Eagle's Prey [Mission]

[Yun Lee]

382 words Cao Qiang notes

Sunagakure. The village, justly so, better known as the Village Hidden in the Sand. Positioned somewhere in the middle of a large expanse of heat and dust, one would think this village to be near barren. But that was far from the case. The shinobi that lived here were amongst the strongest of any village, and loyal to a fault. It was here that our story begins with the fateful meeting of two young genin…

It was approximately 4 AM, a time when many shinobi had their heads buried in their pillows graciously sleeping away the few hours they had remaining before the red sun would crest the horizon and bring with it a new dawn, but Yun was (as per her usual routine) already well into her day. Sleep was necessary, that is true. But nobody ever improved by slacking off. No. For her, these hours had been spent in rigorous training. Push-ups, crunches, lunges, hand-walking, pull-ups, laps around the village, etc.: all for the sake of improving if only by a single margin.

Today, however, was a different sort of day. A curt bow in greeting to the shinobi stationed to guard, she grinned from ear to ear. Today would be the first day of many to come, she would hope. Today marked the beginning of her story, if you will. An exciting time for any young shinobi: The first mission. Sure she had practiced many hours in the academy to make it this far, and sure she wasn’t the best of students (failing in most cases to accomplish anything that wasn’t straight-forward taijutsu). But that wasn’t going to get her down. Not today. Today was important.

Or rather… It should be. Approximately 4 AM and her partner for this ever-so-important mission was beginning to be late. A bit of an off-putting way to introduce oneself to a future ally, she would think. But alas, there was not to do but to wait. And waiting didn’t mean standing still for Yun. She took out a scroll and began reading over it. This scroll, one of many passed down throughout her family line, was a special type of sealing scroll: a weapon sealing scroll. It was her very lifeline in battle, and should be treated with extreme care for that reason.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Mission Details}
Name: Eagles Prey
Rank: C
Description: This was one of our favorite captures yet, if only for the majesty of the creature itself, real shame it has to die. The giant eagle is what your facing today, 30 meters from wing tip to wing tip and 20 meters from beak to tail. You’ll definitely see it coming when it attacks but with it’s sonic screech and incredible speed, it might be too late when it does.
Reward: 50 Experience, 1,000 Ryo
Minimum Shinobi: One
Mission Status: Interminable

”

by Pinn @ THQ

[Cao Qiang]

[googlefont="Noto Serif"]

THE ONE AND ONLY PRINCESS IN THIS WORLD Having to be somewhere early was never an easy thing to do when you had as much prep work as Qiang. Rolling out of bed at 1AM, he began to go about the tedious morning ritual that he required each day. Usually this would be done at around 4 in the morning, but as that was the decided upon time for his first mission, it was necessary to be up earlier. First part of the day was dedicated to his hour long bath. The hot, but not too hot, water filled the tub approximately 2/3rds of the way. Half hour was dedicated to the careful scrubbing of any filth that accumulated over the night, the last half hour to hair maintenance, washing away the easily removed loose hair and light amount of grease from the nights rest. Afterwards, he let the air dry off most of his body while he began brushing his hair, counting out each of the 1,000 strokes as he went, making sure it looked as perfectly done as any other day. To follow was the application of his makeup, a nice bit of eyeliner to bring out his eyes, and a light shade of red lipstick before moving on to the painting of his nails, a slightly brighter shade of red than those of his lips. As those dried, he went about tying the signature red ribbon in his hair, centering the two ear like parts as he moved on to choosing an outfit. As it was his first mission, this had to be something that properly celebrated the occasion. He took a simple white cloth bandage and wrapped his stomach and chest before putting on a white silken robe, which he kept tucked into a long red dress and tied a beautiful black sash tight around his waist. A pair of brilliant white stockings and some white cloth slippers to follow on his feet. With the outfit done, he was ready for the first mission of his shinobi career. The problem being, it was now quite after the agreed upon time. 4:30 to be precise. The time it would take to get to the gate would mean it would be a little after 5 when he would finally get to the gate. Mostly due to the rather slow walking pace he used when being out in the hot sun of the desert village. With a sigh he grabbed the hand crafted puppet, Tenbatsu, put it on his back and headed out into the village. As expected, it was another hot day in the Hidden Sand village. It would be nice if Qiang's partner wasn't as hot headed as the heat made a lot of other people these days. What she wouldn't give to live somewhere nice and breezy, or cold. The land of snow would just be so much more pleasant. When he finally did arrive at the village gate, he noticed that his partner was already there and continued walking past, head held high in elegance while waving for her to come along, hardly sparing her a passing glance. Not that there was much to comment on. A pretty girl, but she didn't have very much of a sense for fashion, walking around in a typical combat gear. Likely one of those taijutsu specialists who enjoyed getting all hot and sweaty in a fight. The very thought was abhorable to Qiang. At least those people served as good distractions in a fight. "I certainly hope you possess better combat sense than you do fashion sense, girl. I'd hate to have you beaten in both."

☁

[Yun Lee]

562 words Cao Qiang notes

“Two hundred… Two hundred and one… Two hundred and two… Two-” The lithe genin’s self-absorbed state of mind as she went about doing as many handstand push-ups as her body could physically obtain before collapse was cut short at the sound of approaching footsteps. A young girl had finally made her appearance on the scene. Taller by a decent margin, and had what appeared to be a heavy focus on outward appearance given the young girl’s face was decorated in a variety of make-ups.

Yun took a moment to absorb her appearance. Noting the girl’s evident lack of physical wear, she was either not focused on fighting up close and personal or she had never been in a fight at all. As such, it was safe to assume that the person was at the least a fighter whom used range to their advantage. Something Yun herself could relate to. Further inspection proved her theory correct. A decent sized blue doll, from what it appeared, was strapped to the young girl’s back. Before Yun could ask about the doll, however, she was cut off by a snide remark regarding her appearance and ability to fight.

“Oi, oi. Look here, princess. I may not be as fancy as you, but I can fight just fine.” Not two minutes in and already Yun had a foul taste in her mouth after such a crude display of arrogance her young ally had just portrayed. “Maybe if you’re nice, I’ll show ya how it’s done.”

A snide response to an arrogant attitude. Needless to say, neither was getting off on the right foot given they would soon be comrades in arms. The mission was simple. An over-sized eagle, captured by Sunagakure and intended to be examined in further detail had been deemed dangerous and demanded execution. Sure this task was easy for most, but it served as a simple segue into true combat. And what better way to practice your skills than on something that is, without restraint, attempting to strike you down in turn?

“We’ll see who’s saying what when I take that beast down.” Yun challenged her would-be ally subtly, catching stride of Qiang.

After approximately fourteen minutes of walking, the two young genin came upon the great beast. Flying over the skies of the desert, as if marking this territory as its new home. But that peace would be short lived if Yun had anything to do with it. “Try to keep up.” Yun smirked, slipping a kunai from the satchel she had fastened to her left thigh.

The beast flew with grace, but its strength was evident in the power with which it flapped its mighty wings. Each stroke caused a small whirl of dust on the surface of the desert grounds below. Approximately twenty meters long; just as had been mentioned in the mission details. With a target as large as this, surely the beast would be simple to hit. And so, Yun began the assault, not waiting for her ally’s opinion on the matter, by throwing a kunai towards the beast.

The eagle, sensing an oncoming attack, flapped its mighty wings and gave out a blood-curdling screech. The kunai that Yun had thrown slowed to a stop before the mighty beast, and fell to the ground. Apparently killing the creature wasn’t going to be as simple as Yun had initially planned.

”

by Pinn @ THQ

[Cao Qiang]

[googlefont="Noto Serif"]

THE ONE AND ONLY PRINCESS IN THIS WORLD It was certainly nice to have his companion already recognize the regal presence that Qiang possessed, but to think that the Princess could be taught anything by this girl received nothing except a small chuckle. Even though it was sure to be more beneficial for the team to be cordial, Qiang couldn't help but think that this was going to be a very hard girl to get along with. She definitely thought way too much of herself to listen to what Qiang would say. That being said, perhaps a little rivalry would be a good way to do this too. Qiang was certainly not afraid of an over-sized chicken. "Qiang has heard that it takes a beast to defeat a beast. You should feel proud she is giving you he benefit of the doubt." The desert sun beat down on the duo for what seemed to be hours for Qiang. How he longed to have been born somewhere that the climate was more moderate. Of all the villages that had a nice, even temperature, or at least a variety of different weather conditions, he had to be stuck in the one that was nothing but hot, nothing but windy, nothing but sand in the face as they walked. It was only through the benefit of superior styling tactics that his hair remained perfectly in place. If only his companion had some kind of ability that would stop Qiang from sweating while they trudged through the sands for hours on end. One of those people with the giant fans would have been so much better. As it were, with such a long period of time in the heat, Qiang's brow was suffering from a light pattering of perspiration. He carefully dabbed at the sweat with a handkerchief while whining at his companion, "Qiang is terribly hot, is there any chance we have arrived yet? Seems like we have been walking for hours." No sooner had Qiang asked than he had received his answer. The bird soared in the air above the desert, circling the air. It was much larger than Qiang had expected, but he wasn't going to try and wrestle the thing. Qiang's eyes rolled at his companion's comment and set Tenbatsu upright while watching the girl pull a kunai from her satchel. It wasn't likely to be effective, but far be it from Qiang to point out a flaw in the cocky girl's plan. As the kunai flew towards it's target, the eagle simple flapped it's wings, throwing the trajectory off and letting the weapon fall straight to the sand below. "If that is how you plan to do things, then Qiang shall have no problem 'keeping up' as it were." The bird did not wait long to go on the offensive itself. Qiang wasn't going to wait either. The eagle made a wide arc in the sky, eyeing it's targets before dropping low to the ground and swooping towards them with an earsplitting screech. Threads of pure chakra shot from the ends of Qiang's fingers, and Tenbatsu came to life once again, ready for battle as the swords shot from it's forearms. IF the thing had the same anatomy as others of it's size, then they would be able to take it's greatest advantage out without taking it's entire wing. With the bird flying in close, looking to throw them to the ground by flying over the shinobi, Qiang sent Tenbatsu to meet it. The blades slashed towards the bird's wing. The primary flight feathers would be the easier ones to get, with Tenbatsu's blade slicing through the air, he was able to take out half of the bird's longest feather, not enough to keep it grounded, but perhaps slow it down some. What it didn't do was stop the bird from swooping over the duo, kicking up sand and delivering a heavy force as the air came over them. Qiang covered her face quickly, and Tenbatsu's body was able to block a lot of the sand from getting into his eyes. "Slightly off target. Qiang suggest you use something larger perhaps to help clip the wings. If we can ground the beast it will be much easier to handle." Surely there was some weapon in the girl's inventory that might accommodate the brilliant plan that Qiang had so expertly decided upon.

☁

[Yun Lee]

604 words Cao Qiang notes

Complaint after complaint… The more this girl talked, the more Yun wished she were elsewhere. Nevertheless, Qiang was not wrong in this case. Simply wildly throwing weapons at it wasn’t going to work. Evident by how little effort it expended to knock her kunai back down to earth.

Qiang followed Yun’s unsuccessful attempt at hitting the giant target that was the behemoth bird with an attack of her own. Quickly setting her puppet up, she waited until the beast made its way back towards the ground then quickly sliced at its wings, clipping the beast’s primary flight feathers. Not a complete success in its own right, given the bird was capable of flight still. Nevertheless, the bird had certainly slowed some.

“Something larger?” Yun repeated, taking stock of her weaponry mentally. She had brought her nunchaku with her but those are not very likely to help in this situation. Not while the bird was airborne. Kunai, shuriken, senbon… All of these meager weapons wouldn’t make much of a dent.

That was when an idea struck the young girl. Of course. Perhaps a weapon wasn’t needed at all. Perhaps this could be done with a little ingenuity. Taking a second kunai and some wire from her satchel, Yun awaited the bird’s second coming.

Meanwhile, the beast’s blood began to boil as it glowered down at the immature ninja who had so decided to not only disturb its flight, but to harm it. No longer interested in escape, the eagle turned and went in for another swoop. Hoping to snatch up its victims and feast upon their innards.

Tying the end of the wire to the kunai’s ring, she readied herself. As the bird began its attack, Yun shielded her eyes from the sand that would blind her of her target. However, even blind she could guess where it would be. Eidetic memory in conjunction with eagle now flying at a slower speed granted her her opening. As the bird flew overtop the two young genin, Yun thrust the kunai upward, imbedding it within the muscle of the bird’s wing.

Grabbing the wire, she held on as the bird took to the sky yet again. Sure, it wasn’t what her partner had wanted in-so-far as stratagems but it would work… Maybe… With a forceful pull, Yun was carried off into the air. The instantaneous tug nearly snapped her arm… Fortunately for her the beast had been slowed.

Climbing her way up the wire without slipping proved difficult in the wind produced by the eagle’s fast flight. Taking breaks to stop and re-assess her situation, Yun climbed on. Eventually making it all the way to the bird’s wing. Hopefully this little ploy would work.

Grabbing hold of the wing, she hung like a sloth and began pulling downward as hard as her small body could muster. The eagle’s began flying in a circle, unable to correct its course due to its injury and the weight (Yun) atop its rightmost wing. Eventually, perhaps due to the irritation, the bird began to slowly descend.

Upon its touchdown it arced its head and snapped at the girl hanging from its wing. Jumping away to avoid certain death, Yun let out a giggle. “That big enough?” She asked, referring to her body as the weapon. Ripping the kunai from its wing, the bird let out another blood-curdling screech.

From here on out the fight would be on the ground. Standing face to face with the beast really put into perspective how large it was, compared to the small genin. “You’re up, Princess.” Yun spat, trying to think of their next move.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Used}
Kunai [x1 2 pack]

Ninja Wire Strings [x1 20ft]

”

by Pinn @ THQ

[Cao Qiang]

[googlefont="Noto Serif"]

THE ONE AND ONLY PRINCESS IN THIS WORLD Well that was indeed a smart way to go about things. Qiang watched as his partner began to thread some wire through the ring of a kunai and waited for the bird to circle around again. Qiang watched the bird take another aim at flying over them and began to walk out of the way with Tenbatsu in tow, not wanting to risk the attack doing any damage to his hair this time around and waited to see what the kunai and wire would accomplish when it would likely get blasted back again. However, this time, Yun would jam the kunai upward into the bird's wing rather than try and throw it, and take a firm hold of her wire as the bird once again took to the higher skies. The wire must have dug into the girls hands. How terrible to risk scarring yourself like that. She had managed to climb up to the bird's wing despite the force that must have been pushing at her, and the pain that had to be caused as she pulled at the wire. It was risky considering the kunai could fly loose at any moment. With the added weight of the girl on it's wing, the eagle was forced to go to ground rather than try and maintain it's balance. As it landed, Qiang gave a small nod to her ally, "Qiang thanks you for the assistance. However, she things that next time you should try to be more elegant with your movements though, yes?" Tenbatsu was already in action as Qiang was speaking, his swords slashing through the primary feathers of the wing that Yun had been hanging on before quickly taking care of those on the other wing as well. Each flick of Qiang's fingers and swift movement of her hand brought more feathers to the ground as the bird snapped at the puppet dancing around it. Qiang hated to give up on a well thought out plan. Additionally, her partner would not have to stay on the bird to keep it down any more and be able to move around freely rather than whipped around at the birds discretion. Even without it's ability to fly, they couldn't take the enemy any less seriously. It was still said to be a great danger, it was about to show just how dangerous it could be when backed into a corner. The Bird craned it's neck and pecked at the girl still hanging onto it's wing, attempting to grab her and use her as a weapon against the puppet, smashing her into it before tossing the pesky annoyance to the other one that managed to keep it's distance. Sending both of them tumbling to the sand before taking in a large amount of air and releasing its strongest attack. A high pitched screech was launched at the ninjas, sending sand and a great wave of force at the two. Qiang was forced to drop Tenbatsu to avoid dragging him into the attack, instead grabbing her partner Yun and turning away from the attack, taking the full force of the hit for both of them. The force of the attack took Qiang off his feet, sending him sprawling across the ground Yun still held. The attack had caused more damage than Qiang had expected, and for awhile the world seemed to be seen through a filter of fuzziness. "Qiang is...in pain..." There was little time to follow up on the comment, as the bird was not going to show mercy, rushing towards the two with it's beak open, ready to crunch down on some small treats. Qiang's hand raised lazily towards Tenbatsu, taking control of him once again and starting to pull him back in to try and defend the bird. Problem being, he was simply too slow at the moment to get there before the eagle did. Hopefully Yun would be able to stop it before they both met their end in the first mission.

☁

[Yun Lee]

772 words Cao Qiang notes

Yun was correct in trusting her partner wouldn’t let her down. (Even if she did thoroughly annoy her.) A curt thank you, followed swiftly by an insult, was all that ‘Qiang’ as the girl called herself could muster before her own attack.

Yun watched from her position on the bird’s right wing as the blue puppet sprang to life at the will of its master and rushed forward towards the bird. The blades on its arms extended outward yet again, and began chopping away at the eagle’s feathers again.

Annoyance turned to utter rage as the eagle snapped its beak at Yun, grabbing her and shaking her about. Using her as a makeshift flail to belay the attacks of the puppet, she slammed Yun against Tenbatsu with all the force of a bat against a ball. A loud crunching sound rang out as the two made contact. She could feel the entirety of her body scream in agony as the pain pulsated throughout her. But the great eagle wasn’t finished. After having knocked away the puppet, it threw Yun towards Qiang, causing the two to tumble across the Land of Wind’s desert abyss. Another sound crunch, before a torrent of dust plumed from the impact the two genin had came to an end.

Choking up dust and a bit of blood, Yun lifted herself from the ground. Pain she never felt before… This was definitely not in the simulations they ran in the Academy. Far from it. This was WAY more pain than she had ever felt before. Bringing an arm to pat at her bruised side, she could feel it. Her ribs, at least one, had been broken when she hit the puppet.

But before Yun had much time to react, the thoroughly enraged bird was preparing to finish the two off. A super-sonic scream, ear-splittingly loud sent a shockwave of air towards the two. Just as she started to move, Qiang grabbed hold of her and held her still, taking the brunt of the attack against his back.

Yun’s eyes widened in surprise as she watched the face of agonizing pain spread across Qiang’s visage. As the attack ended, Qiang dropped to the ground and let out a soft statement.

The eagle, evidently pissed that its attack had failed began rushing the genin. Rage, and its size, were to be its downfall however. Taking two more kunai and a bomb tag from her satchel, Yun began her plan. This bird, the girl surmised, was still an animal. And thus prone to the same conditions as most other wild animals. Meaning someone with any tact could take it by surprise. And that was exactly what Yun had planned.

Attaching the bomb tag to one of the kunai, she began first by simply throwing one kunai in a diagonal towards the bird, veering its attention to the left. The beast fell for the ruse thusly. Craning its head so that it faced the kunai before letting out its bellowing screech. Yun ran towards the beast. As it turned its attention back to the girl, it immediately tried to slam its beak down and catch her. However, she had afforded herself enough time with the distraction. Sliding between the legs of the mighty eagle, she threw the other kunai so that it dug itself into the bird’s right foot. The bomb tag immediately began its countdown.

“Hey you big bastard! Over here!” Yun shouted from behind the bird. The enraged eagle, trying to follow the current annoyance as best it could, began to turn around. As the bird turned, it shifted its weight from both its feet to the right foot. Just as it did this, Yun quickly made a handseal and shouted at the top of her lungs. “Fuubaku Houjin!” The note that had been attached to the bird’s foot earlier began to glow a bright white before exploding into flame and smoke. The eagle let out a screech of pain, as it fell to its side. Caught in the Yun’s ploy, there was little more to do than finish the poor thing off.

The principle is thus: Animals are prone to following anything that moves. This is what Yun used to get the bird’s attention. Once she did that, all she had to do was get it to shift its weight onto the leg with the explosive tag. In reality, the chance that it shifted its weight on its left foot was there. But 50/50 turned in her favor this day. She’ll have to become far better if she wants to be a true ninja. But this mission was essentially done.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}Kunai [x1 2 pack]

Fuubaku Houjin (Exploding Seal Method Formation)
Rank: D
Range: -
Type: Supplementary
Handseals: 1
Chakra Consumption: Miniscule
Fuubaku Houjin is a Ninjutsu technique used by shinobi in conjunction with common explosive devices such as exploding notes. With this, the user can choose when their explosives detonate, opposed to being at the mercy of a countdown.

”

by Pinn @ THQ

[Cao Qiang]

[googlefont="Noto Serif"]

THE ONE AND ONLY PRINCESS IN THIS WORLD Sitting up as best he could, Qiang watched with blurred vision as his partner prepared to defend them, and hopefully set the beast up for a kill shot. It looked like she had put a bomb tag on a kunai, tossing a plain kunai at the bird that missed horribly. Qiang had thought that the girl was a better marksman than that. It hadn't occurred to her rattled brain that this was simply a plan until the bird's attention went to the shiny object, giving Yun the opening needed. With an impressive display of agility, Yun had dived through the birds legs and jammed the explosive into it's leg. Betting on it standing on the leg with a bomb in it, Yun's gamble paid off. As the bird's weight was shifted onto it's one leg, Yun set off the explosive, creating a large cloud of sand, smoke, and fire. The bird let out a pained shriek, almost matching the power of it's attack. As the smoke cleared, it was clear that the bird was down. Not dead yet, but certainly disabled enough to take a finishing blow. With the threat decreased drastically, Qiang rose to his feet slowly and limped over to the bird, Tenbatsu coming to meet him half way. "Impressive. Qiang made the right choice allowing you to be the one still capable of fighting after the attack. Next time, however, Qiang would like it if she didn't have to take an attack like that to get an opening for you." The bird was clearly in pain, it's eyes barely open and the sad sound of raspy, painful breathing was not hard to miss. "A good fight from a noble creature. Qiang gives you mercy." With that, Tenbatsu plunged it's sword through the eagles chest before retracting them into his arms, and the dying sounds of the eagle were silenced. Once and for all. Qiang placed Tenbatsu on his back once again, flinching as the puppet rested on the clearly injured back of it's owner. He would have to do some serious mending to get the top back into it's old elegance again. Qiang looked at the bird's body and over to his companion, "Carry that, will you? As proof that we have completed the mission." Not waiting for the response, Qiang began walking back to the village, but halted a bit away to speak once more. "It has occurred to Qiang that she does not know your name yet. Qiang would like to work with you again, and a name would make it much easier to do so." After hearing Yun's introduction, Qiang continued on her walk, calling back, "Qiang welcomes you as one of her many servants." and ended the words with a little wave over his shoulder. Once they got back to the village, Qiang would take note of Yun Lee's skills, putting them on record in case the need of a ranged weapon specialist came up once again.

☁

[Yun Lee]

316 words Cao Qiang notes

Caw, squawk, screech. The mighty eagle let out a series of disturbingly pained pleas of mercy. Unfortunately for the bird, however, the genin were not in the position to afford it such civility. Yun watched as her battle-worn comrade picked ‘herself’ up from the ground and meander (albeit with a bit of a stumble from time to time) over to the big bird. Once again connecting herself to her puppet, she put the giant beast out of its misery with a decisive pierce of its heart. Blood pulsated out of the opening created in its chest, pooling on the ground below it.

With an exasperated release of breath, Yun fell back on the hot sand. Talk about a hard time. Taking that thing down took way more effort than she was expecting to exert. Nevertheless, the job was done. The chastising her comrade doled out was let lie. “Yeah sure, I’ll ‘carry’ it.” Yun giggled, pushing herself up off the ground and walking over to the bird. Slipping one last kunai from her satchel, she began cutting away one of its talons. With an audible thud, a claw fell from the bird. Yun collected it along with one of the bird’s primary flight feathers that had been severed early into the battle. “This should do fine for proof.”

Watching Qiang as ‘she’ began to leave, Yun couldn’t help but smile at the thought of having not only completed her first mission as a genin, but also having found her first comrade in what she hoped to be a growing force. Qiang stopped briefly to speak once more, admitting her being unaware of Yun’s name and following it with her usual arrogance.

A smile spread across Yun’s face as she waved back. “My name’s Yun! Nice to meetcha!” Kind of an odd note to end on, but both genin were exhausted. It was time to go rest.

Exit.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Total use}
190/200 Chakra Pool

Jutsu:
Fuubaku Houjin (Exploding Seal Method Formation)

Items:
Kunai [x2 2 pack]
Ninja Wire Strings [x1 20ft]

”

by Pinn @ THQ

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}

[Comatose]

+50 YUN LEE
+40 CAO QIANG