Shadows of the Shinobi War

[Paragon Badger]

From atop a thick treebranch, there stood a man clad in a grass nin ninja vest, holding open a scroll with one arm as the other was draped in a long robe-like sleeve that extended down to his waist. He had somewhat spikey hair extending from above his Kusa headband, though he wore a second scratched-out Konoha headband upon the thigh of his dark blue pants.

"This is all you could get?" Asked the unamused grass nin as he tucked the scroll into a pocket of his vest, "This tells us nothing."

His companion was shrouded in an unnatural darkness as his body protruded out of the grass nin's shadow. "The last thing I want is Kagekure's destruction." The figure said.

"Accept our terms, and we'll accept yours." The ninja said as he turned back towards his shadow.

There was a rustling in the bushes off to the side, and the shadowy figure turned his head towards the source of the noise, "You should go."

The grass nin turned his head to the movement, then back to his companion, but all he could see was his shadow splayed out upon the tree trunk.

Music (http://keiki-kobayashi-first-flight-arranged-ac-mp3-download.kohit.net/_/249392) Not sure if the link works. I'm a bit short on time. ^_^

The sun was setting upon the landscape as the cries of a small bird pierced the silent air of the woods around Kagekure. Four shadows made their way through, their soles delicately tapping upon the hard wood of the trees as they lept from one branch to another. The team's jounin, not breaking her stride, caught a scroll that had fallen from the sky. Another bird's cry echoed through the air a moment later.

The scroll read, 'Usagi scouts report movement in the eastern forest. Possibly Shinobi. Head south to intercept and wait for them to cross the river. Investigate, but do not engage.' before burning to a crisp at her touch.

Kagekure has managed to hold its own against countless threats in the years since it's founding, but the Shinobi War has touched many lands and many people.

Despite all the bloodshed, Kagekure has seen little action despite its borders with two of the land's superpowers. Still, there is an aura of unrest and tension within the village, everyone all too weary of the haste with which disaster can befall such a small town...

Thus begins the story of three genin and their jounin instructor, on a routine mission to patrol the village's perimeter. They would soon find themselves at the heart of the Shinobi War, caught between some of the world's most formidable shinobi and their own beloved home.

Village Hidden in the Shadows (Pre-War)
Average Wealth: +9
Civilian Population: 4,386
Shinobi Population: 206
Academy Student (1): 43
Genin (1-5): 57
Chuunin (6-11): 42
Special Jounin (9-13): 19
Jounin (12-15): 20
Elite Jounin (16+): 8
ANBU (10+): 13
Sandaime Kage

Notable Nobles:

Sandaime Kage: Sandaime Kage, the Third Shadow, has always been a fair, if excitable, leader for the people and shinobi of Kagekure. In the tradition of the five Kages of the major Hidden Villages her name was stricken from every record when she was anointed as leader of the village. Despite the conflict of the Shinobi Wars she has managed to keep Kagekure out of the worst of the fighting despite council urging her to use the chaos to become a larger player in shinobi politics by expansionist-minded advisors. Recent however she has become more and more...disconnected from the village as a whole, spending less time among her subjects as she used to and delegating the responsibilities of sending out ninjas on missions to subordinates. Rumor has it that the Sandaime Kage is working on something big that'll change the face of the Land of Birds and ensure that the small country and it's people are not swallowed up by it's larger neighbors.

Mibu Mitsuo: The current head of the Mibu clan in Kagekure and one of its most influencial nobles. Mitsuo is the most battle-hardened shinobi within the village and his cotributions have been considered Kagekure's greatest advantage over the superior numbers of its enemies. Mitsuo's envy for Sandaime Kage's current position is well known, and his abilities as a shinobi and strategist are indeed among the finest in the land, but his deeds are beyond reproach, even if his motivations remain unclear. He is one of the more aggresive nobles in Kagekure, always urging Sandaime Kage to focus her efforts on the village's permanent militarization.

Wakahisa Masumi: Kagekure's source material of many a hormonal genin's dreams, Masumi is a noble from one of the village's non-shinobi clans, and quite a popular one at that. Despite her lack of in-depth training, she's quite respected for her talents and abilities that most shinobi don't have the time to learn.

Villagers:

Keimatsu: Though he keeps his face hidden, Keimatsu is rather friendly and quick to make friends in Kagekure. Many have noticed that he is fond of disguising his true thoughts and feelings with obscure musings or blissful nonsense. Still, there is a power in the chuunin that leaves even a few of the village's most well-learned shinobi curious.

Known Jounin:

Ikimi Kazuo: The sole member of Kagekure's intelligence division, Kazuo is famously known for being able to give detailed instructions to and from any location described to him within 10 miles of the village. Somewhat lacking in combat ability, he is known for his wide collection of animal friends which many Shinobi consider too 'cute' or 'harmless' to be of any real use in battle. Kazuo is well known for his bloodpact with the hares, even to the extent of having a personal friendship with the benevolent Rabbit Queen, Tsukimochi.

Tsubaki: Like Kurobashi Suzu, Tsubaki is another one of Kagekure's young (yet also very talented) jounin. Somewhat irate (perhaps because his puppets are almost routinely destroyed in some way or another) and misanthropic, Tsubaki is very well respected for his unorthodox contributions to the village, but not many would go so far as to call him their friend...

Kurobashi Suzu: One of the younger jounin, Suzu was promoted during the war during a mission in which she rescued her jounin instructor and squad mate from certain death, as well as recovering the body of her other comrade. She is still a bit rough around the edges, and many have considered her promotions as more an honorary reward than for any real merit. Still, Suzu shows a great deal of promise and dedication to defending the village, even if her firey personality and eagerness causes the older jounin to worry.

Hoshino Hideo: One of Kagekure's veterans, Hideo is a somewhat stern and harsh jounin. A Taijutsu specialist, he still routinely works with his former team of genin (all of which have been promoted to Chuunin since then), the rather unremarkable Tsuji Isamu, and the twin kunoichi Nishino Kasumi and Nishino Kasuko.

Notable Opponents:

????: A grass nin who appeared in Kagekure early in the war. Confronted by Akane and co. after he was discovered snooping around the village outskirts. After a short battle, he escaped.

Teams:

Team 9
Jounin: Tokudaiji Akane
Members: Nara Taro, Inoshishi Lani, Satori “Tobi” Sarutobi



Enjoy some time to talk amongst yourselves a bit before you arrive.

[Rogue 7]

Nara Taro

Taro walks in the rear of the group, his eyes darting around the forest to keep alert about his surroundings. He is of average height for his age, wiry but tough- there is next to no excess fat on his body. He wears a black t-shirt under his Kagekure vest, with his blank headband tied around his arm. His hair is black, cropped short and out of the way. A shuriken holster adorns his loose, khaki-colored pants. His face is set, focused on the task at hand, as mundane as it is right now.

"What's our mission, sensei?"

He speaks shortly and softly, seeming to prefer to use as few words as possible.

[ZeroNumerous]

Lani

Unlike her wiry, thin companion Lani was a girl with abit of fat in the right places mixed with muscle in best places. Her tight, striped black-and-white shorts let her muscular legs shine through to the world at large. Each leap causing her legs to strain and propelling her through the air. Her main outfit consisted of a striped black-and-white ninja jacket that covered her arms and body completely. Her own shimmering blonde hair was done up in a short bun so none of it would get in her way during a fight. Her toes--nails painted in a bright pink--poke out from beneath a set of striped black-and-white sandals.

Unlike Taro, she simply didn't care what their mission was. Instead, she chose to comment on the only thing she did care about. "Is it gonna be boring? If it is, I'd rather take a nap."

[tomorrow]

Trying his best not to looking like the small-fry that he kind of actually was, Sarutobi is enthusiastically making his ninja hops, at the front of the group, just behind their jounin instructor, when the message suddenly arrived. The diminutive genin was decked out in a suit well-polished, traditional black ninja armor with a black sashed forehead protector baring the symbol of the shadow village. Of course, as he was so focused on keeping pace at the time, he accidentally made an extra hop even after his team leader had stopped, forcing him to turn around on the tree branch he had landed on and hop back.

Making the leap back, Sarutobi paused for a moment before speaking, not wanting to interrupt the jounin’s reading, “What’s up, sensei?”

-----------------
OOC Edit: Guess I'm choosing red for speech.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Akane

When the scroll fell Akane caught it in one deft moment and paused at the branch she had landed on to unfurl it and read it's contents. A wide-brimmed sakkat was pulled low over the pale woman's face to protect it from the sun, long hair tied back with a leather tie to keep it out of her eyes, and she pushed it back to get a better glance at what she held. A lacquered black shaft was strapped to the back of an abbreviated jounin armored vest, the saw-edged blade of her naginata wrapped in cloth to keep it from accidentally causing harm, only armored mesh underneath of it. Taking the opportunity the young woman sighs and brushes dust off of her baggy green pantaloons and unwraps the blade of her weapon. A large holster is belted around her left thigh with her headband acting as a make-shift belt.

"Our mission has changed, apparently there might be shinobi and they want us to investigate the matter. We're not to engage them but...if you need to defend yourself I'm pretty sure that's acceptable, otherwise we just observe." She says softly, letting the ash drift out of her hands and watching it contemplatively before turning to the south and pulling her sakkat down once more, "C'mon! We have to get to the river before they do and intercept them! Lani, I don't want you falling asleep either, I don't care if it's boring."

Having spoken her piece she turns to the south and springs out to the next branch, balancing for but a moment before she takes off again.

Shinobi activity? Eh...that doesn't bode well...I hope we get some more intelligence before getting to the river.

[Rogue 7]

Taro

Taro comes to a halt in a tree near his sensei, still looking around.

"A scouting mission, then? That will give me a chance to practice with that new jutsu I've been working on. About how far away is it?"

Taro looks a bit more enthusiastic, glad to have something to do, even if it meant danger. He waits for Lani and Saru and again takes the rear position as the group heads towards the river.

[ZeroNumerous]

Lani

Unlike either the eager Taro or the enthusiastic Sarutobi, Lani is distinctly non-chalant about their activities. "I hope I don't get my hands dirty.. I have to cook for myself again tonight!" Lani doesn't think twice about her movement and simply continues in the same position as always. Her legs operate almost unconsciously as her head swivels around to take in the scenery, propelling the little genin along without issue once their jounin stops. Instead of stopping herself, Lani shifts her weight to the left and leaps off the tree trunk, keeping her weight to the left and leaping in a large square around where Akane had stopped. Her long striped sleeves flutter in the wind as she leaps, covering a full half of Lani's deadly arsenal.

"But.. Napping is what I do best! It's easier than anything else I know how to do! Don't be cruel to me Tora-sensei~..!"

[tomorrow]

Tobi blinks for a moment, considering the fact that their team wasn’t exactly renowned for their scouting abilities. Tobi figures their being dispatched must simply be a matter of proximity. Nodding in understanding, “Shinobi, huh? Guess they’d have to be to get past all those traps.”, Tobi falls into formation with the rest of the group and waits for the Jounin to lead them off.

OOC: Just to note Paragon Badger - For all passive skill checks with the seven Cool Under Pressure skills... just assume Tobi’s taking 10. I’ll only be rolling for those if I’m having Tobi make an active check.

[Rogue 7]

Taro

Taro follows along with the group, eyes still roving for any possible sign of trouble. He's still unfamiliar with the area, so mentally, he tries to paint a rough map of the surrounding terrain, particularly with this river coming up.

"I'm not too familiar with the traps around the village. How good are they? I know back home, we wouldn't have all that much that could intimidate a chuunin."

[tomorrow]

Hopping along from tree-to-tree, Tobi wasn’t picking up on any potential threats yet and hadn’t caught sight of the group of shinobi his party was tailing either. Cocking his head a bit to Taru’s remarks, Tobi responds in his typically calm fashion, “Personally, with the war going on all around us, I doubt there is such a thing as enough traps and patrols to keep the village totally safe. But even the most jury-rigged of traps can be effective even against jounin… if its set-up in such a way as to catch them off-guard. Besides, the traps aren’t specifically meant to kill intruders, they’re meant to slow them down and alert the patrols to the presence of those who aren’t supposed to be this close to the village.”

[Paragon Badger]

The team soon finds themselves at the river's edge, putting the dense forest at their backs. It looks like nobody's there, and a quick glace upwards reveals no message carriers in the sky.

All they hear is the soft running of the water along the river's surface... Either Akane and her genin were too late, or too early.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c287/Innocentemo/KagekureMap1.png

Pick a location, if you'd like.

Brown = Giant Naruto-style Trees (5 foot wide Branches are 15+ feet above)
Green = Leafyness
Blue = Water

Darker = Thicker/More concealment, or in the case of water; deeper.

[Rogue 7]

Taro

Taro lands on a branch, staying within the cover provided by the treeline. He stands, looking around for anything suspicious.
"Alright, time to try out that new jutsu."

Focusing, Taro brings chakra into his eyes. They glow faintly, the pupils becoming slitted, much like that of a cat's. His eyes flit around, just a bit faster than before.

Activate- Nekonome no Jutsu DC 16 [roll0]
+4 to spot checks for five minutes, Darkvision if it applies. 2 chakra expended.

Spot roll- 1d20+10=28 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1737434/)

[Callos_DeTerran]

Akane

She lands lightly besides Taro then leaps down off of the branch to the ground below, keeping to the shadows as she observes the river. "Huh...Alright, find a hiding spot. Remember we're not here to fight." She says pointedly as she takes cover behind one of the trees. "If they attack then Tobi runs for the village or until he finds one of the Usagi scouts and tells them what happened."

With that Akane moves to an area that was only just in the shade and squats down on the ground with the naginata laid out before her. Both hands rested in her lap, no where close to the weapon and she waits patiently. Was it particularly smart to act as bait? No, but she was told to investigate and she planned on doing just that.

[tomorrow]

Mentally grumbling at being ordered to run away from the potential action, Tobi simply nods back at his sensei just as the jounin hops down into the grass. Stepping behind the trunk of the tree he’s perched upon, Tobi begins trying to mentally plot out the quickest route back to the village, while slipping his hand into his vest pocket to retrieve an exploding tag. If these shinobi really were enemy ninja and tried to intercept him on his way back, it’d probably be best for him to have his substitution jutsu ready.

OOC: I guess Tobi's at square... umm... 16-C, far right side of the map, standing behind the trunk of the tree.

[ZeroNumerous]

Lani

Lani lands just behind Taro and Akane. She doesn't appear to be thinking, and simply leaps forward toward the river. By the time Lani realizes there isn't a tree ahead and subsequently no way to continue leaping forward she's already twenty-feet out from the tree Taro had stopped on. Once she lands Lani looks around a bit then turns around to give her jounin a shrug. "Sorry, I was thinking about what to make for dinner tonight!"

For the next round, she'll be at G-8. If they don't show up in a round, then she'd be five-feet to the east of Akane.

[Paragon Badger]

Taro leans forward from his hiding spot, a movement down the river catching his eye...

Splash! ..Splash! ..Splash!

The grass ninja's empty sleeve fluttered out from behind him as he took great leaps along the surface of the water, his footsteps leaving tall gouts of water behind. He was constantly looking behind him as he took each step and pumped his good arm forward for momentum. His eyes flashed and he turned his head forward for a moment, looking towards the riverbank to spot a pair of Kagekure kunoichi.

"Ah!" He shouted as the ninja put both his feet forward and careened to a sliding stop atop the still water, throwing another arc of water into the air. The grass nin threw out his arm for balance atop the disturbed waters, and soon found himself on stable footing again.

As he stared at Akane and Lani, the shinobi grit his teeth and furrowed his brow as if he was in pain. Still grimacing, he began mumbling to himself, "So much for hiding my tracks in the water...but how'd they cut me off...?"

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c287/Innocentemo/Map2.png

[Rogue 7]

"Looks like trouble..."

Taro mumbled to himself as he crouched down, keeping his body concealed. It was getting late, adn the shadows were long- perfect conditions for his clan's technique. He had been ordered not to engage, but the stranger's headband and tone of voice indicated that he was probably being pursued by Taro's fellow shinobi. So he'd be ready. In the shadows cast by the branches, darkness began to pool at Taro's feet, as he focused his chakra into his shadow.

Readying an action to use Kage Mane no Jutsu if the enemy moves towards Lani or Akane-sensei.

Edit: Or Tobi, I suppose.
Initiative- [roll0]

[tomorrow]

Tobi can't really make out the mysterious shinobi intruder from where he is standing, only the backs of his comrades. He is however able to make out the nin's voice and those two things are all he really needs to see to fulfill his orders. Noting the shadows beneath Taro shift towards the young nin, Tobi sighs a bit. Sensei had clearly told them that the mission directives were not to engage, and Taro was already preparing to attack. Lani "accidentally" jumping out into the middle of the action was to be expected, that girl was just plain bug-nuts sometimes... the number of black marks on the team's record for brashness, jumping-the-gun, and of course excessive force attested to that, but Taro usually had a better head on his shoulders. The village wouldn't give the team hold orders unless it was for their own good.

Taking a breath, Tobi shakes of his concerns as he glances back in the direction of the village. It sounded like there was only one interloper, there was no need for him to worry about his two fellow genin with Akane around and only a single potential enemy nin opposing them. Odds were, if things went sour, by the time he got back with reinforcements, his teammates will probably have either driven off or decimated the lone shinobi.

[roll0]
OOC: Only action is delay action until someone attacks, then Tobi takes off at full speed back toward the village, as ordered.

[ZeroNumerous]

Lani

The only other kunoichi on the team spent her time practicing her sign language whilst waiting. When Taro drew their attention toward a lone grass-nin, she looks up to see the man running on the nearby stream. For a moment, Lani adopts a puzzled expression as she wonders why someone would run over a stream when they could more easily and more quickly escape through the forest. Then she takes a moment to question the validity of any stream-based escape plan, as obviously using chakra to escape speedily would weaken your chakra reserves for any sort of fight that took place.

Without further ado, Lani decides that thinking further on the subject is a waste of time. "Hey! You! Ya--The guy standing knee-deep on the stream! You do know any shinobi following you would just watch for any mud or dirt you disturb on the stream bed instead, right? Running through a stream isn't gonna hide your trail any better than running through soft clay." Almost like clockwork, Lani's mind shifted gears and began questioning why a one-armed man would hide his stub behind a cloak. After all, it only serves to draw attention to the arm, which denotes a weakness in his taijutsu stance and overall ability to perform hand-seals.

And--almost like clockwork again--she decides thinking on the matter is just wasting her time. "While I'm talking to you. Why do you wear a cloak on your arm? Even if it's missing, it's just drawing attention to your stub, One-Armed Guy."

[Callos_DeTerran]

Akane

"Lani, there's no need to be rude to him." Akane admonishes, rising up from her spot on the ground as the ninja skidded to a stop untop of the water and began to mumble to himself. The naginata's butt was planted against the ground but she made no move to lower it towards the Kumogakure shinobi or to make a threatening gesture, if it came down to it then there would be plenty of time later for such things.

"Now then as you probably know this is Kagekure territory and you are a good way from home sir, which makes me think this is an investigation about the village itself or you have a mission in the Land of Birds, benign or not." Akane says bluntly, pulling the edge of her sakkat up to fix the stranger with her eyes. There was no warmth in those hard eyes despite the polite tone she spoke with."I'll have you state your business and provide papers, otherwise I'll be forced to consider your actions an act of aggression and war and respond as is right. Or if you lack such things and don't want to start a fight you can be arranged an escort to the borders. Those are your three options, running, as you might guess, is not advised. Not in these woods."

[Paragon Badger]

"Hmph." The spikey-headed ninja scoffed with a derisive glare, ignoring Lani for the time being, "You shadow ninja are always meandering into Kusagakure and encroaching upon our territory. What gives you the right to act so high and mighty here and now?"

He furrowed his long and narrow black brows as he smiled, saying, "An escort, eh? Why do I have the feeling that you'd rather arrest me than let me go?"

"Your student relies too much upon her eyes and not enough on her brain, shadow kunoichi." The grass shinobi continued with another smile as he stroked his sharp, unshaven chin, "With but one arm and my intellect, You'll find that I'm more than a match for any ninja with all their limbs but no wit."

Initiative, just for the record.

Grass Nin takes no action (that you can tell :smallwink:), if you consider each post a turn. Resolutions come with my next post.

Akane: 17
Grass Nin: 14
Nara Taro: 12
Sarutobi: 12
Lani: 8

[ZeroNumerous]

Lani

Lani takes a moment to think. Then a saying pops into her head. 'Stupid people are always bragging about their intelligence'. With that saying, she decides then and there to call out the grass-nin on what he actually is. "Only someone who truly has no grasp of the concept of intellect is willingly to say that they are above any other being. Further, the technique you're using is wasting chakra in order to continue using it, which will inevitably weaken you in the event of a fight."

She goes on, quietly, listing off several things in rapid succession. "You only have one arm, therefore can only perform techniques one-handed which means they become that much harder for you to successfully perform. Your stance is all over the place and completely unfocused, you're obviously not a taijutsu user. Further, your poor responses to my questions highlight a lack of genjutsu skill. Overall, I rate you as a very poor chuunin. Maybe even a genin if you keep acting the way you're acting."

Without further ado, she just turns toward Akane and smiles widely. "He obviously doesn't want to tell us anything nor does he have any papers. So can we kill him now?"

[tomorrow]

Still standing quiet behind the trunk of the tree, Tobi's head shakes a little, "Totally friggin' bug-nuts..."

[Rogue 7]

Taro

Taro continued to focus, frowning as he watched the verbal debate between Lani, who, in all generosity, was not terribly bright, and this newcomer, who didn't seem to be much smarter. But her analysis was sharp and, from what Taro could tell, fairly accurate. If he was ignoring her, it probably meant that she might have hit a nerve. Well, if it was distracting him, his pursuers would catch up soon enough, which worked well enough for him. If he could get his shadow around this guy, the fight would essentially be over. His sensei would have plenty of time to get into position to slit the man's throat when Taro released his jutsu. He continued to crouch, focusing on his shadow and calculating whether or not he'd be in range.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Akane

"Lani! You are embarrassing me. You know your orders as well as I know mine." Akane snaps abruptly, glowering at her squad member before her gaze shifts to the Kusa-nin who seemed so very proud of himself. Akane shifts her weight and begins to walk forward, putting the naginata through an idle spin before laying it flat across her shoulders and resting both hands on it.

"Perhaps I hadn't been making myself clear. What I want, what I'd like to do, is irrevelant here. And my right to question your purpose is given by the village of Kagekure who's territory your not only infringing on, but also contains dozens more ninja who truly aren't that far away at all and do in fact know where you are, so it isn't my right that is under scrutiny." Finally she paused at the river's edge, looking across the way to the intruder. "This is your last chance to present papers authorizing you to be here though. After this the only option is you running like coward or me beating the stuffing out of you and then taking you in like I do want to do. So what's it going to be?"

[Paragon Badger]

As Akane approached, the grass nin said nothing- expressing only a certain...excitement as she came closer and closer.

Eventually, she felt that one spot on the ground underneath her feet was particularly warm. After that moment, the grass nin's smile grew wider.

"Look behind you." He softly mumbled with a wide grin.

The shadow kunoichi barely finished making her threats before the growing mound of earth behind her exploded and knocked her onto her hands and knees. Lani, Taro, and even Sarutobi could feel chunks of earth flying towards them. When the dust had settled, a fifteen foot wide crater lay in the earth between the genin and their jounin.


I assume Akane is walking directly towards him in a straight line. He put a land mine between himself and Akane/Lani the moment he saw you, using Hand Seals mastery to hide the fact. (He grimaced in concentration as a hint) I was expecting you to charge rather than calmly walk forward, but the effect is the same. :smalltongue:

...Akane fails her save (technique focus.. <_<), taking 18 damage. (Her being knocked 'onto her hands and knees' is purely flavor, you're still standing and not prone or anything)

Taro and Sarutobi recognize it as Chakra Jirai no Jutsu.

Akane: 17 (You can still take an attack action, if you'd like.)
Grass Nin: 14
Nara Taro: 12
Sarutobi: 12
Lani: 8

Bold: Where the round is currently. Since Taro and Sarutobi have been readying actions since last round, they are free to act immediatly after Akane gets land-mined (but only if it's the readied action- Kage Mane and fleeing, respectively). Lani would act immediatly after grass nin.

[Rogue 7]

Taro

Kuso. If he pulled that off without me seeing, I might not be able to stop him with Kage Mane. Still, it's better to try.

Assuming that I'm in range, especially if that crater gives some form of shadow, Taro will use Kage Mane.

Quickened Convert Chakra to HP- 1 for 1 DC 14 [roll0]

Kage Mane no Jutsu- DC 17 [roll1]

Ranged Touch Attack- [roll2]

4 Stamina damage taken.

[ZeroNumerous]

Lani

Lani takes a moment to gloat about being right. "Oh! Who was right! Me. Ya, that's right. I had your number since yesterday! 'Oh stop, you're embarrassing me..' I win this time."

[tomorrow]

In a fervent burst of action, Tobi launches off back toward the village, in a typical series of agile ninja-style leaps and bounds; trees, leaves, and branches all whipping past him as he goes. Tobi considers dropping down from the canopy so he could run at full speed, but ultimately decides against it. He wasn’t exactly sure what the grass nin was capable of, nor if he had any back-up, so he wasn’t about to leave himself opening to attack just yet. Concentrating in mid-air, a burst of charka flows through Tobi’s limbs as he uses his control over his body’s charka flow to accelerate his movements.


*Readied Action (Attack) - Begin Full-Round Action of land hopping toward the village (x3 movement – 90 ft. covered).
*Move Action – Finish Full-Round Action.
*Swift Action - using Chouyaku no Jutsu to increase speed (+5 ft. movement speed).
*Attack Action – to Begin Full-Round Action of continuing to land hopping toward village (x3 movement (but only half of it this round), 52.5 ft. covered).

Grand total of 142.5 ft. of distance toward the village made, one point of charka expended. Taking ten on all the checks of course.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Akane

"Son of a...!" Akane growled as the ground exploded behind her, unable to avoid the blast as well as she usually could have and landing on her hands and knees, teeth gritted and clutching her naginata tightly in one hand. Eyes darting up to the smug Kusa-jerk her form abruptly blurred, sakkat whipping off her head with the abrupt movement that was too fast for normal vision.

"I want it on the record that I tried to do this nice." Akane mutters as she skids to a halt atop the water by the one-armed ninja, spinning the cloth-bound naginata around in a vicious backhanded swipe with the blunted blade, eyes full of indignation at what had happened.

Taijutsu Roll (Shundou): [roll0] Looking back, this is an automatic success unless 1's coung as an auto-failure or -10.
If I got my full movement before being 'sploded then Shundou, at it's max distance, should put me right next to the Kusa-nin. There I'll use Heroic Surge for an attack action.
Attack (-4 for non-lethal but deducted 5 so it's really 25): 25 to hit, 14 damage (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1744238/)
Lemme know if still not close enough.

[Paragon Badger]

Akane's blade cracked loudly into the back of the grass nin's skull, sending him staggering forward with gritted teeth. He started to make a hand seal in response, but Sarutobi's flight caught his eye, distracting him as an innocuous shadow crawled along the ground...

The kusa nin's eyes widened as he felt his body seize up, and his muscles shook as he assumed Nara Taro's stance, their hands making the rat handseal.

The foreign shinobi's eyes darted around for a moment, eventually resting upon the outstretched shadow that ran along the surface of a tree and into the concealing leaves. "Kageshibari no
Jutsu..." He muttered to himself.

As Taro concentrated on the shadow, he could see a leaf fall down from up above... and then another... and another... One even floated down to his arm, gently cutting a deep gash into the genin's flesh and causing the genin to recoil back from the pain. The small leaf fluttered still, now covered in blood, towards the ground. With but one glance upwards, the former konoha ninja could see many more razor-sharp leaves falling towards him.

Moments later, the grass nin suddenly jolted out of his stance, smiling as he makes a number of half seals and dissapears in a puff of smoke, though a thick trail of leaves fluttered through the air downstream, eventually taking the shape of the grass nin's body as he fell down onto one knee from the jump.

He got up quickly, turning his head back over his shoulder as a trail of blood ran down from his lips. "Heh.." He muttered, "She hits...hard."

Taro rolls a 16 reflex, taking 12 damage, which the grass nin also suffers. He rolls a 12 to maintain Kage Mane... Bad roll. <_<

It's 'off camera', but Taro is currently getting cut to ribbons by the leaves, so that one didn't do 12 damage all by it's lonesome. :smalltongue:

Taro identifies both; Ochiba Ame no Jutsu and a Shunjutsu. Lani identifies the second technique as a Shunjutsu.

Akane: 17
Grass Nin: 14
Nara Taro: 12 (Acts under normal initiative next round)
Lani: 8

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c287/Innocentemo/Map3.png

Green outline; Ochiba's range. You were lucky, Zero. :smallwink:
Brown radius; crater... not that it makes much of a difference, but I enjoy describing how much these kinds of battles destroy the landscape. ^_^

A note; I've been using this site (http://www.penpaperpixel.org/tools/d20dicebag.htm) for rolls, because it's fairly quick and easy and I know where it is. If you'd prefer, I can use one where you guys can doublecheck the results so you know I'm not fudging. :smallwink:

I haven't forgotten about you, tommorow.

Did I miss anything?

[ZeroNumerous]

With little recourse, Lani does the only thing available to her and dashes forward a bit. The grass-nin's sudden shunjutsu saw only a shift in Lani's weight as she heads to the left now and stops just short of the river's edge. "Well now you've seen how hard Akane-sensei can hit with that big ole pointless stick. Why do you try fighting a little girl instead? Maybe you could actually beat me!"

Lani moves to H-13 and tries to intimidate the grass-nin into attacking her. Intimidate Check is GO! (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1745375/) Just as if she had taken 10, again. Hey, that rhymed like thyme.

[tomorrow]

Moving from tree to tree in the typical ninja fashion of leaps and bounds, Tobi ignores the sounds of combat at his back and remembers that his sensei told him to be mindful of spotting any patrol groups that might be nearby on his way back to report to the village. Thus with every hop, his eyes scan the panorama of the landscape before him. Clearing another thrush of tree, Tobi allows himself to drop out of the treeline as he proceeds, seemingly confident that he's put enough distance between himself and any potential opponents to proceed ahead on the ground.

Mostly a filler post I supposed, but it helps me keep track of where exactly Sarutobi is at the moment.

*Move Action - to Complete Full-Round action of continuing to land hop toward the village - (x3 movement (but halved) – 52.5 ft. covered).
*Free Action - drop out the three.
*Attack Action – to Begin Full-Round Action of running toward village (x4 movement (but only half of it this round), 70 ft. covered).

Grand total of 265 ft. of distance toward the village made.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Akane

"You aren't getting away!" Akane calls out as the man shunjutsu's himself farther down the stream and falls down to one knee, not willing to give up the chase yet as she blurs with impressive speed herself until she stands close enough to nail him with the blunted blade again. Her first pass, a heavy horizontal swing, wasn't as quick as her first one but when she passed the long pole-arm around her body and into a hard jab with the tip of the naginata right to where most male-nin feared to be hit, his crotch.

"Are you ready to give up yet? I won't let you get away and I won't stop beating you until I've knocked you out, why not make it easier for us both?" Comes the cold question, hard eyes locked unto her opponent's form and on edge for any sign of treachery that he may have had planned for her.


Taijutsu Roll (Shundou): [roll0]
Taijutsu Roll (Hassun 1): [roll1]
Taijutsu Roll (Hassun 2): [roll2]

Attack Roll 1 (non-lethal): [roll3]
Attack Roll 1 (non-lethal): [roll4]

Damage Roll 1: [roll5] Doubled: 18
Damage Roll 2: [roll6] Doubled: 28

[Paragon Badger]

The blunt edge of Akane's naginita crashed violently into the grass nin's stomach, causing his eyes to go wide and his mouth to open shortly before the jounin nailed him between the legs, causing the shinobi to shudder from the impact... shortly before vanishing in a puff of smoke, revealing a thoroughly abused block of wood in his place.

But there was also a tag placed upon the block, slowly burning to a crisp...

A great explosion sent water splashing into the air infront of Lani and Taro as the grass nin appeared infront of the younger kunoichi with his hand already furiously making half seals.

Not soon after, the grass around him stiffened and jutted up straight into the air, appearing sharp as daggers. The enemy shinobi smiled, though he looked obviously worn out from using the technique.


Intimidate can't be retried.

Greater Exploding Tag Damage: [roll0]

Make your own damn reflex save. :smalltongue: I went ahead and did them before for conveinecne, but I realized you might want to spend an action point or use Empowered Resilience and such.

Identify check, DC: 18, it's Kusa Kasui no Jutsu if you accurately guess.

Akane: 17
Grass Nin: 14
Nara Taro: 12
Lani: 8

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c287/Innocentemo/Map4.png

Green spikes = 'Caltrops'

If you walk into the grass spikes, please make a 1d20+0 attack roll against yourself for each square; read up the caltrops entry, since Makibashi's name was changed to Caltrops in a recent version. :smalltongue:

[tomorrow]

Still racing back toward the village at his best possible speed, as he crests over a hill, Tobi’s eyes catch sight of something that he’d completely forgotten about, a rickety little rope bridge over a small chasm. His team had been coming around from the far side of the village, so they hadn’t had to cross the chasm, but the shortest route back to the village ran right over it. Going around was out of the question, but he’d have to basically tip-toe slowly across the bridge too. Grimacing in annoyance, Tobi veers off towards the side of the bridge and goes sailing over the edge of the chasm. After only a few yards, its clear he’s not going to make the distance, but just as he starts to drop like a rock, he makes a rapid series of hand signs and vanishes in a puff of smoke… only to reappear in the exact same manner on the others side, immediately breaking back into a running pace.


Just amusing myself, total distance covered so far should now be 365 ft.

Move Action – Complete Full-Round action of running the last part of the distance being completed as a jump.
Move Action – Shunshin no Jutsu - clear the rest of the gap.

[roll0]

[Rogue 7]

As the razor-sharp leaves began to float down, Taro lost the ninja. Whether it was his teleportation or the pain that shot through his arm, Taro couldn't keep a hold on the elusive grass ninja with his jutsu. As the ninja vanished, and he watched Akane-sensei deal several good hits with her blade to the foe, Taro jumped down and moved as close as he could, his hands rapidly flying through the movements for his longest-ranged jutsu.

Full move to [edit with location].
Action- Rakurai no jutsu. Rolls in next post (error occured.)

[Rogue 7]

As he landed, Taro finished his jutsu, his hand glowing with a large amount of electricity, that he launched towards the enemy ninja, wracking his body with electricity.

Moved to D8.

Attack- Rakurai no jutsu- empowered. (3 chakra for 2d6)
Perform- DC 20- Taking 10 for a 23.
Damage- [roll0], Reflex for half. 8 Chakra expended.

[ZeroNumerous]

Lani

With the grass-nin finally within adequate range, Lani dashes after him herself. Lani charges forward, avoiding the very grass itself with the practiced grace and ease of a taijutsu master. As the last five-feet between herself and that smug snake-like nin come up, Lani opted to leap into the air and deliver a strong kick straight into the gonads.

Shodan Perform: Autosuccess. (+13 + 2 from Mastery = 15 vs DC 15)

Chakra Control: She doesn't bother attempting to convert.

Caltrop's Attack Rolls: 7/12/9/14 vs AC 19 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1747480/)

Renzuki: Disregard this, I screwed up and Renzuki does not work as I thought it did.

Rendan Kidouki: 12+12+2+1=27 vs his Touch AC (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1747508/)

In short: Charge to H-15. Attack with Rendan Kidouki. He loses his next turn if that hits.

[Paragon Badger]

The grass nin waved his arm out infront of Taro's blast, attempting to deflect it, but the electricity coursed through his muscles and sent his body jolting from the impact.

"Dammit." He cursed between his teeth, his gaze turning to horror as Lani waded through his grass trap, her foot launching into the air to find his groin.

"Another one!?" He shouted, furiously making half seals shortly before Lani's sandal burrowed itself inbetween his legs. Just as before, the grass nin dissapeared in a puff of smoke, leaving another poor unfortunate log in its' place.

The shinobi was some distance away, knee-deep in foliage and panting heavily as he grit his teeth.

He moved to D17. New map with next post.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Akane

Akane gave a sigh as the man disappeared to leave some poor log in it's place just to reappear elsewhere to lay down the grass trap for the others. Only after Lani waded through it did Akane begin to run across the water as he disappeared and reappeared somewhere else once more. Just as her sandaled foot landed at the edge of the grass though her shape blurred one more time.

"How many more times can you evade me intruder?" The special jounin says coldly as she reappears next to the Kusa-nin one more time, padded naginata raised up in the air and brought down in a hard vertical chop that should knock him silly if he didn't kawarimi away from her once more. "Because once I wear you out I'll still be going strong. Want to rethink my offer?"


Chakra Control check (DC 13): For quickened conversion of 4 chakra to 8 stamina: [roll0]

Perform for a Shundou: [roll1]
Attack Roll: [roll2]
Damage (Non-Lethal): [roll3]

[Paragon Badger]

"I'd rather die than let myself be taken by a hotheaded bitch like you!" The grass nin barked shortly before being wonked on the scalp with Akane's weapon, sending his head hurtling towards the ground as her naganita followed through. Surprisingly, he didn't dissapear that time, merely backing up against the tree with one eye closed and a scowl on his face.

The shinobi turned his eyes back towards the river, eying the sharp descent that loomed at the edge of the nearby cliff, not more than fifty feet away...

With another puff of smoke, and the trail of leaves accompanying, the grass nin appeared at the edge of the cliff. He looked over his shoulder at the steep decline... A fifty foot fall to the woods below, possibly more. And after falling through the branches, it might be another ten or twenty feet before he hit the ground, proper... There looked to be some ledges or outcroppings that he could use to ease himself down into the woods below, but he thought to lose Akane and her genin fast.

The shinobi looked between the three ninja that had pursued him so rigorously, then offered his hand to beckon them towards him. "Come on then, you have me cornered, afterall!"

He grit his teeth and winced slightly as he concentrated on another jutsu without the use of his hand.

Oo, dropped the 'b' word. <_<

Hey, it appears in Oots, so nyah. :smalltongue:

Oh, You've got to be kidding me. He rolled a one on his ninjutsu check to Kawarimi... And my plan kinda relied upon the thirty-foot movement from avoiding the attack. X_X

Still... I think I can more or less execute it with Shunshin no Jutsu.... Yargh, five feet short! Okay... now to survive for a turn.

Make identify checks, if you want to learn it later. Also make spot checks (with a -1 penalty for each 10 feet) to catch his wincing. DC ...20?

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c287/Innocentemo/Map6.png

Akane: 17
Grass Nin: 14
Nara Taro: 12
Lani: 8

[Rogue 7]

Taro gritted his teeth, realizing that his target was too far out of range for another Rakousen. He'd have to move closer. Unfortunately, the enemy looked to be planning something. Taro would have to move to try and cut off a potential escape route. He rose from his crouching stance, moving quickly through the trees to get an angle on one possible escape route, at the same time keeping his distance from the enemy and his teammates- he didn't want to get caught up in a jutsu and give the enemy a chance to take out two of them at once.


Double move to A12.

[Rogue 7]

Argh, forgot Identification checks-

Ninjutsu- [roll0]
Genjutsu- [roll1]
Chakra Control- [roll2]

[tomorrow]

Sarutobi continues uneventfully running towards the village.

[ZeroNumerous]

Lani

Without seeing any real reason to keep chasing the ninja since they had him cornered, Lani just moves forward slowly. She practices a few handseals as she moves, readying her signature technique if things got bad.

Lani moves to I-17 as her move action. She then readies an action versus the ninja attempting to flee or use a jutsu.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Akane

Akane frowns with concertation as he eludes her once more to zip all the way to the edge of the cliff...or maybe he didn't. A smile finally comes to her face as she runs smoothly along the ground in a straight line until the tree blocked his view of her. Back planted against it as she peeked out for a moment. Glancing to the two genin she smiles frostily then spins around the side and begins running towards him again.

This probably seemed awfully familiar at this point.

Just before she could close with him though her shape blurred and vanished. Then the tip of the blunted naginata taps the Kusa-nin on the shoulder from behind him and to his right, Akane standing on the barest of outcroppings with an open smile on her face.

"Tag. Your it...done playing games yet?"

Again with the ever popular Shundou!

[roll0] to G 21 after the move action described above.

[Paragon Badger]

"Well...Something we have in common." The Kusa Nin replied with a lazy smile, lifting his arm up and putting his palm flat against the back of his head as he closed his eyes and pursed his lips, "I never fall for the same trick, twice."

The shinobi twitched for a moment, but kept his cocky smile all the same.

Make Spot checks to notice him preforming a technique again, if you'd like to act on it. DC: 20.

Lani can use her readied action if she sees it and still wants to... Although I still need to know what jutsu she's preparing. If it was something that would injure Akane (being 5 feet away), I'm afraid being able to change your mind would give Ready Action too much powah.

Make a second spot check, but this one is mandatory. :smalltongue:

DC 10, success means;
You recognize it as a Kawarimi construct.

Akane: 17
Lani's Readied Action
Grass Nin: 14
Nara Taro: 12
Lani: 8

[Rogue 7]

Taro, his eyes still catlike and glowing, noticed two things. The first was that the enemy was performing some sort of jutsu. The second was...well, he couldn't quite tell. But he suspected another Kawarimi. He was too low on chakra to use one of his raiton jutsus to check, so he'd have to do things manually. He darted forwards, pulling out a shuriken and throwing it all in one smooth motion.

Move to G15, draw a shuriken as a free action, and throw.

attack-1 range penalty
[roll0]
Damage-[roll1]

[Paragon Badger]

Akane was quick to catch the Grass Nin before he could escape, spotting the facitious shinobi's technique. She brought her blade from his shoulder and painfully into the back of his skull, sending him careening forward. Taro's shuriken soon followed... and it passed through his body, knocking twigs and stones aside in its' path. Among the rocks he substituted himself with, however, there was another paper bomb. And it was quickly burning to a crisp!

Greater Exploding Tag, Lani and Akane make a reflex save (18, now that I've found out where it's listed... right in the table, d'oh.) to half.

Akane Damage: [roll0]
Lani Damage: [roll1]

Akane: 17
Grass Nin: 14
Nara Taro: 12
Lani: 8

You can't see the grass nin anywhere in the immediate area, by the way...

The sounds of battle were far behind Sarutobi, however, as he made his way towards the village. Suddenly, a figure lept out from the foliage ahead of the genin. The kagekure shinobi crossed his arms, seemingly unfazed at the prospect of colliding with Sarutobi.

[tomorrow]

Skidding to a stop in front of the older shinobi, Tobi takes a quick gasp to catch his breath. "Ak... Akane sensei requests assistance with a interloper whose crossed the border."

[Callos_DeTerran]

Akane

"Son of a...!" Came the swearing voice as the jounin saw the explosive tag laid down among the rocks that had been left behind with the clone. Just as Akane turned to run though it caught fire and it was all she could do to not go tumbling off the side of the cliff. By the time that the blast's smoke had disapated though she had a rather...angry expression on her face. "Spread out and look for him! Lani, go find Tobi while your looking. I don't think we'll see him again soon but he's in danger by himself."

Finally the jounin takes a deep breath, walking back along the shallow stream/river until she reaches her discarded saggat and pulls it back unto her head.

[ZeroNumerous]

Lani

Lani does what Lani does best. Which is to ignore what Akane says and do her own thing. She wanders over to the forest, then wanders around in a large circle while pretending to give a damn.

Lani makes a big circle starting at G-15, going to B-15, over to B-20, then down to G-20 before heading back.

[Rogue 7]

Taro notes Lani's lack of motivation to go find Tobi (hee:smallbiggrin:) as he clambers up a tree to get a better view of the surroundings. "Um, would you like me to go try and find Tobi, sensei?"

[Paragon Badger]

As Akane walks away from the cliff face, her weight sends a few stray pebbles fluttering off the edge. 'Pitter patter' they went, bouncing off of the rocks jutting out the edge of the wall atop a small ledge...

The outcropping suddenly collapsed, revealing the Grass Nin using a simple camoflagued blanket to conceal himself. He smiled, looking up to see they had abandoned sight of the rock wall, and silently leapt down from one ledge to another, until he had obscured himself in the forest below...

A few minutes later, Tobi and a squad of Kage Shinobi arrived on the scene.

The team quickly made a perimeter around Akane and her genin, their kunai drawn. One of them waved his arm in the air, "Hold on. Yeah...It's them. I'd recognize Lani-chan's chakra anywhere." The young ninja said with a smile, closing his eyes. In black robes worn beneath the standard shadow ninja vest, the chuunin let his guard down, assuming a casual pose that his comrades soon adopted as well.

Their leader, the stern looking jounin that Tobi nearly collided with earlier, approached them. "Akane..." He said, crossing his bandaged arms and narrowing his eyes in contempt as he looked at the two craters that dotted the landscape, and the jounin's own injured appearance, "I take it thing's didn't go as planned?"

The jounin closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Like the rest of his team, and most everyone in Kagekure, he wore the standard battle vest, though his was a bit more armored than most. His hair was short, nearly shaved beneath the blank headband. Aside from that, he wore the usual long-sleeved shirt and pants, with the sleeves rolled up to reveal bandages around his lower limbs.

The other two members of the team, a pair of twin kunoichi, wore blank expressions as they stood side-by-side. With two long, brown ponytails, two light ninja vests, and two skirts, with an equally matching assortment of fishnet, they almost seemed to be Bunshins. The twins merely giggled at their sensei's admonishments.

A quick recount of your current HP/Chakra totals, please.

Also, I need a reflex save from Zero for that last tag.

Also also, 8000 XP to Akane, Lani, and Taro. That's a level for the genin, I think.

Also also also, He was 8 HP away from falling unconscious. :smalleek:

[Rogue 7]

As Tobi and the reinforcements came into view, Taro hopped down to rejoin his sensei, holding a hand to his arm, which hadn't completely stopped bleeding yet. He waited for his sensei to give the report, as he released the chakra in his eyes, feeling them return to their normal perception.


I'm at 19 HP, with 4 of the damage I took being Stamina-induced. Chakra- 14.

8 HP? Man, 5 feet closer a couple rounds back and I could have blasted him with another Raiton jutsu! Empowered, I would have dropped him for sure! Nuts.

[ZeroNumerous]

Lani

Lani does what she always does in situations like this. She heads over to Akane-sensei and stands beside her with arms dangling uselessly at her side. After all, the less she spoke the less she had to do stupid things as a punishment. When Tobi comes into view, she reaches up to her eye and makes a childish gesture while sticking out her tongue. Unlike her companions, the only thing looking worse for wear on the little kunoichi was a bit of soot and dirt on her face and uniform from the explosions.

Lani's at 43/52 HP and 31/36 chakra. Virtually unhurt.

Reflex Save: She fails and takes full (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1767703/).

[Callos_DeTerran]

Akane

The special jounin dusted off her sakkat, slipping the padded naginata unto her back once more as Lani blatantly ignored her and Tobi sidled over to offer taking her place. "No, we'll stick together and go get him together. C'mon Lan..."

Her voice trailed off as the squad burst out of the trees with Tobi to surround her squad and herself, though her only reaction was to stiffen at the sight of the other jounin.

"That's correct. The intruder would not agree to coming along quietly so Lani, Taro, and I attempted to subdue him to bring back to the village. He resisted and managed to escape, sir." She says curtly, eyes respectful while on the higher-ranked ninja, as they should be and as she was raised to be, but when they shifted to the two giggling chuunin the casual look on her face became more stern. Blatant irritation and hostility begins to rise in her blue eyes but she forces it down before continuing in a clipped tone. "I take it you didn't encounter the Kusa shinobi while on your way here then? Speaking of which...I didn't expect to see you out here Hideo..and with Isamu, Kasumi and Kasuko nonetheless. If your back-up then it seems you showed up a bit late."

73 life and 37 chakra

[Paragon Badger]

The shinobi narrowed his eyes, staring at Akane as she related the recent happenings. "Hrm. Alright." Hideo replied, "Report back to Kagekure for debriefing."

"Isamu!" He shouted to the male chuunin, who was staring in awe at a largely unaware (or merely uncaring) Lani. "Kasumi, Kasuko!" The two girls simultaneously came at attention, their eyes widening in curiosity.

"Spread out, look for any trace of the intruder. Don't let him get away!"

...

...

...

Shortly thereafter, the team sat before the village elders. As usual, the Kage's chair was empty, sitting beside it Mibu Mitsuo and Wakahisa Masumi. The former was tall, middle-aged, and his features were harsh. With sharp, spikey black hair and a pointed beard, he looked down upon the team from over his nose. He wore very dignified black robes, loosely draped over his considerable muscles, and had dark, nearly brown, skin. His eyes were almost black, though Lani knew, being that he was Esanu's father, they could turn red at any moment. The thought was enough to make even the most hardened shadow jounin quake in fear.

Masumi, on the other hand, was a stark contrast to much of the senior elders in the room. She appeared young, her pale skin fair and her features soft, or at least, it appeared that way. With her black hair upright and dressed in finery, she revealed quite a bit of cleavage (much to a good deal of kage kunoichi's distaste) and wore silky black and pink robes. Still, despite all this, she appeared focused entirely on the debriefing, her bright green eyes focused on Akane.

"...And this Kusa nin." She began, handing a handwritten note to an aide, the contents being a description of the foreign shinobi that the team related to the elders. No doubt Kagekure's research team would be scouring through the bingo books in the next few hours. "Before you fought, did he give any indication of what he was doing here in the Land of Birds?"

Mitsuo merely steepled his fingers as he continued to icily stare at Akane and her genin.

D'oh. I had good music ready for this, but the site's down- and I coulden't find a decent substitute like last time. :smalltongue:

[Rogue 7]

Taro sat, doing his level best to keep from breaking out in a cold sweat. He had faced a situation like this before, back when he had first defected to Kagekure, though that was under far less pleasant circumstances. Just the memory of that situation was enough to terrify him. He had never been incredibly good at dealing with authority before the interrogations and threats, and now he sat with two of the highest ranking ninja in the village staring at him. The temptation to run, screaming from the room, was almost overwhelming. It took all the concentration he had not to let anything show on his face. He just needed to let Akane-sensei handle the report, pray they didn't ask him any direct questions, and keep his head down.

[ZeroNumerous]

Lani

Whilst most ninja would cower in fear in front of Mibu Mitsuo or even the buxom Masumi--and they would be rightly justified in doing so given their capability for destruction--Lani was not like most ninja. She had just one thing to worry about at the moment, and that was not the imposing authority figures or even embarrassment. No, it was far simpler. She had to scratch her head, and quickly before the sensation drive her mad(der?). She quickly busied herself attempting to rub the top of her head against Akane-sensei's arm, since she knew that scratching yourself in public was very very rude. "Tora-sensei~ my head itches~!"

[Callos_DeTerran]

Akane

I hate failing. Akane thought sourly to herself as she sat silently in the debriefing after giving her account about what had occurred. The silence of Taro didn't un-nerve her. It was good that he had a decent respect for authority and the sooner he got in-grained in him the better, though she might need to talk to him about loosening up some. Lani on the other hand...

"Lani, if you don't stop that then you won't get the surprise I have for you." She whispered stead-fastedly refusing to break her rock hard posture or to show the annoyance she was feeling on her expressionless face. There should be an award..a medal maybe for not getting angry.

"No ma'am." Akane said respectfully to Masumi, giving a brief incline of her head so she wouldn't have to see any disappointment that might have flickered across the other's eyes...or from seeing the empty Kage's place. "The closest I could gather is that he was either a patriot from Kusagakure, he seemed indignant about infringements upon their territory, or he was faking it very well. But he seemed to expect somebody to catch up to him, which I think would suggest is that he is either experienced with our system for keeping an eye out for intruders or he assumed pursuit would be after him shortly. If it's the first case then I'm worried he's been here before and we just haven't caught him."

For a brief minute she paused, reluctant to bring up more of her own speculations, "I can say that he didn't seem to be the combat type. He was more worried about escaping then just killing us and retreating once the coast was clear. You don't send non-combat types into enemy territory unless it's for a reason." Not once did her eyes flicker to the Mibu head. Her respect for Masumi was genuine and earnest but it seemed...like a facade for him.

[Paragon Badger]

The woman leaned back in her chair, stroking her chin idly. "Yes... That's troubling." She said, looking around for a brief moment to the other elders for confirmation before continuing, "If this ninja was working for the village, it's doubtful they'll give us any aid in apprehending him... but we should send an envoy, just in case."

Mitsuo's eyes turned to regard the woman from across the Kage seat, though his posture did not budge an inch. Masumi turned her attention towards the Mibu clansman, and then back to the team.

"Err, right. Akane, I'm afraid Kagekure has to borrow one of your genin for awhile; Uh..Satori Sarutobi." She said, holding up a paper of the boy's information, "Nevertheless, if you accept, we have already organized for a replacement to make up the deficet."

The 'young' woman took out another scroll and tossed it to the jounin.

"Ah! Akane, I'd like for you and your squad to take some time off in the next few days. Looks like that grass nin didn't run off without leaving a scratch or two." Masumi said, flashing a smile for the first time since the meeting began.

"Yes..." One of the elders replied, "After today's failure, they could use the free time to practice."

The woman narrowed her eyes and sighed, obviously more sympathetic towards the jounin and her team than anyone else in the room.

"You're dismissed." Mitsuo abruptly commanded as his eyes settled back upon Akane and her team.

[Rogue 7]

Taro

Taro waits for his sensei to leave before following. As soon as the door closes behind him, he lets out an explosive breath and starts breathing very heavily.

[Paragon Badger]

Music! (http://bluelaguna.net/downloads/mp3s/okami-ost-soundtrack/340+Queen+Himiko's+Sorrow.mp3) <3

As the team left Kagekure military headquarters, they came upon the village in its' late evening routine. Spear and naganita-wielding shinobi meandered along the palisade catwalks, keeping a watchful eye on the forests that lay beyond three of the village's five sides, though many of the nearby trees were cut down for a better defensive position. The walls themselves were covered for every inch by poison tipped spikes, while the palisades had but one massive gate, and Hideo's team were just getting back and being subjected to the half-hour long identification that Akane and her genin just endured before the debriefing.

At the northern side, from atop a cliff, looming over the village like a protective mother, lay the giant tree that cast much of Kagekure in shadows. From such a height, the village's keenest observers could see into the open plains and rivers that extended beyond. The bored shinobi archers and snipers, cloaked in foliage, yawned as their chakra-enhanced eyes scanned the wilderness beyond, bathed as it was in the orange glow of a setting sun.

In the village proper, merchants closed up their shops in the bazaar and headed home, ducking and weaving through crowded backroads and alleys to find their cramped appartments. Kagekure was smaller than most villages, but it had long outgrown its walls, and buildings now sprawled upwards. The old saying, 'In Kagekure, not an inch seperates one from their neighbor.' was proven to the jounin and genin as even the headquarters was literally beneath a set of apartments that had grown over, and ontop of, the military structure.

Through these crowded streets (and sometimes, a 'street' was nothing more than a ladder or a pole to slide down), children played hide-and-go-seek, or as the more dignified youth preferred to call it, playing ninja. Ornery neighbors shouted at the kids as they snuck into any open window or door they could find.

Still at the steps leading up to the headquarters, Akane and her team were approached by a solitary crow, the black creature boldly landing upon the jounin's shoulder before letting out a loud caw.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Akane

Upon leaving the debriefing Akane took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, only glancing at Taro before flashing him a grin.

"Shouldn't be so nervous, I'm pretty sure Mitsuo actually feeds on fear. And you..." The jounin joked lightly, giving him a nudge in the side before glancing over at Lani. That brief look was quickly followed by a thwap of the blunted naginata against the back of Lani's head and an irate growl. "...need to learn how to act in front of the elders. I get enough flak as it is without one of my genin acting like an affectionate kitten in the middle of the de-briefing."

Words trailed off though as she took in the sight of Kagekure in all it's evening glory, watching the comings and goings of the people with a silent and appreciative look out over the Hidden Village. How couldn't she enjoy the sight? This was her home and she wouldn't live anywhere else in the entire world. Thus it came as no small surprise when the crow came winging down out of the sky to land on her shoulder, twisting her head to look at it with some surprise. "This is different..." She mutters softly, eyes watching the crow intently.

[Paragon Badger]

The crow looked around, analyzing each of genin for a moment before squawking into Akane's ear. The little beast then departed, fluttering away to land a few paces infront of her. It tilted its' head to her, cawed again, and took a few lightfooted steps up the road.

The bird spun around, looking up at the team expectedly as it pumped its wings and cawed again.

[ZeroNumerous]

Lani

Something.. bestial awoke in the little kunochi. Seeing a bird hopping around and making itself obvious only goaded her into leaping forward on all fours, growling like an animal. Lani leaps after the Raven, attempting to grab and catch it whilst gnashing her teeth like a hunting cat.

[Rogue 7]

Taro smiled weakly at his sensei's advice. It was nice to know that he seemed to have a friend. And watching Lani jump at the crow, he couldn't help himself. He burst out laughing- though it came out less as helpless laughter and more as particularly nervous chuckling, but that counted. He was amazed that, despite all of his problems and special status in the village, he was the normal one on his team.

[Paragon Badger]

As Lani chased the small crow, it frightfully made its escape, sending feathers into the air like falling cherry blossums... were it not for the pitch blackness of their color.

Nevertheless, it remained always out of reach, and assuming that it was followed, lead the girl and her team to a bench in one of the less crowded streets of Kagekure.

There lay a figure, no more than a boy, veiled in the shadow of a nearby building. He was laid upon his back, a straw hat covering his face, while an arm dangled from the bench and allowed his fingers to graze the surface of the ground. All around, from the nearby gutter to the rooftops above, a murder of crows waited, silent save for the occasional caw every few moments.

Lani's prey removed itself from the affairs of ground-dwelling beings and joined the flock that lingered above, patiently waiting.

[Rogue 7]

Taro looks around, his player uncomfortably reminded of Alfred Hitchcock, as he observed the flock of crows that surrounded the area. He had been in and around Kagekure long enough to know that this was most definitely not natural, and more than a little creepy. Carrion birds congregating in an area...and then he saw the body.

"Oh, crap, is that kid dead? We'd better try and shoo these birds away."

Taro picks a rock up off the ground and throws it- he's not particularly aiming to hit any of the birds, just scare them off.

[Fanatic-Templar]

As his friends started cawing, the body stirred, then lifted his hand to raise the rim of his hat slightly. Still shadowed, his eyes took in the scene before him.

"Who'd you bring over, Quick? Do they have food?"

The crow apparently called Quick cawed in return, looking down on the new arrivals from his perch. There is a bit of a rustle up there, as some of the crows shift about, disturbed by a thrown rock. The boy stretches sleepily, apparently unconcerned by the annoyance of the crows. As he gets up, you notice that he's a very lanky and gaunt young kid, dressed in what can only be called rags of faded black cloth. His hat, however, is decorated by a number of black feathers, hanging around it from string and somewhat concealing his face.

"Oh, right. I forgot about them. Hey, please don't do that. Streak's getting angry. The older people who ask the questions told me to expect some new friends today. Are we going to hunt together? Do you have food?" The kid leans forward with that last question, and there is much cawing among the birds around.

[Rogue 7]

"Um...I'm sorry? Do you know these crows?" Taro was on a team with an Inuzuka, he had gotten used to the idea of animal nin-companions, but he'd never heard of crows before...particularly this many.
"And, um...if you're desperate, I've got a ration pill, but...those don't taste very good and they really aren't recommended unless you've got no other opitions."

[Fanatic-Templar]

The kid shrugged, unconcerned.

"I've eaten worse at times. When it comes to eating, you do what you have to do to stay alive. But I'm not that hungry right now, it's just that sometimes, when the older people come to see me, they bring me something to eat, and since they're the ones who told me to expect you, I figured you might have brought some too."

This said, he climbs atop his bench, sitting on the backrest.

"So, what're we going to be doing?"

[Paragon Badger]

4 weeks later...

The gates of Kagekure opened slowly and ardously, massive behemoths of dark iron and wood moving only under the will of the village's strongest shinobi. Much of the walls were plated in those dark iron fortifications, so that even the most talented katon master would have difficulty burning through.

As the metal beasts rose, Akane and her team casually walked out, backpacks adorned as the monstrously thick ropes holding the gate aloft went taut in the pulleys.

The team had orders to go to a nearby non-shinobi village, drop their uniforms and headbands, then scout around for any suspicious activity. It was obvious the ruling council knew more than they were letting on, but orders were orders...

The guards of the gates, jounin and chuunin level shinobi adept at memorizing and identifying the chakra signatures of everyone who passes by, nodded at the quartlet as they passed. The guards went back to a position of alertness, gripping their naganitas and spears firmly in their gauntlets. Truly, none took their post more seriously than the front-line guards, for they knew that should an attack come by surprise (as it always does in the ninja world), they'd be expected to fight to the death until the gates could be closed.

[Rogue 7]

(OOC- I had this post earlier, but I only got five free minutes at the train station (long story) and it ate it)

The first thing that his companions would note about Taro is that he is wearing a tight, black cloth mask almost up to his eyes. His hair has also been changed, being dyed a dirty blonde color from its normal black. He doesn't say anything about it yet, acting like his normal, reserved self. He seems...overly uncomfortable about leaving the village than he should be for such a mission.

As he passes through the gate, Taro introspects to himself. "I don't remember the gate guards back in Konoha being this alert. Maybe it's because we have the Hyuuga clan constantly on alert and all manner of detection jutsus up around the village...or maybe it's just because we're so big. This village has a lot of great shinobi, but there are just so few of them compared to us. If we didn't have the war with Iwagakure to deal with, and if we wanted to, we could easily wipe these guys out. But here I am, still stuck here after what...he...did. I wonder how close to real power he's gotten, and I'm the only one who can stop him...I need to get stronger.

[ZeroNumerous]

Quick remainder: There's her sheet (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=80766).

Lani (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaUURmC3rHw)

Unlike her companion, Lani was already out of uniform and incredibly comfortable. She wore a simple peasant's yukata with her shoulder-length hair covering the back of her head. She lacked any weaponry as she left her belt pouches and knuckle-dusters behind because she didn't want to compromise her disguise. Lani appears calm and serene, the picturesque woman in this day and age. Of course, anyone who knew her knew better than to assume she was happy about this.

[Fanatic-Templar]

The newer kid is also lacking anything that could be construed as a uniform, still wearing the same faded and tattered garments he had been first seen with. The boy seems to answer to whatever name has been given to him, though if pressed he offers forth the name 'Kioshi', adding something about it being 'his sister's gift'. He apparently doesn't tie too much importance to his appellation.

Without any specific mention to the contrary, however, he does hang on to that feathered straw hat.

He seems eager enough to be out, hopping around enthusiastically, even though it is doubtful how much he really cares about the orders that have been given to the team.

[Paragon Badger]

The team arrived to the village in question a few days later, with few problems. It was a bustling town, a neutral tether that bound many of Kagekure's neighbors to one another in trade and commerce. At first glance, there seemed to be nothing unusual going on. Everyone went about their business casually, yet the threat of war still loomed overhead. In fact, more than a few people were armed with peasant weaponry, and a good portion of them had around their necks a yellow scarf; no doubt the symbol of some local militia.

Other shinobi were about; Suna Nin from the south... Grass Nin from the east. They remained obvious, so they were probably on much less clandestine missions than the Kage ninja. Yet there seemed to be no trouble from them, as they presumably knew better than to start any conflict which could tarnish their village's good name and neutrality.

Not waiting for Callos, since I only have a week now and even this mission may have to stop at a rest point and be concluded later.

[Rogue 7]

Taro, distinctly uncomfortable in his new blond hair and mask, did his best to appear inconspicuous and blend into the background...without looking like he was trying to, while at the same time keeping his eyes out for any Konoha nins. As a traitor to the village, he assumed that his portrait would be engrained on the eyelids of every ninja from his home country. Mostly he followed along with his teammates, letting Akane-sensei take the lead in anything involving talking with people. He would make himself more available if more information or comment was needed- experience told him that letting Lani talk was an invitation to disaster, while it didn't look too much like the new guy could handle conversation with normal people particularly well.

I really don't like being out of the village this much...there's too much of a chance that someone will recognize me. I hope we can get this done with quickly.

[Fanatic-Templar]

Eager to help out, the new kid keeps a watchful eye for anything suspicious, but having not been in a non-shinobi village in recent memory, his perception of normality is unfortunately skewered. Indeed, he acts like a child half his own age, pestering his comrades, and especially Akane, with questions of 'what's that?' and 'what are they doing?' regarding all manner of trivial incidents. With almost limitless enthusiasm, he sticks his head in every alley, peeks through any window in sight, and generally acts in a most undignified way.

[Rogue 7]

Taro makes an active effort to quiet the new kid (why couldn't he remember his name?!) down and stop his antics, incredibly anxious not to draw attention to their group. He answers questions quickly and tersely, and seems like he's seriously contemplating using his shadow possession jutsu to ensure that the kid stayed quiet and with the group.

"ummm...We really need to keep quiet and not draw attention to ourselves here. Please, stay with the group and stay quiet, or I'm going to have to stop you. I can do it without hurting you, but it'd probably be uncomfortable."

He looks uncomfortable asserting himself like this.