Starring:
Rockpath (emitter), Kenji, Eiji
Date: March 11, 2015
Summary:
The Uchiha go on a small patrol to make sure everything is going well.
"Stupid Bandits in the Way"
Land of Fire
Konohagakure has assigned a new Clan Head for the Uchiha, and he seems intent on doing his best in the position. The man has shuffled through some of the records and decided that some one on one time with the various genin would be a good thing. As such, Uchiha Kenji would receive a messenger hawk that said he would be going on patrol. With who? Well, he was to find out when meeting at the gates. A nondescript Jounin who assisted in assigning missions was at the gates as well, as she wanted to make it seem like this whole thing /wasn't/ a part of the newest clan head's plan. A small file in the woman's hands makes everything look that much more official on this lovely rainy dawn.
Kenji receives a messenger hawk informing him of an upcoming mission, though to his surprise it does not mention who he will be doing the patrol with. So, bright and early, he makes his way towards the gate, spotting a female jounin-looking type as he gets closer. He didn't recognize the woman at all, but he assumes she is the one he is going with. "Uchiha Kenji, reporting for duty." he says as he arrives.
Around him the woods swayed with a morbid undertone as shadows slowly crept into the color of everything, soiling its vibrancy while the eerie countrys mist continued to swallow the road ahead and behind him. Twigs crackled beneath his next step and held his body statue-still as he let his hands dangling lifelessly at his sides. Eiji inhaled deeply and took in the view of the village. The buildings themselves appeared to boast modesty, rising with a modern fashion to them. Closely knit the community must have been, for its bustle was akin to that of a structured progression. It was a sight to behold. Yet he could not waste any more time here.
It took him good 15 minutes to reach the village gates where he was greeted by a Jounin ranked Shinobi of Konohagure. "Reporting in Sir!"
The Jounin gives a quick salute to the clan head. "Excellent to see you both, though you're a bit late, Eiji-sama." The woman gives the Uchiha head a little glare. "Anyway… You two are to move along the standard patrol route. We don't expect anything worse than bandits to appear, so it should be fine for just you two to be going on your own." Especially if they're Uchiha. "Eiji-sama, you'll be turning in the report for you group as team leader." With that, she would hand Eiji a map and instructions that basically would cover all the 'what-ifs', should he bother to read them, and disappear.
Kenji waits patiently as the jounin does, only to see another make his way towards the spot. Kenji briefly looked towards Eiji with curiosity, thinking he had seen him somewhere before. His thought train was interrupted as the Jounin speaks up, explaining the mission. As Eiji was appointed the team leader, Kenji looks over to him again, assessing him. Truth was, Kenji was still fairly new and unprepared for such a position, so it didn't bother him one bit.
As little as it was the glare did not go unnoticed. Little red spots appeared at his cheeks as he turned his head away so that Kenji would not notice. He played his role and listened the instructions carefully making absolutely sure not to drop the role. "So what do we do if we happen to find something more serious than just bandits?" He never got his answers as the Jounin was already gone. Eiji played around with the map tossing it from hand to hand without a thoughtful expression on his face. "Well I suppose you and I don't have any option than to deal with it and get going." With this being said he gestured Kenji to follow him and so the mission was on.
Kenji looks over to Eiji and nods his head as the duo was left to their own devices. "I'm afraid aside from my tactics, I won't have much to offer in strength on this mission. If there are unorganized bandits, I should be ok." he says honestly, letting his leader know how much to rely on him. He checks his gear, counts his kunai, moulds some chakra, etc, before moving to follow Kenji.
"You are Shinobi of Konohagure, are you not? More importantly you are of the Uchiha clan. As such you are not in position to claim you do not have a lot to offer." At this point he paused and turned his gaze upon his companion. "Where is your will of fire?" His tone of voice was hard like made from steel and his words could cut a tree. "What are few bandits to someone like you? If anything you are the one to be avoided, not them." After this he continued forwards in total silence for a quite long while.
Kenji shrugs his shoulders in response. "My urge for power runs within my blood, but currently I am not at a level where anything stronger than bandits will fall easily. In order for you to create a better plan and not get us both killed, I am merely telling you facts." he points out before joining him in silence as they patrol.
The first bit of the trip would see not much action, allowing for the pair to chat and otherwise get associated with each other if desired. Eventually, it would fall into complete silence should they not be talkative at all (dang, emo-chiha!). With that silence would come a hyper-awareness to the surroundings. Perhaps it was a flash of clothing to the side, or maybe it was the cracking of a twig under a boot. Regardless, Eiji would notice they were not alone…
This part of the Land of Fire is quite familiar to him. A big rock, he used as a hiding place as child, should be somewhere to the east of them he hoped. Using that as a focal point he began mentally mapping out the area in case they needed to flee, but even then there was the persistent feeling that the were already being watched. Like a looming giant out in the mist, something… someone has their eyes on them and the metallic taste of blood filled his nose making a cold sweat break out of his skin. Schooling his expression to blankness he embraced what was to come and took out a kunai from one of the sacks hangin from his belt. Instantly the steel blades cold assuredness filled him and at once the troubling feelings effect disappeared leaving him with only raw determination. He could even relax a bit. The most important thing is he decided to wait and see if Keiji would notice the same. "Dont you find it strange Keiji? It is awfully quiet, is it not? Usually the birds make more noise."
Kenji walked behind Eiji during the patrol, the silence between them actually becoming a benefit to the duo. As Eiji pulls out a kunai, Kenji follows suit. "I trust we won't be alone for very much longer." he says as he scans the area, prepared for some kind of attack to come at any time.
When it seems the duo have their guard up, the bandits decide to make their move! … Because they're just that smart. One of them throws knives at Kenji, aiming for the boy's legs to immobilize him. A second appears to try and slash, unskillfully, with a sword, saying, "Die, travelers!!" … Man, these bandits really are stupid! They can't tell shinobi from merchants.
Kenji gets hit by a slash before he is able to replace himself with a nearby branch. From his new position, his face flashes with annoyance. He clasps his hands together in a tiger seal before blowing out searing hot air towards the two bandits that attacked him.
Bandits come in two variety. There are the smart ones, which know what they are doing and then there are the stupid ones, which just always seem to go and pick completely wrong targets. Eiji moved instinctively taking a step forwards and then another one to his left followed by a single step backwards managing to avoid each of the attacks by a small margin. He glanced at direction of his partner just to see how he is doing. His plan was to draw most of the attention on to himself if not anything but to give Kenji a good fighting chance and to evaluate his performance. He inhaled fast sending the traditional trademark technique of the Uchiha Clan in direction of the attacks.
Fortunately, there aren't many bandits attacking the two. The one facing off against Kenji is able to avoid his attacks with little effort, the man taunting his target with silly faces and name calling. "Haha, can't even aim~~" His partner, though, yelps in pain as most of his body is engulfed by fire. "That hurts!" he whines, the man surprised he's not coughing up smoke. "Did we pick the wrong targets?" he calls over worriedly, trying to slash again at Eiji while his partner continues to throw knives.
Kenji disappears from sight, his afterimage the only thing that the attacks hit. From his new position behind the bandits, he readies another searing attack as he says, "Who was it who couldn't aim?" asking the two who had just swung at the air. Opening his mouth, more searing air comes from within, those this time at much closer quarters.
Eiji crouched down tensing his calf muscles. There was no way knowing if there were more bandits hiding the shadows of the forest. His mind kept juggling with which path of action he should take. He could try to go and end this as fast as possible but such action would go against purpose of this mission. On the other hand he could wait and see how Kenji performs but that would come with the risk of more enemies emerging from the surrounding bushes. What to do?
He really should have made up his mind faster. Next wave of the attacks was on its way already and his inability to make up his mind made him hesitate, which cost him dearly. His legs worked like springs catapulting him forwards but it was too late! First of the attack ripped through his clothes digging into his flesh. Eiji managed to withstand the pain and did not let it break his composure. He flipped in mid-air and landed on his feet his hands already forming seals.
Since Kenji is essentially in the man's face, he can't really wheel backwards and avoid the hot air getting blown in his face. The man screams from the pain and surprise and not being able to see, flailing a bit in his spot. The other man finds himself feeling something press into his mind… the desire to kneel down and drop his weapons. He tries to resist, but he doesn't have much in the way of genjutsu resistance, so he ends up falling to his knees with a frustrated expression on his face.
Kenji wastes no time taking advantage of the situation that he has his bandits in, and, as they scream in pain, he lashes out with one strike, followed by another, one to each bandit's face, to try to knock them down and keep them there long enough to attempt to tie them up with some rope.
There was nothing to gain here anymore. He had already seen enough and as such play time was over. Eiji decided to drop all false pretence as he straightened his back. It was like he somehow suddenly morphed into another person. "You should think twice before attacking Shinobi of the Konohagakure and you should not be attacking the Uchiha at all. You have two options and only two. You can either drop down your weapons and surrender or you can die." His words were cold and wrapped in dread. He was not going to just mindlessly kill anyone. Not even these bandits. They could now choose their own fate.
Well, even dumb people can have their moments! While the two bandits facing off against Kenji have run away to live another day, the man facing off against Eiji just droops in his spot. "Fine…" he grumbles, sword dropping at his side. He's still being affected by the genjutsu, so he can't do much else. "I surrender." Of course, those other guys, he can't seem to really speak for…
Kenji watches as the two that had attacked him head for the hills, turning to Eiji and his captive. "Should we go after them or are we set with the one." he says, motioning to the one in front of Eiji that had dropped his weapon and was still all droopy. He looks back in the direction the others had taken off, waiting for word.
"Let them run. We have seen their faces and should they continue on their current path of depravation, Konoha can track them down to use them as targets for target practice." Eiji turned and picked his belongings up. "Tie that one up and lets head back to the village. I am ending this mission but I must praise you. You are obviously not a fool. You do not overestimate your own abilities, which is a trap many fall into. You managed to avoid it, yet you do not hesitate when it is time to act. You should have a bright future ahead of you. There will be an announcement made back at the Uchiha village later on today so we need to start get going."
