The Kidnapping Blues and the Ransom Mamba

Age : 34 Posts : 1209

(This is the first post for the following mission request . Thank you for your time.)

Sanjiro sighed lightly to himself as he leaned against one of the walls near the gateway, waiting for his makeshift team to arrive. It had only been this morning, while submitting some paperwork for approval for another mission, that he was told that he'd be undertaking a B rank mission. At first the boy had thought that he was being given more responsibility, that perhaps the higher ups had possibly placed a bit more confidence in his abilities, but that wasn't the case. While he was going on a B rank mission, he was to be lead by a jounin. It seemed odd that he was being placed on a make shift team, coupled with jounin whom he had never met, especially with how the briefing pointed out how important this mission was. The client was a wealthy business man and the village couldn't afford to lose his business.

Sanjiro had been told to gather his things for the mission and to wait at the outer gates for the rest of the team to arrive. The boy wasn't sure whom would be accompanying him on the mission. He was a little nervous about the leader. Would he be nice? Would he be mean? Would he be competent? He had to be competent! He was supposed to be a jounin after all. Then again, Sanjiro hadn't had very good luck in finding competent higher ups for some time. His chuunin sensei was a joke in his eyes, nothing more than a bully who deserved as little of Sanjiro's thoughts as possible. The boy shut his eyes tight, letting his mind calm down as he tried to push these thoughts from his mind. He had to focus! This would be his first B rank mission ever! He couldn't afford to be distracted.

A hawk cried out desperately from the sky as it glided over the gate. The noise caused the young boy to bend his neck, looking upwards at the flying creature with a small smile. The clear blue sky was as bright as ever despite it only being mid morning. How long would the team be off on their mission? He wondered if they'd be gone for a while. As he wondered this he thought he could feel the sensation of a soft breeze kicking up, ruffling his raven mane, causing his hand to move up automatically to straighten the messy mass. His grey jacket also shifted in the breeze, clinking lightly as the various zippers smacked against their tracks. Sanjiro wondered if it would have been a better idea to leave the jacket behind. He wasn't sure how hot it would be but the weather as of late had been warm. The jacket, however was precious to Sanjiro, a gift from his late mother. The sturdy gray jacket with the red Kanji insignia on his back that represented the word "sky" was all he had left to remember her by. Under the jacket he wore a simple dark navy blue short sleeved t-shirt. To cover his bottoms he wore his usual black cargo pants, adorned with a kunai holster strapped to his left leg and coupled with a pair of dark blue shinobi sandals.

The boy tried to close his eyes as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, the toothpick that he was currently chewing on shifted in his mouth. He didn't seem too concerned about the idea of losing his toothpick, most likely due to the fact that he kept a small plastic container in his pocket that contained plenty more. The sword on his back clattered softly in its sheath as his back pressed a bit more against the wall as the boy tried to rest his body in an attempt to calm his nerves.

"I hate waiting..."

It was his own fault though, if Sanjiro didn't have that nasty habit of always showing up to meeting places so early he wouldn't have to wait too long. As he waited he began to hum a soft song to himself, a song that his mother used to hum for him as a baby. He was sure that the others would show up any minute now.

Age : 30 Posts : 356

"Once more into the fray
Into the last good fight I'll ever know
Live and die on this day
Live and die on this day"

The poem rang through the recesses of his mindscape like the name of so many ninjutsu techniques. Four lines, two repeating, had sent his entire demeanor into a tailspin. Muscled tensed and relaxed at random, giving the man an edgy, aggressive appearance, the entirety of which was only amplified by the rhythmic thrumming of his fingers as they wore down the hilt of Shinjin Ikari. Only on two occasions had his fathers favored poem blindsides him. Once, on the day before his fathers murder, and once more an hour before his squad was ambushed, leaving him as the only standing survivor. This, coupled with the news that he would be sent away on a mission of the utmost importance with nothing more then a couple of Genin, had left him stalking down the streets in a flustered frenzy. Well...As flustered as he would allow himself to get. Not to say he was fearing anything to come, Vandheer feared no mortal.

The reappearance of the quote did, however, have him on edge. 'I must not lower my guard today.' Pushing the irritatingly persistent thoughts from the forefront of his mind, the masked Jounin returned his attention to the matter at hand; The rescue of some businessman's daughter. 'I hate rescue missions', he thought coldly as he retrieved the scroll containing information on his target. It was supposed to be a simple swap; Vandheer brings them the money, over five hundred thousand yen, and they release the girl into his care. A quick glance at her photo revealed a young redheaded girl, no more then thirteen years of age, smiling back at him with pearly white teeth. An exasperated sigh escaped his maw, alerting those around him to his presence. Despite his large stature, many villagers seemed immune to his presence until he made noise, something that baffled the Kumo no Ashin to no end. 'Why is it always the cute, fragile ones?' There wasn't going to be a trade.

All humans, by nature, are greedy in some way shape and form. These thugs were no different. Attempting to make an authentic, by-the-book hostage trade-off would only result in one of two ways; One being they take the money, kill the girl, and attempt to split before being cut down. The second would be to use the girl as a shield, take the money, and run off with her for 'future use'. Vandheer's brow furrowed slightly, a rare, never seen physical sign of his aggravation. He was no fool, he knew what the second option entailed, and refused to allow such a thing to happen. Increasing his walking speed to the of a slow job, he shouldered his way through the crowd like wheat before a scythe. Soon the Village gates became visible, as grandeur and large as the village itself; An impossibly accurate mirror. Soon he spotted his Genin, a small male shrouded in clothing of a dark nature. A small blade, almost insignificant by comparison to the massive lengths of steel at his own hip, accompanied the teen, strapped to his back in an ANBU-esque fashion.

Stopping just shy of a yard from the shinobi he announced his presence, a rumbling baritone his vocalization," Hikari-san." It was simple, to the point, and required no effort in the social department. Social interaction was not a specialty listed in Vandheer's section of the bingo book, and with good reason. Besides, he still had to wait for his other Genin in order to begin the briefing. Awaiting a response, the statuesque Jounin unclasped Shinjin Tamashi from his back, leaning the mammoth, double edged scythe against an adjacent wall. The gems dotting it's carbon fiber surface glowed ominously from the shade, their luminosity betraying the amount of power the staff possessed.

Posts : 68

Making a sharp turn down a relatively unknown alleyway, Kurea’s brows furrowed with annoyance. Sure she was taught to take things in easily as they are dished out at you but this was beyond ridiculous. She couldn’t help but feel that she was informed last minute that she was going to go on a rather important mission. The girl sighed deeply as she walked faster and faster but not exactly running down the street towards the outer village gate. She was positive that she would be the last one to arrive.

She didn’t even know who was going to be her teammates in this mission and that annoyed her even more. All she knew was that the team’s leader would be a jounin meaning that it’s not her sensei. Kurea couldn’t help but thank the gods for that. As for the mission itself, the girl wondered why they were sending her for such an important matter. She knew that her experience obviously had nothing to do with the choosing of people to go on this mission. Kurea’s line of thought broke when the outer village gate finally came into view.

The girl was wearing her usual attire but it was not very visible today. She had opted to grab a light but sturdy brown-ish cloak to cover herself. It didn’t occur to her that the temperature would be slightly warmer than usual but she told herself that she would bear with it considering she wants to prepare for the unforeseeable. With the cloak tied at the base of her neck, it fluttered open every time she walked, ran or lifted her arms. With the cloak fluttering behind her as she took the final sprint upon seeing two figures at the gate, Kurea muttered something about her luck and stopped when she was a few feet away from the two.

To her surprise, one of them was Sanjiro. At least now she would feel a little better knowing that she knew one of the persons she was going to be working with. The other person looked plain intimidating. From the looks of the man’s stature, it probably didn’t take a genius to figure out that he was going to lead their team for this mission. “I’m sorry for my tardiness.” Kurea would say with a slight bow towards the man, her face very neutral that looked slightly abnormal. From afar, one would think she was a life-sized doll.

Age : 34 Posts : 1209

~~"Hikari-san."~~

It wasn't a question, more of a statement. Sanjiro knew it was spoken in an attempt to get his attention, a method for whoever spoke to check if Sanjiro was indeed the genin he was looking for. The genin turned to glance at the large man. His eyes falling on the large masked figure who had spoken his name. The boy nodded lightly as he pushed himself from the wall.

"Hikari, Sanjiro, reporting for duty, sir."

As he said this he stood a bit straighter in a sign of respect for the jounin. Sanjiro liked the looks of this man. He seemed like a stern man and a very competent one. He was a complete opposite from the annoying clown that was his sensei. He'd fold his arms behind his back, continuing to stand straight until the man unlatched the large weapon from his back, leaning it against the wall. At this point Sanjiro would relax, letting himself slouch slightly as he turned his gaze toward the weapon.

"That looks so cool...what is it?"

The genin seemed genuinely interested in the Jounin's weapon. Sanjiro had also noticed that this man carried a blade. The boy wondered if he knew any cool techniques. He had never met a kenjutsu user before. Sanjiro at times wondered if any of his superiors had used blades like he did. Seeing a jounin walking around with weapons made Sanjiro feel better about himself. Sanjiro was a fan of using tools to fight so he was glad to see someone who seemed to feel the same. The boy looked back at the weapon, waiting for the jounin to explain what the weapon was as it seemed to glow eerily from the jewels encrusted in the body.

~~“I’m sorry for my tardiness.”~~

The voice caught Sanjiro off guard, causing him to turn around and look in Kurea's direction. He was honestly surprised to see her. The last time the two had met was during their last mission that Sanjiro had had his little episode. He felt himself getting slightly nervous. The last time they parted ways was not the most pleasant. He had gotten the distinct feeling that she was rather annoyed with him. He could foresee this being a very awkward trip if things were still tense between them. He would wave slightly toward Kurea, giving her a light smile.

"Hello Kurea-chan."

He wondered what the jounin's name was now that he had greeted Kurea. He had forgotten to ask the man, but then again it wasn't his place as a genin to ask a jounin for his name. His eyes drifted toward the large masked figure, wondering who he was but being a bit too hesitant to ask the imposing figure. He also wondered if he'd go through a brief plan on how the mission would go or if he'd just start moving, leaving the genin to guess about how they'd approach this high priority mission.

Age : 30 Posts : 356

~~"Hikari, Sanjiro, reporting for duty, sir."~~ Respectful, short, and to the point. A rigid stature followed suit, ambling after the words like birds to a song. It was within that moment that Vandheer did something remarkable. He smirked. Not a sadistic grin, as per usual, but an authentic, amused smile. This happened once every ten years, often less then that. Such emotions rarely escaped the iron grasp of the Kumo no Ashin's psyche, snuffed down into the grand pool of thoughts more then not. But the young man before him struck him in a way he had never before encountered. It was like looking in a mirror, minus the helmet, over-sized weapons, and naturally baritone voice. Sanjiro, as he had dubbed himself, stood in a pose not unfamiliar to the Lorde, as he had stood exactly the same when he was a Genin. Unfortunately the emotion was fleeting, leaving as quickly as it came without so much as a "Goodbye". Nodding to the young teen was his response to the statement, using visual aid to confirm that he had received the message. Still the male stood, arms behind his back and his eyes focused on his superior officer.

~~"That looks so cool...what is it?"~~ This was a reference to his double-bladed staff; Shinjin Tamashi. Settling his gaze upon the now at-ease Genin, Vandheer began a monologue, crimson eyes hidden behind his visor," Shinjin Tamashi, a double-bladed staff of a rather...unique nature." While obviously not the maximum amount of information, it would be enough to sate the appetite of the young shinobi until they were in a more private setting. No ninja divulged sensitive information in an unsecured location, and, being that he was in the Bingo book, Vandheer was no different about his secrets. Deciding to freak the ninja out a bit he used the mouth on the inside of his hand to bite down on the hilt of Shinjin Tamashi, making look to all the world as if it was glued to his palm. With a dexterous flick it flourished in a full circle, spinning of his hand, into the air, and landing squarely on the clasp of it's sheath.

A soft voice interrupted his musings, setting him on edge~~,“I’m sorry for my tardiness.”~~ Using only the most miniscule amount of rotation Vandheer turned his head about, optical orbs landing squarly on the form of a small, almost miniature konoichi with ebony locks flowing wildly down to her waist. An audible pop was heard as the Jounin's head cocked sideways, spinal column giving way under the weight of his vicious, if not sudden, movement. It was truly an odd sight; Vandheer had never seen such a small ninja outside of the academy. ~~"Hello Kurea-chan."~~ Well that was interesting. 'They seem to know each other...' It was of no importance. the mission had a time limit and they were already slightly behind schedule. "It is of no consequence. I am your Jounin team leader, Vandheer Lorde. I am also known as the Kumo no Ashin, however we have little time and as I already know your names, I suggest we simply finish this up as quickly as possible." A pause to ensure their attention was on him, and not each other, ensued, after which the large man continued," Regulations state we are to give the money to the ransomer's and hope for the best. I don't negotiate with scum. They're holed up in a small one story house approximately five clicks west of the village. After a bit of scouting we shall engage and eliminate all hostile forces and secure the target. However do not, under any circumstances, initiate combat until we know exactly where the target is and how we can safely get to her. She is the first and only priority."

Seeing his pep talk was a bit on the dry side, Vandheer decided to, for once, spare some pity," This is a high risk, high reward mission. They wouldn't send just anyone on a mission of such dire importance to the village. Do this right, and you shall reap the rewards." After a quick cursory once-over he spoke his final piece," Check your equipment, we leave in five minutes."

Posts : 68

Kurea returned a small smile of her own towards Sanjiro while giving the boy a slight nod. She wasn't sure if he had settled his internal conflict but as she had mentioned to him before, she wasn't worried. Finally Kurea would turn her attention back to the man who had introduced himself as Vandheer Lorde. It became obvious that the man wasn't planning to share much about himself and she wasn’t planning to pry on it. She understood that the mission was rather time sensitive after all. Kurea listened quietly as the man gave his thoughts on the mission while briefing them.

The girl ran the information through her head quickly and tried to think of the numerous possibilities that could occur. If they wanted to play it safe, they can simply give the money to the kidnappers and wait. Though in Kurea’s mind, that was not the best choice of option. People like those tend to never keep their promises and with their jounin leader’s thoughts on these type of people, she didn’t think simply handing over the money was going to be possible in any way. Kurea guessed that from the start, their options had always been one after all.

At the prompt of the large man before her, Kurea’s right hand instinctively reached to the back of her waist where an equipment pouch is. She normally wouldn’t carry one but for the sake of this mission, she chose to carry just about every one of her equipment in the same place. She made sure the spool of wire was in the pouch as she had a feeling that they might just be useful this time. Finally, the girl adjusted the cloak over her body and looked from Sanjiro to Vandheer, a slight signal that she was ready to set off at any given time. “Let’s just hope this young lady of ours is easy to take care of…” Kurea would say more to herself than to anyone else. It was a random thought that occurred in her mind and she couldn’t help but say it aloud.

Age : 34 Posts : 1209

Sanjiro listened as the jounin briefed them about the mission. Sanjiro had been filled in at the administration office but the details had been fuzzy. Now that the jounin had elaborated a bit more he felt that he could mentally prepare for the upcoming task. It seemed that the group was going to deviate from the intended plan of simply carrying out a negotiation for the hostage's life. The thought caused Sanjiro to furrow his brow. He wasn't exactly thrilled with deviating from the mission directive but at the same time, this man was his superior officer. As such this man was in charge of the mission and so his word was final. In the end, if they could pull off his plan then it wouldn't matter if the exchange took place or not. Ultimately the goal was the retrieval of the hostage.

~~"Check your equipment, we leave in five minutes."~~

With a small nod the boy immediately moved one of his hands behind his form, dipping it into the small ninja pack that was strapped to his back. The pack was concealed by the grey jacket he wore but it was still easily accessible. He made sure that everything was in place, his wires, his senbon, his shuriken, his explosive tags and everything else he'd need. His hand then moved to his pockets, making sure he had the small plastic container full of toothpicks. As he checked the small container of toothpicks he subconsciously moved his tongue to poke against the tip of the toothpick he already was holding in his mouth. His hand then proceeded to move down from his jacket pocket to the kunai holster he had strapped to his left leg. In this holster he had his kunai loaded in such a way that he could pull out the weapons by quickly sliding his finger through an exposed metal loop of the kunai's handle. Once he finished with his quick check he gave a satisfied nod to himself, happy to know that everything seemed to be in place. As a final testament to his preparedness his right hand moved toward his left arm, touching the head band lightly as if asking it for luck.

"Right. I'm ready."

The boy turned to glance at his team mate as she mentioned something about hoping that their charge wouldn't be too difficult to take care of. Sanjiro shared these sentiments but in a silent manor. He did indeed hope that the girl they were protecting wasn't too much of a spoiled brat. It would make their job that much harder which never was a good thing.

"Vandheer-sempai, how are we going to identify the target's location? Wouldn't the kidnappers know we are coming and be extra vigilant?"

The question was an actual concern of his but he supposed it was something that he probably didn't need to worry about right now, though he was interested in hearing their leader's plans.

Age : 30 Posts : 356

Both Genin, seconds after receiving the end of his dialogue. began checking their equipment. Each was very thorough, checking each and every weapon secreted upon their small frames in preparation for the danger that undoubtedly lurked just on the horizon. Vandheer himself had no need to perform such actions, as a Jounin he had learned long ago that being prepared was a necessary daily ritual, either before a mission or simply lounging around the village. As such he refrained from revealing to much about his own form of weaponry, despite the fact that all of his weapons were much too large to hide. Still, he remained as stone, hands bisected at forearm as they clasped down upon each of the swords hanging from his sides. It was a small action, yet comforting all the less. Even as he waited he listened intently as the petite female, whom had dubbed herself Kurea, muttered softly to herself,~~“Let’s just hope this young lady of ours is easy to take care of…”~~

The Jounin bit back a scoff. It was almost as if the konoichi believed it mattered. Whether she be shy like a feline or wretched like a shrew, it was their mission to save her, regardless of her appreciation towards said rescue. A quick glance showed Sanjiro mirrored her feelings, yet had learned to keep such things to himself. Part of being a ninja was knowing when to leave your emotions at the door. Not to say he cared particularly either way, however a "nice streak" could jeopardize the mission, something he could not, and would not tolerate. Under any other circumstances Lorde wouldn't care, but this mission was different, this mission came straight from the top. "It won't matter. How much she likes us is irreverent, our only concern is her safe return." That said he turned towards the village gates in preparation to leave.

Just as he was about to give the command a voice derailed his train of thought~~,"Vandheer-sempai, how are we going to identify the target's location? Wouldn't the kidnappers know we are coming and be extra vigilant?"~~ It was then it occurred to him, these Genin likely didn't have the experience to know what to do without direction. A short pause ensued, within which Vandheer found solace enough to gather his thoughts and organize them into vocalizations," You are correct in that assumption. Reconnaissance will mean the difference between success and failure. Once we are within a close proximity we shall scout the surrounding area, making sure to keep a count of bodies and their positions. Assuming someone is guarding the girl both myself and Kurea, upon finding said damsel, shall begin tearing into enemies as you, Sanjiro, simultaneously take out any hostiles near her position. From there it's as simple as retrieving her as I hold of any attacks forthcoming."

A sigh, loud enough to carry between the three, resounded off the confines of his helmet," Unfortunately, this plan is very circumstantial, and is opt for change at a moments notice. Remember, this a rescue mission, not some training exercise. Proceed as instructed and the mission will be a success." With that he took off without warning, launching from his position into the treeline just outside the gate in a single leap. Waiting was not one of Vandheer
's strong suits, however he made sure his pace was slow enough for the Genin to keep up.

Posts : 68

[OOC: Bleh sorry, short post.]

With a small shrug of her shoulders, Kurea went on to listen to the plan their leader had. It turns out their plan was simply to scout, eliminate and retrieve the target. It sounds easy enough but that depends on how effective these kidnappers are. Kurea only hoped that they would only be prepared for a messenger to deliver money and not a whole team that plans to destroy them. Well it wasn’t like Kurea has problems with the plan anyway.

“Well, it seems you’d be the hero today, Sanjiro.” Kurea would say to Sanjiro with a small smile and was actually tempted to tell him to try to be friendly towards their damsel in distress. However Vandheer’s words cut through her thoughts and she stopped. He was right, it didn’t matter whether the young lady welcomed the rescue or not. Their goal was just to get her back to her family safely.

Finally, the girl watched as the man simply took off and nearly growled. Jounin or not, she really thinks that this man needs to have a bit more patience when dealing with his juniors. Biting back a comment, Kurea traced the man's steps with a frown on her face.

Age : 34 Posts : 1209

Sanjiro listened to their leader speak of his plan. It was tentative at best, there were too many unknown variables at play for a solid strategy to be formed but Sanjiro had wanted to ask anyway. He thought that maybe this man had known something he didn't. As the man finished his instruction Sanjiro turned his head toward Kurea.

~~“Well, it seems you’d be the hero today, Sanjiro.”~~

The thought made Sanjiro cringe slightly on the inside, despite him displaying a small smile on the outside. He would nod a bit as he turned to look at their leader, letting him continue his speech.

"Unfortunately, this plan is very circumstantial, and is opt for change at a moments notice. Remember, this a rescue mission, not some training exercise. Proceed as instructed and the mission will be a success."

It sounded so easy. Listen to him and they would succeed. Sanjiro knew it couldn't have been as simple as that. If it were then all missions would be a success. He bit down lightly on his toothpick. Despite him being somewhat cynical about the somewhat simple concept the jounin tried to convey to his team, Sanjiro was a ninja who followed orders. He listen to their leader to the best of his abilities. With that thought in mind Sanjiro watched as their leader dashed off, leaping into the trees outside the village, nearly vanishing from sight. Sanjiro gave a light grunt in frustration before noticing his teammate moving past him in a similar manor, chasing after Vandheer in hopes of not getting left behind. Sanjiro let out a small sigh before rushing forward, launching himself into the tree line. The mission was starting!

[End part 1]

[Please continue posting here . Thank you.]