[Kaguya Kimihiro]

Kaguya Kimihiro

It wasn't Kimihiro's first trip into the Kuro Matsubayashi, he had on occasion been sent into the hazardous forest to clear out bandits when it was clear he needed some time to let off some steam and pirates or more easily accessible bandits were not available. It was however his first time being responsible for someone else while travelling into that forest. He had seen the relatively simple mission, decided he wanted to go for a trip back to that strange place, and promptly been told that he'd have a tag along in the form of a Genin for it.

Protesting had not worked, the missions desk ninja had long since become immune to his wheedling, and he'd been told to either accept it and take them, or decline the mission and stay in the village.

So here he was, about to start trudging towards Kashiwa village with a Genin that was frankly older than he had been expecting, who was apparently not only a native of the village but also experienced in the forest and the creatures within. Since the mission brief involved poachers, her knowledge in the region and her skill with animals meant she was a necessity for the completion of the task.

Waiting at the gates of Kirigakure in his mission clothes, the Kaguya squatted on top of a nearby post as he scanned the horizon for the rather distinctive hair of his ward for this mission.

Word Count: 241
Tags: Suzuki Taru
Mission: 1/15

[Suzuki Taru]

A trip back home was always a welcome thing! Just as much as the village of Kashiwa, Taru felt the homesick call of Kuro Matsubayashi occasionally. Though she hadn't really grown up in there, since she would be dead if she had, she still spent enough time there to find it homelike. It was where she had emerged as a chakra-capable individual, and what had sent her on her life path to become a shinobi.

It was disappointing that this trip would be one dealing with fools who didn't respect nature more than a proper visit, but such people needed to be taken care of. She suited up in a loose orange and brown cloak and actually put on her sandals for once. The forest wasn't a place one wanted to run around without shoes, at least not on a mission. With all her supplies accounted for, she headed for the village gates.

She hadn't been on a mission with the teammate she had been assigned yet, but she certainly looked forward to it. She tended to like the Kaguya! At least the ones she had met so far. Which was mostly Toru, but they were good friends, so that counted.

Once she arrived, she spied a man posted up on the gates. Assuming he was the one waiting for her (though she wouldn't really care if she was wrong), she jogged up to him, waving her arm over her head quite excitedly.

"Hello! I am Suzuki Taru. Hopefully the forest will not swallow us. The kodama there like me, so we might see their protection as we pass. Luckily, no Nobiagari grow there. ...Yet," she added, thoughtfully.

[Kaguya Kimihiro]

Kaguya Kimihiro

Finding his companion for this outing wasn't difficult, the photograph did the hair no real justice, it stood out with ease amongst the crowds. Kimihiro tracked them all the way to the gate with a sense of vague amusement. It was just such an odd look, even for a shinobi, that he couldn't help but appreciate the sheer lack of fucks that came from it.

Grinning a little at the enthusiastic greeting, he could be at least grateful to know that he wasn't going to be stuck with some sourpuss for the whole mission, some people could be so boring to deal with. Luckily it didn't seem to be the case, instead he got a cheerful and friendly partner. That should make the rip more tolerable at least.

Swinging from the top of the pole to the side, standing out on it like a flag, the Kaguya nodded in greeting. "You certainly are Suzuki Taru, and those were definitely Kunese words you just used," he stated with a grin, having absolutely no idea what she meant by kodama and nobiagari, "I'm Kaguya Kimihiro, a Tokubetsu Jounin, and I'm the team lead for this mission. Somehow they trust me enough with that nowadays~" he slipped off the pole to stand in front of the Genin, tilting his head upwards just a little as he examined her.

"I'm pretty experienced with dealing with bandits, pirates, and people the village doesn't like," he explained as he gestured for the girl to follow, heading towards the exit of the village with an easy to follow stride, "and you were assigned this mission for your local knowledge. I read your file of course, but I wanna hear from you what your skillset is and how we can use it. If you have any questions to ask... well, we got plenty of time to talk before we get there."

Grinning innocently to the gate guards as he left with a wave, he didn't turn to see if the girl was following. He did however keep an ear out, wouldn't do to leave her behind accidentally.

Word Count: 349
Tags: Suzuki Taru
Mission: 3/15

[Suzuki Taru]

The man didn't understand what she had said, but she was quite used to that, and he seemed pleasant enough, so she seemed mostly unbothered by it. She was used to dealing with people misunderstanding her and then being condescending, or at the very least openly confused, about it, so having someone move right along was like a breath of fresh air. Sometimes things weren't understood and that was alright, though one should always seek to use that confusion as motivator to learn more. That was her opinion.

She followed on his heels out of the village, waving broadly to the gate guards as they went. The guards shared a look - they were used to her doing that on her way out by now. It seemed whatever Taru did, she did with grand enthusiasm.

"My skillset? Hmm... It's fairly broad," she explained, turning her attention back to him and tapping her chin. "I'm good at both close and ranged combat. I have a bow and arrows and I utilize them well. I know several taijutsu good for dealing with bigger enemies, and I'm decent in the use of suiton techniques," she explained.

"Oh! But I usually get sent on these kinds of things because I'm really good with animals. They tend to like me. The ones around Kashiwa are a little less predictable than the average animal, but I should still be able to take care of them. How about you?"

[Kaguya Kimihiro]

Kaguya Kimihiro

Walking along the road with his hands behind his head, Kimihiro listened as the Genin gave him an overview of her skills, nodding slightly at her words. "Ara? Me? I'm a cqc specialist, yanno, Kaguya and all~" a grin on his face as a blade of bone emerged from his forearm for her inspection, rapidly breaking down into dust once he was sure that she had seen it. "I use a big ol' sword too, but that's sealed away right now. Seems like it might be best if ya stay at range and let me handle close up, unless the poachers don't let us do that," he mused, considering their respective capabilities.

"Oh yeah, how well do you do in mist? I don't wanna blind you if I end up using kirigakure, and it's a little bit of a default for me," it was pretty exhausting being a team leader he'd found, especially when he was having to watch out for someone less skilled than him. Toru-kun was clearly up to something making him take such missions... sneaky little cousin.

"If they have any live animals, I'll follow your lead, not so good with em, and I wouldn't know what a kodama or nobiagari was even if it bit me on the face.... they don't bite your face do they? I might bite back... which would be bad if they were poisonous... are they poisonous? Venemous?" he smiled back at her, revealing the sharp canines that stood out amongst his teeth. Unlike some Kiri shinobi, he didn't file all his teeth into points, but he had carefully grown some nice fangs, just in case. It was clear he wasn't mocking her, while she might have experienced some attitudes before, Kimihiro wasn't about to doubt a local's knowledge of that forest, it'd be dumb to.

If she was playing a joke on him, then that was fine too, better to be overprepared than under.

---

The duo would travel at Taru's most sustainable pace, stopping when she clearly needed to, resting when she was done for the day. Kimihiro would take the bulk of the watches, but he wouldn't coddle her, trying to balance pushing the young woman to help her improve with not overdoing it.

He'd happily converse with her over whatever came to mind, keeping answers vague where he had to, and generally try to be as pleasant a mission partner as he could. No point causing friction when they were gonna work together for a while, it made missions irritating. 

Eventually, they'd be in sight of Kashiwa Village, the small Kaguya pausing to look at his ward. "Welp, we're on your turf now. Wanna take the lead on finding out what the villagers know about the poachers? I don't mind if you wanna catch up with people too~" he offered, a lollipop bouncing in his mouth as he spoke.

Word Count: 481
Tags: Suzuki Taru
Mission: 5/15

[Suzuki Taru]

She looked with fascination as the bone formed. She hadn't had the opportunity to see a Kaguya do that, not since bare minimum little efforts during her time in the academy. Seeing the practice fully formed and capable of producing that strong an effect was really impressive! Taru enjoyed grim things like skeletons and corpses, though, so that was of little surprise. She nodded in agreement when he suggested she work at range. That was the benefit of her being a jack of all trades - she could adapt to what her team needed! She could stick to the trees and attack from there while Kimihiro worked on a direct fight.

"I do alright in the mist. I utilize it myself pretty often! I wouldn't call myself an expert on blind fighting, though. I usually use it to flee or to cover for a broad attack," she said. That was something she wanted to work on training, but she felt as though she was constantly training something or another, an unending list of things she felt she needed to practice to be efficient on the field. That was exciting! She would always have something to strive towards! "If you use it, just make sure I'm in a position with recognizable escape routes and we should be fine."

She laughed at what he had to say about kodama or nobiagari. "I'll tell you more about those later. But they're not poisonous, and they probably wouldn't bite anyways."

---

Along the road, she did just that. Kimihiro probably heard more about yokai than he ever cared to know, as Taru was the type who could ramble on about spirituality and imaginary monsters and philosophy until she fell asleep.

When they arrived in Kashiwa, Kimihiro offered to let her take the lead.

"Okay," she agreed, sing-song, and dashed ahead into the village, waving her arms over her head as she called out in greeting to a local, who seemed equal parts excited and perturbed by her presence. Kashiwa was incredibly small. Taru didn't know everyone in the village, but she knew a great many of them. No one ever moved here, and few ever moved out.

"Suzuki-kun, it's been a while since you visited," the woman greeted. Looking at Taru's and Kimihiro's garb, she said, "I assume this isn't a leisure trip? You don't intend to go into the forest again, do you?"

"We're here to investigate reports of poachers traveling into the woods," Taru hummed, confirming the poor woman's anxieties. Word traveled fast here, so she was able to confirm.

"That lot of hunters? We tried to tell them not to go. They went northeast along the lake, towards the mountain base. I doubt you need to go looking. They scoffed at our advice. The forest will probably claim them."

"Probably," Taru agreed, chipper. "Still, we need to go check. It'd be dangerous if people got it in their heads that they could make a profit here. Thank you, Takahashi-san." She looked to Kimihiro, smiling. Was that enough information, or should they dig around for more specifics?

[Kaguya Kimihiro]

Kaguya Kimihiro

Throughout the trip Kimihiro had taken in everything the girl had told him, pulling out a notepad at one point to write down the details. At no point was his intent to mock or tease, he'd seen weird things in his life, and the sorts of creatures that she discussed... well, there was no reason they couldn't exist in his mind. He could, if he so chose, eject his entire skull out of his face at someone, compared to that the bamboo like Nobiagari were pretty tame really.

All in all, he found it to be one of the more interesting trips he'd had to take with a random team member, certainly better than some of the old vets who still resented his clan, or the serious boring-types that Toru liked to stick him with sometimes.

Letting the Genin take the lead in the town, Kimihiro followed at a sedate pace behind her, crimson gaze scanning the village he'd only passed through a few times, winking at one villager that stared a little too long. It didn't take Taru long to find out at least the general location of the poachers, as expected, probably would have taken him a bit longer to find someone that would have talked to him, and maybe multiple people to get that much information out of them too.

When the young woman looked back at him questioningly, he thought for a few moments. On the one hand, a general location for a C rank mission was more than enough for him, he might not have been a full Jounin but he was more than capable of taking out a group of poachers. On the other... he was technically leading this mission with a subordinate who he was probably meant to be teaching good practice so...

Ugh, responsibilties kinda sucked ne?

"Ano, any information on numbers, equipment, and how long they've been out there would be good too," he said with a slight smile, tugging at the thread that lined his lower lip absently.

Word Count: 338
Tags: Suzuki Taru
Mission: 7/15

[Suzuki Taru]

The woman seemed a little put-off by Kimihiro fiddling with the thread by his mouth like that, but she also seemed polite enough not to say anything, quickly averting her gaze to look back to Taru. Taru nodded, then looked back at Takahashi in turn.

"I didn't count how many exactly," Takahashi answered, somewhat apologetically. She contemplated for a minute, closing her eyes as if that might give her a better recollection of the image of their arrival. She furrowed her brow, walking mentally through a headcount. "Maybe six or so?" She offered, the best guess she had available. "They weren't a terribly large group."

"If they were hunters, they were probably armed, right?" Taru inquired, hoping to prompt out more information.

"They were," the woman confirmed, nodding slowly. "One of them had a bow and arrow. The rest had smaller blades. What are they... machete. The kind for cutting underbrush and thick foliage. They had a cart they were traveling with, I imagine to bring the animals back, but it wasn't very large, and was mostly empty. I think they expected to find food in the forest."

"Wow, that's a bad idea," Taru said, cheerfully.

Takahashi nodded her agreement.

"They've been out there for probably two days now... With the cart in tow, I can't imagine they've made it too far. I have to get back to work, but be careful out there."

"We'll come back with battle stories!" Taru told Takahashi, who did not seem too thrilled by that promise, though Taru didn't particularly seem to notice.

Without any hesitation, Taru started through the village and towards the forest.

"We can probably catch up with them in no time if we stick to the trees and refuse to get turned around by the spirits."

[Kaguya Kimihiro]

Kaguya Kimihiro

Listening quietly to the villager speaking, Kimihiro considered the situation. Six poachers, only one archer, the rest with some machetes... that was a rather small group all things considered. Really, he was pretty sure he could handle such a group with one hand tied behind his back, and a migraine. At least that meant that Taru wasn't likely to be at much risk, the Genin could surely handle such enemies on her own as well.

Still, it seemed like a poorly thought out expedition, unless they were joining a larger group out there? He wasn't too concerned really, and so simply smiling at the villager and giving a cheery wave, he followed after Taru towards the forest.

"Six poachers and a cart seems like a teeny amount, and the timeframe doesn't quite match our mission brief, since we have reports of them collecting stuff. I think there's going to be more out there," he stated as he followed after the young woman, clearly willing to follow her guidance into the forest itself. She was assigned this mission as the region expert and guide, and Kimihiro wasn't a proud idiot unwilling to listen to someone who had more knowledge than him.

"I'll stick close to you, is there anything else I needta know so I don't get tricked? I've been here a couple times, but not really enough to know for sure," he added, stretching his limbs out in a basic warm up as they walked. They'd been taking it fairly easy thus far, so it was best he was ready to act now.

Word Count: 263
Tags: Suzuki Taru
Mission: 9/15

[Suzuki Taru]

Taru nodded her agreement with Kimihiro's assessment.

"Six poachers and a cart sounds like they gathered more than they expected and asked for backup, to help them cart more home," she speculated. She sounded uncharacteristically serious about it, her usually playful tone dropping to something else. When it came to respecting nature, she took it quite seriously. "They're playing around with a really dangerous place, though. They'll be lucky if the forest doesn't kill them before we do!"

If they went out there to do a job like this, they probably hadn't heeded any of the warnings of the villagers, after all. She'd heard the spiel so many times growing up that it was practically embedded in her memory, permanently inscribed as though on a stone.

"These are the rules: Do not eat the fish. Do not follow the lanterns. Do not stay more than one week. Do not lose your company. Do not linger or the animals might find you," she informed Kimihiro.

Stepping into Kuro Matsubayashi was always like stepping into another world. The thick, dense foliage overhead, the creeping roots below, all covered in a layer of crawling mist that made it easy to lose one's way. Even by day, the light was low.

"Basically, never stay still, stick together, and don't stray." She began to climb one of the trees.

[Kaguya Kimihiro]

Kaguya Kimihiro

Following Taru up into the trees, Kimihiro kept pace alongside the young woman as they entered the forest. It always left him feeling rather odd when he came to this place, his instincts prickling at the danger and something almost dancing through his chakra, like a warning. The forest was old, and weird, and he was sure there was more to it than even the folklore suggested. Still, they had a mission here, and it wouldn't do to fail a simple C rank, even if it was into Kuro Matsubayashi.

It wasn't too hard to follow the poachers, footprints and wheel ruts guiding their way into the outer reaches of the forest, northeast just as they had been told. He let Taru continue to take point, keeping an eye on how she moved, what she noticed or reacted to, and generally kept an eye on the Genin as was his responsibility.

Two days travel for some average poachers with a cart was a much shorter distance for a determined shinobi, so it wouldn't take them more than half a day before the ruts started becoming a full on packed earth path, the weight of a number of feet pressing the undergrowth down until soft dirt was exposed. With fog and the dense treescape, sound was muffled, but if he strained, he could hear the sound of people talking in the distance, of what was likely wood being chopped, and a faint scent of wood smoke.

A bit further in, and the camp would be visible to the hidden duo. A number of tents surrounded by a thin wooden wall, resting on the edge of a small river that had been bridged (poorly). Crates, boxes, and what looked like wooden cages lined the walls, and while he couldn't figure out what was in them, he could tell there were at least a few animals trapped within.

"There they are~" the Kaguya whispered cheerfully, "wanna decide how we clear em out?"

Word Count: 329
Tags: Suzuki Taru
Mission: 11/15

[Suzuki Taru]

Moving through this forest always felt natural. There was a caution in her, but also a sort of automation. This was her home and though this forest was dangerous, she had traveled it for a long time without dying before. She paused at subtle noises, but for the most part kept moving, eyes fixed forward. What was important to learn about Kuro Matsubayashi was that if you respected the place, it would respect you back. A predator moved with surety and not caution, so the best way to avoid becoming prey was to move like a predator.

Soon enough they arrived at the encampment. There sure were more than the six bandits that had come through the village recently. Two carts, a wood wall surrounding several tents, boxes and boxes and crates. This was a pretty large operation! They should be able to handle it, but they'd have to make sure to use the element of surprise well.

Kimihiro asked if Taru wanted to help decide on a way to clear them out. She made a low, thoughtful hum, squinting at the camp.

"Fire is the best way to get people to scatter, but we also don't want the forest or the cages to catch," she said. She motions, forming a thoughtful line, pointing at one of the campfires. "If I shoot an arrow over that and into the tent near the bridge, that back wall will catch fire and we can seal off their exit from the rear. Then I can go handle releasing the animals in the chaos," she suggested.

[Kaguya Kimihiro]

Kaguya Kimihiro

Kimihiro rubbed at his chin at the woman's suggestion, considering their options. "The mist might make it a bit hard to get a good flame going," he stated, "but if the tent is oilcloth then it should go up pretty well, as long as you have somethin' flammable on your arrow." It wouldn't burn much, but even a single tent going up in flames would definitely startle the poachers, "we hafta be careful though, we're supposed to collect the medicinal and poisonous stuff they've gathered," he reminded her.

"Ok, you set the fire, I'll start taking care of them while they panic. Will it be safer for the animals to be let out during the fight or after?" he asked, tugging at his lip absently. The last thing he wanted was some crazy tormented tiger or bear creature to attack him while he was toying with the poachers, attacking animals here might have all sorts of nasty side effects, like the forest trying to impale him on tree roots or somethin. You never knew!

Either way, his hand moved over the back of his neck and with a small poof of smoke the seal embedded just above his shoulderblades released the Executioner's Blade into his grasp, the massive blade hanging down his back and ready to be swung forward with devastating force.

"I'll move out on your mark ok? Don't worry too much if they start coming for you, I'll cover you if it comes to it," he gave her a slight smile, a little more on the unsettling side than reassuring, but he was trying his best. Usually his grins were far more bloodthirsty than not after all.

Word Count: 279
Tags: Suzuki Taru
Mission: 13/15

[Suzuki Taru]

He did have a good point about the mist. She remembered reading a lot about forests and mist. Mist could put fire out at low pressure and the air pressure in forests tended to be low... She'd have to do a really good job selecting her target to make sure things burned like they were supposed to. Still, the fire going out relatively quickly would also be a good thing, since it would allow them to collect what they'd came for. It would be a quick startling force, but not burn long enough to endanger the animals or the plants.

"It'll be safer to let them out after. Animals don't like fire, since burns are extremely deadly in the wilderness," she informed him. Injuries that were easily treatable for humans were a death sentence for wildlife, after all.

Her eyes lit up at the sight of his blade and she nodded.

"I won't be afraid if they come for me anyways." Death wasn't so scary as people acted like, even if she'd prefer not to die.

Pulling a scrap of fabric off the hem of her ratty outfit, she tied it around the base of the arrowhead. Then she drew back her arrow to line up the shot. Feel the wind, look at the angle, watch the flicker of the fire, see how the people move. She needed to strike perfectly. She inhaled and held it to hold her arm steady.

One more glance at Kimihiro to be sure he was ready to move and then she would loose the arrow.

Sure enough, the arrow would strike right through the campfire and into the tent, the scrap on the arrowhead acting like tinder to catch the flame.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Ichitama no Jutsu [One Shot Technique]

RANK: D

CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low

CLASSIFICATION: Bukijutsu

ELEMENT: -

HANDSEALS: 0

DESCRIPTION:

A simple, direct, and efficient technique. The user readies a bow and arrow, sacrificing rate of fire to provide a more accurate (though not necessarily stronger) shot instead. This technique helps firing a bow mitigate other obstacles as well such as high winds or heavy rain. The focus required on this technique means it is prone to disruption, and leaves the user vulnerable in melee. It also requires them to remain stationary for its use in order to minimize the amount of factors that need to be calculated per shot.

[Kaguya Kimihiro]

Kaguya Kimihiro

It seemed impossible, for such a damp forest to allow the fire to ignite on the tent, but as the arrow whizzed through the air and through the campfire it lit, slamming into a tent and causing the whole thing to go up in an instant. He wasn't entirely sure that the whole reason this worked was because the forest didn't want these poachers here. It truly was a distinct possibility. The reaction from the poachers was as expected, the men jumping up from their seats and shouting in surprise, some looking around for whoever had attacked them.

It might have been amusing to sit there and watch the chaos, but that was his cue to go. Forming a string of handseals that caused the mist around them to start thickening, the Kaguya seemed to vanish into the mist as he chained 'Kirigakure no Jutsu' into 'Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu'. As always, he pondered what creative soul named the second jutsu even as he faded amongst the growing gloom.

"Hehehehe~" he giggled from amongst the mist as he moved in and amongst the camp, his voice both muffled and echoing off the now dense fog, the glow of the burning tent diffused by the water vapour to become an almost supernatural glow, "yoooooooooou've been naaaaaughty~!"

Emerging from the mist at the back entrance of the camp to make sure that the poachers didn't run off in the wrong direction, Kimihiro's arm rose up, the Kubikiribocho held easily in one hand before coming down and splitting a poacher in two, most of the camp only seeing the shadows of the act amidst the mist.

"The forest doesn't like naughty people" he added darkly as his blade rose once more.

---

Startled by the fire and creeped out by the fog and creepy voice hiding within it, a trio of poachers turned to flee from Kimihiro's position. Long handled boar spears in hand, they rushed towards the camp's exit as best they could in the mist, determined looks on their faces as they kept pace with one another.

Taru might notice them emerge from the camp and start down the path, their heads swivelling around in search of danger, but unable to find any in the mist that Kimihiro had summoned.

Word Count: 379
Tags: Suzuki Taru
Mission: 15/15
Combat Info:

SPOILER: Click to show

Relevant SA
Ghost of the Battlefield
Thrown into full blown warfare at a young age, Kimihiro wasn't able to stand up to other shinobi in open combat. As such, he developed the sorts of skills needed to go undetected until he struck, and sometimes not even then. This skillset was then built upon by his mentor and later training in the Hunter-nin corps, honing his natural talent for stealth into a true inheritor of Kirigakure's Silent Killing techniques.

Relevant Jutsu
Name:Kirigakure no Jutsu - [Hidden Mist Technique]
Rank:D
CHAKRA USAGE: Medium
Type:Ninjutsu
Element:Suiton
HANDSEALS: 3
Requirement:Kirigakure Shinobi Only
Description:
Kirigakure no Jutsu is a Ninjutsu utilized by Hidden Mist ninja. The ninja causes the surrounding area to be covered in fog. The low visibility allows the ninja to silently and secretly assassinate their target.

NAME: Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu [Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Medium
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Suiton
HANDSEALS: 5
REQUIREMENT: Kirigakure Shinobi Only | Kirigakure no Jutsu [Hidden Mist Technique] or Advanced variation | Mizugakure no Jutsu [Water Release: Hiding in Water Technique]
DESCRIPTION:
Similiarly to the hiding in water technique the user becomes the vapor all around them, effectively disappearing into the mist entirely. However, unlike the hiding in water technique, the user does not have to remain still as the fogs nature is mobile. This utilizes the Kirigakure shinobi's full deadliness, allowing them to get in close and assassinate in silence. However, being attacked, hit or have any significant physical pressure applied the user will immediately become visible. For this technique to work, there must be rather heavy mist already present in the area, or the user must cast either the hidden mist or advanced hidden mist technique.