The Shadows of Sunagakure

[Rogue 7]

Music to set the scene (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMhhpX5gg8A)*

In the northern lands of the Land of Wind, the endless desert gives way to different, but no less harsh terrain. The ground rises into hills and mountains, and stone replaces sand. The land is harsh still- farmers eke out meager livings growing hardy crops near the few rivers that flow year-round. Most of the land is wild- a few tough plants survive through deep roots or good fortune, as hawks circle above.

This is the border the Land of Wind shares with a small, independent principality. Nominally, they forged their independence many years ago, despite lacking shinobi. The reality is that they could be conquered at any time- and indeed, they have been several times. Sunagakure and Iwagakure like having this small puppet state between them. It prevents their border patrols from clashing and sparking incidents.

Today, the sun beats down out of a cloudless sky, draining the land of any drop of moisture.

One of these border teams approaches now. A hawk, soaring high overhead, can see with its laser-like vision the four members of the team- three males and a female, one male significantly older than the others. All four bear the symbol of Sunagakure, but the older male, around his waist, wears a second marker- 忍, shinobi, a sign that he is a veteran of the Fourth Ninja World War. He is clad in loose, brown clothes, which allow for freedom of movement, and comfort in the desert heat. He wears a shinobi vest, and strapped across his back is a short sword. The team moves past small, almost unnoticeable markers, which denote the border.

Approaching a dry riverbed, the leader of the team holds up a hand to call a halt. Pulling a bottle of water from the pouch at his waist, he takes a long drink before offering it to the other members of the group.

"We've got about five more miles in this direction before we turn around and head back. If we time it right, we might just run across the team moving in the opposite direction from the next checkpoint. I don't know what team they are, though. Anyone want some water?"

* I've got a fairly wide taste in soundtracks, so I'll be drawing from a bunch of different sources to provide fitting music. You're likely to hear Halo, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Gladiator, The Last Samurai, The Dark Knight, and several others.

[RandomAction]

Shinoto reaches out and takes the canteen while mumbling a thanks. His face is covered in sweat and streaks of dirt stand out against his skin. A tired expression is seen on his face. He heavy breathing state the need for more physical exercise.

After taking a small swallow, he reaches it over to the orange haired girl beside him. Taking his dark colored glasses off, he wipes the dust from the with a rag from his pocket. His eyes squint from the glare of the sun as he finishes cleaning them and then replaces them back over his eyes.

"Kanji-sensei. I understand why we need to patrol these lands, but must it be done so often?"

[josh13905]

Theme Change!? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUP6pu3tHS4&feature=related)

Kano comes to a stop next to the others, and during the break his eyes flit upwards toward the hawk. A look of longing in his eyes, how wonderful it would be to be able to fly! To soar above all others, letting the wind flow beneath his wings. But he was stuck in reality, where the only wings he had, were the ones he would work for.

"Ever-Vigilant is the way of the Shinobi, so too must be that of the Nation. We are the eyes and ears of the people." Kano cracked a grin, and turned his head to look at Shinoto, "Wouldn't wanna miss anything.":smallamused:

[Rogue 7]

Kanji-sensei smiles slightly, reclining in the slightly cooler dirt offered by the riverbank. Even on break, his eyes constantly flit towards the horizon, constantly watching. There was no such thing as a true break for a shinobi.

"Kano-kun has the right of it. Given how things have been lately, Kazekage-sama wants to be sure that we catch any infiltrators."

He leans his head back, conserving his strength.

[Zerkai]

"Thank you, but I have my own." Fuuko takes the canteen from Shinoto and just passed it on to Kano as they came to a halt, rifling through her small daypack to find her own canteen since they had come to a stop. The orange haired girl took a drink from her own canteen with a sigh of relief, eyes closed for the moment.

"It's kind of hard to imagine... with all the tension that's been building lately, that all shinobi were unified a decade ago. I would've liked to see something like that." She closed her canteen, opening her eyes to look at the marker around her Sensei's waist with the '忍' symbol with curiously

[RandomAction]

Shin reclines against a rock and lets out a small sigh of relief. Reaching into his pack, he pulls out a small red covered book. Flipping the crisp pages to a spot that is marked with an old photo, he begins to read quietly.

Anyone looking at the cover can read the words: "Anatomy for Dummies: Advanced Edition #2 of 5."

"Kanji-sensei, does the Kazekage really think that we may be in danger of attack? Why would another nation wish to shatter the peace that we have now?"

[Rogue 7]

Kanji looks up at the horizon, lacking clouds to stare at as is traditional when reminiscing.

"It certainly was something to see, Fuuko. I've never seen that many ninja together in one place- I don't think anyone has. But pray you never do. We were very close to losing it all, and even though we triumphed, many skilled shinobi were killed. I was very lucky to have survived."

He sighs, still looking at the horizon, before his eyes returned to scanning for anything.

"We're not concerned about an invasion- more scouts and spies. I doubt even you could fight off an invading army, Shinoto-kun."

With that, Kanji-sensei stood up, stretching and holding out his hand for his water.

"Time to get moving."

[josh13905]

Kano accepts the water canteen he takes a swift drink, before returning the cap to its rightful place, and handing it back to the Sensei. Their brief respite was over, and they were going back to work, or in this case jogging.

"Right then, let's get back to it then." A quick leg stretch and Kano fell into formation before the returned to running.

[RandomAction]

Grumbling quietly, Shin stands up and replaces his book into his pack. Looking up at the sun, he tries to guess how much longer it is until sunset. Sighing loudly, he follows behind the rest of the group.

"I can't wait to get back to the Sand village. If there was a fight, my taijutsu would only cause more trouble for us. Kanji-sensei, can you help me train more?"

[Zerkai]

"I guess my father was one of the lucky ones... sort of. He fought in the Fourth War too, lost his arm though." Fuuko said with a sigh as she thought about it, before putting her canteen away in her pack. She got ready to move along with the others in the group.

"You can never have enough training... there are still a lot of Jutsu I want to look into." Fuuko glanced back to Shin with a smile as they moved

[RandomAction]

"My father was one of the lucky ones too. He was paralayzed by a jutsu before I was born. He has shown me pictures of him and his puppets."

He gets a far-away look for a second before continuing.

"I just want to learn more to defend myself. Sure I know a few medical jutsu, but that only helps after some-one gets hurt."

[josh13905]

Kano had nothing to add to the conversation, he had a few relatives that had fought in the war, but he was no longer on speaking terms with, well any of them. So he merely continued his stretches and waited for them to get back to the patrol.

[Rogue 7]

The long patrol continued under a watchful sun, which continued its long, slow arc towards the horizon. The heat was immense, but the sort of thing the village expected its ninjas to be able to handle. Kanji-sensei expressed what few orders he had with terse, stark hand gestures. As the group reached the turnaround point, one could see a chasm, the remnants of a mighty river, that cut through the land to the north. Kanji-sensei held his hand up in a fist, the gesture for "stop and take cover" and fell to the ground himself, observing the horizon.

[josh13905]

Kano quickly veers off to Kanji-sensei's left and drops to the ground watching their rear, keeping one eye on Kanji and the rest of the squad.

What going on? Is someone there?

Kanji wasn't one to make mistakes, no something was definitely up.


Not sure if you need these but here:
Spot:[roll0]
Listen:[roll1]
Hide:[roll2]

[Zerkai]

Like Kano, Fuuko dropped to the ground at the signal, putting her hood up over her head. She tried her best to hide herself as she waited for another signal form her sensei.

Spot: [roll0]
Listen: [roll1]
Hide: [roll2]

[RandomAction]

Seeing his sensei pause, Shinoto halts his movement a few feet behind everyone. At the signal, he quickly hides and pulls out a kunai. Glancing to his team-mates, his mind wanders off.

What is going on? Could we have met another patrol? Or is it something or one else?, he thinks to himself as a small sweat drop forms.

Rolls:
Hide: [roll0]
Spot: [roll1]
Listen:[roll2]

[Rogue 7]

As the four shinobi continue to scan the horizon, out of nowhere that the genin can see, an explosive kunai hurtles into the dirt in front of their faces. It's close enough that they have no time to react, as the runes etched into the hilt begin to glow....


....and then fade away as the kunai remains inert. You all hear a voice from the ravine to the north-

"You'd be dead if you were an enemy, Ibaraki. Teach your genin to hide better!"

Kanji-sensei laughs and stands up, motioning for you to do the same.

"That's not our job, Nakajima! We're border patrol, we want to be seen."

From the edge of the ravine, a short young woman hops out from the edge and onto the plain in front of you. She is only a couple inches taller than Fuuko, though decidedly older. Her silver hair falls to mid-back, and her left eye is missing, covered by a black patch. She wears a shinobi vest and leggings, under a large, heavy khaki coat. You wonder how she manages not to die of heatstroke wearing that thing.

Kanji-sensei picks up the kunai and tosses it directly at her face at full-speed. She snags it out of midair without looking, flips it causally around her fingers, and stows it within one of the many holsters she carries.

"What brings you so far afield alone, Nakajima-san? I hadn't heard of any missions."

The woman's smile thins, leaving her one eye with a very serious look.

"Reconnaissance. Kazekage-sama wanted information on Iwagakure. I've got valuable info, but I was picked up. I'm not sure how far behind they are, but they're definitely coming. Four, at least."

Kanji-sensei's grin falls off as well.

"Hrm. That's not good. Very well then."

He turns to you three.

"New mission. We're to assist Nakajima-san with returning to the village at all speed. Members of the enemy are pursuing. If they find us, obey Nakajima-san's orders."

He stops and pulls a scroll out of his vest pouch, opening it and hastily scrawling a message.

Nakajima-san nods at this, then performs a summoning jutsu. A hawk appears on her arm, bearing an eyepatch as well. If you look closely, you'll notice that its eyes are the exact same shade of gold as the woman who summoned it. It lets out a cry as Kanji-sensei holds up the scroll for it. With a sweep of its wings, it takes off from Nakajima-san's arm, snatching the scroll in its talons and winging away east.

Kanji-sensei nods.

"Move out. South, double-time!"


She basically looks like this minus the whip, and with a long coat.
http://i55.tinypic.com/2lbgaoz.jpg



My apologies for not updating more. I'll admit, having reposted this concept from a previous game, inspiration was very thin on the ground. However, it has now struck! I have ideas! And thus, I'm a lot more enthusiastic about getting this game seriously going.

And if you can name the character, you'll get brownie points from me*

*brownie points are worthless

[josh13905]

No brownie points for me today...

Kano stands ups and relaxes a bit before tensing back when he hears of the coming pursuers. His hand strays to his shuriken holster, then retracts.

With a flash he's off following Nakajima-san dashes South, glancing every so often over his shoulder watching for their pursuers.

[RandomAction]

"Hai, Kanji-sensei."

Quickly replacing his kunai in it's sheath, Shin follows taking up the rear position. He looks over his shoulder periodically to see if anyone is following. A small sliver of prespiration traces it's way down his face leaving a trail through the dust. To those looking it seems like he has gotten slightly paler with the news of an incoming enemy.

"This is bad. The way sensei is acting states that these enemy ninja may be more than we genin can handle. Kami-sama, please let them get lost.", Shinoto thinks to himself.


Spot check to see if Shinoto sees anyone following: [roll0]

[Zerkai]

Fuuko got back up when she realized the shinobi was one of their own, smiling with a relief, though both soon faded when she heard the situation. Taking note of the kunoichi only a little taller than herself and the eyepatch on her and her summons before she followed the other two genin, running South towards the village.

"I should have studied kage bushin... In case they catch up to us, we'll stall them as best as we can for her Sensei." She told Kanji-Sensei, expecting herself and the other Genin to be found fairly quickly

Really sorry, RL happened, taking care of new pets, and got caught up with playing c atch up with other games too.

[Rogue 7]

Alright, let's get this show back on the road! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juwyOu0klEI&feature=related)

You run quickly through the hot desert heat, as fast as you can without wearing yourself out. Despite her short legs, the silver-haired woman keeps pace effortlessly, at times running backwards to scan the horizon for pursuers with her one eye. She is clearly well-versed at this.

As you run, a cloud of dust indicates your presence, making it difficult to conceal your position- an advantage as a border patrol, but of more concern now. Kanji-sensei and Nakajima-san have apparently decided that speed is more valuable, and thus make no attempt to conceal your position.

Nakajima smiles at Fuuko and Shinoto as their nervousness is made evident.

"Don't worry. I wasn't sure if I could deal with them on my own, but between the five of us, we should be more than a match for them. The only ones dying today will be them if they're dumb enough to try and attack."

As time passes and the sun sets, you can detect no trace of your pursuers. Your two superiors frown and begin talking to each other.

"They were pursuing me on foot when I last caught a glimpse of them. I doubt they'd give up so easily, I have valuable intel."
"No, they wouldn't. And it'd be difficult for them to avoid leaving a trail traveling at this speed. Tunnelers?"

"That makes sense. How do we get them, then?"

Kanji-sensei smiled at that question.
"I've got a few ideas. But genin! Here's a good opportunity. The enemy is underground and inaccessible. They can spot us a lot easier than we can spot them, and there's no reason to think that we can lose them. How do we draw them out and either eliminate or get away from them? Here's a hint- tunnelers are in short supply."

He looks expectantly at you as he continues to run.

Edit: Oh, and since no one could place the character: she's Cinque, a Combat Cyborg from the third season of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (we're playing a Naruto roleplaying game, shut up.), and she's got 12 other combat cyborg sisters with different powers. Nakajima-san will most likely come from a large family.

[josh13905]

Kano smiles, while dashing from tree to tree, "Transform then split up?" The young ninja suggested. "Or rather if the intel is documented, transfer the documents between shinobi, and then split up." Kano wouldn't be able to transform, but that didn't mean he had no knowledge of the process.

[RandomAction]

"Kanji-sensei, *pant* couldn't we bury some exploding tags *pant* in the ground and *pant* set them to explode when someone*pant* other than us *pant* comes near them? This way the *pant* enemy will have to slow down or dig *pant* deeper to avoid them, if they do *pant* not find them that is."

Shinoto is panting heavily from the all out run. His physical endurance is clearly shown to be less than everyone else's. Several times during the run, the group has had to slow down for him to catch up.