[Hase Hoshi]

I will shine

Being a shinobi, in general, was often a strenuous occupation, but became particularly taxing for genin as the famed chuunin exams drew closer. The village of Amegakure was always particularly interested in ensuring their genin were up to par with the rest of the villages, and so their trainings became far more demanding. Today's ordeal involved a group exercise with several of the village's genin, and now that it was over Hoshi gladly slumped into his seat in the rearmost car of one of Amegakure's subway trains. Joining him across the aisle was someone who he was somewhat familiar with and had been at the training as well, Yuie Junichi. The blonde-haired boy was a younger genin, but Hoshi was still impressed with how much he had improved since the time he had met him as an academy student.

The dancing genin leaned forward to begin a conversation with his fellow shinobi, mouth snapping shut as the train jostled suddenly from some sort of disturbance. The subway was an amazing new technology for sure, one that only Yukigakure shared, but it certainly wasn't perfect. Maintaining it seemed to be a pain, Hoshi had been tasked with scrubbing tunnel walls on several occasions, and he sighed as the light above them flickered a few times before going out for a few moments.

"Hey Junichi! I was wondering if you were going to-"

Just when Hoshi had managed to gather his thoughts and attempt a conversation again, the train itself shook with another disturbance, this time much more pronounced as a screeching rung out from all around them. Immediately the genin would be able to feel that the subway was slowing down rapidly to come to an unscheduled stop, and if that wasn't telling enough, two men at the front of the car stood up with clear purpose before the train had even become still. They pulled cloth masks over their faces as they withdrew sharp knives that glinted in the dim light, brandishing them blatantly as they shouted out what the other passengers no doubt already figured.

"Alright! This is a robbery, everyone keep your asses to the seats and get those valuables out!"

Yuie Junichi

[Yuie Junichi]

Today had been exhausting. Even though Junichi was not, personally, recommended for the Chuunin exams this time around, he was still being caught up in the training for it, an attempt to condition him for the process and get him well on his way so that he would hopefully be ready for an attempt during the next year's exams. It was an intensive process, pushing him to further training limits than he'd gone before, which was surprising because he pushed himself off. He was tired and he knew his muscles were going to be sore in the morning. 

He eased himself into a subway seat to relax on the ride home, taking off his glasses to clean them and going over all the practice he'd done in his head. When Hoshi leaned forward to converse, he perked up, but the two were rattled by a sudden shift in the track. Immediately, it set him on edge. 

A second soon followed and his worst anxieties were realized when two bandits stood and pulled up masks on the train car. Was this a nightmare? No, it made too much sense. This was real and things were about to get dangerous. 

Junichi had sparred and practiced fighting a lot, but most of the minor missions he'd been on so far hadn't had any combat at all. He was prepared for this, but... This was always going to happen eventually, wasn't it? He was a shinobi. 

He was a shinobi and everyone else on the car was in danger. He had to do something, right? 

He would like to ask them to stand down, but then they'd probably take a hostage, so jumping right to it was probably the way. 

He looked at Hoshi to make sure he was on the same page, eyes wide with fear but brow also furrowed with determination. If it seemed like Hoshi was going to help, then Junichi would move into action.

From his seat, he formed hand seals, concentrating his elemental energy. He opened his mouth and spat ten steaming hot water shuriken at the bandits. 

"What the hell?" One of them cursed as the water crashed into them. It would soak their clothes and start to burn them swiftly. 

[Hase Hoshi]

I will shine

Hoshi didn't even need to look at Junichi to have the initiative to act right away. As tired as his body was, the best dancer in Ame sprung up to his feet with righteous fury in his eyes, flinching for a moment as a torrent of hot water shuriken flew past his shoulder and into the two bandits at the end of the cart.

"Gya! Watch the friendly fire!"

Hoshi hadn't been hit, of course, but now seemed as good of a time as any to draw attention to the fact that the subway was quite a cramped space to be fighting in. Thankfully, there weren't too many people in this particular car but there was no telling what the cars ahead would entail. Pushing his sore muscles forward, Hoshi gladly took the opportunity that Junichi gave him, doing his best to move with grace while launching a barrage of palm strikes and punches at the closer of the two bandits.

"Take that, and that!"

Against another shinobi, Hoshi's attacks would be largely ineffective. Thankfully these men weren't exactly the cream of the crop, and between Junichi's painful hot shuriken and Hoshi's blunt attacks the first of their foes was felled. Hoshi hadn't had enough time to begin fighting the second one, however, and the masked man angrily began stepping over his unconscious ally to attempt to give Hoshi a few new orifices.

[Yuie Junichi]

Right - Junichi would need to be more careful not to put Hoshi in too much danger with those kinds of projectile attacks. Shuriken were small and relatively easy to aim, but in such a narrow space it could be really dangerous. Luckily, it seemed like none hit Hoshi and he was able to utilizing the opening to attack the bandits. Regular individuals had difficulty standing up to any shinobi, even ones as low-level as the two of them. Hoshi took down one, but that still left the other, coming right towards Hoshi, armed.

He was a genjutsu expert, right? That meant he probably wasn't in the best position to guard against something like that! Junichi quickly picked up his staff and took a running sprint down the aisle towards the man. Without much room on either side, he couldn't exactly swing the staff around without risking hitting a civilian, but that was fine. He could hold it straight out in front of him like a battering ram and force the criminal to either take it to the gut, or dodge backwards or to the side!

The bandit chose a sideways dodge and Junichi used the angle to bring his staff down on the man's ankle. It let out a sickly crunch and Junichi grimaced as the man collapsed. Not much time to think about it, though. He swiftly knocked the man out and then let out a shaky exhale.

"We... have to keep moving, right?" Junichi asked Hoshi. Then he stepped forward and pushed the door between the subway carts open. They'd have to make it up the line to the front.

[Hase Hoshi]

I will shine

To avoid being gutted like one of Tsuri's fish, Hoshi scrambled out of the way of the approaching bandit, ultimately hopping up onto one of the seats on the side of the aisle. While this didn't really give much more space for Junichi to swing his staff around, it turned out the Yuie didn't need all that much to begin with for what he was planning. Hoshi let out the start of a whoop before stifling it, watching with triumph as his fellow genin dispatched the last remaining bandit in this subway car.

"Damn right we do! Charge ahead without fear!"

Even though he did say that, Hoshi was fully willing to let Junichi take the lead, at least for the time being. The doors were a bit hard to slide open, but ultimately gave way to the genin, revealing a similar, if not worse situation in the next car. Here, a trio of bandits were already collecting various wallets and coin purses from the passengers fearfully sitting with their hands held above their heads. The closer two bandits each had a bag in one hand with knives in the other, while the third and furthest thief was busy tying up the already robbed passengers' hands behind their backs. Hoshi and Junichi were spotted immediately, to which Hoshi shouted a valiant battle cry.

"Chaaaaaarge!"

Hoshi withdrew a kunai of his own as he followed right behind Junichi, holding it at the ready just in case any of the bandits slipped past the weirdly shaped staff.

[Yuie Junichi]

Oh! They're just charging! He thought that Hoshi was using that term more metaphorically, but they do need to act quickly if they don't want anyone to get hurt. The scene in this car is more desperate than in the last since no one was around to intervene here. The bandits could grab someone and hold them hostage, hurt them. He didn't want that to happen. He steeled himself, telling himself that hurting enemies was better than innocent people getting hurt.

Junichi dashed forward, swinging his staff down like a bludgeon at the nearest bandit. The man dodged back, giving some room to one of the civilians being robbed. Junichi kept pushing forward, trying to get in the way so he'd be between them and the attackers. Of course, there were still some civilians in the back, but the more people the two of them could get to safety quickly, the better.

The bandit took a swing at him with the knife and Junichi brought up his staff to block, making a startled sound. He pushed his chakra into the staff and it took on the soapy properties of his clan and the blade slipped off, the man almost falling as his balance was threatened.

Junichi took the opportunity to hit him in the head, sending him falling back into his compatriots again. This was way too stressful!

[Hase Hoshi]

I will shine

Metaphors? Hoshi had no use for such a thing! He stayed close to Junichi as the Yuie engaged and thwacked the first of their opponents. Hoshi took the opportunity to dart forward with his kunai, moving as elegantly as possible in this cramped space as he attempted to finish off their first opponent in this car. The bandit was stunned by Junichi's smack to the head but still swung around haphazardly with his knife, prompting Hoshi to duck underneath and come up with a slash.

The two bandits behind the now dead one hastily shoved their compatriot to the side, knowing that to stumble here would be the end of their very short criminal careers. Hoshi threw his kunai straight ahead before they could fully gather their courage, expecting his blade to meet its mark but flinching when the bandit deflected it with a flash of his dagger. Hoshi quickly withdrew another kunai as he shuffled back a step or two, once again leaning on Junichi's longer reaching weapon to engage their enemies first.

"Gah.. I wish I had more room to dance..."

A genjutsu would be useful here, but he needed more space to maneuver. Instead, Hoshi focused chakra into his gut and then into his lungs. Readying himself to blow a blast of fuuton chakra forward as soon as either Junichi or the bandits made a move.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Fūton: Karyu [Wind Release: Stream]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Fūton
DESCRIPTION:
A basic Fūton no Jutsu that a Shinobi uses to blow a powerful stream of wind from their mouth. The technique is mostly used to change directions in mid-air. In this case, the strength of the stream is powerful enough to move the source body at high speeds. On the ground, it can be used to blow up a cloud of dust, masking the caster's movements. It can also be used offensively to stagger an opponent's movement.

[Yuie Junichi]

When the criminal dropped in front of him, life draining out of him, Junichi almost froze. He'd been on missions before, fought animals and the like, but this was his first time seeing a person die. His fingers felt cold, but he didn't have time to be paralyzed about it at the moment. He remained stagnant a little too long and one of the criminals' blades almost found him. He dodged to the side narrowly and it cut into his shirt and shoulder, drawing blood.

Luckily, with the support of Hoshi's wind stream behind him, the bandit wasn't able to immediately follow up with another attack, giving Junichi time to reorient himself and stop panicking, at least for now. He swung his staff at the bandit and the bandit dodged. The one near the back attempted to grab the staff by the bubble-wand head. Junichi funneled just enough chakra into it to create a soap bubble, then hooked his arm through the loop at the other end so he could form hand seals without letting it go.

The soap bubble popped in a small explosion, sending soapy shards flying at the bandits. They were small enough and had little enough force that they shouldn't travel to hurt anyone else, but it certainly surprised the enemies and made them retreat, covering their now scratched faces. Yuck.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Jōton: Kesshō-ka sa bakuhatsu [Cleansing Release: Crystalized Burst]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Variable
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Jōton
HANDSEALS : Two
DESCRIPTION:

A simple technique which forces other soap crystal structures and items to explode. Chakra wells up within, shattering the object. Chakra cost relies upon the structure in question and requires at least as much chakra to destroy as was put into it. The damage from this technique is not particularly remarkable, but it can be dangerous to anything caught in close proximity with unguarded skin as the soap crystals can get rather sharp when fragmented. The small bits of soap crystal can also disrupt a shinobi temporarily as they are pelted with debris making it a much better distraction than an actual offensive technique.

[Hase Hoshi]

I will shine

Hoshi gasped when he noticed Junichi getting injured, a hot flash of anger erupting in his chest as his fellow genin performed a jutsu and fortunately drove off their enemies for a moment. The bubble bursting actually also coincided with a few loose wires in Hoshi's brain connecting with each other. The chakra in his body was immediately sent to the soles of his feet as he jumped first onto a seat and then straight up, planting both of his shoes into the ceiling.

Hoshi darted forward, still upside down, towards the recoiling bandits, drawing two kunai from his pouch and dropping from the ceiling. He tried to spin gracefully as he came down, aiming to stick both of the enemies at the same time. That scenario did not occur as Hoshi planned, the genin had sorely misjudged how quickly gravity affected his body, and his drop attack ended up being much more crude and uncontrolled than he expected. He still managed to stab both opponents on the way down, however, and assisted by gravity the force was enough to make them go still.

Hoshi quickly popped up from the ground, blood running down his wrists and a few splotches on the rest of his body, but thankfully none of it was his.

"Blech... that was.. not ideal."

Remembering the injury that Junichi sustained, Hoshi quickly moved towards his ally, eyeing the cut with a worried glance.

"Uhm, you wouldn't happen to have some bandages, would you? We've got a few more cars to go and I can't have you bleeding out on me."

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Kinobori no Waza [Act of Tree Climbing]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low [Continuous]
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General]
ELEMENT: None
DESCRIPTION:
An advanced genin level technique, it serves as a means to both enhance chakra control when mastered as well as a means to change one's advantages on the battlefield. By applying chakra to the soles of the feet, the shinobi gains the ability to walk and stand on vertical surfaces or even upside down.

[Yuie Junichi]

Hoshi dispatched of the two enemies. It made Junichi feel a little sick and also a little useless. Hoshi kept having to be the one to take care of that. Was it fair to make him be the only one? Junichi should be trying harder. He almost didn't hear Hoshi speak, wrapped up in his own racing thoughts, then realized he was being spoken to and jumped a little. He touched his cheek in surprise and felt the blood there.

"Uh- Uhm. It's not that deep," he reassured Hoshi. He was too shocked for it to even really hurt, fueled by adrenaline like he was. His hands felt a little shaky, but he knew from studying with Kenichi that that was from the body having an excess of energy and that it made reaction times better in combat, so it would be fine once they got back into the action and he stopped thinking too hard about everything.

"I think I'll be okay. Thanks. Sorry," he added, stumbling over the words. "For worrying you. And for messing up." He curled his fist, gripping his weapon harder. "I haven't really fought... people yet. Just animals." He felt stupid, ashamed, and embarrassed. He knew this was what he was going to have to do as a shinobi, so why was he letting it stop him? He took a shaky breath and let it out slow.

"Let's keep moving and we can patch me up afterwards, okay?" If he put on a brave face, maybe Hoshi just might buy it.

[takeda sadako]

KILLING YOUR IDOLS IS A CHORE

Everything happened so fast, Sadako was barely aware of what was going on until it was practically over. One minute she was minding her business, on her way to some stupid group exercise with a bunch of the other genin—the next there was shouting, ’this is a robbery!’, and Sadako was moving on pure instinct, her heartbeat roaring in her ears. There was just one guy in the subway car she was in, sort of ahead of the middle, but then again, there weren’t many other passengers here, either. Just a few civilians, all scared out of their minds, and not one other shinobi there to help her. It was… hard. Harder than she thought it would be. She was so good at sparring, at beating the shit out of a punching bag, but when it was a grown person’s real live flesh bending beneath the force of her fists, Sadako felt something thick rise up in her throat. The guy, bandit, whatever you wanted to call him, cursed at her and swung his knife. She hesitated. Stupid. She wasn’t fast enough to dodge, not really. They traded blows back and forth, Sadako landing clean, hard punches into the guy’s gut, ribs, a knee to the crotch. She got clocked in the side of the head and a few slashes to her biceps and forearms in return. Her breath was coming short and her heart was pounding. C’mon, finish it. Finish it. Sadako bounced back a foot, trying to gain some distance in the tight, cramped space of the subway car; distantly, she heard the faint jingle of her bracelet, and something finally clicked into place in her mind. She focused, molding her chakra at the forefront of her mind, and—there. The bandit’s eyes went wide, and he stumbled backward. He looked to either side of Sadako, as if he were seeing something there—more assailants, all mimicking Sadako’s exact movements, all at the exact same time. She lunged forward. The bandit stumbled back, startled and overwhelmed, and he tripped. Fell. Hit his head on the edge of one of the hard metal seats. Sadako looked down at the pool of blood slowly spreading on the ground beneath the bandit’s head, her chest heaving, her knuckles bloody, arms aching. Her head hurt. From behind her, another commotion—shouting, sounds of fighting. From ahead, a third. More bandits. Sadako left the dying bandit there, and made her way to the car behind her own. Yuie Junichi and Hase Hoshi. Made sense, she thought distantly. Genin group exercise. Tracked. "Hey,” she said to the two genin. She looked around the train car—as far as shinobi went, it was just the three of them. Distantly, from two cars ahead, Sadako heard more shouting. Sweat dripped down the back of her neck. "There’s more further up. I—” I need help. She snapped her mouth shut. Weak. Stupid. You’re fine. "—wanted to make sure everything was handled back here,” she finished gruffly. "I heard y’all fighting. Let’s keep moving.”

Yuie Junichi -- 502

LAIKA OF THQ

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Naru Kane: Kakashi [Ringing Bells: Scarecrow]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: To Use: Low | To Maintain: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Genjutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 0
TRIGGER: Auditory [bells ringing]
DESCRIPTION:
The bushin technique creates clones. This technique attempts to do much the same, without actually needing to create clones. Instead, it causes the victim to hallucinate and see multiple images of the user, each with a swaying bell hanging from their waist. These images are not independent clones, and simply do the exact motions of the user. Because it will be difficult to tell the real one apart from the illusions, the user can take advantage of this and attack the target without much trouble.

[Yuie Junichi]

Before Hoshi was given the opportunity to answer Junichi's request, a third genin entered their cart from ahead. Takeda Sadako. Junichi recognized her as the recent addition to his team, after the reshuffling that Kenichi and him had experienced, though the two hadn't even had cause to formally meet until this moment. She was bloodied, evidently having been cut up in her own scrape with the bandits aboard the train. If only Kenichi were here, he found himself thinking for the millionth time. He needed to stop thinking about Kenichi. It wouldn't help right now.

"We're alright," Junichi confirmed, awkwardly, tensely, like he still wasn't quite sure himself. All the bandits back here were down for the count, so they surely were alright, but what he'd just told Hoshi still felt like it was hanging heavily over his head at the moment.

"You're right that we should keep moving, but we also shouldn't let the civilians stay on the train," he said. Some of them up ahead could be injured, and the majority of them were probably panicked. Plus Junichi dreaded to think if any of the bandits ahead had bombs or anything available and threatened to use them on the carts behind as a way to distract in making their escape...

"Hoshi, do you think you can help evacuate them? We can keep moving ahead and sending them back to you." Hoshi was a very calming presence, encouraging and good with people. He imagined that no one would do a better job stopping the passengers from trampling each other than Hoshi. Once he was able to obtain Hoshi's agreement, Junichi would press ahead with Sadako, back into the cart she'd come from.

"...Are you alright?" He asked her. "I got slashed back there, too." Probably evident from the blood on his vest.

He stopped at the door to the next subway car. He could hear the bandits ahead, talking to each other, making plans, laughing as they stole from the passengers. Junichi gripped his staff, knuckles almost white from the pressure. They needed to make a plan to move in, but they also couldn't wait too long...

[takeda sadako]

KILLING YOUR IDOLS IS A CHORE

Sadako nodded once, terse. She looked around when Junichi mentioned the civilians, like she had only just remembered they were there. Right, yeah. This was part of the job, wasn’t it? Getting them to safety? Stupid that they couldn’t just get themselves off the train, obviously away was the way to go, but no one seemed to be thinking clearly. Which made sense, she guessed. They couldn’t all be military professionals like she was. She took a breath, her mouth thinning as she tried to will her sprinting heartbeat into submission. Hase Hoshi agreed to Junichi’s idea, which even Sadako had to admit wasn’t a bad one, and then they moved on. She stepped over the body of the bandit she hadn’t killed, not sparing him a glance. "I’m fine,” she snapped, though she was clearly bleeding in several places. "It’s just a couple of little scratches. We’re shinobi, right? This is nothing.” Her voice was harsh, flat. This was a true thing that she believed: this was nothing. Just a blip in her day. Junichi stopped in front of the door, and Sadako stopped behind him, rolling her wrists. She listened carefully, trying to figure out how many were on the other side of the door. Two? Three? It was hard to tell. "They don’t know we’re here,” she said. "That’s gonna change if we don’t move fast. Open the door, I’ll throw a flash bomb and go on ahead to engage. Do what you can from the back.”

Yuie Junichi -- 250

LAIKA OF THQ

[Yuie Junichi]

Junichi tensed when Sadako snapped at him, setting his jaw, back teeth pressed together so hard it almost hurt. She was right. They were shinobi and should be prepared for the idea of this. It was just a scratch, even if it hurt, and the village had doctors who could patch them up even if it were worse than a few scratches. Somehow, thinking all of that didn't calm him down or help him at all. He was just more nervous than before. He really was a bad shinobi, wasn't he?

No, no anxiety right now. He had to focus. People were in a lot of danger and Sadako was trying to talk to him and make a plan with him. The blood rushing in his ears wasn't helping anybody. He had agreed to this. He had signed up for this. He had to do it. If he couldn't even do this, how would he ever protect Kenichi?

"Wait," Junichi insisted, keeping his voice low, shoulder pressed against the door in preparation for shoving it open.

"If we throw a flash bomb, it'll blind the civilians in the room, too, won't it?" He asked. They were all cramped together like that. Maybe it was the only way to get in without being seen? "It'll make it harder for them to run away."

[takeda sadako]

KILLING YOUR IDOLS IS A CHORE

Sadako pulled the flash bomb out of her belt, finger slipping through the ring in preparation to prime and toss—but Junichi said wait, and he didn’t open the door, so she was forced to wait, her lip curling into an impatient sneer. Again with the civilians. First sending off a third of their manpower to "escort” the civilians to "safety” (nevermind that she had thought it was a good idea a minute ago!), and now worrying about blinding them because it’ll be "hard” for them. "Maybe they should’ve thought of that before deciding to be pissbaby civilians,” Sadako hissed back, trying—and mostly failing—to keep her voice down. Her attempt at a whisper started off as more of a stage whisper, and only got louder as she kept talking and she fed the fires of her own frustration. "Stupid fucking—goody-two-shoes. We can’t worry about shit like that. What else are we gonna do, just run in and start swinging? That’s how we get killed. Just open the door and let me throw the fucking flash grenade before they hear us.” But Sadako was so caught up in hassling Junichi, trying to talk him into opening the door, that she didn’t hear the heavy thump of approaching footsteps coming from the other side.

Yuie Junichi -- 211

LAIKA OF THQ