Thief of Wind and Sand (NK, IO)

Mission Details

It was late in the evening of Hoshigakure. The sky was dyed a bright orange and the pale lights of the village were beginning to light up the darker recess of its streets. It was quite late for a team of genin to gather for a mission but Kuniko had a difficult time getting in contact with his other team mates. He now stood in front of a massive pine tree that was growing on patch of earth along the road inside the city proper. It wasn't near any buildings or important areas that he knew of, but it was distinct enough that it would serve as a meeting place for this evening. 

There was a thief that was robbing the various temples of Hoshigakure, which unsettled Kuniko. He was always superstitious as a boy, and even now at 18 he still was afraid of ghosts. The thought of robbing a temple was insane to him. But then again, ninja magic had a way about making a man lose his mind. 

Kuniko would wait at the Large Pine for the other two members of his squad to show up. Kuniko had arrived exactly on time to the spot on purpose. He had to avoid being the ninja that was always late. Unless of course the others were already here...

Sakuragi wasn't the first to hear about robbery that has been going on for a while in the village . To make things worse, temples are the place being robbed mostly.  That sounds ridiculous to Sakuragi, why would anyone wanna rob the temple?.  It should be made holy and sacred. It was another evening again, sakuragi and his team mates have taken up the mission to catch this thief red handed or If they couldn't trace him or her.  For sakuragi, scenarios like this are quite easy. He has the byakugan, all he needs to do is to activate it and he can see the whole village with it. 



It was evening, a brown skin, spiky haired, pupiless figure was seen walking towards Kuniko who was at the meeting spot. Alas!  It was Sakuragi.  He wore his usual shinobi attires,  black long hand jacket, white inner v neck shirt, black short, black shinobi sandals and his black village forehead protector sat firmly on his head.  He walked towards his friend Kuniko, there ought to be two of his mates here. Once he neared when Kuniko was , he would yell   from distance while still walking towards the hyuuga boy “Hey,  Kuniko, I'm here !”. He did that to get him to look at his direction as he wasn't sure Kuniko saw him. Once he reached when Kuniko was,  he would greet him with a warm smile “ how are you, we haven't seen or talked to each other since our last mission together.  The mission where we had to deliver organs in package. Where is Tekashi ?” he would said to Kuniko in a soft voice expecting some response from him. 


The mission doesn't look hard it will be difficult, they just have to use byakugan to locate their target. Sakuragi pocket his hands into his jacket as he waited for their third teammate who is yet to arrive. He only hope he don't miss his way and gets here on time.



TWC: 332

“What a beautiful night.” Takeshi said to himself as he walk toward the pine tree that Kuniko had told him to meet up at. Sakuragi was also going to be there, Takeshi could not believe how quickly his life had turned. He went from being tormented by his mother day and out. To having two people who he would consider friends going on a mission with them. They were even calling themselves a team with the name “Squad One”. Takeshi could not believe everything that was happening to him. He was actually happy, for the first time in so long, he didn’t have a worry on his mind. Takeshi even dressed up for the occasion. He was wearing his brand new all black combat outfit. It was black combat shorts, a white mesh shirt, and a black combat vest. Kuniko had inspired him to begin to dress and be presentable for all occasions, and that was why he decided this was the perfect time to wear his new outfit. But he still had his old weapon’s pouch on his left leg, this would act as a reminder for where he came from. So he could always keep grounded as to how hard life can be.

Takeshi reached the other two team members by the pine tree. Takeshi picked up the pace, he was excited to see his “friends”, he couldn’t even believe that he had even thought that. Meeting friends, too much to believe. Takeshi reached the tree and greeted his teammates. “Hello comrades. How are you both this fine evening.” Takeshi was excited to go on his first mission with teammates, nay, friends. Takeshi was ready to go, already checked his equipment and waited to see where the team was going.

WC: 306

It seemed Kuniko did not have to wait long at before the others arrived. First came little Sakuragi, one of the only shinobi that Kuniko had bested in height. The thought made him chuckle. When the other shinobi gave his greeting Kuniko smiled as he replied, "Sakuragi, it's a pleasure to be on a mission with you again. Let this one go as easily and quickly as our previous venture. Also, we weren't supposed to know about that." Kuniko said with a wink. "I think Takeshi should be here momentarily." 

In the meanwhile, Kuniko thought of how much life had changed for him over these past few months. He could feel the beginning of a great adventure creeping upon them. As the two shinobi stood there waiting for Takeshi, the sun began to slowly creep down into the horizon. The sight consumed Kuniko's attention until the third member of their party arrived.

Finally, Takeshi had came onto the scene. The three of them had finally gathered at the base of a giant pine tree, off on its lonesome in the city. Kuniko smiled and gave a polite nod to Takeshi as he approached them. "Greetings Takeshi, it is indeed a fine evening. Master Ayato has instructed me that we are officially the three members of Team Summer. That is the name he has chosen for us. I hope for us to do great things together and furthermore I ..." Suddenly Kuniko's attention was pulled towards the setting sun. "Well look at that. I do believe that sight is a gift just for us," Kuniko said to his team while motioning before him. Across the city, the sun had just slipped behind the deep purple horizon. The towering clouds above were splashed with hues of red and orange, but above the evergreen pine the sky was a deep blue scattered with twinkling stars. The sight moved Kuniko and made his long to have a camera with him. 

"Anyways, I will once again explain the mission details, so we are all clear on our task. Now how do you each think we should go about this mission?"  


TWC: 574

Sakuragi saw no trace of Takeshi when he arrived here,  he was patient enough to wait for him. Kuniko would Greet the brown skin hyuuga and chuckle. Sakuragi wouldn't know why he chuckled . He is not a mind reader. 


It's actually wonderful to go out with his two friends on a mission, it didn't take long before Takeshi arrived, he would walk up to the two hyuuga and greeted them. Sakuragi would gently tap Takeshi with a punch and said “ what's up friend?”. He didn't mean any harm with that gentle punch,  just a style of greeting. 



It seems the three will now make a team , a team of three hyuuga. A smirk would appear on sakuragi's when Kuniko told these two that ayato sensei named them team summer. It was a cool team mate and sakuragi kinda, liked it. Sakuragi would remain quiet once kuniko them about the team name. Kuniko was probably expecting a comment from these two, but sakuragi have no words to say on this. This was not out of resentment, it was just him acting that way.  



They needed a plan for this mission. The night becoming stronger every second. Kuniko requested for an idea on how they should go about the plan. Even if the kuniko and Takeshi speaks, Sakuragi will still remain quiet. He was probably the shortest of the three, or maybe the youngest too. He never asked any of them for their age. Not like he cared to know their age anyways.  He may be the youngest and shortest but he was confident enough to know that he is not the weakest. He doesn't really know how who the strongest or weakest is between the three of them, but he was so sure he couldn't be the weakest. Sakuragi would pocket his hands into his long sleeve jacket, hoping to follow whatever decision his teammates suggest. 




TWC: 650

Takeshi arrived and met up with his group, Sakuragi had nudged him with his fist. Takeshi smiled and returned the gesture to Sakuragi. Kuniko announced the name that Master Ayato had given our team. “ Master Ayato has instructed me that we are officially the three members of Team Summer. That is the name he has chosen for us.” Takeshi’s least favorite season was Summer. But that was not something that Takeshi was going to let upset him. Takeshi was just excited to be a part of a team at all! Takeshi nodded his head at the announcement, “Sounds good to me! I can’t wait to get started!” Takeshi threw his fist into the air and smiled.

“I will once again explain the mission details, so we are all clear on our task. Now how do you each think we should go about this mission?" Takeshi did understand all the details and had been thinking about how exactly they were going to carry out this mission. They knew they all had the Byakugan. Finding the theif was not going to be difficult. Catching and apprehending him. That will be the more difficult part. While Takeshi had been training for weeks and had learned many new techniques. He had very little experience when it came to being in an actual battle.

“Finding the thief should be easy, we all have the Byakugan. We just need to think about how we are going to react to apprehending the thief. I have been training and have a bunch more techniques than I did. But I haven’t actually gotten to spar with anyone yet. I only have one mission that involved a few bandits. But that’s truly it.

WC: 403

Kuniko nodded as he heard Takeshi speak. "It is true that all of us could use more experience in the field before we try apprehending an unknown entity. But there are three of us, and I have full confidence in both of you. I know neither of you will let me down." He looked first into Sakuragi's eyes as he said this, then up to Takeshi. Kuniko then brushed a strand of hair from across his face as darkness began to settle in around them. "I have done a little research regarding the temples that have already been robbed. Reason stands that the thief wouldn't rob the same temple twice when there are targets he hasn't attacked yet."

Kuniko turned to look out towards the city skyline. Some pine needles were being blown across the street by a light breeze, but it wasn't particularly cold. Though he wasn't looking at his comrades, he trusted their ability to still hear him as he spoke. "The Starlight Sanctuary is one of few shrines that hasn't been robbed yet. It's also the farthest shrine in the city from the one that was last robbed. I asked around some of the shrines already and it seems like the thief strikes late in the night and always strikes at the shrine farthest from his last victim."

Kuniko had noted Sakuragi's silence earlier. While he was talking about the thief he couldn't get it out of his mind. He was thinking 'perhaps my teammates are nervous of each other? I will have to say something to clear the air.' He turned to face his comrades. "I believe the thief will strike at Starlight Sanctuary tonight. We should head over there and inform the shrine maidens or monks there that we will be camping out, and not to act any different than usual. We will wait in total cover and take turns using our Byakugan to search for the thief, once the hour is late. I don't know why the thief leaves a trail of powdery stuff wherever he goes, but we will have to deal with that when we catch him."

As he spoke, Kuniko became slightly nervous while discussing the upcoming mission and started subconsciously straightening his hair and adjusting his hakama. Though Kuniko spoke in a calm tone, he allowed a little excitement to creep into his voice as he continued to speak. "You look dashing tonight, Takeshi, and you look ready for the fight, Sakuragi. We are going to show this thief the strength of the newest generation of Hyuuga shinobi. Are you both ready for Team Summer's first mission?" 


TWC: 1011

Sakuragi’s  face remained expressionless as if they were not in a serious situation, and of course he wasn't in a serious situation,  for he didn't count it as one. He wasn't an inch afraid of anything. If there was anyone among these three who had done more missions, that would be sakuragi, so he had quite more experience than the other even though he may be the youngest. Sakuragi had been silent for a while, it wasn't out of anxiety, he just couldn't think of any other than search and crush plan. They could search the thief or theives with their byakugan and once they find him, they would crush him. All they needed to know is the next temple  that the thief would rob. 

Fortunately for sakuragi, it appears Kuniko had done some research on this, he could tell that the Starlight sanctuary was gonna be robbed next. The only time Sakuragi had  some sort of expression on his face since the three got here was when Kuniko was talking about not letting him down, a smirk would appear on the face of the brown haired boy. All other times, he had stayed expressionless for reasons not known to any of his teammates except him. Kuniko had it all planned out, he was able to device a very good plan. He sure would make a good team leader. Unfortunately, this team summer has chosen a leader yet, as this was their first time of meeting together. It was true that Ayato sensei was the real team leader, but this pack of three boys need someone to be chosen as leader in the absence of ayato sensei. Sakuragi cared less about tittles, not an inch did he care, yet he wouldn't allow anyone control or order him around like a puppet. That was just his weird personality. 


Once Kuniko was done speaking, Sakuragi would some distance away from the two hyuuga, his back was facing the hyuuga while he faced the direction of the Starlight Sanctuary. “ Kuniko, you have a nice plan. So what are we waiting for? Let's get this over with already” he said with his hands in his pocket, looking up into the sky and then looking back at the direction of the starlight sanctuary. Since his back was facing the two hyuuga, they wouldn't know what expression was on his face while he said this. Sakuragi would remain where he was expecting the other to join  him, so they can journey to the starlight sanctuary. He was not sure how far the temple was, but he was sure that it was this direction. 




TWC: 1088

Takeshi was sure this was going to be an easy mission. After coming off two A tank missions in a row, not to mention the endless hours of training. Takeshi was sure that they were going to nail this mission with no problem. But there was one thing that was bothering him. It wasn't the mission or even his past. It was Sakuragi. 

Takeshi despised arrogance, but he especially despised those who acted as if they were over the rest of everyone else. Takeshi was excited to be on a team and going on a mission, but Sakuragi didnt act like he cared at all, which is fine to have confidence. But if you dont even act like a team member, how can the rest of the team trust you? Takeshi just nodded his head and looked over the Kuniko. "I love the plan. Let's find this guy and bury him." Takeshi said this both in jest and in seriousness. Takeshi had just learned the "Hiding like a mole" technique and the "Headhunter" technique. So if he had the chance to go about that on this mission. He was totally going to try it. Takeshi walked over Kuniko and gestured to him to lead the way, for Takeshi had never been to the Starlight Sanctuary.

Takeshi had Sakuragi's attitude in the back of his mind, wondering if his attitude toward this mission and toward the team was going to bite them in the backside before too long.

We 247

It seemed the boys were willing to follow Kuniko. To him, it looked like Sakuragi was just ready to fight without thinking to much about it, which was dangerous. Takeshi on the other hand looked like he was hiding something from Kuniko. He didn't understand his teammates, and in that moment he knew he never would. But Kuniko didn't need to understand them to work with them. If they were willing to follow and get the mission done, then he would be satisfied. If they could complete the mission while working as a team, then he would be happy. 

"Let us get moving then. I will lead the way to the shrine. Try to stay together. We will travel at a regular pace since we're in the city. We don't want to cause trouble for anyone here by acting to hastily." After calmly stating the facts, Kuniko began running off towards the Starlight Sanctuary as long as the others were following him. He took great care to follow a path along rooftops where not many people would see them. It would be a waste if the thief were to spot them on the way to the shrine after all. While the three shinobi were making their way to the shrine Kuniko would also say "I would like both of you to be careful when fighting this thief. It may be best if we don't fight with all our power so we don't damage the shrine." 

After a few minutes the three shinobi would arrive at the stairs leading to the shrine. The shrine was built high on a hill surrounded by other buildings. It was like most other shrines in the city; a religious complex with an open area for visitors to prat and make offerings. There was a long stone staircase leading up to the open entrance of the shrine. Kuniko began ascending the stairs so long as the others were following him. The shrine had lots of lanterns lit up along the sides of the stairs, and the open offering bow was very well lit as well. One the three had reached the top, Kuniko would give out his instructions. "Sakuragi, could you scout around the shrine and find a good place for us to hide which isn't too far from the entrance? Takeshi, could you find any shrine maidens or monks who might work here and inform them that we will be waiting to catch the thief and not to act an different than usual?" 

Assuming the two would follow his instructions, Kuniko would thank them and then walk forward into the shrine. He would stop at the offering box and drop in 10 Ryo. Afterwards he would bow his head and pray for the success of the mission. Assuming he was able to complete this task, he would then return to the top of the stairs and wait for the other shinobi to return. If Takeshi rejected Kuniko's instructions, then he would instead discuss the matter with him and ask what he would rather do. If Sakuragi refused to follow instructions, then Kuniko would ignore him and go make his offering to the shrine.  

TWC: 1569