A sleeping pheasant [Private]

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

The residents of Konoha slumbered peacefully in the early-morning dark, with only the occasional lit window marking an early riser just starting their day or a night owl finally retiring to bed. Even the ninja that patrolled the village at all hours were staying under cover as much as possible thanks to a bit of unseasonable weather that covered the entire village in a cold drizzle and frigid mist. An exception to this sensible idea was a solitary figure in a grey travel cloak moving from shadow to shadow with definite purpose. Moving from building to building, stopping only to peer at the address on each before moving on, the wraith seemed to have reached a decision when it glided up to the door to a block of apartments door only to find it locked. The judicious application of lock picks gained him entry to the building and soon the figure was silently padding up the stairs, only stopping before yet another non-descript door that also fell to the all-powerful lock pick.

Safely inside his goal the figure closed the door carefully behind itself then moved with barely a noise to the kitchen. There it went about a rather unusual activity (given how it had entered the apartment) - making hot coco. An activity that absorbed the figures entire attention until it had two rather battered tin cups ready that were set on the table. Then the figure itself hooked a nearby chair with a foot and sat down with ill-grace before one gloved hand pulled back the cloaks hood to expose an unruly and rather distinctive batch of white hair and teal eyes. Confident he had shaken any tails, Hinamori Toshiro settled in to wait for his unwitting partner-to-be to wake up and investigate just who had invaded his home and why they had done so. If all went well by the time the sun fully rose the pair would be on the way only a handful of people the wiser.

[word count: 332]
CP: 50/50

Age : 29 Posts : 341

Masamune was turning around in his bed while sleeping, like usual since his last mission with Kana and Saitou. Nightmares kept appearing instead of his beloved peaceful dreams and so he didn't had a decent rest during the last past days. But still, after being awake most of the time for almost five days, he had been so tired that even his nightmares couldn't get him to wake up and so he endured the pictures of the heavy bleeding corpse, which held him on the ground since he was lying below it. The face of the man which was killed by Masamune appeared over and over again, it had been the first time Masamune actually had been aware that he was the cause for a persons dead, so it wasn't unexpected when he screamed out loud during his dreams and cried heavily. During the past week everyone close to him had been informed about the youths weak mental state, so he hadn't had many contact to any person this past day, well Saitou had visited him, both of them were good friends by now, but Masamune still missed some other familiar faces.

Suddenly Masamune screamed out once more, but this time his body acted together with his mouth and he kind of..... jumped.
Hitting the ceiling pretty hard with his head was enough to make him wake up at once, and after his head was the cause for another hole on his apartments floor*, he couldn't possibly be more awake. Even through, he took his time to open his eyes, but after less than five minutes, lying with his head on the floor and his lower body still on the bed, just got to uncomfortable to pretend to still be sleeping. He wasn't trying to make anyone else think he still slept, instead he wanted to convince himself to still being asleep. He felt terrible, his head hurt, every time he closed his eyes he saw pictures he just wanted to get over now and then this... friking.... that was no way to properly start a day, waking up like this only could mean something terrible was about to happen.

He finally got up, rubbing his butt he entered his kitchen, it smelled unusually nice today, he opened his fridge, took out some bacon and rice, and threw his pan on the cooker and turned it on maximum heat.
While putting some rice into his rice cooker he greeted Toshiro like he always did, a friendly "Good morning Toshiro~kun" always was the best way to greet someone when he just sat in your kitchen..... drinking hot coco and... wait.
Masamune turned around, slowly..... he didn't notice his bacon making some weird sounds in the pan, he didn't even care that he put WAY to much water into his rice cooker. "WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?!"

Masamune was panting heavily, he had been so scared that he even forgot to scream out loud, instead he just shouted at his close friend Toshiro. Sure, his sudden appearance was quite a shock, but he was still pretty surprised about his own reaction.
Toshiro quickly explained himself, he was a good guy and had a good reason to just... barge into his home, so Masamune decided to forgive the white haired boy for just entering his house. After realizing his bacon AND rice was about to explode ( a strange phenomenon, which can only be recognized when Masamune cooks), he quickly took the pan off the cooker and smashed it on his table, after burning his hands on the hot haft. Masamune was quite poor, so everything he possessed was kind of old and half broken, so was his pan... which, too, was the reason that it's haft was able to get just as hot as the pan itself. After taking care of the rice, too, he put two plates on the table and said "Here, help yourself.... I am... just going to... dress in something else.... than... uhm... just my underwear.
With those words he left the kitchen and got himself some decent clothes, which consisted of his usual wide pants and a black hoodie with some 'cool' looking kanjis placed on it. He then returned to Toshiro.... and his food, sat down and started to eat, waiting for Toshiro to.... explain himself some more....

[718 words]
(and sorry for all those extra stuff, but i was critisciced the last time i made a 'short' opening post >> i look forward to rp with you ^^)

*(gag moment, not to be looked at serious >> it's not like Masamune has the strenght to make holes into solid objects...)

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

The few occasions where Toshiro had run into Masamune after their initial meeting had been brief things - a passing wave or nod as one or both hurried along on something that was time-sensitive. This was the first time he had seen the other genins living arrangements and it had dropped (yet again) his opinion with how the village was run. That low opinion helped squash any doubts Toshiro had about putting the offer he had in front of Masamune; if the high-and-mighty bastards who ran the village couldn't see that all their ninja were decently paid then it served them right if those ninja took the occasional unsanctioned mission. That thought put a slightly evil grin on his Toshiro's face, which changed into a wince of understanding and sympathy when Masamune scrambled to save his breakfast. Once the other genin had sat down, the white-headed genin started explaining why he was where he was.

"I suppose this is the part where I say this meeting never occurred but that only happens in bad movies. Since we aren't actors and you already know the consequences for spilling clan secrets, I’m going to get right to the issue."

Draining more of the coco from his cup, Toshiro began to explain why he was in Masamune's home so early in the day. A mining company had found gold on Hinamori land and instead of striking a deal with the clan to extract it had just moved in and set up shop. By the time the intrusion had been found there already was a decent sized village and enough hired guards to insure that removing them by force would result in bloodshed. To head that off negotiations had been started to convince the company (or its miners) to leave. Negotiations that had been at a dead end for over a week. So to jump-start those negotiations and send a message about how unpleasant things would get if the company kept stalling, the Hinamori intended to demolish some key parts of the mining operation. With their numbers stretched thin due to recent events, the clan had put in a request for several missions to destroy the targets. The background out of the way, Toshiro took one long drink to finish his coco, gave the bottom of the cup a wistful look, then fixed Masamune with his eyes before coming to the point.

"I'm here at this unholy hour because the Hokage, in his ever-fricking stupidity, refused the mission requests "until further negotiations were tried." So instead of going through the usual channels I'm putting the offer directly to you - I want you to be a part of the team to blow those thieves hopes to kingdom come. Do you accept?"

[word count: 453]
CP: 50 / 50

Age : 29 Posts : 341

Since Toshiro didn't took any of the offered food, Masamune helped himself with his friends share,he made some nasty sounds while stuffing his mouth with food, in a very gross way. The fellow Genin started with reminding him that what he was about to say was secret and should not leak out of these room, Masamune smiled since it probably leaked out because of all these tiny and big holes his home had everywhere, but after Toshiro stared him in the eyes, with his serious look, Masamune pulled himself together and got serious himself.
He ensured his opposite that would never do something which would cause harm to the Hinamoris' who where so kind as to give the youth not only a proper education, but kind of cared for him as well, uncle Zaraki~sensai already took a father role in Masamunes life, even through most of his advices sounded like "Dontcha dare to snatch my breakfast or I'll show you the insides of my oven."
To give his own words even more strength and to make sure that he would think seriously about whatever Toshiro would reveal to him, Masamune finished his response with the words: "I swore that I would never break the Hinamoris trust and i meant it."

Somehow those words made Masamune look cooler than usually, meaning he looked cool, which wasn't the case, normally.
He had finished his meal by now and again started to listen to Toshiro.
He was stunned when the fellow Genin started to brag about the Hokage, everyone looked up to the Hokage, he was like..... the god of the leaf and then, Toshiro just badmouthed him like he was some kind of.... mortal being.
Masamune started to feel extremely uncomfortable, he never saw the Hokage in person, but he had heard about his monstrous strength, and he had tried to read his book..... it was stupid, in his opinion.
Still, he worried about a Anbu jumped through his window any second now and he quickly jumped over his table, which resulted in him breaking his plate, his hand rested on Toshiros' mouth as he whispered: "PPPPSSSSHHH.... what are we supposed to do if someone hears us?"
Toshiro didn't seem to care, he shoved Masamunes hand away and kept talking....

"WHAT? How can those guy be so stupid? I mean.... who in his right mindset would challenge the Hinamori~clan in a territorial war?" Masamune was frightened, of course he wanted to help his friend with his concern, but on the other side....
"They have to have some kind of EXTREME strong ninja or a secret weapon, what else would give them the confidence to just invade the Hinamoris territory? I bet they will rip us to shreds..... we are both only Genin... can we really do this alone? The village won't support us, since this is not a official mission...."

[481 Words]

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

When he had finished laying the situation out and putting his rather unusual request before his fellow genin, Toshiro had leaned back in the chair and studied the other genin’s reactions. The shock that had been apparent at Toshiro’s disrespecting the Hokage had been expected if not quite so extreme a reaction. The doubts about just two genin pulling something like this off were also expected - Toshiro had held back a few key pieces of information just in case. The one thing that he had been looking for was the one thing he didn’t see - fear of the consequences of taking the mission. That alone told the taller genin what Masamune’s decision would be once he put the other fears to rest.

“Masamune, have you ever read a book called “The Art of War”?” Without waiting for Masamune's reply, the white-haired genin plowed on with his explanation. “It has a lot of useful ideas in it. Ideas that if used right make how badly you‘re outnumbered meaningless.”

With that Toshiro put the rest of his cards on the table as the saying goes. “Cards” that laid out the various weaknesses in the opponent which the clan had found from weeks of gathering information from informants in the camp. Weaknesses that included how the mining company cut corners and instead of hiring a small number of shinobi or experienced mercenaries, they had hired a large number of guards that were little more than local bullyboys with shiny weapons they had no real training in using. That instead of concentrating those guards at a few spots of real importance, those guards were mostly around the places the gold was stored and the companies stores, leaving only a handful of guards at the real targets. Guards that had become sloppy from months of routine and were more interested in collecting their pay and hitting the red light district of the mining town than doing their jobs properly. Based on that information Toshiro and a few of the clan’s best tacticians had put together a plan that had an acceptable chance of success. A plan that involved lots of boring reconnaissance at a distance to identify the easiest time to attack each target, some sneaking out to plant explosives, then setting them off and running like heck for safety.

“That is why I, and half a dozen of the most experienced ninja in the clan, think two genin can pull this off. It’s not always the strongest or the smartest ninja who wins. It’s the one who better understands their enemy and makes use of that knowledge.”
[word count: 430]
CP: 50/50

Age : 29 Posts : 341

Masamune didn't understood.
Toshiro mentioned a strange book, it's title didn't ring any bells in his head and he couldn't seem to remember it, which ment he couldn't have read it yet. Looking at it's name he could already tell what it's content had to be about and looking at Toshiro, the book had to be a very good one, otherwise Toshiro would never waist his breath by mentioning it, Masamune made sure to not forget the books title, he would get back to it right after he dealt with his business.
But he was loosing focus, point was, they would never win against several enemys, even through they may have knowledge out of some book, at least this was what Masamune thought. But the following informations Toshiro presented, it was clear that he had thought this out and didn't intend to get himself or Masamune killed.

"I will trust you, let's do this. But if I get killed i will haunt you till the end of times, remember that." Masamune laughed out loud, not only because he of his little joke, but to blend out his fear, he was seriously afraid of this, but he didn't want to turn down Toshiro, who, for the first time, put his faith in the young boy and asked for his help.
"Just let me get ready, i will quickly pack some of my equipment together, then we can go." After having told his intentions, Masamune headed of into one of the few rooms his apartment had, in order to get ready for the following task. It didn't took him to long, since everything he needed was already sealed on his body, everything beside his fighting gear.
By now Toshiro should have already noticed the kanjis surrounding Masamunes neck, palm and arm, those were recently attained weapons which Masamune was eager to use, he wanted to see his improvement and even through he was afraid, a little bit of excitement came along with the fear.
"I am ready, we head off right now?"

[word count: 340]
CP: 50/50

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

Toshiro couldn't help but laugh a bit with Masamune. That he had confidence in the plan and his fellow genin was true but only a fool would have been completely unafraid in this (or any other) situation. The other genin's joke, as old as it was, and the laugh that followed had been just the thing to Toshiro needed to settle his own nerves. "I wouldn't expect anything less if our positions were reversed. Although the odds are if you die I'll be dead too so it might be a challenge to haunt another ghost."

Giving only the barest nod of the head to Masamune's request, Toshiro ran over the plan one final time in his head. Once the pair of genin was clear of the village by at least a day they would meet the pair of clansmen who strongly resembled the pair who would complete the genin's cover stories at a clan safe house. From there they would travel disguised as wandering vagrants until well within clan territory, where they would change into a pair of stolen Kirigakure chuunin uniforms that were part of a cache specifically prepared for this mission. After that would be several days of observation and finalizing plans, and then if all went well one night of mayhem. Assuming nothing went wrong the two genin would put another day's travel between themselves and the target's location before ditching the uniforms and any leftover equipment then change into their regular equipment. Then it was simply a matter of once again meeting the two "alibi-nin" at a safe house to collect the needed items and heading back to Konoha. If nothing completely unexpected happened, in two weeks they would be back in Konoha with only a handful of people the wiser about what they had been actually been doing. He had just been ready to mental pat his own back on having suggested the alibi's when Masamune came back into the room. Toshiro didn't bother to hide his look of approval at the other genin's ability to pack light and the practical nature it hinted at. Buoyed by such thoughts, Toshiro stood up and walked to the door to the battered apartment.

"Yes. We can go out the main gate since we have perfectly solid reasons to be gone from the village for two weeks. I am going to delivering these documents", with that Toshiro held up a couriers scroll pouch with several obvious seals inked onto it, "to the clans representative at the negotiations and then have to stay around incase anything has to be sent back to Konoha." Then he pulled out another scroll that bore several stamps and tossed it to Masamune. "You are acting as Uncle Zakari's representative to finalize purchase a shipment of "white iron" from one of the mines in the area. We're traveling together for extra security and because our paths overlap most of the way." Taking one last look at his partner in this endeavor, the white-haired genin gave one last bit of advice to Masamune before walking out door. "Stick to those stories when the guards ask us what we're doing and we should be fine. One of my cousins traded gate duty with the Hyuuga who normally takes this shift and the other guard is about as perceptive outside of combat as a blind, deaf, and mute bat."

Age : 29 Posts : 341

(OOC: Toshiro and me decided to perform a little timeskip as it is extremely boring to wander around trying to find reasons for keeping posts long and entertaining, since we don't want to keep the topic going with about 10 short posts or unreasonable 'filler' and want to spare chakra, which wouldn't be restored through sleep etc. otherwise... i think no one will have objections with this.
Currently we have reached our destination and are going to come up with strategies and shiat ^^
uhh.... and one more thing i have a fever so sorry if what i posts sucks and doesn't make any sense ^^ i may havn't recognised it)
_____________________________________________________________

Several days had passed and Masamune was just chewing some salted meat and bread, both of the young fellows had retreated back into the forest, into a small cave near a waterfall in order to make a fire and not be recognized at once, of course the smoke would have been recognized by now, but as soon as the meat was ready to be eaten they had distinguished the flames and covered their tracks.
They had refilled their rations the last time when they changed into the Kirigakure uniforms, highly uncomfortable uniforms in his opinion. Since Masamune never wore any uniform at all he never got used to it and so he couldn't help but to pull on it every five seconds, to get the clothes into a more comfortable position. He wished Toshiro had told him sooner that their outfits would have been exchanged with the ones they were currently wearing, he wouldn't had chosen one of his favorite dresses then, but otherwise.... it was his fault for wearing his favorite stuff to a 'mission' like this. Currently Masamune was thinking about their rations, they had food for at least five days, which consisted out of more bread, rice, and some salted meat, any more than that would have looked suspicious and just get in the way, they couldn't allow themselves to carry along more than they would actually need and if things would get out of hand they could just hunt down a deer or steal some food, at least those were Masamunes intentions.

After taking another bite, which as well was the last from the salted meat, it was pork he guessed, he took a closer look at their location. Of course they had started moving towards their target again, after they had provided themselves with meat and therefore new strength, but getting to know their surroundings and it's resources might safe both their lifes. Masamune smiled when he spotted some wild berries and even some apple trees, unexpectedly they had left the pine forest behind some time ago and instead stepped into a deciduous forest, it wasn't to surprising through, one of the Fire Countries main features were the big mixture of forests and landscapes, which made the whole country so precious, not only one war had been started to take over those valuable resources.
While keeping the berries and even more the apple trees location in mind, they could need both later on, Masamune turned to Toshiro. They only just arrived here yesterday and besides the early meal today, all they had done so far was sleeping in on tree after arriving last night. Masamune was a bit scared to see the little 'village' they only had recognized as different lights last night, what would await the kids? How big was their main target? And the question bugging him the most.... how many people would they need to..... kill...... before recognizing their task as fulfilled. Masamune was innocent but not stupid, he knew he HAD to kill again and this was the perfect opportunity to get used to it, he didn't wanted to have a mental breakdown like last time ever again.... but he still hoped there was a more peaceful way to settle this task... it was the child in him speaking again and he couldn't stoop himself from looking indescribable sad while thinking those thoughts.... he still didn't get over his first kill*, but at least the last days had kept him distracted so he hadn't wasted to much time thinking of what had happened, he kind of was thankful by now that Toshiro had chosen him to accompany him.
He chewed his last bits of bread while jumping over a big root and started to talk, carefully, but still in his stupid, childlike fashion:
"So... Toshiro... we may want to discuss what's happening next... want to scout out the enemy first?"

[639 Words]
Cp: 50 / 50
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*: this wasn't masamunes first kill, but he didn't recognised any previous one ^^ just wanted to mention it

(OOC: I ended it here to not stretch ths post to much into the lenght ^^ hope it was okay to skip this far and took over the mentioning of our rations and stuff ^^ )

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

Sitting against the wall of the cave alongside Masamune, Toshiro had been gnawing on a piece of jerky and trying to adjust the stolen uniform and flak vest to be less irritating. Toshiro might have been close in size to the clothing's original owner but there were differences. Differences that were slowly driving him insane as the clothing was too loose in some places and too tight in others. In light of that his partners question came as a welcome distraction. "It can't hurt Masamune. We are going to need a few more pieces of information before we actually do anything about these greedy idiots." Stopping to take another bite out of the nearly stone-hard meat, Toshiro pulled out a map of the area from inside the flak vest before unfolding it and laying it out between the two genin. That done he put a finger on a pronounced ridgeline to the east that was midway between the town and bridge.

"If we move out an hour before sunrise we can set up on this ridgeline. From there we should be able to see the bridge and town with those binoculars from the cache. A day there should give us plenty of time to get a feel for both sites." From it's place on the map, Toshiro's finger then moved northwards towards the foothills, following what looked like a ridgeline until formed one wall of a blind canyon marked with a small mining pick. "If I am reading this right if we travel a few hours along this path at night we can be in place to watch the mine before the sun comes up again. A day there will have to be enough." With that Toshiro's finger again traced a route, this time going southwest and following a stream to a point marked with a small axe. Absently taking another bite of his meal, Toshiro fixed the symbol just above his finger with a glare that spoke of mixed disgust and frustration. "This might be the problem-child of the four. There aren't any good ridges to watch the sawmill from since it's smack in the middle of the floodplain. On top of that they've clear-cut the forest around it for several hundred yards. We might have to do a nighttime infiltration to gather anything useful even though that increases our risk of being found."

Sparing one last look at the map, the white-haired member of the team swallowed the last of the leathery meat before washing it down with water from his canteen. While the basic plan he had laid out was sound enough in his opinion, he wasn’t happy with the one extra variable that had been thrown into the mix. That being that instead of needing to hit at most two targets while another team hit the other two, he had been informed that the other team of clan ninja had to be diverted to another problem. This left the two genin with an unpleasant choice. Hit just one or two targets and it might not be enough to create the sort of havoc desired while trying to hit all four would require zero margin for error and lingering in what would become a hornets nest after the first explosions.

“I am fairly sure we can cut back on reconnoitering the mine if we have to. My guess is it will be the best defended of the possibilities since it is an obvious target. Plus with the miners working around the clock destroying it without killing most of them is nearly impossible. I really want to leave as many people alive as we can since the more people on this side the faster they’ll drain what supplies they have and the quicker they’ll have to leave when they run out. At least we aren‘t lacking the means to blow up whatever we pick for targets.”

In truth the majority of the cache had been explosives and their assorted paraphernalia. While it was sealed into labeled scrolls a quick glance at the inventory sheet included with those scrolls would have raised a number of eyebrows and loosened a few bladders. Besides a explosive tags there were several hundred sticks of dynamite that had gone "missing, presumed discarded" from Hinamori mines along with fuses, blasting caps, and a hundred meters of "det cord" to set it all off.

[word count: 720ish]
[ooc: no worries, saved me having to go over them again. And what did I say about posting sick? *pulls out the 1 liter syringe of penicilin-g* Hold still. ><]

Age : 29 Posts : 341

Masamune stayed quite for a while, he was thinking about Toshiros words.
He as well wanted to avoid any unnecessary casualitis, maybe even more than Toshiro, so he kind of got an idea:
"Uhhmm..... you know. If we get to know a bit more about the mines and find out their weakpoints... I may be able to place explosion seals there... i can just blow all of them up at once, so we can even do this at night when no one is in there. I am sorry i forgot to meantion this earlier."
Masamune tought of his idea as good, but it would be risky.
His explosions weren't the strongest and if they were to fail and not all mines get destroyed, he would be completely out of chakra and that in enemy territory. Besides... they would have to sneak into the village during nighttime, meaning, sneaking past the guards while they are the most cautios. He quickly told Toshiro about the

For now Masamune would just wait for Toshiro, while thinking about a way to easily spy on the enemy.
"Uhmm.. sorry for saying this but... we are both kids right? Can't we just disguise ourself and just... go into the village? I don't think they will suspect us as long as we don't do anything to fancy.... let's just say we visit our family members or something..." This wasn't Masamunes best idea, but it sounded kind of simple and the most simlest way had proved to be the effectivest one alot in the youths past and why make it hard on yourself when you can just make it simple?

______________________________________
(OOC: sorry >> writer block)

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

Listening to Masamune offering his suggestions, Toshiro had to admit that his partner had a point. Destroying the mine would be the single most disruptive action the two genin could undertake. Of course there were the minor problems of avoid what was sure to be a hefty number of guards, getting rid of the night shift of miners so they could place their explosives without a massive bloodbath, then getting out after the inevitable ruckus. It was getting around those problems that made that plan highly unlikely. Toshiro still favored the bridge - it would be nearly as disruptive and unless karma was against him unlikely to be nearly as well protected. An opinion he openly voiced. "I'm still leaning towards just blowing the bridge up. We don't have to stop the gold from being mined, just make it so they can't get it out of clan lands or bring supplies in. That should be enough pressure to do that job. Plus that bridge has got to be an easier target than hitting the mine."

Grabbing a piece of the (very) dry bread to go with the jerky, Toshiro resumed gnawing on his meal while one hand idly ran over the map. At the same time his eye were trying to bore holes into the rock across from him. Internally he was juggling the pros and cons of their various plans and coming up with one undeniable fact; they needed more information. Especially exact information and the best place to get that quickly was the town that served as the nexus of the mining companies operations. Sneaking into village as chaotic as an illegal mining town was unlikely to be a problem for two trained ninja. The problem was not being found out and blowing the entire operation in the process. That required some sort of believable reason for two kids to be wandering about a very rough-and-ready town without an adult present. The inspiration came as Toshiro took another bite of the over-dry meat and thought about how much he would rather have something that wasn't drier than a Suna-nin's sense of humor and just as old. If he was craving something that wasn't over-preserved then what would the people in town, who likely had to have everything shipped in, be thinking? The answer was obvious - they would welcome a change with open arms and no serious questions. With a reason to be in town, they could then gather all sorts of information that would make this entire unsanctioned mission so much easier.

His course decided Toshiro gave his partner for the mission a friendly thump on the shoulder and a grin of approval. Of course some might have called it a rather... disturbing grin given that when Toshiro really smiled it was because someone was going to be having a very bad day soon. "Hmmm, Masamune. You're a genius. All we have to do is trade these uniforms for some farm-hand clothes and hunt some deer or wild pigs - if we say we’re a squatters kids looking to sell some fresh game meat no one will ask too many questions. Once we're in it should be easy find the company’s office then burgle the place for information. Once we have that we can figure out exactly what to hit and get out of here.”

Age : 29 Posts : 341

Masamune slightly smiled as he was praised and his idea was taken into consideration and in the end would even be going to be used, althrough it's structure was changed a bit. Now they would dress up like farmers and act as if they were poachers. Althrough the idea of killing innocent animals for their goals hurt the young boy he knew this was their best option and so he accepted the idea without any more hesitation. He looked towards his comrade having his eyes half closed which gave him a sorrowful look.
"I guess we got no choice... Let's do it fast and painless for the poor... and I think we should split up and meet up again right here... how about... in three hours?" Masamunes idea was yet again accepted, they decided on a certain meet-up time and then they got going, both trying to make a good catch. As Masamune ran off deeper into the forest he thought his recent thoughts again. Now they had yet again kill... animals and only in order to probably kill humans. Which again they had to kill so they wouldn't take what is not theirs, but was killing them really the best option? Wasn't there any other way? What would Konoha say about their recent actions? Would they approve of it? *Not now...* Masamune thought and shaked his head, he was questioning the village a lot recently, it's way to make decisions and the whole way it acted. Since he killed a man for the first time he had changed, he didn't want to be a ninja anymore, it was.... wrong. Killing and justifying it with those bizarre reasons like: 'They didn't left us a option' or 'They were a threat for the peace of our village.' No matter the reason, taking a individuals life seemed just to wrong and again a tear flowed down Masamunes eye, why, just why were humans such unnatural creatures. Animals kill to feed themself, they never kill to much or unnecessary, humans through... they killed for money, for possesion and power. What a cruel world he was born into. Masamune stopped, he ducked on the branch he was currently standing on and looked down, spotting a wild boar, this was his chance. His hand reached into his pouch and he took five of his throwing weapons out. As he aimed and was about to throw the weapons, causing the animals death his body started to shake. He closed his eyes and threw, shouting out...
As his eyes opened again he saw the boar running away, squeaking because of the shock, his hand still held on to the senbons and shuriken he wanted to throw but couldn't.... this was a sign.
As he walked back to their meeting place he felt empty inside, he was way to early as he reached it and his mind was puzzled. As he sat there all alone, holding his knees near to the body, he started to cry and some first raindrops fell down.
"This whole life is not fair...."

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

Soon after the pair had split up, Toshiro had found the trail of a feral pig and followed it with the ease that only comes from having practiced many times in the field. Given that, and the advantages that came with being a shinobi with a bow that he knew how to use quite well, the outcome was a foregone conclusion. Two arrows, one in the brain though the eye and the other into the aorta, had ended the boars life before it could feel more than a slight sting. A few twists of wire and Toshiro had his prize well trussed up for the trip back - maybe they could even take a few cuts for themselves and eat something that wasn't drier than Suna's dunes for a change. Whistlin, and doing a horrible job of it, a happy tune to himself, the white-haired genin set off back towards his and Masamune's camp day-dreaming about what they could do with his prize.

Even the start of the rain as he neared their meeting point hadn't damped Toshiro's high spirits. In fact rather the opposite - rain was a good thing in his book. It would obliterate their scent and in a short time wipe out their tracks, making it impossible for anyone other than a chakra sensor to follow them without risking being seen. It would also be perfect cover for moving about unnoticed and for their escape. Seeing Masamune curled up in the middle of the clearing though and very obviously in distress though had sent Toshiro's day right into "this is going miserable beyond description" territory. Given the lack of damage to the surrounding area, Toshiro had quickly been able to rule out that his partner had been attacked. Since Masamune was still breathing and not screaming in pain or for help, some sort of poison from a 'hit and run' attack was unlikely. That left either one nasty genjutsu or "Masamune" was an imposter under henge. Some quick strides after dropping the pig carcass and a strong group for a kai that would have shattered any genjutsu Toshiro knew of ruled out the last hostile option for a hostile force. That left him with a very unpleasant option - Masamune was having some sort of mental break down. In the middle of a forest. With the closest professional help days or weeks away at best. All of which left Toshiro facing one very unpleasant fact - it was up to him, the person with a bedside manner akin to using a sledge hammer to remove an aching tooth, to find out what was wrong and fix it. [i[Kuso[/i], Toshiro swore in his head, why now? We were so close. Just a few more days and this would have been done and someone who knows what they're doing could have dealt with this. Argh, I don't get paid nearly enough... wait. I don't get jack for these missions. Whichever kami is laughing at this, up yours. With an exploding tag... a big one.

Sighing under his breath, Toshiro ran through the hand seals to create a single water clone that he sent to collect the pig carcass. The real Toshiro then put one hand on the purple-haired genin's shoulder and the other under his arm before lifting him up and half supporting and half began dragging Masamune towards the two genin's camp. At the same time he tried to figure out what would have broken his partner so effectively. He ruled out "camp fever" - of the two genin Masamune had by far complained the least about the preserved rations they had to eat. Could he be getting the mid-mission jitters? Doubtful since if he hadn't broken getting out of the gate, then it was unlikely he would break now. Delayed reaction to problems at home? Unlikely since he lived alone and hadn't mentioned any family. Girl trouble? At that Toshiro shook his head violently - he was spending far too much time around his sisters if that was making his list. No way was he going to even think about going down that route - that way abides dragons best left sleeping. Hmm what would kill his... At the word kill, Toshiro's eyes went so wide that you could see the whites all around as realization struck with the force of an explosive tag. Oh kami no. Not that. Please, don't be that. Sadly for Toshiro's hope, everything started to fit together when the word "kill" became the center of the puzzle. The other genin's being awake at an unholy hour of the night, because he couldn't sleep or only in fits when exhaustion finally set in. His distracted state due to lack of sleep. The way he seemed to swing between moods at the other to cover his own fear. It pained a picture that Toshiro had seen too many times on genin from civilian families after mission that ended in bloodshed. At some point fairly recently, Masamune had had his first kill. Naturally Konoha's academy had done a lousy job of preparing him for that, assuming that the family or jonin-sensei would handle it - two things Masamune lacked. Nor had the other genin apparently thought to ask Toshiro or any other clan member for help in dealing with things.

When the two genin reach the camp Toshiro himself had almost dragged Masamune into the mouth of the cave and wrapped him in blanket. At the same time his clone was busy putting the last of Toshiro's hot chocolate mix to use per his creators orders. Toshiro wasn't a med-nin by any stretch, but his sisters' lessons on battlefield first aid had been very extensive. One of those lessons was that any major trauma, even mental or emotional, could have serious effects on the body, which would need to be supported until it recovered. When the clone handed Toshiro a mug, the genin could only give the contents a wistful look before he put it into Masamune's hands then lift both mug and hands to the other genin's face. "Drink, slowly. You need to clear your head or you're going to have one seriously sore throat and a pounding headache tomorrow."

When he was sure that Masamune wouldn't drop the cup and its contents, Toshiro sat down to the other genins right side. Putting his left hand on Masamune's shoulder, Toshiro watched his partner with a look that held many things that were rarely if ever associated with him; empathy, understanding, and compassion being among them. Yes the other genin wasn't technically blood-kin, and they hadn't had much interaction since first meeting, but Masamune was in this because Toshiro had asked him to. For that, Toshiro would drop all his emotional guards if it would help the other keep a grip on his sanity. "I won't ask if something is wrong, because it's obvious something is very wrong. And if it's what I'm thinking it is, this isn't about the lousy food. You had your first kill some time before and now you are doubting everything you know about being a shinobi. Masmune, understand that I am not going to judge you on this. If you think you can't keep going then we will scrub this mission. I won't think less of you for it, Uncle Zakari won't, and the rest of clan won't either. But unless you tell me what happened, and I mean all of it, I can't try to help you come to terms with what happened and it will keep eating at your mind until you go crazy."

At that a rather irrelevant thought popped into Toshiro's head. "Well, crazier. You have to be a little bit crazy already to met Yashiru-chan and not be deathly afraid of anything pink afterwards."

SC, Jutsu, & Weapons used

Spoiler:

Age : 29 Posts : 341

Masamune hadn't been able to move from the place for hours, he was to shaked up inside to even grab a clear thought, everything didn't seem to make any sense anymore. After crying for hours and still not being able to stop the boy had forgotten just why tears were flowing down his eyes, just what was happening with him, what was happening inside of him? Suddenly he screamed out when his teammate came and grabbed his shoulder, out of a reflex Masamunes hand went into his pouch and striked at Toshiros' face with a Kunai. The young boy only got a little scratch on his cheek, but his sudden reaction even surprised Masamune himself. Why didn't he heard Toshiro when he was approaching him?
Now Toshiro forced him to let go of the weapons, which was without doubt currently in the wrong hands and lifted Masamune up. In fact Masamune wouldn't be able to walk on his own right now, he didn't knew why, but his body just didn't wanted to move, just then did he realize his companions heavy breath and the white smoke which escaped Toshiros mouth, wasn't he feeling well either? He stopped thinking and took a closer look at Toshiros pale face, the white hair was falling down and were sticking to his cheeks and forehead, the normaly spiky hair was wet and the usual white color seemed a tad greyer than it was supposed to be. Just now did Masamune recognize the rain and that his whole body, freezing and shaking. So that was the reason for him to be unable to move a inch, he was almost freezing to death out here, he had to get rid of the cold and soaked clothes and get to a fire. The boy stumbled over a root and fell down, Toshiro did his best to stop him, but nonetheless did Masamunes splash into a dirty puddle of water and covered his right side with mud, it would be a pain in the arse to get the clothes clean again. Masamune was helped up and they kept going, althrough Toshiro had changed sides so that he wouldn't get dirty as well. The whole time none of the two boy spoke a single word, Masamune was to busy clearing his head and Toshiros mind was a puzzle for the youth like always. Masamune knew his friend for some time now and he knew some facts about Toshiro, the boy didn't liked the way the village dealt with business as well, he disliked the Hokage and the way people were dealt with, but he was loyal to the leafe. He was a nice guy, but hide most of his feelings behind his pride mask, which he only rarely took of, but Masamune already got some glimpses at the stubborn kids true face and he really liked spending time with him, although Toshiro often made it seem like he was forced to do so, which didn't seem to be true, sometimes.

Masamune realized the surrounding getting darker, they had entered the cave..
He was dropped near the wall and Toshiro put a blanket around him and slowly did his body regained the heat which it seeked for. Toshiro was busy somewhere a few meters away from the boy, he was again doing something Masamune knew nothing about, one of the white haired boys speciality, confusing Masamune with to much knowledge about to much stuff. Maybe that was due to him being from a 'rich' household or just his grandfather taking interest in knowledge or such, but as Masamune thought of sensei he immediately let go of that thought. Most likely it were Toshiros siblings helping him out in that aspect, althrough Toshiro was kind of afraid of them and misinterpreted most of their good intentions as evil deeds, which were done in order to torture him. Masamune often wished to have sisters like Toshiro, going shopping with him or talking about girl - boy stuff, as the youths thought were absent due to his thoughts a smile started to cover his face again, as the joyfull thoughts came back again. It was then that Toshiro turned around and forced a mug into his hand, whatever was inside looked.... strange and Masamune didn't really wanted to taste it, but Toshiro forced his hands upwards and made him drink the strange substance. As he started to cough Toshiro must have thought it was something related to his status, but in fact and Masamune knew this already, Toshiro was not the best cook. He was a perfectionist and always wanted to make everything right, but somehow Masamune couldn't get himself to like the white haired boys meals. Maybe it was due to him, maybe he was just right, but even through this drink was hot and that was the only reason Masamune kept drinking. As he sat there, with his knees pulled to the body and the arms close to the body as well, the white haired boy started to talk with him, getting serious again. Once again Masamune was stunned by Toshiros intelligence and ability to make logical conclusions as he hit the nails top with his words. The smile disappeared again from Masamunes face and again he had clearly in mind just what was wrong.. but he wasn't yet ready to share his problems with someone else, he wanted to get clear about what was wrong with him, himself. Suddenly he made a decision, as soon as he would get home again he would take a short.... absence from work and go into the mountains, to clear his head and maybe meditate a bit... that always helped him overcoming hardships. He had done the same when his mother died and he didn't knew what to do, he went into one of the countless cages of Suna and meditated and now he was here, leading a.... happy (he guessed) life instead of living on the street.

Toshiro kept starring at him and suddenly he realised he had stood silent up till now, that was right, it was his time now to tell Toshiro what was going on and he tried to get the right words:
"Toshiro...~kun, you don't.... it's.... everything is fine." Masamune tried to smile, but Toshiro kept staring at him with a look that said 'don't fool yourself' and he was right, Masamune wasn't even convincing himself with that shabby excuse.
"You see... I... it's complicated, I don't even know what is wrong myself and I don't want to bother you with my nonsense, it's just... there is stuff floating through my head and it all just doesn't make any sense anymore."
Masamune was speaking the truth, but as he rose his head and saw Toshiros' eyes still fixated on him he knew it wasn't yet enough. Suddenly it overcame him and somehow his mouth moved from alone:
"I killed a man recently, a person, no a human, a living being just like you and me. Maybe he had family, maybe he had dreams and hopes or lived for a higher reason. I... I just ended his life, just like that, I had no right to do so, that guy wasn't any better than me, he was paid and did what he was told, just like us Shinobi, just that we are covering that fact with the reason of it being for a higher reason, for protecting the country and such.... but in fact we are just mercenaries doing whatever a single person sees as righterous. I just.... I am just questioning the Hokage, Konoha, no I am questioning the whole world and Humanity itself. We are a stupid, stupid race. Killing and lifing only for our own good. You know... the time when I killed that bandit... do you know why that person seeked to harm us? It was because a tiny, little girl, not older than you or me, decided to protect her fathers life by stopping us. At that time I didn't knew, but her dad was once a slave, but managed to work himself up into the position of a noble, he was only ruling a little piece of land and was still following a master and that very own person demanded for his daughters hand. The only way the man could safe his daughter from marriage was by taking his own life as exchange for his daughters and yet his daughter still wished to marry that disgusting old guy, just to safe her dad AND YET I, MY WHOLE TEAM KILLED HER ONLY HOPE IN SAVING HER DADS LIFE! IT IS NOT FAIR THAT NOBLES CAN JUST DO WHATEVER THEY WANT, THAT THEY CAN TAKE LIFES AS IF THEY WERE FRUITS! IT.. It ... it just is not fair..."
Masamune had screamed the last part of his story and again tears were running down his cheeks. His eyes became strong as he talked and he no longer seemed like a kid, he looked old, somehow, his gesture and way of speaking and those calm and yet dead eyes. Toshiro surely understood by now that, what Masamune was crying for, was not for himself, not for the life he had taken, but that he was crying for every single life in this world which took a unfair end. The boy just couldn't take the suffering anymore, the injustice of life.
"Every single day, thousands of people die, maybe even more. They never had the chance to fullfill their dreams, they couldn't even live for themself, some of them never even had the chance to grow up or life a proper life in freedom. Every single one of us is a slave of power, there always is one person claiming he is worth more than anyone else and like that justifies his actions. People die unnecessary for such people, knowing exactly it is not fair. I can not stand living in such a world any longer... but... but I don't know what to do..."
Masamune was crying heavy now, he again had hidden his face beneath his knees and was suffering because of the pain of others, which was to much for the youth to bear. Again he seemed like a little kid, which was lost and didn't knew what to do....
______________________________________________________________________________________
(hope everythings fine with the post >> somehow I got myself a bit mixed up with the actions and blabla, and sorry for saying your a bad cook, maybe you still remember Masamune having a strange taste..)

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

'And I thought it was just a "simple" case of a post-kill mental breakdown' was how Toshiro summed up his partners tale in the privacy of his own head. After Masamune's tale, he knew he was completely out of his depth. Pure chance and a little training had resulted in an accurate guess about what had brought Masamune to his knees. What to do about though was beyond Toshiro's experience, and he would have to do something. Not only because Masamune was one of the few friends outside the clan he had, but for the selfish reason that he didn't fancy his odds of succeeding at his assignment alone. The only thing that came to the clan genin's mind was a mission that he really didn't want to discuss. Toshiro still had nightmares about the time he and three other genin had been put through forty days of pure misery. Still if anything would get Masamune's to realize that his situation wasn't unique it was that mission. Settling himself next to his partner, Toshiro struck a match that was tossed into their fire pit and stared into the growing fire.

"Before we met, I went on a mission with Saitou and Kana and one other genin. It was supposed to be a simple check on a village that requested help with an outbreak. Turned out that it wasn't the common cold run amok. It was full-blown plague, the kind that can wipe out an entire country if it spreads." Knowing he had Masamune's attention, Toshiro went on to describe the mission in detail. How they had questioned, sometimes aggressively, people trying to determine if the plague had been "natural" or the result of evil intentions. The decision to quarantine the village in the hope that the disease could be kept from spreading to the general population. The forty days of barely any sleep where Toshiro and Saitou patrolled the village to enforce the quarantine, turning back families of the healthy and dooming some of them in the process. The times the two genin had needed to resort to intimidation and even naked force to separate families from an infected loved one to keep the rate of infection within the town to the minimum possible. Every ugly facet of the forty days when four under-prepared genin had been forced to choose between the villagers whose faces were forever etched in their memories and the greater population of Fire Country and maybe the entire world that they would never see. Once he had finished, Toshiro shifted to look Masamune dead in the eye.

"Why am I telling you this? Because it's not that far from your situation. Each of us had to make decisions that probably caused several innocent people to die and put others through a misery that would make death seem preferable. Were they the right decisions? I want to think so, but we'll never know. Maybe if we hadn't quarantined the village and let the people that were healthy leave a few more would have lived. Maybe they would have just spread the plague to other villages before dying anyway. Part of being a shinobi, heck part of being human, is making what you think is the best decision based on what you know and if it turns out you screwed up, finding what you did wrong so you don't do it again. You, Kana, and Saitou made a decision and followed it through. That in the end you hadn't been given the most important facts and got caught up in a "matter of honor" at those words Toshiro actually gagged, "between a good man who was too rigid in his thinking to take the way out and a brat who should have been strangled when he was born. The only thing you can do now is learn from the mess so you can, maybe, find a way out the next time it happens."

At the last word, Toshiro turned back to stare into the fire before resting his head against the rock wall behind him. If he couldn't pull Masamune out of his funk, he would be down to two options. Scrub the assignment or send the other genin back and try to pull it off alone. Neither was something he looked forward to. So while his partner mulled over Toshiro's haphazard attempt at being a psychiatrist, the clan genin began trying to put together some sort of backup plan in case he had to carry out the rest of the assignment on his own.

Age : 29 Posts : 341

Masamune listened quietly as Toshiro talked, he was impressed by the story, but it didn't really help him and his problem. Besides him not understanding what Toshiro wanted to tell him, Masamune didn't felt really understood, he was interpretting Toshiro to see the main problem somewhere else than it really was. Well Masamune didn't really got it himself, but that each decision could decide wether people life or die. The main problem was that Masamune couldn't accept the world as it was, a world in which the powerful rule and the weak be surpressed. As Masamune realized that fact something in him changed. His tears stopped and his expression was exchanged with a determinded look. He stood up....
"Toshiro~kun... I think I have realized something.... I will need to change a few things in my life. Please give me time to prepare before we head out to the village again. Sorry for not catching anything, but I just couldn't do it.... taking another beings life, again, I think I am unable to do so." Masamune turned a bit red as he was going to do something he surely would regret later on, he just hoped Toshiro wouldn't be to angry at him.
"Well.... as said... I don't want to kill anymore so... tonight I will use the time to dull my weapons." Masamunes face moved away from Toshiro, closing his eyes he expected one of Toshiros scoldings, something he, without question, got from his uncle and sisters. The Hinamori family was a overall strict one and harsh as well, Masamune couldn't count the times he thought of himself as dead, when working under Toshiros Uncle, whose pranks made Masamune pass out more than one time.

He had said what he had to say and now Masamune got near the fire, heating himself up, one after another he summoned and sealed his weapons again, dulling each and every one of them. Well, everyone besides the shurikens and kunais, those weren't deadly if not aiming at a head and pretty useless if not sharp. The whole process would take very long, he had to make the weapons dull, something one normaly would never do, making weapons dull was the complete opposite of what one would normally do with a whetstone. Besides... Masamune possesed a whole lot of weapons already, every single one of his crafts good and bad was in his possesion, and if it hadn't broken up till now, he still used it.
The larged amount of weapon he possesed were all the senbons, which he hid everywhere, even in his hair and it was really bothering to exchange the pointy tip with a flat end, he had to keep a bit of the pointyness, so the senbon would still fly steady, but had to watch out to make the senbon dull enough to not pierce flesh. He really wanted to ask Toshiro if he could help, since both Genin were fellow craftsmen and Toshiro a very good one, growing up in a blacksmith family, but he was to emberrassed than to ask Toshiro, silently he kept doing his work, still having tons of it in front og him, he just wanted to sleep already.....

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

Staying seated with his back and head against the rock of the cave, Toshiro had needed to only open his eyes to meet Masamune's. "You aren't the first person to have second and fifth thoughts about shedding blood Masamune and I'm sure you won't be the last. It's you who has to live with the consequences of that so no apologies are needed. At least you were honest about it. I would rather that than someone who hides it then ends up freezing in the middle of a fight and getting a teammate killed." Left unsaid was that Toshiro hoped that Masamune's new-found reluctance to shed blood didn't get end up getting either of them killed. His two cents said, the clan genin closed his eyes when the other had moved away, trying to clear his head so he could get some sleep. As strange as it would sound though, after everything that happened, Toshiro was too drained to sleep. So instead of curling up in a blanket, he took that blanket and walked outside to the fire where he spread it out near Masamune then plopped himself down on it with their map spread out in front of him. If he hadn't been able to clear his head enough for rest, it had still borne some fruit. In the time between Masmune going to remove the killing edge from his weapons and following him out Toshiro come up with the start of a plan that would hopefully meet both their needs. His own to complete the objectives assigned to him and Masamune's to avoid bloodshed.

The gold mine was out of the picture entirely. Toshiro simply couldn't see a way to destroy it that didn't involve a great deal of bloodshed and with his partner reluctant to kill he wasn't going to force the issue with an all-out massacre. The town was out as well for the same reason - even if they targeted unpopulated buildings like warehouses there was too much risk of collateral damage. Instead Toshiro was placing his bets on the bridge being the best target. It was the one weak point that was unlikely to be guarded and the single place that could be destroyed with, assuming some luck, zero casualties. Without that bridge it wouldn't matter what was left intact. Since his clan controlled all the land (and thus the roads) around the disputed area except on the other side of the gorge the bridge spanned, there would be no way for the illegal mining operation to move gold out or ryo in to pay the miners. With no pay it would be a matter of weeks at best before the miners left and without the money from the miners the rest of the town was sure to follow. Once the town was effectively depopulated it would be a simple matter for the clan to evict any remaining bully-boys and company officials without the fear of civilians getting caught in an ensuing crossfire. If they could figure out important details like how many guards (if any) were at the bridge and when it was in use, information they could hopefully gain from their little trip into town, that was in Toshiro's opinion their best chance.

That said, for now Toshiro was content to just plan a route into the town for tomorrow. Anything more detailed could wait for whatever the results of their snooping found and for the two genin to be well-rested instead of mentally exhausted. Instead he just lay on the blanket and divided his time between the map in front of him, thoughts of what he was going to do after this assignment was finally done, and just talking to Masamune. "Honestly I wasn't expecting you to have much luck catching something unless you practically stumbled over it. I might be wrong, but you don't strike me as the type whose parents took him on hunting trips since he could walk. I've been learning to hunt since I was six and by the time I was eleven I was already hunting on my own and even then I still come back empty handed probably half the time and more if I don't know the area well. Wild animals know when they're being stalked and you wouldn't think it but even something as large as a bear can be all but impossible to find when it doesn't want to be found. That you even found something says you're better than most." At that point Toshiro grimaced as a random though popped into his head. If Masamune was going to have difficulties hunting even animals, he would have to rely on Konoha's standard ration bars more frequently. Something that Toshiro avoided doing if at all possible given his personal opinion of their taste. "Though I hope you have a stronger stomach than I do, make an exception to that no-killing rule for fish, or regularly get paired with someone who doesn't have qualms about hunting. Technically healthy they may be but I still think ration bars taste like wet cardboard that got left in a laundry hamper. I eat one and everything else for three days afterwards has that same taste." The warning about the culinary disaster that awaited Masamune given, Toshiro's attention focused on the piles of sebon that his partner was taking the point from. "You know it might not be a bad idea to keep a point on most of those needles. Unless you actually aim at a killing point it's well-nigh impossible to do more that inconvenience someone with them. Besides, if you want to stop someone without killing them a few needles in a muscle is a pretty good way to go about it. I would just blunt the really heavy ones so you could hit the other guy between the eyes with them. Maybe once this is done you could learn or create some sort of paralyzing seal and attach it to the sebon? That way you could throw a bunch at someone and if one sticks freeze the target in place at a distance then knock them out safely."

Age : 29 Posts : 341

Masamune looked up when Toshiro sat down besides him and watched the fire. It was true, watching the fire in a night like this was calming, in it's own aspect fire, how dangerous it may be, looked beautiful. Masamune kept moving his whetstone above the weapons, the noise which followed this action, sounded through the air for a while, as it stood quiet. Both, Masamune and Toshiro were lost in thoughts, both thinking about their own business and making plans for the future. The youth was bothered by many thoughts now, that was more than clear already, but now something else was bugging him. How should they keep going on with this mission? There had to be a better way than sneaking inside and blowing something up... a way without putting the humans, not having anything to do with the bandits work, who were forced to work there for whatever circumstances. He already got a idea, but he would speak about it later, not now.... Toshiro didn't looked as if he wanted to be bugged right now, his face looked like 'that' again. When his gaze was wandering off into the distant, without an aim and his mouth was moving, almost not noticeable, when he did that he was thinking about something, Masamune knew that by now.

After a while through, it was Toshiro who broke the silence. He wasn't saying anything of importance, just that Masamune did well even getting close to a animal and how hard hunting was in general, those words brought back some bad memories of Masamunes childhood. After his moms death and when he left Suna, he had wandered around the country for years and HAD to learn how to hunt, otherwise he wouldn't be here today, it was no skill he was proud to have, more a skill he needed to have. He smiled and said:
"You know... my Mum never took me hunting, but when I wasn't training she made me clean or cook, nothing like hunting indeed, but hey, thanks to her training I was able to learn it....... after she passed away. It kind of... was one of this situations were you either act or die and I guess.. I just acted and somehow got it.... hunting I mean." After his reply Toshiro kept on talking about what Masamune would eat now, something he hadn't even thought about yet, what should he do....? Would he keep eating meat? COULD he keep on eating it? Masamune let go of the senbon he held and reached into his pocket, taking out some meat from his rations. He closed his eyes, ate it and smiled into Toshiros face.
"Hey... I am against killing, but not against eating. Hunting and such is one of the normalst things in life, there shouldn't be something strange about eating meat, or even killing for meat, althrough i seem to have problems with that.. But like said, don't worry about me starving, I will keep eating meat and for the rations... we don't have to much, so I recommend me searching for vegetables, fruits and stuff, while you hunt. Sounds good?"

Masamune took the senbon again and kept on taking it's tip. Toshiro saw that and told Masamune about other possibilities.
"You know Toshiro... a senbon is a real thread, due to it's form.. if I throw it with my strength I might actually impale a arm, I don't want something like that to happen. Therefore.. making all of these dull will be more than needed. I need to test it out first, but a hit to the head should leave people unconscious and body hits should hurt and leave rather big bruises. And I already got such a seal, it isn't that strong through, it takes really much chakra... " Now might be the right time for telling Toshiro about his plans, Masamune thought. The boy had started loosening up again and he wasn't to busy with his thoughts, so might as well just throw his opinion into the ring now.
"Hey... I thought about it for a bit.... you know, about the mission and how we get the bandits to leave. Why don't we just prevent them from delivering the gold? We could do what you said before, about the bridge and then wait at the route they would have to take, to deliver the gold. We will surprise attack them and BOOM, they won't even know what hit them. If they got guards I am sure we can handle them and well.... let's just hit them unconscious and tie them up somewhere, they are criminals, I am sure we can get them into jail or something. They won't know their deliveries didn't reach their target and keep on sending them, in the meanwhile their rations go down and such.... wouldn't that work?"
"

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

Still going over the map and finalizing things in his head, Toshiro had done little more than absently nod to acknowledge Masamune's points. He had been focused on the pictures of their possible targets, and especially the one showing the rickety bridge. Once he had finished his rudimentary planning, he turned back to his partner, stifling a yawn before speaking. "Pretty much my thoughts. But I don't think we need to do more than blow up the bridge. The reason they use that old thing is because every other crossing into the "disputed" area is fully under clan control. If they try to move the gold out it would be seized as contraband, and any supplies brought in by other routes are being turned away."

"Don't stay up too late Masamune. I want to be in the town by early afternoon tomorrow and we both need to be sharp if we have to burgle a few offices to find what we need."

[Two days and some later]

Several hours after dusk two days since the genin's unusual fire-side discussion found them back in their stolen Hidden Mist uniforms lying belly-down in the mud that covered the bottom of the drainage ditches flanking the road that lead to the bridge they had discussed before. A bridge that in less than an hour, assuming all went well, would be reduced to splinters and rubble. Toshiro was in fact carrying some of the implements of that reduction to splinters secured in water-proof cloth strapped to his back; six bundles of dynamite with two-minute fuses already in place and a bundle of "det cord" capped with the sole exploding tag he was carrying to link them all. He had given the rest of his exploding tags to Masamune to set on the wooden upper parts of the bridge while Toshiro handled the stone bottom parts.

Their scouting of the town had gone off without a hitch just as they had planned. The owner of the only inn in the town had been more than eager to chatter away at the two "hunters" who had brought fresh meat and mushrooms to sell. Helped along with the pittance the food was sold for, the man had proven to be a goldmine of information about the town. That information had included that the guard who had the nightshift in the two-story building that housed the mining company's local office was very fond of his drink. Armed with that information the genin had been able to render the "security" for the building useless and had found a mountain of useful information as they burgled the place. Information that included timetables for incoming and outgoing wagons, the number of guards at particular locations and their shifts, and even some very incriminating material about various connections the mining company had to criminal organizations. Having gotten more than he had hoped to find, Toshiro had called an end to their “sneak and peak” operation and they two genin had made a quick retreat to their campsite.

Once there and finally having exact information, Toshiro had struck all but one target off their list based on what the genin had gleaned from those papers. That target was the bridge they had discussed earlier. The covered trestle bridge was as run-down as the picture had shown and the mining company had thoughtfully only done the minimum repairs to it. With luck the genin wouldn't even need more than a few explosive tags and maybe a few sticks of dynamite to obliterate it. Even better was that tomorrow was the day the next wagon carrying the pay that would also take the mined gold out was due to arrive. Thus make tonight the absolute best time to strike. Of course that a storm had been brewing all day and had started just an hour before they had begun sneaking towards the bridge didn't hurt the decision to make their move tonight. Between the clouds blocking out the moon and the rain coming down in drenching sheets, one could barely see a few yards away. Of course the storm wasn’t without downsides either; while not flooded with water the drainage ditches were quite muddy and somewhat chilly. Nor had it helped that just a few minutes ago some idiot had been in a hurry to leave the area and their carriage had throw quite a bit of mud into the ditch Toshiro was currently occupying. Mud that while it helped obscure his white hair also was a most unpleasant feeling to have creeping down one’s neck and back.

Now though Toshiro just waited for the single patrolling guard to stop chatting with the pair of guards manning the toll booth-slash-checkpoint on the clan side of the bridge and go back to his patrol. Once he was well out of sight of their end the plan was for Masamune would disable the guard standing under the roof of the toll both then Toshiro would deal with the guard in the booth when he came out to see what was going on. After the bully-boys were taken out of the picture, and any story of being attacked utterly discredited by a liberal splashing with a few bottles of low-quality sake and some planted drugs Toshiro had flinched on the way out of the town, the genin would set about placing their explosives. If no complications arose, they would then fall back and set off their diversion which consisted of the rest o their unused dynamite in an abandoned cart by the roadside. That should draw the remaining guards to their side of the bridge and out of the immediate danger zone from the explosives on the bridge itself. Then it would be boom time for the bridge and the two genin could finally start thinking about home.

CP: 28/ 50

Age : 29 Posts : 341

[ooc: lets end this already >> i somehow am extremely bad at posting at the moment and can't come over a 600 word limit... nd this topic aready took way to long]

Masamune was lying besides Toshiro, like his partner he was covered in mud. The only difference between the two was, that Toshiro didn't seem to care. The mud was wet and felt really disgusting, being in more areas than just his pants, and to top it all it was freaking cold. Masamune was shivering all over and lying still for all this time made his body go numb. Man, what a horrible day this was. His hands firmly held on to his Zweihander, even through he couldn't feel them for some time now and when trying to move, every part of his body burned. Then he felt something touching his shoulder, after almost shouting out loud out of surprise, he realized that the person touching him was Toshiro, it was time. Masamune quickly pulled out eight kunais, the explosives had already been attached to them and it didn't took very long to throw all kunais precisely into the bridges vital parts. After that he took his Zweihander again and jumped up, pulled himself up the bridges edge and during the motion, hit the guard on the head, with the blades flat side. One would say that such a attack wouldn't be very effective, but seeing how the guy flew several meters across the bridge and wouldn't stand up anymore, it was obvious that Masamunes attack had indeed been effective. He quickly confirmed that Toshiro had done his job as well, even through that wasn't necessary (we are talking about Toshiro here after all), he walked over to the body, heaving it over his back and together with Toshiro setting a good distance between himself and the bridge.

"Shall I do it now?" He asked and after Toshiro gave the signal, he performed the handseals, which were needed to blow the explosives up. Masamune covered his eyes and closed the eyes, while sitting behind the pile of dirt, with his knees pulled near to his body. He wasn’t scared of explosions, usually, but this one surely was big and loud and overall devasting. Even through his hands he could hear the ruckus caused by the explosion and it took him several seconds to get that it was over already. He took the hands from his ears and opened his eyes, seeing several wooden pieces lying or still flying around, what a... cool scene this was. Turning to Toshiro he asked: “Should we get away now?”
That question was not only unnecessary but kind of stupid as well, seeing how the whole village was now in movement. People were screaming, shouting and running around, not knowing what happened and if knowing that, asking if more attacks would follow.....

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

Once Masamune had done his part in disabling the guard outside of the hut, Toshiro did his. With the guard's rain gear impeding his movement and sight, it had been all too easy for Toshiro to blindside the bullyboy who stepped out of the hut with to see what had happened to his fellow. A kick in the family jewels for good measure had put the back of the guards head at the perfect height to receive the blunt end of a kunai that knocked him out. Then both were drenched in cheap sake and had various illegal substances pressed into their hands by a genin who was snickering as he wondered how they would try to explain this one away. Guards disposed of and discredited, Toshiro then slipped over the side of the bridge before making his way the few feet to the lower part of the bridge where he methodically set about placing his bundles of explosives on the lower area of the bridge. True to his prediction, the braces and struts that made up the bottom were as easy to navigate as the academies obstacle course, and soon Toshiro had all of his explosive bundles taped to what looked like important areas and strung together with detonation cord primed with his last explosive tag. Then the white-haired genin made his way back, stopping to ignite each fuse with a lighter he had liberated from one of the guards as he went past. After lighting the last fuse Toshiro threw the lighter into the river gorge before using part of a support to swing back onto the road surface like a gymnast. Now on the timer since in two minutes the fuses would ignite all the dynamite if the genin were ready or not, Toshiro had met Masamune at the end of the bridge and, with a nod of acknowledgement, gestured for that is was time for them fall back and finish their job.

Once the two genin were back in the ditch that had covered their approach to the bridge, the Hinamori genin met his partners question with a response that was typical Toshiro. "By all means Masamune. Light up their world." With that both genin ducked crouched down in their improvised bunker as night briefly turned into dawn. Once the initial boom and rain of wood and stone stopped, Toshiro poked his head out of the ditch he saw the results of his and Masamune's efforts. Where once had been a rickety old bridge there was now any empty space between the remains of two stone supports, both of which had large portions missing. In reply to his comrade's question, Toshiro nodded and offered the other genin a hand up out of the ditch. "Yep, our part here is finished. Now we collect our stuff, meet up with our alibis, and then head home. Oh and before I forget, when we get back to Konoha you need to visit the bank by Sato's Cafe and show them this card. Your pay for this is sitting in a numbered account there."
As the two genin headed back to their camp covered in mud, Toshiro couldn't resist the urge to make a rather pointed remark. "That is why you shouldn't prod sleeping animals, even something as "meek and helpless" as a napping pheasant, unless you are ready for a fight. You never know if they'll bite when they wake up."

[exit topic]

Age : 29 Posts : 341

Masamune, hurrying behind his partner, was a bit worried. The wood and stone pieces flying around everywhere could hit someone and he felt a bit bad about possibly injuring innocent people, but well... it couldn't be helped. At least he had managed to convince Toshiro to the point where they didn't had to kill a single person in order to reach their goals. Now that those thieves had seen they had been attacked, they would surely be able to count one and one together and get who was behind this attack. As soon as they knew that the Hinamori-Clan had found out about them and would not just let them do as they want, they were obviously not just to rebuild the bridge, but run home as fast as they could.
Masamune had to laugh a bit at his thoughts and when Toshiro looked at him, obviously asking himself what Masamune was laughing about. Masamune smiled his friend in the face and said:
"You know... I don't need any money for helping the clan I own so much, or a friend.... I am just happy you came to me for this... I would have rotted away in my room, all alone.... and I feel a lot better now. Anyway... aren't you happy we managed to do all this without taking a persons life? We are indeed awesome aren't we?" He again laughed and this time Toshiro even managed to show a smile....
They soon reached their hideout and packed their stuff, they would then go on their way home, at that time Masamune couldn't possible foresee, just how much his life would change in the next few days....

[exit]