Starring:
Auron (emitter), Ryo, Eremi, Naru, Kuroji
Date: March 31, 2012
Summary:
A trio of genin and a know about leader is sent off to recover the stolen artifact from the Bomber base. During the mission, their leader falls into a trap is slain. The group of Genin work together for the completion of the mission while another shinobi steps in take make the ultimate sacrifice for their escape.
Poster's note: Profanity filtered in obvious places.
"Tough Decisions"
A Bomberguard Base
The air was still a little crisp after the cool Spring night. The morning dew was present on the blades of grass and various plants. The birds were already filling the air with their songs and not a cloud was in the sky. At the village gates stands a burly man clad in various plates of armor that cover his body. Some would know him as Pakun the military adviser to the Hokage. He is currently leaned up against a wooden pillar while idly stroking his beard. Seems that he will be the one to see the team off today.
Making his way towards the village gate was none other than Ryo. The boy was pretty excited although he did not know exactly what to expect. He had a little knowledge of the mission but not a horribly lot. The boy was eager to be on a good mission though. One that involved some form of danger. There had been a lot who told him not to be too eager to get there too fast. Ryo looked at Pakun as he arrived. There was a small bow given to him as he awaited the rest of the people for this mission. He was eager to find out who was in charge. No doubt it would be someone other than him. He was most likely the youngest genin to be on the team.
It was a bit of a walk from Kadomai, the village that borders Konoha, to the gates where he was to meet the new team on this mission. So Eremi had to wake up a little earlier if was to make it in time. It wasn't much of a problem for him though, as for the moments he reached the forest he instantly leaped into the trees and began jumping from one to the next. Upon seeing the gates just up ahead, he slowed a bit and changed his travel to walking on the ground. A yawn escaped him as he approached and he tiredly rubbed at his eyes to knock out some of the sleep that formed. When he finally gathered himself, he spotted two. First was Ryo, a slightly familiar face and the other was a well armored man. One Eremi would just as soon ignore, but it was most likely whom he would have to speak with. A nod was given to Ryo, followed by a smile before moving up toward the individual with a raised hand and a wave. "My name is Satonezu Eremi. Are you here to see us off?" He glanced around then, wondering where the others of the team might be.
An important mission for the day only meant that naru was definitely going to be wide awake and early in the pre-dawn morning. All of her things were gathered along one side of her room, clothes and ninja tools. After training some with Eremi she definitely felt ready for what was to come, but it was time for some debriefing and figuring out just what she would be getting herself into. After sliding on her belongings the raven haired Uchiha exited out from her window and proceeded down to the renedevous point, running along the roofs of houses until hoping down into the main street to greet everyone.
Ryo seemed to have already arrived actually giving her a questionable look. "Ryo… is going to be on this mission?" Naru thought quietly to herself, while then Eremi showed up suddenly. This early in the day it wasn't concidience they were all here, this was going to be her team. Crossing her arms along one another, respectfully she bows before Pakun and looks up at him with a slightly tilted head. " Hello everyone, though I think we all know eachother for the most part," She speaks out to both Ryo and Eremi, while turning to Pakun and bowing once again. " Uchiha Narusegawa,"
Pakun lets out a hardy chuckle. "Yes, yes I know who you kiddos are. It was I who selected you for this mission after all." The man says as continues stroking his beard. "For those of you that do not know me, I am Pakun. An adviser to the Hokage. Now, im sure you all have been keeping up to date with the reports." Pakun says as his tone now becoming more serious. "We have information that will lead you to the Bombers' hideout. From there you are to find away inside, and recover this artifact that the TNT werebeasts are wanting so badly. We need to end this conflict as soon as possible since we have bigger matters such as the mysterious fires on our hands. Seeing how Kuroji is still recovering and will not be able to lead you through his mission, i have someone to take his place."
From the top of the gates above, a figure leaps down to join Pakun's side. The boy looked to be in his early twenties and wore the typical chuunin attire with the jacket and all. "My name is Bo. I will be leading you as team four."
Pakun nods approvingly. "Very well! Bo has been briefed with the directions to getting to the hideout. Good luck and keep in mind failure is not an option today. One of our own's life is at stake here. Your failure equals his death." He says grimly.
"Alright team four, lets move." Bo says as he turns to make his way out of the gate then quickly leaping to the trees to begin their journey.
Ryo recognizes Eremi and then Naru. He smiles at both of them. Each had been in the Chuunin Exams. Though one made it farther than the other, he knew Eremi was no push over. The boy then turns to Pakun as he starts to speak. There is a single nod of the head while he speaks. Then his eyes focus on the shadow that emerged as the one known as Bo. He waits for him to leap into the tree. The boy then follows behind him.
The young boy's mind was racing. Who was this Bo? Just what exactly would they run into on this mission? Why did the werebeasts want the artifact? His eyes then glanced between the other genin going with. At least he trusted them and knew most of what they were capable.
So Naru is here too? Eremi nodded approvingly. She was powerful and an all around jack of trades. Though some of her moves do seem to require a larger field, he wondered if Ryo was the same. Eyes locking on the sword the boy had strapped to him. He's met the boy a few times, but can't recall anything that stuck. Such as a spar, a mission or simply training together. Still, they were both Uchiha and had control of fire at their disposal. Eremi was going to have to hope they watched his back when he ran in with his taijutsu. No need for stray damage.
Changing his attention to Pakun now, eyes widening and mind focusing. Listening to the details of the mission, even though he already expected what was required of them. Most importanly for Eremi however, was rescuing Den. The genin that was captured while on his last mission…Was it going to be possible that another genin among them might get captured? Eremi shook his head as he thought of such. Not this time, he wouldn't allow it. "It's nice to meet you Bo." Though as they began to move out, Eremi gave a head nod to Pakun before following after the leader of the team. Leaping into the trees and preparing himself.
Naru was taking in the situation, she knew the gravity of everything but Naru couldn't help but to think that there was more going on than what was being let off, this was one of the many reasons why she wanted to be a chuunin, for too long did they keepgenin in the dark, Naru was interested in important and life threatening missions, she was content with this though… Finally they all were given a measure of trust in their abilities. " Sounds like a plan…" Naru states to herself though personally she just nods to Pakun and Bo as well, she didnt say anything as of yet, she needed to focus and psych herself out.
With Bo leaping out into the trees to lead the team Naru was last to follow after them, she too jumping out to get a grasp of the trees and moving swiftly between them, she wondered just how far they would have to go until they got there, finally she spoke out. " So what exactly are we dealing with? Just the average crook or are these things truly something else?" Naru asked out as they moved along, measure of strength was important if they were going to sneak in…
Bo continues leaping from tree limb to tree limb. His blonde ponytail bouncing up and down with each shove of his foot. "From our sources, it sounds as though the Black Bombers started out as just a small pirate group. After making a few big scores they expanded and have grown from a small group to threat that if not dealt right could mean trouble for Konoha itself. Their top hench men are skilled shinobi who defected from their own respected village. They also made sure their lackies were more skilled than the average crook as you put it and trained them themselves. It is also rumored that this hideout is just one of many."
Taking in the information, Ryo ponders just how large a group these bombers have become. "How do we even know that the artifact is there?" he asks. He knew little of the werebeasts but could almost guarantee they were the source of intelligence on the base. If that was the case, they could be walking into an ambush or have a chance of their target not even being found there.
The boy then asks another question. "Do we have any information on how we are suppose to enter, or are we infiltrating the base on the fly?" It was good to know ahead of time if they needed to try to pick up on things like water ways or windows. He then waits for the answers or other questions from his other squad four mates.
As the group continued to move, Eremi was going over possible battle scenarios as there was very slim chance they were going to be able to talk these..Black Bombers into simply handing over the artifact they needed. It sure would be nice if it was going to be that simple. Hopefully the team would try doing such at first, ignore needless fighting and hurry up and get out of there to rescue Den. Otherwise….Eremi looked ahead to Ryo, then gave a glance over his shoulder to Naru. He didn't want to think more on it.
Suddenly, as they continued to move across the branches of the trees, Eremi reached for a kunai as he prepared himself. If he remembered correctly the Black Bombers were practically expecting them last time. Hiding out in wait until they distracted the werebeasts so the bombers could loot the treasures without a challenge. However, the team managed to capture one. Surely they'd be expecting Konoha to come after them and would be ready. "They were skilled yes, but we won't let that stop us from our goals. Get the artifact and get out of there, that's all we need to do."
"Get the artifact and get out…clearly we are our numbered, fighting is useless unless we attempt to over power them or trap them… I'm good at suppression and genjutsu support," Naru spoke out, speaking out her talents as they continued along the branches, it was then she utilizes a single hand seal, summoning the burning red two tomoed sharingan in each eye. " We have to be ready for everything that is for sure… We are ready for anything, Bo-San," Naru states, she was curious on the lay out and how they were going to get in, but nevertheless she didnt think it would be that much of a problem for them, they were all talented individuals.
"That is why i am here." Bo says looking over his shoulder back at Ryo. The chuunin continues leaping along while listening to the others. "Exactly." He simply says in response to Eremi and Naru's input. As they arrived at the forest's treeline, Bo puts his hand into the air and forms a first for them to halt. The chuunin scans the area in front of him. Just up was a rock formation and a lone tree stump. "Wait here and be ready to cover me." He says just above a whisper. Leaping from the tree limb he was currently at, he lands on the ground and cautiously makes his way towards the tree stump.
Lifting a flap of bark, he reveals a keypad. After punching in a series of numbers, a door slowly slides open on the side of the rock formation. Bo quickly leaps on top of the formation and waits for a moment. After a few moments of nothing appearing to happen, a man wearing the usual black and red attire of the Black Bombers pokes his head out with a puzzling look on his face. The chuunin jumps on top of man, causing both to fall to the ground. Bo is the first one back on his feet and sends a powerful knee into the bomber's jaw. The bomber falls out cold to the ground. Waving for the rest of his team to join him, he leads the way inside of the hideout.
Once inside lit torches at various intervals keep the pathways lit up. Bo leads the team through the first passageway and comes to a fork. The team leader scans the walls as if looking for a sign then decides to take the left path. Just as his foot lands on the fourth tile, a low rumble can be heard from within the stone walls. He turns to tell his team to get back, but no words escapse him as metal spikes shoot up from below and down from above. The spikes have pierce every part of his body, instantly killing him. Before the team stands their bloodied team leader looking back at them and a trail of his blood slowly oozing towards their feet. This passageway was now blocked off due to the spikes. If the team was going to continue moving then they would have to go back to the fork and take the other route.
Ryo paused when told to and watches as the Chuunin took out the guard. He moved when waved in. He even got to see the man destroyed by the metal spikes. All the while the boy had not said a word. He was simply being quiet. Now with a dead team leader the boy glances towards the other two. "It looks like we need a new team leader. If we call off the mission and leave here, we lose a genin from the village. If we continue on we need to work as a team and follow orders. We obviously cannot go through there and our path the to the artifact will be laced with guards and traps. Our sharingan will be the best defense. Though I am uncertain if either of our eyes will be enough to catch every trap… So, shall we vote on a leader?"
Seeing the fist, Eremi slows his approach until finally coming to a stop next to the leader. Something was going to happen and this man knew it. So he prepared himself for whatever may come, peering about hoping to spot whatever he could with his eyes and readying his kunai in front of him. When Bo speaks about needing cover, Eremi gives a nod in response and waits. It was odd how much Bo knew about the place. Intel division was obviously able to get quite a bit of information out of the man they kidnapped.
Then suddenly a bomber appeared and the chuunin and the bomber went down. Eremi jerked to come and help, but before he could. Bo was already decided the victor and waving the team forward. A sigh of relief washed over the boy as it was clear the man that was with them was very skilled. Almost as much as the man that lead him the previous time.
Leaping forward, Eremi followed the man and the rest into the hideout. Moving down the trails and taking one forked path, instead of the others. Then he heard it. The grinding of metal against rocks, if Eremi were faster and quicker with reflex, he would have reached for Bo and pulled him out of the way. He wasn't though and no there was no one to lead them.
When the spikes impaled the man, Eremi turned away before collecting himself, moving forward and grabbing the mans forehead protector and wrapping it around his arm. "We must at least take this with us."
Listening to Ryo, Eremi nodded in response. "If no one objects. I would like to take the lead. With me in front, I should have the fastest reflexes to avoid the traps and I've already dealt with two of the black bombers before. I'm pretty cautious and I try to keep my emotions in check so I won't make any irrational decisions. However, if either of you would like to lead and feel you are more qualified. Then please speak up as well."
Everyone seemed to be taking things nicely, a little too nicely. Bo was doing quite well at first, she was impressed with his knowledge of the area, actually making her question just how much he knew about the bombers, and if he had infiltrated them before. Nevertheless as soon as they made it into the torched area Naru felt more at ease, however as soon as things got a t least a little comfortable their leader had fallen into a trap, spiked and sliced up from various spikes protruding out from the ground and wall she watched his swiss spike riddled body with a spikes. She narrowed her eyes down, mostly in rage while her fists clenched tightly together. " Eremi, you are the leader lets go," Naru spoke coldly, she was tired about bouncing around the idea of figuring out who the leader was going to be, her eyes even began to tear up just slightly but her
sharingan was so illuminated at this point watery eyes were hard to notice. She turned away from the gruesome scene and began to walk the other direction, slowl so Eremi could catch the lead. " Our Sharingan will keep a look out for anything unusual, We will kill anyone that gets in our way and accomplish this without any more problems…" Naru went on to speak… They had already gotten one casualty… and for what? Was this artifact really that important?
Ryo looked towards Naru as she agreed with Eremi being the leader. He could see the pain in her face. Though he felt pain over the loss, now was not the time for it. There would be time later to grieve when others were not at risk. He glanced back towards Eremi. He was unsure if the boy was truly fast enough to get through the traps. "Eremi. I am fine with you being leader, but I must ask that you go last through the cavern. If we can make the way around the traps without setting them off we will not alert the enemy that we are still alive. But on the chance that you activate a trap, we might become seperated. Then divided we will fall." He waits to see what Eremi decides. The boy was not trying to create a power struggle, but he would not ignore the voice of reason. "Naru and I both can take the lead and try to mark the traps."
Naru hadn't necessarily agreed with Eremi, just seemed to want to hurry up and move things along. They were all genin ranked and most likely equally skilled in their own ways, so listening to someone that hasn't proven to be a leader before, it wouldn't be an easy task. The young teens eyes moved to look at Ryo, see what his opinion on the matter would be. It was relatively the same, though the younger Uchiha still seemed to have some reason in him. Despite seeing someone die before them. It wasn't Eremi's first time seeing such, was it either of the Uchiha's? He couldn't blame Naru for being angry. Losing a fellow shinobi isn't easy and it takes its toll on everybody differently.
"If you two both believe you can spot the traps, then I'm all for taking the rear." He wasn't really, but there was no time to argue the fact. They needed to quickly catch up to Naru before anything else happened. "We'll just back track to where the first fork started and take the other path and continue from there. If anything looks out of the ordinary, do not hesitate to speak up and please do not try and do anything on your own. We are a team and we will work better as one. There's a reason they put squads together. No single person can do it alone. Unfortunately…" He paused as he looked back, "You never know what traps wait for you." Turn back he nodded and continued, slowing down to let Ryo get in front of him, then bringing up the rear.
"I think its obvious we need to work as a team," Naru stated coldly, she was getting alittle irritated that they kept bringing it up. Stick together, divided we fall, yada yada yada it was getting annoying. " I will stick between the both of you instead, I'm not a taijutsu person," Naru replies back, We can spot traps before you even get to them, regardless if you are in the lead or not… If you are going to lead Ryo we need to move now, because a trap just went off and it would be very stupid of them not to come check and see what they caught," Naru obviously wanted to get things moving along, the longer they waited to chit chat the quicker it was going to take for them to be discovered. "Look out for traps and find the artifact, thats easy enough to remember isn't it? We need all of our eyes,"
Moving infront of Eremi and Naru, Ryo activates his own sharingan. Though he knew he was faster and better with Taijutsu than Naru, he felt her eyes were better. The boy lightly sighs as he gets the impression of annoyance from Naru. He understood that the bombers would be on their way to check their trap. If so, that meant they would either release the trap or come down the other passage way. "Be prepared for a fight. If they cannot get through that way, then they will be coming the way we are going."
Ryo does not bother to glance at Naru or Eremi. "Also Naru, getting upset is not going to save anyone here. Calm down and do what you do best." He really hoped if he missed something her eyes did not. The boys eyes continue to scan the floor, the walls and the ceiling. He was looking for anything that stuck out from the ordinary.
Sighing to himself, it was obvious without an offical leader to keep things in check, the tensions were only going to continue to escalate. Something that will only end up hindering them later on. Clear heads was what was needed. Not battling prides and ego's. Eremi took another deep breath as he followed behind, eyes simply peering along the walls, the floors and out ahead of the group. Using the available torchlight as best as he could, where ever it shined. He didn't have the sharingan to help him like the other two, but what he did have was an over cautiousness to any situation he approached. Never overlooking anything, not even the slightest pebble. It's kept him safe so far. The kunai that was in his hand was twirled about once, before being clenched tightly. He was ready to fling it at the first bomber as now there wasn't going to be any communicating. They took one of ours, whether it was intentional or not. We invaded their territory if you look at it that way. Naru on the other hand was most likely out for revenge.
"Stick to what you do and stop playing councilor, Ryo," Naru replied back, she definitely was fused off and taking shots at her and telling her what to do wasn't going to help the situation any. Nevertheless despite her irritation which went from a dead leader to now basically on Ryo she remaind true to what she was doing, not a single kunai and hand she just walked with her arms flowing by her sides. It was true Naru was out for blood at this point, she was going to yank this artifact and kill as many boomers as possible. She remained silent after her comments, it seemed like Eremi took a good approach and not stabing at her personality. Tension easily flowed between Ryo and Naru but it wasn't ever something that lasted entirely too long. They still managed to work well together.
As the brave genin treck through the passageways of the Bomber's hideout they come across yet another fork. Choosing the left route, they manage to elude from any traps and eventually find themselves in what appears to be a prison room. The smell of death and decay reeks in the air. Puddles of discolored water form at various spots with water continueing to drip down from above. The room itself was a wide open one with two prison cells off to the opposite side of the entrance. A frail elderly man can be seen currently shackled against the stone wall inside one of the cages. There's a stairwell leading up to the second floor; however, there is also a guard who is currently sitting with his back against the wall and his slumbering eyes closed. The elderly man raises his head up and notices your presences. He then calls out in a whisper. "Help meee."
Ryo does not bother responding to Naru. No matter what he was to say he was going to be wrong. It was simply a lost cause. The boy glances back to Eremi. As the new leader, if it was someone's job to deal with her, it was his. The boy moves through the left passage under Eremi's direction. As they enter the room he glances it over with his Sharingan. He makes sure not only to scan the room but to look over the old man and the guard. He looks at Eremi for directions. He was pretty sure Naru may jump the gun and take out the guard, but that was not his issue.
Before even reaching the prison room, Eremi raises a hand to cover his nose as the horrid smell reaches that sense first. The thought of that girl from the exams being the first thing that crosses his mind and if she was waiting ahead for them, they're definitely in trouble. Though as the two in front reach the prison room, with Eremi following behind he spots the guard and sees the frail old man chained to the wall. If it weren't for the old man responding to their presence, he would have figured them dead.
Signaling for the other two's attention to look at him, he holds two fingers up, points to his eyes then points to them. After which he uses his pointer finger to gesture toward the guard and signify killing the man as he moves a thumb under his throat. He then signals for them to be quiet by holding a finger up to his mouth and doing the same for the old man as he moves over toward the prisoner, planning on freeing the man.
Naru wanted to make sure that everything was going to go well, surprisingly she didnt jump the gun on killing the guard, after all the only thing she could really do at this point was use her genjutsu. The only way she damaged people was fire jutsu, and unless it was her fire bullets it was going to make a wholeee lot of noise. Naru watched to see what Ryo would do, since he was taking the lead and he had the silent blade it was going to work much better for him, however just in case she began to make a link between herself, and the prisoner that was on the ground… There was no time for failure, if he shouted out she would choke him and make this battle be as quick and silent as possible…
Ryo nodded his head at Eremi as they were instructed to take out the guard. There was a bit of shock as Naru had only worked her genjutsu on the man. The boy draws his blade and tip toes towards the guard. He was trying to be as quiet as possible. Then he moved making two precision slashes on the guard hoping to kill him with the first. The second was a slice towards the throat to prevent him from screaming and alerting anyone else. If successful he would grab the keys and toss them to Eremi so that he could free the old man.
Being as this was not a mission where Konoha was to deny all inolvement it did not matter if the old man really knew who they were or not. Ryo would then wait for orders to continue onwards. He had hoped Eremi would get some information out of the old man if possible.
Approaching the cage that held the old man, the door was closed and was most likely locked. So until the guard was disposed of, Eremi wasn't going to disturb anything by shaking and making noise. So he continued to hold up the finger against his lips, letting the old man know he needed to stay quiet. Eremi's own eyes were soft and his facial expression calm as he wanted the old man to trust. A smile then formed on his face before he looked away and over toward the guard, curious to how exactly the two Uchiha would silently take care of things.
Getting the jump on the sleeping man was going to come easier than Naru had expected, with a single handle and she followed through to Combo Ryo's swift movements, regardless if it was a hit or miss she helped tone down the situation by squeezing her chakra along his neck, causing him to loose his breath and restrain him from speaking, just in case he was to survive the attack. She kept quiet, her anger still following through her as she watched the situation, still… she remained alert keeping her eyes on the guard and around them just in case any traps were to be sprung, she did not want the situation to get out of their favor.
The guard's eyes snap open once he feels the blade at his neck. His hands quickly reach up to wrap around his neck. Blood spills on to the floor and when the guard attempts to speak, only blood spits out. In a rage that these genin were able to get the jump on him, he stands to his feet and kicks the stool away from him. Blood was now oozing down from his neck and changing his clothing to a darker shade of red. He charges for the first person he sees and it just so happens to be Ryo. With rage as his momentum, the guard swings widly at the Uchicha with one hand while the other hand continues to try and clot his open wound.
Ryo was about to reach for the keys as he felt the blade make contact both times. Then he saw the guard was NOT dead. Thankfully for his Sharingan, he was able to respond quickly to the man's attack. He dashes back from the first before slicing into the midsection of the man. Once on the other side of him, he made two more slashes across the man's back. He was looking to drop the man as quick as possible. His eyes glanced towards Naru. Now that he was on the opposite side of the man she had a clear shot at him. Then again she could also use her genjutsu on him.
Eremi's eyes widened as the guard sprang up and instantly retaliated after being attacked. The sheer willpower of the man possibly being what the guard is fighting with now as his neck bleeds out. It was impressive to say the least, but thankfully the guard was unable to scream out. Hopefully the other two remained quiet while fighting this battle, otherwise more could come and taking them out one at a time was going to be the easiest.
The kunai in his hand flipped about before Eremi grabbed it by the tip and chucked it at the guard the moment Ryo left an opening for Naru. There was no need for him not to take advantage of it as well. A quick head turn to the old man with another signal to stay quiet and then Eremi was off, racing toward the fight between the guard and the Uchiha's.
Naru also wanted to end this battle fairly quickly, she looked at the raging man that was going after Ryo, his attacks were easily evaded and even countered… It was then Naru began to utilize her genjutsu once again, with luck forcing the poor body guard to his knees. Finally walking up to him Naru goes through a series of hand seals, her cheeks suddenly puffed out and she vomited outwards right on his face, if it aimed right it was going to be all over the individual that was hopefully defenseless and resting on his knees. " Burn in nitroglycerine you blast cap…" Naru whispers under her breath, "Endan!" Suddenly she expells just a small douse of fire, pelting it into his flesh and hopefully turning him into burnt crisp without any problems.
The guard managed to twist his body away from the Uchiha's blade, but was unable to do so the second time. Because of this, he had no chance in evading Eremi's projectile. The guard attempts to let out a cry of agony but again, only the sound of blood gurgling in his throat can be heard. Blood now dribbles down the man's chin as his body becomes under someone else's control. Falling to his knees, he looks up to see Naru standing in front of him. His eyes widen as he sees the girl go through her hand seals then shoots forth a ball of fire that melts his face.
"The keeey." The old man says pointing to the key ring on the guard just as the guard's body falls lifelessly onto the ground face first. "Hurry and break me from these shackles. I can lead you out of here."
Ryo reaches down to the now melted man and pulls the key from his belt. He tosses it to Eremi. "Think the old man knows where we can find that artifact or maybe how many more guards there are. I mean we are freeing him so hopefully he could give some intel as thanks." The boy then looks towards Naru and makes a slight nod of his head. "We should burn this place. I tried holding my breath but… that stench." He was not speaking loudly. More a quiet voice between them.
Before even getting close to the action the guard was already dropped to the ground. Dead. The only thing Eremi could manage to do was catch the keys as they are tossed to him and return to the cage. Fingering through the keys, he inserted each one into the slot until there was a twist and a pop and the door swung open. Eremi then approached the man, cautiously at first as he searched the man warily before reaching for one shackle and doing the same routine he had done with the door. "We aren't interesting in getting out of here. We're interested in where they keep their treasure stash. Do you know?" Turning his head back and gesture toward the two behind him, "As you can see what they are capable of, neither of them are in the mood for being lied to and we already lost someone on our way in. So please, tell us all you know and you can be on your own way out of here."
"And I already have you under my genjutsu," Naru stated towards the old man, Naru still seemed to be gurgling oil to burn in her mouth, it looked just like salavia and every now and then she would just spit it on the floor, it was rather disgusting but at the same time secretly she was setting a few traps also. She was going to catch anyone ablaze fairly easy if they got in the way. " We need to make this quick, Tell us where they had their "good stuff" and we can make sure you get out of here as well…" Naru concluded, her voice was much softer tone now, some of here rage dispelled by the burning of the guard. It was either that or perhaps she was slowly begining to grow into the feeling of blood lust… Even in the War Naru didn't point blank kill anyone, or watch her attacker die from her own hands… It was satisfying.
The old man trembled and nearly fell over once his feet hit the stone ground. "Aaah. I've been in here for too long. Serves you right, you bastard." The man says as he spat in the direction of the guard's body. "I don't know exactly what you kiddos are talking about, but i can lead you to the room where it might be kept. C'mon." He says as he staggers out of the cell. It seems as though he was learning how to walk all over again. Eventually the man would lead the group up the stairs and down a hallway. There was no sign of anyone patroling as they made their way through the hideout. Taking a left at one fork and another left brought them in front of a door. "This is where they like to keep their shiny things. Do you still have the keys?" He asks as he motions to the keyhole on the door.
Following the old man, Ryo scanned everything. Not that he did not trust the old man, but well… he was in a strange place and had seen their leader get killed. He nods towards Eremi. His eyes had not picked up any trap. He still holds onto his blade though. Just incase there was anything on the inside that could kill them. Before Eremi moves to the door, Ryo looks back to make sure no patrols or anyone decided to show up. The last thing they needed was to lose another person. After being sure that no one else was around he turned his attention back to the door. He was hoping that this would be fairly quick so that they could get out of there.
"Slow down…slow down…"Eremi whispered to the old man that was starting to lead them ahead. It was nice of the guy to do so, but it also meant the old man could be in danger of being attacked and risking their lives to protect him was just bad for business. Still, Eremi reached out for the man's arm to help him walka as they went to where ever it was they were being shown. When they finally reached their destination, a glance was given to Ryo and Naru followed by a nod before fumbling through the keys to find the correct one that would open the door. When the latch popped, Eremi grabbed onto the handle gave another look to the two Uchiha's and then pushed the door open to show what secrets it had locked behind it….
"I will keep an eye on things and our prisoner friend here," Naru states, hoping that the taijutsu gurus would take the lead. She was still skeptical of the old man, but as long as she had him in her genjutsu things would be okay… She yawns and turns the other directions, looking down the path that lead up to the stairs she began to gag just a little more, allowing oil to trail down the steps as she wiped her lips with her hands. " Becareful and let me know if you guys need a bit more help…" She states, for now keeping herself quiet, she had no idea what to expect, but as long as she had an eye on the exit she could see if any patrol came this way…
As the older man lead the group into the room, beams of sunlight pierce through the ceiling and into the room. There were no torches here as the sunlight did enough to light the room. Moss and other plant life can be seen growing from through the stone walls and ceiling. It was obvious that the wasn't much earth seperating the room and the outside world. Up ahead sits the chest that Eremi would find familar. The seal has been broken and its lid hangs open. "Come on, lets see if what you're looking for is still there." The old man says gesturing for the rest to follow deeper into the room.
"Stop." Ryo states. The boy scans the floor and then the walls. He's looking for signs of a trap, be it arrow holes in the walls or a trip wire. After a few moments the boy looks at Eremi. "Are you familiar with the tree walking jutsu?" the boy asks. He points to a pillar and then to the ceiling. "It would be the most sure way to get to the chest without messing anything up." No the boy did not see any traps, but he knew this was too simple. There had to be some trick here. He then looked towards Naru. "Stay prepared."
Eremi sighed and shook his head, "For an old man that's been caged up, you're a little too eager to be moving forward. Are you trying to get caught again." Clearly a statement and not a question he was making. With what Ryo said he could only shake his head however, "Nope, I've been shown it a few times, but it isn't something I've mastered. At most I'd get lucky with being able to stick to the walls. I do however have this." Reaching into one of his packs and withdrawing a roll of bandages, "WIth this, as long as we stay near the door we should be fine. So, get back here old man." He waited until the old man returned before pulling off a length of bandages, placing it under his foot then giving it a good roll across the floor. The bandages continued to roll, a little wobbly at first, but stayed straight until reaching the chest. "Well, if anything we should be able to follow that and be safe." Shrugging, Eremi went first as he followed the line to the chest and peered inside with wide eyes hoping to see the artifact to rescue Den with.
Naru stuck back like she said she would, her eyes scanning the walls surroundings and even down the stairs, she kept their six clear no matter what. They could count on her for that. She remains silent for now, waiting to see just what her two partners was up to, though she did move slightly up the stairs and pressed herself along the edge of the door so she wasn't visible, definitely take someone by surprise if they went up the stairs. " A little faster…" Naru spoke softly, hoping her partners would get a move on and finish up this mission… Things were going so smoothly…
From down the hallway where Naru was currently standing, sounds of foot steps can be heard. Soon, an image of a taller person appears in the torches light. The figure wears a black and blue mask with only the person's eyes peeking through. He doesn't wear the typical Black Bomber's attire like the rest. Instead he wears black and blue robes that fits tight against him with two katanas sheathed on his back. He comes to a sudden stop once he sees the Uchiha girl. An awkward few moments pass by as he looks on at her with a tilt of his head. Then suddenly from out of no where he blurs through a series of hand seals and raises his hands up towards Naru. Two water streams erupt from his sleeves and race towards the Uchiha.
Ryo stayed back from the chest. He was letting Eremi go after it with his theory about how to get there. "Is it in there?" he asks as the boy gets close. "We only have so long before someone finds our buddy missing and the dead guard." He then glances around again.
Finally reaching the chest and peering inside, Eremi couldn't hold back his emotions from what it was he saw inside.
Nothing.
Forcing his hands underneath the chest, he used the brief burst of anger he felt to flip the chest up and into the nearby wall. It smacked against it, then crashed into the floor. He was moment from running toward the old man, grabbing him and giving him a shake until something caught his eye on the ground.
He reached for it and picked it up, holding it in his hand. "This…I found the artifact." A smile formed on his face as he was relieved they could go save Den now. Quickly he tucked it behind his cloak and into the pouch before running over toward Ryu. "Come on, lets get Naru and get out of here before we're spotted!"
Eremi's cue had worked perfectly because just as soon as he mentioned her name suddenly a rush of water could be seen stabbing into her body, hemoraghing her body until it slammed into one of the near by walls… Her body was completely wounded at this point, head slammed back her vision was blurry with chakra vision. " Ugh…" Naru grunted, looking around while a sweat drop trickles down her lips. " What the he heck…was that?" Naru questioned out loud, finally rising back to a stand completely drenched. Her clothes were soaked and torn at the same time, and blood pulled from her arms. " Ryo! Eremi! We have company!" Naru shouts out, her vision finally coming back she decided to press the attack and suppress him. " Did you get what you needed? is the artifact here?!" Suddenly she attempts to push on her jutsu, first with her traditional genjutsu link and next attempting to use the very oil she spilled against him, combined with a fury of fire bullets. " Katon! Fire Bullet barrage!"
The masked nin continues stalking Naru. Even when she attempted to attack him with her jutsu he formed the necessary hand seals in stride. Pushing forth a wall of water his defense ate the girl's fire attacks. With Naru pushed away from the doorway, Rikyu turns into the treasure room where he first sees Ryo. Before he even bothers to attack, he slams the door behind him and locks it. Now the Uchiha girl was seperated from her teammates.
Ryo hears Naru's voice and makes a move to go to her but there is a big guy in his way. He manages to slam the door and lock it quickly. There was something about this man's chakra. It was different from any other that he'd ever seen. "Alright fat boy! Here goes nothing." Ryo slams his hand together making some signs. They were definitely firestyle hand signs. The man probably would have recognized them from Naru's earlier assault. Ryo then yells "Fire bullet barrage Jutsu!" and places a curled finger around his mouth. The sad part is only a small flame comes out. There is a look of shock and horror on Ryo's face as it appears his jutsu has failed. But had the boy really failed his fire style jutsu? There would be a blast of hot air aimed directly towards the jounin's eyes. He was attempting to blind the man and buy Eremi some time. "Get out of here! I'll get her!" he yells towards Eremi.
The slam against the wall, outside the room is the first thing Eremi notices. Something was going on where Naru was and hearing her voice, her shouts that someone is out there confirms his worries and fears. "We're coming!" He shouts in reply only to come to a skidding halt when a man walks in, closing the door behind him and blocking their way. "What happened to Naru!" The boy shouts, breathing increasing and fists clenching at his sides.
Den was a genin like him, so watching the boy being kidnapped before his eyes was hard. Bo was a shinobi like him and watching that man die before his eyes was harder still. But Naru…Naru was more then just a genin, a shinobi, a team mate. She was his friend. And he'd be exploded if he was going to lose her on a mission he's a part of.
The boy raised a clenched fist and extended a finger at the man, "Get the smoke!…Out of our way!" He shouts as he opens the first of the gates, his muscles tense in response. Then he opens the second one and a shiver courses through his body with the surge of power washing over him. His eyes turn toward Ryo who is already workin on a plan, if anything he can distract the man, but Ryo wants Eremi to get out of here…That was nonsense, they were all getting out of here.
A beam of sunlight hit his eyes and he looked up at the ceiling that was barely held together himself. "Watch out above Ryo!!!!" He turns to see where the old man was standing, disappears in a flash to push the man into a corner then Eremi reappears himself into the middle of the room hunched over and knees bent with head facing down.
With a quick push Eremi flips backwars with his leg extended heading toward the ceiling, when it connects he spins his body around and throws two more kicks at it for good measure.
Her previous attacks had failed, genjusu link and water wall beefing up his defenses, she was pushed back way and suddenly she is forced behind the door and it is shut and locked, she placed her hand on the handle and even pushed against it. " Demolish it!" Naru shouted out from behind, bashing the door with tightly clenched fists for the most part until finally she decided to take an easier way out… Taking a few steps back she motioned through a pair of hand seals and expelled a torrent of fire at the door, it wasn't enough to melt it apart but it was wearing it down… " Come on… Come on…"
Rikyu notices the Uchiha boy about to perform a jutsu of his own. As the flames reach him, his image flickers out of existence and reappears right beside Ryo. With the same quickness as he had earlier, he rushed through a series of hand seals. He then puts his hand up towards the boy and water begins spilling out of his sleeve and onto the floor. Suddenly the water begins to take form around the Uchiha and soon Ryo would find himself trapped inside of a giant water bubble if he did not manage to get away first.
Rikyu looks over his shoulder as the commotion Eremi was causing as he went through his gates. The masked man watched as the boy brought down the roof and formed quite a large hole. There were no words, just a tilt of his head as he looks on at his prey.
As soon as the ceiling comes crashing down on a large piece of rock stands the long image of Kuroji. A small smirk on his lips and his two black kamas in hand. As the large rock crashes into the ground Kuroji leaps from it landing between the on comming Rikyu and the Genins, however it is clear that he still not at one hundred precent, the bandages that wrap around his right arm and chest are already showing small spots of blood from his last battle. He looks over his shoulder for a moment, the genins reflecting in his blue shades, before offering them a small nod. With that he slowly slips into a offensive fighting stance, his kamas snapping up quickly, as small bit sof dirt and rock land and cling to him.
A sudden harsh breeze shoots up around him, pushing loose rubble away from him, before a loud buzzing sound can be heard as his coming from his Kikaichu's moving quickly around him in a criss cross formation. The masked attack on Ryo does not go unnoticed, one of the criss crossing formations of kikaichus moves and forms a jar around Ryo, preventing the water from taking hold of him. "You guys alright?" He says slowly his tone very serious almost cold in nature. He however did not even wait for an answer, before looking towards the masked man, "You have caused me alot of headaches, stolen my chest, killed another Shinobi and now you are threating my Genin." he speaks very slowly, his eyes narrowing behind his shades, "You are a thorn in my side and I am going to remove you." he says coldly. It is not even a moment later before his hand shoots forward, sending a large gust of wind that if hits would knock the masked man off balance, before he quickly runs towards him. Before his hands move up throwing both his Kamas on either side of the man, with small explosive tags burning.
The first kick cracks the ceiling, the second one shatters and the third sends the pieces flying outwards revealing a hole and allowing more sunlight to flow into the room. After which Eremi lands on the ground only to witness Ryo about to be encompassed by a water justu. Shifting his feet forwards, he plans to hopefully interrupt the attack, but before he can something quicker then even he blurs into the room and deflects the attack.
"But…I thought…"
Eremi at a loss for words as Kuroji appears, standing in front of Ryo and facing off against the masked man. He finds it hard to contain himself and keep his emotions in check, but considering how things are and the opponent they're facing. He has no other choice. Quickly he looks toward Ryo, "Leave this to Kuroji. He can easily distract the man, you grab the old man and take him out of here."
He then watches as Kuroji begins to attack the masked nin sending attack after attack. There was a moment when it was eerily silent, when the kamas fly through the air and that was when he took the chance. "NARU!!!! We've got everything controlled in here! Just turn around and run back the way we came!!!"
Rikyu was not expecting a new contender after the ceiling had caved in. The masked nin is then slammed back against a nearby wall. Not able to react in time, both explosions catch Rikyu in their blast. Smoke fills the first half of the room as rubble and debris shower the ground inside the cloud of smoke and dust. Suddenly from inside the cloud shoots forth a giant image of a dragon formed completely of water. It races towards both Eremi and Kuroji.
Kuroji's hands shoot up at as the water dragon shoots towards him, his insect quickly move to form a jar around him however the force of the water is too great and bursts through the Kikaichus scattering them around the area and presses Kuroji against the wall heard, a loud crack can be heard as Kuroji holds his chest for a moment. The spots that were small dark red have become bright red and are quickly growing in size. He pushes himself up slowly, his hair soaked and hanging down hapahzardly in his face, his fishermen pants now torn and tattered, small cuts and bruises already visable and one of his tatami sandles broken. He looks down and kicks it off along with the other one. His tongue moves around in his mouth before he spits out a bit of blood. "You guys get out of here, take it and leave, get that to Hokage-same… Tell her I am sorry." he says slowly before he reaches up and removes the now battered chest piece, adjusting his shades for a moment, "You hit harder then I thought you would." he says to the masked man before another smirk appears on his face, his right hand shoots up, red blood dripping off of it, before a sudden explosion of Kikaichus shoot forth from the ground, carrying small bits of rock and earth with them as a sudden crater appears beneath the man, with a smarm of hungry Kikaichus down there waiting.
Now Eremi could only hope Naru heard his shouts as it was time for him and Kuroji to flee as well. With Ryo and the old man gone and the artifact in hand, there was no need to remain. A quick turn would be taken from the masked man to look at Kuroji, hoping he'd want to flee as well, but it seemed like the man was going to stay and fight. Eremi wanted to help, but would most likely only get in the way. The two of them were on far different levels then he was and unless he could find some hidden reserve and force open more gates, he wasn't going to be able to compete.
He turned back to look at the man that was hidden by smoke and instead saw a massive water dragon headed for both Eremi and Kuroji, easily overwhelmed them and forced them both into a wall. When the water finally washed a way, there was an Eremi size imprint in the wall, but the boy was slumped on the ground as he coughed and choked on the water until finally spitting it all out. "We…You have to come too! There's no reason for you to say, no reason to lose anymore leaf shinobi. If you want to stay back and make sure we get out, that's fine, but the moment there's an opening. A small gap that looks like you can escape. You do so. Don't stay behind and wait any longer then necessary. You come to or I won't forgive."
A tear was rolling down his cheek now, forced from his eye. "Even in death. I won't forgive you!" He shouted as he pushed himself up on shaky knees, didn't bother to look at the masked nin and leaped into the hole in the ceiling above and proceded to flee.
Focused solely on Kuroji, Rikyu did not notice the ground giving way underneath him. Suddenly he is engulfed and tiny insects begin eating away at him. Even at this point, there is no voice crying out in pain from the mysterious being. From the side of the crater, a hand reaches up followed by another. Pulling himself up from the ground he watches as a clone of him appears from the puddles of water behind Kuroji. If the chuunin does not get out of the way in time, the water clone would attempt to grab on to him and keep his body from moving.
Focused solely on Kuroji, Rikyu did not notice the ground giving way underneath him. Suddenly he is engulfed and tiny insects begin eating away at him. Even at this point, there is no voice crying out in pain from the mysterious being. From the side of the crater, a hand reaches up followed by another. (repose)
Kuroji heard Eremi however no response came from Kuroji, as his attacks landed, Kuroji rolled his right shoulder slightly, his left arm still wrapping around his chest, the blood was getting worse now already soaked through his bandages, all he could think was he was told to take it easy and look at him. "Hmph. What would Yuzuna say if she saw me now." he said slowly for a moment, speaking to himself as he walks towards the small crater. He stood there for a moment his gaze on the man, he was breathing heavily. The image of the man being attacked by his Kikaichu reflected in his cracked lenses. Won't forgive me huh? The thought to himself, he knew the reality of the situation, if he ran now this man would only follow however he knew he could not last much longer, "Suppose I will never tell her that I lov.." he shakes his head, before his right hand shoots up his Kikaichu quickly form a ball in his palm which he quickly throws towards Rikyu, over and over. Before quickly jumping back infront of the exit, his hands moving down and grabbing his Kamas on the way. "How about we finish this." he says slowly, the smirk still on his face as large drops of blood slowly drip down hitting the ground.
Blood appears underneath where Rikyu lays as his body was covered in bites hidden under his robes. As Kuroji's attacks rain down on him, the masked nin didn't even move a muscle. It appears as though Kuroji was victorious and has killed off the mysterious threat.
Kuroji hmphs slightly when nothing leaves the crater, thinking to himself he must have got him. He takes a soft step forward before he winces and falls against the wall allowing himself to sink to the floor for a moment, wincing dropping his Kamas he looks down at his chest noticing a large deformity from a few broken ribs, pulling his shirt up he sees that one of them has broken through the skin, his shirt soaking up a large bit of the blood. He stares up at the ceiling with a chuckle, blood running down his right arm from the wounds he reopened. He was bruised and battered, however he just wanted to sit for a moment, catch his breath. His eyes closed from behind his shades for a moment with a soft sigh, "Well dynamite that was… interesting." he says slowly to himself, as he opens his eyes and reaches into one of the small pocuhes on his side, removing a small brown package wrapped, it looks crushed, however Kuroji opens it anyway and removes a small tore up rice ball and takes a bite.
From behind Kuroji a puddle of water slowly forms in the image of Rikyu. It quietly stood there for a moment before finally attempting to grab hold of the Aburname. Just as soon as it did, the masked nin leaps out of crater as if he had caught his second wind. While suspended in the air, Rikyu formed a series of hand seals then held his hands out towards Kuroji. Just like earlier with Naru, two streams burst out his sleeves and race towards their target. Following up the attack, Rikyu lands on his feet and charges after the Chuunin with his blades unsheathed. The masked nin slices his katanas back and forth at Kuroji with an aggressiveness he hasnt shown yet.
Kuroji is in mid bite of the rice ball when his head turns around to see the water clone, he quickly drops the rice ball his hands move to grab a Kama, however the water clone grabs a hold of him to quickly, Kuroji winces as the position pushed the broken rib out slightly further. As the water lances form, his eyes widen, he quickly tries to break free but before he is able to the first one rips through his right shoulder, the flesh already weak there shreads into pieces. The second lance running through Kuroji's chest. With a loud cough, blood spews forth out of his mouth as blood runs down every limb that belongs to Kuroji, his vision start to blur, "How did you…" he says slowly, before the image of the katanas come swinging towards him, the first slice hitting his neck, causing blood to spew forth and his forehead protector to fall to the ground with a small clank next to his rice ball and kamas. The second hits his gut, slicing it open before the final slice comes removing Kuroji's head which hits the floor with a small bounce and roll before his body softly lands on the ground with a thud.
The masked nin twirls his blades around and sheathes them across his back. A cough escapes Rikyu as he falls down to a knee. The cough worsens and the mysterious nin is forced to take off his mask. The man brings his hand up to his chest and with a feignt green glow he heals some of his wounds. Staggering back up to his feet, the man turns around out of the shadows and into the sunlight. The one behind the mask is none other than Bo, the chuunin that had lead the group to the hideout in the first place. Placing his mask back on his face, he walks around the crater and out of the treasure room.
