Starring:
Date: October 11, 2014
Summary:
Team Sandstorm, accompanied by Ayumu, travel to a distant part of a the Land of Wind called Higher Uul to retrieve a sacred artifact. What the team discovers is that the artifact have twisted some for the creatures that found it as well as it has a bit of a will of its own.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"The Gannon Cannon, Forks of Power"
Land of Wind, Higher Uul
Reports had come in from a land called Higher Uul, describing one of the local beasts that had only recently been terrorizing them. The report was extremely detailed, as the monster was actually just a large, hostile version of the local fauna. Tsuchi, Akiko, Rikuto, and even Ayumu got the message that spelled out the problem: The sacred Triumph Forks were stolen by the pig and taken to its lair. Surrounding its cave were smaller versions of the pig, though they were just as viscous.
Akiko got the message, read the details, and made sure to go to bed early since the team was to set off before sunrise the next day. She was obviously excited for the mission coming up, arriving at the meeting place even earlier than the assigned time. Kotone is with her, of course, the falcon perched on her outstretched arm.
Excited as can be, Sora scrambles along with Tsuchi as they move, "Hey! I heard pig tastes reaaalllly good." He nods his head, "So, when we get done, we get to cook them up and eat them, right? I was told about bacon and ham and pork chops and sausage and mmmmmmmmm it all sounds so good." He nods again as they walk and then peers up at Tsuchi, "We can eat them right? We can?" He then chuckles and rushes over to Akiko's side when he spots her and grins, "We're gonna eat bacon!"
Tsuchi sighs and nods, "Of course, of course." She nods as they move along, "We are gonna eat bacon. I mean, I can't just let us go kill an animal and not put it to use." She nods her head, "That'd be ill advised and wasteful. The Land of Wind does not waste a thing, not an opportunity nor a meal. The desert doesn't forgive those who waste such things."
When the young Miira heard the task assigned to them, he first began to check for sake as well as what he had been having to eat himself. Discovering that it was neither an odd joke, nor a fake message, Rikuto began to be curious. The boy wouldn't linger gathering his things though he did back some what more than usual, bringing along rations for several days along with his slender backpack.
When he arrived, he looks around, smiling a bit seeing that for once he wasn't late at least this time. "It's just us? I'm a bit surprised." Raising his right hand, he waves briefly towards Akiko and then to Tsuchi and Sora as they approach.
The extent of the Iga Clan's well of knowledge is unknown to all; but without a doubt, it is vast. Although still treated as an outsider by most of his kin, Ayumu was privy to the clan's networks. Thus, the only real surprise to him upon being handed down the request was the simple fact that he had a part to play in such a high ranking missions. "We must really be stretched thin." He mused aloud before spending the rest of the day sorting out supplies for the next days trip.
"Then be even more surprised at my own arrival." An elder gentlemen nearby says as he approached the group, and following an flamboyant bow, explodes into a column of smoke. The smoke quickly clears, revealing the grinning form of none other than Ayumu. "A pleasure it be to see so many familiar faces.. and especially excited ones for such a dangerous endeavour." He jokes lightly.
Akiko hears Sora's excited chatter before she sees the ferret, and she immediately gives him a hug upon seeing him. "Sora-san! Sensei! Umm… Bacon? Sounds tasty!" She nods a bit, thinking that the world could use more bacon. "Right, so we just need…" About then, Rikuto appears. "Rikuto-san! So then we need that other person…" She blinks at the old man that wanders over, squeaking lightly when he poofs into Ayumu. "I guess you're Iga Ayumu-san, then? Wait, but what do you mean 'see'? I thought Iga people were blind…" She looks confused. "Anyway! Let's go."
The journey itself is boring. So boring. All around them is sand, sand, and … Wait for it… Sand. It could be considered a good thing that all is quiet, though. Their destination is not Higher Uul, which can be found at an Oasis near Suna. The pig's caverns are actually a bit further than the village. So they make their way there directly with maybe one stop to refresh supplies and break. Total trip takes about 2 hours. Outside the cave are smaller pigs, like the reports noted. They seem to be keeping a careful eye out for any who might approach. It's probably a good idea to keep back for now, maybe hide behind that large boulder.
A nod to Ayumu and she shakes her head, "I don't have to expect an attack, do I? I mean, this is bad enough without your clones going for blood." She nods her head and then chuckles before she glances to Sora petting him as he gets a little bit on edge with Ayumu about. She then looks to Rikuto and grins, "Don't worry, this will be fun." She nods her head and then looks ahead. As they approach that area, she hmms and then points to the boulder and starts to slip over to it, getting in close as she focuses her chakra and then licks her lips, "Remember, these are animals, they'll go for weakness. As is there way. They will not act rationally but they also won't act like barbarians." She then licks her lips and nods to each, "Prepare yourselves now."
Glancing to the side when the olderman spoke up, he dips his head slowly towards Ayumu. "You're coming along too Ayumu-san?" Turning his attention back towards Tsuchi, "Wait.. That was actually Ayumu-san?" Blinking a few times, he glances back towards the man questioningly. When he hears about blindness comment, he begins to speak again but then hushes as they drew closer.
"Fun, but easy? Hmm.. That's a little odd to mix together." Shrugging lightly, the boy closes his eyes and breaths in deeply before exhaling softly. "Either way, If this ends up being quick we'll be bringing dinner home to Suna, won't we?"
There's an answer for Akiko at the tip of his tongue, but Ayumu abstains for the time being. "Aye, and indeed it was from one perspective." He winks at Rikuto's general direction, then turn backs to Tsuchi with a more subdued expression. "Unfortunately, no promises of that sort can be made, though I shall intervene if 'those' one should make an appearance." And with that said, the Iga focuses his attention on the mission and their surroundings, though the latter required little of him. At least, so he figured.
"Fun being relative, and that honestly depends on if anyone brought the proper materials for storage… Or do you figure our luck in the lack of predators will hold during our return trip?" He asks with earnest curiosity behind his tone as he absently adjusted the eye he had flicked atop the boulder earlier. "So, what is the exact plan by the way, Tsuchi-san? Straight-forward approach or…"
Akiko takes shelter behind the boulder, following her sensei's lead. Curiously, she pokes her head over the side to get a glimpse of what they're facing, though Kotone has better information being in the sky. "Looks like there are three pigs. They're kinda small-looking, but that might just be our distance from them. Kotone says they're about as big as me in terms of length and maybe about three feet high."
The pigs are, if anyone bothered to look over the rock, very ugly-looking. They have tusks that curve slightly at the end, meaning they could probably throw something with them as well as stab people. They're also very hairy from the looks of it. Is it some form of protection?
Akiko removes her bow from her back and nocks a few arrows in preparation. "So… Should we attack? Or should we try and lure them away somehow?" The Hayato seems excited, signaling to Kotone to stay in the sky and avoid casting a shadow. The odds of the pigs looking up were small, but having a shadow on the ground when there should be none would be suspicious for any being. "Well… The village nearby we could ask about storing everything…" she adds to the conversation.
A look at the others with a grin as she watches before she glances over to See Sora peeking around and sniffing at the air before she looks back over to the others again and ponders, "Well, as I see it we need to fight the group out front regardless but it'll be easier to fight them alone and not whatever is inside." She ponders nad looks to Rikuto before looking to Ayumu. She taps her chin before looking at Akiko and pondering, "I think we're going to need Kotone's help." She nods her head, "Kotone will need to dive to the ground about 100 feet out from them." She nods her head before pondering, "If they are young ones, they might get curious and go after Kotone who can fly them this way." She looks ot Sora.
For his part, he nods his head, before rubbing his chin and then looking back around, "If we get them to head to the right side of the boulder." He points with a paw, "That dune over there will at least slow anything coming out after them." He nods and grins and then looks at the others, "We'll take them fast with a few bursts of attacks and then go inside." He snickers, "It'll make it hard on whatever is in there to not have guards."
Nodding lightly as he listens to Tsuchi, his movement shadowing both of the women. Lowering his voice he whispers, "Are we to try to kill them quickly or should we try to bring them back to suna to learn just what they are?" Glancing away from the pair, he slowly begins to edge over to edge of the bolder they used for cover, peeking out to the side briefly to spot the creatures with a bit more focus.
"No explosions or flashes though, it might draw more of them.. but warriors armed for fighting rather than curious guards." Sitting back, Rikuto rests his back against. Furling his brows, he turns to Tsuchi and then Ayumu to ask, "Do either of you know how to do things.. quietly? Most of my jutsu is rather flashy or loud."
Ayumu's attention is divided; but, the plan is absorbed nonetheless. He did however had to make one personal mental addendum that would require his staying behind as the others moved. "I may speak only for myself in that regarded, though worry not, nonetheless. So long as your flashier jutsu are just that, the dune and my own jutsu shall.. hmm.. /should/ limit the issue." Ayumu answers and chuckles weakly. The issued settled, more or less, Ayumu focuses back on finishing building his chakra reserves before forming a single hand seal. His ponytail uncoils, unravels, then burrows into the sand, growing and spreading beneath the intended trap spot with very few signs of their progress. Ayumu made certain of that by sending making sure a few of the sensor organs normally entangled in his hair went along for the ride.
Just as soon as he's ready, he gives both Akiko and Tsurure a curt nod to begin.
Akiko gives a slight nod upon hearing Tsuchi's plan, glancing to the others to make sure everyone was on the same page. "Okay!" she whispers, somehow communicating the plan in full to Kotone. "Hmm… I mean, unless I use explosives with my arrows, my attacks aren't noticeable," Akiko tells Rikuto. "I think if you're really discreet with your wind chakra, Rikuto-san, it would work well. And it seems Ayumu-San has things covered?" The Hayato waits a bit longer before it seems there definitely won't be any changes to the plan.
Everything is set. The Hayato slashes the air in front of her with her right hand, and Kotone immediately dived down, slowing partway through the rapid descent so she could fly parallel to the ground after pulling up a bit. Only one of the three pigs was curious enough to trot after Kotone, the other two distracted by a fascinating scorpion… As it moved along, it would eventually find itself in the trap-spot with Kotone nowhere to be found. Obviously confused, the pig put its about to the ground it hopes of tracking down the falcon, who was already far above again.
Nodding her head to Ayumu, she turns to watch the spectacle. She whispers to the others, "Be prepared." She nods her head in response to Akiko's words to Rikuto before she frowns and looks back, "Only one is coming." She nods her head and then looks back at the others that are further back up by the cave. She hurrms before she looks then back at the pair, "Rikuto. You and Akiko will prepare to pepper the other two with ranged attacks if they come after Sora, Ayumu, and I while we take down this one."
Sora nods in response and already they are moving together around the rock. She is taking up her spot as Sora and her begin to move together. Sora is creating lightning stars in his hands even as Tsuchi focuses on the air above the pig. Even as she yanks down suddenly, Sora fires off his stars into the pig, attempting to drain him of stamina as she slams down air with a mere gesture that'll slam right into where the pig is and create a small cyclone right in the area that will likely rip apart the poor pig if it isn't fast.
"My wind jutsu is very short range, though.." Breathing in deeply, the young Miira only makes a single seal before lacing his fingers together tightly. Glancing to Akiko, he nods lightly before nodding towards the one he planned to strike. Focusing his attention onto the one of the left "I wonder.. do they taste like pork?" Tilting his head to the side as he watches the winds slowly pick up and wrap around the pig. Rather than light on fire, contact with the air would dry the creature's skin to a cracked crust at the worst, rarely lethal immediately but numbingly painful.
Ayumu frowns a little at the change before simply shaking his head over the troubling thoughts, only for more to sweep in. Ayumu was no stranger to multi-tasking, so the temptation to assist Rikuto and Akiko gnaws at him even as he sets the trap into motion. Admist Tsuchi's miniature cyclone, the tendrils of hair closest to the surface are swept up and forced to endure the winds before dropping in to coil about the big. If all went as well as hoped, the piglet would be gagged, bound, and within minutes, buried deeply beneath the sands to suffocate to death. By which point, Ayumu has already allowed his attention to begin shifting back to the last two piglets. Piglets he both hoped and feared would meet the same fate.
The pig that found itself unlucky enough to be caught in the Suna-nin's trap is electrocuted by those stars of Sora. It squeals in pain, but is unable to much else as it finds itself in a cyclone. It is a bit too fat to run away and out of danger. The pig really does fly for a bit, hovering off the ground thanks to the gale of wind which immediately crushes it. The pig is still alive, but a bit dazed. Somehow it still has enough wits to scramble from where it is, narrowly avoiding enclosure.
Rikuto would be met with success as well. His wind was so hot, and the pig, though built for the desert, didn't expect this kind of heat. It slowly starts to heat up, the water in its body drying and disappearing as the living creature essentially shrivels up into … well, some type of jerky. With hair all over it. Ew… The other pig blinks a bit as its partner/friend shrivels up dead. It noses the other pig a bit before an arrow, sent by Akiko, bounces off its hide, causing it to turn and see what exactly is trying to get its attention. This was a bad move on this part, as it ends up getting pierced by two well-aimed arrows. One in the eye and the other in the throat. It's only a matter of time before it dies.
"Nice shot, Rikuto-san!" Akiko says, wishing she could have hit the pig with all three arrows. A quick glance around to see what was going on with the other pigs. Looks like one escaped while the other was… Very mad. At the moment, it was charging blindly at the group of Suna-nin…
A nod and Tsuchi grins, "Good job, all. Now…it seems we have one new problem." She looks to the charging pig and nods to Sora and both dodge to the side. She and him move in tandem, Tsuchi kicking low with a burst of wind that will threaten to rip the legs out from under the poor thing as she then spins around to do a spinning heel kick right into the right side of the pig even as Sora sends a punch into its left side, moving together to send two wind powered smashing attacks right into the creature as it passes and possibly ends up tripping to the ground as she smiles and nods, "Remember, these are the guards, not the head hams."
A clone appears in front of Rikuto, using what little force it had to stop the tumbling corpse from rolling on top of himself. Before he continues with his jutsu, he looks up when he hears Tsuchi. Even as Tsuchi kicked, the young Miira didn't leave much to chance and took a breath in only to spit out a series of flames roughly echoing the shape of a senbon. The trio of flames weren't aimed to kill the creature but focused to eat away at the tendons in the leg if it stayed conscious, to turn it lame. "The heads, without soldiers can be cooked slowly rather than end up risking being swarmed.. Too bad none of us know water manipulation."
Ayumu bit his lip to keep from cursing, then harder still as a reminder threatens to make him growl as well. Blood is thankfully not drawn, though one of the mad guards threatens to change that case. Thoughtlessly, his hair shifts and weaves together into an extended shield meant to meet the pigs charge. After counting down the seconds and sensing not a tremble through the shield, Ayumu unravles the shield and sighs. "Figures.." He murmurs and shakes his head in exasperation. Then, takes out a make shift knife to cut free the trap hairs.
"How shall it be so next, my captain?" Ayumu asks after joining Tsuchi and Sora's side moments later.
The pig finds itself kicked up into the air just before Tsuchi and Sora decimate it with wind-powered attacks. Rikuto's attacks make their way to the pig that is trying to run back into the cave, but it stumble-trips and catches fire. With a loud cry of pain, it tries to put out the fire, but ends up just dying. Well, there goes the guards! Of course, with all the commotion, something larger is bound to show up…
Akiko dodges out of the way, watching as the combination of Tsuchi and Sora take care of the pig. "Okay, that's over and done with. Now we gotta take out the big one?" She whistles to get Kotone down from the sky, and the falcon resumes her perch in the girl's arm.
Standing up as they finish off the last of the guards, Tsuchi looks toward the cave. Sora is the first to speak up, moving to the top of the boulder to peer inside before looking down, "I can't imagine the big ones aren't on their way out." He shakes his head as he looks that way, "We ought to set up a trap." He nods his head and Tsuchi nods in agreement.
She looks that way and then looks over toward it before pointing above the cave and then nodding to Rikuto, "Quick, get above the cave." She nods her head and then moves herself over to beore the cave, "Ayumu, with me. Akiko, top of the boulder and use your range against the enemy. We'll go inside only if we have to." Then she moves to before the cave, ready.
Pressing his lips together firmly, the teen shakes his head at Tsuchi, his brown eyes focusing onto her's but his voice remains low. "Before you set up.. I need you to try and use your wind to extend the walls of the cave out, but leave the top open. If these things are worse, we might not be able to help much but I have an idea.. I don't want you blinded though." A sly smirk appears on his lips before he taps the side of his head a few times before moving off towards the cave, giving it a wide birth before beginning his climb.
Ryoji would've loved the plan. Ayumu did not like it one bit. Nevertheless, he merely stuffed his hands into his pockets and followed along after Tsuchi to wait for whatever trouble was bound to befall them. Though, that is not to say he would do so quietly. "Out of curiosity.. just what is your plan again besides having us as bait?"
Akiko scrambles onto the boulder and gets her bow ready, staying atop the rock with a bit of chakra. It only takes a few passing minutes (plenty of setup time!) before an even larger pig comes out of the cave, lumbering out. It looked like the ones they had just taken down, but even larger. It looks around, swinging its large head back and forth until it spots a certain archer… The pig decides it's a great idea to charge at the rock, lowering its head and smashing into it. The pig apparently is extremely strong, as the rock crumbles and falls apart. Or it was a really weak boulder…
Akiko does her best to hold onto the boulder when it's run into, but when the stone beneath her starts to crumble, she tries to jump off and out of harm's way, sending a few arrows at the beast as she moves. "I'm pretty sure it's not you acting as bait, Ayumu-San!" she calls over, dashing away from the bovine and towards the cave.
A chuckle to Rikuto, "I'm not quite that good, sorry." She shakes her head and then nods again, "Just do your best from above." She then looks over toward Ayumu with a great smile even as the sound of the incoming pig are heard, "I'm pretty sure us as bait is exactly the plan." She elbows him a little before saying, "Getting cold feet? You seem to have shown me plenty of times that you are plenty strong enough to handle a pig." She then looks forward even as arrows go into the hide of the great pig and she smiles at it, "Sora." She nods to the ferret, "Break right." She then breaks to the left and even as she does, Sora is already spinning around and with a whip of his tail he sends a burst of wind at the pig's legs even as she creates a two more massive bursts of wind, literaly calling down the air above the pig and creating two more bursting cyclones, "Bring it down!"
After the boy got into position, he sat down and crossed his legs, waiting. Glancing to the side, he watches Akiko as she began to prepare but then looks forward again when she draws the creature's attention suddenly. "Excuse me princess.." Rikuto coughs sharply before sucking in a breath, when he exhales, he quickly breaths out a stiff breeze. Unlike the first time, it wasn't hot initially but it was just as careful, threatening to wrap around the boar man beast. The teen shifts his hands, completing another seal causing the breeze to ignite near his lips before rushing down a curling bath towards the creature.
Ayumu snorts and rolls his eyes. "True, to a degree, though now I find myself bogged down by a troubling desire to—" But the rest dies in his throat as soon as the boar ambled its way into view. Although he makes no obvious motions to attract the creature or defend himself, Ayumu is prepared to — not predict the beast attacking a boulder outright. "Hrnn.. Well then." The wind gathers about the Iga, enhancing his drive to pursue the beast and try to take out its eyes first and foremost with a wave of shuriken.
Apparently the boar is relying mostly on its thick hide to stop damage from the arrows. Though two of them pierce the skin, they all are stuck to the boar. It doesn't pay them any mind, though, barreling its way around. The ferret-human duo are effective in making the thing fly off its feet and into pressure-damaging wind. With a roar, more of irritation than pain, the boar gets back up to charge the nearest person. This time, it seems to be the Tsuchi. The wave of shuriken from Ayumu seem to have no effect on the beast.
And again, there's so much commotion outside the cave. An even larger boar pokes its head out, looking around with beady eyes. It sees what exactly is going on, and it doesn't seem very happy about it. On the beast's forehead is a golden trio of forks, obviously that being the Triumph Forks. From the forks shoots a… a beam? It's a golden beam that defies the laws of physics! Somehow the separate beams bend their way towards Ayumu, Akiko, Tsuchi, Sora, and Rikuto.
Akiko does her best to try and dodge the beam, but it seems to track her movements! Unable to escape, she ends up getting hit in the leg rather hard. It doesn't break anything, fortunately, but it is extremely painful. She signals to Kotone, the pair working together now to try and hurt the newest attacker. She also sends an arrow at the mini-Gannon, not wanting it to feel left out.
Apparently the boar is relying mostly on its thick hide to stop damage from the arrows. Though two of them pierce the skin, they all are stuck to the boar. It doesn't pay them any mind, though, barreling its way around. The ferret-human duo are effective in making the thing fly off its feet and into pressure-damaging wind. With a roar, more of irritation than pain, the boar gets back up to charge the nearest person. This time, it seems to be the Tsuchi. The wave of shuriken from Ayumu seem to have no effect on the beast.
And again, there's so much commotion outside the cave. An even larger boar pokes its head out, looking around with beady eyes. It sees what exactly is going on, and it doesn't seem very happy about it. On the beast's forehead is a golden trio of forks, obviously that being the Triumph Forks. From the forks shoots a… a beam? It's a golden beam that defies the laws of physics! Somehow the separate beams bend their way towards Ayumu, Akiko, Tsuchi, Sora, and Rikuto.
Akiko does her best to try and dodge the beam, but it seems to track her movements! Unable to escape, she ends up getting hit in the leg rather hard. It doesn't break anything, fortunately, but it is extremely painful. She signals to Kotone, the pair working together now to try and hurt the newest attacker. She also sends an arrow at the mini-Gannon, not wanting it to feel left out.
As the thing charges at her, Tsuchi charges up both her arms and attempts to catch its charge dead on…and she is successful! She takes that charge right int he chest and is thrown back. In mid air she has to quickly make hand signs and use the wind to suddenly change direction and avoid the incoming attack from the big boar with the golden forks. She stares for a moment, wide eyed and then shakes her head, "That's new." She then rushes back in and points at the smaller boar, "Focus all attack on the smaller one!" She nods her head and immediately unleashes a massive wind blast to knock the thing right off its feat before Sora follows it up with a hale of lightning weaponry and she nods, "We'll focus on the bigger one after the smaller one is down!"
Rikuto didn't stand up, he hardly moved when the beam arches towards him. Rather than run away or flee, his fingers shape into a new seal, forging a strong wall of wind in front of himself. The beam is forced just to the left, avoiding the boy and send it off to the dunes. Exhaling, the teen seems to relax slightly with the initial danger averted though tenses when he noticed Akiko. "Akiko? Are you okay other there?!"
Turning his attention back towards the first creature, rather than the one with an odd crown of forks on it's brow he targets the one that was already assaulting them. Quickly forming the set of seals again, he guides chakra laces winds around the smaller of the two creatures trying to bathe it in flames.
His attacks failed, but Ayumu remained undaunted. He needed only make the proper adjustment to the wind gathered about him. Such concerns are quickly dismissed once their main objective finally decided to show itself. Seemingly on impulse, the Iga moves well out of the Ganon's range of fire, though curses himself afterwards for not warning the others. The bitter pill is pushed aside along with all other distraction for the sake of a counter attack.
Again, Ayumu's hair grows rapidly and spreads, consuming both Ganon and his follower should either of them not evade or pull themselves free in time.
Akiko's arrows are surprisingly effective on the larger boar. She manages to put one into its hide along with the mini-boar. Tsuchi and Sora, though unable to make the mini-Gannon fall into the ground, is successful with the shocking tools. That along with Rikuto's scorching wind make the smaller boar extremely weak and open for attack. It stops its charging, just panting and trying to get a bit of energy back.
The larger pig, obviously Gannon, finds itself trapped in hair! Of all things… It roars unhappily, firing beams from that fork to try and loosen itself from its bindings. Of course, it fails… The hair-net is too strong.
"Got it, sensei!" Akiko calls, sending a few more arrows at the smaller pig. It turns into a pincushion, unable to avoid these arrows. "The smaller one is taken care of, I think, sensei! We can focus on the bigger one, now!"
A grin as she nods her head to Akiko and then she blinks as the smaller boar is taken down, "Way to go, Akiko and Rikuto. Good team work!" She nods her head and then looks as the larger one is trapped and she blinks before grinning a little and then licking her lips, "Ayumu, can you hold that thing?" She then steps up closer and gestures to Rikuto and Akiko, "Both of you, get rope." She nods her head and then licks her lips, "If we can get that thing tied up…I'm betting the Kage will be quite pleased to have captured such a beast." She then looks to Ayumu for confirmation, "So, can you hold it down long enough for is to bind it?"
Standing up, the young Miira, rather than reach for a rope, draws a straight sword from his hip. With a flick of his wrist he shifts the blade one way to another as he makes his way, some what cautiously towards the creature. "Good idea sensei but.. first, shouldn't we remove that thing? I don't think it needs to move much to use it." Taking his time as as he drew closer, Rikuto looks at the crown of forks the creature wore and tries to figure out how to remove it safely.
"Mmph… I… Can try." Ayumu replies before making his way closer the beast, re-affirming his control over the binds, and replacing those that began to break free. "Bit of a risk either way, Rikuto-san. Who knows what it'll do if someone tries to remove it. Still-…" The Iga glances over at Tsuchi and await her call on the subject. Meanwhile, the nearby area around the fork becomes the focal point of Ayumu's chakra draining technique.
The beast trapped by Ayumu's jutsu isn't going to just stay where it is peacefully. That would be too easy. It thrashes around this way and that to escape its bonds, though the jutsu itself holds well. The Triumph Forks sense something trying to drain its/their power and golden beams once more attack everyone nearby. It's a bit unfair that the Suna-nin still have to deal with the Forks when it's just a magical artifact!
"Well, we could /try/ to-" Akiko is cut off as she is forced to evade that golden beam again. She has a better time of it, at least, not getting hit. She learned her lesson the hard way… Once able to relax, she focuses on the beast before her. It's larger than she thought, now that she's up close to it. Kotone flies around nearby, though is prepared to fly off in case those beams come shooting out. "Hmm… It's hard to tell, but it looks like the fork is like… embedded in the pig. I dunno if we can get it out like this… Maybe we should ask someone? Or we could try and force it off …" She didn't like the second idea…
Slipping away from the beam of light coming off the fork embedded in the pig's head, Tsuchi blinks as she looks at the thing before squinting at this artifact before she ponders and then licks her lips. She then stares at he thing and blinks over at Akiko, "Who do we ask, Akiko?" She glances at the fork and then nods to Ayumu, "Just hold the dang thing." She then starts to rush up to the top of the thing and hmms before pondering, "Don't wanna touch it directly but…hmm." She then pulls forth a kunai and attempts to try to pry the thing out of the boar's head, "Here goes nothing."
When the creature remains bound, Rikuto became too relaxed. When the beam suddenly appears in front of him he hardly had enough time to form the seals to wrap himself in wind, but it was too weak. The beam burns through the barrier and blasts into the boy's lower rubs, luckily, not breaking any of his bones, but the force bruises him under his layers of clothing.
Wincing, an arm curls around his ribs but then his other hand grips the blade more tightly. Holding the sword awkwardly, the boy's fingers began to twist, but not together even though they worked on the same signs. Breathing in lightly, he then spits onto his blade, coating it in flames. Drawing back his sword arm, Rikuto slashes at the beast's brow strongly, trying to literally cut the the forks out form the creature's brow.
"Figures." Even as the words left the Iga's mouth, he takes off, pre-emptively evading the golden beam with a high-powered leap. Of course with the beast still thrashing about Ayumu nearly rings his neck before he even lands! Luckily, fortune smiled upon him. Well, either that or some other factor that need not be really mentioned. >.> The important thing is, Ayumu does land, if albeit roughly.
"Alright.. let's try this then." As the words left his mouth, power surges through his nerves, giving his skin an almost blue-ish tint. Afterwards, he re-affirmed the binds hold, though this time he made certain to both sew the beasts legs together as while he was at it.
The Triumph Forks are surprisingly easy to muscle out of Gannon's head. Maybe it's because the giant pig is weak now, or maybe it's because Tsuchi is super-strong. Whatever the case, they're free. Rikuto's flaming sword is a bit useless when it comes to cutting out the already-free forks. All he manages to do is make Gannon even angrier than before, the creature roaring and flailing in its bonds. The stronger cage, however, holds the beast far too well, the added wrappings around its legs subduing it.
"Yay~" Akiko cheers. "But…. How're we supposed to get the fork-things back to the villagers now? Can we just pick them up casually, or…" She frowns a bit, approaching the spot where the glowing Triumph Forks fell.
A smile and then she nods to the forks, "Well, obviously they seemed to take over a pig so we gotta be more careful but for now, you two worry about getting the pig tied up so we can drag it back and collect our bacon." She then looks down at the forks and stares for a moment before Sora starts to move over near to it, she grabs him and pulls him back before shaking her head and slowly she takes off her jacket and nods, "Well, just gonna have to do what we can." She nods and then drops the jacket over them before trying to roll them up and start off.
Continuing to massage his lower ribs, Rikuto slowly spins his blade before grasping it with a reserve grip, sheathing it some what easily. "The one is only half jerky. Did you want me to turn the others into bacon or save some for pork chops or roast for later? ..I wonder if there's some wood close by to get the right flavor." The last line was more the boy thinking out loud than directed to anyone else.
Taking a moment to leave the creature, the young Miira goes through the supplies and draws out a bound length of cord. Moving behind the creature, he makes a noose loop and binds the creature's ankle to it's opposing wrist before connecting the other limbs as well. The knotting was slow but detailed. Around them were the other four corpses but also the unknown amount that might still be inside.
Once the giant pig is all tied up by Rikuto, there's not much else to be said. The group goes to the nearby village to return their sacred item (which the village leader takes back reverently. They have a special temple for the thing, and no one from the shinobi group is allowed to see this spot) and restock their water supply for the trip back. The sun is setting by the time they return to Sunagakure. All in all? A successful mission with only a few injuries despite the difficulty level. YAY
