Boring Guard Duty...Or is it? (Hunter, IO)

The Mission: Guard Duty

Masashi's Stats at the time:

Today was going to be a Boring day for Masashi; he was placed on guard duty. It was his job to patrol the various areas of the village, inside and out, to make sure that nothing suspicious was going on. He didn’t know who he’d be grouped with, as sometimes people volunteered, other times they were assigned to it. The latter was why Masashi was doing it this time around. Because you never knew what would happen, Masashi made sure he had all of his gear, and his manipulated fabric was replicating his preferred outfit currently. He was to meet up with the rest of the patrol group at the village gates and they would be assigned their patrol route by the guard captain from there. Masashi had nothing else to do, so he would make his way over to the gates and see if anyone was waiting there already.

WC: 150

Stats for Zeo for Hunter:

A bored expression was plastered on Zeo's face as he walked down the path. He had finished the training he went to the water gardens to do, and was now content with his progress. It felt strange to him. No matter how much he grew in strength, it didn't feel like enough. He had learned how to use water style thanks to what tips he had via the academy, but he still had no sensei or squad to depend on. While he had done a good deal of missions, he felt a bit too alone for his liking, even if he could have his thoughts to himself.

He was otherwise alone and approached the gate back to the village-- but soon recognized someone who was keeping guard. It was a man, clearly older than him. He seemed stoic and on guard, but something about him seemed familiar. Zeo stopped before the gate, presuming he would be asked who he was and why he was outside the village. Though the training grounds were not that far away, he still presumed he needed to be checked in-- even if he did have his Headband on him.

But it was then he remembered. "You.... I remember you. You were the guy who crept away from the training grounds a couple nights ago," Zeo said matter-of-factly, recognizing his stature, and more importantly-- his chakra. Zeo's sense of chakra was now stronger than before. It just grew more naturally to him, especially for his present age and experience.

WC: 256

Stat page:

Ah yes, guard duty. What shinobi hasn't experienced the pleasure of said task during his career? Probably one or two genin here and there but most people already knew what it felt like waiting at the village gates while nothing happened. Some travelers, a couple of merchants. Same old, same old. Akaboshi wasn't really looking forward to it but didn't really have a choice. Sighing the red haired Uzumaki would put on his Chuunin Flak Jacket before heading out. As a simple safety measure considering last time he went out he almost got caught in a mess when rogues took over the academy, the redhead formed 4 hand seals followed by his palm making contact with his body.

Making his way over to the village gates he noticed two people already present, one being Masashi who he remembered from the incident at the academy. "Ah, we meet again. How've you been?" Akaboshi would stretch out his hand, assuming his hand shake was accepted he then simply greeted the other shinobi. "Hi there kid, ready for guard duty?" The red haired Uzumaki looked around, checking to see if someone else was planning on showing up. "Are we waiting on someone else?" For now Akaboshi would simply wait before taking place at the gates.

[Seal placed on body: Chakra Barrier]

(WC: 212)

Stats:

In two three four

Out two three four

In two three four

Out two three four

Running fast, for extended periods, is not easy. At some point, you have to remind yourself how to properly breathe.

Keina was not quite to that point yet, but she was at a point where breathing was VERY important, because she was about to try something crazy. Really crazy. Like, don't try this at home, crazy.

See, around the main entrance to Hoshi, there's this wall, with a MASSIVE gap. And, hypothetically, for a definition of hypothetical that means 'I think I can maybe', Keina knew she could jump that gap. So, when she had arrived early to the meeting site, she decided to give it a try.

She could get up to speed really quickly. She could also keep at speed for way longer than she had any right to be able to. So, she had decided to run around Hoshigakure, to make sure that, not only was her speed absolutely at its peak, but she was also prepared for this insane jump.

How did she have the time to do it? She got there REALLY early.

Almost like she planned to do that...

Flashback wavy screen effect

She had spent the early hours at the gym.

Weights were not really something she liked to do. Beyond the part where the needed weights were frankly extreme, she liked maintaining her build.

And he had long since passed the point where her own body weight made for good resistance training.

She did sometimes use some leg and arm weights, though. Get those heavy enough and suddenly scaling a building was SIGNIFICANTLY harder.

And also caused a LOT more structural damage to the building.

So she had to stick to the custom made courses within the gym. There was this one thing, there was a bar sitting between some slits that were slightly angled upwards, and you had to do a pull up, then launch your arms up and backwards to get the bar up to the next level.

That thing was absolutely killer with the supplemental weights.

Most of Keina's morning today, however, was spent boxing. It was always hilarious, seeing the massive beanbag looking thing have a giant pneumatic spring coming out the back. Seriously, that thing was like, ten feet long. You'd thing it was overkill, but it really isn't. Keina had witnessed the last one's first, and only, failur.

The thing took out the building across the street, too.

Anyways, fast forwards a bit, and Keina arrives at the gates. While she had been in tights and a sports bra at the gym, she now also wore her headband and flack jacket, and her other supplies were scattered around in various spots of her gear. The head band wasn't really a headband, though, considering it was tied around her lower left leg. She had not bothered to shower, because she knew she'd work up just as much of a sweat right now:

Time to run around the village, she thought.

Flashback ending wavy screen effect

Keina was approaching the point of ascension. She saw some people at the gate, but ignored them. They were PROBABLY waiting for her, but that was besides the point.

In two three four

Out two three four

Shift positioning.

In

Angle with the wall.

Out

Push off the ground.

In

Catch, prevent crashing.

Out

Spring off slightly. Bring in next leg. Step.

In

Spring off sli- wait what the fuck was tha-

"FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Keina had gotten distracted by... something. Honestly she was not even sure WHAT she saw. Just... something. It might not even be relevant to anything at all. Or maybe it is!

Anyways, she got distracted, and this caused her to miss her footing. Which meant she did not properly accomodate for her momentum. Which meant she was not tumbling in two directions.

Direction one: To the ground

Direction two: To the group of three near the gate.




[664] (my WC is now done, but obviously the mission has just begun! Let's kick some ass.)

Your Opponent:

'Haven, the city blessed by the stars, otherwise known as Hoshigakure is a land full of prosperity and new opportunities, ripe for a takeover. Infiltrate the village with great haste and should someone spot you, let those seconds be the last seconds of their lives.' 

Those solemn words were spoken no more yet no less than three days ago. The request and words of his dearest friend rang nostalgically through Byakuya's mind as he hastened towards Hoshigakure. It had always been a dream of the infiltrator to visit all of the villages in the Ninja World, being more of a free spirit than a Rogue Ninja; he always grew to think of himself along those lines. However, freedom is for the ignorant, as life is an endless prison in itself. During the times the adolescent Yuki traveled among the Ninja World, he encountered one of his greatest friends, Ryusei. The two were both but young teens, trying to make sense of the unforgiving land that was the Ninja World, wanting to break free of the prison that surrounded them for their whole lives. Then, something hit the two friends; in order to truly become free, one must create a legacy that would forever change the course of Ninja World. The sudden epiphany only transpired...about a month ago. Despite the rather...spontanous thought, Byakuya and Ryusei's determination was unparalleled, wanting to make their dream happen, no matter the cost. They first thought of defeating Bijuu and becoming Jinchuriki, but that would require them to become extremely strong, about Anbu-Kage tier at least. So, the next best opportunity to facilitate both of them defeating Bijuu is to steal the secrets arts and jutsu of every single village. Ryusei had elected to go to Konohagakure to spy on the shinobi there and possibly steal a scroll that endowed great knowledge in Konohagakure-exclusive arts, therefore, that left the Yuki with one other area...Hoshigakure no Sato. 

The morning showed one of boredom yet promise, as the sun finally showed up today with all of its glory, batting away the gloomy cumulus clouds that resembled an obscure type of gray cotton candy. It was also blisteringly hot today, as Byakuya felt the need to unbutton his medium-sleeved beige shirt once he reached about 200 meters from the gates of the village, revealing his muscular body and abs a tad bit. The Yuki also felt the need to take off his lightweight and stretchy combat jeans due to the sheer intensity of the heat...but that would be extremely awkward if someone saw him walking around in his underwear so he relented at the last moment. Additionally, he would have to lug around his pants and the ninja pouches he adorned on his left and right rips so that was another reason. Nevertheless, the Yuki would keep on marching to the gates (relatively 50 Speed), feet shoulder-width apart, his amber eyes scanning the area that was straight ahead from him to keep an eye on any surprise attacks that would occur during his march. As Byakuya neared about 50 meters from the gates, his amber eyes picked up on 4 humanoid bodies who were at the gates who he assumed were gate guards, a meter apart from each other. The people there didn't seem that intimidating, unassuming even if it wasn't for their distinct hair colors. "A redhead. A blonde. Another redhead. And...a blue popsicle? Hoshigakure shinobi sure do love dyeing their hair..." Byakuya thought, somewhat amused at the sight of them. As much as he wanted to commence menial festivities with them, the young teen had a job, and he wouldn't let his usual docile and cheerful nature deter him. So, once he reached 50 meters away from the gates and saw the shinobi who were at the gates, he would dash at full speed and in front of him, ready to react to any stimuli that would endanger him whilst he dashed and would perform actions accordingly depending on the stimuli in question. 

Should Byakuya not be interrupted mid-dash, the Yuki would stop until he was 20 meters away from the four gate guards. He had no time to waste, as he would have tried to dispose of them when he was in the 50-meter range, but he wanted to talk to the four and see if they can be reasoned with. He didn't want to waste his valuable reserves on people he assumed to be, quite literally, fodder tier. Therefore, as he reached 20 meters away from them, he would stop dead in his tracks, feet-shoulder width apart clearing his throat before speaking in his usual calm yet haste tone. He would also make sure to look at the upper chins of the four so he would not be looking directly in the eye in fear of ocular Genjutsu, yet still, be able to see if they were performing any hand seals or attacks that he could react too easily whilst he was stopping and or speaking. 

"Hello, there gate guards. As much as I would want to partake in mundane festivities today, you guys have robbed me of an easy infiltration to your beloved village which annoyed me a fair bit. To repent, I would like for all four of you guys to perish here right now. I have no time to waste my valuable reserves on cannon fodder like you. Now chop-chop!" Byakuya sadistically offered with a giant grin on his face, the words he spoke, and his expression greatly opposed each other. Of course, the Yuki did not expect for the gate guards to kill themselves immediately since it was an unreasonable and quite sadistic offer, but he itched for a fight to see if he got better at combat. During and after he spoke, Byakuya would be alert for the gate guards' moves, able to react accordingly to everything they performed.

WC: 979

He was the first to arrive at the North gates and sign in with the blonde-haired Guard captain who gave him the route him and his group would be taking. ‘I guess I can stock up while I’m waiting.’ He thought to himself as he knelt down and picked up some earth, infusing it with his chakra, causing it to become a white putty-like ball of clay. He created three such balls which he then into a weapon pouch. The heat of the day sucked basically all of the surface moisture out of the ground, which explained the clouds. It wouldn’t rain for some time, but rain would be in the village’s future.

It was a sweltering day, so the Uzumaki Chuunin moved off to the right side of the Northern entryway sitting down in some shade, his back to the wall, little comfort it gave considering the heat. The massive trees that formed the Tachibana Wildlife Preserve were off about 100 meters behind him, which would likely be a nicer place to sit, what with the trees providing shade, but he had to wait for the rest of his patrol squad.

The first person to check in was someone Masashi didn’t know, at least not personally. The Blue haired boy walked over to him and commented on seeing him the other night. “Ah. You were the one standing on the water.” He would say to him. “Did you get my note?” He was curious to see if the boy had seen the note and whether or not he decided to take the Uzumaki Chuunin’s advice.

The next person to show up was a familiar face. Akaboshi Uzumaki; another Chuunin and one who he’d been assigned to work with a few times now. Akaboshi would walk over and extend his hand, Masashi got up and shook the man’s hand. “Good to see you Akaboshi. I’m doing alright, I trust you are as well?” After their conversation, he would look out the gates at the surrounding area, turning his body to face the same direction; directly outwards, away from the village.
Shortly after that he’d heard running feet to his right, followed by what he thought was a loud curse from a familiar voice. Masashi had turned to his right, arms out, expecting to catch Keina, his blonde-haired Jounin mentor, but that actually didn’t happen due to timeline shenanigans as a result of accidental godmodding*. It was at this point where he’d noticed something moving in the distance, was still too far away to make out details properly, but whatever it was, it was near the preserve and moving towards the village. This new shape slowly took the form of a person as they drew closer and closer to the village. Now that Masashi could make out roughly what it was, he would turn his body in order to face the oncoming visitor head-on.

As the person got about 50 meters away, his speed drastically increased. “Prepare yourselves.” Masashi said to the guard captain and his two squadmates. “I’m starting to doubt that they’re friendly.” To Masashi’s surprise, the unknown assailant stopped about 20 meters away from him and started spouting out an utter diatribe of nonsense. Masashi looked at the man briefly and then laughed. “I hate to disappoint you…”He really didn’t though “but you’ll have to try to do that yourself, no easy solution for you here.” As he said this, Masashi mentally and physically prepared himself to respond to any hostile action the stranger made.

WC: 587
TWC: 737

AP Spent:
-15 (Explosive Clay Creation x3)

Gained 3 batches of Explosive Clay (3/6 collected this topic)

*Our group was, at no point, all standing at the gate; Keina was tumbling towards them at the end of her post, after failing at some parkour. Masashi did, however, mention a guard captain he was going to meet at the gate. Because you mentioned 4 of us standing together, the most likely solution is that Keina did NOT yet have her tumble towards the group, as Masashi would have split ranks to try to help her, and the blonde haired person was actually the guard captain.

Zeo’s reunion with the mysterious figure from the training ground was a mix of things. The only reason Zeo had issued in the past with this person was that his sense of chakra had grown. It was personally hard to clear his mind of all distractions when also he had a bit of an aptitude for chakra sensing early for his age. When he had finished the training, he did see the note-- he wasn’t sure to interpret it as a helpful note, or a pity joke. Still, he was a Genin and still had much to learn, despite his mastery of the chakra control to walk on surfaces. He didn’t respond pertaining to the note, but he did take it to heart and look up the dumb books. “It’s a little hard to focus when your sense of chakra is unusually high and--”

He soon saw another person arrive that interrupted him. He looked to find the red-headed appearance of none other than one of his earlier instructors. “S-sensei?” he asked, not sure why he was there at the gate too. He didn’t say much, a bit shy as he was clear before a senior shinobi. He still nodded to his question. Though he just came back from training and wasn’t intending to do guard duty. Still, this would be a form of training and experience regardless. Something that Zeo direly needed.

However, that soon didn’t matter. Speaking of, there came another. Another presence that soon vocalized its arrival and intentions about 20 meters away. Zeo slowly turned, as his back had been to him at first. He glanced at the side, seeing the dumb grin on his face and soon heard his clearly hostile intensions for their village. Zeo couldn’t help but blink at the person, who seemed not that much older than the majority of them. “Is he serious?” Zeo asked rhetorically. If it was a joke, it was a horrible one. Nothing to make Zeo lower his guard.

As the man approached, reaching 20 meters, Zeo glared at the person with serious intent. He should have been scared, terrified to be in a real fight with another shinobi. However, his sense of emotion had dulled a bit. Right now, he was focused only on the goal-- to protect his new home from this smiling nut-case. He failed to protect his home and family once before, as a little kid. He was not that anymore. He was now a shinobi, and he would play his part.

Zeo got ready, made a hand sign-- and paused. He glared at the guy. He clearly took precautions to avoid easy tricks, with his head low and avoiding direct eye-contact. That was a problem. Still…

Zeo stepped forward to the stranger, just a bit. At least one meter ahead. “Listen up,” Zeo spoke, his tone stern, but not showing true emotion. “I don’t know what kind of lunatic you are… but let me make one thing clear,” he spoke to the intruder. “ This village is our home, so there is no way in hell we would ever allow the likes of you to threaten it. You will not pass.”

He then acted, making one last hand sign. “Secret Jutsu -- Forsaken Mist,” he spoke.

At first, nothing happened. The air between them remained calm but slowly, the mist began to form between them. Zeo’s form began to fade, as did the others behind him. It was some form of mist jutsu, and it would soon enclose the entire area in a thick blanket of fog. The stranger wouldn’t be able to see properly as the fog spread outward, obscuring his vision. It also gave the others cover…

As he did this, the hand sign he just did was for another jutsu entirely. With it, water formed and took shape in front of him, becoming a mirror image of himself. A water clone. With it there, he backed up to the others, using it to act as a proxy in the event things didn’t go as planned.

AP Used: 40/480

WC: 673

Akaboshi noticed Masashi finished his small talk with the blond haired guard captain before the other Chuunin accepted his handshake. "Besides the temperature I can't complain" the red haired Uzumaki would be referring to the heat that kept Hoshigakure hostage. Moments ago he saw how his fellow Uzumaki took a brief moment to hide in the shade but unfortunately there was not much time considering gate duty called. He was slightly taken by surprise being called sensei by the young genin who had arrived a little bit earlier than him, although that would be something he needed to get used to. On the other hand it made him remember his days at the Queensguard so it wasn't all that bad. 

Wondering whether or not to light up a cigarette Akaboshi noticed how Masashi suddenly looked to his right. "Hm, probably saw someone he recognized" he thought to himself. It was then that he, similar to his fellow Chuunin, noticed something or someone approaching in the distance while looking out the gates at the surrounding area again. After glancing at Masashi, Akaboshi had to do about an eighth turn to be looking directly at the oncoming figure. Akaboshi's gaze would be aimed straight at the figure who started to pick up speed when they were fifty meters from where Akaboshi, Masashi, Zeo and the guard captain were currently standing. Curiosity got the best of him, wondering what it was all about he would now be standing two meters to Masashi's left, hoping to find out soon enough what the visitor's deal was. 

He didn't need to wait long for the person to announce his reason for being there. Once he was standing twenty meters from the gates the visitor claimed something rather interesting. "I didn't know our Hogokage ordered a comedian?" It was pretty funny, he'd give him that. It seemed Masashi felt the same but for some reason it was the young genin who decided to make a move as he took one step forward, roughly one meter ahead, after forming a hand seal before speaking up. Forming another hand seal Zeo then uttered the name of a technique. Akaboshi figured it were either the nerves or the will to prove himself to his superiors, nevertheless the red haired Uzumaki prepared himself for the worst.

(WC: 385, TWC: 597)

The sun beats down on the desert today
Not a footfall to be heard
The walls rise up besides me!
Oh my, look, is that a bird?

The wind is stagnant like this voice inside my head
Gotta keep it in, write it down in bed

Don't let them in, don't let them hear
Be the good girl, even if you get some beer
Don't sing, whole thing, don't let them know
You really love that sho-

What the flying fuck was that?

That, as Keina's most astute eye saw, was someone running towards her village fairly quickly.

Now, she was too far away to make out anything about this person, but she did not THINK there was any patrols expected back. She altered her path slightly, sad that she would not get to try the wall run and jump, but she wanted to know what was going on.

At some point, the figure stopped, and began talking. It was hard for Keina to make out his words, but she caught enough to instantly enter "danger" mode.

This person was threatening Hoshigakure. Her home. She could never accept this. One might think she would instantly charge the man, but that was not her plan right now. Gate Guards was plural, so her team had shown up. Or at least part of it, had.

Or the dude was just an idiot, and some random civilian was now caught in the trouble.

Yep, that was the worst possible outcome.

Keina silently hoped that there were actual guards there, not the captain and (a) random unfortunate civilian(s).

She finished running at her max speed, placing herself close enough that she would be 30 meters away from the mysterious new person. This also placed her about 40 meters away from Masashi. Whatever worked, right?

Grabbing two Kunai, she threw them straight towards this new individual, one towards his head, a second towards his neck. Let us pretend he did not try to dodge at all for a moment. The first would pierce directly through his brain, while the second would, at minimum, cut the common carotid artery on the left side of his neck. If this were to occur, the figure would be instantly killed at the same time Zeo began saying "Forsaken".

However, if the figure began moving at any time during Zeo's emotional speech, Keina would try to lead the first kunai so it would hit the same location, based on how the man was running. If he began running towards the gate, she would begin running to get involved and attempt to intercept.

Should the figure mean to venture into the realm of diminished vision caused by Zeo's jutsu, having let Zeo finish casting but dodged the thrown Kunai, Keina would toss a shuriken towards him, such that it would piece through his skull in a deadly manor just before his vision got blocked by the jutsu, assuming of course he did not dodge the jutsu.

Regardless of which events occurred, Keina would hold a kunai in one hand, prepared to engage in close quarters combat if she had to.

[519 words]

Well, it seemed that there was no way of "rationalizing" with the group of the presumed gate guards that Byakuya tried to subdue using pure banter. The first man that spoke, Masashi basically told him to do it himself. "Bitch, I would have done that earlier today if I knew you guys weren't gonna be fun..." Byakuya retorted in his thoughts instantly once he caught the man's riposte. The second one -being the blue-haired boy- clearly did not seem interested in partaking in Byakuya's banter session, opting to form a handseal instead, as if the situation was not hostile enough. Byakuya, despite being well in his range to intercept the handseal, wanted to give the younger boy false hope, to show how useless his efforts were in protecting his village. Simultaneously, as the boy began forming the specific handseal in question, another man -this time with scarlet hair- would pipe up with retort of himself. The Yuki would internally shrug off the retort, as something else caught half of his attention as the three of them were speaking and or performing their initial actions. A young woman, with a unique type of blonde hair that flowed through the turbulent winds of the early morning, was running towards Byakuya at exceptionally high speeds in a vague angle until she was 30 meters away from him, stopping her momentum for a brief moment. "Reinforcements?" the auburn-haired assailant thought in slight amusement, preparing himself for the incoming battle that was about to ensue. As the young woman stopped for a brief moment to pull two Kunai out to throw them at Byakuya's head and neck, the cerulean-haired boy called Zeo would attempt to step a few steps forward to reach a meter in distance, but Byakuya would not let boy's movements occur.

Without any hesitation, Byakuya had already begun to perform his next actions simultaneously just as Zeo made his first step towards him and the young woman beginning to throw her two Kunai at him. Instantly kneading a great amount of chakra in his stomach, the Yuki would inhale from his nostrils ever-so-slightly to prepare his body for what was about to come. At the same time, the auburn-haired assailant would slightly bend his knees with little to no movement, no more than an inch or so as a precaution so he could maneuver himself for any actions his opponents performed, still primarily looking at the chins of the four shinobi 20 meters in front of yet, yet the upper vision and corner of his eyes could still view the young woman throwing projectiles in his direction who was 30 meters away from him currently. Wasting no time yet still keeping watch of the shinobi in the area Byakuya would carefully exhale a thin stream of fire from the center of his mouth, half a foot wide that would travel at high speeds in front of him, effectively intercepting the actions of Zeo and Keina which would target the four shinobi 20 meters in front of him. The stream only needed to travel an inch before rapidly expanding and detaching into four large spheres of fire chakra, 5 meters in radius, and an inch spaced out horizontally from each other. The fireballs would continue to rush towards the four shinobi at their high speeds, each covering a large amount of distance in radius which would make it extremely difficult to dodge, considering the little to no spacing between the four. The fireballs would continue traveling in front of them unless Byakuya curved them or if they reached 30 meters, which was the maximum distance they could reach, fizzing out. Additionally, due to the intensity of the flames, the two Kunai that Keina aimed at Byakuya's head and neck would be dealt with by the four fireballs that were in front of him, being a makeshift shield for the Yuki. As the Kunai clashed with the fire, they would immediately be turned to ash upon contact, falling uselessly onto the ground. Now, should the four shinobi targeted by the four fireballs be caught in the intense inferno...let's say that the Hogokage would have to find out why his precious cannon fodder got turned into burnt human nuggets. The fireballs were thankfully, translucent due to the fire being a source of both heat and light energy, and therefore, Byakuya could see shadows of the four shinobi and Keina through the flames. However, the shadows cast on them by looking through the flames made it so that their appearances were only shadows; the Yuki couldn't tell who was who by looking through the fire. However, it was enough for him to discern any sort of movement that his opponents performed. If Zeo still tried to do his emotional speech and continue the activation of his Hidden Mist jutsu, he would be shooting himself in the foot due to him having less time to counter the fireballs.

Well, they wanted a fight, so they got one. Byakuya lost his patience after the banter session, so he was going for the kill at this moment. The assailant would use the shadows of the fireballs for his advantage to scan the area to see if there was anything he could react to from any of the now 5 shinobi that were out for him. This was getting interesting...

WC: 984
TWC: 1983

Boring AP Stuff: