Wayward Travelers [mission with TOPKite and D]

Age : 33 Posts : 159

Toyata had not left the village for several weeks, as he had not been given a mission or opportunity to leave. It was a fairly common occurrence that the volcano at Kyosei Mountain would spew out large clouds of ash, luckily the village and the surrounding area had been spared any large eruptions for many, many years. Though it was part of very day life that a cloud of ash would rise from the mountain looming nearby, however lately these clouds of ash was becoming more frequent and the latest had kept people in the village inside. The falling ash posed no threat to the village or villages, but it made travel in the surrounding area difficult especially to someone unfamiliar with area. This was what tripped Toyata’s next mission; a pair of pilgrims from a neighboring country was making their way towards the Lightning Temple near the top of Kyosei Mountain. They have not arrived and their families requested Kumogakure to find them and make sure of their safety. Reports of bandit in the area was only relevant, as these might offer a clue, explanation or simply and problem.

Waiting at the village gates Toyata felt on edge. The possibility that he might meet bandits and the fact that such a meeting more likely would end in some sort of struggle and bloodshed had Toyata’s heart pumping with adrenaline. He had never felt anything like this before, and for some reason he really liked how it made him feel deep inside. While Toyata had never been involved in a serious battle where the different parties tried to kill each other, he had been in enough sparring match to know the feeling of danger, not lethal, only injury, but still danger.

The information was not very detailed and Toyata knew that he and his, as of yet, unknown partner would probably have to scout out a large area of the mountain, checking numerous different caves, trails and reach just as many dead ends to find the pilgrims. This was not something he was looking forward to; Toyata had spent little time on the mountain and did not like his chances of tracking down the travelers on the try. Looking around Toyata wished his partner would soon arrive so they should get going.

Then again it was Toyata own fault, than he had to “patiently” wait. Receiving the mission details the night before, Toyata had spent most of the night running around his house locating all of his equipment, which somehow had wandered all around his house, and when he had finally packed for the mission, he had been so excited that he had been unable to get a good night’s sleep.

”Come on, show up already.”

And of cause this morning Toyata had been up at sunrise eager to go right then and there, thus he had rushed through all of the morning rituals and arrived at the designated rendezvous spot four hours before agreed. Toyata just should not help himself. It had been so long since he had had a proper mission, as most of his previous mission had been little more than errands for different people, this was significantly more important and thus exciting.
This was a good opportunity to show the people at the administrative building that he was ready and able to do more than just the basic grunt work he had been doing so far. Looking at the time, Toyata had to strain himself to keep still, only fifteen minutes until the agreed time of arrival for the mission.

”I wonder who is going to be my partner for this mission.”

(Post order: Fuji, TOPKite, D, I guess)

Age : 34 Posts : 1209

Kyousei Mountain, the volcano located at the heart of Kaminari No Kuni. It was no secret that the volcano, despite it's incredibly old age, was still active. Ash clouds were a common occurrence and something that the citizens of this country had grown accustomed to. However, for those who were unaccustomed to the land of lightning, such clouds could prove to be a nuisance and in worst cases, life threatening. Kaze sighed lightly to himself as he stared at the small piece of parchment held in his hand that detailed his current mission. One such ash cloud had managed to misdirect a pair of pilgrims and now it was up to him and a team of two other genin to find them. The boy mulled over the mission as he folded the parchment, placing it in one of the front pockets of his black cargo shorts. The threat of bandits was always a constant obstacle that anyone who traveled the lands of Kaminari No Kuni had to deal with, being that the land's natural topography made it an excellent place for those looking to stay out of the law's eye to hide. As the boy moved about his room searching for a shirt he mulled over just how hazardous Kaminari was to those unfamiliar with its landscape. Traveling through lightning country was no easy task on it's own. Throwing in the threat of bandits and ash clouds only made for a horrible situation. The thought caused the boy to pause in his search, causing a low groan to escape his throat.

Eventually Kaze would find his shirt, pulling it on over his head in a haphazardly manor. The boy's mind was still going, contemplating the mission, despite his body performing it's morning routine of gathering his belongings. The boy now began to consider the team he would have to work with. He wasn't exactly sure who he was supposed to be working with, but he had hoped that someone on the team would be good at tracking or at least survival in the wild. Kaze knew his role in all this. While he was not a formal medical ninja, it was a known fact to those in the administration building that he possessed medical knowledge and even a useful medical jutsu. The boy had hesitated to come forward with his medical abilities at first, wanting to hide them in order to not be slotted as a future candidate for Kumogakure's medical training program, but somewhere along the way he had abandoned such silly notions. Being a medical ninja was nothing for him to be ashamed of and in retrospect it made sense that he'd be suited for such a program due to his family background. The boy paused again as the thought of his family entered his head. He hadn't bothered to tell them about his pending acceptance into the medical program. He wondered if his parents even knew of his ability to heal others. Would his older brother have told his parents about training Kaze to use such an ability? The child just stared blankly in the mirror, toothbrush held in hand, pressed against his teeth. He truly wondered, just how much, if anything, his older brother would have revealed to his parents.

A soft sigh escaped through the boy's parted lips as he held his mouth open, his teeth half brushed. He probably would have stood like this for hours, just staring at himself while lost in thought had it not been for the sound of his father's voice as he said goodbye to Kaze's mother before leaving for work. The boy shook his head lightly before quickly finishing his brushing routine. With that the boy moved quickly from the bathroom to the kitchen where he quickly grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl sitting on the edge of one of the counter tops. His mother, who had just noticed the boy's presence said nothing, offering no words of encouragement or farewell as the boy made his way for the front door, taking a large bite from his apple as he began to fuss with his black ninja sandals, adjusting the straps with a single hand. As the boy remained bent over, playing with straps he thought he heard footsteps coming up behind him. Instinctively he turned, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked up.

Standing before the young genin was his older brother, Kazuke. The older male stared down at his younger brother, never speaking yet offering a small smile and a nod of greeting before stepping past Kaze only to slip on his shoes and leave the house to head for the hospital. Kaze watched as his brother stepped out the door, failing to shut it behind him. A small smile spread across Kaze's face as he managed to get his straps just right. Despite Kaze's resentment of Kazuke, he was thankful that he at least had an older brother to encourage him. The two weren't close but Kazuke at least acknowledged Kaze's efforts, something his parents hadn't done in a long time and even though Kaze hoped to one day outshine his brother, he knew that he probably wouldn't have made it this far without him.

Thinking this, the boy stepped outside, shutting the door behind as he made his way toward the village gate while running over a mental checklist of everything to make sure he had forgotten nothing. The boy was wearing his usual attire, a dark blue t-shirt coupled with a pair of black cargo shorts. On his left thigh was a brand new kunai holster that held two kunai instead of one like his old one had. Tied securely around his upper left arm was his village headband, displaying the village insignia as though it were a military badge of rank on an informal uniform. On his lower back rested a moderately sized satchel containing various ninja tools that were paramount to Kaze's performance as a shinobi. The pouch was held in place by a black fabric strap that was wrapped around the boy's waist, but hidden from view due to his untucked t-shirt. The boy gave a light sigh as he broke into a quick jog, eating his apple quickly before discarding the core into a wastebasket along the way.

It wouldn't take the boy long to reach the gate, coming a stop as he noticed a familiarly tall figure standing around, looking rather anxious at this point. Kaze began to slow as he came up upon the tall male, immediately recognizing him as Toyata. A small smile broke out on the boy's face as he quickly approached the older ninja, stopping about arm's length away from the male as he continued to look up at the tall genin's face.

"Hey Toyata, are you part of my team?"

Kaze's voice was full of energy and excitement as he posed the question. The thought of having Toyata on the mission with him brought no end of joy to the small boy's mind. Toyata had been very nice during their first encounter and had also proven to be a very skilled fighter, surely having a teammate like that would have been nothing but a benefit to the mission! The boy slid his hands into his pockets as he continued to stare up at his friend, a smile played on his face as he did so. It had been some time since the two had had their spar and unfortunately the two hadn't seen much of each other since then. Kaze had been very busy since then, training hard to improve himself and the fruits of such training were now apparent to any who looked upon him. While still short, he no longer could really be seen as a scrawny and sickly looking kid. His muscles in both his legs and arms possessed noticeably more tone, giving him more of a lithe and wiry appearance that spoke of his potential strength. His hair had grown since then, not by much, but still it may have been noticeable to some who had paid special attention to his bangs which now seemed to hang down almost to his nose when they fell before his face. While the boy hadn't grown much in height, he did stand slightly taller than before, though he was still a far cry from Toyata's immense height and thus still looked like a midget in comparison. All these changes had gone unnoticed by Kaze, though, who had failed to recognize his own body's development due to him going through a hormone induced growth spurt combined with his tough training.

"You think we'll encounter any bandits along the way? I'm not much of a fan of bandits."

The boy's mind drifted back to the first time he had encountered bandits during a mission and hos such an encounter had forced the young boy to kill two of them. Killing wasn't something the boy particularly enjoyed doing, but with his veritable homicidal cherry popped, it no longer seemed like an impossible task to take others' lives. The best way he could regard the act of having to kill someone was that it was extremely unpleasant and something he hoped he could avoid. Such a thought made the boy wonder though, had Toyata ever killed anyone? A few months ago Kaze would have been willing to believe that almost any ninja older than him would have been used to killing and would have been experts in the art, but as Kaze got to know more and more shinobi he began to realize that many had yet to bloody their hands in the way that he had done so early in his shinobi career. It was a rather surreal realization at the time he had come to this conclusion. With that the boy continued to eye Toyata.

Posts : 81

The stars twinkled outside and the moon shone brightly. Arashi lay back down on his bed, his head propped up by crossed arms, and his eyes gazed out his window. He was unable to sleep. His thoughts wandered worried and unchecked through his mind I Need to become a Chunnin soon, or I might never amount to anything. this one struck out from the others, and stayed in his mind awhile. It worried him that he might not have the power to change the world as soon as he wanted. It also worried him that the Shinobi villages Kumogakure and Konohagakure were the most powerful, as he also considered them the most dangerous I cannot let anyone else know my thoughts, or else I might be slated as a traitor and killed on the spot. he sat there for quite a while before he heard a small tapping. He immediatly looked at the door, but his hearing told him otherwise. As he turned to the window, he saw a small owl, a special nocturnal messenger bird. His feet touched the cold floor of his mountain apartment. He lived alone in the loft, so no one was likely to hear him as he tip-toed over to the window and opened it a crack. The owl stuck it's leg through the crack, and the black haired boy unwinded the scroll and read it. A mission. A chance. He quickly replaced it with a reply, sealing his window and drifting back off to sleep.

Arashi awoke with a start, a cold sweat drenched his bed sheets and his heart beat like a drum. A nightmare. His mother. The boy stood slowly, his knees shaking as he looked out the glass portal which separated him from the world. From the light look on the sky in the distance the young genin guessed dawn was coming. He slowly drifted to his closet, laying out his gear and apparel on his bead. By the time the sun came up Arashi was in full gear, a black trench coat covered dark gray body armor. Under that, a t-shirt and cargo pants. Across his Armour were pouches and sheathes for weapons. Above his elbow on his left arm shown the headband of his village. He locked his door from the inside, preferring instead to leave via window dropping down onto the mountain paths and beginning his trek. He had just finished munching on a morning riceball when he arrived at the gate. He saw the two he would be comrades with, and almost spit. It was that one kid the blonde kid!!! That little bugger who had attacked him on the path! He decided that he would start off professional with the new person, and see where things when from there. He walked up to the boy who was not small and blonde and said

"Hello, I have been assigned to assist you in your mission. You may call me Karasu" he said as he handed the not blonde small Kaze shinobi a pass with the Raikage's seal.

Age : 33 Posts : 159

Still being impatient, Toyata literally watched the minutes go by as he watched his clock move with a snail-like pace. Having never been dependant of anyone else concerning a mission, Toyata found that waiting was not one of his strong suits. He had to remind himself that he was the one who was early and not his partner that was late in order not to let his impatience take the better of him. However the time of rendezvous was close, only five more minutes and his partner should be here. Toyata chose to use the remaining time of go over the mission details in his head, this would allow him to be better prepared for the mission a head, and more importantly it would keep him occupied until his partner would arrive.

Approximately a minute and a half before the agreed upon time Toyata heard somebody approaching. Looking around for the source of the sound he laid his eyes on Kaze? Toyata recognized the younger Genin from their previous sparring match, however this was a different Kaze, than the one who Toyata had played around with at the training grounds. This new and, Toyata immediately recognized, improved Kaze seemed taller, though he was still quite short, from the confident motions when he walked towards Toyata, he also seemed faster and far more confident. This was good, it was apparent that Kaze had spent a lot of time practicing his skills and improving himself to the period since their match. This was no long the slightly insecure Genin you could simply mess around with during a match. This Genin was completely different in every way. Judging Kaze’s improvement, Toyata thought to himself that he would have to reevaluate his training schedule after the mission, as Kaze had improved far more than Toyata himself in the relative short timeframe.

”Hey Toyata, are you part of my team?”

This simple greeting confirmed what Toyata had already expected, Kaze’s voice and the way he spoke had also changed in a subtle, but very real way. From the nervous politeness of their first encounter, to his far more confident approach. Toyata was happy with this development, a shinobi should be confident, if not in a social situation, he should at the very least be confident his or her own shin, otherwise how would they feel in someone else’s? And more importantly in their abilities. This confidence impressed Toyata, Kaze truly had evolved since last.

”Hello Kaze, yeah seems like I am. This should be fun.”

And Toyata truly meant it. He had not been asked to perform a mission in a group and most his previous mission had been dull to be blunt, maybe with the fishing mission early on, but that was a long time ago. The opportunity to go on a mission of importance, finally, was good in itself, going with Kaze and see for himself how the younger Genin had improved was even better and going with a friend was great. This really ought to be fun.

”You think we’ll encounter any bandits along the way? I’m not much of a fan of bandits.”

This was food for thought, Toyata had no experience with bandits whatsoever, and he had run several scenarios through his mind if they had to deal with the bandits in area, but had no feelings towards the bandits in general. The mission had stated that if possible to deal with the bandits and Toyata was prepared to do so. Fighting to the death was something Toyata had never feared, his father and his teachings were carved into him. Toyata had been taught to kill without question and remorse, however he had never been in a situation that called for it, and he was not entirely sure how he would react.

”I don’t know, but according to the reports coming in, it is very likely. But don’t worry we can deal with them.”

Toyata found that there was no reason to worry Kaze with his feeling that they would probably find that the missing travelers and the bandits were related. If he proved to be right, they would simply deal with it then. Besides the possibility that they might encounter the bandits had Toyata excited, he wanted to test himself and see if he was able to kill.

It was time to leave, the pilgrims had been missing for several days, and the soon they got going, the sooner they would hopefully bring the pilgrims back safely. The safety of the travelers had to be the first priority, dealing with the roaming bandits were just a little assignment on the side. Then as Toyata was about to walk down the road towards the mountains a new voice was heard.

”Hallo, I have been assigned to assist you in your mission. You may call me Karasu.”

The voice belonged to a newcomer that Toyata had ever met before. Judging from Karasu’s approach towards Kaze and himself, Toyata guessed that they had met earlier and that they did not part the best of friends. This could get tricky, but they had to work together. Karasu was also younger than Toyata, and though a little shorter, he was still far taller than Kaze. Toyata also noticed that he wore armor underneath a large trench coat, this was a little much for a mission of this sort in Toyata’s tast, but he wasn’t the one who had to carry it.

”Pleased to meet you, I am Toyata, and this is Kaze. It is good to have you with us, but we really should get going.”

Another partner for this mission was a surprise, if it was a pleasant one or just baggage was yet to be seen, but Toyata tried to keep an open mind. At the very least dealing with the bandits had just gotten easier, being three instead of two was always good, how skilled Karasu was also interesting to see, but that had to wait, at least for a little while. The pilgrims weren’t finding themselves.

Walking down the road towards the mountain Toyata was happy. This was going to be a great test of both character and skills on his part.

(D, please have a link to both your account and app in your signature)

Age : 34 Posts : 1209

Watching Toyata, Kaze tried to pick out the older boy's emotions, looking for any tell in his gaze. Of course, there wasn't any that the young genin could really pick up on. There had been no reaction to his posed question about bandits. Either this meant that Toyata was good at hiding his emotions or truly possessed no opinion on the subject. Was it possible that he had never dealt with bandits? The thought caused something to shift in the boy's stomach. If it came down to it then, would Kaze need to be the one to lead the offensive against the thugs? While Toyata's skill in battle was great, if he lacked experience on the battlefield then perhaps it would need to fall on the shorter genin to take charge when it came to fighting the bandits. Lives were on the line after all. Though Toyata was very different from the small boy, Kaze noted. Perhaps the thought of killing didn't perturb him as much as it did Kaze. As all this ran through his mind, he found himself half listening to Toyata's words as he tried to reassure the boy not to worry. Kaze wanted to answer back that he wasn't really worried, but he refrained from speaking. If not worried, then what? What was this feeling? The boy couldn't identify this growing sense of foreboding creeping up his back, as though foreshadowing something ominous in nature. It took a moment for the young boy to fully pull himself back into reality, pushing the thought aside. This was a simple rescue mission, there shouldn't be too many complications, right?

Snapping back to his senses, the young genin noticed another figure heading toward them just as Toyata had begun to head off along the trail. Kaze immediately recognized the boy as the one he had fought not too long ago, the one who hadn't been wearing his headband and had refused to identify himself. The thought caused Kaze's gaze to harden. The fight had been his fault, after all. If he had simply complied with Kaze's request to identify himself, rather than breaking into long winded speeches, the scuffle would never have happened. Kaze began to wonder if this newcomer still harbored a grudge against Kaze for the fight. The answer came quickly as Karasu simply strode past Kaze without a second glance, making a beeline right for Toyata to hand him his copy of the mission request, stamped by the Raikage's seal. This of course, caused the small boy no end of frustration. So Kaze was now expected to work with Karasu? The thought caused the boy's blood to boil. To make matter's worse, Karasu had decided to start off the mission by simply giving Kaze the cold shoulder. It was really a bad move to treat the medic with such...disrespect. Kaze found himself folding his arms in front of his chest as he strode toward Toyata and....Karasu.

~~”Pleased to meet you, I am Toyata, and this is Kaze. It is good to have you with us, but we really should get going.”~~

Toyata greeted the newcomer, getting introductions out of the way, though Kaze was already well aware of who this person was and knew that same went for Karasu. The boy gave a light grunt of approval as he noted the second half of Toyata's statement. They really should be heading off, there was no time for standing around, creating idle chit chat. There were people out there along with bandits who probably had little regard for the lives of two unfortunate pilgrims. With that thought in mind, Kaze followed Toyata's lead, heading off in the same direction as the taller genin, but not before shooting Karasu a rather pointed look. Perhaps Karasu was content on simply ignoring Kaze, but the feeling wasn't mutual. Kaze had no desire to ignore the former opponent nor did he have any intention of hiding his feelings of disapproval over being teamed up with him. The mission came first, and Kaze would perform his duties to the letter, but he didn't have to be happy about it.

"So Toyata, I don't know how well informed you are about your...team, but I think it's worth mentioning that the reason I was assigned to you on this mission was for my medical capabilities. I just wanted to make sure that you were aware that if the pilgrims are injured or if any of us suffer from any wounds that I should be able to take care of them."

Kaze spoke with a sense of confidence and urgency in his voice. He knew all too well that when it came to these low ranking missions that the paper work would often leave out details that, to the young boy, seemed important. The small boy wasn't sure if this was a normal practice for all mission, but the practice grew tiring and it could often cause problems. The boy had thought it better to get that bit of info out in the open so that everyone knew that there was indeed a medic above them and that Kaze was that person. Though, Kaze imagined that his talents would be plied more toward the pilgrims who would probably be suffering from one injury or another after being lost in a foreign and harsh region such as this for some time. In any case, it never hurt to keep your team informed and it also didn't hurt that one could use such an explanation of a veiled bragging session. Yes, the boy did have a bit of an ego problem at times, being a tad arrogant in his own abilities when things were going his way, but he would do his best not to let it show so blatantly to his teammates.

As the group walked, Kaze found his mind wandering as he thought about the mission. The mountains were a big place and searching all over them would take some time, time that the pilgrims may not have had, given the threat of bandits and wild animals. The thought caused the boy's brow to furrow as he glanced in Toyata's direction, shooting him a concerned expression, though not really minding if it had managed to catch his notice or not. The group couldn't simply start combing the mountain range, they needed to start somewhere. He wondered if Toyata or Karasu had already thought of this. Neither one had bothered to really mention just where they were going. This caused Kaze to wonder if there a plan in place, and if there was, was it so obvious that it was implied that it didn't need to be spoken? Kaze, despite his medical skill, wasn't exactly the most intelligent of individuals. If such was the case, then he had obviously missed the memo.

"So...Toyata...where are we going? Do we have any idea where these travelers were last seen? Or do we know where they were headed? I would think that there had to be some information regarding them at the administration building, right? I mean, it would be silly to just send us out here without any leads."

As he asked the question, his gaze now fell from Toyata, to Karasu. The first time the two had met had been in the mountains. Karasu had seemingly appeared out of no where. Kaze now began to wonder, did Karasu know the mountains well? It was true that any shinobi from the village would most likely have a better idea of the lay of the land than most civilians and definitely better than foreign travelers, but that being said, not everyone spent so much time out in the wilderness, exploring the area that surrounded their village and the mountains around them. Did Karasu know a thing or two about these mountains? Was he one of those people who regularly explored?

"Hey, Krasasu....uh you wouldn't happen to know anything about these mountains would you? Like where bandits might be hiding or perhaps if there's a certain area where travelers tend to get lost in the most? Anything of use, basically."

It was a long shot, and the questions were probably a bit vague and thus hard to answer, but any information could be helpful at this point. Kaze didn't like being left in the dark. Of course there was always the possibility that Karasu wouldn't be too cooperative on the mission and would refuse to answer the small boy's question. He had just ignored Kaze completely within the first five minutes of meeting up with the team. Trouble was already brewing within the squad and it wasn't trouble that either of them seemed willing to resolve. But for now, Kaze desired information from either Toyata or Karasu and he just hoped that asking such questions didn't make him look too stupid.

Posts : 81

~~”Pleased to meet you, I am Toyata, and this is Kaze. It is good to have you with us, but we really should get going.”~~

Arashi was please with himself. He had just seamlessly integrated himself into the team. As his peer, Toyota introduced himself Arashi bowed slightly in respect to who assumed was Mission Lead[/]. As Kaze was introduced, Arashi turned and said to Toyota, though his eyes met the small boy's

"Yeah, we already...met once before"

He tried to keep his voice relativity neutral, and his facial expression calm, but he still couldn't really keep the fact that the boy had attacked him. He hoped that for the mission, they would stay in good relations.

For the first time he regarded his two teamates in terms of battle power. They both seemed well equipped, and he knew from experience that Kaze would be able to survive. As for Toyota, the boy seemed prepared, and Arashi had no reason to suspect that Administration would send an ill-prepared Genin. His mind turned to what they might be capable of due to past events. Had either of them retained any real combat experience? Would they be prepared to see the pilgrims die in front of their eyes? As he began to think further his thought was interrupted by the speech of Kaze.

"So Toyata, I don't know how well informed you are about your...team, but I think it's worth mentioning that the reason I was assigned to you on this mission was for my medical capabilities. I just wanted to make sure that you were aware that if the pilgrims are injured or if any of us suffer from any wounds that I should be able to take care of them."

At that moment Kaze gained a rank up in the mind of Arashi. A Medical Nin, he would be quite the asset to any team. As he thought about the implications of such a power he absentmindedly spoke.

"Are you proficient in poisons? What are your capabilities when it comes to healing wounds?"

He immediately realized that his first question sounded like a father asking a small child if he could run a business, but with it said, he could not take it back. Now he simply hoped to gain information and not worsen his relations with Kaze.[wow]Pew Pew
[/wow]
As they walked Arashi thought more about the mission at hand. He looked at Kaze, then Toyota. Did either of them have a tracking technique? HE doubted it, but you never knew. Personally he knew the mountains relatively well, but only enough to point off a few places to start. Hmmmmmmm. As he thought he heard Kaze say something in background about the Admin Building and them. He didn't concern himself with it, if his team needed him, they would call him. [i]I must think of the task at hand. He quickly prevented his mind from wandering to more....entertaining things. He absently retracted his hand into his sleeve, wrapping a paperbomb around a kunai, and then another, as they walked.

"So...Toyata...where are we going? Do we have any idea where these travelers were last seen? Or do we know where they were headed? I would think that there had to be some information regarding them at the administration building, right? I mean, it would be silly to just send us out here without any leads."

"Hey, Krasasu....uh you wouldn't happen to know anything about these mountains would you? Like where bandits might be hiding or perhaps if there's a certain area where travelers tend to get lost in the most? Anything of use, basically."

"Yeah" he said as he thought "There are a few places were people seem to get lost, winding paths that have multiple splits." he put his hand to his chin, thinking for a sec. Then he pointed the way to the nearest one of these places, before asking
"Do Either of you have any tracking techniques?"

It was a long shot, but he hoped that at lease ONE team member possessed the skills to hunt down these people, otherwise they might fail the mission, considering how vast the mountain range was. Damn he thought I knew I should have gone and searched for them while I had the chance, now I am stuck in a mission with no way to locate my marks.

Age : 33 Posts : 159

Walking down the road towards the mountains, the subtle hostility between Kaze and Karasu became increasingly apparent to Toyata. This could become a problem as the mission progressed, however at this very moment Toyata wanted to focus his attention on the mission at hand. Knowing all of the abilities of other members of team would significantly improve their ability to coordinate and combine their effort most efficiently. The walk to the mountain was a brilliant opportunity to learn more and prepare. Toyata was interrupted by Kaze:

"So Toyata, I don't know how well informed you are about your...team, but I think it's worth mentioning that the reason I was assigned to you on this mission was for my medical capabilities. I just wanted to make sure that you were aware that if the pilgrims are injured or if any of us suffer from any wounds that I should be able to take care of them."

This was very helpful. Having a medic in the team was very important, if one or both of the pilgrims had been injury. Kaze’s medical abilities might become the deciding factor between life and death of the travelers and thus the difference between success and failure for the team’s mission. Then again, Toyata could have told himself that the people in the administration would make sure that at least someone in the search and rescue team had some medical jutsu. Nonetheless Toyata was glad to be informed.

”Thank you for bringing the subject up Kaze, I have not much information no either of you, but I have very pleased to heard that you have some medical experience. If a dangerous situation comes along, please keep on the defense, if either myself or Karasu are wounded we’ll rely on your abilities to get us patched back together.

Though Toyata was still hopeful in the matter concerning the bandits, it was comforting to know that a medic was available in the unfortunate situation that someone was injured during the mission, being wounded in a fight against the bandits or simply due to a rockslide or something like that. A relative small injury as a broken leg, a twisted ankle or even a shallow knife wound would not be a problem even without a medic, as the mountain were just a little distance away from the village, however the pilgrims had been missing for several days. It was a reason for concern.

"So...Toyata...where are we going? Do we have any idea where these travelers were last seen? Or do we know where they were headed? I would think that there had to be some information regarding them at the administration building, right? I mean, it would be silly to just send us out here without any leads."

This was an issue that Toyata had feared and worried about. The mountains were enormous; they stretched throughout most the country. The paths and trails were numerous and hard to find if you didn’t not already know of their location and even more had been forgotten over the ages. The wilderness would have sealed up many roads as time went by and the roads were forgotten and rockslides and the ash from the volcano would continually alter the landscape.

”Good question Kaze, I have been told that they would start their jorney in the mountain from a little village a few miles south from here, I suggest we start there, then make our way towards their designated destination; the Lightning Temple. I am not a tracker and don’t know that area of the mountains very well, we’ll just have to try and set ourselves into the minds of the pilgrims and try to go where they might go.

Luckily it seemed that Karasu had some experience in the mountains, the team would have to rely on his tracking skills when they arrived at the village and began the tracking of the pilgrims. Navigating the mountain was probably going to be the biggest challenge during this mission, and Karasu would have to do most of the tracking as he had expertise the area that Kaze and Toyata lacked. Toyata realized that both Kaze and Karasu had been picked for this mission because of their various skills that would greatly help the mission, while Toyata himself lacked specific insight and abilities to help the mission. His job as this time was to make sure that the two other Genin, who clearly did not like each other very much, could work together and that their personal feelings didn’t get in the way of the mission. At the same time, if a dangerous combat related situation arrived, Toyata should be the one to take the lead; he was simply the least valuable member of the team during this specific mission.

”Karasu, since you know the mountains I would like for you to take point when the time comes, however we move as a team and only as a team.”

Toyata gave both Karasu and Kaze a stern look. The deliberate and hostile facial expressions, gestures and over-all approach towards each other had not gone unnoticed. This had to be resolved or at least contained. Their common history did not matter at the moment, even though Toyata was a little curious what could possibly have gone so wrong that they hardly spoke to each other and only used the very least amount of effort to be polite towards the other.

”I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but you are either going to work it out on the way to the mountain or start respecting each other, at least while we’re on this mission. Got it?”

Toyata turned away from the two younger Genin and faced the road increasing the pace a little. They had to work it out themselves without too much involvement from Toyata. Looking ahead Toyata was able to the mountains and the volcano looming over a small village. This was the very village the pilgrims had last been seen and this was where their search would begin, someone in the small town had to know something. As far as he had been told neither of the pilgrims were accustomed with the area and they most likely asked for advice or directions from someone in the village. Toyata and the other were going to find out who they had talked to. That might just be the thing that made success available, the preparation for a mission was crucial. They would spend a lot of time in the mountains trying to pick up a track otherwise. The team needed somewhere to start and someone in that village was going to provide that clue.

Watching the mountains with the new fallen ash shattered everywhere and the sun having begun to show its face, the mountain chain in from of the small squad looked beautiful, like large spikes of deep black onyx with many other colors dancing in the newborn sunlight. This really was a wonderful day.

Age : 34 Posts : 1209

Kaze felt a surge of anger rush through his mind as Karasu suddenly began to inquire about the boy's familiarity with poisons and his capabilities with wound healing. The blonde haired genin didn't know whether the question had been posed in a passive aggressive manor or it had been done out of general curiosity, but either way it had bothered him. The boy, however, fought his rising urge to turn around and snap at Karasu for the prodding question. Had the two been alone, then perhaps Kaze wouldn't have been so reluctant to bear his fangs, but Toyata stood right beside him, acting as the impromptu leader of the team. The last thing that Kaze needed to be doing was starting drama when the mission had hardly gone underway. It felt like being between a rock and a hard place. Why had he had the unfortunate luck of having to work with Karasu? Even if the taller genin had experience out in the wilderness, surely there were others who could have filled that role! The thought caused the small boy to sigh lightly before he turned his head slightly to glance in Karasu's direction.

"I'm not very familiar with poisons. As for what injuries I'm able to treat. With my medical jutsu I can treat most injuries given enough time and concentration."

The boy left it at that, not wanting to explain himself any further to either one of his team mates. In his opinion, all they needed to know was that he could patch them or the pilgrims up if it was required. For now he hoped that would suffice. For now, the young genin kept his mouth shut as he listened to Toyata as he spoke about the village from which the pilgrims had started their journey. The lightning temple had been their destination, so the most logical idea was to start from the village and travel along the path towards the lightning temple while keeping an eye out for anything that might have clued them in to where the pilgrims might have gone. Again, the thought of bandits appeared in the small boy's mind. He truly wondered if the pilgrims had been lost or if they had been taken or killed. Another sigh was let loose from the child's mouth as he tried to push such depressing pictures from his mind. This mission was going to be harder than he first thought.

The boy's mental workings were interrupted as Toyata began to speak once more, this time in a chastising fashion rather than an informative one. It had seemed that Karasu and Kaze's slight jabs at one another hadn't gone unnoticed and that Toyata was already growing concerned about the success rate of the mission. Kaze had to work hard to keep himself from scoffing or showing any other outward physical signs of his disapproval with the situation. He really didn't want to try and work things out. The fight had been Karasu's fault for failing to follow simple protocol and common since. Kaze had been the first one to strike, but that was what his shinobi training had dictated that he do. For now though, his shinobi training also dictated that he set these differences aside, if only temporarily, for the good of the mission. The boy gave a slight nod in Toyata's direction.

"Don't worry. I can handle it."

The boy wasn't sure about how Karasu might act, but Kaze could keep a hold on his own emotions. With a simple sigh he began to make his way down toward the village. There wasn't much time to waste standing around, and Kaze wanted to try and finish this mission as soon as possible. The ominous feeling he had felt since the start of the mission hadn't gone away and only seemed to worsen. It was as though his mind were trying to tell himself, but at the end of the day it was only a feeling in the back of his mind that caused him to feel a bit more...agitated. The boy tried to brush it off, ignoring this uneasy sensation as he descended the path and headed toward the village.

Once they had reached the village the boy would stop, waiting for his teammates if he had somehow managed to leave them behind. Truth be told, he hadn't been really trying to keep in pace with them anymore once he had seen the village. His eyes now scanned the village as he stood there, staring at all the various people around. As he stood there, staring at all the citizens of the village, Kaze came to the realization that perhaps someone here might have some information about the pilgrims. Perhaps what type of cloths they had been wearing, if they carried anything unusual, or even what they may have looked like. Kaze had no photo to go by and so he was operating off of next to no information about these lost souls. Any bit of info could serve as a clue or at least a guide to where they might be or how to at least identify them. With that in mind the boy began to make his way toward one of the villagers, a young woman who looked to be in her late teens or early twenties.

"Excuse me miss. I'm sorry to bother you but would you mind answering some questions? I'm in search of some travelers who were supposedly headed toward the lightning temple. You wouldn't happen to know of whom I'm speaking of, would you?"

The genin spoke somewhat fast, giving little chance for the woman to interrupt him as he spat out that lengthy spiel. The woman just stared at him for a moment, looking hesitant to answer the young boy, that was until her eyes fell on the headband wrapped around his left arm, that served as a badge of his link to the country's military force.

"Oh! A ninja! Uh well let me see. There were two strangers who passed through the village not too long ago. They looked as though they had been traveling for some time, though I'm not sure if they were headed up to the temple like you say. They were a slightly older couple if I remember right..."

Kaze nodded as the girl spoke, doing his best to take mental notes about the details she had listed. Admittedly the information hadn't been that helpful, but he had learned that they were looking for an older couple. This meant that Kaze now had a bit more information detailing who they were looking for, making it all the easier to identify the pilgrims, or their corpses in the worst case scenario. Once he finished speaking to the woman he turned toward Toyata and Karasu, heading in their direction so that he could share what he had learned with his team. With any luck perhaps they could find out some information as well, hopefully more than Kaze had been able to obtain.

"So far I've really only managed to find out that the two we are looking for are an older couple who have been traveling for quite some time...The lady I talked to didn't have much more info than that."

Posts : 81

Arashi was busy thinking of how he would best handle the bandits when he was addressed by Toyota. Apparently he was now in charge of tracking down the missing pilgrims. Well, that was just great, considering his knowledge in tracking was limited. He gave a subtle nod and went back to thinking. If the grouped of bandits were patrolling, they should use hit and run tactics. A group holed up in a cave by themselves could be taken out by a few carefully placed paper bombs. A group holding hostages was a different matter though if that were the case the- Mission Lead addressed him again. Dammit. This time he gave a slightly irritated response to counteract the chastising, and what he interpreted as condescending, tone.

I will alot Kaze all the respect he is due according to my standards.

As soon as he said the comment he went back to brooding. If the the Bandits had the pilgrimes hostage he would either lure them out and preform a x2 assault to whisk away the pilgrims and distract the bandits at the same time. If they failed to be lured out of whatever hiding place they had,(most likely a cave, he thought) then they would either have to negotiate with the bandits, or preform a direct assault, which, depending on the proficiency of his team, could result in civilian casualties, which were to be avoided. As ordered from the Raikage. He felt Kaze drift away as they neared the village. He didn't care. He knew Kaze would be able to aurvive long enough for Arashi to get over and aid him if the need came. As he entered the village gates he automatically looked down. He was supposed to be tracking them, so he studied the footprints. There were a few at the entrance, though he was convinced that the ones near the Pilgrim Path entrance would be much more sparse.

He lingered near the center of the Village, acting as a beacon to alert the place that their country's military was active within the area. In a normal mission this would not be done, but for a search and rescue...well he would rather save those pilgrims. It would be obvious what he was doing to his fellow nin, and if Toyota wanted to stop him, so be it. Eventually Kaze came back, interrupting his thoughts on the most efficient ways to collapse a tunnel. He distantly heard something about an elderly couple, and long travel times, it was filed away in mind as he waited for a response from Mission Lead.

Age : 33 Posts : 159

During the short remaining walk to the small village, where the search would begin, Toyata carefully watch the little interaction between his squad mates; Kaze and Karasu. Toyata had hoped that they would be able to talk, whatever it was that had made them dislike each other, out. They did not do so, other than a slightly dismissing confirmation from Kaze, that he would try and put the past in the past there was to communication during the trip what so ever. While it was apparent that whatever issues they had was not going to magically disappear, it seemed that they at least could be civil and work together for the duration of the mission. That was at least something.

Arriving at the small village in the outskirts of the mountain Toyata noticed the reluctance of the villagers to greet the newly arrivals. Toyata however quickly dismissed this as most people in smaller villages in the country that were a little isolated like this one never knew who would pass through. A small group of heavily armed strangers did not scream “We are just here to talk, or passing through.” Their reaction was completely natural. Toyata was likewise pleased to see the change of attitude as the villagers saw his own forehead protector and those of his teammates. Someone in this village probably knew something about the pilgrims. The threesome slit up; Karasu simply standing in the village center making his presence known and showed the villagers that the strangers were shinobi from Kumogakure and that there were no danger. Kaze turned to asking the locals about the pilgrim, so did Toyata.

”Hallo sir, would you happen to of a pair of pilgrims that would have passed through this village a week ago or so?”

The elderly man Toyata had asked took a moment to remember, then answering slowly as if he carefully tasted each word before spitting it out through his mouth of a few remaining yellow and crocked teeth.

”Yes…an old couple…heading to the lightning temple…shouldn’t travel by themselves…bandits around…asked for directions, went on the south path.”

Toyata made sure to remember each word carefully not wanting to forget anything that might become helpful in the future. As the old man had finished Toyata gave him a polite and grateful nod. This information was very helpful in his mission to find the pilgrims, now he had a description of the travelers. The destination of their pilgrimage had also been confirmed; they had been heading to the lightning temple. And the most important of all; the old man had given the couple directions to follow the southern path to the temple. Now they had somewhere to start. Thing was beginning to look up.

Now was the time to get started. Toyata gathered with Kaze and Karasu in the village square, the team should exchange any useful information and figure out how to preside next. Standing in a small circle Kaze told that he had been told of an elderly couple that appeared to have travelled for a long time passing though and fitting the description of the missing pilgrims. Karasu hadn’t obtained any useful information on the subject.

”I spoke with an old man who gave similar information. However he also told me that the pilgrims would follow the southern trail from this village to reach the lightning temple. I suggest we head that way immediately, the old couple had been traveling for a while and was most likely tired when they passed through this village, there is no way of knowing how fatigued they are right now.”

With these words Toyata turned away from the circle and looked at the looming mountain where the lightning temple was. This was going to be a test of endurance to climb this mountain, Toyata was impressed that an elderly couple after an already long trip would try and conquer this mountain without taking a day or two to rest and regain their strength. This could have been their mistake; they might be too fatigued to reach the top. Still, Toyata had to commend their determination to travel across the country in their age to go to a temple, not being a very spiritual man Toayta had a hard time understanding why they chose to do so.

Forcing himself forward towards the mountain Toyata knew that just thinking about how’s and what if’s would not find the pilgrims and possibly save their lives and complete the mission. Toyata and his fellow squad members had to go into the mountain and track the pilgrims down. Luckily Karasu knew a little about tracking and the mountain area.

On the trail

The small group of shinobi had followed the directions from the village and had soon found themselves at the foot of the mountain. A young kid from the village had guided them to the start of the small southern path, he left with a little wave before returning to the village. Toyata stood for a moment and looked watch the trail, this really was just a trail, there were no road of hardened dirt of rocks, it looked more like an animal trail than a path, as it was only a good two meters wide with large thorny bushed on both side of the trail. From Toyata’s perspective it was hard to tell whether or not someone had used this trail recently as a fine layer of ash were everywhere, on the trail, the leaves of the bushes even the thorns were covered. This did not look good; it was going to be hard tracking anything in this environment.

On the bright side: if they really had taken this path there were only one way they could go; forward. Taking a determined step forward on the ash covered trail, the sound of sand, ash and small rocks crunching together was clear in the air and easily recogniziable. This was where the mission started; it was now that Toyata, Kaze and Karasu had to show that the village had chosen the right people for the job of finding these people. Looking at his teammates:

”Let’s go. Karasu please keep a close eye out for anything that might tell us more of any possible movements in the area.”

Age : 34 Posts : 1209

It did not take long for the team to assemble in the center of town in order to exchange any information. From what Toyata had managed to gather, it would seem that the elderly couple that the young woman had spoken of were indeed the pilgrims that the team was searching for. Once Toyata had finished feeding the squad the information he had recovered, Kaze's eyes shifted in Karasu's direction. It didn't take long for the young boy to realize that Karasu had no information of use and in fact hadn't been asking around. This of course, struck the young blonde as simple laziness. There was no excuse to simply stand around and not gather intel. Biting his tongue, though, the young blond simply mustered a small nod and smile, trying to show that he approved of what information the team had managed to acquire. His gaze now shifted back to Toyata who seemed to be lost in thought as he stared up at the temple resting high in the mountains. Even from here the temple was barely visible. The trip up would have been a tough one for most people. The fact that the two pilgrims had been an older couple meant that it would have probably been extra hard on them unless they were used to such harsh conditions; this was something that Kaze highly doubted. With that the three of them strolled away from the town square and toward the southern path.

Reaching the foot of the mountain was not difficult, given the fact that the team had somehow managed to enlist the help of a local guide who showed them where the southern path began. The boy didn't speak very much, obviously a tad nervous to be in the presence of three shinobi and though Kaze wanted to break the tension with some talk, he refrained from doing so. Once the group had reached the start of their climb, the boy took off, having no desire to climb the mountains with the three shinobi. This made Kaze a tad curious. Was the boy scared of something? Hadn't he traveled these mountains in the past? Perhaps not and Kaze was simply over thinking things. The young genin stood there, his eyes now drifting up the narrow and almost completely covered path. Did the couple truly walk up this path? Despite these thoughts, he had little time to fully mull over the question as Toyata began his trek, causing the ash, sand and stone to crunch under his step as though it were freshly fallen snow. Kaze nodded slightly as he began to follow the taller genin, his step making a similar yet softer noise as he tried to keep up. As they began to walk up the path, Kaze's eyes began to search the area. Though it had been agreed that Karasu would be the tracker, Kaze didn't think it could hurt for him to keep an extra set of eyes out just in case there was something to be spotted.

In the end it had turned out that keeping his eyes peeled had been a good thing, though probably hardly necessary. Not even two minutes since they had started, Kaze noticed a strangely shaped lump of ash on the side of the trail. The boy didn't hesitate to walk toward it, letting the other two walk ahead of him, or stop, if they had noticed Kaze's deviation from the path. The boy crouched next to the small lump, tentatively brushing away the ash that covered the strange lump as his eyes narrowed slightly at whatever could lie beneath the debris. Once he had cleared away the cover of ash and soot, Kaze's eyes widened slightly as he picked up a a strangely shaped sanda made from a sturdy rubbery materiall. The boy immediately recognized the shape, though he doubted his other two team members would have. The sandal was made for people with arch and foot trouble, used to help relieve pain and stress that the feet were often subjected to. It was often used by older people, though it wasn't something one wanted to travel in. The thought of the sandal falling from one of their bags ran through the boy's mind.

"I think I found something..."

Kaze announced in a soft voice as he turned to look at his squad mates. As he turned he held out the dirty object for them to look over. The boy held a slight smirk on his face, happy that he had managed to find something so soon to indicate that they were indeed going in the right direction.

"These types of sandals are used by elderly people and people with foot troubles. You don't usually wear them when traveling very long distances but if you were to stop and rest for a while, you'd put these on to give your feet a rest. Perhaps this might have belonged to one of the pilgrims?"

As he asked his eyes ran over the two's faces, wanting to note the expressions they held. Would they agree? Would they think Kaze was crazy? He had some background with medicine and these sandals were often worn by his father's elderly patients who came to the hospital and who came by the house for advice about arthritis and such. Despite having time to mull this over in his mind, their period of discovery was seemingly cut short as suddenly Kaze's ears picked up the distinct sound of something moving through the brush that surrounded the squad. The boy couldn't be sure of whether it was an animal or something else, but the rustling was almost persistent and intrusive rather than the transient ambient noise that most animals tended to make. Perhaps it was all in the boy's mind, however. He was a bit on edge with the story of bandits. it was then that he realized that he already had one of his kunai drawn and held firmly in his left hand. The reaction had been so automatic that he hadn't even thought about nor noticed his arm when it had reached down to grasp the weapon. Kaze instantly fell silent as he glared at the brush behind him as he began to feel the effects of the adrenaline now pumping through his system. Was someone following them?!

Posts : 81

Arashi stood in the middle of the village, he had surveyed the Village, and the Villagers seemed pretty nervous. Was it the presence of their military, or was it something else? They could be worried about the rumors of nearby bandits, or about the Pilgrims mysterious disappearance. He didn't know, but he made sure to keep careful note of their expressions and general wordiness. He clenched and unclenched his fists a few time, it was hard, but he had to keep his emotions under control, he was going to have to do this ONE mission with Kaze, then he was required nothing else. He saw that the person most prevalent in his mind talking to a young woman, and as he turned on the spot he noticed that Toyota was doing the same thing with an elder man. A young boy passed, and though Arashi tried to strike a conversation with him, the shinobi was ignored. Soon his comrades came back and they shared information, though Arashi was hesitant to share. He knew that it might be crucial to the mission, but he also knew that it may be useless information, and he didn't want to seem any less than he already was. He had originally dropped out of the first two chunnin exams, and he didn't want anyone thinking he was finding useless information. He nodded as they he listened to the information they gathered. An old couple, tired from a long journey, traveling the last and hardest leg. It seemed like bad conditions, and it got all the more grim when he saw the mountain ahead. Such a climb could be fatal to an experienced hiker, and he was now quite worried about the couple.

They approached the mountain without much difficulty, partially due to the young guide that aided them. As they drew closer Arashi was reminded of the time he fought Kaze before. It was a bad memory filled with bad decisions which ultimately lead to his defeat. He dismissed these thoughts instead turning his mind to the difficult journey ahead and his eyes to the path which they now walked. The young boy spoke little, and Arashi did not doubt that he was scared, walking not five feet from kids who were to challenge bandits all alone. As the group began to climb the boy made as if to abandon them, but Arashi knelt a bit, taking some money from his pocket and pressing it into the boys hand. He smiled, sincerely(this was not a common occurrence) as he said to the boy

"Thank you for guiding us here. May this reward your efforts."

As the little boy scurried off Arashi began to climb after his teamates. He noticed an irregularly shaped lump of ash, and his hand moved as if to grab it, but not a second passed before Kaze walked up to it and unearthed it. The older shinobi retracted his hand, hoping desperately that no one had noticed that inch it had moved before Kaze took action. The small blonde boy spoke, and Arashi listened. Apparently the sandal was left behind by the old couple that had supposedly traveled these parts before. Karasu found this unlikely, if they had hiked for so long before, they would know to secure all their belongings and he began to think of what might have happened when he heard a rustle in the bushes. Kaze noticed it too, and even as Kaze drew a Kunai Arashi placed his right hand on the hilt of his blade, his left reaching into his cloak to retrieve three shuriken . His knees bent slightly, ready to leap out of the way of an incoming attack. His eyes darted from the point of the sound to possible ambush positions, scanning the area for hostiles. If they did attack, Arashi would not be caught off guard.

Age : 33 Posts : 159

Toyata and his small team quickly began to ascend the mountain simply follow the narrow path upwards. The road twisted and turned like a thin, ash covered snake through the landscape. The team had no trouble so far as the locating the travelers, assuming that they really had taken this path they would only have had a single choice or movement. The climb towards the lightning temple was hindered by the large thorny bushes which grew everywhere in the area. Though they had only spent an hour or a so on the trail Toyata’s clothes had already numerous cuts and were torn in several places. This environment was harsh and it seemed like those damned thorn bushes were the only thing that could survive up here. Why anyone would voluntarily travel this mountain and even live on the top was a mystery to Toyata. It was not the isolation that bothered Toyata, it actually calmed him and made him comfortable, but the terrain and general environment did not suit Toyata. It was just too barren.

Walking on this dead trail soon became extremely boring, every time the trail twisted the next stretch of trail looked exactly like the previous one, this walk seemed endless and it was frustrating that it never seemed like they made any progress. It was during these dark and negative thoughts Toyata was interrupted by Kaze. The younger Genin had stumbled over something interesting, pulling the clue of out the dirt and ash it was obvious that it was of an old sandal probably left by one of the pilgrims. This was the first clear evidence that someone had used this trail recently, this was a relief as Toyata had feared that the pilgrims might had opted not to follow the advice they had received in the village and taken another path.

”Good eye Kaze. I think you are right, the sandal doesn’t look like it was seen much rain or cold in the time it had been there. Looks like we are on the right path. Let’s keep moving and find these people.”

Just as Toyata had stopped talking, he say Karasu stiffen out of the corner of his eye. Quickly turning around and looking in the same direction as Karasu, Toyata reached into his kit and retrieved four shuriken just as a precaution. The bushes rustled and moved a little, this was probably what Karasu had noticed. How anybody could hide in this foliage, but better safe than sorry. Bandits were known to travel these paths and they probably knew this area like the palm of their own hand. They had no time to lose and this standoff with a bush was a waste of time, they quickly had to clear the potential hidden threat and move one. Accurately throwing the shuriken in between the branches of the bush, making sure that they were close enough to hit anything that might cower in the bush, but far enough apart to cover the entire area of the bush. As soon as Toyata had released his shuriken he expected to hear the sound of four pieces of metal hitting the rock behind the bush. He didn’t. Though the sound of metal hitting rock was heard so was a quite cry of pain and immediately after a large, filthy man with a big axe stood up from the bush a shuriken buried in his right thigh. Just the bandit stood up so did another on the opposite side of the trail judging from the sound of branches breaking and the commotion of someone standing up quickly while having something heavy in hand. Then a sound was heard from up the trail, Toyata slightly turned his head in that direction making sure to keep the wounded bandit in the corner of his eye, a pair of bandits made their appearance. One was a young, short man with bright red hair and long and crocked spear in hand, the other was a large man, at least 6’3, completely bald and Toyata instantly understood that these were the highway men terrorizing this area and that this large man was their leader, as he was the only one wearing armor, he wore thick chainmail covering his chest and back, and helmet of hardened leather and a dangerous looking curved blade in hand.

”Well, well shinobi from Kumogakure. They really sent kids to take care of us…? I don’t know whether to laugh or be insulted.

The leader said with amusement in his voice. He was clearly underestimating Toyata and the others simply due to their age. Knowing first hand just how dangerous it was to underestimate an opponent Toyata knew that this was a good opportunity to take advantage of their arrogance and confidence. Quickly forming the seals and releasing chakra Toyata grasped this opportunity ”Fuuton: Daitoppa no Jutsu” The strong wind came unexpected to the two bandits further up the trail and the result was very effective. The small and skinny bandit with the spear was lifted clean up off the ground and sent flying over the edge, screaming bloody murder while falling to his death. The larger bandit leader was denser and weighed far more, the wind had forced him off balance and sent him flying into the bushes, where he was cut and torn by the thorns, but otherwise okay although on his back and his sword was partially caught in the branches. This attack had to be followed up. Having to time to pause, Toyata ran full speed towards the bandit leader drawing his katana form across his back while yelling to Kaze and Karasu:

”Take care of the other two, I got this one, but try and take them alive, we need to interrogate them.”

Toyata quickly reached the bandit leader, who was still trying to get back on his feet and getting free from the hurtful embrace of the thorn bushes. Having the approaching Toyata the bandit was desperate to get his sword free, and he was struggling with pull the curved blade out of the bush. He was finally able to get a good grip on the sword and forcefully pull it out, but it was too late. Toyata quickly saw what about to happen; Toyata had a swift slash with his katana, cleanly severing the right hand grasping the sword from the remainder of the bandit’s arm. Immediately after Toyata had his now bloody katana at the throat of the bandit. This scumbag was going to tell Toyata and the rest of the team where the pilgrims were. No more playing around, Toyata had had it with this mountain and this mission was going to have a happy ending. Probably not for these bandits, but for the pilgrims and their families.

Wondering how the rest of the team had dealt with the situation Toyata looked down the path while keeping a careful eye on the bandit leader at his feet.

CP: 70 – 9 = 61

Spoiler:

Age : 34 Posts : 1209

Everything around them seemed to happen so fast. One minute the group had been conversing about the chances of finding the elderly couple and the next they were being ambushed. Luckily, thanks to Toyata's quick thinking, he had managed to not only damage one of the closer bandits, but he had also managed to take out one of the smaller one's by somehow forcing him over the edge of the cliff. This now only left three for the group to contend with. Toyata seemed to waste no time as he rushed to square off against the largest of the three highwaymen. Kaze nodded obediently to the words let off by their team leader as he quickly charged for the uninjured bandit, leaving the injured foe for Karasu. As Kaze ran he paid little mind to the various thorns as they scratched and tore at his flesh and cloths. The boy's gaze hardened as he watched the large man ready himself for the incoming attack. The boy was wary of the man's sword, not wanting to drag the fight on for too long, given the advantage this man had over him in both size and reach. Kaze needed to be quick and efficient about this if he hoped to not only defeat this man, but do so in a way that would allow for the group to interrogate him.

The exchange between the two would be quick. Kaze continued to charge forward despite the impending strike coming from the larger man. The bandit began to swing his blade in a vertical fashion going for an overhead strike as he tried to bring the blade down on Kaze's form with the intention of cleaving the small boy in two. However at the very last moment the boy seemed to gain a burst of tremendous speed that only magnified the force with which the impending impact struck. The attack was a sudden, almost unbelievable strike that brought the small genin straight toward the bandit, though slightly off center with an extended left arm. In this manor the young genin would deliver a powerful blow as his fully extended left arm collided with the large man's upper abdomen. A look of utter confusion and surprise would occupy the man's features as his mind tried to make sense of how he had managed to be struck only a mere split second before his blade had nearly cut into the boy's skull. The time alotted for him to contemplate this was short lived however as Kaze suddenly stopped his forward movement, allowing the bandit's momentum to carry him a couple feet backwards as he struggled to keep his footing on the uneven ground on which the two fought.

Kaze offered no reprieve though, even as the man fought to keep his proper footing. The small boy was still on the move, now taking only a split second to sidestep so he was more centered with his opponent's body before suddenly dropping very low to the ground in front of his foe. The bandit had just managed to regain his balance as Kaze suddenly launched his left leg upward in strong kick directed toward the man's chest due to Kaze being unable to reach the man's chin without overextending his body. The chakra enhanced kick would send the larger male upward and into the air as he flipped slightly so that his back was pointed earthward. Without missing a beat the young blonde haired boy was upon his opponent, taking to the air in a speedy chakra enhanced jump that would place him behind the bandit, as though he were the highwayman's shadow.

"You're not getting away that easy..."

The boy muttered from behind the bandit, causing his opponent's eyes to widen in both surprise and disbelief. How could such a small boy possess such strength. It was at this point that the bandit realized that he no longer had his weapon of choice, having have dropped it in surprise due to the forceful kick. Kaze wasted no more time with words as he immediately broke into a series of powerful kicks that would force the opponent down to the earth once more at an accelerated rate. The bandit offered no more resistance as each strike brought more and more pain to his world until the inevitable collision with the rocky earth below. Kaze would land next to the fallen enemy, glaring down at the man with a steely gaze. Moving toward the fallen enemy, Kaze would reach down for the scruff of the man's collar, pulling on it just enough to raise the man's head and shoulders from the earth as he glared into the bandit's eyes.

"There was an old couple traveling these mountains a few days ago. Where are they?"

"Ugh...I don't know what you are talking about..."

Kaze felt his anger flare as he suddenly lashed out, bringing his fist forward so that it collided with the side of the man's jaw. The sound of the impact filled the air around them, reverberating slightly in such a way that a faint echo could be heard. Though whether anyone would hear or notice was still debatable. Kaze had no idea if his teammates were still in the midst of their respective bouts and though the young boy wanted to rush to their aid, he wasn't about to leave this man unattended to without getting the information he desired.

"Where are they?!"

"You think I'm going to tell a shrimp like you? I'm not scared of you!"

Instantly Kaze brought the kunai he had been holding forward, pressing the tip lightly against the bandit's lower lid, allowing the weapon to exert its pressure against the underlying squishy globe that served as the man's visual window to the external world. Kaze's expression never changed, remaining cold and menacing as he slowly pressed the kunai bit by bit against the lower lid, threatening to enucleate the man right there on the spot.

"Ow ow ow! Okay okay I'll talk!"

"Talk fast then."

The man cringed slightly as he felt the bladed weapon pressing more against his eye. The thought of having his eyes plucked out by this small, seemingly psychopathic child scared the poor man to no end. Such fear motivated the man to speak, and quickly. He revealed to Kaze the information that he knew. The couple who had been traveling these mountains had been on a long pilgrimage. They had brought with them offerings for the temple but unfortunately for the elderly couple, the bandits had descended upon them. The husband apparently had been a former monk who knew a thing or two about battle and as such ensured his wife's survival by fighting off several of the bandits to cover her escape, but not before saddling her with the offerings and ordering her to head up to the temple. It had taken the bandits a considerable deal of effort but they had managed to defeat the old man, taking him hostage. Since then the group had been combing the mountains for the wife, trying to find where she may have run off to, but up until this point they had been unsuccessful. The story seemed a bit far fetched to the young boy but he couldn't really contest it at this point. His teammates were still fighting and Kaze didn't have time to sit here and chat all day with the man. From the sounds of the story, the bandits that they had just encountered had only been one of several search parties wandering the mountains in search for the woman.

"So then...it's a race against time and these bandits...and they have a head start..."

Kaze muttered to himself as he released the bandit's collar, allowing his shoulder, head and neck to slam against the rocky ground. The boy sighed as he turned and quickly took off at a light jog toward Karasu and Toyata, hoping that the two of them would be okay until he reached them. If he managed to reach them before they had finished their fights he would have offered as much aid as he could but if they had concluded their respective duels then Kaze would immediately share the information he had managed to obtain from his fallen foe.

Jutsu:

SC:

CP: 61/80

Posts : 81

Arashi was ready for the battle, and it came. The smaller member was blasted off the cliff by Toyota, while Kaze dealt with a man wielding a large sword. Arashi drew his own sword as he faced what would be his opponent, a skinny man, dressed in dark gray attire, who wielded a Naginata. Arashi let his right hand drift from his sword as his left went down and drew a kunai from within his cloak. The man smiled sinisterly perhaps, Arashi thought, because he thought that the battle was already won. Well, in one term, he was correct, but unfortunately for him, it was Arashi who had won the battle.

The man came forward, making a cationary stab with his Naginata. Arashi swayed his body, the blade narrowly missing his head as it retracted. The man frowned as he stabbed again, this time Arashi brought up his left hand, blocking the blade of the pole-arm with his own. The bandit in front of him spun the weapon, hoping to catch Arashi off-guard with the back of the pole. The midly amused shinobi brought up his kunai, and it sunk deep into the handle of the weapon. Arashi was, however, slightly surpised as the man wrenched away his knife, smiling as he took it off the Bladed stick and tossed it off the mountain.

Now I am unarmed, and my opponent thinks I am weak, but I am strong. Arashi thought to himself as the man went in for the killing strike. It was a split second reaction that was his undoing, the young genin was simply faster than he anticipated, grabbing the handle just below the blade and pulling the man forward into his rapidly extending leg. The bandit was without air, and fell to the ground gasping. Arashi lightly brought his foot forward, pushing the man onto the ground where the blade of the Naginata that the Genin had recently apprehended was brought forward, it stopped all of a sudden, no more than half an inch from his throat. The compassion Arashi had shown with the young child was completely gone, what was left was a cold shinobi.

"Tell me all you know." the whisper barely reached the bandits ears, but he was not ready to bow out yet.

"I won't tell a boy anything!" the bandits said in contempt.

"Either you tell me now, or" at this point The blade of the pole-arm alit with screaming lightning, so bright as to almost blind the bandit whoose eyes were so close. Now Arashi placed his foot on the bandit's chest, and he moved the Naginata into position just above the elbow of the mans left arm. The shinobi brought down the blade slowly. The lightning chakra from the blade numbed the area it touched before it was sliced, so the man was forced to watch as his arm was slowly cut off, though it felt only like a dull cut. By the time Arashi was halfway through, the man was singing like a canary

"Okay Okay!" he said in worried tone I'll talk! There is a map in my backpack! With several colored x's The blue X is where we keep prisoners, and the black one is where we go to sleep! The rest are traps!!!" The man spilled all he knew.

"Thank you, for your cooperation" said the cold shinobi boy as he spun the pole-arm around and slammed it into the back of the bandits head, causing him to black out. Arashi stabbed the weapon into the ground, then looked to see what his comrades did.

Age : 33 Posts : 159

Looking down the trail Toyata saw how each of his team members dealt with their respective bandits. Kaze rushed straight at his opponent using his speed to close the distance between them in an instant, easily slipping under the bandits large over-the-head slash and taking care of the bandit with an impressive display of taijutsu. This truly was a completely different Kaze from the time of their spar. Toyata had known that Kaze had improved, but this was beyond what Toyata had expected. As it was clear that Kaze had control of the situation Toyata turned his attention to Karasu. The wounded bandit used a naginata and after a brief exchange of slashes Karasu had disarmed the bandit and used the naginata to control the situation. The entirety of the battle had only lasted a minute or so resulting in one dead and 3 apprehended bandits. This was far beyond what Toyata had expected. Movement in the corner of his made Toyata focus on the bandit leader at his feet. The fool ad reached for his blade wanting to take advantage of Toyata looking away, with a swift cut with his katana Toyata simply slit his throat. Watching as the dying man’s mouth filled with blood Toyata was sad that he had had to kill this man, but hopefully at least one of his teammates had recovered some sort of useful information.

As the team reassembled and exchanged information it seemed that they had been luckier than Toyata and actually found something useful. Kaze had found out what had happened to the pilgrims and the situation was trickier than Toyata would have liked as the pilgrims had been slit up; one being held as a hostage and one on the run. It was however very good that Karasu had obtained a map with several locations marked. This would help enormously in finding the two pilgrims. Under the assumption that the bandit that Kaze had talked with had told the truth it made most sense to try and locate the female pilgrim first without alarming the bandits, then sneak into their camp and free the hostage. It was possible that the other bandit search parties already had found the missing pilgrim and that they had killed the hostage and even if they found the old woman that the bandit would find out and kill the old man.

”Let’s hope that those fools told the truth. Anyway give me a moment to make sure that they don’t go anywhere.”

Not wanting to take the two remaining bandits along Toyata pulled out some wire from his kit and dragged one of the bandits to the other, then tightly bound the two together with the wire. The thin wire would cut the bandits severely if they didn’t hold still, so it was in their best interest to stay put and wait for Toyata and the rest of the team to return and turn them in to the authorities. To make sure that they didn’t cause a lot of noise Toyata used a kunai to cut some cloth from their clothes and gag them. That should take care of that they wouldn’t be able to cause any more trouble during this mission. Just to make sure that they under no conditions fled or were found and rescued Toyata used one of his explosive kunai and the wire to make a booby trap, which would go of it the wires moved. Checking his work and finding it satisfying Toyata returns to the team.

”Good work guys, I think we should try and go after the old woman and then rescue the old man.”

Taking a good long look at the map Karasu got earlier Toyata wanted to get going and made a motion to the other letting them know that they should continue on. Walking further up the trail Toyata saw the bloody remains of the now former bandit leader still partially covered with the bushes. Starting this mission and thinking about the possibility that he might suddenly stand in a situation where he had to kill Toyata hadn’t known what he would do. Now looking back on the situation Toyata was surprised just how easily it had been, the bandits had been no challenge at all and killing them in the heat of the moment had been easy. It had been far harder killing the wounded one-handed bandit later, Toyata didn’t like to kill an unarmed man, but the thought itself didn’t repulse him and he didn’t expect to lose any sleep over this later on. Killing was part of the job, and while he didn’t enjoy the feeling, at least not yet, however it didn’t bother him.

Even though he had looked at the map and seen the different location Toyata had no idea where to start. The attack could have happened anywhere on the map and how knew where the old woman would have run off to. It was probably somewhere safe and hidden just after the attack, but after a little while she would probably have left her hiding place either to go for help or try and help her husband. Having no idea where to start Toyata turned to his team asking for advice:

”Do any of you have an idea where to start?”

Spoiler:

(A little shorter than I wanted, but couldn't figure out what to do next)

Age : 34 Posts : 1209

Kaze watched as Toyata worked to ensure that the two remaining bandits provided no more trouble to the ninja squad. The boy's eyes followed the older genin's form as he set to work binding the two thugs together before setting up a trip wire trap around them. In this manor Toyata had hoped to ensure that the two wouldn't run off to warn any of their colleagues and possibly that a few more of the bandits would be dealt with via the trap that had been set. The young boy stepped forward, moving towards Toyata who now held the map firmly in hand as he studied the markings. If what Karasu said was to be true, then one of these markings served as the location where hostages were held. Such a thought caused Kaze's left brow to arch slightly as his mind began to work. Just like Toyata, Kaze had his own take on the situation but kept his mouth shut as the team moved a bit further up the trail where they were greeted with the fresh corpse of Toyata's former opponent. At this moment Toyata stopped, posing a question to both Kaze and Karasu.

~~"Do any of you have an idea where to start?"~~

Instantly Kaze's mind clicked as he came up with a plan of attack. While it may have seemed to make sense to go after the female first, the fact was that nobody had any idea of where to find her. Looking for her, while the old man sat as a hostage, may result in the loss of one or both of the pilgrims. The best course of action, in Kaze's mind was to retrieve the husband first, given that the map could be trusted. The young boy glanced to the map once more, slowly reaching out to take it as he himself studied it, speaking slowly as his eyes ran over the page.

"We should split up."

The words may have come as a surprise to his two teammates and may have even seemed counter intuitive to what they had hoped to accomplish, but in the young blonde's mind it made the most sense. Kaze would look up from the paper, taking only a second to study the expressions on his squad mates' faces. He expected to have his gaze met with confused if not agitated looks. The boy sighed lightly as he looked back down to the map, continuing his little speech as his finger pointed toward the marking on the map that supposedly represented where they were holding hostages.

"We have a lead on where the man is and if the information that I was given is to be believed then we also know that he can fight. Knowing that, there's a potential for a useful ally. The woman, if she managed to stay hidden for this long, should be fine for a few hours longer. Though I don't want to take that chance. So we should split up. Karasu, you and Toyata should work on combing the mountains to find the woman. You know these mountains better than either of us and Toyata is great to have in a fight. You should be able to hopefully deal with any bandits that come your way and track down the woman. Hopefully she will be unharmed, but just in case..."

As he spoke his left hand quickly dove back behind his back, retrieving three scrolls. He'd offer them to Toyata and Karasu with a small smile, insisting that they take his scrolls from him. The boy tried to wear a brave face for he knew what he was about to say next would most likely cause a bit of dissent among the team while also pretty much placing the young blonde in the most danger.

"...these scrolls have some medical equipment in them. Bandages, disinfectant, splints, food pills. I'm sure the two of you could use the stuff in here to treat any minor injuries the woman may have. In the mean time, I will head to where the hostages are supposedly held and try to free the man. I know medical jutsu so I can treat his injuries and then we can work on trying to find you guys. If he's as good as the bandit back there said, I should be alright once he's in fighting condition. Once you two find the woman you should make your way to the foot of the mountain, near that village. If I'm not back by nightfall then it probably means I was captured or killed...if this works we can cut down the time we'll be searching for people in half, give or take a few hours. On the chance that I manage to free the monk before you guys, we'll head for the foot of the mountain where we'll wait for you till nightfall. If you aren't back by then I'll go back into the mountains to find you two."

The boy sighed as he finished speaking, taking one last moment to study the map before handing it to Karasu.

"You guys will need this more than I will to avoid the traps."

Once more a sigh was let loose from the young boy as he slid his hands into his pockets, giving both Toyata and Karasu a stern look that showed that he was not willing to budge from such a plan. He had done his best to make the most sensible and quickest plan, for every minute that passed was another minute where either the old woman or the old man could have been killed. Kaze's gaze first landed on Toyata giving the older genin a firm nod before quickly moving his eyes in Karasu's direction. A small smirk appeared on Kaze's face, though it seemed rueful in nature before he suddenly turned on his heels aiming to run off in the direction the map had detailed.

"Karasu...sorry about that fight and everything..."

With that the young genin was off, running through the thorny bushes with total abandon, as though the barbs were nothing but minor annoyances. The boy made no attempt to look back at his teammates and barely gave the two time to protest. The plan was the best that they had and the team needed to act quickly. As the child continued to charge through the thorny bushes, using his arms to keep the barbed plants from scratching at his face, he felt the creeping feeling of fear climbing up his spine while creating a pit in his stomach. He hoped that he hadn't made a mistake in splitting up the team. He did his best, however, to have faith in his two comrades.

SC:

Scrolls Given to Toyata and Karasu:

Posts : 81

As Toyota bound the two bandits Karasu watched the shadows around the group. The bandits had been smart enough to use ambush tactics to reduce the chance of injuries, and to make fake markings on the map they used so that they would not easily be traced. He handed the map To Toyota as he swung his left hand back into his cloak, withdrawing an empty scroll which he used to seal the Naginata. He was a weaponry user, and it was always nice to have different options. As he completed the technique he saw Kaze arch a single eyebrow. It seemed they were all coming with separate conclusions. Out of all of them one stuck out but as he was about to voice it Mission Lead dropped his own question onto the table.

~~"Do any of you have an idea where to start?"~~

Karasu re-evaluated his options. The situation required it. First off, the Lady was old and may not be able to operate quite well on her own, in all likely hood she had either hidden or continued on to the Lightning Temple to attempt to enlist the help of those who resided there. He thought the ladder was more likely, but at the same time the Bandits held the man as a hostage, and considering their requirement to mug travelers to sustain themselves, he doubted they were experienced survivalists. Situations like this required tact, skill, and subtlety(I know that's redundant). On the off-chance that the Lady had not gone on to the temple they would need someone to locate her.

"We should split up."
"We need to split up"

He gave Kaze a questioning look as they both proceeded to voice the same opinion. His eyes darted to his other comrade to see his reaction. It seemed that the small Medical Genin had at least some common sense in him. He allowed Kaze to speak his opinion as the older shinobi organized his own thoughts. They would need to stage simultaneous operations and it seemed that the majority already ruled. These thoughts were broken as Kaze voiced his thoughts on how exactly this should be done.

"We have a lead on where the man is and if the information that I was given is to be believed then we also know that he can fight. Knowing that, there's a potential for a useful ally. The woman, if she managed to stay hidden for this long, should be fine for a few hours longer. Though I don't want to take that chance. So we should split up. Karasu, you and Toyata should work on combing the mountains to find the woman. You know these mountains better than either of us and Toyata is great to have in a fight. You should be able to hopefully deal with any bandits that come your way and track down the woman. Hopefully she will be unharmed, but just in case..."

As Kaze spoke his thoughts Arashi was dumbfounded at the flaws of the plan that came to mind, but perhaps he was wrong. There was always the chance he was wrong, and so he always had to account for it. The young blonde Genin was a Medical Nin. He should know better....Arashi began to speak now, in a low but serious tone.

"That plan is high risk and low gain as compared to other strategies. You are a medical Nin, and we need you to come out alive, even if you are the only one. The Village needs you more than they need either of us, and so do these two travelers. It would be more logical for me to go after the Prison in which the bandits are held, as I can travel fastest. he turned now to Toyota "You and Kaze ought to go and look for the Lady, she is mostly likely unharmed and sitting currently within the lightning temple. But there is always the chance she is hiding, in which case she won't be able to last long. The bandits have already secured the man, and if they wan't to use him as a hostage, which by their intentions it seems they do, then they need him alive. They will tend to him best they can, and that should give us some time. He will most likely have wounds from weapons, which I am familiar with. If I do obtain him I will be able to get him back to you the fastest, and by that time we may have completed our mission. However, if Kaze were to go then he might die, and if he dies, or is otherwise neutralized then the mission is as good as over. We NEED him to live, just as we need him on hand if you discover the Lady. She is the most wild variable in all of this, we already have an alleged location and an account of what happened, but after that, she vanishes." Arashi found himself rambling, and he stopped for a second to take a breath. "Look, when it comes down to the basics, we need Kaze Alive and able to assist the woman, while I will be able to obtain the the man and bring him back for treatment."

Arashi hoped that his response would sway Kaze to reason. The Medical Genin seemed to be quite hasty to take what he might view as the most dangerous part of the mission, but reality dictated that he really ought to only do so if it was to accompany other nin. He had particularly tried to swayed Toyota to his side, it was obvious that if they HAD to take on the bandit prison with only one shinobi, it had to be Karasu.

Age : 33 Posts : 159

Listening to the arguments by both Kaze and Karasu it was clear that the two were still very different. They both wanted to be the one to locate and rescue the old man from the grasp of the bandits. However different their plans they had one constant; the team should spilt up and that sounded like the best option. The disagreement as to who went where was something else. To Toyata it seemed obvious that Kaze should go to the bandits’ camp and take care of the old man, as his medical expertice was needed to make sure that the old man survived. Even if the bandits were trying to keep him alive and use him as a hostage it was likely that none of them had the known-how to do so. If the bandits had located and captured the old woman they would likely bring to the same camp, thus Kaze would still be in the right place if medical assistance was needed. Should the woman still be on the run or in hiding it was unlikely that she was seriously hurt and on the off chance she had made it to the temple safely, the monks would take good care off her.

During the task of locating the old woman the tracking skills of Karasu was extremely important if they would have any chance of finding the old woman before the bandits. As for the argument of combat skill both Kaze and Karasu seemed able to protect themselves, besides the rescue mission called for stealth over brute force thus a small unit or team would be better suited. Toyata had made up his mind. He accepted the scrolls from Kaze and handed back four explosive kunai from his own kit.

”Kaze, you got after the camp and make sure that the old man is safe. Take these with you in case thing get hairy or you need a distraction. Extract the hostage if possible and followed the movement pattern you suggested earlier if possible, otherwise wait for me or Karasu.”

Toyata shifted gaze to Karasu while carefully securing the new scrolls containing medical supplies to straps of his kit.

”Karasu, you and I will go look for the old woman. You take point and track her, I’ll keep our backs safe, should be encounter any bandit team; we either sneak by, let them pass or calmly and quietly kill every one of them. Should we find that she is already safe then we circle back and help Kaze.”

To Toyata this result seemed like the best solution given the circumstances. Should a situation arise where Kaze was in trouble both Toyata himself and Karasu were quick on their feet. Besides unless walking into a cleaver ambush Toyata knew that Kaze would not be stupid enough to walk straight into the camp and try and fight the entire camp at once.

Letting them both know that discussion time was over and it was time to move on Toyata started to walk up the trail. As he moved forward e couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to the old lady. Hopefully, however unlikely, she had made it safely to the temple. Toyata was furious that these vermin would attack an elderly couple without much to steal out here in the middle of nowhere. Though he knew that any potential meeting of a bandit group would pose a possibly very serious problem, he would like to “take care” of them. This mountain should be purged of these rats, and Toyata would be very happy to help in that endeavor. Feeling the rage run through him and the adrenalin from earlier, he made two fists and his hands were shaking with a combination of rage and the hope of getting the opportunity to kill some more of these filthy people.

Handed to Kaze:

Spoiler:

(A little short, but didn’t feel like dragging this talk about what to do out any more, besides I don’t want to be the one to push the story along all the time, TOP your move Very Happy

)

(D if you seal that naginata into a scroll you use “Chozou no Jutsu”. Please make sure to remove the appropriate amount of chakra during your next post (or insert it into your last))

Age : 34 Posts : 1209

And so the plan had been put in place, or so Kaze had thought. As the young medic turned to leave his two comrades, Karasu's voice rang out in protest, presenting his own take on the situation, one that Kaze didn't agree with at all. It made no sense to the young genin for Karasu to head into the bandit's camp. Kaze had just made the point that Karasu's tracking skills and knowledge of the surrounding area would be needed to locate the old woman. With Karasu serving as the tracker and lead, he'd need someone to watch his back in case of an ambush. This was what Toyata was there for. The only logical plan was for Kaze to go after the old man by himself. it was safe to assume that he was most likely injured. Kaze was the only one on the team who could patch him up to fighting condition. If the blonde haired youth could pull that off then he could possibly have a fighting chance against the bandits. The hardest part would be getting past the guards that watched over the former monk. The next flaw in Karasu's logic was his assumption that Kaze would die, as opposed to himself. It hadn't been that long ago since the two had fought. Kaze remembered the fight clearly and how Karasu had nearly lost his eye due to his inexperience. It had been a battle in which Kaze barely had to exert himself. Despite being a medic, Kaze was fairly certain his combat expertise surpassed that of Karasu. As Karasu continued to speak Kaze continued to pick out more errors, growing ever more frustrated by the second. They didn't have time to waste arguing. It seemed more like Karasu wanted to play the hero rather than follow the logical path before them. Such thinking would not only one day get him killed, but also result in the death of his comrades.

Frustrated, Kaze began to turn, ready to speak only to hold his tongue as he heard Toyata's voice cut through the air like a knife, silencing the two and preemptively halting a potential argument. Kaze listened as the older genin spoke. Toyata seemed to be on Kaze's side, seeing the logic in Kaze's plan. A small smile appeared on the boy's face as Toyata finished speaking. The smile didn't merely come from the thought of Kaze getting his way, but also from the idea that Toyata had confidence in the young genin to accomplish his goal. To Kaze it meant that the older boy was placing his trust in Kaze's abilities and for that, the blonde genin was truly grateful. Without a second thought he took the offered tools, quickly slipping the explosive kunai in his pouch before turning around, ready to take off through the thorny brush. Just before running off, however, the young boy turned just enough to glance at the two from the corner of his eye, a small smile still played upon his face.

"Thanks. I won't let you down."

With that Kaze was off, charging through the thorny bushes without a second thought, seemingly immune to the assault of the barbed branches. As the boy rushed forward, he began to feel his fear starting to creep up on him, making him nervous. It was only now that he realized that he was alone. Everything at this point was riding on his ability to save the old man. If he failed, it would only make the mission that much more difficult for his team members. Not only that but the bandits would most likely be on guard against secondary assaults, possibly even setting up more traps and ambushes. Kaze needed to make sure that he didn't screw this up, doing so would most likely cause the failure of the mission. There was no telling exactly what the bandits might do if Kaze managed to fail. The thought of them executing the old man flashed through Kaze's mind, causing him to cringe slightly. Such thoughts, though working to scare him, only caused him to push forward all the faster. He needed to succeed. Failure wasn't an option.

It didn't take long for the boy to reach the camp. It had been exactly where the designated marking on the map had indicated it would be. A small sigh passed through the boy's lips as he stood within the branches of one of the taller trees, concealed by the abundance of foliage and the shadows such plant life created. The bandits below were oblivious to his presence but still stood at attention with a surprising amount of discipline that the young genin would not have expected from common highway men. The boy's hazel brown hues narrowed slightly as he spotted an opening in the mountain that looked akin to the mouth of a cave. Two bandits stood at the opening, one on each side. Kaze could only assume that his goal lied within the cave. The boy now began to wonder how he was going to make it inside unnoticed. Around the entire camp, Kaze saw six visible guards, but there were also several tents along with an extra large tent that looked a bit fancier than the rest. Perhaps that was the leader's quarters? This seemed odd to the young genin. It was as if these bandits had been organized like a military. All this just for an old pair of pilgrims? It seemed like over kill to the young genin. With that thought in mind however, he began to make his way down from the tree by silently dropping from branch to branch until he landed on the ground with a light thud. The boy's mind was already working. How was he going to get passed these guards?

As the boy stood there, thinking, several plans ran through his head of how to best approach the situation. With each plan came with several drawbacks and potential pitfalls. Of course even in the best case scenarios, all wound up ending near the same point. Those two men who stood on either side of the cave's mouth. They were there for a reason, to keep anything unwanted out. Kaze doubted he could simply escape their notice. A small sigh escaped his lips as he began to move amongst the bushes, circling around the perimeter of the camp the best he could. The area that camp had been set within was actually somewhat clear of foliage while providing a stable and semi level ground. On most of the sides the camp was bordered by trees and brush that were native to the mountains. While the "forest" wasn't especially thick, it provided the small blonde enough cover to move about unnoticed. On one side of the clearing, however, was a cliff face. In fact a portion of the clearing seemed to actually be an overhang that jutted out precariously over the edge where a rapid river sandwiched between two craggy walls flowed. The overhang was stable though, giving no indication that it would collapse. The various tents seemed to be placed around the center of the camp with the largest tent closer to the edge of the cliff, away from what Kaze could only consider were the "grunt's" tents. As Kaze moved around the clearing, he observed all this, taking as many mental notes as he could while trying not to draw the attention of the guards.

Eventually the boy's movements came to a stand still as he remained crouched low behind a bush, his hazel brown eyes now fixated on one of the guards who was standing particularly close to his location. The boy's hand moved slowly toward the ground, grabbing a fist sized rock from the ground while his other hand silently retrieved a kunai from his kunai holster. At this point Kaze felt the butterflies in his stomach begin to stir as he began to slowly bring his arm back, his grip on the rock tightening momentarily before loosening somewhat. Suddenly the boy brought his arm forward, tossing the rock off into the distance, letting it clatter against the ground while rustling a distant bush. The guard instinctively turned his head in the direction from whence the sound came. After a moment's hesitation the guard began to slowly move toward the source of the noise, attempting to check out what the disturbance may have been. Kaze exhaled slowly before suddenly taking off in a quick sprint that brought the boy to the guard's blindside in a matter of seconds while the man continued to search for the source of the noise. Acting quickly, Kaze launched himself off the ground, his free right arm wrapping around the top of the man's neck, squeezing tightly, causing the man to choke slightly while his armed left hand moved in a quick plunging motion, stabbing the kunai repeatedly into the man's neck. The guard let out a gurgled cry but the sound of which was heavily suppressed due to Kaze's arm constricting the top of his neck. The two struggled in this fashion for another ten seconds before the man felt himself losing his ability to remain in an upright posture. Immediately he fell over, still offering a slight struggle as Kaze continued to stab his neck in various places, trying his best to silence and kill the man, though finding great difficulty due to the fact that his head was being pulled backwards by the boy's weight, thus his vital areas were well protected by harder internal substances such as muscle and cartilage. Eventually though, the man stopped his struggling, leaving Kaze's arm covered in blood as he pulled himself away from the corpse. The boy took a moment to assess the body, looking it over before suddenly forming a quick string of seals. With a small pop Kaze's appearance was obscured by a light plume of smoke that would soon dissipate to reveal a near perfect replication of the man he had just killed.

"I hope this works..."

Now with his disguise, Kaze proceeded to venture into the clearing, doing his best to look as inconspicuous as possible. It had seemed as though none of the other bandits had heard the sounds of the scuffle that had occurred only moments ago. This brought a mental sigh of relief to the boy's mind as he also began to hope that they wouldn't find the body for some time. The genin now made a beeline toward the cave, walking at a slow and deliberate pace with a slightly sour expression his face, doing his best to match the expression he had seen the man wearing moments before Kaze had jumped him. Once at entrance the two guards turned their gazes upon him.

"What do you want?"

One of them asked as his arms unfolded from in front of his burly chest. The man was an intimidating site, standing at around six feet tall and holding a rather intimidating glare despite the fact that he was short one eye. Kaze did his best not to let himself falter though, giving his best glare back at the man before offering a small grunt that served as the prelude to his explanation.

"Boss's orders. He wanted me to make sure to check on things every so often."

At this the other guard stepped in, seemingly agitated by this statement. Kaze felt himself mentally cringing as he desperately hoped that he hadn't already blown his cover. There was too much he didn't know, things he was assuming about the command structure here along with what lie within the cave. If he was wrong then things would turn out very badly.

"I don't remember the boss mentioning anything about you checking on things."

A mental sight of relief passed through Kaze's mind as the man unwittingly confirmed the presence of a "boss" and that he was the one pulling the strings. Kaze had been right in that regard and it also seemed that he was correct that the cave held something of significance. He could only hope that this something was the thing he was looking for.

"You can go ask him yourself if you want!"

Kaze bluffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest, still holding a hard gaze, which now seemed to beam with confidence. The boy had been on a roll so far, so he pressed his luck here, hoping his bluff would buy him access into the cave. Again, he gambled, this whole thing seemed like one giant betting game with his and the old man's life as the ante. The two guards took a moment to exchange stares before stepping aside without another word, allowing Kaze to pass through the entrance, something that the boy did without hesitation. Once he was within the cave he felt as though he were a million pounds lighter, no longer under the watchful eyes of the other guards, though he knew that he'd have to be quick about how he did things within the cave. If he took too long then the guards outside might grow suspicious. With that thought in mind the boy let himself pick up the pace, now fast walking down the dimly lit corridor before stepping into a large makeshift antechamber. Once within this chamber, Kaze's eyes widened as his focus broke, dispelling the henge. Several cages filled the large cave, all of them seeming to house one or more individuals who seemed to range from small children to elderly individuals. Immediately Kaze began to understand why security had been so tight. With so many hostages, they had to keep things strict and they needed a ton of manpower.

Wasting no time, Kaze moved through the rows of cages, his eyes peering at each person who just stared back with hesitant and scared expressions. Kaze wondered if these people thought of him as one of the bandits. Eventually Kaze stopped at one of the many cages, staring at what looked to be an elderly man wearing thick tattered clothing and who carried many bruises on his body. Kaze's mind went back to the woman he had talked to in the village who spoke of an old couple who had been traveling for some time. It then fast forwarded to the bandit's story of the old man managing to fight off several of the bandits before finally being defeated. Could this old man be the former monk that he was looking for?

"Excuse me...old man? Would you happen to be the former monk who was making a pilgrimage to the temple of lightning?"

The old man turned his gaze to look in Kaze's direction. A black eye and a crooked broken nose distorted his appearance, making him look deformed and almost evil. Kaze did his best to not stare as he watched the man climb to his feet to face and look down at the young boy from behind his metal bars.

"Why do you ask me such a question?"

"I'm looking for a former monk and his wife. They were lost in these mountains days ago."

The old man offered a rueful smile at the boy's statement before taking a moment to glance around the cave as if observing his surroundings for the first time. After the brief interlude he settled his gaze back upon the young genin, his expression returning to that of a stoic monk as he tried to eye the boy over.

"This seems like an odd place for a young boy to come searching, given the guards outside, don't you think?"

"Sir, I'm from the ninja village of the clouds, Kumogakure. I was hired to find and rescue the man and his wife. Are you him?"

"I...am...though I don't know how rescue can be a viable option at this point, especially for just one person."

Kaze scowled, the comment caused his anger to flare but he did his best to fight it back. The man had a point. Kaze had to sneak in, but how would he get out with the old man? As he thought about this a small groan from a child in the cage behind him suddenly caught his attention, instinctively causing the boy to turn in the direction of the sound. His eyes fell upon the child who stared at Kaze with sad dull eyes.

"What's going on here? Why is everyone here in cages?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

The man spoke once more, his gaze drifting around the room as it had just moments ago, though this time he motioned slightly with his battered arms to the cages around Kaze.

"We are all prisoners here; prisoners of the bandits until the day they can sell us."

"Sell you?"

"Child, have you not heard of slavery? You seemed to have stumbled upon more than you bargained for. I am not a victim of a simple bandit raid. This camp is but one small piece of a larger international slave trade."

The news hit Kaze like a pile of bricks. The boy felt himself stagger backwards as his eyes quickly darted from person to person, all staring at him with wary glances, all listening to the conversation. A slave trade right in Kyousei Mountains, literally in Kumogakure's backyard?! How did this happen? Kaze brought a hand up to his face pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to collect himself.

"Child, my wife. Did you find my wife?"

Kaze suddenly found himself staring at the old man. Of course, it would make sense he was worried about his wife. He probably hadn't seen her since his capture. Kaze felt his heart sinking as he searched for the right words. He hadn't found the man's wife. His wife was sill missing and there was no guarantee that she was alive.

"No...I came here when I heard that you had been captured. But I came alone while I left my other two comrades to look for her. I am sure they will find her before long. One of them is very familiar with these mountains. He should be able to find her without too much trouble."

"I see...I hope she's alright. I worried when no help came. Before I was captured I gave her everything of value and told her to seek help. I was not worried about myself, but for the rest of these people. I couldn't very well let this slave trade last and so I placed the burden of informing the proper authorities squarely on her shoulders...."

Kaze nodded as he listened. So that was what had happened. The man hadn't instructed her to make the offering, but rather to bring back up in order to destroy this slave trade operation. It made more sense now. Kaze sighed lightly as he moved closer to the cage.

"I came to free you but I think I can free the others too but I need your help and the help of anyone else here who can fight. I can't take on the bandits by myself."

"Child, my body has been battered and broken, what help can I be to you?"

"I can try to heal your wounds and the wounds of anyone else who is able and willing to fight."

Kaze's gaze remained fixed on the old man's face as he spoke and once he had finished, the boy thought he could see a small smile creeping along the edge of the man's face. Perhaps there was still hope yet, the only thing that was left to do was to break these people loose...

Jutsu:

SC:

Tools:

CP: 60/80

Posts : 81

”Kaze, you got after the camp and make sure that the old man is safe. Take these with you in case thing get hairy or you need a distraction. Extract the hostage if possible and followed the movement pattern you suggested earlier if possible, otherwise wait for me or Karasu.”
Arashi sighed as things were put into motion. He wasn't really sure how subtle Kaze would be, and he had hoped that he didn't have to find out. This was not the case, unfortunately and as he say Kaze disappear into the brush he turned to Toyota.

”Karasu, you and I will go look for the old woman. You take point and track her, I’ll keep our backs safe, should be encounter any bandit team; we either sneak by, let them pass or calmly and quietly kill every one of them. Should we find that she is already safe then we circle back and help Kaze.”

The conversation was over. Frankly, Arashi was already over it. He had HOPED that they wouldn't send the medic, but they did. With simple thoughts in his head he continued to walk the path. Eventually he found a small piece of cloth, and identified it with the one he found earlier

(Sorry about the late and short post. I told Fuji to post a head of me, but I was declined. As for content, I have been feeling sick since Halloween, and just barely had enough to post this. Plus I have no idea where to go with the plot. Will edit in chakra later.)

Age : 33 Posts : 159

Things were now finally put in their proper place and the plan had been agreed upon. Toyata and Karasu would begin the search for the old female pilgrim. Hopefully the woman had been able to avoid being found out by the several bandit patrols going through this mountain area with a fine comb to find her. These bandits reminded Toyata of army ants; causing death and destruction wherever they went without contributing with anything in return. Watching his good friend Kaze walk off into the wilderness Toyata couldn’t help but be a little worried. He knew that Kaze was capable of taking care of himself, however the plan was for the younger Genin to infiltrate the main bandit campsite to free the hostage. Hopefully things would go smoothly and Kaze would be able to keep stealthy and complete his task.

Toyata took yet another long look at the map trying to make out where to search first for the old lady and how to avoid the bandit patrols and cause a stir. Any unwanted attention would make his and Karasu’s job far harder and make it that much more difficult for Kaze to infiltrate the camp unnoticed. To make sure that he wouldn’t make any more noise than possible Toyata checked that his kit were properly secured and its contend wouldn’t rattle, he wiped off the bloody blade in the shirt of the dead bandit leader. Time to move out and find the missing pilgrim.

Finding anything in this mountain region was a far greater challenge than it sounded. Numerous trails were so badly maintained that they had completely been taken over by the wilderness once again. It didn’t help that one mountain side looked exactly like the next one and as none of the areas had any landmarks such as crocked trees or some sort of strange rock formation. It was when Toyata had followed the same trail for two hours only to find that had a dead end due to rockslide that he became both frustrated and worried that he might never be able to locate the missing woman. As he was backtracking, following in path back to the beginning, he heard voices:

”Keep your eyes open for that old woman, she has probably crawled into a corner somewhere. Her old bastard of a husband sure did a number on Redbeard, it is going to be so much fun to show him her all tied up and beaten.”

This was immediately followed by the sound of several people laughing. Apparently Toyata had stumbled onto one of the bandit patrol looking for the pilgrim. This might just be what he needed to find said missing pilgrim. These bandits knew this area far better than Toyata and by trailing them it was far more likely to discover the woman. Toyata could always take care of the men when the woman has been found. Crouching behind a brush Toyata got a good look of the little band of bandits; the leader was a short and broad man in ragged clothes carrying a large double edged axe, he was accompanied by two younger men, how looked like twins, each holding a nodachi.

As the group moved through the wilderness, walked on narrow ledges and jumped over small holes in the trail on the mountain side Toyata followed them stalking them, waiting for the opportune moment. Even though the bandits hadn’t received training in control of chakra thus drastically improving their stamina they kept a pace through this rough terrain that truly impressed Toyata, who actually had to strain himself some to keep up with them. Toyata had not followed the group before they suddenly came to a stop; the bandits had suddenly frozen facing a small cave. Toyata watched intensively as one of the twins went into the camp cave and then dragged the old woman outside. Judging from the resistance the elderly pilgrim had in her it was clear to Toyata that she hadn’t been seriously injured during the initial attack.

This was the opportune moment Toyata had been waiting for. Reaching into the kit at his hip Toyata slowly and silently withdrew six shuriken and snuck a little distance to the right to gain a better view and aim at the bandits. Now completely out in the open the old woman tried to get on her feet and she kicked at one twin while trying to bite the twin who was holding her shoulder down on the ground. The bandit leader walked to the rest and raised his right hand forming a fist and just as he moved to strike Toyata sent the shuriken flying. One hit the leader at his right hand wrist and second buried itself deep in his neck with a disgusting wet sound. Each of the twins was also on the ground both twitching a little with two shuriken in their chest. The elderly woman clearly shocked looked frantically around to find the source of the shuriken and trying to determine if any danger was present, she pushed the twin who had fallen dead over her away and scrambled on her feet. Toyata ran forward hand and palms up to show that he was friendly.

”Hallo, I am Yuki, Toyata. Kumogakure sent me and my team to find you and your companion. He should be safe and sound down at the foot of the mountain by nightfall.”

The pilgrim kept her distance from Toyata as he approached, then her gaze finally found Toyata’s forehead protector and her demeanor completely changed from one of fear and hesitation to one of hope and relief. She almost tripped over her own feet several times as she ran towards Toyata. Finally being able to utter the words and questions she obviously longed to be answered:

”Is he still alive? Have you seen him? When can I see him?...”

She stopped as Toyata held his hand up to refrain her from asking more questions and to keep her quite. You never knew when another patrol might show its ugly face. Toyata let the woman know that she should be quite, they then went to gather the bodies and hide them in the small cave, and it was while Toyata was covering the opening with broken off branches and old leaves that he began answering her questions:

”Yes, he is still alive according to sources who wouldn’t lie. I have not seen him personally, but we are working on getting him back safely. We’ll meet up with him at nightfall as I said earlier. However we should keep out of sight for the moment and wait for my teammate Karasu, we split up a little while back.”

Toyata finally secured one of the important pilgrims, now he had to wait for Karasu to show up and then make his way back down the mountain.

CP: 61

Spoiler:

[EXIT]???

(Don’t know how it is looking on your end Eric, but you can finish your part if you want and D if he does just meet up and take us down the mountain)
(D, you just told me that you had forgotten due to Halloween. You should just have told me that you were sick.)

Age : 34 Posts : 1209

The group had to work fast! This thought echoed throughout the boy's mind as he began to look around, trying to figure out how to release everyone from their caged prisons. The man before him chuckled gently as he watched Kaze's eyes dart around the confines of the cave, almost as though he could read the boy's mind. Eventually Kaze's attention was pulled back toward the man as he began to speak, taking only a second or two to clear his throat.

"Boy, the key is with one of those two guarding the entrance. There's another that is held by the leader of this camp. I don't advise you to go after either by yourself. Heal my wounds as you said you could and I will help you."

Kaze paused for a moment as he considered the man's words. How did this old man expect to help Kaze while caged in the manor that he was? The boy's questioning expression did not go unnoticed by the old man. A small smile appeared on his haggard face as he quickly glanced toward the direction from which Kaze had entered the chamber from.

"You need not understand, merely watch. Please assist me so I can assist you."

Nodding silently Kaze moved closer toward the cage as the old man brought forward his heavily bruised arms. As the boy looked over the upper limbs, he wondered just how much the old man had been through. Granted, on first glance he didn't seem too bad, but the young blonde suspected that his arms carried many fractures among numerous soft tissue injuries. Chances were that the rest of his body was like this too. How the man was moving about was a mystery to the young child. This old man, whoever he was, was tougher than he looked. The thought brought a swell of confidence to the child as he extended his own hands to begin the healing process. As the boy held his hands over the old man's arms, he began to feel the slight strain as he forced his chakra outward in an effort to repair as much of the man's injuries as possible. For several minutes the two stood across from one another as the man moved appropriately to allow Kaze's healing energies to wash over his body, penetrating deep into his flesh and repairing the damage that had been wrought on his form. As the boy did his best to maintain his focus, he couldn't help but notice the eyes of many other prisoners now focused on him. In this one act, it seemed as though he had become the beacon of hope these people had gone so long without.

"There..."

The old man said as he withdrew from the boy's energy. Kaze immediately halted the process, watching the former monk with a curious expression. The old man answered the inquisitive look with another chuckle as he made a slight motion for Kaze to back up.

"You'll want to sand back..."

"What are you gonna do?"

Kaze asked as he instinctively moved backwards, giving a good five meters between himself and the cage door. Kaze's ears began to burn slightly as the faint sound of voices muttering in the background began to pick up. The air that had once held feeling of despondency and depression was now filling with tense and exciting energy. There was hope! There was the chance to taste freedom once more. Everyone here was willing to do their part for this goal. Kaze felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing as he watched as the old man inhaled deeply while closing his eyes in order to focus himself. The young genin's expression only grew more and more perplexed as he watched this man, wondering what it was that he had planned. Suddenly the man seemed to explode into motion, bringing his right hand forward toward the cage door only for the metal to seemingly bend a split second before the man's open hand would have struck the door. The door's lock mechanism gave way to the sudden explosion of force as the metal bent and creaked in protest. Suddenly the door swung open violently as though some behomoth had taken the liberty to teach the metal barrier a lesson about standing between a man and his goals. Kaze could only stand there, dumbstruck as he watched as the old man stepped out of the cage, cringing slightly in pain as he ran his left hand over his right forearm, still showing signs of pain from his earlier injuries.

"What did you do? How'd you do that?"

To this, the former monk gave a small chuckle as he made a slight motion toward the passage that lead to the cave's exit.

"We'll talk after we get the key from those two. Then we can release the rest of these people."

Kaze nodded with a small smile. Whoever this man was, he definitely was no pushover. It must have taken a lot of bandits to bring him down without killing him. Kaze quickly began to make his way toward the cave's mouth, trailed by his new companion. The two didn't speak for fear of revealing their presence to the guards. As they drew closer to the entrance, the light of the day flooded their vision, causing both to squint while their eyes adjusted to the change in lighting. Luckily for them, no one had noticed them. After a few more seconds passed, the two made their move. Kaze went to the left and the man to the right as each one took on one of the guards in a quick blitz like moment in hopes of silencing them before the others could hear or notice.

As Kaze went for his opponent, he withdrew a kunai from the holster strapped to his left thigh. The boy wasted no time jumping up and wrapping his arm around the man's neck as he brought the kunai in a diagonal upward motion against the back of the man's neck, stabbing the bladed weapon into the fleshy, vulnerable backside of the man's lower head where there lay a gap between the base of the skull and the first vertebrae. The man let out a surprised yell, trying to alert the others to his predicament but such a sound was muffled by Kaze's hand that had managed to cover the orifice. In a matter of seconds the man fell limp, falling to the ground as he was effectively pithed by Kaze's maneuver, severing most if not all the connections between his brain and spine. The man was essentially brain dead at this point, allowing Kaze to step back, sighting lightly to himself before immediately setting to work on searching for the key on his victim's body. From the corner of the boy's eye he could see the old man doing the same, though the method with which the former monk had incapacitated his target was a mystery to the young boy who's attention had been fully occupied with his own scuffle.

"Got it."

Kaze's voice hissed as he pulled out a large looking key from one of the guard's pockets. The two immediately withdrew into the cave, dragging the bodies of the men just within the shadows of the entrance as to not arouse suspicion by anyone looking over. Of course, the lack of guards would probably wind up being just as suspicious but less so than a couple of corpses. The two quickly set off back to the main chamber were they began to unlock all the caged doors, freeing the slaves. The process would take around ten minutes as the two moved quickly, gathering all thirty-five prisoners in one area.

"Alright..."

The old man spoke once everyone had been freed from their prison. Immediately the excited clamor of voices came to a halt as all eyes fell on the former monk, expecting some sort of miracle plan. The old man shifted uncomfortably as he glanced in Kaze's direction. The two exchanged glances before Kaze slowly stepped forward, feeling uneasy. He was only a child, yet all these people seemed to look upon him as though he were some sort of leader. It was a position he hardly deserved or wanted. The boy took a moment to look over the small crowd, his gaze hardening as he tried to come up with a solid plan.

"I need everyone who thinks they can fight and anyone who has severe injuries to form a line over here. I will do my best to patch you all up the best I can with the limited energy I have left. In return I need all volunteer fighters to listen to my plan and act accordingly. Once I've finished treating all your wounds, you will follow the old man's lead and charge toward the boundary of the camp. I need you all to run as fast as you can but at the same time you need to stick together. I want the fighters of the group to be up with the old man while a few remain in the back of the group to help assist anyone who falls behind while defending the rear....I will stay in the back and do my best to cover your escape with my skills. The chaos created from your escape should leave plenty of openings for me to strike. With luck everyone should make it out of here alive. Once you guys have left the camp I need you to descend the mountain. There's a village near the foot of the mountain. I want you all to take shelter there."

With that Kaze immediately turned to look at the old man, his gaze still hardened as though he were in a position of great authority.

"Your wife should be there. If she isn't, we will wait till nightfall. If she still hasn't returned I will go back up in the mountains to look for her. My friends are looking for her as we speak."

"Boy, are you sure you'll be okay hanging back like that?"

"I'm a shinobi. I'll be fine."

Kaze offered the best smile he could before walking away from the old man. As he did so he noticed the line of people forming in the area he had motioned to. There were quite a few, but thankfully not a majority. Kaze knew that he couldn't expend his energy to heal everyone to perfect condition, but he could try to take away the pain the best he could in the limited time they had. With that thought in mind the boy set to work, healing the people who came to him as everyone else began to chat amongst themselves, no doubt forming their own plans of what to do once freed.

"Boy, I never got your name."

The old man's voice rang out gently as he approached Kaze from behind while the child worked. Kaze's gaze remained fixed on his patient, holding his answer until he finished treating the most severe of the person's injuries, only to motion for them to move so another person may take their place.

"Kaze...Kaze Mikado. What about yours?"

"People just call me Jin."

Kaze nodded as he went back to concentrating on the new person, healing their wounds the best he could while trying to preserve as much energy as he could.

"Jin...how'd you open your cage?"

"Oh that? That was the Wind Fang style."

As Kaze finished with his second person he paused, turning to look in Jin's direction with wide eyes. The old man found himself intrigued by the boy's reaction. Had this child heard of the Wind Fang style?

"Did you say Wind Fang?"

"I did...what do you know of it?"

"My mother trained to use that style as a child. She was taught by a group of monks in Kaze No Kuni."

The old man began to chuckle slightly as he allowed himself to be seated in a crossed leg stance.

"Oh this is a surprise then. I would have never guessed that a fellow practitioner would be so close. Though, judging by your reaction to my technique, I don't suppose you know much about the style, do you?"

At that Kaze turned back toward the line of people as a new person approached, seeking his aid. Kaze set to work healing them, already starting to feel the strain of exerting himself to such a large degree.

"No. She never taught me anything about it."

"A shame...it would have been useful in this situation, though I guess I can understand why she wouldn't want to teach her child the style. It is a dangerous fighting style if used incorrectly. It could lead to serious injury or even death...not only for the victims but for the users who are not disciplined enough in the proper skills."

Kaze sighed lightly as he finished with the current patient, only for another to take their place. The boy, however, was now listening to the former monk as he spoke. There had been a time when Kaze had done nothing but begged his mother to show him the style, to instruct him in its usage but in the end she had refused, favoring his elder brother over him. The thought left a bitter taste in the child's mouth that made his brow furrow slightly in frustration.

"Tell you what Kaze. Once this is over and I've had time to recover and spend time with my wife. I'll visit your village. I'll show you the basics of the style and train you the best I can."

The man had barely finished speaking before Kaze found himself turning around with wide eyes and a huge grin plastered on his face.

"Really?! You'll teach me?"

"Yes of course. But first we need to get out of this alive. So don't get ahead of yourself."

The boy nodded obediently as he turned back around to finish dealing the remaining injured. A new sense of determination burned within his chest, pushing him forward despite his growing weariness. He had to get everyone out alive. He had to live as well so that he could learn the coveted Wind Fang style. It had been a dream of his for so long when he had been a small child, a dream he had long since deemed hopeless. Now though, the chance to learn the style stood right before him, given that things worked out as planned. Kaze continued his work, quickly healing the people as much as his body would allow. Once finished, the boy ran over his plan again with the people. They were ready. He was ready. It was now or never!

The charge came as a complete surprise to the remaining three guards patrolling the area. It was as if the cave had suddenly taken to vomiting people as a habit. From the dark mouth spilled forth a thirty-seven individuals, running and yelling as they charged forward toward the far end of the camp. The three guards immediately took up arms, ready to strike whoever came within range but immediately they found their sight clouded by smoke as Kaze launched three shuriken, one toward each man, with a smoke pellet tucked into each projectile. Only one of the bladed weapons actually connected with one of the bandits, while the other two fell short, landing at their feet only to detonate the small pellet into a cloud of smoke which blinded the men. With all three guards enveloped in smoke, Jin saw his chance to strike, breaking away from the group for a brief moment to launch a flurry of Wind Fang style techniques that served to not only dissipate the smoke but to send the bandits flying off in the direction of the cliff where two found themselves unable to cling to anything before being sent over the edge. Unfortunately one had managed to find a good hand hold and hung on the cliff's edge, attempting to pull himself up. Jin didn't bother to finish this man off, returning to the head of the charge while Kaze rushed toward the cliff's edge to finish the man off with a forceful kick that would send his foot crashing into the man's face. The force of such a kick would result in the bandit losing his grip on the ledge and thus force him to fall to the depths below.

With the three guards taken care of, there was no one left patrolling the camp, allowing for the people to quickly escape. Kaze couldn't help but feel as though this was all a bit too easy. The rest of the men must have been out patrolling the mountains for the woman, but still, the camp seemed largely unsecured for a place that was housing this many prisoners. As Kaze stood there wondering he heard the faint buzz of Jin's voice calling out to him.

"Kaze, let's go!"

The boy nodded as he began to turn to head toward the group of people who at this point had slowed to a stop to wait for the child. However the boy's run was halted as he heard someone behind him yell out in an enraged manor. The voice caught his attention, forcing the child turn in the direction from whence the sound came. Upon turning, Kaze's gaze was met with the scene of a large man exiting the fancy isolated tent near the cliff's edge. As the man walked out of the tent he began to scream at the top of his lungs as he hefted what looked to be a large battle hammer over his shoulder.

"What's going on here?! Where are my men?!"

The man's dark brown eyes began to scan the area, searching for the guards who had previously been stationed around the area. As expected though, no one remained save the boy and the group of runaway prisoners.

"You! All of you return to your cages. Those who do not will be forced to deal with me and believe me, I'm not someone you want to deal with."

Kaze felt his gut tighten as he looked over the large man. The man easily stood over six and a half feet and looked to outweigh Kaze by at least two-hundred pounds. There was little doubt in the child's mind that such a large man would have little trouble in catching these prisoners, or at least a portion of them and there was little doubt that if he did manage to catch them, that he'd make them regret running away.

"Are you the leader here?"

The boy spoke out as he glared at the large man. The answer was self evident to the child, but still the boy felt the need to ask. Even if the group could escape, leaving the leader alive was not a smart move. He would only continue his operation within the mountains. The problem would not be solved. Kaze had to make a stand here to deal with this man. If nothing else, then at least he could buy time for the group to escape.

"That I am! And who are you?!"

"I'm Kaze Mikado, shinobi of Kumogakure. I'm here to put an end to your slave operation!

"Kaze, wait!"

Jin's voice rang out again as he called out to the boy. Such a bold statement made by someone so small caused the people amongst the escaping group to mutter nervously to one another.

"Jin! Take these people to the place I told you to go. Don't wait for me. I'll do my best to buy you time."

At this the large man began to laugh as he stepped forward, his eyes narrowing slightly as he glared down at the child who stood a good 15 meters away from him.

"You think you can stop me? You are nothing but an insect in my eyes, barely worth noticing. I'll easily destroy you then take back my merchandise."

"You will try but you will fail!"

At that Kaze rushed forward, letting out a battle cry of determination that served as the starter pistol for this fight. At that Jin quickly began to usher the people away from the scene, forcing them to continue their escape. The old man felt guilty for allowing Kaze to face off against the large bandit on his own, but he couldn't very well leave the people by themselves. Jin needed to guide them down the mountain as fast as possible. Once they were safely in the village, the man would make his way back up to the camp where he'd hopefully be able to assist Kaze, though he doubted that the fight would continue for that long. With that thought in mind the old man vanished into the brush, leaving Kaze and the bandit leader alone.

Kaze continued to charge forward, yelling loudly as the man prepared his hammer, bringing it up and over his head before sending it crashing down moments before Kaze could get within striking distance. The child quickly jumped back, barely avoiding the lethal strike as the ground before him splintered from the force of the hammer's blow. The bandit, however didn't let up as he quickly withdrew his hammer, rushing forward, bringing the large weapon back like a baseball bat, readying to swing it in a horizontal arc that aimed to smash the child's left flank. Anticipating the move, Kaze dug his heels into the ground to halt his backwards momentum while allowing a surge of chakra to help him propel his body forward at break neck speeds that allowed him to slam hard into the bandit with a slightly extended right arm that only managed to wrap slightly around the man's stomach. The force of blow did little to hurt the man but it did serve to knock him slightly off balance. This off balance stance along with the momentum created by the hammer's swing caused the man to recoil for a brief second which left him open for Kaze's secondary strike which involved Kaze dropping low as he sent a horizontal kick for the man's shins. This kick would slam hard into the leader's lower leg, causing him to cringe from being struck in such a vulnerable place. Of course Kaze did not stop, using his chakra infused body to help increase his speed the boy withdrew his leg only to jump and launch a second kick for the man's torso, striking him hard in the right flank while at the same time using his other leg to push off from the man's stomach to allow the boy to gain more altitude. Another kick was suddenly launched at the man's chest, striking him hard along the man's sternum while once again the boy used the man's body to allow him to sail ever higher. Finally, once the boy was high enough he allowed his left leg to lift as high as he could manage before bringing it down hard in a forceful heal drop toward the bandit's right clavicle. The blow would connect, serving to fracture the man's collar bone, causing him to howl in pain. Unfortunately for Kaze, the attack hadn't rendered the arm useless as he had thought and the boy suddenly felt something hard strike his right side, causing him to be sent flying toward the cliff's edge even before he had managed to touch the ground after his attack.

Kaze hit the ground hard, tumbling dangerously close the cliff's edge but somehow managing not to fall over. Staring at the ground, Kaze felt his body cry out in agony. The strain of using so much chakra to heal all those people, along with exerting himself so much to simply damage this man was proving to be too much for the child. As Kaze turned to glance in his opponents direction he watched as the man struggled slightly to bring the hammer up and over his left shoulder using only one arm. This feat of strength amazed the young child as he watched the man walk ever closer toward Kaze's position. The young blonde haired genin groaned lightly to himself as he struggled to his feet, his body doing its best to convince him to stay down. He was too exhausted to keep fighting. He couldn't win this fight.

"Not through normal means, anyway..."

As the boy thought this his hands moved behind his back as he quickly scrambled with his kit. The boy retrieved the four explosive kunai that Toyata had given him but also infused his chakra into the four notes that remained condensed in a stack within his pack. Sighing lightly the boy quickly withdrew the four explosive kunai and quickly proceeded to throw them in the leader's direction. However all of them would miss, sailing past the man or between his legs, seemingly landing uselessly right behind the man. This of course caused the bandit to pause as he stared at the child with a sinister and mocking grin.

"You missed, boy!"

To this Kaze simply smiled as he quickly undid the strap that held the satchel to his waist. As though he were surrendering the child tossed the pack in the bandit's direction. Instinctively the bandit moved to avoid the pack, letting it land behind him, next to one of the explosive kunai. At this point all the kunai were spaced so that each were within 1 meter of one another and the bandit, while his pack sat more or less near the center of it all. Currently the two stood on the overhang that Kaze had noticed when he first entered the camp. This would serve as the perfect position for the blonde haired boy's plan. As the child continued to smile, the bandit found himself growing angry.

"What's so funny?!"

Once more the child simply smiled as he began to walk backwards toward the edge of the overhang. Once there Kaze felt the need to hold his hands out and away from his body in a dramatic flare as he allowed his weight to fall backwards off the cliff.

"Have fun..."

The boy spoke tauntingly as he fell from the overhang, allowing himself to fall for about half a second before forming the hand seal that would detonate his explosives. Due to the four explosive kunai that Toyata had given him and the four tags Kaze had set to detonate within the pack and the exploding pouches and all the weapons contained within the pack, it was as though Kaze had set off a cluster bomb full of shrapnel less than a meter behind the leader's back. The combined force of about 10 explosive tags would reach outward, echoing through the mountains as the bandit was impaled with several pieces of metal as he was thrown forward toward the edge of the cliff. Not only that but the overhang which had, at this point, proven to be stable, began to suffer from the concussive force. The ground where the overhang had begun to jut out from the cliff's face began to crack and splinter and as the bandit lied there, groaning from his burns and stab wounds, the ground suddenly began to tip and soon the bandit found himself falling with the section of earth that had become detached from the cliff wall.

All this was seen by Kaze as he fell toward the depths below, staring up at the sky with a misty eyed expression. He was exhausted and his body ached from the exertion. The fear of death had already come and gone, replaced by visions of his life as it flashed before his eyes. His thoughts, while running rampant over every detail of his life all returned to one person.

"Kirima..."

The boy muttered softly to himself moments before he felt his body break through the water's surface of the river that cut through the mountains. Due to the river's rapid current, Kaze was luckily carried out of the way moments before the large section of stone and earth his explosion had broken from the mountain came crashing down into the river. The boy began to feel his consciousness slipping as his body was carried down stream. Despite his urge to swim, his body wouldn't allow it and as such he slipped into a state of unconsciousness, letting the river decide his fate for now...

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Two Hours Later

Jin ran as fast as his old legs could carry him. Working his way down the mountain with so many people had been tougher than he imagined. As Kaze had predicted, they had been met with resistance but due to Jin's abilities and the assistance of those who could fight, the group made it to the village with no casualties. Though relieved that they had accomplished what they had set out to do, Jin's mind was flooded with concern for Kaze's well being. It had been a good two hours since they had parted and the old man couldn't imagine Kaze's fight lasting longer than a few minutes. Then, what had happened? Had Kaze lost? Or did the boy somehow manage to win? As the man rushed through the brush, ignoring the thorns that scratched and stabbed at him, he could only hope that the child would be okay. Emerging from the brush the man stumbled into the abandoned camp. Everything looked the same as when he had left, except for one very noticable deformaty in the landscape. The large overhang that had jutted out over the ravine was no more, instead the area looked as though it had been torn asunder by a large and explosive force. As the man moved toward the site to investigate his foot managed to lightly tap against something metallic. As he glanced down he noticed a strange looking accessory. It looked as though it were a bandana of some sort but with a metal plate stitched to the middle of it. The cloth was torn and burnt and as the man brought it up to his nose he thought he could smell the faint traces of explosive powder and smoke. The monk turned toward the large gash left on the side of the cliff, his eyes now catching the sight of shredded and warped pieces of metal. Had one of them used explosives? As Jin moved toward one of the bent pieces of metal he could faintly make out the shape of a deformed kunai that had been shredded and bent.

"Kaze...did you need to resort to that?"

The man asked quietly as he picked up the broken weapon. It would have made sense from Jin's point of view. Kaze was so small compared to the size of the bandit. Explosives would have been the easiest way of dealing with such a large opponent, but at what cost? Jin now began to edge his way toward the cliff, his steely gray eyes peering down to the river below. The man noticed a large piece of rock that had managed to find a new home on the river's bed but other than that there didn't seem to be any other sign of Kaze nor the bandit leader. Had both of them been thrown over the edge? A sad expression took hold of the old man's face as he gripped the strange bandana all the tighter. This broken and warped object was the last thing he had to remember the boy by but at the same time he knew he'd have to return it to the partners that Kaze spoke of. They deserved to know what had befallen their comrade.

"Kaze, I won't forget you. I hope with all my heart you are still alive somewhere..."

With that the old man left the camp, returning to the village at the foot of the mountain to await Kaze's teammates....

[Exit]

Kaze's story to be continued in Chuunin Exams arc...

Will submit for eval once D has posted his exit.

Jutsu:

SC:

Tools:

CP: 12/80

Posts : 81

Arashi stood among the bodies, checking his gear as his comrade checked his. They needed to head out soon, and they both knew it. The boy stood before his leader, his eyes darting to the sides of the path as Toyota figured out a path for himself. Arashi, already familiar with the mountains, had chosen the path he though would most likely be taken by someone of the described age. As he finished his thoughts Toyota set off, and so did he, taking his path and walking down it with a morose mood.

Arashi checked his gear as he walked down the path. His sword was secure, and his armor held the rest of his equipment. Navigating the mountains was normally hard, but this trail was used frequently. Well, a bit more frequently then the other trails, which is to say around once a week. Arashi had been walking the trail for a whole hour when he heard the voices, carried softly by the wind to his ear

"Well, we oughta head back with these two. We already got more than we can handle"

It was a faint sound, but it was enough for the shinobi to sneak through the underbrush getting closer and closer to a group of bandits who sat unwary around a dying campfire. Arashi peered through the brush, examining his potential foes. There were 3 of them, big men, each with an axe that could cut through a sapling like nothing. Two of the men were slinging captured travelers onto their shoulders, bound and gagged so as not to give any trouble. This wasn't Arashi's main objective, but it was an objective nonetheless, and he had to complete it.

The Bandits chuckled as they set off, walking through the brush and onto the main trail. heading back to HQ, no doubt. Arashi tailed them, he wanted to wait for the perfect moment to strike, but he knew he couldn't wait too long. He wnet a bit ahead, coming to a bend in the path where he silently drew his sword. His left hand reached back, into his duster and behind his back, withdrawing a kunai from its harness. His eyes darted and his knees bent, his breath held as the bandits came across the bend....

It happened quickly, not enough to really be called a battle, more like failure on the part of the bandits. They were obviously inexperienced, you could tell when they turned to look at the boy and his cloud technique instead of drawing their weapons. The kunai hit the first bandit like a lightning bolt, right in the throat, he bled to death on the ground, desperately trying to stop the blood from leaving his body. The second bandit did not fare better. Unable to see the boy, and with one hand preoccupied with holding his prisoner he swung wildly trying to hit the boy. His arm was sliced off, just below the elbow, and before he could scream his vocal cords were pined to the back of his neck by the point of a shuriken. The third bandit, having had time to react, placed his prisoner on the knees, and his axe just above the prisoners neck, he screamed deliriously

" Come out Demon, come out and face me with your weapons high, I WILL KEEL YOU"

The Fog lifted and before him stood a boy, small and unarmed. The man was relived now, the killer was in plain sight, and his weapons were all used up.

"Hah, A Boy like you should know better than to try to be a hero"

He chuckled as he threw his axe. It spun through the air, striking the boy dead center in the chest. A poof of smoke as the clone disappeared was the last thing he saw before cold steel took his life.

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Two Hours Later

Arashi stood on a cliff a little ways up. He had met up with Toyota after passing a group of rescued villagers. The absence of their third member bothered him, and he had come to investigate. A large peice of rock stood in the water where once there was not, warm and deformed peices of metal were strewn everywhere, and dust and soot covered the surrounding brush. An old mad examined the wreckage below. A villager? the old monk? Arashi didn't care, what was apparent was that there had been a battle, and now Kaze was missing. "God damn heros" muttered the shinobi to himself as he backed off, then ran back down. He would soon meet up with Toyota, and report Kaze. MIA

[Exit]