Starring:
Hiei, Hiroyasu, Naganori, Itami
Date: July 5, 2013
Summary:
Natives to the mountains in the Land of Lightning have shown themselves to be aggressive and the villagers they share the space with don't know why. As a last resort, a village elder sent ahead to Kumogakure requesting assistance. Itami, in an effort to understand Kumogakure and its workings, decided to take on and participate in this mission with the aid of the shinobi she met. Hiei, Hiroyasu and Naganori each contributed their efforts to her request and set out to see to it that these natives are stopped before anymore villages are destroyed in the mountains.
"The Mysterious Myopia in the Mountainous Metropolis!"
A village within the mountains
Deep in the mountains there live a tribe of peaceful natives who have all of the sudden gone completely berserk or at least, that's how they're described by people that have come into contact with them. Traders and the like seem to think them barbarians when at first they were the nicest people they'd done business with, if doing business includes being taken in for refuge or having places to stop in during terrible weather.
Others have described the natives as if something is bothering them, but no one knows why. The violence that has been described by others has been said to be exaggerated and that they weren't as violent as they seemed. Though structures were being destroyed, people were being preserved. Either way, it appears there's truth in most of the ways listed.
News reached Kumogakure quickly enough and so it was needed for people to see about resolving the issue. Though Itami wasn't a native or a shinobi of this place, she thought to assist. There was clear reluctance with her offer to help seeing as she was from Sunagakure, but she managed to gain some approval from people. Now all she needed was some help in this matter. So, she called on the people she met to get the job done.
A mission! Naganori has been sitting in this village for a while with nothing to do. He does not blame the Raikage for not letting him do missions for the village right off the line. Would Naganori even trust him self in this case? Nah, he'd want to comfirm he's on the level and so enough time has passed that they decided to give him a mission. Not the one he expected, but beggers can't be choosers. Naganori carries his ninja belt pouch doing one last check to see if he's got everything he might need as he walks out of the gate, then attaches it to his belt. "Well now…" he says to himself as he pulls out the scroll detailing the mission, "…I think it's out here…" and he looks to see if anyone is standing about outside the gates.
Hiei got the mission parameters and checked it twice. Itami was assigned this mission? AND Naganori? It didn't sit right with him. Two foreigners along with himself and Hiroyasu. He knew nothing of what each of them were capable of. He sighs and runs a hand through his spiky white hair. "Well…I've gone under worse conditions." He mutters to himself before gearing up and meeting at the outside of the gate. Once he arrives, he begins pacing slightly back and forth, with his arms crossed over his chest.
Hiroyasu had received the summon from the foreign shinobi, it was a bit odd, not uncommon for them to receive mixed mission requests lately. When he arrives he can see that he is naturally the last to arrive, "Yo!" says with a wave. His appearance does not seem to differ from his casual dress, the same priestly vestments and that annoying bulbous boulder strapped to him with the webbing of thick ropes with sutra tags wagging as he lazily strolls up to the others. "Katayama, Hiroyasu reporting." he says with a formal tone and rigid stiffness.
"Acknowledged!" Itami chimed happily. In the time she spent here, the vast majority of it was in the hotsprings. She's feeling upbeat and ready to go. She also thinks she might need to work on some abilities for withstanding this high altitude and weather. Talk about coming at the worst time of the year. Winter? Seriously? "Anyone who has received my invitation should find themselves here at the gate!" She called out from the village gates, mostly to Naganori. "So, I thought that I might request some help because this is another way for me to experience the ways of Kumogakure. Seeing you all in the element of a mission should reveal some things and I will try to help out," she smiled.
"So, we'll head out now if there aren't any objections and if there /are/ any objections, I will do my best to ignore them!" She joked, though waved her hand in indication that such a thing wouldn't happen. "I am aware of names, but if you do not mind, I think we can introduce ourselves as far as this mission is concerned. Names, occupation, areas of strength, if you will. I didn't reveal this before the day I came here, but I will do so now…" She cleared her throat.
"I am Watanabe Itami, Jounin Councilmember of Sunagakure and my area of strength is in Taijutsu. My efforts for coming here are to learn of Kumogakure and possibly extend some means of communication and relations between mine and your village. I have heard that Kumogakure has great strength and pride. What better way to display this than to see it in action on a mission?" She clasped her hands behind her back and took a more formal stance for the occasion. She bowed before those gathered to her.
Naganori sees the group gathering and smiles. They must be the ones the mission talks of. He lifts a hand in greeting and walks over towards Hiei, Itami, and Hiroyasu. Naganori's eyes go wide as he listens to Itami, "I hope I don't fall behind in this group then." He cleans his throat and introduces himself as well, "I'm Fuse Naganori, a genin from Yukigakure here as an offical shinobi for Kumogakure until I'm recalled back to my village. Like Itami-sempai, I'm here for my village too." He shifts his cloak behind his shoulders revealing the bits of chakratech armor along one arm and shoulder. "A snow shinobi if you don't know but I feel connected to this place too." He gestures to the gates behind the group. "I'm more into taijutsu right now." he holds up the metal forearm with a clicking of metal.
Hiei steps forward, arms still crossed over his chest, though the expression on his face isn't so pensive right now. "Yotsuki Hiei. Kumogakure Genin…only..Kumogakure." He looks between Naganori and Itami. "My areas are expertise are Kenjutsu, Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Nintaijutsu." He doesn't go into any further detail than that. But there is a katana and a wakazashi strapped to his back with both hilts extended above his right shoulder. He then shifts his gaze to Hiroyasu, it being his turn now.
Hiroyasu clears this throat, "Katayama, Hiroyasu. Kumogakure Genin, Medical/Support", there was a conflict brewing in the back of his head, two unfamiliar faces, one foreign in origin, the other foreign in familiarity, he gives a shrug his list was sufficient for their needs. "Please report any medical issues to me, should you have them now or as they arise." he adds giving each of them including his usual partner a steady eye up and down assessing them.
"I'll see if we can't manage to make use of what's been presented here to me. Now, I think we should get going. We've got some ground to cover here," she turned away and lead the way into the mountains and to the village where the request came from. It's snowing up in these parts and Itami is somewhat excited. She hasn't witnessed it up close before. She gathers some snow into her hands as they travel and crumbled it between her fingers. All playing aside, they eventually reach where they're supposed to be, finding the village carved into the mountain side. One would think this place would be difficult to destroy, but they'd be mistaken.
The people welcome the team with open arms and happiness, quickly introducing them to their leader. He was a middle aged man with a head and face full of hair only slightly unkempt, but otherwise, put together well enough. He was a mountain man, after all as were the rest of these people.
"Welcome to the village, please, come inside my home. You'll be warm there," he stated while gesturing them inside. "The natives around these parts have been aiming threats at us and we know it's only a matter of time before they decide to attack us. We wish to keep peace between us and them as we've been sharing space with them for a long time. We just don't know what's going on and why they're attacking, but our neighbors so far have lost homes and even some have come here to stay with us. We require your help."
Itami listens in to the leader while looking between the others and observing their responses to the matter at hand. She maintains her silence for the moment, mostly seeing what questions or ideas may come forth from these shinobi.
Naganori sucks in the cold air and smiles, "Oh, this is a good omen." He holds out his hand to catch a snowflake in his ungloved hand and watches it melt. Naganori gives a little shiver and pulls the cloak back over his shoulders. It feels like home with the snow coming down, minus the political strife of course. Naganori enters the house to get warm only to be polite. The cold doesn't bother him much. He still looks around the house with interest eyeing all the items in the room while listening to the man. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find out why they are doing this." he says with a smile after looking back at the man. Then looks at Itami, "Right, Itami-sempai?" and rubs his hands together with his blue eyes sparkling, "So what's the plan? I think we should find one of them and ask what's going on."
Hiei comments. "It's winter. Snow happens here during the winter." Once they enter the house, he finds a corner and posts up, content to let the other shinobi do the talking and the figuring out of whatever plan is going to be implemented. He had an opinon on what should be done. It would get rejected, which is why he doesn't voice it. He does look over at Hiro. "People don't change overnight. Could be something entirely different at work here. Could have something to do with why people all over the region can't seem to get along all of a sudden."
Hiroyasu strolls along, his eyes peering out from under the hood of his fur-lined traveling cloak, his hands resting in the pockets on his rakusu. It was the first falling snow he had witnessed since winter had slowly crept up on the land "It's an omen alright" he says in response to Naganori's edict of prophecy.
When greeted by the village elder, and offered sanctuary from the cold, Hiro bows his head bringing his hands together into a prayer steeple "Thank you, Lordship." upon entering the hovel of hospitality, he removes the hood of his cloak, when the explanation of the ordeal is given in the vaguest of terms, looking around as some offer condolence, others statements of rhetoric, he sighs pushing the glasses up on his nose, "Exactly when did this change in nature occur, and what social or economic interests were pursued around that time, any expansions or extensions to the village proper or land therein? Please be specific, if you can Lordship" he asks in a polite enough phrasing but serious in tone.
"Mmhmm," Itami nodded to Naganori, smiling in response to his question. She gathered her coat around her to make sure she was warm. She was, but she gained a habit of trying to maintain her warmth around here. She looked between the team, taking note of what's been said so far and she smirks. "People don't change overnight. Hm. People are unable to get along around here? I may need to understand how that may factor into this, but I'll spare that for later." She listens to Hiro then and nods, waiting for the leader to respond to his questioning. "This happened about a week ago. They've been attacking villages around here, angry at…something. We've tried to talk with them, but they're not listening all that much. Every so often, we meet with some who are well and speak to us, but even they have no sway over the others. We don't know what's going on, but what we do know is that we don't want to be attacked around here. Relocating is difficult, especially at this time of year," he sighed to himself. "We haven't had any problems with these natives. Sometimes, we traded with them if they had something that interested us and we them. Often it was tools, items for clothing, meats, all sorts of things," he offered. "We weren't planning on extending to anywhere. We're all just small communities of people trying to live our lives out here. We've so far been disengaged with the conflict that's been taking place in other areas and would like to keep it that way. I apologize, but calling you all here was an act of last resort. Not anything that I willingly wished to do. I know what you all are dealing with and hope that it doesn't come here due to your presence in this place."
ooc Oh crud.
Naganori nods hearing that bit of information, then looks at the elder of the village, "Your lordship, you said you trade with them? Has anyone done that recently with them within the last week and what did they trade for? Do you know?" He hopes they haven't taken something that might have peaked them off for some reason.
Hiei listens to the questions asked, and then what the mountain man says and frowns deeply. At the risk of screwing up relations with these people, he keeps his mouth firmly shut. But the longer he stood here, the more bored he got. "May I make a suggestion? I don't think his Lordship knows much. If he did, he wouldn't have called us in the first place. He just admitted to that. I think we should get answers from the horse's mouth." He looks towards the guy. "All we really need is the location of the last caravan of the natives that didn't attack you on sight."
Hiroyasu pauses listening to the explanation with a nod, still the sinking felling of being stonewalled spirals in the back of his mind, he nods in agreement with Naganori before adding "Any unusual travelers or merchants lately?" ,collect the answers, collate, process, refine, regurgitate hypothesis. "We understand, that you are running out of options." and then finding what Hiei had to contribute to be actually refined and thoughtful, the KRD has finally done it, they have replaced him with a ~better~ version of himself, the madness.
The elder shakes his head. "We haven't been able to trade with them since this all happened. Before, things were fine, then they started acting strange. They've already threatened us. Howling and calling at different kinds of the day and night. We know they're nearby, but don't know when — " He's cut off as a villager bursts in with clear fear on his face, "They're here! They're attacking right now!" A cry follows after the man's admission and he looks over his shoulder. Looks like the horse just came in and started bucking.
Itami 'woke up'. Looks like this cold had gotten to her in some way. She was feeling a bit tired, but perked up at the sign of danger. "Looks like we'll have to get down to business," she states. The elder does his best to answer anymore questions and keep calm in the face of danger. "Unusual travelers or merchants…I can't say. There were some that passed through here not long ago…I think, but they didn't appear to be odd. They were seeking refuge and we welcomed them in…." He considers for a few moments. "You don't think…"
He doesn't have time to speak his mind on the issue as a native comes running in on all fours, though he looks to be unarmed. His face is wild and he looks ready to attack. Despite not having any jutsu of his own, he leaps pretty far in an attempt to tackle the leader of the viillage, shouting as he did so.
Naganori is shocked and surprised by seeing the native burst into the room and charge towards the elder. He scrambles backward, unsure of what to do. Even though he's trained, he hasn't been out in the field at all. Naganori hardly registers Hiei stepping up to check the native. "Wow…nice move!" he calls out while throwing his cloak behind his shoulders while pulling out a kunai in case he needs it.
Hiei had been standing in the corner when the villager bust in. When that happened, it put him on guard so when the native come flying in, Hiei blurs over to in front of the elder and extends his hand, effectively blocking the native from his intended target. "Back off." He doesn't ask anything else. He's wired to go immediately into action when a life is threatened. His fingers form seals before he places his closed fist down by his side. "I'm your opponent now." The fist crackles with electricity. "Ninja Art: Lightning Shotgun!" He thrusts his arm outwards, palm side out just as a blast of lightning flies on course for the native. "Now it's a party." He comments, his excitement growing at the prospect of a fight.
Hiroyasu nods as the elder explains things before being interrupted first by a villager, then by a native, as Hiei does as he is prone to do act first, "Let's try not to maim them, we need to determine what is going on." He pulls out an array of seals from his pouch and moves over to the elder and others "Move it outside, minimize civilian exposure! and collateral damage." his mind snaps into focus as he is prepared to act in defense of those who are defenseless.
The village was under attack by natives and they were largely aggressive. This would be the first reported case of them actually attacking a villager as all others that came before were attacks against the village itself. The natives had the manerisms of various animals, some taking to rooftops acting as birds, others running across the ground acting as goats and various animals found within this region. Some were armed, but most weren't. All in all, it was just a wild attack with no particular organization. Everything had to be destroyed.
Already, a silo was suffering damage from the natives ramming it with their bodies and slinging stones at it. If they kept going, the structure would soon be falling down the mountain and with it, their food supply. The elder placed himself on the battlefield by attempting to organize people into their homes or his for safety. The shinobi would be able to handle this threat for them and hopefully, quickly.
The native that attacked the elder would go down easily enough. The shock that went through his system was enough to put him down. That left anybody else who was either running or within his hime to bind him up and place him aside. This still left ten others to deal with.
"I believe the plan is simple," Itami called out while scoping out where the natives were. "We try to detain them without killing them," she spoke. "Our objective is to prevent them from adding further damage to the storage ahead," she pointed out the area where the silo was and other storage facilities. The people did need their food to survive in a place as harsh as this. Upon drawing near enough to a native, she reached out to attack by incapacitating the person with with a sweeping strike.
Naganori looks at the kunai and shakes his head, "Don't kill them, right." He runs out of the small hovel and spies the group attacking the grain silo. Naganori takes off running and lifts his armored arm. Small holes in the forearm launch out several lines of black wire with a racheting sound towards one of the natives, hoping to snare it in the arms and legs.
Hiei looks from Itami to Hiroyasu. "Completely tie my hands why don't you. And while I'm busy not killing them, they are slaughtering the people we were hired to protect." He grumbles under his breath. "Fecking bleeding heart shinobi.." And a string of other curses that someone his age probably aren't supposed to know. So for now, he helps people get into shelter, only attacking if the natives come within melee distance..per his orders. "This way, people. Move it, unless you want to die."
Hiroyasu shakes his head "Consider it a challenge, I don't think you are capable of taking them out without harming them. MUCH Too hard for you, Yotsuki-sama", he frowns it was any easier for him, his techniques were meant for destruction. He decides that it would be best to attempt to take them out as easily as he can, and as many as he can. He begins making several seals increasing in complexity before stomping the ground "Ninjutsu: Multiple Rising Stone Columns" as a bevy of blunt stone columns begins shooting out at the ground going for torso shots.
The natives continued to attack the silo and storage area with as much as they could muster. They didn't seem to have a unified mind about it other than trying to do as much damage as possible. They were huddled around the silo much like animals all sharing on the same kill, but sometimes aggression broke out between them which caused disarray among them in some ways, most notably the silo not being taken down quickly enough. Some showed proficiency in jutsu by utilizing water clones and shields that managed to evade and deflect the stone columns and wires shooting forward. Others weren't so lucky, however as when one dodged, another was trapped. Some dropped under having their joints seized up, additionally taking damage from the columns. That dealt with some of the natives, but not all. At least they were safe and have only taken minor damage.
"Naganori, could you use your wires to tie up the ones we've taken down?" She asked of him. "Hiroyasu, I'll require your assistance to assure that they aren't severely harmed. They shouldn't be, but you can never be too certain. We have priorities for keeping these people alive," she stated to him.
"We only have few left to deal with and some have shown the capacity for using jutsu. So we should be careful of them when they come back around." One of them did manage to come back around, the one who threw up the shield in particular. Taking away from the snow, he generated a bullet of water and shot them off at the team while the other who evaded with a water clone went back to work on the silo. It appears their jutsu is fairly low level.
Across the village, some of the villagers are dealing with the natives in their own way by using what resources they have to incapacitate them. Men and women alike work together, using themselves as distractions as well as employing nets, ropes and anything else that may bind up the natives to keep them from doing anymore damage.
Hiei watches as more natives come around and when they shoot water bullets at him, he steps to the side as it goes right past. He looks at the area that he just vacated and then back at the native. "Summit this." He draws Fukushu and Saiai from their respective sheathes. Tired of being 'nice' He flips Saiai, the wakazashi around to the backside of the blade, which is serrated. He then moves into melee. He attacks the base of the skull with his short blade before delivering a shallow strike with the other, aiming at the back of their legs and any place where it wouldn't do permanent damage. "Didn't say I couldn't do this. Said I didn't /want/ to." Apparently in answer to Hiroyasu's challenge.
Hiroyasu nods to Itami "Understood, once the battle has subsided, I will render medical assistance to all whom need it. But It would be unfair to my patients to be made targets of because of me." He looks at her, "I didn't want to do this, against non shinobi, but they are comparable. Hiei provide me cover!" he pulls two seals and charges at the two jutsu users first on the ground, he hurls a seal in front of him which turns to face him, a large blue vortex begins to attempt rip strands of chakra from him, he cuts in direction and begins to up the sheer face of the silo his feet staying solid with the help of tree-walking, before flicking out the second seal attempting to do the same to the other jutsu user… Hiro is visibility sweating and his breath is rasp and sharp, this was pushing his limit and then some.
The natives are taken care of on both sides, the villagers having detained those that were running around while the shinobi handled the others at their storage facilities. For the most part, all were down except for one that was left. Seeing the other natives taken out made him go on the defensive. He thought it over, almost as if he was running on instinct and thought to flee the area, but…he couldn't. There was a struggle of will going on, almost as if there was something that was being drawn to the surface. He showed clear fear, but couldn't resist the overwhelming urge to attack.
Itami, seeing him going through this struggle continued to look him over before she finally got the idea to approach and use genjutsu kai on him. As the chakra was forced out of his system, he was released from the hold and fainted into the snow, tired and exhausted. "I see now," she started and looked between the group while Naganori was busy tying up the others with his wires.
"I think this ends the assault for now, but we have an issue on our hand. There's someone around here exerting their will onto these people and they need to be freed. Considering the nature of what's going on, the individual must not be too far from here…" She sets the man aside with those gathered up with the wires.
The rest of the village was safe and damage was minimal. They stopped the threat before they could do much more. Now's the time to figure out the one behind it all, but there doesn't appear to be much to go on. Appear, that is. A search on the bodies reveals seals on the backs of their necks. "Oh, you all are okay, that's wonderful!" The elder states as he runs over. "The villagers are alright too, but we found something. The natives look like they have marks on their necks. We think this might be what's causing the problem. These marks, I saw them before. They belong to the people we took in not too long ago!" He couldn't believe it.
"They moved on from here, but not far. If you move now, you can find them in the next village ahead. It's only ten minutes from here."
Hiei sheathes his blades since most of the fighting was done and Sensei says that you should only draw on someone when you intend to either kill or maim them. When Itami says that they were being controlled remotely, Hiei immediately looks at Hiroyasu. "Hiro, can you get eyes on this guy? If he's still in the area, I'm confident I can catch them. I just need a direction." He looks at Itami. "Itami-sempai, I recommend you allow me to do recon of the area to make sure that there are no stragglers around. For safety's sake." He grumbles under his breath. "If that rogue Yotsuki is behind this somehow, I'm going to ventilate his body for him."
Hiroyasu scales down the side of the silo, having defended and rebuffed the attacker on it. He flips off from a safe height landing in a crouch and roll, "Let me see one those seals" he says walking over to where they are, and looking down at the seal, he was pretty knowledgable, before looking at Hiei "Alright" he glances at Naganori then Itami, this was not something he wanted to reveal in case they were deceptive it would be his ace in his sleeve. He brings his hands together in a prayer steeple and closes his eyes, his feature slack and his face turn stoic. He sniffs there air as a form of misdirection to those watching about what his abilities might be "Yes" he sniffs again "Yes, foreign taint is coming from" he points in the general direction heading along the mountain side, "It's hard to pinpoint but it's not far." using a heavy amount of chakra is not a wise move to conceal you.
With the natives detained, Itami began work of releasing them from the genjutsu so that they might think clearly. They began to explain stories of how they felt animal spirits had entered them. While ordinarily that would be an honorable thing, there was a taint associated with them as they blacked out and couldn't remember a thing other than they felt aggressive with the need to attack whatever got in their way. They hadn't know that they'd been destroying villages up to this point. Even they're uncertain of what's been going on around here.
Considering the council woman isn't used to this environment, she decided to let Hiroyasu and Hiei handle the issue themselves, confident in their ability to do so while she continued work of removing the genjutsu spell from the natives. Guided down the trail, Hiroyasu and Hiei would come upon a strong source of chakra within the mountain side. Hidden from view, it was covered in snow, but a bit of climbing revealed a small alcove that was used as a means to keep close to the natives to control them. The jig was up at this point, however and the person began to exit the alcove…by starting an avalanche. A minor one, at best as not enough snow was gathered around here, but he had every intent not to be caught by these two.
Hiei nods to Hiro. "Excellent." He makes a brief handseal. "Release: Rapid Movement!" A bright blue aura surrounds his body before disappearing and as Hiei crouches slightly, he takes off like a rocket at high speed. Navigating the terrain, he manages leap his way up the mountain trail to that alcove where the person was. He ignores the avalanche and instead attempts to tackle the guy in the alcove.
Hiroyasu quickly reaching into his seal pouch, throws out a seal and a sudden swirls of chakra in a large of wall which acts as a breakwater for the small avalanche. "I've got this, go get them! We need to return them to Kumogakure for proper judgement! It's the mission!" he shouts pulling more seals from his pouch imagining that the avalanche may not be done yet.
The effort between Hiei and Hiroyasu shows as they both contribute to the capture of this mysterious individual. With lightning speed, one is able to best the avalanche and end up in the alcove to take out the one responsible while the other puts an end to it before it causes too much damage. There's no telling if there are other villages that may be at risk if it were to fall and continue without any prevention. The avalanche is stopped, though some snow naturally slips through the barrier as it gathers up. It's nothing significant enough to start a secondary avalanche on the way down, however.
The culprit behind it is trapped and he has nowhere to go. As fast as Hiei was, he didn't think he'd be able to escape. It appears he failed his mission. The destruction of the villages would have proved profitable to the merchants who passed through here not long ago. Destroying the villages along the way would've cleared up what they felt was a potential path to lead through the mountains without risk or harm as well as punishment from the government. They could do both legal and illegal trade along these routes without anyone looking into these areas. No one cared about the folk on the mountain. As long as they were outside the Daimyo's view and Kumogakure's notice, they could do as they pleased.
The culprit surrenders himself over to Hiei after the attempted fight he put up with the starting of the avalanche. He was a skilled shinobi, but two individuals were still outside his leage of abilities without him needing to use everything else at his disposal to handle them. "I'll tell you everything that was happening here. The one that put me up to this has quarters in the city where the Daimyo lives. Now that I've been found, there's no need to keep all this up," he shrugged. "He's on his own, now."
The natives back in the village were being treated well by the villagers they attacked and expressed sorrow for their actions. Despite it all, they were forgiven and relations between the villagers and natives are certain to return very quickly. They were used against their home for the benefit of others and now they feel it necessary to train themselves to be better protectors of themselves and their surroundings.
Hiei wasn't even breathing hard. It was part of his conditioning that Ogo put him through. "Then talk. I'm taking you to kumogakure for judgement. But I want to hear your story first." After the KRD get ahold of him, Hiei might not have access to him again. While he talks, he withdraws ninja wire from his utility belt and begins to bind the man's hands and feet. He'd carry him out of here once they were finished. He could only hope that Hiro found a way to stop the avalanche before it reached the village of mountain folk.
Outside Hiroyasu has managed to stem the flow of the rushing snow, it wasn't going to break loose anytime soon but it may cause some issues later. "It's okay, Hiei. I've managed to stem the rush of snow, I'll make sure the village is aware of it so they can deal with." He goes to help Hiei, "We need to meet back up with Itami and Naganori." He says brushing his hands together and adjusting the hood on his cloak.
The man began to explain everything he knew of the plan. A noteworthy name in the criminal underground was looking for a place to expand his business to and decided on the mountains. The shinobi was tasked with destroying the villages so that they could use them as a pathway for legal and illegal trade. By using the natives, it would have appeared that the event was civil turmoil and no one would be the wiser, leaving the villagers that shared space with them to die without aid. Eventually, the natives would have been wiped out too. If they'd have caught wind of what was going on, they would've placed all their effort into stopping it, naturally because it would've disrupted their home and their way of life.
It wouldn't be long before Hiei and the others would return. Itami was…not doing so well. So, she was placed in the elder's home near the fireplace to warm up. Already, villagers began work on setting the silo back into place after the damage it'd taken with the assistance of the natives. They were planning on having a small feast due to the help they received from the shinobi and invited them to partake in it. The least they could have is full stomachs before returning home, right? "We thank you for your efforts. I am…sorry for not trusting you all from the beginning, but I do hope you understand my concern. We've been well aware of what's been going on outside these parts, but we didn't think that people were already harming us from inside out. The natives regret their actions, but they've been forgiven. We're eager to return back to the way things are and wish for you all to have something to eat before departing," he bowed to Hiei and Hiroyasu. He'd already expressed his sentiments to Itami and Naganori while they remained behind.
Itami would eventually recover and meet back up with the group with a smile on her face. "I am very impressed with you all. Skilled beyond what I expected. I am happy to have participated in this mission with you all," she offered a thumbs up to them. "Though I would want to spend time here, I…am not well suited to this weather. Is it alright if we collect what they offer us and return to the village?" She sniffled. Looks like a fever is coming on.
Hiei glances over at Hiroyasu and they both listen to the man's story before Hiei tosses him over his shoulder and returns to the village proper. "This ascends. I'll bet it's the Yakuza. Kayaru-sama, Kanbei-san and I have been working another case involving them. They've been swindling people out of their money in a village south of Kumo. We're coming up with a plan to get those folks their money back." He frowns. "Dishonorable." When Itami suggests they get food, Hiei shakes his head. "I'd feel better if we get this guy into a more secure location as quickly as possible. If it's all the same to you, I'd rather we leave immediately." He pauses. "Besides, and I don't mean this in a bad way, you're not looking so good right now, Sempai."
Hiroyasu bows his head when they are thanked "Oh no, Think nothing of it, a generous helping of suspicion keeps the wits about you," he waves his hand as in it's no trouble "Thank you but we must decline we must return, but thank you for your generous offer." He looks at Itami and shakes his head "Your not very acclimated to the weather. Are you feeling ill?" he approaches her giving her a stern looking up and down. "Yeah, we better get her out of the ice and snow. Probably several more hot water treatments in your future. Sempai" he offers to assist her to lessen her load, and strain. "Shall we depart, Itami-sempai?" he asks.
Itami only just now recognized the use of sempai and shook her head. "I'm…I'm okay," she sniffled again. "Just a little tuckered out from fighting. I don't think I'm worthy of being declared sempai, though. I feel that's a title reserved for people of your own fold who earned it," she grins. "I just came here to see what things were like and I'm impressed. I have sympathy for your efforts around here." She's reminded of the work she has to do back at home. Maybe traveling hasn't been such a curse on her than she thought.
"But alright. We'll return the criminal to Suna — err, I mean…Kumogakure. My mind is escaping me," she shook her head. All this bundling and she still got sick. Blah. She'll definitely need to develop something to keep her together around here.
"You have our greatest thanks for helping us," the elder and those gathered around him bow to the shinobi once more. "But we understand if you must return quickly. If you're ever in this area again, please, feel free to come to us for your needs and shelter. We would be more than happy to oblige. Be careful on your way down and many blessings to you all," he stated to them before departing to complete the preparations to eat.
"That was ni — igh…" She sneezed. "That was…nice," she lifted a hand to her nose to rub it a bit. "Okay, let's go. I need hot water and sun and tea and a fire, more of these…" She holds her hands up underneath all the bundling she has on. "Even the desert doesn't get this cold," she whined.
Hiei shrugs. "If you're going to be taking Kumo missions, why not call you Sempai? Keeps it simple for me." He shakes his head when she starts sneezing. He felt fine. He had on sleeves for this one because it WAS cold, but he's used to it. He runs in the mountains in the mornings before boulder practice. "Let's ride." Adjusting the bound man over his shoulder slightly, he takes off at a brisk run back towards the village. "Can't stay cold if you're constantly moving." He comments.
Hiroyasu shakes his head, as she is deteriorating right in front of them and in short time, "We are rather informal at times, Sempai is not strictly meant, Although you do hold more rank and experience than we, regardless of your origin." he looks around "We do have much to more to do before it is as it should be" he says with a solemn tone.
"You are beginning to slip on your faculties Sempai? I don't have any medicine with me, the best I can offer is a boost to your natural endurance via infusion. Had I know it was for extreme cold weather I could have packed some salves and herbs." Before glancing over at Hiei then back to Itami as he takes as much load as she is willing to afford him. "Water would be best, a hot soup or broth, a warm bath, and sleep, ample sleep. I'll have some medicine sent to your lodging."
When Hiei makes a ogo like statement, he just shakes his head "Your becoming like Sensei, Yotsuki-san." before turning to itami, escorting a sick foreign dignitary, this could be to be as difficult as the battle.
"I understand," Itami nodded a few times over. "I'll think all that over on the way back down," she chuckled. "Moving, yes. Moving, that should help. Slip on my faculties…I hope not. My staff isn't around here," she replies back before pausing. "Mental faculties," she lifted her cloak to her face to rub it a bit. "I blame myself for coming all the way out here at the worst time of the year for me. I can't really stand the cold yet and this labored breathing is getting to me." Yes, of course she'd pick one of the hardest missions for them to display their talents on. If she wasn't a shinobi, she'd have passed out by now and forgotten everything.
"I am grateful that you all are treating me so well. Water, hot water, soup, broth, bath…" She repeated back while thinking over all these things with bliss. That might get her through the trip down.
