Team Winter 2 Electric Boogaloo

Mission

Kyousuke sat in a bar, a glass of whiskey in front of him. He was there with his students, the only difference they were chuunin now and therefore former members of team Winter. They were leaders now capable of leading their own teams, so it didn’t have to be all business anymore. “You, guys want a drink?” The giant would ask having grown a half of a foot since the last time they had seen him. Now at a whopping 6’9 it had become even harder to move through doorways.

The ninja would take a two small jewelery boxes from his pocket. “I got these for you guys, its not much but congratulations guys.” He would hand each of the ninja the boxes. If they chose to open them inside they would find a silver snowflake pin. “Those are made of the same material as queensguard armor. It doesn’t offer any form of defense in case you are wondering.” He would have to specify otherwise he might have someone try to defend with it. “It does do one thing though, it lets you into the palace. Show the guards that and they shouldn’t bother you about getting inside.” (I know you can just enter the palace, but this was cool. The badge doesn’t give you any authority though. It is basically a oh, a he’s with Snow badge.)

“With that said, want to know what I did while I was gone?” He would sit down in the corner of the room away from others and beckon to the bar tender. “Can I have the usual?” The man would nod and in moments return with a pitcher of whiskey. He would pour shots around the table to anyone of age that wanted a drink. Kyousuke would quickly down a couple of doubles and scan the room with his eyes. As no one was looking he was about to open his mouth, but…

“Boom!” The loud noise could be heard echoing inside of the bar close to the village gates. “What in the name of?” Kyousuke would ask standing from the table and putting a cigarette in his mouth. “Put it on my tab, I’m gonna go check that out.”

He would then look to Miyamoto and Ayato. “You guys want to go to?” He wouldn’t wait long for a response they had to move. The ninja would start to run and light his cigarette, it was time to see what that explosion was about.

WC: 413

Summoned to a local village bar to talk with his former team leader Miyamoto walked in and was given the weirdest stares he has ever received while being inside the village. With a quick scan he was able to find his mentor sitting in a booth near the back of the bar with Ayato already waiting as well. With a sigh Miyamoto made his way over to the booth and took a seat. Immediately offered a drink, Miyamoto would politely decline holding his hand up in protest as he watched the bartender bring a full pitcher of the drink to the table. Without much talk he watched as his mentor downed a few drinks, remarking to himself at how he had grown a bit since they had last been gathered. With a congratulatory smile and quick quip Miyamoto and Ayato were also handed a box, and upon opening it Kyousuke explained that the gifts were badges given to them to help them access the palace easier and that they were made from actual queensguard armor. The sentiment was amazing and made Miyamoto smile as he pinned the badge to his chest. When they were asked if they wanted to know what happened while he was away Miyamoto finally spoke up.

“Well yes we would like to know...I know I want to know.” Miyamoto said just as there was a thunderous roar of an explosion outside the bar as villagers hit the floor.

Miyamoto followed suit as Kyousuke stood up. Leaping towards the door, bypassing the villagers on the floor. He would immediately activate the Mind Eye of the Kagura to see what the threat was if there was one in the immediate vicinity. He would open the door, leaving it open for his team as he would wait for further instruction.

WC: 302

Ayato left a loud sigh as he sat next to Kyousuke Snow. That bear of a man had grown even bigger since Ayato Hyuuga last seen him. The fire in the hearth of the hall raged fiery as patrons in the bar shouted in delight at the arrival for more of their drink of choice. Serving girls run across the great hall and the benches with half a dozen tankards of ale into their hands. One of them right past Ayato's face and nearly spilled them on his flak jacket. She was older than she would have liked, early into her forties, yet she had the open part of her shirt to reveal a well-endowed bosom that more than made up for her age.


Kyousuke Snow had asked to meet here today as a means to blow off some steam and catch up on the mission they had been doing.  However, there was also a surprise. Kyousuke reached for his pocket, and a second letter he had pulled it with two small boxes, small enough to fit that enormous hand with fingers as fat as sausages. “I got this for you; it’s not much but congratulations.” His sensei proclaimed and handed one to Ayato and another to Miyamoto. Kyousuke Snow had always been polite and easy-going, in sharp contrary with his size and thick muscle.


Ayato opened the box and within a small pin in the shape of a snowflake. It was the silver color, but it flickered orange and yellow as it reflected the fire in the hearth. “Very generous of you, sensei, you have my thanks,” Ayato said with a ton of cool courtesy. Kyousuke went to explain that they served no real defensive purpose but only allow access to the palace. Only two boxes, though - when they were supposed to be three. Team Winter had three members, Miyamoto, Genevieve, and Ayato himself. This pretty much meant that even though it was an official Team meeting, Genevieve wasn’t showing up today. Last Ayato had seen of her,  one of the Royal Stewards had asked her presence in the Palace and have an audience with Akihana.
 
“With that said, want to know what I did while I was gone?”One could only assume that the glass of scotch would break within Kyousuke's gigantic gasp, yet he was more careful than he appeared. Ayato attended his own cup, and damn, it warmed his inside nicely...but it also made him sleepy. So he would not dare to go for another. The day was still far from over; he had to finish and file his reports on his two recent missions. But truly, if filing a report was the only thing he had to worry about, it felt as if he was taking it easy for once.
 
“Sure, why not? I’ve heard the story only three hundred times,” Ayato said dryly as a faint smile crossed his lips. Not once from you, though -  He may have added.  But then there was a noise that muffled everything else. An explosion is so loud and powerful that it felt as if the entire building had been shaken off from its foundation. Ayato almost fell from where he was seated but just in time reached for the corner of the bench they sat and somehow remained standing. Others were not so lucky. Food and ale were flying everywhere across the room; a serving girl smashed a flagon in her hand against the floor. Kyousuke said something and run towards the door. Miyamoto was right behind him with Ayato, the last one who stepped into the light. The column of smoke could be seen northwest to the direction of the village gates. Provided that Kyousuke headed there, Ayato would keep up behind him and to his right. 


WC: 612

WC: 612

It seemed both men were happy with their gifts, even though they were small and offered little benefit. I’m glad I got those made. The ninja would think as Miyamoto pinned his to his chest. It looked good on the vest of a Hoshi chuunin. In many ways a snowflake looked like a star. Both have a similar shape and if looked at a snow flake sparkles as the stars at night do.

As Miyamoto said he would like to know the story, Kyousuke was about to start however it seemed Ayato had somehow learned of it. He is joking. The large man would have slapped his knee, but there was little time and they all had to move to the area the explosion had happened around.

While Kyousuke was moving toward the northwest gat he noted the two chuunin were keeping up with him. Something they couldn’t have done when they had first met. This saddened the ninja a bit, as he was not there to drive them leaving them to push themselves. “Sorry, for not being there for your exams. I’ll definitely make it to your jounin ones though, that’s a promise.” He would jump across one more building, before readdressing what he had been doing.

“The reason I was gone is because I went to Kumo to “save” the queen.” He threw the word save out there with emphasis, but wouldn’t elaborate. “While I was there I fought the raikage, alone. I’ll give you more details in a bit, as it seems we found our destination.” The queensguard would call out as a clearing surrounded by charred wood and wounded people came into view. “Heal the wounded if you can. Then we can learn what happened.”


Kyousuke would say that, but once they got closer he could clearly see some ninja of a medical unit were already on scene treating the injuries. The giant would walk over to a man sitting on a horse drawn cart with a bandage over his right arm. The man looked as if he was hurt more emotionally than physically. “Do, you know what happened around here?”


The queensguard could smell the oil from the destroyed cart and assumed it had exploded from the looks of things, but what made it explode an attack by another village or outlaws. The man glanced up at the queensguard and seeing the armor he tried to jump to his feet, but Kyousuke would gently push him back into place. “I am sorry for not standing immediately sir Snow.” The giant would smile. “No, need you are injured just tell me what happened.”


The man would start off with he was a queensguard assigned to protect a caravan shipping oil. To which Kyousuke would nod and the man would continue saying he heard the roar of a beast and as it was running toward him, the man lit an arrow and sent it for the beast, but the creature avoided the flaming arrow which then became lodged in the cart full of oil. Kyousuke was listening to the medics as they worked no one had died, but one man was missing. He wasn’t confirmed alive or dead yet. One of the people had said that when the explosion happened the beast dragged someone threw the woods by the leg and ran off with them.


“Depending on what the beast was even if you had hit with your arrow, you may have failed to harm it. Maybe god, changed the path of the arrow to hit the oil so that the beast would be frightened and run off. No one has died from your actions, so do not look down.” The man would sob lightly as Kyousuke spoke. He would then turn to Miyamoto and Ayato, maybe talking to someone else they would have other information.

WC: 639

Miyamoto kept pace with Ayato and their mentor as they raced off towards the commotion, listening to Kyousuke Sensei as they hopped from roof to roof. He was gone all this time because he was saving the queen. It caught him by surprise as he did not know that the queen was even missing. He kept his face straight ahead as he listened. Eventually he apologized to them for not being there at their exams, that made Miyamoto chuckle since there was nothing for him to be seen in since he managed to somehow fluked his way into the final round without a fight. The promise to oversee them when it was time for their Jounin exams almost made Miyamoto smile if it were not for the fact that he did not know if there were to be any exams for ranking up higher without direct contact of the queen or her proxy. Regardless Miyamoto landed with the team as they surveyed the damage. Kyousuke approached a man that told them of a story of a beast and that he was queensguard. Kyousuke then instructed the two to investigate the area and see what they could come up with. With only a nod from Miyamoto he split off and was checking with those that had already been helped by medical shinobi. Finally finding one that seemed to be a little more out of sorts than the rest. He approached with caution as the person, now revealed to Miyamoto as an elderly woman tightly clung to her blanket as he approached.

“It is okay ma’am I am apart of the shinobi forces investigating the incident, we will make whatever happened to you all right. Is there anything you can tell me about this whole mess.” Miyamoto asked calmly as he sat on the ground in front of her like an innocent kid.

“Th...there wwas a great beast that attacked from the forest. I...I was on this trip with my son as he had finally managed to get a home in the village...this was his last job, and now no...now he is gone. The beast took him...please help me boy...help me find my son.” The woman was crying, it made Miyamoto sad, but also gave him determination as he stood up and put a hand on the woman’s shoulder and gave it a soft pat.

“I will bring him back.” Miyamoto said softly before heading back to Kyousuke to report to him what he had found out.

WC:420/722

The days had been slowly melding together as Geni tried to find some type of purpose- feeling as if she had lost hers in the Chunnin Exam arena. Her motivation dissolves next to her over-all happy demeanor, and now she preferred the inside of her home or the inside of a cave- talking to her summon. “Humans are just worthless; they don’t see strength as they should. Don’t bother yourself with them, Water Child.” Her summon would growl, obviously displeased with their overall decision. “You don’t need them- just leave the Village.”
 
“...Leave?” She questioned and the dragon looked down at her, “What good will that do?”
 
“It will ease your mind and the tension. There are more loyal creatures out there other than Humans- who have more logical reasons to back-stab you.” The Nameless One voiced sourly, moving around her to better situate his own position as she looked at him. “You have me, you’ll be fine outside of this village-” “I’ll be a deserter.” “You’ll be free and alive, as you were before all this. We will be fine.”
 
She had been dwelling on those words as she spend her days inside, knitting her scarves. As her craft was enriched, her mailbox began to overflow with letters until the sender's began to slip them under her door. All of them had a variety of the same messages, and she rather not read them.
 
‘It's a good thing you failed the Chunnin Exams’ ‘You’re not strong anyways.’ ‘Those of the Church should stay in the Church.’ and from those who knew she was of rank, left letters telling her she needed to take on a team of Genin and train them. What do you train a Genin about, when you already look like a failure?
 
 
She put her knitting sticks down and folded her scarves up into a box, packing them up to be donated to the less fortunate as she always did, and turned her attention to collecting all of the overflowing mail. Sitting down at one of her favorite chairs, she began the begrudging and disheartening task of going through the mix of hate-mail/ take-a-team-mail, pausing every so often to take a few breathes before trudging on, tossing them into a pile of things to be burned, until she came across a letter from Kyousuke- her Teacher and leader of Team Winter, requesting a meeting with her. Though dates a few days back, it stated the meetings was today at a certain time and she looked at the nearest clock. She had an hour until the time, when the meeting place was not too far from her home.
 
 
She stared at the letter and wondered if she should go or not. Then she wondered if she had been spending too much time with her more cynical summon and if he was true- but then again… she hadn’t lied to her yet. His words, though twisted and sometimes downright-cruel, had never been turned wrongly towards her. Or maybe- she needed to stop listening to a biased dragon that had been locked away for a while by humans for eating his summoner. Then again- she wasn’t sure if she feared the same fate, or if she was just intimidated by the bad mood he always seemed to have about him. As she held the letter, she wondered if her presence was even wanted amongst them before reminding herself that if they didn’t want her there, there wouldn’t be a letter of invitation. There was still about half an hour until the time… perhaps she should just- skip and stay in her nice, cozy house with it’s walls that seemed to be closing in and she would be… safe, another night, as if trying to bar herself from some terrible horror outside her front gate for her little garden.
 
Though, maybe, she shouldn’t be hiding around so much. Maybe she needed to go out into the world again to remind herself why she fought for the village’s safety, or meagerly tried to. Geni decided that she needed the fresh air and rose to her feet, going across her home and to the basement door. The pungent stench of iron wafting into the air as she descended down the stairs to a wall where a cloak hung. She gingerly took it down, making sure not to let it touch the floor, as she pulled it about her and left the door. Shutting the door on the metallic puddle that had compiled on the floor as she spared a moment and a hairband to tie up her hair, before locking up her home and leaving for the bar- however, neither her teacher nor old teammates were there, but the leftovers of what seemed to be a fight. Servers were pulling themselves together and cleaning up messes from the floor with the help of the patrons, and she left the tavern-looking around to see a pillar of smoke wafting up from the direction of the village gates. “It would be better to get a bird’s eye view.” She murmured to herself and turned, moving and running away from the tavern to the backs of the houses. Finding a spot that lead to a dead-end with a wall, she jumped along the sides of the buildings to make her way to the top of the wall and stood there- sparing blood for her near-invisible tattoos- to call upon her ‘partner’ on the other side of the wall. As some smoke arose and a pair of bright green eyes emerged, she voiced, “I need your wings.” The creature sneered and moved close,r putting the edges of it’s wings upon the wall that it easily dwarfed over.
 


Without much more, she swung onto the creature’s back and held on as it launched itself into the air- catching just enough wing under it’s wings to correct it’s messy take-off and keep the buildings under and around it safe, before rising higher over the village. She directed her companion to take her to the village gates, and the creature compiled by gliding over- ferrying her over her teammates who tended to something in a clearing. Some type of beast was wrecking havoc on the villagers- screams rang in the air was blood moved like the rains of a monsoon- including bits and pieces of people, Shinobi and people alike. The dragon dipped down and roared, making the beast sharply look up at it as it landed in the space between the fleeing villagers and the monster- while it did so, Geni left her spot and weaved the leviathan’s sharp spines to run up its neck as she made the hand-seals needed for a spider-jutsu. The four-eyes beasts roared at the dragon and the reptile’s bellowing response of dominance left the challenging roar from the smaller opponent, with much to be expected- before it was hit in the face with a blast of white, sticky chakra. With the one of the combos they had practiced memorized, the dragon swung its arm and slammed the beast into a faraway tree with a crack- the web-like chakra keeping it to the bark while Geni jumped down to the ground. The Dragon moved itself to block the view from those behind it as Geni fearlessly ran up to the creature, closing the distance to a few meters, and continued to turn the area around it into a spider’s domain with her jutsus. When she was satisfied they would hold for the time being, she pulled away and stood under the dragon who inspected the work, “Sloppy, but it will do.”


[WC: 1,332 ]

Ayato would follow Kyousuke Snow’s lead, no doubt the man had good instincts, but he was more bold than cautious...Still, trusting him would have to make do for now. Ayato tried to say something as they leaped from rooftop to rooftop, but the wind swallowed his voice, and from then on, he remained silent. However, this wasn't the same for the booming thunder of a voice Kyousuke had. It outdid the wind currents, physics, and even time and space itself. Battling against a Kage, his mission had been then, saving Akihana - who in this village made of sunshine and rainbows had been awarded the title of Queen, for some reason that made little sense to this humble Chuunin. 

Anyways, from whatever rumors Ayato had heard about Youka Tau, it seemed the man was a nasty piece of work, and hearing what happened to the poor men who crossed his path, Ayato could not sleep the night. An adversary you must never face, by all accounts. Yet Kyousuke Snow was never short on courage; undoubtedly, he appeared like the man who craved for battle, however as far Ayato was concerned, he should have craved for life - because the next time, he may not be able to return to it.

Still, quite the story it had been. When they sat down again, what Ayato could offer him from the list of his own achievements even came closely into countering that. No doubt, the successful completion of a dozen missions (most of which with Miyamoto) would bore their sensei Senseless. The competition seemed to be what interested him, considering how many times he brought up the Chuunin rank.

The Chuunin battle would entertain him perhaps...however, Miyamoto took no part, and even though Ayato might have done short work of that, his opponents were little girls. Even worse, one of them was better for talking than fighting, it seemed. She flattered herself as best she could as she yielded and exited the field. From what Ayato could understand from the jacked-up phrasing, the girl claimed she could have ended the match with a cheap shot at some point, but she didn’t. Ayato had resisted the urge to laugh aloud then. Perhaps if she told a lie enough times, she might have even believed herself. Still, no matter, even if it had been true and she had a chance, Ayato had specialized in defensive techniques that could be activated instantly and block even the maximum scaled A-rank Ninjutsu. But of course, the girl didn’t know that since Ayato never used any during the battle. Having successfully nullified with minimal effort whatever attack she had managed to throw at him and still pressed her on into a corner.

Chuunin had fallen on sad days, one might have suggested, but Ayato knew better. And no opponent was to be underestimated.  That damnable priestess, Genevieve Oasis, made sure to remind him of that. From how she took advantage of the situation and turned the tables on him, using that ugly flying lizard of hers that claimed to be a dragon to attack Ayato from the front, while she slipped past his guard and attacked Ayato from the rear undetected.  It had been a close call. If Ayato weren’t a Hyuuga of the Byakugan, to anticipate and counter it successfully, it would have been him lying on the ground. That technique, the moment it made contact with a spine, could paralyze the user’s body. A nasty poison, and as it happened, Ayato had a taste of it once before, from Kenshin Uzumaki.

Ayato's thoughts stopped when from his peripheral vision, he noticed movements to both of his flanks. But when he turned to look, it turned out that half a dozen Hoshigakure shinobi of various ranks had fallen in with them. Most of them were the faces of strangers, but Ayato recognized Jeisuta, the Genin he had come to know some time ago. He said not a word but kept that cocky grin as he made eye contact with Ayato. Still, there had been an aspect of it that looked uncomfortably like nervousness, while before, it had been only pride with hints of arrogance. It seemed that they had also decided to follow Kyousuke Snow; even though there had been no mention of his armor anywhere, anyone would have recognized him from afar. Who else is this big other than a whale? “The whale that walks.” Ayato thought to himself amusingly, but this would be a bad time to share the jest.

When they all arrived at the gates, they were met with scenery of charred pieces of wooden beams, blackened rocks, and injured people. The explosion might have been huge, but if this was all of it and had claimed no lives. Ayato had expected much worse, but his real relief would doubtless turn up shortly. They were not the first ones at the scene. A few shinobi with medical specialties were already treating the wounded. Kyousuke and Miyamoto quickly fell in with them.  
Ayato having no such talent, decided to investigate the scene with his Byakugan. He jumped into the roof to get a better view of the area. The footprints were shown to be going towards the forest's direction; if it had stayed in the nearby shinobi could have used the houses in the area as a foothold to surround it and swarm it. But that would also innocent civilians might have been injured in the havoc. So this was for the best.  Before he could investigate further, he saw that men and women poured from the surrounding houses and towers. 

A crowd would soon amass like carrion crows making a feast out of the carcass of a dead animal. They were close, closer than they should have. The beast might have disappeared, but it could show up any moment. “Form a line,” Ayato shouted to shinobi companions who were currently unoccupied. He could feel the unkindly eyes from the crowd on him as the shinobi present did as asked. Dull resentment behind the wall of flesh that had begun to form a crescent. “Shinobi, what do we pay your asses for.” One voice let out, “You are a waste of our taxes,” Someone else added. Soon others took up the chant.  “Damn fat bastards,” Ayato mumbled under his breath as he focused on crowd control, keep the line of shinobi to push them back civilians. Still, there were only six of them besides Kyousuke, Miyamoto, and whoever else who might have been occupied with treating the wounded.

One of the wounded turned out to be a Queensguard - someone with the same rank as Kyousuke. Ayato could not tell which one he was under that closed helmet visor. The person that Miyamoto had knelt beside wore no helmet or armor, in fact. But this Ayato could recognize him clearly from the heraldry shown on the left breast of his burgundy doublet. An ethnocentric prick, with the name of Lord Falk Firebeard, and judging from how his scabbard was missing a sword, no doubt he and those fine sons of decided to take on the beast that had appeared. And had paid the bloody price for that heroic notion, it seemed. With him beaten and broken, his son missing. And Miyamoto vowed to find him….for fuck's sake.

“Miyamoto,” Ayato said wearingly, looking down on his teammate from the rooftop of the house. Ayato was to chastise him for making promises he most likely would be unable to keep. This was before he saw something flying towards his direction with tremendous speed, smashing against the great of the watchtower behind him. The man’s head was red and pulpy as a melon; his cloak flapped in the cold air. It had been ordered in a cloth of gold and patterned with black wolf heads of red linen.

“Keep them back.” The dead man who was catapulted to them was the missing person, Falk Firebeard's son. The beast had to be close by. “We didn’t have to look far for him,” He thought, and he was about to add more, yet the howl cut him off. Ayato’s Byakugan only caught a glimpse of the beast that it was 75 meters away from them- an enormous monstrosity,  at least 20 meters tall, with four eyes and two big horns. A massive long hairy limb moved in full swing, and the next second, the air was filled with a volley of a hundred flying stones. They moved with such speed and ferocity that they broke the sound barrier with booming noise. 
 
Ayato wanted to yell to “take cover” as the first boulder smashed right in front of him against the tiles of the rooftop he stood upon. A piece of splintered wood pierced Ayato in the gut, turning his words into a grunt. He stumbled backward and fell; the ground below rushed to meet the back of his head. Ayato had no idea what happened to Kyousuke and Miyamoto, both of who had vaporized from his sight. For a moment, as Ayato was laying flat on his back, he thought he even saw a dragon.
 
The explosions roared so loud that it seemed to shake the earth - as flying boulders devastated buildings in their path, utterly ripping to shreds the shinobi and the wounded that were positioned near the gates. People in the crowd behind him were screaming, squeezing their way against each other, knocking each other down, and soon they were trumping down those that had fallen—corpses and severed limbs bouncings on roofs in a spray of red blood and brain. More blood was on the ground, amidst wood and rocks, where the dried earth eagerly drank it from the pools that had formed upon it.   The Village Gates had turned into the Gates of Hell.

[PS: A few edits may come by tomorrow.] 

WC: 1613

With attentive ears the queensguard would listen as Miyamoto spoke. Seems the story was familiar the missing person must have been this woman’s son. From what the ninja’s ears could tell the chuunin had also promised her sons safe return, which Kyousuke silently prayed would be the case. If something happened to this woman’s son that would be the worst-case scenario. The oil is material, but lives were something that could not be replaced.

As the crowd gathered the orange haired man looked around. Why are all these people gathering here? It wouldn’t be up to him to handle the situation however as it seemed Ayato had it covered as he began to command the shinobi that were currently unoccupied. It was hard to believe these two were the same people as when he had first met them. They were different, more capable, they had voices another ninja would follow.

With the crowd beginning to protest Kyousuke would light a cigarette using his gloves to ignite the tobacco filled tube. He could hear special insults being thrown his way. “Beast! Berserker! Murderer!” To which he would just inhale and exhale blowing a slow stream of smoke away from the crowd. One man even managed to work up the balls to throw a rock his way, but the thrown item was caught by another ninja. Kyousuke wasn’t going to avoid that rock, he was going to let it hit him across the face. Maybe if the man saw that it had no effect, the next time he would decide not to do it. As it was though the man was likely to get arrested and the ninja who had caught the rock moved toward the rock thrower. As the ninja gripped the man though, Kyousuke would stomp out his cigarette on the ground and speak. “Let him go, I didn’t see him throw anything.” He would then move a few feet away. To which the ninja would shrug and let the man go.

It wasn’t a random act of kindness that Kyousuke had let the man go. He remembered the face, it had only been a few years since the takeover of Hoshi. Kyousuke had murdered this man’s son amongst countless others. The man’s son was no saint, he raped, murdered, and did as he pleased, but to be torn in half while alive was a painful way to die. There was no use in apologizing, he would never be forgiven. But this was merely a small way to ease the man’s suffering.

Looking up as he heard a cape flapping in the wind the ninja would see what appeared to be, well he didn’t know what it appeared to be, but it smelt like blood. A person’s blood. Had he still been smoking the cigarette would have dropped from the man’s mouth as the body slammed against the tower. He wouldn’t be in awe long as the creature roared and Kyousuke watched as a giant creature lobbed rocks in their direction. “Gate of Opening, open!” The man would call out as his skin became grey. He would use his full momentum to stand before the crowd and protect as many of them as possible. (Speed 85, strength 85, health 110. Protrusions would shoot from the ninja’s body to provide protection in a wider area. Of, course people outside of his defense would still get hurt, but he would protect as many as he could.

The rocks once they hit Kyousuke wouldn’t feel great even though they didn’t harm him externally each hit shook his body giving him a headache. Once, the barrage was done the protrusions would recede. “Team Winter on me other ninja evacuate the civilians to safety!” With a stumble Kyousuke would make a needle like protrusion extending from his foot and begin to absorb the body of one of the fallen people. With each moment the ninja would grow in size as his armor tightened he would loosen the straps and toss the now dented armor to the ground.


Looking around Kyousuke spotted something overhead that flew right for the creature. At least we have a friend. He would then notice Ayato on the ground with shrapnel sticking from his chest. “I need a medic over here!” The ninja would yell moving to his ally and using a chakra anesthetic on him. “You are going to be okay, all right.” 


WC: 732

Miyamoto broke free from the elderly woman finally as he worked around the devastated earth to bring people to medical shinobi and others to safety deeper within Hoshi.  A lot of faces he had never seen as shinobi were doing all that they could.  People spoke of an attack on the village, people gathering on the edge of the scene to help and hinder the work of the shinobi already there.  A few seconds later there was a loud scream and then the beating of wings as a beast the likes he had never seen came onto the scene.  It caused Miyamoto’s eyes to grow wide, causing him to lose sight of the mission at hand as the whistle of projectiles filled his ears.  There was not a moment to react properly as Miyamoto turned to the crowd just as the first boulder smashed into a group of buildings.

“TAKE COV…”   Miyamoto began as a rock landed behind him with such ferocity that it exploded sending bodies of shinobi and civilian alike flying as he did as well.

When the volley was over and Miyamoto was able to recover he looked around, covered in the muck of the earth he saw the most cruel thing he had ever laid eyes on.  Many villagers, shinobi, and alike were strewn upon the ground...some in pieces, and others seem crushed.  The sound of a great beast landing on the earth still did nothing to bring Miyamoto back from the state of mind he was in at the current time.  It was a maddening scene, deaf were his ears as his sensei Kyousuke yelled out for a medic, and even more so were the orders given to converge upon his position at that time.  Miyamoto just walked aimlessly   looking at the bodies as soon a few battered and dirty looking shinobi moved to help the ones on the ground.  He knew there would be death, he wanted to give those that were in pain a merciful death, something swift so they could be out of their mortal pain, however as he reached for a kunai with trembling hands, he saw that...not a single person immediately around the sourse of the exploding projectile was moving.  The silence and lack of movement made it abundantly clear.   The pain he now carried on his shoulders was like that of losing one’s entire family.  It made him sick as he doubled over and retched into the muck and mire.  His stomach was usually a lot stronger than this, and it pissed him off that he could not do anything to help the villagers caught in whatever this was.

Hearing the words of his sensei once more as the world was coming back into stereo again as he shook his head and wiped his face.  Pulling his sleeve away he noticed that he was bleeding, he focused on his body as he applied the medical technique to himself so that he might stop bleeding.  It was in a flurry of the moment as he ripped his cloak off as it fell to the soiled earth, he was in a panic as he looked around remembering the elderly woman as he searched for the cart quickly.  In about a minute though he was able to move fast enough to find that the cart was what had been hit with a projectile causing the explosion.  There were no remains to be found, just charred earth and wet, bloody mud.  It was as if the god of death himself had visited the village of Hoshigakure and with it...the death of innocence.  Miyamoto was no stranger to death, and even to killing, yet this was something more real...more tangible and horrific than what he could have imagined what mass death would look like.  He stopped himself from retching once again before finally converging upon his sensei who seemed to have busted out of his clothing.

“Wha...what is the plan Sensei…”  Miyamoto said somberly  as he looked for Ayato, he did not even notice that Geni had shown back up until she joined back up with the team.

Miyamoto was hurt and he required something to fill the hole that was just made into the heart of the child shinobi.  He wanted to find the beast responsible for the destruction and butcher it.  There must be nothing left...that was now his goal. In his mind though he still could not shake the fact that the world was such a cruel place. People looked to the main villages for peace and safety, only to find that the lies the village build themselves upon cause problems like this to arise...leaders complacent with the current workings. To preoccupied over what lost prince there was, or some other horse shit that allowed problems like the Jaws of Grimma, the rouge monks INSIDE the village, and now this travesty. It was time that someone do something to make the village leaders look out and realize that borders are not the only problems to fuss over. Today he was going to start becoming the someone to change the way the village handled the situations of internal affairs, starting with this.

The more Miyamoto thought about it, the more the images of the dead filled his head, the charred cart filled his brain as he could not hold it in and he moved his head to the side as he let lose a stream of bile. It was hard to not watch as Miyamoto tried to keep his composure.

WC:928/1,700

The volley of flying stones had settled, it seemed. There was a buzzing noise ringing in Ayato's ears and deep into his skull. His body felt enormous, too heavy to lift; the shadow of a man was looming over him. The words he said made no sense, though. It was then that Ayato realized how tall he was, Kyousuke Snow. There was the sound of footsteps as well, and further away from the screaming cries of terror and fear, he could not understand, but he could feel it, even smell it—fear dipping into his bones.
 
He could scarcely see someone was on his knees as if to pray, but he was more whimpering if truth be told. It made no sense; it was not as though Ayato held the faith. No gods would help them today. Only the shinobi could, but they were never asked for protection. Not that it mattered; after all, Ayato couldn’t even protect himself. Bleeding like a butchered pig, with a chunk of charred wood having pierced through his gut.

 Let them die, he thought with a bloody cough. Along with “the Queen,” her fucking guards, and everyone else. Ayato could scarcely be expected to protect people who refused to acknowledge him or serve a village whose leadership proved to be a pile of horseshit by letting those Kumo savages in. Still, what do people do when they are afraid? They pray. Even if it's pointless. Cure my withered leg, make the woman love me, save me...protect me. Protect me from the enemy, protect from the darkness, and protect me…from the shinobi.

Yes, shinobi, they were the first danger...and the last. A pragmatist knows that one man cannot keep every single promise he gives or protect everyone. And if he attempted to do so, he was bound to discard one promise for the other. Considering shinobi's life a noble calling would be something that Miyamoto Terumi of Kyousuke Snow would do, both gallant than wise. They would try to hold every piece of land or protect every man, woman, and child named them heroes. And the enemy is always going to be shrewd enough to know that. Such idealism was going to make you bleed, and it would seem that Ayato was bleeding enough. The very notion that a shinobi could be a symbol of peace was absolutely ridiculous even if he wanted to.
 
This was the truth of the shinobi world, he had come to realize, and it was nothing but unspeakable despair. A crime we call victory, paid by the suffering of the defeated. Yet humanity had never recognized the truth. And the reason for that is that a dazzling hero has blinded people with their bullshit and prevented them from seeing the evil of bloodshed in every era. Thinking this is a world of sunshine and rainbows.
 
The nature of shinobi has not advantaged a step beyond the dawn of days. Ayato didn’t want to be part of any of that. It was rough being a shinobi, and yet he couldn’t reach out to anyone about it. This world is forbidden from sharing with anyone. This was his duty as a Hyuuga of the Byakugan. Ever onward, do not doubt, do your duty. Ayato was never really given that choice.  Nindo, a shinobi’s way of life, all of it was a lie, yet it was all he could lean on.
 
Ayato shot his arm upward like a whip to clutch on his sensei's forearm, the skin reddening. Ayato was too weak to talk.  The telepathic seal would activate if Kyousuke kept his arm there, still asking for a medic to come and save..."No. Listen to my sensei. The boulders, the giant, didn’t throw them at random. Our escape route has been…cut off. We have no hope unless you act now; Geni keeps him distracted, but not for long."
 
The dragon pierced through the air currents with his black wings, such a spectacular sightseeing two unique creatures going at it. Geni, the dragon rider, had a nice ring to it, supposedly. She handled herself in combat; she didn’t expect spider webs left her mouth, with the sticky threads exploding against the Giant's head. Closing his mouth shut before he could respond. The hair titan was fazed more dismayed than hurt [Health|100]. In the wake of a back step, a footprint on a small lake's size was left on the sand. The dragon lashed at him, punching him with a clawed hand on his chest. Black sprayed in the air. With a muffled grunt, the giant shot an arm upward [Speed|100], grabbing the dragon from the throat; the meat below the scales was not safe from his power [Strengh|100].
 
Provided the above sequence occurred, amidst dust and blood, the two creatures would wrestle. Garni would see with horror that the giant had wrapped one huge arm around the dragon's neck, drawing him right against his midsection. The freehand was thrust into the dragon's unprotected eyes, pushing fingers as hard as into them. Then the giant furiously slammed it onto the dragon's mouth, making splinters of his fangs. A huge fist would be drawn back as the painful scream of the dragon would fill the air with a spray of blood, and a sickening crunch would follow. Killing the dragon, smashing his skull, or perhaps sending him back to the dragon book he came from. 

With the time Geni and her dragon bought them, preventing the Giant from throwing another rock volley towards their location, Ayato would manage to explain his plan to the rest of his team. Miyamoto'S part was the riskiest. He had to act as a decoy (with every other shinobi available) and run towards the giant a hundred meters away. Once he got in the range, he used his shuriken shadow clone with a smoke bomb attached to it to blind the giant. All this for the sake of allowing Kyousuke, who at the same time as Miyamoto's charge, would run in the woods to the east, hidden from the giant's line sight and a rock volley that could harm him [Speed, Strenght|150]. Eventually getting behind him, trapping the giant in a pincer movement and hopefully blow him away. 

WC: 1051