Mission: Ruffians! (C)

[Akikou]

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Ruffians!
Rank: C
Ninja needed: 1-3
Mission info: A group of miscreants and deviants have settled into the outskirts of the Western Zone of the village. Eight in number, the gang has left behind a string of robberies and murders in the small towns that have begun to spring up across the country. They are far from shinobi - they are, in fact, hardly as skilled as an academy beginner. Deal with them.
Specal Info: --

I wasn't really much of a fighter. It was because of that that I usually avoided missions in which conflict could occur. The easier missions, such as assisting the elderly with getting their cats from trees or else cleaning someone's house for them were usually what I looked for. That was why, even after all of these years, I was still marked as a Genin. Nobody expected me to ever progress past that, and honestly, I was fine with that. However, this time, I was rather furious. The group of ruffians that had been seen in the parts of the village lately had done something tragic and unforgivable.

They. had. trampled. through. one. of. my. gardens. In a fury, I had decided to take it upon myself to handle these ruffians and to cleanse them from the village. The information that I had been given about them informed me of their general location - the west side of the village. Because of that, I made my way, garbed in pale blue kimono with numerous pink flowers decorating it, with my short hair tied loosely back in a pink ribbon, towards that side of town.

They would learn not to mess with a woman and her garden...

[/justify]

[King]

Abrupt. That's the only word that could describe the white-robed ANBU's arrival, his shadowy figure sketched into reality beside her as if by some greater artist. Though he might've startled her, Kouketsu remained silent. His slate eyes gave her a half of a glance from behind the emotionless, cat-like mask he donned.

"Follow my lead," he spoke coldly. He'd been assigned to this mission for the sole sake of extracting information on their leader; that was his true target, "and you'll be alright. Don't, and I won't be able to guarantee your safety."

They might've been half-assed thugs, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

[Akikou]

I was caught by surprise at the sudden arrival of the white robed man. My mouth dropped; I hadn't even heard him approach. In that instant, I was aware that he could have killed me in a moment and I would not have even known that my death was approaching. I resisted the urge to shake in terror; instead, I just thanked myself that this man was apparently on my side and not those of the thugs. Blinking my eyes, I'd break out of my shock and nod my head once.

"You are here to battle the thugs...?" If they were dispatching an ANBU, and an ANBU captain at that, then they must have been much more dangerous than I was lead to believe. I could have walked into that nest of demons and forfeited my life! I found myself feeling extremely indebted to the man, and I found myself breathing a sigh of relief.

"Of course I'll follow you! How should we proceed?"

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[King]

Kouketsu was already walking forward. "Not so much the thugs we've been sent to dispatch. But, they clearly take orders from someone else. He escaped the ninja we sent to kill him some time ago, so he's still at large."

"If you cut off the head of the snake, the body dies." It was a philosophy that he very much believed in, and followed to the 't'. It's what allowed him to become the head of the most ruthless yakuza gang in the world, and the most powerful man in all of Mizu no Kuni.

Despite their somewhat casual pace, the approached the location described to them by their superiors. Two men guarded the doors of their wouldbe hide-out, and there were certainly several more within. It wasn't anything more than a shoddy old house, but clearly served its purposes.

Thankfully, they'd need to turn the corner before coming into view. "Now, here is what I want you to do - stay here, out of sight."

[Akikou]

With the man in front of me walking, I had no choice but to follow. To be honest, I felt a little like a puppy, simply trailing behind a man who was clearly the master of the situation. It might have bothered me at some other time, but for right now, I was too grateful to have someone accompany me on such a grisly deed that I didn't mind the fact that I was doing nothing but appearing like an idiot.

After a while, we arrived at our destination. The entrance to the place was guarded by two people, standing on either side of the doorway to a warehouse. The easiest way to get in and out of the plac would be to silently take care of these two watchers before they could give any sort of warning to their comrades inside. As I began to consider what actions I should take in order to best deal with them, my comrade spoke, giving me my instructions - to stay put, out of sight, and quiet.

"But --!" I couldn't even fathom what words I should use to him. I was almost as angry with him as I was at these idiots who had ruined something that I had spent months working on to make beautiful. "I can help! I should help! I'm a shinobi, too!"

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[King]

"You'll help by staying out of my way, miss." Though she couldn't see the expression on his face, the tone in his voice spoke volumes. The last thing he needed was some little girl getting herself killed on his watch. "Whatever these men have done to upset you so, I will handle them for you."

In that instant, the slate gray eyes behind the porcelain mask transformed. The dull shade hastily became a vibrant red, stained with three tomoe in each. "Stay put."

With nothing further to say, Kouketsu bounded around the corner and sped directly for the two men before him. Both of his hands had instinctively slipped to the pouch at the small of his back, retrieving some weapon or another. It was until the fifth meter had been breached that the white-robed figure all but vanished, invoking a speed typically demonstrated by a man of his caliber.

Two silver streaks lashed out from the white blur that Kouketsu had become, either one passing through the necks of the men guarding the house's doors. They didn't even have time to feel the pain as their necks exploded into a mess of blood and gore, their heads rolling clean from their shoulders. In that same motion, the doors they'd been adamantly shielding snapped open, kicked from their hinges.

Stealth was only a factor when you intended to leave survivors.

[Akikou]

Well, this was awful. Like a puppy, I had been given my command - sit! It was just a little bit humiliating. Here I was, a shinobi of Kirigakure no Sato, and I wasn't even allowed to handle ruffians who had attempted to take over my own village. With a discontented sigh, I'd find myself leaning against a wall and closing my eyes, wishing that there was something that I could do. The thought that I was so worthless that an ANBU had been sent to prevent me from doing anything left me feeling so depressed that I found tears beginning to well inside of my eyes.

The combination of anger and sorrow flowed through my being and I grasped my hands into fists, lightly biting on my bottom lip in order to prevent myself from sobbing. Moving my right hand to my eyes, I'd wipe away the layer of liquid that had formed like a film around them and take a deep breath. Although I had been ordered to sit around and do nothing, I really wasn't one for following orders, even when they came from an ANBU.

Standing up, I'd straighten out my outfit and then move towards the corner that the man had crossed a few moments ago. Turning the corner, I'd find my eyes widen. The two men who had been guarding the door had been so quickly and silently slaughtered. I hadn't even heard their death, yet they lay without heads upon the ground. The door had been kicked off its hinge, too. How had I not heard that?!

Steeling myself for whatever anger I would face for this decision, I would perform a few handseals, allowing my chakra to burst and flare as I utilized two techniques at once. Miracle Cultivation fueled the essence needed for my Flower Clone, which burst into life from thin air. Ordering the flower clone in, I'd move right behind it and into the place.

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[King]

---

The first man to catch Kouketsu's gaze happened to be sitting at a table just shy from the entrance to the building, occupied with a magazine of some sort. Naturally, he'd been altered the moment the door was kicked in, but was too slow to react. In the time it took him to even motion a throw of the magazine in exchange for a weapon, he found the length of a kunai buried in the center of his throat.

His body went limp instantly, falling back into his chair from the force of the projectile's impact. The corpse slouched hard, slowly bleeding out until at last his life slipped from the wound as well.

The next came from around the corner, attempting to surprise the white-robed figure slaughtering his comrades. However, before the eyes of the Sharingan, his movements were comparable to that of a turtle. Kouketsu ducked the wide blade with ease, dragging the remaining kunai in his hand across the man's round belly, spilling blood and entrails upon the floor beneath. Still, not a single drop had stained his alabaster robes.

The man fell to his knees, dropping his weapon and doubling over with arms clenching the wide tench carved into his mid-section. He was dead merely seconds later, mouth ajar and face distorted into an expression of horror and shock. A puddle of blood had begun to surround him, soaking what pieces of flesh touched the wooden slabs.

Kouketsu was already moving to the back of the establishment, where he presumed the final three to be. He'd need to take one of them alive, even if only for a moment, to get what information he needed out of them.

[Akikou]

What kind of man had the ability to perform a killing like this? My mouth stood agape as I stared at the destruction about me. Upon entering the building, I saw with my own eyes two more bodies, both of them so grimly murdered that I knew that they had had no chance of survival. It was true then, at least, that this man was an ANBU, and probably deserving of the white robes that he wore. Even a skilled shinobi would have had difficulty in taking out the number of opponents that were about, but this one... he did not seem to care.

After my moment of shock was over, I looked about and saw much further into the building the swishing of fast-moving white robes. I immediately assumed that this would be the man that I was looking for, and so I began to walk forward again into the place. With my Flower Clone in front of me to act as a shield, I found myself feeling protected and emboldened. After all, we were dealing with people who weren't ninja. They wouldn't likely know how to tell a clone apart form the original.

It was then and only then that I heard something moving behind me. I turned around at the last moment just to see a man with a wicked knife right before me. I opened my mouth to let out a gasp, but his movement was quick and precise, his left hand, the one not holding the weapon, shot forth and clamped over my jaw. In my own moment of surprise, my Flower Clone vanished, drifting apart into a cascade of pink flowers.

The man, a wicked smile upon his face, twisted my body so that my back was to him, and I felt the cold steel of his knife being pressed against my neck. I knew, of course, that I was likely to die right here. However, he delayed his assault, instead choosing to prod me forward.

"Come on," the man said gruffly, as we continued to walk deep into the place.

What an idiot I am, I thought to myself, as we walked forward. Now the ANBU has to deal with a hostage. If only I had listened to him...

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[King]

The remainder of the thugs had heard all of the commotion, from the door to the dying screams of their brethren, so they were prepared for the assassin when he entered the last room. A collage of projectiles had been amassed to pepper his body the instant his shadow appeared upon the thin, rice paper door. However, that door worked both ways.

With the augmentation of the Sharingan, Kouketsu could see that only two were in the room. The third was missing. Where he was located at the time being was of little consequence to what happened next. A fast, short set of seals paved the way for two threads of wire to shoot forth, piercing the rice paper and racing toward the shadows before them.

He could feel the tension in the wire tighten as they restricted their targets, limiting their movement to a mere twitch or two. The fire that raced along them shortly after, burning through everything in its path, consumed both men entirely before erupting into a miniature explosion.

Only then did he turn around to witness the final man making his way through the burning establishment, with a prize in his grasp. I thought I told her to stay put. . .

[Akikou]

I watched with awe at the way that the man worked. He seemed to know everything that was going on. In a moment, the man's assault had crippled an entire establishment. Seven men lay dead, and the flames of his condemnation had quickly set the place ablaze. I felt terrible for him; because of my own idiocy, I had managed to get myself captured and now the man who had had no trouble handling this situation now was forced to deal with an unexpected wild card - that is to say, myself, completely vulnerable.

I wanted to scream out how sorry I was, but the man's hands still bound my mouth so that I could not speak. If only my eyes could convey words! I stared with abject sorrow towards the ANBU while the ruffian continued his forward pace. Finally, when he was about 10 meters away, he would stop, a grotesque smile upon his face.

"You killed my family, bro. Tell me, should I kill yours, too...?" He paused for but a moment, not even awaiting a response from the ANBU. "Nah, though, here's what we're gonna do, bro. You're gonna skidaddle through that window over there," he nodded towards a window to his left behind the ANBU, "and Blondie and me'll make our way to meet my boss. It's that or she dies. How does that sound?"

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[King]

The indifference on the porcelain's mask did well to convey Kouketsu's true expression. His eyes scanned over the man and the girl, completely unphased by the situation at hand. In fact, everything had gone according to plan - she proved to be a better bait than he'd hoped for. Only a fool would truly think a gennin, especially an older one, would listen to someone they'd never met before.

Raising a single gloved hand, one marked with the eye of the Uchiha (which he would undoubtedly see if he even glanced at the hand), Kouketsu pointed toward the man's face.

Perhaps the girl would be somewhat confused as to why the man's body went rigid and stiff, almost as if he'd suddenly been thrown into a comatose state. Yes, he'd be standing deathly still, locked away within his own mind as the effects of the Uchiha's genjutsu took hold. Likewise, whatever information the ANBU needed was quickly excavated via the mental torture taking place within the thug's very own mind.

"We're leaving," he'd say while pacing toward the two of them. The girl would be able to pry herself away from her captor and follow the ANBU once more. The fires were growing rampant, and it'd only be a few seconds later that the establishment collapsed in smoke and embers upon all within.

[Akikou]

What in the...?! In only an instant, the ANBU had raised his finger and pointed at the man who was holding me captive, and immediately the man's body went completely rigid. I gasped, but the sound wouldn't have carried very far due to the fact that the man's hand still covered my mouth. However, in an instant I was free, struggling against the bindings of the man who couldn't resist any longer. Slipping out of his grasp, I stared at the white-robed man with surprise, feeling as though I had met a God on Earth.

His one command was that we were leaving, and I could understand why. All around us, the fires that he had started earlier had spread, and it would take only a few more uncompromising moments before the entire building was consumed in heat, smoke, and ash. He didn't wait for me to respond. Like he did before, he simply began to stride towards the exit, leaving me to trail along behind him once more. This time, though, I didn't mind. He had saved my life, and I was more thankful to him now than I had ever been in my whole life.

"I... I'm sorry. For not listening to you, that is." I spoke the words softly as we were exiting the door frame. "And thank you. For saving me, you know..." I'd be listening for his response, but I knew that with these ruffians slaughtered, it would be time to go towards the Mizukage's office in order to inform the receptionist of our... that is to say, his completed work.

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[exit]

[King]

"You played your part well," he admitted. "I suspected one of them might've been hiding. Without you disobeying me, like I figured you would, I wouldn't have been able to locate him as easily."

Yes, she'd been played.

[ Exit ]

[chiatsuki]

+ 59 hisanna
+ 46 GENBU