Starring:
Date: December 23, 2014
Summary:
Michiko, Kaido, and Hige go on patrol and take down some bandits while they're at it.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Patrolling, Bandits, and Traps"
Land of Lightning
Every so often, Kumogakure sends a patrol to some of the further villages near the Land of Lightning's borders. Michiko has decided to take on the patrol and requested Kaido and Hige to join her. Hige because she thought it would be good to keep him busy. Kaido because… Well, she thought it would be a good idea if there was a sort of tracker on the team. She's not entirely sure if she wants to spend that much time with Bandit, really… The two would get messages that they were to meet up at the front gates of Kumo so they could depart together. Michiko is leaning against the gates when the Konoha-nin show up.
A patrol! Hige jumps at the idea, even if it's not technically for his village. At least he gets to do something besides training, and maybe put his training to use. Not likely since he's a genin, but he can still hope. Konsho has taken his place again on Hige's head instead of his shoulder, the larger surface better for the pup for long traveling. Boy and pup arrive at the gates, again Hige having a small pack just in case they need any food or water or bandages. You know, the necessities. "Michiko-san!" He calls when he sees the chuunin, offering a wave of greeting as he nears.
Kaido and Bandit get the message and Bandit makes a face, "Really? We have to go on ANOTHER mission with HER partner?" Kaido shrugs and says, "Well… it's better than being in Konoha and having the Hokage send us on one suicide mission after another until we're dead to get rid of us." Bandit thinks about that as they start towards the entrance to the village and says, "That's true, but then, at least we'd be in charge and could control our own destinies." Kaido looks down at Bandit and says, "Oh come on, she's not that bad, she's actually a good leader, she'll make a great Jounin when she gets older." Bandit snorts, "Yeah right." The two of them come up where they're supposed to meet Michiko and Hige runs up and Kaido tosses off a wave, "Hey cuz… Hey Michiko… what's the mission?" Bandit just yawns and says, "Let's just get it over with, I was in the middle of a nice nap." Kaido glares down at Bandit and says, "Behave Bandit."
Michiko bows her head lightly to Hige in greeting. Bandit and Kaido get an equally polite nod, though the one towards the nin-ken might not be filled with any good feelings. "Good morning, everyone. The mission is just a patrol of the Land of Lightning border. One of the sectors that previously had a run-in with Yuuma look-a-likes, actually. There shouldn't be much excitement, but it's best to check on things, yes?" She tilts her head slightly. "I borrowed a few horses so we could get to our destination faster. Did you want to ride or run?"
Choosing the horses or not, they would start off on the journey. The ride to their destination was uneventful except for maybe a mountain lion hunting. But the (lack of?) sound from traveling shinobi means it doesn't chase after them. Michiko is quiet unless questions are asked, focusing mostly on making sure no one gets lost on the way. The path isn't often used after a certain point, so she doesn't want to miss the trail.
Hige is grinning as excitement overflows from him at the thought of going out again. Sure the last mission wasn't all that thrilling but it's still a /mission/. And someone wants him to go. That has to be good right? When Kaido and Bandit arrive the boy gives them a wave, "Itoko. Bandit." Konsho yips his own greeting to the pair, tail wagging from atop the boys head. When the question is offered about the horses he shrugs, "Would be faster, but you're both older." And in charge. Regardless he goes along without another word, doing his best to watch as much as he can while they go, the nin-dog doing the same from his raised position.
Bandit shows Michiko his teeth, apparently the rivalry between them is alive and well (or mutual dislike) and Kaido just sighs and rolls his eyes but leaves it alone. He says to Hige, "Have you been practising your fundamentals lately cuz? You'll get an opportunity to use them this time. This is a perfect mission for a couple of Inuzuka." Bandit pipes up, "Yeah right, this is a blue milk run, nothing is going to happen, most action we'll see is some mountain lions like I can smell over in the hill." Kaido says, "Enough Bandit, every mission is important, and even if it's an easy one, it'll be good for Hige to be able to practise his skills in a non-threatening situation." He looks at Michiko and says, "Michiko, if Bandit steals you off enough, feel free to shut him up any way you like. I also apologize for his attitude." He glances at Hige, "Cuz, when Konsho grows up, make sure you don't be like me and let him run wild or get out of control or you'll end up with him." Kaido's thumb points to Bandit, Bandit blinks and looks indignant, "HEY!!!!"
Assuming the shinobi decided against using horses: Michiko leads them off the main trail so they can go to the first village on their list, but pauses when she senses something off about the earth below her. "Kaido-san. Hive-San. Bandit-san. Watch out for this one section of earth. There seems to be an empty cavern below, and it's not the most friendly of spaces, from what I can tell," she warns, frowning just a bit as she tries to figure out the reason for the trap. Hunting parties would make sense, but it was so far off the good hunting trails…
Kaido and Bandit might notice a faint smell. Something that smells sickly sweet… If they're drawn in that direction, they would likely end up triggering a net that fell atop of them, trapping either one or both Inuzuka. Konsho, being relatively high up, might possibly notice a gleam of light that seems a bit off since they're in the middle of sparse trees and rocks. A fishline-tripwire or ninja wire that seeks to cut off the upper body of anyone unfortunate enough not to see it.
Konsho yips at Kaido, letting him know that he likes Bandit! Hige just grins, not responding lest the bigger nin-kin gets mad at him. As they go along their way he continues to watch around them. It isn't until Michiko stops however that Hige starts to feel like things are…off. A yip of surprise as Konsho notices something reflective and Hige is immediately on the defensive, drawing out a kunai as he says, "Watch out, there's something up ahead." He doesn't wait for the others as he starts making his way towards the trip wire, watching his steps carefully while Konsho is also being extra vigilant. "It's a wire." The boy looks around to try and see if it's connected to anything.
Bandit still looks indignant at Kaido before both of them smell something unusual and then their peternatural senses tell them that there's a trap nearby as Kaido looks up and says, "Bandit, halt! There's a net trap up ahead…" Both Kaido and Bandit freeze just before they end up triggering the trap. Kaido kneels down and looks at the trap and pronounces it, "Primitive and not very subtle… I'd say we're dealing with hunters or more likely bandits, even animals wouldn't be tricked by something like this…"
Well, of course there's something attached to the wire. If Hige followed it, eventually he would come across some tags that seem to be marked as a flare. Michiko frowns lightly at the news it's likely bandits. "Well, I guess that's not too bad, I suppose. I was hoping to be lucky and not encounter anyone with ill intentions, though." She sighs a bit, looking around to see if any of the culprits are actually around. They aren't, from the looks of it. "Keep an eye out for more traps. Depending on the skill level we're dealing with, there could be a lot of them…" She moves carefully to try and get around the currently known triggers. "And keep alert… There's possiblity of an ambush, too."
Hige looks at the tags with a faint frown, Konsho leaning closer to look at them as well. "If it's bandits shouldn't we take care of them?" He asks, looking over at Michiko before thumbing towards the tags. "If we trip this one then they'll come, right?" There he goes, thinking again. As dangerous as ever. Konsho, of course, yips his agreement, cause that's what he does. If his companion thinks it's a good idea then so does the pup.
Kaido comes back to the group with Bandit and says, "I'd rather find them first, then the reverse, but that's Michiko's call. Always better to know what exactly you're up against before you trigger a trap and bring them down on you." He looks at Michiko and asks as Bandit rolls his eyes, "Michiko, do you want me to take my cuz and Konsho and do a little scouting to find out what we can about what we're up against? Or do you just want to just wipe them them out here right now?"
Michiko is about to reply, but Kaido basically says her thoughts. "Indeed… Hmm… Yes, that's a good idea. I'll keep an eye out on this area for the time being. I think I sensed something in that direction," she replies, pointing off to the side and slightly up. "It was faint… They probably have the higher ground. Use your best stealth techniques, is my suggestion." She tries to focus a bit more chakra into the ground, but the bandits are either too far or standing on something that doesn't channel chakra well. "If they suddenly attack, take them out." No, not kill them. Just make it so they can't retaliate.
Hige steps away from the trip wire and puts the kunai away as he glances back to the other two. At Michiko's direction he nods, then looks up at the nin-dog on his head, "Time to work." He tells the pup who jumps down silently, not yipping this time since they're trying to be quiet. He's ready to go! Hige prepares mentally for the possible combat as he looks over to Kaido and Bandit, "You lead itoko." And he'll follow after the older Inuzuka.
Kaido nods to Michiko, despite what Bandit thinks of her or what Michiko thinks of the 'Pervert-Nin-Duo', he's always had his respect for her. Kaido motions to Hige to follow and taps Bandit to go seek as Kaido ninja walks over the uneven terrain, Inuzuka senses out to avoid any more traps.
Well, the good news is that the duo of Inuzuka pairs don't encounter any traps. The bad news is that Michiko was right about the bandits having the higher ground, and they can easily see the four as they travel along. There are three of them that are about as skilled as a normal genin, which isn't really saying much. The leader is weak Chuunin-level at best. And keep in mind that they aren't shinobi… Sharp knives are thrown at the ones trying to seek them out, though Michiko is basically sitting pretty since she's so far away!
The girl notices the attack and curses under her breath, making a handseal to sink under the ground so she's even less noticeable as she moves to take out the bandits in secret. Hopefully they don't see her because they're too occupied by trying to take out Kaido, Bandit, Hige, and Konsho.
Hige moves along with Kaido, Konsho walking off to the side a little further as he explores the smells, trying to pick up anything noticeable. He's the one that notices the knives and gives a warning yelp, giving Hige just enough time to jump backwards, then slide behind a tree to put it between him and the attackers. This isn't good. He pulls out a kunai and steps out just a moment in order to throw it up in the direction the knives came from before hiding again. More of a hail mary really, since he didn't see exactly where they were. Another kunai is ready as he searches for Kaido, "Itoko, are you okay?" He calls out. Konsho is slunk low to the ground and slowly making his way towards the attackers, hiding in foliage and behind trees.
Kaido blinks and then rolls forwards, dodging the knife with just fractions of inches to spare. He hides in some cover and calls over to Hige, "Don't waste ammo, if you can't see them or know exactly where they are, wait for a better opportunity." He then looks down at Bandit, "Bandit, I need you to go around the side and flank them for us… you know what to do." He then looks at Konsho, "Go with him, he'll keep you out of trouble and maybe the two of you can distract them long enough so that we can get up there to support you." He motions for Hige to join him and says, "This is what happens when you don't or can't choose the ground you fight on… you have to rely on tactics and strategy to beat an opponent that holds the high ground and you either have to make them leave it and come to you… or else you manage to make it up there." Bandit and Konsho rush up the side while the bandits are distracted and when Bandit gets there, he leaps at the leader and tries to bite him.
The blind attack sent by Hige actually hits someone! One can tell by the curse from the pain it created and a larger barrage of flash bangs and explosive tags used. In all likelihood, the bandits just stole this off a merchant with ninja supplies in his cart. It's clear they don't know how to use the darn things. Kaido is not as lucky with his own attempt at an attack strategy. Bandit ends up biting into a tree that the man quickly dodges behind, using it as a sort of shield for his body.
Michiko goes unnoticed, which is pretty good for the team. She can sense the battle that goes on above her and can tell that the bandits are not terribly difficult as far as opponents go. She resurfaces from the ground to say, "Try not to get too close to them, you four… I'm going to try and blind them so they're easier to hit." With a few handseals, the ground near the bandits begins to explode and send dirt in their eyes.
Hige slides over to hide with Kaido, crouching down to make an even smaller target behind the tree. While he's there he actually listens to Kaido, though his eyes aren't on his cousin as he instead focuses on the attacks. Konsho follows after Bandit, though he doesn't attack right away. Instead he continues sneaking around to try and get more behind the group as Michiko's dirt attack hits. Once there the pup does finally jump out, sharp teeth aiming for an arm. With Konsho closer to the enemy Hige looks worried and after a moment he starts to move from tree to tree, trying to get closer. Between his first and second tree he launches another kunai towards the hill. He's not going to leave Konsho up there to fight with just Bandit.
Kaido sighs and then when the explosive tags start falling, Kaido pushes Hige down and says, "INCOMING!" The explosions start to rain down and now Kaido's getting a little irritated, he reaches for his chakram and says, "Fine, you want to play that way? Let's do this…" He charges up his chakram with wind chakra and throws it blindly, using the wind chakra to control it remotely and nudge it around at the bandits.
Only one of the well-placed attacks affect the bandits because he was just unlucky enough to get dirt in his eyes. Konsho is the one to get the hit (or is it bite?) in, causing the man to yelp and try and shake the pup off him. The others just try and charge (dumbly) at the two shinobi attacking them, ignoring the inn-ken completely. Admittedly, they've never faced Inuzuka before, so they don't think the dogs are much of a threat…
Michiko watches the battle with narrowed eyes and just sends mud as opposed to fire at the enemy. She doesn't want to accidentally burn her allies. The good news is that there are no trees to burn down up here. Just cliffs and rocks, which is perfect for earth users. Muddy bullets pelt the figures of the bandits, though they avoid the one Konsho is latched to.
Hige grumbles when Kaido knocks him down, though it's really for his benefit. From there is when he moves up the hill, taking whatever cover he can find. Once he's fairly close he leaves the cover altogether and simply charges, depending on his speed to get him there. Of course he watches for attacks too, but in the end he's not about to leave his nin-kin up there. Once he's close enough to boy uses his gathered speed to jump up and attempt a roundhouse kick at the nearest bandits head. Konsho for his part only bites down harder as he's shaken. Not so easy to get rid of the pup, no. Once he's sure the bandit is bleeding he lets go and lands on all fours, growling as he looks for his next target with teeth bared.'
Kaido just shakes his head at Hige, well, he'll learn. He whistles to Bandit and Bandit attacks the leader as Kaido slips out of cover for a second to shoot a couple of poisoned darts (laced with a mild disabling poison this time) at the other two bandits.
The bandits are apparently not that difficult to take down. Well, they /are/ weak. One of them ends up getting knocked out by Hige's roundhouse while the other two find themselves under attack from poison darts and mud bullets. All of the projectiles hit, which probably means that everyone is taken care of. Let's see… One… Two… Yep, three. Michiko looks around at the disabled bandits and hmms. "Well, that was fun… Sort of… Good work. We'll get them to the nearest village so we don't have to drag them around the rest of the patrol. The nearest place is five minutes at a run."
Hige's teeth are bared as he looks around quickly to make sure that there are no more bandits standing. Once he sees it's all cleared he straightens up to look back at Michiko and nods, all business at the moment. Konsho pads over to join the group now that he's done his part of distracting. A little blood around the muzzle never hurt anyone. The boy looks around the bandits, trying to find the lightest one. Hey, he's the smallest so it makes sense he'd carry the smallest. If there is one.
Kaido retrieves his darts and chakram and takes the heaviest. Bandit pads down with Konsho and says, "Yep, that was a complete blue milk run…" Kaido stops and just looks at Bandit who's cocky grin slowly falters and then says, "Alright, alright, so I was wrong about it being a milk run… we still beat them, right?" Kaido just shakes his head and hefts the leader (who's the heaviest) and says, "We'll talk about this when we get back to Kumo, looks like you're going to 3 a day Inuzuka nin-dog boot camp drills again for a week as punishment." Bandit's face falls and he says, "But! But! I'll starve at that rate!" He gives Kaido puppy dog eyes, who says simply, "You'll live"
Michiko takes the third man that's about midsized, grumbling faintly as she realizes she can only barely carry him. There is a reason she is a ninjutsuist! "Alright. Everyone set? Let's go. Move along the trees so we don't trigger more of their traps." She leads the team to the village she mentioned, letting the local chief lock up the bandits (much to her relief). Now that they're out of the mess, she says, "We should go back to look for more traps. And that will be good for patrol." The rest of the mission is uneventful. Successful, in a sense, though!
