Sand storm

[Hronica]

SPOILER: Click to show

Investigating the Desert
Rank: C.
Shinobi Required: 1.
Mission Information: In order to protect the Hidden Village of the Sand from impending threats, random shinobi are often sent beyond the village gates into the wild to scout and discover travelers that intend to infiltrate the secret location. The shinobi must simply exit through the village gates, investigate, and return with a full, written report of their adventure in the wild. However, due to the lowered expectations of difficulty pertaining to the mission, any Sunagakure ninja sent on this mission are not expected to combat or intercept potential threats, but are expected to give assistance to any inflicted, endangered civilians. The maximum amount of time spent during their adventure into the wild cannot exceed more than three days; if one does not return after that duration, they will be assumed Nuke and sought after.
Special Information: Repeatable. Intermediate.
Reward: 50 EXP & 1,000 Ryo.

The adolescent genin flicked his fur collar up to cover his mouth as the wind pushed his fringe down upon his face. Today was like every other day in the Hidden Sand. It was windy... and it was sandy. It was the type of climate that one had to get used to. Yulo wondered if people actually preferred this humid and barren terrain of desert over that of luscious grasslands and flowing rivers. It did provide one benefit though: journeymen that lost their way in the deserts of the Land of Wind would remain lost forever.

He slowly paced out of the village gates, nodding to the chunin guard that monitored the passage of people in and out of the village. Yulo held out the scroll containing the details of the mission he was setting out for today. He was to explore the harsh desert of the Land of Wind, tracking down any individuals or groups that could impose a possible threat upon the village and its people. Yulo didn't mind these types of missions. It surely beat hanging around the streets and assisting elderly old women as they attempted to cross the road.

His hair covered the glare of the suns rays off the sand floor, brushing the top of his cheeks and also preventing any floating bits of sand from entering his eyes. It was to be a long day of walking. Outside the village gates, he placed his backpack down and removed a large cloak from within. The cloak was full-body in size and a must-have for when you ventured out into the desert. It was equipped with a hood for protection from the sand, as well as preventing your clothes from getting ruined by a random sand storm.

Siding his arms through the straps on the backpack, he slung it over his shoulders and began to move away from the gates of the village. He walked with the hood upon his head, something that would make him look quite mysterious to any onlooker. But that's what he was set out to find. Any stray people out in the desert that could possibly become a nuisance for the village and the Kazekage. Ahead of him, Yulo could see a group of merchants travelling with donkey's and carts toward his direction. It seemed as if they were headed for the village. It was time for Yulo to act.

Holding his right arm into the air, Yulo signalled for the travelling band of merchants to stop. He checked out each of their appearances. The three of them were fairly tanned and had rough facial features. You could tell that they worked hard for their money. "Is there a problem?" The one at the front questioned Yulo as the other two seemed to reach for some defensive weaponry that was slung on the side of their donkeys. Lowering his right arm to chest height, Yulo held his hand up with his palm aimed toward them with another gesture for them to stop what they were doing.

"My name is Yulo Kekkai. I've been assigned a task to investigate all individuals out in the desert and determine whether they may pose as threats to the Hidden Sand and it's people. It's only standard procedure that I ask you to show me your credentials. If everything works out, you will be free to go on your way." Yulo spoke to them in a calm tone, ensuring that they felt comfortable in the situation and didn't believe their lives were being threatened. After all, that was why they carried weaponry; to ward off highwaymen that attempted to steal their goods.

The man at the front presented the credentials of all three merchants. Yulo nodded to them after checking that they were valid, handing each of them back and smiling to them. "These check out. Have a nice day gentlemen," Yulo happily said to them as he tightened his hood around his head and walked past the three of them. He wondered if he would just come across merchants all day. Perhaps he would find something, or someone, more interesting and dangerous!

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[Hronica]

His walk was brisk as he scanned his eyes across the seemingly endless sandy plains. Placing his hand into his backpack, Yulo slid out a set of binoculars in which he brought up to his eyes. He could now see 100 metres into the distance of whichever way he looked. This would allow him to track down the more surreptitious type of characters that loitered out in the depths of the desert.

Ahead of him he could see a group of people gathered. One of them, taller than the rest, was wearing a brown flak resembling that of the Hidden Sand. Possible comrades, Yulo concluded as he set his binoculars down and decided to head into their direction. Perhaps they could provide him with a brief insight as to anything that was out here. Perhaps they had seen something. Nevertheless, they were bound to have some sort of information that was valuable to Yulo. It was also the case that Yulo was getting quite lonesome out in the desert and really wanted to see someone else out here. Being alone was the worst sometimes.

Coming closer to the group, he noticed that two younger ninja by the taller man's side seemed to be quite worn out. They sat down with their backs leaned against a tall rock, using the rock's cover for shade of the sun. Yulo entered their vicinity and removed the hood off his head, displaying his forehead protector to the trio and immediately recognising their own to be that of the Hidden Sand. These people were comrades after all.

"Greetings. I'm Yulo," said the Kekkai adolescent to the trio. The two on the ground gave him a slight nod, too exhausted to really do anything else, and the older one of the three began to introduce him. "Pleasure to meet you. My name is Wan. You'll have to excuse the rudeness of my little friends here. It seems our adventures today have worn them out completely. We're headed back to the village now, just stopped here for a quick pit stop along the way."

Judging from the flak jacket, Yulo assumed that this man was at least of chunin level. The two on the ground seemed to be the average genin, however a few years younger than Yulo in age. "Adventures? What did you come across? I've been instructed by the Kazekage to come out and report on the current situations out in the desert here. I'm sure your tale will be something that I can record," Yulo spoke calmly to the man and slid out a little notepad with an ink pen. The chunin glanced down to the pair of genin, noticing that they were not going to go anywhere for a while and shrugged his shoulders. From there, he began to recount.

"The barren terrain of the desert makes it a dangerous place for anyone, more so helpless civilians that are merely travelling across its plains. We were simply doing fitness training out in the sand dunes when we came across the cries of some people. When we arrived at the situation, it seemed as if one of the carts in which their donkey tugging had slid off an uneven area of sand and began to shift off a cliff. It turns out that this route, one of many leading to and from the village, is quite a dangerous one. I'd say that you'd be lending the people, and future travellers, of the village a helping hand by going out there and writing up a report of the area. Anyway, that's why these two are so worn out. It was sure a good way to test their fitness!"

Yulo glanced down at the pair of young genin, still worn out from their work out. Training in the deserts of the Land of Wind was sure a great way to boost fitness. Sand was uneven and thick, making it often difficult to move around without an effort. Not only that though, the barren area made it so there were very few areas of shade. With that in mind, the draining capability of the sun's rays was sure to tire out any individual if they were to perform a high level of exercise whilst out here. "You've just helped me out greatly. I'll get right on that then," Yulo smiled whilst speaking to the chunin. Nodding to the man standing, Yulo proceeded off away from the trio.

He flipped his notebook back over, having recorded everything the man had said. Yulo looked down and saw footsteps in the sand, obviously coming from the trio that were now behind him. He would use these as directions to head toward the area he was looking for. He hoped he would be able to have an easygoing time reporting the environment of this cart route, however the possibility of a random helpless civilian losing their footing was still quite high. If it was as dangerous as the chunin had described, Yulo would later be required to test out his own fitness levels today.

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[Hronica]

Out came the binoculars again. Looking ahead of him into the distance, he scouted intently in an attempt to the find the place he was looking for. He continued to pace along the footsteps as they lead through the sand, guiding him on a journey to a place that he had never been before. The land he was walking on was wide. He hoped that he wouldn't get lost. However, if he stayed near the routes designed by the villagers he wouldn't have too much trouble trying to find his way back to the village.

Suddenly he could see a shift in the road. It seemed to become more hilly, and the flat land that he had been previously walking on for a period that felt like eternity, had now transformed into a series of sand dunes that dipped up and down across the land. It seemed that he had found the area in which the chunin was talking of. The path became quite narrow, winding from side to side as it veered around the dunes created by the permanent gusts of wind that travelled across the plains.

Yulo sat atop one of the sand dunes that overlooked the area below him. What he had to do now was simple. Survey the area and record a report as to what the problem was. That seemed easy enough. His binoculars hung around his neck via a strap. From time to time, he would bring them to his eyes and scan the area around him. He awaited for incoming merchants that brought heavy loads of stock with them. On a windy and uneven road like this, they were sitting ducks when it came to falling victim to the dangerous routes that existed throughout the desert.

He wrote down what he saw. The dunes were vast, ranging in different heights and sizes. Some were large with rounded mounds, where as others just dropped off into what seemed to be an abyss of darkness. The winds were so strong that in an instant, a small dune could pile up into a monster. The land was unpredictable, but the people of the Hidden Sand were used to that. As Yulo wrote he witnessed a few people pass by, however they didn't seem to carry heavy loads with them. They didn't find the road that difficult to cross. But then again, they weren't travelling with an anxious donkey dragging one hundred kilograms of produce on a cart behind it.

The sun was beginning to set across the horizon. It was time for the night time to take over. The humid and dry environment that existed during the day would turn to a chilling eve. The winds of the night would terrorise the plains, making anyone who was caught out in the dunes live through a night that would be very unpleasant. Yulo moved his hand into his backpack, pulling out a tent kit and a sleeping bag. He edged his body down near a large rock, which opened into a small cavern under the dunes. There were places like these scattered all across the plains. They offered the perfect shelter from the desert night.

Preparing to sleep for the night, Yulo wondered what things he would experience the next day. Perhaps he would have to save some helpless civilians life after all.

[Hronica]

The sound of cries echoed through the rock cavern, waking the young Kekkai in the early hours of the morning. He moved his hands to his eyes, rubbing the sleep out from them and then proceeding to stretch out his back. He wondered whether he was hearing things, still half 'with it' from only just exiting the land of dreams. This was confirmed as false however with another cry from the land above. He quickly gathered his belongings, rolling up his sleeping bag and dusting the sand off it before placing it back within his backpack. From there, he headed out into the bright light of the morning sun.

His eyes took some time to adjust to the light. He looked to the right, noticing a frantic woman crying out as her husband attempted to grab ahold of their bandwagon that was slowly sliding off the edge of a cliff. Yulo immediately jumped into action, rushing over to the pair and grabbing onto the wagon himself. His force combined with the strength of the merchant man began to shift the cart back up onto flat ground. The wife began to slap the donkey's ass repeatedly, forcing it to tug the cart as well in their direction. It was only a matter of time before the threat of the cart drifting off the side of the cliff was no more an issue.

The three of them panted quite heavily, Yulo simply not ready for exercise after briefly waking up a moment beforehand. He looked up to the merchant man who was smiling quite widely. The man began to move his hands into his pockets, taking out a coin purse and offering Yulo some sort of reward for his assistance. Yulo waved his hand across his body, gesturing that no reward was necessary. "No that's fine," he said in between breaths, "it's my job as a shinobi to help out the civilians of the Hidden Sand." The man smiled and placed the coin purse back into his pocket.

"These tracks are dangerous. You should take more careful when travelling around here," Yulo stated to them as he finally was able to stand up straight without huffing and puffing. "If I wasn't here, all your goods would be off the side of the cliff now!" The man and woman repeatedly bobbed their heads at his words, looking as if they were in a rush to get off somewhere. Yulo could see what they were obviously trying to get across to him. Holding out his arm and aiming it down the route toward the Hidden Sand, Yulo gestured the way they could go from here to ensure they would arrive at the Hidden Sand in no time.

As he watched the pair hurry off into the distance, Yulo took up his spot on the sand dunes where he sat yesterday and began to continue writing his report that he had started previously. He quickly jotted down some of the differences that he had witnessed overnight when it came to the landscape until he was interrupted by an unsuspected visitor. To his right, a foreign ninja appeared by his side. It was rather sudden, and Yulo couldn't see it coming at all. If this foreign ninja was to be on the offence, Yulo would've been taken out in a matter of seconds. However there were no weapons drawn, he simply stood there looking concerned. Yulo looked up at the forehead protector wrapped around his head. The Hidden Stone.

"Sorry for the sudden arrival. I've been following a trade cart with stolen goods from other merchants from my own lands. They lead me into the Land of Wind. However, I feel as if it would be more appropriate if you finished off my job for me now that they are on your territory. What these pair normally do is they act if if they are in trouble, lure an unsuspected person in and once they have been assisted, they offer somewhat a reward for the assistance provided. It is then that the other one renders the guileless helper unconscious and they proceed to stripping off their goods. They've been causing quite a stir in my own lands. But, it seems they're your concern now. I'll leave you to it then..." The man vanished.

Yulo, still quite dazed from what had just occurred, remembered vividly the couple he had just 'saved' at least 20-30 minutes prior to where he was now. He quickly flipped over the notebook and placed it into his satchel. He new the details of his mission meant that he couldn't intercept any possible threats. However it also said that he would have to lend assistance to any possible endangered civilians. Perhaps bending the guidelines could end up useful in this scenario. Yulo took off after the pair with the cart.

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[Hronica]

His paced increased as he could see them now ahead. The intent for catching these sort of... 'criminals' had pushed him to move at a much faster pace. It would be the first time the young Kekkai would intercept some criminals, thus he made quite a big deal out of this. He wouldn't just go in, he had to plan on what to do first. Yulo thought maybe he could approach them and simply tell them they were in the wrong, and just arrest them? But then he thought that wouldn't work. He couldn't be seen doing something like that. It would breach the contract of his mission if someone were to saw him and report it to the Kazekage. Instead, he decided to take a more slyer approach.

He edged off to the side of the pair. They were walking at quite a brisk pace, however he was running and he caught up to them in no time. This was his land and obviously they hadn't been here before, looking by the way in which they just seemed so confused even though all they had to do was follow one path. Yulo ducked and dove behind a few dunes to conceal himself to their eyes, however still remaining to watch the two of them as they walked. He finally found a spot in front of them, and off to the side. He was edged between random boulders that were apart of the landscape in the desert. Yulo would use their shade and large sizes for cover and concealment as the pair of merchants drew closer.

He needed to guide the pair away from their cart. He would use some of their own medicine against them. Shifting his hands to his mouth, he cupped them in a way that his voice would echo off the rock and appear to be coming from behind the set of boulders. As the pair of merchants approached with their cart and donkey, Yulo began to raise his voice in both sound and pitch and start screaming for help. "Help! Help! I need some help before I lose all my goods!" He chanted over and over again, attracting the attention of both the man and the woman. They looked to each other briefly, grinned widely on their faces and then left their donkey and cart unattended as they attempted to work their way around the large sets of boulders that created a sort of wall. This was when Yulo leaped through the edges in the rocks that he was creviced between, onto the route where the lone donkey sat with the cart.

Holding his hand to the donkeys face, he spoke the words "shhh" to assure the donkey that no harm was coming to him. It was here than he removed his dagger from his waistband. Sliding it onto the leather straps that attached the donkey to the cart, Yulo cut into them to make them much weaker and more susceptible to snapping if something were to tug them the wrong way. From there, he leaned down to the wheels of the cart. Digging the tip of his dagger into the wheel itself, he forced apart the bearings holding the wheel to the actual axle and made them loose. This would mean that if the cart was to hit an uneven edge along the road again, this wheel would come straight off and the cart would be going off in a completely different direction. The route back to the village was safe, however it did offer some minor areas of cliffs.

He slid the dagger back into its sheath on his waistband and quickly proceeded to move back into his spot within the wall. Jumping up into the rock crevice, he tucked away within the boulders as he awaited for the pair to finally return. It was quite a distance to actually walk around the boulders, so they were gone for just the right amount of time. Yulo noticed the both of them return confused. The old man shrugged to himself as he tugged the donkey forward, leading it and the cart along the route again. "Good find today," the man said to the woman accomplice as they walked, "and we almost had that ninja as well. Oh well, next time," he continued as Yulo squinted his eyes slightly annoyed at what they were saying.

He landed down onto the trade route after they were a safe distance away. Moving his hands into his backpack, he pulled out his set of binoculars again and brought them to his eyes. He watched the pair with their cart walk closer and closer to the uneven segment of the track, offering some parts of bumpy road and a cliff hanging off the far right. Now all he had to do was wait for the magic to begin. He wondered if his plan would actually go through and be a success. Yulo was afraid if he had done anything more, his mission would've been thrown down the drain and he wouldn't receive any reward for his performance.

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[Hronica]

The pair finally made their way along the final rocky route before leading into the Hidden Sand Village. The countdown had begun. Binoculars were at the ready, a smile waiting to appear across Yulo's face once his plan had fallen into place. The pieces had been moved into their proper formation, all that was needed was for the show to begin. He hoped no one had seen him do what he had done. Yulo wasn't sure if he had gone against the rules of the mission by doing this. Oh well. These people deserved what was coming for them. It was a shame about all the goods though...

The donkey anxiously wheeled the cart through the rocky terrain, guided by the hand of its master and being assured by whispers from the woman traveller. Suddenly, however, all would go wrong. A misplaced rock shifted negatively with the wheel, forcing it to pry apart from the axle that had been loosened previously. The sudden shift in balance on the cart sent a jolt of uneasiness into the donkey. The donkey immediately responded, kicking away and rushing from the cart. It was then that the leather leads attached to it's back seemingly fell loose. It was obvious what occurred next. The unbalanced cart ran with the slant of the road, shifting downward toward the edge of a cliff. A moment later... off it went.

Yulo stared down the eyes of the binoculars, watching the pair of merchants pace back and forth frantically after realising what had just happened with all of 'their' stock. Yulo giggled to himself menacingly, grinning widely and shifting the binoculars back into his bag. His job was done out in the desert. He had ensured that the proper merchants had been sent into the village, and that the bad people got their own taste of karma. His report of the unevenness of some of the roads would also be of some use when he went to hand the mission back into the village. He flicked his hood back over his head, concealing his face within the shadows of it and began to move back toward the entrance to the village. He also purposely avoided contact with the two merchants he had previously been spying upon.

Walking back into the gates of the village, Yulo looked to see that the chunin guard was different to the one who was on duty the day before. Nevertheless, Yulo gave him the conventional nod greeting as he walked past. His destination was the Kazekage Tower. He wondered whether this had been enough to complete the mission that he had been given. Yulo hoped that the next mission he was given would involve something a bit more challenging and dangerous. Sure reporting on the state of the desert plains was an interesting task, but it just seemed too simple. Was the Kekkai boy trying to walk in boots that his feet couldn't fill? His experiences with his next mission would answer that.

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[vegapunk]

60 EXP @ 金鴨