Starring:
Kaidan, Arika, Jiro, Ayumu, Kuoroke
Date: August 22, 2015
Summary:
Apparently the red mist is affecting the whole environment, not just people! A team of shinobi has been sent to look into the strange phenomenon.
"Rise of the Red Mist - Red Beasts"
Land of Wind
The Team was chosen based on various things. Kaidan has been on most every mission involving teh Red Mist and so he is a bit of an expert on what they can do. Arika is there for a similar reason with Jiro. Kuoroke was sent along because there'd been talk of seal usage in the past and possibly also some form of scroll usage. Ayumu was along because…well…that one was perhaps more by circumstance. Their mission was to go with an old man who made Kuoroke look like a sprint chicken. An old master of seals and scrolls who had some knowledge of possibly why the Red Mist may have came to be. He had expressed interest in getting the bottom of the mystery and wanted to work with the Sunagakure shinobi to find out what had happened.
Even now, they are all walking with the old man who is dressed in a loose fitting robe, shinobi shoes, a sungakure headband (yes, he was a former Jounin and still wears it out of pride), and he has a staff he is using to walk with. Based on the step he takes, it is clear he could get along without it. He could possibly even still be dangerous as most old shinobi are, but the creak of old bones has made the now 66 year old man prefer a staff as he moves along, "Come along! Come along!" He chuckles, "I know it is late but if this old man can move along in the early morning so can you young kids." He chuckles.
Kuoroke treats the man with the same rehearsed, practiced respect he usually shows his superiors. As they walk, Kuoroke takes the old man aside a bit. "Fumetsu-san, after this, there may be a matter I'd like to discuss with you. But that can wait." He waves his hand. "But this, we can do later. Perhaps you can brief us on what's ahead?"
Another trip to find out about the Red Mist? Okay that wasn't so bad, but what was up with early hours and missions?? Jiro would like to sleep in just once ya know? The boy yawns widely as he follows along with the others, his hands in his usual spot flopped lazily atop his head as he goes. He kinda watches around to make sure there's no random scorpion attacks or something but other then that he's just kind of…there, for the moment.
Words of encouragement from the old man elicits but a momentary smile from the Iga. As much as Ayumu wanted to keep on smiling, his thoughts inevitably drifted back towards what has been left behind back in the village. "Perhaps I should see about having that revoked." He murmurs underbreath. Distracted as he was, the red-haired wonder still manages to keep a sharp eye on their surroundings. It was the main point of his being selected for the mission, though he suspected idly that some irksome kin might've held out the hope of his demise through it…
"Look alive, kiddo. Least the sand devour you."
Arika takes her perch on Kaidan cheerfully, the girl keeping a sharp lookout from her perch. Unless, of course, Kaidan doesn't let her. But either way, the girl is hop-skipping along, keeping her eyes out for anything. "What're we doing, anyway?" she asks those that are older than her, figuring they had more of an idea of what was going on. Red Mist and that's all, right?
A frown to Jiro as Kaidan notices his attitude. That is until Ayumu speaks up and he chuckles. He looks back at the others and then gestures, "Saga-Sama, care to enlighten the rest of us?" Kaidan glances at the otherse before looking to the man, "I know that some of us are still unsure of what you intend to do out here." The man slows and turns slightly and smiles. He gives a nod and a gesture as they start moving off the road toward their direction. Arika will have a good view from her Kaidan perch as he doesn't seem to mind.
As the man walks he states, "Well, as you know I am Saga Fumetsu." He nods his head, "And I have studied many things in my time even before the villages that you young folks take for granted." He chuclkes and grins at Kuoroke before looking forward, "This is a fascinating thing to me. I intend to see if we can't figure out how the Red Mist got here and how they have been able to move around as they have been spotted in other areas farther from here." He looks to Kuoroke, "And of course we can talk later." He nods his head before looking forward toward the ruins in the distance, "With them vanishing from here so suddenly, I am curious as to what their purpose is, how they move, and if there's any way to use this for ourselves. Maybe even a way to stop them."
Kuoroke gives Ayumu a wary glance. "Have -what- revoked?" He asks, somewhat sharply. Then, he turns his attention to the older shinobi. "Any findings so far?" he inquires. "What is it, specifically, we're going to study?"
Jiro yawns again before looking sideways at Ayumu, grumbling a bit before dropping his hands to his side…then crossing his arms over his chest instead with a bit of a huff. "San's not gonna d'vour me," he mutters, but he does look a bit more wary…just in case. As the old people start talking he does listen, just so he knows what they're going to be looking for and all that, but all the actual details…well, he's very early in seals still, so he only has an inkling.
Ayumu flashes Jiro a grin, but refrains from commenting further. Granted, Kuoroke didn't exactly give him much of a chance to in the first place. "Hm? My, my, you're a sharp-eared one ain'tcha?" Ayumu asks, sidestepping the question with a question and a broad smile. Afterwards, he leans in closer to to Arika and whispers (not really),"In otherwords, everyone is trying to get out of actual work."
Arika peeks at Ayumu and says, "So we're just studying everything? I thought it was pretty obvious that the people making the mist wanna make their own little world. Filled with Zombies!" She noddles a few times. "And they use seals to transport themselves and they use scrolls cuz they wanna drag buildings into their new world."
Kaidan, being right there cause Arika is on his shoulder, glares at Ayumu and shakes hsi head, "Pay attention Ayumu, we have enough kids here." He then grins at Arika before looking to Kuoroke. He hmms and looks to the old man to await his response even as he walks along with the group.
Fumetsu smiles at Kuoroke and then points at Arika, "Very good." He chuckles and nods to her, "Not quite perfect but very good. Thing is, that's a theory." He nods his head and taps his noggin', "A theory is all good and well but if you dont' have proof you are merely grasping at an idea that may not be true." He then starts forward as they near the ruins, "You are all with me in case that old mist comes roarin' back in here and I get myself killed." He chuckles, "After all, your last lot found some nasty things in this mist." He nods to Kaidan.
He then approaches the first building of the ruins and looks back at the group though more specifically at KUoroke, "So far, from what I've been told and what I read, it all seems to point toward some village." He nods his head, "Much older than the villages. Older than me even!" He nods his head and then looks forward and considers, "And I'm thinkin' they might've done something they shouldn't've. Somethin' real nasty." He nods again even as he leans on the staff a little and winces, "Oh, all that walkin'." He chuckles, "Gettin' old is no fun, kids."
"Revoke -what-?" Kuoroke repeats his question, a bit more pressingly. He's well aware of Ayumu's tricks and never has been able to appreciate them. He gives the Iga another stern glare, and then offers Fumetsu a respectful bow. "If you prefer, one of us can act as the vanguard. Just in case." He offers.
Jiro pauses when the others do, looking around a bit once they arrive in the ruins again. Things look a lot different without all that nasty red mist hanging around…and not being charged at by some vicious creature beast things. If nothing else he's much more on his toes now that they're here because he remembers last time and it wasn't at all pleasant! "So what're we doin' back 'ere then?"
"Mah-ee. Must just about everyone be so hostile when it comes this lowly one?" He asks of noone particular, arms raised as if in surrender. They soon fall to the wayside again as the Iga directs his full attention to Kuoroke. "Truth be told, 'revoke' was not the right word for things, nor do ye need worry about it Shiro-san." He states flatly before turning his eiree gaze beyond the Kuroki. "Not that you won't anyways perhaps, what with having worked in Sunagakure for so long." He goes on to say, still ultimately evading the question. As for the rest, the Iga just listens to without comment, idly sneaking a few sand merged sensors ahead towards the ruin ahead of the others.
Arika wrinkles her nose a bit. "Well, we're here now. And I don't see anything. All we gotta do is find one of those portal thingies they like to use, right?" she asks, making a hand seal and sending a shadow clone to start looking around while she keeps to Kaidan's back.
A look at Arika and then at the others. Kaidan shakes his head, "our orders are to aid him in his search for the source." He nods his head and looks to the old man before looking back at the others even as they already start to act, "Our main goal here is to keep the Saga-sama safe while he researches. With luck, that just means keeping a few bandits busy when they come creepin' back this way." He nods his head, "Nothing exciting." He looks to Kuoroke, "You, however, were brought along due to your knowledge of seals and to help." He smiles at Kuoroke.
Fumetsu nods to Kaidan and then watches others go off, "It isn't so simple as looking for some open portal. I doubt they left anything just floatin' about but I am good at sensin' chakra and I'm also good at my knowledge of seals." He chuckles and starts off toward the back of the ruins, groaning as he moves, "Yes, thoug, Kuoroke-san. I would like your knowledge and assistance should we find the source." He is already starting to move on even as he looks back directly at Jiro, "As a note, often times the original scene of the proverbial crime is where you'll find your enemy."
"Revoke what..?" Kuoroke persists, barely listening to Ayumu's reply. Another nod to the older man. "I will assist however I can."
Jiro irks a bit, stiffening when the man speaks to him. But…this was the original scene, right? So…Jiro's blue eyes looks around verrrrry suspiciously at everything, and one hand has settled on the cloth sash at his waist, fingers itching to pull it free. But he won't unless he actually sees something, otherwise he's just gonna look silly!
For his persistance, Kuoroke earns himself a half-hearted glare from the Iga out of the corner of his slitted eyes. The temptation to just ignore the elder male is almost too great of one to ignore. Almost. He does at least refrains from answering until Fumetsu and Kaidan have spoken their piece, seeming dead set on catching every detail from the duo. The charade could not last for much longer than that however. Most if not all within Sunagakure knew of the clan's infamous multi-tasking abilities among other things.
"… As I said, not revoke. For all intents and purposes, I am in position to do anything of the sort. All I can ask of my family is to remove—" The rest that come out of Ayumu's mouth is a bunch of gibberish followed swiftly by a pained wince from the man. After taking a moment to recover, he shakes his head and chuckles weakly. "And of course, they /would/ include that under the seal too." He states, rolling his eyes. "Sorry Shiro-san, but it seems the rest is classified." Ayumu states nonchalantly, idly spreading out his sensors further…
Arika's clone continues to search through the ruins, upturning random rocks and stones and poking its head into everything while Arika peeks over at the group. "Hai, Kai-kun." Ayumu is given a curious glance when he says a bunch of gibberish. "Silly!" she declares, pointing a finger at the ifs with a nod.
Looking at Ayumu, Kaidan stares and blinks. He shifts in his spot some before shaking his head and shrugging, "Well, that got weird." He then looks to Kuoroke before shrugging. Meanwhile he is watching as the others are, "Keep your eyes open is all."
The old man simply laughs, "Don't get too up in arms now." He nods his head, "We're going to be here a while." He nods his head, "We gotta search the whole of the place for clues and then the studying starts." He nods his head, "Doubt if anything will hap-" And he doesn't get another word out when the whole place rumbles one good time and a few rocks fall down in places. He then looks about, "Spoke too soon perhaps." He chuckles.
The rumble comes pretty obviously from the entire area and a moment later a bit of the sand breaks open and up pops several sand scorpions the size of dogs. They rush off in various directions. Dropping Arika off, Kaidan moves to protect the old man directly and gestures about, "Bring them down!" Strangely, these scorpions seem redder than normal, and instead of stinging, well, the shinobi are targetted by the tails with what almost appears to be a ray of that red mist.
[NPC System]: Red Mist Scorpions roll(s) Mist Sting (Kuoroke) from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 36. - Rolled by: Kaidan
[NPC System]: Red Mist Scorpions roll(s) Mist Sting (Jiro) from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 38. - Rolled by: Kaidan
[NPC System]: Red Mist Scorpions roll(s) Mist Sting (Ayumu) from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 31. - Rolled by: Kaidan
[NPC System]: Red Mist Scorpions roll(s) Mist Sting (Arika) from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 30. - Rolled by: Kaidan
RPCOMBAT: Kuoroke defends against with a DODGE-II…37
Kuoroke rolls aside, avoiding the stream just barely. He immediately moves into the thick of the enemies. Out of his avoiding crouch, he moves to a roll, and from the roll, he brings down his heel on one scorpion. He turns, throwing a punch at the other scorpion, and then moves on with another kick at a third one. Only one seems to, oddly, be spared - the one which targeted Ayumu.
COMBAT: Kuoroke attacks target 1 with RAGE-FIST with a roll of: 30
COMBAT: Kuoroke attacks target 1 with RAGE-FIST with a roll of: 31
COMBAT: Kuoroke attacks target 1 with RAGE-FIST with a roll of: 33
RPCOMBAT: Jiro defends against with a BREVITY…46
Jiro nearly jumps out of his skin when he hears the rumble! THE OLD MAN WAS RIGHT! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! The red sash comes free with a single tug while the blue one appears from it's special pouch at his side, one in each hand. When the mist is shot the boy…vanishes for a moment, reappearing instead near the closest beast and lashing out at it quickly!
COMBAT: Jiro focuses 4290 stamina to turn it into 5000 usable chakra!
COMBAT: Jiro attacks target 1 with STEEL-CLOTH-FANG with a roll of: 49
COMBAT: Jiro attacks target 1 with STEEL-CLOTH-FANG with a roll of: 32
COMBAT: Jiro attacks target 1 with STEEL-CLOTH-FANG with a roll of: 39
RPCOMBAT: Ayumu defends against with a INTUITIVE-DODGE…29
RPCOMBAT: Ayumu took 300 damage.
RPCOMBAT Ayumu took 600 stamina damage.
Ayumu grins half-heartedly at Kaidan for the comment. He doesn't get to do much more than that when a tremors begin, nearly tossing the man flat on his bottom. Although he manages to stay standing, the division of focuses costs him dearly after scorpions bursts out of the sand. The best Ayumu can manage is the begining of a rolling evasion when the ray clips him.
Ayumu comes out of it swaying and grasping at his head for a moment, acting for a moment as if something burrowed its way inside of it. What few bladed implements were on his person find their way into the man's hands during the momentary struggle, and are launched with lethal accuracy. The one bearing down on the scorpion that hit him has the added bonus of an explosive tag attached to it.
COMBAT: Ayumu focuses 2331 stamina to turn it into 3000 usable chakra!
COMBAT: Ayumu attacks target 1 with SHARP-II with a roll of: 32
COMBAT: Ayumu attacks target 1 with EXPLOSIVE-TAG with a roll of: 32
COMBAT: Ayumu attacks target 1 with SHARP-II with a roll of: 23
RPCOMBAT: Arika defends against with a WIND-DASH…44
COMBAT: Arika focuses 4003 stamina to turn it into 6000 usable chakra!
COMBAT: Arika attacks target 1 with WIND-CUTTER with a roll of: 33
COMBAT: Arika attacks target 2 with WIND-CUTTER with a roll of: 42
COMBAT: Arika attacks target 3 with WIND-CUTTER with a roll of: 26
COMBAT: Arika attacks target 4 with WIND-CUTTER with a roll of: 30
Arika squeaks and disappears from her spot, narrowing her eyes as she peers at the red scorpions. "Meanies!" she declares, slashing and slicing all of them up in an attempt to get rid of them with her ninjutsu.
[NPC System]: Red Mist Scorpions roll(s) Armored Carapce from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 38. - Rolled by: Kaidan
[NPC System]: Red Mist Scorpions roll(s) Armored Carapce from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 29. - Rolled by: Kaidan
[NPC System]: Red Mist Scorpions roll(s) Armored Carapce from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 40. - Rolled by: Kaidan
[NPC System]: Red Mist Scorpions roll(s) Armored Carapce from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 35. - Rolled by: Kaidan
[NPC System]: Red Mist Scorpions roll(s) Armored Carapce from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 26. - Rolled by: Kaidan
[NPC System]: Red Mist Scorpions roll(s) Armored Carapce from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 38. - Rolled by: Kaidan
[NPC System]: Red Mist Scorpions roll(s) Armored Carapce from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 36. - Rolled by: Kaidan
[NPC System]: Red Mist Scorpions roll(s) Armored Carapce from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 20. - Rolled by: Kaidan
[NPC System]: Red Mist Scorpions roll(s) Armored Carapce from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 34. - Rolled by: Kaidan
[NPC System]: Red Mist Scorpions roll(s) Armored Carapce from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 21. - Rolled by: Kaidan
[NPC System]: Red Mist Scorpions roll(s) Armored Carapce from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 20. - Rolled by: Kaidan
[NPC System]: Red Mist Scorpions roll(s) Armored Carapce from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 36. - Rolled by: Kaidan
[NPC System]: Red Mist Scorpions roll(s) Armored Carapce from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 21. - Rolled by: Kaidan
COMBAT: Kaidan attacks target 1 with PUPPET-PHYSICAL-II with a roll of: 33
COMBAT: Kaidan attacks target 1 with PUPPET-PHYSICAL-II with a roll of: 43
And with that, the shinobi are able to quickly dispatch the creatures. By the time Arika had fired off her wind cutter assault, only one was barely alive. One quick stomp from Kaidan and the thing was smashed into the ground. Even as he finishes it off, he frowns and shakes his head, "Now it is affecting the wildlife, too?" He hmms and looks back at the man.
Saga Fumetsu nods gravely and then states, "Indeed it is. Not surprising given what I believe its nature to be." He starts over to one of the more intact looking scorpions and begins to look it over. He then nods, "We will make camp near to here tonight and work more later." He nods his head before gesturing, "Kuoroke, I believe I will need your assistance with this." He then looks over at Jiro and grins, "And you boy. You would probably enjoy this part. We're going to be digging into insect guts." He chuckles before nodding.
Kaidan then looks at Ayumu and Arika, "Make us a parameter. I'll see to us a campsite." He nods his head.
Kuoroke is lucky that, writhing, the scorpion inadvertently protects him with its own body. He scrapes some remains of it from his cloak, and glances at Ayumu. "A -wide- perimeter, please." He specifies, before turning to Fumetsu alone. In what is almost a whisper, he murmurs, "Please keep your voice down. What we discuss is likely classified." Then, he assists the man in his search.
Jiro whews a bit as the scorpions are dispatched and he slowly puts the clothe away, retying the sash as well…before he hears about aweosomeness! "Yea'!" he says then the man mentions digging into the insent guts, giving a wide toothy grin as he runs over to the mans side and pulls up his sleeves! He's totally ready to get down and dirty!
Ayumu rises to his full height, though there's a bit of a shakiness to the process. By the time that fully passes on the wanderer, new orders are tossed about. "Sur—" He stops, and just… 'looks' at Kuoroke's general direction. Nothing more is said on his part before the Kuroki runs off to the old man's side. Ayumu merely observed the duo, considering at some point spying on the man after catcdhing the word 'classified' on the wind, only to ultimately comb a hand roughly through his hair and start working on his assigned task.
While he didn't exactly /have/ to walk around, avoiding the remote possiblity of dealing with either Arika or Kuoroke further was prefered at that point.
Arika gives a quick salute and dashes off to- okay, what is she making? "I don't get it," she says, climbing onto Ayumu's back if allowed. She makes a hand seal, and her clone disappears so she can freely join Ayumu in making the perimeter.