Starring:
Amani, Misa, Yuzuna (as Yang), Hiei, Hiroyasu
Date: October 24, 2013
Summary:
It was supposed to be a simple mission, field test a student in a simulated but safe live environment. The scouts had been through and the area was normally safe.. just today was a bad day.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Student Stories: Misa's evaluation"
A idyllic forest in the lowlands of the land of lightning.
- It was a beautiful almost fall like day, the swelting days of summer never really take much hold up here in the peaks, the request didn't come across the desk this time, it was an internal administrative chose. "Send out missives to the following, we need to ascertain the future potential of our newest students and get them enrolled in career path that suits them best.. Pick one at random and assign them to the Taijutsu/Kenjutsu Instructor Yotsuki Hiei, The Medical Core Yamayuki Amani, and we need field test our latest genin too.. so send her" he muses before grabbing his cloak and heading for the gate to debrief them as he usually does. As always no matter where you were in the village or nearby land, you were found either by bird or by a person.. -
Hiei was at home packing for his impending trip to the Land of Iron. But when the hawk comes and settles on his window sill, it doesn't take the shinobi long to reach the designated spot. Seeing Hiroyasu, Hiei smirks. "Alright, Hiro. This is the last one before my vacation starts, so I hope it's a good one." And then he turns to see who else has shown up as he adjusts the sword that surrounds his waist. He's still only sporting one of them and he's hoping to fix that during his trip with Misaki.
One of the joys about going on missions is that you earn money. Another joy is that you get to keep that money. Amani did both of those things, but she gets the feeling that won't be happening for very long, maybe. It could be she's feeling guilty or maybe she's just trying to figure out other ways to keep from spending what she has. Resorting to stealing has been considered a number of times, but she shook them all away. She had to focus on what mattered so…why was she paired with a child? "Why was I summoned to do this? I want a good answer," she demanded as she reached the gate.
Just on the other side of the open gate, a black figure glances at those that have gathered. Silent and watching. The long robe and mask hides their features, short in general, its difficult to determine their gender at all. Purposefully so it seems. However, after a moment or so they step fuller into view, making it obvious they were here for the mission and patiently waiting.
Such as it was, Hebisuuhai Misa was lingering. Classes done for the day, as opposed to playing, she was… perched. Perched atop a small boulder near the entryway to the monastery, remaining utterly silent as she watched one of the monks set himself to the task of manicuring the lawn, quirking her head to the side.
Said monk was mildly bemused by the attention, but said nothing.
Although he did look up when another student came dashing up. "Misa! Misa! They want you to meet them by the gate!" Misa looked stunned a moment, bringing up a hand to point to her own nose beneath the half-mask she wore (covering nose, mouth, and chin). Me? she seemed to ask. Yes, her. And so here she was by the gate, moving as quickly as her legs could carry her - coming to a skidding stop by it, as her eyes flick from older person to older person, eyes finally settling on the masked figure. She says nothing, but quirks her head to one side, staring at her.
- Hiroyasu frowns at Hiei then holds his finger up at Amani before going to explain "Not this time, they can't all be gems. Your to escort and ascertain the aptitude of one of newer students. We are trying a pilot program to make sure that our village's students are the best, to do that; we need to know what they want to do, what they can do, and what we can do to set on the right path. Yotsuki-san you are to test for weapon affinity or taijutsu ability and stamina/endurance in whatever form you choose" he pauses for a moment then rolling his neck making Amani wait just for the fun of it, "Tsukikage, as the most trained and active medical shinobi that the village can apparently find or claim. You are to test any medical or advanced ninjutsu capability.. and be the voice of medical reason should the Yotsuki get out of hand, you have the authority to call any test short on medical grounds." he waves his hand to the masked stranger "We have assigned a random student, and a random genin to accompany you. The genin is just an observer who will report on the mission.. we also trying to improve our mission reports.." he says with a cough into his hand. "There is she is now, Everyone this is Hebisuuhai Misa. We have scouted out a clear forest area in the lower lands to act as a random test location.. Good luck" he says to Misa before looking to the others.. "Horses are available should you want" he adds before moving back to let them handle it from here. -
Hiei gives Hiroyasu a long look. "There are some days that I am convinced that you hate me." He cuts his eyes over at Amani and nods faintly to her. Sounds like she wasn't happy to be here, either. The masked person gets a deadpan look. "Another one? First that Yin guy and now this joker? What is wearing a mask some new type of fad now?" He snorts as Misa arrives and he recognizes the girl from the academy, and from the beach the other day. "Well, I'm not the type of man to dishonor a job. So if this is the assignment, I'll do what needs to be done." At least he gets to ride Snake Eyes again. Hiei's warhorse is massive and all black except for around each eye. Which is where his name comes from.
Amani's attention went to the figure that stepped from nowhere and she immediately frowned in response. Who the heck was this? Her expression clearly asked that question, even if she didn't speak it aloud. "Feh," she muttered and folded her arms as the pattering of feet came up from behind and soon before her. She focused back on Hiro while listening to his explanation and yes, the wait for a reply does disturb her, but she takes it as well as a bee takes being shaken up inside of a jar. She begins to shift in place and rap her fingers on her lab coat until it finally comes out. "I think I'll walk. It's a good alternative. Keeps me fit. So…" She starts as she looks closely at Misa. "I'm giving her to you, Hiei. I'm not sure she's ready yet." Can she tell? Maybe, but it's mostly just to give her a hard time.
Yang catches sight of the hand waved specifically towards them, chin dipping lightly in the direction of Hiroyasu with acknowledgement as they near a few more silent steps.
Mysterioso.
The reactions from Hiei and Amani are ones you would expect, and Misa just outright stares. If this was any other situation, it might even be amusing. The details for the mission is given, and the chin is dipped once more as a sign of acceptance. Observe the team and how they do, report details later.
There was a certain tension that was twisting into the slender form of the young Hebisuuhai. Shoulders kinda scrunching, staring eyes kinda widening, her left hand kinda plucking at her skirt. And then she comes under the attention of Amani. Breaking her gaze away from Yang, her eyes go to Amani, and the expression kinda pinches up - nose scrunching, forehead furrowing. When Hiei is mentioned again, her expression relaxes a bit, looking up towards the man…
No, no giant warhorses for her. "I would like to walk, as well," she says, her voice a bit on the soft and sibilant side.
- Hiroyasu raises his hands "I don't hate you, but the Kunoichi down in accounting.. now that is someone who hates you.. Apparently you haven't filed a receipt for your eating expenses while abroad or on missions in some time.." he says with a shake of his shaming fingers. Before moving to give Amani a hug and a kiss on the cheek "I'll make it up to you, dinner tonight. I have fresh boar" he says patting her on the cheek before bowing his head to the other two, the masked genin, and the student "Please follow your orders, and be careful." he says to Misa before departing the group to go back to the administrative building..
It wasn't far to the predetermined and purportedly safe forest in the lowlands where they were to enact the evaluation.. perhaps the long walk or ride was supposed to emulate the cadence of a normal mission where it took hours of effort to reach an objective only to have to fight, flee, or reason your way out of situations as they arrive. The forest was idyllic; it was thick, well maintained, and evergreen. It hosted a crystal clear stream, a small gully, and a tepid marsh. -
Hiei winces when Hiro talks about the receipts. "Yeah..I'm not a fan of paperwork…" Well that at least cleared that up. And since Amani wouldn't ride, and neither would the girl, Hiei decides to leave Snake Eyes behind and just go with the group. Once they enter the forest, Hiei turns to Misa. "Pop quiz, Misa. When entering an unknown area that may have hostiles in it, what is the first thing you should do?" Hey, he was here to evaluate her right? Might as well see where the student's head is at.
"What? I'm just giving you a chance, but you just gained points by choosing the option of walking," Amani spoke to Misa. "So, you might just be fit for medicine. Maybe, I dunno. I can make an even more angrier face. I think that's important for me to mention." She found the scrunching of Misa's face amusing. Her stubbornness softened a bit as she received a hug and kiss from Hiroyasu. Naturally, she returned the gesture in kind and chuckled, saying, "Sounds wonderful. I look forward to our little dinner date," she winked prior to the group having to set off to their destination.
It felt nice to take a walk through all the nature that surrounded their rocky, mountain home. There was plenty to pass by and observe, maybe even to collect a few samples from just to have on hand. Hours of walking was nothing to the medic as this was something common for her. Now the only issue is to see if Misa could handle it. She'd have to, really. She did choose that option.
When Hiro shifts his attention toward them, Yang faintly turns their head to follow his movements, before once more dipping the chin with a silent nod. "Will do." they murmur, an even voice that is neither male nor female. And as the group turns to begin to enter the forest itself, Yang waits for everyone to walk ahead before taking up the rear. A precaution it seems, as not only do they keep watch on the group during their mission, but also keep a careful eye on their surroundings.
Misa does pause at what Amani says, and the young woman simply nods her head. "I wasn't angry, so… you don't need to make those sorts of faces," she says, voice still quiet. "Unless you would like to," she amends. In a moment, her attention snaps towards Hiei when he asks his question. "Hide - and sneak through the area, trying to spot them before they spot you?" asks Misa of Hiei. Misa was okay with walking for hours - at least, there would be no complaints, verbal or non - from her as they trod along.
She would start to drag around the second or third hour without rest, if it went that long.
Hiei looks at Misa and raises a brow slightly. "I..suppose you could do that." A pause before he replies. "My answer to that question would be slightly different. I would hide..but the only sneaking I'd be doing is ambushing them so I could slit their throats before they knew I was there." He shrugs. "But to each his own. Or her own." He makes for the stream, planning on stopping for a bit. "We rest here for a bit." He didn't seem all that tired himself, but he does kneel down so that he can get a drink. "Misa..I would think that as a snake charmer, you're all connected to nature and whatnot. How are your wilderness survival skills?"
"I would like to. It's my default expression," Amani remarked to Misa with a nod. At Hiei's reply to his own question, she grinned. "And that's the fighter side. The medic has no comment at the moment," she chuckled. Stopping for a drink seemed like a good idea, so she decided to fill up on some water while she had the chance. "Snake charmer? Is that what you are? Well, I suppose you could accomplish that seeing as how you look like one," she plopped down on the ground and took a swig from her water pouch. "Good question, though. Let's start there."
Time passes, and after a considerable walk they near the stream for a brief rest. Yang silently chooses one of the closest trees to the water and steps underneath its shade, turning just enough to lean back against it, arms crossing loosely against their chest. The slightest lower of their chin pulls the front of their hood forward, shadowing the mask even further.
Misa pauses for a long moment, kinda looking from Hiei to Amani, and then back again. Hiei draws her attention first, and she brings up a hand, to kinda scratch at her cheek - brushing a lock of her messy hair back behind an ear. "I know how to hunt for fish, and some small animals, with tools and hands," she says. "To sleep in trees, and to find water," she pauses, her quiet voice drawing a touch quieter as she leans in, as if sharing a secret with Hiei. "Birds are best of all, but hardest to catch," but the mention of being a snake charmer? Misa seems to quirk her head at that statement, as if being confused, looking from him to Amani. "My… people and the serpent are one," she says somewhat awkwardly, with a tone of voice that suggested she was reciting something.
She seemed grateful, overall, for the rest, squatting next to the water, and dropping her gloved fingers into it. "Which survival skills do I need the most?"
- Off in the distance, the sound of loud talking and trapezing through the woods. The echoes of heavy footfalls, loud laughter and boisterous bravado. "Alright, look.. the Merchant will be coming by this way in a few hours, and we've been well paid to make sure he doesn't make to his delivery.." one of them says, "We'll hang out here by the river until its time.. setup camp" echoes through the trees, why someone would be talking so loud is not exactly clear but apparently they thought they were alone. -
Hiei replies to Misa. "You need them all. It's hard life that we've chosen, Misa. Some shinobi my age and older still haven't figured that out yet. The fact that you are well versed in those things gives you a leg up on most of your class mates." He reaches out and gently pats the girl on the head while flashing her a smile. And then he hears the voices. His body posture changes and his eyes narrow. He exchanges a look with Amani as he holds up two fingers, pointing at his eyes, then at her, signaling her to use the Nejigan. "How many?" He asks her softly before waving over the unknown ninja under the tree. He rumbles in a low voice. "I hate bandits."
"Do you know anything of local plants that work for medicinal purposes? Numbing pain, curing poisons, settling the stomach, those kinds of things?" Amani inquired of Misa. "Those also help in the event of something going wrong around these parts," she explained to her. Speaking of going wrong, it seems like there's something going on around here. Hm. "I'm sure you heard that," she mentioned to Hiei as she met his eyes. That was solid confirmation that he did. She nodded in understanding and focused her chakra as well as activating her nejigan to see who it was in the direction indicated. "Now might be a good time to put some skills to use, Misa," she whispered.
Yang catches the sound of it, tensing and straightening against the tree as they glance in the direction of the loud laughter, reflexively reaching down to the shinobi pouch on their hip. Whoever it was, they were so loud that you could actually hear the conversation. A brow lifts behind the mask, and Yang pauses for a silent moment before glancing out of the corner of their eye to the others, seeing if they had already noticed as well. They have. Already they were preparing for the confrontation. Good. Now lets see how well they do. And just like that, the masked figure barely takes a step back before fading completely.
Misa turns her staring eyes towards Hiei at first, nodding her head to him. The tension that was rich in her form seems to fade a bit at the goofy pat on the head, her eyes closing during the pat, before she peeks up again. But it was Amani who draws her attention next, and she looks to the medic-nin, and gives her head a shake. "Only if an adult asked me to fetch a plant, but I did not do this often," she says. But there was tension sliding into her again at the sound of the voices, and the young woman dips into a bit of a crouch, holding her arms out to her sides, eyes searching the trees - glancing in the wrong direction, at first. She doesn't respond to Amani at the second time except by glancing at her with her eyes.
Keeping her head lowered, she starts stepping forward, moving perhaps comically slow to stay as quiet as possible, hoping to duck into one of the bushes by the streamside. To hide. Although she had her eyes on the other nin - if they made a gesture of any kind, she would stop.
- It wasn't but a minute or two later that 4, yes 4 bandits.. 1..2..3..4 enter in the area already reeking of booze, the cheap kind.. "Look it'll be so easy, we knock over the cart, we keep the goods and chhhhhhhhkt" he emotes the sound as he runs his finger across his neck. "You go get some firewood, I'll be here supervising.." he chortles flopping down against a tree not far from where everyone is hiding/being. "Go see if there is fish in the stream, from the map… I am hungry too.." he says to another bandit who begins heading towards the stream to check for fish. -
Hiei hands begin to move as he starts preparing a jutsu technique. But at the last moment, he changes his mind. Instead, he says. "Let's let this play out for a moment. Hide." And without another word, he leaps upwards, disappearing within the branches of the trees overhead.
Amani lowered herself to the ground and found a tree to place herself behind. She searched around for a few rocks and once she had them in hand, she made a number of different noises native to the area and tossed the pebbles out into the water to give the impression fish were jumping from the stream. She alternated in tosses and pebble sizes so the sounds would be somewhat inconsistent. The fish were ready to bite, supposedly.
Four bandits, Yang quietly thinks to itself. Quietly watching from their hiding spot. They were loud, drunk, and overconfident in themselves. Easy pickings, in other words. They turn their head, trying to catch a glimpse of where the others may be hiding, however, they must be hiding quite well if the naked eye can't see them. Yang makes a note of this.
Misa was spurred on a bit by the words of the older nin - the student marvelling for a moment as he disappears into the trees, before she disappears into the bush. Not being… as… jumpy as he was. Crouching down within the branches of the bush, she glances towards Amani - only to not see her directly. She just heard a bunch of all new animal sounds, her eyes narrowing.
- Standing next to the bush that Misa had just crawled into the the drunken bandit burps "… psh.. why do I got to get teh fish.." he scoffs only to hear the fish down stream turning and avoiding the shinobi in waiting "Sounds like I found dinner, I'll be back in with food! And it will be all mine" the last part was uttered to himself as he stumbles off to search for the lively spot down stream.. Meanwhile a bandit with an axe has chose the tree Hiei has hidden in as his firewood donor and makes several sloppy swings at the tree sending the tree shivering but at this rate it was going to take him awhile. -
When the tree begins to shake, Hiei makes a single hand seal as he whispers. "Release: Rapid Movement." A light blue aura surrounds his body briefly before winking out. Calling upon the power of the Yotsuki to increase his speed, he silently draws Fukushu, his katana, and drops out of the tree at high speed. He strikes out at the bandit's throat on the way down. Should it be enough to fell him, he'd then hide his body in the bushes so that his friends won't immediately know he's missing.
Amani thinks now is as good a time as ever to go after the guy going fishing. She thinks a swift arrow shot ought to do the trick for him, so she removes her bow from her person and slips an arrow from the quiver. She draws it back and takes aim against the bandit to make sure she snipes him well before letting it fly true to her target. No fish are gonna be brought home this evening.
Yang catches sight of movement. Hiei to be specific as he drops from the tree the was hiding from with sudden speed, almost too fast to see him slicing a throat of a bandit before he disappears into the trees again. Impressive.
Misa's eyes widen as the form of the bandit nears her hiding place - and the young woman kinda hunkers down some, remaining as utterly still as possible. Her bright green eyes were very wide, however. And they remain that way - even as - or especially as - Hiei swoops down and works on the poor bandit, her eyes then darting to the bandit who suddenly grew an arrow, clucking her tongue.
- Happily whistling while he whacks away at the tree, he didn't even see it coming as the katana sails through his neck, throat, and it was a quick clean finish.. the body crumbles up into a mass of dead weight oozing the last of its life essence on the ground.. as the Yotsuki attempts to stuff the body into a bush.. what did that bush think when it woke up this morning, it said ~hey you know what I always dreamed of.. being stuffed full of corpse.. yeah boy~ The fishing bandit turns around "Did you say something?" turning around then shrugging going back to seek out the fish rich waters. -
Hiei tries to be as quiet as he possibly can. He stuffs the body of the man he just killed into a bush that's next to the one that Misa is hiding in. He hears the sound of an arrow flying through the air before the other guy falls. He knew who that was. After hiding the body as best he can, he hops back up into the tree, once again disappearing from sight.
Amani prepared an arrow specially for this guy. Once she was sure she had him, she let the arrow go to shoot towards her target. With that done, she scopes out the area to see where the other two are in relation to the one that was just dropped by Hiei.
From the bushes, Misa was not going to do much - simply observe the bandits as one dies after the other, pursing her lips, the young woman stroking her forearm lightly.
- The slightly drunk, okay almost sloppy drunk, bandit looks around trying to find the fish he heard earlier but it was strangely quiet now.. then it was very quiet as his vision began to black and there was a sudden roar in his ears as the screams of absolute silence overtake him and his body falls over into the stream the ginger current stealing away the red, the shaft of the arrow peaking out of the back of his neck, it had been a well crafted shot which gave him an end more honorable than he deserved.
While from his comfy little seat the loudest one, the leader? snarls "Where is my firewood?! and where is the food? Go find them.. I swear if they are passed out again. I'll kill them" he orders the other who walks over to where the tree is partially chopped with the axe still lodged in the trunk of tree.. "Where are you?" he asks looking out with some scrunity, if by that you mean stare at the ground daydreaming about who knows what. -
And the leader sends another goat to the slaughter. Hiei was waiting, his blade gripped tightly in his right hand as the guy walked around the tree below him. Gathering up his chakra, he takes a two handed grip on the hilt of his katana before his body literally blurs from sight. When Hiei is visible again, he is standing back to back with the bandit. From the blood on his sword, it's obvious that he's already made his attack. The expression on his face is calm before he rolls out of the way. He didn't like attacking from the shadows anyways. He looks in the direction where Misa is hiding and attempts to make eye contact with her. If he does, he'll give her a slight shake of his head, indicating for her to stay where she is until the fighting was over.
The calls coming from the leader made it evident where he was. The two bandits that came out from his orders made them easy pickings, according to Amani. She didn't know Hiei shared similar thoughts, but with his actions, she could tell that he had the same vibe. She focused her efforts on the bandit before her, but she needed to move to get a clearer shot of the guy. Whatever the case, she thinks she'll be able to make quick work of him.
And from the bushes - the corpse bush, it seemed - Misa pauses a long moment. So caught up she was in the fighting before her - if this one-way slaughter can be called fighting - that she did not really notice the dead beside her. What she did notice was Hiei looking towards her, her eyes catching his. There was a brief nod, and Misa squeezes her jaw tighter, glancing to the corpses, finally. She pales.
Just in time for her to feel a tap on the shoulder. Startling, she spins in the bush - just to see a friendly face and relax again. Said friendly face drags her back through the bush, and tugs her away from the situation at hand - no doubt starting to lead the student back to the city proper.
- It wasn't that long as soon a Hiei struck, the bandit by happen stance happen to look up at some falling leaves and sees the instrument of his destruction coming down at him and attempts to get out of the way, a futile effort and a little late as the blade bites into his flesh with tricke of blood.. "Bosss! It's a trap!" he shouts but when he looks over all he can see is body fall over with an arrow sticking out.. It seems he was all alone and against people much above his pay grade.. "Please spare me! I just needed the money.. to uh pay for my children to uh.. live a decent life. I don't want the yakuza to take my wife and sell her to one of their gambling dens! I owe them money.." he pleads grasping at his shoulder which continues to trickle blood, he still reaches down grabbing the ax and backpeddling with it brandished defensively. -
Hiei turns to face his opponent. He slowly runs his hand along the blade of his sword, the metal glowing a neon blue as his palm passes over it. He looks at the bandit. "Spare you? I've been listening to you and your friends. You were going to lie in wait and rob the courier, and then kill him afterwards. These are not the acts of a innocent man, so don't try this exam with me." He attacks quickly towards the man's shoulder. "You are a disgrace to your family. You should be home, showing your children how to survive without degrading yourself by taking from others. After I kill you…I am going to find your children, and tell them that their father died on his knees like a little girl.." Hiei snarls as he attacks again, this time towards his upper thigh.
Amani tends to forget how violent Hiei can be, but he did have a point. His words didn't speak of an innocent man. Innocent men go and find honest work to perform to take care of their families, not destroy other people for the sake of it. Who knows if this courier has family? The idea his life was worth forfeiting is preposterous. In response, she moves forward and flicks her hand across the guy's body to drain his stamina. No need for him to try and move much more.
- The bandit stammers "What else am I suppose to do? Your village let the Yakuza own the land, how are we supposed get paid?" but the blade fell anyways first into shoulder then into his thigh sending him to his knee as he is admonished by his likely killer, "No..Don't…please" if there had been anything the sword hadn't cut from him, the sharp tongue finished off as it bleeds his pride dry. His eyes close tight as he feels the death-blow that never comes, the brush of her soft-touch tears from his body his will to fight, to move, and he falls over in a sickening thud.. the blood trickling from his gashes in critical areas. -
Hiei's face was a mask of emotion. The outright hatred that he held for people like this was projected onto this particular individual. He raises his sword, resigned to deal the death blow, but Amani slips underneath his arms to knock him out gently. Hiei cuts his eyes to her for a moment before he closes them, breathing in and out softly. Then he sheathes his blade. "Do with him as you will, Amani. Heal him, leave him to die..I don't care. But I want you to give Hiroyasu a message for me. When I get back from the Land of Iron, I want to form a task force. We're getting rid of the Yakuza in this country. Even if we have to hunt them down one at a time. I'm tired of seeing people suffer."
"I know…" Amani remarked softly as she placed herself between the bandit and Hiei. She inhaled deeply and sighed the breath back out prior to releasing her nejigan. "I'll give him the message. I understand how you feel, but…on the other side of things, as bad as it is to admit, even bandits have problems. Some people approach them from different ends, but…" She shook her head and sighed. "I don't think I can just let him go like this." So, she sets all her focus to healing the man of the wounds he sustained. She made certain to remove the axe from his hand. He will still answer for his actions by being jailed for a time, but otherwise, he'll be alive.
Hiei releases his own nintaijutsu technique. When she says that she's going to heal the bandit, he nods, pretty much knowing that would be her decision. He still had energy that he needed to burn off. His adrenaline was still surging through his system. "I think I finally understand what Hiroyasu sees in you." He shakes his head. "Sometimes, I wish I was capable of that kind of compassion." He moves away from her. "Secure him with ninja wire. I'm going to do a sweep of the area, make sure the genin and the student got out of the forest alright without any trouble. Then I'll double back and we can both take him back to the village."
"It's a medic thing…" Amani joked with some softness. Of course she was still upset with the route these bandits took to benefit, but still, this one was the only one that seemed to want his life. She sometimes wondered if that was a weakness… "I'll secure him. You needn't worry. Perform your search…" She lifted her hand to give him the indication all was well while she used her other to produce the wire necessary to bind the bandit.
- It was supposed to be a simple mission, field test a student in a simulated but safe live environment. The scouts had been through and the area was normally safe.. just today was a bad day to be a bandit trying to score some easy pay for ruining a competitors cart and life; shady business paying for shady services. The area passed the clean sweep with flying colors, and it was clear why they thought it was clean and clear.. because it actually was… After the yotsuki returned, they made a trek in taking the man to the nearest village which given their rank and renown took him for safe keeping until a recovery wagon could come get him, he would not make the hours long trip on foot to the village even with the medical prodigy nearby. Further down the road they catch up with the masked enigma and the fledgling shinobi and they travel back to the village in the clouds without further incident. ~fin~ -
