[Futago Kumori]

Kumori had her weighted wooden sword slung over her shoulder; heavy though it was, she wanted to try training with it while they performed the mission. It helped that it could still function somewhat like a weapon, although it actually felt even heavier than her actual greatsword that was attached to her left hip. The weapon pouch was similarly situated at her right, though she didn't expect to make much use of any thrown weapons. Her dress loosely covers her arms and legs, while firmly holding the rest of her torso, looking a little plain if perhaps too flashy with how white it is, but the pink-and-peach color of the lining draws the eye a bit more. It also stands out between the surprisingly small pieces of visible armor over her shoulders, her collarbone, and surrounding her hips, which is fully black. Of course, the mesh armor she's wearing underneath the cheongsam isn't so easily seen, giving what might seem like an obvious weak spot an even more sturdy defense. The Kusagakure headband surrounded her forehead as her black ponytail swayed in the breeze. At least it was at night that the mission had begun, so the white cheongsam wouldn't be quite so easily seen on their way to Izumizuki on the path southward.

Kumori looks to be a little impatient as she taps her white nin-shoes on the dirt path leading out of the Hidden Grass Village, listening to the susurrus of grass shifting as the occasional breeze combs through the sea of high grass that protected the village from being too easily visible. As it is, they were supposed to be pretending to be a merchant and a bodyguard and laborer, with Kumori dragging the cart behind herself. While she didn't much appreciate being saddled with such work, it was at least for a good reason. She tells herself that, anyway. She's barely paying attention as she chews on a stem of hay, her right hand holding the hilt of her weighted greatsword and the left hand on her hip with her elbow out, the cart of empty boxes ready for "transport" to the small village next to her, waiting for this Shin person to show up.

SPOILER: Click to show

Routine Bandit Maintenance
MISSION RANK: C
NPC REQUIREMENT: Optional
PARTICIPANTS: At least 2, up to 4 (Repeatable Mission)
DESCRIPTION:

While the people of Kusagakure have done well to hold together during these times of uncertain leadership, the lack of a strong figurehead has been felt by bandits across the country. Choose one of the roads that lead out of Kusagakure and head out on patrol, cutting down any bandits that cross your path.

[Uehara Shin]

While Kumori was impatient and maybe even tense or eager, Shin had been casually strolling through the city for the past two hours, got himself some fried chicken and ate it, had a brief conversation with a local merchant he had helped out a few times when he needed manpower and finally he had also instructed some of his 'employees' on their tasks. He had done quite a few things already and it was not even his main task for the day. He was dressed casually as always, there was no piece of armor on him, he could be any other douche bag traing to cause trouble if seen from afar, to the point even his shoes, while not old or damaged, looked a little dusty. He preffered dressing like this to appear more approachable and less like a barbaric ninja, but the time of him needing to put more stock into him being a shinobi was approaching, he could feel it. For now though, he would team up with fellow Shinobi and in the worst case use them as meat shields.

Shin'S casual attitude went so far as him not even wearing a headband anywhere visibly on his body. Right now he only carried it inside his jacket and as he approached the village gate a thin smile spread on his face. He had looked into this woman he was teamed with a bit, of course only superficial information one could get from asking a fellow Shinobi, but that was enough for him. 18 years old and still a genin, a bit pitiful really, considering Shin might've been a jounin already if he had a better behaviour. Well, not important really, she was only here with him for an easy job, in and out in no time, beating up some fools. Too bad really that he would not be able to find more underlings, they made for cheap labour with just a bit persuasion of putting them in prison otherwise. So he approached Kumori looking like a civilian opening with, "So you're my precious junior this time, let's work hard." He said, patted her shoulder and walked past her, not waiting for much of an introduction. Still casually walking out of the gate as if nothing in the world could bother him, he said, "Introductions can be done on the way, just make sure you keep your senses sharp." That said, with his hands in his pockets, he looked anything but sharp and attentive.

415 words

[Futago Kumori]

Kumori frowns when she sees that she's paired up with a man that most people added "the bastard" and spit onto the ground when they said his name. Not to his face, of course, but she was certain most of the people of Kusagakure were ready to, as long as they could get away with it. With a deft bit of mouthwork, she manages to spit the stalk of hay past Shin with a quick burst of breath, shooting off behind his head while he walks past her towards the road so he won't see it.

"Mm... Well, at least you said 'let us work hard. Othwerwise, I guess people might start calling you Fat Ugly Bastard behind your back instead of just Ugly Bastard."

Despite her words, and the fact that they didn't actually call Shin an Ugly Bastard at all, but simply Bastard, Kumori's tone was even and plain, surprisingly more dry than the desert. Apparently, Shin would not need to be introduced to Kumori, although that was probably to be expected, as gate guards are quite likely to pick up on rumors as people pass in or out of the village. With it being a comparatively small village compared to the more major five villages, there was little to talk about, other than the people that stand out, and it seems that Shin is one of those people. Kumori slips the weighted blade into the hand-drawn cart that would serve as their disguise for the bandits, then deftly picks up the hand rails that allow her to pull it after. With the order to keep her senses sharp, she once again gives him her most dry, half-lidded stare before she turns her eyes back towards the road.

Her previous insult was untrue, unfortunately, as he was kinda cute. This was unfortunate, as Kumori is able to tell from the short first impression that he wasn't really someone she'd enjoy having around, much less making conversation with him. With her eyes scanning back and forth, never staying on any one place for long unless there was a warning rustle of the grass, she speaks to him. At least with an introduction, time might pass a little more quickly.

"I'm Kumori, of the Futago clan, by the way. Unfortunately, I only know your first name... as well as what other people call you. Your reputation clearly precedes you, in the village at least."

[Uehara Shin]

Shin, to be fair, looked like anything but, like he was here to work hard. It wouldn't be out of place to assume he was going to hum a little tune, or even start having a little swing to his step. Instead, he remained steady, calm and clearly relaxed. It could be said that Shin was a slight bit surprised that Kumori was so openly antagonistic to him. Had he wronged her before? He'd surely remember, but basically what he knew was that she was a gate guard. Maybe that fact was enough, he'd tricked and played one or the other gate guard before, just being a general annoyance when there was more work to do. He didn't stop or slow down and just kept walking in his even pace, not too slow nor too fast as he spoke, this time with a bit of a cheeky grin curling his lips. "I am a little hurt you would think that about me, never in my life have I been lazy to the point of gaining weight. Though I am happy that someone finally appreciates my name and work, although I guess you have no actual clue about who I am and what I do. That said, I don't think we are on bad terms, how could I make enemies with my cute kouhai?"

The Uehara Shinobi were meanwhile starting to also pay more attention to their surroundings as they had left the gate and were making their way forward and out towards the countryside. Right now there was no one around them, Shin, even with his great perception, could not discover anything around them being amiss, and so he could afford to keep his idle chatter with Kumori up. "My surname is Uehara, there's not much to it, we're a fallen clan that doesn't have much left. I'm the last one from the main family, maybe if you go out into the countryside you can find some more." He shrugged his shoulders as if to say, 'such is life' and didn't dwell on it much, as he was still trying to find out himself what worth was left in this family name. "The great Futago clan is on a whole other level compared to me, you can even afford your leader leaving you and going to another country and still the clan stands strong. I have met that Raimaa woman, by the way, and started to engage in some business dealings with her, so maybe you should show me some respect. Even she didn't call me an ugly bastard." This was of course just boasting. Not a lie explicitly, but if it hadn't been during the chuunin exams with guards everywhere, maybe that woman would have just killed him there, but Kumori didn't need to know and Shin was just trying to gauge her attitude some more.

477 words

[Futago Kumori]

Kumori doesn't speak much when he states that he's a little hurt about her assessment of his weight or his laziness, mostly ignoring that point of contention with him, in fact. He seemed to have a lackadaisical nature, as far as she could see of him so far, and it rather grated on her, though she did her best to avoid looking like she was annoyed. After all, she had to look like an inattentive guard, at least in order to draw in the eyes of the bandits. She knew they wouldn't attack too close to the actual village itself, and certainly not within sight, but perhaps after the first bend, all bets were off. With the grass as high as it is, it would have been quite easy to lose sight of other structures. She ignores his attempts to compliment her, unaffected by any attempt at flattery.

"I'm sure the only reason you're not wider at the belt is because you're constantly running from the consequences of your own attitude. As for me, I thought you would have appreciated me not putting on a mask in front of you, only to turn my head and spit once I'm no longer in your presence. In any case, we are on bad terms; troublemakers make life difficult for the regular duty peacekeepers, and that makes life difficult for the gate guards by proxy."

The only real changes to their environment seems to be the rustling of grass so far, which could be just as easily attributed to the animals that love the underbrush, or the wind stirring the grass together. She's never heard of any Uehara clan, so she takes his statement about the clan as fallen at face value. There'd really be no reason to lie about the fact that his clan had lapsed in their golden age. When he mentions the name of Raimaa, her body visibly reacts for the first time, becoming a bit stiff as her muscles flex for a moment, and she's reminded of why he's called a bastard when he demands her to respect him. But she's quick on her feet in a verbal sword match, it seems; where Shin seemed to have a dagger that hits at important places, Kumori must have a nodachi that cuts down even the greatest horse on the battlefield.

"Perhaps one day, you will stand on your own feet and earn your own respect instead of relying on the respect earned by someone else's name. Until then, you are only an Ugly Bastard to me."

She stops for a moment, but it's clearly not due to exhaustion; she's not even breathing through her mouth. There is some greater rustling to her left, and so she's stopped the cart, prepared to reach back and grab hold of her heavy training blade in order to attack whatever comes through. Instead, it's merely a farmer and his ox, clearly startled at how close he got to running them over, and Kumori pulls back on the cart to make way for the man and his ox before they continue on their path.

[Uehara Shin]

Shin considered himself already good at discovering information around him, perception was one of his greatest strengths, he was able to notice even small changes in his surroundings. Although he needed to still stay focused to his vicinity, he could also accurately judge when something was off the vast majority of times, and this job would likely not require him to stay on the highest alert. Instead, he enjoyed, what he judged as, putting Kumori on edge without much effort. Maybe he could end up lecturing her for it. "Ah, I see, you really know nothing, it's no wonder you've been stuck guarding the gate with little progress." He replied, being calm as before. The truth was he was not an expert in combat like many Shinobi, he could hold his own, but his real strength lay in his mind, so it was no wonder he could hold up to Kumori like this. Really, though, what was that about his weight? Did he gain any unnecessary pounds, or was she really this childish right now? "What if I told you I'm actively helping the village even when I'm off duty? Well, I couldn't realistically convince you of my innocence right now." He laughed at something only he could understand. "I've been spat at before, I've been called a bastard, and people have put in requests to not have to work with me anymore. I don't care about all those, even if it's a bit of a sad appearance, but nobody will tell you that I am incompetent or running from duties."

With Shin's clan at the back of his mind again, he seemed more interested in finding out about the Futago, but this little girl wouldn't tell him anything interesting or important, who knew if she even had an idea of what was going on. He purposely stepped on a large stick that then flicked into his hand. He would use that stick like a walking cane. "I'm sure you have some admiration for that woman. I do too, too bad she wasn't actually willing to talk much. I don't think we left on good terms, and maybe she'll even try to silence me when we meet again." He spoke some of the truth as to what had happened between him and Raimaa, giving Kumori a small victory, before adding, "Too bad meeting her only convinced me of her being a failure. You should stay away." He was actually asking himself if he had a connection to Yuki through her if he played his cards right, or if he had already damaged any future relation with them. He actually watched Kumori stepping aside the approaching ox and farmer and shook his head. "Maybe this is not a good time to talk about the past if you can't stay focused." It maybe didn't look like it, but Shin stayed out of the way specifically for this reason: he had noticed someone approaching. He shrugged and watched his partner walk around the man, while with quite a charismatic smile and an arm waving, he shouted after the farmer, "Stay safe!" He then turned back to Kumori as if nothing changed and started guiding the way again, no close to the usually dangerous areas.

541 words

[Futago Kumori]

Kumori ignores the jab at her apparent employment stagnation, particularly since his statement simply wasn't true; she'd gone to work at the gate guard position because she didn't want to be at a dead end with an empty Genin team and a Jounin sensei that didn't seem all that interested in what he had sometimes referred to as "babysitting". Her progress was measured in her own skill with the greatsword and with her clan's Hijutsu, and she didn't need nor did she seek Shin's admiration; in fact, should the other young man admit some level of admiration for her, she wasn't sure she would be able to stomach that. It didn't bear remarking, though, as he might think he'd struck a nerve if she even corrected him. It wouldn't do to have him think that he'd won that position.

"Yes, I'm sure they spit upon you and request to avoid coming anywhere close to you purely because you are a selfless pillar for your community."

Her tone is almost more dry than the bark of a dead tree, and she's certain even Shin can pick up on that. He's at least revealed himself to be a little brighter than the average dim bulb. She uses the momentary rest provided by the farmer making his way across to mentally prepare herself for the continued verbal sparring match. She much preferred a physical kind of spar, but she obviously wasn't going to get one from Shin, for more than a few reasons. Kumori simply allows him to talk, and think himself her better; he was, after all, outranking her at the moment, so it would follow that he likely believes himself to be better than her in every way. Though, she has to avoid smirking a bit when Shin unwittingly blunders his own speech to her, and she's more than proud to point it out to him.

"Yes, and it is with a great deal of surprise to me, I am truly the physical manifestation of shock, that you have some admiration for what you consider to be a failure. I will be sure to take your advice and avoid you in the future, as well."

The dry mirth is halted, though, after he calls out to stay safe after the farmer, her eyebrows furrowed as she brings the handcart further forwards. She feels a... something. Like an itch that warns her that they're actively being watched now, and she certainly doesn't like it. This time when she speaks, her voice is lowered, a little growl that doesn't carry beyond Shin himself, almost lost in the swaying of the grass blades against one another.

"Keep an eye out, Shin. They're near us, I could swear it..."

Then she speaks a little bit louder, making a big show of slowing herself down a bit more than was really necessary as she pretends to huff and puff, as though the empty boxes in the handcart were really quite a burden. As she yells out to him, she sets the handles of the handcart down as she turns back towards the empty boxes, grabbing hold of her wooden training sword, feeling the heavy weight of the iron core at its center.

"Hold up! Yer blasted gold bars are gonna make my back give out, ye fool!"

[Uehara Shin]

Shin couldn't help but chuckle at this exchange with the Futago woman. This talk was really going nowhere and he hadn't even really started to talk that much shit, maybe sounding a bit arrogant, but he did admit he wasn't popular. Well, he had dug his own grave by being insufferable to some of these gate guards, there was really no way to reddem himself infront of Kumori right now as he had said. Thinking of where he was going next though, there was a decision to make and he would have to make it sooner or later, so he said in response, "Alright, I'll be selfless than and be a bit nicer to the gate guardians, as a bonus, there is a nice bakery not too far from the gate called 'PanPan' that uses a panda as their mascot, if you go there and ask for a cake and say I sent you, you can get one for free to share with your gate guarding friends." He chuckled again and added, "I think we have to work together way closer in the future, so it's better if I apologized now." He sounded earnest, but there was still a little laugh hidden in there, making one doubt his intentions.

There was only a light nodding of his head when thinking of his talk about Raimaa, there was some strange disparity of how he treated her and what he actually thought about her. Of course there was truth to it that he was disappointed in her being a 'failure' as he had called it, but it was more the fact that she had run away that made him disappointed, but sadly he didn't know the details of what happened back then. "I don't think it's weird someone could think overall badly about someone else, but still find something to admire about them." He didn't wanna dwell on this topic any longer after he'd decided to soothe their reltionship a bit, even if it would be fun to explore her some more, this was still an official mission after all. When she called out to him to be careful, his lips quirked up in a little smile that she luckily couldn't see, but he was already planning on something different she probably would find fault in.

Right when she yelled at him to hold up, Shin was already walking up to a rather large, dense bush and seemed like he clumsily wanted to pull something out of it, but before he could get there, suddenly Shin found himself pulled from his feet and hanging face down from a tree, with one of his legs trapped in a rope holding him up. "Oh no! Careful!" He shouted at Kumori and remained hanging there helplessly as multiple men came out from the gras and bushes around them. At the same moment a few letter, a fancy knife and a bag fell out of his jacket. Once it had hit the ground, the bag opened to reveal quite the hefty amount of ryo. This seeming accident of Shin walking into the rope trap and loosing some valuable possessions was too good to be true in the eyes of fellow shinobi, but theese bandits with varying degrees of experience would not immediatly think of the worst case. Quickly three bandits walked over to Shin and eyed him up and down, who was right now clumsily trying to pull himself up to free his leg. It could be said that Shin was buying some time for Kumori, by grabbing everyone's attention, though it was still unclear how many bandits there were, both visible and still hidden.

Either ways, Shin would look rather pitiful and convincing, struggling in his act.

622 words

[Futago Kumori]

Kumori feels the need to let out a long-suffering sigh when she hears rather than sees Shin being pulled rapidly up by what should have been a very obvious trap. She's not sure if he'd done it in order to more easily draw out the bandits, or if he really was so foolish that he would actually fall for something so obvious. She decides on the former, and decides it would have been a lot easier to just not do something so reckless and dangerous, and to instead pretend to be more focused on trying to get her to keep pulling the handcart. Now they were surrounded and potentially down one shinobi; it wasn't like he'd be much help in a physical fight hanging upside down. And if the rope had just a little more slack in it, or the rope was a little bit longer, it might have caused him to smack his head on the road, and then he'd be out of the fight completely.

With him hanging upside down, Kumori pulls the full length of her weighted training sword out from the piled empty boxes. Although the wooden sword was clearly not really meant to cut through people, the weight of it would be like a huge and heavy club. It was thanks to this tremendous weight that the Futago Genin had to grip the handle with both hands, wielding it in its full glory since the trio were so heavily interested in the hanging boy and the purse of coin he'd just dropped to the ground. She brings the blade back, holding it horizontally and clearly aiming at the three, but waiting until they were nearly upon him before she lets out a quick warning; with Shin being the only one that could see her, the warning would only really make sense to him, and not to the three that were currently preoccupied.

"Shin! Hanging crunches!"

With that seemingly vague warning thrown out, she fully throws the weighted greatsword in a horizontal spin; Shin should be able to guess at the meaning of her warning with the way she was wielding her training sword that she meant for him to scrunch his abdominal muscles in order to pull himself up and out of the way of the thrown weapon. The blade would be heavy enough with all the force of Kumori's strength behind it that it would knock all three of the bandits flat on their face, but it would probably also catch Shin right on his Shin chin if he didn't lift himself up and out of the way.

Kumori has to quickly follow after her sword as soon as she throws it, of course. The wooden blade wouldn't really be able to lodge itself into the tree the way the technique would normally have allowed. She had to rapidly chase after it and pick it back up from on top of the three stooges that had been flattened by the greatsword, holding it up in a ready position while standing harshly on the backs of two of the bandits, firmly keeping them pressed down and even halting their breathing to keep them from being able to put up a counter-offensive or rejoin the fight.

"Hmph. Some help you were."

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Hisenken [Flying Revolving Sword]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Bukijutsu
ELEMENT: N/A
HANDSEALS: N/A
REQUIREMENT: Giant sword
DESCRIPTION:

The wielder throws their giant sword at the opponent, dealing damage as it spins towards them. If the Dantō gets stuck on something in its path, a person can stand on it.

[Uehara Shin]

Shin was not above little acts of pretending or putting himself in strange situations to achieve his goal. Shinobi were predisposed to disguise and acting, but Shin could go that extra step of ignoring his pride for something simple like this. As he hung there awkwardly and tried his best to look clumsy in freeing himself, he kept his eyes on Kumori to see what she'd do in this situation and his actions suddenly halted when he saw the woman approach with an oversized wooden sword, that was hardly more than a club made for smashing heads in. He didn't need much of an audio cue and was already ready to move when he saw her swinging. His helpless expression turned into a smile, and he pulled himself up to the branch that his rope was hung on. He heard a smashing down below, but didn't look at it and instead fixed his Eyes on the surroundings below. In return to Kumori's words, he only replied, I did my part." but he still had his eyes on a spot down in the high grass where something was moving. After a moment, he saw a head of hair belonging to another man that was quickly moving away from them. Shin already had a Shuriken in hand and threw it in the direction of that person and without seeing what he had hit, presumably some part of the leg, he and his partner would both be able to hear the panicked shout, "Ah, shit!"

The chuunin dropped from his tree next to Kumori, picked his dropped items up and said. "Sadly, there aren't really any trees around to get a good vantage point, but there's definitely this one guy around. I couldn't find anyone else in the surrounding grass, but I'm sure the escaped rat still has a few comrades around. Tie these three up and then follow me, I'll begin tracking the movements of the target so we don't lose him." He barely gave the command and already jumped over into the grass, moving the direction he had seen the one escaping Bandit run to and taking note of the sparse blood stains on the ground and surrounding grass. He made sure to keep some distance so he wouldn't get noticed. The goal right now was not immediate capture, but using the target to bring them to the presumed rest of the group. Following this one bandit was rather easy as he left an obvious trail through the grass in his escape and Shin just followed it. This was really rather easy of a mission compared to hunting down a Shinobi, but he still gave it some caution. After maybe five minutes he came to what would be the end of the current grassy plain and saw a ditch running through the high grass that had an open area closely around it and a few men who were standing around the person Shin had been trailing. Together with the already hurt escapee there were seven people, one of them was a big burly guy who looked like he could take a punch by himself, but he also wore some leathery armor to protect his arms and chest.

The escaped bandit could only mention that the other three had met misfortune, when Shin decided to show himself to prevent further communication. "That's him!" the one bandit shouted, and two people jumped at Shin quickly without needing any orders. Luckily, Shin had everybody's attention and performed a hand seal to apply a genjutsu that would make it appear the whole earth was shaking to these thugs. Unprepared, the two people approaching Shin stumbled, and he used the opportunity to push their heads into the muddy ground below. It would only hurt their pride at first, but he also knocked them out each with a strike to the neck and faced the remaining five people. "Idiot! You brought a Shinobi directly to us!" The burly man, presumed leader shouted at his subordinate and picked up a decent looking sword, he was the only one who had a proper weapon, aside from a thin man who had an arrow cocked in his bow.

With a smile, Shin replied, "Oh, not just one."

707 words

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Chikyū o Shifuto [Shifting Earth]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: To Use: Medium | To Maintain: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Genjutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 1
TRIGGER: Visual
DESCRIPTION:

Triggered by the target(s) seeing the user render a handseal, the technique begins by immediately causing the earth to violently shake. This, in turn, makes it difficult if not impossible for the target(s) to remain standing. Furthermore, the user is not affected which means that their mobility will remain unhindered unlike their target(s) allowing this technique to help bridge a gap between the user and targets that are more physically inclined.

[Futago Kumori]

Kumori barely even gets to finish making sure that the three initial bandits are down before Shin drops back down to order her around. Granted, it was a kind of order that was somewhat obvious as long as the coast was clear, which the Chuunin had just confirmed before dropping back down to where she was. She props her greatsword against the tree, though she doesn't have any ninja wire of her own. Instead, she uses the clothing that the bandits have on themselves, tying their limbs together and locking them through each other's limbs so that even if they were to come back to a conscious state, it would probably take them hours after regaining consciousness to work out how they could unwrap themselves from their human-sized Gordian knot. Even as she works, Kumori grumbles a bit to herself, finding the work disgusting, if only because she's now following orders for someone who she considers below respect, at the moment.

Still, once she's done, she can see where her mission partner had gone through the grass, and follows after him, since he'd suggested that he was going to be tracking the lone straggler back to their main bandit camp. She takes a moment to collect the knife and the ryo as well, after having stuffed the letters away under some of the empty boxes in the wagon cart. After a few meters into the grass, she finds the blood on the ground that she assumes Shin had been using as his tracking aid, and she follows after the signs, moving swiftly into position after him, so she could get there just in time to see the largest bandit pull out a sword while his subordinate draws back an arrow in his bow. Shin's response makes her eyes roll, but with a deft movement of her agile fingers, the dagger prop flies past Shin's shoulder to lodge itself in the eye of the archer, forcing his shot far off-target so that the arrow flies harmlessly into the air amid his screeching of pain while his fingers claw at his face.

With the archer out of commission, Kumori erupts from the grass in an explosive fury, catching the leader in a desperate bid to swing his own sword to attack her; instead, with Kumori's intense speed further improved by the stimulation of her adrenal gland, she slips past his attack to move behind the burly man, turning quickly to smash the untrained bandit across the back of his neck with the full force of her heavier training sword. With the two immediate threats taken out nearly instantly, she turns back towards the rest of the bandit group, her greatsword prepared for its next swing.

"Who else wants some?!"

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Nise yūrei [False Ghost]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Bukijutsu
ELEMENT: N/A
HANDSEALS: 0
REQUIREMENT: Above Average Speed, Bukijutsu Spec
DESCRIPTION:
A basic technique compared to the rest, False Ghost consists of a rapid movement towards the enemy, with weapon brandished and open, and then slide past them without doing anything. The idea behind the technique is to make the opponent react to an obvious threat that is not actually there to react to, putting them off balance or causing them to expect something that isn't coming.


NAME: Nise no yūrei: Jitsugen kyōfui [False Ghost: Realized Fear]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Bukijutsu
ELEMENT: N/A
HANDSEALS: 0
REQUIREMENT: Above Average Speed, Bukijutsu Spec
DESCRIPTION:
A follow-up to the 'False Ghost' technique, that is used just after the user slips past their target, slicing open the opponents back with the brandished sword, bringing the fears into a reality. This can also be used with weaponry other than a sword, but the effectiveness diminishes with anything else.

[Uehara Shin]

Shin just stood there as the knife flew past him, luckily Kumori had arrived just in time for him not to look like an idiot, and so he lowered his arms and the smile on his face vanished. He didn't think Kumori would have such an easy time of taking out the two strongest members of these bandits. Shin wondered if he was even needed anymore and rolled his eyes. Well, there were still five more people, so Shin moved over towards two bandits and the third already wounded man. He was unarmed and didn't nearly approach as fast and untouchable as Kumori did, but he also used way less effort. As far as he was concerned Kumori, could've done all this by herself and at a quick pace too, maybe one of his genjutsu was enough already... He realized that this really was a mission Genin would usually take, but someone had to clean up the field sooner or later, and this was only helping him.

Funnily enough, Shin knew this 'brown rhino' guy that was the leader of this group, but he had decided not to take up Shin's offer a while ago to work for him and decided to become a criminal instead. What a waste. So as Shin approached the two other bandits who charged at him with hands in a punching position, he suddenly stomped on the ground. Out of the earth a few rock plates shot up, hitting the left bandit into his mid-section, pushing him into the right one, which caused both of them to stumble as Shin approached, who then punched them both on the chin, knocking them out cold. He lastly approached the wounded bandit who was sitting on the ground and gave him a stare-down. The already exhausted and hurting bandit yelled, "I'm sorry!" and voluntarily stuck his heads in the muddy ground below.

Shin shook his head and turned around to see how Kumori was doing. Granted, he was expecting her to be finished already, but paying attention wouldn't hurt anyone. Shin meanwhile walked over to the leader and pulled his sword out of the ground. It had been a while since he properly held a sword, and it still didn't feel like a proper weapon for him. In case there was more trouble, this would help him avoid wasting chakra from now on.

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SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Doton: Doeirou [Earth Release: Earth Life Imprisonment]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Doton
HANDSEALS: 0
DESCRIPTION:

By focusing chakra into the earth, the user forces several small plates of earth to shoot from below the target's feet anywhere within a ten meter radius of the user, slamming into their mid-section, robbing them of their movement and winding them. This technique can be avoided if the target knows it's coming.

[Futago Kumori]

Kumori grunts as she's left with three combatants to Shin's two and a half, and she resolves to beat the ever-loving soul out of all three. The first swings at her with a dagger, and she pulls back away from it. The Genin only lets him try two more swipes before she meets his fourth attempt to swipe at her with a well-aimed strike driven directly into his wrist. She feels satisfied with the crunching noise that the small bones in his hand makes, and the dagger flies from his grip and directly into the bandit that was apparently too confused about who to attack, whether to go for Shin or for Kumori. Instead of being allowed to make the decision himself, it seemed that he would be out of the fight while he attempts to dig the dagger out of his shoulder.

For now, this leaves Kumori with the chance to focus on the second fighter. A quick and harsh crack sounds out from the club-like blade of her weighted training sword crashing directly into that bandit's head, instantly knocking him unconscious. She can see that the third bandit is beginning to drag the cheap dagger back out of his shoulder, however, and she decides to finish him off so harshly that the giant of a man will never consider banditry again. Instead of simply striking him with her blade, she throws the weighted sword high into the air, distracting the bandit with its aerial flight long enough for Kumori to get off a single handseal as Fuuton chakra creates a base under her feet, providing her with a momentary little boost of speed. She leaps skyward, grabbing hold of her greatsword and finally, the bandit appears to recognize that he's in great trouble.

Kumori drops like a stone, the wooden greatsword leading her down to smash over the top of the huge bandit's head and dropping him instantly. The Genin rises back up and taps the side of his face with the flat of the weighted sword, making sure he's completely out, then turns her eyes back to the final bandit with his broken wrist. He seems to notice her glare, and decides he's better off pretending to be unconscious, and so he drops quickly, whimpering a bit. With her three also down, she turns back towards Shin, looking bored again already.

"Hmph. The oaf actually looks prettier with his face smashed in like that."

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Fūton: Kaze Sanpo [Wind Release: Wind Walk]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Fūton
HANDSEALS: 1
DESCRIPTION:
This technique allows the user to create a wind like base under their feet, reducing friction and enhancing the user's speed. The user doesn't seem to be levitating unless under close inspection which they seem to be about 1.5 - 2cm off the ground. Apart from enhancing speed, this technique gives the user the ability to walk on water and evade projectile attacks with ease.

NAME: Bureibā [Braver]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Bukijutsu
ELEMENT: N/A
HANDSEALS: N/A
REQUIREMENT: Giant sword
DESCRIPTION:
The wielder jumps high in the air and brings their giant sword down on their target with immense force.

[Uehara Shin]

Looking down at the fallen leader, Shin was trying to see if he could find anything of value off of the leader that lay down in the mud, but he was unsuccessful. Instead, he was distracted by the Archer that Kumori had so heavily wounded by taking one of his eyes with that he was laying in the mud, holding his eye and moaning in pain. Shin gave him a kick and the man grunted, still heavily breathing in pain, but he was quieter than before. He already had an idea of how to handle this whole situation, of getting them all back for judgement, he could call a few of his underlings in, wouldn't be the first time he had their help on transporting a criminal(s) back. For now though he sighed, looking at his shoes and then went to walk back over to Kumori who he didn't get much to see from after he had finished his side, she was already pretty much done with her bandits at that point.

Shin had a smile on his face as he said, "I wouldn't have expected any less from the junior shinobi that got teamed up with me." Somehow he managed to praise himself in all that, but he did finally say something nice about her, somewhat. "Alright, we will have to get all these guys back to the village, I hope you got some strength saved up. I'll also call in some back-up to carry these guys." He said, and pulled out a radio, while grabbing one of the bandits by his legs and dragging him through the mud towards another bandit. While he walked, he spoke into his radio. "Yeah, you guys can come over and pick these scrubs up, there's a cart with empty boxes down the road and three bandits should already be there tied up. Just look to the right side and take the path through the grass that we've opened." He put his radio away and grabbed a second bandit by his leg and pulled both of them behind him, on his way to leave with them back to the cart.

As he was about to vanish into the grass, he said for Kumori to hear, "You better stay here and watch that no one runs away. A few of my 'employees' will come over to help you carry the rest." And with that he was gone, not asking for an opinion again. He also pronounced 'employees' differently to make it sound ambiguous. Kumori would figure it out when these guys would get there.

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[Futago Kumori]

Kumori stretches a little as she watches Shin approaching her, but she has quite the response to him calling her "the junior shinobi", though her half-lidded eyes make her look more bored than incensed by the back-handed compliment he was paying to her in order to praise himself.

"You say that like you accomplished more than just getting caught in a trap and forcing me to clean up your mess. Next time, you can have your mommy run your missions with you."

Despite saying this, she had to admit that he was at least effective at ensuring the entire bandit gang was taken down, by wounding one and letting him lead both of them to their camp. She starts to load up one of the men, although she decides to start with the one with the shattered wrist; most of the others are larger, and would require a lot more effort to get them all the way back to the cart. The irony of bringing out an empty cart this far from Kusagakure, only to bring it back full of what she might have considered to be no better than trash. However, before she can start carrying one of the few conscious bandits back to the cart, Shin tells her to stay and keep watch while his "employees" help carry the rest. She leers at him, distrusting of what he might mean when he calls them his employees. To her, it sounds like he's no better than the bandits they'd just beaten down, the major difference being that she wasn't allowed to beat Shin to a pulp. Not that she thought she could, really. He outranked her for a reason, and although she didn't agree with his methods, the fact that he had the rank of Chuunin surely signified that there was more to him than was obviously visible.

Instead of arguing, she sighs and sets the man back down, letting him whimper quietly where he lay, but just to make sure he was obedient enough to stay in place, Kumori drags some of the corpses and unconscious bodies over to surround the whimpering smaller man. This was probably adding to his trauma, but Kumori cared little for it. If she couldn't beat down on Shin, she'd take it out on the mental and emotional stability of one of her other victims. Meanwhile, she sits back on the bandit chief's throne, one leg propped on the other and the weighted greatsword propped up with her hand on its crossguard while she waits for these strangers, who were probably not authorized to participate in the mission officially, to appear.