Starring:
Hige (emitter), Kurome, Yasuo, Suzu, Kenji
Date: December 2, 2015
Summary:
A bunch of gifted Dojutsuists chase after a poacher.
"Poached Poacher"
Land of Fire
It's a nice rainy morning and that means it's time for a mission. From the looks of this team it's definitely a tracking mission. Someone has been poaching animals in the forest and leaving little trace behind of it. The only reason that it was even noted is because someone saw the person do it red-handed! They're just very good at covering their tracks. All the team has to go on is the location that the poacher was sighted. Kurome would be in charge of the mission, being a Jounin and all, though she'd be given the option to defer it to her choice in this instance since it wasn't really a life or death scenario.
Kurome got the missive and all and couldn't help but blink. Well, poaching… She was reminded of a certain incident and admittedly is tempted to approve of this poacher… BUT, orders are orders! The woman would gather those who were assigned/available for this mission at the gates of Konoha and explain the situation once all were ready.
"As you might all know from the missives, we're tracking down a poacher. Our orders are to simply capture this person. Which means no killing, of course. He was last sighted in the forest, so we'll be heading there first. Any questions?" That one spot in the forest that was described by the requester and all.
Kenji arrives right on time to the congregation at the Konoha main gates, always the punctual one. He hadn't been on a decent mission in a good little while, probably since the last Clan Head of the Uchiha was still around, so the teen was curious as to how this one would stack up. He brought with him the basic supplies and a few energy-giving bars, just in case it was going to be a long trip, but decided to leave most of his string and equipment at home for now. Once everyone has arrived, Kenji would listen to Kurome inform them of the mission, finding it to be at least potentially interesting.
Uchiha Suzu has been stuck doing relatively mundane Genin-grade missions since graduation. For the past two years, she has been chasing cats, gardening gardens, and other low-risk missions. That's what her parents have pressured her to do. And they've done so to the extent that when she DOES get the chance to do something important, she tends to sabotage herself. But she realizes that something other than her parents' wishes are holding her back. And so, when the opportunity to take up a more serious mission than a D-Rank shows up, she has finally comitted herself to it.
She can't track rogue felines her entire life. While doing so has taught her humility, to a degree, she still has an ego and belief that she is destined for greater things. Things like the man she admires most. Thus it is that the Genin has joined this group for the treacherous task of trouncing treasonous trappers!
Because this carries the risk of combat and danger, she thus assumes it is at least a C-Rank. Maybe B-Rank if the target is a shinobi. That's such a huge step up for her! She should be enthusiastic about it!
Instead she's just nervous. This manifests as a seemingly calm and cool demeanor, because she's too anxious to banter. But she does have the wisdom to ask questions… And at least enough civility to give a head-bow of greeting to Kenji when he joins them.
"Is there any specific type of animal that he is poaching? If there are multiple kinds, is he favoring certain ones?" She's already formulating a strategy, but as a Genin, she isn't about to just blurt it out to a Jounin on her first C-Rank, when she's pretty sure the leader of the mission will already have considered all manner of factors, and might already have a plan.
A mission full of Uchiha, and one random Hyuuga gets called to participate… Well, not completely random. There are details a Hyuuga would be able to see that an Uchiha would not and vice versa, so it's a good idea to have at least one with the other dojutsu on a team. Arriving at the gates of the village where the others are on time as well, adorned in his Chuunin attire, which is an actually decent pair of clothes with his Chuunin vest, though his hair is still let to fly freely this time since he's not actually leading the mission and doesn't have to look like he is. As the information on the mission is presented, he nods to Kurome then shakes his head to reply that he has no questions about the mission, at least none further than what Suzu asked.
RPCOMBAT: Kurome defends against with a PERCEPTION-II…40
Kurome looks to Suzu and would only nod slightly. "If there is, we aren't sure. We only have record of this single incidence, which involved the man catching panthers. Now, then, shall we?" And Kurome would take off, noting to Yasuo that he was to take center behind Suzu while Kenji took the rear. She would take point so that everyone knew their destination.
After traveling for however long, they would all eventually reach that site that was mentioned in the reports. Kurome would slow down and eventually halt once they were there, looking around without using her sharingan. "The person reported that the poacher was seen here. Keep an eye out for any signs of a trap and other suspicious items. Explore, and meet back here in ten minutes," she instructs. "Suzu-san, travel with myself or Kenji-kun just in case." She was the only one that was still at Genin level.
Kenji greets Suzu in kind as the group comes together with the arrival of the Hyuuga. Seems this mission was going to be heavy on the tracking, which Kenji was ok with, as long as others eyes are relied on for that. His strong suits were strategy and disassembling enemies. He idles for a moment to let Kurome answer Suzu's questions, seeing no point in rushing as the poacher wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Once she is done, away they go, Kenji following his clan head in tow. He turns to Suzu briefly once Kurome mentions her name and nods his head in agreement with Kurome's instructions.
"Kurome would probably be better at protecting others if need be." he says, rather bluntly but honest. "I'm heading this way." he announces to the group before he heads to the left, briefly closing his eyes before reopening them with the crimson coloring of the sharingan within, with which he attempts to do some scanning of the local area.
RP: Kenji transforms into SHARINGAN-III-MASTERED.
RPCOMBAT: Kenji defends against with a PERCEPTION…19
Three Uchiha and a Hyuuga. A powerful collection of ninja! "Ah, I see… Thank you, Kurome-sama." Suzu responds to Kurome when she receives an answer. She hasn't tried turning into that one before. The impulse to try to grab recognition by suggesting she be the one to carry out her idea pops up, but she decides that proposing the plan and letting the one in charge decide what to do with it, if anything, would be wiser. Whether they're walking or ninja-running through the forest, whenever they get to the source of the report, Suzu takes a look around to the best of her abilities and training, not truly expecting to detect anything the more experience ninja around her won't spot first.
But she has her own contribution to make.
After acknowledging her orders and the advice from more experience ninja such as Kenji with a, "Hai!" She dares to broach the subject. "If the poacher is so keen on poaching panthers, might I recommend that whether we can find a trace of him or not, setting a trap for him might be more fruitful than simply chasing him down? If he is using traps of his own to capture them, then while seeking traces of the target is still a good idea, finding his traps may be a better one. Someone using the Transformation Technique to appear to be his prey, and breaking the trap before attaching it to a leg to make it seem to still be functional, might lure the poacher to us."
Resist the impulse, resist the impulse…
"And," she adds on, failing to resist the impulse. It's that caution and hesitation that have held her back! "While the three of you are no doubt far better equipped to actually capturing the poacher, I have trained to disguise myself through Henge no Jutsu. I could at least serve the role of bait."
RPCOMBAT: Suzu defends against with a PERCEPTION…22
COMBAT: Yasuo focuses 3981 stamina to turn it into 5000 usable chakra!
RP: Yasuo transforms into BYAKUGAN-II.
RPCOMBAT: Yasuo defends against with a BYAKUGAN-PERCEPTION-II…51
After absobring the information given by Kurome, Yasuo would fall into his mentioned position. Being right behind Suzu, his job is likely to throw up one of his massive defenses should an attack more powerful than she is prepared to attack come along with using his more versatile eye for detail all around through his Byakugan to see all around them… When Suzu mentions her idea, he emits a low 'hmm' and looks toward Kurome. It's not like her idea isn't a solid one, but it's better to let the mission leader answer if that's the tactic she wants to employ in this situation.
Kurome would pick up on some areas nearby that didn't seem completely untouched by a person. Scrubbed areas that might insinuate someone had run through the area, things of that nature. Yasuo would be the only one to find anything further, and his sight would show that deeper into the forest there was a few chakra signatures, weak and animalistic. At least one of them seemed angry and unable to move.
RP: Kurome transforms into SHARINGAN-III-MASTERED.
RPCOMBAT: Kurome defends against with a PERCEPTION-II…50
At Suzu's suggestion, Kurome would offer a nod. "That's good thinking. But I want to see what we're dealing with first, and we still need to look for the traps." Kurome would offer a small smile, then would motion for Suzu to come with her (if the Uchiha so desired) before moving off to search around. Kurome scans the area around her a bit more, asking Suzu, "Do you see anything in particular?" Eventually she would notice the odd unsettled leaf… Maybe a twig that was stepped on. She points them out to Suzu once Suzu reports on what /she/ sees, then would say, "Someone's likely been here recently. Let's see what the others have found." As she speaks, her black eyes begin to change shade as she focuses chakra to them. They suddenly adopt a pinkish or faded-red hue, the color interrupted by three black Tomoe.
Failing to see anything, Kenji turns back to look towards the group to see if they were going to go with Suzu's suggested plan or another course of action. He walks back to the spot they were all in before, his report not likely helping the situation but surely someone else has found something of use. As he arrives he diverts his path a bit to meet up with the leader sooner, "Nothing out of the ordinary to report." he says to Kurome as he briefly scans the area that they were in in case something useful was here.
RPCOMBAT: Kenji defends against with a PERCEPTION…22
At least her idea was considered! But it is true they should inspect the situation first before acting rashly based on assumption. Suzu looks upon her surroundings, as she follows along with Kurome, noticing the change in eye coloration and pattern for the Clan Head, and then turning to look towards Kenji almost as though to ask, 'Are you seeing this?' and find that he has changed his eyes around as well. So that's the Sharingan… She knows of it, of course, but…
…She has a long way to go before she reaches her dream, if these two can already so casually wield the Sharingan when she hasn't even awakened the first stage. Yasuo, as well, seems to be using his Byakugan. So much ocular power, and none of it hers. She's going to have to keep trying harder to catch up.
Looking around once more at the question, Suzu has to shake her head. "I see nothing out of place…" At least until Kurome points out the signs to her. The indications, the disruptions, the evidence of a presence… She memorizes them and resolves to study up on tracking when she gets back to the Village. "I apologize for not being able to contribute more."
She squints, and cranes her head. If she can't see what the others can see, maybe there is sound to discern. Not that she expects her sense of hearing to be any better than those around her.
RPCOMBAT: Suzu defends against with a PERCEPTION…10
RPCOMBAT: Yasuo defends against with a BYAKUGAN-PERCEPTION-II…54
COMBAT: Yasuo attacks target 1 with STEALTH with a roll of: 32
"Pardon the intrusion, but I don't think we'll have to have one of our own pose as bait," Yasuo says as he looks toward the direction of the animalistic chakra signatures. "It's hard to fully make it out from this distance, but I believe I've located the position of an animal caught in a trap and some others around it. I suggest we move into a defensive stealth position and observe this location. If I'm correct and it's not fatally injured by the time we can spring the trap on the poachers, I can heal its injuries." Assuming he's given the go-ahead for that plan, he would move into the trees and ahead to observe the place where the animal seems to be downed, careful not to stir any awareness of his movement in case his deduction happens to be incorrect.
The sounds of some pained growling can be heard as the shinobi gets closer and while the other animals begin to scatter, their comrade is indeed trapped. A device has it's leg clamped painfully in metal teeth and is staked to the ground by a chain. Another chakra signature, more humanistic at least, is approaching from the opposite direction now as well though it seems to be taking it's time.
COMBAT: Kurome attacks target 1 with STEALTH with a roll of: 32
Kurome would frown to Yasuo's news and say, "Lead the way," to the Hyuuga, motioning for him to show them where to go. As they move, she would try to make it so she didn't leave much of a trail or anything. When they eventually would reach the animal, she would motion for everyone to stay down so that Yasuo could continue to scan the area for IMPENDING DOOM.
Kenji doesn't pick up anything in particular in his half-hearted scan, and neither did Suzu according to her words and actions. For now it was good that they had the all seeing Byakugan, as it seems like the Hyuuga had picked something up down the way. He turns around to listen to what Yasuo has to say, a bit of eagerness welling up inside as it seemed it was getting closer and closer to the confrontation. Kenji would follow the group towards where this beast was laid up, hearing the painful growls even before they arrived. He didn't particularly sympathize with wounded things, human or animal, but toying with prey wasn't his style, being a much more confrontational hunter.
As Kruome makes motions for the group to lay low, Kenji would instinctively crouch and try to remain out of view, though at this point in the mission it was clear that they would be relying on the Byakugan for information on where the target was coming from.
Unlike Kenji, Suzu has a great deal of compassion. One has to, if one is the sort who wants everyone to understand each other's feelings. So while she keeps quiet and follows along, her heart goes out to the injured animal. She'd much rather have been the one in the trap. At least she'd have chosen to be there, and understood the situation, rather than simply hurting from some monstrosity she had stumbled onto. She hopes it can be subdued, and treated properly by Yasuo, before being returned to the wild.
Too soft. She knows. But while some Uchiha close themselves off from love, for fear of what it can do them, Suzu isn't aware of the potential pitfalls of caring too much. And the suffering of others, even a wild beast, is making her hurt as well. She might thus not be fully concealing her presence as well as she should. According to Yasuo, this is as ideal a place to ambush the poacher as any.
But Suzu feels like maybe, even with her weakness as a mere Genin, she might like to get some punches in on whoever is responsible before this is all over.
Patience, patience. A ninja is one who endures. She creeps along with the others, following those more perceptive and more powerful than herself, and waits. It wouldn't do to let impulsiveness ruin a chance to show she can follow orders and get prohibited from further such missions.
Waiting patiently, Yasuo keeps a stern look ahead, though his Byakugan does provide him with a much wider view. In a voice low enough for only the shinobi to hear, he says, "Human presence incoming, but be patient. We don't know if it's our target yet." He points to the direction he spotted the thing coming from, simply waiting as the others hopefully to do to see if this man is in fact their poacher.
COMBAT: Canis defends against STEALTH(24) attack from Kurome with a PERCEPTION…21
COMBAT: Canis defends against STEALTH(19) attack from Suzu with a PERCEPTION…27
COMBAT: Canis defends against STEALTH(30) attack from Yasuo with a PERCEPTION…23
COMBAT: Kenji attacks target 1 with STEALTH with a roll of: 14
RPCOMBAT: Canis defends against with a PERCEPTION…23
The presence draws closer to where his prey waits and he comes into view carrying a large staff over his shoulder as well as some other traps attached to a belt at his waist. The man was rather large, well over six feet tall and muscled to make carrying all that seem so easy. And yet his footprints hardly scuffed the ground. Well trained! He looks at the panther and whistles in appreciation. "Well then, yer a catch!" But then he notices something else as he watches the panther. Some movement? "Who's there!" he yells in the direction of the shinobi, pulling the large staff from over his shoulder and putting it in front of him. He thumps the panther on it's head, knocking it out cold.
RP: Kurome transforms into SHARINGAN-III.
Kurome would note the man and pause for a moment, studying him. Hmmmm… Well, there's very little time for all of that, it seems, when he decides to call out. Seems he spotted them. The woman would frown for a second before her eyes would shift from the pale to bright red, though the tree tomoe never faded. She did not rely on her Sharingan for this particular technique, only needing to make handseals and send a bit of chakra his way for it to hopefully take effect. 'Don't move' she would signal to her group, trying to keep them from giving their position away.
Kenji winces a bit as the panther gets cold-cocked and he is about to stand up from his spot, figuring he was at least part of the problem of being spotted. But then Kurome has other plans, motioning for them to hold on as she either plans on doing something to the man or remaining silent, it was hard to tell without being able to see other's genjutsu. For now, Kenji remains quietly crouched in the brush, preparing to bring the fire if needed by moulding some chakra.
COMBAT: Kenji focuses 3363 stamina to turn it into 4000 usable chakra!
Crud! It seems she really is not as stealthy as she wishes she was. Some ninja! The only way she could have flubbed that more is if she were dressed in a day-glo orange jumpsuit and had simply leapt at the guy while yelling! She assumes it's all her fault, anyway. Clearly none of these way more experienced ninja could have been responsible for betraying their presence.
At the gesture, Suzu remains where she is, crouched down, and doesn't move. Not even to mold Chakra. If this guy is good enough to detect them and carry a staff, he might be more than just a random dude. In which case, the disturbance in the environment of molding a bunch of Chakra could very well alert him to their location and number.
Instead, she remains right where she is, and holds her breath.
Timne to watch their Clan Head at work!
Darn amateurs. The team's position has been given away, or at least that they're here. Still, it's not a complete loss since the man doesn't actually kill the animal yet. Glancing over to Kurome as he sees the Genjutsu trying to overtake the man, he waits but stays crouched and ready just in case she doesn't succeed.
COMBAT: Canis defends against FALSE-DEATH-TECHNIQUE(62) attack from Kurome with a GENJUTSU-KAI…33
Just as the man was getting ready to start chasing down whoever was hiding in the trees that panther he bapped comes to life and starts mauling him. How did it get free? Well it's a genjutsu of course, that's how. In reality he's just standing frozen in place while his mind fights with what it sees as a horrible death.
Kurome hmms. "That worked better than I thought. Well, if one of you could please tie him up. Yasuo-san, please heal the panther and remove it from that trap. Fortunately it's already unconscious, so we can deal with it…" She would continue to hold the genjutsu on the man.
Kenji's suspicions of genjutsu are confirmed when the man simply stands there frozen in fear. He stands up, assessing the situation to be neutralized for now. He looks to Kurome before she gives the order to Yasuo to tie the man up. "Looks like a simple bag and tag." he comments with a smirk.
W-well! That was over with quickly! Guess that guy wasn't a shinobi after all! Since Yasuo was ordered to heal the panther, it looks like it's up to Suzu to contribute to this mission SOMEHOW. She retrieves some wire from her tool pouch and rises from concealment to tie up the poacher. The Byakugan spotted this guy and this panther from far away, right through trees, without needing to find tracks… And Kurome's Sharingan was able to put a stop to the poacher's antics with no more than a glance.
Kenji gathered more Chakra than Suzu probably could if she was given three times as long… Truly formidable ninja. She feels pretty darn inadequate.
…After tying up the poacher, she makes sure to punch him in the upper arm a couple times to make herself feel better. He'll wake up with a sore arm, whenever he comes to, and probably a jail sentence.
Yes, the man is caught, the cat is healed and left free for when it wakes up from it's thwacking. All in all it was a surprisingly easy mission thanks to the dice. At least they wouldn't have to worry about Mr. Poacher anymore! For now…muwhahahaha!
