Princess Hunting

Mission Details:

Arashi worked silently, topping off the smaller canteens that would be strapped around his waist, mostly on his back.  The large satchel of water he always held was leaning against the wall in his room, only about half full.  After so much training and growth, the young man saw that he didn't need to use so much to supplement his own abilities, and at this point, it was better that he save some.  After all, the next step would be to see about creating the same type of chakra water.  It would be one of his greatest challenges, but if he was going to keep his family's methods alive, he had to keep the water flowing, in a manner of speaking.

Besides the prep of his water, Arashi also made sure his gear was strapped tight, and that he was perfectly dressed for what could end up being a long distance mission.  The land of Haven was vast, and the ninja of Hoshi haven't been through it all yet.  To be frank, this growing village was probably one of the least prepared, but it wasn't really the fault of the ninja or the villagers. 

Checking himself in a mirror, and making sure his weapons were strapped, Arashi took a final look at his golden band on his wrist, and adjusted it.  For the first time since he unlocked his 3rd chakra, the electricity was starting to wane, meaning that he was starting to control it better.  Smiling he turned to the great white door and left his room, grabbing a travel pack for the journey.

Arashi headed out from his... home... and headed right for the gates to the village.  Out here, he felt more comfortable.  It was more real, less fancy and royal-like.  Even after he got himself in the dirt and helped the regular villagers, he was still being called the young Prince.  It was annoying to a degree, but considering how they perceived Akihana, it really wasn't all that surprising, even considering the lack of true resemblance.

Shaking his head, the ninja leaped up to the roofs, cutting his travel time to the gates in half, and calmly jumping down to the ground.  He nodded to the guards and the large doors opened, revealing the lush mountain wilderness of the land.  It wasn't as dry and cold as Kumo, but it was certainly a good substitute. 

Giving one last look towards his home, Arashi took a step off and started running.  He had an idea of where to start, at least, the obvious route.  There weren't any towers out there, so he would be truly on his own. But if he would be on his own, so would be his target.  The Princess of Haven.  It was just a simple mission.  A D rank mission.  Nothing big. 

It had been weeks since Akihana and Den first arrived to Hoshi, and were told of not only the Queen's condition, but her heir arriving from the Bird Country.  And yet, they had not heard from her since her initial departure.  Arashi would only be going out on his patrol down the route she was supposed to be taking, and seeing if he could find her, and find out why she hadn't sent word of her crossing the border quite yet.

Arashi had been spending the last couple of weeks training, honing his bloodline, until he could do what so many of his family was able to do back in Kumo, glancing back at the closing gate, Arashi jumped into the trees, leaping higher and higher from branch to branch, until he finally broke through the canopy.  He brought his fingers up to his face and activated his cloud body.

"Secret Art: Floating Cloud Jutsu!" he said, as his body and clothing turned white and he lifted off the trees, becoming just a cloud on the breeze.  His first objective was to scout out the distances, and see if he could see anything down the road towards the Bird border.  As he soared, letting the drift of the wind carry him, for the first time in a long time, Arashi felt free.  After a while, he found the road, and saw nothing as it traveled from the woods through the hills, towards the border.  This wasn't good, he had to go farther.

About an hour later, Arashi was floating over the border crossing, and even there, there was no sign of the caravan, the escort, or the princess.  In fact, the road seemed to be desolate, as if whatever was here had long since passed.  Unable to see too many details from the air, Arashi coalesced himself, dropping down to the ground from the almost impossibly high distance.  He landed, hard, but unhurt.  From there, it was time that he caught his breath, and then looked around the road.  There were footprints, hoofprints, and wheel markings, but they were worn.  It had to have been sometime ago, days or even a week.  It was clear that someone passed through here, but there was no sign of where they could have been.

Arashi tried to remember if he saw anything, anything at all that would have been the group, but he didn't.  Nothing showed.  He had to start walking the path himself.  Arashi started moving quickly, but not too fast, watching the path to be sure he was following the right tracks.  He couldn't give up, at least not yet, and he didn't want to fly off track.  He had to find that... oh no.

Arashi slowed and stopped, crouching down at the thing that caught his attention.  It seemed almost unnoticeable at first, but upon closer inspection looked completely out of place.  Two small rounded pieces of wood, worn on the outside curve.  He picked it up and looked at it, sighting the good quality wood and slight ornate style on one side.  He got a chill down his spine as he turned the piece over and placed it on the ground, right on the groove of the wheel tracks. 

It fit perfectly.

The second piece did as well, and Arashi looked at the edges.  He could clearly picture the wheels now, and could tell that these two were taken from two different wheels.  But considering that the tracks continued (even with the gap in the tracks when the missing piece rolls across), it seemed almost impossible.  They were cut perfectly, and yet the cart had continued.  It was like the travelers didn't seem to notice at all.

Arashi stood up, placing the piece back where he found it, and noticed that both pieces had landed to the right of the tracks.. as if deflected.  The young ninja turned first to the left and then the right, walking towards the trees in that area.  He had no idea what he was looking for, but he had a feeling he would know when he found it.  It only took the first couple of trees before he came across something.

A slick black wire, embedded in the tree with a kunai and wrapped around the trunk.  He picked up the wire and then dropped it with a sharp pain.  The wire was infused with chakra to make it sharp, very sharp, and Arashi had only sliced his fingers off.  He took the time to heal himself, looking back at the road.  Someone with ninja gifts had attacked the caravan.. but they were patient.  It looked like the entire point of this trap was to cut the wheels, as otherwise it would have very easily sliced the legs off a person or animal.  But it didn't.  This was purely meant to subtly compromise the cart.  Which meant that farther along the route, the cart would have eventually cracked, and that is when the attackers would have struck.

Arashi waited only long enough to finish healing his hand, before he jumped out and up, watching the road and the tracks, following them to wherever they would end.  Because if there was something that was obvious, it would end.. and before they ever made it to Hoshi.

(w/c: 1352)

Arashi took off from that location, leaving the pieces there.  He could very easily go back and pick up the items later, including that wire, but for now, he had a priority.  The princess from Bird County, moving along the road in a compromised carriage.  It was already obvious that someone had been after them, whether it was a remnant of an old time, or if it was someone current and active.  This was one of the big worries Arashi was currently holding.

The truth of the matter was that Haven was no where near as secure a country as they would like it to be.  Hoshi itself was safe, certainly, and their largest route to the west was safe, but this road, the one that led through many of the smaller countries towards the Bird Country.. that was still at risk.  That was still something that concerned Arashi, and it was something that he needed to fix.  Or at least help fix.  The only way to do that, however, was to grow the ninja presence in the village, which would be either in refugees, like the ones he met the other night, or the new class of young ninja that they started training.  Arashi would be responsible for helping these new ninja adapt and become the best that they could be, and devote their lives to the cause. In fact, for the first time in a long time, Arashi was even considering being a Kage, when the village establishes one. 

Right now with the current situation going on with the current ruler of the country, the Queen, there was almost no talk as to how the country was going to be run, and certainly not if the ninja would have a say in the leadership of the village they were currently residing in.  It was confusing to Arashi, especially considering what it was like for out nations.  Traditionally the ninja villages were separate entities that only acted like central hubs for the countries.  The true ruler of the country either resided in another village or isolated in a private estate.  The Kage was purely in charge of the village alone, and the ninja in the county. 

But Haven was different, completely different.  Haven was a land that was ruled in the old traditional way of a single monarch, instead of a Lord like the other countries.  And the residence of the Queen was right in the city.. right in the middle of the city in fact.  In fact, the village was just called Hoshi, the -gakure no Sato suffix was just something to denote that it was a ninja village.. and a hidden village.  If the Queen were to pass on with no heir, it would be difficult work for his mother and Den to keep the village and the country together.  And if the village descended into chaos.... it could be Kumo all over again. 

Arashi kicked off the road, jumping into the woods besides it.  There was something that felt wrong about all of this.  He couldn't see any reason at all why someone would try to kill the Princess, or why they would want the Queen to die with no ruler.  But the wire he found, and the pieces of wheel, showed that this caravan was under attack, even if they didn't do it yet.  He had to find them, and quickly.  They never should have let the royal heir travel without a ninja escort.  Even if it meant a B or A ranked mission, someone should have gone, and the boy was upset that he didn't volunteer himself as soon as he heard.  Hell, this mission was already not what it looked like.  A D mission to patrol the borders and search out the royal party... it was already upgraded to C just by the fact that he didn't see him on his passing over. 

Arashi suddenly stopped on the next large branch that he landed on.  It was a good thing that he took to the trees, as his eyes immediately went down to a dead white bird.  Considering that there weren't very many native white birds in the area, it was clearly a messenger bird, even if the satchel strapped to its back was not there.  Considering that the guards had been talking about a lack of messages from the Princess, a chill went down the boy's back, as he jumped down to check the corpse.

There was a gash at the bottom of the breast that suggested a thick thrown blade, and the broken wing suggested it was hit in flight, crashing through the trees.  Someone killed the messenger before the message could be delivered.  The boy opened up the satchel on its back and found it empty.  Sighing, he put the body back down and was going to take off again when he found the message.. in the bush nearby.  Someone had already taken it out and read it.  Arashi pulled it out gently and noted immediately the seal of the Bird Country.







Arashi wrapped the small scroll in his hands, and put it in his pocket.  Something didn't add up, and it would have been the fact that there was literally no word from the Princess in her travels.  And yet according to this letter, she had already spoken with the council.  Now, this could have meant that either her message never got through, or someone hid it.  Either way, this was turning more than just a lost princess.  This may have been a conspiracy. 

From the way she described the wagon's condition, it was clear that it wouldn't have lasted much longer, so after pocketing the note, Arashi jumped back up into the trees, saving his bloodline for the moment, and dashed through to find where the wagon finally broke down.

(w/c: 1246)

The daylight was starting to fade, which could end up being both good and bad for the genin.  While fires for warmth could be seen if he was close enough, there was also the chance that he would have to turn out for the night as well.  Still, he had some light, and Arashi pushed himself harder, leaping as far as he could each time, in order to pick up speed and distance.  It took him a few days at his top speed to get to the border, though it seemed to go by in a flash, but now that he knew something was very, very wrong, he couldn't afford to miss any details.

Arashi wasn't focus on his footing, and instead of landing straight on the top of a branch, he instead stepped on a knot, catching his foot.  Before he knew it, his forward momentum turned at a downward angle, and the boy tumbled uncontrollably.  In order to avoid injury, Arashi subconsciously went cloud, as his body went through the trees, technically the cells moving out of the way of the tree trunk, and then landing on the ground, tumbling forward until he solidified and slammed his back against a tree.

The boy took a moment to catch his breath, and felt around behind him.  It felt bruised, which was obvious, but luckily he could still feel, and his back felt solid.  He rubbed his back, looking around at where he landed, and couldn't really tell where he was.  He stood up, slowly, but a shot of pain alerted him that his probably had some sort of pinched nerve.  He could heal it, but as Akihana told him, the serious injuries also required a rest period. 

Resigning himself to what he had to do, Arashi allowed the rest of the light to go, as he used the medical ninjutsu that his mother taught him to heal his back, using the chakra manipulation to adjust the nerves and heal the ruptured blood vessels.  Evidently, when he turned into a cloud, the reformation was interrupted, resulting in his spine being a little pinched in more than one place.  By the time he was healed enough to stand again, the sun had already set and small clearing he landed in was already dark. 

Basic survival began to take hold of him, and Arashi knew he needed three things.  Fire, shelter, and food.  Luckily for him, he had means of starting a fire, and he had food.  But he needed something to set on fire, and shelter for the night.  Checking his back one more time, he slowly moved around in the immediate area, leaving his pack on the ground under a bush.  Almost immediately, Arashi was able to start finding broken pieces of wood and twigs, just what he needed.  He did his best to minimize the amount of noise he made, and as it would turn it, that helped him a great deal.

Hearing a shuffling coming nearby, Arashi froze for a moment.  Someone must have heard him or something.  Quietly putting his pile under some undergrowth, Arashi tried turning to scan for where the movements were coming from.  but it was difficult with the night.  There was only one thing the boy could do to hide.  Taking a breath, he brought his fingers up and quietly whispered the word "Dissipate", as his body began to dissolve and vanish.  Arashi moved his cloud form above him into the tree canopy, but decided against reforming.  It was easier to see a shadow than it was to see a cloud in the darkness.

From the trees, two figures came out, one hooded, and the other dressed more similarly to Arashi.  The only exception came from the headband he could see, however it was too dark to see where the band was from.  All he could tell from this vantage point, was that there was a ninja there, and someone who looked to be well dressed, but hooded.

"I expected results sooner than this."



"You said you wanted a convincing accident, everything is going to plan.  We already have them on foot.  Why the rush?"



"Its the Queen.. that medical ninja is doing wonders, but she is deteriorating.  She's already noticed that the Princess hasn't responded, and that she is late.  Its only a matter of time."



"Before?"



"Before those damned ninja start looking for her.  I tried to stop them, but I think they already sent one out.  The blonde's dark haired son."



"You really think I'm afraid of a boy?"



"No, but if he finds her before you finish your work-"



"He won't.  Everything is going to plan, by now they found the blocked road and should be on the detour in the woods.  We should be able to hit them tomorrow."



"Alright, but a disappearance is out of the question.  I really hated to do this, but we need a more.. permanent approach."



"Ambush?"



"That's fine, ambush.  Maybe if you could make it seem like the ninja did it, that could sway the public against them.  I'll be damned before I let those freaks turn my city into another one of those villages."



"Hmm... so ninja bandits... in other words, us, but you want fingers to point to Hoshi.  Will do, I'll get it ready for the morning, not tonight.  She'll be taken care of by this time tomorrow."

With a bit of laughter, the two men split and departed, and Arashi followed along for a moment, moving from tree to tree.  He was pushing his limits, but he had to know, had to see who it was.  He followed for about a couple of kilometers when he stopped.  There it was.  A camp.  Well secluded, and too much for Arashi to handle.  Biting his lower lip, Arashi moved away, going from tree to tree until he started feeling pain, and then reformed, jumping back to his secluded spot.  He was lucky enough to have the night, but if I tried to strain himself by pushing forward, he would be no use to her.

The next hours were painful, but physically and mentally.  He wanted to leave, he really did, but the words of Akihana came into his head, reminding him of his own limits.  Speaking of which.. Arashi looked down at the gold band he still wore.  It no longer sparked, but that didn't mean he had control.  He had to wait, and had to be patient.  Sighing, Arashi set up his sleeping bag within the undergrowth, still relatively near the fire, and watched it for a long moment, until finally the sleep overtook him. 

***************

Arashi awoke with a start, mostly due to a bird flying away, and he struggled for a moment to clear the blurry sleep from his eyes.  The sun hadn't broken yet, but it was clearing morning, and the light was growing.  The fire that Arashi had set burned itself out, and was just barely smoking at this point, just a pile of ash in a rock-lined pit.  Jumping out of his sleeping bag, the genin used his cold front technique to drop the temperature of the pit down, eliminating the remaining smoke while keeping everything from billowing or blowing away.  After burying the fire, Arashi tied his bag together, and felt his back... it felt good as new.  But now.. now the danger was growing. 

As soon as he was able, Arashi jumped up into the trees, and took off, minding his own footing, going first for the enemy camp.  It didn't take long, but what he found made him shudder.  It was empty.  Completely empty.  Fires cleared, bags packed, only hints of garbage showed that they were here.  The sun hadn't even broken the horizon, but they were already off, which meant Arashi had even less time. 

He took off again, going back to the main road, hoping to find a sign.  From last night, he remembered them mentioned a fallen tree up ahead and a path through the woods.  That had to be their doing.. and his next target.  As quickly as he could, he ran down the path.  Finally, he found it.

It was a very large tree, one that was clearly healthy and shouldn't have fallen down.  Which meant this was intentional, and it was dangerous.  Arashi jumped onto the fallen trunk, and looked around it.. he was short on time, but he had to be sure he was following the right path.  Sure enough, as he got to the other end of the trunk, there were clear cuts on the end, mixed with the splintering, as if someone started a cut but then used brute force to make it seem like an accident.  Arashi muttered a curse before looking back, and seeing what looked like a small path leading in the same direction.  Biting his lip, Arashi kicked off again, running as fast as he could down the path, ignoring his growing pain, and hoping he wasn't too late.

(w/c: 1500)

The sounds of his steps and the quick brush of the leaves was the only thing breaking the cool morning, as well as the occasional sound of birds shooting out of the tree tops or woodland critters scurrying out of the way.  Arashi had absolutely no time to spare, he was behind the group of rogue ninjas, desperately trying to catch up.  The Princess had only minutes before an ambush would occur, killing the entire convoy.  Arashi had to get there before the others did... he had to warn them, had to help save the true heir of the village.  If he failed.... the boy did not want to think about that.

He was at his limit, he couldn't move any faster, but he couldn't give up, not yet.  He could already picture the convoy, and the ninja closing in.  The next branch he landed on gave a small crack and whine, but he ignored it.  Then another.  Then another.  Before long, Arashi had been practically going through the branches, before finally something stopped him.

The branch gave way, and Arashi saw too late the glint of a kunai as it sailed back and cut a thread, releasing the trap he stepped right into.  The boy brought his arms out in front of him, as he fell into a large net, which in turn crashed through a covered hole into a pit.  Arashi sat still for a moment, assessing himself and trying desperately to ignore the pain his arms were in.  Slowly he stood up in the hole, cursing himself for not noticing the trap, and then tried to cut his way out of the net.  It took a moment for the rope to give way, but once it did, it fell away from the boy.. and landed on a pile of explosive notes he was standing on.  Almost immediately, the edges of the pit began to light up, and Arashi scrambled up the pit walls, just barely making it out of the tunnel when the entire thing lit up, sending the boy rolling away and creating a larger hole in the ground. 

Up ahead, a wagon went over a bump, and the back wheels finally gave way and cracked, rendering the wagon useless.  A concerned guard motioned for his passenger to wait on the wagon, while he tried to inspect the damage.  As he went down to look, the sound of a boom alerted his attention.

Arashi was breathing a bit heavily, but he still had no time.  Working off of adrenaline alone, he secured his packs and weapons, and then took off back on the trail, running on the ground to catch up with the convoy.  If anything, that trap meant that the rogues were quite aware of not only his presence, but that he was relatively nearby.  Already, either the group would send some of theirs back to head Arashi off... or they figured the trap was enough to dispatch him.  Either way, he had to be much more careful, and in order to do so, stopped for a moment.

"Mizu Bushin no Jutsu!" he said, erupting water out of his back canteens, and creating a couple of clones.  Giving a nod to each one, all three ran forward, one jumping up into the trees, and the other on the ground in front of Arashi, but focused on making sure there were no other placed traps around for the boy to fall into.  Three Arashis were now en route and nearing the group of ninja... and the convoy, though truth be told, the convoy was closer to the ninjas that he was. 

Ahead, another body fell, and three people remained.  Two of them pushed ahead in a run towards the village, while the third stayed behind to head off their attackers.  Unfortunately, the passenger was not accustomed to running for her life, and certainly not in a dress.  The survivors of the ambush gave chase.

The clone in the trees pointed ahead, but then out of nowhere a spiked branch came flying out, impaling the clones and turning him into just water raining from the branch.  The two remaining Arashis continued on, now side by side, as they neared where the wagon finally fell.  Arashi and his clone closed their eyes and pushed through, both breaking into a clearing, and stopped.

The wagon rested on the ground, almost completely on its side, but there were kunais, shuriken, and even half burnt tags on the side.  To his horror, there was also blood splashed on the side and inside of the wagon, though Arashi couldn't tell where it came from.  Around the wagon, it looked like the end of a minor skirmish, with the body of guards and aids from Bird Country strewn with the corpses of missing nin, a couple he could even recognize from the camp.  Clearly, there was a fight here, but it appeared to have ended in a stalemate.  Arashi quickly jumped into the wagon, looking at the personal belongings of the princess... but no princess herself.  Around the clearing was money strewn, as if they tried to hand it over for their lives, but that didn't seem to work either.  There was one guard, who looked like he put a final stand off the end of the clearing, in the direction of Hoshi.  Perhaps the Princess and the survivors took off in that direction. 

Suddenly a scream pierced the air.  High pitched, young.  A girl.  Cursing again, Arashi took off in that direction, not even noticing that his clone had taken off and then was suddenly dispatched.  He couldn't focus on that, he had a life to save.

After a couple days of searching and running, Arashi finally broke through the trees to where the Princess was.. and realized that he lost precious time.  The princess herself was beautiful, just about his own age, with golden bland hair that did remind him of Akihana.  And he had to admit... he admired her, and the expression 'love at first sight' was not lost on him.  Unfortunately, that beautiful form was interrupted by the looks of a frantic runner, a torn dress, and the main assassin already on her. 

In front of her, the head of the guard laid, having given his last breath for his charge, but it seemed like it was not enough.  Arashi couldn't help himself.  His first mission was about to end in failure, and without thinking, screamed at the ninja.

"Noo!  Get off her!" he shouted, shaking, and alerting the remaining ninja that he was right there... in the open.

(w/c: 1100, current total: 5,198)

A wicked grin escaped Luther as the little girl squirmed in his grasp, her shock and horror making her tiny face even more appealing as her blue eyes took in the remains of a guard who had been loyal to her until his last breath. What fragile things emotions made them, he thought as he sneered at her, enjoying the terror he invoked in the girl.

Royalty or not, they all fell the same, they all bled the same, they all begged for mercy the same. His wicked little eyes gleamed at the idea of this princess on her knees, begging, offering to do anything in exchange for her life. Perhaps he would indulge her for a bit, see how far she was willing to go before delivering the lethal blow that would smash her head into the ground. Everything else was in place. The guards were taken care of, and enough remains of kunai and explosive tags left on the carriage to clearly point the tragedy towards ninja.

Now he just had to finish off the last piece of the puzzle, the heiress herself. And was he ever going to enjoy it. He had her by the hair, his face close to her's and a kunai in his hand, one he was going to use to carve her a pretty new face before he killed her.

And then he heard it, a sound that wasn't from Umber. Professionalism took over in the blink of an eye, all anticipatory gleams from it gone as the kunai slipped down to her pale throat on autopilot. Luther could play with his food when no one was around the presence of anyone meant that his first priority was what he had been paid to do. Before the boy behind him had finished speaking, the princess crumpled to the ground behind the hulking rogue, a fountain or red spurting from her slitted throat as the light in her eyes dimmed in seconds.

"You!" he growled at the lone ninja who had interrupted his fun. "Are going to wish you had never done that."

Luther stats:

Health: 30
Chakra: 50
Stamina: 20
Speed: 50
Strength: 30

Specs: Nin, Space/time
Elements: Fire, water,

Arashi was shaking.  He broke the cardinal rule of facing opponents of unknown strength, only because the young woman was going to be murdered and he wanted to stop it.  Unfortunately for Arashi, however, he was too late.  At least too late to stop him from hurting her.  His only chance now was his medical training, but that would only be if he could end this new fight quickly.  He was almost completely boiling with rage at this.. disgrace of a ninja. 

"Not as much.. as you are going to regret hurting the Princess of Hoshigakure." he snarled back, the wrist where his golden band was starting to spark. 

He had a mission, find the princess of Hoshi, and bring her safely to the village.  If that wasn't possible, then he was to find evidence and report back.  There was nothing mentioned about facing off against attackers or possible assassins, but that is where Arashi had to find his own inner strength.  He knew what he had to do, what was expected of him.  He may be a genin in rank, but with Akihana's help, he was stronger, much, much stronger, than he used to be.

His eyes swirled into clouds, with lightning crackling visible from the edges of them.  He was already activating his kumonikutai; he needed this over quickly.  The beautiful young woman's life depended on it, and he wasn't about to let her down if he could help it.

"Water Clone Jutsu!" he shouted, as his water canteens exploded behind him, creating two clones armed with kunai.  He looked from one to the other, and then brought his hands together again in another series of signs. 

"Shadow Cloud Cover!" he said, as billowing white fog exploded out from Arashi, shrouding the area with a dense fog.  With that, all three kicked off, running to cover the distance with the man, and then all three tossed their kunais at him.  It was more of a tactic to see what he could do, but at the same time, Arashi really wanted to hurt him.  And try to save the Princess.

Clones:
HLT: 22
CHK: 27
STM: 28
SPD: 23
STR: 16

AP: 581 -30 -20 -10 = 531

(w/c: 368)

"Princess eh," Luther replied, his face twisting into a mocking sneer. "Looks like a dead girl to me." Despite his rough appearance and his tendency to play with his victims, Luther was, in fact, a professional. He hadn't' gotten through the ranks as a rogue by letting others walk all over him and what he had learned most was to see not what people fought with but how they fought, and this boy had green written all over him. Probably a bunch of fancy jutsu, lots of show and fanfare and ideals that will only do him harm.

Really, killing the kid would only do him a favour.

Bringing his hands up in the snake seal before the boy had a chance to finish his fancy combination, Luther summoned the triple Rashomon around him and the bleeding princess. The gates formed in his usual triangle formation around him, securing him and the blonde from all sides just to make sure she would bleed out in peace. The Kunai the boy's clones tossed at him would come much later and only hit the gates protecting Luther. His vision might have deteriorated from whatever the boy was using but it didn't render him incapable of using jutsu. And a little water was never amiss.

Behind the safety of the gates, Luther brought his hands together in the six seal combination required for Rain Tiger at Will and almost immediately, rain would began to fall on the parched grounds of Haven, rain infused with his chakra. the rain would also help him gouge the boy's ability and figure out of he was alone of or there was a platoon on the way.

Jutsu used:

http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t22980-summoning-triple-rashomon -- 60 AP
http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t22702-rain-tiger-at-will-technique -- 40 AP

200 - 100 = 100 AP left

The three weapons hit the thud of wood, and Arashi grimaced as he saw the barriers sprout up.  He still had the fog up, but it wouldn't matter since he was blocked off.  This was no good, but if he didn't do anything, the Princess would be dead, and not only would he had failed, but the Kingdom itself could be in jeopardy.

A drop fell on the fog dome, which felt like it was on his back.  Looking up, he saw rain starting to fall, barely able to pass through his fog.  He could feel this water is not being natural, and in fact he could sense the chakra inside the water.  So.. this disgusting being also knew how to use infused water and weather attack.  Fair enough, but he wouldn't be able to see anymore than the giant mass of chakra that was the clouds Arashi produced.  There was of course, no way for him to know that, and Arashi gave a rather unsightly grin at the thought that this man wasn't exactly an all powerful ninja.

Now he had a couple of options.  One of them was to find a way to destroy the barriers surrounding the pair.  The second was to wipe away his so-called rain with something more powerful.. and deadly.  The last option, however.. the last option was to scale the barrier.  They were solid, there was no reason why he couldn't.

Arashi turned to his clones.. they didn't need to be told what to do, they already knew.  The three ran up and scaled the barriers; the clones grabbing their weapons out, and Arashi doing signs.  So much water around, he would be able to use it all if he needed to.  The three made it to the top of the barrier, looking down at the contents inside.  With a final nod, all three jumped down, the clones firing their kunais and shuriken at the ninja, while Arashi gathered water around him.

"Water Fang Bullet!" he shouted, launching the swirling lance of water from his canteens and the water in the air straight behind the weapons.  Pending their success, Arashi's back-up plan involved the three ganging up on the killer and landing on him, using hand to hand combat to try to either knock him out....

or kill him.

Jutsu used: Water Fang bullet - Power: 50, Speed:45, Health:25

AP: 30 Cloud Body upkeep, 5 shadow cloud upkeep, 30 Water Fang
Total: 531-65= 466 left

(w/c: 413)

It was as Umber felt the first droplet of rain falling from the heavens that he moved, cracking open an eye. About twenty meters from where the gates had sprung up, Umber was lying in wait, knowing of Luther's ritualistic games with his prey. So even when his partner was interrupted, Umber made no move to reveal himself from his camouflage technique. Luther was usually adept enough at taking care of himself. They weren't friends, one couldn't have friends in this business.

They did have a common goal though, and that was the death of the poor little girl who had found herself unlucky enough to be contracted by someone of great influence. Unlike Luther, Umber wasn't sadistic, he took no joy in hurting little girls. But it was a job and it paid well. Better still it granted him  sense of purpose for which he sorely lacked most days.

Feeling the raindrops on his face, he knew it was time to get up. His services was needed. Body flickering into range - about a meter in front of the gate which Arashi was going to storm -  as the boy thought over his next move, Umber would simply weave his hands into the five seals required for his next technique, sending a wave of lightning across the water gathering on the ground. He and Luther worked together for a reason, the reason having largely to do with their fighting style complimenting each other as the kid would soon find out. Umber hoped the shock would be enough to knock the kid out. They were aid to kill the princess and her entourage, this boy was not part of the deal and he was in no mood to hand out freebies to their employer.

Whether the attack hit Arashi or not, the message was clear. The young buck would have to get past Umber to get to Luther and the princess.

Umber stats:

Health: 30
Stamina: 20
Chakra: 55
Speed: 50
Strength: 25

Specs: Nin, Med
Elements: Lightning, Wind

Jutsu used:

http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t22725-hiding-with-the-camouflage-technique null version:75 AP (timelining to say he's been hiding for two posts prior to this and has therefore witnessed everything)
http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t22305-body-flicker - 10 AP, speed is 105
http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t23454-raiton-jibashi - 20 AP, jutsu power 40

AP Calculations: 200  -75 - 20 - 10 = 95 left

Arashi's ideal plan was rudely interrupted by the appearance of another person, and he had to stop for a moment to consider if he was friend or foe.  Unrecognizable... this was a foe.  Especially after the man immediately started signs.  If he didn't act soon, Arashi would be hit, and from the look of the man's face, he would be using something that was a bit smarter than more rain or water. 

Arashi reluctantly called off his attack, blending into the shroud for as long as it stayed, and used it to get as far as he could.  He was shaking, he could feel the seconds ticking away.  He had an option to save the Princess, but only if he got there in time.  He couldn't afford delays, none at all.  He was the only hope she had, and if she didn't survive.... the boy shook his head, trying to keep the thought out.  If it wasn't for the rain, he would have noticed the tears on his face.  Luckily, it was all hidden.  It was bad enough that there was just one kid against two missing nins.

He couldn't worry about fancy acrobatics and trying to get him from the top, he had to deal with both at the same time, and the only way to do it was from the front.  His clones put away their weapons, and all three brought their fingers up, immediately throwing out signs.  The three charged forward, with Arashi's hand pointed at the ground, and his clones gather small puffs of clouds around them.  Arashi sliced up, sending a rumbling from the ground as water exploded upward in a gushing blade digging through the ground, aimed right at Umber and the gate.  The clones has the clouds swirl and form the shapes of medium sized shuriken, launching them towards the same target, but at a delay. 

The three boys would finally become clear as the shroud cloud dissipated.  If Umber dodged, the gate would be hit.  But if he stayed.. the gate might still be hit.  Arashi was not going to let anything hold him back now.  He had no time. 

No time at all.  He had to save her, or die trying.

Jutsus used: Rising Water Slicer, Cloud Shuriken

AP used: 30 body upkeep, 5 shroud upkeep, 40 slicer, 10 shuriken

Total AP: 496(+30 from not using Water Fang) - 85 = 411 AP left

(w/c: 401)