Fugato's Will - Uzumaki Robin and Kyousuu (Mission) (Open) [W.I.P]

Age : 30 Posts : 1236

OOC: As Kyousuu has recently been inactive due to personal issues, I will roleplay this part of the mission myself incorporating the Yonbi Jinchuuriki whenever I please. ;3

IC: A dimming sky brought entrance to the former Hokage and the Yonbi Jinchuuriki, pale golden glows of the fading sun could be seen caressing the horizon. The pair had been following the coastline for near 8 hours since their departure from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, passing by travelers both curious and wary of the two's adventures. They had been assigned a mission, aptly named Fugato's Will; who is the feudal lord of the Wave Country, known for its bounty in trading of wares from the sea and the lands surrounding. Fugato, for as long as Robin has known the Feudal lord has been a trading baron with a vast expanse of wealth - both legally and under the table deals. All that the Feudal lord truly cared of was money and safety, which is why the wave country is viewed as a safe trading nation for all walks of people to participate in, whether that are mercenaries, nukenin or even the simple farmer. Money is changed hands regularly in this country with little grief given on the outside. So it becomes such a nuisance when a letter is received by the Hokage asking for a tender of safety: to remove a camp of bandits laying outside of the village raiding at passing by caravans. These caravans possessed some of the finest materials of tiger pelts and jade statues right down to the basic necessities of crops and oil. It is believed that the bandit raiding party consists mainly of defacted, greedy shinobi with the odd nukenin. Mixed reports have passed by travelers lips as they passed to converse the pair detailing a group of around 9 - 13 shinobi doing the dirty work. However the travelers all agreed upon one thing, the leader was a big cruel nukenin aptly named the headsman; standing at 6'9'' with big muscles to grapple with a huge claymore of a sword. Robin had knowledge of this criminal beforehand, however never had the privilege to meet him until now.

The wave country's main road forked near a kilometer ahead with a thick forest of trees lining the sides of it, most likely housing the criminal band. Robin paused and turned towards the jinchuuriki, giving him a good look up and down before speaking, 'Henge into a farmer's son we had passed before and supress your chakra as much as possible, we are going to walk right under their noses if all goes to plan.' Robin quickly transformed his appearance into a straw hat and dirty robe wearing old farmer man with a hessian bag filled with what looked like potatoes whilst Kyousuu had become an even dirtier looking scruffy boy of about 12; the pair looked little of ninja. They finished the rest of the leg of the coastal road before coming upon the fork of the main road. On the wooden sign showing the locations and distances of the main near villages was scrawled in what looked like blood the words 'BEWARE'. A slight chill ran down the weathered-farmer's spine as instead of turning into the main village, the two took an old beaten cattle trail through the woodlands in hope of locating the camp. Not 5 minutes into the walk did the pair hear a sharp snap of a twig to alert the potential threat, yet they kept walking unaware playing coy. Soon after, the surrounding trees brought a thick mist into their presence almost completely unaccounted for - or rather to the experience of the former Hokage, the technique of Kirigakure no Jutsu. Robin paused, turned to the young farmer boy and spoke, 'Show me what you can do.' Almost instantly did three attackers rush at them.

Age : 31 Posts : 1637

Home.

It was his first time actually leaving the village since his acquisition of his bijuu; It was his first time leaving Hi no Kuni altogether. Despite the weight of this, Kyou's thoughts kept circling back to home, but not the home he'd known just before he and Uzumaki Robin embarked on their mission. No, it was the home he'd known before his life was twisted around and put in the control of others. The home that his siblings still resided in, undeterred by their knowledge of what would become of their younger brother, whom they had inwardly vowed to protect at all costs. Such a promise would not be easily broken, yet they were no longer around to ensure it was fulfilled. His sister had at least done as much before her time was ended, but his brother... He had vanished, and being in such unfamiliar territory had raised questions in the genin's mind. Questions pertaining to his brother's whereabouts, and whether he might encounter him. Consequently, he doubted the odds of locating his brother, or vice versa, as he was certain he might not be so easily recognized. He had grown considerably in the years since the young man's absence, and though he was not yet seasoned, had visibly matured. There was a peculiar glint in his eye that signified a gain in experience (not that he was aware of it himself).

Forcing himself to focus, which was something that was quite difficult for Kyousuu, he looked around. A knot in his stomach was accompanied by a sensation that was best described as the fluttering about of butterflies. He was certainly anxious, there was no doubt about that, but whether it was a positive or negative feeling, he wasn't sure of. Perhaps it was the excitement of going on his first mission like this, or perhaps it was his company. Regardless of the cause, he made an effort to steel himself so as not to cause himself to be put into a dangerous situation without having his mind in the right place. As usual, he didn't care what Robin's opinion of him was or whether he disappointed the man or not; The only thing he worried about was staying alive. He felt as though he was a lot more aware of this looming danger now that he wasn't surrounded by walls and shinobi that would assist him in an encounter. Kyou's lips trembled as he suppressed laughter at his own memory of his fight with a crazed shinobi one night. It was surprising that it had gone mostly unnoticed by anyone, even if had occurred at a place that wasn't frequented by anybody, especially at night.

Around him, the scenery changed. They had veered off of the path to the village and instead headed directly into the place where the bandits would surely be found. Feeling his excitement grow, the brunette inhaled slowly, maintaining the rather aloof expression he had adopted upon using his transformation jutsu. Though it was a simple technique taught at the Academy, it was especially useful in times like this, especially when coupled with suppressed chakra. The latter had been a bit more difficult for him to accomplish, but he had done it, which was just another small, inward victory that he celebrated silently. Unfortunately there was still much more to come, and the jinchuuriki was very much aware that this could possibly be a test of his current abilities, or even potential, as much as it was a serious mission. The prospect gave him the urge to groan, but, once again, he managed to control himself.

The trees surrounding the duo became shrouded in a mist - one that Kyousuu recognized from the encounter that he had been thinking about not too long ago. He instinctively tensed, half expecting the beast-man of sorts to leap out at him.

It did not happen.

Instead, the former Hokage spoke to him, surprisingly calm, followed by the emergence of three strange shinobi from the mist. 'Show me what you can do.' Those words echoed in his mind, reminding him of things of the past, things that, while on the surface were unrelated, tied into the situation that he faced. Frowning, his mind raced. If he were to allow all three to get close, surely he would be done for. There was no telling what they were capable of, and though they were very clearly just henchmen, the genin knew not to underestimate them. Simply avoiding them, however, was out of the question. His hands moved, and he crouched down, his palms colliding with the soil. Suddenly the rock under the layer of dirt began to rise, twisting about and moving somewhat unnaturally. The three attackers were clearly taken by surprise, as short yelps could be heard, followed by the crunch of rock coming together. Standing back up, Kyousuu's green eyes quickly turned toward Robin before flitting about. His hands found their way back to the height of his shoulders, and he focused on the surrounding mist, unsure of the success of his jutsu.

Spoiler:

Age : 30 Posts : 1236

The boy caught the notion. However not completely to the taste that Robin had desired, but he was effective nonetheless. Robin would use this mission of eliminating the bandit camp as a test to seeing how the Jinchuuriki worked with his Bijuu and so far, nothing had come from it. That was fine; they would get more opportunities very soon as the technique Kyou had used would attract a LOT of noise and disturbance in the forest. Maybe for the better, maybe for the worst. But either way, there was no more need for a disguise. The former Hokage turned towards the Jinchuuriki, 'Release the Henge and don't suppress your chakra, they know we're here anyway and it might do us some good to frighten some of them off.' Robin turned back into his black trench-coated self and continued to walk the now-destroyed trail, assuming the boy would follow.

Several minutes had passed of very creepy silence as the mist-covered thick trees gave way to more sparsely woodland. The darkness of the forest faded into a glow of torches encircling the bandit camp. Robin's keen perception took in some very key pieces of information about the camp. Other than the two torches in the centre tent, the only other torches could be found as a ring on the outsides. Furthermore, these torches backed onto a ring of tents as a very crude form of defence and could very easily be used to torch the tents themselves however unfortunate was the timing that no one was asleep. Though this then could be seen as a benefit as every single member other than the three lookouts they had killed was sitting down to dinner over a large amount of ale and a big burning brazier - all 9 remaining bandits had no apparent knowledge of the pairs presence, despite the whole upturning of the group a few hundred meters away. Check.

Robin turned again to Kyo and detailed a short plan, 'I'm going to extinguish all of the torches simultaneously and the brazier. I will then detach and go after the leader and deal with him. You can have the other 8 to toy with. Don't be afraid to hold back as the majority of these guys are as experienced as your typical sub-par Genin, though you're fortunate that you have the Yonbi in your presence.' Robin formed his hand seals and altered the pressure above the group before dropping it like a ton of bricks directly over the brazier. Almost immediately the brazier extinguished, the tents tore open and every single presence of light disappeared in the blink of an instant. Furthermore, the mass of air caught the group unsuspecting causing most of them to fall off of their seats or shudder backwards. They were startled, all except for the leader who lurched to his feet in supreme anger. Though a tad too late, As Robin had travelled underground and appeared in front of the leader. What Robin saw in front of him, was fear.

Without hesitation, the heavy claymore lurched towards the older man. A futile attempt, as Robin’s own sword appeared from nowhere in a breath of wind and caught the claymore, spiralling the hilt in the giant man’s palms cutting and bruising it in turn. The point of the sword dropped a little too low as Robin’s own weightless sword cleaved the man’s arms in two at the elbow. Robin was no swordsman compared to others, however the many years had taught Robin a little trick or two. Robin could smell it as he had smelled it on many others whom had lost their lives to the aged Hokage. The giant of a man before him had shat himself with fear. This was testament to the bandit slumping to his knees in mercy before Robin and what few other bandits had remained from Kyou. ‘Mercy, please! I will return all that I have stolen if you spare my life! You can have the wares for yourself if it pleases you, sir.’ All that Robin could acknowledge was how petty this male appeared in front of ‘his gang’. ‘No need for you to do that, that’s why I am here.’ Robin smirked and sliced the head off of the leader before sealing it and the giant claymore into two of his smaller scrolls – proof enough for Fugato he would hope. Now he just needed to make sure that Kyou didn’t need help as he scanned the darkness for the Jinchuuriki.

Jutsus Used: 41/235 CP

Quote :: Name: Atsugai - Pressure Damage
Rank: B
Type: Ninjutsu
Range: Close (0m - 5m), Mid (5m - 10m), Far (10+)
Element: Fuuton (Wind)
Description: A tornado-like mass is compressed until it has a very high density and is then released. The wind pressure is raised to its highest limit, and once the technique hits the target, the resulting blast sweeps everyone off their feet. If the technique is used by someone who has mastered wind nature transformation, the blast can hit a vast range, inflicting massive damage on both the target and their surroundings.
Chakra Cost: 13

Name: Dochuu Senkou - Underground Submarine Voyage
Rank: C
Type: Ninjutsu
Range: Close (0m - 5m), Mid (5m - 10m)
Element: Doton (Earth)
Description: Doton • Dochuu Senkou is a Ninjutsu technique utilizing the Earth Element. After forming the needed hand seals, the user can sink below ground and quickly travel through the earth.
Chakra Cost: 6 (2 per post)

Name: Kaze no Yaiba - Sword of Wind
Rank: A
Type: Ninjutsu
Range: Close (0m - 5m)
Element: Fuuton (Wind)
Description: This technique is a pinpoint slashing strike, where the user emits chakra from their fingertips and materializes it into an invisible sword that assaults the enemy in a gust of wind and making a slicing sound. It leaves very deep slashes on the enemy.
Chakra Cost: 20 (5 per post)

Name: Name: Chozou no Jutsu (Storage Technique)
Rank: E
Type: Fuuinjutsu, Supplementary
Range: Close (0m - 5m)
Element: N/A
Description: A simple jutsu that allows a ninja to seal or unseal any item, mostly weapons, from scrolls or from their body. After forming the necessary handsigns, the ninja will seal the item into a scroll etc. Scrolls can also be used as ammunition for other weapons or have other seals inside of them, which expands the number of potential tricks a shinobi can use. The items themselves are unaffected by time. Ninjutsu can also be stored in scrolls, to be released when the scroll is opened, but require another person to cast said Ninjutsu; else it cannot be sealed.
Chakra Cost: 1CP to seal, and 1CP to unseal

Age : 31 Posts : 1637

What once was an illusion reverted to its true form. Kyousuu once again looked upon the world with his emerald green eyes, no longer utilizing his disguise. Resisting the urge to let out a sigh of relief, the brunette spun around, rich locks splaying in the process. Using a hand to adjust his hair, he scanned his surroundings once more. It seemed that his jutsu had indeed crushed the enemies, and while he was glad that he no longer had to deal with them, it felt odd knowing he had willingly and intentionally killed three people. That alone would have caused him to lose his focus had the circumstances been different. Contrary to his lack of caring for other people's opinions of him, he was never keen on killing anyone unless it was necessary. Times like these reminded him that he had made a promise to himself, and to his siblings, though they weren't around for him to say it directly to the two of them. In doing so, he also made a promise to his future enemies: “All life has value, but don’t think that means I won’t kill you if I have to. I’ll do whatever it takes to survive. That’s my way of the ninja!” Of course, he hadn't thought about that while performing his jutsu, nor would he have much time to do so after the fact. The mission wasn't over just yet.

Interestingly enough, he had been silent thus far. Though he would have answered the occasional question, he was still not willing to trust Robin with anything other than his life, and that wasn't even trust, per se. It was simply something he knew he could fall back on should his own skills prove inadequate. Luckily, it seemed that he was capable of holding his own so far, but he'd heard tales of situations that changed scale very quickly. All he could do was hope that this wasn't the case and move on as instructed. At the time, that included following Robin down the used-to-be trail that Kyou had inadvertently wrecked. Oops. A jocular smile formed across his lips, and his narrowed eyes traced the trees that they passed with increasing indifference. It was as though the three that had the misfortune of meeting Kyousuu weren't by any means in communication with the rest of the group. It was a bit strange, and the genin wrinkled his nose as though he could smell something foul. He was under the impression that these vagabonds - or so they appeared to the boy - were no better than a bunch of mischievous pranksters, preying on those that couldn't do much to retaliate.

The jinchuuriki dusted himself off as they stopped just outside of the camp. Awkwardly enough, they seemed completely unaware of the intrusion, which, while funny, was a bit disappointing. Then again, Kyousuu hoped that it would make his life easier. It was turning out to be a bit too easy for a mission of this rank, but he guessed that the thread was just made out to be more dangerous than it truly was. He wasn't complaining, as it was still treated as an A-rank mission, but the fact that someone considered these bandits to be much of a threat was a bit disheartening. His gentle eyes flitted toward Robin, who began to explain the simple, yet somehow frustrating plan. It wasn't just the fact that the man had left Kyousuu to deal with the goonies. Biting his lip, he frowned and averted his gaze. Fortunate? To have that thing inside of him? Yeah, right. If it was supposed to be a blessing, it had yet to prove itself as such. His cravings for a certain yellow fruit were enough to make him crazy, as was the vocal habit he had attained. Sounding and acting like a monkey was not on his list of life goals. Not that his combat habits helped any.

Suppressing the urge to comment, he watched as the former Hokage began the assault. Obviously his thoughts on the previous subject would have to wait until later. With a sigh, he dashed into the fray. If these men really weren't much better than sub-par genin, he didn't even need to use any of his jutsu. He was practiced in taijutsu and, as such, wasn't heavily reliant on anything other than his body in most situations. Of course, there would be times when that wouldn't be enough, which was his reason for keeping up with ninjutsu. It was that which had saved him from becoming a beast-man's midnight snack, so he knew it was something he would continue to do.

The first of the eight approached, swinging a rather flimsy sword about, as though it would be much help. With little to no effort, he weaved around the blade, using his momentum to deliver a swift kick to the base of the man's skull (perhaps this level of flexibility would convince the brunette that the Yonbi had its merits). As he lurched forward, he fell lifelessly to the ground. One down. Seven left. With a groan, he looked at the group of men in front of him. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to be a little more...efficient. Blowing a stray bit of hair out of his eye, he took a deep breath. While doing so, he formed a few hand seals, causing the exhaled gas to become much more dangerous. Unaware of the impending danger, another of the men had already rushed forward, only to be met with an elbow to his chin and a palm to his gut. He staggered backward, into the others, hands placed on the aforementioned areas. Something didn't feel right about this, however. Kyousuu smirked, and the man realized that there was a tag stuck to him. Though he reached for it to tear it off, he didn't do so quick enough. In the blink of an eye, the tag was activated. Unfortunately for the other men, they were still grouped in the cloud of gas, which ignited on response to the tag's explosion. The screams were rather unpleasant, but it had been a necessary sacrifice, and the men scattered and sporadically collapsed to the ground, clearly not used to being in any sort of explosion. Then again, it didn't help that they'd already inhaled a bit of the flammable gas, and though they had tried to wave it away, it clearly didn't help.

Sighing, Kyousuu looked about for Robin, and upon spotting him, noted the decapitated corpse. Though an unpleasant sight, he decided it wasn't worth questioning, and instead raised his eyebrows inquisitively, hoping that the lack of fighting and the lingering smell from the explosion was enough of an indication that he had done what was asked of him. Approaching the man, he put a hand on his hip.

"That was a little too easy, ki, are you sure we're in the right place?"

Spoiler:

Age : 31 Posts : 1637

His (maybe) rhetorical question was met with silence. While that felt reassuring to an extent, at the same time, he couldn’t help but wonder why the man hadn’t responded at all. Considering it could be taken as a genin doubting his superior’s abilities to head to a designated location, it was slightly disappointing that it wasn’t met with a defensive attitude. As a matter of fact… was that a smirk? Narrowing his eyes at the red-haired shinobi in response, he bit his lower lip. He hadn’t expected the guy to be so… so… ugh. Regardless, he assumed they had what they had come for, so it was probable that they were able to head back and bring what they’d collected to the feudal lord. Judging by the scrolls and the headless, weaponless man, he guessed the objects meant to be used as proof were the bandit leader’s head and his weapon. As the two small scrolls were swiftly stuffed into the Uzumaki’s pockets, the two remained silent for a short while. Within that silence, the genin picked up the faint sound of footsteps. They were fading in the direction that the duo was meant to go soon after this surprisingly easy task of collecting proof. Glancing toward the sound, then back at his mission companion, his eyes widened with shock. The man seemed to have disappeared. All that remained were the two scrolls sloppily scattered on the ground and a note attached to one of them:

Sorry, something came up. You can finish this mission on your own, though, right?

-Uzumaki Robin

With a groan, he allowed his green eyes to scan the horizon before he sprinted away. He supposed that before he could return to Lord Fugato, he would have to take care of the leftovers.

It just had to appear to end that soon, didn’t it? Quickly looking over his shoulder, he grumbled a bit about being left to finish this mission alone. The jinchuuriki growled and tried his best not to stare at the empty spot where Robin should have been. He’d already learned his lesson about running without looking forward, the hard way nonetheless. He wanted to avoid a repeat of that as much as he wished his work was done for the day, but the latter wasn’t very likely. At least if he did this properly, it wouldn’t take as long, and he’d be able to go home. Even if that trip took quite a while, the sooner the two left to go back to Konoha, the sooner they would arrive. It was simple logic, but in certain situations, simple logic could mean quite a lot. Luckily it didn’t take too long for him to catch up to the seemingly horrified guy, who coincidentally tripped just as Kyousuu managed to get to him. Hopping into his path, he clenched his teeth and his fists. If it wasn’t for him, the genin would already be on his way, though he doubted he would have made it to Lord Fugato by then. Robin had seemed to like traveling at a less stressful pace, much to Kyousuu’s dismay. While it helped them to remain disguised in their approach, it also caused them to take longer. It made him regret going on this mission in the first place.

“Okay, look, ki,” he said, crossing his arms and tapping his foot, “We both know that you’re not getting out of here alive, so can you at least make it less time-consuming and off yourself?” Though he doubted that would be met with compliance, it was worth trying. After all, he couldn’t just set everybody on fire without worrying about setting all of the surrounding trees on fire as well. A fire like that would complicate things. Complications just elongated the process. Blech.

”Bahahaha! You really aren’t as smart as everybody else thought, huh?”

“I… what?” Kyousuu stared at the man in disbelief as the latter yanked on a thin thread at the base of the tree he had fallen by. That could only mean one thing: a trap. Traps were never good. Not only that, but there were so many different kinds of traps that it was difficult to guess what it would be. He didn’t know if he had enough time to complete his hand seals, but it was worth a shot. Just as his fingers began to move, however, a rope whipped out from behind the tree and around his right ankle before pulling him up into the air, leaving his arms dangling below him and his other leg awkwardly angled. That was just great. Not only was he suspended in mid-air, vulnerable from most angles, but his long, brown hair was obscuring his vision. If that wasn’t enough to make him upset, the jeering from below would certainly do the trick. The one man was joined by a few others, and they all seemed to think that it was entertaining to watch a young boy struggle with a rope knotted around his ankle. How did it even do that? It was just a boring piece of rope! Glaring at the men, he gritted his teeth and began to think of the best way to get out of this situation that didn’t involve too much effort on his part. So much for these guys being at the level of sub-par genin, he was under the impression that they were just tricksters that probably got their loot by tricking and trapping the merchants. After all, not all merchants were skilled in combat or expected to be ambushed by a bunch of dirty hobos. That’s all they really were to the brunette at this point.

“Stinky, dirty hobos,” he growled at the still laughing men. He just hoped this wasn’t some plot by Robin to get him to look like an idiot. Not that it would be something new. He’d been under that type of scrutiny before, as well as worse kinds. This paled in comparison… so far. Then again, it wasn’t as though the man would have pretended to leave just to set up a trap…right?

Age : 31 Posts : 1637

Since he couldn’t just hand around and wait for something else to happen, he had to decide on the best course of action. Out of the few options he had, only one seemed to be the best way to get him out of this situation and take care of the thugs below him. Luckily it wouldn’t take too much effort on his part. Rather, he hoped it wouldn’t take too much effort. Ceasing all movement, he simply focused on his chakra. The men stared up at him in confusion. They seemed to have trouble figuring out what he was planning…but that was to be expected – they didn’t know him at all to begin with. All they could know was what they had seen up to that point, which was one doton and one katon technique, aside from his hand-to-hand combat skills, of course. What they hadn’t yet seen was his combination Taijutsu and ninjutsu techniques, of which he had one each for the two elements he’d already used. In this particular scenario, only one of them would really help him dispatch of this group of people.

Eyes closed, he felt the chakra build up, first in his feet, then his hands. Not long after, the heat turned into subtle flame, burning through the rope. As the brunette fell to the ground, he rotated mid-air, resulting in him landing on his feet. The sound of scuffling was around him as he began to lash out at the bandits, who hadn’t expected this type of response from their former victim. The small flames on his hands wouldn’t be enough to kill anyone, but they would suffice to put them in a state that would make it easier on the genin to leave without feeling too guilty. Fortunately there were only four of them – had there been any more, he might have had too much trouble avoiding them. Sometimes he spun to one side to avoid one, and another would be waiting for the opportunity to strike. Fortunately he had practiced this technique enough to be able to move just as freely as he usually could, with the added benefit of fire. At one point one of them managed to graze him with a kunai, but he did his best not to focus on the scratch.

It didn’t take too long for him to wear them out. Once that was done, he tied them all up with some leftover rope he found behind the tree. Letting out a sigh, he shook his head at the men that avoided his gaze. It was obvious that they were embarrassed at losing to a kid like him, but there was much more to him than they would ever know…or so he hoped. As he was about to leave, he remember the two scrolls. Did he even pick them up? He didn’t. Slapping his hand to his face, he ran back to the camp to collect the items. He just hoped they would still be there – and by the looks of things, they were.

“Phew,” he exhaled, letting his shoulders drop as he arrived at the spot where the objects had been dropped. They were still there, intact, seemingly untouched. Picking them up, he shoved them into one of the bands around his legs. He didn’t think he’d ever had a use for those other than the fact that they helped to keep his pants from bunching up in impractical places. He didn’t have to worry about them falling off because his shirt was tight enough to prevent that, but with pants that loose, it was possible that they would bunch up or twist about uncomfortably during combat. He pondered switching to pants that were a bit tighter…not only would they be more practical, but they’d probably look better. Perhaps he would be deviating from the norm or the expected shinobi “uniform”, so to speak, but it would be his own, personal choice, and if anybody had any issues with that they could suck it. Unfortunately, that likely meant he’d have to find another way to store extra objects like the scrolls if he encountered them during missions. Perhaps he’d carry an extra bag of some sort. He had his kit, but that was always filled to the brim with items. He’d ask for someone else’s opinion, but he doubted that they would really care, not to mention it would have to wait until he got back to the village.

Speaking of the trip back home, he wouldn’t be able to make it unless he finished this mission. Now that the bandits had been taken care of, he would have to present the evidence to Lord Fugato. Where exactly did he have to go? Groaning, he realized he hadn’t the slightest idea where to go from there. Perhaps he’d be able to get some answers in the nearby village. That, and he could probably find something to eat. All this thinking and fighting had started to make him hungry, and he didn’t want to travel on an empty stomach. Not only was it uncomfortable, but if something happened on the way, he didn’t think he’d be able to perform as well in a combat situation if his stomach was keeping him occupied. Maybe they had some bananas? “Well, there’s only one way to find out, and that’s by checking it out myself, I guess,” he muttered to himself. At least he knew the way out of the forest. All he had to do was go back to the place where the soil was more or less upturned as a result of his jutsu. It was an entertaining sight. Trees were angled in very unnatural ways, some of them being pushed out of place by others. It was a bit sad that he would probably forget the sight later, but at least he had gained some fun out of it before leaving. After all, it wasn’t everyday one saw trees at near perpendicular angles at each other while they were still rooted into the ground. It didn’t take long for him to reach the path, and as the trees faded, he noticed that it wasn’t as bright as it had been before. Perhaps it was a good idea that he planned to find somewhere to stop before seeing the feudal lord.

Spoiler:

Age : 31 Posts : 1637

As he approached the village, the jinchuuriki thought that it seemed mostly peaceful. This was a rural area, and much different from the environment that he was used to. On the trip into the forest, he hadn’t bothered to pay much attention to it, but now that he was no longer concerned about combat, it was much easier to appreciate the surroundings. The fields were quiet, and most were inside, perhaps for a meal. As he approached a building with an open door, he scanned the faces of the people that sat on the porch. They were all different, somehow, and even though he didn’t know any of them, the fact that they were so glad to be around each other, to enjoy the company of friends, made him a bit angry. Not because he had any reason to dislike them, but because he had difficulty seeing the importance of those bonds. He’d gotten along just fine without them, and with his siblings gone, he didn’t even have that. He didn’t consider his parents to be special at all, so the idea that they would find the company of others that great almost felt like a foreign concept… Almost. He’d experienced it before, but now it felt like it had happened so far in the past that he’d never be able to reach it again.

Pushing his reminiscent thoughts aside, Kyousuu walked up the steps to the building. It had “INN” painted on a sign next to - and a piece of cloth hanging in – the doorway. He figured it would at least make sense to stay somewhere that was meant to have guests as opposed to asking random residents if they had an extra room. As he wiggled through the entrance, its inhabitants all turned to look at him. Some frowningly, others with eyebrows raised. It remained silent for a while, until a rather large woman appeared from what the brunette guessed was the kitchen. Her presence commanded attention, and her stride exuded both confidence as well as authority. She looked around at her guests and slammed her fist on the counter multiple times, brown locks splaying as she did so.

“Oi! You’d best be mindin’ yer own business now, eh,” she bellowed, and as if a switch had been flipped, the chatter started up again as the men and women returned to their own conversations. The clang of utensils and plates could be heard from the kitchen, as could the sound of rising steam from ovens, pots, and other cookware. Shortly after, the large woman approached the genin, an overwhelmingly bright grin on her face. She placed her hands on her hips as she stood in front of him and began to speak. “Sorry about that, we don’t get many o’ you ninjas ‘round here. Though that was before them bandits kept stealin’ stuff from the merchants. That’s who ya found in here, so of course the minute somebody new comes in, they get a little on edge.” After a short pause, she leaned in and gave him a rather playful look. “You’re not one of ‘em, are ya?” Just as Kyou opened his mouth to respond, she let out a hardy laugh that gave him the urge to smile. He pushed it away and assessed the situation. She seemed friendly enough.

“Of course not! As a matter of fact, the reason I’m here is because Lord Fugato asked us Leaf ninja to take care of the problem for you, ki,~” he said with a wink, pulling out the two scrolls and waving them around a bit. The jinchuuriki watched with amusement as the woman’s expression went to amusement to curiosity, then to disbelief, and relief. She nodded knowingly and gestured for him to follow her.

“I guess if you’re willin’ to come out here ‘n do that for us, I can give ya a room free o’ charge.” She led him to the other end of the room, where a hallway ended in stairs that seemed to go to the upper floors. Though the wooden steps creaked a bit, they didn’t bend or buckle under the woman’s weight.

’Well, I guess that’s reassuring,’ he thought as they climbed to the next floor and went down the hallway to the last room. The woman took a key to the lock, and upon opening the door, placed the small metal object into his hand.

“Lemme go tell the chef to cook somethin’ up for ya, sweetie. I’ll bring it up to ya in a little bit. Make yourself at home, alright?”

Kyousuu nodded and watched as she descended and finally disappeared from view. Walking into the room, he closed the door behind him out of habit and scanned the surroundings. It wasn’t impressive, nor was it run-down. A cozy room for a single night’s stay. There was a mirror on one end of the room, and the brunette walked over to it, dropping the scrolls onto the nearby desk. His nimble fingers combed through his hair and were only stopped by a few tangles here and there. Combat certainly did a number on long hair, but he was too stubborn to do anything different to it. Once that was done, he checked his nails. It was mostly out of habit, but it was also a way for him to pass the time until his food was delivered. Though he had considered that there might be some danger, it didn’t seem likely. The people downstairs had seemed to tense upon his arrival, and he doubted it was because they didn’t like shinobi from Konoha. It was much more likely that they had expected the bandits to bust through, demanding something or other from them, even though they likely didn’t have much left.

His heart skipped a beat when he heard a loud knock on the door. “Come in,” he beckoned, quickly hiding the scrolls in the convenient space behind the mirror and stepping to the window. The door opened and the woman stepped inside, a large bowl under her arm.

“I figured you might be hungry, so I had ‘em make ya a stew. When you’re finished just put it in front of the door, I’ll send somebody up to get it later.”

“Thank you,” Kyou muttered, taking the bowl. Once the woman had left, he quickly ate the stew. It wasn’t amazing, but it definitely hit the spot. As she instructed, he placed the empty bowl with the spoon in front of his room, then closed and locked the door before flopping onto the bed.

Age : 31 Posts : 1637

When he opened his eyes, daylight filled the room. Blinking a few times, he left his vision adjust before sitting up. Surprised at the fact that he’d fallen asleep so quickly, he glanced about. Nothing seemed out of place, and it was surprisingly quiet save for a few muffled thumps from below. Said noises most likely came from the kitchen, as they seemed to work day in and day out in an inn. People came and went at various times during the day, especially in this area given the previous situation. Regardless, he enjoyed the lack of noise. It was different from what he was used to at home. He would have either been shaken awake by one of his parents, or he’d have an alarm ring in his ear, reminding him that he had some appointment that day. Though he did have somewhere to be, he wasn’t in a rush - at least, not in the usual sense. There was no set time for him to arrive at…wherever he was supposed to go to present the stuff to Lord Fugato. Consequently he decided that he would take his time that morning.

Sliding off of the covers (he hadn’t bothered to use them as they were usually intended) he walked over to the mirror. After combing through his hair and examining his face (he never had an issue with blemishes, but inspected his skin daily) he reached behind the glass, relieved to find that the scrolls were still there. Putting them into their places in the bindings on his legs, he stretched wildly. Though he would have spent more time in front of the mirror on a normal occasion, he didn’t quite feel as comfortable doing so in this strange place. He wasn’t even in Hi no Kuni. This was Wave Country, which – he had to remind himself every so often – didn’t have a shinobi village. They were all regular civilians, and yet seemed quite peaceful. He supposed that it was possible the lack of ninja helped to avoid any sense of combat rivalry, which in turn kept things…pacifistic.

“Pacifistic or not, I need to grab something to eat before I leave,” the genin said aloud to himself, making sure everything was packed into its proper container. Turning the knob, he stepped out of the door and went down the hallway. The lack of squeaking as he descended the staircase was amusing, but not enough to put a smile on his face. Stoic, he slid onto one of the stools by the counter and waited. Maybe he’d just ask for a loaf of bread and some bananas. Then he’d also have some for the trip, in case he was hungry on the way there. He’d squandered all of the meager rations he’d packed before embarking on the mission, so he’d have to travel quickly once he got started. Fortunately it didn’t take long for him to get noticed by the woman in charge. She marched into the main room with her hands on her hips and her bright, white teeth fully visible.

”Mornin’! Lookin’ for some breakfast, are ya?”

“I am, actually. I’ll be fine with just a loaf of bread and some bananas, if you don’t mind, ki,” Kyou replied, smiling politely. The woman nodded and walked back into the kitchen. She seemed to spend a lot of time in the kitchen and in the room. It felt very traditional that way, he supposed, since that was customary for a shop or small venue owner. They were frequently in the midst of it all. Larger businesses, on the other hand, had owners that only showed their faces for publicity purposes, or if it was absolutely necessary. He often felt the same way about the Hokage, but he chose to dismiss the subject when the woman came back with the food, bread wrapped in clean, white cloth. He was surprised that he’d been given a full bunch of bananas as opposed to only a few. Raising his eyebrows, he looked up at the woman. That alone was something he wasn’t used to – she was not only large in girth, but tall as well.

”I figure if you’re goin’ to see Lord Fugato today, you’ll probably get on your way back to Fire Country, too. At least you’ll have somethin’ to tide you over between towns, so you don’t get too hungry.” Kyou’s expression changed to one of surprise and amazement. She was a keen one, wasn’t she? ”Come on, I own an inn. I hafta be able to tell when shady characters come in, so I know a lot about who’s supposed to be here.” Well, that made sense. Inns could take a lot of damage if rowdy people made their way there, and could wind up in a lot of trouble if they harbored people that should be there. At least he ended up in a place that usually didn’t entertain criminals. The thought of having spent the night on the same bed that a criminal might have slept on gave him the chills. The linens were changed regularly, of course, but he didn’t think about that. All he thought about was the fact that plenty of people spent their nights in inns, especially those that traveled frequently. Just as he was about to turn to leave, he remembered something very important. He still didn’t know where he was going. Geographically speaking, of course.

“Oh, right… Would you mind pointing me in the right direction? I don’t quite know my way around. We – I mean, I – headed straight for the forest when I got to Wave Country. I have no idea where the estate is.” The woman laughed, nodded, and waved for him to follow as she stepped outside. There was a man loading some boxes onto a horse-drawn wagon that stopped as he saw the two of them exit the inn. Tilting his hat, he waited for the woman to speak.

”Takeshi here is headed in the same direction, so you can hitch a ride with him, if you want. Might not be as fast as you ninjas could get there on foot, but at least you’ll have company and you won’t have to stop to ask for directions. In any case, I have some staff to yell at – if you’re ever in the area again, stop by, alright?” She walked back into the inn without waiting for a response from Kyou, but he didn’t mind. He looked at the man he guessed was “Takeshi”, who simply nodded and got in the driver’s seat.

’Must not be much of a talker,’ the brunette thought as he climbed into the wagon. Not that he minded. He could just sit back and enjoy the ride… maybe.

Age : 31 Posts : 1637

Not long after he had hopped in, the crack of a whip sounded and the wagon started moving. It was faster than he originally thought it would be, but he didn’t mind. In fact, it made him glad. They would get there sooner than he had anticipated. The best part was that he wasn’t really doing any of the work. Just to be on the safe side, though, he would keep an eye on his surroundings as they traveled. As long as they stayed on the path, he figured they would be fine. Not that it would be practical to force a horse-drawn wagon to go veer off of the main path anyway. Not only would the horse be uncomfortable, but the wagon was of a size that would cause a lot of problems on uneven terrain. He looked down at the pseudo meal in his lap. Pulling back the cloth, he ripped off a chunk of the bread and bit into it. It was…surprisingly sweet, but just a tad dry. It would have been nice if he’d asked for some milk, but too late to do so. No matter, he’d still be able to eat it as it was – tasty.

Once he made his way through that first chunk, he looked up at Takeshi and thought for a moment. He had deduced that the man either didn’t like to talk, or he couldn’t talk. While he hoped it was the former, the latter wasn’t really impossible, nor would it be surprising. There certainly wouldn’t be any harm in figuring it out, at least, so he chose to ask a very valid question: “Takeshi-san, how long will it take to get there?” Eyebrows raised, he stared at the man, waiting for a response. When he didn’t get one, he sighed inwardly and freed one of the bananas from the bunch. Maybe the man really was mute. Not that he cared about that per se, but it was much more awkward traveling with someone that wouldn’t – or couldn’t – talk. That was unless that other person was nosy and kept asking personal questions, of course. In that particular scenario, Kyou would rather travel with a mute or even alone. He was sure most people would probably feel the same way. He couldn’t really think of a single person that liked being interrogated by someone that really had no business asking them certain questions.

A few hours or so went by – or so it felt to the genin, when in reality it was only one – and he began to wiggle around in the wagon. He’d already gone through half of the loaf of bread and two of the five bananas he’d gotten from the woman, whose name he never bothered to ask for. Frowning, he thought that was a bit strange. She’d never introduced herself. Then again, she didn’t ask for Kyou’s name either, so he figured it had been fair enough. Crossing his legs for the umpteenth time, he did his best to beat his previous record for the longest time he could spend sitting still, cross-legged. Maybe running would have been better after all. He couldn’t stand having to stay still for such a long period of time, especially since there wasn’t any conversation between the two of them.

”We’ll be there soon, kid,” came the raspy voice from up front. He could deal with waiting a little bit longer, but how soon was “soon”? ”Maybe about 30 minutes or so.” Well, that wasn’t so bad. He could wait that long. Just as he’d decided that the ETA was acceptable, realization hit. Takeshi had talked. Kyou stared for a moment, confused. He’d asked hours ago, so why did the man answer now? Well, at least he knew the guy wasn’t a mute, he just didn’t really like to talk very much. That still didn’t explain the delayed response. At all. Just as he was about to open his mouth, however, the man spoke again. ”You know, I don’t know a lot about being a ninja, but I do know that patience is a virtue, no matter what you do. Even if you have to be able to respond quickly, you gotta be patient sometimes.”

“Patience?” No response. Kyousuu could have sworn that guy was more like a monk than a merchant, or whatever job he had that involved transporting boxes and crates filled with…whatever was in them. The boxes were closed and the crates were covered, preventing him from seeing what was inside. Not that he really cared, he just figured it would have given him something to do if he could at least guess what the guy did for a living. Maybe he was a farmer? There were plenty of farm plots in that village.

His thoughts kept circling back around to the whole patience thing. What was that supposed to mean? Was he insinuating that the brunette wasn’t patient? It was certainly a possibility. He couldn’t really deny it. He was pretty impatient, after all. But… what did Takeshi care? He didn’t know Kyou, and quite frankly the jinchuuriki didn’t care if he ever saw the man again. Though it might have seemed a little heartless, he just wanted to get out of Wave Country and didn’t plan on going back unless he had to do so, for a mission or something like that. But…patience?

Tapping his foot, he looked ahead. A large building came into view, and there were some armed guards standing in front of it. Militia, he guessed, as they couldn’t have been shinobi. They looked directly at him as the wagon came to a slow stop. Taking the hint, Kyou gathered up his things and hopped out. Takeshi didn’t even wait – he just cracked his whip again and the horse pulled the wagon away. Well, that was just great. He’d practically been left on the doorstep of the feudal lord. Well, he assumed this was where the feudal lord was. Walking up to the door, the guards looked him over. One of them spotted the leaf symbol on the genin’s armband, and his eyes widened as he nodded and opened the door for him. Taking a deep breath, Kyousuu stepped inside.

Age : 31 Posts : 1637

In all honesty, Kyou was nervous about this situation. He’d never had to talk to anyone of important other than the Hokage and the former Hokage, but those two weren’t really intimidating in his opinion. The feudal lord of another country, however, was a completely different story. He knew that the way he handled this situation would reflect on the Leaf village. Even though he didn’t care about the opinions of everybody else, he did care about having people irritating him by constantly reminding him of things that were wrong with him. If this ended in some sort of subliminal failure, he was sure he wouldn’t hear the end of it for a while. A guard inside offered to hold onto his belongings while the brunette addressed the feudal lord. The former gladly dropped the bread and bananas into the man’s arm before continuing to the center.

Glancing around the rather large room, he noted the rather extravagantly dressed man sitting in a throne-like fixture at the end of it. Though he guessed it was Lord Fugato, he couldn’t know for sure. If it wasn’t, he’d just have to ask where the man was so he might speak to him, but if it was, he didn’t want to be rude by asking. Instead, he looked down at the wooden floorboards and waited. Avoiding eye contact usually helped in these situations, right? At least that way he wouldn’t be seen as rude. Toes turned inward, he but his lower lip. He hadn’t even thought of how he would present the scrolls to the man. If anything, his mind defaulted to Robin dealing with all the social stuff. Since that wasn’t going to happen, however, he would just have to figure it out on his own. When he heard a voice, the genin looked up.

”So you are the Leaf ninja?”

“I am.” ‘…That was a horrible response.’

”I expected…more. At least more than one ninja, if not only one that’s more experienced. You seem a bit young to be traveling out of the country to take care of bandits. Was nobody else available? Or maybe you all think this is some sort of joke?” Kyousuu winced. So if this was all about his appearance, then this guy certainly had a horrible way of judging people. He might have been a feudal lord, but he wasn’t his feudal lord. He could see why he thought that, but at the same time, it frustrated him. Reminding himself to stay calm, he thought of a response.

“My apologies, Lord Fugato. While I was initially accompanied by the former Hokage, Uzumaki Robin, I had to do the remainder of the mission myself. He was present during the eradication of most of the underlings and the bandit leader, but something urgent came up, though I don’t know enough about it to tell you the details. However, we did as you asked. The bandits have been taken care of. If there are any strays out there somewhere, I doubt they’ll be any trouble without their leader.” He gave the man a very serious expression, as difficult as it was for him to hide how angry he really was. How dare he think of Kyousuu as a weak little child? Though he was far from being a Jounin, that didn’t mean he couldn’t hold his own against some measly bandits. Or, as he’d called them, stinky, dirty hobos. At least it might be easier for him to believe that they were serious about the situation now that he’d mentioned Robin. Though he could have taken all the glory for himself, word would have likely reached the village very quickly, and he highly doubted the Uzumaki would have been happy about that.

”I see… Well, where’s your proof? Do you honestly expect me to just believe some genin? Come on, hand it over,” With a sigh, Kyou pulled the two scrolls out from the bindings on his leg and held them out, the note still attached to one of them. Removing the note and handing it to the attendant that walked over to collect the items, he placed the scrolls on the floor and unrolled them. He was a bit nervous about unsealing a severed head, but at least it would shut Fugato up. At least, he hoped it would. If the man had any doubts after this, the jinchuuriki would be surprised. After all, it was cold, hard evidence: A severed head and the man’s sword. It would be pretty awesome of the guy’s arm was still attached to the sword, but he didn’t get his hopes up.

As the items were unsealed, the feudal lord raised his eyebrows. He was either impressed, or he had even more questions. Kyousuu crossed his fingers and wished for it to be the former. The attendant passed the note to the man, who read it, cupping his chin in his other hand before nodding. ”Very well, I suppose you’ve proved that the bandits have been taken care of and that you were with whom you claimed to be.” He waved with his fingers toward a doorway to his right and another attendant walked in with a filled leather pouch. Letting out a relieved sigh, Kyousuu politely nodded while taking the pouch and placing it . It was heavier than it looked. ”There should be enough for you and the former Hokage to share…” Fugato waved his hand a bit.

“Tanaka Kyousuu, sir.”

”Yes, you should be able to share that with him, Kyousuu-kun.”

“Arigatou gozaimasu,” Kyou muttered with an awkward bow before turning to leave. On his way out, the guard gave him back his things, which had been placed into a backpack, and nodded politely. Returning the gesture, he stepped outside and dropped the pouch into the larger bag. It was finally over. “Goodbye, Wave Country, hello, long trip home,” he said to himself as he ran toward the foliage. Though he didn’t know his way around within the country itself, at least he knew how to get back to his own; if he hadn’t known that much, then he would have run into some trouble. Flinging the bag onto his back, he sped away into the distance.

[END MISSION]

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