Missing Merchant (Mission)

Mission: Missing Merchant

Shiru raced raced like a maniac across nearby roof tops and towards the village gates. He readjusted his Hoshi headband as he went and tried to ignore the sweat that was starting to pool down his forehead. His white jacket trailed behind him as he went, creating an odd streak of red and white as he moved. He breathed heavily as he pushed himself to go as fast as he could. From the moment he received his orders a few minutes ago he against the clock and was rushing to try and save a life before the trail went cold. He would have liked to change into something a little more stealthy before leaving for this mission but his house was too far and there was simply no time. It didn't matter anyway, having fiery bright red hair and eyes made hiding anywhere extremely difficult.

[i][/b]The scroll said that the merchant went missing about an hour ago. If I hurry up I might be able to catch them before they get too far away from the village! I don't know who this Mizaki Hyuuga is but I hope they don't slow me down. They better meet me at the gate like the scroll said. We don't have a single moment to waste if we want to catch whoever did this! I cant affor to fail this mission[/b]

Shiru hadn’t had the pleasure of working in a team since his time in the academy. All the missions he had done so far were solo jobs. He couldn't explain why but he was incredibly nervous. He didn't know what he should expect. The fact that it was a B rank mission probably added to his nerves. This one was serious. There was a good chance they would have to do some real fighting. Shiru hadn't seen combat in a mission yet. Hopefully he didn't choke in the heat of the moment. He would never be able to live with himself.

He arrived at the gates and landed on the cobblestone in front of them with a dull thud. He looked around anxiously to find his partner for this mission.

Hello? Is anybody here yet?

Life Stack:1
WC: 362

The sun had barely crested the horizon when there was word of a rather urgent situation brewing within the village of Hoshigakure. She had already been awake, sitting at her dining room table sipping a small cup of tea when the knock was heard on the door. When she answers it, she only hears the faint passing of the wind. Activating her Byakugan, she can see that a man is rushing over the top of her roof, seeming to be heading toward the village gate. He had likely seen the man in passing in the years of their academy life, but she didn't have any memories that directly regarded him.

At the same time as she was looking at the man rushing through the village, she had read the scroll to herself. "Ah. I see." She turned around, understanding the situation that they were in, and grabbed her fighting gear as it usually resided just beside the door. With a swift and elegant motion, she tied her hair up into a ponytail, keeping it out of her face, and once when the pouch was secured onto her side, she was out the door, up the wall, onto the roof, and on her way toward the gates with the man she now knew went by the name of Shiru.

Rooftop to rooftop she leaped and bounded, getting ever closer to the village gate. She could see the man just dropping down to the village gate, as she was only a few moments behind him. Upon her collision with the ground, she made herself known to Shiru with a quick and stern tone, "I see you and I shall be working on this together. I assure you that I won't slow you down, provided you don't slow me down in return I feel that you and I can make quick work of this situation together. I say we can talk whilst we run to catch up to the merchant's whereabouts. I assume you have already read the information that was given from the sweeping of the merchant's home? If so, then you shall understand that it's in ruins and we are to find where the merchant had gone."

She paused for a moment and the veins surrounding her pale, white eyes bulged as her Byakugan would activate. She continued speaking as she scanned the surrounding area. After a few moments, she spoke once more, "I have a trail that looks like an individual is being drug out of the village's surrounding area. They are only half a mile out of the village's gates, being brought into a small ravine that you and I should easily be able to make the distance in rather quick fashion. So if you're ready, then I believe we shall make haste and move out immediately."

She wouldn't wait for the man to respond before she sprinted out of the village gates and sped towards the location of the ravine, constantly scanning the surrounding areas to be sure that they weren't going to be attacked as they closed in on the destination. Occasionally she switched between her extended range, and 360 vision, constantly keeping the surrounding area under her surveillance as they continued their trek.

When they got to the ravine, she checked the surrounding area once more, honing in on the area 100 meters away from them. It took her only a few moments before she was able to see the opening on the side of the ravine. Fresh dirt had just been recently moved, "A new hole in the side of the ravine? Interesting. I believe we may just have the area that we are supposed to be going to, but I advise caution. Those within may just have our presence known already, so it may end up becoming a fight within the ground. Standby."

Scanning the areas once again, she extended her range, going deeper into the side of the ravine with her enhanced vision. She was able to see a small gathering of people in a rather cramped hobble within the earth. Three men standing, one woman sitting on a root that had been turned into a makeshift bench. But within their gathering there was the merchant, sitting there looking rather beaten up, his back being covered in burns from being drug against the ground below. The four didn't look to be all that alert, they seemed to be talking amongst themselves. The light wasn't good enough for her to make out what they were saying with their mouths, so she had to assume the worst.

"I have found the merchant, they are in fact within the hole. There is a group of four bandits, one female, three male, that are surrounding a fire with the merchant beside them. I cannot make out what they are saying, but I can in fact confirm that the merchant within is injured and will have a hard time getting back through the wilds easily, so covert may be out of the question. I think our best bet is to lure them out, try to take one out before they realize we are here. Then a frontal assault, swift and clean to ensure the safety of the merchant, what say you, Shiru?" It would be one of the times when she would cease speaking and analyzing the situation since their meeting, as she wanted to understand her teammate's point of view on the situation before jumping straight into the situation.

WC: 915
TWC: 915
AP Usage: Byakugan -5 AP

It only took a minute before he was joined by a young woman. He had no doubt that this was who he had been assigned to help him with this mission. She gave off the first impression of being very capable. It was hard to guess her age but she looked to be a couple years his senior. They were practically the same size though Shiru thought he maybe had her by an inch and a couple pounds. She had long flowing black hair but it was her white piercing eyes that really caught his attention.

Yah i read the report. I started following the…..

Shiru stopped mid sentence as veins began to bulge around Mizaki’s eyes. Despite his best efforts his face couldn't hold back the surprised look on his face. Her stern face grew even more serious as she continued speaking with great focus.  She described in vivid detail about how there was a trail that looked to have been created by a body that had been drug. They were supposedly up by the ravine not too far away from the village gates. When she suggested they make haste he sluggishly agreed.

Rr..right…let's go!

If she heard his beleaguered response she didn't say anything. As soon as she was done talking she began spedding off towards the ravine. Shiru took off after her.He had to really put in some effort to not get left behind.

Who is this chick? How could she know all that? She picked up on the trail and their location so fast. Is she using some kind of advanced sensory technique? No it has got to be her eyes. That is why they look so different! Did she really see them from a half mile out? Just how well can she actually see? That is a scary ability!

When they stopped by the ravine Shiru continued to listen in amazement at how well she dissected their whereabouts. His eyes could barely make out the opening she was referring to. If she hadn't pointed the location out he probably would have missed it all together. What she was describing was clearly happening on the inside out of sight from normal people.

Can she through solid objects?

He struggled listening to her plan because his mind was racing from the thousand different questions he wanted to ask her. He literally had to shake them out of his head to regain focus on what was important. Luring them out was a good idea. That was a plan he could work with.

Once we get the merchant to safety I can heal him and we can take him home. I will lure them all out and distract them so you can sneak in to save the merchant and get them to safety. Your a lot faster than I am so I think your odds of accomplishing this are a lot better. If any stay in the hole then they will be your responsibility to deal with. If you happen to get a shot at the female id appreciate it if you took her out also. I would rather not hit a girl!

Shiru thought about it for a second and quickly realized Mizaki was a girl and may get offended. He started waving his arms around awkwardly as he sputtered about trying to backtrack on what he said.

[color:2712=orange[Well…Ugh…You see…What i meant was i don't want to hit an untrained girl who has no chance of winning. Wait!... I mean a girl who can't hit me back because she is weak, Or only a girl whose punches are not weak?  Wait, is that any better? Oh well you know what I mean. Just nevermind. Forget I said anything. Let’s go save the merchant.[/color]

Shiru embarrassingly scurried away. He made his way to the entrance of the ravine without looking back. He had no master plan to get them to come out. Maybe he should have thought about this a little more before just jumping in. It was too late for that. When in doubt the best approach is honesty. He took a mighty exhale and cupped his hands like a horn and put them in front of his mouth.

HEY BANDITS! MY NAME IS SHIRU IYASU. I'M THE 14 YEAR OLD KID THAT IS GOING TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU. COME OUT OF THAT STUPID HIDEOUT AND I'LL PROVE IT TO YOU BASTARDS!

The volume Shiru produced was respectable. Birds flew scared from their trees and  animals raced for their own special hideouts. it reverberated repeatedly across the rocks and hollows in all directions like a siren. It didn't take long for the bandits to start coming out of their hideouts like insects from their nest. Shiru counted three of them but it was hard to tell. The biggest of them came out first and obscured the other two.

You got some nerve kid! Is it just you? This is some kind of joke right?

The biggest bandit waited to see if reinforcements were coming. When he realized Shiru truly intended to fight them all by himself he snickered to himself and punched his fist with excitement. The big oaf charged Shiru like a bull in a china shop. Shiru planted his feet in the ground but never raised his hands to defend himself. The bandit threw a powerful haymaker that swept Shiru off his feet and sent him flying back sliding across the ground.

Shiru laid on the ground for a second and started laughing in a booming almost crazed laugh. He pushed himself to his feet effortlessly and wiped the dirt off his clothes and out of his burning red hair. He let his confident ruby eyes burn into the bandits' own and let a wave of fear and panic wash over him. A single bead of blood rolled down his lip from where the bandit struck him. He wiped the blood from his mouth with a ruby chakra covered thumb and healed it simultaneously while he spoke.

Is that it?

He knew as soon as he spoke the words all three of the bandits outside would charge him and move further from the entrance. This would hopefully give Mizaki an oppurtunity to get inside and save the merchant!

WC:1050 TWC:1412

Shiru began to stammer, bringing himself a hole and digging deeper. She continued to look at the boy stammer, allowing him to reach his ultimate point. He interrupted himself and ended up agreeing with her plan for the most part, she nodded when he hoisted himself from the ground, getting to his feet and moved towards the ravine. She followed him deeper into the ravine, nearing the entrance that she had found in the side of the earth, but when they got within normal eyesight to the entrance, he moved forward and began to holler to those residing within the earth.

When he spoke, she couldn't help herself but to laugh at the level of confidence that he had. But she contained herself and made sure not to give her position away. She was proud of what the boy could achieve with such little words, bringing out the majority of the bandits. She scanned the interior of the small hovel, noticing that the woman was left in the hole alongside the merchant. She shrugged and figured that that was what the boy Shiru was hoping for.

When she looked towards him again, he was on the ground, just being laid out by the bandit and his powerful attack. A little confused by such a show, she progressed towards the hole and entered behind the others and snuck into the burrow by the ravine. By this time, the bandits had begun attacking the young Shiru and their fight would commence. That left the woman inside the burrow for Mizaki to deal with, a fact that made her smile. With a swift movement, before she even had the chance to say anything or bring a noise out of her body, there was a solid thrust of an open hand to the woman's throat, nullifying her ability to speak.

The woman coughed once, trying to catch her breath, but it was no use as there would be yet another attack on her throat, causing some permanent damage to her neck. She gracefully turned and planted a solid heel strike to the back of the woman's head, knocking her unconscious. Looking over to the merchant, she bowed towards him and smiled lightly. "We are here to get you back to the village, then we shall get your statements on just what happened and what brought these people to attack you and take you hostage. But for now, just hang tight. I am going to aid my friend outside and then we shall get you out of here and back to the village."

She sprinted out of the hole and noticed that Shiru was doing well to manage the fight himself, one of the bandits on the floor, the big bandit still standing and throwing strikes his way. She wasn't sure if Shiru knew what he was doing and was just playing with the bandits, or if he was truly in trouble. Not wanting to be the one to guess incorrectly, she assumed that he was in trouble and decided to make a few decisive blows onto the smaller two bandits, informing him to take on the big guy himself, as a means to even the odds, and because she wanted to see if he could handle the big guy himself.

She swept the legs of both the men before her, with a fierce heel strike to the head of one, rendering him unconscious as well. The other had rolled out of the way from the follow-up to the leg sweep before she was able to finish the job, so a proper fight would be heading towards her. The bandit leaped to his feet and approached Mizaki with a swift ferocity in each step. His aggression would be met with a graceful stance, not allowing her anger to supersede her combat ability.

The bandit drew a knife and swung it at her in a wild horizontal motion, a motion that was far too easy to counter. She leaned her torso backwards, getting just out of reach of the knife, only to deliver a stomp to the man's knee, causing it to bend in the opposite direction. He cried out in pain, and this is when she decided to swipe the knife from his hands, throwing it far to the side, out of reach of any of the combatants in this fight of theirs. The man fell to one knee, leaving him open to a push kick directly to the throat, knocking him backwards. She mounted on top of the man, and began to place harsh elbows directly to the sides of the man's face, blackening his skin and bloodying his face. His body went limp, and Mizaki performed one more elbow before finally rising back to her feet.

She saw that Shiru was able to handle the big bandit on his own, and she nodded to him with respect. "Good work. Now the merchant is inside. We should get him healed up and back to the village so we can debrief everything we have noticed. The higher-ups of the village can decide if they want to send out a group to this area to collect the bandits. For now, I say we leave them where they lie. The woman will likely have a long road to recovery within the hole, the first bandit I attacked should be ultimately fine. But this bandit, he may have suffered some brain injuries from the blunt force trauma. But that serves them right I suppose. You ready?"

Without much thought she returned to the hole, grabbing the merchant and presenting him to Shiru. When Shiru was done healing him, they would be off. Helping the merchant back to the village, guiding his path. She was sure to continue to scan the horizons with her Byakugan, making sure that they weren't followed, and being sure that the bandit that she didn't leave immobile didn't try to follow them for revenge. Luckily for them, the bandits largely stayed where they were left, the one that she had injured didn't move much, making her believe that she may have killed him. She shrugged the thought off, understanding that that was what was required in the situation and there wasn't much she could do about it now.

When they returned to the village, Mizaki asked the merchant if he needed any help getting back to his things and help getting to the hospital, to which he said no. The healing that had been done was sufficient, according to the merchant, and she agreed. The merchant had left and Mizaki decided it would be a good idea to report their findings to the authorities within the village. She asked if Shiru would like to go as well, or if he would like for her to go by herself and report for the both of them. Depending on his answer, she would depart with or without him, so they could call this mission completed. She spoke to the boy, telling him that she was proud of the work that he had done. She commended him for his actions and told him that there was certainly a bright path forward for the young shinobi.

WC: 1200
TWC: 2115
EXIT

Claims:
Completion of a B rank mission
+6000 Ryo
+30 AP

WC Claims:
+21 Speed (Bringing it to 71)
+2115 towards Leaf Rising Wind (2115/2500)

Mizaki was quick in sneaking into the hideout and dispatching her opponents. Shiru wasn't early as efficient. He probably could have secured all of them from the start with his clan's chakra chains from the beginning of he wanted to. It would have been the most effective strategy to literally wrap this situation up quickly. He enjoyed the challenge of a fair fight too much to pass up on the opportunity that was in front of him, and the risk involved was very minimal. He took his time fending off the three shinobi with just hand to hand combat. He ducked and weaved in and out of blows while occasionally landing a shot or two of his own on whoever was unfortunate enough to provide Shiru an opening.

He took so long in dealing with his portion of the problem that Mizaki had returned before he took out any of his own bandits. Her tenacity and accuracy of her strikes scared him a little bit.  The way she moved was clearly honed to perfection over many years. Shiru almost laughed when he compared it to his own unpolished and very self taught fighting style. The grace at which she moved was already at a level he would never reach even with a lifetime of training. He felt intimidated by her taijutsu and grateful she was on his side all at the same time.

With a new surge of motivation Shiru focused on the big bandit to bring about a swift resolution. With a couple well placed blows followed by a spinning roundhouse kick he sent the bandit flying backwards causing him to land hard on his back out cold. Shiru wasn't talented at Taijutsu but he was still a trained shinobi. Fighters of this guy's level were a breeze even for a novice like himself.

You were amazing! Remind me not to get on your bad side! I  Did you have to hurt them that bad though?Either way i will take care of the bandits so the cleanup squad can bring them in. Give me a couple minutes to take care of some business and then we can be on our way.

Shiru made his way into the hideout. His heart dropped when he saw the condition of the woman's throat. He didn't know why he felt so bad for her but he just did. He looked over at the merchant and was relieved to see that his condition was far from critical.

Give me just a minute and ill get you all healed up ok. I will take you home after that. Just don't try to move around

Shiru tried to put on a big fake smile but the condition the woman was in troubled him. He wasn't sure how successful his act was. He picked the woman up and gently placed her over his shoulder. He then grabbed the other bandit by the arm and hauled them both outside. Once outside he let go over the bandits arm and walked towards the closest tree. He set the woman against it gently while making a couple of hand seals and molding his chakra.  

Five thick metal chains burst from his palm and each wrapped up one of the nearby bandits. It coiled around them from the shoulders down to the ankles essentially binding them in place. He then retracted the chains fiercely so that it pulled all the bandits together into a singular location at his feet. He tied his end of the chains around the tree so that none of them could go anywhere anytime soon.

He made a few more seals and his hands started to glow with a brilliant ruby chakra that matched the color of his hair and eyes. Shiru placed his hands on the woman's throat and sent healing chakra into her body. After a moment she roared to life with a gasp. She took one deep breath and couhed up a pocket full of blood before passing back out. He worked on her for another minute before deciding he could do no more at the moment. It wasn't perfect but Shiru felt confident she wouldn't have any lingering issues or permanent damage from the ordeal.

He then walked around the tree and slowly healed all the bandits one by one. Once he was convinced everyone would be ok he went back to the merchant and began to do the same for him. His injuries took a little longer than he had first thought they would. By the time he was done he was  breathing hard from the exertion and beads of sweat had started to form on his forehead. Iryojutsu was exhausting but it was the chains that really did him in. He was still getting used to his Uzumaki clan abilities and the high cost associated with them. Even his insane amount of chakra and stamina wasn't enough to fully negate the toll.

[color=orange]The merchant and all the bandits should be ok. I don't think the woman will have any permanent damage. Only time will tell though. Let's hurry and get him home![color]

[EXIT]
WC: 845  TWC: 2257

Claims: