The Catalyst

Starring:

Yoichi, Akane, Amata, Onimitsu

Date: June 6, 2014

Summary:

A team of Kirigakure shinobi are dispatched on a time-sensitive mission to obtain samples for the squints back home before they are destroyed. Conflict arises by the end regarding the fate of the more sentient specimens…

Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.


"The Catalyst"

Unknown and now no-longer habitable Island

There probably couldn't be a much more dangerous situation to send a group of people to than this. A volcano is about to erupt, and the island is inhabited by a barbarian tribe with ninjutsu-esque abilities. Still, there probably couldn't be a set of shinobi more insane to send on this job, some literally and some just with insanely strong wills. A ship built for speed and transport moves toward the island with a group of shinobi on board.
Standing at the front of the ship in front of huge flat-topped wagon with a giant tempered glass container on top strapped down to it. "Be ready for anything. We don't know the full range of the ability of the natives… and remember, we are NOT here to save them. We're here to collect samples before the volcano goes into full eruption. I'd like to uproot the entire tree ideally, but we'll take what we can if it means surviving. Any questions?"

Amata was quite eager to be on this mission. She had been almost insistant that she be allowed to be on the mission. When Yoichi went over it, she merely listened off handedly, already having read over and asked everything she could of this mission before even going out on it. She looks toward their destination and then looks to Yoichi, "It would be a great boon if we could bring back a whole tree but we need at least get the seeds to plant our own." She then blinks, "And soil samples!" She declares and nods, "It could be the soil that causes this…the tree could be benefiting from the land itself." She then looks around and taps her chin, "Samples of everything really…might even be wise to get a sample of the locals." She points at Yoichi, "We may need to capture one of these barbarians live." She nods, "And dead…one of each."

Aside from a perhaps curt greeting at the begining, Onimitsu remained completely and utterly silent. Even the armor he bore dared not to creak so long as the chuunin remained in the state that he was in. Abnormal perhaps, but ignorable so long as he appeared focused on the mission at hand. A simple thing to feign so long as he is never asked to remove his helmet or asked anything intrusive. Such aside, Onimitsu carried no obvious implements to hold the seeds in, though this did not mean he was no prepared. The armor held many secrets after all. Of things to note besides the armored one's silence is his doing everything possible not to regard or speak to Akane in particular. If he could get away with it, Onimitsu stayed acutely aware of her position on the ship and made certain to be as far away as possible..
"None." He states briskly before turning his sights upon their approaching target.

Akane was leaning on the railing of the ship, watching he water when Yoichi spoke. The medic looked up and nodded, acknowledging that she had heard the orders. She had experience in herbology, had been working with plants her entire life. Exotic plants half that time. So along with her healing abilities, she'd been ordered along. She showed no issues with Yoichi's orders.
Amata had gotten no negative attention from her either, though she had been standoffish to everyone during the boat ride. The scientist's interest in the tree had been well noted and honestly it was almost cute… Her obsessive talk got an amused expression.. until she said they needed a 'barbarian' alive.. and one dead. A cloud seemed to form over her face and her eyes deepened a shade. Her chakra remained steady, though, Yoichi might note, but she was clearly unhappy with the suggestion to the point it took her attention away from Onimitsu.
The other medic had remained separated from Akane and she from Onimitsu. The crimson haired woman showed no dislike or open negativity toward the man but she was acutely aware of his location and body language throughout the trip. In one of the few moments the two had had to interact Akane offered a small smile with her words then disengaged soon after.
But now she was clearly displeased with Amata. But she looked to Yoichi, crossing her arms across her chest. "I have no questions with /your/ orders, Yoichi-san."

"Noted," Yoichi says with a nod to Amata. "Actually, we probably need a solid sample if we're doing that. Capture at least one of each age group, at least one male and at least one female. We can always drag another body along and kill another in the lab if need be." Seems he has no issue of conscience like that that Akane is having. The other two would be given stern glances, the Swordsman simply nodding to each of their responses before looking back ahead.
As they arrive, the ground seems to be shaking already, the natives already stirring and frantic as they seem to be arguing in some unknown tongue throughout the marsh. The ship doesn't come in slowly, using the sand at the beach to come to a halt. As it starts to slow, Yoichi leaps off onto the water's surface, absorbing up a massive amount of water to literally grow into a forty foot monstrosity of muscle while gathering chakra for combat. No mercy today. "Only spare those we need to collect. This is not a mission of mercy. It is purely scientific."

A glance with an arched brow is given to Akane and she is about to say something when it seems Yoichi is not only on her side, he seems to be focused on nothing short of making sure they have the best sampling. She takes a breath before nodding her head and hopping off the ship. Even as she gets on the land, feeling the shaking, she hmms and nods her head, "Alright." She states and nods her head, "Seems we really are low on time." She already is shifting herself in a form of having the power flow through her limbs with her chakra change. Her body stronger and more limber. She already starts ahead with Yoichi and states, "I can tie up whoever we need to." She nods her head, "These samples can truly lead to a lot and we won't get a second chance at collecting samples."

Onimitsu narrows his eye at first at Yoichi, but stayed silent, jaw taut and stressed from holding back now. He failed once and now…
As soon as metal enclosed feet hits the ground, Onimitsu starts to go for the sword at his side, meaning only to use to defend himself solely. A barely perciptable bolt of energy cascades from the hilt, startling the swordsman at first, then reminding him again. The thought is pushed aside as martial artist's serenity enters his mind. The monstrosity of water taht Yoichi became, the energy he could 'feel' coursing through Amata's limb, the natives, the volcano — he took it all in, accepted them for what they were, and focused his mind solely on what would further his goals.

Akane met Yoichi's stern gaze with a hard one all her own. His comment about needing more than Amata suggested made her shake her head. "I believe Meruin ordered us to focus on a tree. Not life forms or he would have sent a larger group to evacuate." She gave Amata a cold look at the raised brow then looked away. "I'm here for my knowledge of plants. And for keeping you guys together." Physicaly anyway.
She landed ont he water next to Yoichi.. for a moment anyway. By the time he reached 40 feet — and she hadn't moved — She was already standing on dry land. it made her bloink up at him with shake of her head. He amused her even when he reacted her off.
Onimitsu's gathering of chakra caused a reflex action in Akane. She gatherred an equal amount, watching him closely before taking up her position behind him and Amata. She wasn't the fighter here… But she was a mini-sensor. She flew through several handseals and sent out a wave of chakra around them, feeling for any real threats….

With a light mist floating out through the area, Yoichi would start to feel out the area to sort information. "And to follow orders," the Swordsman says, cutting his eyes at Akane then looking back ahead. "They're up ahead… I think some of them are worshiping the tree either to ask it to save them or ask for entrance to Heaven or something." With that, he steps in front of the ship, an extra pair of arms growing out of his back to lift up the glass and hoist it on his back. That done, he'd dart out into the marsh to head toward an odd chakra sensation that seems to stand unusually tall and deep into the ground, most likely the tree that is their targets.
Meanwhile barbarians that aren't busy crying or praying start to charge, unleashing spears and other weapons with explosive chakra-fed force at the shinobi. The affected shinobi seem to be rather oddly boosted in muscle and such, veins bulging and even certain parts glowing with chakra breakthrough.
As he races through the marsh, Yoichi reaches back to draw his swords, lightning crackling off them and forming into dozens of lightning whips that he swings forward, attempting to bind and scorch as many of them in his range as possible.

Amata nods at the orders and already is pushing off to follow after Yoichi. She sends her spiders to busy themselves setting up traps and spots to try to capture one or two of these people. She moves along at high speed, her eyes going over the area before her and then suddenly she sees a spear incoming and tries to get out of the way only to have it nearly cause her to stumble to a knee as it goes into her. She growls as the tip of it sticks out of her back and she takes a breath before looking up at the barbarian that through it. She takes a quick breath before she pulls out Nuibari and spins it around once before she focuses. Her spiders suddenly descedn upon the man in an attempt to capture him and she then whips her blade at him to attempt ot send it right into his chest before she pulls it back out, free and then proceeds to try to break the back end of the spear off.

The social tic is noted, but goes ignored by the swordsman. For now, at least. It held no bearing on his goal — the mission. Belated does he give a nod to Amata, noting her intent and his own goal accordingly in mind before taking off to follow Yoichi and Amata. Never faltering in step along the way, even though some of the locals chose to attack with hardly anymore reason except perhaps to blame their arriving as having to do with earth's anger. His eye dilate as adrenaline burns through him, enlightening his senses and providing the boost he needs to weave past the spears at him. Mid-turn he spies Amata, dull emerald lighting up as it occurs to him he left her unprotected. He tries grinding to a halt and altering his course, but he instinct and experience dictate he won't make it. Grudgingly, he corrects his course again, senbon sent flying upon unlatching a hatch from one guantlet and send them flying into the thick of their foes. Some would be wounded, others crippled temporarily from pressure points being stricken as intended.

Akane met Yoichi's gaze evenly when he pointedly told her to Obey Orders, but she didn't seem overly sorry for her attitude. They didn't have time to think about it though as the natives would begin thier attack soon after. Akane felt Yoichi's attack gathering power and halted her movement, keeping an eye on where he was aiming. As soon as she saw that she turned her attention toward another group of them. Then Amata took a spear through her. The medic was tempted to leave the woman be… She frowned then seemed to go cold. A blink and she seemed to disappear tot he natives, reappearing beside and behind the fallen Amata. "Hold still a second."
Assuming the woman would cooperate Akane didn't take any time letting her prepare. She simply cut the tip of the spear off with her sword behind Amata's back. It had to be done either way. Then she swent a diagnostic pulse through her, searching to see if there was any serious damage. Finding something she could fix well enough. "Brace." She didn't give the woman time to think about it before she yanked the shaft out from the front. She'd probably caused quite a bit of pain by jolting the wound breaking off the tip then yanking the shaft free, but she didn't seem to care. She took a breath and placed a hand on the front and a hand on the back and focused her chakra. Hands glowing faintly green she focused on closing the wound, stopping he bleeding. "You'd be smart to make bandages and seal it off—"
And a spear came at the medic. She tried to move out of the way and was lucky enough to avoid an impalement like Amata, but it went through her leather jacket and slashed her left arm. Akane looked at the cut acket and made a little 'che' sound but that was all. She turned her attention toward the native around her and began gathering her chakra and energies in preparation for an attack she was plotting…

A rather large mass of natives are caught by the whips of lightning, some passing out and falling down and even some dying before they hit the ground. Amata's target is bound by her webs, dying rather easily once he's impaled; Onimitsu's managing to avoid his initial strike, but unable to stop before he's got and his body caused to lock up due to the pressure point strike. Still, more of the natives come from the marsh, now even breathing flames onto their spears before flinging them at the incoming shinobi. Not quite full-fledged fire jutsu, but enough to cause some damage if one gets hit.

Charging through the marsh still, Yoichi shows no signs of slowing down. He reaches out, blades actually forming over the Kiba blades to extend out a good twenty feet on each side of him to make massive swipes to take out a large number of the natives at once as he heads toward the tree. It seems the tree itself is still number one priority, making captures second… And, from the glow he can see through the wetland forest, they appear to be getting close.

Another spear crashes into Amata and causes her to wince just after the groan she gave from the previous spear being removed. She tried to move fast but couldn't. She sighs out a breath and then sends more spiders to try and wrap up another target and then Nuibari whips in. The one that hit her though? She attempts to smash her fist into his jaw personally.

'Don't slow down again'
'Keep Moving'
'Follow.. Follow the pulse..'
These thoughts and more floated in mind and reflected in action and eye, only to be nearly undone by a spare finding its mark. His armor and andrenaline fueled twist managed to stave off the worst, but still his armor and abdomen now sported a nice size gash. 'At least their weapons cauterized the wound' He jokes inwardly after having been forced to pause for a moment and catch his breath with a hand clasped over the effected area. Such levity dies in mind as he feels a change for the worst come about. A whisper at first, then a throaty, unmistakeable laugh echoing forth within and to a lesser extent without. Onimitsu thought to hold it off by taking a moment to tend to the wound, but realizes too late that channeling chakra only spurs on the take over.
Hands soaked with a green aura turns a vile violet. So did his eye, and so did his armor too, mending itself as it transformed to accomadate a thirst for power. "Finally! Heheh… Free again… Should put yourself down Oni-geki." Murasaki says in that coarse tone of his. A moment or two more is taken to survey just where his host was, his gaze lingering the longest on Akane, then he refocuses on the natives. He could kill them — wanted to slay them, but the trembling in the ground warned of it being better to turn his attention elsewhere… such as the teamn's original objective. He takes off again, faster than before though remaining mindful enough not to outstrip Yoichi incidentally.

Akane saw the flaming spear comming and tried to move again, but she was apparently having a bad day. The spear stuck into her thigh, making her stumble in her motion. She grit her teeth and yanked the thing from her muscle, then used the still hot tip to close the bleeding, searing the wound before she threw the weapon down. Before it hit the ground she was gone again, using her speed to attempt an attack on the natives, appearing behind and to one side of a wrrior and aiming her hands at specific pressure points, looking to stun the man. Then before she has a chance to see how well it worked she was gone again. She repeated this attempt on another native.
That was when her eyes caught sight of Onimitsu's change in body language. The green aura shifting to purple made her nervous and the way he seemed to be taking stock in his surroundings… She felt his gaze on her and when he took off after Yoichi she hesitated for just a fraction of a second before trying to follow….

Despite his team mates taking a bit of a beating, Yoichi forges ahead. There's no time to play nice and let himself be slowed down. Some of the natives seem to be doing quite well against the shinobi, though their luck does start to turn around toward the end with strikes landing the the guy who struck Amata taking a nice trip through a tree to his doom. Meanwhile, the natives closer to the tree seem to be quite willing to offer soil and rock samples to the Kiri shinobi, so long as they're aimed at their faces with killing intent! While definitely not Earth jutsu experts, they're at least able to grab medium-sized chunks of rock and earth and fling them one after another, some even aiming at the glass on the giant Yoichi's back.
It's not usual that Yoichi decides to work on a new jutsu midcombat, or at least practice one. However, today he's being a bit careful of his surroundings. Thus, he combines a few of his prized jutsu, using his Chakra Shaping abilities along with Hydro Telepathy as he fires a baseball-sized bullet of water from a giant finger to seem to richochet from target to target with intent to kill a huge number around the tree without giving them much chance to fight back.

And then once more Amata is hit and she stumbles to a stop. She can't seem to win at losing today. She actually looks up with a bit of anger in her eyes and suddenly she squints at the people attacking before she actually grins and looks at the lot of them before nodding, "You so insist on dying, huh?" She then grins wider, "Die then!" She makes a few gestures wiht her hands and almost immediately sends out a cloud of pure lightning and static electricity out of her hands and over the attacking natives, repeating it over and over, frying and frying and frying anyone who isnt' quick enough to get out of the area or at least find some way to ground themselves.

Murasaki grins behind the mask. He ran, she followed. If not for the natives turning the very earth against them he would've commented on just as much. "Stupid.. insi—" The rest dies in his throat upon catching one in the chest just as he evaded another. The weight and momentum of the boulder nearly bowls him over. Nearly, but not quite. Metal enclosed feet are dug into the earth, forcing him to slow and then stop all together. In his anger he nearly tosses the boulder back at a group of the natives, but instead chose to cast it aside and draw his blade. A few heart beats later, Murasaki is a living blur. He waited only long enough to guage the others attacks and defenses, longer still to see how Akane faired, then took off running until he was within range. Rather or not he was going out of his way or not mattered little to him. He wanted blood, and was prepared to transforming into a spinning, nearly uncontrolled nightmare of death to dish it out…

Akane's attention was divided. The medic's eyes were a forest green but she showed no other signs of Kyoujin's presence as she usually would. She also was far too focused on Onimitsu. The crimson-haired woman completely missed Amata being hit, and only narrowed her eyes when Onimitsu was nearly bowled over by the stone. She could sense his attention on her again, a hesitation that caught her attention more fiercely until it was too late. The stone that struck her did knock her down, slamming into her side and sending her rolling a few times along the ground. She flinched, her eyes looking not for her attacker but for Onimitsu's location as she came up, obviously favoring one side. She was lucky in that during Onimitsu's mad spin he managed to knick her attacker and thus slowed him down. It made her blink and she forced herself to her feet, aiming a kunai at the natives closer to her and letting loose a strike of lightning each. She kept her lips sealed, breathing through her nose as she dealt with the chaos around her and once again tried to locate Onimitsu…

Having a Swordsman on the team whose specialty is using lightning and water to supplement each other in deadly ways is going to be a help to Akane and Amata today. While it did seem before that Yoichi just wasn't going to assist them much, he now bestows them with something of a gift as he brings his hands into a seal, creating a dense mist throughout the area that amplifies the striking ability and deadliness of the lightning-based attacks they just used, allowing them to annihilate their targets in a much easier fashion for the moment as the bullet of water fells man after man. Meanwhile even Onimitsu, who missed most of his strikes, manages to cut at least one native down in his franticness. The numbers of natives in the area seems to be dwindling, while the earth is beginning to shake harder. "Capture those you can of the groups we listed," he orders out as he steps into stance, setting the giant glass aside momentarily. "Soon as I get this cut out, we've got to go." With that, a pair of enormous blades grow from his arms over the Kiba blades, which he stabs directly into the ground to start cutting out a giant chunk of the soil around the tree to bring the glowing tree up roots and all while he skewers anyone foolish enough to get in his path as what's left of the natives make their last ditch efforts with attacks of all three types, chakra-charged spears, flaming spears, and rocks at the shinobi!

Yoichi has the job and she is to start gathering people as was discussed earlier. She notes attacks coming at her and at Akane and makes a desicion. She slips away from the attacks on her easily enough and then raises up her spiders to cover herself and Akane. One of those spears skewers her again and she winces and groans as she shakes her head, "Enzyme…" She spits up some blood and then shakes her head, "I gotta stop doing this." She gestures out and has her spiders start wrapping up prisoners as she shudders and drops to a knee before looking at Akane, "You stay healthy…so you can heal the rest of us…except for the water golem of course." She glances at Yoichi.

"Capture?! Hah! As..if..
Murasaki groans and starts to sway for a second, his vision growing blurry with every step. In time, he even falls to a knee, holding his head, cursing and muttering until an idea forms. Just a thought, to be exact, but one that seems to 'calm' down whatever seems to be making the man ill. Murasaki hardly has a moment to congratulate himself when he's forced to roll out of the way of a upturned earth shards, and keep on doing so until his feet are back under him. As soon as they are, the man becomes a violet blur, slipping past both spears and boulders as he gradually gained ground on his attackers. By the time he finally stops spinning, the swordsman is within slashing range again… And yet, he disappears again in a burst of pure speed; leaving behind confused, if but momentarily, natives. Too late perhaps would they realize his true goal lay wherever they chose to hide the children. Children he mean to make sure didn't struggle with a few well placed pressure point strikes.

Akane blinked as Amata threw up a spider defense around her. She winced as Amata took the hit intended for her, but the Okumo's words made Akane nod and she took a breath before pushing herself up. Yoichi's order to capture natives makes her freeze momentarily. She managed to appear searching but she was really squirming inside. She saw Onimitsu heading for a location and felt her feet grow even heavier. Her only saving grace was a teenaged boy ran past her away from Yoichi and she did exactly as Onimitsu had. She tried to incapacitate him with pressure points, dropping the inexperienced boy easily enough, though she looked pale afterwards.

After a few moments of extreme carving with blood splattering everywhere, the giant water golem, as Amata says, finally allows his arms to turn back into arms. The ground starts to shake a lot harder while he resheaths his blades then reaches to literally yank the tree, soil, roots, and all up from the ground. The arms on his back lift the glass they're holding up, pulling the bottom off then placing the glass over the tree with the cooperation of the front arms. It's rather lucky someone who's made of water doesn't have to worry about dislocating joints, as that maneuver looks rather painful. Once the tree's inside, he closes the bottom on the glass once more then secures it to his back. A brief glance is cast over his shoulder, eyes narrowing at the growing plumes of smoke from the mountain behind him, bits of mist from his jutsu earlier giving him all the information he needs. "Grab them and move! We're out of time!" he shouts before turning to dart back toward the ship, the situation apparently quite urgent as the last bit of crust holding the eruption back is nearly lost. Soon the only remains of this just-beginning civilization will be locked in a cage in Kirigakure.

Wincing as she snaps the spear off herself this time, Amata pulls it free through her own back and growls as she does before she stands up and gestures with an angry movement of her hands and spiders begin dragging bodies, living or dead toward the boat as she limps back toward it at a healthy clip, shaking her head as she goes, "Soluble island." She states and moves along as fast as she can to escape the island that will soon be covered in nothing but lava.

The fought him, fled from him, yelled at him, pleaded to him! And yet, their words fell on death ears. He took them from crying their tearful mothers; some of which tried to fight him as well, only to be given a nigh instantaneous end by his blade. Another fragment added to the prison that was the blade in hand. With an eye a dull, chaotic mesh of greens and violet, the same treatment is repeated until at last he's left with at least two under each arm. One of which continued to try and kick and squirm its way to freedom, only to find his hold and armor unyielding. Between the spears, the rumbling earth, and the occasional fissure it is a miracle he makes it back to the boat at all. Albeit by then it would seem that at least two of his charges were dead or knocking on deaths door based on the amount of blood covering them.
Those still alive would be situated with Amata's other prisoners. The others? If he can (but no doubt would not succeed fully), he'd keep them elsewhere and stay with them. If or when caught later, his curt response would be that he intended to try and preserve the samples personal. The truth was far from it. With such in mind and said when needed, Onimitsu — the swordsman would spare none further mind, and pointedly go to great lengths to be left alone…

Akane heard Yoichi's voice and closed her eyes for a moment, opening them again a moment later. The color was a bit darker. She set her jaw and scooped the boy up in her arms. "It would be better for you if I killed you…" Her ribs throbbing she turned and headed for the ship, keeping an eye on Amata and then looking to where Onimitsu was. She spotted him carrying four kids and the lok on her face showed pain briefly… She turned, carrying the boy and ran at her top speed, ignoring the ribs that had been rebroken. Despite her pain and the load she moves so fast she leaves behind an afterimage tot he ininitiated. Once ont he boat she set the boy down at Amata's feet. The expression on her face is so foreign to both Akane and Kyoujin's personalitiies it might stick out. She looked devoid of most feeling, though there was a spark of hatred in those eyes that was well embedded. She looked toward Onimitsu as he tried to disappear and that look grew by degrees. She coughed up a bit of blood and still looked like she was wanting to go after Onimitsu… The woman actually growled under her breath and turned to help Amata, reaching out toward her and channeling her medical ninjutsu through her hands…. She worked silently but distractedly, glancing toward where Oni disappeared into several times.

Back at the ship, Yoichi loads the tree's container on the deck and quickly straps it down to be secure for the journey. He then peers back, eyeing the volcano carefully and sighing a bit… This is gonna suck, but he has to make sure the team gets out. "MOVE IT!" he shouts, giving the team enough time to get on board with the captives before he literally shoves the ship into motion for the man at the helm to steer it away in a hurry. As pushes it, the last bit of protection for the island finally breaks, and lava begins to pour into the air and fall down like a deadly flood to destroy everything in its path. Stepping out onto the water, Yoichi starts absorbing more and more water, standing far taller than even before as he watches lava racing straight toward him. As his body grows more and more, he pushes chakra into the front part of this colossal form, creating a tougher shell that holds for several moments as the molten liquid crashes against him. His body shakes a bit as the heat grows more and more intense with each moment against that shell, low growls of pain escaping his lips as he clenches his fists. Still, he holds that form to create a clear path until the ship is finally far enough out in the sea to be out of the range of the lava…. and then he would vaporize.

A look at the display and Amata stares for a moment. She had used all her speedavailable and all the spiders speed to get back on the ship and get things moving. She looks at the vaporizing form of YOichi and tilts her head before she hmms and settles into her spot before saying, "I do hope he didn't die." She states, "I am not going to retrieve Kiba from that."

The ship was made for speed, so it may not have a hold. If so, the swordsman would set-up shop at the next best thing, blinding himself of everything else except for what he had in mind. His side still ached from the damage wrought by one of the natives and worsened further by the kicker. Hubris nearly drove him to ignore it for the time, but he thought better and only delayed long enough to make sure the children were secured before treating himself fully. "Should've flew.." He murmured underbreath before a pained groan exits his lips.
Two things afterwards quickly become clear to him. The first and most obvious being a great shadow consuming the boat. Seeing the source, or feeling it through his sensitivity to chakra left Onimitsu breatheless for a moment. The sheer mind-boggling scope of it all…
He could've sat there marveling well until Yoichi's titanic form seems to be consumed completely by the lava had the sword trembling in its sheath not brought him back to earth. The feeling persists until he recongizes it for what it was and gripped the hilt firmly to finally calm it. The light in his eye dims again as he returned to his work. First and foremost, he needed to make sure 'she' stayed away. An easier task said than done, though he would manage to the best of his abilities while treating his patients. Two at most could be spared from what the Okumo had in store for them. With such in mind, Onimitsu did as much as he could to erase them from being viable. He secreted the two, drugged to the point that their chakra signatures would be virtually non-existent, and kept discrete watch.

Akane watched where Onimitsu had disappeared into closely, visibly uncomfortable. She looked over to the boy she'd incapacitated, knowing quite well he would be stirring soon… Yet she left him and wrapped her arms around herself and her ribs. Yoichi's display of protection caught her attention then and distracted her as he burst into vapor she was torn between Onimitsu and Yoichi. She did her best to calm down and sent out a wave of medical chakra searching for Yoichi's presence and for any information she can gather about Oni's presence…. She looked back at Amata then to the boy ont he deck then back toward where Yoichi should be still holding her side. That glint of hatred hasn't left her eyes.

A few more long moments go by where one might think Yoichi gave the ultimate sacrifice to save his teammates… But, oh wait, Yoichi's a jerk… a jerk made of water. With a splashing sound of something at least the size of a dolphin or a shark leaving the water, the Swordsman would bound from the ocean's surface onto the deck of the ship between Akane and Amata. "Sorry to disappoint anyone who was hopeful to get these swords next. I'm far too hateful to die," his voice rings out flatly. He then looks around at all the team, saying, "Good work today… But, if any of you are planning on trying to hide any of the captives, remember that they are the property of the Mizukage now. It is up to him to decide what to do with them once we've arrived. I /am/ going to get a head count and look the entire ship over with my sensory abilities, which go well beyond just chakra sense for those who don't know. If you're hiding something, reveal it now, and I'll let it slide. Let me /find/ that you're hiding it, and you'll find out just what it feels like when I don't hold back on you like I do when I let you gang up on me in the open challenges I give." With that, he waits while bits of mist begin to pour out from his body onto the deck of the ship, starting to go down into the holds and such. Of course, this is mainly aimed at Akane and Onimitsu since Amata was fine with the arrangement.

If Yoichi was expecting surprise or a celebration for his return, Onimitsu at least offers no such thing. He had been waiting, more or less, to see just how prepared he was to keep his charges safe. Yoichi's statement of fact and threat all rolled into one only re-affirmed his resolve. Guilt weighed heavily on mind and heart, but not from anything regarding the mission. He couldn't fail again… He wouldn't…
His hands shook at his side before being clenched tightly as he rose up. One parting glance is given to Akane. An unspoken warning not to interfer as she did in the past. If he failed, then only she would be left that cared even the slightest about their guest. "Four are in my charge, and so they shall remain. If must carry them to safe harbor because those this /ship/ is now beholden to slavers than so be it. But I will not regard their lives as little more than the playthings of another."

Akane jumped — yes actually jumped — when Yoichi came up between her and Amata. It startled her enough that she put her hand over her mouth and leaned back on the railing as she realized who it was and what had happened. His words didn't seem to have much effect on her until he mentioned that the prisoners were property of the Mizukage. She showed a little bit of relief but that hard edged hatred seemed to be a part of her at this point. Her nerves were frayed and though her eyes were very close to emerald she wasn't aggressive as Kyoujin would be.
As Yoichi basically threatened them she just scowled darkly and pointed toward he boy on the deck who was by this point starting to stir. She bit her blood marked lip hard but her expression basically told him 'there you are, its not on me if he gets away.' The mist forming around her made her nervous too and she finally just sank to the deck, silent, angry and trying to heal herself poorly.
Onimitsu's reappearance made her head snap up, attention locked on the other medic. The chakra she'd been using to try healing herself slipped and she looked ready to jump to her feet at any second. The words from Oni got a confused expression but his warning glance at her brought her up on her knees, watching.

"So they shall remain, huh?" Yoichi asks, turning to face Onimitsu with as hard a look as ever. "Just who do you think you're talking to? You think just because I was merciful in sparring you that I vanished, and you count that as some kind of victory in your little brain, that I'll actually put up with insubordination? Let me explain something to you. I don't make friends, and I don't care about your feelings. Anything that is on this ship from the moment we set until the moment we get back to Kirigakure is in /my/ charge. You are just lucky enough to be along for the ride. If you think you can make it any different, pick up your sword, and I'll show you what happens when I don't hold back like I'm fighting a mewling child."

Rage built to the surface and reflected in his eye. Violet began to push away the rest, but the sheer force of will, Onimitsu held Murasaki back. He could not, nor would he slip up once more. For an extensive moment, Onimitsu does not say anything at all. He simply stares coldly at Yoichi for an extended moment before turning his attention to the sea. "… Allow this one then to rid thou of one needless burden then." With that said, Onimitsu would step up to the edge of the boat and step off if not stop. His armor shifts in flight, transforming from violet to crimson before wings pop out, granting him flight. "Does thou have a problem with this one return ahead?" He asks flatly.

Akane was on her feet, eyes locked on the two men, fidgeting as Yoichi stepped up and tried to force Onimitsu to back down about the children in his care. She Stepped forward, hesitated, watched Onimitsu closely. When he stepped up to the edge of the rail and Akane froze for the second time that day, watching with wide eyes, thinking Oni was doing something drastic. Well it was drastic but not in the way she thought. Her eyes flicked to Yoichi, wondering what he would do next….

Yoichi doesn't flinch or falter in the least, expression as stern as ever as Onimitsu seems to stew a bit. As the Medic-nin moves to the edge of the boat, he simply nods and waves a hand. "… You are dismissed," he says simply, neither faltering nor apologizing, and this is one of those moments where one truly sees that Yoichi is what he says he is. Despite years of living in darkness and being experimented on himself, he has no sorrow or sympathy for this situation. He's either accomplished killing all emotion, or he's got it buried down extremely EXTREMELY deep.

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