Starring:
Date: January 13, 2016
Summary:
A clock dealer has created a small portable clock to be delivered to Iwagakure, and a team of genin is sent to make sure it arrives safely.
"The Timemaker's Delivery"
Land of Earth
Time. Time is constant, and continues running even when consciousness leaves those that perceive it. Time is a manmade constraint, but without this powerful mathematical tool the universe could not exist. Shinobi of Iwagakure have not been called to save time, such a thing is well out of their reach and instead better left for storybook characters. Instead, Iwagakure will save a 'time maker'. A man who has touted that he is able to make a small mechanical device to keep the time. A personal watch, you could say. Yet there are people out there that wish to take time and keep it for themselves. Why would such a simple little device be so coveted by others?
This man lived in a simple cottage in the mountains, and was rather old. His convenient little invention was so important to him that he had asked for help and had paid out a large sum for the protection of that invention. It was the duty of those from Iwagakure to keep the invention safe as it is transported from his house back to Iwagakure…
Hotaru was there, of course, as the sensor component of the mission. Having the 'dragon' around after she had developed her sensory ability in light of her friend's recent disappearance and recovery is far more useful than it once was. Considering this mission wasn't supposed to be all that difficult, Hotaru would have beent he obvious choice. Leave the real work to real shinobi right? c.c She would be slowly walking up the trail leading to the old man's house, not complaining about the terrible walking conditions she has had to bother herself with. Complaining is not a very ninja thing to do.
Akio was there as well behind Hotaru a bit. He had his hitai-ate on his forhead showing that something made him change his mind again. The boy had so many mood swings for a twelve year old boy. Anyways he was mostly silent as he walked, but he got bored so made pace to stand next to Hotaru. "You expect there to actually be strong people after this thing or do you expect it to be just weak bandits or something?" He looked down at her with a small frown on his face before he scanned the area and sent a jolt of chakra into the ground. Only to keep an eye on this team for now.
A guard mission. Simple enough. With her various abilities from using her bees to healing to turning INTO a bee, Kioko should be able to help readily enough! Walking along the trail with the team, Kioko hums lightly while they move. She doesn't start a lot of conversation unless asked, but she is happy enough to talk should anyone speak to her.
The trail wasn't too bad. A little rocky. Honestly, the country had it's own majesty. There was one thing that didn't mix with the scenery well. The man's house looked as if it had come out of some steam-punk novel. There were random gears poking out of the walls that seemed to turn rhythmically, and don't seem to stop. It seem as if the man was already up at the top, waiting for his hired shinobi to get there. Standing right in front of his door, the man wore goggles and had rather ragged gloves that appeared to work endless hours on forging and piecing together gears and other mechanical works. His thumb slid carefully over the the timepiece, a simple wind-up time piece. Not exactly the future of time, but he made a living off of making these and selling them. Timepieces were not exactly widespread, though there were others that could make them.
Hotaru didn't know what to expect. "He paid enough to make this seem as if it was a C-rank mission, Akio. That means unskilled fighters at least… … Hey, Kioko-sensei. Does this technically make you our escorting Chuunin? Even if… you're not -really- a Chuunin yet?" Hotaru wondered. At the top of the path, there was a new voice to be heard. One of the watchmaker.
"About time. Heh. That was a pun." The man stows the watch back into a small box and seals it up. "There is a note in this box that says who you are to deliver it to. That should be all. Time is money, chop chop! Aaaahahaa! I did it again! Time is money." Whimsical, this one is.
Akio blinked a few times before nodding slowly. "Alright Hotaru. I will keep a look out through the earth. If you need anything just ask." He nodded slowly before walking back towards where Kioko was as his chakra was sent through the earth. "Kioko… You have bees huh? They see anything?" He just felt like saying something and asking about the mission in some form was the easiest thing to do. His hand was idly rubbing at his belly where his recent wound still lie probably a good scar now.
RPCOMBAT: Akio defends against with a TREMOR-SENSE-II…29
RPCOMBAT: Kioko defends against with a BEE-SENSES…49
"I… guess so," Kioko replies to Hotaru, frowning slightly at that. She's got to do more to prove herself. Despite having healed the Kage herself from grievous injuries twice already, she's not done enough to merit promotion back to the rank she held in Konohagakure. "Keep your eyes peeled." She closes her eyes for a moment, sending a wave of her insects out in various direction to keep an eye on the area around.
It seems for the most part, at this very second, there is no activity. Kioko, however, would likely get reports from her insects that there were people in the area. Caution should be taken, for some of them were wielding weapons. Hotaru would have to interact with the strange man, and actually speak to him. Not a problem. She had business sense! "Wow, sir. That was witty! We'll make sure your package arrives in good hands at the right time." She would wait for it to be placed into her hand as she turns to her comrades. "We've got a to 'watch' our surroundings as Kioko has said…" She grunts, as she catches herself making puns now. "L-let's go then." She says to her comrades before making her way forward slowly. Not the quickest courier, but she is reliable at least. Hotaru knows Kioko is actually pretty strong. Stronger than her, anyways. Definitely.
RPCOMBAT: Hotaru defends against with a CHAKRA-SENSING-TECHNIQUE…27
Akio was probably the weakest one here so tried to stay in the middle of the other two. The least he could do was hopefully spot danger before it got here, but both of the others were probably better at that too… Sadly he just was not as strong as the other two yet.. Hopefully he would get there though. He did have a good amount of skills and he could probably get Hotaru to teach him more fire stuff.
RPCOMBAT: Akio defends against with a TREMOR-SENSE-II…32
RPCOMBAT: Kioko defends against with a BEE-SENSES…60
As they move along, Kioko continues to use her bees to keep an eye out around. She nods in agreement to the words about getting the package there on time and folds her arms over her chest.
Moving out for a while brought nothing that was particularly interesting. Several people passed the crew as they moved forward with the target, and some of those people were actually very well armed. Not everyone who had a weapon was actually a dangerous person. The real action came after an hour of arm-folding, sighing, and telling Akio that she wasn't going to teach him her techniques because she was not his sensei.
The fun came when the sound of fuses being lit were heard. A bandit attack!
[NPC System]: Bandits! roll(s) Weaponized Fireworks on Kioko from 1 to 25 and get(s) a 4. - Rolled by: Hotaru
[NPC System]: Bandits! roll(s) Weaponized Fireworks on Hotaru from 1 to 25 and get(s) a 13. - Rolled by: Hotaru
[NPC System]: Bandits! roll(s) Weaponized Fireworks on Akio from 1 to 25 and get(s) a 12. - Rolled by: Hotaru
Fireworks flew too and fro, striking out at the genin. They were heavily innacurate, but could deal quite a bit of damage if they hit.
RPCOMBAT: Hotaru defends against with a WATER-RIBBONS…21
Hotaru was always on guard, though her chakra-sensing ability was near worthless when it came to people who used no chakra at all. It was the fuse-burning that caused her to bring a single hand up and create a few seals without bringing both hands together. An ability she has been working on for a long time. She didn't even need to drop her cane to fight! The firework that likely would of missed her was pushed off to the side by ribbons of water. "Well, we wouldn't be paid for a C-rank if it didn't have someone throwing something at us… We'll give you one chance to recapitulate your attack, an leave, before we shinobi of Iwagakure level you." She has to tap her headband just to make sure they got the hint.
RPCOMBAT: Akio defends against with a DODGE…20
Akio looked back at Hotaru and frowned a bit. "You don't have to be my sensei you know. We are supposed to be teammates and you are much more skilled with fire ninjutsu. Who else should I learn from. Unless this is you telling me to go to some other village for a teacher." He just stared at her a moment until…he heard something. He simply moved as a firework went right past him. "Seriously though… Listen to the girl."
Glancing between the two talking, Kioko lifts an eyebrow and says, "Focus. Chat later." She may not be a Chuunin, but she apparently does have to act as one. While she kind of reprimands, a wall of insects flows out from behind her and easily keeps the fireworks from touching her. That same wall then turns and rushes out toward the source of those attacks with unkind intent.
COMBAT: Kioko attacks target 1 with BEE-SWARM with a roll of: 42
COMBAT: Kioko attacks target 1 with BEE-SWARM with a roll of: 48
qIt seems that Hotaru's attempt at giving the bandit's mercy was subdued by Kioko, which caused the dragon to grump. "H-hey! I… I was.." The bees were stinging and biting the bandits that were going to open fire again anyways. As it all was happening, however, a man who was rapidly trying to get the bees off drops his fuse-lighting implement in a box. That causes the box to explode. Fireworks would suddenly start going everywhere! -Everywhere-. Even if the shinobi dodge every one of them, they might get tired dodging all of them!
[NPC System]: Bandits! roll(s) Weaponized Fireworks on Kioko from 1 to 25 and get(s) a 1. - Rolled by: Hotaru
[NPC System]: Bandits! roll(s) Weaponized Fireworks on Hotaru from 1 to 25 and get(s) a 9. - Rolled by: Hotaru
[NPC System]: Bandits! roll(s) Weaponized Fireworks on Akio from 1 to 25 and get(s) a 11. - Rolled by: Hotaru
[NPC System]: Bandits! roll(s) Weaponized Fireworks on Kioko from 1 to 25 and get(s) a 15. - Rolled by: Hotaru
[NPC System]: Bandits! roll(s) Weaponized Fireworks on Hotaru from 1 to 25 and get(s) a 3. - Rolled by: Hotaru
[NPC System]: Bandits! roll(s) Weaponized Fireworks on Akio from 1 to 25 and get(s) a 3. - Rolled by: Hotaru
[NPC System]: Bandits! roll(s) Weaponized Fireworks on Kioko from 1 to 25 and get(s) a 11. - Rolled by: Hotaru
[NPC System]: Bandits! roll(s) Weaponized Fireworks on Hotaru from 1 to 25 and get(s) a 12. - Rolled by: Hotaru
[NPC System]: Bandits! roll(s) Weaponized Fireworks on Akio from 1 to 25 and get(s) a 6. - Rolled by: Hotaru
[NPC System]: Bandits! roll(s) Weaponized Fireworks on Kioko from 1 to 25 and get(s) a 16. - Rolled by: Hotaru
[NPC System]: Bandits! roll(s) Weaponized Fireworks on Hotaru from 1 to 25 and get(s) a 10. - Rolled by: Hotaru
[NPC System]: Bandits! roll(s) Weaponized Fireworks on Akio from 1 to 25 and get(s) a 21. - Rolled by: Hotaru
[NPC System]: Bandits! roll(s) Weaponized Fireworks on Kioko from 1 to 25 and get(s) a 16. - Rolled by: Hotaru
[NPC System]: Bandits! roll(s) Weaponized Fireworks on Hotaru from 1 to 25 and get(s) a 8. - Rolled by: Hotaru
[NPC System]: Bandits! roll(s) Weaponized Fireworks on Akio from 1 to 25 and get(s) a 22. - Rolled by: Hotaru
RPCOMBAT: Hotaru defends against with a CLONE-TECHNIQUE…27
RPCOMBAT: Hotaru defends against with a CLONE-TECHNIQUE…22
RPCOMBAT: Hotaru defends against with a CLONE-TECHNIQUE…22
RPCOMBAT: Hotaru defends against with a CLONE-TECHNIQUE…31
When the fire goes off, and fireworks start blowing around everywhere, Hotaru assumes the worst… That there were a -TON- of bandits, despite there being only one or two… Hotaru would take this opportunity then to blow fire over every enemy threat! … … No, she isn't a chuunin yet. For clear reasons… *Eyes Fireworks*
COMBAT: Hotaru attacks target 1 with FIRE-BULLET-BARRAGE with a roll of: 30
RPCOMBAT: Akio defends against with a DODGE…15
RPCOMBAT: Akio defends against with a DODGE…27
RPCOMBAT: Akio defends against with a DODGE…15
RPCOMBAT: Akio defends against with a FIRE-REPLACEMENT…37
RPCOMBAT: Akio defends against with a FIRE-REPLACEMENT…31
Akio dodged the first bit, but quickly noticed the overwhelming number. So he shot a small flame into the air before switching places with it and then firing another one towards the ground as they all go off everywhere. He then when landing onto the ground just uses metal to grab anyone he senses that is not his allies. This was getting annoying is all. As the bindings wrapped upwards he made sure a line of metal rose from the dirt and all came back to him just in case he needed to do his next attack.
COMBAT: Akio attacks target 1 with BRANCHING-METAL-BINDS with a roll of: 33
COMBAT: Akio attacks target 2 with BRANCHING-METAL-BINDS with a roll of: 26
RPCOMBAT: Kioko defends against with a INSECT-WALL…48
RPCOMBAT: Kioko defends against with a INSECT-WALL…37
RPCOMBAT: Kioko defends against with a INSECT-WALL…33
RPCOMBAT: Kioko defends against with a INSECT-WALL…48
COMBAT: Kioko attacks target 1 with BEE-SWARM with a roll of: 53
Keeping to her same methods, Kioko uses another swarm of bees to hold the attacks off and then sends another swarm out to attack their attacker.
Hotaru probably should have used fire on a bunch of bandits. Why? Fire sets of fire works. Fuses are -everywhere- and Hotaru lights them all off at once. The bandits were clearly now not being just scattered by the bees, but were now running for their lives as their entire firework arsenal is set off at the very same time… Uh oh.
[NPC System]: Box of Fireworks roll(s) Plethora of Rockets vs Akio from 35 to 50 and get(s) a 40. - Rolled by: Hotaru
[NPC System]: Box of Fireworks roll(s) Plethora of Rockets vs Hotaru from 35 to 50 and get(s) a 41. - Rolled by: Hotaru
[NPC System]: Box of Fireworks roll(s) Plethora of Rockets vs Kioko from 35 to 50 and get(s) a 42. - Rolled by: Hotaru
RPCOMBAT: Hotaru defends against with a WATER-CLONE…28
RPCOMBAT: Hotaru took 450 damage.
Hotaru was so sure that she had them that she didn't realize they'd -all- attack her at once. So many fireworks spreading around more heavily than Kioko's bees. She would be hit by one of them, which promptly explodes, knocking her off her feet! The bandits were done for, and were clearly routed. Unfortunately, when Hotaru was knocked onto her feet she actually lost the box with the little clock inside! Which was bad given that the clock was their mission objective!
RPCOMBAT: Akio defends against with a METAL-BARRIER…27
RPCOMBAT: Akio took 450 damage.
Akio had put a barrier in the front, but he didn't have to worry about just the front. They were coming from everywhere, and he head to quickly think on his feet to avoid anymore. One did hit him though and sent him to the ground. From here he decided to stop trying to grab others with metal and instead tried to bind the cart….hopefully that would stop more from flying everywhere.
COMBAT: Akio attacks target 1 with BRANCHING-METAL-BINDS with a roll of: 31
Akio's Metal Binds switch from grasping people to grasping fireworks. This, fortunately, makes the firework barrage stop. What it does do however is release bandits that quickly scatter. One bandit actually comes toward Hotaru, Kioko, and Akio and picks up the little box Hotaru had! Oh no! He took the watch! The bandit would then run away, leaving a rather bothered Hotaru. "H-he's running! D-darn it!" She would squeak as she plants her hands into several seals. "Akio, go get him!" She would demand of her team-member. Her best bet was to slow the bandit down in time for Akio to kill or knock him out… Water would be channeled from a nearby stream that whips out and grasps the enemy, before wrapping around him and creating a circular ring around him.
COMBAT: Hotaru attacks target 1 with WATER-CHAINS with a roll of: 33
With or without Hotaru's help Akio would just sink into the ground before moving afterwards. Then he grabbed the bandits ankles and pulled him swiftly into the ground up to his head before knocking picking up and tossing the box to Hotaru who at the very least could catch it with water. Then Akio eyed the bandit and frowned. "I have had enough of you." Then he just pointblank breathed a hot fire into the mans face.(If he is trapped of course. c.c)
COMBAT: Akio attacks target 1 with HEADHUNTER-TECHNIQUE with a roll of: 24
COMBAT: Akio attacks target 1 with DRAGON-FIRE-TECHNIQUE with a roll of: 34
Akio had easily slipped the individual underground, and killed him point-blank. What a monstrous way to kill someone! Now that the man was fried, Akio could peel the charred box from his fingers. For the moment everything seemed calm. No more bandits were going to lose their lives over a silly watch. Hotaru would finally get up onto her feet, dusting her arms off. "You can hold onto that for now. Let's get going." Hotaru would look over to Kioko, who was finishing the retreating bandits off without any effort what-so-ever. "Kioko, Good job!" This might be a wrap!
Akio grabbed the box since he had held onto it when pulled under ground. Anyhow he grabbed it and just started walking with a sort of sigh. "I guess I can hold onto it. You are lucky you need to use your cane." He chuckled a bit and just walked. Some chakra going through the ground just in case something else popped up.
Well, this is one of few missions Kioko can actually call pretty easy. Of course, it's probably one more for the other Genins' benefit since she's a Genin who was once a Chuunin and is now earning her way back in a new village. "Shall we move ahead?" she asks with a smile as she looks back to the others once more.
