Bandit Barbecue

Mission Name: Bandits Are Stupid
Mission Rank: B
Theater of War: Relevant Plot NPCs
Mission Goal: Eliminate the bandits
Description: Bandits are stupid, you can tell because of this wonderful example. See, a bandit chief has taken his men and started to waylay travelers trying to get to the safety of the Emporium. You know, that place where every nation in the war is doing everything they can to keep it neutral? This isn't about to end well for them.
Payment: 25,000
Maximum Number of Participants: Maximum of 4
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Valen had returned to the Heavenly Emporium and had requested a mission. He needed a change of locale for the work and he was pleasantly surprised to be given a higher ranked one. He had blinked at the mission scroll and when he looked up at the man behind the mission desk he recognized one of his normal sparring partners giving him a grin and a nod. Clearly he was capable enough to handle this one. The man had seen it himself and it needed to get done. So Valen had taken it without question. He was expecting a single partner on it and he wore what he normally wore to the Emporium now. A black silk kimono with black satin trim. Giving the edges of the Kimono a shiny look to them. Upon the back was the symbol of Kirigakure embroidered in more of the same material. Making his village affiliation known quite openly. At his waist was a blood red sash and at his hip rested his katana. The Hai no Ha, a wicked katana that was of the highest quality he had ever seen.

He was already in the mission area, a densely forested area where people could easily disappear if they wanted. A perfect place for bandits and raider to hide and take prisoners to so that they would never be found. Still, due to the Emporium's commanding view of the area he had been able to pick out the bandit camp from a good distance as he was descending. Currently it was a half mile or so further south. He had given left instructions when landing on where his mission partner could find him. From what he knew the camp numbered several hundred strong. An ample private little army for a bandit chief. Valen was prepared, both with jutsu to practice and learn and at least one new technique using his sword that he wanted to play with.

[1]

Another day at the Heavenly Emporium, enjoying things there. Well, at least, she wanted to, but instead, Takara had chosen to take on one of the missions from the Heavenly Emporium. Her parents weren’t doing all that well financially, and she wanted to support them like they had her throughout the years, so she was going to take on as many of these missions as she could to keep bringing in the Ryo. Technically she could have made it happen as simply as putting forth her normal monthly pay towards another home, but she wanted more than that; she would earn enough to set them up for the rest of their life, and then be done with it. As long as she did it strategically, she could manage that without much trouble… but that required her to get the money together first. That meant doing as many missions as she could manage while still training and growing.

So when she looked at the mission roster and saw Valen’s name, she couldn’t help but laugh and sign up right next to him. This was more something that suited his strength; hunting bandits. Considering his power, he would have no trouble handling them, and Takara could focus on making sure no one escaped and interrogating others to be able to find their hideout and subjugate all of them. Chances were none of them would live beyond today, but there was a chance for prisoners, she would be the one to take charge and keep them in check. Approaching Valen, she thought about the different techniques she planned to learn and try out during the mission, and decided to lead with what their goals were with it. “Morning. We probably should keep the first one we find alive so we can find their base of operations. I got a few Jutsu I want to try out if possible. I just recently really started to master Ninjutsu as well. You are leading, as usual, so feel free to take point.”

[1]

When Takara approached, greeting him and giving her own thoughts on how they should begin he would shrug. “Simple enough, none of them live though. People who prey on those less fortunate like they do don’t deserve the life they’ve been given.” He would say, his comment easily the more brutal things he had said since they had met. In the end, he was a member of the Nightmare Brigade, and while this mission wasn’t for the Brigade it was of course still a mission involving criminals who took advantage of those less fortunate to vicious degree. So Valen would return that viciousness upon the aggressors. Of course since the Nightmare Brigade was secret arm of the ANBU he couldn’t just openly state anything about it to Takara. Who was not a member of the Brigade. “I saw a large initial camp from the Emporium. It’s about a half mile to the south. We’ll capture a patrol and interrogate them first, double check they’re either all there or where a secondary base might be set up.” He would say, nodding his head toward the south. “Let’s get going.”

With that he would begin to move toward the south, his senses opening to listen or watch for any sign of enemy activity. He wouldn’t leave here today until every one of the bandits had been killed. His hand took the hilt of his Blade of Ashes lightly, ready to draw quickly should they happen upon a patrol. If they did the first one would die quickly, the second would be captured for Takara to interrogate. First though, they had to find one. He looked a little strange wearing a kimono for a battle and he knew by the end of it the garb would be covered in blood. But he had others like it. So throwing out one wouldn’t be overly wasteful.

[2]

Takara thought about his attitude regarding the individuals that they were being sent to deal with, noting that he didn’t want any of them to live. She was certain that he had his reasons, but he didn’t seem to have any mercy for someone that preyed upon someone else, which was both concerning and admirable. The dark-skinned Genin rarely saw the fervor he portrayed when it came to protecting people, but she also knew that there might be some who were victims of circumstance. What if they were forced to work with the bandits? Would he still cut them down even if they were effectively slaves? She would have to wait and see, but she didn’t argue with him either… if she noticed that he was going to kill even those who were deserving of redemption, she would step in. As for the rest of them…

He would kill them only if she didn’t kill them first.

She heard his directions and nodded, pulling up a memorized mental map of the area and considering the location of where he was referring to. Geologically that made sense, but it was very fortunate he had been able to spot it before they left or they would be spending a considerable amount of time simply running around trying to find the initial camp. She had an assortment of techniques that she wanted to try out, and this was a good opportunity, as there was a strong chance that it could be an entire chain of camps for all she knew. She noted Valen’s blade, and ensured she was standing on his opposite side; fire and water clashed considerably, and if she wanted to use a technique, the last thing she needed was it dousing his flames or him flash-boiling her water. She was also still, only barely, thinking about how she wanted to propose what they were going to do when they hung out and this was all done, but that would come in time. Now wasn’t really the best moment to think about that too hard.

[2]

Their mission orders of course were to eradicate the bandits. Putting such individuals into forced work tended to not work unless you were in a dangerous area in itself that prevents one from scavenging off the land effectively or safely. This was no such place, and as such those who were captured were either going to be dead already or hostages. Hostages of course were not bandits and would be freed. They were innocent victims in all this crap. The bandits themselves though? They wouldn’t walk away from this with their lives. Valen would ensure that was the case. Takara would say nothing in response to him and seemingly wait for his lead. He would give a few moments of letting his words of the bandits imminent deaths settle. Then nod before beginning to travel south. There was no need for talk at the moment.

Traveling south at a slow pace for a few minutes would put them into direct line with most bandits patrol ranges. Most didn’t range out very far, wanting to be close so that they could get back in and have fun screwing around. So patrol duties tended to be short and light. A circle or two every so often a half mile or so outside of camp should be fine after all, right? Eventually Valen would simply stop dead and begin to wait. His hand on the hilt of his sword and rolling his neck. They needed to wait for the patrol to come by. If Takara wanted to interrogate one then the only way to get time before they began the attack was to take a patrol. It wouldn’t take long before he heard the conversation of two individuals coming toward them and Valen would mutter to Takara. “I take one, you capture the other.” He would say before moving down toward the ground from the tree he had been using to stand upon as they waited. It would be a few more minutes before the two man cell arrived. Sounds tended to carry in forests and such.

[3]

Takara would once more fall into line slightly behind Valen, letting him take point and keeping up with him relatively decently, and her mind began to retreat into itself and work on the logistics of the mission, but more importantly, her plan for what to do with Valen when they ‘hung out’ next. She hadn’t even hinted at it yet, but she certainly hadn’t forgotten, and working out her exact plan in detail had proven interesting considering that she had to take into account everything she had learned over the past several missions about the man to come up with the most effective possible plan. Working around his shielded emotions was the biggest problem in it all, because she knew that if she jumped the gun, it would wind up being completely one sided; but he was capable of a bond. At least one that she knew would fulfill what she was looking for.

That was sidelined as the abruptly stopped and her mind shifted gears completely into a new Jutsu she wanted to learn; Water Whip. It wasn’t really all that good at ranged, but it’s versatility was potent, and she had every intention of utilizing exactly that. She also had a solid plan for interrogation that would be effective, or so she hoped. Utilizing the mastery she had over water, she noted the two getting in range, and then nodded silently to Valen; he would likely kill the other guy instantly, but the one closer to her would find himself with a thick line of water wrapping around his throat, mouth and nose. She didn’t even bother double checking the other guy, but used the whip to make sure that the one she captured watched. “See? And he’s the nice one. Now… you are going to tell me everything I want to know, or I’m going to bring you to the brink of drowning over and over again until you lose your mind from a lack of oxygen to the brain.” Let the interrogation begin.

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Technique Learned:

[3]

As the two man cell arrived Valen would note them idly. One was a large man with a pair of spiked gauntlets while the other was a weasley looking man with an unkempt beard and a pair of daggers. The man with the daggers was closest to Takara and as the man with the gauntlets charged at Valen. Leaving Takara to his partner the water would form around the smaller man’s throat, mouth, and nose. As such the larger man wouldn’t even see the exchange occur and instead of overwhelming the two individuals he would be met with a much more grisly fate that day. Valen, hand upon the hilt of his weapon, simply drew it and stepped aside, and forward, holding the weapon out in a firm hold to his side with both hands. This caused the larger man to slam into the weapon with the full force of his charge.

That force was enough for the man to be bisected at waist level, and the top and bottom halves of the man separated with a macabre shower and explosion of gore. Valen hadn’t even actually swung the weapon, instead allowing the force of the man’s own charge be all that he used. He wanted to see just how sharp the weapon was and there was nothing like it’s first true usage in combat to really see what a weapon could do. It had held up absolutely superbly and the larger man lay upon the dirt rapidly turning black from the excessive blood seeping into it from his wound. He had not died yet, and Valen, both hands still upon the weapon, blew a white hot inferno upon the two halves of the man. The flames coming nowhere close to Takara and her hostage. He performed the fire technique with no seals and the man’s screams rose to a crescendo for a brief moment before falling silent as the fire took hold. The pain and heat killed him outright. Next came the crackle and pop of the man’s marrow boiling out of the bones and finally the telltale disappearance within the flames. When it was all said and done there was nothing but a spray of ash becoming lost in the wind. Valen flicked the blood off of his sword and turned toward the second man as he sheathed the now blood free weapon and tilted his head curiously.

[4]

Takara made sure that through Valen’s grim display of power, the man before him could not turn his head and look away at any point, the fear in his eyes growing as the bigger man had perished. She was a little frustrated that Valen had let him scream, because that could draw unwanted attention until she got the information she needed, but couldn’t deny the impact it had on the psyche of the individual she wanted information from. She used the still activated whip to pull the man into a seated position at the stump of a tree, and then stood over him, the whip at her side.

“You have two options. Die with honor, quickly and painlessly after giving me the information I ask for, or die painfully, slowly, and I get the information out of you anyway once I have your mind turned to mud. Choose quickly… I’m not known for my patience.” And after a second or two, the man sighed, nodded, and began to tell them everything. Takara ensured she didn’t respond once, verbally or physically, to anything he said, merely moving on to the next question. Three encampments encircling a main headquarters… this was no small operation at all. With a standing army of five hundred people, this was something that was long established and powerful… no wonder they hadn’t been dealt with. Minimal slaves and prisoners, but the water-nin would keep an eye out for them to be saved and rallied back to the Emporium. 100 soldiers for each of the three encampments, twice that at the primary headquarters… a few strong fighters there that they would need to worry about.

She nodded, finished with her questions, and gave him a gentle smile. “Thank you for your cooperation. Close your eyes. I will keep my promise.” She took a moment and weaved a few seals; wholly unnecessary, but this was the first time she had used this Jutsu, and she wanted to have the utmost control. Her cheeks swelled for a moment as she kneaded the chakra specifically, and then swung her head left to right as an extremely high pressure stream spewed from her lips, cutting through half of the tree and through the neck of the man she had been questioning, giving him a quick and painless death. Standing up, she took a moment to take a breath before turning to Valen. “I’m going to assume you want to wipe them all out, but I suggest we make a quick strategy before we do so that we don’t alert anyone of what we are doing until it’s too late. If they know what is coming for them, they will flee and we won’t be able to ensure we got them all.” She then waited for Valen to respond, because as the team leader, he was the one in charge. He could just tell her to make a plan, but that was up to him.

[4]

Valen would listen intently as the man spilled everything he knew. All the while his red eyes would keep a watchful gaze of the surrounding area. They were close enough that the screams should have been audible to the closest camp he had seen and that had been part of the goal. He wanted more to come away from the camp to investigate so they had fewer to fight at once. They were only two people after all, and two genin at that. When Takara executed the man she had questioned, Valen would nod in satisfaction before the woman began to speak. He would listen to her, but shake his head in the negatory for his intent.

“There’s little point in trying to keep our intent hidden. There’s just too many in the camps to account for and we don’t know the status or locations of those prisoners and slaves. So we can’t just obliterate the camps with ninjutsu. That means word will get around anyway. That’s why I let the man scream. The camp I saw was too big to hide from when we go to destroy it. I want to draw some of them out. In the end word that only two people are attacking will breed overconfidence into them and with luck we’ll get to kill them all. But if a few manage to escape it won’t matter much so long as we take out the vast majority. One or two solo bandits is far less of a threat than a large organized group.” He would say, his ear tilted up to try to hear better as he spoke. “Plan is to draw them out to whittle their numbers down. Then assault the camp. The first screamer was a lure to get them. They should respond with what they will assume is overkill given that it was just a two man cell but they can’t guess our own numbers yet. When we eradicate the group coming we should be able to attack at leisure. The goal will be to kill the next group without any noise. So that the rest don’t know what’s going on and keep being confident while we get closer.” He would finish, finally hearing the sound he wanted to.

In the distance he heard the sounds of men and women circling around them. They had been seen and given the grisly state of affairs in this particular spot it wasn’t surprising that they chose to ensure Valen and Takara couldn’t escape. “Watch my back, I’ve got yours.” He would say simply as the encirclement grew closer. There would be no communication, when they got there they would simply attack them.

[5]

She nodded… his logic was sound, but she felt like there was a better way of doing things, but would be waiting for a moment. Before she could lay out the addendum to his plan, they were going to have to deal with the people that the scream had drawn; having heard that the plan here was to eliminate them quickly and quietly meant that her own part would be still possible, and handling simple bandits wouldn’t prove to be much trouble for either of them. She wouldn’t honestly need to waste any chakra for them, and the few weapons she saw on them she could use against them. She hadn’t been training as hard as she had simply to get slowed down by the likes of a few rogues like this… and she would prove it shortly. Complying with what he said, she moved to where she was covering his back, and then waited patiently.

The first assailant tossed an actual knife at her, something she caught easily enough and then spun around, brandishing the weapon she now possessed. Just because she didn’t have any actual skill with weapons, it didn’t mean that she didn’t understand their general use. Water Whip in her left hand, knife in her right, she waited a moment or two more before the mass of them charged on her side. Confident that Valen would be able to handle his without any problems, she held her ground, using her whip to yank at an ankle, causing them to stumble into a nearby companion, slowing those two down for a moment before the other three closed in. Her cheeks swelled once more, silently and seallessly preparing another blast of concentrated water, but this time measuring up the distances and in a solid arc cut the three’s heads from their shoulders. Wasting absolutely no time, she rushed the last two who were still picking themselves up and used the knife to slash their throats before they could react properly, then turned to see if Valen had finished up as well.

She would assist if needed, but once they were dealt with, she would address him again. “Anyone able to rally, organize and keep an army of this size under their thumb is going to be intelligent. I agree with your plan, but I feel like we should split up for each of the smaller encampments. I will infiltrate them and ensure that any prisoners or slaves are out and away before we begin, then we can use large-scale jutsu to handle them en-masse. The headquarters… we will have to scout them out a bit before tackling them. But alerting the Headquarters before handling the outer encampments could mean they coordinate a trap for us or raise them all to high alert and make it much harder, not to mention slaughter any slaves or prisoners they have to keep us from getting to them.” There was still a solid chance that this worked even with the first camp at the stage they were in, but ultimately it was his decision and his alone.

[5]

Upon the arrival of their enemies he would begin his own movements, flashing across the distance between him and one of the targets in an instant to their eyes and swinging his sword across his target's throat. The immaculately crafted weapon would slide through the thin muscle of the throat and sever the windpipe, making it impossible for the individual to obtain air any longer. However Valen would already be moving, turning the initial slash into the man’s throat into a swing into the bandit next to the first. The motion utilized the same motion he had used initially but it would be interesting to note that Valen kept both hands on the sword's hilt as he moved. With a neutral expression he would move through his targets, the short, vicious, and extremely bloody, clash ending in only moments. He wouldn’t use a single technique during the altercation. Simply because any fire ninjutsu he utilized would by the very nature of fire cause there to be screams of pain and agony. Which as he told Takara he had specifically wanted to avoid.

When the last of his targets fell he would turn toward Takara to find her cutting through the throats of the last of her own victims. She would turn toward him when done and comment her own thoughts to his initial plan. He would listen, red eyes never leaving, never even blinking. Then he would simply nod, he didn’t care how the mission got done so long as it did while maximizing losses to the target enemy. At the end of the day he did not believe for one moment that any bandit would throw away their only bargaining chips by killing the slaves and prisoners. Each one of them they did that to made the job of the shinobi that much easier. Better to use them in some sort of trap that the shinobi could not ignore while the bandits themselves made an escape. However sticking together with so many targets was not the most efficient use of their skills. “Make a shadow clone to watch your back, I’ll give you twenty minutes to get to the slaves or prisoners and get them out. After that I’m starting. Once that time is up pull out and move to the next encampment and begin the process there too.” He would say, his voice still neutral as he spoke. The timer was generous, very much so in fact but they did not know the state of the slaves and prisoners and that meant she might have to perform quick first aid and there was the fact the slaves and prisoners would undoubtedly slow her down. She however would have to realize that if her timer was running out and she had not gotten the last of the prisoners and slaves out she would have to leave them. They couldn’t let the camp realize their group was slaughtered to the man.

[6]

Takara nodded to what he wanted, agreeing easily to the compromise. “If they aren’t out before you begin, they are lost. Annihilate them all at once if you can. I will leave one clone to try to cut off any stragglers; I can make three with chakra to spare now.” She had been training her reserves pretty extensively, and could even make four of them, but that would put her dangerously close to exhaustion on each and reduce their combat potential. Twenty minutes should be more than enough time, even with the chance of needing to render some quick first aid or deal with particular guards around the captives. Adults so injured that they couldn’t walk she would have to leave behind with only a promise that it would be quick, children could be carried by those who were able bodied. The plan in place, Takara formed the seal, and three clones appeared.

“This also lets you communicate with me in case of an emergency. Tell the clone, disperse it, and I will know in real time. Let’s get this done.” Takara moved quickly and quietly into the night, followed by a pair of clones, and made quick work of infiltrating the camp. Using all the stealth of a Ninja, it didn’t take long to work her way through to where the prisoners and slaves were held, who were very eager to listen to her. A quick wrap around an ankle, a make-shift sling, and they were on their way, slitting throats as they went with the silence of a snake sliding through the grass. Two prisoners had to be silenced, so brainwashed that they threatened to compromise the mission, but all in all, it was a complete and utter success with minimal casualties on their end. Once they reached the outside wall and the prisoners were safe, she looked to one of her clones, and they dispersed. The clone next to Valen, also watching his back, then looked towards him. “They are clear. Let’s mop them up.”

The original Takara made yet another clone, took one with her to the next camp, and left one behind to help the others deal with any escapees. She would rendezvous with the others at where the prisoners were going to stay temporarily and disperse to let Valen know they were clear once more, and the process would continue for all three of the outer encampments.

[6]

Valen would nod to her words, they were just after all a confirmation of what he had said. Except for the part about how much chakra she had. He himself could manage six clones and still be fighting capable but only just. Then again his own style of combat was a bit less chakra intensive than Takara’s and what she did not know about his weapon was that it helped him with his wasted chakra when it came to using techniques of his preferred element. That of course being fire. The swordsman would nod again when she commented that the clone could allow them to communicate and then he would simply wait while she left. He would kneel beneath a tree, more or less out of sight and close his eyes and listen. Letting his breathing even out as he considered the best way to remove the camp. The techniques he knew simply weren’t big enough for the endeavor and he wasn’t quite strong enough to learn techniques that could do so yet.

Actually, that wasn’t quite true now that he thought of it. He had done some reading in the emporium's library and had come across one or two that might do the trick. Picking one he would study it within his mind. Beginning to form the seals to practice the technique although not completing the jutsu. He needed to get how it felt down. He wasn’t sure what the clone of Takara was doing during this but that didn’t matter. He was lost in thought and, beyond keeping his senses open for danger, was focused on the task at hand. He moved through the seals three times, memorizing how his chakra flowed into the jutsu and then nodded to himself. He would be able to utilize the jutsu without issue. Eventually the clone next to him piped up, speaking of them being clear and he nodded. Knowing that Takara was already on her way to the next objective. He himself would stand and draw his Blade of Ashes in a single smooth motion before taking the weapon in both hands and taking a deep breath. As he did he focused his chakra into the technique he wanted to use and then expelled a great fireball shaped like a dragon's head. The fireball soared over toward the camp the Takara had just cleared of slaves and prisoners. Cries of alarm went up as the fireball came down upon them and impacted within the center of the camp.

The explosive impact caused a conflagration in the camp as the fiery impact was more than enough to cause the entire camp to be caught in the blast and most within were incinerated into ash upon impact. Cremated and scattered across the forest, their own work clearing the way for the camp now working against them. With that done, and taking only long enough to ensure the fire would not spread away from the cleared section. Valen would leave toward the next encampment.

Jutsu Trained:

[7]

Takara and her clones were working like a well oiled machine, moving through each encampment and coming through with her plan to get the innocents out so that Valen could annihilate them en masse. Each time, information was passed to Valen when they were ready, and they moved on, annihilating the encampment until the central HQ was no longer surrounded in a massive fortification, but instead pinned in by gouges of flame. Each pyre served as a means of funneling the enemy into a chokepoint, and that meant that there would be absolutely no mistake. The slaves and prisoners were now armed to the teeth with stolen weapons, lead by a clone of Takara, and holding one point, while another Takara clone and Valen held another. The last was the original Takara and her clone, ready to confront this final bastion of hell. According to the slaves and prisoners, only the ones who have been properly brainwashed were sent to the Headquarters Encampment, and couldn’t be saved anyway, so there was no point in risking her neck to do so.

After talking it over with her own clone, sending it to Valen to give him the information, and dispersing the clone that he originally had there, she relayed the plan. “No prisoners or slaves to worry about in this one, and we have them completely surrounded. If you have enough Chakra, I say we hit this last one with our most powerful technique and just annihilate it outright. The clashing elements will flash boil them and we can be done with this and work on getting these people to the Heavenly Emporium. I’ve always wanted to summon a water dragon anyway.” She flashed him a confident smile, and so long as he was alright with the plan, it would disperse. The one with the clones was the only clone that would stay around, returning most of the chakra back to Takara, who stepped out onto the lake she had wound up stationing herself at. After running through the hand seals slowly and ensuring she was in range, she eyed the Headquarters as the people inside began preparing for combat.

As she noticed the flames behind the Headquarters, a dragon made of water rose behind her, and as those flames grew bright, the dragon surged forward, smashing into the fortress on her side and breaking their makeshift fortress like it was made of toothpicks. The clashing elements created a smashing wall of superheated steam that reduced the total life expectancy of anyone inside to zero. The screams didn’t even last very long. Takara waited until it was all said and done before walking into the middle to find the head of the bandit-lord, their proof it was done, and ripping it from his melted shoulders, spine and all.

---

Technique Learned:

[7]

Each time they were move to a different of the three outposts, or encampments rather. Valen would meditate outside of them, waiting patiently for Takara’s signal. The second one went off without a hitch, simply because those within were more curious of the bonfire that had become another of the encampments more than anything else and when the signal to begin his attack came he again incinerated it without mercy. Eradicating everything left within it to ash and dust before moving on to the third. The third one however would prove a tad more difficult. As while Takara was able to sneak through by virtue of those within looking for a fire user coming to incinerate them. Valen was unable to wait patiently while she did her work. When they came for him, he cut them down. Conserving chakra and moving through them with his weapon and leaving no survivors. When he was done the encampment had no personal remaining, and Valen himself was covered in gore and viscera to his fairly substantial annoyance. When he arrived at the next encampment, moving into position behind it. Takara’s clone would speak up, informing her of Takara’s thoughts. He would nod, emphatically, prepared to eradicate this place with no qualm.

When it came time for the jutsu in question Valen would hold his sword ready, both hands upon the hilt before breathing out the great fire dragon once more. The burning orb of flame would move through the air as a water dragon from the opposite direction formed and came through, the two would impact in the middle and the resulting explosion of steam and heat would cause screams of agonized pain to echo through the area as all within were flash boiled alive. Once that was done Valen moved in the compound, finding Takara as she was removing the head of the bandit chief, melted spinal column attached and all before shaking his head. “No head necessary. I’ll light the place up and the four bonfires will act as our evidence. Besides the freed slaves and prisoners are proof enough.” He would say before nodding back the way they had come. “Let’s go, I want a hot shower. Preferably one lacking the risk of boiling me alive.” He would say, his blood stained form moving toward the Emporium.

[8]

Takara nodded quietly to his comment, dropping the head and spine without a second thought, taking a moment and thinking to herself. Two Genin were capable of ending five hundred lives in the spanse of a few hours, it was no wonder that the bandits had done what they had; ordinary humans were simply no match in the realm of raw combat ability, even if they had the numbers. Good tactics and strategy had a definite part to play into it, naturally, but she wasn’t even a combat-oriented Ninja. Her specialty was going to be in medical, chemistry and sealing, not fighting, and she was still capable of doing such a horrific amount of damage to the enemy. It was sad that they couldn’t be captured and rehabilitated, but if nothing else, they wouldn’t be hurting anyone else anytime soon, and others would be discouraged from attempting something similar. A show of force worked wonders on the human psyche.

There was no doubt in her mind that someone might have escaped and survived, but the chanced were that they would be too horrified by what had occurred to do much more than babble in terror. Taking a deep breath, Takara nodded to the wisdom of wanting a shower; she did too… but now that the mission was coming to a close, her mind began to wander back to what she wanted to do when they ‘hung out’ again, and she decided that now was a good enough time to start brokering the subject. “So… are you busy once you get cleaned up? I’ve been thinking about what I won from the wager back at the Academy and uh… I got a solid idea. If you are open to it, of course.” Just because she got to pick what they did when they hung out next didn’t mean she got to dictate the time in which it was done, and she didn’t want to mess with anything else he had planned after this anyway.

[8]

Her question would draw his red eyes to her and he would tilt his head to the side in curiosity. He shrugged easily at the question. The mission was done and all so he was free but he had intended to head back home for a few days to check in and make sure his home was clean. Besides the Emporium was loud and had a lot of people and home tended to be quite a bit quieter. Blinking a couple of times to get his thoughts straight he would open his mouth to speak. “I was going to return home for a few days later today. I’m of course up for whatever since you won the wager and all. However would you be willing to wait until I return from the village?” He would ask, his tone not pleading or anything, simply inquisitorial. If she said no he would shrug and agree to meet her wherever she chose. He did owe her after all and it was her that got to pick what they did when they hung out next.

With that said though he really did want to return home and get some rest from a place that wasn’t the Emporium. They had both returned home not too long ago which is where the mission Takara was referencing had occurred but Valen had spent almost every day home going on said missions and now he simply wanted to go to rest a bit. Perhaps try to practice his reading and writing more. Still, Valen wouldn’t break a promise so if she insisted, he would join her with no ill thoughts toward the matter. Valen would move toward the survivors, most of them just seeing him for the first time. Many shied away from him due to his viscera covered form. He did not really blame them. He felt gross and fought the instinct to shudder. He loved to fight, loved to ‘compete’ in the ‘contest’ if you will. However he strongly disliked being so filthy now that he had been freed and had regular showers.

[9]

Takara listened quietly as he stated he wanted to go home for a while afterwards, and shook her head with a small smile. “My plans don’t rely on a specific location. I wouldn’t mind going home for a little while too.” In fact, that would probably work better because they could just use one of their homes for the privacy that was required for her plan to work. Not so much for Valen… she was certain that he was the type that wouldn’t mind doing much of anything in a public place just based on his regular demeanor, but she couldn’t say that for absolute certain. Either way, she was looking forward to going home. The pair were coming closer to where the survivors were, but she paused for a moment, stepping in front of him.

“Let me get you cleaned up… at least a little bit. Won’t be as good as a shower, but it will help. Slowly spin.” She took a few steps back, and her cheeks began to swell once more as she kneaded the chakra for a Great Colliding Wave with the power greatly reduced, but not the volume of water. It would spray him from head to toe like a medium pressure wash, or a really strong shower moving horizontally, and if he listened and spun a bit, it would get all the gore, for the most part, off his skin and clothing. He could dry himself, she knew, and she had to admit it was pretty cool to see him literally steaming for a bit. Once he was cleaned off, she offered another small smile. “Don’t want you scaring the survivors or starting to stink.”

With that, they rejoined the survivors and then began the long march back to the Emporium with all their liberated people. She may have ended more than a few lives today, but she had also saved a fair score as well. Her clone reported 47 survivors, a mixture of slaves and captives, one of which had to be silenced because it was some entitled rich kid who demanded things of her that she was absolutely not going to comply with. Walking next to Valen near the front with her final clone bringing up the rear, she pondered for a moment. “You would think they would give some kind of bonus for taking the time to save people, but I seriously doubt that. ‘You didn’t have to, so we aren’t going to pay you for it’ type crap.” Now she was just making small talk.

[9]

Her comment would cause him to a blink a bit in thought as he considered her words. Part of why he was returning home was to limit human interaction for a time so he could rest. Since coming to the Emporium he had almost nonstop been surrounded by people and that had made it difficult for him to get any kind of real rest since he naturally did not sleep well around others. He was always just a tad bit more awake than usual when there was anyone else around so that he was ready to react in case anything untoward came at him or any comrade nearby he might need to defend. Her coming and fulfilling her plans while he was trying to rest would do the exact opposite since he was trying to limit human interaction in general. Shaking his head politely he would respond. “I understand your excitement, but I’m going home to get away from all of the human interaction for a bit. I haven’t slept well in a while because I can’t do so when anyone else is around. It’s an ingrained habit from when I was a slave. By all means go home if you wish, it’s your home too after all. But lets save your plan for the return to the Emporium. I’m sure there’s something here that could make it better. Whatever your plan might be.” He would say simply.

When she paused for a time and stepped in front of him she would offer to get him cleaned up a bit. He would shrug and when she told him to spin slowly he would do so, taking time to do so very slowly since he wasn’t entirely sure how she was going to do what she was going to do. When he began to spin her cheeks would swell and a torrent of water would fire outward and as he spun the water would clean off the worst of the gunk. Of course it also left him absolutely fucking soaked but he could take care of that himself. The moment she was done he would force an amount of fire chakra through his system and the water dripping from his clothing, hair, skin, and equipment would vaporize immediately. Wafts of steam rising from his form in to the sky. He would nod at her words before moving toward the survivors. When she spoke of how they should be getting some kind of bonus for saving the slaves Valen would again shrug. “From what I’ve heard slavery is a horrible thing in the world. So perhaps saving these individuals from it was the reward for it itself. Besides, it’s sort of inherent in the job description in my opinion.” He would say before turning toward the slaves. “We’re all going to get ready to start moving now, everyone stay together. Keep either my colleague or myself in view at all times until we reach the Emporium at which point we’ll make sure you get shown to the hospital.” He would call out, prompting people to nod as he turned toward Takara. “Let’s go..” He would say before moving toward the Emporium at a much more sedate pace than he normally would. The former slaves and prisoners wouldn’t have been able to keep up with them normally so he slowed down so they could do so.

[10]

Takara listened to his counter-offer and nodded in understanding, yet another small piece of the puzzle that was Valen clicking into place. So he could get overwhelmed with human interaction and need a bit of a breather in order to be able to reset? She could understand and comply with that, and simply nodded at first. “I’ll stay here then and get things set up properly for it. Might even make it better since we know that it will dedicated to something relaxing instead of another mission. We have done a lot of those this month.” And it was the absolute truth; they had been going on mission after mission, helping their village mostly, but the Heavenly Emporium as well. It hadn’t been a bad experience at all; actually the opposite. She had discovered much about Valen she hadn’t known before, and it would enable her to make the next move in her quest.

Odd, thinking about how motivated she had become to befriend him. Truly make him a friend. Maybe more. Time would tell.

Escorting them all to the Heavenly Emporium went off without a hitch, the entire convoy of people marching without much complaint now that they were free. It wasn’t a long march, thankfully, or they would have needed to stop to get food and drink, but that could be taken care of when they arrived. Once there, the march continued straight to the hospital, and her clone had run ahead to warn the staff of what was coming their direction and give a listing of all known ailments that she had done the basic first aid with. So when the group arrived, there was a plethora of staff waiting for them outside, since many of them wouldn’t need to actually go into the hospital and were in fairly good condition. Takara and her clone took up positions helping some of the more injured, and the original paused near Valen once more. “I am going to stay here and help them get sorted at the Hospital. Can you turn things in and you can give me my portion when you come back?” she asked, wanting to help the staff who were now overloaded as much as possible.

[10]

The swordsman would nod at her agreement, acknowledging it politely but without speech and when they began their trek to the Emporium would find the overall journey to be mostly quiet. Which Valen of course was more than willing to let happen. Seeing as he was of course wanting to go home for quiet. When they arrived they would immediately escort them to the hospital and her clone had gone on ahead to warn those of the incoming boom of those needing help. When everyone else safely inside Takara would move next to him and tell him she would stay there and help where she could. Asking him if he could turn in the mission and give her her portion later. He would nod, that was easy. They had simply kept the same hotel booking from the last time they had come, not bothering to let it cancel out. He could simply turn the mission in and leave her earnings at the room.

Nodding his head to her he would speak. “You’re portion will be in the room. I’ll probably be gone by the time you get back to it, I’ll see you when I get back.” He would say before turning and leaving to go the mission report desk in the Emporium and turn in the mission so that it could be labeled as complete. The Emporium would communicate that with Kirigakure and inform them of the mission so that officials there understood their shinobi had helped with a situation although since the mission was for the Emporium Kirigakure itself would not get a share of the profits. The Emporium would. So when he had successfully completed the mission he picked up the funds and took them with him to the hotel room and set Takara’s on the nightstand on her side of the bed and packed some of his belongings and left. Intent upon returning home in order to get some rest and relaxation.

[Exit]

[11]

Takara nodded, and while she didn’t outwardly say anything or let her expression slip, she mentally cursed. She had been hoping he would agree and just bring it back because it would make it to where he had an additional reason to return back to the Emporium, but she knew he would come anyway. For now, she turned towards the patients, wove a seal, and two more shadow clones appeared on either side of her. How she envied those from Konoha who had mastered this technique; she could have literally made hundreds of herself and treated everyone personally, although she did still lack the skill in medical techniques to truly make it effective. For now, the four of her would simply work through what they had and try to assist the hospital personnel as much as she could. Considering that most of the time Ninja tended to drop people off and then leave, they were much appreciative of her help.

Takara, for her part, was a little extra motivated to get this done, because then she would have time to make arrangements for the pair; the plan was able to grow and get a little more in depth, and she hoped would make her chances of success increase. It would be no small feat, and she had mentally prepared to make compromises based on what society thought was normal in order to make it happen. Time would tell if she would succeed, but for now, she would help the people they had saved, and treasure the memory of their smiling faces now that they were free.

[11]

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[EXIT]
[+25,000 Ryo]
[11 Posts x 20/Post = 220 EXP]