stands next to the crazed(crazy?) medic. Sword remaining in one hand he reaches down to place a hand on her shoulder and help soothe her wounds, if not her mental state, all the while staring down the ones who'd attacked her as if daring them to try again.
Towa slaps Hiei's lightning fist away. "It'll take more than that, boy." He spins in place, kicking out towards Hiei's torso. However, Amani is successful in landing her attack, which makes Towa stagger just a bit from the loss of both stamina and chakra. With a growl, he aims a snap punch directly for her face. In the meantime, the guards go after Yori again, stabbing at him over and over. All four of them. More guards come into the room, two of them looking to attack Arashi while he's distracted.
Hiei actually looked a little confused when his attack was simply swept aside before he took a boot to the chest that catapulted him across the room and there is a loud crack as his body impacts and he slides down the wall, holding his stomach. "Ah..crap. I think he broke a couple ribs." From where he is, he forms handseals and begins to concentrate. Lightning begins to pulse around his body. "Somebody hold him off. I just need a few minutes."
Arashi was struck by both the swords and seemed a bit frustrated. "That stung… Even more so then the arrow from earlier." He frowned and looked first at all the troops who were gathered. "Yori I will attempt to incapitate each of these ones so you can get easy strikes in. Then I will rotate over and try to hold down the boss man over there." He spoke up towards Hiei before forming hand seals. A wave of lightning would strike out at the random infantry before turning and trying to use chains of water to hold Towa in place for Hiei to attack him.
"Thank you! I did take a bit of damage there, didn't I? Nothing that I haven't taken before, but it was not pleasant! Not pleasant at all!" Amani was still stuck between paralyzing fear and happiness, not a great combination for her or others around her. Thankfully, Towa would be so kind as to break her free of her torment and strike her right in the face, sending her head snapping in one direction and her body soon following. Her face was going to be feeling that for a while.
She rolls herself up off the ground and stumbles. "That…definitely hurt…" She staggered over in Hiei's direction. Gonna have to heal him up. She ain't in the best condition herself, but she'll be fine for now.
Yori was watching as the four soldiers attacked him, focused. However his attention broke for just a moment when he realized the attack coming for Amani and that he could do nothing to stop it. He soon finds he has his own problems however as the soldiers are cutting at him. He staves off half of them though two of the men manage to sneak attacks through, causing him to take a few steps back. His poor clothes…
He hears Arashi but doesn't even look at him, instead focusing and calculating. From one breath to the next he's gone, appearing a split second later on the other side of the room, having passed cleanly by all six guards even as his blade seems to not have moved from his side.
When the shinobi get hurt, they get more dangerous. Between Arashi and Yori, all of the guards in the room die, save one. He looks from one to the other, drops his sword and then turns tail to run. He didn't pass GO, and he didn't collect his two hundred dollars. He is on his way out of this place, muttering to himself that he swears that he's going legit.
The dead girl in the corner's gaze is on Towa, even though there is no life in them. Towa himself smirks faintly. "The guards were weak. You're all weak." He forms handseals and if the genjutsu goes off, everyone would find random wounds on different body parts. They would hurt as if they actually exist, even making them physically display the pain. After that, he forms another set of seals and breaths fire, this time a smaller one. Then he would try to make it to the door.
The attack that Hiei was preparing is lost when genjutsu attacks his mind again. He tried to stave it off with his will alone, but is unsuccessful as wounds break out all over his body. The flames wash over him as well, burning away his duster and most of his shirt. His skin blisters and darkens as he screams out from the pain while sitting on the floor. "NO. It will NOT end like this." He pushes himself to his feet, while holding his chest. He takes a moment to compartmentalize the pain before his body erupts in a bright blue aura that is infused with lightning. He withdraws his other sword, the swords begin to charge chakra, and it looks like it comes directly from his aura. Those who have fought with him before would recognize this technique. Those that haven't…well it's about to get interesting. He swings, sending a massive shockwave out of both swords. All on course for Towa.
Arashi watched this man closely since all the extra troops were gone and out. No need to worry about them. This man continued onwards and seemed to attempt Genjutsu again. Didn't matter since Arashi avoided it and the fire that followed before focusing his hand into seals once again. He would attempt to do the same skill as before except this time he was guranteed to target this man directly. Not extra possibly casualties now to worry about. Just one target he had to kill.
"Rrrrraaaaargh!" Amani shouted, these wounds! Son of a goat! "I. HATE. Genjutsu!" She knew she was under its spell, but could do nothing about it, even as she focused her mind to concentrate on it specifically. "Stupid genjutsu, stupid guards, stupid, stupid, stupid—FIRE!" She wanted this guy dead and his corpse in a body bag to carry back home and defile with all sorts of science!!! "I'm still on my way!" She informed Hiei of her approach. Once she was close enough, she set her hands on his body and gave all that she could muster at the moment to heal up his wounds. Can't have him running around like that trying to fight. "Friggin' Kumo shinobi. This is why I forget I'm a ninja! You keep fighting and I love you for it! But I also hate you for it!" She says to everyone present. Makes her job so much more enjoyably difficult.
Yori watches the last man flees and turns only to realize that strange wounds are appearing painfully all over his body. A mental curse later and he draws steel across skin but to no avail. His focus is so much on what's happening that he takes the incoming fireball full force. At least the pain breaks the genjutsu. And…seriously man, his clothes. Power surges through his blade as his eyes move up to the man who caused the damage.
Just as two powerful attacks are released, one from Hiei and one from Arashi, Yori vanishes again, an afterimage appears a few times moving amongst the two attacks before he follows up right behind them with one of his own, his sword cutting a swath through the air and, possibly, the man.
Towa almost made it out of the room. Almost. Hiei's attack blew through the walls and impacted him in the back. He twists his body as he goes down, only to be struck by Arashi's thunder cannon. It was Yori who did the deed. His attack hit with so much force, it literall popped Towa's head off his shoulders. The head is still in the air as the torso hits the ground. Then the head falls straight into Amani's lap, the eyes still open and staring with no spark of life in them.
After Towa falls, so does Hiei. He sits down hard, while breathing heavily. "Heh. Good job everyone. Amani, as a reward, you can have the body." He smirks, his armor full of blood, some of it being his. "And thanks for the healing, too. I don't think I would have made it without it. Okay, damage report. How is everyone?"
Yori flicks his blade free of what little blood landed on it before sheathing his sword. He lets out a mental sigh as he turns to look around, then looks down at his clothing and shaking his head. "Displeased," Yori replies to Hiei's question before applying a glowing green hand to the most severe of his burns.
"Mmmmfph…" Amani just can't seem to get a whole body these days. Well, what she gets, she'll have to work with. Headless is just as good, she supposes. "I want these bodies all collected and sent back to Kumogakure," she stated. "Also, I'm fine. This is…typical," she looked over herself and the wounds she assumed. The adrenaline was still rushing, but it's soon to burn out and leave her feeling every ache she's accumulated here. "Let's head back! I have work to do!"
The moon lights the night sky as Hiei and his team reach the capitol of the Land of Lightning…Raiun City. He hand hand picked his team himself, choosing Jounin level shinobi only, but he's been quiet about their mission during the entire trip. However, as they now stand outside of the city limits, he turns to Arashi and Amani and exhales softly. "Alright. It's time I tell you about our mission. This mission is infiltration and assassination, handed down to us by the Lightning Daimyo himself. In the residential area there dwells a man named Towa. He is the head of Shipping and Commerce here in the city. However, the daimyo has evidence that he's been involved in money laundering, and theft of city funds. He's too well connected to be arrested, he's got guys that will cover for him. This is where we come in. The Daimyo wants him dead, but it can't look like he had anything to do with it."
Hiei is dressed in his matte black armor, with a mask that covers his lower face. His hair is bound in a tight ponytail, and his two chakra swords are belted around his waist. He's definitely dressed for this mission. "Towa is extremely dangerous. His compound has high security, and he is a former shinobi of Kumo, now retired. Here's his picture." He passes around a pic for Arashi and Amani. He's an older man, with salt and pepper hair. He has a distinguishing mark along his left cheek. A discoloration of his skin that seems to be his birth mark. Hiei looks between the two of them. "This mission is classified as S-rank. If either of you have any doubts about doing this, I would understand if you wanted to go back to the village. But I chose you two for your abilities, and Arashi, this would be good practice for you." He doesn't exactly say why, but he'd know what he meant. "So..what say you both. Back me up on this one. You know my motto. As long as we remember to work as a team, no one can stop us. No one."
Arashi stretched a bit as they arrived at their destination. He was curious what they were here to do since well.. It was a different start compared to anything he has done before. But then as Hiei spoke about what they were to do it became clear and he nods along with the Kage's words. "So it can't be obvious the Daimyo had anything to do with it? I assume it would be easy enough to make it look like rogue shinobi did it. Freelance ones that maybe learned of the money he has been laundering and wanted a quick payday. If that is needed. If not then well.. I guess we will see. Or maybe you have an idea ready already." He said with a raised brow. "Anyways…" He took the picture. "S-Rank? Not an issue. With others here it is less of an issue at least. I imagine having the Kage here makes it a little less dangerous than say I was here alone." He said with a small smile. "So yes. I am ready to do this. I got your back until we complete the mission." He knew what Hiei was stating as well but just nods to his words in that regard.
"I have no doubts about what will take place. I am a medic first and shinobi second," Amani stated. "As you might imagine, my abilities are well within the realm of healing someone or at least knowing how to kill them 'accidentally'," she utilized air quotes. She took the picture and observed it. "He is an older man. You could easily describe his death due to age. Do we know of any habits he has that may contribute to his demise?" She questioned. "He's outlived many at this time and could still be waiting to keel over at some point. Passing peacefully in his sleep or having an unforseen health problem…" She described.
Once the decision is made, the shinobi have no problems moving throughout the city stealthily. Most people are going on about their daily lives as they close up their shops for the night, bring in their livestock, and prepare dinner for their loved ones. Arriving on top of the roof of a nearby building, they are able to see the compound from their current position. The large two story building is surrounded by a wall of stone, with a gate that is guarded by three guards armed with both swords and spears. They are also able to see on the top of the building, six men armed with longbows and arrows. The lights are on inside, and music is also playing. It looks like Towa is currently entertaining guests.
Hiei grins at Arashi and Amani. "Excellent. I knew I made the right choice by assembling this team. Let's be careful, but lets get it done." As the shinobi arrive on the rooftop and Hiei is able to see a bit of the kind of defenses they'd be up against he crouches as lightning sparks off his skin for a moment as he prepares his body for combat. "I've done a lot of missions like this, so I have experience. However, these defenses aren't as formidable as they look." He points to the guards. "We take them out first and clear the gate. Once that's done, we take out the guys on the roof. We will have to be stealthy and not use jutsu that would draw attention. At least not in this stage of the mission." He stands at the edge of the roof while looking at the complex. "Let me know when you're ready, and we will begin."
Arashi followed along and watched closely. "I distinctly remember a mission me and Amani went on where we had to fight this chef. That was interesting but it was a similiar mission in.. Well we had someone we had to beat. This is just a much bigger scale really." He shrugged lightly. "Yeah I can get them alright. I am ready now whenever you both are." He had enough ways to do some damage without being loud at least though his most useful and… SOme could say favourite skills were the louder or more obvious ones.
"Yes, good times all around," Amani commented, halfway paying attention to everyone as she studied the area. She hummed. "Using jutsu with no sound /would/ be my specialty, but some of my clan have taken to being loud and obnoxious. However, I have come to deliver. I have, gasp! Silent skills!" She whispered aloud. "Taking out the guards. Right. Let me just peer into my work here…" She engaged her eyes and peered over the area. "Much better. Let's get this started."
Hiei looks over his shoulder and nods once. "Alright then. I've got the one on the far right." He then leaps off the building, tucking his arms in before flipping several times and lands in a crouch, hero-style. His body then blurs as he attacks the guard. A shot to the solar plexus, followed by kick to the gut and then he strikes with three fingers towards the guy's throat. He infuses the last attack with a little lightning. Even if it doesn't immediately knock him out, the lightning will shred his vocal cords, making it to where he couldn't talk, or make a sound.
Arashi nods quickly and would move to take out the one on the opposite side of Hiei. He wasn't as.. Quick as Hiei but he could do plenty without having to get as close. Lightning was a bit harder to keep quiet at a distance. He formed water and in quick fashion it would rush and surround his target. Hopefully it was able to latch on and hold him in place while also covering his mouth to prevent any noise. If need be he would also try to make the guy pass out but.. Well he didn't have any skill that swiftly did that.. It was kill or injury. Never straight up KO'ed without some injury. Something he likely should work on since all of his injuring skills were pretty loud themselves. More water was on the ground as well.. Formed to act as a quick access if Arashi needed it.
"Guess that leaves center for me." Amani wasted no time in drawing the bow on her back and taking aim. While the other guards were being dealt with, it left the last one in her care to take out. She drew back a blunted tip and imbued it with sound chakra before firing it forward, straight at her target. She wasn't aiming to kill, but a swift knockout would suffice.
The guard that Hiei attacked never knew what hit him because it happened so fast. He remembers the impact and then something striking him in the throat. As he goes down for the count, the one on the far side sees him fall. Before he could even speak, a sonic arrow impacts him in the back, the shock wave of sound making his body vibrate as he shakes and shivers a little before falling over unconcious. Arashi's guard must have been a little more hearty. When the water chains surround him, he breaks out with a strain, tracking Arashi with his eyes before throwing the spear he held in his hand. He coughs a bit, because some water got in his mouth, but it won't be long before he can speak and raise the alarm.
As the shinobi attack, Hiei stands up and surveys the immediate area. He places his back against the wall, out of the sight of the archers on the roof for a moment a he closes his eyes and breathes out softly, extending his senses beyond what can be seen with his eyes. After a moment, he nods once before saying. "Towa is definitely inside. I sense his chakra somewhere on the second floor. We can gain entry from the roof, but we'll have to deal with those archers first." He comments as he watches Arashi's guy stand up and attack. He stays his own hand for the moment. This was Arashi's fight…and he wanted to see how well the Jounin handled himself.
Arashi watched the spear come and instead of being taken down it went right through a clone. The real Arashi grabbed the spear out of the air to make sure it didn't cause a ruckus or go into view of the archers before he would toss the spear to Hiei once Hiei was paying attention. Arashi would then charge his man again with seals prepare except this time once his seals were done he formed needles of storm chakra and aimed them at both sides of the dudes head. These little needles were good for draining the energy outta a guy so he hoped with the water making the guy cough a bit already that this little blast would put the guy down for a bit.
Amani stayed back, posted up so that she could keep a bird's eye view on everything. Taking note of the archers, she withdrew a couple of arrows to fire off at them to clear off those nearest to her. Perhaps she was overthinking or maybe wasn't concentrating enough, but she certainly felt one of her arrows go off center. She sneered to herself and took cover while awaiting the response from the guards. It's possible that things might even turn in her favor.
Arashi's second attempt is much more successful. The guard never knew what hit him as the needles of storm chakra impact both sides of his head. His eyes roll up into the back of his head before he falls face-first on the ground. Meanwhile, the archers are still unaware that their comrades at the gate have been dealt with. So far, so good. However, as Amani fires her sonic arrows at the archers on the roof, she manages to get one of them as he falls off the roof with a slight yelp and the sound of a body crashing against the ground. Having missed one, the alerts the others to her location, and as they now really look around, they spot both Arashi and Hiei. They fire their arrows at the trio, hoping to hit them before they could attack again.
As several things happen at once, Hiei isn't even looking at Arashi as the tosses him the spear. However, his hand extends and catches it just as the arrows start flying. The arrow seems to go through Hiei's body like a ghost due to him moving so fast at the last minute that he leaves an afterimage in his wake. Meanwhile Hiei appears next to Arashi as he charges that spear he tossed him with lightning chakra and throws it back at one of the archers.
Arashi watched his guy drop but didn't seem to notice Amani working on the archers already. And that of course meant an arrow was coming right for him and it would hit him right in his side. Went right through though so it might be easier to work on that way. For now he would have to leave it there after simply breaking off the pointy end. "That's great. Just fantastic." He looked up at the archers. "Do you know what it feels like to pull an arrow out like this?" He asked before forming a few hand seals. Turns out that the water was moving up and up and up the side of the building before suddenly.. Lots of Arashi's started fighting the guys! Kicks and punches and even lesser water jutsu!
"Curses," Amani huffed while guarding herself from the hail of arrows that were fired on them. Sure, she took a hit or two, but it was nothing she couldn't treat. Thankfully, her defense cushioned some of their penetrating power, but not by much. Once the hail was finished, she slipped back out and took aim once again to fire more arrows at the archers to take them out. If she couldn't hit them all, she could at least pick them off and minimize their numbers.
The archers seem to be well trained. While they kept firing at the shinobi, they themselves remained unharmed by most of the attacks from the Kumo crew. Arashi managed to take out one of them, but there were five left and like a well trained machine, they released another hail of arrows aimed at the shinobi. One of them says to the other. "Tell the boss we got company and for him to send out the heavy hitters." The archer nods and begins to make his way into the lower parts of the building through the roof access hatch.
Hiei moves slightly to his left, causing the arrow to miss him. If they weren't trying to be stealthy, he'd have just blown up the building by now. However, the Kage did overhear one of them tell the other to go get help. He couldn't let that go down. "I'll take the runner. Those archers /have/ to go down. Arashi, make it happen. In case we got overwhelmed, I had Yori standing by in the city. I've already sent him the signal, he should be on his way. In the meantime, let's take out the trash." He slides out from cover and cups his hands to his side like he's about to perform the kamehameha. Lightning flows around his body and begins to pool and collect between his palms until it forms a ball. Hiei then takes a step forwards as he thrusts his palms outwards, sending the ball of lightning towards the fleeing archer.
Arashi looked at Hiei and nods towards him. "I have this I think." He said before forming a bunch of seals as he stared at the 4 other archers. "Amani. After we handle these ones could you possibly fix this wound of mine?" He asked and figured it was obvious which one he was seaking of. Or so he hoped. Amani did have wounds of her own but he doubted that it was that bad for either of them if they couldn't find the time. Either way the moment his seals were done beams of storm chakra formed and fired in multiple wide arcs to all collide at the 4 remaining archers. They were not likely to be too loud like the laser beam counterpart but they might make a little bit of sound.
"Feh," Amani grumbled to herself. This was more difficult than it should have been, but she supposes that's the nature of missions sometimes. This time, she was prepared for the hail of arrows and cushioned herself from them so she could keep on ticking. She required more focus for the situation it seemed, so she engaged her eyes once more to maximize on her potential. Once visuals were in place, she proceeded to fire off against the archers once again.
Signal received, Yori makes his way towards the battle in a flash. It doesn't take him long to arrive at all, moments really, before he flashes into place beside Hiei. "Saito Yori reporting in Raikage-dono," he says simply as he arrives, his eyes scanning the battlefield and not even looking at the man in charge. Always plotting and planning he is. "Where do you need me?" he asks after another brief moment, his eyes finally shifting to Hiei.
Between Arashi and Amani, the remaining archers all meet their demise. Lasers and sonics, oh my. The lightning orb that hit the runner, pretty much blows a hole in his torso, casuing him to hit the ground and side forwards until his very dead body stops just short of the roof hatch that leads to the second floor of the compound. Even with the various attacks from the shionbi, they've somehow remained stealthy. Afterall, if they hadn't, they'd be surrounded by a bunch of guards by now.
Hiei pats Arashi on the back a little harder than he means to. "Yes, that's how it's done right there. Good job, you two." He gives Amani a thumbs up before turning to Yori. "Ah, glad you could make it, my student. We've finished phase one and we're about to gain access to the building. As of now, we're going to enter through that hatch and take out anyone that gets in our way. It's time to finish this mission and assassinate Towa. Everyone, take a moment to wrap your injuries and heal. It's only going to get harder from here on out. There's no way they won't notice us once we make it inside. Be prepared for a fight." He places a hand on Yori's shoulder. "I'm excited. We don't get to fight together often. I'm eager to see how well you've learned the lessons I taught you."
Arashi was not expecting the pat on the back to have as much force as it did. He wasn't exactly bulky or anything either so it caused him to stumble a tiny bit. "Ahh yeah. Thanks." He said before looking back towards Yori and giving a quick nod towards him. Since he did know a little bit of first aid himself he would take this time to treat that arrow injury a bit. Maybe enough to where he could wait for Amani to look at it. He doubted it was that bad to begin with but usually better safe than sorry. And so he got to work on fixing it up.
Amani comes down from the rooftops and lands on the ground. "Stupid…arrows, stupid guards. All they had to do is stand there and take them," she muttered and fussed. "Anyway, I should be alright. Quick patchwork will do me well." She moves over to Arashi and quickly sums up his injuries. "We need each of us in, ready to go," she extended her hands to heal up what wounds he amassed. "I see you tried to work out your injuries with a bit of first aid. Good work. You know how to keep yourself alive more than most ninja."
Yori's eyes shift back to Hiei after a moment and he offers a faint yet serious smile. "I'll try not to disappoint you Raikage-dono." As the dust settles from the last attack Yori takes in the others that are there before he looks back to the place they're about to invade. He says nothing further for now, simply waiting for orders or questions from above.
Hiei waits patiently for Amani to do a quick patch job on Arashi. Once they're done, he moves towards the building. He leaps up as his feet stick to the side, and he simply runs up the side of it using tree walk. Once at the top, he motions towards the wooden trap door and pulls it up slowly. He sticks his head down briefly and the turns, looking towards the others and drops down silently. He presses himself against the wall and peeks around the corner while waiting for the others to join him.
Arashi once patched up would move quickly to follow after Hiei. As he moved he focused a little bit more on his chakra. Made sure to stay stocked up just in case this lasted longer than he was prepared for. Better to stay safe in that regard as well. He followed Hiei's lead completely dropping down and sticking close to the wall. He was looking around as they did this. Just to take a closer look at everything going on here. It should be fine either way with the 4 Kumo shinobi here.
Amani keeps a watchful eye over the area to ensure all is clear above before they go into the building. Sensing no threats around, she heads inside with the others and takes a read of the area. "I'm picking up about ten targets, possibly more around, so keep your sense sharp," she begins. "There are two in a room to our left and six others two doors down. They are across the hall and to our left," she offered. "Any others you find, I am fully confident in your ability to dispatch and incpacitate them."
"Awaiting orders on how to proceed," she regarded Hiei.
Once Hiei drops through the door Yori remains up top, holding it open for the others to go in. Only once everyone else is through does he finally drop in himself, closing the door behind himself. He'll continue to bring up the rear until such a time that he's needed elsewhere. But for now this works.
The hallway that the shinobi drop into is well lit. There are five doors, two on the right and three on the left. At the end of the hallway is a spiral staircase that probably leads down to the first floor where the noise of laughter can be heard. Also the smell of alcohol and tobacco can be scented even from where they were. It was also coming from the first floor. Also, the door that Amani indicatee has sounds of it's own. Moaning..seems to be both a male and female.
Hiei nods to Amani as she gives him intel. "Hmm. Good work. One moment." He cants his head forwards slightly, extending his senses for a moment before he blinks and looks back to the group, his voice just above a whisper. "I'm detecting large chakra signatures from downstairs and from the room on the left that Amani indicated. However, the largest is in that room to the right. I'd bet my favorite pet goat that's where Towa is. "Alright guys. This is it." He moved down slightly so that he's in front of the door. "We breach in three seconds. Be prepared for anything. Yori, Amani, watch our backs. This is going to be noisy and it will attract attention. Arashi, when we go in, you know what to do." He exhales softly. "3..2..1.." He draws the katana from is back just before he lifts his foot and kicks the door.
Arashi followed along and looked at both Amani and Hiei. "Alright… So we go in quick and strong. Sounds like my kind of fight." He said before nodding towards Hiei. The moment he started counting down the chakra around Arashi grew a bit stronger and then suddenly with a quick bit of handseals he rushed in and fired a condensed ball of lightning into the room. It likely could kill but it was just as likely to just do a lot of damage and leave them all weakened. Lightning and all tends to do both things. Hopefully any innocents would get the latter effect if there were any inside. Doubted but… Possible right? Either way Arashi wasn't holding back just cause of that possibility. Though as he entered he did try to make sure it hit just Towa or any targets with weapons at the ready.
Amani follows up with the group, listening…seeing…seething. She wanted to yell out to the other room, but she couldn't. What she saw and heard it was just…awful. "Improper technique…." She muttered during the countdown. "She is not actually pleased…" she continued. "Your impotence is laughable and you should feel terrible!" She shouted as they kicked in the door. She continued forward into the room and prepared her attack as she drew back her hand and extended it forward to lash out at their intended target.
Yori is the epitome of calm despite the battle situation going on around him. It's one of his best characteristics, really, that he remains calm and clear headed through these types of situations. As the door busts in and the trio seem to go on a rampage he continues to hang back, hands clasped behind his back, letting them deal with the man in the room while he waits to see what kind of hornets nest they may have stirred up further in.
When Hiei kicks the door open, Towa is sitting on a couch with a woman on his lap. She's half-dressed, and he has no shirt on. The woman is young…way too young o be his wife. When Arashi throws his attack, Towa throws the girl in the way as he himself dives to the side. He rolls and comes back up to his feet. "Ha. Shinobi. I knew it was only a matter of time before that fool made his move. You shouldn't have come here mercenaries. Now the only way you're leaving is in a box." He performs handseals and once he finishes, the shinobi would feel a pressure come over them, like it's getting harder to stand up, they would find themseves wanting to just give up and run away. Another moment later, Towa performs another set of seals before he breathes out, a large fireball big enough to encompass the entire room.
In the meantime, the guards have heard the noise and arrive in the hallway where Amani and Yori are. There are at least four of them right now, they draw their blades and attack, breaking off so each shinobi has two of them to deal with at once.
When Hiei feels the genjutsu aura affect him, he takes his sword and rakes it across his thigh, using the sharp pain to break himself out of it. Then the fireball comes and it seems to engulf him. However once the attack is done, he's standing on the ceiling, unharmed by the attack. "Yeah. I don't really think you know who you're dealing with." Hiei drops from the ceiling, lightning crackling in his fist as he shoots it out towards Towa's chest. "**** on that."
Arashi wasn't the best at defending genjutsu and it showed as that effected him but luckily he was able to pop out a water clone at the last moment to avoid the hit from the fire. "Uhh… **** **** it. I didn't think about Genjutsu being a threat. It isn't exactly what I am best at handling." He was on a knee and was unable to stand up as of now… Like an invisible force was holding him down.
"Nnnngh," Amani growled as the effects of the genjutsu began to descend upon her and followed up with a massive fireball. "If your performance was as big as this fire, I'd be impressed!" She shouted as she dove through the sword attacks by the guards to roll forward and take a jab right at Towa. She could still feel the effects of the genjutsu coming down on her and a certain sense of dread began to come over her the closer she was to him. At this point, she found it difficult to hold back any physical reaction.
"We have a casualty on our hands!" She paused. "We have a casualty on our hands…" Her mixture of fear and glee might be confusing to most, but it was all clear to her. She had an opportunity on her hands!
Yori was expecting them folks to come charging in annnnnnd yep there they are, right on time. He is just waiting patiently for them, looking all the world like nothing else is going on. Then he starts to feel the tug of the genjutsu. In one fluid movement Yori moves, his blade sliding free and slicing along his leg as it exits it's sheath. Without pausing he turns to slice vertically through the fireball, the preciseness of the movement putting the flame out before it can reach him. And still, like fluid, he moves to stop the attacks of the two men who charge him, metal ringing.
In a flash he leaves his attackers staring at where he was while he stands next to the crazed(crazy?) medic. Sword remaining in one hand he reaches down to place a hand on her shoulder and help soothe her wounds, if not her mental state, all the while staring down the ones who'd attacked her as if daring them to try again.
Towa slaps Hiei's lightning fist away. "It'll take more than that, boy." He spins in place, kicking out towards Hiei's torso. However, Amani is successful in landing her attack, which makes Towa stagger just a bit from the loss of both stamina and chakra. With a growl, he aims a snap punch directly for her face. In the meantime, the guards go after Yori again, stabbing at him over and over. All four of them. More guards come into the room, two of them looking to attack Arashi while he's distracted.
Hiei actually looked a little confused when his attack was simply swept aside before he took a boot to the chest that catapulted him across the room and there is a loud crack as his body impacts and he slides down the wall, holding his stomach. "Ah..****. I think he broke a couple ribs." From where he is, he forms handseals and begins to concentrate. Lightning begins to pulse around his body. "Somebody hold him off. I just need a few minutes."
Arashi was struck by both the swords and seemed a bit frustrated. "That stung… Even more so then the arrow from earlier." He frowned and looked first at all the troops who were gathered. "Yori I will attempt to incapitate each of these ones so you can get easy strikes in. Then I will rotate over and try to hold down the boss man over there." He spoke up towards Hiei before forming hand seals. A wave of lightning would strike out at the random infantry before turning and trying to use chains of water to hold Towa in place for Hiei to attack him.
"Thank you! I did take a bit of damage there, didn't I? Nothing that I haven't taken before, but it was not pleasant! Not pleasant at all!" Amani was still stuck between paralyzing fear and happiness, not a great combination for her or others around her. Thankfully, Towa would be so kind as to break her free of her torment and strike her right in the face, sending her head snapping in one direction and her body soon following. Her face was going to be feeling that for a while.
She rolls herself up off the ground and stumbles. "That…definitely hurt…" She staggered over in Hiei's direction. Gonna have to heal him up. She ain't in the best condition herself, but she'll be fine for now.
Yori was watching as the four soldiers attacked him, focused. However his attention broke for just a moment when he realized the attack coming for Amani and that he could do nothing to stop it. He soon finds he has his own problems however as the soldiers are cutting at him. He staves off half of them though two of the men manage to sneak attacks through, causing him to take a few steps back. His poor clothes…
He hears Arashi but doesn't even look at him, instead focusing and calculating. From one breath to the next he's gone, appearing a split second later on the other side of the room, having passed cleanly by all six guards even as his blade seems to not have moved from his side.
When the shinobi get hurt, they get more dangerous. Between Arashi and Yori, all of the guards in the room die, save one. He looks from one to the other, drops his sword and then turns tail to run. He didn't pass GO, and he didn't collect his two hundred dollars. He is on his way out of this place, muttering to himself that he swears that he's going legit.
The dead girl in the corner's gaze is on Towa, even though there is no life in them. Towa himself smirks faintly. "The guards were weak. You're all weak." He forms handseals and if the genjutsu goes off, everyone would find random wounds on different body parts. They would hurt as if they actually exist, even making them physically display the pain. After that, he forms another set of seals and breaths fire, this time a smaller one. Then he would try to make it to the door.
The attack that Hiei was preparing is lost when genjutsu attacks his mind again. He tried to stave it off with his will alone, but is unsuccessful as wounds break out all over his body. The flames wash over him as well, burning away his duster and most of his shirt. His skin blisters and darkens as he screams out from the pain while sitting on the floor. "NO. It will NOT end like this." He pushes himself to his feet, while holding his chest. He takes a moment to compartmentalize the pain before his body erupts in a bright blue aura that is infused with lightning. He withdraws his other sword, the swords begin to charge chakra, and it looks like it comes directly from his aura. Those who have fought with him before would recognize this technique. Those that haven't…well it's about to get interesting. He swings, sending a massive shockwave out of both swords. All on course for Towa.
Arashi watched this man closely since all the extra troops were gone and out. No need to worry about them. This man continued onwards and seemed to attempt Genjutsu again. Didn't matter since Arashi avoided it and the fire that followed before focusing his hand into seals once again. He would attempt to do the same skill as before except this time he was guranteed to target this man directly. Not extra possibly casualties now to worry about. Just one target he had to kill.
"Rrrrraaaaargh!" Amani shouted, these wounds! Son of a goat! "I. HATE. Genjutsu!" She knew she was under its spell, but could do nothing about it, even as she focused her mind to concentrate on it specifically. "Stupid genjutsu, stupid guards, stupid, stupid, stupid—FIRE!" She wanted this guy dead and his corpse in a body bag to carry back home and defile with all sorts of science!!! "I'm still on my way!" She informed Hiei of her approach. Once she was close enough, she set her hands on his body and gave all that she could muster at the moment to heal up his wounds. Can't have him running around like that trying to fight. "Friggin' Kumo shinobi. This is why I forget I'm a ninja! You keep fighting and I love you for it! But I also hate you for it!" She says to everyone present. Makes her job so much more enjoyably difficult.
Yori watches the last man flees and turns only to realize that strange wounds are appearing painfully all over his body. A mental curse later and he draws steel across skin but to no avail. His focus is so much on what's happening that he takes the incoming fireball full force. At least the pain breaks the genjutsu. And…seriously man, his clothes. Power surges through his blade as his eyes move up to the man who caused the damage.
Just as two powerful attacks are released, one from Hiei and one from Arashi, Yori vanishes again, an afterimage appears a few times moving amongst the two attacks before he follows up right behind them with one of his own, his sword cutting a swath through the air and, possibly, the man.
Towa almost made it out of the room. Almost. Hiei's attack blew through the walls and impacted him in the back. He twists his body as he goes down, only to be struck by Arashi's thunder cannon. It was Yori who did the deed. His attack hit with so much force, it literall popped Towa's head off his shoulders. The head is still in the air as the torso hits the ground. Then the head falls straight into Amani's lap, the eyes still open and staring with no spark of life in them.
After Towa falls, so does Hiei. He sits down hard, while breathing heavily. "Heh. Good job everyone. Amani, as a reward, you can have the body." He smirks, his armor full of blood, some of it being his. "And thanks for the healing, too. I don't think I would have made it without it. Okay, damage report. How is everyone?"
Yori flicks his blade free of what little blood landed on it before sheathing his sword. He lets out a mental sigh as he turns to look around, then looks down at his clothing and shaking his head. "Displeased," Yori replies to Hiei's question before applying a glowing green hand to the most severe of his burns.
"Mmmmfph…" Amani just can't seem to get a whole body these days. Well, what she gets, she'll have to work with. Headless is just as good, she supposes. "I want these bodies all collected and sent back to Kumogakure," she stated. "Also, I'm fine. This is…typical," she looked over herself and the wounds she assumed. The adrenaline was still rushing, but it's soon to burn out and leave her feeling every ache she's accumulated here. "Let's head back! I have work to do!"
