Mission: Escort the Prisoners! (C)

[Akikou]

SPOILER: Click to show

Mission Title: Escort the Prisoners!
Mission Rank: C.
Reward: 1,000 Ryo + 50 EXP.
Mission Subject: A bigger and better prison has opened up in Kirigakure, and the old prison has become over crowded, so, it's time to do some criminal relocating. Problem is, the new prison opening and criminal relocating is sort of a big event for the criminals, and their lackeys. Escorting the prisoners from one prison to another is a dangerous job, the criminals lackeys or companions may try to strike during the escort, be careful!
Notes: 1 - 3 Shinobi
Special Note: Mission may be re-did unlimited times.

Not much had changed in the world, with the exception of my outlook of it. I had 'completed' two missions with the ANBU Captain named Aka Mu-n, or called Aka-sama by myself, but during those missions, I had simply been used as bait due to my pretty appearance. It left me feeling slightly jaded, and not something that I ever wanted to have to experience again. Because of that, I had spent about a week in hard training for the first time in my life.

During this, I had pushed myself to master the use of the Hanakora Shurikens that my parents had tried to teach me, but I had spurned. Turning beauty into the tools of wrath, I had honed the petals into sharpened edges that were more than capable of killing any enemies around us outright. With the gaining of this knowledge, I began to hold myself differently. I felt more capable of fighting. I felt more willing to fight.

Either way, time had passed and I had changed. Modified for the better. But it was time for me to put that training to the test. Aka-sama had contacted me earlier, informing me that we were going to be going on another mission, escorting a group of prisoners from the old Kirigakure Prison to the new one, located some miles away. The prisoners themselves would be highly dangerous, criminals who had been imprisoned for crimes they were willing to commit within the city walls of a shinobi village.

And so it was that I found myself walking with deadly purpose towards the spot where I had been instructed to meet Aka-sama, the front of the Prison Gates. As I finally crested the last hill and repositioned myself so that I could get a good look of my surroundings, I would find myself looking around for Aka-sama. He would be around here somewhere, I was sure.

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[King]

Much like the very first time they'd met, Kouketsu simply appeared beside the girl as she reached the prison gates. Of course, he'd been there long before her, waiting for her arrival, as per usual. He was always nearly an hour ahead of schedule, accessing the situation down to the most minuscule of details. It was just a habit - he liked to scout ahead and figure out their route, or plan of execution, before a mission was underway. It made things run smoother, with less complications in the long run.

Whatever the case, he addressed his "pupil" of sorts with a silent nod of admiration. It'd only been a short week since he first met her and already she'd shown signs of promise. Clearly, whatever revelation she had those nights fueled her desire to become a better ninja - a more effective killer. Naturally, Kouketsu was happy to oblige her. If there was one thing that he could bestow upon someone, it was the art of the kill.

Hisanna would find him wrapped in his typical white robes and porcelain feline mask. Any weapons of sort that he might've been carrying were skillfully hidden beneath the matching cloak, which obscured all but his hands and the lowest portions of his legs and feet.

___

The gates seemed to groan in agony as they peeled back, revealing the score of thugs and criminals the pair were tasked with escorting. Kouketsu gave each and every one of them a dutiful glance, analyzing their features, reading the tales their many tattoos, scars, and psychopathic glares told. It hardly dampened the adamant resolve of the ANBU elite, and he'd expect a similar demeanor from Hisanna. She was beyond that, now.

But, just to make sure--

A single ebony blur shot out from Kouketsu's right side, produced from a movement so fast one might've missed it entirely had they even so much as blinked. The kunai, as it would be later revealed, buried itself clean between the eyes of a prisoner several feet beyond his reach. Blood gushed from the wound, and as the man's eyes rolled into the back of his skull, his body lazily fell back to soak in the mud. The man hadn't even done anything wrong.

"Despite being high priority prisoners, I'll kill every single one of you should your presence become problematic. Consider that man's death your first and only warning." Turning on his heel, he'd glance toward Hisanna once more. "Take your position at the rear flank."

[Akikou]

As I would have expected, Aka-sama was already in position and simply appeared next to me, giving me a nod to recognize my existence. I too nodded my head towards him once, acknowledging his presence. Our mission here was to be simple; escorting these prisoners the miles that we would need to go in order to ensure their... 'safe' arrival. We had specific orders, though. Should any of the prisoners attempt to interrupt our escort or try to escape, we were to end their lives without mercy.

It was the kind of job that Aka-sama was suited for perfectly. I watched with awe as his commanding presence filled the area when as the gates opened, and how quickly he asserted himself as superior to the prisoners. The former inmates of this old prison were certainly a gruesome bunch in appearance, decked in faded battle scars and inked with vicious tattoos as well. I found myself chuckling internally. These were men who were clearly too caught up in their own might to not attempt some sort of escape.

It would seem as though Aka-sama was aware of this fact, as well. In an instant, something fast and silver would flash from within the depths of his outstretched hands. The weapon, a kunai as it were, lay embedded into the skull of one of the closest inmates, a particularly nasty looking one with a wicked grin still caught on his face. This sobered the mood almost immediately, and I found myself nodding, taking mental notes at the fact that Aka-sama had picked a target that was likely to give him trouble and had neutralized it early before it could become a problem. It was ruthless, but it was efficient.

With that grisly display over, my order was given, and I moved to the rear flank of the group. A lay of flowers hung about my neck, pretty and pink in their beautiful nature, and three flowers lay within my hair, attached to the pink ribbon that I had become increasingly fond of wearing since it was the one that I had met Aka-sama in. To the casual observer, one might have guessed that I was simply concerned with looking pretty, but I was sure that Aka-sama had taken note of them and knew them for what they now were - deadly weapons.

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[King]

For the majority of the beginning of their journey, everything had remained copacetic. With the death of their comrade still fresh on their mind, the prisoners hadn't given the pair even the slightest hint of trouble. They knew all too well what awaited any that dared defy the white-robed man leading their expedition: a swift and merciless death. Still, that didn't stop Kouketsu from looking over his shoulder every now and again, more so to make sure Hisanna wasn't having any problems. She might have grown in this last week, but she was still his to protect.

"We'll rest here." They hadn't been traveling for too long, but the mist was getting thicker. "Five minutes."

The prisoners took this time to slouch against trees, or simply fall where they stood without care for the others connected to the chains that bound them. Meanwhile, Kouketsu motioned for Hisanna to come to him. Once she was within ear shot, he whispered: "Be on your guard. The mist is unnaturally thick up ahead. We aren't far from the prison, so if someone is going to try and free these insects, now will be the time to do it."

It was only a second later that he addressed their cargo. "Breaks over."

"Huh? I thought you said five--"

"I changed my mind. We're moving now."

There was a groan of protest, but the bastards got back on their feet and started walking.

[Akikou]

The transportation of the fools was going as planned. I found myself using the time to consider how much had changed in the short amount of time that I'd known Aka-sama. No longer was I the scared little girl who was worthless in combat. Instead, I knew that I had it in me to be as ruthless as Aka-sama himself, and although I hadn't been forced to put that conviction to the test, the thought of disappointing Aka-sama seemed more horrifying to me now then the thought of ending a human life. It was... so peculiar.

Finally, Aka-sama would call for a break and motion me towards him. When I finally got close enough, I was given my orders by the ANBU captain and I nodded my head to show that I had heard what he's aid. Then, the command was given for the prisoners to end their back, and they would groan and begin to move back into position. I, too, began to walk back towards my position, but not before reaching into my kimono and pulling out a large bag of flower seeds.

As we began moving around, I began to slowly spread the seeds upon the ground. If there was trouble, I would need to be prepared.

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[King]

They prisoners and their entourage hadn't even entered the thicker mist fully when the first attack was launched. A massive burning tree trunk fell in the middle of the street, barring their path. That's when Kouketsu realized the "thicker" mist was caused by the smoke, yet strangely there was no scent of burning wood. Interesting, he mused silently, a scentless katon jutsu. Still, his demeanor was flaccid.

With their friends and captors blocked from the prison, the thugs in wait decided now was the best time to launch the remainder of their assault. There was only several of them, but enough to cause the two ninja trouble were they not on their toes. Almost ten, to state explicitly.

The ring leader stood at the back of the group as the others formed a makeshift wall in front of the tree trunk, and the prisoners behind Kouketsu gave a free cheer for what they presumed to be their soon-to-be-freedom. Strangely, the white-robed man didn't so much as twitch; he was deathly still, the porcelain mask locked on the individuals before him.

Two naked hands came together in the formation of a single seal, yet nothing happened. Clearly, he was waiting for them to make the first move.

[Akikou]

As we walked into the mist, I found myself curious as towards what was going to happen. At first, it would seem as if nothing would, and I almost found myself sighing in relief. With the lack of enemy presence, then the escorting mission would be done very easily. However, I would have no such luck as, after a short while, the sound of a falling tree, and the blaze of heat from the said tree would reach even me, at the back of the line, as it fell downwards in front of Aka-sama's location, barring the way for us.

After that, it became all too evident that Aka-sama and I would not be escaping this escort mission without a fight. The sound of general movement from beyond the thick smoke was enough to tell me that there were several enemies in waiting. I was not blessed with the gift of powerful sight like Aka-sama, nor did I entertain the massive fighting talent that he had. Because of that, I'd know not how many opponents there would be for me to face. All that I knew was that there was no way that I would allow any of them to escape from my wrath.

Grabbing one gargantuan handful of Hanakora seeds, I'd quickly spin around, my hand slightly open, allowing the seeds to shimmer in a large radius about me. Then, putting the bag of seeds back into my robe, I would perform a short few handseals, gathering my chakra and releasing them. All around the ground before me was transformed from a simple road into the beautiful pink Hanakora flower that I had grown so fond of creating, their eternal beauty able to pierce even this thick miasmic haze.

I didn't end my handseals here, though. Like Aka-sama, I found myself prepared to do battle by beginning another string of seals. This time, the effects would be silent, for they had not yet happened. I was simply prepared for an assault of cataclysmic nature should any thugs foolish enough to impede my progress show their faces.

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[King]

The first two that would attack came from directly in front of Kouketsu, brandishing their rusted swords as if they were truly proud to wield them. They moved with a brisk pace, so the handful of meters that separated them from their target was crossed almost instantly. Still, in that brief amount of time that it took them to reach Kouketsu, he'd already expanded the set from that single seal he'd performed and held, branching off into several others.

The bandits swung their swords wildly, clearing aiming to just dice the white-robed man before them into bits. Unfortunately, their assault never got pass the first strike.

Clank! The sound echoed over the chorus of burning wood, and the bandits found themselves struggling against the small blade of a kunai, held in opposite to their swords by a white-robed figure on either side of their initial target. Kouketsu was already onto yet another set of seals, crouching low beneath the bridge of defense that his mizu bunshin had formed, completing the technique in the time it would've taken a normal person to blink.

The mizu bunshin pressed forward with all their liquid might, throwing their assailant's arms high above their own head. Suddenly, those same hands which once coddled a kunai - even the kunai itself - hastily transformed into water, returning to its natural state. The makeshift rivers devoured the men before them, capturing them in a sphere of liquid that was stronger than any steel.

Nothing else needed to be done, as the two captured bandits would drowned in only a few moments. Kouketsu, knowing this, had already passed through the small aperture between the two clones, his hands once more sinking to the utility pouch at the small of his back.

____

Meanwhile, a handful of the remaining thugs quickly moved to the rear of the group in an attempt to flank them. They were surprised to find a rather attractive young woman guarding their friends, and could barely control themselves from making some sort've obscene comment.

"How about you just come with us, babe?" one chided.

"Yeah, we'll take real good care of you," another added while licking the dull side of his sword. "I promise we don't bite."

"Speak for yourself," a third jumped in. "I might just be tempted to bite those juicy titties right off of her."

A sea of incredulous laughter followed thereafter, and with nothing further to say, the trio of men charged the woman, ignoring the pretty flowers she was standing on.

[Akikou]

How hideous. That was the only thing that I could think of as these brutes descended upon me, their vulgar and licentious nature perhaps the most apparent thing inside of this heavily smoking area. If this had been me even a week ago, I probably would've flinched before the onslaught of inhumanity, but now I had begun a gradual modification in an attempt to please the person that had become surprisingly close to me in such a short amount of time - Aka-sama.

Knowing that this was my chance to prove that I would be more than some bait or a liability, I released the chakra that I had been building before the presence of these men had been established about me. The beautiful flowers on which the disgusting obscenities that called themselves men trampled upon were not just for show. In this place, at this time, the might of the Hanakora Clan had awoken within them, and, fueled by the chakra of one dramatically aggravated female, would be released.

The heads of the flowers snapped off the stems all around the location of where the men had been walking. From numerous directions, the pretty little things had completely surrounded the imbecilic men who thought that they were a match for a Shinobi. The petals of these flowers, hardened and sharpened by my chakra, were now deadly weapons and, without further ado, came soaring through the air, coming from all around the men as they attempted to bite deep into the flesh.

Several vital points were aimed at, such as the necks and wrists of all the men. That isn't to say that some might have missed, but the chances were that... these men were soon to find their lives studied as history.

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[King]

As two thugs locked away within the watery chambers of the mizu bunshin's prisons hastily ran out of oxygen, becoming nothing more than floating corpses in the self-contained pools, Kouketsu had once again demonstrated a very impressive feat of speed and strength.

"Get out of my way!" Both arms snapped forward with reckless abandon, passing through a man on either side of the white-robed figure just above the waist. The force of the impact sent the severed bodies soaring in opposing directions, flinging blood and entrails every which way.

But his assault hadn't stopped there, and the same crossing slashes that took care of the men inadvertently slammed into the ring-leader of this little troupe, dicing him just as well, including the massive log behind him. A sudden rush of wind all but snuffed out the flames that still ravaged the halved log, pushing the chunks and splintered pieces from the road like a maelstrom.

The path was clear.

___

All the while, Hisanna's assault had proven far more deadly than she'd given herself credit for. These men weren't experienced ninja in the least, and the barrage of flowery blades that befell them was more than enough to turn them into nothing more than butchered meat.

One by one they fell, succumbing to the mortal wounds of the throat and various other vital points. They screamed if agony, but frustration as well, realizing then that they're arrogance had proven to be their ultimate downfall. How could they have been so stupid?

Forming a pile of bodies as they fell, the cheers of the thug prisoners ceased to exist. Their last chance for an escape had failed.

[Akikou]

I... I killed these men. The thought slammed into me, and I found myself beginning to shake. This was nothing at all like I would have imagined it to be. I was not born a killer. Indeed, all of my actions so far had been to impress the one man who I had seen ruthlessly slaughter as many as ten people in the short week that I'd known him. I had felt weak and powerless, incapable of action, but this time, I had performed my jutsu just as coldly as he would have, aiming for exposed vital parts and leaving them with no way out of the assault.

I was breathing heavily, my lungs not seeming to want to work. I was now officially a murderer, if not for the fact that the murder was sanctioned by the village that I called home and the leader that I paid homage to. A cold, clammy sweat broke apart on my face as I struggled to grasp the concept that I, Hisanna Hanakora, had finally killed a man's life.

It was for this reason, this fear and this agony that I could feel clutching at my chest, clawing at my heart and trying to stop it from beating, that I had resisted going on these higher-ranked missions for so long. But now, now it was over. I knew that there was no going back. I would find no repentance amongst the forsaken dead, and so finally, with a heaviness that made movement nearly impossible, I fell down upon my knees and found tears beginning to well up inside of my eyes.

I cried, and suddenly I became oblivious to the world around me. I lost track of the fact that I was in a battlefield. I lost track of the fact that there could be people out there that wanted to end my life, and lost track of the fact that Aka-sama was trusting me to keep the prisoners from escaping. I lost many things in my agonized sorrow, but there was one thing that I lost that was threatening to destroy me from within - myself.

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[King]

Kouketsu heard the crying before he actually saw it, but when he turned around to see what had happened, his train of thought had been instant derailed. Hisanna had missed one of the men that had used their comrades for cover, and despite a sharp flower sticking out of his leg, he was still more than capable of skewering the girl like a wild boar. His sword aimed for her back, and had he been a foot closer, Kouketsu wouldn't have been able to make it in time.

All but vanishing from the scene, the white-robed ANBU appeared just to the south of Hisanna's flank. His right hand pushed her shoulder, forcing her down, while his left rose to take the length of the blade clean through his palm. Still, there wasn't so much as a grunt of pain to escape his lips.

Instead, there was only the sound of tearing flesh as the kunai in his right hand rose swiftly and into the bottom of his jaw, penetrating all the way to his brain. The man's body went instantly limp, and he fell to his knees, hands still on his blade. The cold, calculating eyes behind the porcelain masked surveyed the carnage to his left hand with a disinterested look, and without so much as flinching he ripped the blade from his palm.

Bleeding profusely, he did little to cover it beside wrapping a piece of cloth around the wound. "Be more careful, next time."

Already he was walking away from her, back to the head of the group. "Move out."

[Akikou]

!!! How impossible! I couldn't believe myself. Here I was, sitting wretched and pathetic, unworthy to be a shinobi, and the man who had in his life the power to change the world was protecting me. I watched with agonized horror as the man who would have killed me had his attack blocked - not by a weapon, but by Aka-sama's bare hand. The blade slide straight through the palm and I knew that if he didn't get medical treatment right away, it was possible that he could lose some, if not all, of his hand's movements.

Immediately regaining my composure, I stood up and faced the prisoners. Calling upon all of my emotional strength, I resumed the position of the cold-hearted killer that I needed to be in order to be an effective weapon for my village, and I would begin to walk. I wanted to call out to Aka-sama, to tell him that I was sorry and to ask for his forgiveness, but the abrupt manner in which he had responded to me let me know that now was definitely not the time.

Besides, we needed to get to the new prison so Aka-sama could get medical attention right away. When the march resumed, I kept my eyes peeled for any sign of trouble, ready to snap at any of the prisoners who had caused me this magnitude of trouble. I could only hope... no, I could only pray that Aka-sama would be alright.

---

A little time passed and we found ourselves in front of the prison, where the guards were once more taking custody of the prisoners.

"Aka-sama, you need to make sure you get that wound treated." I'm not sure where I found the courage to voice that, especially since it was clear in my mind that he, of course, would take care of his body so that he could use it to perform his job. Either way, I felt better saying it and, should he decide to go ahead and get it treated, I would follow him into the medical facilities.

If not... I'd see what he wanted to do next. I was somehow sure, though, that this had been my last chance to make him view me as a worthy apprentice... and I had failed.

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[King]

"The bleeding has already stopped," Kouketsu replied. "I'll have it looked at when we return to the Mizukage's tower."

The last of the prisoner's were taken into custody, leaving Kouketsu and Hisanna to their own administrations once more. Perhaps she'd feel those sharp eyes cutting through her from behind the emotionless porcelain mask, or perhaps she didn't? Either way, the white-robed ANBU glanced over the female several dozen times before speaking again.

"Killing is a part of our nature, Hisanna. It is who we are, and what we must do to protect the village we love and the people within it. They put their trust in you to do this simple task - you owe them to complete it to the fullest as a shinobi." He paused, thinking back to his first kill. He'd reacted almost exactly the same. "I wasn't always like this - cold, calculating and callous. But you must steel yourself, and control your emotions, or you'll go insane. There isn't a man alive that can cope with the pain of killing another individual, or multiple for that fact."

"However, that's how we know we're alive - how we know that we're still human. You just have to learn when it's appropriate to show these emotions and when it isn't."

Clearly, this would not be her last lesson under his training. Kouketsu saw too much of himself in the young girl to simply kick her to the wayside. Too much untapped potential.

[ Exit ]

[Akikou]

It was comforting beyond words that Aka-sama didn't detest me. In fact, he seemed to be unreasonably understanding. I couldn't believe my ears as he spoke to me, consoling me and informing me in one single paragraph. I felt a heavy weight that I hadn't really been aware that I was carrying lift from my shoulders, and I nodded my head. "Un!" It wasn't quite as much a spoken conformation as just a noise to show that I absolutely understood.

I had simply been overwhelmed before, but with the words of Aka-sama now ringing inside of my head, I knew that I could become the kind of warrior that would be necessary for the success of Kirigakure no Sato. I breathed a sigh of relief as I became aware of the fact that Aka-sama was not casting me away, but rather he was treating me as a parent would his child - and I suppose that, in the arts of the shinobi, I could very much be called a child. I was old, unbelievably old to be a Gennin, but with so much of my life spent trying to avoid conflict, and then to confront those fears and at the same time kill another person... it had simply been to much.

His words forming a solid foundation inside of my heart, I would turn to follow the man who had thrice been my saviour as he began the walk back towards the Mizukage's Tower.

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[Exit]