[Suzuki Taru]

It had been a little while since Taru had been on the open water. Her last mission by sea had been battling pirates. This time would be a little different. The goal of today was to pose as one, playing the part of a criminal bothering the O'uzu Islands in order to remind them why they were allied with Kirigakure. She did her best to dress up for the part, actually picking the twigs out of her hair and taking her time to brush it down flat against her head, pulling it back into a ponytail. She didn't wear the nice outfit Enyo had bought for her and instead opted for one of her usual ratty outfits, though some additional costume flair to make her look like a swashbuckler was added.

When the time came she'd probably use a henge, just to further prevent any possibility of her being recognized. For now, she was content to stand on the deck of the dingy pirate ship and stare out at the water.

Toru was with her today! Always a treat. She enjoyed going on missions with him. He was quiet and pragmatic, good at getting the job done but also good at challenging her. This was a risky mission, she knew. Messing it up could have dire consequences. So she knew, silently, that this meant that Toru had a lot of faith in her.

As she watched the horizon, she turned to look at her companion and asked, voice low as if it might carry on the water,

"So, is this one of our old ships made up to look like a pirate's, or did we claim a pirate ship?" Either would be a pretty practical idea. Though she wondered how many decommissioned old ships were broken down for parts instead of kept on the off-chance they'd be needed for a mission.

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Suzuki Taru

Toru had done a bit of dressing up, but also dressing down. For one, he had left almost all of his unique swords at home, leaving him with only one B-Rank blade that performed Suiton techniques. A plausible thing in and around these waters. His yukata's and traditional wear was also discarded for more basic trousers and a fairly ragged top that was open at the chest and revealed his bandaged torso. Beyond that, he was also going barefoot - something he had not done in several years now, but felt as a welcome respite from the restrictions of footwear. It was strange to stand on the wooden deck now, feeling the world as it should be. As it had been.

He approached Taru from behind, moving to watch the horizon with her.

"Claimed pirate ship." He answered plainly. There were a few pirates here and there, but the Kirigakure navy had been doing a splendid job putting them down and even taking some for the nation itself. Toru had some refurbished, others would be used for occasions such as these, a believable disguise even on a more magnificent scale. Even if pirate ships were pitiful and dinky.

Soon enough they set sail, and Toru leaned forward against the bow where Taru stood, his entire weight on the thick semi-smoothed wooden structure.

"Nervous?"

It was a higher rank mission, so Toru could only wonder how Taru felt about it.

OWL

[Suzuki Taru]

Toru inquired if she was nervous. Taru looked at him, tilting her head a bit like a curious bird as she turned that one over in her head. She wasn't really nervous. She had something like pre-battle jitters, the kind of budding adrenaline that came with the thought of impending violence. It wasn't like she was scared to fight, especially not in a mission like this where the battle was only as real as they made it seem, but it was a sort of preparatory energy. Her muscles coming alive, her blood flowing just that little bit faster.

"I'm not nervous. If you brought me here it must be because you think I'm ready for the job. Being nervous would just make me do worse, I think," she answered. She was the kind to go with the flow, and fear only gripped her in truly dire moments. Unless things went really wrong, she would remain calm and assured of herself.

Grabbing a rope, she hoisted herself up to stand on the taffrail. She watched the water and felt the ocean wind. She tried to perform the mental arithmetic on the wind, imagine how she would aim her bow against it if she were in a battle right now. She would have to be careful in the coming fake-fight not to hit anyone genuinely.

"Anyways, unless we bump into rival pirates, we'll be acting more than fighting for our lives. I think I'm okay at performing. I used to help my parents with ritual dances!"

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Suzuki Taru

Toru nodded to her response, prone to believing her. Taru had never lied to him, at least, he did not think. He had never gotten that impression from the girl. Then again, they were in some ways two sides of one coin, and Toru scarcely ever got nervous. His reality was more along the lines of suppression, suppressing all that he felt until there was nothing and he lived in a void. It was a coping mechanism - not that he knew it, or cared to.

"Hoist anchor!" It was shouted behind them, and activity on the ship would rise. They would begin to move with the slightest lurch forward.

"Ritual dances, huh?" It seemed that Toru and Taru had even more in common now. Toru had come into the arms of the Kaguya some years ago now but he had scaled their ranks and had been privy to many ritual dances of young Kaguya...

Ironically he had yet to have his own performance, and now he wondered with what he knew of the coral techniques, if he could really perform them. It was almost an exciting prospect that never shone on his features as the ship sailed off towards the horizon that they had been watching.

"I'm okay at it... Not the dancing, the performing."

OWL

[Suzuki Taru]

The boat shifted, starting to move, and Taru swung slightly on the rope she cling to, though she kept her grip tight enough not to be displaced from her perch. When the movement of the boat steadied into the calm rocking of a moving vessel, she adjusted her stance again and sat down on the taffrail, still clutching the rope in her grip.

She nodded her agreement to his question.

"My parents are shamans. So we would do ritual dances sometimes. Mostly as regular celebration, but sometimes as cleansing rituals, or to ward off spirits. That kind of thing." Her parents were every bit as superstitious as she was, though perhaps in a more grounded way.

"You seem like you'd be a decent performer. You have a lot of control," she said. As the ship moved, she pondered - how close would they be getting to shore? Would they just stop a boat in the nearby waters and attack, or would they get really close to port?

An attack on a ship at water was more realistic, but attacking a port wasn't unheard of and it would have a bigger impact. Merchant stories about pirate attacks were different from civilians seeing it firsthand, after all. Kiri's heroism would have a greater spread the more people that saw it, right?

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Suzuki Taru

Toru listened and acknowledged in his own kind of way. He was not - even now - the most talkative, but he could interact better than he had back when they had first met. Or even before, where he was practically mute entirely, preferring action over talk. He understood the importance of speech now as a diplomat.

Shamans made sense, at least from the way Taru spoke. She had that sort of energy to her, the kind that would line up with her parents being shamans. But it was also uncommon to be overtly religious in the shinobi world, and he wondered then how she navigated those two realities clashing. But he did not ask.

"Control, right..." Perhaps he did, perhaps it was less control and more that he knew he could not afford to bare himself to the world. That such a thing would be dangerous for everyone, including himself.

His gaze moved away from Taru then, and instead towards the horizon though it always seemed to get closer, it never got close enough. Always untouchable, always in the distance. Toru could not imagine that there was such a thing as the end of the world, but the idea of it seemed enticing. But, no matter how much he had traveled, he had never seen it.

"I will let you lead our tactics." It was a big mission, and he wanted to hand over some responsibility. He would protect her if something went wrong, but she was smart and he trusted that she would make the right choice.

"Just say the word, and we will battle at sea or on land. We must make our descent believable."

OWL

[Suzuki Taru]

He would entrust the tactics to her? Now, that did almost make her nervous. She had decent experience and liked to think of herself as someone rational, decent at coming up with a plan. She was good at deducing how things worked, even if she wasn't the most straightforwardly book-smart person in the world. She had been a shinobi for years now. Still, it increased the pressure. This mission went from something she was doing to something she was leading. If she was going to promote, she needed that experience, but it meant risking messing up.

Nope, confidence, Taru! She just had to apply herself and manage things responsibly. She started talking through her logic with Toru.

"If we're pirates, that means we're probably most experienced with naval combat. Our abilities and our weapons will be suited to naval forces. We're also not a massive ship, so we'd probably be afraid of being met with large forces or our opponents being able to get quick backup. On land it's easier to get reinforcements... Still, we want to make sure people see it. This mission is its most effective if everyone is really grateful to Kiri, right? Maybe we can go for a vessel that's just left port so it's still close to the coastline, but not too exposed for us."

That seemed like a good idea, right? Pirates getting bolder, or maybe desperate, but not stupid enough to attack the port itself.

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Suzuki Taru

Toru listened to her idea, she had a good line of thought and he would take it. He had personal ideas on how they should approach, but Taru was in the lead, so he would follow and after she was done rattling off the concept he would nod.

"Alright. Then, we will pick off a ship coming from the coast still in the shallows..." He paused, thinking about it. "We will have to find a rocky outcrop to lie in wait." That was probably the hardest part about this approach, is to not be spotted before it was time.

The Mizukage leaning forward against the bow staring off into the distance, letting the spray hit his face, enjoying the smell of salt that filtered through his nostrils. It felt good, it was refreshing, like life beginning anew. A strange feeling before a mission where they would be met with a great challenge. Toru would have to be extra mindful to be sure that Taru did come out of this, that was his biggest concern outside of the mission goal itself.

In time he leaned away to explain the plan to the captain at the helm, who nodded allowing Toru to return to Taru to watch the horizon.

Then night fell, and the ship settled in a rocky outcrop underneath some jagged sea worn cliffs, in the shadows as the moon shone overhead.

"We should rest, tomorrow morning we will be searching for a ship to tear into."

OWL

[Suzuki Taru]

Night came, darkening the ocean. Taru had always liked to watch the water at night. It became even more mysterious. The inky, uncaring void. So many pirates and sailors had drowned in water just like this, she thought, not with fear but with curiosity. The captain continued to steer the ship and eventually they reached an outcropping, able to stop for the night to prepare, but also to rest. This was a good hiding spot. Not terribly visible, which would allow them to take any ship riding the coast this way by surprise.

Taru sat with her equipment. It was pretty sparing - she'd always been one to travel light, but she also liked to keep it in good form. She looked over her bow, making sure the grip was on tight, that the string was tuned just right. It was a pretty cheap bow, but she'd been saving up to buy a better one.

When Toru stated they should rest, Taru nodded. She finished cleaning her arrows and making sure the arrowheads were properly sharpened before putting them away.

"Have you ever done this kind of mission before?" She inquired. Small ships like this rarely had proper bunks, so she'd find where the crew had intended for them to rest, getting ready for bed. "One where you have to pretend to be a criminal or scoundrel?"

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Suzuki Taru

Toru settled down as well in the shadows of the ship, his back resting against the inside the thick curvature of the wood supporting his back that slumped a little, happy to no longer be holding his entire weight up. Not because he weighed a lot, but because a day of sailing and uneven ground was something that caused the bones to ache no matter how experienced one was. Toru went on ships often as the Mizukage and Daimyo, and felt quite welcome around them, but was still not as incredible at seafaring as a seasoned sailor of old, some of the shinobi that sailed their entire lives.

"I have." He responded simply, always the one for simplicity. "Attack hard and with intention, but always hit with the bluntest edge." It was the best advice he could give as his eyelids grew heavy and he started to fall asleep holding onto his weapons, almost clutching them in a hug his legs criss-crossed and his breathing becoming longer, less frequent, deeper. Until he was asleep.

And in sleep, he was more of a child, a teenage boy than any other time, a little drool at the edge of his lips.

It was purple dawn when shouting was heard.

A ship was spotted - one of their own - and it was time to take action. It was the lurch of the ship moving in that woke Toru up the most, making him stand and rub the sandman from his eyes.

OWL

[Suzuki Taru]

Taru took those words properly to heart. Attack hard and with intention, but always with the bluntest edge. She would spend some additional time up, separating out her arrows to blunt some of them. If she kept them mixed in with the sharper ones, it wouldn't be too obvious. Other adjustments could be made, too. Loosen the bow string to make the force behind it weaker. The ill-kept equipment of a pirate.

Finally, she did settle down. The rocking of the waves helped to lull her to sleep, though it was a slightly fitful sleep. Taru had sailed a few times now, but still was nowhere near experienced, and had much time yet until she got her sea legs.

When the morning came, a cry came with it. The sailors above had spotted a ship and it was time to move. Taru stretched her arms over her head and grabbed her things, hopping up and bounding back above deck, trying to keep her balance against the gentle swaying even as she was still blinking away sleep.

She yawned great and wide like a cat as she found perch on the ship's banister. Taru would notch an arrow, one of the sharper ones, and take slow, careful aim. Once the vessel was in a position where everyone was ready to launch an attack, Taru would open fire, aiming at the bird's nest. However, she would aim to miss the lookout, just nearly, rather than to hit them.

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Suzuki Taru

Toru was not as swift as Taru, he did not care to be. Perhaps he should have been, but his goal was more to protect her, to make sure that she came out of this unscathed. The mission would be successful, of this he was quite certain. But one could never know if he would have to intervene or not. A quick stretch of his back and he turned towards the ship - it was closer than he had expected. A quick glance and he saw that Taru was already shooting an arrow, though it was unsurprisingly going on a trajectory to miss.

A good shot...

Toru waited, they were moving in quite quickly towards the ship and he had nothing to shoot and there were a lot of battle cries, he joined in before they lurched into the ship and all started to climb up. Toru came in to attack, beginning a vicious assault, but blow by blow it did not seem to be working as if he were doing a poor job or consistently failing with each attack. He seemed to allow parry's constantly. It was part of the act all on purpose. Some of a greater ego might have felt themselves needing to prove their greatness, but not Toru he was viciously focused on the goal of the mission.

OWL

[Suzuki Taru]

There were plenty aboard the ship who were good with close combat. Toru in particular was a force to be reckoned with. Part of her thought that it was important to keep an eye on their Mizukage and not allow him to come into harm, but the more honest part of her knew that he was incredibly strong and that he had more reason to be concerned about her than she had to be concerned about him.

For that reason, she took up the rear of the forces, focusing on her archery over closing the distance. While Toru fought foes with a practiced "sloppiness," allowing the opposing forces to parry him more often than he usually would, Taru tried to adopt a similar mindset.

She wanted to use her arrows to sow chaos more so than actually do damage. Picking up one of her blunted arrow heads, she took aim again, watching the motion of the enemies carefully.

It took some calculation with the high winds of the water and the constant motion of battle between the "pirates" and the ship's crew, but she drew the arrow back and managed to catch one enemy right across the leg. It didn't stick in the flesh, just skimming it - enough to hurt and seem like a legitimate shot, but not enough to truly debilitate the man.

Then she fired another, arching it through the air so it would sail down into the middle of the crowd, forcing the opponents to move to the sides to dodge it, splitting their forces slightly. If she acted as a sort of "crowd control" with only occasional damage, the act would probably go well!

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Suzuki Taru

They were supposed to be on the losing side, technically speaking.

Taru had taken a good position, mostly because it meant that she would not be in direct line of some kind of brutal combat and there were a few on this ship that were very well versed in battle. As to be expected of Kirigakure forces. Toru did his best to not give away his style, and he was a good enough swordsman that he could act that he was in fact doing a bad job when he was not really doing that bad of a job and more controlling the flow of battle with his direct opponent.

On occasion he would allow a hit to land just enough where he would roll off to the side, but never allow a sword or something to penetrate or attempt to penetrate his skin. He hit the deck and starboard bow once with his back, letting out a grunt as he steadied himself and slowly stood.

Another shinobi approached, attacking him from overhead, he feigned a slowed reaction, putting his sword up to block, frowning as he pushed against the strength of the woman who had come down upon him, his nose scrunching a little as he pushed hard.

OWL

[Suzuki Taru]

It was an archer's duty to keep a lot of the battlefield in her view at once, assessing the areas that needed the most control, providing backup and support to every player on the field. Trying to keep that process in mind while also trying not to be too effective was trickier than she thought it would be. It was a totally different kind of learning. Aiming peripherally instead of for center mass, exercising totally careful control.

While doing this kind of thing it was typical to be stationery, but the chaos of battle demanded more movement, always trying to adapt to get a better angle, always trying to make the shot just slightly less predictable.

Her eyes fell on Toru in the midst of the battle again. He was a good actor, pretending to be pressed into a corner like that. This was all shadow play, stage hands directing an audience to see things a certain way, and despite his serious demeanor, Toru was really good at pulling it off.

Playing her part, too, Taru nocked a blunted arrow and sent it sailing for the shinobi who was over Toru. It forced the woman to dodge back, taking some of the play "pressure" off of Toru for now, though she would inevitably move forward to clash with him again.

Taru readied another arrow, firing at some rope netting that a crew member of the ship was attempting to climb, slicing it and making the trip up more difficult to get a vantage point.