Preparing a Tea Party [Scouting]

Akihiro arrived at the Land of Tea alongside his Mockingbird squad of scouts without too many problems found on their way there. The Land of Tea bordered the Land of Fire directly and as such it was a very simple trip from Konohagakure no Sato to the place they were at now.

Akihiro and his men had crossed the Inari province where they say fields of grains, vegetables and even orchards. It seemed like the land here was quite fertile, which was good news for them since they could easily find supplies amongst the many small towns where they could stop on their away across the province. Then they crossed the province border to the southern part of the country, where they found a change in weather. It was now humid and warm. Akihiro could see why this was the perfect place to grow tea plants.

At the moment the group found themselves at the top of a hill surrounded by tea plants. They were all sitting on the ground, and since the plants were taller than them siting, it was impossible to see them from afar. Sachiko still hadn't caught up with them but Akihiro hoped she would soon. Turning towards his men, the Sparrow reached for his tool pouch and spoke. He had gradually and carefully marked 15 of his tools with his Flying Thunder God formula and it was now time to make use of them.

"Alright everyone listen up. I'm going to distribute the tools now, and I want you to follow the itinerary we discussed and leave them with each unit. Go."

Akihiro would lay down 10 shuriken and 5 kunai all marked with the formula. The squad leader would take the tools, signal his squad and they would silently leave the place.

Akihiro would then stand up and look around. It was time to continue to scout the land in search of the Hidden Tea Village.

OOC info:

[15 Marks = 75 CP spent, 115 left, recovered with rest while traveling at normal pace.]

Akihiro Scouting for Hidden Tea Village
Secrecy A-rank vs Aki's S-rank Int

Time:
Base time 2 months
S is 3 tiers above C-rank
3 * 2 weeks = 6 weeks

6 weeks reduction from 2 months equals:

2 weeks to find Hidden Tea Village


NPC squad exit
[Land of Tea]->Land of Sea 12 hrs-> Land of Wind 48 hrs -> Land of Rivers 12hrs -> Land of Rain 12 hrs -> Land of Birds 12 hrs-> Land of Earth 48hrs

Akihiro had left a little bit ahead of Sachiko, but she was a good enough tracker that it wasn't too hard for her to find where he had gone. Between him and the men he traveled with, they had left various obvious trails if you knew what to look for. With their trail still fresh, Sachiko came upon the clearing that Akihiro had set up in.

She wore her flak jacket, with the steel inserts, as well as the Ivory Gauntlets that Akihiro had gifted her. Her pack held all of her gear, although she was kitted out as normal otherwise. Her headband had been tucked into her pouch for the moment, as the Chuunin didn't feel like announcing to the world that she was a Konoha ninja just yet, unless Akihiro said it was okay. Otherwise, her uniform was fairly standard.

While she looked like a Konoha ninja, she could have just as easily been a travelling mercenary. Without the headband identifier, it would be more difficult to say that she was somebody affiliated with anybody. That was, after all, the entire purpose of the headband. Still, if their mission was a success, the Land of Tea would be joining Konoha soon enough anyhow, so it wouldn't matter all that much in the near future, hopefully.

As she approached the band, Sachiko let out a howl that perfectly mimic'ed a wolf's howl. It was a good enough identifier so that Akihiro would know that it was her coming, and not somebody else. From there, she'd join Akihiro, putting down her bag and sitting down. Travel was somewhat exhausting. "I am here to assist you in the mission." she said, more or less reporting in.

Akihiro was dozing off on top of a tee branch by the time he heard Sachiko's howl. It worried him at first as he woke up to the sound of one of the most dangerous animals in the world. For the past few nights he had had nightmares involving these creatures. But then, as he woke up and his thoughts got clearer he remembered that there were no wolves in the Land of Tea. Could he have been dreaming again, or had Sachiko finally arrived? That sounded like something she would do...and Akihiro should probably be able to recognize her quirks at this point.

He lowered himself from the branch towards the ground, and landed just as Sachiko was approaching. He sat down with her, as morning dawned upon them and the Uchiha took a ration pack from his cloak and opened "Hey there, nice of you to join me." He took a bite out of it. It tasted like crap, but it was small, durable and full of nutrients like all ration packs should be. "I have been scouting the Land of Tea for the past few days and cleared quite a bit of area, but so far I haven't managed to find any hidden village. I was hoping you could help me."

"Oooh, who's the pretty lass? There's a wolfish feeling to her. I like it, maybe she's not as boring as you are."

Oh, and there was also that. For the past few days Akihiro had trouble concentrating. Usually he could find a place to think within his mind, where his voice was the only to be heard. Lately that had changed. Maybe Akihiro had changed too but he was clearly in a bit of distress... His mind, body and soul had been invaded by a creature. But what scared Akihiro the most wasn't that there was a creature sealed within him. What scared him the most was that he knew exactly what this creature was. The Niibi had been sealed inside him during his staying at the Land of Tea.

As they were sitting down and eating, a small spider approached, circling around them and perhaps wondering if either were a good spot to make a web. Akihiro's eyes caught wind of it. "Oh no..." he muttered.

"Oh, oh, oh! It's moving, it's moving! Catch it, catch it catch it catch iiiiiiiit!"

Despite not having actually seen its true form in person yet, it was clear to Akihiro: The Niibi was a cat. The amount of squirrels, birds and other small animals Akihiro had to chase away just to get it to shut up for a second was now in the double digits.

She had found him just as she had thought, and Akihiro was smart enough to sleep in a tree rather than being completely exposed. He had sent out his scouts already, so there was no guard left to watch for him. He rather immediately asked for her help in scouting and Sachiko nodded in reply, feeling the need to speak for a reply wasnt necessary. It was early and Aki had obviously just woken up.

Sachiko frowned as Akihiro muttered to himself. She looked to where he had made eye contact with and saw a spider. She didnt know that Akihiro was afraid of spiders, but that sort of stuff happened. Sachiko bent down calmly, holding out her hand for the spider, which crawled up her hand and sat patiently.

The girl was good with animals and bugs. There was a sort of empathic connection between her and most animals. She killed for food, but not for fear of bugs. Moving a few trees down, Sachiko released the bug onto a tree, careful not to squash it.

Upom returning, Sachiko grinned at her companion. "There is no need to be afraid of the spider, but I moved him safely anyhow so that you are not uncomfortable."

"Yeesss! She caught it! Unlike you, this lass is a prime hunter! See if you can learn something."

Akihiro smiled towards Sachiko as she moved the spider away and spoke. On one hand, he was grateful she had done it- not because he was afraid of spiders, but because he was getting sick and tired of having to listen to the Niibi all the time. On the other hand however, he felt a bit silly being "saved" by Sachiko from a tiny spider. In the end he decided it was no big deal, and that she was unlikely to comment this with anybody else.

"I suppose we all have our fears... personally I don't think any creature has a need for eight legs and six to eight eyes. I mean at that point you're just showing off, you know?" Despite not exactly being afraid of spiders, Akihiro did find them a bit disturbing. There were just too many legs and eyes moving around for his tastes. He was glad they were small.

"Well I need my two tails. I'd die of boredom if I could only chase one."

Okay Akihiro was starting to truly doubt that this creature was the terrifying Two-tailed beast, part of the set of Bijuu everyone was so afraid of. It seemed so...childish? It was hard to believe that the Niibi would go on murderous rampages. But Akihiro knew better than most how looks could be deceiving.

"There is something you should probably know, Sachiko." He would say, at this point undecided between telling her about the Niibi or the purpose of their mission. He ended up choosing the later. "Our orders aren't to just scout the Land of Tea. We've been ordered to take it. By force." He wasn't sure she knew exactly what that meant. And he felt bad talking about it right after she showed such kindness towards a small and weaker creature. But these were their orders, and it was best to make everything clear now. "It is highly unlikely, impossible I dare say, that we're able to take this land from its current leadership without taking lives. Certainly there will be opposition, and we'd be wise to end it swiftly. What I want to know is... how do you feel about this?"

Sachiko frowned. 8 legs made it easier to move about and scurry faster. The spider could be more nimble and approach things with sure footing at all times. Plus, it let it sneak forward easier. One at a time. Or get purchase on rough terrain. And the multiple eyes was super pragmatic. Able to see many different things. It wasn't just to show off, it was a useful adaptation. "They are useful." she said, simply.

Akihiro went on to tell her that they were going to take the Land of Tea, by force. Sachiko knew what that entailed. She'd thought about it already. "I understand. Our Kage told us to take over a rival's territory. He is adding it to our territory. Blood might be shed. That is fine. That is how it works. Even wolves had territory skirmishes. This is just on a bigger scale."

She knew the horrors of war. "Of course, only their fighters are our enemies. We do not touch the normal people. They will become part of our pack, and we will protect them in the future." Sachiko was fine with killing enemy forces, but she wasn't fine with hurting any innocent people. Only a monster would attack the defenseless in times of war. Sachiko would fight whoever she had to, but hopefully the idea was learned quickly that messing with Sachiko and Akihiro wasn't going to go well.

Akihiro shook his head as Sachiko responded. It wasn't that her answer was wrong on any level, or even if it was it wasn't like this was her fault. Her answer was morally correct, set according to the times they lived in. But Akihiro wished she could see past that. "Ah...yes. The strong rule over the weak, right?" His eyes focused back on hers, and their glances would meet.

"I want you to keep something in mind." He made a pause, inhaled and then continued. What he was about to say could be a dangerous path to lead Sachiko onto, but it was the one Akihiro believed in. There was an undeniable truth to the Shinobi Way in general: Innocent people die. "They are all innocent. The civilians, and the military. None of them deserve what we're planning on doing to their country. We're the guilty ones. We came to their Land, uninvited and unannounced. And we're taking their leadership and hierarchy away from them. Bringing their techniques and valuable resources to our Land. Yes, the strong rule over the weak. Their pack will become our pack, but not by choice. By law of strength." Akihiro would lean against the tree had had previously been sleeping on top of.

"Those are our orders and there's no going around them. But we should strive to make sure our guilt is worth something." The Sparrow took a deep breathe. "Either way, there will hopefully be no need for you to take lives. I would like you to help me track down the village and then make sure civilian lives aren't taken by accident instead. Alright?"

Sachiko shook her head. "The difference is that people in the military signed up to fight. Civilians did not, or they would be military." She gave a little bit of a response, and it was consistent with her views up to that point, but she hadn't really given the morality of a 'Law of Strength' much thought. It had always been present, while she was growing up, while she was training in the Academy, and while she had been a ninja in the military. It had been a constant that the world recognized. 'Law of Strength' was what mattered, and she'd never had that point challenged to think about it.

"If they can not defend their own, they do not deserve to rule them. It is smarter for the strong to protect those under their care. But we have to prove strength to get more. To show we are the stronger ones so that we establish dominance and they become us. If we lose, then we become them and follow their leader if they do not kill us all. That is basic knowledge." Without further discussion, Sachiko's views would remain unchallenged. It was foreign to her that maybe their way wasn't the right way.

A viewpoint she had always had that others seemed to agree with. She was open to changing her mind, but the concept that Akihiro was bringing up, that they were the guilty ones, and that they should feel bad for their actions, it just didn't connect to Sachiko. However, she could agree to making sure that civilians weren't killed, because that was consistent with her logic. "I am a good tracker. I am also a good fighter. You are in charge, so you decide my role." Sachiko was pretty good about following orders.

Akihiro took a deep breathe and glanced up at the sky. Their views were simply too different. Had Akihiro expected too much from Sachiko? No, that wasn't fair. She had her own philosophy and it was wrong to assume his was better simply because it was his. But he couldn't help but be a little sad that she couldn't quite understand what he meant. There was no point to discussing it any further for now. Perhaps one day when Sachiko had matured enough they could have this conversation again and perhaps her own ideas would prove to be better, but for now it was best for the girl to have faith in her own beliefs and nindo instead of having them questioned. Especially considering what they were about to do. It was better if Sachiko left with a clear conscience after this.

"Well, it doesn't matter. First we need o find the hidden tea village and only then does it matter how we're going to do it. It's time to move, let's go." He'd smile at her and the two would begind their search.

During the following two weeks, Akihiro and Sachiko would dutifully work towards tracking down and finding Chagakure no Sato, following caravans and peasants, asking around and covering each part of the region step by step. They would occasionally camp outside if the weather was favorable, but mostly they would sleep at the duzens of inns and taverns that one can find while walking the roads of the Land of Tea. In due time, they found their target.

[Exit->Chagakure no Sato]

Location found, 2 weeks have passed.

Perhaps a really good thing that Sachiko wasn't a good people person, and didn't have the proper skills necessary to properly read a person's thoughts just by their actions. She usually took people at face value and what they simply said. When Akihiro said it didn't matter, she just let it go, as that's what she tended to do. Akihiro didn't think it mattered too much, so Sachiko was sufficiently satisfied that her response was enough for him.

Sachiko nodded at Akihiro's orders to head out. She was ready to get this mission going towards its conclusion. It was time for them to finally get on with what they were sent to do. Sachiko liked that, as sitting around wasn't going to get them any closer too their goals. "I am ready."

Between the two of them and the group at Akihiro's command, they only took a couple of weeks to end up tracking down the village that they were searching for, during which time, all of their skills were put to good use. Akihiro's brains were an incredible thing, something that Sachiko was always surprised about. His mind alone was more use than her own skills put together.

In short, she was glad that Akihiro was on her side.

-Exit to Chagakure-