The Academy Again!?! (Keina, 2 spots)

Zee Mission (If you are interested in joining the mission, please contact me first via Discord)

Masashi's Current Stats:

The start of another beautiful day in Hoshigakure, albeit a little more on the humid side. Masashi wasn’t a big fan when the air got too humid, but when that happened he would normally just retreat downstairs. While this would normally be his modus operandi for a day like today, Masashi had other plans; word had reached him that an old friend and mentor, a one Keina Schwachling had returned to the village. He hadn’t seen her in some time, not since their team was split up. She’d left the village for some time as far as he was aware. For all he knew though, she could have come and gone any number of times in the last two years that he’d been holed up in his labs.

In any event, it was as good a time as any to check in and see how she was doing. ‘It’s not like she could have gotten any stronger, could she?’ he thought to himself as he left his family home by the water gardens. When he was a member of her team, she was by far the strongest shinobi he knew, even when he dwarfed her in terms of physical stature. Masashi wasn’t a big guy either. At six foot two and barely one hundred and sixty pounds, he was on the scrawny side for men his age and height. Even still though, he made her look tiny in comparison. Last he remembered, she was maybe a few inches over five feet, and was even more slim than he was. Yet she was more than capable of beating the tar out of him when he stepped out of line, and he knew that she held back, immensely. She made sure he knew it too; and that kept him in line for most of their tenure together. Now that the reins were released, she’d become much more amiable, at least she was the last time he saw her.

He’d sent her an invitation to lunch, there were a couple good eateries over by the academy, which had been recently repaired following one of his previous assignments. That was only part of the reason he chose the location he chose for lunch. He wanted to keep an eye on the Academy some more, as it seemed it was the target of hostility lately, and he wanted to make sure that no additional harm befell the building, the students, or the instructors.

It didn’t take him long to walk from his home near the Water Gardens to the restaurant he had chosen; a popular sandwich shop a block away from the main Academy Entrance. When he arrived, he got a table on the patio out front, got himself a glass of water, and waited for his friend and mentor to arrive. He got there about ten minutes before the time stated in the invitation, which gave him plenty of time to enjoy the scene of people walking by, nodding and saying hello to those people he knew.

WC: 503

Current state of stat page, LEZGO:

Keina blinked a few times, and let the light flood into her eyes, before rolling over onto her back. One quick stretch in all directions, arms and legs forming practically an X, and she lifted her knees and then her torso, going into a bridge pose, with her lower legs perpendicular to the bed and her upper legs and torso forming a straight line right to the neck. After holding this for about a minute, she used her arms to launch out of bed to stand in front of her dresser/mirror combo, and began grabbing some clothes for today. Nothing serious was needed, just going to meet a student. Sorry, an ex-student, more or less. There was a lot he had left to learn, but he had learned enough from her, and there was not terribly much for her left to teach him, considering what sort of stuff he was getting into.

While debating on the topic, her gazed happened to pass over a clock.

"HOLY FUCK I'M RUNNING LATE"

Keina quickly grabbed and practically threw on: underclothing (not like she had to worry about them matching or anything), a long white tank top, short denim shorts, and a bright yellow sleeveless blazer. She realized that the tank actually stretched past the edge of her shorts, but so long as it was not as far down as she could possible get it that was not the case. She slipped into a pair of sandals woven from straw that resembled a cross between flip flops and a wicker basket, but were much sturdier than flip flops meaning that, as she ran, there was neither a flipped shoe nor a flopped women to worry about.

She lived on, like, the exact opposite side of the village from where she and Masashi were supposed to be meeting. Whatever, she could make it there. Just got to run up a wall... ok. Head start. Prep the lines. Run at it. Jump, adjust angle, control momentum. That's a brick sticking out, perfect for extra leverage. Plant arch there. Adjust angle... push towards the balcony. Stick our right foot, push off, grab onto the next floors balcony, but one apartment to the left. Pull up, hand stand, then arm squat and launch over the top. Whew!

Now that she was actually on top of the building, it was a simple task to jump, tuck, roll, and take off to get around. Much faster than trying to fight her way through the foot traffic down below.

Clearing the distance to Masashi was now pretty easy. Even so, the boy did beat her there, so she was not entirely uncertain if she was late or not. Either way though, the roof across the street from the small sandwhich shop, said roof she was standing on, was like, a tallish single story up, and she had this gut feeling he hadn't seen hear approaching over the buildings, since the direction she had come from was completely obscured by the building she was standing on right now.

So, she decided to have a bit of fun. She jumped across the street, from the building. And with a solid thunk, she would land in the hair opposite Masashi.

"Sup, brah?" she said with a mischievous smile.

[546]

“Stats Page”:

Soma Shin was off today, finally a day off. He was going to head to town to do some shopping and maybe visit one of his family’s favorite restaurants. He did not wake up super early because he was not busy today. He gets up and hops out of bed. He grabs his hood and his headband. He wore his hood throughout the day to try to hide the strange color of his hair. He tries not to stick out too much. He remembers the day he received this headband. This headband made with a crystal plate which is special for his clan. So much has happened since his graduation he has made some great friends in Zeo and Sakuragi, done a lot of good for the village in his missions, and joined a team of good ninja. While he was reminiscing he grabbed a shopping list from his mother and headed towards the market. He grabbed all of his gear between his weapon pouches because he might try and go do some training today. He might see if he can find Masashi and get some training from sensei today. He felt a lot stronger and hoped that soon his grandfather would return from his business trip to train him in the ways of the Misaki clan and how to use their special crystal jutsu. He really wants to learn the crystal jutsu and finally master what his family is known for.

He went to the Market and shopped for his family. He bought everything they needed with the money he was given by his mother. He dropped everything back off at the house and then told them that he was going to get lunch and do some training. He wanted to treat himself today to a special lunch. He felt like he needed a break and deserved to be rewarded for his good work lately. He walks toward the Watery Garden to find the restaurant. It was this awesome sandwich shop with the best ham in all of Haven. He wanted to get his favorite sandwich and relax for a bit before training. He arrived a little after the lunch rush started. He arrives and goes and buys a sandwich and goes to find himself a seat, preferably looking over the Gardens. He looks over and sees Masashi sitting with a woman. She was a blonde woman and they were sitting and probably just having lunch. She had a flak jacket and a headband so she was a ninja from the village of Hoshigakure maybe a teacher of his but she did not seem that old or maybe a date.

Soma Shin started to panic a little trying to decide what to do. Was he on a date? Would it be rude to disturb something like that? Would it be rude not to say hi to his sensei? Am I staring too long? All these questions were running through his head. When he finally returned to reality he realized he had been walking the whole time and was now in front of their table. “Good afternoon sensei, and hello, pleasure to meet you. I am Soma Shin Misaki.” He bows to both of them very respectfully. “Mister Masashi, I was curious if you were free later? Could we maybe do some training later this evening? If you are free I do not mean to interrupt if you have plans.” He kind of glances over at the woman with a little bit of a suggestive look. It was a look that implied he was on a date. “We could get the team together and do some training.”

Wc612

Stat page:

The streets of Hoshigakure being as lively as they were lately, the red haired Uzumaki decided to take the opportunity to enjoy one of the few days where he'd find the time to relax. And what better way to spend your time off than to stroll around the village you love so much? Exactly, which is why the redhead began preparing himself to go out. After making sure he didn't leave the oven on Akaboshi closed the door behind him as he would begin making his way through the village. Dressed in his usual attire which consisted of a black, leather jacket with a fur collar and a white V-neck underneath. Normally he'd be wearing his Chuunin jacket but since it was his day off he figured to dress a bit more casually. Dark blue, denim jeans additionally with black shoes to top off the rest of his outfit. Although not on duty he still wanted to be able to be recognized as a shinobi of Hoshigakure which was why he decided to wear his headband around his left biceps.

After a couple of minutes strolling around the village the redhead figured it was time to light up a cigarette. It being a rather beautiful day outside caused the Uzumaki to reach into one of his side pockets before taking out a smoke. Unhealthy as it may be, it helped him relax. And he always made sure to keep it at one cigarette a day. Taking a brief moment to truly enjoy his smoke he suddenly stood still, inhaling deeply as he took a drag before exhaling and blowing away the smoke. Minutes had passed before the redhead continued his walk through the village. Looking to the left and right, all the while keeping an eye on everyone he'd see in case he'd come across a familiar face. But alas, it seemed none of his friends were out today. Although he would have loved to spend some more time with Reminisce or Yoshimi it didn't stop Akaboshi from enjoying his free time. With his head in the clouds he almost didn't notice he made it as far as where the Academy was located. A restaurant nearby, but yet again no one who looked familiar. That being the case the Uzumaki decided to grab a seat for some reason. Was he in need of a refreshment or was it simply the ominous feeling he received the moment he arrived at the scene? Time would surely tell .. 

(WC: 415)

Masashi had not seen his mentor at all during her frantic rush to get to the restaurant. The fact that she was not there when he turned to speak to a friend walking by, but was sitting in the chair when he turned back was a tad unnerving. He was not one to startle easily, but the combination of her sudden appearance and her bombastic personality, had him jump a little. “Good grief, Keina.” He would say with a shake of his head and a grin on his face. “You certainly know how to make an entrance.”

It was good to see her again. She was a royal pain in the ass when it came to teaching, but he was forever grateful because it relieved him of certain preconceptions. His time spent on her team made him a better person, and he respects and appreciates her for that.

“Hasn’t been a whole lot going on really.” He said to her “I got a team of my own now, just got them a few days ago. That’s about it though.” It was at this point that he noticed one of the Genin on his team, Soma Shin Misaki, was not only here, but walking towards their table. “Speaking of…” he says to Keina before Misaki got there; “…one of them is walking over here as we speak.” He returned the boy’s bow with a nod. Inwardly he winced at the boy’s ramblings. Outwardly he adopted a friendly but neutral expression. “I was really just taking the day one step at a time, nothing really set in stone currently, but I’m sure we can figure out a way to get some training in at some point.” He would say in response to Soma’s question. “This is my mentor, Keina Schwachling, I have been out of the loop for some time, and I’ve been catching up with my friends.” Naturally Masashi thought Keina was a beautiful woman, but he had never considered any form or romance building between them, primarily because of the bond they had built working together.

Before they could get any further discussion going, Masashi could hear screaming and yelling coming from the direction of the Academy. Glancing in its direction, he could see an instructor and several students running out of the Academy’s main entrance, towards them. “Hold that thought.” He would say to Soma before jumping out of his seat and making his way towards the instructor. “What’s wrong?” He would ask. The instructor looked at him with wild, panicked eyes. “A group of rogue ninja have taken hostages at the Academy. They have students and instructors hostage right now, I don’t know how many. They’ve demanded that the Lord Hogokage commit suicide, half the money in Hoshigakure’s treasury, and free passage out of the village. If their demands aren’t met in an hour, they’ll kill a hostage every ten minutes their demands aren’t met.”

Masashi frowned at the statement. ”Go get reinforcements, and inform the Hogokage.” He would say to the instructor. “We’ll see what we can do from here.” Masashi turns back to Keina and Soma. “Looks like we have a problem,” and relays the information if they hadn’t heard what was said in a voice that could be heard by anyone on the patio. “The demands won’t be met, so we should try to find a way to disable the assailants ourselves before any villagers lose their lives.” He turns to Keina. “Any ideas on how we should proceed? You’re the ranking shinobi here right now, unless a member of Nova is here.”

WC: 598
TWC: 1101

"Thank ya kindly," she would say to his greeting and utterance about her manner of entrance. When he mentioned he had a team of his own, Keina would instantly lean forward and go "What, you? Pfft, no fucking way. You're still practically a babeh!" The huge grin spreading across her face after this would hopefully get across the idea that she was mostly joking.

And then one of Masashi's pupils came walking up! And asked about training! Keina was practically experiencing a cuteness overload, and was positive she was about to start barfing rainbows in a GOOD way! "Nice ta meet ya, mate!"She says this around the time Misaki bows, before he continues with his speaking. Then after the boy finished speaking, Keina had already decided he was a bit rude. I mean really, he saw two people chatting at a restaurant and then comes up and practically tries to steal one of them away? Perhaps he has a thing for Masashi and is jealous? This thought was only partially formed when Keina noticed the boy's wandering eyes. He very obviously thought Masashi and Keina were on a date!

Keina absolutely burst into laughter, coming deep from her chest. The pitch was still high, but it had a resonance that practically gave it weight, and meant that the sound carried and reverberated, as much as it could in a place such as this. At the same time, her hand shot out towards Misaki. She tried to grab onto the boy's upper arm closest to her, which she did about as fast as she could, and if that were successful, she would squeeze it _just_ enough to be painful and leave five tiny bruises.

If Misaki somehow managed to dodge but he was still within reach without Keina having to stand up, she would retry once or twice before leaving him be. He was not her DIRECT pupil, after all, and he'd already seen her being somewhat cheery, so what was the harm?

If he had not managed to avoid every grab, she could keep this hold on, applying slightly more force if he tried to pull out of her grip, maxing out a bit below the point of causing long term harm that is worse than bruises. She had planned to hold his arm only a few seconds, but the new hubbub going around them delayed her release as she became distracted by a hostage situation.

Keina began rolling ideas over in her head as Masashi restated the situation. Masashi then looked to her for advice.

"Well, I can sneak in the back and probably take out a few. You remember how stealthy I can be, don't cha? Quiet as a mouse, and none of that bullshit magic can find me, unless they're REALLY trying. So I could probably sneak in, make an opening for you, and we can take if from there. Or give me some other suggestions. That's only one possibility, and far from a sure shot."

[501]

He was standing at the table creating politely and after she grabs his arm and leaves tiny bruises. She greets him and through clenched teeth from the pain says “the pleasure is all mine”. He was not sure if it was worth trying to dodge because he was sure she would just try again and again. He thought this woman was very crude and rude in general but kept that to himself. He did not want to say anything and risk getting hit again. She definitely did not seem like the kind who would let that kind of thing go and would hit him again.

He was planning on going to find a different table to try to enjoy the rest of his day off and relax till time to train when suddenly Masashi went up to talk to these people. Soma Shin swore he recognized one but was not sure where from. Then it occurred to him that this was one of his teachers from the academy. Was there something happening? He guessed that he was about to find out because Masashi came over with a very serious face and proceeded to inform us of the problem. That the academy was taken hostage and wanted the hogokage to commit suicide. That was not going to happen so we all turned to Keina to lead us and tell us what to do because she was the most senior member there at the time. He quickly set his sandwich down even though it seemed to be a little reluctantly because it was a good sandwich but he set it down anyways. There had been more important things that were happening he looked to Masashi who basically said that Keina was incharge. So he looked at Keina and said “I am here to help in whatever way I can, just tell me what to do.”

WC 313
TWC925

Having ordered something to drink, the red haired Uzumaki finished his cigarette before he threw it down to the ground, putting the smoke out with the bottom of his shoe. A day as beautiful as it was required the Chuunin to have something cold to help him lessen the burden going by the name of humidity. For some reason Akaboshi had the feeling it wasn't the only thing in the air that day and soon the redhead's premonition would turn out right. As his drink arrived, a glass of sake of course, the Uzumaki kept watch on the three individuals who seemed to get along just fine. If he heard it correctly the young kid had mistaken the two others of being on a date, much to the kunoichi's amusement.

And there it was, just when Akaboshi was about to dive into his glass of delicous alcohol everyone present was alarmed by the sound of yells, screams and cries for help. "Great, of all times it had to be on my day off. Just my luck" he muttered to himself as he slowly stood up. With his hands casually in his pockets after he had finished the liquor the redhead silently made his way over to where the situation would be explained. Acting like he was minding his own business Akaboshi listened in on the conversation regarding everything that was happening as they were speaking. A group of rogue ninja, alright. Holding people hostage, hm. Having a couple of impossible demands, of course. Now that he was completely up to speed the red haired Uzumaki figured he might as well offer his help to dismantle the situation with no casualties. 

Speaking up after listening to the female's suggestion the Chuunin would throw in his own two cents. "I couldn't help but listen what is happening, allow me to offer my help to solve this rather dangerous situation." For now there would be not much use in giving his name considering time was money and they had none to waste. So he continued figuring out the best plan of action. "Assuming they are rogue ninja and have no clue who the Hogokage is, some of us keep them busy while the lovely lady over here sneaks in while they are being distracted." It wasn't much but at least it would be better than going in guns blazing. That way only lives would be lost. 

The redhead looked at the others before speaking once more. "But of course, we have to be certain of our plan lest we want lives to be lost."

(WC: 431, TWC: 846)

Masashi nodded as Keina laid out her plan. “I could probably flood a decent chunk of space with knockout gas.” He would say to the Keina and Misaki. He didn’t expect the Genin to be able to assist much but more bodies would certainly help to provide distractions. They didn’t want to cause any casualties to the hostages. “We want to try to catch these rogue ninja alive if possible.” As he made these comments a red-haired man walked over to them. He had a Hoshigakure hitai-ate around his left arm. Masashi would turn and nod as the newcomer announced his intentions. “The more the merrier for sure.” He say with a small smile. His face would take on a more serious expression. “Lets get moving. The three of us will get their attention and hopefully keep them distracted long enough to let Keina get into position to take them all out. Push comes to shove I can heal any injuries that any of the hostages obtain.”

With that, Masashi would make his way over to the academy and help Misaki and the newcomer distract the assailants while Keina snuck in and dealt with them.

WC: 195
TWC: 1296

Keina would let go of the boy's arm, and focus in on the situation. She listened to others speak their minds. At the same time, she removed her blazer and her sandals. She also ripped the table cloth into long strands and began wrapping them around her hands and feet.

Everyone, including the newcomer, had finished giving their inputs around the same time Keina finished wrapping up. "You three focus on running a distraction and getting Masashi as close to the hostage room as you can. I'll break up their back lines and make sure no one can get away. If I can, I'll clear out the whole building solo. But if I call out for help. go as fast as you can. Don't hesitate to knock me out along with them, if that means you can react faster. So long as it's strictly knock out gas, hostages breathing it is also acceptable. Keep them distracted, so that they don't notice me."

With that, Keina took off, leaving her blazer and sandals at the table. She was running towards the nearest building, which was not the academy (the academy was around a corner or three, so for Keina the fastest route there would be over the top). She could use a bit of time before the other three showed up, anyways.

The building in front of her had a pipe running up it's length. She jumped towards the pipe, landing her foot next it and absorbing the blow. They she pushed against the wall with her foot, while pushing slightly upwards, and this upward momentum sent her up a fair bit higher than her initial jump had. Grabbing onto the pipe with one hand, she would settle the other foot against the wall and push off, releasing her grip so the hand slid upwards with her body, before latching back on again, only for the first leg to repeat and push her further up, This was repeated until Keina's other hand reached the edge of the roof, at which point she pulled herself over.

It was a quick run over to the academy. She stood on a building slightly taller than the school, and a quick glance noticed two things. One: there was a window open. Two: nobody was looking out and up. In fact, nobody was standing in the windows of the second and third floor. That meant they probably only had enough people to cover the bottom floor. So, with a window on the second floor open, she aimed her body, and pushed so hard that a part of the roof cracked. She was not going for a diving jump, that was dumb. No, she was going for a standard jump, with her body mostly close to horizontal, and aiming a bit below the open window. Catching her momentum against the wall, she grabbed the edge and flipped into the building.

Nobody in the room. Three people, high chakra, below me. Unmoving, and no other signatures. Likely teachers, knocked out. Skip that room.

Keina began walking around the building. Though walking is perhaps the wrong term. She was inching along the ceiling, sticking as high and out of the way of the first floor as she could. If her math checked out, even a skilled ninja on the first floor actively searching would miss her up here. When she had easy hand holds and ways to re-establish her position, she would jump to them, to save time. This had the added benefit of avoiding creaking the old floors.

As she maneuvered through the second floor, she mapped out the chakra signatures beneath her. One stood at the door to the stairs down, There was a chakra mass next to them. Seemed identical to the person's, so likely some jutsu. If that was the case, they were likely too distracted to notice Keina before it was too late.

Keina quietly lowered herself down into the concrete stairway and then stepped up onto the railing section along the landing. She was squatting, hands on the bar, as she launched her body forwards, catching the bar with the cloth on her feet, so that she spun around and was launched towards the doorway.

Her body struck out from the doorway and she planted a hand right at the man's neck, center back, striking carefully with the bottom of her palm. the other hand grabbed the doorway, and let her proceed to swing her body around while he was stunned. She wrapped both legs around his neck and held him above the ground. Her thighs pressed against his carotids and he was out in seconds. She loosened her grip, so as to not kill the man, and slowly lowered him to the ground.

The next challenge would be the two outside the door. Keina would have to take them out quickly and quietly, but the distance from the nearest hallway to them was too much to cover quickly.

The distance from the room across the hallway, however....

Being smaller paid off quite often, it seemed. She was able to very easily navigate through the training course in the ceiling, even though it was designed for children. She dropped down into the classroom, hanging as low as she could before dropping, and letting her knees absorb as much force as they could, to reduce the volume to almost nothing.

She breathed a sigh of relief to see the door was slightly ajar. This made her job much easier.

Keina stood next to the wall and pushed the door just enough that it would open somewhat. Enough that it might seem like wind, but given that there WAS no wind... she was lucky enough that one of the guards came over to investigate. She hooked the guards throat, a woman, with the right arm and ran out the door. The other guard was shocked, and started to say something, but got a palm strike to the trachea. Keina rammed the woman's head into the man's chest, and he was instantly out of breath and barely able to breath, in addition to the pain in his chest and neck. the woman was dazed by the blow to her head, and Keina placing her below where the man fell effectively knocked her out, too. She at least would not be moving for a bit.

That left just the three in the room with hostages. One was standing VERY close to a hostage. The other two were at a window. Keina heard talking, but could not make out who was saying what. So, she settled on a plan, hoping that the sound outside was Masashi and squad.

She broke through the door and immediately charged the lone man in the middle of the room, planting a knee kick into what ended up being his right side, and then palm striking him in the right ear. He stumbled backwards as Keina analyzed the situation. Assuming Masashi and co were here and functional, she would call out "GAS US NOW!"

If she had misjudged the situation, she would have to do something else to handle the two remaining missing ninja. To be continued... IN THE NEXT POST!

[1000]

[~2000 total]