Deserted [travel|p]

[Yoichi]

一Deserted

Monosuke Akira

Pressed for time, the journalist found himself pickled in a situation of transportation. The cargo ship, docked briefly on the shores of Kami no Kuni, was departing and refused to take the young writer as a passenger. Laughing awkwardly, Akira—as he called himself—scratched the back of his head; his relentless begging had begun to crack holes in the firm denial of the ships captain. "Sir. It's essential to my job that I make it to Kaze no Kuni within the next few days. This could be the biggest report of my career!," he cooed, hoping to persuade the captain. The captain, a sturdy man of six feet grumbled, scratching his beard in contemplation. "Fine. I'll take you as far as Earth Country, but I expect you to do your part on our ship in the mean time," he growled. Not another word was spoken by the captain, who spun on his heels and walked up into his quarters. Confused and nervous, Akira followed him up the boarding plank, thanking him for his generosity.

Once settled in the crew's quarters, the journalist made his way to the deck, dressed in grey cargo pants and a white tank top. He tried to fit in to the best of his ability, but with the constant complaints of the crew he was labeled a failure. Weak and uncoordinated, his facade held firmly as he tried like any regular citizen would to complete tasks out of reach. He yielded no skill in knot tying, and he couldn't steer the boat for the life of him. It wasn't until three days in that he began to grasp the terms of boating, such as the mast, the port side, the starboard side, and even the bow. His understanding of the vessels mechanics were flawless, and he could even perform the crew's duties better than anyone; but no one ever saw this side of them, they only knew him as a white collar book worm. In fact, he spent most of his down time nose first in a book by the name of 'Treasure Island'. A regular joe, his short time aboard the vessel went mostly unnoticed. In three weeks time, his existence would be gone from their memories for the rest of their lives.

After five days of sailing, they docked along the shores of Tsuchi no Kuni and the young columnist found himself saying goodbye to the hearty crew. He thanked the captain graciously, and went on his way, never to cross paths again. For the duration of his travels, Akira was on his on.

一MOVE TO TSUCHI NO KUNI

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[KEITH]

moved.

[Yoichi]

一Deserted

Monosuke Akira

Travels thereafter were challenging and dangerous. If the terrain didn't kill you, it was more than likely that the carnivorous beasts would. Spending a couple days in a small town along the shore, Akira was able to find a posse to head South with. A barbaric group of mercenaries was heading to Kaze no Kuni for business, and by chance, the journalist managed to tag along. During daylight, he stood between them for self perseverance; being the center of their formation put defenses all around him. Being the weakest link of their ragtag group meant that he had to be smart, appearing to be frail meant he had to act it. By night, he told them cleverly crafted stories that made up his career as a journalist. Even now, he explained, he was traveling to Kaze no Kuni to complete a report on a nearly extinct clan of warriors. He couldn't speak of their location or legacy, for the mere thought could get him killed.

Forced to take the smaller rations, the writer began to lose weight. Bones now poked from his flesh, but he never lost his edge, only allowing degeneracy to fill the roll. On the fourth day since their departure from the banks of Earth Country, the group was attacked by skilled collection of bandits. His travel companions, slayed in the fray, Akira used the confusion and intensity as a distraction for escape. He slipped from their sight quite skillfully, and hung along the treeline until it was safe to continue his travels. No moving on his own, the situation was becoming more dire. By day he dealt with the lack of nutrients and water, by night he fended off nocturnal predators. He had begun to look exhausted in demeanor; flesh ripe from the bruises of falls, and torn from the claws of beasts, he was beginning to look the part. He continued to dabble entrees into his journal, it was essential to his role as a writer. Akira felt a breath of fresh air as he crossed the distinctly labeled boundaries of Earth Country and into the territory of Kaze no Kuni.

一MOVE TO KAZE NO KUNI

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[adero]

Moved.

[Yoichi]

一Deserted

Monosuke Akira

The climate was different here. The scorching heat was arid as he pressed on through endless dunes. It was absurd to think that anyone could live in such conditions, but then again, being acclimated to this heat made it seem normal. The journalist pressed on, crunching through sand and clinging tightly to a small pack and a notebook. His canteen was half full at best, and with water supplies running low he sipped it slowly to prolong its satisfaction. How much longer would he have to press on before crossing paths with a shinobi of sunagakure? Soon he hoped, his self inflicted harm had developed his dire need for shelter and rations. Taking one glance at him, you could tell that this man was at the end of his rope. No, this rope had plenty of length left to it; his hand coiled it so to speak, a flawless facade. And how far this writer had come, just for a story.

His feet blistered, and flesh turned red. Using the spare cacti in sight, he split one open using a large rock. Hoisting the stone slab above his head, it smashed through plant life with ease, providing him with enough succulents to last him the next few days. It was hard to tell how long he'd be out here, but one thing was for sure, he had no intention of giving up now. A large oasis appeared in the distance, inspiring a pathetic run; the traveled distance only revealed the large body of water to be an illusion. To hell with mirages, they were the epitamy of disappointment in the desert. The wind had begun to pick up at this point, and so Akira sought shelter behind a large rock. Though he was less than happy to share it with the rattle snake occupying the domain, and moved through a slowly picking up sand storm. If he didn't find help soon, he was done for.

一SUNA NIN PLEASE

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[KEITH]

+30

[Kenchiro]

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 storm was picking up. Kenchiro had tried to outrun it, but it was a fool's errand and he knew it. Luckily, he found an old fragment of stone wall from who knows what that he could hide behind when the storm got really bad. He was a full day into his scouting mission for the Kazekage, and at the rate he was going he was going to be lucky if he found anything more exciting than this in the half a day before he had to start heading back towards the village. After all, when the penalty for being late to report back was an instant brand of nuke-nin, it paid to not take any unnecessary detours. As he leaned against the wall, he sighed. Still, he thought, if nature was going to be the toughest thing he would have to wrestle with during all this, he would take it happily. A paycheck was a paycheck, after all.

He stared off into the distance, when suddenly he saw something. A black speck way off in the sand, fading in and out of existence between waves of dust. A mirage, he told himself as he fitted the tracker to his right eye. It wasn't. Or, if it was, it was the most accurately human shaped mirage he had ever seen. "Oh, wonderful." Kenchiro stood up, putting his hands together in a series of hand-seals. "This guy could have shown himself any time. Why'd he have to come around now, of all times?"

Focusing his chakra, he began to envelop himself in ribbons of glowing green chakra. The flying sand parted behind him, creating a circular area in which most of it just did not go. Right,

[/i] he thought to himself, this jutsu is not going to hold the storm off forever. Gotta get in, save the traveler, and get back to the wall before we both get a long sand exfoliating treatment.[/i]

He took off, his bubble of protection following all around him, keeping the brunt of the storm at bay while he closed the distance between himself and the unfortunate traveller. "Hey!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, hoping the wind would not throw his voice too far out of the way. "You! Get over here, now! This way! I said, this way!" As he nearly flew from point to point with all the agility expected of a ninja of the Sand, he waved and indicated with his free hand, the other working to keep the jutsu around him up. When he got close enough, he could keep the traveler safely in the area of effect, and they could hopefully both trudge to the more effective shelter of the stone wall. But first he had to get the traveler's attention.

SPOILER: Click to show

Kaze Sōjū (Wind Manipulation)
Rank: D, C, B, A, S
Type: Defensive / Fuuton Ninjutsu
Handseals: Yes
Range: See special!
Chakra: Very Low- Very High
Special: Range of control is equal to half the user's Kiroku Gaijuu. Wind can't be manipulated unless hand movements are used to direct it. Highest rank determines what the winds can stop.
Description: After forming a string of hand seals, the user is able to control the air within a five meter radius of himself. Upon activation, a flick of the wrist, twirling of the hand, etc. will command the wind to do things such as altering an incoming kunai's direction, creating sharp rifts of Fūton-imbued chakra, etc. The higher the user's rank of the jutsu, the more powerful his or her manipulation will be.
Domain: Fūton. Kiroku Gaijuu (Blasting Winds Reach).

[/blockquote]

[Yoichi]

一Sand Castles

Monosuke Akira

Keeled over in a sea of sands, it seemed the young reporter was at his limits. Rock fragments blew across the surface of the ground, slicing his tattered frame in the currents of a sand storm. From the looks of it, he was hopeless, nothing could save him now. But what was that...off in the distance? A figured moved towards him at accelerated rate. But what was he shouting, was he angry with the man for intruding on his land? As the muffled shouts became clearer, it all became obvious, this was his knight in shining armour. Someone was tossing him a life float so to speak. Struggling into a stance, the amassed form of black rose into a humanly figure.

Fuck. His leg felt as though someone had snapped it repeatedly, yet he pushed on through blinding waves of sand. Moving quickly, albeit halfheartedly from the apparent limp in his stride he closed the gap between the two at the pace of an average cititzen; an injured one for that matter. Coming into full view of his savior, he could see the gleam of his sunagakure headband and couldn't help but smile. His face expressed what seemed to be genuine happiness, and before he could reach his salvation he collapsed. His eyes felt heavy, his heart beat slowing, and all to quickly his vision faded to black. Beneath long baggy white cloth, which covered his body as a means of clothing, all that covered his frame was a journal and a letter from the Tsuchi no Kuni Post (an actual and thriving news station) which read:

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[Kenchiro]

Kenchiro made a noise, one part resolve, one part surprise, and about forty or fifty parts annoyance. Picking up a man and dragging him across the desert was hard enough (A muscular ubermensch the Genin clearly was not.), but to do so in the middle of a sandstorm, with one hand in the seal of the tiger, trying to focus and maintain his rudimentary shield of wind, was more than a little bit beyond his skill-set. He, and the man he was "saving" got more than a brief exposure to the flying debris despite Kenchiro's best efforts and, beaten, buffeted and thoroughly miserable, he deposited his fellow traveler behind the relative safety of the stone wall.

He huffed, feeling the exertion tugging at his muscles and generally adding to his discomfort. To make matters worse, he could not even complain; the only one around to hear was in an even worse state than him. The Genin made that distinctive noise again, with a few more parts of annoyance thrown in for good measure, as he looked the traveler over. How in the world did this guy manage to get so banged up? It looked like the desert chewed him up, spit him out, and used him as a toothpick to get bits of him out of the desert's teeth. But now was not the time for poetic flourishes. It was time for Kenchiro to continue his duties as the big freaking hero of the Land of Wind. Hooray...

Putting his hands together, he began to rattle off another series of hand-seals. That done, he placed his hands on the traveler's chest. A faint green light began to glow, pumping the traveler full of a special blend of healing chakra. Not enough to put him in the pink of health, naturally (A prodigy in the field of medical ninjutsu Kenchiro was not.), but certainly enough to take the sting off of what had to be days of half-cocked wandering. Kenchiro groaned at the sensation of chakra leaving his body through his hands. "Let nobody say I'm not earning this paycheck. Hey, buddy. You still with me? Come on, you know what they say about falling asleep in a sandstorm."

SPOILER: Click to show

Shousen no Jutsu (Mystical Hand Technique)
Rank: D, C, B, A, S
Type: Supplementary / Medical Ninjutsu
Range: Self
Handseals: Yes.
Chakra: Low - Very High
Special: Heals and counters damage equal to highest rank known.
Description: Shousen Jutsu is one of the most fundamental yet vital Medical Ninjutsu techniques utilized by medical ninja. This technique allows the ninja to heal wounds by focusing their own chakra to their hands. If the ninja is highly skilled, they are able to heal more critical injuries. Highly skilled medical-nin can use their techniques to perform surgeries that otherwise would not be possible.
Domain: Medics

[Yoichi]

一Sand Castles

Monosuke Akira

It appeared that, as a result of the medical ninjutsu, the journalist was saved. A green orb of light hovering over his frame seemed to take off the immediate damage of the sandstorm, reducing both the pain and the increasing blood loss. Forcing his eyes open at the muffled sound of a voice, his blurred vision began to clear with each blink he took. When his senses had returned to him, his memory came rushing back and he could finally recall the events leading up to this. To recap: he had been traveling to Kaze no Kuni to interview the residing kazekage for the Tsuchi no Kuni Post; unable to cope with the environment, he'd been devoured alive by the eternal depths of sand. And when it seemed like all hope was lost, a hand reached out to him and plucked him from a disgraceful ending. As life rushed back into his body, he coughed horrendously, nothing more than dry heaves followed. His throat felt as though someone had pushed a rake through it, leaving the walls of his gullet bloodied and scathed.

Hands desperately clutched for the nearly emptied canteen at his side, to which pleasure he drained the remaining contents with satisfaction. Doused with his last supply of water, his through was temporarily relieved of the pain that came with dehydration. This partial hydration granted that he could speak again, answering the query of his savior. "Thank you," he croaked, coughing twice more, "Seems my weak body couldn't handle these climates. Lifting his head from the ground, he placed his right hand back, propping himself up in a partially seated position. His other hand patted along his body, until he found the documents containing a letter from the TK Post's lead editor. Folded between his digits, he extended the documents to the sunagakure shinobi with an embarrassed smile.

"This is a bit embarrassing. You'd think a reporter ought to do more research before coming to a place like this. I nearly died!" he exclaimed mustering a pathetic attempt at a laugh. Shifting his point of balance from his right hand to his left, he offered his right to the shinobi as a means of greeting. Thin rose lips parted in the arrangement before he spoke, uttering out a slightly audible sentence, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Monosuke Akira." If all went well, he'd be accompanied to Sunagakure by this spirited youth.

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[Kenchiro]

At any other time, Kenchiro might have felt warm and fuzzy, not to mention a bit full of himself, for having officially rescued somebody. And, truth be told, he did feel that way, at least a little bit. At the same time, however, he was currently pondering the future heartache this little act of chivalry would create. After all, now he was responsible for keeping this guy alive, at least until he could get him to wherever he was headed. And, after taking a second to look over the message, he got an answer that only added to his trepidation. Sunagakure? Of all the places he was looking for, he was looking for the Village Hidden in the Sand? Kenchiro did not see that one coming.

Still, he put all that in the back of his head, pocketing the note before the wind took it from his hands. "Don't feel too bad, Money," he said, reaching for his tool bag as he shook the traveler's hand. "No amount of research can really prepare a person for the deserts of the Land of Wind, especially when they've never been around them. Experience is the best teacher. You know what they say; whatever doesn't kill you..." He pulled out a square cloth, which he folded into two triangles and dampened with some water from his flask before handing it over to the traveler. "Here. Tie this around your mouth and nose. It'll keep the sand away and prevent you from drying out too quickly."

He took a moment to listen to the wind. The storm continued, but fortunately it did not sound like it was getting any stronger. With any luck, the worst of it would blow over shortly, at least enough to travel in. "Name's Nagakin. Kenchiro Nagakin. I just happened to be in the area looking for interesting things, when you stumbled along. You're a reporter, you say? From Tsuchi no Kuni? What sort of business do you have that would require you to go out searching for ninja villages in the middle of nowhere like this?"

[Yoichi]

一Sand Castles

Monosuke Akira

"Thanks," Akira mustered, taking the cloth from his acquaintance. He toiled with it between his fingertips for a moment before tying it around his face. It felt great, a cool temperature washing over him at once. He took a moment to indulge in the comfort of the wet rag before answering the query, to which he looked Kenchiro in the eyes. "Well you see," he began, " My editor has this crazy idea that we will create a compelling new article on the Great Shinobi of our lands. By interviewing the leaders of the five great nations, it is his intention to inspire youth around the world and invoke a motivated generation of people striving to reach and surpass the heroes of our time. I think its a bit far fetched myself..." He paused, looking to the skies in contemplation before thin lips parted once more, " My career depends on it. The people depend on it. Anything I can do to impact the lives of our youth, right? They are our tomorrow."

He pulled his journal from his pocket, providing it to the shinobi for a brief glimpse into his journalism skills. The majority of the small booklet was filled, consisting of facts, quotes, and an assortment of side notes scribed during his interviews. Several titled pages boldly proclaimed the kages of various nations such as hi no kuni and tsuchi no kuni. It was quite an admirable feature for a reporter. "I got separated from my group, which allowed me to get lost in this endless sea of dunes. I was actually hoping you'd be as kind to escort me to Sunagakure, if its not too much trouble," he pleaded, aware of the doubts that came with such a request. "If it eases you any, I can go blind folded as not to become aware of your village's location?" Akira cooed, his best attempts at a bargain that seemed fair to him. He'd acomplish the goals of his article, while protecting the location and professionalism of Sunagakure.

It was now that the sand storm began to die down.

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[Kenchiro]

Kenchiro was just about to tell Monosuke, in no uncertain terms, that leading him straight to a Hidden Village was not only completely unorthodox, it was more than likely treason. After all, it did not do to call a village "hidden," and then show any random shmuck the way to the gates. Before he could say so, however, Monosuke mentioned his willingness to be blindfolded. And, upon further reflection, Kenchiro could not really call himself a competent ninja if he could not think of a few ways to confound even the most dedicated effort to map out the path. The longer he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed that he could bring the journalist to the village. Besides, there were no shortage of people that he knew back home who could deal with a beat up traveler like Monosuke much better than he could.

So, he did what any sensible ninja would do in this situation: kick himself quietly for not thinking of the idea himself while appearing on the surface as though he had always considered the possibility. "All right, Money. It's definitely a brazen request, you understand. I'll have to send ahead for the powers that be, and I can't necessarily guarantee a warm reception. Still, it's not like I can very well turn you around and tell you to go home."

The wind was finally slowing. Kenchiro could not help but smile; given his luck in the last few minutes, he was expecting to have to hunker down until the bounty hunters came after him. "Right. If we're gonna make it back in time, we're going to have to hitch a ride. There was a place that sold caravan supplies to the northwest. How's your leg? Sorry, but I don't think I can carry you the whole way. I'm built for agility, not strength." That being said, a heartless monster Kenchiro was not. He was more than capable of at least supporting Monosuke part of the way, or at least giving him another shot of healing chakra to take the edge off. But they definitely had to move; the Genin was doing calculations in his head, trying to determine a route he could take that could get them back to the village on time, but still avoided the most direct path.

[Yoichi]

一Sand Castles

Monosuke Akira

It seemed that his proposal set well with his new friend, for the slightest grin crossed his face in contemplation of the thought. It was possible that he hadn't noticed his glimpse of approval, but the idea was a win win scenario. Temporarily holding off on a response, he sank to his knees, plunging his hands into the sand. Only moments later did he emerge with a tall wooden stick, to which effect he used as a crutch. "Passed this shelter before, but I upset a rattle snake and decided to take my chances elsewhere," he uttered, before answering the initial query, "And my leg is much better, thank you." Hopping to, so to speak, the young reporter let his shinobi friend take lead. He had no clue as to the direction or length of their journey, choosing to accept it for what it was rather than complaining.

He advanced quickly, mildly subduing his limp for the majority of their travels. Until of course they reached a vessel of transportation upon which they'd hitch a ride. It was hard to tell to where, but soon enough a blindfold would be necessary. That much was obvious. It happened that their transport was an old beat up carriage drawn by four horse. Sitting on the back ledge, Akira let his legs hang, swaying as much as the cart along the course road they traveled. It seemed that the shinobi was pressed for time, and so he thought to investigate further, leaning towards his comrade with a curious gaze. "Something wrong? You seem hurried," he cooed, patiently awaiting reply.

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[Kenchiro]

Kenchiro frowned. He would have much preferred camels to horses and carts. The former could handle the desert so much more adeptly, not to mention handle off-road excursions into the sand dunes themselves. As it was, he was going to have to stick to the trade routes and shrub-lands where the footing was more stable. Still, beggars could not be choosers, as the old saying went, and he could certainly improvise with what was available to him.

Handing the trader some Ryo with a vacant smile, he got himself situated in the driver's seat and took the reins. He had never really driven a cart before (He had researched it, naturally; part of a ninja's ability to form cover identities relied on a diverse skill-set.), but the beasts were of a rather lax temperament, and piecing together the bulk of the art from memory proved to be doable, given a bit of practice rein whips.

He looked back at his passenger with a smile that seemed disingenuously warm, given what he then said. "Oh, let's just say my Lord Kazekage has a rather steep penalty for people who are late to report in. It shouldn't be a problem, assuming we don't run into bandits or roaming squads of Jounin level rogue ninja or thirty foot tall carnivorous sand worms." He paused, smiling some more before adding "I was only joking about the sand worms, Money. At most, they only get to be twenty-eight feet."

He turned onto one of the major trade routes, making an indirect bee-line for home. "All right, Money. From here on out, I want that bandana over your eyes. We're gonna be taking a bit of a scenic route to the village, so feel free to take a nap or something. Just be warned: if I so much as catch you peek once while we're in motion, I might be liable to do something not nice. And I don't want to do that, me being such a nice guy and all."

((OOC: Right, so I only got one more post left before I got the minimum requirements for the mission. Suppose we just post exits, then move on to the village gates?))