Starring:
Ryoji, Hiei, Hiroyasu, Ogosokamaru
Date: March 31, 2013
Summary:
Just as promised, Ryoji has hired a team of Kumogakure shinobi to help escort a parcel to an old friend within the Land of Lightning. Things rapidly spin out of control when the way is blocked by the unexpected, and the most foul.
"The Fast, The Brave, and The Foul"
A Random Mountain Path
Jagged Narrow Path [Land of Lightning]
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The narrow path continues up the mountain for some distance, sharp rocks and narrow paths up steep slopes, all dangerous. The distant roar of water can be heard as one of the few waterflows in the area is nearby. To the west, the dangerous trail continues downwards into the distance, boulders and the side of the mountain concealing its exit.
To the north, the path continues upwards, on and on towards the distant peak of the mountain. It is not quite as dangerous as before, and is nothing more than a steep and narrow path, actually covered with dirt and not rocks.
To the east of that trail, the sound of rushing water can be heard, and faint mist is floating down the trail from that direction. It is an easy walk in that direction, it is very rare because it is level, no longer an upward climb. In that direction lies another mountain, the peak rising up just short of the one to the north.
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While it might have been simpler to simply send a message out by carrier shinobi, both Hiroyasu and Hiei’s presence was requested at the
The missive sent out to both Hiroyasu and Hiei the day before was rather simple and straight-forward. Their presence was requested at the Village Gate promptly at nine a.m sharp, and that further details regarding their purpose there would be provided upon arrival by their client. Included within these missives was also a brief description of said client (Ryoji) and a recommendation to pack only light supplies for the mission. Once the two of them arrive however, they would note a heavily cloaked individual shadowing the wanderer's movements close by, and a rather plump, dark-haired and grey-eyed individual, sweating profusely and scanning the area.
"Relax Doku-san. You know I always come through," Ryoji emitted, giving portly fellow a few pats to the shoulder. Ryoji is a bit rough however, thus the reason behind Doku coughing up a storm soon after. "B-b-but Wakahisa-senpai.." The Iga simply beamed down at Doku, prompting a heavy sigh from the exasperated individual. The smile starts to fade a little as Ryoji’s attention is drawn to the overcast sky above. “Hnn… An auspicious start.”
Hiei is actually five minutes early. His father always told him that if he was five mintues early then he was on time, if he's on time then he's already late. He stands at the designated meeting place with a stoic expression on his face. His arms are crossed over his chest and a black hooded cloak is draped over his form. A backpack is visibly seen slung over his shoulders.
When Ryoji and his group arrive, he offers them all a respectful bow and a greeting. "Mister Ryoji." The dark skinned Yotsuki clansman normally didn't speak much, and even then only when it was necessary. Now, he waits for the details of the mission to be revealed. On the inside he is excited, but it's not hard to tell that he's trying to be all cool on the outside and what he believes to be 'professional'.
Hiroyasu, dressed in a rain cloak, idly waits by the Village gate leaning against the wall checking his belt pouches for the seventh or eighth time. The green orbs peer upwards at the heavy cloud cover with the hefty wind. A deep inhale passes his nostrils; the cool damp moisture fills his lung with the earthy vapor. The arrival of the two, draws his attention and he bristles up staunchly, trying to seem casual but professional. He moves to the side of Genin whom greets them first, "Greetings Mister Ryoji" he says and bowed longer than might normally. He can't gather himself internally as he might normally. Excitement and nerves filling the pit of his stomach.
Ryoji frowned and half-turned to its source: Hiei. After an extended moment of silence on his part, the smile returns as a shadow of its former self. "Ohayo Hiei-kun~ A lovely day this be, yah?" The wanderer asked, nodding his head enthusiastically. He pauses a second time as a new voice breaks in. He is however quick to recover. Sorta.
"Eh? Oh, Aaaah, of course they'd send another just in case. Heh, politics 'nd their trouble." Ryoji rolled his eyes. "… Still, nothing to do about that and the waste of a bit more cre-" "Ho-ho-hold on Wakahisa-san! Now there's two of'em!? I-I thought you s-said that-" Doku stops short, starting as a result of cloak individual taking a step closer. A sigh escapes Ryoji's lips before he turned away to face the village gateway. "Todo-sama will understand Doku. Now please, hand it over." Doku's whole face becomes scrunched up in frustration; but after a brief moment of hesitation a knapsack barely is offered up for Ryoji to grab.
"Arigatou, Doku-san~ And no worries friend. If Todo-gack! What was that about Shun?" The cloaked one simply turns the hand used to jab at Ryoji's ribs upon still patiently waiting. Then back to the Iga's noggin with an even harder poke. "Ow!… Aaaaah, right. I did request that too didn't I? Heh, my bad Shun-kohai~" Shun's only response is a faint shake of the head before she turns about and starts half-leading and half-dragging Doku away despite protest.
"*cough*… So, uhm This will be a delivery mishun! Any questions?" He asks, woefully unaware of the finer details he left out just now.
Hiei watches the exchange between Ryoji and his companions with a slight look of confusion on his face. He pulls the hood of his cloak back to expose his face and ice blue eyes regards the elder man for a long moment. "I understand, but I do have questions. For example, Ryoji-sama, where are we to deliver the..um..package? And will we need to worry about someone attempting to interrupt it? Your..friend seems more than a little nervous about their being two of us." Hiei didn't mind that he was assigned a partner for this one, maybe sometime later another would be assigned with him and they'd finally have a full group.
Seeing that his greeting was met unfavorably, Hiroyasu takes a step backwards while bowing his head. Instead of standing next to his teammate, he now stands slightly behind and to the side. In the back of his mind, he is repeating the phrase 'stupid stupid' over and over. He listens intently as the more familiar members address each other content to stand in silence, a mission is a mission.
"Hm?… Sodad, right. *headscratches* The contents of this knapsack must reach a lodge on the outskirts of a village. Hmm.. can't quite remember the name of it though, BUT I do remember it's a little to the southwest from here and about half a day's walk." He explained, though near his shoulders began to sag as another thought belatedly occurred to him.
"Shorter it'd be if we could do that little ninja trick with the running, but we can't risk the contents of this package being shaken up to soon and too." He added as he pulled it up rather carelessly. It is at this point he finally takes notice of Hiroyasu's change in demeanor, and bothered to keep an eye on the as he continued. "All of that aside, there ain't much else to add truth be told. No one in particular is after this per say, but don't mean there won't be issues along the road that'd make it problematic to try and deliver with just one person. Heck, even two was a bit of a gamble, but… *headshakes*.. Nevermind. If you two are ready then let's move out." Without even waiting for an answer, Ryoji slings the knapsack over his shoulder and starts moving right on out, commenting in passing, "And try to stay loose about this you two, or you'll end up cramping up and failing this little job."
Hiei frowns a little at the lack of information, but a mission is a mission. He nods once to Ryoji. "Hai." When the man moves to leave, he looks over at Hiro and pats him on the shoulder gently, nodding towards Ryoji's retreating back. Then he begins to walk forwards as well, easily keeping up with the man. "Let's hope it doesn't rain during the trip." However, he does try to reassure the client. "The two of us will be enough, Ryoji-sama. We may be young, but we are fully trained." Though inexperienced, but that sort of went without saying. However, shinobi have to start somewhere, don't they?
Hiroyasu, taking a moment to pull the hood of his cloak up responds to the comment about staying loose "Hai Ryoji-sama", begins moving forward with his teammate and their client. Having not been on an official mission before, it does strike him odd at the lack of information, and the rather ominous sentences whose subjects ended abruptly with a never mind.
An hour of chatter, an hour of silence, or perhaps some type of combination of the two. Regardless of how the next hour and half is spent, Ryoji remained mostly silent and only really attentive to the road itself after responding to Hiei's attempt at reassurance. A good attempt but a little hollow given what all three knew was being left out: the inexperience factor. "Training with a safety can only go so far."
The conclusion of their walk - while not the end of their journey just yet - is one in which the trio now face a literal crossroads. With the exception of the path that led farthest to the north, the two remaining paths would both lead them eventually southward according to the idle comment the Iga emitted as he meandered around in a circle. One however meant traveling down a rather steep incline just barely wide enough for a wagon and a person to travel down side-by-side. The dirt and stone composing the path was also well worn, denoting plenty of traffic as well. Which overall is good enough for the trio… except it also meant taking the long way.
The other path meant doing nearly the exact opposite for a few minutes, but would eventually even out into a shortcut along a ridge barely large enough for a grown man to walk down without needing to hug the cliff wall to do so. Decisions, Decisions…
"Ah well, My personal preferences aside… which path would you two rather take?" Ryoji asked after breaking his pacing to look upon the duo curiously. "And don't bother asking about my own preferences. So long as the weather holds as well as our luck, will make it in time, heheh, Or so I hope."
Hiei reaches up to lower his hood as he looked down the paths. Apparently Ryoji was going to leave it up to him to decide which way they would go. After giving it some thought, the young Genin made a decision. "One path, while quicker and would cut time off our journey, is a little more dangerous. However, the other, while relatively safer, would take a bit longer, and it would be the most likely place for an ambush, being that it's a well-traveled route. However, we also have to take into account that Hiroyasu and I are responsible for the safety of our client." He turns to his partner. "What do you think? I'm leaning towards the more well-traveled route. At least that way we would be in a better position to defend the package should there be an ambush. On the other route, it would be difficult to maneuver in a fight being it's so narrow."
Hiroyasu takes a moment to survey the choices, "I agree with that assessment, the narrow path also means that there is a limited number of avenues for attack, anticipation and proper assessment of risk could put an enemy at the disadvantage." he says pressing his glasses higher on his nose. "Incliment weather would make both difficult, worn paths are more slick than the rough one. I will defer it to your decision, Hiei" pulling the hood from his head and gauging the response from both their client and his new teammate.
Hiei gives it a little more thought before turning to Ryoji. "We'll take the shorter path. It's less traveled and most wouldn't go that way because of the danger factor. We'll move carefully and keep an eye out for trouble." Taking the initiative, he glances up at the sky for a moment before pulling his hood back onto his head and heading in that direction. "Let's go. We have a schedule to keep."
Hiroyasu wrinkles his nose for a moment, "animal traces, do you smell that?" before looking around for the source but is unable detect any visible traces. "But I don't see the source, it may be further up can you see it Hiei" he asks.
"You lot are taken this a lot more seriously than I thought." Ryoji deadpanned after watching the buck get passed to and fro. If he had to be honest though their actions did make him feel a little proud for a moment. "Ah well, t'is what it is I suppose," He emitted with a shrug before follow along after Hiei Or Hiroyasu should he decide to make his move first.
The going is rough no matter who is what position. The path is ragged, the rocks buried in the path are not as rigidly in place as first notice, and the wind just doesn't seem to want anyone to climb without feeling like needing to push through a one-way door with a bunch of random light-weight objects behind it. Even upon reaching the point where the path begins to level out, the wind barely begins to relent for another few minutes. In the meantime the trio would just have to bear and grin it.
"Hm? *sniffles*… Hmm, should've expected that much.." He comments, but refrains from saying more if prompted. The opportunity to test these unlucky genin further was just too easy to pass up. "Mmm.. wonder if its worthwhile to proceed.."
Hiei pauses and stops walking for a moment. He nods to Hiro when he mentions the smell and after a moment his hand snakes out from underneath his cloak and makes a grab at the air in front of him. He rubs something between his fingers and then offers it to Hiroyasu. "I smell it. I also noticed that there is fur on the wind." Which is what he would have handed to the medical ninja for analysis. "I also hear a faint snoring sound up ahead. I suspect that it's a sleeping animal of some sort. Though if it's sleeping in this wind, we should be able to pass as long as we are quiet and careful. Backtracking now would add significant time to our journey."
It was too good to pass up. Ogosokamaru had requested he be able to follow up on the two-genin team that were out on mission. Little did he know who the client was. As things go, the Reizei Jounin had caught up with them in basically no time flat, and now he was just out of smelling distance. Easy enough with this wind. Stay 45 degrees down/side wind, in a tree, a good ways away, and wait for them to move. Now, with such wind, smelling was shorter than sight or hearing, but again, wind, hearing, not so much. So sight was strongest. And Ogo was attempting to stay right out of it from the three young- Wait a tic… who's that other guy? Probably client. Red hair? Maybe could be… Ogo steps out of the foliage, listens for as long as he can to them before they notice him.
"Hnn, lead the way then 'o fearless leader~", Ryoji singsonged and fist pumped the air; only to immediately regret it and hunch up thanks to wind cutting through him. As soon as their off and in the much more ninja acceptable mode called "Tippity toe, Nice and Slow" the trio would proceed in silence. As they proceed around a bend along the path the snoring begins to grow louder, the scent thicker, and the amount of fur flying starts increases to the point that for seconds at a time, their vision (barring Ryoji's ~.~) becomes obscured by thick carpets of the stuff. Followed by moments of just having to deal with the obnoxious sound of the sleeping beast ahead.
Hiei — being in the lead — would be the first to spot the source of the disturbance. But -what- it is exactly is difficult to tell. Its body was gigantic enough to block up the path (ruling out sneaking past without a bit more effort), its fur was thick, darkening from white to grey in places, and its behind was apparently towards them. A fact the trio is presented with upon smelling the not so silent, and most certainly dangerous wave of gas that hit with about as much force as the wind when they first began to climb.
"Dear Kami in the heavens.." Ryoji falls to his knees, hacking and coughing with eyes watering from the burning sensation. "Can… taste… it… coughcough..oh kami…"
Hiroyasu, covering his mouth to keep the fur and smell out with his elbow, "Are we sure it isn't already dead, smells like it's been baking in the sun for weeks." he mutters into the sleeves. That is before their client is assaulted by a evil humor, He manages to keep a straight face and his composure but the watering in his eye is twofold because he can't stop laughing on the inside.
Hiei keeps the part of his cloak that is not being assaulted by the wind up, covering his mouth and nose. When the smell hits, it makes his own eyes water as well. "What the heck has that thing been eating!?" He takes a few quiet steps forwards and comments, "It's still sleeping, but we're not going to be able to get around it. We're going to have to find another way of getting through!" He pauses for a few moments before asking. "What /is/ it anyway? I've never seen an animal like this."
"What your smelling is Shiroko-chan's finest!" From above, below, behind, or ahead. No matter where the look or hard they tried, there is just no pinpointing the sound of the voice that seemed to come from everywhere at once. Ryoji did not bother searching for the source, knowing from experience that following instinct would only stroke the ego of whatever man or beast had spoken; presumably if said creature bore one. It also didn't hurt that the pain he felt from the fart kept him from doing little more than remain hunched over and subtle try to draw fresh air into his body.
"And by /it/, you should start referring to /her/ as /she/ or her name. Though I'll forgive you if you prostate yourself before the strongest, no, the greatest of the Yaga-Oni in the Land!" With every word uttered the direction of the voice became more noticeable, along with the subtle sound of rocks being chipped away. If anyone was to turn back down the path they would find someone actually separating themselves from the cliff wall with dust and rock falling by the droves away from their form.
Was there a hidden tunnel back the way they came?
"Oi! Did you not here what I just said? Bow before Shiroko-chan-" The figure turned to face them as the last of the debris falls away; revealing in the wake of it all a powerful built man with grey hair slicked back and pulled into a pony tail, a sharp goatee, and dressed in only a pair of dark brown pants and shinobi sandals. "-and beg for forgiveness. Then, I want you to hand over the tonic if you would be so kind."
Hiei frowns underneath the hooded cloak. "Goat Ogre?" Then as it becomes possible to pinpoint the disembodied voice a little better, he turns back to face the man that appeared out of the rock wall. He silently curses himself for not picking up on the technique. Then he immediately puts that feeling behind him as he glances over at Ryoji briefly at the mention of a tonic. However, he returns his attention to Shiroko. His voice is calm and strong. "I'm afraid that won't be possible." He keeps his body relaxed, though any shinobi could tell that by his stance, he's ready to move. The situation was going to be troublesome. "And I take it there is no possibility of you just allowing us to pass?"
Hiroyasu lowers his sleeve from his mouth and nose, now was not the time to be in a compromising stance. "I have to agree, that is not a possible outcome of this situation", he keeps a firm stare on the Goat Ogre as his team has the other target in his site. "any idea's Hiei?" he asks quietly over his shoulder. Before giving Ryoji a once over, the lack of information was worth being suspicious over after all.
The man kept his eyes trained on them and noted any changes that would give away an attempt at the "Strike first, Talk Later" method. Then tsk and shook his head. "Taka-san was quite clear that Shiroko-chan wouldn't get better without that tonic." He stated bluntly and extended a hand. "Last chance Geki, because I would hate to get rough with a bunch of ki——"
"-Kids? How classic." Ryoji interjected as he rose up and turned to face the newcomers general direction. "Classic to a T like a certain someone I know, but not the same." Once those words leave the Iga's mouth, he turned to meander closer to the edge; leaving only a centimeter at most separating his toes from the precipice. "Mah, s'pose it matters little though so Hiei-kun, Hiroyasu-kun. Although it'd grieve me to lose this little thing so soon." He says as he raised the knapsack at his side without glancing away from the horizon. "Kumogakure was paid in full for this already, so why not leave this to goat-man extreme there?”
Hiei glances over at Ryoji as if he has indeed lost his mind..well..more so than normal. "No. The mission comes first. Once the mission becomes impossible to complete, then the safety of the client and the team is taken into consideration. At this point, the mission is not lost." He turns back towards the man. "He is only an obstacle. They can be removed." He shoves his cloak over his shoulders and places his hand by his belt, fingertips brushing along the handle of a kunai knife. "Hiroyasu. Keep an eye on our client and the Goat-Ogre." He then says louder towards the man. "I will warn you only once, sir. Do not underestimate us."
Hiroyasu, nods in response to his partners request, "Consider it done Hiei." he says before in a lower tone "It does beg the question how they would know the route chosen and the courier, and the parcels contents. A curious combination of coincidences." as his hand reaches down to palm the hilt of a kunai knife, his other hand reaching into one of belt pouches,
"Tch! So much for warnings." The man stated, cracking his knuckles and roiling his neck in preparation. "And for the record it wasn't coincidences, just a bit of strategy and determination ya runts. 'nd pretty soon yer gonna see experience in action too." And on that note, the man flashes through a set of hand signs and stomps his foot; instantly causing the earth to rise as a linear wave of rock spires. From those very same spires, an earth clone rapidly forms and lunges at Hiroyasu.
During this confusion, the man responsible for all the trouble sinks into the ground.
Unconcerned despite how close the spikes came striking him as well, Ryoji simply inclined his head and smiled softly, muttering, "It's soaked that deeply huh?"
Hiei was ready for an attack. He attempts to move and it looks like he is stuck by spikes. His body lays face first on the ground and then disappears in a puff of smoke to be replaced by a piece of wood with spikes sticking out of it. Since the man sunk back into the ground, Hiei deals with the immediate threat. The earth clone that attacked Hiroyasu. He reappears in midair and then spins as he falls towards the clone. He kicks out a leg and aims it for its back. If there was anything Hiei was confident about, it was his taijutsu.
Hiroyasu was ready to defend with a barrier seal with a quick secession of hand seals and a barrier tag, which the attack slams into only being mineral inconvenienced by before hitting the young genin with a rather significant force. He wipes the blood from his mouth, before throwing the Kunai knife that he had palmed in preparation.
Neither blade nor flesh and bone can penetrate the thick hide of the Earth Clone. Heck, it doesn't even so much as flinch under the force of the latter. Although in the case of the former, it still mimicked its master’s natural reaction being to cover the face and eyes. "Greenin. Hardly worth even use this technique on." The clone states gruffly, and then turned its gaze upon the still 'distracted' client. "But an obstacle for us."
There is no warning for Hiei. Just seconds to decide rather or not he can move out of the way of the clones attempt to back fist as it spun about. Without missing a beat, the clone then flashed through a short set of hand seals before pointing out its index finer to Hiroyasu.
"Bang."
The extended finger flies off. Then is replaced by another that does the same. And another.
He was a blur. Off to one side, and up on top of something somewhere. Oh yeah, he also grabbed the back of Hiei and Hiyorasu's collars when he passed them at a blazing speed. And, it might feel like someone just put them on a coat rack while still in their coats. The dust might settle, and Ogo's clothing flutters in the wake of his own wind he pulled behind himself. "You two. One simple mission. I asked for seasoned Genin. Not 'graduates'." 'Graduate' as in he didn't even call them genin, but merely 'completers of the academy'.
"Yotsuki Hiei and Katayama Hiroyasu. Welcome to my first team." And, he just lets go, looking at their predicament. "So, why aren't you done yet?" Condescending. My Ogo's changed, at least Ryoji would be able to tell he's changed. A lot.
Hiei had a plan. He was going to dodge the attack and then counterattack with a technique that his instructor at academy taught him. But it didn't work out that way. He felt a huge tug and now he is standing about twenty feet away from his opponent. He blinks and looks up at the older man. After listening to him, his blue eyes widen. "O..oh. Wow." As he is lectured, sort of, he frowns slightly and answers the man's last direct question. "Because you removed me from the opponent." He adds quickly. "Sensei." But Hiei wasn't done. At least not yet. He takes a step forward. "I am long from being done yet." He goes through a series of hand seals before slaming his palms together. "Ninja Art: Lightning Needles!" Small bolts of lightning form around Hiei's body and then flies on course for the earth clone.
Hiroyasu after being released by the collar, attempts to regain his footing before pulling another Kunai knife from his belt and throwing it towards the Clone. "Please forgive our deficiencies Sensei." he adds in an apologetic tone.
"Nani?" The clone emits, eyes narrowed as it searched for its target. The goatman in hiding also searches, equally confused as well over how the genin managed to disappear. A tremor warns the duo, and In unison both clone and man turn in the interlopers general direction. It is the former of which that has direct view, and with eyes wide with surprise, it recognizes the Reizei. "No, not no — " The rest dies in its throat, for during the time it takes its 'mind' to free itself from awe, Hiei struck fast with lightning needles. Instinctively the clone raises its arms to, hoping without real hope that its toughness would be enough to endure the bolts. By the time the resulting dust cloud clears, the clone is missing an arm and hunched over as if fatigued. "K-kuso…" It falls to its knees and hand, head bowed in defeat.
"…. Not yet…."
Hands, feet, and heads gnaw and bite their way to the surface like zombies rising from the crypt. Unrecognizable from the atypical golem until the natural henge that usually overtakes all clones resulted in Eight Copies of the Goat-Man in all. They do not threaten. They do not plead. They only hesitate for a moment upon fully forming, and then charge the trio within the same instance the first rain drop hits the ground…
Seven in total concentrate on Ogo alone, hoping to pummel the Reizei into a bloody mess before he has a chance to tap into his Kekkei Genkai. The eighth targets Hiroyasu. And the one who lost its arm before tries to get revenge during the confusion.
"Mmmmm… ! Hm?!" Ryoji, startled by the feeling of rain upon his nose, glances up heavenward in confusion… Then spins about upon hearing the sound of a small army trying to fight upon such a narrow path. "… Ehehe.. I should intervene but — *eye narrows*… That scent…no illusion?"
The clones come after Ogo, and right out his weapon is out, and a huge arcing slash towards all of them in an effort to drive them back. A moment later, his weapon is in the ground in front of him as they once again come after him and just about envelope him, and lightning crackles from his hands to his weapon through the blade and through the ground into all of the clones around him.
Hiei watches Ogosokamaru work. He'd never seen anything like it before, and perhaps that's why when the one armed clone came to take it's revenge, the young Genin wasn't as alert as he should have been. He lifts his left forearm up to block the blow, but it slides past his defense and he is punched in the jaw. He spins around in a circle from the force of it, but uses his momentum to deliver a counterattack of his own. He ducks low on his return and aims a palm strike at the clone's torso.
Hiroyasu raises a paper tag, forming a temporary bastion of chakra which deflects the strike before the paper tag burns into ash. With a spin of the Kunai knife in his hand he attempts a garden-variety slash towards the Earth Clone.
Sightless though those sea-green eyes were, Ryoji other senses were more than enough to read just how badly the situation had deteriorated. Five clones were lucky more that their reflexes saved them from the fate two of their brothers had suffered: destruction by electrocution. And after a brief look at one another, they all set their sights back on the Jounin and nodded in unison. As one, they each formed a hand sign and stomped the ground. Reshaping the very path to better help their numbers, but also as an attempt to shake up all of their earth bound opponents at once. Afterwards the each summoned a pair of stone kunai and launched them at Ogo.
The clones paired with the greenins on the other hand shrugged the punch and slash from their respective opponent with barely a chunk of rock falling away as a result. The more satisfied of the last pair (i.e the one that struck Hiei) started firing finger bullets like before. The latter followed its younger brother example by spawning a pair of kunai and trying to lacarate the unfortunate medic-nin with a wild flurry of attacks.
It's quite simple for Ogo to leap up while the quake happens, and when he lands, the kunai thrown at him are all deftly evaded with ease. It's almost like he isn't even trying! In return, Ogo reaches down, and picks up a couple Big’o rocks, and flings them at the group of clones coming at him!
Hiei was caught with his pants down and got banged for it…so to speak. When the earth quake happened, he leaps into the air, executing a series of flips so that he avoids the quake, but when the fingers come flying, he scrambles to put the replacement dummy in place, but he doesn't have enough time and his upper shoulder and thigh are impacted from the attack. Blood oozes from the wounds as he wipes away blood from his mouth that the shot to the jaw caused earlier. There is anger on the face of the young Yotsuki clansman. "I am ending this…" He fingers go through the seals before he plants his palms together. "Ninja Art: Lightning Needles." They are aimed at the clone that has been the bane of his existence in this battle.
Hiroyasu follows in kind to his teammates except where they excel, he does not in dodging the rolling vibrations of the disturbed earth and rock. Finding him impaled by a Kunai knife which seats itself very nicely in his tender flesh before zipping right by out again leaving an oozing trail of blood staining his shirt. "Ooww" is all he can manage to get out from the pain; he should have paid more attention in school.
Just Four Clones Left. Perhaps easy enough pickings for Ogosokamaru on a good day. But between the rain beginning to picking up and making the ground looser, two injured genin — the worst of which ironically being the medic —, the actual enemy still being hidden, and a giant GOAT blocking the only way to advance… well, in a nutshell, today is not exactly the best.
"No, nonono, nonononono, I, Ryoji, in the name of your highness demand that you cease and di — " Threaten, Plead, and Prayer all fall on death ears unfortunately, for in being that one step to close to the edge of the Cliffside, Ryoji fell with only a sliver of rock and a bit of chakra keeping him glued to the Cliffside, but at the price of being unable to keep the knapsack's top from opening. Gravity being the cruel bastard it is of course made certain the tonic, a vial of weird sky blue gunk, fell the rest of the way.
Mayhap there is a chance to recover it? Not a chance. Sensing the danger to the Iga , and by extension the man prize, the goat-man had immediately told his clones to put as much pressure on the only member in any position to interfere with his attempt to pursue the falling tonic. "Shiroko! Gas'em and go!" One of the clones called out as it charged Ogo alongside its allies. Afterwards they all leaped as one upon the Jounin, and descended with kunai raised just as the Yaga-oni unleashed the biggest cloud of foulness the world has ever seen! Afterwards, the goat disappears amongst a second explosion of smoke. Once it clears the goat is gone…
With a start upon inhaling just the faintest whiff that prelude to what was to come, Ryoji grinned weakly… and let go. "I'll die.. before I face that terror again…" Ryoji murmured as he closed his eyes.
Hiei allows himself a moment to catch his breath after his last attack destroyed the clone that had been giving him trouble this entire battle. He turns towards Ogosokamaru and begins the hand seals again as he gathers his chakra in an attempt to help the man out with his clone problem. And that's when the stink of the Goat-Ogre hits his nostrils and it is so bad that not only does his eyes water up, Hiei staggers over to the rock wall and proceeds to empty his stomach of that morning's breakfast. He pushes himself away from the wall, walks a few steps and then falls forwards face down. After that, he doesn't move anymore. The stink was just too much for his system.
Hiroyasu having no place to go, between a rock face and a cliff, decisions abound before the noxious cloud reaches. He grips the bloody spot on his shirt and steels his nerves for a moment. "I'll take the headache" he mutters before running headlong into the rock face in an attempt to knock himself out.
Ogo goes after the clones with six slashes. If one didn't go down after the first slash, he'd give it another! Hopefully those six would take down the four that were left. But, we'd just have to see. He might even have to pull out his kekkei genkai to finish this off. The price of hesitation however came with the cost of a belated attempt at evading the plume of noxious fumes, only to suffer the stench nevertheless. Woozily, Ogo collapsed to a knee with a hand covering both his nose and mouth in vain.
It strange knowing that in a few minutes death would soon embrace the Iga; but no matter how many times he has experienced the feeling, it always felt refreshing in a way. "Alright…" He murmured, cracking his eye open as chakra began to build within him. Wind, Hair, and Flesh. Together they opened the way for the Iga to survive…
Several Minutes Later…
"Hnn, one by one then." Ryoji emitted apathetically as sightless eyes flickering from one person to the next and his hair returned to its normal state. Some of the gas still lingered in the air and would probably stick to the rest of the team like glue no matter what was done. Still, at least it was not quite as deadly as misconceived. Well, non-lethal for anyone without sharper senses like the Maneshi, Inuzuka, or the Iga. He sighs. "Guess I should wake them up and told them they passed though… although Todo-kun did say something getting there as soon as possible. Decisions, Decisions~", Ryoji singsong carelessly as the team continued to suffer.
A Few Hours Later, a bit of explaining by another red-headed gentlemen a good twenty years older than them the oldest of the group, and the sight of a bandaged up Goat-man and his Goat(hiding behind the cottage) would revealed two things. Todo was a manipulative old geezar, Goat-man (later revealed as Goro) is too impatient for his own good, and Ryoji… ryoji really should get his head checked out, because if he had only 'explained' from the get go that they were delivering medicine SO much pain could've been avoid…. WELL, at least the goat was cured, so Huzzah!!
