Bandit Round-Up [Private Mission]

Age : 29 Posts : 1797

Quote :: Mission Title: Bandit Round-Up
Mission Type: Custom
Mission Location: The lightning country
Shinobi Requirement: C
Mission Rank: C
Mission Objective: In recent times, merchants have had trouble getting their goods to the cloud village. This is due to the fact that a group of bandits have hidden out on the road to Kumo, stopping travelers from reaching the village with their goods and money. This works both ways, as the bandits stop anybody on the road leaving Kumo. From eyewitness reports, it seems that the bandits aren’t well armed and seemed malnourished and are committing these crimes out of desperation. However, their desperation may make them considerably more lethal and deadly force is authorized. Bringing back as many of these bandits as possible is encouraged.
Mission Time Limit: 2 weeks
Min Post Count: 4

For the sake of the RP, I shall be providing the NPCs.

"Feast my friends!" Yelled Misuki, a tall, horribly groomed man. He, like the rest of his comrades, were very poorly dressed for such chilly conditions. All they wore were some rags they had managed to salvage from their lives before turning to crime. Yes, these men were common bandits. Not even noble enough to be called thieves. Over the past few weeks, they have destroyed and ransacked countless merchant carts, but committed no real murders. Occasional resistance would leave the merchants bruised and cut, but never did any of them die. After all, these were just lowly thugs that lost their jobs and homes. They had no intent to kill, and were quite the fearful bunch, though this cannot be said for everyone. Their leader, Misuki, was very willing to kill someone. He had been a criminal for years, and simply found these bandits after his old gang ran him out of Kumogakure. It was no easy feat training eight amateurs to become well-rounded thugs, though they still lacked the actual will to kill. Most of the time Misuki would simply watch these men ransack the carts, and rarely ever stepped in. Though when he did, he made sure to strike fear into not only the victims, but his comrades. Ruling by fear was not always the wisest option, but as long as the bandits had food to eat and water to drink, they were satisfied. All Misuki had on him was a large club, which helped intimidate those who wished to challenge him, but furthermore could easily be used to punish his comrades should they do bad. It had a much larger reach than their Kunai, and to them it was the strongest weapon they had. A large stick. Many may argue Misuki is simply swinging that toy around to compensate for his lack of a 'stick', though no proof has been found to date.

"What a catch we made tonight" Said one of the goons, before a second replied with "Yeah, we can eat for the next two weeks!" They were obviously chattering over the spoils they managed to loot from the last cart. The broken pile of wood, food and valuables was their largest find to date. The merchant managed to flee a few minutes earlier, but the bandits cared very little. They were simply happy to eat for the first time in two days. While the group of minions were looting the cart, Misuki remained seated on a tree stump, sipping some of the sake he managed to acquire. "Ah.. once I sell these valuables I can finally abandon these morons and take a first class trip to Konoha!" Misuki said to himself. He was quite loud, but because his minions were salvaging the cart, they hardly paid any attention to what he said. Misuki's only worry now was getting caught by Kumogakure Ninja. After all, their location was but three miles from the city gates.

The location was a very strategic choice. It was down a dirt road leaving Kumogakure, and their camp was right at the bridge patching up two large cliffs. This bridge was one of few that led directly to Kumo, and so merchants would constantly pass by. Surrounding this dirt road was quite a large forest, one that your average person could easily get lost in. With a forest on both sides of the road, the bandits could ambush any passing cart, and loot their valuables. Ths location also provided the perfect opportunity to rob merchants coming from Konohagakure and what was once Iwagakure, and also those leaving Kumogakure. Obviously the lack of commerce between the varying villages left a minor dent in their economies, and as such ninja would definitely be sent after the group. It was decided that Kumo, as it was their territory, would be the ones supplying the ninja, and it was but a matter of time before they were caught. Misuki knew this, and was plotting his escape the past few days. He was a man of great ambition, though his torn clothing, uncut black hair and large black beard showing quite the opposite. A homeless looking man robbing merchants, how much lower could Misuki get?

Age : 30 Posts : 644

Genchu walked along the dirt road on this sunny day. He loved to use such days to train, but he was doing something now that he loved even more. He was on official duty for Kumo. His mission was the clear out the bandit problem on this very road. Genchu and his partner would be rewarded extra if they didn’t kill the bandits, but his own life was more important than a reward. There would be no hesitation if the need to kill was to arise.

The black Mohawk that stuck out through the special hole in his helmet designed just for his Mohawk stood six inches tall. He had spent extra time on it this morning. It was an important ritual for Genchu to look right before battle. Usually, his helmet was attached to the headband he wore around his belt. However, he all ready had it on, knowing he was about to do battle. He wore black armor on parts of his body that were outlined in red. This armor protected him from nothing, but was merely used to look like it did as an intimidation factor. Under the armor was a black cloth material that allowed for a full range of motion. On his back was his trusty spear, leaning towards his right shoulder. His katana was sheathed at his left hip, held there by the belt that was covered by the headband. Tucked away in the headband were also two tomahawks, hidden for sneak attacks. Also hidden was two kunai, one in each boot. The standard ninja gear was in a pouch just above his “backside”, held in place by the headband and belt. This included kunai, shuriken, paper bombs, and more goodies. On this day, he carried rope next his pouch so that he could tie up the bandits when he was finished with them.

The sun blared down on him. What little skin was showing felt the UAV rays intensely. Luckily for Genchu, there was a slight breeze that cooled him. This breeze came from the direction he was heading. He glanced up at one point and saw flocks of birds gliding on the breeze. ”Now that’s freedom,” he said to himself. He smiled wide. Today was going to be an adrenalin filled day. After this mission, he planned on taking another. This one wouldn’t take too long. After all, it was just bandits. The forest around him was thick. The trees stood tall and strong, as if they had been there for thousands of years and didn’t plan on going anywhere any time soon. They twisted and turned over their own roots and the roots of other. It was almost like each root was competing to get as much nutrients as possible. He could see how this forest was the perfect cover for a group of bandits. They could easily hide in the trees. You could sleep on one of the branches and not worry about falling off due to each branch being significantly wider than the average human.

He could see the bandits on the horizon. It was hard to tell what they were doing, but there was most definitely a cart of some sort. They had probably just stolen it and were claiming their trophies. His smiled shrunk into a half smile, the joy in his green eyes replaced with malice. By breathing air through his teeth, he made a “tsss” sound to get the attention of his partner. With his right hand, he pointed to the forested side on his right, signaling that he wanted his partner to use the forest to ambush the enemy. He cared little on whether or not his partner would follow the plan. In fact, he didn’t care if he was doing this solo. He was excited for the adrenalin that was about to come.

He planned to take the direct route, using the road to attack. Genchu sped up his walk. His left hand struck the bottom of his spear, forcing it upward and to the right. Right his right hand, he grabbed the center of the spear and finished pulling it out. He put his hand above his head, and as he jerked his wrist sideways, he opened his palm, so that the spear rotated above his head on his right hand. He then dropped the spear into both hands and began to sprint forward. His footsteps were quiet. Not completely silent, but they were quiet. Of course, being about a hundred feet away, the bandits wouldn’t notice the noise. Some dirt kicked up as he charged in, preparing himself to die in battle. How glorious that would be, to die in battle. He would be known as a hero, a real warrior, sacrificing himself for those he loved and those he lived with. If he were to die today, he would die proud, knowing he had made the best name for Kumo and the Bashana that he could. His spear bent a little bit with the speed in which he was traveling, which was normal, as spears are flexible to a degree. The horsehair that was attached to the end of the spearhead fluttered in the wind a bit.

At around fifty feet away, he came to a stop. He observed the enemy. He could see eight of them from this angle. All of them were in rags. They looked as if they hadn’t eaten in days. He felt almost bad for them. Genchu decided right then and there that he would not kill them if he had the choice. They were obviously just doing this out of necessity. However, it was a crime, and he had been commissioned to stop them, so he would not spare them from justice. He hopped this pause was enough time for his partner to get ready for the ambush. He released a warrior cry, screaming ”BANZAI!” with his war face on. The skin on his nose wrinkled as his eyebrows furrowed. His mouth was wide with the warrior cry. As he charged forward, he leaned a little bit. He kept the spear in front of his chest, ready to attack or defend.

Age : 29 Posts : 1585

The unwilling heart was about to succumb to the Shinobi duty. The elegant cloud clusters painted the ocean blue sky in light colors, as the sun hovered above in ablosute glory. It was an average day that was going to turn into something much more interesting. Asami's thoughts swam around her mind like golden fish in a glass. The young female was bored enough but she finally participated in a mission that would prove profitable. She and her partner had walked out of Kumo Gates a few minutes before, now heading down following a long and prosaic dirt road. Low degree upwards and slopes of the road killed the monotony, while heading towards a potential enemy.

The glaring sun shined irksome on Asami's grass eyes, her lushes leaning to protect the precious mirros. A cool breeze carried a morning moisture scent through her face. Paced steps on wooden geta footwear created lucid tones and sounds on the slightly wet soil. The twisting air blowed Asami's pure white hair backwards and her violet earings chimed like a needle falling on the floor. She wore a black woolen kimono to replace the silken garments of her likes, due to the informality and battle probability. Asami would not care enough and waist a thought on her clothes being torn, but she dressed informally anyway. Wielding her shakujo staff solftly in respect, she used it as a walking stick. The six rings on the head top added to the paced sounds, creating a lucid harmony of sounds. Her left hand was resting between her outer robe and the wide - long shash folded tightly around her waist. It was purple shaded to fit her arrogance of the earings. A small kit was attached a little above to the back of the shash, filled with the genin gear, including basic tools and weapons. A katana in a light, black case was completing the military attribute and aspect of the whole make up; seathed behind the outer robe leaning a bit forward.

Asami walked on, being unable to ignore her partners irritating steps that held no rhyme. She eavesdropped the wild forest sounds, coming from far inside the dense vegetation from both sides of the road. They lined across the road ends like imposing city walls. Water drops hit the ground everytime small creatures jumped from wing to branch. A flock of tiny birds flied towards the same direction and glided on the morning atmosphere. Her partnered seemed unjustifiably happy wearing a grin on his face. He looked filled with a positive kind of stress, ready to puff out in a scream. Her eyes scrutinized her co-walker and spotted several things she wasn't that fond of. The two looked too different, but also so alike at the same time. She turned her glance forward again, but her steps continued a swift pace due to a gradual slope of the ground.

The horizon eventually revealed the mission objective subjects. A bunch of bandids played with Asami's vision from far away. A kind of cart would easily be distinguished between the blurred figures. Possibly the day's profit out of theft. As the two mission participants went slightly closer the rags wore on the tired bodies of the bandids were now clear. Asami's thoughts were everything but crystal clear. " Why? " she murmured in surprise. Her rich years of life came to a strong contrast in front of a group of poverty stealing the poor themselves. Her rhyme suddenly stopped because a new sound came in, coming out of her partner's mouth. Her eyes swerved glaring at him, only to find a raised hand pointing towards the forest. Asami felt a slight feeling of anger. She never liked orders. Especially ones that didn't even include words, but gestures. She let it off and didn't sweat it. As he was getting ready with his weapon she held her staff in both hands horizontially and looked at him. He began to sprint through the soil and that was it. " A little conceited, aren't we? " she raised her voice hoping he would listen to her. After that, she hit the ground with her staff downwards, stepped her left foot back and in a quick turning motion she took two rapid steps and jumped on a decent rock, then used the momentum to spin up on a larger rock and finally made a back flip on a big enough tree branch.

Asami made a few jumps on the trees ahead and observed him sprint down the road through the green curtains of the tree leaves. She watched her steps as she wanted to avoid most of noise and go unnoticed. The wood scent filled her smell, her staff ringing mirthless chimes. He suddenly stopped. A chill hit Asami and wondered what was wrong. After giving it a second thought, she realized she was now able to gain ground. She sprinted ahead as fast as she could like a sugar glider through the dense brances. Wood on wood, her shoes created a natural hitting sound, as if she was a forest animal. After covering enough distance she got deeper in the forest, so as to be unheard and unseen by the criminals who were now a lot closer. A far scream by her partner was noticed by her, but ignored it because she figured out he has drawing their attention. After getting to the right spot, her eyes witnessed all the stolen property shared erratically to the bandits by a strong figure. Everyone looked depressed and exhausted by poverty in their misery hoping for a better tommorow. But that seperate figure seemed different. " So you are the brain, mister. This seems as easy as a pie. No direct witnesses or hostages and nothing to care about. I could easily slash this guy down, but the others' lives have to be spared. That view is sad, nonetheless. Anyway, here I come. " Asami uttered and got ready to make her move.

She opened up her genin gear and picked five shuriken, to which she attached long wire. After sheathing her staff on her back through her shash, she got into the right position and after some seconds of calculation she threw one shuriken after the other. She targeted the other side of the forest. All five shuriken found target on a tree. The sound was supposed to be choked by the distance. The net was placed a little away behind the cart. She then tied the other side of the wire on the predestind tree branches. The wire shined, creating a web for the naive bandids. She now hoped that Genchu would notice the wire and not ruin her plan. The spider now waited for the insects to come to her at will. The main target, the boss, was about to get devoured.

Spoiler:

Age : 29 Posts : 1797

While he studied the loot, Misuki couldn't help but notice some shady figure far off toward. He couldn't make out whether there were multiple shapes, or just the one. His first thought was that it may have been a traveler or two. At the very best he could manage to rob them of a few Ryo, though the large broken caravan could easily scare off any traveler who would get close. Regardless, Misuki saw nothing awkward in the target, and carried on with examining the more expensive of the loot; keeping away from the food for the time being. He was the leader after all, he always managed to hide away a stash of food so he would never run hungry, unlike these poor guys. And as the group of bandits continuously unpacked and carried the belongings over to the bandits' own little storage area, the eight bandits ended up splitting up into two separate groups. As four of them carried stuff into their storage facility, the other four were busy ransacking the cart. This allowed for an even and constant distribution, while also evening the work force. This also led them to an easy separation, and an uneven distribution of power. Misuki after all, liked to stay near his loot for security reasons. And to simply smuggle a few objects here and there to hide away in his own personal stash.

While the bandits worked for Misuki likes his own personal slaves, Misuki's eye caught the figure from earlier. Not only was it much closer, but from the looks of it, the figure was well armed and charging. "Looks like Kumo finally sent their cavalry. What perfect timing." Misuki whispered sarcastically to himself, remaining quiet enough for his comrades to hear, but not understand. Misuki's eye remained on the charging figure, which was somehow completely invisible to the four bandits picking up belongings. It wasn't until the man's unpredictable battle cry that they jumped to alertness. "We're under attack!" Yelled one of them. While four began to prepare for the battle; retracting but a pair of kunai each, the other four remained around Misuki as if acting like bodyguards. They didn't do this on purpose, but simply chose the safer method. Not only were they already next to him because of the unloading of goods, but it also provided a cover for their cowardice. While the figure drew closer, the four men standing guard were practically shaking in their boots. Or half broken sandals if you will. They had no actual fighting experience, and they were about to come into contact with one of Kumo's own dogs.

Moments after the 'net' was cast, which divided the two groups even further, the four in the lead began to sprint toward their target. They took no time to create a plan, or even check back with Misuki. They could tell it was a Kumo ninja simply based on his outfit. Their formation was very unorthodox. Two bandits led with Kunai in each hand, while two remained a bit further back to support the left and right flanks. They were no military experts, and for such short timing they had to make do with what they had. The feet quickly kicking up a dust storm, it was obvious they would charge into combat head on instead of taking a more safe defensive tactic. What fools they were. The approach was fairly slow in comparison to their attacker, and it was only a matter of a few short moments before their evident annihilation.

While the first four charged in recklessly, the other four remained around Misuki, trying to seem more and more like bodyguards. And some bodyguards they were. The four remained in an odd square perimeter around Misuki, who was now standing erect and in the middle of the road to spot his assailant. He was so preoccupied with what was going on, he didn't even bother to notice the shuriken flying earlier, let alone the steel wire slightly reflecting in the sunlight. He simply figured it was his old eyes, or maybe a spider web forced away from its branches to fly around like a string. "Remain around me, in case our first few guys can't properly defend." Misuki quickly said, watching as the kunai wielding bandits before him rushed desperately in battle. They were no different from men protecting their children. Provided that an abandoned caravan filled with delicious food qualified as a child. The four around Misuki were just as cowardly and scared. Though they held a firm defensive position around him, their shaking hands simply sought surrender. Their formation was no longer the original boxed stance, and shifted into more of a 'parenthesis'. A blockade in front of Misuki to stop the oncoming assault. The five of them were completely oblivious to their predator in the woods.

"Just survive this assault, and you'll enter Konoha a humble man." Misuki told himself. Of course not aloud. Retrieving from his side the large three foot club that he would occasionally use to bash the skulls of his victims in, he held up the large wooden object with both hands. He was fairly profound in using a sword, but due to wilderness limitations he only had the choice of using this large piece of wood. It wasn't even shaped like a blade, but could still be swung relatively the same way. Misuki simply chose the two-handed stance, as it provided a wider range of defensive techniques, which is what an ambush usually required. He kept his stance like any normal experienced fighter would, even though he would be no better than an academy graduate with such a horrid weapon. He did have four body guards after all. If worst came to worst, he could just use them as a human shield while the stick would bludgeon his attackers. What a perfect time for Kumo to send their dogs.

Ooc: Apologies for the slow reply, weekdays don't give me as much time as weekends..

Age : 30 Posts : 644

Shuriken and ninja wire passed through Genchu’s field of vision. He knew instantly that his partner was setting something up. Hopefully, the enemy hadn’t noticed. The only reason he saw it was because he was trained to notice shuriken as they flew through the air. Soon afterwards, the enemy began a counter charge towards him. Quickly, he counted four attackers. He noticed them draw their kunai shakily. They seemed shaken by his appearance. Who could really blame them? They were four frail, untrained good people turned thug by poverty going against one well fed, well trained shinobi from one of the most powerful villages in all the land.

They attacked in a pattern that put two ninjas at the front and two ninjas slightly behind them at their flanks. Admittedly, it was better than what other thugs might come up with, but to Genchu, it was still no match for his skill level. However, he didn’t wish to kill these criminals. If he had the option to kill them instantly, he would be at an advantage due to experience and reach. Their kunai would be no match for his spear. But, alas, he had to spare them.

He skid to a halt, right side forward. He waited for them to gain a bit of ground on him. When he felt he was ready, he reached down with his left hand, grabbed a handful of dirt and small rock, and launched the handful at the first two bandits’ eyes. He didn’t expect the assault to blind the opponents, but he hoped it was enough of a distraction that he could go for the knock out.

He put both hands back on the spear, holding his hands far enough away for strikes with the actual wood of the spear. He raised the weapon above his right shoulder and brought it crashing down at a diagonal angle towards the jaw of the enemy on the left. It was possible that this would make the man unconscious, seeing as the jaw is a relatively fragile part of the body and is an easy target when attempting to knock out an opponent. He raised the spear over his left shoulder and repeated this course of action towards the man on his right, aiming for the same spot.

Directly after the strikes, hit or miss, he would back up, utilizing a figure eight motion with his spear to protect him as he retreated a few steps. Genchu spun it fast enough to hear it moving through the air. The speed at which to do this comes from the wrists. Because spears are flexible, it would bend slightly as it rotated from his left side to his right side and back again. Not only is a figure eight intimidating, but it can be used to set up more dangerous moves, such as harder strikes and sweeps. If nothing else, getting hit by a figure eight would all on its’ own.

During the retreat, Genchu looked forward for a moment at the leader. He noticed the bodyguards directly in front of him. He was using four men as a last line of defense to protect himself. He realized the potential his partner had to put the leader down without having to touch the four body guards right away. This was a good thing, but also a good thing. While Genchu was dealing with four men, his partner would have to deal with five, one of whom was most definitely not in bad shape at all. The leader seemed to be getting the better part out of this bandit deal. Genchu hoped that he would be able to deal with these four bandits quickly in order to help his partner.

He then realized that the wire his partner set up may present a minor problem. He would have to get creative to get to the enemy behind the web. Quickly, he glanced at a tree branch before turning his attention fully on the enemies that were approaching. If Genchu had the opportunity, he would use the trees to get over the wire and maybe even use the wire to trap his enemies on the other side between the web and his weapon.

He felt confident in his abilities to complete this mission. Based on looks alone, he had no doubt he could do this mission on his own. However, he was grateful to have his partner with him. There was much less risk for both of them when working with somebody, as well as a much better chance of being able to take the bandits alive. He almost felt bad for having to knock them unconscious as it was, much less put them out of their misery. Almost. He knew his duty and he was prepared to kill and/or die to complete this mission.

Age : 29 Posts : 1585

The sun was still on the sky, sending several blinding rays through the leaves. The tree branches held Asami well. She sat down on a large tree branch, which seemed quite old. The match was about to begin and she was already bored enough. Even though her plan was glaring, it went unnoticed by the enemy. The bandits were finally aware of her attacking partner. "We're under attack!" a voice broke out in a shout. Her eyes opened wider as she changed her stance. She layed face down on the branch, supporting her upper body on her elbows with her jaw resting on both palms. The only thing she could hear was running steps, probably the ones of her comrade. Suddenly four of the bandids ran towards his direction wielding a pair of kunai each. After some moments had passed, she was still sitting on the same position observing the whole situation. She was now able to clearly see Genchu, who had already gotten into fight with the four bandids. She took a glance and saw the rest of them forming at first a squared guard around their boss. As her partner was getting closer to them, the latter changed their formation forming an arc in front of their leader. They obviously knew the rest were unable to take him out, so they changed positions out of fear. Their inexperience was scared on their scared faces.

The leader went on and grabbed his weapon. A clumsy wooden club was now held by him, as if it was an elegant sword. His stance reminded that of a Kenjutsu user. But his weapon would in no way be compared to a formidable sword. Besides, her mission information listed him under the D ranked criminals. He wasn't worth being taken seriously. The boring scene continued and Asami had almost reached her limits. " Enough slacking. " she uttered, her voice full of determination. " I have to finally do something. " She stood up and shook the old forest dust off her clothes. A streching of her back followed. " You are boring, Genchu. " she mumbled while yawning. She then picked two hair sticks off of a small black pouch attached to her hip and twisted most of her hair up in a messy manner, leaving several bangs loose on the sides. After that, she jumped off the tree and headed away. After covering about fifteen feet, she got off the dense trees and walked again on the dirt road, toward the bandits. Her steps changed, following a clean, elegant manner. She rested one of her hands again between the wide shash and robe, whilst taking the precious staff off her back. She held it again as a walking stick. Both the metallic rings of the staff and the wooden shoes added to the harmony of her voice:

Holding on to my crushed dreams, I ran, cutting mindlessly through the crimson rain

At the end of my collapsed feelings, what will I see? What will there be? I do not yet know
Without a sound, all our fleeting futures simply unfold before us

The vanished lights and shadows, the last words
All I wished for was tomorrow. Where is this reality?

A symphony of tragic lyrics and natural sounds filled the whole place. The young girl was heading toward them, completely behaving like a drama actor. The spider was off her nest searching for its pray. And the pray was as careless as newborn flies. After more and more steps, she could see them straight ahead. They were standing about twenty five feet away from her, unprotected. She made a halt and stared at them in fear. "Oh my... Help! Criminals! Somebody help me! " she screamed in total fakeness. After making a tiny quick step back, she turned around ready to run as if she was trying to escape. She wore an evil grin on here face looking downward. By the time she started sprinting, she had uttered a whisper:

" Sweet dreams "

Age : 29 Posts : 1797

'Such a shame.' Was the first thought through Misuki's head mere moments after the take down of his comrades. Or at the very least 'pawns' as he looked at them. Their main goal was to after all just serve as his ticket out of the Lightning Country, where he could happily settle down either in Konoha, or one of its other large cities. And with his opportunity a mere breath away, he was nowhere near ready to surrender with ease. He wasn't very good at boosting morale, so instead he decided on a more conventional way. Through bribery and deceit. Before he could rally up the four nearby bandits, he noticed a figure emerge from the forest. Her perilous cries were obvious tricks, but nonetheless they could easily coerce the four bandits into attacking. 'Damn it.. They came in pairs. There may be another one somewhere else as well.' The paranoid leader began to think. He seemed to immediately know she was a Kumogakure ninja, and it was actually quite obvious by her behaviors; but the lust controlled bandits who hadn't seen a women in months were probably more excited just by her sight. Their defenses heavily weakened as the four began to sprint toward her; too blinded to notice the wire between them as they approached.

Meanwhile, the fall of the two bandits left the two flank-guards to rethink their strategy. They didn't seem to have one in the first place, but it made them feel a bit better to know they at least had some idea as to what they were about to do. With slow sprinting and exhausted breaths, the two continued to sprint after Genchu hopelessly. Their plan, though completely asynchronous, was to surround Genchu's left and right sides and attempt to slash away with their Kunai so that they may hope to land a few hits. And though the strategy was miraculously going well, the two bandits were far from capable of taking down the ninja. They had never attended the Ninja Academy, and so their effective 'throwing a kunai' abilities were worse than that of a student in the academy. They both knew this, and would never risk the chance of throwing things that are so complex to their inexperienced minds. Their battle experience only became more clear as the two were beginning to swing the their kunai equipped arms wildly like they had were trying to slice with giant katanas. As many may know, when using daggers it is always safer to make short, quick cuts so that one may bombard the enemy with them. These men however were swinging the kunai like full-sized swords. Taking long powerful swings with a weapon meant of stabbing and maiming.

It didn't take long before the two ill prepared bandits got close enough to Genchu that they may possible hit him, which may have brought about at least some sense of danger. What stopped their successful attack was their bad synchronizing. The two got closer to each other too soon, not taking the time to calculate Genchu's figure-eight movements. And when they did get close, their wide swings ended up causing friendly fire among themselves. The two inadvertently slashed each other a couple times from the wide, broad swings, leaving but a few minor cuts on each other. "Hey, watch it!" Said the bandit on the right shortly after being struck, though not realizing he struck his own comrade as well. And though they did accidentally harm each other, they were at least somewhat noble enough to not make too big of a deal out of it. After all, their enemy was not each other but the Kumogakure ninja. The two ninja, now practically side-by-side and ripe for the picking, began to lunge toward the ninja with the kunai pointing outward, trying to stab him like he were an intruder in their homes. This tactic could easily be countered, even by the most inexperienced of humans, though posing somewhat of a threat due to their numbers.

All the while, on the other side of the battle field, the four bandits from before were sprinting at full speed toward the woman, almost like hungry beasts. Their only thoughts were of 'conquering' her, though Misuki knew well that she was not some damsel in distress. "Be careful, she's a Kumo ninja!" Misuki yelled, but was a second too late. If his warning came the moment she appeared, it would have helped, but now the four bandits had been caught in the spider web. One having their leg and arm winded around in the wire; the sharp metal actually cutting into his skin; while another was so tangled in the mass of wires that he could barely breath. The metal was wrapping around his neck while his other limbs helplessly tried to get it lose; ending up in their own tangling. The other two showed less interesting aspects of their binding, but were also stuck between assault and retreat. Misuki was actually glad he didn't rush toward them earlier; but also knew there was no way he could win against two village ninja on his own. He had to save them, as helplessly as he could.

To thwart the binding web cast by the witch; Misuki decided he would help free the poor flies. His first instinct was to think it was a simple barrier ninjutsu, but once he noticed an ally choking it became clear what this 'barrier' really was. With the club in both hands, he began to charge toward the web at a slightly faster speed than the bandits; quickly enough to arrive before the enemy had the opportunity to inflict more pain. Misuki was obviously the manipulative type; but even he had a conscious. He knew that if he ran away, he would simply be caught later, and leaving his allies to get killed off by the enemy would leave him without any pawns to sacrifice later on. And so, he took the noble route and began flailing away at the wire. They were simply attached to impaled shuriken, even someone without ninja expertise could tear the wires down with enough force; and the large club and the man's samurai-like swinging helped loosen the wires enough to give his men the chance to free themselves. And though they were loose, he continued to flail until he could knock down enough for the wires to slip off and completely eliminate the 'invisible wall' between them.

And after exhausting a fair deal of energy in taking down this web, his men were slowly getting up, far too slowly to be able to counter an oncoming attack. Misuki realized this very quickly, and finished things up by taking several quick steps back, to avoid any immediate contact with the enemy. He wanted nothing to do with them at this point, and was almost ready to plea 'surrender' should his allies fail to defend him. 'Why now.' Misuki thought to himself again, his entire eight-man platoon being mowed down in mere moments. There was a very low chance he could win, and he was smart enough to realize this, but was still foolish enough to try and succeed through any means. A man will risk anything for his goals after all.

Age : 30 Posts : 644

Genchu had successfully disposed of two of his attackers. Odds were he would later reflect on the devastating blows he had been able to deal to his enemy with a feeling of great success and accomplishment. As for now, he felt nothing towards the situation, besides, of course, the calm mind that a successful fighter had to bring to the battlefield. His head was clear from distractions, and if one were able to view his train of thought at that moment, that would find very little. He was running on pure instinct and muscle memory, allowing his body to take over.

In one of the thoughts that did happen to enter his head, he remarked to himself of the pure atrocity of skill level that the thugs brought to the table. Their attack plan was obviously unpracticed, not thought about, and consisting on a strategic level a mere child could overcome as if the fight was a game of chess and the child was the practiced veteran. Their attempts to do harm were sluggish and sloppy. They lacked the trained technique needed to defeat a shinobi of any level. Genchu practiced for war and death every day. These men stole and hoped battle would never come, therefore, never improved their skill. In fact, the skill level of these two “warriors” was so poor that they happened to slice each other when attempting to strike Genchu. Furthermore, they showed even more inexperience by yelling at each other as if they were small children trying to play a game, but had different ideas on how the game should go.

Genchu wasted no time. As the bandits were yelling at each other, the spear found its’ way to the right side of his body by going around his head and into the back of the head of the man on his right. Not a worried thought entered his mind on the effectiveness of this move. Unless the bandit moved, there was little possibility of remaining conscious. In his unworried state, he decided to attack the man on the left. He used the bottom of the spear in an uppercut motion, going for the jaw. This put the top of the spear on Genchu’s right shoulder. Instinct told Genchu to continue attacking, so he brought the top of the spear crashing towards the bandit’s head before shooting it back up into the uppercut strike. Whether this was effective or not, Genchu would spin his spear for a moment before sliding it back into his sheath. It didn’t matter if neither opponent was effected in the least bit to him. He felt more than confident about taking on these armed thugs with his bare hands only.

He looked forward towards the scene unraveling a bit further down the road. His partner appeared to be scarred, as she was hunched over in fear. Whether this was real fear or fake, he cared little. His mission was not to babysit a perfectly capable genin, it was to defeat the enemy and take them in for justice. He looked a bit closer and saw a few enemies tangled in the trap she had set earlier with the leader attempting to free the minions. His back was turned to Genchu. Now, Genchu is an honorable man, but he isn’t afraid to attack the enemy from behind when he gets the opportunity. This was perfect.

As quietly as he possibly could, he began his charge, keeping low. If he could, he wished to go unnoticed, for it would cause less resistance and a headache for all parties involved. He had no weapons out to defend or attack with, but he was ready. When he was just a few meters away from the leader, the trap finally gave way. The victims fell to the floor, bloodied and shocked from their experiences. The breathing of the leader was heavy, and who can blame him? He had been eating whatever he could find for some time now, which couldn’t have been the best health food in the country. He also had just swung his large, lumbering weapon repeatedly in an effort to save his cohorts. It had worked, thankfully. If they had managed to use lethal force against the pitiful bandits, it wouldn’t have looked as good when they went to turn in their mission. With the hope of having the mission completely done and having left no room for displeased clients kept alive, Genchu began his assault on the leader.

The leader had just finished whacking away at the net his partner had utilized, so his back was still turned. Genchu would get as close to the target as possible before using a running elbow. His body position would start off low to keep a sneaky essence in the attack. When he got in striking range, his body would shoot up so that he was tall. His elbow would come up as well. To drop the elbow, he would put it at a downward forty-five degree angle as he bent his knees and bent his upper body again. His running elbow, besides having all of the momentum he could possibly muster behind it, would be aimed at the side of the jaw or the back of the head, preferably the jaw. There was always the possibility that the elbow might fail, so there were, of course, maneuvers Genchu was prepared to take to not only ensure his safety, but most importantly, the success of the mission. At this point in time, that was all he cared about. If you were to tell him his dog was just run over at that point in time, he could care less. All that mattered to him in that point in time was defeating his enemy.

Age : 29 Posts : 1797

The two bandits fell to the ground like sandbags; flopping over unconscious from the blows to their heads. The first line of defense had fallen, and the second line had become entangled and exhausted by a spider web of metal wire cast by a deviously innocent woman. Minutes had only passed, and an entire platoon of eight men were completely annihilated by a group of children. Would be a shameful sight for most, but when these children wore village gear and sprung hidden village insignia on their forehead protectors; such a sight could only be dictated as 'rational.' The two bandits that fell marked the finale of Misuki's short running bandit scam. Natural instinct would say "You're outnumbered, surrender," but Misuki was never fond of such things. It baffled Misuki as to what this female was doing. She was neither attacking nor defending. Simply standing as an innocent bystander. Maybe Misuki was wrong. Maybe the female wasn't a ninja after all. That only begged the question, "Than what was she?" That web was definitely not there before. Knowing she was still a great distance from him, Misuki decided to check up on his two rushing comrades.

To his dismay, they were collapsed on the ground; and the ninja who assassinated them was sprinting toward Misuki. Exhausted and overwhelmed with remorse; he was essentially surrounded. Behind him was an odd, suspicious female, and ahead was a male only closing the distance between them. Even the smartest tactic, surrender, seemed too foolish to execute. Misuki's dream of fleeing from these lands seemed to have slipped past his fingers. "If only I left ten minutes ago.." He thought to himself. "..I would have been on my way to Konoha." Oh how the mind enjoys coming up with alternative endings. Alas, fantasies are always as they are. Fantasies.

Even though he managed to turn around to view his enemy, he was far from able to defend. The ninja had managed to close the gap between them in mere moments. Astonished at his speed, Misuki was forced to take the blow head on; though the change in his stance landing the hot more toward his forehead area rather than his jaw. This kept him from falling unconscious from the shock of a jaw break, but was enough to knock him back a staggering few feet. He knew his opportunity to attack was very slim, and so he used such an opportunity to retaliate. Temporarily ignoring the pain to his head; a mind numbing headache at that, he stood himself up into an offensive mode.

He kept a decent stance up; exposing his back to the immovable female. He figured she was just a civilian. No need to waste time defending against a random encounter. Regardless, Misuki knew that fighting this ninja would be no easy feat. Not only was his enemy a ninja of Kumo, but also well armed and able to take out a number of his allies. Waiting for his enemy to approach, his stance lifted the large club to his shoulder level like a base-ball bat; ready to swing it with full force should he get too close. If he did in fact get close enough, the heavy swing, should it miss, would easily leave Misuki vulnerable for a counter assault. Misuki was an amateur to take this into account, and would easily begin flailing the stick away in hopes of hitting something. Strategy was not his forte; but cheap tricks and back-stabbing have yet to fail him.

(ooc: It sucks, sorry D: Tried to make it longer, but honestly didn't have much to write; if anything. xD)

Age : 30 Posts : 644

Genchu’s elbow made contact. It was a bit off due to the enemy’s movement, but it did in fact hit. His opponent wielded his weapon in hand, rearing back like a professional baseball player getting ready to swing for his head and knock it out of the park. Genchu smiled. He was counting on this strike to come.
Because the running elbow came from his right side and his left side was forwards, he untwisted himself just out of range of where his enemy stood. His right foot slowly came forward, approaching the enemy, before speeding up into a running speed. His left foot would follow. As his left foot came down, he leaned forward slightly. With the lean, his head and shoulders were in range of the power strike that was sure to come. A smile was still on his face. This is where his experience in hand-to-hand combat would come into play.
Genchu assumed the strike would be aimed towards his head, as it was closest to the man and was a popular target for any enemy. When he noticed arm movement, he would bend his knees and roll his head to the left. His eyes would never leave his enemy. His head would not aim downward in the least bit. Through his practice of using a bob and weave, he knew better. His left arm, however, did cover the side of his face in a cobra cover type block. The club was highly likely to go over his head at this point, but muscle memory dictated him to protect anyway. Directly after the strike would pass, he would use all of his leg strength to dart to his left. This being the man’s right side, the strike would be on the opposite side of his body. With the dart would come a roundhouse kick with the back leg, aimed at the solar plexus. This kick had a lot of power behind it. All his strength had went into the dart, meaning that all of his power and weight was behind the kick. Any normal man would be winded from such a kick when hit in the solar plexus. Genchu’s attack wasn’t done there, though.

He wouldn’t waste a moment before shooting his right arm out straight. He would plant his right leg, the kicking leg, and launch his body to almost snake around the man. He would attempt to get his left leg fully around the man and hook into his left inner-thigh, as well as hooking his right leg into the man’s right inner-thigh. Simultaneously, his right arm would conform to the man’s neck so that his adam’s apple rested in the inside of his elbow. Genchu would bring his left arm up and reach for his left bicep with his right hand. As he grabbed it, he would grab the back of his enemy’s head in a monkey grip, meaning that no thumb was used, but a cupping technique, used more for pushing in this instance. With his weight moving back and to the left, assuming the grip was secured and his enemy wasn’t strong enough to hold his weight and momentum, the two would fall back and to the left. This would be a hard fall for Genchu to take, but to him, it would be worth it. The man would be in his rear naked choke.

With the adam’s apple in the inner-elbow, a rear naked choke does not focus on airways. It focuses on blood flow to the brain. If the forearm were on the adam’s apple, it would be attacking the airways, a slower and painful process, which in today’s world, is illegal in every case. Not a perfect rear naked choke, however. The rear naked that attacks blood flow takes five seconds to incapacitate an enemy. The other way takes about fifteen seconds on average. In both cases, it is highly important to release the grip when the muscles of the victim relax, for this means death is soon to come. This was one reason for Genchu trying to take the choke to the ground. It would be easier to feel the muscles relax if all of the man’s weight was on him. He wanted the enemy alive, not buzzard food. The reason for having the hooks in is a simple one. Having hooks in makes it very difficult to escape this position. It causes pain in the thighs when resisted and takes much effort to do away with. With a choke being applied, it is nearly impossible, as well as impractical, to attempt escaping the hooks. Even if a fighter is agile enough on his back to avoid the choke, he still has to fight the difficulty of the hooks. While having hooks in is not always necessary, it is good habit and a lethal tool to utilize.

Regarding the fall, it wouldn’t do serious damage to either combatant. Genchu would definitely feel it the next morning, but he was trained to take falls much harder than this one. He was trained to complete flip over onto his back at odd angles to save himself from serious damage from falls an enemy might do. Landing on the muscles on the left side of his back was like walking through an orchard when compared to having to flip, twist himself in mid air to avoid having his arm ripped out of socket, and then using a break fall with one hand so he didn’t smash his face into the dirt.

Assuming his attack would work, it could potentially finish this mission without the death of anybody involved. Genchu could go another day without taking a life while still completing his mission to and produce satisfactory results.

(Note: Apologies to Scale for skipping him. Sad

)

Age : 29 Posts : 1585

An unwanted scream filled the air, disturbing Asami's thoughts and calculations. A scream that just ruined her plan and that was obviously able to act as a trigger to her anger. "Be careful, she's a Kumo Ninja!" Her fast paced run came to a halt with dirty dust flying around her as she forced her feet on the ground to stop. The air slammed her back and both her hair and clothes waved gently. Her smile cracked and falling off, a serious expression emerged. She slowly turned her head backwards. She tried to spot her prey writhing in agony trapped in her web. Four fools were caught between the wire and were set unable to make any movement. However, their leader was already heading towards the web, obviously aiming to release them. As soon as he found himself in front of his called comrades, he utilized his unwieldy weapon to break the net of wire down. Asami slightly bent her head sideways above her left soulder and threw a ghastly look towards his direction. She took several steps and stopped. He had already succeeded in setting the four bandits free, falling on the ground. They stood up and the shock they went through was printed on their faces, heavily breathing.

Meanwhile, her comrade was facing the two bandits in front of him, who were still standing, but not for too long. He managed to get them down onto the ground. His next target seemed to be the leader, standing several meters away from him. His stupidity propeled him to stand behind the rest of the bandits in order to take cover against Asami, exposing himself to Genchu. This mission was far too confusing, but far too easy as well. As for Asami, she was standing away from the battle scene totally motionless. She decided to straighten her neck back upwards letting the ghastly look on her face fade away and concentrated on her partner's movements. He had already covered the distance in between him and the enemy and launched his first attack. The confused enemy turned back and took the shot in shock. The two were now ready to make their next moves. The enemy started off with a club hit, similar to an effort of hitting a baseball. Asami's partner was obviously predestined to play the role of the hit baseball, but of course that wouldn't be the ending of the scenario. Her partner stepped back and then again forward, probably in order to gain momentum, then leaned forward and seemed to await for his enemy's move.

Asami realized that the whole move was performed so as to dodge a potential hit and then attack the enemy in order to immobilize them. Genchu seemed to be very skilled in body arts, anyway. His enemy would in no way demonstate an equal skill. She made up her mind and shot her self forward, sprinting down toward the four bandints who were realesed by their leader a few moments ago. She was going to at least do something and capture them, leaving the leader to Genchu. After all, he had already emerged himself in a fight against him, so Asami wouldn't interfere. Her thoughts swam around her mind and the only thing they shouted at her was to be useful in the mission and not stand there thinking about why her plan was not successful. Besides, the result was what mattered most. Capturing all nine of them alive was of main importance.

She now covered the distance she had planned to and prepared herself for fight. A fight that would probably prove to be easy enough, considering that her enemies were already exhausted after being trapped in her wires, getting out of it not unharmed, most of them wielding several minor cuts. She paced her movement down and raised her red staff horizontally, holding it in both hands. The silver head of it gleamed under the sun and the rings chimed as she twisted the wooden pole inside her hands. Asami was now ready to attack. She leaned forward and let her left hand free, releasing the bended staff in front. The top of it would land a slam blow on the enemy's face, wacking them down unconscious. She then grabbed the staff again with her left hand, stretched the same arm leftwise, then launched the bottom of the staff, letting the whole pole sleek through her right palm. She aimed for the part right below the enemy's side ribs, a rather weak point of the human body. For a final move, she performed a spin of her staff above her head, stetching both arms upward. She was now positioned between the rest two of them, and after getting her staff back down and holding it right in front of her face, she would deliver a hit on both of them by twisting the staff in a helix motion, each being hit from the left and right, by the top and the bottom of the pole, accordingly. The blows on their faces would leave them uncoscious as well, rendering her able to tie them up and finally finish her part of the mission.

"Sleeptalking, aren't we?"