Starring:
Akina, Arika, Hiroto, Seireito, Taishou
Date: November 1, 2016
Summary:
Upon discovery of the One Tail Jinchuuriki, the Kazekage puts out the order to bring Taishou in.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Sandy Tale"
Sandy Expanse - Eastern Desert [Land of Wind]
08/23/15 A.F. - Saturday - Year of the Hare
A day in the life of the People's Militia.
The men got up, check their gear, clear it of sand, have breakfast, then would do drills. This would be for a good 4 hours of the morning. The break for lunch was regimented so it didn't have an impact on the activity of the group. That lunch lead into scouting, searching the surrounding area for hostiles. Monsters or men, both were something they were interested in and would look for.
The People's Militia had been fighting a small bandit group, some guy trying to make them be more than just bandits, but information, like the rest of the camps, has vanished into the sand. Taishou, the teenager leading the Militia has decided today was the last day they would hunt. Seireito had mentioned he needed to go for a bit of a trip, today was suppose to be the day when the giant returned. So they would work and hunt, the men spread out in the sands of the Land of Wind while they tried in vain to gather information.
Interestingly enough, Hanaoka was also absent this day, irritating Taishou, but that was sometimes how it went. He usually returned. Often with a new patron or job too.
Hiroto was with a team of shinobi nearby to Taishou's camp. Nearby being actually still a good bit a ways away. For him he could see more clearly than most at a farther distance and with his falcons it gave him an even bigger advantage. Also with him was in fact Tenshi who was recently returned to him in mostly a secretive nature. Details not fully given to him just yet as he had other matters to attend to. Hiroto had to lead this squad in bringing back the One Tails Jinchuuriki. Of course their first objective was to attempt a peaceful sollution to the matter. If it came to blows though they were allowed to use lethal force to take Taishou down. And so Hiroto began his movements towards the camp.
One of Hiroto's falcons that was… rather quick compared to the others, would rush off with a message to find Taishou. THe message would clearly state Sunagaure shinobi were going to be showing up and it would be a subtle order for Taishou to stay where he was so they could speak. The bird would then quickly relay the message/any recieived info back to Hiroto. In the matter of seconds he would have people moving to surround the camp just in case the Bijuu rampaged. The one who was the strongest for potentially sealing the Bijuu was sticking really close to Hiroto. It wasn't one he wanted far from him.
A few minutes later and Hiroto would arrive quietly in the camp and if Taishou followed the subtle order in the message then Hiroto would find his way to his location. Otherwise he would head to the location for only a brief moment before sending the two birds he had with him out to find Taishou. If he did move anywhere he likely wasn't far and it wasn't reason to attack yet.
Mornings. Why did they have to exist? It's too late in the day (by her standards), the sun was too bright, and it was much too hot to be tra4veling above ground.
Akina exhales a large yawn into her hand, fading into a small grumble as she pulls her hood further downwards to shade her masked face. "Sunlight…" she mutters under her breath, only to sigh again. They approached the new camp together as Hiroto's companion flew overhead. The layout of the camp familiar, despite being in a new area of the desert. She made sure her hands were weaponless and open, knowing already that there might be some tension. It was unavoidable. From beneath her mask Akina flits her dusky eyes back and forth, trying to gauge any changes to take account of.
Arika is a part of the group to help retrieve Taishou. There were a lot of reasons she shouldn't be there, actually. The girl was not diplomatic at all, she was very childish in comparison to … any other Chuunin of Suna -.- And she got distracted easily. So… why was she here? Obviously she had something to offer, right? Right?!?! Well, her strength was one thing. The girl yawns a bit as she moved with both Hiroto and Akina to the camp.
~Wait wait wait wait… We're going to get the stupid Tanuki?! Why?!?!? Our lives are so much better without it!~ 'Cuz it should be in Suna and is safer that way!' ~Safer for who? Certainly not us.~ '…' ~Also, I hate him.~ 'That's not a good reason…' ~So? It's a valid reason.~ 'But it's not good.' Arika huffs a bit and just shakes her head to refocus on the task at hand. ~Bah… I can tell he's here, at least. Can I kill him?~ 'He'll just reform.' ~I know, but there's satisfaction in killing.~ 'No, you can't kill him.'
After having taken care of whatever it went to go do, the giant called Seireito would at last be seen making his return to the camp from the direction opposite Sunagakure. Its mission for the time it was gone was not one most would find pleasant, but it was one of necessity. There is a reason the giant came to join the militia, after all.
As he returns to the group, the behemoth nods to each of the men he passes and then would come to where Taishou stands. "I'm back," his deep voice rings out simply as he greets the leader of the group with a nod as well.
The People's Militia was in that morning training when Seireito would return. The giant got friendly nods and waves from the men as he'd enter into the camp, not challenged at all by the sentries. Taishou would look up at him and give a nod. "Good. Glad to see you're still alive. We've finished around here. The bandits have scattered so no point in staying."
The hawk would show up then, the sentries calling alert as the message was delivered to an older man, the military advisor to Taishou who had been running the drills. He reads the note, frowns and hands it to Taishou.
"They're coming." Taishou frowns at the note and crumples it up, he'd nod to the man then glance to Seireito. "Well, suna shinobi are on the way. form up. I suspected they might get grained off at us taking their work." The older man would call the militia into formation.. and so that's what the suna shinobi come across. The men, 20 of them, with blades ready and shields up. Taishou was in the middle and Seireito was left to get to his rear line position for artillery cover.
Hanaosuke would show up with the Suna group as they approached, he'd glance at those coming, then bow to Hiroto. "They didn't leave without me. I kept them as requested. Do you need anything else from me? I would rather not have to fight them if it comes to that."
Hiroto stared among the ones here before shaking his head a bit. "I promise you that you don't need your weapons if you don't make the situation turn south." He stated. "I won't be attacking you personally unless you imply that force is neccessary." He stated honestly. "I am sure you know exactly why I have had to show up and I won't waste your time. Sunagakure wants you to for now at least return to the village. Talk would be much easier there then it would out here." As well as much more likely a spot Taishou wouldn't want to cause any trouble with all the shinobi around.
Hiroto looked at Taishou directly before sighing a little bit more. "Now. I hope you know that despite how horrible it may sound…. You are property of Sunagakure. Property that if it continues to work we will care for like it is our own family. But if the property turns out to be broken or dysfunctional in any way…" He left it open. "We won't make you a shinobi. But we do want you to work officially under Sunagakure. You can even keep your group. Do mercenary work for Sunagakure specifically and get paid the wages shinobi get paid. Though as a group rather than an individual. Should still be fine for you yes?"
And now the real question would come up. "Now. Obviously it is your decision whether you want to come with us or not. And maybe it is of your opinion that you would rather not be confined to Sunagakure's rules. But people have different opinions on what is the right choice. And honestly I already have a pretty good idea which I believe is the right one." He stated before turning to Hanaosuke. "And I don't need anything else from you right now. And I would rather not fight them myself. If it comes to that I expect your help if it looks neccessary but until then I won't force you to join in." And the fact that Arika was here as well made Hiroto pretty confident they would be fine in a fight. She had been a Jinchuuriki for a much longer time. "You can take time to make your choice. But please put the weapons away. The birds get antsy."
Blades drawn, Akina can feel the tension in the air as if it were electricity. She absently tightens her jaw, but comes to a light pause, giving plenty of space between themselves and the militia. Holding up her hands, she wordlessly signifies that she herself offers no immediate threat. Though as Hiroto starts to talk… she visibly winces. "Hayato-san… you could have worded that better." Akina murmurs. "Saying 'property' isn't going to do us any favors." It doesn't take her dusky eyes long to find Taishou in the center and tries to offer a smile. Bowing her head towards him in greeting. "I apologize if he comes off as rude. That isn't the case at all. And also, it's nice to meet you again, I hope you are doing well." The masked kunoichi gives a tentative glance to her teammates, uncertain which way they'll go exactly. Diplomatic is a difficult skillset to master after all.
Arika's completely oblivious to the mass tension in the area. Or at least she seems like she is, considering that she's pretty sleepy looking. She rubs a bit at her eyes and just looks around at all the people with their weapons drawn and their shields up, and she frowns just a bit. "Meanie Hiro-kun," she grumbles, poking him for being so blunt that he'd even go so far as to call Taishou 'property'. "Yer not gonna get anywhere tha' way," she grumbles at him. Then she peers a bit at Akina before she says, "Gecko-san! You should come back t' Suna with us! We have mochi!" Because mochi solves everything and is the best reason to come back to Suna. Totally.
As Taishou mentions that Suna shinobi are coming, Seireito nods and turns to observe as Hiroto and the others approach. The giant simply nods to them and listens to the conversation. There is a slight frown internally at the mention of Taishou being property. There were once those that considered Seireito the same… But today is not about semantics or Seireito's thoughts. He's simply here to perform a task.
Well.. way to lay out the requirements, eh? Be property, be a puppet of a village.. or.. they kill him. Taishou frowns. The men, especially the newer ones, look at the teenager very confused. The vets know about what happen, what Gekido had done. There was confusion in the ranks and plenty of the men lowered their weapons from guard to simply.. ready. Taishou glanced at the men, then spotted Hanaoke. "You? Why you little.." Taishou growls as he'd take a step forward, hesitate and look from the man to the others. Blast it. Who knows how many would actually be real? He glances back at Seireito then. "Think you could take em?" Taishou says with a jerk of his head at the shinobi. He's pretty close to out of options and they all know it. Already more and more of the men are simply sheathing their blades. Quite a few have dropped the shields as the group crumbles around the teenager.
Taishou looks at the others and sighs. Straightening his shoulders, he'd stare across the space at Hiroto, Arika and Akina. His attention settles on his advisor a moment before he finally nods. "Fine. Fine. No fighting. We gathered to fight monsters.. We all know that we don't stand a chance against the real monsters." Frowning, Taishou would motion at the others. "Stay. No point in continuing with me. Keep the Militia going, even if I can't."
Hiroto quickly frowned at the ones with him. Akina and Arika in particular before shaking his head a bit and turning back to Taishou. "Now let me state this. Being deemed property does not mean you arent a human with rights. In some villages eyes sometimes more than just Jinchuuriki are seen as property." He shrugged a bit before looking directly at Akina. He seemed ready to say something but held off.
His eyes shifted back to Taishou and he frowned a bit before speaking once more. "Apologies. I really am sorry. But for this I am acting in the way I was tasked. And any personal opinion has to be tossed to the side. And I figured telling you the truth in the matter was more important than hiding behind blurred lines to defend things." Though luckily things countinued well for the most part.
Once Taishou said the words basically calling Sunagakure monsters he seemed… to hesitate. "Taishou. We are not monsters. You can't even begin to act like you know Sunagakure. There are a lot of things they could be doing worse. And I just want to address this. When it comes down to it every single person who steps foot onto the world has a piece of them that is a monster. Every single one has secrets. Things they have to hide. But unlike most I didn't try to hide what most of Sunagakure thinks. And I didn't take the easy path of firing an arrow into your skull from a mile out. You could do much worse than Sunagakure. I promise you this." He stated quickly before looking around. He didn't address how Taishou handled his militia. If it came down to it he wouldnt argue for or against them too much.
Akina watches all of this in silence, the group crumbling before them as men begin to sheath their blades. The fact that they had given Taishou up so that he could live, meant that they treasured him much more than he might realize. They were his family, and who knows when he might see them again. Her expression saddens, glancing from Taishou to the others. For a pause or so Akina simply listens to Hiroto, though eventually her dusky gaze lowers. Taishou isn't given much of a choice, if he wanted to live, if he wanted to protect the lives of his men. Just because it 'isn't so bad' doesn't make it any better. And yet he still made such a tough decision. Exhaling a small breath, Akina clasps her hands in front of her and bows softly. "Thank you so much for taking care of him."
Taishou looks at Seireito who only stands there in silence. Well that speaks it's own word, doesn't it? Frowning, shaking his head, Taishou moves. He walks past the men, not pulling that x-bow as he'd walk over to the shinobi. Looking between them, he holds his arms out with a raised brow. "So is this when this.. 'property' gets cuffed? Or are we just walking back? The group is probably done without me. I'm not sure about being a suna mercenary group. I'll figure something out, I'm sure." Taishou eyes Akina a moment, then looks at Arika and finally Hiroto. "As for an arrow.. we have sentries for a reason. I'm also inside a tent for reasons. I know about the Hayato. I'm from the Land of Wind."
