Squad A IC

[KageYuuki]

Yuuki Mifune
​

Seemed that kid was hellbent on sticking around them even though it could easily get him killed. Granted, from the sound of things it could easily get all of them killed . . . But doing nothing when knowing about the attack coming up soon would reflect poorly on the village right? Just from listening to his parents and sister talk, Kemuri was already barely staying afloat on whatever scraps of missions they could get. Koseki certainly wouldn't come to them for missions if they allowed part of the city to be destroyed.


"I . . . " Dammit words, now wasn't the time to be uncooperative. "I understand this isn't some game, sensei." Mismatched eyes locked with Kazuo's. "But I don't think we can ignore something like this." He blinked as the Jounin seemingly switched into teacher mode. "Taijutsu?" Yuuki glanced from the sword tucked in his obi, to the one Kazuo was wearing. "If you think it'll help us, sensei." But . . . but lunch! Did that really mean they wouldn't be given a chance to eat? He probably should have seen that coming . . .

 

[Ganryu]

Ayumu Suzumu


Ayumu merely raised an eyebrow at 'helping these children', but shuddered at the mention of taijutsu. He was not a practioner of it to say the least. Subconsciously his hand reached in his sleeves at a small cylinder before letting go. Couldn't this group just let him practice what he excelled at?


Ayumu could only sigh as he thought of at least a weak excuse.


"Forgive me, but I fail to see the point for the current mission. If we are caught, won't more experienced ninja's easily trounce us genin? Is there some deeper meaning in this training? I do not know about the other two, but admittedly, save for shurikenjutsu, I am lacking in taijutsu to an extent I'm not a sure a week's worth would help."


Ayumu felt no shame in his weaknesses, so long as they came with his strengths. His ego more than covered them as well. He viewed it as discarding what he didn't need.


Either way...


"Though... speaking of power. Little ones, what sort of ninja ARE we up against? That might be helpful before messing with them. Most villages tend to have specialties. Hmm. Maybe this could be helpful."


Ayumu walked into the tea shop for a minute, to grab a napkin, then came out, drawing various symbols across it, to ask which symbol they might have had on their headbands.

 

[One Mean Ghost]

Ryu felt his breath catch at the mention of Taijutsu instruction. Sure, he knew it was a weak point he needed to address, but what could he possibly pick up in a day that would help that he hadn't already tried over the last three years? He had deliberately failed the graduation exam three times because he felt his Taijutsu was lacking, and he had spent each of those years working tirelessly to fix the problem.


The problem is, his problem wasn't with his form. On the contrary, he had the Mizuchi's taijutsu form down almost perfectly. The Mizuchi style, however, depended on far more than punches and kicks. What made it devastating was its use of their signature water ninjutsu "Water Release, Serpent Strike". It was a hybrid technique, somewhere between the Water Whip and Liquid Memory, but taken to another level. It was often described as bending water to the user's will. It was a rather difficult technique, even more so to learn without a teacher.


Ryu had yet to master the technique by the time he was disowned. He had been told the trick was, when you wanted to strike, to swirl your chakra through the water as fast as you could and push it forward so that the water would have devastating impact. The Swirling chakra was also supposed to make it keep form after impact. There was one problem. Ryu swirled his chakra too fast. He had such control of his chakra that, for a genin, he could swirl his chakra through the water too fast, causing the jutsu to break apart.


Of course, without any skilled Shinobi to tell him what was wrong, he kept thinking the problem was he wasn't swirling the chakra fast enough. So the harder he tried, the worse he did. Once he figured out the problem, no doubt his Taijutsu would improve tremendously. After all, then he'd actually be able to use his family's Taijutsu....

 

[Hanarei]

​

He looked to what looked to be their teacher and to the Genin questioning him about the Ninja.


"Headband... I don't know... from what I've seen and been told they weren't showing any sort of headband. I'm not sure all of them are Shinobi... I had seen one masked woman who had did that um... those hand signs when planting the bombs with two others who moved extremely fast. I've been told there was another figure that was also concealed away who moved super fast though he appeared to be missing an arm meeting with the others. A few others I've seen didn't look to be able to do much, one man being quite large who took his time around but seemed to hold a higher position in the group."





He finished speaking, looking in thought. "The regular thugs of the group didn't seem to be anything special, but those in charge taking the lead for sure aren't any regular rogues and not people I've seen around the city.... although it is a large place it is possible I just haven't seen them around the underbelly of Koseki. "


@Orikanyo @Ganryu @One Mean Ghost @KageYuuki

 

[Orikanyo]

KAZOU YAMAMOTO


"I see... thank you for your diligent work. It is likely by telling us this you have saved many lives. As such, as a reward for your commendable service i would like to treat you both to dinner. This also means you all as well, don't think I'd forget you." he chuckled as he made mention to his own students in the offer as well, his demeanor changing from that of a big scary jonin, to more like a parent offering his children and their friends dinner.


"My name is Kazou Yamamoto, medical ninja of Kemuri. You may call me Mr.Yama if you wish, easier to say then the whole thing hmm?" he asked with a kindly tone, as if he was speaking to cute children, which he kinda was. "It's up to you if you want to come, I most certainly wouldn't miss out on teppanyaki(Japanese steakhouse essentially, flat iron grills cooking in front of you.)." he chuckled as he began to walk towards the street.


"it is not to far now, let us eat before our lesson today."


[if you wish, a short skip to the lesson would be good, unless people want to do the restaurant, the kids could join to watch said lesson if that is wished.]

 

[Hanarei]

​

The girl's eyes lit up, despite vaguely understanding what he said. Her eyes focused on him seeming to quickly shift back seeming uncertain about her own reaction looking to Kaiden with a bit of guilt at her response. She wasn't exactly use to being treated to good food. A lot of the food she got could barely considered scrap. The best food she could get was usually stolen from others, she wasn't exactly trusted in the 'nicer' places so typically for her getting some food from one of the stands that would even serve her. General shops wouldn't usually trust her to go inside after all.

​

Kaiden smiled as he nodded to Linn seeming to notice her response and the guilt she had. While he wasn't exactly treated out to nice food all that often, he had far more opportunity then anyone else in his group to do so. Perks perhaps from 'him'. He looked on tapping his chin in thought... perhaps a bit devious in a way. He didn't exactly mention about any limits on how much he could get. He could sneak some for the others kids, many in similiar situations like Linn who might not normally get something so good to eat very often.


"Alright, I'll go for food." He spoke out with a less 'childish' tone then perhaps normally expected, likely in part of his own planning more so then his own nature being mature for his age.


@Ganryu @KageYuuki @One Mean Ghost @Orikanyo

 

[Orikanyo]

One Eatting montage later.

Spoiler

Standing in the middle of a open area kazou had scouted a bit ago(Ago:Eh? Whats that? you need me? Me:No not you fool.) he gave a stern gaze to his students, this would be their first official training session, and he best teach them something they would remember... Start off simple, but memorable. Yes... that would be good...


"I will teach you all two simple techniques, first to parry your opponent's attacks, a technique that can be done with just about anything in your hands, from a sword, a broom, a iron bar, anything." his voice reverberated through the area as he picked up a wooden board he had found earlier. "Even if you do not decide to take up the sword, the use of this just might save your life. Remember, even an untrained enemy is dangerous, being able to successfully perform this can save your life. This is the first step i learned to my mastery of the blade, and to not getting cut into ribbons of course." he chuckled at that last part, then got ready.


Sinking lower into a Renoji Dachi stance, lowering his body slightly. "keep mindful of your footing, stable stance means a stable body, and you do not want to fall over." ha laid two hands upon the plank's "handle" and rose it up, pointing straight towards the three. "Yuuki, grab your blade and strike me! do not hold back, if I were to be slain by you i wouldn't be much a jonin would I? Ryonosuke, Ayumu, watch carefully. i shall instruct ways to parry without a weapon as well... When you use something to parry, use something hard, I wont be having another Seiji incident." he spat and readied, awaiting Yuuki's next move...


Upon the building next to this, a crow watched the scene, cawing occasionally as it watched the group below...

 

[KageYuuki]

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<span style="color:#800000;"><span style="font-family:Calligraffitti;"><span style="font-size:36px;"><strong>Yuuki Mifune </strong></span></span></span> </div>


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Dinner went . . . well there weren't any <em>major</em> incidents involved. That was a win, right? Right? Eh, anyway . . . Yuuki followed Kazuo and his teammates out into a more open area. They should have more than enough room to practice whatever techniques their sensei wished to pass onto them here. The Gennin couldn't help but tilt his head slightly when Kazuo chose parrying to be their first lesson. Ever since he was old enough to hold a bokken, Yuuki'd been trained in the art of swordsmanship. It was only natural he already held a fairly decent grasp on a basic concept such as parrying.


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Oh, but wait . . . Ryunosuke and Ayumu . . . now they might not have had such techniques beat into them from an early age.


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Never mind, the lesson made more sense. Nodding to Kazuo, Yuuki stepped away from his teammates for a little more room. Attack without holding back, that was something he could manage. It's not like he doubted his sensei's abilities. Like the Jounin said, he wouldn't be much of an elite shinobi if he couldn't block some Gennin's attack. Shifting into a lower stance, he unlocked the blade from its sheathe. Not wasting anymore time Yuuki lunged, using the momentum from drawing the blade to aid in his swing. The black katana slicing through the air towards Kazuo.


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[Orikanyo]

KAZOU YAMAMOTO


kazou waited for the right moment.. and then with his wooden "sword" he slapped the side of the swinging blade upwards with the flat of the blade, then planted the tip softly into Yuuki's sternum. The blade, not having left Yuuki's hands had been made so it's momentum was forced into a different directly, forcing it upwards not only made the attack miss but had Yuuki off balance and open for the attack upon his body. "using the opponent's own momentum you can force them to open their guard completely. You can then follow up with any number of strike, a fist to the head for example or use it to flow into another technique such as genjutsu or ninjutsu. An untrained swordsman will also likely lose sight of you or become confused from the upset of their guard."


This time with his hands, he parried a overhead strike, swiping it away with a horizontal wave of his hand, forcing the tip itno the ground. "be very careful in timing an unarmed parry, lest you lose a finger.. or a whole arm. Also helps to have arm protection." he slapped his gauntlet for good measure.. while doing his best to avoid the arm blade..Wouldn't do to lose a finger just after he said not to!


"Always deflect the blade away from you, if you plan to move, force it in the opposite direction, never go INTO the path of the blade, you only fasten your travels into death's hands." he explained once again as he looked to Yuuki once more, having him repeat the display a few times. "We shall have a time to practice this after my next demonstration. Yuuki, once again if you would please."


the same set up, yuuki rushed once more at kazou, but when Kazou flicked away the blade, his hand came whipping out with intense speed!


With a loud sound of metal piercing metal, the rusty old metal piece that was behind Ayumu and Ryo now had a kunai stuck between them. "The second lesson is, always be watching for other targets instead of the person in front of you. Should you see your ally in a one on one match, assist them. We may be warriors with a code, but first and foremost we are ninja. Opportunity and team work, always have your eyes open to aid your allies, so that they may in turn aid you. Only in very strict circumstance are you to have a one on one battle, if you do not have allies with you, do not engage. If you cannot avoid conflict, last as long as you can." he explained his second 'technique" to the children.


"Never leave your allies to fight alone, and never solely focus on the enemy infront of you. that is the second lesson." he explained with a thoughtful nod before looking to them once more.


"Yuuki, Ryonosuke, you two shall spar, Ayumu, we shall train."


{Since @KageYuuki and @One Mean Ghost have a sparring thing planned, @Ganryu feel free to put in the OOC something you would like to have Ayumu taught, or if you would rather simply have them backgrounded into having parrying lessons to speed things along}

 

[KageYuuki]

Yuuki Mifune
​

Ryunosuke Mizuchi
Collab with One Mean Ghost
​

So it was to be a sparring match. If Ryunosuke's family could see this, they'd likely be urging Ryu to make it a fight to the death. There was a long standing almost-feud between the Mizuchi family and the Mifune clan. It wasn't a full blown feud only because the Mifune family didn't acknowledge the Mizuchi clan as anything more than another family that hated what they did not understand. For the Mizuchi family, the Mifune's were a great thorn in their side. The Mizuchi family prided itself on having a nearly unbeatable nintai fighting style. Every direction could be attacked with a subtle flick of the wrist, something even the best Jounin couldn't pick up on in a Master of the Mizuchi style.



Of course, that excluded those with the Mifune's eyes. Those eyes saw right through all the tricks in the Mizuchi style. The "inescapable tempest" could be escaped by those eyes. Those eyes were perfectly suited to making the Mizuchi family look bad. Not to mention the Chakra cloak. The precise, targeted strikes of the Mizuchi style could be shrugged off like nothing by that cloak. In a nutshell, the Mifune family represented the epitome of a style that could not only survive the Mizuchi style, but could fight on even footing with it. That pissed off the Mizuchi's members like nothing else.



They had always been a mercenary family that prided themselves on their strength, as evidenced by the fact they either killed or expelled any members deemed too weak to carry on the name. Members like Ryunosuke. Of course, Ryu had been expelled from the family before he could have been indoctrinated with hatred for the Mifune family. This sparring match was just another test for him, another trial for him to overcome. The boy had no doubt his sword wielding counterpart was better in Taijutsu. It just meant he had to work harder. He had to master the Serpent Strike technique.


Yuuki handed off his sword to Kazou-Sensei. It wasn't a wise idea to use a lethal weapon for Taijutsu practice, and he didn't want to just leave it laying around where anyone could run off with his family heirloom. Ryu set aside his scroll, drawing the water from the center cylinder as he let the water flow in two streams that seemed connected to the movements of his wrist. This part was easy; making the water dance with the slow movements of your body. The part that he hadn't mastered was allowing it to strike.


This time would be different though. This time, it would work.


He struck out with his right arm, the water stream shooting forth until it burst apart, harmlessly spraying Yuuki with water.


It didn't work.


Yuuki quirked an eyebrow, wondering just what the point was before he started his attack. Thanks to constant training with a sword, his first step was something to be feared. The distance between the two shrank to nothing in an instant as Yuuki's right hand went through the same motion it would during a quickdraw.


Ryu just barely jumped back out of the way, ducking under a straight left from Yuuki, who moved forward with his right foot forward in a southpaw stance. Ryu managed to land a hit here, a solid straight right that pushed Yuuki back a little.


The swordsman wasn't about to let up. Ryu managed to parry a left cross, but Yuuki used the momentum of the parry to spin on his heel, the blade side of his right hand catching Ryu square in the jaw and sending him stumbling back. That hit was the first of many. Ryu did an excellent job on the defensive, ducking, dodging, parrying and the like, but every time he tried to fire another attack, Yuuki deftly swept it aside and countered in devastating fashion.


It was after one such counter that Ryu found himself on his back. Yuuki had swept Ryu's attack with his left hand before a right hammer fist and a foot sweep dropped Ryu hard, knocking the wind out of him from the force of hitting the ground. Why was this so difficult for him? If only he could use the water, then his fighting style would be good for something.


The Mizuchi style was infamous for its wide sweeping motions, which, without water, were easy to block and counter. The Mizuchi style was devastating more for what went unseen to most: the subtle changes in the wrist. It was these changes that redirected the water past defenses, that made the Mizuchi style what it was: The Unblockable Strike. Most members of the Mizuchi family were able to fight without the style, proving devastating even without water to aid them. Ryu, unfortunately, started training in the Mizuchi's style from the time he could stand, and had it so ingrained in his head that learning anything else was nearly impossible for the moment. It was a mental block he hadn't been able to pass yet.


As he lay on his back trying to get his air back, he wondered why it was so hard for him. No matter how hard he tried, the technique seemed to be more and more elusive to him the harder he tried. . . . The harder he tried . . . . His mind flashed back to when Kazou had parried Yuuki's strikes. It had seemed so effortless. He didn't need to put much force behind it at all . . . Maybe . . . Just maybe, the trick was to not try so hard . . . . Ryu pushed himself to his feet, feeling the bruises from numerous strikes already as he nodded to Yuuki to continue.


As the boy came forward, Ryu raised the water from the ground, reforming the stream by his right wrist. Given how poorly it had gone before, Yuuki didn't even bother trying to block it and just came forward. Ryu's hand struck out like a whip as he focused on not spinning his chakra through the water as fast as he could.


THWACK


Ryu's breath caught in his throat. He was still standing! This time, Yuuki was on his back, about ten feet away from where he had been, the water stream poised in the air until Ryu moved again, a wide grin spreading across his lips as he pulled the rest of the water off the ground to make a second stream for his left hand. "Just . . . what was that?!" Yuuki asked, rubbing his thrice stricken chest as he stood up, looking much more warily upon the water streams now.


"The Mizuchi's special technique . . . The Serpent's strike" Ryu lunged forward, now on the offensive for the first time as the water strikes seemed to strike at Yuuki from all sides like a tempest. Now those wide arching strikes had meaning, and the subtle twists and flicks of his wrist caused the water streams to deftly bypass every defense Yuuki tried to put up. Yuuki found himself backed up against a wall when Ryu finally stopped. "I can't believe it . . . . After three years . . . . The solution was so damn simple..." He held up his palms as the water streams collected into orbs on the palms of his hands. "Thank you, Yuuki . . . You don't know how big of a deal this is." He looked up at the boy, unable to contain his excitement. The answer had been so simple. He had been so fixated on what he had been taught, he hadn't considered trying a different way. It was a sign. He didn't need to so strictly adhere to what he was taught. He had to find his own way, his own path. For the first time in as long as Yuuki had known the abandoned boy, Ryu's eyes seemed alive.


Yuuki winced, rubbing his chest again. Getting knocked all around by Ryu's strikes had pulled his gi open, showing the large dark splotch that had appeared on his chest. "I'm not too sure what you're thanking me for," he spit some blood on the ground. Ugh, looks like one of those strikes knocked a tooth loose too . . . "But you're welcome I guess." He wasn't sure how he led Ryu to discovering the secret that had been holding back his jutsu for so long, but it seemed to have made his teammate's day.


Pausing, Yuuki formed a sign with his right hand. Index and middle fingers extended with the remaining two fingers and thumb curled into the palm. The Seal of Confrontation; while often used to help focus one's chakra, it was also traditionally used before entering combat with another shinobi. It essentially told another "I've come to face you in battle." But Yuuki didn't intend on continuing their fight, there was no reason to. He instead held out the hand still forming the seal towards Ryu. Reconciliation; a sign used after a match to show two shinobi were still comrades despite their short battle.


Waiting for Ryunosuke's response, his mind was focused on what happened while sparring. Without the Ryugan, he knew there wasn't any way to see the trick behind Ryu's attacks. Not while trying to defend against them anyway. While annoying, he didn't doubt the advantage it would give them in the fight to come. And the Gennin couldn't shake the feeling they were going to need any advantage they could get. Yuuki kept thinking back to the fight from just moments ago. While the Serpent Strike held his attention for a moment, there was something else that kept coming back up. Ever since the match had started . . . Every time he had made contact, he hadn't felt skin. He'd felt bone. It was almost like he was punching a skeleton rather than a living, breathing Kemuri shinobi.


Like Yuuki, Ryu's top had come open during the fight, and a chilling sight greeted Yuuki when he looked closer. His teammate's ribs were pushing through his skin. When Kazou had treated them to lunch, Ryu had eaten slowly, next to nothing even. It had been strange, but at the time, Yuuki hadn't questioned it, but now it all made sense. Ryu was on the brink of starvation. Even when Kazou presented him a feast, Yuuki's teammate was so used to going without that he couldn't eat much without making himself sick. How long had he been living like that? The Mizuchi family was quite well off, so why was he so emaciated?


Ryu fused the water orbs in his left hand, returning Yuuki's gesture with that wide grin still on his lips. "You have no idea how long I've been trying to get that technique to work . . ." He was practically bouncing, unaware that his open top was further displaying how little meat was on his bones. "Wait until my father hears about this . . . He might actually let me back!" Ryu's hand quickly clapped over his mouth as he turned away from Yuuki, hoping his teammate hadn't caught that. He cleared his throat awkwardly, not sure what to say after letting that slip.


Yuuki couldn't hide the frown that formed on his face at Ryu's unintentional revelation. "Might let you back . . . ?" He asked, stepping closer to his teammate. Sure, they may not be the closest of friends just yet but that didn't change the concern in the young Mifune's voice as mismatched eyes studied for a reaction of any sort. "You mean . . . you're not living with your family?" The very idea didn't make sense to Yuuki. The Mifune clan was built around watching over each member and helping them grow. Yeah it wasn't all sunshine and roses but they wouldn't cast out a clan mate so casually. Even when someone loses control and must be put down it still pains the member responsible.


Ryu sighed. There was no point in hiding it anymore. The cat was out of the bag. "No . . . I'm not. After I threw the academy exam three years ago, they disowned me. I've been living on my own ever since. I work for the Foreman doing repairs around the city to get by." He confessed with a sigh. That, no doubt, explained why he was so capable of walking along walls. Life had been anything but easy for Ryu for the last three years. The fact he had survived through it all was a testament to his stubborn resolve not to die.


"It doesn't look like you've been getting by well." Yuuki muttered, watching his teammate closely. "Look . . . I could feel your ribs. You should come stay with my family. If nothing else, we'll see to it you at least get a proper meal each day...." To many it such an offer would have seemed sudden. But anyone that really knew Yuuki would know it was just in his nature to protect friends and comrades however possible.


Ryu stopped for a moment. The prospect of a square meal each day was alluring, to say the least. It certainly sounded far better than a single cup of instant ramen each night. Even still, a shred of doubt gripped at the back of his mind. How would this turn out any different than his own family? No, it would turn out much the same. "As . . . tempting as that offer is . . . I wouldn't want to impose upon the Mifune clan. I can barely pay rent where I am. I know for certain I couldn't afford room and board there." He remarked, letting another unfortunate detail of his circumstance slip. The last thing he wanted to be was a burden upon anyone.


Yuuki moved to step in front of Ryu, looking his teammate square in the eyes. "You wouldn't be imposing on anyone, it's not like we're short on space." The Mifune clan had once been quite large, with numbers well into the hundreds. That was just with the Main Branch of the clan, Branch families nearly doubled that number. But following the massacre carried out by Okigakure . . . those numbers had shrank to the point they looked pitiful in comparison. But in the hopes of gathering whatever survivors were left and to rebuild, they acquired a large piece of land within Kemuri. There was more than enough room for a single Gennin.

 

[Ganryu]

Ayumu Susumu && Kazou Sensei

​

Ayumu's normal calm face persisted all throughout the way to the training fields. While he had slightly exploded on Yuuki during dinner for a spill that had happened, he'd been quiet ever since. The robes would have to be replaced anyways. Ayumu had had it washed during the mission by Ryu, had avoided sewage like it was a vat of acid, and still he wasn't satisfied. The ivory robes were a shade of vanilla. Unacceptable.


That still wasn't what was eating at him. During dinner, he'd escaped to the bathroom(an unsanitary one at that) to take a few quick puffs, and throughout the walk to the training area, he'd been clutching the small cylinder.


However, upon Yuuki only being called, he relaxed. Only a demonstration? Ayumu could easily do that. His taijutsu form was far from bad, it was simply his body couldn't keep up. If it was faking it for a test, he could do that. He raised an eyebrow at the kunai landing by him during the battle. To be honest, he hadn't paid attention to it, and it did surprise him, but his face was still the same amused smirk. His teammates were called off to spar with each other.... and him with sensei. The fear returned slightly, and his mind raced thinking of solutions. If it was sensei, nothing was going to hurt him so... maybe he could change the rules slightly? As long as he wasn't using jutsu, that would could, would it not? If he was sly, either he would be yelled at, or this would work. Either way would prevent a strenuous work out. Ayumu's hands, still covered in his long sleeves, felt around at the tools that surrounded them.


"Well, sensei, shall we start?"


"Indeed, first, you understand your weakness correct?" the man asked the boy before him, a stern gaze following every one of the student's movements. The clothing he wore was no doubt where he kept most of his equipment, it was a good choice in truth. he would praise him but to do so would be pointless, they had a lesson after all.


Stamina... the condition... he would be limited in terms of heavy work, and having an attack onset could very well be the death of him. in truth, if it was up to kazou he wouldn't allow the young man to be a ninja with such an affliction, atleast until he was able to conquer it some.


But then again, he had come this far...


"We shall be sparring, go on the attack, we shall see what we can do to improve your approach or form."


"I've been reminded of them a time or two. Admittedly, my taijutsu is probably behind the two of those.... as well as ninjutsu."


As he said that, he halfheartedly pointed behind him with a sleeve, and a resounding 'thud' from Ryu pushing Yuuki back. Ayumu didn't really watch, but his bet was a on Yuuki.


"However, I'd rather not think of myself as weak. A ninja always has a trick up his sleeve, no?"


Ayumu's face still had the amused smirk, though quietly he bit his lip. Well, this was it he guessed, he had to show SOMETHING. It was the most his confidence had wavered yet, but he was a ninja, and this, this was his ninja way:


Always a trick up my sleeve, always a way forward


With that, Ayumu rushed forward as his sensei, his fingers moving in his sleeves as he came.


"Never believe you are weak, strength can be measured in many forms. Pure brawn, cunning, agility, the strength of a ninja is how one is able to combine all, or some, of one's skills into a successful mission. For that is your goal!" he emphasized as the young man rushed forward.


He would be useing a great deal of his tools no doubt, those sleeves would be troublesome.. and equally as debilitating if an issue arises. What would he be hiding in there... bombs, senbon would be simple enough to hide, shuriken no doubt with possibly a kunai or two.


If he was hiding a Fuma shuriken in there, he'd be more surprised... if he could afford them in truth... but damn were those things cool. perhaps he should do that for his next lesson? Done, gather a few for next time-


Oh yes, the genin.


Quickly getting into a guarded stance kazou awaited his genin's attacks. His armor could block attacks, but.. lets see what he could catch, hopefully old age hasn't dulled his hearing because there was some smoke incoming... there's an idea, a gas mask, that could help Ayumu.


Another thing to note for later.


Ayumu wasted no time cheating in the 'taijutsu' spar. His sleeves crossed infront of him, half a dozen knives coming at varying angles at his sensei in an X, aiming high, low, and center. At the same time, his right hand smashed a smoke bomb, the last one he had. Hard to believe he'd used all three on this mission, but he could always buy more. To Ayumu, it was important to show his sensei just what he had, before he could tire himself out, or before...


"Always a trick up my sleeve, always a way forward."





A good pattern, aiming for the eyes first makes the target panic slightly, causing enough time for them to notice the second middle bunch slower, while the final low strikes would sneak in as well.


Sadly, as a trained jonin panicking was not his way, catching the knives with a singular hand he lightly tossed two of the bunch back at Ayumu, aiming for his feet. "Footing, guard your feet, they are just as important as any part of your body. unless you plan to walk on your hands for the rest of your life."


He was once again reminded of Seiji... broke his toe long ago, due to a stupid stunt, as punishment he didn't heal it with the healing palm jutsu... he came to practice in a hand stand... that was in fact the first time his students saw him laugh.


In the smoke, only a few flickers of shadows, with Kazou's voice, gave Ayumu any alert of the counter. Ayumu leaped, swinging his sleeves in front of his feet, the other knives in them acting as a guard.


However, the guard was extremely awkward block for the genin, who found himself crashing forward. He still managed to roll out of it elegantly enough, after all, grace was Ayumu's core. The smoke would cover him, but Ayumu knew sound was enough for a jonin. Gracefully and quietly, he back up, drawing two more knives in each hand. His breathing deepened from the roll.


"A clumsy guard, however you did still block them. And you used the roll afterwards to gain cover of the smoke, impressive forethought. Remember to keep that in mind, a dodge need not be only to get away from an attack, but to gain an upper hand." he explained as the smoke fully enveloped his body now.


But without another word kazou's hands moved swiftly into what almost seemed like handsigns! And then, without another word he lowered down into the smoke... Disappearing from sight.


Ayumu nearly growled, stopping himself reminding himself that giving himself away due to impatience wouldn't do. His goal was to show the full extent of skills to his sensei. The smoke and knives had probably already given away any feint of going after a taijutsu lesson. His sensei had disappeared in the smoke. Ayumu had guessed a kunai would appear around his neck any second now, whether from behind or below, and his sensei's skill was much higher than his own, it was inevitable. He did end up muttering.


"Always a trick up my sleeve, always a way forward."


His sensei knew where he was anyways. Maybe he could force his sensei to reveal his location.


His hand's pressed together, by habit under his sleeves, forming two handsigns, and pushing his yin chakra into the area around him, just through the smokescreen.


Hell Viewing Jutsu


Immediately afterwards, he threw a kunai straight behind him for good measure, his breathing becoming erratic in the smoke.


A few moments of silence prevailed over the area... not a sound could be heard save for the small clang of a kunai hitting the ground.


"Clever... And with proper fore thought, with that jutsu you would punish those who would have rushed forwards to attack you, and with that kunai you would have at least bought yourself time to run away from somebody who tried to come up behind you." he explained what he liked about this maneuver, he was a cunning thing... but he could see this quickly was becoming straining.


Standing up from the place kazou had "disappeared" from, revealed the fact he had never really left that spot in the first place. He knew Ayumu would react as such, expecting him to be already upon him.


"Remember this, the best escape is not always to leave the area, but to become one with it. A person can just as easily over think, as they can not think enough. this is truly effective when you force the person to panic or lose focus, making yourself overlooked may just be the greatest of camouflage." With a nod the smoke began to clear from the area.


"Now then, collect your tools, perhaps give them a good sharpening. Your medicine, best to take it.. smoke can be an issue just as much as a friend... And... as a doctor... do some morning jogs, push yourself occasionally. You will build your stamina through it."


And with that, the sparring was concluded.

 

[KageYuuki]

Yuuki Mifune
Ryunosuke Mizuchi
Collab with One Mean Ghost
​

Ryu sighed. He got the impression it would be pointless to argue with Yuuki on this. The boy's heart was in the right place, but what little pride Ryu had left didn't want to admit how shitty his current situation was. "We'll see . . . " He murmured, hoping that the boy would forget he had offered by the time the mission was over. He didn't want to get his hopes up. Sure, maybe Yuuki really was fine with him staying, but what of Yuuki's parents? Surely Yuuki's father would see him as a failure just like his own father had, so what was the point in getting his hopes up?


Yuuki was quiet for a moment, watching Ryu. It was rather obvious that Ryu meant no in his answer. But why? Why would he want to go back to some place that threw him into such a nasty situation? It just didn't make sense. "If that's what you want," the Gennin finally replied as he stepped past his teammate to retrieve a bottle of water. It seemed Ayumu and Kazuo were finished with whatever it was they were doing too.


Ryu watched as Yuuki walked past. There was no way Yuuki could understand. The two came from entirely different worlds. Ryu had never known a nurturing family life. From the time he could stand it was training, training, and more training until his body gave out, and constantly trying to be the best because anything less was absolutely unacceptable. No, there was no way Yuuki could understand going to sleep hungry, wondering if you'd make enough to get your next meal, or to let yourself get beaten because to raise a hand to defend yourself would cause your paycheck to be deducted . . . .


The light and happiness that had been in Ryu's eyes minutes before was once more gone, almost as if it had never been there. Once more his eyes were cold. He walked back over to his scroll, returning the water he had taken to the center cylinder before twisting the cap back on. It was clear their sparring session was over. Ryu wondered if it would be enough. They still had only limited knowledge of what they were up against.


Once more, his mind went over the possibilities. Ayumu's stamina was a major problem. He wouldn't be good in any sort of sustained combat. No, it'd be better if he could sit back and just harass their opponents from a distance. That meant he and Yuuki would have to fight head on if it came to that. Now that he had the Serpent's strike in his back pocket, he had a new advantage to utilize. At least now he wouldn't hold back the others in Taijutsu.


Well, with the lesson likely concluded the question remained: what would their next step be? Perhaps more importantly: would Kazuo remain with them this time around? While the trio on their own could make short work of just about any normal thug, it was the shinobi that was troubling. If only Yuuki had the Ryugan on his side by now. At least then he'd be able to spot any incoming threats. By his age almost every member of the Mifune clan had gained use of their Ryugan and chakra cloaks on top of that. Yet here he was, the heir to the head of the clan still so damn far behind everyone. If only that demon would at least act like it was paying attention . . .


Shaking the thought from his head, Yuuki tried to focus on figuring out how they should handle the approaching fight. Unfortunately, strategy wasn't exactly his area of expertise leaving his plan essentially the same as Ryu's. If he'd had some explosive tags or the like he would have given them to Ayumu. But all he had outside of the standard kunai and shuriken were caltrops. Those didn't really do much good in the back of the group.

 

[Hanarei]

The boy looked on, letting out a light yawn in response. It was hard to tell if it was a bit of sarcasm in his part, if he was just uninterested in what they were doing, or perhaps a bit of fatigue settling in. He rubbed his eyes looking on tapping his foot as it seemed they had come to some bit of a conclusion. He had stayed the entire time waiting for them to do so.


He looked over seeing Linn hold up a piece of paper with a smile, creating an origami crane she had done, having come back half way through their training after having delivered off the extra food Kaiden had snuckily ordered for the others.


"Nice one Linn." He spoke with encouragement seeming more entertained by her work then the shinobi.


The girl smiled a bit placing it down puffing her cheeks out a bit kicking her legs a bit, having been around for a small portion of their training session. She had shown interest early on, though it didn't take long for her to get distracted. She was often quick to get herself involved in different things.


"So... are you all ready? I really want to take care of this all... they could try and strike at any time and I'd rather stop them before they can do any harm."


Kaiden stood up looking at the group. It wasn't hard to see he was more then eager to try and get a move on it. As much as he had cursed them coming around before, he was glad they were there to help now. He had been stressing over figuring out a way to stop them, having people who could actually take care of the explosives and knew what they were doing would likely avoid any kind of danger.


@Orikanyo @One Mean Ghost @Ganryu @KageYuuki

 

[Ganryu]

Ayumu Susumu

​

Ayumu finished picking up his last knife as Kaiden spoke, and an amused look came to his face. Ayumu, with his normal awkward prance, came towards them.


"Of course we are ready, we likely were as ready as we'd get before this training. The question is, are you?"


With that, he came near their ears, and talked low.


"What exactly are you going to do when this is all over? We're probably not that much better off from a single training exercise, but sensei insisted, and he dragged you along to watch. Don't you suppose there's reasons behind that. Not like we couldn't have given you a little less view of what it's like for a ninja to train. If I'm not mistaken, you two have alot of work to do after we are finished here."


With that, Ayumu turned around muttering to himself as well.


"Hmph, I suppose he is a sensei for more than just formal lessons. He could have easily found that urchin within minutes with that bloody rabbit of his."


Shaking his head despite his prance, Ayumu rejoined Yuuki and Ryo, looking them over.


"You two look like you enjoyed yourselves. Who won?"

 

[Orikanyo]

KAZOU YAMAMOTO


Kazou gave it a thought for a moment... there was still time... perhaps....


Yes, it was time to go after these ne'erdowells, but they needed some support.


Where would he find.... tsubaki was to be doing a mission here as well, Shi-usagi could very well track her down without issue, that was for certain. producing a scroll of paper he began to write down something upon it, and then handed the scroll to his rabbit companion. "Find tsubaki, give this to her and lead them to us." kazou spoke quickly as his rabbit nodded "Aye boss, if she'd come. Yea know how she is, all that big silent scary woman type-" "Go." 'Right on it!" the rabbit responded quickly once the man began to press him.


The rabbit sped off, as the jonin turned to face the two children, his face rather grim and solemn at the moment. "We shall begin, lead us to the area. We shall split up once there... Find a safe place far from the area. Do not try to join in on the battle. i cannot guarantee your safety should you do so... Remain safe, stay far from the battle, if the battle comes to you... Do your best to hide or run... You both have done exceedingly well, Telling us about this may have saved many lives."


He congratulated the two, but the upcoming battle... was not something he was going to like...


Did he believe in his students? Yes.


Did he think they were battle ready? Against untrained lackies, yes.


Against ninja? ...Debatable...


But he must pick up the slack, his rpesence could very well save their lives...

 

[Hanarei]

The night itself was rather quiet... as quiet as it could be in Koseki given all the working components. Kaiden had lead them down a small passage trying to not be so obvious in where they were going.


The moonlight that could vaguely be seen from the city was all but gone as they ventured in the relative darkness in the under workings. Pipes and structural supports clotted their path requiring a lot of squeezing and shuffling to get around. Several of the pipes emulated heat as Kaiden was quick to usher them to be careful around them. It wasn't hard to see that the area itself at one time was meant to support a much smaller weight limit, the area providing maintenance support long since built up haphazardly to allow the structure to support more and more weight. Any sense of organization had long since be dropped to situate more space for people to fit in like sardines.


Kaiden stopped keeping some distance away. He pointed, doing the best he could though the various supports making it harder to see. "A large rusty support structure just over there by the river. It has been reported as buckling a bit though they dismissed it saying there was plenty of other supports that it wasn't something to worry about. They planted those paper things all around it with several being put in the area to make sure it topples down."


Approaching towards the river, it didn't take much effort to see the support Kaiden was talking about. A redish metal square pillar stuck up high reaching all the way up to the platform. The metal had long since rusted as its color appeared red, the rust being most prevelant on the bottom portion from past floods that would occasionally reach several feet high on the beams. The 10 feet wide support looked as if it was starting to disintegrate. The beams added to the platform had all but haphazardly been welded on or simply laying up against the old support. It wasn't hard to see how the problem had been simply ignored likely out of a cost saving measure for the city.


Several explosive tags could be seen pasted around the pillar, a few more spotted with a quick glance on the various beams extending off from it. It wasn't hard to tell that the people doing it didn't care so much to make it look fully authentic, focusing their efforts in the location of the beam but ensuring that it would collapse for sure with the various explosives going of at once. It was done to ensure the catalyst would work, ensuring the rebellion would happen quickly before any chance to investigate it could ever occur.


@Orikanyo @One Mean Ghost @Ganryu @KageYuuki

 

[KageYuuki]

Tsubaki Mifune   
​

To say leaving her trio of Gennin alone once more was difficult would be an understatement. Sure, she'd entrusted them with Perseus for the short trip to Kemuri, but that didn't ease what wariness remained. That said, this squad needed what backup they could get for this situation and her team just wasn't battle ready after what happened. Her own Gennin would be fine, it was a short trip thankfully. Should something happen for whatever reason, Perseus would be able to get a hold of her.


As soon as she arrived, the Jounin pulled Kazuo aside for a moment to fill him in on the encounter earlier that day. It was only fair he knew about it given they seemed to be working with someone knowledgeable on the Mifune. In the dark cover of night, her violet eyes glowed faintly. A frown was present on Tsubaki's face as she looked out at the structure that had been rigged with explosives. This whole affair was a mess, there was no doubting it. The fact there were unknown shinobi working with these thugs being the biggest concern for the time being. This wouldn't be an easy victory . . .Tsubaki MifuneTo say leaving her trio of Gennin alone once more was difficult would be an understatement. Sure, she'd entrusted them with Perseus for the short trip to Kemuri, but that didn't ease what wariness remained. That said, this squad needed what backup they could get for this situation and her team just wasn't battle ready after what happened. Her own Gennin would be fine, it was a short trip thankfully. Should something happen for whatever reason, Perseus would be able to get a hold of her.


As soon as she arrived, the Jounin pulled Kazuo aside for a moment to fill him in on the encounter earlier that day. It was only fair he knew about it given they seemed to be working with someone knowledgeable on the Mifune. In the dark cover of night, her violet eyes glowed faintly. A frown was present on Tsubaki's face as she looked out at the structure that had been rigged with explosives. This whole affair was a mess, there was no doubting it. The fact there were unknown shinobi working with these thugs being the biggest concern for the time being. This wouldn't be an easy victory . . .

 

[One Mean Ghost]

The state of this place was absolutely deplorable. His eyes narrowed in disgust when he saw the pitiful state of the primary support as well as the half-assed job reinforcing it. Unlike the rest of those gathered, Ryu was a construction worker as well as a Shinobi. With the Foreman drunk 90% of the time, Ryu had been forced to take it upon himself to learn building codes, learning how much stress various materials could take, signs of degradation and ways to rectify the problems. After all, he was basically single handedly rebuilding Kemuri when he wasn't training. The poor boy didn't really have anything resembling a childhood, but that put him in a unique position to have quite a bit of insight on this particular situation...


"Whoever did this either has zero knowledge about structural integrity, just plain didn't care or....." He paused his whisper for a moment as he considered something. If Shinobi were hired to do a job like this, it would make sense that one of the Shinobi involved would be a demolitions specialist, or at least smart enough to know how to rig this up and make it look like an accident. Honestly, in the state this pillar was in, five paper bombs would be plenty to take it down in the right spots. Maybe add a couple more to ensure the haphazardly added additional supports didn't somehow produce a miracle, but frankly when that center support went out, those ragtag additions would buckle and snap under the weight in about half a second. Anyone with any skill in construction or demolitions would know that. So either these rogue Shinobi were operating without a demolitions specialist or.....


"Kazou-Sensei.... Tsubaki-Sensei... I may be paranoid, but I don't think it's safe to rule out the possibility this is a trap..." He turned, his back pressing against Yuuki's, who just happened to be the closest to him so he could turn his eyes to their rear, looking for any sign of attackers as he poured some water into his hands to prepare his Serpent Strike. "If these Rogue Shinobi had any kind of demolitions specialist with them, they'd know they wouldn't need that many paper bombs to bring this thing down and make it look like an accident... Maybe I'm overthinking it.... but I got a bad feeling we've been lured here..." His voice remained low, barely over a whisper as he kept his back to Yuuki's, scanning above and to the rear for any signs that they were about to be ambushed.


He really hoped his feeling was wrong...


@Ganryu @Orikanyo @Hanarei @KageYuuki

 

[KageYuuki]

Tsubaki Mifune
​

Yuuki Mifune
​

Tsubaki's eyes narrowed as Ryunosuke spoke up. She was an assassinations specialist, demolition and structural sabotage was far from her area of knowledge. So whether the Gennin was right on the matter or not, she couldn't say. Though she did pause for a moment as he went back to back with Yuuki to studying their surroundings. For a Mizuchi to defend the back of a Mifune - the clan heir no less - how unusual . . . She gave a low hum in thought for a moment, "It's always wise to be cautious, Ryunosuke-Kun." She replied before looking back ahead. The Jounin's sleeve rustled for a moment before a pale green snake peeked out. It remained still for a moment before moving to rest comfortably on Tsubaki's shoulders.


"You called?" He spoke in a low voice before brushing against her face.


"I need you to scout ahead," Tsubaki whispered, motioning towards the rigged structure. "We need to know just what's going on over there. Something feels off about this."


The snake was silent for a moment, "This wouldn't be you getting even for the other day, would it?"


Tsubaki only narrowed her eyes into a harsh glare.


"Right . . . on it then." The summon stretched to get onto a high up support. It would be a few minutes before he was somewhere high enough to glide down to the structure.


Yuuki unconsciously tensed the moment Ryu pressed against him. He reached down and unlocked his blade from its sheath, not drawing the weapon just yet. Eyes rapidly scanned their dark surroundings in search for any signs of damage. The Ryugan could really come in handy about now . . . All he could do for the time being was stay alert and pray Ryu's suspicions were wrong.


Yes, glide. Flying snakes are a thing.

 

[Ganryu]

Ayumu Susumu

​

The entire time to their destination, Ayumu's eyes and focus were entirely on Tsubaki. He seemed like he was sizing her up, trying to make up his mind about her. A jonin of that level.... with a dress level far below Kazou-sensei's. Sure, her face was naturally pretty, the eyes and hair playing well off of eachother, but the garb. It was definitely to get the job done, no pizzazz. Fashion or beauty, whose side was he on?


Ayumu still was confused by his fashion OCD as Ryu made his comment. That was the first time his eyes left Tsubaki to look around. He wasn't very impressed. No wonder the street urchin had found it. Couldn't the ninja be a little smarter than to put bombs everywhere under a bridge? In Koseki, there were many homeless, it was very likely many had been under that bridge. If there was an obvious trap, one of them would have triggered it. If there was another kind of trap, it'd probably be on the bombs. Either way, Ayumu shrugged his hands, and continued forward, looking like he didn't have a care in the world. It was not likely he'd had a thought the Jonin hadn't had already.


"My, my, that'd be troublesome, considering we have two non ninja, two genin whose footsteps I've never not noticed, and an extravagantly dressed dandy; stealth is snot on our side. If I were a loathsome traitor, and I had no life, I'd definitely change my plans to detonate whenever some scapegoats with headbands walked by. Then again, I would not be bothered to monitor the explosives, I'd just rig them..


Oh well. Whatever sensei's orders are."

 

[Orikanyo]

Kazou yamamoto

​

"Wise world Ryonosuke. We must indeed be careful in this matter... They are unlikely to be expecting anybody to have known about this plan. But it never hurts to be cautious... That goes for both the enemy and us as well... We can only hope we are more cautious then they." he took a moment to think on the situation.


Place was a ticking time bomb aside from the bombs currently sitting atop of it, they had to get those bombs away, thats for certain. A smart shinobi would have made it trigger when removed as well, Or maybe they are attached to a trip wire line? Or perhaps simply they were there to be set off from a later date and simply removing them right now could very well put their plan into disarray...


If only it were so easy.


"If we were to gather the explosives we could trigger them harmlessly, I can use a water jutsu to keep them contained for use to explode them without issue. The water will dampen the power of the explosion and provide a safe enough area for us to dispose of them. So that might be one way should we need to... it is unlikely we are dealing with a truly high ranked ninja... Such haphazardly placed explosives....Or atleast one who assumed it would be an easy job..."


Kazou took a moment to think before looking to his three students. "If this comes down to a battle, remember our first mission is to get those explosives off the surrounding area, specifically that large support. We must remain hidden.. since the enemy might be watching... if you spot an enemy, do not engage unless you are compromised, ensure a quick and silent takedown. Surprise is on our side as long as we don't make it an enemy, got it? Now... Tsubaki is currently scouting ahead, she shall give us the information we need...."


"Once we figure out all the placements of the explosives, we shall begin extracting them."

 

[KageYuuki]

Tsubaki Mifune  
​

After Kazuo had finished speaking, a thick silence seemed to hang in the air. Tsubaki had chosen to ignore Ayumu for the time being, he wasn't her student after all. It wouldn't be proper for her to correct him, even if he was being a little smart ass at the moment . . . Kazuo could handle the trio of Gennin, she was there to lend support in the inevitable battle. After a few long minutes of listening to the hisses, groans, and creaks that seemed to reverberate throughout the entirely of Koseki, a familiar weight draped itself across Tsubaki's shoulders. She didn't even look back, instead keeping her keen eyes on the lookout for danger. "What did you find?"


"Tags," The snake murmured, "Lots of them, high quality too."


Tsubaki couldn't help but frown, higher quality tags would certainly be harder to deal with. They were expensive too, not the kind some random thugs or revolutionaries could come across. "Looks like we might just be up against a demolitions specialist or specialists, not many would have use for a high grade tag . . ." Though there was also the possibility of a shinobi that just had a thing for explosives. Or both, really . . .

 

[Hanarei]

As the shinobi looked around carefully, one of the tags just out of sight shifted, a purple eye glancing around vaguely where they were, observing briefly. The tag shifted. It remained briefly before shifting back to the symbol of an explosive tag.

Elsewhere in the City



​

The dim light filled the room as several people sat in general darkness, their features hard to distinguish tucked away below the city. Mostly it was small talk shared between the individuals caked with discussions about revolution. The sound of others could be heard through the door being much less A small paper began to glow faintly just through the door being far less discrete in their conversations cheering and starting to drink. The one man sat quietly as the others talked, his eyes shifting down. He lifted his arm up, slipping a thin piece of paper up as it glowed. The paper itself

"It seems your plan was discovered. Shinobi, three of trivial worry although two more dangerous threats. Amusing... three Daemons I can feel as well..." The feminine voice spoke up from the paper, the last line appearing to be much more directed to themselves spoke more in passing.


The man in the shadows stood up, looking to the others. His voice was a bit more gruff. "It seems our plans are pushed up a day ahead. No matter, I planned in case things might need to be done sooner. Get out on the streets ready to start things up. things will be over quick enough to worry about any issues the shinobi might cause us. You two know what to do." His voice was directed forward towards two of the shadows, a smaller looking somewhat feminine shape and a rather large almost inhuman shaped figure. The two quickly moved out ushering several men to follow them as the others quickly headed out leaving only the leader and two others with him.


"I'll delay them a little for you... just don't expect anything more from me. It might be a fun enough break from such monotony. Your people better hurry over though, I don't care enough to stay for to long... maybe just for a kill or two." The voice cut out as the voice faded away.

Back to You Lovely Chaps



​

As the uneasy at the situation struck the shinobi, it was then that suddenly a strange breeze slipped through the air. One explosive note after another suddenly flew off from the spot they were on, a few left behind as the paper quickly flew around coming together at one single point. The paper swirled around before the several pieces floated off, falling in various places around. A cloaked figure stood before them, a white face visible appearing almost to be a mask with a pointed chin, nothing else showing of it.

The cloaked figure stood quietly not far from the pillar. Its head turned as if looking around before glancing forward. It felt lifeless just keeping its concentration forward not bothering to looking towards any of the shinobi in particular.


"What do we have here? Some guests to entertain? I'm afraid I don't really have much prepared... shame... so much potential for a ritual... oh well. Either way, I'm afraid I can't allow you to stop the fireworks. You are welcome to try if you wish." The voice of the woman came out clearly despite the look of the mask having no openings to speak from them. The figure seemed to move a bit, as if stretching itself out.


@KageYuuki @One Mean Ghost @Orikanyo @Ganryu

 

[Ganryu]

Squad A Domination: Securing Checkpoint A 
​

 
​

@Hanarei @KageYuuki @One Mean Ghost
​

 
​

---------------------------
​

 


Ayumu trademark smirk was still on his face. If it was just the genin, he 'probably' wouldn't have been so cockey, but there were 2 jonin, this would take 5 seconds unless this guy was some sort of kage class opponent. 


 


"Aw, a party just for us?"


 


Even though he was outclassed, and unlikely to help any, Ayumu saw this as a good chance to impress sensei. The more sensei was impressed, the faster he could become a chunnin, and the faster his parents could quit coddling him.


 


With a series of handsigns, clone after clone appeared in the area.


 


Haze Clone


 


They were nothing but phantoms, but that hardly mattered.


 


"Always a trick up my sleeve, always a way forward"


 


With that, Ayumu's clones spread forward, advancing at a waltz pace towards the mystery woman. Ayumu himself was at the back, where it was 'safe'. 


 


-------------------------


 


The Ryugan's sharp sight caught the faint movement in the tags before they pulled themselves free and revealed their new opponent. Someone who uses paper in their techniques . . . interesting. Tsubaki couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow in Ayumu's direction with his little remark. She studied his clones for a moment as they scattered, he wouldn't have the ability to make solid clones just yet.


 


But that didn't matter at the moment.


 


She looked over to Kazuo, merely giving a short nod before forming the tiger sign and disappearing from view. While well rounded shinobi, most Jounin still had one or two areas that they specialized in. Tsubaki's being assassination techniques.


 


From the moment she vanished from view her chakra seemed to disappear as well. The Jounin careful to suppress its flow so only very sensory ninja would be able to pick up on her location. Tied in with skills in stealth and the art of silent killing . . . 


 


You were going to be hard pressed to track her down.


 


---------------------------


 


It seemed his caution was justified with the appearance of this strange person. The explosive tags swirled around them before falling away with seemingly no order whatsoever. Many may have overlooked it, but Ryu didn't fail to notice that the battlefield was now much more like a minefield. 


 


He moved off of Yuuki's back, releasing all the water stored in his scroll before making the same one-handed handsigns with each hand. Water shot up from around him in jets, seeming to just fire in random directions to land anywhere, but there was most definitely a method to his madness. He was deliberately making his water jets land around the scattered explosive tags, using subsequent launches to lift the explosive tags off of their spot and gathering them within the various jets.


 


He was clearing a path for Ayumu's clones. Of course, he didn't fail to notice Tsubaki had disappeared as well. He didn't have the faintest clue where she was, so he had to be careful to ensure every time he fired a jet he took an angle that was least likely to accidentally hit her. 


 


Squad A, thus far, had made it a point to adapt quite well flying by the seat of their pants. Despite their occasional headbutting, they seemed to work off of each other exceptionally well. 


 


For now, Ryu was leaving the strange newcommer to Tsubaki-Sensei. He was doing his part by cleaning the tags off the battlefield so they could fight a little more freely. Of course, there was more to Ryu's plan than just clearing the tags off the battlefield. He just needed time.


 



---------------------------




 


  "...So we've been spotted it seems, though it is almost like it was planned as such from the begining, what sore luck... Or ill turn of godly forces." the jonin sighed slightly as he moved forwards into the open. "Well then, it seems we are not alone then." Kazou took steps forwards, easily stepping past and over tag after tag. He was reminded long ago of the rigorous footwork drills he was put through with his master....


 


Step with precision or get stabbed by caltrops...


 


He was going to be a tough teacher, but not cruel like her...


 


Though it did teach him valuable lessons on how to avoid footfalls and traps.


 


And how to remove caltrops from your foot.


 


"So then... traps all around... no doubt waiting to be triggered by you, or stepped upon. You have come out of hiding so you are quite confident of your potential... Or this is a large scale trap. the very fact you haven't jhust blown this place to hell makes me curious...." the man spoke to the woman, his eye brow raising as his eyes gazed around, and then up and down the woman....


 


A cloak hiding... more tags possibly... perhaps it was not a woman at all... but...


 


A puppet? 


 


He knows only limited summon jutsus that posess a humanoid form... It is possible the true target is elsewhere as this is a decoy... Best he be warry.. and wait for the enemy to strike. 


 


His stance widened a bit, hands swiftly going into a rabbit seal before he got ready.... Whatever she will throw at him or the others... he shall intercept. 


 


"Ladies first." Kazou smiled warmly, ever the gentleman. 



 


---------------------------




 


The cloaked figure watched as the shinobi began to act. The figure kept still not seeming to bother to look around or even to observe. Her arms remained to her sides keeping oddly silent and still. The young genin in particular seemed to not interest her much at all, an annoyance at best... if she wasn't there more for some entertainment. She saw the clones of the one as the other seemed to be focusing primarily on splashing at her tags, seeming to shift her head briefly.


 


She watched as the one Jounin suddenly vanished, remaining in place. "Oh... assassination techniques... quite a dull way of fighting, using stealth." She commented giving a light shrug in response. A brief moment of silence filling the woman as she allowed the other to speak up. 


 


"Traps? I guess you could call it that.. yes... I could blow all these tags up if I really wanted although that is quite boring. i suppose it doesn't help with what they want either... but I couldn't care much about it... after all it could easily be blamed upon Kemuri being hired for the job." She spoke with a light chuckle in her voice.  


 


As she spoke,  a tag tucked away ontop of a beam suddenly shifted falling forward. It slowly floated towards Ryu, almost unnatural in its movements mimicking the aspect of floating. A purple eye formed replacing the text before shifting suddenly into another symbol, alien in its meaning as it suddenly sped up moving at a swift speed as if it was some thrown object rather then paper.


 


"I just want a little fun... and what a better way then playing with with you lovely 8 lovelies..." A light giggling escaped in response, rather creepy in its tone and dimented. It was at that moment the tag falling towards Ryu glowed a hue of purple before an eerie black mist enveloped the area 6 feet around it in each direction. The very touch of it paralyzing and filling the victim's head with a wave of hushed whispers spoken in some unknown tongue filling them with fear. 


 



---------------------------


 




Ayumu glanced back briefly to see the mist eveloping Ryu. Suddenly,he had a wide, crazed smile on their faces. It almost seemed Ayumu broke that day. Enemy or not, Ayumu ran into very few genjutsu specialists. Ayumu ran straight past Kazou at the woman, who Kazou had let go first. Ayumu was stealing that initiative.


 


"Genjutsu...This is wonderful! Let's see whose illusion is better! You did say you wanted to play, correct? I propose this as a game: which clone is the real me, and which is just a shade!?"


 


With that, several different Ayumus jumped straight at the woman, trying to blitz her. They had knives at the ready, and melee'd at various parts of the body, cutting at the neck, chest, back, legs, and head. 


 


Meanwhile, the real Ayumu stayed back, making sure a phantasm was infront of him at all times, before chucking several throwing knives at the woman on the other side of his illusion, aiming 6 throwing knives at her chest through his clones, half of them hidden with Shadow Shuriken Jutsu. They would make a nice diversion.


 


Ayumu knew he was way outclassed, but sensei was near, and the words of his nindo echoed in his head. If he couldn't at least hold a level head in a combat situation this intense, he had no right to call himself a ninja. Ayumu wasn't some sickly child to be coddled; he was a ninja. He would fight on his own two feet. He wouldn't pass off what was rightfully his part.


 


( @Hanarei - So it turns out I'm a wizard.)

 

[KageYuuki]

Yuuki Mifune
​

Yuuki silently listened to his sister's observations, watching as their mystery opponent appeared out of thin air in front of them. He may not have been a shinobi for very long, but that didn't make her any less strange. But he couldn't let himself be distracted by her unusual demeanor. If there was one, there was bound to be a few more goons hiding around. He kept his senses alert, watching for any sign of danger as Ryu moved in front of him to start cleaning up the tags and clear the path for Tsubaki and Kazuo.


That's when he saw it; the strange tag racing towards his teammate. What?  He didn't have time to think about it, he just reacted to the situation. Hooking his arms around Ryu, he formed a hand sign both of them vanishing in the blink of an eye. Body Flicker Technique. Retreating up and further back in the structure, he managed to pull his teammate out of the way from . . . whatever that was. "Sorry," He muttered, watching the area around them. "I guess I should have said something before grabbing you." Yuuki looked back down where the tag had been. "No idea what that was . . . some kind of genjutsu?"


@One Mean Ghost@Orikanyo@Ganryu@Hanarei