Starring:
Michiko (emitter), Naruko, Ryouji
Date: December 6, 2014
Summary:
Ryouji leads a two person squad to Kumonoue to deliver payment for messenger hawks when trouble rears its ugly head!
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Ryouji's Summon - Ryouji, your mission will be…"
Land of Lightning
It's mission time! It's a an early morning and the air is crisp with a chill. Frost hangs from some windows as the village slowly stirs. Ryouji already walks out of the Raikage's office, scroll detailing his mission in one hand. The other has a black wooden box stashed under the other arm. The Mcguffin for the mission it would seem. He hurms to himself and walks on towards Naruko's resistance. He looks over the house, which is rather nice and whistles. He stands at the door for a moment, making sure the scroll he has said the right place, then knocks. He slips the scroll in a pocket as he waits and adjusts the bangs on his head. Even Ryouji got woken up earlier than he planned for this mission and didn't have time to look his best when Hiei called on him.
Despite it being so early Naruko was quite the early bird. After all much of her morning included getting up early, making breakfast for the family, and then going about her day. A few seconds after Ryouji knocks on the door, a few hurried steps rushed to the front door, pulling it open. The golden haired Uzumaki had her hair tied back in a long pony tail, her attire consisted of a simple orange shirt, long enough to reach down to her knees. "Eh…Ryouji-kun….?" Naruko perks up from behind the door as she looks at him head to toe. " Hmm, are we dating now? It's awfully early for you to be here… Drop by for some breakfast maybe? I have some extras cooked up!" Naruko teases and offers, though obviously she was a little nervous. This was the first time a Ryouji showed up at her front door after all.
Ryouji blinks and haddn't considered Naruko would still be trying to get ready for the day. He's silent for a second and looks over at the sun just cresting over the mountain range guarding one side of Kumogakure. He blushes at the mention dating and mumbles, "Oh, Naruko-chan…I'm not dating anyone right now." Ryouji looks away for a second and coughs. He sucks in a breath and focuses on the mission for the moment. He pulls out the scroll from a pocket. "I have a mission for us. The Raikage picked us to escort this package." He pats the black box under his arm. "We're to deliver it to a place called Kumonoue. Payment for messenger services. O" He looks over Naruko and hurms thoughtfully, "Do you need a moment or are you going to wear that?" He smirks a bit, "I could wait a bit. And since you're asking, yes, I could use some breakfast. I was pulled out of bed by my brother before I could have any." He nods, "Thank you."
"Oh…you don't?" Naruko questions, her tone expressing that she was a little puzzled by the statement. She merely grins back at Ryouji though as she opens the door for him to slip on in, the aroma of freshly cooked eggs, rice, and other meaty nourishments captivating the air. "Delivering a package sounds easy enough. How about you grab a bite to eat while I get all dressed and ready. I would probably freeze wearing something like this!" Naruko expresses earnestly. " I've already ate and I promise it won't take me too long."
Ryouji accepts the offer of breakfast and eats quite a bit while being the perfect gentlemen to the family. It's the Reizei way afterall to be gracious as a guest. At least two helpings of eggs, a bunch of rice, and maybe even some sausage if it's around. It's the Reizei metabolism. Soon enough, the pair are ready and they quickly make their exit. Ryouji ties a set of rope strands around the box and lets it hangs it off his shoulders on his back so his arms are free. He reads the map and says, "There's some climbing to get to Kumonoue, but we are not exactly going to Kumonoue. The people or this mountain don't like guests. So we're meeting at the base of the mountain here.." he points to a spot on the map. "Two of them are to meet us and we'll hand off the package to them." The trip takes most of the day, both moving higher and higher up the mountain ranges of the land of lightning. The paths are narrow and more than a little dangerous. It's almost like guests are not welcome here.
Naruko was a green thumb as she was the outdoor survivor type. A one day trek towards the base of a mountain would normally be cake for her, but for some reason things were a little more difficult this time around. The trek itself was entirely unforgiving, almost as if the earth was molded and designed to be against those not familiar with the terrain. " I've never had such…. a long annoying trip," Naruko states out loud, following closely behind Ryouji as she began to question the main aspect of the mission. "So we just hand it off to some people? How will we know if they are the right people?" Naruko asks curiously as they move along, keeping her senses open..primarily her sense of hearing and smell.
Ryouji is a little better thanks to Hiei taking his team out camping and hiking all the time when they were genin. But even he slips a few times on the lose rocks. And being one of the highest ranges in the land of lightning, the air is much thiner and going isn't easy. He says, "Hiei, er…the Raikage said that they owned most of the messenger hawks that works most of the countries surrounding us. Lands of Wind, Lightning, and some of Fire. So I suppose it's the pair with messenger hawks with them. These people love their privacy. That's about the size of it. Payment for their messenger services for our village." He looks back and smiles, "If you need rest, we can. We're almost there though. It's just down this trail."
"I can…push on. Just not used to this air. I've been up mountains but not necessarily /this/ high," Naruko explains, trying to get the jist of the information as well. Messenger hawks huh? That would explain why they were so high. So many questions and not enough answers… It really did just come down to delivering a box however. Perhaps the questions weren't necessary. " Just down the trail? Got it!" Naruko replies back to Ryouji, attempting to pick up the pace, no way she wanted to appear as though she was slacking… or getting tired.
Once Ryouji and Naruko reach the base of the mountain, they won't see the messengers they were sent to meet. The two hawks are nearby, yes, but they want to be sure that these humans are the right ones. They've been hearing about this 'Silence' business and would rather /not/ be affected by it. "I'm pretty sure that one kid is right. He matches the description sent over. I don't recognize the girl though…" says one hawk. A male with a distinguishing scar on his right eye. His partner is female, judging by her voice, as she comments, "I think shinobi work in teams… So that must be his partner for this delivery. We should be fine, Sukaimaru."
Ryouji flinches when he noticed no one is around. He hopes they're early, but maybe they're not. He looks over the details of the mission scroll, but it says nothing about 'what' exactly he'll be meeting. Just that they'll be meeting a pair from Kumonoue no Yama, the mountain above the clouds. Which is most likely the big huge mountain with its peak hidden by icy clouds high above. He looks back at Naruko and says, "Maybe we're early?" He shrugs and continues on, finally reaching the spot and unslinging the box from his back. "Oooh, that feels better." he says, setting it down in front of him to stretch.
So they reached the spot and no one was there to greet them. "Maybe they don't care a whole lot about their package…" Naruko states as she finally takes a seat and gasps for air. This was a good time for a break, Naruko was going to eat it up if she could. " We can just wait it out, and see if they decide to show up… I actually wouldn't mind if they took their time… I'm not exactly ready to go right back home yet…" Naruko explains, rubbing along the side of her cheek.
Of course, the Silence have to be involved… They heard about Kumo sending a package to their messengers through one mole or another. Three have been sent to try and steal it so that it would cause a rift between the two. It would, hopefully, create a rift between the two that is difficult to heal. One member of the Silence, a woman with blonde hair and green eyes, steps forward. She is wearing her hair in a bun ornamented with chopsticks, and she's wearing a green yukata patterned with gold. The second person that steps out is a man with brown hair and black eyes. He's a large broadsword on his back as well as a hawk. This hawk appears to be blind, as indicated by its cloudy golden eyes, though it still has its wits about it. "Are you the messengers from Kumogakure?" the woman asks, her voice lilting musically. Her voice seems to have this tiring effect, absorbing Ryouji and Naruko's energy slowly if they listen.
Ryouji tilts his head in wonder at the pair. One does have the hawk, a blind small hawk, but a hawk none the less. Ryouji says, "Yes, we…" he yawns, "…are. Hey, is anyone else sleepy?" He leans against the rock wall, sliding down in and bounces to the ground. Ryouji peeks an eye open and says weakly, "Oh gadget…" and reaches up with a slow hand and tries to slap himself, which comes off as a love tap. "…oh no…zzzzz." and he's out of it.
Naruko blinked her eyes at Ryouji, rather confused as to why he was suddenly falling asleep… "Um…Ryouji-kun?" Naruko began to lightly shake him with one hand… She could feel herself getting a little tired as well, but she bit down at her lip and shook her head. Just like that she managed to stay away. " Hey….something is not right here…." Naruko sniffs at the air and while trying to hold up Ryouji, she didn't want him falling out on the ground after all. " You're smell is a little off… we could be the shinobi you are looking for but….who are you?"
The woman frowns, as though with concern, and she moves to Ryouji's side. "Young man, please wake up. We need that package, you realize," she says, reaching for the box he had. She tosses it to the man, who gets a rather evil gleam in his eyes. "Looks like we got what we came here for. Let's get back and report this… And uhh… I'm Souji and my partner is Kenji. The bird here is Kata." The disrespectful way he addresses the hawk on his shoulder might tip him off to be a bad-guy, if Naruko is sharp enough to notice!
Meanwhile, the hawks that are hiding nearby curse. "Those people got the package. What the heck are we supposed to do now?" "Just wait… Maybe the shinobi will reco- dangit, he fell asleep…. Well, maybe that kunoichi will be able to stand a chance. It looks like she's still up," says Kobairama (the female hawk).
Suddenly, Ryouji snaps his eyes open as he's handled by Naruko. The genjutsu also wore off, but still, Naruko would wake anyone up. He stands on his own then and says, "What was that?" He shakes his head and says, "Hey, weren't you supposed to come from the mountain above? That's where Kumonoue is, isn't it?!" He frowns and grips his sword, "Drop the package or else!" Before they can even answer that command, Ryouji rushes forward. He draws lightning cutter, aiming the handle for the genjutsu user before following up with a double slice of the blade leaving two lines of silver white. "Naruko-chan, get the package!" he calls out.
"You also forgot to pay us for our services, thief!" Naruko calls out as she chases after the man, acknowledging Ryouji's orders. She quickly picks up the pace, leaving the woman to Ryouji's own devices. The man that picked up the box was close gapped while Naruko hard knuckles and sends a fist to his direction, followed by a sweeping kick to sending him on his back!> "That box belong sot us. Give it back or else!" Naruko demands, hopefully her volley of techniques would make the poor man submit.
The woman didn't expect for Ryouji to recover so quickly. She's blinded by the light of the sword, resulting in a nice cut on her arm. The next strike, however, passes through her as she disappears without a trace, fading from existence. Ryouji would then see Michiko, of all people. She looks unusually angry at him and sends a very large, deadly-looking firebolt at the Reizei while the woman launches a number of lightning stars at the boy.
Naruko's strike hits the man's sword, but as he moves to swing it, she manages to hit him in the stomach. "oof…" he mutters, using his failing strength to deliver a blow at Naruko's head twice over. "We don't need to pay you, you're paying us, you double-oh-seven!" he snarls, idly wondering how wonder it would be if he could use her for his own diabolical purposes… The Silence haven't been able to raid any villages in a long while, it felt like.
Ryouji feels the burn from the firebolt, getting struck by them as he chases the woman. But he's been hit from them before and takes it in stride. He looks where he got hit and hurms, "Stupid genjutsu." But it does take his endurance down a notch. He shouldn't get hit by those much more and expect to keep kicking. He ducks low, letting the lightning stars fly over. Now that he's coiled, he leaps up high, drawing out lightning cutter high above his head. It flares to life with electrical chakra as he comes down with a swipe. Then holds a hand up calling out, "Naruko-chan, flare!" He launches an electrical charge into the air and it explodes sending light everywhere, blinding anyone for a moment who wasn't ready for it. "Let's see you fight in the dark!" he growls to his opponent.
Getting smacked over the head twice wasn't something naruko was looking forward to, but nevertheless it did end up happening. The force of the attack had briefly caused her to double over, there wasn't a need to avoid the flare that Ryouji called out for. "Clones…" Naruko whispered quietly under her breath, rolling along the mountain floors to push some distances between the man and herself. A series of three clones spring to life, each of them trying to catch the man in a proximity explosion… Naruko was still safe and sound on the floor, recovering from her head injury… "Ugh… my head…"
The woman fades away again, avoiding the lightning attack with ease. But that blinding light is extremely unpleasant, which causes her to lose Ryouji in the heat of the battle. "Curses…" She mutters, looking around with an angry look in her eyes. The woman focuses some more chakra, already planning her next move while the man is busy fighting fire clones! He decides he needs some of his own clones to help him out, creating a handseal to bring about the existence of two clones. They both take the hit for him and quite literally throw Naruko's fiery clones back at her. One of the clones manages to get through his defenses, leaving him with nasty burns. "After the boy, Kata…" he mutters.
The hawk henges back into its original form, the 'blind' hawk actually a member of the Hyuuga clan. "Byakugan…" he murmurs, looking around for Ryouji as veins form around his eyes. "Ah, there you are…" he comments softly, sending a pulse of chakra out to drain stamina from the Kumo-nin.
Ryouji is glad his flare works for a moment, he's able to slap his hands together and begin focus his chakra. He was intending to use just his normal blur, but seeing the hyuuga enter the field upped the antie quite a bit. Ryouji's clothes begin to flutter around him as he pushes his blur as far as he can take it for now. "Playtime is over!" He reaches into his sleaves and pulls out a wire that reels out. Paper bombs are attached to the wire and with that, Ryouji is just gone leaving a ring of air poofing out from where he once was a second ago. He reappears over by Naruko positioning himself between her and the triple. "Hey, you ok, Naruko-chan? Don't worry, you handled yourself well here." he says, both swords out in a guarding position ready to face them on a whole new level. "We're not out yet." Then, BOOM! The paper bombs go off at all three locations where the Hyuuga, the genjutsu woman, and the weapon weilding man is or was at that second in time.
The man tries to avoid the explosions, and he somewhat succeeds. But he's really not meant for speed so much as blocking things. "Ugh… These kids are tough…" he grumbles. "I thought they were sending genin!" "Quit whining…" murmurs the woman. "Kata and I can handle this, if you can't." She makes a handseal, then, casting genjutsu over both Ryouji and Naruko. The two would see a mountain much like this one. But it was empty of all things. In particular, the woman, man, and 'hawk'.
Kata comes over to the pair, his eyes still activated. "We should go. /Now/." The woman and man nod, preparing to take off when suddenly the two hawks that have been watching spring to life. The male hawk, Sukaimaru, aims for the man while the female hawk aims for the genjutsuist in hopes of breaking the illusion. Kobairama lets out a piercing screech to break the Kumo-nin out of the illusion. "Quick, Reizei. Get the package while we distract these people," she says, peering at the woman she's facing. It seems the Silence are thoroughly occupied with the hawks, now, as both Kobairama and Sukaimaru are the size of a refrigerator (not including the wings).
Ryouji looks up at the hawks and doesn't question it. The image wavers to a mountain for a moment, but his vision quickly comes back into focus again. Ryouji explodes into motion, drawing his blade with saya still intact and not fully drawn. He uses a nonleathal battoujutsu move, shoving the wooden saya into any available crevice between the man and the box at the armpit, then shoving with all his might. A man's arms is weakest at the joints so push there with enough force, he's going to move. Much like a prybar, he hopes the man will release the package leaving Ryouji free to collect his prize.
Naruko was held captive by the juts but suddenly found herself pooled out of it thanks to some good tinkling by the hawks. She had no idea why they were there or why they were fighting but they did leave an opening for Naruko to focus her intentions on retrieving the box that was stolen. "Let's just get the box! Everything else does;'t matter," Naruko announces to Ryouji, a pair of clones forming along side her, hoping to provide more of a distraction. If anything happened to the box Naruko would be there to pick it up.
The man, thanks to either chance or very good planning from Ryouji, drops the box. Naruko is there to pick it up, too, which is also good. However, the Hyuuga is still free, and he moves swiftly to attack Ryouji, jabbing at important chakra points to try and make one less opponent to worry about. "We should retreat, you two… This mission is a failure," he says calmly. The man and woman nod, and the woman's chakra comes out in a giant burst. A pillar of lightning strikes the ground, allowing for her and her companions to escape, if only barely.
The hawks relax as soon as the presence of the Silence is no longer nearby. "Okay… We'll take the box back to the mountain. I'm sorry you had to go through that," Sukaimaru says with a dip of his head. "I'm Kobairama, and this is my mate, Sukaimaru," the female hawk says with her own bow. "We're from Kumonoue, by the way."
Ryouji makes a hand sign and slaps his hands down on the ground under him. A bolt of lightning erupts from the ground upward taking Ryouji with it. He launches himself into the air, lightning crackling under him. He lands and drops his blur III, slumping slightly before sucking a breath. The silence has left and Ryouji is glad for that. He walks over to the hawks holding the package and says, "I didn't expect actual hawks. Well, hello. Yes, I'm Reizei Ryouji. We're the kumogakure ninja." He holds up the package, "And I think this is yours? A pleasure to meet you both."
