[Mission] Aiding the Hinamori: Retrival

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

Spoiler:

While most people consider a full-length mirror a feminine article used for checking one‘s appearance before trying to attract the attention of the opposite gender, for a weapons-expert like Hinamori Toshiro, it was essential if another person wasn’t handy to assist in his current activity. That activity being the process known in it’s entirety as “suiting up”; making sure the layers of quilted cloth and boiled leather armor remained properly concealed under his greyish-green uniform and that the array of straps, buckles, and pouches that would carry and distribute the weight of over 25 kilos (50 pounds) of weapons and supplies over his entire body fit exactly right. Carrying over a third his own weight in equipment, the snow-haired genin has well aware that while a poorly-adjusted strap during travel would simply be painful, if it should break or bind up in combat it could affect his balance or range of motion at a key time. Thus why he was currently in front of such a mirror in his room, twisting and turning this way and that while adjusting straps, triple-checking fasteners and ties, and generally making sure for the fifth time that everything was where it should be. Once he was sure everything was as it should be and where it should be and would remain there short of taking a direct strike from a bone-shattering blow, Toshiro secured his hitai-ate in place and scooped up the traveling cloak that was hanging over the back of a chair as he headed out of his room and on the way towards front door of his families home and eventually to find the rest of the genin who had been assigned to the mission.

What a mission it was too. Within the last seventy-two hours the clan resembled something an Aburame would recognize as a hive preparing to defend itself as it’s long-standing agreement of “we let you live and you behave in our territory” with the small bands of bandits that had plagued their territory for time out of mind had been shattered. After the murder of a merchant under contract to the clan, and the theft of the goods he was transporting, for the first time in living memory the Hinamori clan was debating resuming regular culling of the bandit population within and near it’s territory. Toshiro’s role in all this was going to shove the young genin right in the heart of a potential maelstrom of politics and violence. Publicly assigned to the mission to ease and necessary interactions with the locals and to represent the clan and it’s interests, the snow-haired genin had been given an additional mission and one not sanctioned (at least not officially) by Konoha. Find out, by any means required, who or what was behind the bandits being willing risk the clans sure and vicious reprisals for the small gains to be made attacking merchants under the clan banner. Depending on what information Toshiro learned, the clans response could range from a few messy reprisals to impress on newly-arrived bandits just why avoiding the clans ire was a good thing, to a full-scale “shadow war” if another party was stirring up the local bandits to cause the clan trouble.

Lost in his thoughts and ponderings of all the ugly things that would depend on this mission, Toshiro snapped back to reality as chilled air hit his face when he opened the door to the outside. With all the goodbyes needed having been said yesterday, and his parents and siblings still asleep and not due to rise for at least an hour, Toshiro wrapped the heavy grey cloak about his shoulders before stepping outside and quietly closing the door behind him. Taking just a moment to enjoy the pure quite that was the false dawn before jumping up to one of the trees dotting the clans grounds then across grounds via trees and posts, waving to the occasional visible (and avoiding the hidden) guards before starting to roof-hop his way towards the administration desk.

‘And just a week ago I was complaining about getting bored with D-ranks and in-country courier missions. Now I‘m going to be helping to determine if we just kill some people or start a war. Kami sure has a way of giving what you want - in the way you least want it.’

Posts : 542

The morning was crisp and chilly. The mountain air was flowing continuously now that the summer heat had finally accepted its defeat and cold reigned on its new land. Twilight was the only source of illumination for those already up and about, of which the number was few. Many preferred to stay on their warm cozy beds, than to walk out into the chilly wind which now swirled around hard leather boots. The boots belonged to a young Genin; many would probably know him since him as so unique and so helpful. Yet, even those that knew him would probably not be able to tell it was him. Instead of his common patched up and un matching clothes, he now wore a sort of poncho made of thick cloth that would keep him warm in days such as these but was also breathable so that he would not experience extreme heat in the summer. The poncho’s hood covered his usual wild and shaggy shoulder length hair and half of his face. The color of it was white-gray and it fell in layers to past his shins. Under the poncho he wore a loose fitting long sleeve grey shirt which he tucked in to loose fitting grey pants which in turn tucked into his well worn brown hard leather boots. Thought he outfit was not outlandish, it was fancy compared to what he used
to wear, a present from his mentor and friend, Akima Nabuto.
A wisp of white smoke escaped from Kana’s lips as he made his way to the Administration building to answer to a summons for a mission. It had been a while since he had ventured out and he was itching to go. Who knew that he would become so addicted to adventure? He entered the Missions Office and was surprised to see that the usual lazy Chunnin was no longer at the desk. Perhaps the aptly worded letter from the village elder which he had helped in his last mission had made the change come about. A younger, more hands on Chunnin now sat behind the very neatly organized desk. Kana bowed to his superior and the other returned the bow and provided him with a copy of the mission once Kana had identified himself and his reason for being there. He read the contents of the mission and the clan which he was to aid sounded familiar. He could not quite place the name so he let it go. Instead, he concentrated on the detail. From the looks of it, some items had been stolen and the Konoha shinobi had been tasked with getting them back. It sure sounded like a fight, and Kana was glad he would be able to help his partners with the skills he had learned.

He read the manuscript a few more times to make sure that he had gleaned everything he could and let the minutes tick past. He checked his Genin kit to make sure everything was in there. He made a mental note to apply for a medical one soon. He was still checking his gear when he heard the door open. To his surprise a familiar face appeared. Though the young Genin was much too reserved to call out anybody’s name, he did stand up and waited for the Chunnin to deliver the same mission brief as he held in his hands. Kana moved closer to the other Genin but not as much to cause the other to be startled. He bowed deeply and then spoke to his old mission partner. “Greetings Toshiro-san, will you perhaps participate in the mission to aid this clan, the Hinamori?” If they were about to head into a fight, Kana was indeed lucky to have a level headed and intelligent individual as Toshiro by his side.

Age : 28 Posts : 3640

In the bandit's base camp, the two Nukenin leaders were obviously very happy with themselves with their achievement. Ikari Toji who considered himself to be the actual bandit leader, but was instead lumbered with the oaf of a Taijutsu user as his co-leader, was particularily pleased with their efforts. The metal of which they had stolen belonged to the infamous Hinamori clan; and thus their special metal would fetch a high price on the black market. Finally. The big break their little group had been waiting for!

"This is it... I can feel it." Toji grinned to himself, standing with his hands on his hips as he watched over the camp from their slightly raised point of view. From here they could see the 'main entrance' to the camp, and all across its grounds. Just like any raised point of view, they had their blind spots, but they were so insignificant that Toji overlooked them. He was of course a genius, and he could outsmart anybody who dared challenge their group. "This is our big break, Mori. Just you wait. We'll be sailing through the ranks in no time, and rolling in the dough." He laughed delightedly, clapping his hands together and then turning to assess what they should do now. Their grunts were preparing the metal for undetected transport, and thus were beavering away at the task at hand. Their 'guards' were standing at the 'entrance'; purposely chosen for their sheer size to intimidate anybody who stumbled across their camp.

Toji started walking down the slope, heading for his self-proclaimed target practise for whenever his boredom overtook him. This happened a lot; with a mind such as his, it was difficult for him to stay intently focused on one thing at a time. But he was a genius, and thus he was allowed to do whatever he pleased.

"Mori, keep watch over the camp and don't wander off anywhere. I'll be back when I'm not bored anymore." He waved a hand while he walked away, down towards one of the blindspots within their camp. Where he was going, he wouldn't be able to see anything happening due to being behind a little wall of rock. Not that it mattered anyway. Somebody would have to be either dumb or even dumber to think of trying to penetrate their defences.

Nobody was going to take away their precious metal.

Age : 32 Posts : 869

Near the borderline of the Fire and Bear country you could find a rather big camp. At the first look it could look like a normal camp with few inhabitants. However the reality was far from that. The camp was originally made by some traveling merchants but few years before it was overtaken by Mori and Toji who made what is now a quiet big nukenin band. These past years the band wasn’t as successful as they would want to be. But today their luck changed drastically. They managed to steal goods from the merchant, and more importantly, the merchant was transporting valuable metal from none other than the Hinamori clan which can get ridiculous prices in the black market.

From the time they arrived to the camp the band of nukenins didn’t stop to celebrate. Mori, as usual was the head of the party. “Haha! Now we will be the best! Nobody is going to make fun of us now!” The band wasn’t taken very seriously before by many other bands because of their constant failure in theft and they were constantly getting caught by the authorities. Of course they would escape easily, but their reputation was very low. But now that they have stolen from the Hinamori clan, their reputation will skyrocket. Toji too was saying how this is their big break in the ranks.

Of course no all the grunts were celebrating. Toji placed a larger part of them to actually guard the camp from intruders. It was possible that the Hinamori clan will try to get their metal back but Mori was pumped up, he won’t lose to anybody anytime soon. Some of the grunts were preoccupied and scared. They said that the Hinamori clan is too powerful for them and that they will surely come here for revenge. Mori just sighed and said “Let them come! I am not afraid of them!” He lifted his arms showing off his muscles “These two boys will end their puny lives.” And he burst in laughter.

Toji than approached Mori and ordered him to watch over the camp. “Aww c’mon! Don’t we have enough guards guarding the camp? Ehh fine…” Mori stud up and became serious. He was angry at Toji because he believed that there was no need for him to guard the camp as he would rather party than guard the camp. Some of the grunts laughed at him. He looked angrily at them “What are you laughing? Stand up now and scatter around the camp! NOW!” The grunts quickly stood up and in a second they were gone. “That will teach them. Laughing at me…”

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

Having made one stop to get a last mug of his sweet addiction, Toshiro had taken more time that he might have to reach the missions room. Of course no one who knew the white-haired genin would argue in favor of getting to the missions desk earlier than he already was. Hence the reason why despite having left his home well before dawn it officially opened he was only entered after several of early-risers had. With the barest of formalities to get his scroll and any last-minute updates (primarily the size of the team) from the chuunin, Toshiro had pulled a bit away from the slowly growing number of shinobi coming in when he heard a familiar voice from slightly behind him. When he turned to see who it was Toshiro didn't try to hide his grin when he saw it the genin he knew as Ken. Knowing his partner for the mission was someone he had worked with, and worked well with, in past was going to make the mission much more tolerable. Plus this would let Toshiro mark another item off his to-do list - get his sister Rangiku to stop nagging him about not introducing her to his "cute partner". Assuming Ken hadn't heard that his sister was the one who put the prior chuunin in traction for trying to grope her while drunk at a bar; for some reason most of his own gender seemed rather intimidated after seeing just what his combat-orientated sister could do in a fight. Such thoughts were for later though - right now Toshiro had a partner to bring into the loop of what exactly the mission entailed.

Slightly nodding his head to confirm his fellow genin's guess, Toshiro gestured for Kana to follow him as he moved towards one of the more isolated exits from the room while talking. "Seeing as it's my clan that requested the mission I had better be on it." With that Toshiro tapped one gloved finger against the pin on his right collar, whose eight-pointed star and three dots were the clan crest. At the same time he took the mission scroll and glanced over it just on the off-chance that the village had added any new information or specifics between now and last night. Finding nothing he hadn’t known before (and nothing that the clan didn’t want known), he rolled the scroll back and up a quick application of a lighter and a tiny amount of wind chakra reduced the document to unrecoverable ashes. Just on the off chance things went south any opponents wouldn’t be learning if it was Konohagakure, the Hinamori, or both who had come to recover the stolen goods. One of the first rules that was drilled into Hinamori ninja was that the less you enemy knows the easier it is to instill fear into them, and Toshiro embraced that rule fully. The need to deal with confidential information done, the snow-haired genin turned to fully face his partner after making sure they had a degree of privacy.

"I'm not just here as a Konoha-nin but as the clans representative as well. Since the area it happened on is inside the clan's lands, my grandfather decided to send one of us along to keep things going smoothly and of the five of us I drew the short straw." At that Toshiro's couldn't keep a trace of displeasure out of his voice. While he had no idea how it was done, much less proof, he had a vague certainty that somehow his sisters had cheated to get him assigned to this mission. Shoving that unanswerable question into another mental locked room for later (as he knew that when it came to manipulation and cheating his sisters were far and away his betters), Toshiro lowered his voice before continuing. “If you’re up to it, there is a trail from before Konoha was formed that the clan keeps mostly passable for couriers we can use to travel to the area. It would shave a good portion of our travel time compared to the merchant roads but it would require roughing things quite a bit more than the regular road.” Left unsaid was that Toshiro had other reasons for taking that route beyond the need to start the search quickly. The isolated nature of the terrain would help the Konoha-nin avoid notice from bandits or any spies, and the trail was very close to the area where the theft had taken place. And a quick trip to the Hinamori’s storehouse to collect an additional pack of supplies could fix the only real downside. “If supplies would be an issue, we’re free to raid the clan's storehouse - as long as don’t take too much no one is going to mind if some supplies go missing.” Then he lowered his voice and glared at the floor. “Besides, this way I know where they went instead of trying to figure out which one of my sisters borrowed them for a camping trip when it comes my turn to do the inventory.“

Posts : 542

Kana heard his ex and current partner’s reason for being in the mission and he could not help but feel foolish. The name had sounded familiar but the young Genin had not thought to put both Toshiro and Hinamori together. It had not occurred to the bronzed medic that Toshiro might be nobility or at least high up in the food chain. But, as Toshiro explained his role and the importance of the mission, Kana came to realize the gap in social status that both held. He was little more than a bastard shinobi. No clan, no living family, not even a place to call his own. His partner, not only had family and lands, but the backing of the ruling body of Konoha. Kana would be lying to himself if he did not recognize the sudden pang in his heart as jealousy. A feeling that was soon reprimanded by his own conscious. He should be glad that he had gained the comradeship of one such as Toshiro. Though it did pain him a bit that he was below the station of the fiery redhead sister which had caused such fright from his partner.

After hearing the suggestion from his partner Kana nodded. “If you believe it best and more efficient, then let us take this hidden trail. Few will be able to track us that way and should there be a party awaiting your clan’s reprisal, they will more than likely keep the main roads watched.” Noticing that Toshiro mentioned supplies Kana ventured a question “Toshiro-san, my guess is that this is a covert and clandestine operation. That being said, I assume we are to expect little to no back up besides that which your clan is willing to provide. I assume that you already have an estimate on the suspected number of attackers we will face. I already assume that there will be atlas two to or three to one. Have you a plan to shock and awe or more to infiltrate and extract?”

There he went again, asking a billion questions but Kana could not help it. He knew that his partner would accommodate him as he had in their previous mission. In hopes of trying to alleviate this Kana offered. “I am ready to perform in whatever fashion you see fit. I have learned a few new skills since last we met and I hope that they come to bear fruits. As always, I shall follow your lead and hope that whoever summoned me or thought I would be a good addition to this mission does not second guess their decision. I am ready to move out when you are ready, unless we are waiting on more people.” The young Genin looked around but did not see anybody heading in their direction. Though he knew how capable Toshiro was and he would most definitely put his best effort forth, the odds were not looking too good right now. As he had said before, increased numbers would definitely help, but there was nobody he would rather have in a fight than Toshiro.

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

Seeing that the missions office was getting more crowded (and the space for a discrete conversation more limited) as an increasing number of shinobi, some alone or with friends while others came in as teams of genin with their jonin-sensei, entered to pick up their daily mission(s) - Toshiro decided that now would be a good time for the two genin to take their leave quietly and tried to indicate such with a few subtle gestures and some basic hand signs. The walk out also gave Toshiro time to go over the issues his partner had raised (and more than a few were good ones), inquire a bit more about those new skills he had learned, and do a more detailed assessment of his partners equipment. Which to be honest, even though it was within Konoha regulations, was well below what was Toshiro's (admittedly high even given his clan) standards. While the clothes would be adequate for normal travel, the various thorny and tough undergrowth that would still cover parts of the trail would likely rip it and the tendency for storms to suddenly appear and dump rain or snow in the hills and mountains that comprised the clans lands meant Toshiro wouldn’t be surprised if his partner caught a cold. Add in his lack of a decent-sized supply pack, and Toshiro was starting to wonder just what sort of imbecilic penny-pincher or clan-favoring boot-licking toady of the Council was in place that some Konoha shinobi would be as well outfitted as himself while others like Ken wouldn’t even pass muster for a moderately tough training run. No, this situation would not do. Even Hinamori still in the academy were provided more and better quality equipment without having to purchase it. Especially when he learned that his partner now was a qualified medic-nin! At the very least that should have seen him issued a proper medical kit and a way to carry it without hindrance during travel or fighting.

‘Ugh, no way we can leave immediately now. Asusha would have my head on a pike if I took a fellow medic-nin out without assuring he had the proper tools. Time to raid the storehouse!’

With that, Toshiro tried to discretely but forcefully change the pairs direction of travel towards one of the unguarded (at least visibly) entrances to the Hinamori compound that happened to be close to a back entrance to the storeroom where the clan kept extra traveling supplies. With some luck a few minutes spent rummaging in the various crates and chests along with a hastily scribbled note in Toshiro’s barely-legible chicken-scratch “shorthand” (known to academy instructors as “is this a note to another genin or the plans for a jutsu capable of blowing the entire village to smithereens?“) for an explanation should see his partner and himself properly supplied with extras of everything they might need and then some. If nothing else several more reels of wire and some various trap supplies wouldn’t hurt - if it was to be just the two genin against an unknown force Toshiro would take every advantage he could grab and turning several miles of forest into a death trap was a sizeable advantage. And if by some unlucky chance someone should enter during the “raid”, well Toshiro might not have been the best of his siblings when it came to acting but he wasn’t completely helpless at it - as long as it wasn’t his mother, father, or siblings he could probably weasel them out of the situation if Ken played along. Course of action decided, to keep his partner from raising objections to the detour in their route to the gate (hopefully by keeping him too focused on other things to notice until it was too late), the snow-headed genin kept talking as much as possible - going over this or that part of the mission while setting a pace fast enough to cover the distance in a reasonable time.

"Honestly I don't have much of a plan if any. I know the route the merchant intended to travel, where his body and cart were found, and what was stolen along with the local magistrate‘s conclusions about how and when the attack happened. The clan only believes that this attack was bandits because there have been similar other attempts in different areas after this one that were foiled by clan shinobi that were bandits, and various sources in other villages haven't reported any unusual activity. I can't rule out that nuke-nin or shinobi from another village were involved in, or even completely behind, the attack. I'm hoping that the locals will have more information by the time we arrive or we can find our targets before they find us and then go from there after some reconnaissance. If it‘s just a few bandits and maybe a nuke-nin or two that got full of themselves I don’t see a problem with making some messy examples of them with a quick-and-brutal raid. If it’s a big group or they have some hefty shinobi support I would probably say go the quick-and-quiet approach to recover the items and maybe kidnap a prisoner then bug out before they realize we were there. I prefer to avoid having a particular plan in mind in situations like this - until I know exactly what we’re up against I like to assume nothing, anticipate the worst, and hope for the best. Now if Lady Luck shines down on us and we get a chance to recover the missing ingots then by all means seize it because I am fairly certain that we‘re going to be pretty much on our own in terms of numbers for this. With lack of mention of additional Konoha-nin either from the chuunin or in the scroll I'm fairly sure you were the only non-Hinamori who accepted the mission. And unless a minor miracle happens I won‘t be looking for any more Hinamori from Konoha to join us because there aren‘t any more to spare."

The last was the other reason Toshiro didn’t begrudge his sisters not wanting to take this mission - while he would doing something active, soon they (and the rest of the clan’s genin not already on missions) would be getting ready to take over yet more of the monotonous duties that were usually assigned to higher-ranked members of the clan to free up those members to handle the urgent need for extra guards on all the Hinamori‘s assets outside Konoha. Given the choice between high odds against unknown opposition with limited to non-existent backup, and sixteen hours or more of standing on a wall or by a gate checking incoming and outgoing traffic without reprieve - he would take the former. For that alone he would forgive his siblings their quirks and underhanded ways yet again - just like the last fifty or so times and just as they did with their little brothers treating them like children on more than one occasion. It also reminded Toshiro that his partner almost certainly wasn’t as well informed about the situation as himself. While if it had been someone he only met his first time or a wet-behind-the-ears fresh genin he probably would have kept the information to himself as a clan matter, but the white-haired genin felt that his partner was both smart enough to understand the implications and wise enough to know to keep his mouth closed. Plus, and this was a big plus in Toshiro‘s book, he respected and trusted Ken. Too often people heard “clan member” and treated Toshiro in an artificial manner and expected him to act in a certain way. Ken didn’t. He hadn’t even realized his snow-haired partner was a member of a clan until it was pointed out and had shown Toshiro what seemed to be a degree of respect based on his abilities and actions not his birth or social status. That put his salt-and-pepper haired partner high on the small list of people outside his extended family Toshiro considered potential friends.

"To be honest Ken-san, and this is in strictest confidence, the Hinamori are stretched to the breaking point when it comes to numbers. The fighting before we joined Konoha bled us badly and with having to increase patrols and guards to protect the merchants and villages that pledged themselves to us in exchange for protection for the last several days our reserves of ready manpower are nearly spent. If the situation doesn‘t improve soon there is serious consideration of recalling our members outside Fire Country and that has dire implications for a lot of people and even then it might not be enough."

‘As in we would be stripping the support from under at least a dozen Konoha-sponsored operations and pulling some of the only spies Konoha has in several areas. Not only will that seriously piss off the Hokage, but it will leave the clan, the village, and the entire nation in a lurch right when there are rumblings of something big and ugly on the horizon. And to make matters worse this might just be the first rumblings of what is to come if it’s more than a few bandits with delusions of grandeur. Grandpa said he had a dream of gathering storm clouds the same day the attack happened, and great-grandpa Kontasu said in his diary he had that dream as well the day the Shantakai was said to have formed. If any kami is listening, please let things hold off for a little while longer - we need more time before we’re ready to face another storm like that again.’

Having been chattering at a rate that would have his sisters checking for an imposter under henge or repeatedly trying to dispel one of Momoiji’s various prank genjutsu, Toshiro was more than a little relieved when the gate to the compound came into sight. Going the three steps to the right of the actual gate itself and pricking his finger to place a tiny amount of blood on a stone with a carving of a pheasant or wild turkey on it’s surface to temporarily disable the alarm seal before vaulting over the low wall (avoiding the pit lined with poisoned iron spikes that awaited anyone stupid enough to actually use the gate), Toshiro signed for his partner to go over the wall where he did and follow him. From there it was just a dozen or so steps to the door to the storeroom, and Toshiro knew where to find the key to open it without setting off a half a dozen different silent and audible alarms as well several lethal traps. Trusting Ken to be behind him still, Toshiro quickly pulled the key from it’s hiding place then unlocked the door after knocking in the apparently-random spots to disable the various mechanical traps that would trigger if the door was simply unlocked first then stepped in while gesturing for his partner to follow him before shutting the door but not completely closing it (and thus leaving the traps disabled).

As ironic as it might be given that Toshiro loathed paper-work and inventory day meant lots of paperwork, one of his favorite places inside the clan compound was this storeroom. While the armory would always be second and his grandfathers library first along with his father office, the smell of the various containers made from different woods and their contents always managed to soothe his mind. Then again he was still thirteen years old (even if a blooded thirteen) and much like any child or young adult in his favorite store, the storeroom had practically everything a young shinobi could want in the way of equipment and all of it meticulously sorted and stored away with the right amount of protection against moisture and just enough padding to prevent damage.

“We’re going to need a bit more than what we’ve packed if it’s just the two of us. There should be some clothing in a camouflage pattern suitable for forests along with rain gear and various insulated items in the chest to your left. Field rations are in this row, and medical supplies are in the chests marked with a red cross. Camping gear is in the boxes with the green stripes and harnesses and pouches to hold it are in the brown chests over there. There should be some higher-quality kunai, shuriken, and sebon in those grey boxes already in sheathes and oiled up. Take whatever you need and as much of it as you think might be useful - supplies might get tight in the field. I’m going grab a few dozen trap kits and some wire reels. Try to keep the noise to a minimum and if someone comes through that door whatever you do, do not run. Odds are they already know we’re both in here so our best option is to either let try to talk our way out or hide. If we do have to run wait for the smoke then high-tail it for the door, jump the fence three steps to the right of the gate, and keep running.”

Instructions, needed warnings, and exit strategy given - Toshiro went to collect his goals from the non-descript boxes closest to the door. Carefully opening the lid he started pulling out the reels of wire ranging in thickness from string and as strong as any rope to a wire finer than thread and that when coated with a liquid glass that was allowed to harden could through flesh as well as a kunai, each wrapped in an oil-stained cloth. Working quick and quietly with the practice of numerous “raids” both alone and with his siblings, Toshiro soon had several reels of multiple sizes ready and closed the lid. The next box over had the real prize for him - kits of traps such as single-use kunai launchers, various flares that could be rigged to tripwires, latches that could be used to hold hefty objects such as a log or boulder suspended yet release it at slight tug, and other assorted traps. All packaged with everything needed except the trip wire and any instruments of massive blunt trauma. Next to rolls of explosive tags (which were kept in a separate room in the armory that was locked and guarded constantly and thus out of the genins’ reach), this were the greatest equalizer Toshiro knew of. With some time to prepare an area, these traps, and the reels of wire the two genin could make leaving a camp a deadly prospect for any bandits and seriously ruin the day of even a shinobi trying to pursue them through a prepared area. Once he had secured his prizes into two satchels that were in the boxes and left his scrawled note on the shelf where clan members knew to leave notes when taking something unofficial, Toshiro spared one glance at the simple watch on his wrist. They had been inside the room for five minutes, and so far so good to Toshiro’s knowledge. His grandfather, father, and mothers chakra, familiar to him from thirteen years of exposure during training and always comforting, still felt as if they were in their offices and dojo respectively. No doubt the adults had already sensed where he was, that he was with someone else, and guessed at what he was doing. Having figured out that one of their children was yet again collecting supplies for a mission (and had brought a friend along to help and properly outfit at the same time) they would be smiling and go back to whatever they were doing with a sigh about children being children. The other serious risk, that the guard who would have been perched in one of the trees along their approach would enter never entered Toshiro’s mind. Mostly because if he remembered the duty roster for the guards today, it was his second cousin Ko that had been in the “night suit” he had spotted in the branches and Ko wouldn’t say a peep to anyone (else Toshiro would mention where Ko kept his naughty books to Ko's highly possessive girlfriend) but the three aforementioned adults until his shift was over after having seen the clan-accented hand signs Toshiro had flashed after vaulting the wall that said “friend, bad gear, mission” and a number of rather vulgar insinuations about the breeding of the leadership of the village. Yes, even a ninja clan who equaled the Senju and Uchiha for age and might at their height wasn’t immune to certain things. One of those things was the development of certain accents to the hand signs that formed what amounted to a second language that could be used to discuss more than basic mission information and instructions - the topics ranging from who would be cooking what for dinner right up to expressing one’s belief that certain members of the village were keeping political positions “in the family” through selective breeding at the cost of higher mental functions. So unless one of the other clan members or Toshiro’s sisters walked in the two genin would be safe. At the worst, Toshiro would have to endure another lecture about not bringing his friends in to be introduced properly when everything was done.

OOC Whew! trying to move this along due to Kana's other mission.

Posts : 542

Kana followed his partner out the mission’s office. The influx of people was making it hard to hold a classified conversation, not that a mission should be so clandestine that it would require extra care and FYEO procedures, but following the signals from Toshiro, Kana complied. It never occurred to the bronzed Genin that his partner was concerned about his attire. His poncho/cloak was sturdy and made to withstand harsh cold weather and desert like temperatures. It was this reason that Kana liked his new outfit so much. Add a pair of rough leather boots and one had a perfect ranging outfit. It was true that even by average standards, Kana was humbly outfitted only having the barest of necessities to be able to go out in missions. Compared to a noble clan member like Toshiro, it was not hard to notice the difference in their gear. So the bronzed Genin walked with his partner never having a thought for the direction they were taking or the destination, though it did seem weird to Kana that they were not immediately heading towards the main gates.

The young Genin listened to his partner intently trying to catch every detail should it prove useful later. At the mention of the casualty of the unfortunate merchant, Kana could not fault Toshiro if his clan, his partner included, did not want to exact some sort of revenge. When Toshiro mentioned bandits and his previous surname, Kana waited until his partner finished offering his small insight. “Toshiro-san, I go by Kinoshi, Kana now. Ken was merely a name that the hospital gave me to alleviate the matter of addressing me because of my memory loss. I believe the new name is more applicable and appropriate if I am to have social interaction and burdening others with my story would be a waste of valuable time. The fact that you mentioned that perhaps bandits did it, would it be possible these bandits know the how valuable your metal is and therefore chose to attack your caravan? If so, then I fear they will be expecting a reprisal. That would complicate matters if it is indeed just the two of us.” Kana imagined how low in numbers the village was and hoped that there would be no outside attacker so soon after the village had started its slow climb out of the war torn abyss it had been on.

Kana noticed the change in attitude and the body language that indicated a matter of great importance and delicacy was to be entrusted to him. This simple gesture made Kana secretly proud that Toshiro considered him in such high esteem and fearful that he might let the other Genin down. He leaned close to his partner to hear anything and everything he would say. Once the white haired Genin had finished and he had processed the information Kana replied. “Toshiro-san, from what you have shared the likely hood of a bandit faction specifically targeting your caravan knowing that your numbers are low in higher. That means that if they know who you are then they most certainly know or have heard of your prowess. Since the average bandit group is usually about 10 people, we are outnumbered five to one already let alone if it is a well organized and capable band. However, I know that you have faced odds such as these before otherwise your clan would not have won such great renown. “

During the course of their chat, Kana noticed that they had arrived to what appeared to be a storehouse of some sort since it could be little else. Kana stood back, and actually turned his face away, as Toshiro dealt with the security mechanisms that meant valuables would be found inside. Considering who his partner was, the bronzed Genin inferred that it would be some sort of gear that would aid them in their mission, a fact for which he was thankful. Kana heard his partner’s instructions and began to move through the shelves acquiring items he thought would help them. At his partner’s warning though, the young Genin was a little apprehensive, he hoped that his clansmen would recognize Toshiro and that no one need be hurt.

He gathered a suit and rain gear for himself and Toshiro. He was not too sure about the camping gear since did not know how long they would be in the field. He gathered a few medical supplies though if they got injured through treatment would be hard to do so he took only gauzes medical sewing kit. He tried to pack as little as he could and since when they needed to move they would have to move fast so he only took about 30 Kunai, 50 shuriken and about 50 senbon. The pack was light and held open for Toshiro’s inspection. “I am ready to move when you are.” Kana spoke in hushed tones awaiting further instructions form his partner.

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

Some people might have interpreted Toshiro’s lack of response to his partners questions as being rude. Toshiro hoped Ken.. er Kana would be able to read expression of barely-restrained horror that was spreading on his face and not take offense. What had been a simple (and effective since his partner didn’t seem to notice the detour they were taking) distraction plan had brought up an unsettling possibility Toshiro hadn’t considered. What if, instead of a random act or an attack on a merchant associated with the clan, the whole thing had been orchestrated to grab the clans shipment? If the attack had been specifically directed at the shipment of chakra-conductive metal because the clan was low on manpower, that implied that whoever was behind it had information. Information that could only come from two sources; an extensive and effective network of spies within the clans territory or a traitor in their ranks. The former would be bad enough as it implied someone was behind the bandits and that things could only get worse. The later.... that was unthinkable. Like the Inuzuka, the Hinamori valued their bonds of family above all else but even more so, they were family. They took care of their own at any cost, even if it meant having to stand alone. Even if the entire world was arrayed against them, Hinamori were taught that as long as they stood together they could survive any odds. To actively work against the clan, to go so far as to betray kin by blood and trust... no. Not until Toshiro had absolute proof would he believe that one of their own would fall so far. Thus Toshiro focused on the task at hand of checking his partners new equipment rather than those deeply disturbing thoughts.

Approving of Kana’s acquisitions, so far Toshiro noted that only a few more items would be needed. No doubt he hadn’t needed them in the past (or known the option existed) so Kana hadn‘t thought to collect them for himself and thus Toshiro opened the closest crate of camping supplies and started putting them into the pack. Among these was a folding mess kit that could be put directly on a fire without taking the temper out of the light-weight metal and a collapsible metal rack for cooking on that would make a single small and secure package. A small brass box with a steel edge that held lint, tinder, and a piece of flint to start a fire. A lightweight combination of ground mat, water-proof tarp, and several blankets that could be used individually for warmer weather or together to form a sleeping bag suited for anything short of high-altitude mountains or the glaciers of Snow Country without the bulk and weight associated with normal sleeping bags. Two soft-sided water containers that would take much less space than extra canteens when empty also went into the bag, plus several days of the dried and canned rations that had more taste (even if only just) than the “wet cardboard with flavoring added” ration bars that it seemed most Konoha shinobi used as travel food when foraging wasn’t an option. Privately Toshiro considered whoever deemed that humans could live off those for days at a time an idiot of unimaginable incompetence, a sadist of the worst sort, or a demented genius with an incomprehensible plan to end all wars. The total load might have been more than either one of them would need, but Toshiro was determined to avoid two things. First the wrath of his sisters if they found out (and they would) he had let his partner leave without what would be considered proper equipment by their standards. Second, to avoid a repeat of his first C-rank where the team had ended up short of supplies after Tobirune and Ai’s packs had been shredded by a crude explosive trap and the contents lost or ruined when the resulting blast knocked all three genin off the bridge it had been set on. Waking up to Ai in his sleeping bag and using his person as a teddy bear with Tobirune on the other side had been a most... unsettling experience for the white-haired genin. Between that and going without his caffeine and sugar fix his first C-rank had been four days of sheer torture. Hopefully if each of them carried some extra then should the worst happen, yet another mentally scaring incident could be avoided.

It was only after everything was in order and he had indicated for Kana to zip the pack closed that something he had said finally registered in Toshiro’s conscious mind; memory loss. At that Toshiro stifled the urge to slam his face into his palm as the implications set in. 'Kami, I had better tell Momoiji to start planning the wedding when we get back. When Rangiku and Asusha find out he had memory loss they’re going to latch on to him like they do to a lost puppy or kitten. Add in Mom and the outcome is carved in stone. If Rangiku or Asusha don’t get him into the clan by marriage the force of nature I call “Mother” will by adoption when she finds out. And I’m not crazy enough to try to keep information from her. Dad slept in the stables for a week before she forgave him enough to hear his apology on bent knee when he had to be out of the village for a mission during their last anniversary.’

Oh well, after his sister(s) knocked some of the straight edges and reserved manner off Kana he would make an appropriate brother-in-law. Assuming he survived the courting process and didn’t run like the last would-be suitor. Even if it had been fun to watch a full-of-himself Casanova around 10 years older than his sister and at least fifty pounds heavier flee Rangiku’s fury after making a sexist remark about how “no wife of mine will have to mar her appearance to protect herself.” Toshiro couldn’t completely repress the chuckle (that came out as a slightly choked giggle) at the memory of that pompous jackass screaming like an academy student every time a kunai or throwing hatchet had slammed into a tree by his head or passed between his legs. Maybe it hadn’t been fair, but not warning said puffed up peacock that his sister had been in the process known as “venting“ after an escort mission with a “grabby” client had yielded better-than-expected results. Said peacock had been so traumatized that he had joined an all-male monastery when simply being around a female triggered flash-backs and a loss of bladder control. As an added bonus, the fools sister had taken over his estate and not only was she a far better manager (and person in Torshiro’s opinion) than her brother, but she had established quite the coco bean farm on the estate. Best of all she sent Toshiro several bags of her best each year as a thank you for getting rid of her brother.

“Now it looks good. Honestly, if I ever find the imbecile who decided that “arm thyself” was good for shinobi I’ll pound just how stupid that idea is into the empty space they call a skull.” With that the white-haired genin shouldered one of the satchels containing wire and trap kits while handing Kana the other. Now it would just be a discrete exit back the way they came and a boring two days or so to reach the target area and with a lot of overdue luck the situation wouldn’t be nearly as bad as it could be. At least that was the plan as Toshiro motioned for his partner to follow him quietly to the door they had entered. That plan lasted right up until some familiar voices and the light tread of multiple sets of feet along with the tell-tale squeak of the “nightingale floors” outside the room reached Toshiro’s ears. The voices were familiar, the foot-falls something he had learned to identify, and the four chakra signatures as familiar to him as his own - Momoiji, Rukia, Asusha, and Rangiku were heading his way! Okay this was bad. As in “I am going to wish I could just die” bad or “why did I try to be sneaky and not just accept the inevitable” bad. Not that they caught him in the room “borrowing” gear (since nearly everyone who had grown up in the clan did that at least once and even well into adulthood if they were a ninja). No, their fury would be directed at “Shiro-kun” for not saying goodbye when they were awake and not introducing them to his partner. Any one of them he might have been able to work around, maybe two if he played up the sympathy card he had in Kana (even if it was using his partner to save his own neck) as long as it wasn’t Rangiku, but all four of them? Toshiro wasn’t crazy enough to think he could take his way out of that situation! Sure Kana would probably escape with just getting flustered and thinking Toshiro‘s sisters were insane, but Toshiro just knew they would do something highly embarrassing to his person. Maybe a noogie (Kami it was bad enough when Asusha did that in front of his team before his first C-rank), or yanking his earlobe and yelling at him (it had taken years to live it down the one time Rukia had done it when he was late getting out of class), or some other direct assault on his dignity. Time to throw caution to the wind!

Turning to face his partner, Toshiro had only one thing to say. “If you don‘t see me meet at the main gate. Now RUN.” And with that he shoved the door open, grabbed his partner by the arm and attempted to shove the bigger genin outside, then grabbed a marble from a pouch and threw at a carefully stacked pile of smoke bombs that was on a shelf near the door. Sparing no time to appreciate the results of over a dozen smoke bombs falling on to the floor with a series of bangs and a cloud of smoke, Toshio was already out the door and shutting it behind him as quietly as his shaking hands would let him. All the while praying that his sisters would believe that the smoke bombs hadn’t been properly stacked and simply rolled off the shelf again, and that Kana had reached the wall and remembered to go three paces to the right of the gate instead of using the gate itself (and triggering the spiked pit trap under it). Tracks covered as best he could, Toshiro took off at a dead run for the exit himself.

Posts : 542

The bronzed skinned Genin noticed the realization in the face of his partner as he held his pack open for inspection. The sheer horror and doubt that perhaps this attack was deeper made Kana realize that the Hinamori could have more enemies, as many powerful clans did. Worse yet, the young man hoped that a disgruntled clan member hoping to gain power or status was not behind the issue. Such matters on a clan as proud and close knit, from what Kana had seen of his partner, would devastate the clan more than an all out massacre could. No Kunai can pierce deeper than betrayal. Seeing how sensitive the subject was, Kana dropped the issue and instead proceeded to pack the extra camping gear that Toshiro divided among them. Dividing the load would indeed prove easier on the two Genin especially if the travel was to be as arduous as Toshiro had exclaimed. After getting the approval from his wise partner, Kana closed his pack and hefted it. His first encounters with a travel pack had left him sore and bruised, he hope that his body had learned from that past Hinamori gear experience.

Kana had no idea about the scenarios going inside his partner’s head. It would have been a great honor to be accepted into a clan as illustrious as the Hinamori. However, he was not sure he could be that good of a husband to anybody, though the fiery beauty Kana had laid eyes upon had indeed stirred just a bit of something inside him he had not felt before. The young Genin started to follow Toshiro when he noticed the other stop mid step. Immediately the pepper haired boy became alert. He could not sense chakra as his partner could but his ears did pick up the faint footfalls coming from beyond. Given the previous warning, Kana immediately looked towards the other boy for direction. Seeing the sudden reactions registering in the face of Toshiro, Kana was bewildered and hope they had not done something illegal and disgraceful, not too much for him but because of his partner’s proud clan.

The warning was given and before he knew it, a strong hand was pulling shoving Kana outside. There was no need to explain the need to escape and Kana dug deep and using his shinobi trained body, took off in the direction of the only exit he knew. His feet and legs powerfully propelled him forward as the added weight of his pack made the effort just a tad more challenging. Kana almost headed for the door but then remembered that it was probably booby trapped since Toshiro had not used it. Close to the wall he leapt into the air and using his hands to clear the bottom half of his body from the wall he landed on the street. He did not stop however, and kept on running towards the direction of the gates once he had peeked back and seen Toshiro behind him. It was not until the gates came within view that his pace slowed and he matched his partner’s stride. “I do hope that is the most eventful event of the whole mission, another dangerous sibling?” There was a very small hint of humor in his tone, almost in audible. He ran next to Toshiro ready to head out the road with the momentum gained since they were packed and had survived a close encounter with angelic faced death.

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

"All four of them actually." With that Toshiro settled into a pace suited for long-distance traveling. He had caught the trace of humor in Kaha's voice and, while he could understand why his partner found it amusing, it didn't make it any more enjoyable. Of course that required that Toshiro repay the favor - as a good teammate he just couldn't let his partners karma become too unbalanced. Oh yes, Kinoshi Kana would find out that Toshiro also knew how to find humor in... certain situations as well. Turning his face to address his partner as the two jogged (at least a jog for a shinobi - civilians would likely call it a dead run), the left corner of Toshiro's mouth turned up into a smirk that in someone who knew the white-haired genin well enough to know his quirks would have them running for the hills. "Oh, and after this is done I will be introducing you to them. I believe they mentioned "a little spar" to see my partner is up to their standards."

Oh yes, Toshiro would let his partner sweat a bit as his own mind conjured up images of himself suffering various painful defeats at the hands of his partner's siblings from all the possibilities "a little spar" could entail when the context was slightly ominous. There were advantages to growing up with four sisters - when it came to making another persons own mind conjure up the worst-case scenario from a few ambiguous words, no one was better than a female. Duty to balance his partners karma dispensed, Toshiro once more focused on the path they were traveling as he was the only one of the two genin who knew where the courier-trail branched off from the main road and that only due to having traveled it several times on various minor clan-related errands. Even at this pace it would be a good three days for the two genin to reach area and being delayed because his own inattention caused them to miss a turn would mean even more time lost traveling.

Posts : 542

As expected, Toshiro was more than eager to return the favor about being snickered at. The number went through the mind of the bronzed Genin,

Four?
If they all looked like the one he had the pleasure of laying eyes on, it was no wonder there was a need for such beauties to develop some sort of defensive mechanism. Take into account the fact that they are kin to a noble clan such as the Hinamori, and you had a recipe for needed to be a stronger pray that the average predator. Kana noticed the smirk on his partner’s face and knew that some sort of smart remark would be coming. Very few people would find this as any sort of importance other than having hit some sort of button, but for Kana, it meant that Toshiro considered him more than a team buddy and that he accepted the young man into some sort of inner circle of which Kana might be the billionth one but was still a part of. The comment however, was received by Kana, not as a sly comment but as something of an honor, maybe to the dismay of his partner. Kana smiled back and replied in a touched tone. “I thank you for considering me worthy enough to meet your family Toshiro-san. It would be an honor to spar with any of your clan, let alone one of your own blood. Judging from what I have seen from you, the fight would not be too fair or challenging for any of your family but I would try my very best to make it interesting.

Kana’s mind did indeed start to turn as it was filled with questions and images. He hoped and wondered that physical and combat prowess was not the only thing that Toshiro’s sisters found appealing in a mate. He worried that such a combination would leave them wanting. After all, when both parties are old and sickly, what fun and what excitement will come from their relation? The bronzed Genin did not consider himself a strong man, by any standard. He was athletically built but only because of his chosen profession; otherwise he would perhaps be a bookworm sitting somewhere eating delicious food. Which brought another question to his mind, he hoped that fighting was not the only skill and their beauty the only asset to Toshiro’s sisters resume. One can stare at a fist or a face for only so long.
The young Genin kept pace with his partner, his body having memorized the strenuous pace that the other had put the last mission they had. The terrain proved somewhat challenging but thankfully, Kana’s body was allowing him to keep up and not let his partner down. Perhaps it was his medical treatment that kept his own cells active and healthy, whatever the case; their pace should get them soon. There was time to talk so Kana told Toshiro the few jutsu that he had managed to learn. Given the amount of time they had already taken, it marveled the bronzed Genin that a clan so affluent would have so little man power. Perhaps they were to proud to ask for aid or hire mercenaries to guard their caravans. It was understandable in the even anybody meant to do them harm by slandering that the Hinamori needed to buy man power. That could also be another reason why the lovely siblings of Toshiro had developed such pain causing attitudes.

The pace was fast, the road rose to meet them and though it would take them about three days to reach their destination, Kana was ready for anything that they could encounter. After all, he had the company of a very dedicated, proud and capable Genin. It pained the young man that Konoha was not able to lend more aid and that he was the most they could scrape up. It was situations like this that resolved Kana to become more stronger and more skilled. The war had all but extinguished the fire of the Leaf but now the embers needed to fan and catch once more. Two such sparking flames now headed to meet an unknown foe and unknown danger. The call had gone out for the aid to the Hinamori and Kana was proud to have answered. All that was left was retrieval.

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

It had taken nearly four days of hard travel but finally Toshiro and Kana had reached their target area. The two genin’s luck had mostly held for the trip with the only things crossing their path being wildlife and those allowed the genin to go their own way in exchange for their own lives, minus the pheasant Toshiro had shot with his bow as a change from their rations on the second day (it had given him a dirty look). The third day had found the two genin having to don their rain gear when the grey clouds that had covered the sky for the prior two days finally opened up in at first a moderate rainstorm then a downpour that had forced them to spend the night a cave that was little more than an opening between two boulders just wide enough for both of them. Beyond that, the trip had been slightly damp, moderately chilly, and just boring enough to drive Toshiro to distraction. Of course his partner pulling a proverbial verbal rabbit out of a hat and turning around Toshiro's attempt at mental torture hadn't helped. What made it worse in his opinion, was that Kana hadn't even realized what he had done! Now Toshiro couldn't consider "evening the score" without feeling like a heel. If he had thought Kana to be the sneaky and underhanded kind of person (at least by ninja standards), Toshiro would have sworn his partner had known exactly what he had done. Sadly for Toshiro's primary source of available amusement, Kana simply didn't seem to be that sort of person and thus he had spent the entire trip between boredom and a mental hell of trying to figure out just how to get out of this predicament.

Of course arriving at their destination at the unholy hour of 4 in the morning after only a few hours of sleep due to the need for haste hadn't helped Toshiro's fraying temper. Finding the village, which should have been buzzing with preparations for defense, asleep with the exception of a lone guard at the extremely simple gate (really a swinging bar between two posts) had started a small tick above Toshiro’s eye. When, after signing for Kana to stand back and keep his eyes open for trouble, Toshiro had learned from that guard both the location of the home of the village headman as well as the fact that the village hadn’t added extra watchmen even after the theft had caused the tick to multiply. After knocking on the door of the indicated two-story home, only to have the mans wife or housekeeper open the door and tell him to come back at a decent hour then slamming it in his face, Toshiro had simply reached his breaking point. Or as his sisters said “Mount Toshiro’s blew it’s top again!” Again signing instructions to Kana, this time to make sure no one entered the house, Toshiro had then immediately kicked in the door with enough force to send it slamming against the wall with a sound like a thunderclap. Having then stomped past the shocked female, whose response to Toshiro’s growled request for the location of the headman was met with a shaking hand pointed up the stairs, only to be confronted by another locked door (which was also summarily kicked in) before finally setting his eyes on the headman who had obviously been sleeping when the door to his bedroom was reduced to splinters. Not giving the man even a minute to collect his wits enough to shout for help (even if anyone could get past Kana which Toshiro highly doubted), the snowy genin had strode across the floor and grabbed the man by his nightshirt then yanked him upwards until they were literally nose-to-nose before practically growling out his demands.

“I do not care why nothing is as the clans laws require in the face of a full emergency. I am pissed beyond your ability to comprehend so I will leave that reckoning to my grandfather. I am going to tell you exactly what I want to know about the recent theft and you will do everything, no matter how unreasonable, to find the information. If you do not, what I did to that door will be the least of your problems. Do. You. Understand?”

Apparently Toshiro had made an intimidating impression despite the weak moonlight that penetrated the mist and his short stature, because the mans head had moved up and down fast enough that he was in danger of suffering whiplash. Having received that affirmation of the locals cooperation, Toshiro had then gone out the door and back down the stairs (dragging the poor headman down the steps by his shirt with no regard for dignity or bumps), and threw the man into a chair. Once there he had begun what was a cross between a grilling and an interrogation that pulled every detail the locals knew about the attack and it‘s perpetrators into the open. After that Toshiro had instructed the headman (with one hand on the hilt of his sword to remind the man just what could happen otherwise) to put everything he had said down into three reports then conscript two of the fastest runners in the village to carry the reports along with a note from Toshiro to the larger village (which was the local command post for the militia and forest wardens) several hours north, and to Konoha proper with instructions to go directly to the head of the Hinamori clan. Having corrected the mistakes of the lazy villagers himself, Toshiro finally was able to turn his attention to the matter of retriving the shipment along with the crest and watch, and working out his stress on the local bandits.

Thus he was now seated with Kana in the empty tap room of the local tavern/ inn, with a number of maps (confiscated from the villages records) and crafting a plan that was as much an exercise in small-scale annihilation as a raid using “shock and awe” to compensate for limited numbers. The only other people present were the tavern keepers daughter, who periodically refilled Toshiro’s glass of some local juice while shooting frightened looks the white-haired genin and a different look at said genin‘s partner, the tavern keeper himself (who was preparing for the noon rush), and the mans wife who doubled as the cook and had made the meals for the two genin who had commandeered the room for planning their attack on the bandits.

“This clearing with the small rise in the middle is the bandits camp. Supposedly there aren’t any fortifications. Thanks to the villages having some contact with the bandits we can confirm ten bandits and two nuke-nin. Neither description matches any known nuke-nin B-ranked or higher in the bingo book and the locals say the bandits are little more than a collection of buffoons barely able to escape a few hired swords and delinquents who got in trouble to stealing chickens.” Breaking briefly for another long swallow from his glass and another bite of an unidentifiable egg dish (something called an “omelet”), Toshiro took a few seconds to chew and swallow something he vastly preferred to more preserved rations before continuing. “My suggestion is to use the rest of the day to place traps in the wood here” with that Toshiro’s circled an area covering the north, north-east, and eastern woods around the clearing “to slow down anyone trying to escape. Once that is done, we rest up and come nightfall make an all-out raid on the camp. A few water clones and some explosive tags should be able to account for the majority of the kunai-fodder. From there we close in and either mop up the nuke-nin or if they run grab the ingots. As much as I want to convert them into mulch, our first priority is the shipment followed by the crest and watch, and exterminating a pair of small-time hooligans is extra.” Looking up from the map and past his own meal and that his partner had better have ordered (else Toshiro would take matters into his own hands), Toshiro only nodded before handing the matter to Kana. “If you have any suggestions, improvements, or a better way to do this speak up. I’m furious at these people being so damnably lazy that they almost cause an international incident, but I’m not so angry I don’t know that you’re the smarter one of us. And yes I see a few snippets of your aptitude test after that fish-hunt; you scored better than I did in several areas.”

Posts : 542

Four days of travel had equaled four days of torture for Kana. After the initial snippets that Toshiro had wanted to mention about the trail and the place they were going, both had been generally quiet except for pertinent talk. The atmosphere had been a bit of an awkward tone, which Kana wondered if he was the reason. Either the white haired Genin that was his partner was so deep in thought that he had little to say to the extra body running next to him, or he was so bored with the lack of mystery that Kana could provide that he looked elsewhere for entertainment. Kana had attempted to start a conversation every now and then but he was not very good at social interactions. After a short few sentences, the silence would prevail yet again. A torrential rain brought a good change of pace, with Toshiro explaining the material and different uses for the gear they carried. The uncomfortable wetness was almost welcome instead of the uncomfortable silence. Never would it occur to Kana that his response about meeting the Hinamori sisters had stopped a hazing prank dead in its tracks.

The morning was still young and dark. Many still asleep in their beds, including the lone guard that was guarding what Kana could only surmise as a gate. Sleep had not visited that poor guard for long as he was rudely awoken by Toshiro. Fear expanded the man’s eyes to almost overtake his face when he woke to find not one but two fully geared shinobi. Remembering that this village had been close enough to the robbery that had been the reason of this mission, the man’s fear was justified. Toshiro’s anger was well funded and Kana knew a path of rampage would ensue. He would back his partner up all the way up to murder despite how inept the head man was. It was surprising to the bronzed Genin how much temper his partner showed. This was perhaps not his worst or it could be but Kana would not judge. The morning had been more eventful that many in that village had perhaps seen as they woke to noises of breaking doors and rude awakenings. Kana had obediently stayed outside the door and though a few of the servants and personal body guards looked his way, nobody intervened. Perhaps it was the forehead protector tied to his right arm that gave him authority or perhaps it was the fact that Kana stared the seven or so men down not in a threatening manner but with eyes that told them he would show no mercy if they attacked.

After a few hours of chaos, as the headman of the village tried to rectify his fault to Toshiro’s satisfaction, the village started its normal routine as normally as possible. Both Genin had taken as command center and Toshiro laid out his plan as they looked at a local map. Kana listened intently as he scanned the maps topography symbols to identify areas that would aid and hamper them. Every now and then his eyes would meet that of the village’s head daughter and he would bow politely acknowledging her, after all she was the daughter of the village head and respect was due. A plate had been placed in front of him by said young woman; Kana hand thanked her but looked away just as a slight smile appeared on her lips. He ate absentmindedly, more as a mechanism than actual enjoyment though if he had been paying attention he would have noticed that his own meal was far more intricate than that of his partners. He took a last gulp from his cup juice and replied to Toshiro.

“You think too much of me and do me honor, Toshiro-san. I do not consider myself to be smarter than you but I appreciate you allowing me to put some input. “He bowed towards his partner and then turned to the map. “It seems that the bandits used the best available spot. High and clear to see any incoming assailants. Chicken thieves they may be but smart ones at that. I agree we should set up traps, but not merely to catch any one escaping but also to catch those we lure out. The less men in the camp the easier the extraction will be. Your water clones will aid us as decoys and a few regular clones as well. My flute jutsu may help to mask any sound we make while placing the traps. We can either make the appearance of an all out attack, which will make the bandits place more protection on the shipment or we can hide our numbers and lead them in a wild goose chase with clones if they think it is only one or two of us. The trick is letting them think it was their own guard that spotted us. Other than that I will follow your lead as you are the one that knows the most and I shall support you in as much as I can.”

With that Kana bowed and awaited the reply from his partner as the corner of his eye caught a glimpse of the young headman’s daughter, she must be around 15, staring their way. Toshiro must have really made an impression, Kana thought and a slight smirk could be seen in his face for only a second. It had been four days of hell and the village had been turned upside down but Kana had a feeling that this was going to be a good mission to remember.

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

No sooner had his partner finished speaking that Toshiro gave him an appraising look. Putting down his eating utensils, the white-haired genin bored into Kana's eyes with his own look before speaking a flat tone that would make it impossible to tell if one was being humorous, sarcastic, or serious. Fitting because right then Toshiro was torn between letting his jaw drop at his partners spot-on assessment and suggestions or applying sarcasm to his I-am-not-smarter-than-you-oh-and-this-is-a-far-better-plan statement. "You for all intents and purposes lay out what was my alternate plan, then you point out a potential outcome I hadn't seen, and to top it off add a factor I hadn't considered. And you still say you aren't smarter than I am?" Giving his partner one last glare that spoke of disbelief in Kana’s estimate of his own abilities, Toshiro turned his attention back to the map as he began to revise his plan. "Since it isn't as if they have hostages we don't actually need to try to get to the shipment first. And if they do try to put extra guards on it just makes our job easier - a few explosive tags on some kunai and the guards will be hamburger. Not like we can actually hurt the shipment with an explosion.” Looking up after making a few more markings on the mark that would indicate the route of attack, safe paths through the trap-fields for the clones, and other such details.

"Okay. New plan. Lure some of them out to thin their ranks and if they need prodding to chase put an arrow into the throat of a sentry to two. They chase us into the traps then after we've bled them a bit move to hit the main camp. Assuming they'll try to guard the shipment the biggest concentration gets taken out first. Say three water clones with exploding kunai and some regular clones to confuse them. If the initial boom doesn't get the guards, I can use blow the clones up to soak them and you can shock these extra-large fish silly. From there we just play it by ear depending on the situation.”

Posts : 542

Kana held Toshiro’s eyes with his own. There was no animosity or challenge in them just an average stare that told the other Genin that Kana had not secret to hide. At his remark, Kana gave him a confused look. It was not that Kana considered himself smarter than anybody nor did he consider himself dumb but he knew there was nobody that would fully grasp all sides of an issue unless they were geniuses. He had merely stated what he had considered and if Toshiro had already come to that conclusion then that would be that, if not, then he had seen the issue from another angle. Kana bowed slightly to Toshiro as he replied. “I am thankful that you honor me yet again Toshiro-san. I hope my contribution will aid us and not mislead us. After all, we have no idea on knowing if it is only the leader who possesses such insight or if the entire band as a whole shares their communal intelligence.”

Looking down at the map once more at the marking Toshiro had left he nodded as the trails were place in areas that would be most likely taken by an escaping target through the brush. “Your plan is solid. If they are indeed chicken thieves then they will fear discovery and give chase with the smallest of stimulation. Numbers do not count for much in this instance because solid battle lines have not been drawn and as it stands we are in as much disadvantage as they. The only difference is that they have something to guard while we have the flexibility to move around. I will support you in any way I can. My few sound jutsu should help some as should my poison to incapacitate some. I understand that you may wish to make examples of them but would it not be more effective if they could actually do the spreading of the dire consequences themselves? In any case, I feel that we should move ahead with our plans as soon as we can should the thieves have some sort of spy or inside help. The faster and harder we hit them the easier the battle will be.”

As he stood up to pick up his plate, the young chief’s daughter hurried in and took it from his hand. She all but snatched it out of his hands and turned hurriedly to retrieve Toshiro’s. Kana was a bit ashamed that he should be such a nuisance to her that she would not even exchange a word. Still, the bronzed Genin gave her a proper thank you, even if it was to the back of her head, and headed for the door. She seemed to be regarding Toshiro so Kana felt it better to leave the two alone. He may not know much of social interactions especially not courtship ones, but he knew when discretion was advised. So he exited the tavern and made his way to where their gear had been left in charge of a guard. Thanked the villager for watching out for their gear. A comment that brought a confused look to the poor man, after all, they had marched into their village in the dead of the night and all but beat up their chief.

Shouldering his pack, Kana waited for Toshiro to finish his ‘businesses. He distributed the weight of the pack and looked towards the sky. There seemed to be a few clouds gathering in the horizon and he wondered if there was going to be rain, or in this late of a season, sleet. That could both help or hurt as the number of sentries would diminish seeing as nobody would want to stand watch in the cold and wet. The bronzed Genin was thankful to Toshiro for having packed that foul weather gear and made it a mental note to remind the other. The wet would also save some chakra as they could use the natural rain as a conductor for Kana’s jutsu. All was ready, in his mind; all that was needed was the first step to be taken towards the aiding of the Hinamori Clan.

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

The entire time Kana had been walking away, he had missed a rare sight. Toshiro with his jaw making a serious effort to say hello to the top of the table. It took the white-haired genin several minutes of staring out the door before he could fully process what had happened. Somehow his partner had, in the space of less than ten minutes, demonstrated an insight into the attack that easily matched Toshiro's own then turned around and completely misinterpreted the message the serving girl was giving the two. In trying to reconcile the two contradictory facts of his partner being brilliant and a dense as lead, Torshiro’s brain had hit a fatal error and needed to reboot. That reboot took the form of the genin’s face and palm having a meeting until the higher functions reasserted themselves and reminded Toshiro that, partners who were puzzles wrapped in enigmas and tied with riddles or not, he had a mission to carry out. Swallowing the last part of his meal, Toshiro tossed a small roll of notes onto the table, gave the serving girl his best “I have no idea” look at her unanswered question regarding his partners obliviousness, and was out the door while setting the last buckle on his sword harness.

A good ten minutes behind Kana, Toshiro wasn’t nearly as nice when it came to the guard who had watched over their packs; simply grunting at the guards timid inquire if everything was okay before taking out the basic supplies he would need. The trap kits and reels of wire, a cold-weather cloak, his canteen, the standard contents of his equipment pouch, enough emergency rations for several days, and of course every weapon he had brought with him. The rest he would leave to be either be picked up in person or sent to him by courier after the mission was over depending on how the mission went. For this part Toshiro would travel light to take maximum advantage of his speed since he would likely be the one to make first contact as the combat-specialist of the two while Kana hung back slightly. With that final assessment, the snowy genin fastened the cloak in front and pulled the hood of the mottled green-grey clothing over his head before stooping to pick up the trap supplies and walking out into the first cold drops of rain that had just started to fall.

Easily locating his partner, as the two Leaf ninja and a double handful of militia standing watch were the only ones with incentive to be out in the oncoming weather, Toshiro soon was standing besides his partner holding the two satchels of trap supplies, one of which he held out towards Kana. “You cover the northern area and I’ll get the eastern part and we‘ll meet up at the northeastern area by the pond on the map. I figure it should take us fifteen minutes to get there and another hour to ninety minutes to set all the traps so we‘ll have fifteen minutes to gather first-hand intelligence on the camp before the attack. If the weather holds to the usual pattern we have at most three hours before it really starts to pour and it usually lasts thirty minutes so we should have plenty of cover for our tracks if we have to run. If things get ugly our retreat is to through the traps then northwards - there should be a body of militia and forest wardens coming south soon. Link up with them and lead them back here.” Once his partner had taken the kit, Toshiro reached up (having to nearly stand on the tips of his toes) to grab Kana’s shoulder to turn the taller genin so he could look Kana right in the eye after bending his head.“Good luck Kana, and no dying. My sisters would kill me if I let the first person I would give my consent to them dating die to a bunch of third-rate hooligans.”

With that Toshiro took off towards the area he would be turning from forest into deathtrap. Plans had been set, contingencies covered, and the last words said. From here it was up to luck and skill to see who would come out the winner.

Posts : 542

Few would know it, but Kana was a nature lover. It was not to the point where he would chain himself to a tree to keep a working father from doing his job to feed his family. It was more the fact that he was amazed at how things worked and how fragile the whole system was. The bronzed Genin was still gazing eastward, where the darkening clouds of rain were gathering like an army ready for war, the slow rumbling far in the distance, the war drum to which they marched. Slowly it creped ever nearer like a menacing horde. Kana adjusted his pack, which consisted of about 30 exploding tags, 20 kunai, 50 meters of wire and to facilitate digging, he had acquired a small spade. He noticed Toshiro heading over and so he walked to meet him halfway. The young man took Toshiro’s trap pack and his advice and instructions. Kana smiled a bit at the mention of courting the other’s sisters and bowed his head slightly. “The same to you Toshiro-san. Do not worry, I have no intention of causing you pain by my death. It would not do to have your sister’s face marred by sadness and anger. May luck smile upon us.” With that he grasped the straps of his pack and took off towards the north.

The terrain was quite mountainous, Kana had to slow his pace to keep from getting hurt as the slow drizzle was making the dirt be of a sticky clay consistency. He slowed his pace further when he was about 30 meters from the clearing. He had taken a north western route and then doubled back at a 45 degree angle. Un shouldering his pack, he started to plant his traps. He set up a quadrant of delayed exploding tags about 25 meters north of the clearing fanning out about five meters wide and 10 meters deep consisting of staggered tags spaced about a meter apart on either side adding up to 20 exploding tags in a sort of cone with the thick part towards the village. He set up two traps on directly west of the camp about 15 meters into the tree of trip wires that triggers a mechanism that would sent about 5 kunai flying from each direction adding up to 15 kunai space enough to cause somebody to have to doge a meter or so to avoid being hit at waist level. Finally, he tagged 5 of the remaining kunai with five exploding tags and tagged five of his own kunai using his other two exploding tag on his own kunai.

Taking the time to position himself at an advantageous position about 25 meters on top of a tree 5 meters from the edge of the forest. From here, he it was about 15 meters to the edge of camp giving him five meters to work with so he could use his poisoned dart and his flute. He took inventory of the strength of the camp and though organized, the bandits did not appear to be professional. The drizzle had turned into a slight downpour and Kana assumed the poor souls out in the cold rain were perhaps a few of the lower ranking henchmen. It was hard to see through the rain which meant that he would also be concealed from the eyes of those who happened to look in his direction. From his vantage point, he could not make out a hiding spot for the loot but he figured it would be the most fortified spot.

Though the rain was providing a sheet of cover that blurred everything and he did not have Intel on the members of the roving band, Kana should be able to pick out the leaders as most often they either tended to stay out of the rain and have messengers come in and out of their command post or if they are outside, they will be the most bundled and giving orders rather than actually doing work. It had been nearly twenty minutes since he had started to work on his traps and about forty five since he had left Toshiro. He knew the attack would happen soon and so he waited to act. He was thankful for the rain gear as the wetness would have to be something less he had to worry about. It was hard to imagine but he actually thought about the unfortunate event of his passing and he smiled as he hoped that the wild beauties of the Hinamori would indeed shed a tear. There was no better way for a shinobi to go than in the loving memory of those they served, especially if they have fiery red hair.

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

By making use of the undergrowth, circumventing the camps sentries by going further south then circling around to reach the eastern side, and sticking to the shadows whenever, Toshiro assumed he had avoided being spotted by any of the camps sentries that should have been set out. His longer, and deliberately more out-of-the-way route had given the snowy genin some extra time to think about what was going to happen. In no way did he spend a minute of that time fuming over his partners ability to yet again dodge Toshiro's most recent attempt to shock him while confusing the white-haired shinobi with his seeming ability to go from a preceptive genius to a “socially dense male“ as his sisters often ranted about (when they couldn‘t use stronger words). Okay, maybe he did spend a good five minutes or so thinking on just that. Toshiro respected his fellow genin both professionally and personally, and would welcome him into the clan with open arms but kami above! It seemed like every time he had his partner pegged down Toshiro found yet another facet that landed him right back at square one. Maybe this is why his friend from the Akimichi clan was always grousing about his big brother making his head hurt. Trying to figure the puzzle that was his partner sure had Toshiro’s head hurting from over-thinking until he reached his target area.

Once he reached the area, thoughts of his partners baffling ability to create mental confusion where shoved into a mental “figure out after the blood is done splattering” room and the door barred. Now it was time to plan out his trap field. While Toshiro might not possess his sister Rukia's puppet-inspired love of mechanical devices and incredibly fiendish imagination when it came to their use, he had been used as her test-pupil for mock exams enough that he had an above-normal understanding of the theory behind using traps. Most important of all was knowing that traps could not be relied on to kill. They could slow an enemy down by making him more cautious or impair an enemies ability to fight by causing injury, but were best used to limit an enemies options for retreat or advance. With that idea firmly in mind, Toshiro set out his plan.

First would come the strands of thicker wire that would impede the progress of anyone trying to move through the area it was strung through. Mostly just a single wire set at random height, in several places that Toshiro strung multiple strands to create something resembling a “cats cradle” done by a drunk. A number of these wires were in turn connected to the tripwire to the eight kunai launchers he secured to tree branches so that a target trying to avoid the more visible wire would be more likely to not avoid the second one. He did the same with a several deadfalls made out of fallen logs hoisted into trees and held in place by latches that would release the logs when their respective tripwire was disturbed. Then he started burying several dozen small (about six inch long) double-ended spikes into small holes (no more than 3 inches deep and maybe 4 inches wide) or wedging them between rocks and/ or small logs and covering the implements with leaves in or simply letting the undergrowth conceal them. Perhaps not lethal but anyone foolish enough to carelessly run through area woods and step on a spike would be hurting for a while. Finally, right in front of the route he intended to lead any pursuers down, Toshiro added one more trap. A branch that would stand chest height with a shorter one lashed to form a lopsided “seesaw” and placed with the short end over a hole maybe a foot deep. To the end of the long part he secured his lone explosive pouch and attached a short wire to a kunai that he buried into the ground, then attached another and much longer wire to the short that he ran further into the woods before trying it around a tree and covering everything with leaves. If either someone stepped on the short end of the long stick, or Toshiro yanked on the long wire, the seesaw arrangement would raise the explosive pouch to chest height where the short wire would trigger the pull-detonator - resulting in the pouch blowing up and scattering it’s shrapnel over a wider area and at chest height.* A surprise certain to stop the hearts of any pursuing bandits in the radius of the blast.

His traps done, Toshiro took one last look at his handiwork, making sure to note the location of his traps, before moving on to the next part of the plan. One hand hidden in his cloak and using the accumulated water in the air and that had already fallen, only the barest of whispers of “Suiton: Mizu Bushin no Justu” gave warning before two water clones silently formed, to whom were handed a pair of kunai with explosive tags. Once that was done, Toshiro clambered, in the same manner as a non-shinobi, up the closest tree that would give him a decent view of the camp. Once he was in place and reasonably sure his bandanna had his white hair covered, the genin made a quick assesment of the camp and was less than impressed. In fact, royally upset would have described his mood - he had spent three days on short sleep and four days in the cold and wet to deal with this band of.... delinquents! Unless those nuke-nin were better than expected this wouldn’t even be a proper warm up. Thus assured that there didn’t seem to any extra surprises inside the camp, Toshiro glanced down at his watch then had to repress the urge to curse vehmently when he realized it was almost time to attack.

‘Shimatta! I took too long on the traps! No time for a last-minute planning session now. I hope Kana recognizes a sign to attack better than he does when a girl is coming onto him!’
With that Toshiro released his hankyu (half-bow) from it’s snaps and drew several arrows from his quiver, notching one and holding the other two in his left hand. Taking a calming breath to quell his mix of anger (both outwards and inwards) along with anxiety, Toshiro drew the string on his bow back and aimed at the sentry nearest the path his water clones would take in one continuous motion while breathing in. Then just as the fingers and thumb drawing the bow reached his canine tooth he released them, causing the resounding snap of the bowstring and sending the arrow right at the upper chest of the sentry. At the same time he signed for one of his clones to attack, watching as it rushed towards the hole that the soon-to-be-dead sentry would make while throwing it’s exploding kunai at the biggest concentrations of bandits. Time to put the plan to the test!

Spoiler:

CP: 38/50

*OOC: I have no idea what, if any, sort of purely mechanical detonators & explosives are available in-game. If black powder and pull-detonators aren’t available just say so and I‘ll modify

Age : 28 Posts : 3640

"And I was just like, don't be stupid..." The sentry stopped talking, turning slowly when he heard a twig snap. He furrowed his brow with confusion. "Did ya hear that, mate?" He asked his fellow sentry who seemed to snap awake again. "Huh? No, there's nothing there." He yawned and rubbed his eyes. The first sentry blinked a few times and shrugged, still gripping tighter onto his kunai. Just then, he heard a brief whistling in the air. "What the-" but before he could finish, he felt a piercing in his chest. Next second... gone. He slumped to the floor with his mouth open in shock, and finally his fellow sentry seemed to waken from his constant doze.

"Huh? Who? What?" He was roused far too late, however, when an explosion caught him and sent him flying. The massive bang caused a huge ruckus inside the camp, and it had caught some of the bandits like it had done the other sentry.

---

By now, Toji's training area was completely trashed. He had used all his weapons on the target boards littering the area, and used numerous tree for his Ninjutsu practise. With all that done, his boredom had indeed gone. He placed his hands on his hips and sighed, looking around the clearing. He was happy that this training session had gone well, and started to think about their coming success. It made him smirk a little; thinking about how their path would be on the up from now on.

Nobody would ridicule them again! It would be Toji (and Mori) who would rule the Nukenins. That was his (their) dream.

'I best go back to check on stuff...' He decided, shrugging and walking back up the mound. Just then, a loud bang resounded through the camp. "I was only gone for half an hour..." Toji said angrily, going through a long string of curses. "What the hell happened?!" He yelled, storming up the mound and glaring at the nearest person who was stood there. It happened to be a very startled and scared-looking young bandit member. "Somebody's infiltrated the camp!" He shouted in response.

"Don't just stand there! Hurry up and rake the camp; look everywhere to find whoever it is who's here! See if they have an accomplice!" Toji shouted, waving his hands around madly at the bandits who were stood around looking idle.

Posts : 542

It did not take a genius to know when an attack was started. Not that Toshiro had been discreet or covert in delivering the message. Kana had been perched up in his tree when he saw the explosion rock the eastern side of the camp. Water and mud rained on those still left alive and in one piece after what could not have been mistaken for anything other than a thrown projectile bomb. He saw the camp come alive like a proverbial nest of wasps and hope that neither he nor Toshiro would feel their sting. Taking out his vial of poison the opened it and dipped two of his bamboo darts into it. The poison was not meant to be fatal though it could be just that if left untreated. Loading his flute/dart thrower, he let the two darts fly, one second apart.

Like wasp themselves, the darts flew true and straight into the camp. Such confusion and running around reigned that pinpoint accuracy was not needed but Kana did have two targets in mind. He was not sure of their rank or standing inside the band of thieves but two industrious bandits had started to gather a small group to themselves in what was probably to be a search party. They had already started to head in the northeastern direction, no doubt trying to flank the attackers. The small band, about six including the two main instigators, were about five meters from the edge of the woods, when the darts found their mark. One burrowed itself about half an inch into the upper shoulder close to the neck of one and the other dart found a home in the soft space between the shoulder and the collarbone. The wounds would not be fatal but they would hurt and more importantly, surprise. It would take about five minutes for the poison to start its work but that was all that was needed.

Taking out two shuriken from his kit, Kana sent them flying directly west so that they could cause a splash on a puddle that was about 10 meters west of his position and about six meters from the bandit group. Hopefully that would send a few running after the noise and fall into his trap of trip wires and Kunai. He kept his eyes on the group but would look up every now and then making sure nobody flanked Toshiro and that nobody was aware of his presence high up in the tree. The rain was helping with the sound as the rain splattering in the leaves and around people’s ears would make it hard to correctly point out the direction a sound had come from.

Dipping two more darts into his poison he gathered his chakra on his diaphragm and let it out in two mighty blows that would carry his darts 20 meters, five into the camp itself, and burry themselves into random bandits in that way confusing the enemy as to actually how far he was since the average range of such a weapon was about 10 meters or less. He dug out two explosive tagged kunai and kept them handy should he have to use it on the group that had engaged first. Having fired his first darts he also twisted the small eagle like ornament on his dart gun to allow for it to transition to that of a flute having it ready to use his sound jutsu if necessary.

Weapons used

Spoiler:

Poison used

Spoiler:

Jutsu used

Spoiler:

(-4/10 darts. -5/80 chakra, -2/8 shuriken)

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

Watching the results of the first strike, Toshiro couldn't help but grin savagely. He had expected to maybe injure one or two of the bandits, and instead had killed at least two and likely maimed several more with just two attacks, and still the camp was a mess of confusion. Plus Kana was apparently doing a fair job of stirring this pot too, if the thugs who suddenly clutched at themselves were any indication. Between the two genin, it looked as if they had thrown what had been a quiet camp into a blind panic. If anything confirmed the estimate that this was just a bunch of small-timers with big egos that had gotten (un)lucky enough to pick off a shipment, the sheer chaos in the camp did. No well-trained force would let so many of it’s own be picked off without some sort of response.

Notching another arrow, this time the snowy genin took aim at the two figures standing in the middle of the camp on the rise before sending two more arrows in rapid succession at the living targets on the small rise. If the leader or leaders of the rabble milling about was likely to be anywhere it would either or both of the figures standing there. Toshiro had no illusion about his odds of actually hitting (much less killing) an alert and competent shinobi at that distance, it would certainly get their attention. And that was all he needed - to sting the leadership enough that they would send at least some of the bandits towards Toshiro and Kana and into their traps. Once the kunai fodder was finished they could clean up anyone who tried to make a stand.

To further goad the bandits into rash action, Toshiro started sending arrow after arrow into to the confused mob until he had fired at least twelve - leaving him only six or so left. At the same time he reinforced his order for the water clones. The one that had thrown it’s kunai was to keep moving forward while wounding or killing as many bandits as possible, and the one still carrying the primed explosive was to wait. Once signs of actual resistance started it would hurl the primed bomb into the biggest gathering then run back into the woods before dispersing itself once it had left a trail into the traps for the bandits to follow.

OOC: RockBoy, if you need to wiggle in feel free to PM me and I'll hack-and-slash my post a bit to work with yours. Not trying to skip over you, just Kana has a mission of his own soon and I hate to keep Amy I bogged down here.

Posts : 542

The slight drizzle had left things wet and mucky. Should Kana or Toshiro had indeed wanted to hide; the weather would have been their worst enemy. Mud would very much give their position away and wet tree limbs would prove much too slippery to navigate quickly. As luck would have it, however, the current weather actually aided in their plan. Toshiro was causing uproar on the eastern side of the compound. Explosions and shouts permeated the air and not even the soft drumming of the rain on the leaves could drown it out. The counter attack organization left something to be desired but Kana knew that eventually the fight would turn vicious as the bandits fought like cornered animals. In the confusion it was hard to see who the leaders were, it would be too lucky to have taken them out at the initial attack.

The bronzed Genin remained perched 25 meters up on his tree. The rain gear both kept him dry and warm and camouflaged him from the eyes of the small band that had detached themselves from the camp to try and flank Toshiro. More than a few looked in the direction of the camp as if to try and judge if being out in the open was safer than inside the camp that was being attacked by an unseen force. The two bandits he had pegged with the poisoned darts started to feel the effects as they grabbed their stomachs and seemed to stumble. Saving his darts and wanting to add to the mayhem, Kana took out his flute and placed it on his lips. Nimbly and skillfully, his fingers flew along the keys of the flute as he breathed life into his song. An erratic and confusing melody ensued and powered by chakra, the song would fill the air. The range would be enough to fill half if not three quarters of the camp in the melody of the flute.

The music waves would come in irregular and erratic waves. Their vibrations would make the liquid in the eardrum move mimicking movement and causing those not with a strong sea legs to start to feel vertigo. This being a long range jutsu, it would be hard to concentrate on any particular individual but Kana only hoped to add to the confusion and keep the bandits too occupied to effectively defend themselves. Of course, this tactic would give him away since even when the rouges would be nauseous, they could still pin point his location. How effective their counter would be could vary. In either case, Kana was ready with his tree exploding Kunai held at the ready.

It suddenly occurred to Kana to add some spice to the mix he had already concocted. He went ahead and moved behind the thick tree trunk to be out of view, he stopped the melody for just a few seconds as he ran through a series of hand seals and with a puff of white smoke a carbon copy would stand before him. True, this bushin held no form, but with the confusion and the music, the bandits would be hard pressed to realize that. He explained the plan to his bushin who was to stay up on the tree tops in full view jumping here and there so as to be an easy target but always staying near the traps to try and lure any would be chasers. Kana himself would go back to playing his flute under the cover of the tree trunk. He knew his passion would still be found out but he hoped that the visual distraction would be more appealing that trying to look for a sound one.
(-8/75 chakra, Jutsu used)

Spoiler:

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

'About time someone figured it out.' was the only way Toshiro could express his relief that finally someone among the bandits had realized that just standing around in the open and letting shinobi cause mayhem with impunity was a bad idea. If things had kept being this easy he would have started to worry that maybe it was all a setup. Even if the bandits inability to react to being the ones ambushed had allowed him to severely reduce the numbers - Toshiro could personally count at least five dead or in the process of (loudly) dying by his own actions and several more down and a number who were acting rather disorientated, no doubt his partner trying out new tricks. And finally, after what had taken so long that even an Academy student would have done better, four bandits had made a direct line towards Toshiro's position.

No sooner had the last of that group entered the undergrowth than the snowy genin gave the command to his remaining water clone. Said clone jumped out from behind a tree, hurled it's tagged kunai into the middle of the quartet where Toshiro set it alight in another fireball, then ran directly into the woods and over the first set of traps with the surviving trio of bandits chasing after it. Once the entire group was out of sight, Toshiro dropped out of the tree he had perched in, confident that the mizu bushin would lead the bandits on a merry chase until it was near the limits of it's range before it would duck out of sight and disperse into just another puddle on the forest floor. He had no doubt that the obviously furious bandits would spend a great deal of time even after that futilely searching for the doppelganger of their tormentor before eventually giving up empty handed. All the while they would be getting deeper into the maze of wire, kunai-launchers, and spikes until getting out would take them the rest of the day and likely cost them some debilitating wounds.

All in all, with at the majority of the expected kunai-fodder out of the fight it was time to move on to the mopping up. Stowing his bow on his back Toshiro took out a pair of kunai and began to move at a reasonable pace to come up behind the bandits who, if his guesswork was right, were between himself and Kana. With this last bunch removed it would it should be an easy matter to finish the cleanup. Given the lack of anything resembling an organized response or the use of any sort of ninja techniques, Toshiro had begun considering that possibly the two nuke-nin reported to be leading the group had used the confusion to escape and were by now long gone. While that would make his secondary and tertiary missions a bit harder without either of the obvious leaders in charge to question, there was bound to be another survivor or two he could “persuade” provide their knowledge about the group with him. For now though, it was time to get down the messy work of making examples and putting the fear of Kami into the bandits that remained alive.

Spoiler:

CP: 37

Posts : 542

The rain seemed to have reached a lull in its fall. Now only a thin layer of mist seemed to hang in the air which would make concealment a bit harder. That plus a few other factors had caused the bronzed Genin named Kana to change his strategy. His Siren Song, though causing a great deal of chaos and physical discomfort, was not proving as effective as he had thought. After a minute or so, the bandits, to their credit, would just struggle through the sense of vertigo and disorientation. What the jutsu had provided, however, was a clear picture of who were the leaders. Two bandits in particular, seemed to be pushing and motivating the camp, which had at this point consolidated into a more manageable defense. From the sounds of explosions and cries of the wounded and dying, Kana figured Toshiro was causing his own set of mayhem.

As a Medical Ninja, Kana was inclined to fight from a distance, but against the current odds, that would take far too long and risk an ambush or flanking event. So, silencing his flute, he placed it away and chose two more kunai with exploding tags from his kit. He now had four kunai out. He grimaced at what he was about to do, for as a Medic, his first priority was to save life. His actions would not only try to claim those of the enemy, but it could very well lead to his own demise. Taking a deep breath, he channeled some chakra to the soles of his feet and took off at a run towards the base of the three. As he was descending, he threw two exploding kunai towards the four man search party that had begun heading in his direction. They were about ten meters away from him. The kunai was to stick in the mud and puddle in front of them but Kana did not let its blade dig deep into the ground.
The handle, which held the explosive tag, was about half way down into the muck when Kana released the seal. An explosion, about two feet in front of the incoming group who had not seen Kana yet, lifted up muddy water and debris from the forest floor over the heads of the pursuers. Using the brown blanket that now blocked the bandit’s view, Kana struck. Still thinking like a medic despite his resolve, Kana attacked non vital but important points like the tendons behind the legs and at the wrists. The wounds would be debilitating and potentially life threatening if not taken care of, which should put the four bandits out of commission for a while.

Kana took out two more kunai with exploding tags as he made a crescent line towards the camp trying to use one of the tents as cover if possible and not be a straight moving target. His back landed against the wall of the tent with a light push of the canvas. He was sure somebody had heard, if not seen, his approach as muddy as the terrain was. He knew that this would limit his combat ability, but it should also limit that of the bandits. Also, his specialty was not Taijutsu, so he did not rely heavily on stable footing. Kana took another deep breath and peeked over the side of the tent trying to identify and target the two leaders. There was no hesitation, the leaders needed to die so that this band or any future could not cause harm again.
(-2/10 exploding kunai. -2/67 CP)

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