Digging for weeds (Ryu, Kahoru)

https://www.narutoroleplaygame.com/t43525-pretty-plants-potent-poisons

Ryu putzed around his house early in the morning, making sure he had everything he would need for the day's mission. The village was on the look out for new pastures of hemlock plants. The plant was known for its usefulness in creating shinobi poisons. The pink haired ninja would most certainly not mind getting his hands on some hemlock himself. It would be a fine touch to add to one of his puppet's.

When he was assigned to the mission Ryu was told to choose someone to take along with him. Seeing it as an opportunity to further check on the state of Hoshi's military, he decided to select one of the village's genin, a girl by the name of Kahoru. From reading her file, Ryuken could tell that the young shinobi was inexperienced but that didn't mean she did not show promise. He would use this simple mission to get a gauge for her potential. It also never hurt to get to know one's comrades better. Today's genin could be tomorrow's Hogokage. It was his duty as a jonin to help nurture the next generation.

Ryu was properly dressed and made sure his hair was straight. He was finally ready to move. He had a quick bowl of rice to stave off hunger and slung his Iron Maiden over his right shoulder. One puppet would surely be enough for a simple recon mission. All set to go he left his house and made his way towards the village gates, the selected rendezvous points for the mission.

He had been really focused lately on making sure even the bottom ranks of the Hoshi hierarchy were up to snuff. An attack could hit the village any day and Ryu wanted as many capable shinobi around as possible. His home had been decimated too many times before and he would do his damndest to make sure it never happened again. He spent his free time off mission thinking of new training methods and about what can be done to strengthen the village's defenses. He tirelessly scratched sketches for new puppets in his notepad whenever an idea came into his head. All of the stress was starting to get to him. This easy reconnaissance mission would be the perfect thing to ease his mind. Out on mission he was able to shut out the clutter and stay focused.

As Ryu neared the gates the sun would be just rising over the horizon. There weren't many clouds in the sky. It was beginning to look like the start of a really hot day. He was a little bit early, not unusual for the man. He figured he would just lean up against the wall and wait for Kahoru. As the minutes began to tick by however, he would begin to grow a little bored. He decided to connect some threads to his Iron Maiden and had the puppet toss and catch a stone off the ground, repeatedly. A little exercise to help build his coordination while he waited.

(WC 505)

Kahoru awoke, yawning. She had stayed up late the last night training. Sadly, she had forgotten about the fact that she had been assigned to a mission today. She was to gather a poisonous plant, hemlock, from the Tachibana Wildlife Reserve. The Pendragon was a bit confused as to why they would assign a brand new Genin to this mission, but at least she was accompanying a jounin. Or was the jounin accompanying her? Kahoru sighed. The mission information didn’t contain many details.

The Pendragon got dressed. She took off her pajamas, which consisted of maroon pants and a white t-shirt. She then changed into her casual attire, a white, button-up dress shirt, and a blue, knee-length skirt. She wore black stockings that went above her knees, as to not show any skin on her legs. She wore a pair of brown leather boots that went a few inches above her ankles. Her hair was tied up in a bun, being held in place by a navy blue ribbon. Kahoru loved her casual outfit. Well, it wasn’t so much casual as all-purpose. It was a little formal, while at the same time nothing interfered with her combat abilities. And it was relatively easy to keep clean, as the only white was her shirt. And, it was simple enough that it didn’t require work to get into, like some things her family used to make her wear. And lastly, the outfit looked great on her, as the white complemented her blond hair, while the blue complimented her piercing turquoise eyes. Well enough about outfits. She was starting to sound like some of the lazy Pendragon’s she knew. 

She walked out of her bedroom, making her way through the compound. The Pendragon walked to the dining hall, where it seemed there was food waiting there, prepared by some of the maids here. Kahoru walked through the line, grabbing some sausages, eggs, toast, and a cup of coffee. She sat down at a table, alone. She slowly sipped her cup of coffee, zoned out. Kahoru was jolted back into reality, as her friend, Lathra sat down with her. The two made idle small talk as they ate their breakfast. Eventually, Kahoru left, saying she was sad to have to go early.

Kahoru made her way along, as it was quite the long walk. She lived near the inner part of the city, and the Tachibana Wildlife Reserve was quite a good distance away. She lived near the inner part of Hoshigakure, as the pendragon clan had close ties with a somewhat relevant religion and they had a deep rooted history. And, of course, they were portrayed as knights, which helped their image. 

Eventually the Pendragon made her way there, a few minutes early. She saw a man who she assumed to be the jounin that she would be working with. Kahoru walked up to the man with pink hair. He was almost a full foot taller than her, seeming to tower over her. She said, “Hi. My name is Kahoru. How about you?”

WC: 510

Ryu saw the young ninja he would be working with for the day approaching the meeting spot. She was definitely young and fresh into the field. This mission wouldn't be glamorous or exciting, but tracking down and collecting poisonous herbs was an important and tedious job. A lot of shinobi work was like this and it was good for the girl to learn early that even jounin go on simple boring missions. Its not all battle and glory.

Kahoru introduced herself politely and looked ready for the day. "Hello to you as well. I'm Ryuken Kugutsui but you can just call me Ryu." He would reply. "I've been making my way through the village getting to know all of the village shinobi. I needed someone to tag along for this mission and figured who better than a new genin I have yet to meet?" He would explain in case Kahoru was wondering why she was picked for this mission.

He would pick up his Iron Maiden and sling it over his shoulder. "Alright I'm ready to set off. We've got a bit of a hike before we even get to the wildlife reserve." He would say behind him as he started to walk towards the pair's destination. Once through the gates Ryu would start on the dirt path towards the forest. The sun was fully up by this point and the temperature was beginning to rise. It was looking to be another humid and hot day in Haven.

Ryuken would attempt to make conversation with Kahoru as they walked. "So I know you're only starting off as a shinobi, but I am quite interested in what reason you had for becoming one. For me it was simply just what we were raised to do, not that I don't love my job. I just wonder if it was the same for you, did you choose this life?" He would ask the young girl beside him.

After roughly an hour of walking and talking the pair would arrive at their destination and find themselves standing at the edge of a massive forest. The trees of the Hachibana Reserve were immensely tall after growing unhindered for hundreds of years. The remnants of the morning's dew all but gone, the moisture now hanging heavily in the air.

"What a view." Ryu would sigh while adjusting his glasses. "A large area to search through that's for sure. It would take days to comb through the entire forest. We've got to work smart and efficiently. Luckily hemlock is a plant that likes to grow where people have been." He'd inform his partner, "we just need to search around the man made paths that exist in the park. It looks white and puffy and every single part of it is poisonous so show care when you find some. Don't let it touch your bare skin." He would warn before clapping his hands together and trekking into the forest, "let's get to it before we run out of daylight!"

(WC 501)
(TWC 1006)

sd

As the pair walked towards the wildlife reserve Ryuken would sense the chakra signature of someone unknown. He had no idea who the signature belonged to, but he could tell whoever it was, was no newbie. He couldn't pinpoint exactly where the feeling was coming from but they were slowly but surely getting closer to it. To be able to sense someone from this distance told the pink haired shinobi that this person was no joke.


Ryu got a bad feeling about the situation and knew it was not wise to risk the life of a fresh out of the academy genin. She had a bright future ahead of her and it would be a waste to risk it all here. He turned his head and spoke to her quietly, "Kahoru I need you to listen carefully. There is someone up ahead and I believe it is their intent to do us harm. I need you to head back and find some more Hoshi shinobi. Bring them here as backup while I try to settle things myself." He would place his hand on the young ninja's shoulder and say, "I'm counting on you. Now go."


After Kahoru left his side to find backup Ryu would continue on the path he was following before. He was on guard waiting for whoever it was to make a move. As a precaution in case of an ambush he would attach chakra threads to his Iron Maiden from the hand that was already holding the puppet over his shoulder. With the maiden ready he would be capable of defending himself on a moments notice. He could feel himself getting closer and closer. The chakra signature had ceased moving, probably lying in waiting for him. Once he was about 15 meters from the treeline of the wildlife reserve two arrows would come flying from in the forest. They flew directly straight at him and since he was already on guard it only took a simple half-meter step to his right to avoid both of them. As he took that step to dodge the arrows he would slide the maiden off his shoulder and fluidly position the puppet half a foot in front of himself (slightly to his left so as not to block his view).


Whoever shot the arrows had begun charging at Ryu the moment the arrows flew and the small shinobi was fast approaching. As a precaution Ryu would activate Fragrant Dance and a sparkly yellow mist would start pouring out of the puppet and rapidly fill the area around him. As the mist was coming out Ryuken would call out to the stranger, "I guess you didn't come to talk then?" In hopes of settling things without violence. If this were a simple robbery Ryu would prefer to not fight this person. If this was an assassination attempt however, he would be forced to show no mercy.


He was ready to react if his words fell on deaf ears or if the mist did not deter her. He could easily block an attack with the maiden should Hanabi continue her assault. 


(WC 519)
(TWC 1525)


(OOC note: Hanabi never said anything about Kahoru being there and so she wouldnt act differently in her post with Kahoru no longer by my side.)

-20 AP for Kugutsui Chakra Threads
-50 AP for Fragrant Dance

754 AP- 70 = 684 AP remaining.

Spoiler:

sd

(OOC Arguments for Battle Mod)

My issues with the fight so far:

1. Hanabi completely removed Kahoru from the mission and is assuming that my character would have waited around at the gates for his mission partner (a partner that he selected specifically to evaluate performance-wise), talked to them, and then just left without them. Her invasion changes how the situation would have played out entirely. Had my character have sensed a powerful person around he would have gotten the young genin out of there. Was Kahoru supposed to post and say that she was just standing there at the gates?

2. The claim that Hanabi would be able to run 8 full meters in the time it takes my character to take one step even though the speed difference is her being only 1.5 times faster than me. Considering I activate a Technique right after that step I think it's unfair for her to have covered that much ground in such a short time.

3. She brings in a summon to test my gas and it immediately falls over from paralysis even though the effect isnt supposed to happen fully until the end of the person's next post. If Hanabi were to watch until her summon keeled over from the paralysis then when she takes her deep breath she would be breathing in a full cloud of it.

(Note: Kahoru also has issues and is planning to post them as well, before a mod makes a decision)

sd

Response to other points:
As the thread was invaded, I feel like it would be logical for a posting order change to occur. Additionally, Ryuken and I agreed OOC to switch places in our posting order.
I believe that when you “vagued” him into dodging at the last second is an example of godmoding. You have done this several times throughout your posts, however, none of them have been relevant to combat. I could list these instances, but for the sake of this topic moving along more quickly, I won’t be.
I agree with Ryuken on this one. And to counter Hanabi’s point on this one, according to a quick google search, numbness means “deprived of the power of sensation.” From how I’ve interpreted this definition, it means you are derived from feeling. This leads me to believe that Jolteo would still be standing, and that means you would have to wait until the end of the post to see him fall over. Therefore you take a breath before your summon faints.

I want to bring up a few more points (4-6 are for Hanabi)
4) Who are these shinobi you keep referring to? You keep creating these extra shinobi in your post, and I don’t think that’s legal.
5) In your most recent post you say this “In any case, when the man had managed to lift his foot to dodge Hanabi activated her Body is a Weapon booster. By some stroke of luck her opponent had managed to dodge her arrows with that step to the east at the last possible moment. By virtue of her travel speed Hanabi had already run 8m down the path towards the man by the time he finished side stepping and sliding his puppet down.” Going by your logic that Ryuken dodges at the last moment possible, you don’t activate the Body is a Weapon jutsu until then. Additionally, you make no previous mention of having run down the path, so I don’t think you can do that, meaning, there would still be 15 meters of distance between you and Ryuken. So if he dodges the arrows at the last minute, in the time it takes for him to side step and take his puppet off his shoulder, you travel 0.975 meters at your 150 speed. Meaning, if you keep running forward, his gas would get you after you travel an additional 8.4 meters, and since you say you stop at 6, that means you’re caught in it.
6) Additionally, when you say that chakra sensory doesn’t pinpoint location, another passive skill he does know can. Experienced Fighter. You only silence your footsteps. However, he can still hear things like your breathing and is now able to pinpoint your location at 50 meters.

This is a question for the battle mod who rules on this topic. How long can Hanabi hold her breath? What stat would this rely on, and based on the answer to that question, how long can she hold her breath?