Starring:
Hel (emitter), Hiroyasu, Hiei, Kanbei, Amani
Date: June 24, 2013
Summary:
Several Kumonin are sent to the train station to help keep the trains on schedule. After shoveling coal and dealing with kiddy thieves, Kanbei realized that another train was coming into their platform. The team works to slow the incoming train and move the outgoing train.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Train Madness"
Kumogakure Train Station
The northern section of the village is known for its peaceful settings: the monastery, the traditional Reizei and stoic Saito villages, and the beautiful back-drop of the Raikage tower to the south. There is one portion though that isn't all that beautiful, and that is the train depot. It is here in the north because it was the only place they could put it. The housing district is far too crowded for train lines, the east is home to the ninja academy…and with their lack of control, the lines would get blown up far too often. So, sheltered far below the Saito and Reizei villages, down the mountain by quite a bit, is the train depot. This gives the Saito and Reizei oversight of the station (literally), but that is as it should be.
While the KRD has been trying to pick up the slack with the train schedules, shift changes, and supply drops, there are only so few of them and the entirety of the village is having these minor dilemas. That is where Kanbei, Hiroyasu, and Hiei come into the picture. They were sent for to help whever the help is needed.
Hiroyasu yawns and stretches, "You know, I don't think I have ever been on the train before.." which was probably a moot point as it was most likely for cargo. "Isn't your village around here somewhere? Yotsuki-sama" he asks rubbing the back of head looking around, then he says "I like the monastery, met interesting people there.." it seems he drifting between topics as he sees them.
Hiei doesn't look all that impressed…on the outside anyways. Inside though, it's a different story. He loves trains…loves everything about them and is giddy at the prospect of riding on one again. Of course, to maintain his cool reputation, he shrugs at Hiroyasu. "Seen one train, you've seen them all. Nothing to it really, I've ridden it a few times." He glances around, trying to find the person in charge so they can get this mission started properly.
Kanbei really did not know much about trains. Nor did he really care. For the most part these were a part of life he did not use. This was another mission. Probably one where he was going to end up doing Genin work. He could see someone ordering him to guard an empty train or to check cargo. No one knowingly gave Genin dangerous missions. They always got stuck with the work that was suppose to teach them something. At least thats what he had come to expect. He offers a nod to the other two assigned to the team. From what he knew of them, they both seemed to be a bit further in their arts than he was.
"Yeah, where is your village?" Kanbei asks after Hiro. He was not a big fan of the huge clans because they liked to show off, but Hiei was a good guy.
There is a KRD member waiting by the train station. The woman, or at least you think it is female, is standing at the first terminal. The woman spots everyone showing up and states in a muffled voice behind her Falcon mask, "Good, you are here. I am running late, as is this train. I need you three to get all of this coal into that coal car quickly." Lucky them. "Oh," she adds, "and we only have one shovel…so share wisely." Yeah, really lucky.
Hiei hooks a thumb over his shoulder. "The Yotsuki Compound is over there. Like I said, I used to play here as a kid. I know everything about this station and this train." When the KRD female tells them what their mission is. When she's finished he gives her a dead look. "Are you serious?" He shrugs. "Guys, take twenty. I got this." He performs a handseal. "Release: Lightning Movement." A blue aura with lightning flowing around it appears around his body. He grabs the shovel and begins shovelling massive loads of coal at high speed. "No need for everyone to suffer this indignity."
Hiroyasu looks at the ?woman? in the falcon mask, "Yes ma'am" he looks at the other two before picking up the shovel, and holding it out, "This would be more useful in the hand of someone strong" before pulling out some seals, "I can make do" at least he was trying to sound convincing, maybe he could supervise, but that's before the shovel disappears from his hand with a blur of yotsuki. "Or that." he says.
Shoveling coal… Yep. That was the mission. The boy nods at the female KRD Agent. Kanbei then seems slightly glad there is only one shovel when Hiei volunteers for it. There were not really any of his jutsu that would make this job easier. Nope, they were sent here for the grunt work. He looks at Hiro. Though Kanbei was not the strongest, he figured he had a little more strength than Hiro. If Hiei had to take a break, he was sure he'd be next in line. At least Hiro was normal today. Though he's pondering what one of those episodes might look like in the train station. The other two would probably be laughing too hard to shovel anything, let along coal.
The Falcon shrugs and says, "Do what you have to do kid. Just get it done." And the woman disolves in a Genjutsu Fade. As she leaves them alone, she also manages to drop the train schedule right into Kanbei's hands. It sort of looks like the scroll appears out of thin air. Maybe she is giving Kanbei the task of running the station while Hiei shovels coal. Hiro on the other hand is tugged upon by a young girl. She's tugging the back of his coat "Ehskooze me…buh can I have somma dat coal for a fi-ya? Iz cold."
RP: Kanbei makes a Int roll and got 13.
RPCOMBAT: Hiroyasu defends against with a CHAKRA-SENSITIVITY…34
Hiroyasu turns around, seeing the cute little girl with the over emphasized cute choice of words. "It's not our coal to give, it's also not for the 3 of you under the platform to pilfer. Hiei, Kanbei don't let them get away.. gently if possible" there was sheer moment of clarity where even their souls were able to appear in his mind's eye, that has been the first time he has had that level of clarity. "And you" he says reaching out to apprehend her gently.
Meanwhile, Hiei was blurring back and forth, shovelling coal at incredible speed, until he hears Hiroyasu say that there were three people under the platform who were wanting to pilfer coal. Finally, some action. However, he frowns when Hiro says that they need to apprehend them gently. dissipating his Lightning Movement, he rolls his shoulder as he gathers his fighting strength. "Hey Kanbei, this would be an awesome time to field test your new jutsu, wouldn't it, buddy?" Hiei didn't do anything gentle, but he is at least willing to try. Mostly.
Kanbei was occpied with the train schedule. At a glance he notices something. After looking into further he pauses. "Oh caboose. We have an issue guys." He looks at the train, trying to get a number off of it. "There is a train due here in less than two minutes. We have to get this one out of here. Now!" he yells. He was not use to giving orders, but they were about to be in some trouble. He then glances towards the girl. "She asked for coal. She did not try to steal it, let her go." His eyes then turn back towards the scroll in his hand.
Amani walked over to where the others were gathered, feeling a bit frustrated at the work they were given to do. This isn't shinobi work, this is slave labor. She sighed. A train was coming? Guess it was time to speed up. "Well, I guess we ought to just do what we can. I think two minutes is enough time for us to get some work done, don't you? We're ninja, after all."
Alright, so they have a fair amount of coal on-board the train thanks to Hiei. There are kids under the train that need to be dealt with before the train can get going, and there is another train that is coming in fast. Unfortunately, all of the platforms are full, so it is not like they can move the incoming train to another platform.
When Kanbei shouts that there is another train that will be here in two minutes, the conductor springs out of his engine car and yells, "Two minutes? I need two minutes to get this hunk of steel up to speed. Start shoveling the coal into the fire quickly…QUICKLY!" Yup, two minutes seems like a lot of time, unless it takes that amount of time to move the train in the first place. The other train is coming…you can see the trail of smoke.
Hiroyasu doesn't have time for miscreants with a disaster looming "Get your friends from underneath the train, It's about to move!" he says moving to where he had felt the signatures, "Come on get out, I know your in there but there is another train coming!" before shouting at Hiei "Do your thing!" he leaves Kanbei and Amani to do what they can, his expertise in their abilities was shy so he didn't have in the way of strategy for them. "Come on, Come on. We need to go!" he shouts under the train and platform.
Hiei transforms again before he starts rapidly shovelling coal into the furnace. "No. Tell them that we'll let them go if they help with this coal. It doesn't matter what you do, use a seal, use crystals, I don't care, but get in here and help me shovel this coal! We've only got one shovel, Amani, so find something and use it!" Hiei got angry. On purpose. The adrenaline rush combined with his jutsu made him work even faster. He begins to let out a string of curses that are not for sensitive ears. "Never, never again will I accept a mission that has /anything/ to do with the KRD. She knew that other train was coming before she left. I'm sure of it!" Actually, he's not, but he's mostly looking for someone to blame and the KRD fit the bill.
RPCOMBAT: Kanbei defends against with a BODY-FLICKER-TECHNIQUE…37
RPCOMBAT: Kanbei defends against with a BODY-FLICKER-TECHNIQUE…37
RPCOMBAT: Kanbei defends against with a BODY-FLICKER-TECHNIQUE…36
Despite the orders from Hiei, Kanbei vanishes leaving the scroll floating in the air. He appears underneath the platform, grabbing two of the children there. "You are in danger. This is no place to play." Once more he vanishes, taking two of the three children with him. He appears back besides Hiro, leaving the children there. Then he vanishes again under the platform. His hand grasps ahold of the last child. "Come on. We'll get out of here before the train can move." Right about now, Kanbei was pretty glad he had borrowed that scroll from Airi so long ago, that taught him the technique. He almost decided against it.
The train begins to move with Kanbei and one of the other children inside. Hiei's rapid shoveling of the coal is building up the temperatures in the furnace quickly though, so Kanbei needs to get out of there quickly. The only problem is that the wheels (now moving) are making it harder for Kanbei to get out from under the train. The other train is now visible, and it is coming in fast. At this rate, the two may very well hit.
Hiroyasu is more or less left in the dust, as Kanbei manages to save two but then traps himself. To the utility belt! he pulls out a seal and throws its to the rear of the train, "This is going to be close Kanbei, you will have to time your escape just right!" and he slaps his hands together "Fuinjutsu: Seal Wall!" summoning a giant wall of chakra which butts up against the rear of the train attempting to give it a jolt forward before dissovling in an explosion of glowing dust and shards which fade.
RPCOMBAT: Hiroyasu defends against with a SEAL-WALL…24
Hiei keeps shovelling coal into the furnace. He can hear the other train coming, but he can't look up. He was afraid that if he did then he would abandon that train. He continues shovelling. "Hiro, I don't know if we're going to make it. That rat bastard KRD woman..I think she planned this. Call for a full evac of this area…in case we're not able to get out of the way." He sighs. "Ok. Time to make this fire burn a little hotter." He makes some hand seals before placing his fist beside his waist. It begins to crackle with electricity before he shoves it towards the furnace. "Ninja Art: Lightning Shotgun!" There is a blast of electricity directly into the furnace, whatever wasn't on fire before, probably is now.
RPCOMBAT: Hiei attacks with LIGHTNING-SHOTGUN…19
RPCOMBAT: Kanbei defends against with a BODY-FLICKER-TECHNIQUE…37
[NPC System]: Train Wheels roll(s) Moving TRAIN from 30 to 40 and get(s) a 36. - Rolled by: Hel
This is the position that Kanbei did not want to get in. He sees the train starting to move. The other train is coming. The wheel is in the way. The thoughts or going. An idea hits Kanbei. That crystal prison jutsu… if he could just use it to help the train take on more wind, it might slow it down. A good thought, but he was short on chakra. Kanbei grimaces as he grabs the child tight. "If this does not work, I will apologize to you in the after life…" He then vanishes from his spot…
RP: Hel rolled a 10 with 1d10 die.
Amani doesn't find a shovel, which she finds irritating considering that this was a task that required a number of hands to do, but that's not the point! The point is to get coal shoveled in and fast! She searches around and find some clothing, a suit of some sort, to use. So, she took it and used it to gather up coal to toss into the fire.
Between the weight of the chakra seal wall pushing on the caboose, the exploding electrical blast into the furnace, and the fire already stoked with even more coal being added by the second by Amani too, the train is moving out of the platform at a fast pace. Kanbei makes it out with the last child. The incoming train has noticed that something is wrong at the platform and has hit the brakes. They screech and throw up all manner of sparks. It is not quite enough though. The two trains meet, steel shifts, but neither train comes off the tracks. It just feels like the lead train gets pushed and the rear train gets jostled hard. For those on the platform still, they'd be showered by heavy sparks…but after that, the incoming train is no longer coming in…it has arrived. The train that was at the platform has moved…the day is saved.
RPCOMBAT: Hiroyasu defends against with a SEAL-BARRIER…30
RPCOMBAT: Hiroyasu defends against with a SEAL-BARRIER…24
Hiroyasu holds up a large barrier above them like an umbrella of blue chakra, protecting the young girl and the urchins who were deposited next to him from the rain of molten metal flakes being thrown up by the screech of brakes and the gnashing of iron. "Kanbei? You okay?" he asks before looking at the other train as continued to move on, at least that was a plus.
[NPC System]: Train roll(s) Sparks from 16 to 32 and get(s) a 27. - Rolled by: Hel
[NPC System]: Train roll(s) Sparks from 16 to 32 and get(s) a 31. - Rolled by: Hel
RPCOMBAT: Hiei defends against with a BREVITY…42
RPCOMBAT: Hiei defends against with a BREVITY…34
Speed was now the issue. Though the trains didn't impact each other, it was too close for comfort. He uses the technique that was taught to him by his sensei to put more coal into the burner. He sighs and allows himself to relax. "No more trains."
RPCOMBAT: Kanbei defends against with a CRYSTAL-SHIELD…25
[NPC System]: Train roll(s) Sparks from 16 to 32 and get(s) a 24. - Rolled by: Hel
Kanbei appears with the child in his arms. He takes a knee and a shield of crystal forms above him blocking the shower. His right hand leaves the child and moves to his brow to wipe the sweat. "That was too close for comfort." Once the danger has passed, Kanbei releases the child and turns towards the others. "Is everyone alright?" He then looks at the two trains. Luckily neither one seemed to be too horribly damaged. "Did we just get tricked by someone or was that some kind of messed up test?"
Amani tried her best to get in as much coal as possible, seeing as she didn't have any jutsu that would help her to push it in. She has a lot to work on in that regard. Still, they got the job done, but it was a close call. The two trains just barely managed to connect enough for her to feel it. Though, not much damage was done to the first train. The screeching of the brakes from the second, however, picked up in her ears and caused her to cringe. Just when she thought she could get over the first problem…
When she recovered, she found she needed to hop off this train before she's carried to the next destination, so she finds her way out and jumps off. There was still work to be done here.
The two boys that were under Hiroyasu's barrier find themselves suddenly getting sprayed by sparks when the barrier fails. They are burned, although the sparks don't last for all that long, so the burns aren't all that bad. Still, you now have two crying children on your hands, but they are at least alive. Whatever that just was, the Kumonin may never know. It might have been the KRD setting up Hiro and Hiei or it might have just been the chaos invading Kumogakure.
Hiroyasu didn't have much time to do the proper preparation of the barriers and one fails, to his chagrin. He attempts to comfort them, "It'll be alright, I'm a doctor" not really but they don't know the difference between field medic and physician. "I'll make it better" he says clapping his hands together with the green glow and then going to work on dealing with their minor burns, very minor in fact.
