Starring:
Date: June 20, 2010
Summary:
Hiroshi leads the group to the Land of Rice on orders to protect it. From what they will discover.
"Samurai in the Land of Rice - Part 2"
Miati Forest - Land of Rice Paddies [Fuuma Alley]
Land of Rice Paddies [Fuuma Alley]
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The Land of Rice is, not surprisingly, made up primarily of a rambling collection of rice paddies, each attended by multiple farmers. The farmers spend most of their days performing this work in shallow pools of water, collecting the grains of rice that are both food and livelihood. The various "tiers" of paddies canvass the sloping hills, but there also are narrow dirt roads that wind their way through, to allow travel both by farmers and by others, such as traders, without risking damage to the rice stalks.
One road in particular, broader than the others, cuts a path at an angle through the paddies, heading towards the dark outline of a city proper. Fuuma Alley is not too far off, perhaps a couple hours of walking, but it is distant enough that the thick black smoke and occasional flickers of fire do not seem to taint the air as much as they do in the city itself. At sunset the silhouette of the city makes it appear to be some sort of titanic, demon centipede, with spikes that spew hellfire and ash into the atmosphere protruding from its back.
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The guest house was rather plain. Nothing out of the ordinary. There was a restaurant downstairs and they had some rooms upstairs available for rent. After having settled into their room, the group went downstairs and sat down at one of the tables for a meal. Idle chit chat was struck up with one of the local villagers, who mentioned the problem was the samurai wanting into the shrine at the top of the hill. The villager wasn't sure why they were so adamant about it or why the priests of the shrine were so resistant. It would at least, leave some food for thought. As the conversation continued, the groups meal came and they began to dig in. "Wow, this is really good." Said the witch (Natsuki).
Hiroshi would mutter under his breath shaking his head from left to right, "Sure it wasn't just you two annoying every driver to death?" he would mutter before smiling at the guard. "Thank you for your words sir, I am sure we will not be here long enough to have such problems, but we will see what is going on with such a thing." And with that Hiroshi would bow, and be on his way with his crazed aunts. Hours would have passed since they arrived, and the group would find themselves in a guest stay. Hiroshi would spend most of his time talking to the random locals not getting much information other than samurai and some shrine. The call for food would be a relief for the teen, he would head back to his table taking a seat with the others. "Good is right."
Yuzuna had spent her time observing people with her beady eyes, the old woman even intimidating as she shifts her gaze from one to the other. The scowl never wavers as Hiroshi returns to the table, the young man no doubt younger than his twenties looking odd with a pair of old women. "There isn't much here…" she grumbles low, "I was expecting more gossip. Or at least more talk. Maybe something alludes these old eyes…" She shifts her gaze to Hiroshi, serious. "Did you hear anything new?"
As Natsuki began eating her meal, the others discussing everything they had heard after they arrived. Natsuki shrugged, "Who knows. Either everyone is keeping most of the important information from the villagers. Or, they're not telling us anything because we are strangers. It doesn't surprise me, I wouldn't tell a stranger much either until I knew they could be trusted." She said calmly, digging into a deep bowl of rice. "Either way, we should remain alert. So, how should we handle the patrols?"
Hiroshi would sigh as he takes a seat at the wooden table, moving to take a pair of chopsticks in hand he would peer over towards the elderly women (Yuzuna). "Other than some small talk about Priest a shrine, and these guys nothing. I pretty much got what everyone else kinda knew, How about you two?" he would ask reaching out for a bowl of rice. Cupping the bowl in hand Hiroshi would bring it towards his mouth, chop stick in free hand before he begins to scarf down the rice. Listening to Natsuki's words Hiroshi would frown lightly, before setting the bowl down. "Well patrols will be simple. I would think attempting to get more private, personal, and hands on information from a single villager would be nice, for that we would simply need someone with a sex appeal that person would cave into. And from there I can attempt to scan up towards the shrine, and keep an eye on the Samurais movements." The teen Hyuuga would grin devilishly as he looks up to the others, "I have the most easiest and laziest job."
Ignoring her cousin, the old woman's expression and wrinkles harden in thought, mulling over Hiroshi's line of thought for several minutes before breathing out slowly. "I doubt anyone will remember these faces. It should be easy enough to change without being detected…" she murmurs, whispers to herself. Looking to the Genin, Yuzuna lifts a hand in an idle gesture, "Slip into the restrooms and Henge into a child, wait a few minutes then come out. Children are often invisible and can often overhear conversations. So long as you are careful." She watches Natsuki as she lowers her chin slightly. "I suppose I will be the enticement."
"Why do I have to be the child. It's not like you're that much older than I am." Natsuki/the witch pouted as she walked over to the restrooms. She sat down on a toilet and sighed. Forming her hands into the necessary seal, her form changed. She kicked herself off of the toilet and looked in a dirty old mirror. Some dirt smudged her face and her frame was small and light. Her hair done up in somewhat nappy pigtails. Her tunic appeared to be threadbare and very tattered. Her pants had several holes, including two big ones on each of her knees. Her knees were very dirty and had several scratches and more than a few scars. She walked out of the bathroom, walking towards Hiroshi. She pulled on his shirt, "cuse me. I lost my mommy and daddy. You help?" she asked, looking up at him with big baby brown kawaii eyes.
Hiroshi could only chuckle at the metamorphosis Natsuki had went through, cute and scrubby looking, sure to grab some attention. "Well not the idea I had in mind, but who can resist pure cuteness?" he would say taking a small cup from the table as he brings it to his lips, sipping on its contents. "I will be heading to bed, aunty." he would say scooting the chair back as he stands from the table. As Hiroshi heads towards the upper room, he would pass by an old drunks table who was constantly rambling about his childhood. As Hiro makes his way to the upper room the teen Hyuuga would remove the black tint glasses as he turns to his door, opening it and entering closing it behind. MOving towards a nearby window the turn Hyuuga would blow out the candles of the room before he finds himself jumping through the window, swiftly landing on two feet before heading off towards a single tower in the north.
"Though you /are/ a lower rank." Yuzuna replies crisply with a low breath only for their table to hear. "And it is part of my duty to make sure that you are not purposefully put into harms way if avoidable." She gives Natsuki a pointed look as the other old woman scuttles off into the restrooms. After several moments and the child approaches to tug at Hiroshi's shirt. "I suppose I will change next…" She glances between the two. "Meet in the room in an hour. We will exchange gathered intel and after that we will head out." Yuzuna instructs, beady eyes narrowed slightly between them. With Hiroshi disappearing upstairs, she reaches out to pat the little girl twice on the head before she lifts herself out of the chair with a grunt, the old woman grumbling to herself, something about bladder control issues.
Disappearing inside, several moments pass on end, a significant amount of time to pass by others unnoticed. When the door opens again, a woman in her early twenties steps out, a pair of heeled sandals accenting the curves of her legs with appeal, the skirt flares around her thighs and with each breath, her chest rises to create a deepened valley beneath the v-neck of the blouse. Yuzuna sighs lightly as she reaches up and idly brushes a hand through long, endless waves of rich ebony, deep violet eyes blinking slowly as she steps out into the street. With her age and her looks, she appears to be a danger to every married man in the village.
As Yuzuna stopped to pat the child Natsuki on her head, the little girl scowled and at least attempted to slam her heel on the elderly Yuzuna's foot. Of course, the child would not linger long at all and hopefully avoiding a counterstrike from the grandmotherly like individual she would take off running out of the door. Yeah, so far, not so good for not attracting attention to herself. However, she would quickly duck into a dark corner outside the village armory, hoping perhaps she would overhear something important.
As the teen Hyuuha arrives his does not bother to take the stairs, instead he scales up the large structure finding his way to the top in moments, as he slides through the open window. "Boring job here I love you, but the amount of chakra you will take will cost me." The teen Hyuuga says forming a single hand seal. "Byakugan!" He would shout as his once pale eyes burn with more intensity becoming somewhat crystalline as the bulging veins not only extend from eye to ear, but a large amount of his cheeks as well (Byakugan 2)
Slipping though the streets, Yuzuna turns her head as she glances around, gaze passively calm with a twinge of a playful smile tugging at one corner of ruby painted lips. It doesn't take long to find soldiers and shinobi patrolling, the flirtive smile tugging a bit further as she watches from afar at the moment, meeting the eyes of some as they glance her way. Slowing to an eventual stop near the eastern side of the village, she turns to glance over her shoulder at them, a few rich ebony waves falling as she winks. One larger guard smirks and gathers enough courage, or moxy, to approach her. It isn't difficult to act. Her breath just a bit quicker and enough of a distraction to keep him off-balanced , the length of her flirting. She asks a few questions about his job, seeming interested and concerned as the samurai are mentioned.
Hiroshi would probably notice the samurai are starting to stir in their camp. The horses have been saddled and there is a lot of movement about. The samurai begin riding out of their camp in a double file. There are about twelve samurai total.
Meanwhile, by the armory, Natsuki would overhear a priest inside talking to one of the town leaders. "Well, I know what they're looking for." The priest said, "However, its not here. Its located at Shangrila and well, that place's location is something I'm going to keep to myself till my dying day." He said calmly. The town leader nodded, "Well, then perhaps we should let the samurai in and ascertain that for themselves. We'll ride down to their camp tomorrow." Is said. However, as the leader spoke, the alarm bell rang throughout the village.
Yuzuna's appearance had provided for a few moments a welcome distraction to the guards and soldiers. All of whom would make it sound like they were fighting living breathing demons and not just samurai. Most shinobi would be struggling to not roll their eyes at the lines the men were giving. However, as the alarm rang out, the men were clearly afraid. "You should be getting home, ma'am. Take cover." The guard says before joining the patrols and mustering at various points in the village.
Natsuki, at the moment, ages herself as she observes the priest in the armory as he departs. Nodding slightly, she Henges again, this time taking the form of a shrine priest, her staff in her hand, but with a round spade on the end.
Hiroshi would especially focus in on the Mobile Samurai. "A little stir, what are they changing shifts or something?" Hiroshi would ask himself, but he moves to get a closer look noting three other samurai completely the saddling of horses while the other nine make their way over to mount their steeds. "Nine total, no, twelve if you count the saddle boys. Hiroshi would grit his teeth as the samurai begin to mobilize moving out in double file lines. "whoa, don't that beat all, now where are you lot going?" Hiroshi would keep his eyes on two main samurai, the ones in the lead as the charge forward on their black steeds, heading towards, the village itself? "Well something tells me this isn't good." Hiroshi would say to himself proceeding to jump from the tower, but more or so slides down it as he heads back towards in guest INN attempting to meet back up and regroup with his squad.
Soft, bubbling laughter ripples from Yuzuna with every other line used on her, though the alluring smile still tugs at her painted lips. The smile only dims with the sound of the alarm, concern and worry shown in her vividly violet eyes. Her lips part slightly with the warning, her worry clearly growing as she nods. Stepping back, she is quick to do just that, hurrying through the street to return to the inn. Yuzuna's expression hardens some as she hurries, not so fast as to appear suspicious as she slips to the front doorway of the inn, looking around with caution before closing the door behind her. Taking the flight of stairs, she finds the rented room and unlocks it before stepping inside. With the door closed behind her, the sexual object of many a man's fantasy narrows her purple gaze on Hiroshi. "What do you see." Yuzuna asks with some bluntness.
No one told Natsuki what to do, but the little monk made her way back through the village and scaled up the window to their room. Once inside, she dropped the Henge. "Interesting, the high priest here doesn't even have what they're looking for. Its at some place called Shangrila . They had said they'd go down and escort the samurai to the shrine to prove it tomorrow. However, that plan may now change. What should we do Hiroshi-san, Yuzuna-san?" Natsuki asked, a little winded from the ordeal but awaiting further orders.
Hiroshi would await for Natsuki's arrival, and as she comes over giving her explanation Hiroshi would sigh massaging his temples for a moment as his Byakugan deactivates. "I saw just about a dozen of them, on large steeds. They are geared up and heading this way. Judging by the speed they moved out an a possible acceleration . We will be seeing them very, very soon. Their general Direction was around towards the northern gates that we came in. Something tells me this town is about to get hit tonight, and in that case. We may have to defend this village. Now as for that plan dealing with the shrine. If we can capture a few samurai, or some how in the after math get a hold of some of there armor we may be able to infiltrate where this so called shrine leads. But we will need some intel on the shrine, but first things first. Those samurai are heading over here." Would be said as he takes from his side pouch a Konoha headband, "We were ordered here to defend after all. And judging by their speed and distance it took me three minutes to get here from the tower, I will give them another ten to reach the gates or so."
Narrowing her sharp gaze, Yuzuna lifts a hand with her fingers extended upwards, releasing the Henge on herself as smoke emits from around her. When it thins, her image returns to normal, pale opal eyes sharp and keen as they watch Hiroshi . A subtle frown deepens in her brow, though nothing else emerges through her stoic expression. "Then we will capture one and take out the rest. Before they have a chance to know we are here." The corner of her lips tugs just barely for a fleeting moment before fading. A hand reaches into the pouch at her side, pulling out a kunai and spinning it once on her middle finger before catching it in her palm.
