Team Cybele: The Hare and the Snake

[Princess Tracy]

Amon notes Cybele's apparent reliance on people's shadows to hide as they make their way to the bandit hangout. "Cybele-sensei, you MUST teach me how to do that at some point. I'll train as long as you need me to, it's a really cool trick. Although I wish you'd tell us in advance whose shadow you're hiding in, you're kind of creeping me out (and perturbing my thoughts)."

Drawing up to the fortress, she looks the thing over as she turns to her team mates. "Well, this seems easy enough. Not much resistance on the outside. Houshi, why don't you stay here (with Cybele if she would be so kind) while me and Yousuke attempt some stealth to try and search the joint? Any tactical analyses to render before that?"

[Princess Tracy]

Amon does a quick huddle with the gang, giving a series of pointers and ideas on how to break in and deal with them.

Plan check [roll0]

"Okay, Yousuke, I have an idea for getting us right to the boss - from there the rest of it is easy. We've learned today they are on neutral to bad terms with the ninja, but with them being this close, only a few minutes walk from the camp, they must at least not be openly hostile. We'll work that angle. Suneko said she met the female leader. So what we need to do is obvious. It's times like this I really wish you could do ninjutsu, Houshi, but we'll work around that. One of us will henge into Suneko, the other her scroll, and we'll take Houshi as our bodyguard and request to meet the leader again. It should at least get us in front of the gate without incident."

Amon turns her back, squatting as she sets her arms backwards towards Yousuke. "Come on, Yousuke, let's do this. There's two roles here - Suneko or her scroll. Take your pick."

---

Disguise check [roll1] - Plan bonus should apply, but obviously isn't factored in

If the group agrees to her plan, she transforms into Suneko, taking Yousuke as a scroll and Houshi as her second and goes up to the entrance; she stealths her way up there until right in front of the guard's faces for effect, to make her master ninja status in character more believable. Emerging from the cover, she whistles for Houshi's lumbering self to follow and turns to the guardsmen, putting on her best impression of Suneko as she requests to see Mara again on urgent business
Diplomacy check to get past the door and led to the leader [roll2] - again i refer you to plan bonus.

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke nods, generally aware of Amon's plan to sneak into the bandit camp. "I'll Henge facing outward as the scroll so that I can literally cover your blindspot. Tap on the scroll twice on the side if you need me to break the Henge."

It was as good a plan as any and knowing his teammate, Amon likely had practice putting on different faces. Better her than him he supposed.

[ZeroNumerous]

Amon and Yousuke

The guards ready their weapons as soon as the two genin get within a hundred feet. They only see it as a woman and her scroll, but they're clearly not friendly toward Amon's disguise. If she tries to take another step forward, then an arrow shoots down from a second story window. The warning shot embeds itself in the ground at her feet, and someone steps out onto the windowsill to make himself known.

The bandit wears a ratty and loose-fitting brown jacket with a gray undershirt. His gray slacks are stained with dark red splotches up and down the legs. He's wearing stubble from several days of not shaving, and bears short cropped brown hair. You can't see his eyes clearly from your position, but you can tell he's dangerous based on the huge longbow he's wielding. He takes aim for another arrow, and points it straight at Amon. Both genin recognize him as the "bandit" from the scroll, but he doesn't have any of the scars or tattoos that his mugshot had. The guards shout from their position at the door.

"Leave! This fortress is under the protection of Lord Mara Soushio. Leave now, for Mara-dono will not be firing another warning shot!"

[Princess Tracy]

Amon silently curses Suneko, as if it were somehow her fault this disguise didn't allow them in on friendly circumstances. She recovers quickly enough as she faces Mara, ignoring the guards and the arrow. "Warning shot? If anything I accept that as a sign of peace. Against ninja, one can spend their entire life trying to catch one by surprise; if ever I were to be caught off guard, if ever I were to be touched by an ordinary's blade, if that was this day, you have squandered that opportunity. Thus, you either cannot hope to fight me or you consider yourself a ninja. I did not come looking for a lord. I would seek an audience, preferably with Mara Kei." Amon turns her back, as if about to leave, though still looking over her shoulder at the bowman. "I suppose it is not so urgent that I need to kill to gain such an audience, but know this; I intend to be in that fort within the hour. Whether you let me in and have me under your eye and on friendly terms, or I come back after my next errand and break in on my own terms is entirely up to you."

Amon takes a step away from the fort, hoping to trigger something as she keeps watching it out of the corner of her eye. If there is no indication she will be accepted within the walls, she keeps walking, eventually sneaking off once she finds some cover and slinking up to meet Houshi again. Assuming, they don't open the gate or call to her, of course.

Diplomacy check to be allowed in [roll0]

[ZeroNumerous]

Amon and Yousuke

The bowman makes no movement aside from drawing and notching another arrow. The guards make no movements either. Amon's allowed to withdraw freely.

[Princess Tracy]

Amon taps the Yousuke-scroll twice as she approaches Houshi - as in instructed to wake him up. "Well, that went a lot worse than I had hoped," she remarked, sounding tired, but not dismissing her technique, remaining as Suneko in case they try something again. She explains to them all she had seen, including the archer. "He looked like him, but without the scars or tattoos. I don't know of any way to remove scars or tattoos - to my knowledge no such treatment exists. So it wasn't him, I guess. Maybe a relative? But they said the name... Well, anyone else have any ideas? I'm spent, for now."

[zeone3000]

Houshi nods, "Yes, we go back there and take'em out. We didn't come here to play nice. We came here to take back their leader to sir giggles."

[Princess Tracy]

"Lead on then, Houshi. You know the most about tactics and seem the best at bopping people with metal, I'll let you decide how we go about attacking the fort." Amon is down for basically any plan.

[zeone3000]

Assuming they Houshi about the archer, "Alright, what's are your two's maximum ranges? While I can definitely close a hundred feet in little to no time, it be better to take him out. If not that, I'm pretty sure Yousuke can scale the wall in a hasty fashion."

[Princess Tracy]

"Right. Try and keep yourself safe though. I can walk on walls as well as Yousuke can - where do you want me?"

[Princess Tracy]

After spending a minute or so huddling in preperation, Amon takes a bit of a headstart, hoping to sneak as close to the fort as possible to make up for her inferior speed. She mentally times how long it would take to reach her destination and informs the others to move in when that time expires. She circles around a little, so as to not be seen coming in the direction she left the fort.

Hide [roll0]
Move Silently [roll1] - never know, they might be in hearing range.

Aiming for within 120 feet of the forts before Houshi and Yousuke move in at top speed.

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

As soon as Amon gets within 120ft she's shot at by the enemy archer.

If Amon looks over the fort, then she sees that the guards aren't out front anymore, and the front door has been barred. The one window facing her direction has the man from before with his longbow at the ready.

Mara takes a shot at Amon, she's just within the first range increment for the Daikyuu(longbow).

Attack Roll: [roll0]
Damage Roll: [roll1]

[Princess Tracy]

"**** ****-BISCUIT!" Amon swears loudly as she is struck, sorely wishing she'd dismissed her disguise after all - what advantage was it providing her, really? It hardly matters much though as the quick jolt of pain disrupts her technique, and her form reverts in a puff of smoke. I have to be less stingy with my chakra in the future. GOD, getting shot, one never gets used to that. Ow, god-dammit, it's lodged in my ribcage. Retreat and heal up, or move forward and stick to my post of supporting those two? God I need to get some longer range genjutsu, they're made for situations like this. Wait, i don't need to use a genjutsu to use trickery!

Amon performs the clone technique, bringing 3 clones of herself into being. That done, she moves forward with each of them.

3 chakra to summon 3 adjacent clones, which move around like a stone-under-cup trick with her as they move. move 30 feet towards the fort. Cut my chances of being targetted down to like 25%
Draw sword as part of move action.

Houshi and Yousuke should hear her cursing exclamation even if they missed the timing otherwise.

[zeone3000]

Finished opening the first gate, Houshi turns his head to the sky after hearing Amon, "I believe that's our cue." He takes a deep breath, summoning his strength and speed, then speeds off at the door. He covers the distance in nearly instance, tearing up the ground in his wake. He drags the tip of his blade along the ground, brings it up from his right at an inescapable speed and tremendous force.

Charge with Ryuustuki a 120 ft.
Hit Points: 25/29
Chakra Pool: 19/23
Chakra Reserve: 8/8
Armour Class: 14
Ongoing Effects: Str Rank 1 (1/5), Spd Rank 1 (1/5), Kai-Mon (2/3)

Ryuutsuki
Attack: [roll0]
Damage Roll: [roll1]
Chakra Cost: 2

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke dashes forward, behind the larger Genin, hiding behind Houshi's large frame to distract the guardsmen from his advance. As soon as Houshi entered the encampment he would take to the walls and prevent Mara from firing at his allies and attempt to draw his fire away from his slower to react allies.

Double Move, 90 ft forward
Hit Points: 30/30
Chakra Pool: 18/22
Chakra Reserve: 10/10
Armour Class: 24
Ongoing Effects: Spd Rank 2 (1/5)

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

The giant genin hits the barricaded door like lightning, and the door splinters apart as if it had been bombed. Houshi discovers the door opens into wide, but low ceiling. At the far end of the hallway stand seven soldiers in standard battle armor with their bows notched and at the ready. The middle soldier draws back his arrow, shouts for his men to do the same, and takes aim at Houshi.

"Fire!" In an instant seven feathered shafts dart through the air at the giant target. Whether they're successful or not, all seven men immediately throw their bows to the ground and draw their katanas. Their leader shouts again. "We will hold them here. Do not allow the lord to fall!"

Mara takes a shot at Yousuke, but the genin's speed just barely gets him out of the way in time. The man frowns, then pulls on part of the wall. An unseen piece of kousen pulls a sandbag off the ceiling. It falls down behind Houshi, and a giant wooden windcover slams down over the window. It seems this route into the fort has been closed, unless Yousuke or Amon want to climb up and hack it apart manually.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/ZeroNumerous/FortInvasion.png
Dark Brown: Walls.
Light brown: Floor.
Dark Red: Houshi
Yellow: Soldiers.
Pink: Sergeant.

Initiative: Enemies(15) - Amon(14) - Houshi(10) - Yousuke(10)

Soldiers Standard Action: Fire Shortbows at Houshi.
Free action: Drop shortbows.
Move action: Draw swords.

#1: Attack Roll: [roll0]
Damage Roll: [roll1]
#2: Attack Roll: [roll2]
Damage Roll: [roll3]
#3: Attack Roll: [roll4]
Damage Roll: [roll5]
#4: Attack Roll: [roll6]
Damage Roll: [roll7]
#5: Attack Roll: [roll8]
Damage Roll: [roll9]
#6: Attack Roll: [roll10]
Damage Roll: [roll11]
Sergeant: [roll12]
Damage Roll: [roll13]

Mara's Standard Action: Take a shot at Yousuke.
Mara's Move: Close trapdoor.
Attack roll: [roll14]
Damage roll: [roll15]

Yousuke is 30ft out. Amon is 90ft out.

[Princess Tracy]

It was a rather blinding instant in which the bloodshed started; Houshi had sprung forth, overtaking Yousuke to break down the door in one fell swoop and Houshi had been peppered with arrows for his troubles. Seeing 'Mara' dive into cover though, her goal becomes clear - to back up Houshi before he really gets himself killed. With all the blood, she wondered if he wasn't at least wearing a battle vest under those clothes. "Houshi, take better care of yourself - I'm no miracle worker!" she shouts as she dashes forward, heaving herself as fast as she can as she and her clones storm up to and past Houshi in a frenzy of golden hair and shakily-held steel. She takes as defensive a post as she can as she tries to ground herself. Her clones and herself raise their swords, as if daring them to fight the auto-cloning girl. By the time she's in their clear line of sight, she does not speak and leaves no indication of which clone is real or false.

Run (up to 120 ft.) as a full-round action to reach (9,16)
Each of the clones move to (10,17), (10, 14) and (11, 15)

Amon AC 14 from runnning
HP 17/25
Chakra Pool 13/18

Clones AC 11

[Bad Situation]

Seeing the large Genin covered in arrows, Yousuke dashes in after Amon, slipping in beneath Houshi's arms to stand in front of him. When he sees the bandits draw their swords he chuckles and settles into a comfortable stance, daring them to draw near. "It seems that the bandits wish to play at being swordsmen. Perhaps I shall visit upon them the harsh reality."

Move to (10,16), Shift into Striking Tiger Stance
Hit Points: 30/30
Chakra Pool: 17/22
Chakra Reserve: 10/10
Armour Class: 24
Ongoing Effects: Spd Rank 2 (1/5), Striking Tiger Stance

[zeone3000]

Houshi smiles, shaking his head, "Thanks for looking out for me guys but you're both kinda in my way now."

Hit Points: 16/29
Chakra Reserve: 8/8
Chakra Pool: 19/23
Armour Class: 16
Ongoing Effects: Str Rank 1 (2/5), Spd Rank 1 (2/5), Kai-Mon (3/3)

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

The soldiers look confused, as they were expecting to be charged immediately. The sergeant shouts for them to regather their bows, and they drop their swords to immediately do so. He orders them to fire at everyone, and the soldiers do so.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/ZeroNumerous/FortInvasion-1.png
Dark Brown: Walls.
Light brown: Floor.
Dark Red: Houshi
Yellow: Soldiers.
Pink: Sergeant.
Dark blue: Amon(real)
Dark Gray: Yousuke

Intiative: Enemies 15 - Amon 14 - Yousuke 10 - Houshi 10.

All enemies drop their swords as a free action, and move-action grab their bows. They standard action fire at everybody.

#1, #2, and #3 fire at Amon's clones.
Attack Roll: [roll0] vs 13
Attack Roll: [roll1] vs 13
Attack Roll: [roll2] vs 13

#4 fires at Amon herself.
Attack Roll: [roll3] vs 15
Damage Roll: [roll4]

#5 fires at Houshi
Attack Roll: [roll5] vs 14
Damage Roll: [roll6]

#6 fires at Yousuke
Attack Roll: [roll7] vs 24
Damage Roll: [roll8]

Sergeant fires at Houshi
Attack Roll: [roll9] vs 14
Damage Roll: [roll10]

[zeone3000]

Houshi grunts as he shot two more times, "You guys are horrible shields." He charges forward at the leader and whiffs completely.

Hit Points: 10/29
Chakra Reserve: 8/8
Chakra Pool: 15/23
Armour Class: 13
Ongoing Effects: Str Rank 1 (3/5), Spd Rank 1 (3/5)

Kenjutsu: Gekisai
Attack - [roll0]
Damage - [roll1] [roll2]
Chakra Cost: 4

[Princess Tracy]

"Don't kill the sergeant, they'll never come to their senses otherwise!" Amon says, playing off the oddness of that last statement. She whispers to Yousuke quickly. "If he says 'Gold Princess,' do not strike him, for he is pacified, but bind him quickly. I shall deploy the technique after I get in range - 20 feet for 6 seconds, unfortunate; thin their numbers some if it pleases you, but let us try to keep it nonlethal."

"Gentlemen, for open firing on my companions and I, you force my hand! let it never be said I killed you without need, should your feeble mortal souls be lost to the weakest nudge of Raijin's fist!" She waves her hands dramatically as she forms the hand seals of her 'most powerful 'technique. Perhaps hypocritical to her advice to Yousuke, she unleashes the lightningbolt dead ahead, before repositioning herself to get a little more in range. In the chaos, she advises Yousuke "Draw him close to me, but not too close - and do NOT flank with me!" She facepalms a little as at that exact moment Houshi charges him, actually a little glad to see him fumble his attack (and that she didn't accidentally shock herself from the static of her technique while slapping herself)

Free action to drop sword, freeing up hands for technique
Swift Action to tap reserves for 3 chakra. I take 10. If unable to take 10...
Chakra Control [roll0] vs 13
5 chakra to use Lightningbolt as standard action
Move to (11,11)
AC 16, HP 17, Chakra Pool 11/18, reserves 11/14

Lightningbolt
3d6 electric damage in a line, targetting 2 and 6. DC 20 Reflex save for half damage

[zeone3000]

Houshi curses inwardly as he slams his fullblade into the ground with focused precision. The resulting shockwave threatening to ground their enemies.

Hit Points: 10/29
Chakra Reserve: 8/8
Chakra Pool: 12/23
Armour Class: 13
Ongoing Effects: Str Rank 1 (3/5), Spd Rank 1 (3/5)

Iwakuzu Taigeki
10 ft burst, centered on Houshi. DC 22 Reflex or they fall prone and take 1d6 non-lethal.

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke gracefully dodges the bandits arrow, grimacing when he sees Houshi injured yet again. The bandits needed to be taken care of, before they could come to injure Houshi any further. With nothing left to it, Yousuke springs forward as the large bodied genin slams his feet into the compound, preparing the seals for his sole offensive ninjutsu as he dashes toward the remaining bandits to unleash the powerful wave of wind. Amon seemed to have some sort of plan, but as it was, he understood none of it. He would just have to rely on his instincts in this case.

Hit Points: 30/30
Chakra Pool: 10/22
Chakra Reserve: 10/10
Armour Class: 24
Ongoing Effects: Spd Rank 2 (3/5), Striking Tiger Stance

Move Action~!
Shift to (11,7)

Attack Action~!
Kamaitachi (Sickling Wind Blast)
Jutsu Damage: [roll0] Wind Damage
Chakra Cost: 6
Targeting all Bandits except Bandit 1
Reflex DC 18 to Halve Damage
Fortitude DC 18 to avoid being pushed back [roll1]x5 feet

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

The miniature hurricane that Yousuke emits rips apart three of the soldiers. Their broken bloody bodies fall where they stood, and their deaths incite the others to fight on. The sergeant dodges Houshi's sword swing, but the ground-pound knocks down all of the men. The one injured by Amon earlier doesn't get back up, but the other two do.

The two soldiers that get up as they draw their short swords. Houshi's able to take a swing at their sergeant in the action. They both attempt to move forward.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/ZeroNumerous/FortInvasion-3.png
Dark Brown: Walls.
Light brown: Floor.
Dark Red: Houshi
Yellow: Soldiers.
Pink: Sergeant.
Dark blue: Amon(real)
Dark Gray: Yousuke

Intiative: Enemies 15 - Amon 14 - Yousuke 10 - Houshi 10.

The sergeant provokes an AoO from Houshi
Houshi's minimum damage is enough to kill him if he hits. If the sergeant survives then he takes a swing.
Attack roll: [roll0]
Damage roll: [roll1]

#1 attacks Houshi.
Attack roll: [roll2]
Damage roll: [roll3]

Nvm. They don't have the actions to attack Houshi.

#6 shoots an arrow at Amon.
[roll4] - hits real Amon on a 2.
Attack roll: [roll5]
Damage roll: [roll6]

[ZeroNumerous]

Houshi's attack of opportunity kills the Sergeant. The other soldiers continue on with their actions.

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke lets out a relieved sigh when he sees his jutsu rip through the remaining bandits. But this was no time to relax, as evidenced by Amon's cry of pain. There were still two bandits left to eliminate and his allies were barely standing at this point. Taking it upon himself, Yousuke rushes at the bow wielding bandit, drawing his blade as he leaps over the now bisected sergeant.

Hit Points: 30/30
Chakra Pool: 10/22
Chakra Reserve: 10/10
Armour Class: 22
Ongoing Effects: Spd Rank 2 (4/5), Striking Tiger Stance

Move Action~!
Charge to to (9,5) and draw sword during movement.

Attack Action~!
Standard Action Attack
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] Slashing Damage
Targeting Bandit 6

[Princess Tracy]

Amon is taken aback at the brutal efficiency of her teammates. While her slightest instincts as a medic and diplomat seemed to minimise the effectiveness of her own lightning, Yousuke and Houshi show no trouble in tearing their numbers apart until only the two her mercy spared stand to fight. It almost distracts her enough for an arrow to get lodged in her neck - her instincts click in enough for her to sidestep the brunt of the lucky atack, bu it still grazes her. She screams, tears brought to her eyes by the sudden jolt of pain as she tries to find her balance. She practically senses the ongoing assult by Yousuke against her assailant as the Sergent breathes his last. No chance for peace now. Do what is necessary to get out alive. It's just one left... just leave him to Houshi. No, Houshi will kill him outright. Why do i care? Must be the bloodloss... To be seen dancing in blood, not again... She does her best to waddle through the pain, producing a throwing star and tossing it at the melee-engaged for.

Move action: Amon moves to (8,9), draws shuriken.
Standard action: attack with shuriken, targetting foe #1
Attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1]
HP 13/25, AC 16

[zeone3000]

Houshi looks down at that little man, "You could always surrender and walk away from this, or die. Right now, right here." Houshi waits to see if he does, if not, he swings away.

Attack Roll:[roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

"It would be foolish of me to stand aside and allow you a step closer to my lord."

He raises his shortsword, but doesn't get a chance to attack before Houshi cleaves the man in two with his blade.

The six men lay dead at the sky-nin's feet. One still lives, for he'd been knocked out by Houshi's ground-pound earlier.

Now that the sound of battle has died down the three of you can hear the sound of footsteps above you, as well as more footsteps off to each side. It sounds like there's three people on your right, and four on your left. Above you the distinct sound of five sets of shoes tell you that there're at least twelve enemies remaining.

You get 933 XP for defeating this encounter.

[zeone3000]

Houshi shake his head, "You don't get that choice today."

THWACK!

"Or ever again." Houshi sighed wondering if this was right. They keep referring to their leader as mu lord. He knew it wasn't out of the ordinary for them to be fanatical but he thought they were supposed to bandits. Then again, why wouldn't they side with the others to reclaim their home? Once again, Houshi felt like he was over thinking things and turned to his team, "A dozen left and I'm already pretty banged up. We should probably retreat for the moment but we do risk the odds of facing greater numbers at once upon our return." He ponder for a moment on the subject.

Knowledge (tactics): [roll0]

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke's ears perk at the sound of footsteps as he bends down to wipe his katana clean of bandit blood. Shaking his head, Yousuke responds to Houshi's inquiry. "More are coming and retreat is out of the question with their bows at hand. I suggest we arm the corridor to the left with exploding tags," Yousuke points down at the louder corridor to emphasize his point, "And deal with the smaller group while we hinder the larger group with smoke bombs."

"Remaining to deal with the guards will prove dangerous, but retreating under conditions such as our own may prove to be more dangerous. Regardless of what we plan, we must act quickly."

[Princess Tracy]

Amon gives up on yanking the arrow from her wound and resists wincing in pain too much as she focusses. With a flick of her arm, she dumps down her bag, exposing its contents. "Take what you need." A bag of caltrops, a smoke bomb or two, among other things lie in the bag.

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Seven new enemies burst onto the scene. They're six soldiers dressed in the same uniform and wearing the same style of armor as their dead compatriots, and they're led by yet another sergeant in slightly shinier armor than his allies. They're clearly a military unit of some sort.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/ZeroNumerous/FortInvasion-4.png

Dark Brown: Walls.
Light brown: Floor.
Dark Red: Houshi
Yellow: Soldiers.
Pink: Sergeant.
Dark blue: Amon(real)
Dark Gray: Yousuke

Intiative: Enemies 15 - Amon 14 - Yousuke 10 - Houshi 10.

The enemies spent their turn arriving, so there's nothing else for them to do. You have 1 round to act as you will prior to their arrival, and a free round after their arrival as they've spent their entire turn already.

[Princess Tracy]

Prep Round. - Clone's action

Amon's clone runs up the left-hand corridor to distract the inbound opponents. Hopefully the sight of a serious ninja girl will at least make them stop to collectively make sure she's 'dead' lest she runs past them to kill their lord.

Hopefully that will buy us half a round.
Clone AC 13, double move down left corridor.

[Princess Tracy]

Prep round - Real Amon

Amon quickly rifles through her bag for a smoke bomb, her last one. Retrieving it, she dashes around Houshi to reach her designated battle position.

Move from (8,9) to (5,5) as move action
Move action to retrieve smoke bomb

[Bad Situation]

Prep Round
Yousuke moves to (15,5) sheathing his sword and drops his smoke bomb.

The guards would be arriving any second now and if their earlier experience with them was anything to go by, Houshi was all but assured to drop from the potential arrow wounds arrow wounds. "I will drop a smoke bomb to hinder their vision, deal with the remaining guards while I delay the larger group."

Dashing forward, Yousuke retrieves a smoke bomb from his pouch, and drops it where he stands. They would have to go through him if they wanted to hurt his teammates.

---
With the guards finally in sight, Yousuke molds the chakra required for his wind release jutsu and releases it on the newly entered guards.

Hit Points: 30/30
Chakra Pool: 4/22
Chakra Reserve: 10/10
Armour Class: 22
Ongoing Effects: Striking Tiger Stance

Move Action~!
Shift to (16,5)

Attack Action~!
Kamaitachi (Sickling Wind Blast)
Jutsu Damage: [roll0] Wind Damage
Chakra Cost: 6
Reflex DC 18 to Halve Damage
Fortitude DC 18 to avoid being pushed back [roll1]x5 feet

[zeone3000]

Prep Round

Houshi moves closer to the wall, waiting for the guards to get within range so he doesn't block the hall for Amon.

Moves 15' left to 6-7,7-8
Hit Points: 10/29
Chakra Reserve: 8/8
Chakra Pool: 12/23
Armour Class: 14
Ongoing Effects:

[zeone3000]

Watching Yousuke spring in action, Houshi comes around the corner and proceeds to bring the pain on first victim.

Move to 4-5,4-5 and attack #6
Hit Points: 10/29
Chakra Reserve: 8/8
Chakra Pool: 12/23
Armour Class: 14
Ongoing Effects:

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Yousuke's wind technique once again proves to be incredibly lethal. All four men caught in it are shredded into pieces by the vicious scythes of air, and they're killed instantly. Houshi's giant metal sword cleaves through one enemy on the opposite side. The remaining two soldiers immediately withdraw, and the genin can hear them running back the way they came. After about six seconds the sounds of their footfalls stop, one of them screams, then nothing but silence comes from the hallway. If the genin follow, then they find both men laying dead on the floor. Their weapons are dropped beside their bodies, and they seem to have been killed by extremely powerful blows to the head by a blunt and heavy object.

Listen DC 18
You hear a familiar female voice. "Very well then. I will have to deal with you all. Rainbow Windchime!"

Suddenly any further investigation is interrupted by the sound of a howling gale. The structure groans, the windows upstairs shatter, and there's the loud thumping noise of furniture being hurled against the walls violently. Several screams pierce the roaring thrashing windstorm. The entire event lasts for six seconds, then stops and allows the dead silence to prevail once more. It seems to have come from upstairs, and all the movement upstairs stops after the windstorm.

At the end of the hall the group finds a door, and if the genin open it then they discover a stairwell behind it. The stairwell leads upstairs, and is likely mirrored in the other hall. If the group goes upstairs, then they discover another door with another hallway behind it. The hall has a thick red carpet running down its length. Several rips and tears have been lovingly mended in the carpet, and it seems that someone cared for it greatly. However, the carpet's being stained by the blood of two dead men wearing the same uniform as those down below. They're bleeding profusely, and their bodies seem to have been smashed against the walls.

They're guarding a set of double doors that are broken open. The doors lead into a sort of throne room, and if the genin investigate then inside they find a familiar woman in a bright green qipao. Her limbs seem to have recovered from being petrified. Three corpses liter the wide open room, but they all seem to have been pushed violently away from the woman. An intricate pattern has been carved in the carpets and floor of the throne room. It seems to spread outward from the woman in wide sweeping circles. The corpses also seem to have been sliced apart by whatever caused those grooves. Tables, chairs, and other furniture have also been blasted away from the woman.

On the opposite end of the throne room stand two people. One's the man from earlier, but now that you've got a clear look at him you can tell he's only superficially similar to the scroll's portrait. He's got a tall, regal bearing with a set of polished battle armor gracing his heavy shoulders. His thick brown hair has been pulled back into a ponytail, and his bangs are held back by a thin golden circlet. His bow lays broken at his feet, and he wields a katana in a firm grip. Beside him stands a woman in a samurai's kimono and hakama. Her blond hair is tied back into a ponytail matching that of the man at her side, and she wears a headband with no village affiliation to hold her hair in place. She bears two formal katana at her left hip. One housed within a black lacquered sheathe that shines in the light, while the other lies nestled within a dull red case. Neither blade has been drawn. Her left hand grips the black sheathe firmly, while her right hovers over the red-and-silver handle.

Behind both characters lays a young red-headed boy wearing a brown yukata. He's clearly unconscious, and seems to be in some kind of pain. The two samurai seem to be guarding the boy from Meiling, and she takes a step toward them. "If you do not return him, then I'll kill you as well." Neither the woman, nor the two samurai, notice the genin.

You get 700 XP for finishing this encounter.

[Princess Tracy]

Before heading up
---
Amon raises an eyebrow at the sudden retreat of the soldiers, but upon investigatingand seeing the carnage quickly enough, she pieces things together. Dammit, maybe using myself as bait for them wasn't the best idea, was her only thought as Yousuke mentions the voice of Meiling. "She won't be allowed to rampage under our noses. Cybele, if you're still here, I believe something 'extremely unlikely' has occurred after all." Scooping up her gear, she heals Houshi as best as she can

2 chakra and 2 rounds for only 3 health. Sorry, the roll got minimised. We'll say it's due to how rushed she is.

She tells Yousuke to run ahead while she prepares with Houshi, though after applying first aid, she uses her technique as they move, though to very little effect as they run.

---
At the door
---
Amon surveys the scene as she quickly concocts a plan.

Not actually using the Plan class feature, but rather plan as in 'the act of thinking through'. I await a battle map before I take my actions, though all I need to know for my first move is how far away Meiling is (specifically how it compares to the maximum range on my smoke bomb)

[Bad Situation]

"Meiling...!" If the green qipao wearing kunoichi was indeed here their mission was about to become much more complicated. As it was, his allies were wounded and low on chakra, but if they delayed any further their mission would be entirely compromised. Resisting the urge to bite at his nail, Yousuke comes to a decision, "Amon, heal Houshi as best you are able. I will distract our new guest until Houshi is healed to the point that he can assist me."

With that said, Yousuke dashes up the stairwell, ignoring the corpses Meiling has so graciously left behind for him. He crouches by the door and waits for the scene to unfold, sword in hand in case he needs to step in.

[Princess Tracy]

"Sorry it's the best I could do - we didn't want to leave you with that woman," Amon whispers as she and Houshi catch up, looking much the same, save for a few of Houshi's wounds being closed or hastily bandages shut. She looks inside, reading the situation quickly enough. She hands her last smoke bomb to Yousuke as she passes him.

She takes a deep breath before considering if the plan is really any good or not. After all, it relies on her own stealth abilities...

[ZeroNumerous]

Amon and Houshi

The kunoichi makes no appearance, but her soft voice carries through the wind. "I'm not getting involved unless she attacks first. Suzunabu is not part of the mission, and it'd be pointless to attack her." The kunoichi still doesn't make herself known, but answers no further questions. She may, or may not, have followed Yousuke.

Yousuke

Unless Yousuke interrupts, then Meiling advances on the pair. "I'll give you one last chance. Return him." Her fists clench, her stance marred by fury, and her normal technique seems to have given way to rage.

The female samurai gets low to the ground as she prepares to charge. "We would never surrender our lord to you!" She crosses the distance between Meiling and herself near instantly. Her grip tightens, and she tries to use her iaijutsu to draw her sword and slash Meiling all in one movement. But the leaf-nin's reactions are faster, and the woman tries to draw her sword only to find Meiling's palm locking the blade inside the sheathe. The leaf-nins' other hand shoots up as she uppercuts the samurai. Luckily the samurai's prepared, and rolls with the blow rather than absorbing its full force. Nonetheless, Meiling's hand still holds the woman's sword. In the span of a breath Meiling has disarmed her enemy and knocked her backwards. The elegantly crafted blade clatters as it's dropped to the ground.

"Then I'll kill you and take him back."

Spot DC 15
You can tell Meiling isn't restraining her speed or strength.

OOC
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/ZeroNumerous/ThroneRoom-1.png
Table:
Brown: Floor.
Really Dark Brown: Walls.
Slightly Dark Brown: Visual indication of how wide her wind technique is.
Dark Red: Houshi
Gray: Yousuke
Blue: Amon
Dark Green: Meiling.
Pink: Female Samurai.
Red: Male Samurai.
White: Little boy.

The samurai attempts to attack Meiling.
Attack: [roll0] - Forgot to include the +2 for charging. 26 is still a whiff though.
Damage: [roll1]

Whether that hits or not, Meiling disarms the Samurai. With +27 vs the Samurai's +7, there's simply no way Meiling can lose so I won't bother to roll. Afterward, she punches the samurai.

Attack Roll: [roll2] - Power Attacking for 5. - Hit
Damage Roll: [roll3]

Damage Dealt to Female Samurai: 23.

[Princess Tracy]

"Bull****, you dragged your broken bleeding carcass across half a mile of woodland just to chase her down the other day, what the hell changed? Tracking her down wasn't part of the mission THEN either, but you took it upon yourself anyway!" Amon shoots back at Cybele quickly before she goes quiet. "Come on, she's a lead to Yusa, haven't you ever heard of redemption?"

As Amon bolts down the corridor, she remembers to bring her remaining clone in tow.

That brings us up to speed with current time (whcih is to say Amon arriving at the door with Houshi and her clone). Maybe a post from zeone will clear our heads.

[zeone3000]

"I have to agree with both parties on this but one holds more weight then other. Our client will be displeased that we didn't bring back them for his own pleasure and only two corpses. Which I completely disagree with after seeing this anyway. So, Meiling has become part of the mission regardless of what you say."

Housh sighs softly, "Since slaying those guards, I've felt something was a miss. There's something deeper here which I'm not sure if the other rebels or our comrades with them are even aware of. Either way, we're paying them a visit. If we let Meiling have her way, ultimately, that's another victory for the bad guys."

His grip tightens until knuckles whiten, "Unfortunately, we can't compare to that no matter what plan or strategy we devise and the only one who stands a chance, believes in following the mission instead of what's right and just. Which gives me yet another reason not to grow up if this how I'm going to turn out. I know you might have your reasons but... Seriously? You're not a mercenary like Sonia. Amon just brought up a good point against that and you're probably just gonna ignore because you're stubborn bitch. That's right I said it! You've already set a chasm between your students and yourself. If you're willing to put the ocean between us, will just runaway and maybe, just maybe live along enough to run away again from problem like this."

He reflected on his own weakness for a moment, wishing this could have happened later in his life when he could stop Meiling in her tracks. More people were going to die because of them but the worst part was, no one would seem to care. He released a hard breath, "Sorry, I know they teach ninjas that shouldn't have emotions but I only have one more thing to say to you, What would Kaeda-san do if he was in our shoes right now?"

He turns to his friends, "The best we could do is throw some smoke bombs to give them some cover to run because we aren't going to come out of this alive if we try anything against her."

[Princess Tracy]

Amon cringes a little for some reason as Houshi calls Cybele a bitch. Early on in his speech, she grips him a little, nudging him to to a whisper before they alert her to their presence sooner than necessary. "...She sets that distance on purpose," Amon states. "Please, this is no time to be mad at her - she's trying to get us out of this alive. This whole mission, we've been duped somehow. She wants to capture that boy... in other words, he is the Lord Mara... We won't need smoke bombs though. She doesn't care that we're here if she's aware of us. We could leave right now if we want to avoid her, while she fights those two, but... There's a kid in there. He couldn't have known the risks or anything"

[zeone3000]

Houshi pulls whatever Amon's nudging away from her, "Thank you Captain Obvious. If you want to help them, you have to remove the kid from the equation. Like it will matter though, we won't be be able to out run her. Also, she's really pissed. I mean, not thinking straight pissed, just thrash and trash what's ever in her way."

[ZeroNumerous]

Cybele

Cybele says nothing, and seems to do nothing. Houshi's entire impassioned speech meets nothing but deaf silence. Cybele had already spoken her piece on the issue, and the only recourse she could take would be to physically stop you from continuing onward. If the genin are looking for some kind of moral compass to follow, or some conscience within their sensei, then they may as well be looking for water in the Wind Country. Nonetheless, she makes no overtures to restrain any of the genin. If you wanted to throw yourselves to the wolf pack that is Meiling, then you're absolutely free to do so.

[zeone3000]

Houshi nods, "Yep, just like I said. I have lost faith in ninja humanity. If you're trying to teach us the harsh reality of being of ninja, great job." He turns to Amon, "Give me a smoke bomb or I'm taking one. At least I'll be able to say I kept my humanity til the end."

[Princess Tracy]

"Calm down," Amon says, fidgeting as she hands over her last 'clean' smoke bomb. "I have a clone and some chakra. What should I do? I told you all my abilities when we were travelling a few days ago, so tell me where you want me."

[zeone3000]

"Back home because we were aren't winning. We're going to lose, ungracefully and runaway to fight her another day." He laughs, "How unlucky are we? Seriously? First two missions and we run into her. Fate has it out for us." He prepares to roll the bomb underneath Meiling, "When life gives you lemons..."

[Princess Tracy]

"What the **** are you doing?! You'll be robbing us of a minute's headstart!" Amon screeches as she sees his intentions and gets up. "She doesn't know we were here, you pathetic excuse for a strategist. Now come on, if we're running, let's just run before I come to my senses."

[zeone3000]

Houshi shakes his head, "Never said I was a strategist, I'm a tactician. Huge difference but fine." He gets up and starts walking away, "Another battle lost, another notch on the belt but the war is not lost."

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

The smoke bomb rolls out under Meiling. The hopping, plinking little orb draws her attention down to it, then toward the genin. She glares at the genin looking around the corner, but does nothing. "You're finally here", she says whilst addressing the sky-nin, "but I'm not interested in waiting anymore. I just want my son. Leave me to this." She turns back just in time to see the samurai's second blade going for her throat. She casually stops the blade with the knuckle-duster on her right hand. The iron surface strikes Meiling's own weapon, and it shatters into fragments with the force of the impact. Meiling's foot rises up in a furious kick to the woman's gut, and she goes down. She raises that same leg up further, then delivers a powerful axe kick to the downed samurai's skull.

The sickening crunch of bone tells the tale of that samurai's righteous death.

Meiling looks toward the last samurai remaining. She raises her right hand and beckons the man forward. Her fingers have turned red from being stained in blood. "Return him." The male samurai makes no overtures toward the boy, or Meiling. He simply raises his sword in preparation to defend himself, and seems rather resigned to the fact that he's going to die soon.

---

Cybele just looks at her genin. "Is good and bad what you really see? Or is your justice more important than the truth?" She shrugs. "Or maybe you just think an enemy today is an enemy tomorrow, without regard for the events around them."

Samurai's Attack Roll: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Meiling's Attack Rolls: [roll2] - Power Attacking for 5
Damage Roll: [roll3]

Attack Rolls: [roll4] - Power Attacking for 5
Damage Roll: [roll5]

[zeone3000]

Houshi sags his shoulders, "Then why is the truth always wrapped in lies and deception? It's supposed to set you free! Yet, no one ever dares speaks it because they are afraid." Then, he realized what he thought about suna genin after what Sonia said about them being their enemies, "And how do we know she's not lying right now? She says that's her son and... and I don't what to think anymore. Therefore, let them die protecting what they believe in then. I'll just keep living not knowing anything because no one wants to tell us. Maybe we don't need to know but damn it, it would sure help!"

[Princess Tracy]

"Odd that your son should be defended by seemingly the same people we were hired to clear off, isn't it?" Amon can't help herself from asking from her cover, out of her line of sight as she backs away, thankful that at least her anger wasn't directed at her own team.

At Cybele's wisdom, good or bad, she ponders. "Allegiances seem so changeable at your level. Fine, I'm not fast on picking up emotional context, so I'll admit there's a lot I can't know and perhaps should respect. But that woman... You make the oddest friends, Cybele."

We're pathetic, unable and unwilling to fight... we shouldn't even be ninjas...

[ZeroNumerous]

Cybele

The jounin responds plainly. "That's what it means to be a ninja. If the enemy knows the truth about you, then they can find a way to use it against you. As for whether she's lying..." The jounin shrugs, despite having not reappeared. "Well I know he is her son, but maybe I'm lying? After all, if you've taken Sonia's morals to heart, then why stop at Suzunabu being your enemy?" Cybele's right that Sonia would have charged in, killed Meiling for being an enemy in the past, then probably ransomed the lord for extra money. She happily makes the parallel between Houshi's narrow-sighted view of good and evil to Sonia's equally narrow-sighted view of enemies and allies.

When Amon speaks, Cybele responds flatly. "Suzunabu is not my friend. But she also isn't my enemy. We're nothing but professionals now." Cybele finally reveals herself when she places a gloved hand upon Amon's head. "You all wanted to do the right thing, even if it was foolish. Kaede-sama would be proud of you."

[zeone3000]

Houshi sighs, "You mean today right? She's not your enemy today. So why care who she kills or what she does? Is that what you're trying to tell me? Forget that not even a week ago she was about to kill all of us so a dangerous ninja to everyone could go free? And let's not forget that you were willing to risk your life to track her down."

Houshi just sprawls out on the floor, "Why do I feel like a rat in a maze and there's no cheese at the end? I just wanted to do the right thing but it looks like there is no good or evil. There just is..."

[Princess Tracy]

"Houshi..." Amon mutters, Houshi's words a blunt voicing of her thoughts. "We can't fight her though.... We're too weak to do a hunter-nin's job. Though capturing her would have been a nice bonus."

At the judgement of Kaede's pride, Amon can't help but flicker a smile as she places her own hand upon Cybele's (the one on her head, duh). "Nice to know you have a moral compass. Unfortunately, Cybele, for all your boorishness, I trust you." Her concern returns as she casts and eye to the door. She consciously tries to suppress her thoughts of what is transpriing inside the throne room. "What is her son doing here then? Did you know about her presence, possible or definite, here before we did?"

[Princess Tracy]

Amon can't help herself as she pokes her head around the door to see the last man there. Cybele seemed casual enough about her presence here, so surely she isn't an immediate threat. "If he's her son, why are you dying to keep them apart?" she asks of the samurai. "Isn't your life worth more than depriving a parent of their child?"

[ZeroNumerous]

Cybele

"Those people are not precious to me, so I have no obligation to protect them. They have stolen something from someone quite powerful, and are reaping what they have sown. And yes, at the time I wanted revenge. Kaede-sama reminded me of something, and I will pass that on to you."

She stops, closes her eyes, takes a shallow breath, then perfectly replicates Kaede's voice. "Meiling had a mission, and so did you. Those missions may have intersected, but that was all. She didn't take anything from you, and you took nothing from her. If you let that desire for revenge cloud your judgment, then you'll never find peace."

Cybele shrugs at Amon's statements. "Even the Wind Country has water in it. As for what I knew: It's painfully obvious that Mitsuyo didn't hire us. He didn't have any useful information, and lied in order to use us. Suneko only recognized the woman, and she didn't have any scars. The enemy didn't attack or harass us like bandits should have, and they didn't attack Suneko on sight. Further, they acted like soldiers, and none of them willingly surrendered. I assumed someone was using us as bait to kill them, but I didn't suspect Suzunabu until I heard her during the windstorm earlier."

[zeone3000]

Houshi jumps up with a start, "Wait! Hold on! You're telling me we were actually hired by her?!" He tilts his head to the side, scratching the top of it, "My god, now I've heard everything." He sighs once again, "I guess that's better then being hired by butterball but wow, just wow. At least I shouldn't feel about the soldiers but can you tell me why they took her kid?"

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

By the time Amon looks inside Meiling has already knocked the man on his back. She's straddling his chest and punching his head. She seem to be using the full force of her immense strength on his face based on the stomach-churning noise coming out of every blow. Meiling turns wild unrestrained eyes toward Amon when spoken to, but luckily(or unluckily) the kunoichi doesn't have the combat instincts necessary to detect Meiling's killer intent. The red-haired woman breathes out, slumps forward a little, then looks toward the young boy laying near the throne room. Unless bothered, she crawls toward him, picks him up, and cradles the four-or-five year old boy in her arms.

Cybele

Cybele shrugs. "Possibly. It's only conjecture, but it explains why things have been so weird."

[Princess Tracy]

"I concur wholeheartedly; I knew there was another hand at play in Mitsuyo's orders, but I didn't expect them to move so quickly. Throughout the day, we've had 3 conflicting stories, and I was willing to chalk up the first two to stupidity and poor communication, but the last story was the truth of what we have seen," Amon remarks as she watches the scene in the throne room though slightly-covered eyes.

As Houshi finally grasps it was her that hired them, Amon tuts. "Well of course, she has a contact or two. It should have been obvious her or her accomomplice set us up to be here. You didn't think this was a chance meeting, did you?"

[Princess Tracy]

As she sees Meiling scoop up the boy, Amon retreats from the doorway. "She has a kind of similar look that yo do when i ran into your chest, Cybele. Let's go before her mood changes and we have to break up the... touching reunion," she says, trying to ignore all the carnage that fills the fort. "God, this is going to look weird if I have to write a report on this... Incriminating, even, that we were working for her. No I'm not sure why she needed us - she crashed this place pretty well herself." Amom motions to go down the hallway they came from, though waits for Cybele's go-ahead

She chuckles, "Do you think she'd answer if I asked her who her contact was, why she had us back her up, and if we're still getting paid?"

[ZeroNumerous]

Cybele

The jounin just waves Amon off. "I have something to deal with here. You can go on if you want."

[Princess Tracy]

Amon's momentarily listed spirit crashes again as Cybele says she'll stay. "You're not going to fight her again, are you? I told you before, Cybele-chan..."

[ZeroNumerous]

Cybele

Cybele just looks down her nose at Amon. Her glasses seem to have magically become opaque, and block out the sight of her crystalline eyes. "Would you see me right now if I intended to kill her?"

[Princess Tracy]

"I don't know, I've seen you make a copy before so you seem to be in two places at once. How do I know I can see you? Isn't that what you wanted to teach me? Paranoia?" Amon forces a smile. "You seem at least a little concerned for us so i thought you might be trying to trick us out the door so you can fight her without us getting in your way. But i guess you have a point; she's not our enemy today. Well, not this very second... so what, a friendly conversation?"

We've been retreating far too much lately... at least we finished this, well, completely fake and probably very illegal mission. I hope Sonia doesn't want a report on this one, this'll be even harder to explain than the first mission. Then again, if Cybele... but if we contradict....

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke scoffs at Houshi, who was clearly brought up in a civilian family made evident by his severely limited view of the world. They were not samurai and they were most definitely not heroes, not by any typical definition of the word. They were trained killers bound to follow the orders of their village and by extension, their contractors. It was somewhat jarring to see the large bodied genin switch from nonchalant death-dealing and violence to philosophical true-seeking wiseman so easily. Houshi was remarkably philosophical for a boy whose greatest joy seemed to come from hitting things with his giant slab of a sword. Though the phiilosphy in question itself seemed to built on stark clash good versus evil. And yet in spite of this, he could not find fault with his fellow genin's ideals.

Yousuke could only wish that his own world-view were so simple. It made him somewhat envious to see Houshi so adamant with his opinion and his willingness to act on his beliefs whereas he had been grasping at what he needed to do aimlessly.

It was not as if he had not felt the roiling waves of guilt from his inaction. No matter his mission he still had his honor as a swordsman, shinobi training notwithstanding. But somehow that made it worse. The knowledge that he had known the 'honorable' course of action and had shied away from it willingly, out of fear for his own life. He had even considered aiding Meiling in her attempt, groveling at her feet to spare his team. Though this would have been the correct course of action with their newfound knowledge of the situation, his own reasons for aiding her were less then noble.

Every word Cybele says forces his gaze downward, making him flinch even, when she gives the team praise. The second Suzunabu had appeared he lost any and all intention of doing what was 'right' and instead, he had selfishly been thinking of how he would be able to get out of the fort alive. He was unworthy of the praise, undeserving of Cybele's kindness."I'm such a coward..."

Shakingly, Yousuke drops down to his knees and prostrates himself before Cybele. With his head low to the floor, he speaks, "I apologize for having doubted you Cybele-sensei. You are indeed my superior in both age and wisdom and I humbly ask that you reprimand me for my disrespect and misconduct." His early assessment of Cybele had been incorrect yet again, and he felt all the more foolish for it. She was only two years his senior but she was, in all respects, more learned than him by far.

"Mother, every passing day teaches me that I am yet unable to face you. My birthday is fast approaching and still I am unable to call myself a man. Will you be disappointed to see such a craven fool wearing the skin of your son?"

[ZeroNumerous]

Cybele

The jounin reaches out and pokes Amon's forehead with a gloved finger. If she were a clone, then such an action would not be possible. The sky-nin opens her mouth to say something, but Yousuke's demand to be reprimanded and punished stops her. She looks sternly at Yousuke, kneels down to be on his level, raises her right hand high above her head, then brings it down sharply... to softly pat the boy on the head. Her thick gloves protect him from the danger crawling just under her skin.

"This is the cruelty of being a ninja. We are unique individuals, and none of us have the same ideas about things. But all of us are beholden to obey others. For you, it is your village, and its wishes must come above all else. Your desires, your morals, your ideas: They are yours to keep, but they cannot get in the way of your mission or of the village."

She finally stops, then leans back against the wall. "But if it's punishment you want, then I'll give it to you. Inside that room is a mother finally reunited with her child. Your mission is to go in there and talk to her. Talk to her about anything at all." Cybele looks toward Houshi and Amon.

"You two are gonna back him up. Like I said: I don't care what you talk about, but I'd really like to know why these men had to die."

DM

If the genin look inside they find that Meiling has finally reconstructed her fragile emotional state. The young boy's resting peacefully now. His arms hugs her neck tightly, and she's supporting his thin body with her own arms. The woman's focus lies tightly bound up within the young boy's frame. If the genin enter the room, then her body tightens and she glares at them. Where Cybele's glare is snake-like and cold Meiling's glare is bear-like and angry. The woman almost seems taller than normal due to the intensity of her gaze, but the genin realize that she's still smaller than either Houshi or Cybele.

The woman takes no stance, but her indiscriminate rage from before has vanished into the wind. She seems open to discussion now, but the blood dripping from her crimson painted fists warn the genin of the violence she could unleash at the drop of a hat. "Suzunabu" simply waits for the genin to make their first move, and otherwise makes no overtly hostile gestures or actions.

[Princess Tracy]

Amon was about to make a chipper comment about how touchy-feely Cybele seems right now when Yousuke launches into his grovelling self-pity. She looks down at him. Misconduct is his concern in all of this? Mine is.... no, those two chose death, right? Right?

"I'm glad to hear you're as clueless as me, in a strange way," Amon comments at Cybele's request as she cracks her knuckles as if to punch out this mystery. Amon pats Yousuke on the shoulder as if to tag out as she passes him. "You don't know how to deal with women, let me handle this." The slightest touch of Yousuke lets her feel some of his distress as she passes him though. She stops for a moment, turning to him with half-shut eyes that speak of sadness. "You performed fine," she says with sudden insight. "At least... at least you were brave enough to keep your team's best interests at heart through your inactivity. I shall tell you a tale of true cowardice later - just remind me if you want to feel better about yourself. You couldn't possibly hate me any more than you do already, you know?" Her eyes veer off to the side, clearly in a distant remembrance, and her mechanical fingers flinch as if fron great pain as she remembers. She looks down at them as she gives Yousuke one last pat and heads into the room, putting on her best mood.

Amon clears her throat as she enters the room to make sure Meiling knows she is there an dnot up to something (and also just to clear her throat). "So... Suzunabu is a mother who came all the way out here to retrive her kid, who for some reason had an entourage of samurai calling him their lord." Amon bites her lip. "If you don't mind my asking... why did we end up in this setup of a mission? To be pulled into your fight with the samurai..." If she was going to kill us, she'd have done it before retreiving the boy - his well-being is a liability in a fight, even with genin.

Amon thinks she may have asked too much for her current mood, so tries a different topic before she tests her luck too mucj. She looks at the child in her arms. "Is he alright? He looked to be in pain earlier. No matter the context, that is a child and I am a medic."

[zeone3000]

Houshi crept into the room, leaning next to the doorway. He wasn't going to miss this.

[Bad Situation]

Though hesitant, Yousuke nods when Cybele gives her order. "What am I going to say to her..." He was not an expert on dealing with women, less so when mothers were concerned. He enters the room on unsure legs, faintly considering his escape options when he sees the touching sight of mother and son. Seeing the otherwise fearsome woman clutching the child so tightly sparks something in his heart and sudenly he knows exactly what to say. In an uncharacteristically soft tone, he broaches the subject, "The child is lucky to have a mother so devoted to his well-being." He had more to say obviously, but it was best to test the waters before jumping into a barrage of questions.

And Amon thought he was the clueless one.

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Yousuke's statement softens the young woman's glare a bit. She hugs the boy tightly, as if to protect him from the three sky-nin in the room. Nonetheless, she does acknowledge Yousuke's sentiments, even if she doesn't respond to him. Her brilliant blue eyes stay focused on Yousuke, and unless he does or says something she makes no movement. "He's the only thing thi--I. I have left. He is very important to me. Surely your mother would act the same if you were taken away."

As soon as Amon starts to open her mouth she gets a sharp pain in the rear. As if an extremely large bee had stung her square on the ass. If the genin tries to look then she finds her head doesn't turn properly. She can twist her neck around, but can't angle it up or down, and can't open her mouth. It's like whatever had just stabbed her in the rear has locked up the nerves in her head, and luckily those in her mouth as well. If the genin turns around, she sees Cybele looking around the corner shaking her finger at the young kunoichi. She had given Amon an order: Back up Yousuke. Not take the lead.

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke finds Suzunabu's words hard to swallow when he considers his own mother. Frowning he admits, "I cannot say the same for my own my mother, I'm afraid. She left me in the care of my grandfather almost 8 years ago to this day to seek the pinnacle of swordsmanship. I have neither seen nor heard from her in almost a decade and some nights I can scarcely remember her. When she returns to test my right to inheritance I will prove to her that her departure was a mistake, that her decision to leave me," Yousuke holds up his sheathed katana for the kunoichi to see, "was also a mistake."

"So believe me when I say that your son is fortunate indeed. Not all children are forced to fight for their mother's affection, after all."

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Meiling shakes her head. "All children have their mother's affection. Some mothers simply don't understand how to express it, but I refuse to believe that any of them would not love their children. They're too precious for that." The woman hugs her child once more, and faces the rest of the sky-nin. "I'm sure you have lots of questions, but ask them quietly, please. I will answer any question you have."

Amon's paralysis wears off about twelve seconds later.

[zeone3000]

Houshi pushes himself off the wall, "Why did they take your son? Why did they fight to death to keep a mother from her son?"

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke nods in assent and lowers his voice for the benefit of the child, "Did you contract us for this assignment. You did not seem particularly surprised when we arrived. Why did we kill these guards, were we hired to serve as a distraction? And if you do not mind me asking, why did they take your son from you?"

"If your son is injured, we do have a medic on our team. If you trust us enough, Amon may be able help. If you so desire, I will personally see to it that Amon does not say anything foolish," he adds as a gesture of good faith.

[Princess Tracy]

When Amon is pricked, she loses motor controls and collapses under her own weight. Confused and utterly horrified, she finds herself unable to speak. Did... Did I just die? Is this what death is like? Why isn't anyone helping? She lies in a perfectly limp bundle of flesh as her fear curdles into anger. As luck would have it, as he head smacks against the ground, she gets a glimpse of Cybele and knows at that instant it is her doing. YOU BITCH, I'LL TEAR YOUR HEART IF I EVER MOVE AGAIN, HOW THE **** DARE YOU!? Even she's taken aback at the fury in her thoughts, but as she tries to turn her head and finds herself unable, she decides to not change course. How funny would it be if Meiling just snapped and killed Cybele right now? she thinks, her thoughts at leats now only onto (extreme) passive aggression, if only to spare her ego

Even when her constant attempts to move her limbs or scream in protest lead her to randomly twitch as her feeling returns, she willingly remains still. **** Cybele, let her think she's paralysed me for life, for a bit. At Yousuke's 'vouching' for her, she strongly considers speaking up, but decides to maintain her worrisome facade. Screw it. If she didn't want me to pitch in then, I don't wnat to pitch in now. Two-way street.

[zeone3000]

Houshi hears a thud, looks down at Amon in utter confusion. It wasn't him, it wasn't Yousuke and he was pretty sure it wasn't Meiling either. That only left Cybele and her words of warning rung in his head, "She told you. I mean harsh but you were warned." He picks her up and the very least, unsure if to sling her over his shoulder or prince style.

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Meiling ignores Amon's antics. She either doesn't care, or is just too absorbed in her own things to notice. "No one touches my son." She looks down at him when questioned about her son. "I'll start at the beginning. My name is Suzunabu the Wind Dragon. A long time ago, when I was free, I was gravely injured and captured by the Eurayle clan. They demanded answers from me, and I had none for them. So, six years ago, they bound my spirit to this girl. She had once been a leaf-nin. She had loved, bore this child, and was captured after his birth during a mission to the Stone Country. They used me in an experiment to fight their curse, but I broke free."

She hugs the young boy tighter as she thinks of something in the distant past. "This boy is the son of a nobleman in the Fire Daimyo's court. When I escaped, I searched everywhere for him, and finally discovered that he was sent into exile with these people. Because his father had become a traitor. I thought that, maybe, the sight of this boy would bring back Meiling's spirit and free me from her shell. But it only brought up strange feelings."

"Meiling" sighs. "I suppose this girl is gone forever." Suzunabu says with a sad lilt to its voice. "Well, I used my Mistress' contact within Soragakure to hire a ninja team to clear them out. But my anger got the better of me. It's quite surprising that it was you."

[zeone3000]

Houshi sighs, "So we are victims of circumstance and coincident, much like the dozen of soldiers we slew. Or maybe something else is at play." He motions to the sky, "Either way, that answered my next question, how you two..." He points at Cybele, "Know each other."

He shurgs, "Well, you have your son, we have our answers and I doubt you're going to tell us who your Mistress' contact is. I don't have anymore questions at least. I still don't get why they wouldn't let a mother see her son. I'm not gonna stand here and pretend I understand how grown ups think, much less nobles and their strange rules and customs." He cracks his knuckles, "I do know that fat ass is gonna pay... Dearly, for what he's done to those people and us."

"Wait, why didn't you just clear them out yourself in the first place? I mean, it would've been easy. Like, real easy."

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Suzunabu shakes its head. "They threatened to kill him if they saw me again, and I do not have the capabilities to sneak around."

[Bad Situation]

Smiling softly at the scene, Yousuke approaches Suzunabu and bows at the hip. "It has been an honor serving you and though I did not quite understand the circumstances upon accepting the mission I am glad to have lent my sword to your cause. If you have need of my services, or the services of Soragakure in the future I would be greatly honored if you would call upon me once again." Finally, a mission gone right for once. After the first disaster of a mission he was beginning to believe himself cursed. It was only proper to extend his gratitude and courtesy to his employer.

"When your son wakes tell him that Konpaku Yousuke was proud to have played a role in his rescue."

[Princess Tracy]

Amon silently enjoys the feeling of being cradled in Houshi's arms as she listens, calmed a little to be carried 'princess style' by the lovable giant. A dragon bound in the body of a woman...

At Yousuke's courtesy, she simpl ycan't contain herself anymore as she slags him from the comfort of Houshi's arms. "Don't make promises you can't keep, sword-brains. Did you casually forget she freed Yusa? Before you get yourself accused of treason, consider at least if you're not just being a little too courteous."

She was in no mood to ask questions she knew she wouldn't get answers to. Leave such things to the others. Wait... She leans up to whisper to Houshi 'ask her what Yusa's up to'

[zeone3000]

Houshi flat drops Amon, "Remember that annoying thing we talked about? You're doing it. Did you not learn anything just a second ago? We can't hold grudges. It will get you killed. It almost did just a few moments ago. Yusa will get what's coming, just may not be within our lifetimes... How long they may ever be." He motions a pointer at Meiling, "Speaking of Yusa, you wouldn't feel like giving us anything to go on about that. Cause we really screwed the pooch on that one."

[Bad Situation]

Frowning, Yousuke pointedly ignores Amon, who had apparently learned nothing from Cybele-sensei's lesson. "Hmph, Cybele-sensei is too good for her." Being courteous to the employer was foremost among the lessons his grandfather had taught him, not putting them to use after a mission seemed a waste.

In respect to his sensei's words of wisdom he would say nothing and be the better person for once. It was not Amon's fault that she had not been raised by a man like his grandfather so instead of spouting conjecture, Yousuke looks at Amon as if she were somebody to pity and shakes his head side to side in disappointment.

[Princess Tracy]

"Oh **** off, Houshi," Amon yelps as she is dropped. "I never said I give a crap, but the village certainly will! Use your skull's contents every now and then. They are not so aggressively relativist. Cybele is as a leaf on the wind - she has little care for Soragakure, but she is strong enough to stand on our own. We are weak and rely on our allergiances, our loyalty to Soragakure. You're far too fresh out of the Academy to have forgotten THAT."

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Suzunabu makes no effort to stop Yousuke from looting the dead, and otherwise allows the genin to leave if they chose to do so. When Houshi asks it a question, it responds politely. "Someone, a sage or miko, asked my Mistress for my services. She normally refuses, because without me she lacks someone to guard the gate. But this time, something was different. I never met the contract holder, but I was told to empty out the inn in that village and wait. Afterward, Yusa told me that she held my contract, and that I was to protect Hinami."

Suzunabu looks squarely into Houshi's eyes. "I have not seen Yusa since she left, and my Mistress had only given me leave to find the boy."

[zeone3000]

Hosuhi shakes his head, "Just don't care. Now get up before I sit on you."

Returning his attention back to Suzunabu, "Yeah, had a feeling. Well, good luck. Time to go."

[Princess Tracy]

Dead end, see? "Is it even worth asking who your Mistress is?" Amon makes a point to not look at Cybele as she stands, very shakily, and dusts herself off. "I am a little curious as to what sort of operation you have running where you take contracts from people. How did Yusa commission anyone while..." She finds herself altogether too angry to contemplate how Yusa set things up. **** it.

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Suzunabu looks toward the young girl. "My Mistress is Scarlet Satoko, the Daughter of the Dragon. My Mistress takes contracts much as a ninja village would, and operates much like the leader of one. As for how Yusa commissioned anything: I have no idea. Potentially she had one of her close compatriots acquire the contract for her."

[Princess Tracy]

"Sweet, how do i hire her?" Amon asks with 50% sarcasm, though there was a curiousity there. "So you didn't really know much of Hinami then, did you?"

She snaps at Houshi. "And if you sit on me, you'll get an ass full of poisoned kunai. I only allow finer company than you on top, Houshi."

Still though, true to his advice, she turns as if to leave. "Anything else you want out of her, get it yourself," she says in Cybele's general direction. I don't have anything else I don't think. Unless... Her mind goes into a bit of a flurry of thought as she tries to pull any topic she can out, whispering a little more loudly than what is really considered a whisper as she goes. "Satoko... Euryale, Unseal.... Yusanari..." She snaps her fingers. "How would 'dying' affect your imprisonment?" she asks, quite off beat. She shrugs. "Just trying to help, despite no knowledge of fuinjutsu and the like. We were hired to help after all..."

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

"One simply needs to find the Mistress, play her game, and win. Succeed, and you get a servant for one year and one day. Fail, and you become a servant for the same amount of time." Suzunabu casually explains the relationship between itself and its Mistress. It had nothing to hide after all.

When asked about dying, Suzunabu shakes her head. "Even if it succeeded, I do not want to take that route. I wish to return this girl's life to her. To know that she is dead... It would break my heart after I know how she cries and suffers."

[Princess Tracy]

Amon nods her head at the sudden sentimentality for tha girl's soul. She was understanding a little more of ninja now. It's a pity that knowledge wasn't making her view of, well, anything more bright. "I know a technique that invades a persons very soul. One thing I've learned from its application is that while they still breathe, they are never truly gone. I cannot use someone's body to kill a loved one. Going by the same logic, I'd say she's still in there. The feelings you experience for your son... there may be more meaning there than you reckon."

"Game you say?" Amon loved games, but with such stakes... "How would I find her? One never knows when such information is important. Speaking of which..." Amon produces a business card with her goofy chibi visage printed on it and tosses it into her hand. It has the address she uses as a drop box written in it - a small pit near the maintenance areas that looks like bizarre office space that she hollowed out, and that she uses for taking deliveries and (occassionally) meeting clients.

"If that's all... I'll leave you to it." Amon makes to leave as soon as Yousuke gives the go-ahead for himself. She scoops up her bag that she had dropped when Cybele had robbed her of control of her body, feeling grumpy all over again

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Suzunabu shakes its head. "That is not my place to say. If you are to find her, then it will fate that decides." The former dragon takes Amon's card delicately, and crumples it up in one hand. Not out of disrespect, but out of expediency. She couldn't pocket it and still hold her son, so she simply held it tightly in her fist. "If I need you, then I'll try to find you."

Unless the genin have any other questions, then Cybele tells them to head outside. If any of the genin attempt to stay, then she orders them to leave. After six minutes the sound of her silver bells accompanies the genin once more. "Suzunabu will be fine. Well, we now know our client isn't actually our client. What will you do about that?"

[Princess Tracy]

"Is Yusa won services for a year and a day, doesn't that mean you still have to serve her?"

Amon files out as soon as Cybele orders them to, leaving the fort entirely, quite unhappy to be around these many corpses. With the time they'd spent with Suzunabu, she was quite sure all of them were beyond saving. Nonetheless, she tried her best on the way out

Amon takes 10 on treat injury on her way out to analyse and treat anyone she can.

When outside, she starts tending to her own wounds at last. She winces as she tries to remove the arrow Mara had blasted into her, finding her hands too shaky for some reason even she couldn't fathom - her artisan abilities generally making them completely stable. "Yousuke... take it out of me. Please?" she requests, her eyes tearing up a bit and her lip quivering like a toddler that had just been kicked hard in the knee. Once it's removed, she goes about healing herself, as always, and does the same for Houshi

Take 10 on self-treat injury, expend 4 chakra (3 reserve, 1 pool) to heal Houshi again for the maximum durations.
Houshi heals [roll0]
Amon Heals [roll1]

Once she's done healing Houshi, she slaps him upside the head. "That was fro dropping me. I can't take a round of arrows like you can, you know - I landed on the same ass that Cybele so graciously stabbed when she robbed me of the use of my body." She descends into wrathful grunts and the occassional pained as she rubs at her 'lower cheeks' - still smarting even after she'd healed her wound.

When she hears Cybele near, Amon grunts in pain as she holds her left hand - the half-prosthetic one. "Cybele, come here and look at my hand. It hasn't been moving right since you did that to me..." Sure enough, it rattles and squirms in odd ways, and to an outside observer, one would deem it possible the paralysis had an odd effect on her 'puppet parts'. In actuality, Amon was mostly fine; she just wanted to see if Cybele would bother to get close or make amends.

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke frowns at Amon's request, but complies and tears out the arrow with about as much delicacy as one would expect from somebody untrained to handle arrow wounds. That is to say, very little.

With his forceful removal of the arrow now complete, Yousuke takes the lead back into town, now sporting two extra katana. "There is little that needs to be done that Suneko-san is not more than capable of handling. However, Mitsuyo needs to be taught a lesson for making fools of Soragakue but unfortunately I am woefully low on my stores of chakra. If we indeed plan on confronting him I would like a day's rest to prepare."

[Princess Tracy]

"Ow, god dammit, Konpaku, I got the impression you were graceful - or if your dislike of me that intense?" Amon comments as he yanks the arrow with such little precision it almot splinters. "I'm teaching you first aid when we get back to town - nothing fancy, just some things every soldier or ninja should know. Understanding the human body is an important talent for a warrior anyway."

At Yousuke's contemplation of whether to attack Mitsuyo or not, Amon thinks for a moment. "You're overthinking it. We don't need to go all out - you and me can just use the tree climbing technique to sneak into his room and bop him on the head without ever drawing our swords. By the way, can you hand over the broken-looking one? I bet you I could fix it good. Anyway, if we kill him it might throw Suneko's plans out of line, so at most maim him. Of course, if you don't want to strain yourself any, I guess it's only a 3 hour trip here, to accomplish our goal and head back to the village. Although, I do kind of wonder who was burning down those warehouses still..."

Amon smiles evilly. "He'll be expecting 30 or so captured villagers to get dragged up to his doorstep. Why don't we give them to him? We can tell Suneko of the opportunity to sneak in that much militia into the main building in broad daylight AND a sky-nin in Mitsuyo's presence. It might be the opportunity she needs to seize Mitsuyo's base of operations and indeed Mitsuyo, kickstart this rebellion before any more people starve to death."

It's quite clear she's poured a lot of thought into how she would beat up Mitsuyo, thinking it will cleanse the pallette of the bloodbath they just made. She continues to lay out the following plan until Cybele makes herself known:

Amon's awesome petty revenge plan #37, draft 3
-either before we leave of after resting back in Soragakure, go up to the big buillding and say we've subdued the villagers responsible and they need only collect them at point X and that we want to discuss our terms of reward.
-talk our way into Mitsuyo's presence, ultimately
-Houshi and Yousuke hold the guards off while Amon teaches Mitsuyo some manners.

[ZeroNumerous]

Cybele

The sky jounin invisibly shrugs. "It's never caused you any adverse conditions before, so I don't see why it would now. Do you want to try it again and see if that fixes the problem?"

[Princess Tracy]

Amon leers at her on shadow, hoping Cybele is hiding within it. With a snap, she budges her wooden fingers back into place and they seem to stabilise. With a sigh, she just keeps walking, but can't help a comeback. "What do you mean, not caused me adverse conditions before. That's the first time you struck me in that fashion, right? Now come out here so I can stab you in the ass with a paralysing poison, see how you like it!" In truth, she'd wasted her last dose of the stuff on Suzunabu's shadow clone. Does she even get how scary not being able to move is? Amon has a slight claustrophobia that the paralysis seemed to react badly too.

[ZeroNumerous]

Cybele

The sky jounin smirks in the shadows. "As far as you remember."

[zeone3000]

Houshi strucks his chin, "Wow, that's actually really good. A couple applications of henge and he'll never know the difference."

[Princess Tracy]

"Oh, now she has a sense of humour," Amon says, still fuming as she tries to mentally invent a way to find the slippery commander. "Show yourself already! You're so.. argh!" She's pretty sure Cybele is bluffing about the paralysis. After all, she would remember being paralysed. Unless she did it in her sleep or something, but then what would be the point? She still shivers at the thought of being totally defenceless like that.

Her fury seems to snap for a moment. She mutters her train of thought. "Houshi said you wore an ANBU mask when you first met. You couldn't be the one who..." She shakes her head. "No, you're bluffing. There's more than one person in the world that wears an ANBU mask even if I've only 'met' two. And if I haven't ran into you before our team was formed and I've certainly not been paralysed in the last 3 days, you're obviously screwing with me."

The other 'ANBU' (she never confirmed the identity before passing out) she met saved her life when they swept in to take out the Ronin.

Amon's eyes constantly dart around, looking for Cybele even if she knows it's futile. Of course, the futility just riles her up more


Houshi strucks his chin, "Wow, that's actually really good. A couple applications of henge and he'll never know the difference."

"Don't act surprised! Of course it's good, I thought of it, didn't I?" Amon acts in her usual snobbish way, but still smirks as if to let Houshi in on the artifice of it. In other words, she's one step away from breaking down laughing at herself.

[ZeroNumerous]

Cybele

The jounin finally makes herself known as she pokes Amon on the back of the neck. Her gloved finger runs down Amon's neck until it reaches the middle of her back. "A needle right there, and... right there. You'd forget everything, and wouldn't be able to move an inch."

With that said, Cybele addresses the sentiments surronding their plan for revenge against Mitsuyo. "You're free to act as you will, but if you intend to get revenge then I won't be involved."

[Princess Tracy]

Amon removes her own glove as she grabs Cybele by the wrist. *WHU-PAH!* Just after she says she'd forget everything, Amon slaps her in the face with her now removed glove, cutting her off like she's about to challenge her to a duel. Despite the sound,which Amon had made sure to maximise the bluntness of, the glove slap is fairly harmless, leaving no bruise and overall not being any more felt than a decently hard poke in the arm - it's more the shock and awe that Amon wanted to capitalise on. Her voice thick with a lust for cruel irony, she remarks "Oh, I'm sorry, were you speaking? I just got the impression you'd agree violation is an acceptable way to get someone to shut up - CAN'T IMAGINE WHY!"

She blinks as Cybele's cut off words set in, a little calmer to have vented and no longer so red in the face. "Wait... are you the one that...Yesterday..." She remembers the odd events of yesterday, the momentary lapse in her sanity, all based on her recollections. She releases Cybele from her grip. "Don't joke about removing memories, you of all people should know it creeps me out."

[zeone3000]

Houshi says in mock surprise, "That's why I'm impressed. You thought of it."

[Princess Tracy]

Houshi says in mock surprise, "That's why I'm impressed. You thought of it."

"Yeah, I know, odd that I should make a plan beyond your callibre, isn't it? Blargh, I'm a giant, I'll hit him with my tree of a ****ing sword!" she says, putting on an awful and cartoonish impression of her tall buddy as a good natured mockery. "When have my plans ever led you astray?"

[zeone3000]

Houdhi shrugs, "I can't help it if it works. Now, about your plans... Eh, you just think what you want to."

[Bad Situation]

Amon was the perfect example of why kunoichi were generally not to be trusted. One minute afraid and trembling at an arrow wound, then suddenly vindictive and catty toward their sensei, and back to playful and foul-mouthed with their remaining teammate. Cybele at least had the excuse of teaching them some sort of lesson, Amon on the other hand was probably just crazy. "Mother, I sometimes feel as though you have cursed me to a lifetime of troublesome women."

Cautiously, Yousuke snakes his hand down to the hilt of his sword and lets it rest there, in case his teammate turned her attention back to him. Cybele was after all, more than capable of defending herself from a petulant genin as evidenced by their first team meeting.

[ZeroNumerous]

Cybele

Cybele's mind was certainly surprised, but her body reacts instantly. The genin's glove flies toward her jounin's face, but the older looking woman intercepts the attack with a casual raise of her arm. She just gives Amon a cold narrow glare as the genin widens the gulf between them once more. "You're still an idiot." She fades away once more, and becomes nothing but the sound of silver bells following the three genin.

DM

If the group heads back to the rebel camp, then they find nothing there. Everyone seems to have picked up, grabbed a weapon--or a makeshift club of some sort--and left toward town in a giant mass. No one's around, and most of their non-combat gear has been left behind. If the genin investigate the camp, then they find several last wills and testaments left out to bake in setting sun. Just in case the people who wrote them don't return home. Off on the horizon the genin can see pillars of smoke rising from the village, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out that the fighting has already started.

The sound of bells stop shortly after you arrive in the abandoned camp.

[zeone3000]

Houshi whistles sharply in surprise, "Well, damn. We'd better get going then."

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke dashes after Houshi with his new sword in hand, technically their mission was now over but somehow he got the feeling that his teammate would not consider returning home.

[Princess Tracy]

"You're still an idiot."

Amon stutters as Cybele vanishes. When she's gone, she's left looking indignant for a moment as she fruitlessly looks around for where she could have gone to; meeting only the judging eyes of Yousuke, it sets in. The simplicity of Cybele's statement is what let's it sink in, rather bluntly. But... she's abusive and SHE hasn't apologised and... and... she hates me anyway, so why should I... She drops her glove as she looks to the floor. "You're right." She feels like she might throw up from pure regret. "When I get angry, I don't... think. I get so fixated on getting back at people that I don't think about what will happen afterwards. And now you hate me even more than you already did. ...Please, I'm sorry. I'll... I'll try and be less impulsive and rise above it, but... but please don't make jokes like that okay?" Amon feels at the part of herself Cybele boasted could rob her of her recollection. "I... I now realise you were trying to keep me out of trouble, I think, not just doing it because it was fun to break me like that. After all she was in there and I may have offended her, right? But it scared me so much for you to suddenly paralyse me like that - for a second I'd thought you'd killed me, I... And after yesterday..." After yesterday, you of all people should know I don't like my mind being tampered with - not even the slightest recollection.

Amon whispers something that further depresses her as she utters it. "For one moment someone on this team didn't hate me. And I wasted that moment. That's what makes me an idiot. And unlikeable...."


DM
[The Scene at the Camp]

When they arrive at the camp, the sight is barely enough to knock Amon from her apologetic stupor. "...They moved already." She starts walking to town. "Let's go see how they're doing." She scoops up one of the last Wills and reads over it quickly to see if there's any important detail she should know. "We weren't away from her for more than 20 minutes - they won't even be at the town yet unless they can teleport across 2 hours of walking." She discards the will where she found it and gets running, trying to catch up. "You guys go back to Soragakure if you want, I want to see how this turns out. I've spent too much of today being made a fool of, I feel like cleansing the pallet, maybe fooling myself into thinking I'm good for something."

When the bells suddenly vanish, Amon gives a nod. "I never now what you're thinking, Cybele. You mood swing more often than I do..." She continues to head to town.

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

If the genin head toward town, then they discover a woman wearing a billowing white dress (http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/ZeroNumerous/whiteprincess.jpg) standing atop a hill nearby. A shimmering black square roughly the size of a normal door stands beside her. The black square is perfectly square, utterly flat, and opaque. The group cannot see through it, but they can see that a sea of stars awaits beyond it. The woman motions for the genin to enter the door. "New arrivals?" She speaks, but the words don't come out right. She speaks, and you hear it, but the words don't make sense. There's no cohesion behind her statements, or any sense of rationality in the situation. "Just step through here, please." The "words" come again, and as before you can hear them but they make no sense. The beautiful woman smiles, laughs at a joke known only to herself, then waves her right hand at the gate.

It shatters apart. An explosion of shards fly across the field, but the shrapnel reacts oddly. Where it should be imparting force, it instead attracts things, and it blinks out of existence instantly upon contact with any physical surface.

"That's better, isn't it?" The woman speaks in a soft contralto. "Sorry, I forgot about the limitations of your... Well, it doesn't matter. You're here for the Human Princess, right? White Princess Isane, at your service." The woman fluidly courtesies, ever so slightly raising her dress in the process. "I'm afraid the Human Princess took her pets and went to play war. If you start walking, then you might get there before the war is over."

A devilish smile spreads across the woman's lips, and she looks toward her left hand. She's curled her hand into a cat's paw as she looks at her fingernails, as if admiring them through her gloves. "Or, I could take you there directly, and you could play at soldier. It won't hurt much. I promise."

[Princess Tracy]

Amon is almost entraced by the woman and her 'door', eyeing them both without understanding, like a charmed snake. As the door bursts though, she hops back onto a defensive stance, almost tripping herself up in the process of trying to seem even slightly intimidating as she readies her sword, but doesn't draw it. Her stance softens as the girl begins to speak normally. She could read lips well enough to understand what she thought was said, but it didn't make things any less mysterious until her voice became more natural. "Human Princess, White Princess. Some sort of aesthetic you have going?" Amon asks glibly as she tries to puzzle out the offer's meaning, blatantly stalling in thought. "Is Gold Princess taken or am I too 'human' for that?"

Amon remembers mention of a wild warrior woman drilling the villagers earlier - one who may not have been a ninja, and one serving Suneko's goals. Is there a relation? She clears her throat, drawing upon her science fiction knowledge base. "What's your deal then? Inter-dimensional traveller? I should assume something like that since you speak in a tongue not suited to our perceptions and seem to be offering high-speed travel, though you could just be an oddity of this plane." Amon shrugs. "Time may be of the essence I suppose... If my body clock is right, they're half an hour ahead of us or less, but their forces are not so great they could not force march over there. Wait, no, I'm stupid." Amon slaps herself on the head. "The Human Princes had you bring her forces to where they needed to be, didn't she?" Either that or you're very charitable. "I can't imagine why else you would be here."

Amon listens closely for Cybele; she makes a policy not to work with powerful people that she cannot trust and thsi strange girl had not earned her trust. At least Cybele could offer some protection and insight, and more importantly if the genin vanished into thin air, Cybele would have no clue where they were even if she tried to track them.

[Bad Situation]

"White Princess..." Suneko has said something about 'Red Princess' doing her job for once, which would mean these 'princesses' were somehow in the employ of of their fellow sky-nin. Going on a hunch he asks, "Is Suneko-san down there with Red Princess?"

[zeone3000]

Houshi nods his head, not one for questions really, "You guys can waste time questioning the pretty lady in white or we could go help our comrades and ask her later. Time, essence." He turns to Isane, bowing slightly, "I will gladly accept your offer. Pain is nothing new."

[Princess Tracy]

"You don't even know how you'll..." Amon grunts in incomprehensible, semi-intellectual drivel as she always does when annoyed. "Fine. Houshi, if you're one for asking quetsions later, how about you go first and tell us if you live. Is that possible, communication? Besides, you should know the risk of the transportation itself isn't the biggest concern. After all, what of Cybele?"

[zeone3000]

Houshi ignores Amon's incomprehensible, semi-intellectual drivel as he always will, "I am and fortune favors the bold. Cybele's probably already there, she knows some serious mobility taijutsu."

[Princess Tracy]

Amon raises an eyebrow. "Houshi, honey, I know this might be mean to say since you can only use taijutsu, but there's some things taijutsu can't really accomplish. Transporting, what, 10 miles instantaneously is more the realm of ninjutsu. Cybele may be fast over short distances, but that has a limit. She may arrive ahead of us, but she couldn't possibly be there already." She strokes her chin. "Still though, you may be right. She might have gone already. But there's no way to know that..." Clearly as ever, she isn't one for instincts in place of rational planning, her own instincts being rather dull

[zeone3000]

Wow, being borderline condescending about something you know little about huh? Obviously, this annoyed Houshi greatly for Amon to think taijutsu wasn't capable of such feats, when he knew for extensiveness purposes it was, "While it may not be instantaneous, I'll give you that, Mugen Shunpo, when used by someone like Cybele can cover that easily within seconds."

[Princess Tracy]

"Really?" Amon asks, genuinely surprised. Clearly she knows very little of taijutsu, if it wasn't already obvious from her not once swinging her sword in the entire time they'd known her; one wonders if it's just for show, but then, it IS a concealed weapon. "...I really should learn some taijutsu at some point. Can you teach me, Houshi? I'll make it up to you - buy you dinner or something. Or make a sharper... whatever kind of sword it is you carry, for you."

Amon shakes herself, seeming to remember where she is. "For the matter at hand though, Houshi here seems to consent. Yousuke, what of you?" Even with Houshi's information of Cybele's possible abilities, she remains skeptical of the right course of action, but if her other team mates go, she's going too.

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Cybele's bells are no where to be heard. She seems to have immediately left for the village, and either didn't notice the gate or ignored it.

The White Princess nods to Yousuke. "Smart boy, but no. The Blue Princess is helping our dear Human Princess. The Red Princess rarely does as she's asked, and... well, I suppose I'm not one to talk. I was told to eliminate anyone following her, but..." The woman's smile widens to a sadistic grin. "I love to watch her suffer."

When Amon interrupts with her science fiction mumbo-jumbo the White Princess just laughs. "Haha. No. I'm as physical as you. I'm... well, an agent, I guess, of the Human Princess. You're right that she asked me... Well, begged me practically", the woman blushes a little as she talks about Suneko begging her, "to send her little pets to their deaths. So I did." She plainly ignores Amon's questions about their titles, and Amon's request for a title of her own.

After Houshi offers to go through anyway, she raises her gloved right hand and motions for the boy to step closer. "I'll be gentle, and do your best to not get sick okay?"

[Bad Situation]

Upon hearing White Princess' words, Yousuke steps up to stand beside Houshi. "If my teammate is going to put himself into danger, it is only prudent that I serve in my capacity to aid him. The last time he attempted to do something on his own he became a pincushion for the opposition." Brandishing his new katana he continues, "If he is going, take me as well."

[Princess Tracy]

This girl... rebellious, sadistic, yet subservient. Is she some sort of contract-demon? Maybe that's why she hauls that giant scroll around all the time. I don't think we can trust her, but... She fidgets as she nudges Yousuke. "We're... not going to let him go alone, are we?" she asks, hesitantly, more to herself than to Yousuke.

Amon can't help but speak up, if only to buy herself thinking time. "Wait, who on earth would be following Suneko right now that she would ask you to kill everyone who walks this path behind her? W-we're the only other ninjas out here, right?" She backs away a little bit, gulping. "I-if you are willing to betray her expectations for fun, why wouldn't you betray ours and drop Houshi god-knows-where for that same fun?"

There;s a section of her mind she tries to keep quiet in case this strange woman can read minds (she's odd with preperations like that), one that rings out 'She is some sort of sadist, revelling in horror, perhaps it is best to give her what I want with my reactions'.

Edit on account of Bad ninja-ing me

As Yousuke steps forward with sudden valour, Amon blushes a little - likely in embarrassment for being so hesitant by comparison. Gulping sh also steps forward, a little behind Yousuke as if using him as a shield, determined to not go first, if possible. "I-I'll go too." She clears her throat. "I can't let you two get in trouble without me."

She mentioned getting sick - perhaps turbulent motion then. Oh, I already KNOW, I'm not going to like this. Maybe I can use my medical knowledge to brace myself better...

[zeone3000]

Houshi smirks, stepping forward, "Better me then Amon. We need someone to patch me up afterwards. Now, let's go."

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

The White Princess shrugs. "I don't question the Human Princess' orders. She said everyone, without qualifiers, and normally that would include you all. But I think it'd be funny to let you go after her. And you have no reason to trust me. That's what makes this fun." She smiles widely at the last word, and finally reaches out both her hands for the genin to grasp. "Take my hand, and close your eyes."

If the genin obey, then the instant they make contact with the woman their bodies are submerged in the utmost coldness. The air vanishes, and its sudden disappearance threatens to pull the breath from your lungs. Bone chilling cold rushes in to fill the void around each sky-nin, and your body becomes weightless. But then air rushes in around them, and the genin are able to breathe normally once more, standing on top of a rundown old building somewhere in a village. If they look around then they immediately notice the large square stone structure Mitsuyo used as a base of operations, and easily recognize the village from earlier this afternoon.

The streets are filled with fighting, and large groups of people rush from street to street with makeshift weapons--from farming implements to sticks, they fight with anything on hand. The stone structure Mitsuyo had been using seems to be besieged by the bulk of the civilian army, and Mitsuyo's guards are no where in sight. The genin recognize the scroll-bearing pale woman from earlier this evening standing in front of a large group of civilians. Either she's done her part of the fighting, or is supporting the army in some other invisible manner.

[Princess Tracy]

As the moment is upon her, Amon starts to really think better of this - how significant could the town really be, right? She opens her mouth to raise an objection, but as Houshi and Yousuke reach out, she panics and follows suits, being projected through the void with them.

When the arrive, she falls to her knees, her blood pumping and head spinning as she tries to keep her guts down. Seeing Yousuke similar state, she nods in unusual kindness as she advises him "Let it up..." being cut off by her own vomit as she hurls over the side of the roof, hoping to hit someone not on her side. "Ugh, why did I have caviar before a mission, what's wrong with me?" Wiping her mouth, she finds the group a little cold-scorched as she continually shivers. "Y-you guys okay?" When it's clear only Yousuke seems unmoved by the soul torturing means of transportation, whe produces a health pack, removing a bandage or two. "I think we have enough time to g-get you p-pa-atched up, K-Konpaku-san," she says, her mind awash with unspoken horror.

Treat Injury [roll0] (I inclued a -2 penalty for being shaken), vs DC 15
Heals [roll1]

"H-Houshi, I healed you maybe a bit too recently, give me a second to eyeball how soon I can heal you again..."

Is Houshi suffering from Chakra Overload or whatever it was called? I wasn't clear on how much time had passed before we met the Princess. Has enough time passed for me to use my healing technique without harming him?

As Amon looks over the scene, she tries to draw some conclusions not readily apparent, but some void of what she saw clouds her judgement. "You know, in the early days of ninja history, they were just glorified farmers in a way, disgruntled peasantry being something of a staple; all our most traditional ninja weapons are essentially adapted farming tools. You should know your history," she babbles, her voice shifting at weird pitches - almsot as if she was speaking just to stabilise her voice, as one would pluck the strings of a guitar justto tune it before playing something more meaningful.

"We can either go see Suneko and trust she wasn' trying to kill us specifically, or we can pop into the Mitsuyo building with tree climbing before he knows what the ****. Yousuke, you seem the most clear headed right now, you take point." Amon is vaguely cute when she's frightened - with her lip quivering and her arms folded for warmth, her stance forced to be a little less expressive; she looks a lot more like the rich, demure girl than usual - a princess without a prince

Do I see any windows into Mitsuyo's building or other entrances available via wall walking?

[zeone3000]

Houshi was warm enough and seemed to have an iron stomach, but what they just experienced blew his mind, "Di-did we just return from the final frontier?"

"Whoa..."

He was obviously distracted by the whole prospect and just sorted nodded his head agreed with the general consensus.

[Princess Tracy]

"H-here, Houshi, hold my hand, it'll stabilise our perceptions," Amon remarks still quivering as she outstretches her hand. If Houshi accepts, she takes his hand in her own as seh crouches, seeming to shiver a little less. She was sharp as a rapier but still this means of travel clouded her judgement - she wondered how bad Houshi was taking it. She did her best to exert her body warmth and focus Houshi. "Better?" she asks, perhaps a little more stable herself.

"Yousuke, get a closer look at the building for us while em and Houshi calm down a bit more, please?" She was clearly too distraught for her usual back-sass.

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke is met with an onrush of uncomfortable sensations and blinks at discomfort, finding himself no worse for wear. Taking in his new surroundings, he nods absentmindedly at Amon's request and dashes away from the group, leaping off the rooftop and toward the stone structure. When in range, Yousuke channels chakra into his feet and plants them onto the side of the building to climb onto the tower and in through the highest window.

If possible I take 10 on my chakra control and my hide check. If not here are my roll:
Hide - [roll0]
Chakra Control - [roll1]

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

The boy quickly darts across the battlefield. The civilians either do not notice, or do not care about his appearance. Yousuke climbs up the wall quickly and quietly, and breaks into the highest room in the building. His feet meet a soft wooden floor, and the room is filled with shelves of books. A tiny desk adorned with small knick-knacks, several half-finished books, and a pink frilly hat. The hat bears a single golden moon and three ribbons--one blue, one red, and one yellow. The owner of the hat or the room seems to be missing.

A single door leads out of the room.

DC 15 Listen check
You hear extremely shallow and raspy breathing coming from deeper within the bookshelves.

DC 13 Listen check
You hear the crush of stone as some extremely heavy... thing... seems to be climbing the wall behind you.

Houshi and Amon

The two sky-nin watch Yousuke leave. They see that the civilians ignore the young man, but they notice something Yousuke could not. Suneko follows the boy's path with her gaze, and watches him enter the building. The duo see her perform a series of hand signs that Amon recognizes as the Summoning Technique. She pulls up her left sleeve to reveal a summoning contract tattooed into her left arm. The sky-nin bites her right thumb, and splashes her blood across the contract. An explosion of smoke obscures the sky-nin for a moment, and when it's gone a human-sized pot-bellied monstrosity stands before her. The hulking brute stands six feet tall, wields a giant iron kanabo, and bears a single horn pointing from its forehead to the sky.

Both ninja see Suneko point toward the window Yousuke had just entered. She probably says something, but you're unable to hear it over the battle. The hulking monster walks over to the wall Yousuke had just scaled, and starts climbing up it manually. Suneko starts looking around now. Her eyes scan the rooftops and the streets for any hint of Yousuke's companions.

DC 10 Ninja Lore Check
The creature is an oni--a member of a fabled race of monsters supposedly sealed inside the Moon by the First Sage of the Six Paths.
I'll need a Hide check from both of you. You can fall prone immediately to get a +16 bonus to your check.

[Princess Tracy]

An Oni? What on earth is that thing doing being summoned by a sky-nin? You'd think something sealed away would be forbidden! The sight of the oni incoming to Yousuke snaps Amon from her frightened stupor some. "Is she actually trying to kill us? M-maybe it's friendly? Perhaps she's just confused as to why Yousuke is here and sent the Oni to investigate. Yeah, that must be it..." The thought brings her no comfort though, and as she starts looking around for her and Houshi, Amon reflexively grabs Houshi by his collar and hits the floor with him for cover. Hopefully the distance and being prone would allow them to go unnoticed until they coudl approach this problem on their own terms. Perhaps it was the gaping void of space that had momentarily wracked Amon's brain, but she wasn't in the mood to unconditionally trust anything right now.

I got a 31 on my hide check with the prone bonus.

[zeone3000]

Housh, still in a shaken daze, hears Amon but takes no notice of her, "Huh? What now?"

When she grabs his shirt, he doesn't budge, "Oi, you'e stretching it!" He finally decides to lay down after a brief pause to keep his shirt intact. "Why are we hiding?"

[Princess Tracy]

Forgot to account for shaken condition, which i believe bestows a -2 on my checks. If so, my hide check was only 29

When asked why she's hiding, Amon shakes her head a little. I don't know, some part of her says. Maybe she was just being paranoid from the teleport, she kept trying to convince herself, but summoning that thing to chase after Yousuke... she tries her best not to impart her fear to Houshi, but can hardly help it. "She summoned an Oni, that woman... she summoned an Oni to chase Yousuke into the building and now she's looking for us. I don't know if us being here messing with her plans has really pissed her off or what, but... I don't want to take my chances. We don't have time for my head to clear - we have to warn Yousuke that a monster is chasing him or tell Suneko to call it off if it means him harm, but how... If the White Princess really was in place to kill us, Suneko definitely didn't expect or want us here, that's for sure."

She rifles through her bag's insides, turning it inside out for speed, looking for loose string, parchment ink and a single shuriken. "How far can you throw a shuriken to literally hit the right side of a barn?" she asks Houshi, hoping his larger arms meant something as she quickly scribles something before even all the supplies are done pouring from her upturned bag.

[ZeroNumerous]

Houshi and Amon

Suneko finally spots the two genin. She uses the same summoning contract from before to call yet more oni. Two of them--one armed with a sword and the other with a spear--appear before the sky-nin in an explosion of smoke. She points toward the genin's hiding spot, and the two oni trundle off toward Amon and Houshi. They should arrive within seconds, based on how fast the oni sent after Yousuke is climbing.

The oni will arrive in 3 rounds.

[zeone3000]

Houshi pops back up, drawing his blade, "Don't think that's gonna matter now." He sighs, "Why does it feel like everyone wants to kill us today?"

[Princess Tracy]

"H-hey wait wait!" Amon shouts at the top of her lungs. She stands as she sees the Oni. "The White Princess sent us - said you'd need the help! I'm sorry if Yousuke got in your way or something! We're a bit out of sorts from the thing she threw us through we weren't meaning to sneak up on you or anything, can't we talk!?"

Diplomacy check to talk her down [roll0]

[ZeroNumerous]

Amon and Houshi

Suneko either can't hear Amon, or doesn't care about what Amon says. She just watches them.

[Bad Situation]

"Books...I did not take Mitsuyo for..." Glancing at the desk, frilly hair in particular he mentally corrects himself, "Definitely not his books." Silently, Yousuke approaches the small desk to examine it in greater detal but is interrupted by the sounds of wheezing further inside the building. "Must be a civilian. I should see to him and make sure he's alright." He had personal issues with Mitsuyo but whoever was inside sounded like they needed his help. After all, An innocent had nearly lost his life during their previous mission due to his inaction, if anything this was a chance to redeem himself.

"Or her," he adds as an afterthought. Though if the frilly hat truly belonged to the source of the wheezing he certainly hopes it is a her. Upon hearing the crumbling stone, Yousuke quickly grabs the hat and moves further into the rows of books in search of the raspy breathing. Either Houshi had somehow followed him or something was coming after him. Houshi was still sickened though, ruling the former option out. "I'm still low on chakra," he thinks bitterly, "I should avoid any direct confrontations if at all possible." He wasn't sure if he could protect himself with his current stores of chakra let alone an injured civilian but for the life of him he would try.

[Princess Tracy]

Amon rifles through her bag's half-dumped out contents, kicking them away from the ledge facing the Oni (lest Usagi the Brave fall into enemy hands). She finds the exploding tags she'd bummed off of Yousuke back in the fort, immediately concocting soem way to use them as she whispers her many plans to Houshi. Finding her wild card, there's some hope. Why didn't I have Cybele put a cool technique in this thing? Oh yeah, because we had that spat to start the day when Usgai's charms failed us. But then... she's always sneaking around doing things that strike her fancy - she stabbed me in the ass quick enough. Maybe she put something in this when no one was looking? She picks up the wild card in the same snatch that delivers the exploding tags to her hand. If it is charged, her passive chakra senses should inform her so.

[zeone3000]

Houshi knew he was strong but he wasn't sure he could put a hole in a ceiling. He could try though.


Strength Check: [roll0]

Failing that...

Damage: [roll1]

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

The raspy wheezing draws Yousuke deeper and deeper into the forest of shelves. After a few minutes of searching he's found a young pale girl. She's wearing a fluffy pink dress vaguely reminiscent of a nightie. She has the same deep purple hair as Cybele, and glares at Yousuke through a pair of thin-rimmed glasses. Her dark purple eyes are vaguely reminiscent of Cybele's, but lack the same distant glare that she carries. "W-w-who... w-w-what..." Her breathing is extremely labored, and she struggles to reach for a small white breathalyzer just a few feet away from her.

Houshi and Amon

The wild card is empty.

Houshi's capable of shattering the roof easily, and breaks a 10x10 foot hole into it. The room under you seems to be some kind of bedroom, but it's empty of people.

[zeone3000]

Surprised at his own strength, he makes another before hopping down, "That was easier then I thought it would be." He looks around some more before yelling back up, "Oi, I don't know what you're doing up there but I suggest you hurry up."

He stands next to the wall he knows the oni are going have to climb, preparing to stop their ascent.

[Bad Situation]

Feeling pity for the poor girl, Yousuke bends down to gingerly retrieve the breathalyzer, presses it gently into the girl's hands and helps to sit her up. With his other hand he pats what he assumes is the girl's hat onto her head and motions for her to be quiet. When the girl seems to finish with her breathalyzer, Yousuke kneels down and cup his hand against her mouth, leaning in against her to whisper in her ear, "Someone with unknown intentions is following me and for your own safety I must ask that you remain quiet." Being so close to the girl unsettled him greatly, but if she unwittingly gave away their position he doubted in his ability to defend both himself and what seemed to be an asthmatic girl. And for similar reasons, running away was now out of the question. For now he would simply have to hope that the girl trusted him enough to stay quiet or that his pursuer would lost interest. Or ideally, both.


If I need to make a Move Silently check to help her, here it is.
Move Silently - [roll0]

[Princess Tracy]

"Gah, Houshi would it have been that hard to just swoop in through a window?!" Amon squeals as the roof gives way. "Baka! I'm so making you pay at least 60% of the damages on this house, we weren't supposed to..." As Houshi readies her sword against the Oni-facing wall hoever, she catches onto his intentions and falls silent. "Stay right there. I'll tell you to adjust your footing, if necessary, but otherwise be ready on my mark."

Amon heads towards the edge of the roof, facing the oncoming Oni as she runs through some manoeuvres in her head.

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

When Yousuke returns the girl's breathalyzer she immediately presses it to her lips and sprays it. She takes several deep breaths, ultimately settling her lungs into a far calmer rhythm. She tenses when Yousuke's hand blocks her mouth, and weakly struggles against him. The girl lacks the muscle strength of even a moderately exercised individual, and cannot budge Yousuke in the slightest. She calms down a little when Yousuke explains, but doesn't remove her hands from his. Whether out of distrust or fear isn't immediately obvious. When Yousuke gets closer he can smell the soft scent of aged books wafting off her.

Several seconds pass before sounds coming from the window announce the arrival of the oni. Glass cracks, wood breaks, and the stone itself crumbles under the monster's great weight. But more important than its noisy entrance is the creature's foul stench. Rotten cabbage and eggs could be favorably compared with the musk that surrounds the creature and permeates the air. The smell threatens to gag the young sky-nin, but luckily his hand keeps the girl from smelling anything. Yousuke's certain she would vomit if she could smell it.

The grotesque pot-bellied ogre lurches its way into the library. A great iron mace drags along the ground behind it. Each step causes the floor to groan, and the mace to screech like metal upon metal as its dragged along. "Come out, come out little boy." The creature grumbles in an almost comically high-pitched tone. "The Princess said you'd be tasty."

The oni's searching for Yousuke. He has two rounds to prepare or attempt to evade its notice.

Amon and Houshi

The oni continue to approach, and finally reach the base of the building. They stop there, as if preparing for something. They look toward one another, then show off mouths full of crooked teeth in the strangest grins Amon has ever seen. If the young kunoichi looks around for a moment, then she'll notice a strange sight. A blinking light rapidly approaches from the general direction of the rebel's old camp. It blinks in and out of existence as it moves closer and closer, and seems to be making a beeline toward the city.

The oni will start climbing next round.

Cybele will arrive on the next round.

[Princess Tracy]

Having charged the exploding tag Yousuke had given her, Amon stands at the ledge of the roof. Standing as tall as she can, she tries to seem imposing. It doesn't seem to go well, herself still shaken from the transport. Readying the tag, she asks "How saddened will Suneko be by your deaths at my hand?" She brandishes the blade of the attached kunai in such a way as to make it clear they're at a disadvantage should they remain on the ground much longer.

She throws down the kunai-exploding tag, not expecting it to attack effectively, only to embed it in the ground for later detonation, and perhaps to get them to scamper up all the faster.

Attack [roll0] because you never know.
I couldn't find the specifics on the explosive Yousuke had (i.e. the one I just threw), but I'll assume it can be delay-detonated. If not, then she just throws it down, as is. If it hits, I detonate it immediately. If it can't be remote detonated after it leave my hand and I miss, I detonate it anyway in midair to at least do splash damage, if possible

When their highest point are at the middle of the second storey, whispering the instructions to Houshi to guide him to the right spot, she shouts "NOW!" signalling Houshi to knock the wall out and steps back in, knowing the cieling she stands on might follow in as few as 6 seconds.

[Bad Situation]

Cursing inwardly, Yousuke examines his options. Distracting the thing did not seem feasible. The girl before him looked as though she could barely run and the second his assailant finished with him he doubted it would say no to a frilly pink post-meal dessert. Mutely, he pauses at his odd choice of words, "What is with me and girls and sweets..." Dispelling his mind of the notion, Yousuke looks down at the sick bookworm before him and considers his other options. He was not going to chance his ability to fight off the creature, not in his current state at any rate. At this point it seemed that running away from the creature was their only option but for that he would need speed. Hopefully he had enough chakra for that at least.

Clasping his hands together, Yousuke summons up whatever dredges of chakra he has left in preparation of his plan. From the clasped position, Yousuke goes through the requisite seals for the Clone jutsu, causing a copy of himself to shimmer into existence. Sucking in a nervous breath, Yousuke bends down to lift the ill girl into his arms bridal style and whispers into her ear once more, "Are there any exits we can make use of? Or must I escape through the window?" Hopefully she knew more about the building than he did, or else he would be forced to run around their monstrous foe.

Swift Action to access 5 reserve, attack action to create a clone, move action to lift the girl. If she knows of any exits, Yousuke directs his clone to run into the opposite row of books to distract the oni and unleashes his Rank 2 speed and Rank 1 strength (which is hopefully enough to let Yousuke carry her without penalty) as a full round action and follows her directions. If she doesn't know about any possible exits, Yousuke will still send the clone into the opposite row and try to hook around the bookshelves and back to the window.

[zeone3000]

"Yes, yes it would've been actually and windows are for chumps. Besides, you act like I can stick to walls or something. Pfft, I am not paying for anything. Blubber butt can pay for it. I know he's good for it. Besides, this was your idea!"

He follows Amon's instruction until it was go time and swings for the cheap seats.


Strength Check: [roll0]

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

The girl shakes her head. The library door was always locked, and she'd never been allowed to leave it. She would have told Yousuke, but the sky-nin did say to be absolutely quiet.

The sky-nin's clone runs out there, and sure enough the oni's too stupid to realize it might be a decoy or trap. It charges after the clone, trundling through bookcases, smashing chairs, and scattering books all over the room in the process. The noise and distraction proves sufficient for Yousuke to dash out the window with the girl in his arms. From his vantage point above the chaos of the battle he can now see Suneko staring at where his companions had hidden earlier.

He also watches the events with the two oni unfold.

I'll need another hide check to get back to the roof unseen by the villagers.

Amon and Houshi

The oni ignore the thrown exploding kunai. They knew that fire was just a minor annoyance, and climbed at their own leisurely pace. As they get up and into position, however, they find the wall under them buckle and break under Houshi's vicious attack. The cheap clay-like substance gives way immediately, and both oni tumble down to the ground.

Fall damage [roll0]
I'll also need a damage roll for the exploding tag, minus 5 due to fire resistance from the Oni. Assuming it's a normal exploding tag and is totally uncharged, then it'd be 2d8. +1d8 per point of chakra spent to charge it.

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke lands softly on the roof of a neighboring house, watching the scenario with Suneko play out from afar. Barely supressing a sigh he thinks, "Of course she's out to get us. Not the powerful wind dragon who we had to fight during our previous mission, but the ninja who is supposed to be our ally." It just figured that Suneko would turn on them. Was it too much to ask for allies who weren't out for his team's blood? With the alarmingly high number of mercenaries in the employ of Soragakure, yes. It was too much to ask for apparently. With their rate of success thus far it would not entirely surprise him if the girl he was carrying was somehow a crazy demon child who he had unwittingly unleashed upon the world. Subconsciously, he tightens his hold on the girl and presses her closer to himself. Almost immediately, the 'lessons' his grandfather had annoyingly imparted upon him made themselves known. "That is an absurd notion, Yousuke. How could such a pretty girl lead you astray?" He could practically hear the man's smug voice, even now in the midst of trouble. Thinking better of it, Yousuke loosens his grip and apologizes, grimacing distastefully. "I must apologize, I am rather tense at the moment."

Remembering his manners he asks, "I am Konpaku Yousuke. May I ask your name, milady?" Stupid etiquette lessons, they always left him speaking in an unorthodox manner. Though to be fair, Youki's lessons on etiquette in relation to women seemed to be drawn exclusively from romantic smut literature and the period soap operas he seemed to be so fond of. He was supposed to follow the line up with a compliment or another, something like, "...or might this angel have no name, in return for such a beautiful face." He had probably butchered the line but thankfully his grandfather was not there to smack him for it. Despite his better efforts, his grandfather had an annoying way with weaseling critical mission information out of him and it would not be long before the man found out about the particulars of this mission. At least now he could say that he had tried to be courteous.

[ZeroNumerous]

Amon and Houshi

The fall combined with the explosion from Amon's exploding tag causes the two oni to explode in poofs of smoke. They don't leave corpses or blood behind, so it's much cleaner than two dead humans, but both genin certainly seem to have killed their enemies. Suneko looks irritated at the defeat of her minions, but just performs the Summoning Technique again. But instead of calling forth another minion via her summoning contract, she instead goes through a much longer series of hand signs. It culminates with her putting both palms on the ground, and a series of seals spreading out from where she's touching the ground. Then an explosion of smoke obscures the sky-nin from view. When the smoke dissipates a young blond-haired girl (http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/ZeroNumerous/8225016fb3d9a1558e5dda4.png) stands beside Suneko.

The girl's waist-length blond hair stops at her waist, and she stands a paltry four feet off the ground. A large purple gourd hangs off her right wrist, and it bears several sealing signs across its surface. A cork in the top keeps whatever is inside from spilling out. The girl's lacy white blouse, frilly purple dress, and and overall childish look could let her pass for a human.

Except for the fact that two long spiraling horns jut out from each side of her head. Each horn rests just above her ears, and points straight out in line with her shoulders. Adding to her fierce visage are a quartet of black iron bands attached to her wrists and ankles. All of the bands bears a long chain, but the two attached to her ankles seem to have been broken. The two attached to her wrists bear massive iron balls, but the girl carries the extra weight as if they were made of fluff. Another chain snakes around her waist, but seems to have no beginning or end to it.

The girl turns to Suneko, grins, and the pair have a quiet conversation.

Listen Check DC 13
"I'm back again, huh? I thought you wouldn't need me anymore."

Suneko glares at the young girl. "Don't give me that. Things changed."

"Oh? Miss Human Princess is in trouble again? Where's your false magic when you need it?" The girl smiles and seems to take the whole thing as some kind of joke.

"Blue Princess Obana", Suneko says with an irritated tone, "are you going to disobey the authority given to me by the Emperor?" Her words seem to irritate the young child, and for the first time since she had been summoned the oni frowns.

"No", the girl responds in a mechanical tone, "What do you need from this obedient servant?"

Suneko gives a smug smile, then points toward the building Amon and Houshi are hiding in. The oni turns toward the pair, her smile having vanished into a deep frown, and starts slowly walking toward the two sky-nin.

The Blue Princess will arrive in four rounds.

Yousuke

The girl gasps as the two leap from wall to roof, but otherwise does her best to remain quiet. A luminescent blush overwhelms the young lady's face when she's squeezed tighter, and a light gasp escapes her lips once more. Yousuke can feel her heart beating like a drum, and she gives the young swordsman a strange look. But she averts her gaze and looks to the ground when Yousuke looks toward her. "A-ah. My name is... I-I mean, Mitsuyo-sama named me Eurayle. But, my parents named me Camille."

Yousuke's complement only deepens the girl's blush, and seems to quiet her completely. She does her best not to make any noise, and seems to withdraw completely unless spoken to. Luckily this allows Yousuke to focus on what happens between his team and the oni.

Yousuke gets the same Listen check as above, and sees everything Amon/Houshi see. He can rejoin them, but because of the broken wall he'll need to spend two move actions to do so rather than just one.

[Princess Tracy]

Oh ****, SUIKA! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc8iu0XFUQc&feature=my_favorites&list=FL3fvmfEUkTT5_Wq5anvQK0Q)

Another one of the Princesses, huh? I really don't want to test my luck here. I already used the 'destroy wall' gambit on those two minions. Summoning something actually powerful should be really hard though - why is she going to this extent to kill us? Amon looks around for a way out of this stupid situation - the oni clearly wasn't enthused about this sitation, maybe if they ran she wouldn't bother chasing. Wait, what's that? It looks like its coming from the bandit camp and - OH, Yousuke's back and he brought a nice looking girl. She looks kind of like - forget it. Maybe Suneko or her minion haven't seen him yet. If we do have that element of surprise what should we do with it? The girl looks to be a civilian, so...

"Remember, comrade, as ninja we should not drag the innocent into our war!" she says, tilting her head to Houshi as if talkiing about the house, but make's sure she's loud enough to be heard by Yousuke, hoping even he was smart enough to catch onto her message to get the girl out of here. The way she says 'comrade' is in that same sing-song voice she addressed Yousuke as 'Yousu-chan' after all, he couldn't miss it.

Her mind cleared by the heat of battle, Amon stands her full height; recognising the echo frequency of the streets, she stands on her tip toes, clasps around her mouth and arcs her back just right to make herself impossible to go unheard by Suneko. "WHAT THE **** IS WRONG WITH YOU, HUMAN PRINCESS!? WE'RE SOME STUPID GENIN THAT GOT TRICKED BY YOUR OTHER SUMMON INTO THINKING YOU NEED A HAND - SORRY FOR TRYING TO HELP, BUT THIS IS WAY TOO MUCH VIOLENCE OVER A MERE MISUNDERSTANDING! WHY ARE YOU PUTTING THIS MUCH EFFORT INTO KILLING YOUR FELLOW NINJA!? LOOK, WE'LL RUN RIGHT NOW AND GET OUT OF YOUR WAY, SO JUST RELENT ALREADY!"

Content that she's said all she can, she hops down the hole as she finished shouting to stand beside Houshi. "I think we should run. These princesses seem strong - even if this one specifically isn't that much of a threat, if we knock her down, Suneko might just summon another, more powerful Oni, one we might not escape from so easy. She's summoned at least 6 oni today, 3 with unique power and personality, so she may be running low on chakra, but..." If I could get in close before she gets a chance to summon something else, I can break her focus with my sonic technique, wasting her chakra with any luck, but for all I know she's a strong enough fighter herself.

While Houshi and Yousuke coordinate, the demon-girl starts walking towards the team. "Hey, don't suppose we could talk this over, possibly over a cold one, could we?" Amon asks loudly of teh princess, indicating towards what she assumed was booze she was carrying. "It might be at least more interesting than fighting with us just because she tells you to, right, Obana?"

Diplomacy? [roll0]

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Once again Suneko either doesn't hear Amon or simply doesn't care about what the girl has to say. But her stance becomes obvious when she shouts toward the oni. "Kill the loud one first. Painfully."

The Blue Princess' expression darkens as she wordlessly accepts the order. The oni ignores Amon's pleas, and closes her eyes as she moves closer. The authority of the girl's "Emperor" is far stronger than her own feelings on the matter, or the possibility of taking a life. Even so, Yousuke can see the effect that Amon's words have had as the girl seems to walk even slower than normal. She certainly has no interest in brutally murdering two children, and it's obvious from the way she's dragging her feet.

Obana will arrive in six rounds now.

[Princess Tracy]

Amon nudges Houshi. "She seems like a cool sort of girl. Let's get out of here, now - run as fast as we can so it looks like a proper chase until we're out of her line of sight, at least. You're faster than me, so I hope you don't mind me hitching a ride"

Securing her bag and it's contents, Amon takes off immediately. If Houshi permits, she jumps on his back and rides him as they escape through the hole in the wall, relying on his ability to augment his speed with chakra being superior to her own. She really doesn't want to run on her own two feet but will if forced, taking off at her maximum speed away from the crazed summoner and her unwilling minion. Amon gives a nod to the oni-girl for her kindness, and another to signal to Yousuke to follow them, now. "You'll be hearing from me in a strongly worded letter yet, Human Princess!" Amon shouts as she goes. It's a good thing your competent summons are far less murderous and obedient, otherwise we might have died here. "Men, to our great stronghold, mush!" she says in the fashion of a wartime general.

Bluff check to pass message 'go to the bandit-fort' [roll0]
Even if she fails, the result should be Yousuke may follow them anyway, but if the message is understod, he'll be able to meet up with them on the road without taking the risk of bringing the girl into Suneko's line of caring sight until after we've shaken off our pursuers.

Edit: BOOYAH! I could use more bluff ranks though, I think

Amon intends to snake around a few of the taller-building streets until she 'loses' Suneko and any further minions. If Yousuke has not rejoined them, she heads in the direction of the bandit fort, hoping to meet up with him, and hopefully Cybele, on the road. When he does rejoin them, she instead heads towards Soragakure, a little off the main road, trusting Cybele to handle herself, and Suneko to not stray far enough from her post to personally track them.

[zeone3000]

Houshi shakes his head at Amon, "Not today. Do you really think she is just going to get away like that? Especially when she knows where we live... I don't like it, not one bit." He sighs once again their situation, which seems to be turning into par for the course, "I guarantee you this part of the report is going to be ignored by Sonia.'

He looks over to Suneko, narrowing his gaze in disgust, Why? I just don't get why a comrade would attack us? He slams his fist into awall, leaving a nice size indention, "Let's go before I change my mind and something stupid."

[Princess Tracy]

"Don't worry about her knowing where we live -if she's serious about killing us, I have a hangout we can use until the dust settles," Amon informed Houshi as she takes of at top speed behind him. "I'm serious, man, if she starts chasing I'll need you to pick me up. You've got longer legs and chakra enhancement - you can handle my lithe figure." Amon bites her lip, hoping Houshi and Yousuke are thoughtful enough not to give her a reason to stop.

[zeone3000]

Houshi sheathes his blade, cracking his knuckles, "I won't kill her." He hops down from the hole he made, landing rather lightly actually, "Just knock some sense into her." He takes a deep breath before opening the First Gate, "Kai-mon, kai!" His body tenses before he takes off like an Olympic sprinter, pumping as hard as he can until he's within about 25 feet of the summon, "Yousuke! Cover Amon while I take care of this!" He leaps 6 feet in the air at the apex and keeps going. He rears back his fist as he comes to a sliding halt and extends with a straight seiken, "Why are you attacking us!?"


Charging Attack Roll: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Princess Tracy]

"HOUSHI, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU EVEN -!?" Amon scolds as he goes against his 'not doing anything stupid' prerogative and heads straight for the summoner. You're lucky she didn't hop up and impale you on her horns, you stupid, stupid boy! Cybele, if you're out there, now would be a good time to do that paralysis crap on Suneko before Houshi faces retribution. If he's all up in her business, she should have to make enough effort to move away that she'll earn another punch to the head for her troubles, but frankly hitting her with the back of the blade would have been more efficient if he hopes to capture her alive!

Thinking fast on anything but criticism of Houshi, she bites her lip and faces Obana. "You have your orders," she remarks with a respectful nod, before pointing at herself. "Houshi may not look it but he's too kind a boy to kill her even if he could, so.... I guess your only concern should be me." She tries to remain stoic, but can't help a gulp. If she chases, Amon runs. Otherwise, she give s a pleasant, youthful smile as she backs away at a pace maybe a little bit faster than Obana's. "Sorry you got dragged into this tiff," she remarks. "You're definitely the nicest Princess I've met"

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke scowls at the girl's relation to the piggish man. "Do not call him that. He is not worthy of your respect, so do not refer to him as such, Camille-san." He ends the sentence with an awkward smile but inwardly he frowns, "Is she related to Cybele? They certainly look similar enough..." Regardless of her relation, she was still an innocent meaning his first priority was getting her to some semblance of safety. Ideally, Houshi would be able to deal with Suneko on his own, but he would just have to wait and see. Peering over the edge of his building he whispers, "Hold on tight," and channels the chakra required to bring them back to ground level safely.

Finding a quiet place for them, away from Suneko's line of sight, Yousuke deposits the weak girl gently onto the floor and against a building. Quietly, he draws his sword, eliciting a quiet hiss of steel from the blade and scabbard. "My allies are engaged with the enemy though from the looks of it they seem to have it well in hand. Stay close so that I am better able to protect you. However, if I must move to aid them stay here away from sight and I will return when it is safe to do so."

[ZeroNumerous]

Houshi

Obana makes no effort to stop Houshi. Whether out of a strict interpretation of her orders, or sadistic pleasure from wanting Suneko to get hurt. Regardless of her reasoning, the small oni just watches Houshi fly overhead.

Houshi's meaty fist plows into the pale girl's soft skin like a hammer. Her head angles downward with the force of his punch, but she recovers quickly and looks a bit irritated at having been touched at all. She focuses golden eyes on Houshi's own, and her tone is that of an adult talking down to a child. "Why? Are you stupid boy?"

The sky-nin casually rubs her jaw where Houshi had struck her. "Meiling told you about me, and I can't let you live with that information. Sonia would never believe you, but that idiot Taro might, and that will make my life hell. So do me a favor, and just die."

The summoner starts going through the hand-signs for another summoning.

Obana will intervene between Houshi and Suneko on the next round.

Yousuke

The girl clutches Yousuke a bit too tightly when he asks for it, and screams when they leap toward the ground. Luckily for Yousuke she weighs very little, as her lightweight doesn't make the landing any harder than normal. She nods at Yousuke's words once hidden away, and remains there unless told to do something else. "Please be careful, Konpaku-san."

Amon

Obana just waves off Amon. "Personally I don't care what happens to the Human Princess, but the Emperor gave me a direct order. I cannot allow her to be killed." The girl casually runs a hand through her long blond hair. "And unfortunately, that order supersedes hers, even if she speaks with His authority. So start running kid. I don't wanna have to kill more than one person today."

The Blue Princess turns and starts walking back toward Houshi. She's rather casual about the whole affair, given that Houshi hasn't drawn a weapon yet, and she'd rather enjoy watching Suneko get beaten up for awhile.

Obana will intervene between Houshi and Suneko on the next round.

Cybele

The purple-haired sky-nin drops down from one of the buildings nearby. She's a bit winded, but otherwise is in peak fighting condition. She quickly draws two normal black kunai, and takes a moment to quickly observe the battlefield. She obviously isn't bothering to hide, because she knows Suneko's abilities as a sensor outweigh her own abilities as an assassin. "Houshi! Where's Yousuke and Amon? Did she kill them?!"

Cybele arrives on this turn with her full round action, and Quick Draws her weapons.

[ZeroNumerous]

Houshi's fist passes clean through Suneko, but the sky-nin doesn't feel any resistance that would be normal from having punched a person. The image of Suneko fades away a second later. The real Suneko stands behind Obana, in plain view of everyone involved. "I allowed you to touch me once, but you won't get that chance again."

Suneko uses a ninjutsu technique in response to being AoO'd. She takes 10 due to Cool Under Pressure, getting a 36 Ninjutsu check.

[Princess Tracy]

"Nor do I want to kill you," Amon says in turn to Obana when she says she doesn't want to kill more than one person, in a tone of bored duty matching Obana's own. "But I cannot allow him to die. That is my order; broken under penalty of losing my very being. If you're the same way, I guess there's nothing else for it, Blue Princess Obana."

Amon strikes a pose as if to attack but does no such thing as Obana starts walking off. Instead she shouts, "Houshi, capture her alive no matter what!" Reading Sonia's expression even from afar, Amon has a good inkling as to what was just said; a tipping of the hand. "I have an idea of what's going on, but we'll need to question her. Plus it would make the Blue Princess' boss upset if she were to die, okay?"

Amon can't help but chuckle at the sight of the second, pummelling fist striking Suneko, but that amusement fails as Suneko teleports away from Houshi's grasp, joining Obana by her side. "Dammit."

I had an action here, but Suneko's move has invalidated it. I'll put up my revised turn in my next post.

[zeone3000]

"Fashionably late I see. Amon's back over there," he points to the building with a hole in it. "Yousuke is over there." He points to another building which Yousuke went to, "They're fine." He starts back towards Suneko, "Now, time to handle the traitor but first..." He draws his blade on the way, "I'm sorry, I know you are just following order but I cannot allow her or you to kill my friends." He brings his blade crashing down and misses horribly.

Hit Points: 27/29
Chakra Pool: 8/23
Chakra Re8erve: 6/6
Armour Class: 16
Ongoing Effects: Str Rank 1 (2/5), Spd Rank 1 (2/5), Kai-Mon (2/3)

Hokojutsu: Daibutsu
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] [roll2]
Chakra: 2

If it hits, DC 24 Fort save or she's not knocked prone

Lol, nvm

[Bad Situation]

Suneko was using jutsu now, meaning the situation was much more dire than he had expected. Even with Cybele on their side, Suneko was a dangerous foe with a very dangerous ability. His team would need him by their side if they hoped to bring Suneko down. Before leaving to join the fray, Yousuke casually retrieves the cat doll he had received the day before his previous mission and presses it into the girl's hands leveling his gaze to meet her eyes. "I will be returning for this, so please keep it safe for me. I hope that it brings you the fortune that it has failed to bring me. Scream my name if you require my aid and I will be at your side as soon as I am able."

Dashing around the building, Yousuke makes his presence known, brandishing his new katana. "Now, Houshi. I do not intend on letting anyone kill me."

[Princess Tracy]

"So what's your deal then, are you Meiling's contact?" Amon asks as she approaches Suneko, her cane at the ready, piecing everything together as she sees Cybele. "Were you banking on her killing us? Or were you just that trusting of the White Princess? Baaakaaa~ on both counts - for such a commanding person, you don't know your own forces very well." She smiles, giddily, generally trying to make herself as annoying as possible to buy some attention away from Cybele. And she intended to momentarily take that plan up a notch.

Move 30 feet towards Suneko, ready an attack action:

If Suneko makes to use any technique, Amon uses her Deafening Sound Wave technique on her in the hopes of breaking her concentration

6 chakra (pricey, but worth it). DC 19 fort save to avoid being deafened for [roll0] rounds. [roll1] sonic damage, no save. (f u, evasion, even though in this case I'm certain she doesn't have it)

If Obana is in the area of effect when the technique hits (a 10 foot square intended to include Obana if she doesn't have the good sense to leave Suneko's side), Amon also quickly shouts "Sorry, Obana-hime," as she performs the technique

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Obana expertly dodges Houshi's attack. "Sorry big guy. Try not to die, okay?" She charges Houshi with reckless abandon. The genin realizes she's intentionally leaving herself open to be attacked, and he could have taken advantage of it if he had just been a bit quicker. The small girl throws a punch at Houshi's gut with almost as much strength behind it as the giant genin could muster. However, Houshi gets the distinct feeling that she's intentionally holding back. For whatever reason she seems to be punching slightly slower than her status would suggest.

Suneko finishes her technique, which provokes an attack from Amon. The loud deafening crash of noise does nothing to stop Suneko. The girl finishes her summoning technique, rolls up her right sleeve, bites her thumb, and smears her blood all over the summoning seal branded into her skin. A burst of smoke obscures her form for a second, and when it dissipates another person has entered the field.

All three genin recognize the new entry as the dragon masquerading as the red-haired kunoichi Meiling. Suzunabu still has its son cradled in its arms, and only looks around surprised at its new surroundings. The dragon wearing the girl's flesh turns to face Suneko, and the oni-summoning woman points toward Amon, Yousuke, Cybele, and Houshi in turn. "You're under contract still. One year and one day. Kill them."

Suzunabu looks to each of you in turn, then back to Suneko. "I refuse." Its flat-voiced refusal sends Suneko into a red-faced fury.

"How dare you?! You're mine to do with as I please, and that means you don't get to refuse! Now kill them you worthless dog!" Suzunabu stares at the oni-summoner as if it were looking at a particularly disgusting insect, but it turns toward Yousuke anyway.

"Very well." She says whilst addressing Yousuke. Yousuke can feel no killing intent from the dragon, and can infer that it has no intention of fighting. But even so, it still needed to keep up the illusion that it was obedient.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/ZeroNumerous/Obanafight.png
Legend
Dark Red - Houshi
Dark Blue - Amon
Dark Gray - Yousuke
Dark Purple - Cybele
Dark Green - Suzunabu
Yellow - Suneko
Pale Blue - Obana

Concentration check vs DC 17: [roll0]. Suneko succeeds even on a 1.
Fort Save [roll1].

Obana
Charge Attack vs Houshi: [roll2] vs AC 14(16-2 for charging).
Damage Roll: [roll3] non lethal.

Suneko
Finish technique: Summon Suzunabu

Suzunabu
Does not get to act this round.

[zeone3000]

Taking a sharp blow to the gut, Houshi notices the lack of killing intent, Tch, so that's it. She holds her contract. Right, she's trying to get beat. I would too if I was forced in to servitude. He nods and swings away half-heartily, "I promise only to try."



Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Bad Situation]

Sighing, Yousuke meets Suzunabu's eyes and nods, "If you must. Though if you plan on fighting I must ask that you secure the safety of your child before you think to attempt anything. He has seen enough conflict today." To emphasize his point, he gestures in the direction he came from and away from the battle. Noticing that the small female oni's back is turned to him, Yousuke settles into a charge, katana held low and below his hip for a sweeping strike.

Hit Points: 25/30
Chakra Pool: 5/22
Chakra Reserve: 5/10
Armour Class: 22
Ongoing Effects: Str Rank 1 (3/5), Spd Rank 2 (3/5), Striking Tiger Stance, Charge

Move Action~!
Charge to to (11,4) and attack.

Attack Action~!
Standard Action Attack
Attack: [roll0] +5 from my Action Point (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13908145&postcount=515) making the result 22.
Damage: [roll1] Slashing Damage
Targeting Obana

[Princess Tracy]

INVALIDATED
Amon's horror at seeing Suzunabu vanishes ironically at Suneko's order; she doesn't even get past 'you're stil under contract' before Amon can tell from the slur in her voice that her technique was successful - her eardrums overwhelmed by her sonic technique, Suneko is temporarily DEAF! This is perfect - she already has such poor control over her summons.... if Amon can just buy a few seconds, it could turn the tide of this entire battle.

Just as Suzunabu says 'I refuse', Amon pounces at her chance; before Suneko manages to read her lips, she distracts her as best she can, while exploiting her deafness to carry her voice across the battlefield free of the great 'sensor ninja's' scrutiny. Producing her last 'smoke bomb', Amon sprints forward, and shouts to Suzunabu "Suzunabu, quick! Step towards me before your son inhales this!" and hurls the bomb, whereupon it explodes into foul smoke. The whole affair completely drowns out Suneko's complaint about her authority with the contract

Amon moves to (10,13). She throws her Saruhire poison gas bomb to fill (9-10,8-9). It should expand by 5 feet in all directions next turn. If I got the grid right, Suzunabu should be just outside the gas limits, as should her son, but Suneko is not so lucky

Just for fun, have Suneko roll her saving throw. She can only fail on a roll of 1, but if she does she'll take [roll0] Intelligence damage

Amon quickly turned her attention on Suzunabu. "Suzunabu, before she can properly invoke her contract, get out of here, now - this is no place for your child, anyway! Let not your kind heart serve her wickedness!" She indicates quickly, before Suneko can clear herself of the poison fog, to the nearest corner, which should also be the direction Yousuke came from after dropping off his innocent. "If there is no way out of your contract, no loophole that would restrict you from her service, at least safeguard the youth - now hurry lest my poison or the heat of take him!"

Taking advantage of the stolen senses of teh summoner, Amon shouts across the battlefield. "CYBELE, Suneko is temporarily deaf and shall remain so for at least 15 seconds more!" she informs Cybele. "If we want to run, now's our opening to escape! If we want to fight, now is also that opening!" For a jounin, she seems to be a complete *****. That or she's too dumb to summon something more obedient "If we try and corner her, she may summon something far more powerful, so be ready to break her focus!"

Seeing Yousuke and Houshi pound Obana as best they can, Amon surmises she will likely just vanish as the earlier oni did, or at least she severely hopes so. "Obana, if we should meet again, let it be in cooperation - your talents are wasted in this woman's service."

When Suneko emerges, no doubt furiously, from the poison mist, she's met by Amon's biggest grin - her most punchable expression she can muster to best distract the crumbling Jounin as she hopes Obana poofs out and Suzunabu runs from the heat of battle as instructed. She mouths 'disgraceful' as obviously as she can

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

The two sky swordsmen strike true with their attacks, but Obana meets their blades with her fists. A bit of her blood--a much lighter pink than normal human blood--stains both blades from where they've struck her palms. But the blades do not sever her limbs, or go much further than surface cuts. Both swordsmen realize that she's much hardier than a normal human, and sense that their blades did less damage as a result. Even so, the oni remains dour at having been forced to fight. A giant opening appears in her stance as she strikes at Yousuke with a telegraphed punch.

Suneko seems to wait for something, and Meiling is still slightly dazed from being summoned.

Cybele blinks out of view as she dashes from area to area. Eventually she ends up behind the oni, and stabs at her with both of her kunai. Both of them find the oni's flesh, but just like Houshi and Yousuke she's dealing slightly less damage than normal. The oni looks slightly worse for wear, but looks toward the group with a smile growing on her face. "This is starting to get fun~!"

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/ZeroNumerous/Obanafight-1.png
Legend
Dark Red - Houshi
Dark Blue - Amon
Dark Gray - Yousuke
Dark Purple - Cybele
Dark Green - Suzunabu
Yellow - Suneko
Pale Blue - Obana

Initiative: Amon - 24
Suneko - 22(delayed to 2)
Obana - 22
Yousuke - 9
Houshi - 3
Meiling - 2(delayed)

Obana
Attacks Yousuke with her fist. Suika's Gambit Stance allows both Yousuke and Houshi to take an AoO against her. If they do, then she refuses to take an AoO in return.

Both sky swordsmen realize she has DR 6/Thorium.

Attack: [roll0].
Damage: [roll1] non-lethal.

Damage dealt: 5(Yousuke)+20(Houshi)+29(Cybele)=54 total.

Cybele
Attack: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3] + [roll4] sneak attack

Attack: [roll5]
Damage: [roll6] + [roll7] sneak attack

Meiling delays until the end of Houshi's turn.

Suneko delays until the end of Meiling's turn.

And we're still waiting on Amon's actions.

[Princess Tracy]

"Suzunabu, if there's no way out of your contract, perhaps you had best ground yourself to best fulfill it?"

game terms: requesting she delay until after Amon's next turn, Bluff check to pass message, take 10, +1 for 11, enough to pass a simple message like that secretly

"I'm hardly a threat with how much chakra I used retrieving your son. Speaking of, it would be wise to set him down gently somewhere before he is dragged into our tiff. Your contract or your master gave you permission to secure him at least, did she not?"

Diplomacy check to request she use her action to secure her son's safety rather than fight us for one round. Taking 10, I get a 15

Amon starts forming hand seals rapidly. If she wasn't in range already, she steps forward to bring herself in range. "You need only stand between me and your noble contract holder to shield her from my final technique."

Bluff check to pass simple message, take 10, yadda yadda, to send message 'don't dodge'.

Move to 13,10 if wasn't there already. If i had to move more than 5 feet, use my attack action to begin a full-round action performance, to be completed on my next turn when I expend another attack action for the same effect. Otherwise, I use a full round action if already within 25 feet to use the Mind Transfer technique, in a line targeting Suzunabu.

[Princess Tracy]

Never Mind, previous move okay'd

Amon sizes up Suzunabu, as if confirming her presence on the battlefield. Seeing everyone go to town on Obana, she was quite certain they had her well in check. Hopefully. She refocuses her mind for a moment; trying to summon up her strength, she realises how truly powerless she is. Mind Transfer, no... poison bomb, no.... Maybe she was deafened successfully and I can skillfully coordinate the participants. No. She strongly considers finding a corner to sit in until the competent people have it sorted out - Suneko seems stouter than she should be to shake off her sound wave attack like that; she's pretty certain she has little chance of actually breaking her focus. She could try going for the scroll and... nope, Suzunabu is in the way. She sighs, realising she simply doesn't have enough chakra left to kill Suneko even with her best move working at its fullest. If Suzanabu weren't here, then at least we could all gang up on Suneko. Even if she merely pretends to fight us, it will still deter us. Screw it, let's run away. No wait, she seems to be distracted. Maybe, MAYBE I can just slip over there before she does that teleport crap and... no.

Wait, Amon, think. Summoning all these demons must take effort; I don't know how much chakra it took to summon Suzunabu, probably a fair bit, assuming any, so looking at the psychology of the summoner there is a lot of resource management. If she pulled out Suzunabu, that must mean she is certain Suzunabu can finish this fight, but to fall back on her summons when it was just us genin.... that can't be cost efficient. Is it possible... that oni summoning is her only power? More importantly, though if possible her super-strategy would undoubtedly include setting aside some 'rainy day' chakra. Unless summoning Suzunabu took no particular store of chakra to summon on account of being a seperate contract, she'll probably still have that strategy in mind; to have one, super powerful summon left up her sleave she'll be teetering on the edge of using. If she doesn't have enough power to summon it, she'll switch to summoning a lot of smaller monsters, possibly to cover her escape, though mostly out of frustration.

Resource check: Amon. Some minor chakra left, about 1 third capacity. Can be annoying. Suneko. Unknown degree of summoning powers. Is a bitch who can't fight.

Snapping her fingers, Amon just decides 'screw it' and dashes forward, hoping to catch Suzanabu and Suneko off guard. "How's it hanging, Ryu-san," she remarks casually as she draws up to the dragon, as if simply asking her how her weekend was. "Know of any way I can take control of her contract over you? A gamble against Satoko, perhaps?"

In one fluid motion as she charges, she produces her sword and stabs out at Satoko as best she can, all the while taunting her loudly to draw her attention away from Houshi and Yousuke. "You better summon up some stronger friends than this: I put a fuinjutsu on Suzunabu - she couldn't harm me if I tried!" she obviously lied, trying to give Suzunabu an out. "If you give up now, it'll decrease the chances of me scraping off your summoning tattoos, burning your scroll and perverting your body by at least 10% when we win!"

Charge to (9,10)
Attack! [roll0], Damage [roll1]
Hachidoku. If the sword hits, she must succeed at an initial fort save DC 18, or suffer an additional [roll2] damage up front

AC 14, HP 20/25

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Suneko frowns, then starts performing a technique. Amon identifies it as the Dimension Shift technique.

Suzunabu watches as Amon performs her technique. It looks right at the genin, smiles, then puts her son down gently in between the two of them. She takes a deep breath, then begins cycling her chakra for a technique of her own. After a few seconds her skin becomes red and her chakra signature explodes into an overwhelming source of strength. Black stripes made of chakra spread down her arms and legs as if she had tiger stripes. Suzunabu makes no attempt to dodge the Mind Transfer, and does not resist its effects so long as Amon makes no attempt to touch the boy.

Obana looks at her bloody hands then shrugs. "I guess I got too hurt. I don't wanna die, so... You can handle the rest, right little leaf-nin?" With that, Obana willingly ends her summoning and disappears in a cloud of smoke.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/ZeroNumerous/Obanafight-3.png
Legend
Dark Red - Houshi
Dark Blue - Amon
Dark Gray - Yousuke
Dark Purple - Cybele
Dark Green - Suzunabu
Yellow - Suneko
Pink - Suzunabu's son

Initiative: Amon - 24 (as Meiling)
Yousuke - 9
Houshi - 3
Cybele - 3
Meiling - 2(delayed)
Suneko - 2

Suneko
Use Dimension Shift

Suzunabu
Move action: Place son on ground.
Attack action: Activate Fierce Tiger Energy Release.

[Bad Situation]

With Obana now out of the picture, Yousuke turns his attention toward their sky-nin enemy. Dashing in, Yousuke dips his blade low in preparation for one of his more lethal techniques but twists his grip in a manner that would suggest otherwise. In one swift motion, Yousuke slashes upward in a vicious arc, ascribing the ascent of the moon.

Hit Points: 25/30
Chakra Pool: 3/22
Chakra Reserve: 5/10
Armour Class: 24
Ongoing Effects: Str Rank 1 (4/5), Spd Rank 2 (4/5), Striking Tiger Stance

Move Action~!
Charge to to (10,8) and attack.

Attack Action~!
Sword Art: Moon Slash
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] Nonlethal Damage
Jutsu Damage: [roll2]
Chakra Cost: 3

[Princess Tracy]

Amon nods as the boy is let down at her feet, Suzunabu seeming to accept the terms. She visibly sweats and pants as she draws out nearly the last of her chakra, her body wavering a little as she struggles just to keep on her feet.

Amon used a swift action to tap reserves for 3 chakra; using her technique has brought her down to 1 point in her chakra pool, and a mere 5 reserve less in her own body. She's fatigued until she can recover some chakra.

In a triumphant flair, she throws out her hands in a odd-like hand sign (http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2rimuGMQg1qalazq.gif), as if framing Suzunabu's image. Crouching a little to soften the fall she anticipates, she readies her body to lie softly next to the child. She gives a little whisper. "I'm borrowing you for a bit then, Suzunabu." With that, there's a sudden surge of chakra, Amon's eyes glaze over and she collapses, seemingly unconscious...

Ah, oh god... such movement, such strength... my son, no not my son, but he is. No, focus, this is your body now, at least for a bit. Oh god, so many instincts, so much power, I don't know how she can remain calm. I.... I love it. Maybe it's just the tiger-like technique - I'll have to learn how to use it msyelf.

---

As Obana shrugs the duty off onto her, Suzunabu gives a brief, amused sigh. "I think I can handle it alright. Farewell," she says a little awkwardly, as if drunk, as she feels oddly at her face. A sudden change in her dazed state comes about as she springs into action when Suneko begins her technique. "I found a loophole!" she says excitably, as she kicks out at the summoner, bringing her foot down like an axe and breaks the ground beneath her mighty tread, the chakra seeming to pour from her

AoO rolled OOC

Suzanabu giggles maniacly. "Were you hoping I'd cover your escape so you could use that teleport to get out of here? I get it now - you thought I told these children of you; I am not so foolish." Grounding herself from her last hit, she faces her assigned targets, still standing as they rally after the disappearance of Obana. "Yousu-chan, Cybele-chan, Houshi-kun, surround her! Either grab her hands so she can't summon in anything more or whack the bint as hard as you can!" She spins around, giving them all a second to get into position, before seeming to lose patience and lashing out anyway, delivering a powerful punch in an attempt to smack her at least once before she vanished like she did with Houshi's attack.

Delay until Yousuke's turn so both of us gain flanking. Assuming I started at my 24 initiative, anyway.

Attack! (punch) [roll0]
Damage [roll1] Nonlethal

HP 20 (+2 temporary)
Defence 25
Chakra Pool 20, Reserve 18

As she throws out her fist, Suzunabu remarks "I really should thank you for giving me such a powerful body. This Meiling is enough to take you down, I think!"

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Amon finds nothing under Suzunabu's heel but dirt as the summoner dodges out of the way. Yousuke, on the other hand, has a better go of it as his sword slices through her flesh with ease. She stops doing her hand signs to grab her arm, and curses the genin.

"Ugh! Goddamn kids. You weren't supposed to be any good, but I guess traitorous minions will make even ants into trouble. I'll remember this. I'll get you all, and that includes you too Meiling!"

The next time Amon attacks Suzunabu's fists find nothing but air. They pass harmlessly through the afterimage left behind by Suneko's spacetime technique. The summoner doesn't reappear elsewhere in the square.

Cybele makes a few hand signs, then places her palms against the ground. Her eyes close, and she concentrates on something. Whatever it is draws her full attention, and she does nothing unless directly spoken to. After six seconds she raises her head and speaks--shouting to be heard by Amon and Yousuke. "She's not touching the ground wherever she went. Or she could be on the ground, but outside my detection range. So she's either on a roof, or somewhere further than 110 feet away."

Suneko can't possibly meet the DC 37 Concentration check she needs, so her technique fails when Yousuke hits.

She uses her spacetime technique to dodge Amon/Suzunabu, taking 10 to get a 36 on her Ninjutsu check in order to do so.

[Bad Situation]

Scowling, Yousuke quickly looks around the area for traces of Suneko before grumbling and turning toward the direction he came from. "I will head east and try to detect her chakra signature." Drawing away from the group, Yousuke dashes toward Camille's hiding place and plants on the side of the building. Breathing in concentration, Yousuke holds up his left hand in a half-seal to detect any signs of Suneko's chakra and opens his eyes and ears for any indication of her presence.

Not taking 10 because I don't think it's going to be enough. I'll just have to chance it this time around.
Spot - [roll0]
Listen - [roll1]

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

The boy finds Camille where he had left her. She's no worse for wear, but seems a bit confused about the whole thing. She remains quiet and hidden unless spoken to, or unless beckoned.

[Bad Situation]

Finding no significant chakra signatures, save for Camille's Yousuke drops down to the floor beside her. "Her chakra is...certainly something else. Perhaps Cybele will be able to shed some light on that front..." Breathing a sigh of relief, Yousuke beckons Camille closer to him. Suneko was nowhere in sight but at least Camillle was safe for now. Hopefully his allies were having better luck on that front. "I apologize for the wait, Camille-san. I hope your wait was a pleasant one."

Gesturing to the way he came from, Yousuke continues, "My team is just around the corner. If you would follow me they would gladly see to your needs." Well, no guarantee on that but if the girl was indeed related to Cybele she definitely needed to see their sensei. Remembering the girl's difficulty breathing Yousuke adds, "Or perhaps you would rather I carry you to them?"

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

The girl shakes her head. "It was no trouble, Yousuke-sama. I was just worried about you and your friends." When Yousuke mentions his team, then she stands up and takes shake-y steps toward the direction he pointed in. When the sky-nin mentions being carried, she simply blushes deeply and shakes her head. "I-I will be fine." She follows Yousuke unless stopped, and the pair arrive quickly.

[Bad Situation]

At the sound of the honorific, Yousuke coughs uncomfortably and blushes. "Y-you don't have to refer to me as such Camille-san. I am not nearly as worthy as you deem me to be." It was flattering really, but something about it made him feel intensely uncomfortable inside. Swallowing nervously he turns away from her to hide his embarassment but notices her unsure movements and turns back around. Still blushing, Yousuke takes her hand and leads her back to the group. "If you need my help do not hesitate to ask," he says, keeping his gaze leveled on the ground.

[Princess Tracy]

As soon as Suneko vanishes, Suzanabu tuts loudly and dashes towards toe west-most building in the square, climbing it with the tree climbing technique. "You coward, come back, I wanted to use this technique to take a decent shot at you, dammit. I never got to PUNCH your stupid face, even Houshi got to punch you!" Once at the top, she gives a quick look around.

Spot [roll0]
Listen [roll1]

[Princess Tracy]

Suzunabu looks around at the building's top, clearly annoyed. She's going to run away, then what? Nothing else for it.... Suzunabu senses chakra as best she can, focussing in spite of her radiant tiger-like chakra

[zeone3000]

Houshi shrugs, sheathing his blade, "We're not gonna find her. Too many variables, places above ground and she can teleport."

[Princess Tracy]

As Houshi starts to put away his sword, he is interrupted by a shout. "HOUSHI, stupid-head, don't just stand there, help us look before she vanishes for good!" Suzunabu shouts down at him from atop the west-ward building. "Put those big legs to work - you got us into this brawl, now try and do something about resolving it! If she teleports out and kills us all later out of spite, I'm blaming you!"

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Thirty seconds pass without anyone finding the wayward summoner. It's not hard to guess that she's gone by now, and wherever she had gone was probably a mile or two away. Suzunabu continues to allow Amon to use her body up to the genin's limit, so long as she does not attempt to touch the boy.

"Pick that up would you, Houshi?" Cybele points to Amon's unconscious body.

Once Amon's collected, then Cybele gathers the genin together. She explains her plan plainly. "I offered a deal to Suzunabu's mistress. Via trade I obtained the information about her contract holder, and made the connection to Suneko. I was planning on leaving you in the rebel camp, changing my appearance, and ambushing her there. But after I found out the camp was empty I accelerated my plan and figured you would be safe in the empty camp."

She sighs. "I don't know how you got here so quick, but I can guess it was some kind of spacetime technique. Either way, Sonia won't believe me or you about this. Suneko was one of her trusted lieutenants in her mercenary organization. Yamada Taro or Kamisaka Kai might be more open to this explanation, so we won't mention this in our report to Sonia."

Cybele seems to be ignoring the presence of the purple-haired, purple-eyed girl who could pass as her daughter... If you all didn't know how old Cybele actually was. Camille hangs around Yousuke as much as possible, and does her best to stay out of the way of the other group members.

[zeone3000]

Houshi shrugs, shaking his head, "Oh yes, because the guy who can't sense chakra, has no training in tracking or searching and is as sneaky as elephant is going to find the ninja that can teleport." He starts to move south before Cybele calls him back.

He slings Amon's limp body over his shoulder, "Wouldn't that be a better reason? It's always the people who were trusted the most that stab everyone in the back in comic books and such. It's always so easy for them."

[roll0]

[Bad Situation]

Unsure of the situation, Yousuke sheathes his sword and quirks an eyebrow at Cybele's outright denial. Looking between Cybele and Camille nervously he raises his hand to speak, "A-ah, Cybele-sensei, I found Camille-san in Mitsuyo's library. W-what do I do with her now? Are we taking her back to the village with us?"

[Princess Tracy]

As Cybele starts gathering the group, Suzunabu sighs and gathers with them, fidgeting in annoyance. As Cybele addresses Amon's body as 'that', Suzuabu looks irritated as she walks up to the special jounin. "What do you mean 'that'? 'That' right there is a person, a peppy, pretty girl and damn fine ninja who just wants someone who appreciates her. You could stand to screw with her less often, Cybele-chan." A wide, menacing smile spreads on the dragon's face. "Or else you'll be the next one she puts under this technique - and let's just say she's a big believer in mutual respect, Cybele-chan, which is why she's only treated me with the most down-to-business application of it. Speaking of which, time's up, and just as well - maybe Suzunabu can shed some some light on this. You may have to ask her directly - I can't remember if targets retain their memories of their time under this jutsu, it's been so long. Oh well." She gives a little wave to say goodbye as her eyes flicker and the technique draws to a close.

As Cybele gets into her strategic analysis, Amon's eyes flicker and she returns to the land of the conscious. Tilting her head over to watch Cybele as she speaks, she takes it all in (and looks a bit annoyed, as if she'd lost something unrelated to the conversation). "Houshi, don't drop me or I'll kill you - I used up the last of my strength saving your ass from Suzunabu's obligation to kick it. That's worth at least a bridal-style carrying in my book." When Cybele is done, and conjectures about spacetime, Amon, her voice a little ragged like she'd run a marathon, explains her encounter with teh Whit Princess. "There was a girl on the road with an otherworldly aura, one of the Princesses Suneko summons. She seemed disobedient, since Suneko told her to kill everyone that came along the road, but instead she decided to offer to transport us back to town so we could get into a fight. We wound up here, Suneko spotted Yousuke when he leapt into Mitsuyo's fort, and she started summoning demons to attack us. How come you knew we were in trouble?" Amon gives a little smile. "You almost looked sad at the though she'd killed me already."

Amon sleepily looks over at Yousuke. "I thought she looked like Cybele... Don't suppose there's any significance to that? Cybele's clan are from another village though, Iwagakure if I understood Kaede right, so I don't know that your girlfriend's location is our business. Though, since Suneko lead the attack that seems to have destroyed teh building she was in, I'd be happy to provide accomodation, if only to spite the summoner... How are you, m'lady?" She shoots the purple-haired girl the best roguish smile she can muster in her state. "What were you doing in hat man's library? From our earlier encounter, I seriously got the impression he couldn't read when I showed him our mission scrolls."

[ZeroNumerous]

Cybele

Cybele shrugs at Houshi's question. "Sonia isn't the type of ninja that thinks of betrayal. Things are black-and-white in her world, and that means Suneko is an ally to her."

The jounin just looks at Amon in Suzunabu's body. "No, Amon, that is a soul-less bag of meat. Besides that, do you really want to know what it's like living in this skin?" Cybele raises her hand and removes her glove. "I could show you, you know."

The sky jounin replaces her gloves when Amon returns to her body, then answers Amon's questions. "I saw Houshi on his own, and couldn't see you or Yousuke. I assumed the worst, since Houshi would not leave you on your own."

She then goes on to question the genin's choices. "So some kind of monster offers you a ride, and you just get in? That's reckless to the extreme. You're lucky she didn't decide to teleport you a thousand feet into the air."

DM

Once released, Suzunabu goes back to her son, picks him up, then casually waits for the group to talk amongst themselves. She had no reason to interrupt them unless questioned directly, and thus stood to the wayside.

When Yousuke finally forces the issue of Camille the purple-haired girl just bows to the group. She's quite demure, and does not make eye contact with either Houshi, Amon, Suzunabu, or Cybele. Her shoulder-length purple hair is left to fall where it may, and she seems to shrink back after Yousuke introduced her. "A-ah. H-Hello. My name is C-Camille, but Mitsuyo-sam--san. Mitsuyo-san called me Eurayle."

Cybele just looks dismissively at the girl. But then she looks back to Amon with a stoic mask covering her emotions. "No. My clan is from the Grass Country. My sisters and I were traded to Iwagakure as part of a peace offering between Kusagakure and Iwagakure."

With that said, the sky-jounin looks to the girl. She stalks forward with her whole body tensed. Being under the jounin's scrutinizing gaze and aggressive approach causes the girl to step back, and makes Camille quite visibly nervous. The two of them lock eyes for a moment, and Cybele's aggressive glare forces the girl to look away. "A-ah", Camille gasps, "please take care of me."

With that done, Cybele closes her eyes and takes a less aggressive stance. Her left hand goes to her chin, and her right arm goes under her chest. The thoughtful stance draws out Cybele's inner monologue. "She's not one of us, so she's artificial. Which means Mitsuyo got a hold of a medic and Hinami's body... You did remember to burn Hinami's body, right?" The last part addresses the sky-genin directly.

[zeone3000]

Houshi groans, "I'll give you a piggy back ride and no more. You might as well be a feather as far as my strength is concerned but my arms will get soar stuck in the position for that long."

Houshi scratches his chin, "Okay, how has she not been stabbed in the back then being a mercenary? I thought they just wanted money, not comrades."

Houshi shakes his head, "I would if I was covering her escape."

Finally, Houshi shrugs, "She seemed pretty enthsatic about screwing over Suneko. Call it hunch. Anyway, we wouldn't have made it here otherwise. Maybe you should tell us your plans next time."

[ZeroNumerous]

Cybele

Cybele retorts at Houshi's implication. "And maybe you should stay out of business that isn't yours."

[Bad Situation]

Cybele admittedly had a point. Accepting a mysterious demon's offer probably was a terrible idea. Luckily, he already knew and was thus saved from feeling any sort of embarrassment. "Upon meeting the woman Houshi decided to take her offer and knowing him he would have gotten himself killed had he gone in alone. For that reason I chose to accompany him. I apologize for any trouble this has caused you sensei."

Seeing Cybele's aggressive stance, Yousuke whispers to Camille in an attempt to calm her down. "Don't worry too much, sensei tends to act like this sometimes. She means well by the glares, usually." It wasn't a lie so to speak, Cybele did tend to hide behind her glaring and harsh words from what little he knew of her. When Cybele mentions what they did with Hinami, or rather, what they didn't do to her body, Yousuke flinches.

"...were we supposed to burn her body?" he asks shakily.

[ZeroNumerous]

Cybele

The sky-jounin sighs. "I suppose it worked out for the best. But be careful in the future."

When Yousuke asks about Hinami's body, she responds plainly. "The body of a shinobi is an important resource, both for the village it originates from and for any village that could capture it. If you can capture an enemy's body, then your village will gain a substantial amount of information about what herbs, drugs, and other training techniques the enemy village uses. But if it's infeasible to capture an enemy's body, then destroying it is the next best thing because it denies any other village access to that body and allows the victim's identity to be used if no one can verify that they've been killed."

Camille

The girl looks a bit confused, but Yousuke's words reassure her all the same. She whispers to the young boy. "I-I was worried she didn't like me."

[Princess Tracy]

"Hey, how'd you know it was me, I never used it on the records," Amon remarks as Cybele recognises her. "For all you know, it was just some screwy genjutsu I placed on poor Suzunabu here." She gives a nod to the dragon. Though at Cybele's removal of her glove, she grows more sombre for a second, biting her lip in remembered pain. "Is that how you always feel, Cybele? To have that thing crawling inside you?" She looks away as Houshi shifts her to a piggy-back. "I think I understand why you're so grouchy sometimes if that's the case. If that state is a taste of what you are I'm surprised you're able to put up with me at all..."

At the accusation of her recklessness with hitching a ride though, Amon opens her mouth as if to scream in offence and stammers. "H-hey, I was going to back out but then these tow here were pretty gung-ho about it. What was I supposed to do, leave them? That Princess scared the crap out of me the more she talked, if it had been just me I'd have found some respectful way to decline. Besides, it's probably for the best; she was under orders to kill us, if we'd declined her little 'game' we'd probably have the fight of our lives on our hands."


"I-I was worried she didn't like me."

"...That probably isn't worth worrying about, kid. Cybele's pretty changeable."

At the last question of burning Hinami, Amon nudges Houshi, but thinks better of letting him talk for her. "Well, the thing is.... we didn't... Suzunabu was.... and we had to get you to safety after finding... and I... I'm not used to working with bloodlines in my medicine, and I'm not a surgeon, so... I didn't think that... It seemed disrespectful to the dead to.... I kind of thought when I reported in that they would have someone more qualified..." She clears her throat, falling back under the cover of Houshi's body to avoid Cybele's glare, knowing she'd earned it this time. "W-was it that important?" Biting her lip, she finally owns up.

"No."

[zeone3000]

"Whoa, hold on, how wasn't it our business? The dragon told all of us the truth, not just you. It sounds like she had plans to attack us anyway. As soon as she saw us, she summoned the onis and I mean, as soon as. She didn't say anything, just did it. If you want us to be careful, you have tell us what you have planned. I'm supposed to be reckless and gung-ho, you're supposed be the responsible one and teach us caution by leading by example." He sighs, "I guess I forget you're not that much older then us and still inexperienced at teaching. As for burning the body... Don't look at me. It makes sense at a military level but wow... The things we have to do."

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

The sky-jounin just sighs. "It's fine. But now you know for future reference. The dead are dead, but what they've left behind can still be useful to the living." With that said, Cybele looks at the girl again. Camille shrinks back under the jounin's gaze, and freezes up a little. Cybele moves closer to the girl while removing her gloves. She reaches out and touches the top of the girl's head. Neither of them have an adverse reaction to the other, and after a few moments Cybele kneels down to look the girl in the eye. Camille fidgets a little under the older-looking girl's gaze, but ultimately submits to the scrutiny.

Cybele finally stands up, slides her glove back on, and talks to the girl. "You've been infected with... something horrible. If it's allowed to grow, then you'll die. I can kill it, but you might die in the process and you'll never recover what you've lost. Or I can teach you to live with it, and offer you a place among my clan." Camille looks rather confused and worried. Cybele looks toward Suzunabu. "I need to talk to you as well."

Unless stopped, Cybele and Suzunabu back off a bit to talk to one another quietly. Camille has withdrawn even more than normal, and seems to be rather depressed about what she's just been told. Unless spoken to she quietly considers her options, and looks around often.

[Bad Situation]

Shocked by Cybele's somewhat blunt admission, Yousuke turns back to Camille to console her. "You should accept her offer, Camille-san. If you accept her training you can come back to the village with us and away from here." He honestly felt bad for the girl, considering the implication of Cybele's words. Her only options now were to die or throw away her old life to become a shinobi. Not exactly ideal circumstances for a civilian, much less someone who seemed so ill-suited for the life as Camille. As much as girls tended to make him uncomfortable, he didn't want her to die. Patting her on the back he adds, "If you choose to accept I will be able to visit you, so please consider the thought."

[Princess Tracy]

"Suzunabu, before you run off," Amon says a little more strongly. "You should know, I felt the emotions of that body. An extreme protection of the child. Maternal instincts aren't that bad I see - in your case, they were almost intoxicating," she says with a smile as she rubs at her abdomen, distantly aware of her own potential as a mother. "I'm sure you'll take great care of him."

As the two more elite ninja go off to talk, Amon mulls over what Cybele said about disposing of the dead. But what could be on her or about her so important that... she stops as her glance happens to fall upon Camille. Her eyes widen. She looks at Yousuke, shaking her head looking so apologetic she could die, and stoutly refuses to meet the eye of the young girl. She mutters, "Yousuke.... the way that woman died... I didn't think the curse could be used like that... If I'd known...." she shakes her head, burying her gaze into Houshi's back. "I'm unfit to practice medicine."

[zeone3000]

Houshi sighs, switching her to a bridal carry, "But you didn't and no can blame you for that. If they do, they'll have to answer to me. That's like blaming the fact I can't use ninjutsu on me. It's not my fault, I was born this way."

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Suzunabu just looks at Amon before leaving. It closes its eyes, and shakes its head. The dragon makes no comment as it follows Cybele into the distance.

Camille responds favorably to Yousuke's touch. She becomes slightly less tense, and talks a little. "I... I... W-when Mitsuyo-sama took me in, he said that... that thing would fix my asthma. He said it would... it would make me stronger." She looks toward Amon with sad eyes. "Y-You practice medicine right? I-Is she right? W-Will this... will it really kill me?"

[Princess Tracy]

Amon's sad focus breaks like waves upon the rocks for a moment as Houshi switches her carrying style. He was almost romantic. "You're saying you'd protect my honour, Houshi?" she asks, her eyes fluttering and her disdain for his foolhardy actions of the day forgotten

The moment doesn't last long though before the girl casts her sad eyes upon the young medic-nin. Biting her lower lip, she sits up in Houshi's arms. "Camille, was it?" she says slowly, stalling as she tries to think of a kind way to put it. "I don't... know. Only Cybele's clan knows how her curse works and even then Cybele doesn't seem to fully grasp it herself in your case. What was that bastard Mitsuyo hoping to accomplish by using you like this..." She falls silent, thinking. "Camille.... I'll have to ask you not to directly touch or make fluid contact with anyone. The curse that Cybele has and that I think you have as well... it has a way of spreading in lesser amounts and it feels... awful. Houshi, put me down." Once on her feet, Amon barely balances from her fatigue as she approaches Camille. "You didn't always look like this, did you?" she asks as she concntrates. Pulling on rubber gloves from her first aid kit, she grabs Camille lightly as she looks her over, not entirely sure what she was looking for, but making sure to check around the eyes, before concentrating to sense her chakra and compare it to Cybele's.

Treat Injury. Take 10 for 17. Not sure what I'm looking for, but might as well give her a checkup. Unless he has a ninja in his employ, it probably involved some sort of surgery on Mitsuyo's part so I'll look for surgical scars, stitches, unusual blood vessel activity and what have you.

Amon senses chakra on her until she gets a clear image of her signature.

"This is our fault, I think.... how did he do it to you?" Amon needs to collect all the data she can before answering her question of if she might die, but doesn't like her luck

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke continues rubbing her back, fighting off the nervousness as he does so, and looks at Amon with sad eyes, "Give it to her a straight answer She deserves an honest answer after what she has been through." Cybele had no reason to lie in spite of her cold facade, hopefully Amon would not give the girl hope where there was none.

"But I have grasped her hand several times now," Yousuke points out, "I do not think direct contact is entirely out of the question."

[Princess Tracy]

"But I have grasped her hand several times now," Yousuke points out, "I do not think direct contact is entirely out of the question."

"Perhaps.... but it is not the skin, but the sweat I worry for," Amon says, remembering all that Cybele said of her curse.

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Camille looks at Amon when she questions her. "U-um... M-Mitsuyo--Mitsuyo brought this woman to... do something to me. She put me to sleep, then did... did something. My chest hurt a lot after that, but that was two days ago."

She rubs her chest at that, then continues on. "I... My hair changed after that. And my eyes have too. I--I haven't seen my parents since then."

[Princess Tracy]

Amon sneaks a peak at this chest as she tells her story; absolutely rife with surgery marks, clearly indicative of heart surgery. Thus concludes her analysis. "If I heal you, I'll become infected. I can tell that much. Camille, you must never kiss anyone or otherwise allow your fluids to make contact with another." Amon gulps, seeming to lack any good news. "Your condition has worsened recently, hasn't it? They... They've performed major surgery - my best guess says on the heart. In fact, if I was to be wild, i'd say... they'd replaced it in whole or in part. No, that would be the saner of explanations in this situation..." Amon clutches her forehead painfully. "Ninja practitioners terrifying... I wonder if we could convince Cybele to make a detour to capture Mitsuyo before the rebels kill him, get some answers from him. She's the least exhausted among us"

Amon backs off, facing away from the girl. "I'm sorry. I'm a terrible medic and far too uneducated to know enough of the curse to help you. Yours seems to be identical to Cybele's. I think.... I think her curse is your origin; someone took a scrap of what she left behind on our last mission and has used it on you to make you like her, to put it simply. I can't be sure why... perhaps to use you like Cybele? An experiment? Perhaps... perhaps to infiltrate them..." Amon turns her attention back to Camille. "Where would your parents be?" she asks, concerned sounding, but her eyes show her mind is elsewhere.

"Yousuke. If you're well enough, bring him here. Play at being there to defend him and nab him when the opportunity presents itself. Houshi, grab a cart."

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

The girl looks down as Amon resigns her to a lifetime of solitude. "A-alright, I can do that." When Amon mentions her condition, she nods. "Y-Yes. The asthma wasn't so bad, but lately I've been tired and weak all the time."

The girl doesn't say anything as Amon goes off on a tangent, but speaks up when Amon asks about her parents. "T-They were..." She looks toward Mitsuyo's home. "In there. Mom was a maid. Dad was a gardener. We lived on the compound, but I haven't seen them since that woman visited."

[Princess Tracy]

Amon gives a tug, clearing the bandana off her head, handing her headband to Houshi. "Hold this." She walks up to the girl, resting a hand on her shoulder. Free of her bandanna, her hair cascades down like a mane, giving her a far more regal look as she looks into the girl's eyes, an apologetic flair made obvious by her now less obscured eyebrows. Removing the bandanna seems to add 3 royal generations and 10 years to her alone as she speaks honestly. "You won't be alone. This is our fault, and our burden. That you should suffer solitude and near death is not a fate befitting an innocent. You will live, and life always brings with it opportunity. Go with Cybele, learn the control of this curse and struggle on. Beautiful and random things happen in a life, and I wish not for that to go squandered." She closes her eyes. "There is nothing I can do to make up for what my negligence has cost you, but don't let it waste life simply because it's not what you wanted out of it."

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke stays by Camille's side and continues consoling her despite Amon's orders. "She is afraid and surrounded by unfamiliar people, I do not think I will be leaving her side just yet."

At her side, Yousuke tries to cheer her up some. "Do not give up hope just yet. The moment I helped you up in the library I had resolved myself to aiding you in my fullest capacity, this sentiment has not changed since the discovery of your...illness." It was a strange feeling, treating girls as if they were not two-faced harpies but he attributed this to the girl's civilian upbringing. Luckily, Youki's 'training' kicked once again. "In fact, it has only bolstered my commitment to you," he continues, "Please take heart in my words and be brave. For me if not yourself."

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

The girl tears up when the genin reaffirm their commitment to helping her. But before she can thank either genin or speak up otherwise Cybele returns. Suzunabu remains where she is, but watches the group anyway. Cybele's reappearance causes the girl to freeze up, and the sky-jounin takes that as an opportunity to speak. The purple-haired jounin hides her emotions behind a mask of indifference as she speaks. "Well. Your choices have gotten a bit better. As I said: You can join my clan, and I'll help you control this thing. Or you can go with my friend there", Cybele turns her head slightly to indicate Suzunabu behind her, "and join her Mistress. She can keep your curse dormant. It'll hurt, but it won't kill you." Cybele looks back to the girl.

"Third, I can try to remove the curse from you, but that might kill you. And finally, you could just go back to Mitsuyo. You'll get to live for another month or two there, but it'll hurt a lot right up until the end." Cybele doesn't pull any punches with her words, and tells the girl plainly how things will go. Camille doesn't hesitate to answer.

"I want to go with you." Cybele's unreadable mask doesn't move, and she just nods.

"Very well." The sky-jounin extends a hand to help the girl up. Camille takes it, and stands beside the older-looking jounin like a child beside her mother. Cybele turns to the genin. "Well, this mission seems to be a bust. We should return to Soragakure."

[Princess Tracy]

((Ninja'd. Hang on while I read previous post to see if this fits))

Seeing Yousuke's kindness to the girl, Amon releases her grip on her shoulder and backs off, returning to Houshi's side, limping a little as she dons her headband once more. "Yousuke, take care of her then. Give me a smoke bomb, I only have one left." She digs around in her bag, finding a cumbersome and crude looking gas mask and pulls it on, strapping the terrifying mask in with a loud click, leaving only her hair jutting out form behind and her face totally obscured. A little muffled, she says "I'm going to try and get some answers. Yousuke, what kind of resistance did you see in there? And Camille, what's your surname? Hopefully if he has a library, the rebels won't go randomly destroying it so there might be some record of what he was up to if we try hard enough to look for it." She stumbles forward, supporting herself on her cane, clearly in no state for a fight, though that was never her forte anyway.

Amon is fatigued from chakra expenditure.

[Princess Tracy]

With the thought of going home, Amon collapses back into Houshi's arms, lazily slapping her headband onto her forehead and not bothering to tie it on for nearly a full minute, her regal understanding of the girl giving way to her own exhaustion. "Before that, Cybele... How was Mitsuyo doing these things and why? I wanted to beat come answers from him if I could - there's only so much even you can deduce with just this. Though perhaps you can clear it up, Camille. Sorry to disturb you, but taht would be my last question woith any luck.. what did this woman look like that did it to you?"I It's been two days... they must have snagged it from Hinami's body as soon as she died, just about. Our report wouldn't even have been handed in yet, would it? Or if it did, perhaps some instantaneous movement would do the trick....

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Cybele answers some of Amon's questions. "How? There's someone out there with the medical knowledge necessary to create artificial members. But she was banished for her experiments. The Eurayle clan is desperate for a cure, but not the kind that will cost more lives." Cybele nods at that, then looks toward Mitsuyo's estate.

"As for why... I don't know. Our blood is useful, but it doesn't seem like the kind of thing Mitsuyo would do. Setsuna had to put him up to it, and that means this girl is one of her experiments." Cybele looks back toward the genin, then motions toward Soragakure. "I'll go and find him, and hopefully learn about Setsuna. The rest of you will need to make it back to Soragakure on your own."

"I'll be going then", Suzunabu says from her position away from the group, "unless you want me to take one of these children instead." With that joke, she smiles and waves goodbye before exploding into a cloud of smoke as she's summoned back from wherever she came.

[Princess Tracy]

"A medical experimenter, you say..." Amon ponders. "Yeah, it doesn't seem like the sort of thing Mitsuyo would take it upon himself to do normally. What would he stand to gain after all? I was going to drag him out myself, but you're FAR less likely to screw it up, especially the way I am now." Before slinking back into Houshi's arms, she produces two gloves from her bag, her spare welding gloves. They're intact. She hands them to their new purple-haired companion. "These aren't teh most comfortable, but they should suffice until you can get nicer gloves. Then again, they're waterproof due to their material and thickness, so maybe you'll hang onto them." With that, she curls up in Houshi's arms and nudges him to head on out. "I know I don't have to tell you this, but I'll say it anyway. I think someone's pulling your strings, Cybele. A fake member, a fake job, Suzunabu and a traitor ninja all being in the one place.... it's someone close by. Keep on your toes - even in there, you don't know what might happen. Oh yeah, did Suzunabu ever tell who posted our mission?"

With that, she turns to Suzunabu just in time to see her go and get in a parting shot of a comment. She makes the hand sign that projected her mind earlier but doesn't actually perform the technqie as she points out at Suzunabu. "Let's do this again sometime. In all seriousness, thank you for all you did." With that when she leaves, Amon just sighs and curls up in Houshi's arms like a cat.

"I'll go wherever as long as I don't have to walk there..." she informs her companions. "Setsuna, eh...?"

[Bad Situation]

Nodding, Yousuke flicks away the remaining of blood on his katana with a flourish and sheathes it just as quickly. Besides his depleted reserves of chakra he was no worse for wear and as unscathed as the day they had first begun the mission. He felt stronger though, different even. Despite the trouble they had gone through, their mission had at least marginally, been a success. "I am ready to leave when you are Camille-san."

[Princess Tracy]

"Cybele, with your speed, you better catch up with us by the time we reach Soragakure. i don't want to have to chase down your beaten carcass again." Amon thinks for a minute. "Cybele. You weren't that far from Hinami when you collapsed. Depending in the time frame of when the sample was taken, you also could have been... No, perhaps I'm trying to shirk blame for not burning the body on the basis that if they got that thing from her before we could have burned the body, we're not responsible. I'll... I'll try and be a less horrendous excuse for a ninja in the future."

She sighs. "Let's go. Houshi, be gentle and I'll make it worth your while." Amon points towards the town limits to indicate they should leave. "Unless you wanted to stay and help Cybele. If she would even accept your help, though frankly I find your ability to break entire buildings at leats noteworthy. Speaking of, Houshi, reach inside my bag and leave some of the gold in the bedroom we destroyed. I feel pretty bad about destroying that just to kill those two oni."

Even if Houshi doesn't leave the money, Amon will gladly leave and probably won't leave his arms if he'll have her, falling asleep during the trip home for a brief nap

[zeone3000]

A large sweat drop forms on his forehead, "Twelve years old, can break down buildings and it's only noteworthy? Better work on that then. No, I'll leave the assassin to her own. I'd only prove as distraction right now."

He does what's asked of him, mainly because it wasn't any of his money. Collateral damage came with the territory as far as he concerned, besides it could have been a lot worst if they got to the top of that building.

While walking back, he remembered something. He felt it hard to get anything in sometimes when the others were conversing, "Oh and to answer your earlier question, of course I would. Just don't do anything stupid. That's what this body is for." He pounds his chest for emphasis.

[Princess Tracy]

Amon smiles softly as she realises what he takes pride in. "Then, defend my exhausted body on the walk home, would you, oh mighty Houshi?" With that, she tilts her head back and seems to finally doze off in his arms as sooon as he starts walking towards Soragakure. Soon she'd have her own bed to return to, but the fight had drained her pretty thoroughly of her remaining chrakra. She needed to find a way to expand her stamina, but for now she just wanted home. She snores softly, leaving herself in Houshi's care and their new little friend in Yousuke's.

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Camille describes the woman as tall, mean, and with purple hair and purple eyes. She says the woman always wore a labcoat, and referred to Camille as Eurayle. She goes on to say that Mitsuyo never even asked for her name, and only referred to her as Eurayle after the woman started calling her that. She explains that the woman had always been quite nice, and that she had brought candy and other treats before. She never found out what the woman's name was.

---

Cybele nods her head at Amon's statement. "You're right. But regardless of whether it's from Hinami's body or directly from me: I'm the source of her problems."

Cybele disappears when the genin have gathered up everything. Camille follows them, staying near Yousuke in particular, and says nothing.

---

The three genin plus their new companion head out of town. They discover that most of the town has fallen to infighting between Mitsuyo's guards, the police, and the rebellion. Luckily they're able to avoid getting drawn into any conflicts by sticking to the side roads. Any attempts made to draw the group into a fight are halted immediately when the aggressors realize that they're trying to pick a fight with ninja. The genin are able to escape Yosita without any further problems.

After about ten minutes on the road they're joined by Cybele. "Mitsuyo was dead when I found him. I searched through the building, and found a ruined laboratory. That's likely where they created Camille. I have no doubts in my mind that Setsuna is out there, but I can't figure out why she's here in the River Country."

If the genin ask about Setsuna, then Cybele explains. "Eurayle Setsuna had been one of the greatest medical ninja in Kusagakure. But she was exiled ten years ago because of her radical practices. She had found a way to extract small quantities of our cursed chakra and inject that into the chakra pathways of non-cursed individuals. The cursed chakra tainted the subject's pathways, and caused them to produce cursed chakra naturally. This allowed her to create artificial members of our clan, but it caused serious physical strain to the subjects. Not all of them survived."

"If I'm right, then Camille is one of the lucky ones."

With that said, Cybele answers any other questions the genin might have. If they don't have any, then the group presses onward to Soragakure, and arrives just as the sun sets.

---

Just as before Cybele starts heading for Central as soon as the group steps off the Main Rail. And, just like before, she disappears and reports immediately. If the genin follow her to central, then they are greeted by the imposing visage of Sonia. The muscular kunoichi watches their approach with disdain, and only glares at the new arrival. Camille gets physically closer to Yousuke as she metaphorically shrinks into the background. Cybele's standing several feet off to the side of her, having just finished her report, and waits for you to finish your own report.

Sonia glares at each genin in turn, then speaks in her gruff voice. "I don't expect success, so go ahead. Tell me how you've failed the city this time."

[Princess Tracy]

Amon's only question to Cybele as she stirs on the road is "What do you think we should tell Sonia? When you report in, I won't know what you've said and if we're keeping details form her, then..."

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke steps up to speak and stands up stock straight, wearing an impassive expression on his face as he supplies his report with austerity and rigidness, "The team played a part in the removal of both Mara Soushio and Mara Kei, their men could not be convinced to leave and thus they met their end inside their base of operations." To make a point of it, Yousuke holds up the two katanas found in the possession of the two 'gangsters' and continues in his stoic intonation, "I retrieved these blades from their shattered corpses before returning to Soragakure,"

[Princess Tracy]

Amon does her bets to grab some immigration papers on the way into town and tells Camille to fill them out.

Before going in to see Sonia, Amon gives Camille a little pep talk. "Now, this woman may seem scary... and that's because she is. She's very scary. But don't let that get to you. She won't actually CARE enough to hurt you in any case." Getting out of Houshi's arms, she stands on her own feet and dusts herself odd, a little better for her nap but still hardly fresh looking. "You're used to living in fancy mansions anyway, right? Want a room at my place, at least until i can et you more permanent accommodation? Untless Yousuke has room for an indefinite guest he'd be wiling to offer you or Cybele insists on taking care fo you immediately, of course."

---

When facing Sonia, Amon steps forward, opens her mouth, produces a scroll.. and is cut of by Yousuke and remains silent. Really, his version of events was more palpable to be honest. She considers letting Yousuke's statement hang by itself but sees she's waiting for some sort of pitch in. If only to fill the silence, she adds, in her most stoic tone, "It was a battle for the ages," Amon remarks, indicating towards Houshi's many, many arrow punctures and rubble-infused clothes. "An easy, simple job with a simple and favourable conclusion." It doesn't come much simpler than kiling people you don't like. Sigh

If prompted, Amon gives her a scroll detailing the misison that she wrote on the train ride over again (and partially in Houshi's arms if he'd kept her steadier). It details just the raid on the fort, and a footnote about their delay in returning being due to getting caught up in the middle of a violent land owning dispute while trying to punish someone for exploiting the confidentiality and loyalty of a ninja contract (not untrue). The fort is described in somewhat vague terms and makes no clear mention of how certain parties were killed, only that they are dead.

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Sonia huffs. "I guess there are things even you can achieve. Very well. You can get your reward from Central tomorrow morning. Your next mission will be in one week. You're dismissed." Sonia glares at the group until they leave, just like last time.

Cybele intercepts the group once they've pulled away from Sonia. She motions for Camille to come over, and the girl does so quietly. "I'll be taking her with me. I'll be training her, and thus won't have time to help you with your own training. But I'll try and get some time to help you all."

Camille bows to the group. "Thank you all. For everything." That said, Cybele looks toward you all. "We'll make back here next week, at noon. Good luck, and get some rest."

[zeone3000]

Houshi stretches, mainly his arms from having to keep his arms in the same position for a strenuous amount of time, "Yep, as much wish I could train now, time to for the three Ss: sustenance, shower and sleep as my shisou would say. Gotta get up earlier and polish off that kenjutsu so I can move on."

[Bad Situation]

Smiling lightly at the rest of his team, Yousuke bows and departs but not before pressing a scrap of paper into Camille's hands. "On that scrap of paper is the address to both my home and a sweets shop I frequent. When you are able, choose a day and I will accompany you there and we can discuss your training and how you are settling into the village." He would relish the look on Yuri's face when she saw him walk in with a girl. It would serve her right for all those years of teasing.

With nothing left to say, Yousuke returns home to recount his first successful mission to his grandfather.

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

The boy makes his way back to his home, but stops a few feet away from the door. It was dark out, but the sun hadn't been down longer than an hour. Yet Yousuke can hear the sound of steel-hitting-steel inside. Sure, some of the locals came to practice with Youki, but never this late at night. And rarely did they use real weapons, except in the case of ninjas. Nevertheless, Yousuke can also hear his grandfather grunt and groan as he fights. The sound is a testament to the skill of whoever he is dueling, because Youki never seemed to struggle in any of the fights Yousuke had witnessed.

[Bad Situation]

Smiling, Yousuke pushes into the house excitedly. The opponent had to be good if even his grandfather was having trouble, "Maybe if I hurry I can see the tail end of the fight.." Kicking his sandals against the wall, Yousuke dashes into the dojo with a grin on his face. Sliding open the door with more force than strictly necessary he announces his presence, "Grandfather! I'm home!"

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

Yousuke barges into the dojo just as steel meets steel once more. Youki looks surprised, and that opening is all his opponent needed. A razor-sharp katana shoots out like a snake going for the killing bite. Its glittering blade sinks deep into Youki's side, and withdraws just as quickly covered in the old man's blood. The sword goes for another swing at neck height, clearing aiming to remove Youki's head, but the Konpaku patriarch recovers from his surprise in time to block it. But the force of the blow sends Youki down to one knee as the older man struggles to keep the same strength in his blade as his younger opponent. As Youki's opponent presses his advantage Yousuke gets a good look at his grandfather's enemy.

The young man (http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs50/i/2009/263/a/c/Kenshin_by_janey_jane.jpg), who couldn't be too far into his twenties, wore a maniacal smile like a well fitting glove. His pale blue eyes are wide and wild to match his grin. A loose-fitting men's kimono rests easily on the man's shoulders. His bare chest bears many scars from battle, and his white hakama is stained red in places with Youki's blood. He wears a pair of tight-fitting hand-guards, and a pair of simple peasant's sandals grace the man's sock-covered feet. His bright red hair and distinctive facial scar--a long slash going from right cheekbone down to the middle of his chin--make him quite memorable.

The two of them seem to be fighting quite seriously, but Youki is getting the worst of it by far. The man in the blue kimono has cuts in his clothes, flesh wounds to his chest, and cuts in his handguards; but Youki is bleeding from a deep gash to his left leg, has a mangled right hand, a horizontal slash across his chest, and the newly opened wound on his side. The swordsman suddenly breaks his struggle with Youki, and hops back to put a bit of distance between the two of them. He casually sheathes his sword on his right hip, but his dominant left hand remains on the grip. Youki, breathing heavily, stands but does not lower his blade.

[Bad Situation]

The smile on his face drops the second he comes upon the sight of his grandfather in such a state. "G-grandfather, what is going on!?" he asks worriedly. Yousuke's own left hand whips down to the hilt of his own katana but when he tries to summon the strength needed to draw the blade he finds none. Instead, his fingers tremble at the thought of facing the man in a duel. If his grandfather had been hurt to such an extent, what hope did he have against the mysterious swordsman. Horror etched in his face, Yousuke swallows his fears to draw closer. Instinct alone told him not to get involved but the sight of his battered grandfather sends his better sense tumbling. Instantly, Yousuke runs to Youki's side and begins badgering the aged swordsman. "Are you alright, grandfather? Why are you fighting this man!?"

If asked to stay away, Yousuke does so but asks the questions nonetheless.

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

Youki struggles to stand, and Yousuke's appearance does nothing for his composure. "Y-Yousuke... He--"

The grinning man answers Yousuke's questions for his grandfather. "I came here to find Youmu. Instead, I find an old man and a child. The old guy is strong, but age is the great equalizer." The man's hand remains on his blade, but it's calm and loose grip tells of the confidence the man has in his position. Youki's own grip is shaking and slick with his own blood. He's further forced into using his weaker hand, as Yousuke can tell his right has been cut to pieces.

"Yousuke. This man... This man is the worst kind of swordsman." Youki glares at his opponent, but the red-haired man just shoots back with the same insane grin as always. "The Konpaku always serve. In this life, we serve our ideals. In the next, we serve our Princess. This man..." Youki grits his teeth as a wave of pain shoots through him.

"I believe he's trying to say that I don't serve anything. I exist to fight and kill, and unfortunately I've found my way to your home." The man's grin has subsided a little, but it's still there. Yousuke can feel his unrestrained killing intent permeating the room.

"This is not a swordsman. It's a murderer."

"Ya, pretty much." At that moment the man dashes forward, his grip tightens, and in one fluid movement he draws his sword and attacks. Yousuke recognizes the initial form of the man's battoujutsu as the Wolf Fang Slash from Yousuke's own Konpaku-style. The man's blade seeks Yousuke's head, but it finds Youki instead.

Blood splatters across Yousuke's face as the bulk of his grandfather's arm catches the man's blade. The glittering blade, now stained red with Youki's blood, sits mere centimeters from Yousuke's nose. Youki grunts in pain, but does not clutch his hand or lower his sword. Instead, he simply raises his blade as he readies for an attack. "Yousuke. I need your help. Go for his sword when I attack, okay?"

[Bad Situation]

Only centimeters away from the blade that had almost claimed his life, Yousuke breaks out into a cold sweat but nods to his grandfather's request nonetheless. Youki needed a swordsman right now, not a child playing at being a warrior. Sucking in a breath through his teeth, sets his face into an expression of grim determination and stares right back at the would-be murderer. Standing by his side was Konpaku Youki, a swordsman feared and respected over every inch of the Elemental Counties and behind them were the ideals that their clan had been founded on. Truly, he had nothing to fear from the man so bent on killing them. A true swordsman relied on neither his body nor his technique but in a harmonious balance of body and soul.

Life and death were but an illusion, two parts of the very same whole, and no one understood this quite as well as a swordsman of the Konpaku clan. Standing at the crossroads between death and rebirth they alone understood the immateriality of life and the futility of killing without purpose. A life taken without purpose was a life taken in vain, but with purpose a swordsman could temper his resolve and cleave a path towards the future. They would not lose, not to a man who would serve no one but himself.

Looking straight ahead he readied himself, body and soul aligned in intent. The killer not had only disrespected the clan's ideals but had disrespected the man who had taught him the sword. This alone was enough for him to bear his full intent to kill but in spite of the man's transgressions, 'to protect my family's honor' was not his purpose.

To protect his loved ones, he would throw himself at the greatest dangers. To serve his ideals, he would resist the wickedest of temptations. But the desire to protect his grandfather was something entirely, far removed from the trivialities he had once concerned himself with. To save the old man he would resolve himself to cutting even the face of god, even if this 'god' was no more than a demon wearing the skin of a man. If his purpose was great enough, then his body would carry itself through. This was the philosophy he had been taught and now more than ever he understood its message.

Though he says nothing, his body language tells it all, "As you wish."

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

"Remember. Go for his sword. Don't hold back a bit, and don't flinch." Youki tenses his body, drawing his handless stump in to grasp with a non-existent hand, and gets ready to attack. "Go!"

In one moment Youki goes from waiting into attacking. He's doing a strange head-long rush straight toward the unknown swordsman. The swordsman's grin widens. "Foolish!" The swordsman's lightning fast blade leaps from it's sheathe and darts toward Youki's head. Youki seems to have left himself completely open, and trusts Yousuke to go through with his part.

[Bad Situation]

At once, Yousuke is on their mutual foe, arms snaking toward the man's sword in whip-like motions he did not think himself capable of. If Youki's life depended on him taking the man's sword, then it would be so. Unflinchingly, Yousuke goes through with his grandfather's simple order with a fierce glare affixed to his face. He could not hope for his success, therein lied doubt. So instead, he chose to believe.

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

Youki's blade slams into the unknown swordsman's own, and it pops beautifully into Yousuke's hands. "Ha! Smart." Youki twists his body into a wide slash aimed at Youki's waist, but the unknown swordsman reacts instantly. His second blade slides out of his sash, and blocks Youki's sword with the sheathe. With Youki's blade stopped the swordsman performs another iaijutsu slash at Youki.

Unfortunately Youki's crazy plan left him open, and the blade slides across Youki's back. The old swordsman drops to the ground with a cry of pain, and seems to out of it for now.

"Even the sword can't kill old age." The swordsman turns toward Yousuke, and points his bloody sword at Yousuke. "Maybe youth is the answer?"

Yousuke gains an unknown sword.

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke sucks in a breath when he sees Youki fall but keeps the panic from flooding his features. He would not give the man the satisfaction of his fear, not now. Gripping the katana tightly, Yousuke shifts the sword in his grip, unsure of the blade's weight but certain of his own resolve. "I know not of why you search for my mother or why you exist to kill but should you remain in my presence the only death you shall find is your own." Dashing in with his blade held low, Yousuke flashes the sword outward in a wide arcing motion as a feint before suddenly reversing the direction of the blade creating an inexplicably quick second slash. It was a feat he had seen his grandfather accomplish countless times during their years of training and one he had never managed to accomplish himself. Until today.

[Princess Tracy]

"Good to see you're still in high spirits after the beating you took, Houshi," Amon comments with a smile. "I'm much too exhausted to train as it stands. I'm going to hit the library and try to figure out an odd condition I have before getting some sleep." She hands Houshi and Yousuke her 'business' cards, the directions to her modest hideout. "That's where I'll be tonight if I'm not at the library. If either of you should spontaneously become wounded and in need of healing or just want to chat, that's where you can find me after I'm done at the library which should be in ooh, say, [roll0] hours - assuming no nasty surprises occur on the way. With the day we're havingg, I wouldn't be surprised if the Sage of Oni should be sitting in my living room, waiting to eat me. Speaking of, I wrote my regular address on the back of those cards (the printed text is my secret base), just for you two; I'll be returning there once I am content that the dust has settled with regards to Suneko."

"Which brings us to the matter of reporting to Sonia's perhaps more attentive peers. Cybele." Amon produces a scroll with her full report on it. Essentially a transcription of everything that had happened throughout the day. "The sooner we get or info to Taro, the sooner killing us all in our sleep to silence us of her betrayal won't be an option. What were her intentions anyway? What on earth did she think we knew? Don't bother keeping it quiet;for a sensor ninja, she's just paranoid - she's convinced we're a threat no matter what we know."

As Yousuke turns to leave, Amon can't help but beam at him, looking between him and Camille. "You did a good job today, Konpaku-san. You made my job as medic easy by coming out unscathed, you made pals with a dragon, and you saved the life of our newest friend by merely discovering her. And perhaps learned to be a charmer if your words to her are at all sincere. You've earned a good long rest, I'd say." She waves goodbye

[ZeroNumerous]

Amon and Houshi

Cybele looks toward Sonia, and only once she's sure the giant jounin is out of earshot does she divulge what she learned. "Suzunabu spoke to her mistress, and she revealed that Suneko held the contract before it was passed on to Yusa. Which means that Suneko set up Hinami, and myself, to cover Yusa's escape under some kind of feud between the Sky and the Sand."

The sky-jounin goes on. "Further, she built the illusion of an organization by having Suzunabu act openly. So both the Sky and the Sand assume outsiders were involved, and no one looks internally for problems. I imagine she set up this mission to get us killed by Suzunabu, and that would have cleaned up all the loose ends. But she didn't expect us to not attack Suzunabu, and that caused her to overreact and play her trump card early. She now has no idea how we'll react."

The purple-haired jounin adjusts her glasses slightly. "So then, we can infer that she won't return to Soragakure. The risk that we turn things in to people with brains between their ears is too great. She's likely returned to Yusa's side, and that means operating as her right-hand. But just in case she does return, you need to get that scroll to Taro as soon as possible."

[Princess Tracy]

"Then my report from the first mission where I speculated about an organisation only played into her hands... I was so chuffed with myself for figuring out their supposed intentions, my pride stopped me looking deeper than that. Though perhaps disrupting her intentions entirely today has redeemed us a little bit." Amon twirls the scroll open, and begins noting Cybele's findings and her speculations in addition o her own report. "Point me in the direction of Taro then and I'll head out right now. I hope there's a train there though - my legs feel like lead after I used all that chakra to control Suzunabu's body. Hard to believe someone like Suneko would be someone else's assistant; she seemed to have too much of a dominant ego for that." She was more bratty than myself, when you get right down to it.

Just for safety's sake I'll still be using my den to sleep for tonight. I'm all alone anyway and if I can break into my home in 2 seconds flat, it's clearly not a defendable position if our spacetime-specialist foe should decide to pop in. Plus, I wouldn't wnat to have lied to Yousuke about where I'll be - that would be rude.

Once Amon is given directions, she follows them quickly enough, waving goodbye to her companions. "If you find some spare time in between her training, Cybele, or if you think you can handle me Houshi, I plan on spending an evening in my home administering small-concentration poison to myself as an experiment to see if it can help my recollection. I'll need someone to spot me so I don't completely overdose." She's so sluggish from fatigue she doesn't need to stop to be heard. "Next time I use that technique to take the body of someone in your presence, Cybele, I'll be a little more subtle. Though I'm surprised you figured out the details of my technique so quickly, I wouldn't say it's my soul that's projected... But that's a story for another day. Farewell, Cybele-chan, Camille-chan, Houshi-Houshi!" And with that, slowly but surely, she's gone

[ZeroNumerous]

Amon

Cybele points the girl toward a large mansion in the residential district. It's near Amon's family home. "There, the Taro estate. The guards won't let you in unless you have this." Cybele digs into one of her belt pouches and produces a small white crystal on a string. She hands it over to Amon. "Just show them this, and tell them that your jounin sent you. I'll need that back later, so take care of it." Unless Houshi has something to say or do, then both Camille and Cybele just wave goodbye and let Amon go off on her personal mission.

When the genin arrives at the estate, she's greeted by two masked ANBU. One's not much taller than herself and wears a hawk mask, but the other is at least six feet tall and wears a frog. Both of them talk in a strangely deep voice that makes it extremely hard to tell which one is talking. "What are you doing here?" They speak quickly and to the point. If Amon presents her crystal, then they allow her entry into the mansion and the frog-masked ANBU follows her inside. Otherwise, the genin is told to go home and get some sleep.

The inside of the mansion is as gaudy as Amon's own overly decorated home. But unlike hers there are several servants bustling about, but few guests. The frog-masked ANBU guides Amon deep into the mansion, and the pair finally stop in front of an aged wooden door that smells of turpentine and ammonia. The ANBU opens the door, and allows Amon to go first. Inside the two of them discover a very large studio. A work table dominates the center of the room, and an extremely old gentleman sits at it. His shaking hands try to fit the preserved wing of a raven onto its dead body, and Amon realizes he's a hobbyist at taxidermy. The old man stops only when the ANBU introduces Amon.

He turns a weathered leather-like face to look at Amon over his shoulder. He scratches his balding head, running his fingers through his wispy white hair easily, then points to a small chair at the side of the table. The pale old man grumbles a little as he stands up and turns his chair to face Amon's own. He looks the girl dead in the eye as he speaks. "Who are you, who is your teacher, and what does he need?"

Yousuke

Yousuke's first slash tears through the swordsman's clothes, and as the boy gathers his strength for the second the swordsman laughs. The glittering arc of the man's sword meets Yousuke's second slash head-on. Both blades clash edge-to-edge, and Yousuke's comes out worse for wear. The silvery sword cracks, and the upper half of the blade shoots back toward Yousuke. Luckily he's able to dodge out of the way, but had he been a bit slower it would have cut him across the bridge of his nose. The half-a-sword remaining in his hands would be useless against the other man's blade, and the unknown swordsman realizes it. He steps back, sheathes his sword, and frowns.

"Huh. So I guess that blade wasn't as special as I was led to believe. Heh. Whatever. When is Youmu going to return?" The swordsman switches from trying to murder Yousuke to casual conversation almost instantly. Even so Yousuke can still feel the man's killing intent, and the way the man's dominant hand rests on his sword reminds the boy that they could start fighting again at any time.

If Yousuke looks to his grandfather then he can see that Youki seems to still be alive, albeit clearly in a lot of pain. The old man's injuries are plentiful, painful, but not lethal.

[Bad Situation]

Panting in exhaustion, Yousuke retains his nervous grip on the broken sword, his eyes darting from the now shattered blade, to Youki, and then to the murderous swordsman. His grandfather, was fortunately, still very much alive but the other two factors didn't add up. "What is he talking about? Why would he care about the sword? Does this have something to do with mother?"

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Yousuke asks he swordsman, "My mother has not been home in years, what is your business with her?"

[Princess Tracy]

Amon sits obligingly, giving a little bow. "Taro, sir?" she greets him. She takes a moment to catch her breath, before speaking further, the walk over having exhausted her in itself in her current state and she didn't want to trip over her words. Calmed, she speaks, holding out her report scroll. "Amon Yamana, genin of Team 5, under the supervision of Special-Joinin Cybele, " she introduces herself in response to his questions. "My sensei sent me in her stead to report - reporting something Sonia wouldn't hear and the silence of which would only condemn us," she says, pointing out her scroll, and producing a second from her bag; a copy of her first mission report taht she'd written from memory. She rests them both on her lap, speaking turning out to be easier than she suspected now that she had started. "Suneko has turned traitor. Our entire mission for today was a setup to kill us in case there were any loose ends from our first misison, and when we turned up alive and with, at least she believed, with information on her activities, she personally tried to kill us in broad daylight by sommoning many oni to assault us, and would accept neither our retreat nor our surrender. By sheer force of numbers and luck, we managed to repel her. Cybele-sensei has gathered testimony that reveals the second ninja that helped in Yusa of the Black Sand's escape, missing-nin Meiling, was orginally in a contract with Suneko before it fell to Yusa during her escape." She pauses. "She specifically said she feared we would go to you with this information, given the fact that you might listen."

[ZeroNumerous]

Amon

The wrinkled old man frowns at Amon's words, but allows her to speak fully before saying anything. "Cybele. Hm... I don't like that girl. Not obedient enough. But I like Sonia and her minions even less." He shakes a little as he continues to speak. "Suneko, hm? Is she really the type to act on her own? Does she strike you as a girl willing to strike out without allies? No... I will have to speak to Kai, but we will have Sonia deposed until Suneko is captured."

A shaking finger points toward Amon. "Do not speak of this. To anyone. You're being trusted here child, and if you're properly obedient... Well, scratching my back is like scratching the back of all the Country of Rivers, yes?" He grins, displaying more than a few mission teeth, and tries to laugh. Instead of an actual laugh however, nothing but wheezing and dust comes out of the old man's throat.

"Go on now. And remember", he says while pointing for Amon to leave, "tell no one. No one at all." He reiterates his orders for emphasis, then expects Amon to leave.

Yousuke

The swordsman seems a bit surprised. "You're Youmu's brat? I'm surprised. She didn't seem the type. So she's not been home in years? Well, now there's no reason for me to be here." The swordsman starts to leave. His maniacal grin never moves, and Yousuke can still feel the man's totally unrestrained killing intent. Yet he aims to walk right past Yousuke without so much as looking at the boy. It's almost as if he were some kind of deranged madman with no control over himself. If Yousuke makes no effort to stop him, then he leaves without further comment.

[Bad Situation]

Seething with rage, Yousuke trembles at the thought of allowing the man to leave without so much as word but knows that raising his sword against the man would be a lesson in futility. His grandfather was safe for now but seriously injured, which was far more pressing than any thoughts of revenge. Even if the injuries were not lethal, it was clear to see that the aging swordsman needed medical attention. Tossing his broken sword to the ground, Yousuke runs to Youki's side and gently tries to ease the man up. "Are you okay, grandfather!?" he asks desperately.

He had other questions of course, but for now his grandfather's health was foremost among his concerns.

[Princess Tracy]

No one, huh? "That won't be hard, sir. There's no one around to listen to my made tales of the day except those who were present." With that, she stands and nods, leaving the scrolls on his table with a little jingle as they rattle onto the surface. "I can't speak for Suneko's mentality beyond her clear intent of killing me and my teammates. Hopefully now that I have reported in, that will have subsided some; in my state I'm in no fit condition to be taking on some master summoner." She gives a pleasant, schoolgirl giggle in mimicry of the old man's own to raise the old man's spirits. With a bow, she leaves. "Thank you, sir." With that, she leaves, strongly considering skipping her last errand for the day and just finding somewhere comfortable to sleep