Starring:
Date: November 18, 2015
Summary:
Yasuo is sent with Shinobu and Tatsuo to investigate an odd series of illnesses, but things are not what they seem.
"Project Akumu - A Well-Laid Trap"
Small village in the Land of Fire
Bit of an odd day, but one that shows Yasuo is gaining the trust of Konoha and its leaders. A small village on the southwestern border of the Land of Fire near the Land of Rivers has reported that its people have been falling oddly ill in batches one after another and have requested that a Medical Ninja be dispatched to see if they can be saved and perhaps if they need to quarantine their village for the safety of the rest of the country. Yasuo was chosen for this task and assigned two people to bring with him just in case this mission turns out to be more than meets the eye. One is Shinobu and the other Tatsuo. And the one last thing he was assigned, or really ordered, for this mission… He has to actually wear a shirt and look decent in representing Konohagakure on this matter, especially since it's high unlikely someone's going to welcome him into their village to do the work of a doctor looking like he normally does. What an outrage… but a necessary one.
Standing at the gate awaiting the arrival of his two comrades for this mission, Yasuo leans against the wall beside the gate with his arms folded over his chest. He actually looks like a decent, proper shinobi right now. He wears a Chuunin vest with a black shirt underneath it, a pair of black pants, and his forehead protector is worn on his arm. The most astonishing part, however, would be that he's actually let Yuuki tame his extraordinarily long hair, having the front brushed and parted so that his face is visible for once and the long locks kept back into a braid that reaches down past his knees. One might not even recognize him if they didn't see the transformation personally.
What a strange mission request, yet perhaps not complete surprising that he would be involved. As a back up medic if nothing else. The young Nara had prepared himself for the journey before heading to the gates to meet up with the others. Once he arrived he would give a small bow of greeting to the others there, his eyes taking in the transformation of Yasuo with a speculative look. But he'd say nothing as he simply waited for them to get on their merry way.
Shinobu is not as good a medic as, say, Tatsuo, but she /is/ a medic. Maybe that's why she's called upon? And Kame can help keep any children calm. The girl is good at subduing patients, should that need arise. The girl was a bit surprised as she read over the mission statement, but off she went to the main gates. Upon arriving, the young Inuzuka would offer a small bow to both Tatsuo and Yasuo. "Umm…" She doesn't know what Yasuo normally looks like, which may be a good thing? "Ready…" she simply says, shifting in her spot. Kame, when she arrived, pounce-tackled Tatsuo and tried to snuggle her way into his arms for pets.
As Tatsuo and Shinobu both arrive, Yasuo nods to them. He got a brief glance at their fields. Knowing they're both aspiring Medics and he's got some rather interesting abilities as a Medic, along with the details of the mission, this should make good field experience for them. "Let's move out. I trust you both packed a hazard suit just in case we wind up needing it, right?" With that he turns to start moving out of the gate. If one of them forgot, they'll just have to catch up. For that reason, he doesn't move too quickly just yet, giving them time to decide and figure out if they've got everything they need before he'll take off running toward their destination.
When Tatsuo had seen the word 'Quarantine' he'd automatically brought everything. It might make for a bigger pack than normal but it was worthwhile to have the suit and all other types of medical gear in case it was needed. "Um, hai Yasuo-sama," he says with a nod towards the Chuunin. "I do." He catches Kame out of habit, giving her a few pets in greeting before setting her down so his hands would be free for the trip.
Shinobu glances at her slightly-larger-than-normal pack on her back. … Sorta. It's behind her, so a bit difficult to actually eye, especially when she only has one good one. The girl would then look to Yasuo. "… I'm… fine.." she has everything she needs! Kame licks Tetsuo's face a few times before she's set down, tail wagging eagerly. The pup would hop into Shinobu's arms once set down, and the pair would follow after Yasuo once they're all on the move.
Glancing over at Shinobu, Yasuo lifts an eyebrow slightly then shrugs and nods. "Onward then.' With that he takes off into the trees and begins a swift, steady pace toward the village they've been assigned to go to. It would take a few hours of steady moving, but they eventually come upon a large clearing in the forest area that shows a farm village with quite a few houses and buildings. As they approach, he comes to stop just inside the village then peers around and spots the building he was told the sick were being taken to as a sort of makeshift hospital. "Okay. Let's take this slow since we don't know what we're dealing with yet."
Tatsuo follows after Yasuo as they travel, keeping an eye on their surroundings as he always does and making sure that Shinobu and Kame keep up and don't fall into any trouble. After they arrive at the assigned village the teen would pause and take another careful look around before returning his attention to Yasuo. "Hai," he agrees softly. Mass illnesses are nothing to mess around with after all.
Shinobu and Kame end up running between Tatsuo and Yasuo for the duration of the trip. The pair put their noses to work to make sure nothing bad is about to come up, and it also gives them a bit of fresh air before the stench of sickness comes. When they slow, Shinobu takes a final breath before she gets much closer. Good bye, fresh air… The girl would nod to Yasuo's instructions, of course, and she would look around just a bit even as she tried to sniff out anything suspicious. Who knows what an Inuzuka might find.
Bringing his hands into a seal, Yasuo activates his Byakugan, though he doesn't call it out like most people do. Once that's done, he seems to stare off, particularly looking at the building and the patients inside. As he does so, his eyebrows furrow a bit. "What the…. There's no way." He pauses briefly then looks over to the others, saying, "I'm starting to doubt this is an airborne disease, but I need to get a closer look at these patients. Let's go." With that he moves with a bit of urgency toward the building. He steps inside as they arrive, nodding to a woman at the door, whom he has a quick conversation with before she shows them into one of the large rooms serving as a hospital ward currently. There are almost two dozen people in here already… For the part of Shinobu and Kame, they would pick up mostly the scents of the people of the village, but there's something else too. It's incredibly faint as if someone knows how to cover their tracks, but there seems to have been someone of a significant level of skill as a shinobi here recently.
Tatsuo lets those who are good at sensing things do their thing while he just keeps a watch out with the ol' naked eye. When Yasuo speaks he looks towards the Chuunin and blinks in surprise at his strange words, but he nods when he says he doesn't think it's airborn. But, sense the Hyuuga isn't too much further forthcoming he just leaves it at that himself and follows after the man. Once they enter the building with the sick ward he continues to look around at those currently under the care of the local doctors. He remains silent, letting Yasuo tell him whatever whenever he's ready.
Shinobu blinks a bit and peeks at Yasuo when he gives that little exclamation. "H-hai…" she says, following quickly. The girl has a funny feeling, though…. Her nose is detecting something… odd… "I think… there's someone… or something… Hidden or something…" she says uncertainly, sniffing a bit more to try and get a sense of where the scent was coming from. Kame was let down so she could sniff around with her nose a bit closer to the ground when they stop moving.
Looking back at Shinobu as she speaks, Yasuo narrows his eyes slightly again then looks around at the patients. He is silent as he starts walking bed to bed, looking at each one closely, though he never actually touches them, which one might think is strange, though he has probably learned to use his Byakugan for diagnostic jutsu purposes so he doesn't actually have to touch anyone prematurely. "… It's as I feared…. and there is someone doing this. These people don't have any kind of infection or disease. Their tenketsu have been blocked in vital places that've caused them to fall comatose. It almost looks like a Hyuuga did this… almost…"
Tatsuo remains near the door while Yasuo inspects the ill and Shinobu and Kame sniff around. He just kind of stands there and fidgets since there's not much he can do himself in this instance until orders come from the Chuunin in charge of the team. When he declares his findings the young Nara's eyes widen. "A Hyuuga? That's…who would do something like that Yasuo-sama? Certainly there aren't any Hyuuga that would. Not to a village like this. What good would it do to close the points of some villagers?" Except maybe draw out some shinobi.
Shinobu looks a bit alarmed, her eye flickering between Nara and Hyuuga. "Another Hyuuga?" she echoes. Is that the scent she was picking up? She and Kame would continue to try and seek out this specific scent… "They're… good at hiding…" she comments, noting the extremely faded scent. It wasn't /that/ old to have faded this much… Something was obviously up. They just needed a good place to start tracking, though…
Yasuo goes silent for a few long moments rather than answering right away. He closes his eyes for a second and then reopens them as he says, "I never said it was a Hyuuga. It's not, but the man doing this was taught how to perform a sort of reverse surgery to replicate serious illness. The scientists who created him did so through long-term study of a Hyuuga in their possession… me." He looks around, pondering a few moments. "I'm sorry, Tatsuo, Shinobu… But we just walked straight into a trap. I need you to make a decision right now if you're going to stay or go because this trap was set for me by the men who held me captive from the time I was a boy. They want the power they created on their side, and right now it's not. The things we're going to fight here are barely human anymore. If you want to run, I won't hold it against you, and I doubt they'll pursue you since I'm their target. Decide now, though, because the cages are coming in from all directions."
Tatsuo hears what Yasuo has to say and he frowns deeply before shaking his head. His fear was true then. "I'm not leaving Yasuo-san," he says though he sluffs off his pack. He's not going to need it in a fight and maybe the people here can do some good with it if he can't come back to retrieve it. "I'm staying to help you and these people. I would never leave a comrade to get hurt, and none will if I have any say in it." His tone sounds a bit angered by the encroaching trap.
Shinobu doesn't know that much about Yasuo, but the girl isn't going to abandon anyone. Just like how Tatsuo put it! The girl nods a bit in agreement to the Nara, but doesn't speak. Kame just growls a bit in response. She was perfectly fine with staying and tearing out a few throats. Shinobu rests her pack somewhere, likely near Tatsuo's, to prepare.
Looking directly to Tatsuo and then to Shinobu and Kame, Yasuo nods in thanks then looks back to the patients. "… I'm going to do what I can. Go into town and tell as many people as you can to come pick up the wounded as I heal them enough to live through this and evacuate as quickly as possible. If I'm correct, there won't be that many of the higher grade experiments like me here, but there will be a large number of the subjects labeled Degradations. They're not too bright, but they're vicious and cannibalistic. They'll eat each other if ordered to do so, so you can only imagine what they'd do to one they're told is a real enemy." With that he starts to move quickly bed to bed as he performs jutsu that looks like he's merely tapping each person in a few places, yet each one starts waking up, though they're likely all very weak at this point and in need of help moving. He can't burn too much chakra of his own healing them, or he won't have enough left to fight with.
Tatsuo nods his understanding to Yasuo, then looks to Shinobu. "Stay safe. I'll get the furthest buildings, you get the closer ones." With that he's out the door, going to find people to not only come get the injured people, but others to spread the word about evacuating the encroaching warzone. Once he'd done that Tatsuo would hop onto the tallest building his could find to look around and try and look around to see if he could see anyone. Or anything.
Shinobu would nod, and she and Kame would split up. Kame would actually Henge into Shinobu and use Genjutsu to make it seem like she was talking while she went around warning people about the impending doom while Shinobu would do her best explaining what was about to happen. For both, they stressed the importance of evacuating and getting those who were healed out.
Once all the patients have been healed enough to move and evacuated, Yasuo takes a moment to gather himself. This is going to be a hard battle. "Make sure the villagers get out of the area," he calls out as he steps out of the building. It's only a few minutes later, though that the cages start rolling up to surround the village, pulled by horse-drawn wagons. Their drivers back the doors of the cages to where they can open them and release what's in them directly out into the village.
Tatsuo had already ordered the people to evacuate and now he just waited, watching as the cages rolled in from his rooftop position, dark eyes staring before they shift to a dark red as he begins drawing on a sickening chakra. "Whoever this is…he'll pay for doing this to people. For bringing harm to innocent villagers." As the creatures are prepared to be unleashed Tatsuo prepares to cause some damage.
Shinobu takes a breath once everyone is evacuated. The girl would then focus a bit of her chakra and prepare for… Whatever is about to come. The girl would sniff the air a bit to see if she can make out the scent of the incoming enemies… And she has a strong feeling she won't like the scent. Kame's growling, the pup on the ground and back in her usual form. She's more than ready to start retaliating for any crimes committed against innocent villagers.
Having something of a change of heart as he sees the number that's going to be coming, Yasuo gives Shinobu a quick order to get back to Konoha and request backup just in case this goes badly…
As the two remaining Konoha shinobi appear, a man suddenly appears with a flicker in the center of the village, adorned in a black shirt and pants and a lab coat. "Project Akumu," he calls out as he looks around then settles his eyes directly on Yasuo. "There doesn't have to be any bloodshed here. Just come back with us. After all, would you really sacrifice your new-found friends just so you can remain free from the home that made you what you are?"
Staring directly at the man in the coat, Yasuo furrows his eyebrows and clenches his fist. He cuts his eyes to Tatsuo then back to the scientist. "He's been told he can leave if he chooses. That option is still available to him should be choose to flee… But there's no way I'm coming back with you."
"… As I thought. Oh well. I guess we'll just have to repair you when you're dragged back and this poor boy with you," he says as then flickers out of sight. With him out of the way, the cages are unlocked, and men with unnatural-looking muscles and veins, adorned in tattered clothes, come charging out of the cages and flood the village to come charging and tearing at Tatsuo and Yasuo.
As the men start to charge him, Yasuo spins a foot and flares up a rotating sphere of chakra to knock aside the Degradations trying attack him. Rather than it fading away as usual, suddenly it begins to spark with electricity and flares out in a massive blast outward from Yasuo intent to take down and stun as many of them as possible.
Tatsuo narrows his eyes as he sees the man that begins speaking to Yasuo. Hmm. "We're not going anywhere," he says when Yasuo finishes speaking, the young Nara not one to generally speak out yet…he does. "This is your last chance to take these things away with you, otherwise we will make sure to hunt you down for the crimes you've committed." As the monsters attack water comes up, keeping them from reaching him before the water turns to unleash itself on the creatures in the form of small needles made of deadly water.
The Degradations have pretty much no chance of avoiding Yasuo's blast, and those around him are left lying on the ground twitching from the lightning coursing through their bodies. Tatsuo has some luck as well with only some of the monsters avoiding his attacks, but none of this stops more of the beasts from charging forth from the cages. They don't even think about the damage they'll take, merely charging with intent to kill and eat.
As more of the monsters charge, Yasuo spins again, throwing out a much more massive sphere of chakra this time that blasts them back. He leaps into the air with it and spins to bring it down upon the mass of them. The dual attack shatters much of the ground and the buildings nearby, but this place is now a warzone. These people should likely just be glad he thought quickly enough to get them out before the cages could be opened.
Tatsuo waits until one of the creatures comes close to strike at him, then unleashes a large wave of water to smash against it before it can quite touch him. He turns his attention away from the creature as if he never expected it to hit anyways before he looks out over the rest. A hand seal brings water from various underground sources in the area right in the middle of the village before it splits and rushes down in torrents towards the creatures that are attacking them.
Try as they might, the Degradations aren't able to avoid the attacks from the Konoha shinobi and wind up put down. Unfortunately, this doesn't spell the end of the battle. Instead some stronger-looking men appear. They're wearing similar clothes, but they don't seem to be out of their minds, at least not foaming at the mouth like rabid beasts. One of them turns to look at Yasuo, saying, "Well, well, well… If it isn't little Yasuo…. You abandoned us. Looks like we finally get to get some revenge." Suddenly they flicker into battle, striking at both Tatsuo and Yasuo viciously.
As a couple of the experimental thugs come at him, Yasuo steps around each strike. "I was coming back for you. You know I was," he replies, yet he still fights back since there's not much choice at this point. Fight or die. His hands spark with lightning as he starts into a flurry of lightning-charging strikes at them.
Tatsuo watches as the larger, more sane type come forward and his frown deepens a bit as he watches them. And then they talk to Yasuo and he talks back. /This/ is part of the experimenting that had been done? It…made a little sense perhaps. As he was attacked again water once more intercepted the attackers in various forms, one a thicker one and one not quite so much. That water turns then and breaks from walls into thin strands of flowing water that seek to wrap up two of the…whatever they are.
Yasuo manages to strike one of the men down, but the one he's been talking to avoids being hit by him. "That all you've got since you left us behind, brother?" he asks with a chuckle as he charges Yasuo with fierce strikes. "You treacherous little *bleep*… You should've seen the way she cried when she realized you left without her. She hates you more than even our captors now."
Tatsuo has about the same luck, striking one but missing the other. Though one is wrapped up, the other keeps charging and trying to pummel the Nara into the dirt.
Releasing another huge wave of chakra, Yasuo blocks the first strike from the man and then creates a huge one to blast him back. Just as it might seem he's done after the counter, as the sphere fades, a stream of electric chakra fires forth from his palm out of it directly at the man, followed by another from his other palm. "You're lying… She knows I wouldn't just abandon her, but it's going to take time for the village to trust me enough to follow my lead on fighting these people. Going it alone would be a suicide mission."
Tatsuo attempts to throw another large wave against those that are attacking him but one breaks through, pummeling the Nara and sending him sliding along the gorund a short ways before he climbs back to his feet gritting his teeth. WAter does intercept the next attack and Tatsuo doesn't hesitate to draw on more power. That sickening chakra is drawn forth even more as chakra bubbles from his skin, forming around him in a blue bloak as two tails appear. "I don't like you guys at all," he half-growls before unleashing another massive blast of water once again at the one still coming at him as well as the one he holds captive.
With Tatsuo's massive wave, the guys he's fighting are send hurdling into a building that his jutsu washes away with them. The ones coming at Yasuo are knocked unconscious as well as they are slammed by another giant sphere of chakra, unable to fight back. As the one that was taunting Yasuo is about to go black, he says, "Pretend all you like, Akumu… Pretty soon your new friends will know just how mad you really are… and they'll be begging to throw you back to us."
As the sphere from his counter dies down, Yasuo steps over to the man and delivers a kick square to his face to knock him out. He then looks over to Tatsuo as he sees more cages preparing to unlock. "We need to go. Our mission to save the people was successful. They've had time to leave, but now we're outnumbered." With that he leaps up into the trees, moving the opposite direction from the way the villagers left just to be safe since the men will likely try to pursue them.
Tatsuo looks over the cages as more of them open and he nods to Yasuo. The transformed teen follows after Yasuo though he turns to unleash one last final wave towards the cages to knock them over. As much as he can do to distract them and piss them off enough to get them to follow after the shinobi. The cloak vanishes then as he moves at a quick pace after the Chuunin. He doesn't say anything. HE doesn't ask any questions. Not yet anyways. But there's a lot on his mind…
