[Daredemo]

DaREDEMO Uchiha Yamanaka Itsuki Uchiha Miroru

    The Shinobi graduation meant a bit more freedom for Daredemo, and when he found the opportunity to leave the village for the first time he was quick to volunteer. Working as a guard for a small caravan. Materials that some people might want, but the risk was low, the route they were taking was well traversed. The likelihood of an attack was low, but that didn't mean that vigilance was unneeded. So Daredemo remained vigilant. He sat at the back of a wagon, sword resting next to him, his mind struggling to stay focused on the task at hand. 

    It was his first time out of the village. It was still new to him to be living out of his father's supervision, it was still strange to him to have this headband tied around his head. He wasn't going to lie and say that he was completely prepared for what was coming, but what else was one to do to get better than to train. He would take this ride to the Border Town, he would do a bit of work in the town, and then he'd be back in the village. It was a short journey, but it was still a test. A test he couldn't study for the same way as he had in the academy. This was truly the test of a shinobi.

    He was excited. 

OWL

[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Chuunin

Daredemo Yamanaka Itsuki | ### | notes

And every test needed a proctor or two.

Hearing that Daredemo had signed onto the supply guard caravan, Miroru had- predictably- told Itsuki first thing, and maneuvered to get herself and Itsuki assigned as guards onto the caravan as well. With his position already secured, there should theoretically be no reason for the newly fledged Genin to check his coworkers- or, really, to necessarily realize he HAD any.

So as Dare plunked down in the wagon with his brother's sword, Miroru and Itsuki were already on scene in disguise. For Miroru's part, she had her hair tied up under a bandana, and her face as well, a common look for many laborers. She made sure to wear some dingy clothing Dare hadn't seen her in before as well, and sealed her gunbai into a big scroll packed in the corner of one of the wagons. Long sleeves and loose pants kept her signature boots and gloves out of sight while she played at staying busy, moving crates around as needed and being generally helpful without being too obvious.

She hoped she wouldn't need to intervene- though she wasn't sure Itsuki would feel the same! They weren't here to baby Dare after all, just to make the odds of the mission being successful pop up a bit!

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

Template by: Monkey

COMPLETE/INCOMPLETE MISSIONS
D - 1i | C - 14c/5i | B - 2i | A - 0 | S - 0

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

He wasn't quite sure why Miroru had insisted on this whole thing. Not the part about going with Dare on his first mission, he got that, she'd done the same when it had been his own first out-of-village 'solo' mission. What he didn't understand was why she had insisted that they start this whole thing undercover without letting Dare know that they were coming along.

Honestly, it felt like a bad idea to hide such a thing from the prickly younger shinobi.

Still, she had been so insistant that he'd begrudgingly agreed to at least hide himself at first, and after talking briefly with the clients he had shimmied himself down into a mostly empty barrel that was placed in one of the carts, sitting rather comfortably due to his small stature mixed with the bag of rice that took up the rest of the space. It was kind of like a beanbag.

Hidden in plain sight in such a way, the young Yamanaka focused himself on the Kagura's Mind Eye technique, his sensory bubble expanding outwards as he focused on the world around him. The chances of anything sneaking up on the caravan were minimal at best, and incredibly unlikely in any metric. What he'd do about it... well, that was a different question, and he still wasn't sure if he would remain hidden for long.

It depended on what happened he supposed.

Word Count: 234
Mission: 3/15
Tags: Daredemo , Uchiha Miroru

[Daredemo]

DaREDEMO Uchiha Yamanaka Itsuki Uchiha Miroru

    Daredemo was aware he had partners on this journey, but after he got word that he would be part of the caravan he had honestly stopped paying attention to who that was going to be. He was happy to simply be here, regardless of who was coming with him. Instead Daredemo simply found himself sat at the back of the wagon enjoying the journey in front of him.

    Well, technically he was facing the way they had come from, so the journey was behind him. That was semantics however, and Daredemo was here to protect them. He needed to take his job seriously. After waving a few hand seals Daredemo was greeted by 6 copies of himself. Cinder Clones. They wouldn't be able to relay too much information, but it was basically like having extra eyes. Daredemo would send 3 clones to either side, making their way up the caravan and taking a few key positions to watch from. 

    The real Daredemo would stay at the rear. From behind or from the sides. Those were the likely attack points if one was chosen. So making sure that he or a copy of himself was at all the major points of entry seemed the simplest of ideas. He hoped his partners, whoever they were, wouldn't mind the incursion.

OWL

[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Chuunin

Daredemo Yamanaka Itsuki | 205 | notes

Why had Miroru insisted on the sneakery?

Cuz she was Miroru.

Itsuki was tucked away in his little rice barrel, and Miroru was making herself useful as she usually did, meandering around Daredemo who was happily enjoying the chance to relax and prep for a quite possibly much more exciting turn of events later. Not an assured one by any means, but something worth being ready for.

The scattering of clones, though, was unexpected, and left Miroru without many places to avoid scrutiny. The place likely to have the least Daredemo eyes, ironically...

Was gonna be right back by him.

She headed to the back of the cart and hauled herself up with a gruff, low-toned, "Scuse me, uh. Kid? Sir? Kid-san? What, uh. What do I call you, anyway?" She rumbled as she wedged herself between some goods to check on the big scroll, the rice barrel, some other perfuctory items that she fiddled with the securing straps for. "Or is it like. Forbidden to speak to you or somethin'?"

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

Template by: Monkey

COMPLETE/INCOMPLETE MISSIONS
D - 1i | C - 14c/5i | B - 2i | A - 0 | S - 0

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

Tucked cozily within the barrel, Itsuki spread his awareness out with the sort of calm certainty of long practice. He had trained extensively with Toshizou-sama in using his sensory skills, and as such was able to almost lose himself in the act of scanning his surroundings. It was an impossible act to properly explain to someone, but everything had chakra if you looked hard enough, and it meant that he was able to spot anything of interest, or simply enjoy his surroundings despite being stuck in a wooden barrel.

He could sense it all, from the rabbits tucked away in a burrow about 400 meters off the road to Mo-chi's clones that 'felt' of smouldering and warmth. Of course his attention was half on Miroru's burning beacon of chakra as she shuffled around the caravan and eventually come to settle next to Dare... and immediately give away who she was.

Because there was no way that was anyone other than Miroru trying to disguise herself as someone else. She was a chuunin for crying out loud, she could have at least used a henge or something! That said, she probably hadn't had any infiltration training because no one in their right mind would have signed her up for that. Not since that debacle in the Academy....

Still... surely she had a better trick than that!

Word Count: 225
Mission: 6/15
Tags: Daredemo , Uchiha Miroru

[Daredemo]

DaREDEMO Uchiha Yamanaka Itsuki Uchiha Miroru

    When Daredemo heard a voice cutting through the sounds of wagon wheels on dirt roads he of course gave it at least a courtesy glance. It was a strange site to say the least. For one, they were clearly no older than him and yet attempting to call him kid. Then of course there was the fact that as they continued to talk Daredemo couldn't help but think they sounded quite familiar.

  "Oh,"  A smirk crossed his lips as he put two and two together, "You can just call me Lord Shinigami Ash God." Daredemo gave a rather over the top smile and pointed at himself with his thumb. An overly grand title, a fitting punishment for trying to trick him. 

    As that idea bounced around in his head more, he figured he could have a bit of fun with the idea of pretending like he didn't see past the disguise. How far would Miroru push the game. His clones were still watching out for trouble, and if Miroru was here that meant Itsuki probably was to, and he would definitely be keeping a wider eye out than Daredemo could. 

    "You're allowed to speak to me, but I do insist you use my title or I won't know who you're talking to."

OWL

[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Chuunin

Daredemo Yamanaka Itsuki | 243 | notes

Sadly, Miroru was deprived of Itsuki's inner thoughts as he tore apart her very clever and definitely thought through and not at all improvisational plan to avoid getting caught by the half-dozen clones she hadn't accounted for. She could have explained that she didn't want to put actual effort into deceiving Daredemo lest it seem she was actually attempting to avoid notice more so than necessary to preserve his ego, or provided any number of less-believable excuses for her response.

Instead, all she had was Dare's response, which she did her best to take in stride. "Ohh, so you want me to use your whole address, Shi Kamesama Hai Kamisama-sama? What an interesting set of titles. And just how did you come across both Kam I sama and Kam E sama as apellations, I wonder? You must be a very experienced shinobi! Do tell, I would so love to hear those stories, young man~ ohohohoho~"

She fussed about for a moment more, trusting that Itsuki and the clones would catch any threats long before they were close enough to be problematic. "And who else would I be addressing as shinobi? You're the only one I can see from here!

Granted, I see you seven times, but the point stands!"

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

Template by: Monkey

COMPLETE/INCOMPLETE MISSIONS
D - 1i | C - 14c/5i | B - 2i | A - 0 | S - 0

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

It took a lot of effort for Itsuki not to call out Dare's 'name' for what it was, utter Chuunibyou nonsense. Like, the level of restraint that it took him deserved a medal or something because dang it was a lot. It became even harder to keep himself hidden away when Miroru called Dame 'Lord Turtle', her slip of the tongue painting amusing images that the young Yamanaka couldn't help but grin at.

Luckily for him he was hidden in a barrel of rice, and thus could grin all he liked without breaking professionalism.

It was about this time that some chakra signatures started to pop up on his sensory bubble, not powerful enough to be concerning to the three of them, but a much larger group than you'd expect to be out and about on these roads. Without knowing the exact lay of the land, he would have difficulty figuring out their overall position in relation to the road and such, but it was certainly possible that these people were an ambush for passers-by. Or it could be another caravan.

Taking a paper from his journal and writing down his observations, Itsuki then folded the paper into a shuriken shape, covering it with the wind chakra of Fūton: Kaiten Shuriken, and slipping it out of his barrel. The little paper shuriken would zip through the air under his control, and stick itself firmly in Daredemo's hair.

Because why not.

Word Count: 240
Mission: 9/15
Tags: Daredemo , Uchiha Miroru

[Daredemo]

DaREDEMO Uchiha Yamanaka Itsuki Uchiha Miroru

    "Well I guess my other team mates on this mission must be doing their job then," if Daredemo wasn't positive that this was Miroru, he wouldn't have said those words. A member of the crew who looked so young, unaware that other shinobi were part of the caravan. It be an outsider if it wasn't just Miroru having fun.

    Daredemo, for his own part, was having fun as well. Messing with Miroru had been a long enjoyed pass time of the shinobi, even before the two could be considered friends, though part of Daredemo assumed that Miroru would have tried to claim their friendship back then as well. Miroru was the only person in the academy to truly try and oush past Daredemo's rough outer shell. It was different, but welcomed. 

    What was not welcomed was the sudden thwap of something getting caught in Daredemo's hair. The young shinobi felt it far before he saw it, and shook his hair to force it out, analyzing it for a few moments. Miroru hadn't thrown it, and it clearly wasn't an attack, so clearly Itsuki was here as well. How fortuitous that the three on this journey would be the three of them. The disguise finally clicked. Miroru had ony signed up to this mission to mess with him, and dragged Itsuki along for the ride. 

    "Though, I could criticize their work just a bit, I mean, one of them has the true transformation technique and instead of using it they decided on a very poorly made disguise." 

OWL

[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Chuunin

Daredemo Yamanaka Itsuki | 272 | notes

"Hm hm, yes, I suppose that's so," Miroru muttered in her deepened voice, pausing as she saw the paper star flicked out to bonk Dare, intuiting a few things from the manner in which Itsuki was communicating even without reading the note. First, for him to break cover at all highly suggested there was something he needed to say. For him to do so in that specific manner suggested he had reasons to stay hidden despite the importance of the communication. Which suggested...

"Well, I'm sure they have very good reasons for not wanting to actually deceive their partners and clients," she stated clearly, discretely turning this way, that, to let her eyes scan the forest, her pupils narrowing to fox-like slits as she let just the tiniest touch of chakra fill them, catching some distant movement off both sides of the road, confirming her suspicions. "Reasons that could be discussed at later times, when there were fewer reasons to be on *proper* guard, I'd imagine." She emphasized the word to clue Dare in that there was trouble incoming, and to be ready for it. For her part, she crouched in the back of the wagon, and performed three quick jutsus without immediate obvious effect- two to empower her boots and gloves with their signature abilities, and another to layer a simple kekkai field around her body for protection. "Gotta be ready for anything, anytime, right, kid?"

SPOILER: Click to show

Used Kekkai no Yoroi (Barrier Armor) / Kekkai: Kyōka Suru (Barrier: Strengthen) / Kekkai: Dan [Barrier: Stair], the latter two to activate Black Bouncer boots and gloves.

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

Template by: Monkey

COMPLETE/INCOMPLETE MISSIONS
D - 1i | C - 14c/5i | B - 2i | A - 0 | S - 0

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

Rolling his eyes slightly at the banter between his two friends, Itsuki continued to track the path of what he was fairly certain were bandits after their caravan. There was still plenty of time for them to properly prepare and get themselves ready for the situation, though he was going to stay out of the fight unless it was necessary for the time being. It was Dare's first mission and he wanted the other boy to have a chance to feel how things might play out.



Of course, Miroru might think differently, but that was just how things went in a team, you couldn't necessarily anticipate exactly how people would respond..

Intead, Itsuki simply prepared himself for trouble while keeping track of their enemies, wondering how long it might take for them to be attacked. He wasn't particularly concerned, none of them felt stronger than the shinobi that were serving as guards.

---

As the caravan slowly plodded along the road there was a buzz of activity up ahead as the bandits prepared themselves for what they were hoping to be an easy payday. A little threatening here, some minor abuse there and hey presto, supplies that they could use or sell as they pleased.

Maybe even a little 'company' if there was anyone suitable amongs the merchants.

Dragging a large log into place, the bandits hid themselves along the side of the road, preparing themselves as the caravan drew closer.

Word Count: 240
Mission: 12/15
Tags: Daredemo , Uchiha Miroru

[Daredemo]

DaREDEMO Uchiha Yamanaka Itsuki Uchiha Miroru

    Daredemo was ready to continue making jokes, but Miroru's comments got his attention. The emphasis on the word "proper" guard was a fairly easy tip off. The shift seemed to happen whenever Daredemo got struck with the paper shuriken. The shinobi groaned as he picked up off the bed of the cabin and pulled the paper open. 

    Daredemo let out another loud groan before handing the paper to Miroru. This wasn't going to be a simple cart ride, was it? 

    Then there was a much more concerning event. The cart stopped moving. There was never a reason that the cart should stop moving, their next check point wasn't for another half days walk at best. Daredemo quickly peaked his head up towards the front. An overturned log. Not the most uncommon of events out in the wilds. But that, combined with the chakra signatures pinged by Itsuki, it didn't inspire much help. 

    Daredemo waved 3 hand seals. And suddenly the number of Daredemo's in the caravan ballooned from 6 to 11 as Daredemo created a few Cinder clones to match his regular ashen clones. He had wanted to avoid using the more powerful clones unless he knew there was trouble, now he knew. As 10 Daredemo surrounded the caravan, watching for the bandits entrance, the true Daredemo went to the front of the caravan. No reason to focus on defending and THEN move. He wanted to get the tree out of the way now, get the caravan moving WHILE they fought the bandits back.

OWL

[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Chuunin

Daredemo Yamanaka Itsuki | 225 | notes

Miroru took mental stock of the bandits she could pick out- not badly hidden, but simply outclassed by the unnatural sharpness of her own senses- and flicked open the pouches leading to her wire-bound shuriken, marking anchor points for one of her favorite techniques as she did. Taking the paper when offered, she nodded and tsk'd quietly. "I missed a couple. Good thing we've got backup, eh?" Miroru murmured, keeping her voice down as she peered towards the front as the caravan got surrounded by Daredemos.

"Hm. Wonder if it's a good idea to make it so obvious we've got shinobi guards. Could scare off potential threats- or convince them to put on a show of strength since there's better than average protection. Hard to know which beforehand- but it does give them targets they can hit without killing anyone, so even if it prompts a show of force, maybe it evens out either w-eh?!" Miroru squawked quietly as Daredemo headed to the front of the caravan alone. She scooted to the edge of the cart where Itsuki's barrel was and hissed under her breath, "Where the heck is he going?!"

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

Template by: Monkey

COMPLETE/INCOMPLETE MISSIONS
D - 1i | C - 15c/5i | B - 2i | A - 0 | S - 0

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

Blinking slightly at the increase in chakra signatures for Daredemo, Itsuki couldn't help but hope the younger Uchiha wasn't overdoing it with his chakra, that was a heck of a lot of clones. Tracking the bandits, the clients, and his two teammates, Itsuki poked his head slightly up and out of the barrel at Miroru's hissed question, dark hair and bright eyes hidden behind the shadow of the barrel's lid like it was a wide brimmed hat.

"I think he's gonna try to move the log," he murmured back, now able to see what was in that general direction, a slight sigh emerging from the Yamanaka's mouth as he considered the options, "I dunno how strong these bandits are, not really in the range of a trained Genin, but there's a lot of them, at least twenty, maybe more if the group of people I feel further away are part of the same lot. How much do we want to let Mo-chi handle on his own?"

After all, they did want the newly minted Genin to have a chance to get his feet wet and build experience, something that he wouldn't get if they simply jumped in.

---

Meanwhile amongst the bandits a brief discussion was heated up, a number of them drawing bows that were much better kept than their clothing could hope to be as they considered their options. A single shinobi it seemed, even if there were lots of him, and a kid at that. It shouldn't be too difficult to take the caravan.

Silently, seemingly as one, fourteen bows drew back and unleashed a hail of arrows from the forest, aimed to hit the many Daredemos around the caravan. A second volley would follow the first with surprising speed as they attempted to take out the caravan's 'sole' shinobi guard.

Word Count: 303
Mission: 15/15
Tags: Daredemo , Uchiha Miroru