Stupid Decisions gets Stupid Results [Mission/Mal]

Spoiler:

Bandits weren’t that much of an issue for Inarie. Whether they were terrorizing the citizens of Land of Water, or anywhere in the main lands. Very few even knew how to use ninjutsu, and even rarer has Inarie found someone skilled in it. Ultimately, that had always been Inarie’s edge against the bandits. Rain pelted down onto her shoulders as the platinum haired woman wore a cloak over her body armor. Garbed in a long sleeved black shirt that had a titanium mesh shirt underneath. The uniform body armor and present as the flak jacket held the symbol of Kirigakure on her back.

Her face is protected by both the happuri and the Kirigakure headband that remains around her neck. Both of her hands and feet are protected with lightly armored gloves and sandals. On her belt is a katana sheathed on her left side, and a hip pouch could be seen on her right flank. Decently armored for a shinobi, but Inarie has grown into wearing armor lately over wearing loose kimono like traditional Kaguya often wore. Ever since the Kaguya had been modernized, they strangely had been kinder to her. Not so much as they go out of their way to be nice towards her, but Inarie no longer has to worry about being blackmailed by those she’s forced to call as kin. Despite some of their suggestions of coming back to their clan district, Inarie kept to herself from them. It was easier for them to forget the pain she had to endure for years because it wasn’t them that was subject to it.

Still, modern technology certainly made several breakthroughs. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined herself being on a floating fortress. It was quite fascinating to her really, but unfortunately she did not come here to see the sights. Not this time at any rate. Bandits have been reported attacking travelers as they are boarding the Heavenly Emporium, and given this was neutral territory of all nations that was a grave sign. Not for the travelers, but for the bandits in question. Apparently they had a chief in their numbers, and more than likely was the one calling the shots.

One other was to accompany her as well, or so she was told. The aid went by the name of Mal’Zeth Muramatsu, a name that Inarie did not recognize. Whoever he was, Inarie planned to work alongside him. With war at everyone’s doorsteps, especially at Kirigakure, Inarie would have to proceed carefully when she departs from Heavenly Emporium. Frankly, Inarie knew she had missed out on some major events that resulted in Kumogakure’s grown hatred towards Kirigakure. Perhaps it was best that Inarie had stayed out of it. Of course, Inarie was busy patching the alliance between Konohagakure and Kirigakure. Granted her students had grown inactive, and while Inarie had tried to shake them out of their state so to speak. There wasn’t much that she could do with them, for Inarie knew that it was ultimately up to them.

Mal'Zeth, or 'Mal' for short was new to this 'flying city' and he moved through the town with a measured pace as he made his way toward the meeting place with his partner. A woman named Inarie Kaguya, he didn't know of her but that didn't really mean much given his lack of experience in the world of shinobi. The mission they had been tasked to do was to go out and kill a bunch of really stupid bandits who for some odd reason that it was a clever idea to target people traveling to the Heavenly Emporium. for the life of him Mal couldn't understand why someone would willingly do something so stupid but it was his duty, and pleasure really, to show them the error of their ways with his power. Mal was dressed in black and gold trim, his blonde hair swept back and crimson eyes noting things around him as he moved. His attire consisted of black leather pants, and overcoat that opened up at the front. The inner lining of the coat was crimson red that matched his eyes. The coat had a high collar but didn't hide his face or anything. Upon his feet he wore black shinobi boots and upon his hands he wore simple metal plated gloves. Under the coat he'd be wearing a white undershirt but it wasn't visible.

He moved through the Emporium with a confident, almost arrogant stride and his smirking features would fall upon a woman with platinum blonde hair and pale skin. Her body was covered in light armor over a kimono but the description so far matched his partner. She was standing near one of the ladders that could be lowered while the fortress moved. It was explicitly for shinobi use for missions and and quick entries and such. As the floating city would have difficulty adjusting a course for the sake of one ladder to ensure it didn't hit anything. It was too risky for a civilian to try. They had safer means of getting on and off when the Emporium stopped in various locations. Mal moved over to the woman, the rain didn't seem to diminish his confident demeanor, or even affect his hair. He smiled at her, it was a polite one, not leering or arrogant. "You must be Inarie yes? I'm Mal'Zeth, but please, call me 'Mal'. They didn't tell me you'd be so lovely, at least these bandits get a lovely sight before they kick off." He would say with a little bow. That bow itself was moderately mocking but not at her, it was more at those who felt the need to bow and scrape all of the time. His posture would return to it's full height afterwards and his small smirk would be back on his features. "Shall we be off then?" He would ask, motioning for the ladder. Ladies first was polite and he was polite about such things if mocking toward what he viewed as 'over the top' politeness however it was best if she went first too. It would ensure he couldn't look up the open end of her kimono, he wouldn't, but proprieties and all.

Fortunately for Inarie, she didn’t have to wait for too long before her partner arrived at the rendezvous point. Granted she found it a bit amusing that there were entrances and exits specifically for shinobi. Inarie had hoped that the local residents and travelers were warned not to use these entrances/exits for their own safety. Not just anyone was trained enough to magnetize their feet onto a wall for a short walk after all. Yet what Inarie doesn’t quite understand was why these entrances were lightly guarded? Did everyone hope that the word of neutrality would truly last? In this time of war, Inarie at least would’ve assigned some guards at these entrances, but that was her personal opinion.

The partner in question, later introduced as Mal’Zeth, was a rather tall guy of about four inches or so. Blonde hair, arrogance seemed to roll off from his shoulders, and not much in terms of gear. A shinobi without even a kunai? Well, she wasn’t his teacher and Inarie wasn’t going to put a stopper onto this mission because of it. His mentioning of the bandits further confirmed that Mal at least had been debriefed of the details. Albeit Inarie proceeded to ignore the flirts as her expression remained focused. Her scales remained hidden as that was another ability Inarie learned to control. Granted the second she starts using any of her Dragon’s Blood abilities then her scales could resurface.

”You assumed right. Although I can’t say for certain that most of them would even know what happened to them. Preferably, I’d like to ambush them nice and quietly first so that we can get this chief alone.” Inarie spoke her mind of a potential strategy to utilize. However she understood that sometimes stealth wasn’t an option. Mal’s bow was something that Inarie rarely ever saw outside of formal meetings. The kind that was mockingly so, but Inarie nodded her head in acknowledgement. Perhaps it was the wind as Inarie felt like it was beginning to calm a bit, but in reality it was because the Heavenly Emporium was slowing down. Usually to let someone board or disembark. Which alone answered Mal’s question of going.

”Let’s be on our way then.” Inarie verbally answered as she turned to begin the climb down the ladder. She tries to be quick about it, but still mindful of not falling as that would certainly be a long drop to the bottom.

Her response to his words was businesslike and implied ambush and ensuring they didn't even know what happened to them. It was a style of doing things that Mal'Zeth understood quite well but he wasn't particularly good at it. His jutsu repertoire had a tendency to announce his arrival to any and all who might be nearby. "I'm game for an ambush style attack but you should know that my capabilities tend to make me more noticeable. Perhaps I should serve as distraction and let you get the drop on them?" He would ask, an eyebrow lifted in curious thought before the Emporium began to slow down to allow for descent. Inarie would go first and he would wait a few moments before moving onto the ladder himself, there was plenty of space between them on the ladder and he began to descend, carefully moving down the ladder. It would take some time to get to the bottom but they were in some flatlands in the Land of Rivers currently so there was very little danger of running into something upon their descent.

According the mission intel, the bandits were holed up in a forest a bit a ways from their location. It would take some time to get there so he supposed they would have plenty of time to converse he supposed but it would certainly be a bit boring if she was so businesslike all of the time. Still though it was better than nothing and if anything it would be interesting to learn about Kiri shinobi. Sadly due to the wind conversation was fairly worthless so it would also mean that their descent continued in silence.

The Land of Rivers, an area that Inarie had personally never been to. If the name was of any indication however, Inarie suspected that the land held quite a few rivers. Frankly it truly didn’t matter what the environment was to Inarie, for she wasn’t going to let it deter her from accomplishing the job. That was just how she was trained and raised. Granted Inarie herself wasn’t much for stealth either, but she planned to be quick and efficient. It didn’t really make much sense as to why she must spend more time than necessary with some cutthroat.

The descent was uneventful as it should be, and once both shinobi touched the ground safely. Inarie would attempt to start some conversation as they began to head towards the designation.

”You mentioned that you would serve as a distraction. What exactly did you have in mind signal-wise of when I can move in?” Inarie questioned. Truthfully she had no problem with him taking up a role such as that if he felt that was his strong suit. It was the small forms of communication from a distance other than a possible loud explosion or something. Her platinum long hair was a bit damp from the rain as drops poured down through the forest canopy. To some people, that was a bad thing, but to them that was a good thing. Easier to sneak up on the bandits and take them out with minimum noise.

Even though they weren’t close to camp, Inarie’s attention was still focused on their surroundings. From movement within the shadows to rustles of wet leaves. Her left hand remained firm on the hilt of her katana. In her other hand that slithered without a sound was a solid black bone tanto, or rather the handle of one as the rest of it was in a reverse positioning along the back of her arm.

Created a Shikotsumyaku Tanto -1CP

Once they had successfully descended onto the ground Mal'Zeth would take a few moments to ensure his leather coat settled properly, not simply for the sake of being comfortable however. It would also help to minimize the light creak of leather as he moved and as they moved he would silently begin to check the hidden pockets of his coat for various tools. He had the flint fragment in his tooth, he had his kunai and explosive tags too, and he nodded his head as he finished his confirmation that he hadn't dropped anything during their descent. Wouldn't that have been embarrassing? As they moved his companion would strike up a conversation and his red eyes would turn to her as they moved, being careful not to make any unnecessary noise.

"I have a rather large and flashy jutsu combination, lots of fire, lots of wind. I'll open with it. That should gather their attention in one way or another." He would answer, his voice quiet to prevent from traveling too far through the trees. A dense copse of trees could make for a great sound barrier, however interspersed ones like this forest could actually magnify sound which would have the exact opposite effect of what they wanted. His steps would be careful, working to not step on any sticks or leaves that might have been drier than others due to being covered by the canopy above. His own blonde hair was getting a bit damp and it would cause it to weigh down going from a swept up and back spiked look, to a more dignified pulled back appearance.

"I doubt we're close to our marks yet, so conversation shouldn't be too dangerous so long as we keep our voices down." He would say, his tone still quiet before continuing. "What's Kirigakure like? And don't say 'wet'." He would say, the last part with a small squinting of the eyes as they moved. She was leading them at the moment, mostly because the mission scroll had designated her team leader due to her higher rank. Although he wondered if he couldn't do better, he was 'Mal'Zeth Muramatsu' after all, and he was going to be great one day, feared across the nations. It was only a matter of time.

Mal responded to Inarie's question regarding the signal. In short, look out and listen for loud noises and fire blazing. Short and simple as Inarie preferred anyways. Being as these guys were bandits, sophisticated plans weren't necessary so to speak. Not to mention it is for distracting the enemy while Inarie aimed to infiltrate from behind and take them out one by one. Perhaps even two if Inarie wished to go shadow clone style. Although the thought of it gave the platinum haired swordmistress an idea for her lightning shadow clone.

When Mal inquired of what Kirigakure was like, and his follow-up quip made Inarie pursing her lips to not laugh.

"Okay fine, it's a very mistycal place. Sometimes you can't even see your hand unless you put it near your face." Inarie jokingly answered, and frankly she wasn't lying. The village wasn't called Hidden Village of the Mist for nothing. Long ago, Inarie heard of people have trouble navigate through the mists, but in the current age the most was no longer an issue unless it became unnaturally thick. Those were rare though.

"Do you like beaches?" Inarie inquired as she figured it was her turn to ask a question. It was in relation to Kirigakure, so it wasn't completely off topic. She had grown up around the sand, the sea salt breeze, and the crashing waves of the sea. So to Inarie who was accustomed to such environments, other people had expressed interest of just spending one day at a beach.

Mal would listen to her response and the emphasis on the word and chuckle softly. A pun, how amusing. Although he could definitely believe the idea of one not being able to see a hand in front of their face sometimes. After all if the village was named for the phenomenon then it had to be significant right? That made sense to Mal'Zeth. As they walked he considered his plan of attack. He would utilize the ash technique of course, but was that all he was limited to here? No, not by a long shot. His earlier flirting attempt had been ignored but at the very least he would try to show her something memorable. At her sudden question of if he liked beaches he would sigh outwardly. Not out of annoyance, but out of sadness. "I've never even seen one I'm afraid. Never left the Land of Earth and the shores up there are all rocky cliffs with a few inlets for ship loading but nothing really worthy of the term 'beach'. I hope to see one someday, spend some time at one and see what all the fuss is about." He would say with a small shrug as they continued on.

He supposed they were taking turns asking questions and that made it his turn at this point. He looked up slightly as he thought, considering his question carefully in his mind before deciding on one. "What's your guilty pleasure food wise? I figure everyone has at least one or two things they love that they don't openly tell others." He would ask, the question just something to pass the time. Just silently walking through the forest would get boring pretty quickly. He took a moment to shake out the water in his hair and pull it back by hand once more. The affect wasn't quite the same as it had done so naturally, but it was good enough and he was tired of the water droplets dripping down the side of his head.

There was a constant disturbance in the wind with how the floating fortress maintained it’s altitude. Inarie was certain that the noise and the visual sight would rally up the bandits, it only made sense given their track record of attacking people approaching the Heavenly Emporium. However the problem was that there wasn’t a dedicated route of sorts that either could set up an ambush. So Inarie wondered how exactly were these bandits able to find these travelers before they even got onto the moving city?

”Well I’ll admit that the Land of Water has its fair share of rocky cliffs and reefs. But the beach we have is maintained so the sand is fine and soft while also cool where the sea touches. Yet also scalding hot where the sea doesn’t touch.” Inarie recalled several times that she felt the scalding heat on the soles of her feet. Yet despite that heat, Inarie kept going to the beach whether it was for training or for recreational purposes. Granted the vision that Inarie had received that one time proved to be more daunting than any of her nightmares. Not that she could remember her nightmares, but Inarie never felt as threatened as the vision. With her knowledge expanded on the history of Yoru, or rather what was left of it. Inarie pieced together most of it as a vision between two dragons. One in the abyssal sea, and the other in the sky wreathed in stormy clouds.

”Guilty as charged, I’d have to go with the cheesy crab casserole. But I try not to eat it too often.” The last part might have been a lie, but Inarie tends to substitute her guilty food with dango. It’s a light snack for sure, and it wasn’t something Inarie usually delved into. Not recently at any rate, but that simply was because Inarie didn’t seem to stay in Kirigakure long enough to enjoy it. Whether it was on her diplomatic mission, or participating in the war. Inarie’s rose pink eyes shifted over to Mal for a moment.

”You seem to be the type to enjoy fine dining. A chef perhaps? Or a connoisseur?”

[The 2 C rank bandits are gonna be the tracker/sniper duo. One is the spotter via Sensory Technique, and the second is the archer. Bandit Chief is a weapons expert of sorts, and the D rank bandits are just grunts if that’s okay with you.]

Nodding as Inarie spoke of beaches Mal’Zeth would continue moving and listen. Beaches sounded interesting and he would love to visit one sometime in the not so distant future if it was possible. He could imagine it might be fun and he wanted very much to have such experiences in life where he could so perhaps when he had earned some time off or something he could go sightseeing in Kirigakure. When she spoke of her guilty pleasure food he would smile softly and chuckle. “Fair enough. Although with the work we do I can’t imagine losing any calories is difficult.” He would say at her statement of avoiding eating the rich sounding food often.

Then it was her turn to ask a question and he would consider her words before speaking. “I’m not too bad in a kitchen I’d say, but I certainly love to eat out at a good dining restaurant.” He would say before giving it some thought. “If I had to say the food I have the biggest problem with would probably be pasta. I find myself having to justify ordering it somehow. Although I find such justification a little ‘too’ easy at times.” He would say with a laugh. As they moved the forest would actually begin to get denser as they moved through the trees, which was good as they would absorb sound better as they walked. It also explained why they hadn’t heard an entire camp's worth of bandits so far. “Got a favorite activity? A hobby maybe?” He’d ask idly as he scanned the area with his red eyes. It was important to be aware of their surroundings and the man would keep his eyes and ears open for any potential threat against them as they moved.

Inarie listened to Mal's response without interruption. She always found it rather rude to interrupt what someone was saying, but Inarie understood that there will be times when emotions get the better of them. Sometimes Inarie took the time to vent, but she usually only ever vent when nobody was around. Mal asked her what her hobbies were, and before Inarie could open her mouth her keen eyes spotted a faint glint of metal in the distance.

There wasn't any time for Inarie to shout a warning as she instinctively moved to tackle Mal'Zeth just before a single arrow sailed over them. The arrow embedded itself into a tree behind the pair, and Inarie moved quickly to get back onto her feet in a crouch and took cover behind a tree.

"Seems like our chat is gonna have to wait. Our company are eager to put an arrow or two into us before giving us a chance." Inarie spoke to Mal as she made a kunai of black Shikotsumyaku slither into the delicate grasp of her free hand. The Yoru-Kaguya peeked around the tree and instinctively retreated behind cover to avoid an arrow that dug into her tree. Inarie followed up by coming back around to throw her kunai at the direction the arrows came from. She honestly didn't expect it to hit anyone, but it was to provide suppression so that Mal could move to cover and Inarie moved closer to relocate her position.

After he spoke rather than respond she would jump at him. Which wasn't exactly where he thought this would go but hey, when a beautiful woman tackles you, you don't argue it. However the appearance of an arrow sailing over them and impedding itself into a tree behind them would take that thought out of his head. 'Guess she'll just have to fall for my charm later.' He would think, his every confident self cracking his neck after getting himself into cover behind a different tree than Inarie. He wicked little grin on his face at her words. "It would appear so, can you judge their distance?" He would ask, an eyebrow raising toward her as he tentatively held a hand out to test their 'trigger finger' as it were. The sound of a loose fletching gave him what his answer and he pulled his hand back as an arrow went through the same spot. "Awfully jump aren't they?" He would ask her, grinning impishly at her.

He had a jutsu that might reach them and cause them some issues but he didn't want to risk using it with that high a of a reflex on their side. Tilting his head out to see, and give them the smallest possible target, he would judge them to be about eighty meters away. The kunai Inarie had thrown had worked for helping him get to cover, but now they needed something bigger to dislodge them. Forming a one handed seal a doppelganger of himself would appear exactly behind him. This would cause it to still be in cover Mal would proceed to take a deep breath and the clone would immediately dispel, his halved chakra reserved would return and more importantly to the moment, a brief, but effective smoke cover would surround his tree. Then he would slide out, forcing chakra into his lungs while still being in the cover of the smoke, his hand would form into a one handed Ram seal and then he would release Atsugai. The wind would expel violently from his lungs and become a seething vortex of vicious winds that sailed toward their assailants. The archer would fire an arrow only for the vortex to stop it cold and it would slam into their position with a brutal intensity. Trees were uprooted and boulders flung aside like children's toys and Mal'Zeth would duck back behind his cover before the technique was even finished, ensuring that when it was, he wasn't out in plain open sight as an easy target. "My mother always said I was full of hot air" He would say, the bad joke leaving his lips with a smirk on his features.

The blast of air that came from Mal'Zeth's lips tore through the trees and from the howling wind came the dying screams of men in the distance. Being robbed from their perch, they were flung into the air as they sustained cuts along their body. Then they proceeded to drop to their deaths in bloody masses. The devastation more or less cleared a path for them, and while Mal earned the right to talk arrogantly. Inarie wondered how many more of those blasts he could do before he exhausted himself.

"Yes, and it would seem like they're head over heels for you too." Inarie joked before she heard rushing feet just behind her tree. The Kaguya jumped with a flip to plant her feet on the trunk while practically suspended above ground and above the normal human height. Coming around the corner was a large man that swung a mighty two handed sword around that bit deep into the trunk where Inarie originally stood. A look of confusion appeared on his expression, but the bandit realized all too late before Inarie dropped to plunge her tanto hilt deep into the large man's shoulder.

A gurgling gasp of air escaped from his lungs as he collapsed with Inarie on top of him. She quickly stabbed his chest with the tanto twice before she ended it with a deep cut into the man's throat. The whole time the large man attempted to resist, but his strength faded as his blood flowed from his opened wounds. Afterwards Inarie would stand up on her feet and wipe the blood on the dying man's shirt. Her rose pink eyes then scanned the area, and a frown emerged on her expression.

"Is that seriously all of them? All of this trouble just for a trio of common cutthroats?"

He would laugh at her response before watching with a raised eyebrow as she moved to suspend herself above her position as a man swung a large sword around to thunk heavily into the trunk of the tree. Just as quickly she would utilize her tanto to stab down into the man's shoulder before using her own body weight and momentum to bring him down and finishing him off with a couple of stabs to the chest and finally cutting the man's throat. As she stood and wiped the blood from her blade on the dead man's shirt he would shake his head at the dead man commenting. "Overcompensating never works for a lady, poor fool." He would jest before she spoke. When she did he would look around curiously before checking the remains. Finding a small book on one he would pull it out and open it to the latest entry and begin to read.

"The rest of left, it's only Yamaguchi and Tsubaraki with me now, but it's alright, we'll rebuild. I'll become a bandit chief again and run this area. The others left, afraid of the 'inevitable shinobi response'. They went home to families, deciding not to take the easy money. Poor fools, they'll be sorry." He would read aloud before closing the book with a faint 'snap' of pages closing together before tossing it down to the corpse. "Looks like these are them, and they were all that's left." He would say as he moved back toward her after reading the journal entry. "We have so much free time now because of that, how about letting me treat you to lunch? We can make it a date." He would ask, an infectious smile on his features as he asked with a mild flirtatious undertone. If she accepted, great. They could proceed to travel back to the Emporium, turn in their mission, and go on a nice lunch date and see where it went. If not? Also fine, they could proceed to travel back to the Emporium, turn in their mission, and then go about their business. Either way the day would end fine as both would have more money in their pockets, three more bandits would be dead, and more people were safe because of it.

Either he would end up back at the Emporium and enjoying the rest of his day, if that ended up with eating lunch with Inarie, that was up to her. If not, that was fine too. Either way he would probably find himself going to sleep at his hotel room in the evening without a single regret that day.

Exit

Inarie's eyes followed Mal'Zeth's hand as he reached down to the corpse and grabbed a small book. From the sounds of it as Mal read the contents, it was a journal. Inarie didn't think these cretins even bothered to keep track of their nefarious acts. Whoever the rest of their crew was, they were the smart ones and left while they still drew breath. Inarie silently commend them for that. Too often they get drunk in their greed to realize their actions would have lethal repercussions. All too rare for those to widen up and either leave the banditry or simply relocate. Truthfully Inarie probably could track down their camp and track down those who left, but there was no telling how long the group disbanded.

"I see, well then that settles our bandit problem. Let's get report back and collect the bounty." Inarie spoke after Mal'Zeth dropped the book. When Mal'Zeth asked her out for lunch after the mission was turned in, Inarie's mind briefly brought up Madrigal. Sure their time in the Trenches was short, but she felt more of a connection with him than Mal. Plus, she needs to get back to Kirigakure pronto.

"I appreciate the offer, but I've already had a mind of going with someone else for lunch. But if you wish to do another mission sometime I can do that." Inarie counter-offered as shinobi often work together or against each other. Frankly she'd rather work together with Mal'Zeth than against him. Without further ado, Inarie walks back to the Heavenly Emporium with Mal'Zeth.

[Exit]