Disappointing Holiday

As the duo of Heifu and Nemui moved further ahead and at a faster pace, Kaimera would take Leon's hand in his own, interlocking their fingers so they wouldn't be separated. That's if he was near him. However, unfortunately, Kaimera lost Heifu and Nemui in the thick rivers of rain coming down.  He knew they were heading to the Ginza District, but he wasn't for sure what path they would take. Would they take a shortcut or would they head the normal route. What made matters even worse, the lightning had started coming down dangerously close to the buildings which made Kaimera change trajectory again and again. Even the wind would pick up, blowing harshly through the streets as they ran. Would this be the best time to tell Leon that he was only able to explore Kirigakure fully in the last six months, outside the routes that were given to him based upon missions that he received. Probably not.

Through all his thoughts on trying to find the other two, his direction got twisted and turned due to the vision-obscuring weather. As the kept running around, they finally came to a scene of ruin. "We need to help," Kaimera said as he dropped Leon's hand if he was with him and moved onto the site.

Kaimera shifted through the rubble of what had been a tavern. It had been the site of a lightning bolt and harsh winds striking it down. The rain, now, had let up for him to see. Kaimera, albeit not obligated to, went in to look for survivors. Close by, Kaimera could see an inspector of the Kirigakure’s police force, Utsuro, doing the same.

“Any luck so far?” Utsuro called out to Kaimera, as he struggled to lift a particularly large chunk of metal platelets.

“No, not so far…” Kaimera replied, cursing himself for feeling so useless.

So far, they had only found the dead. There were a handful of civilians dead and along with a couple shinobi, both student and professional alike. While dead, the shinobi had at least come out of the destruction looking relatively unbattered; their fortified bodies and chakra had protected their bodies, leaving relatively intact corpses. The civilians, however, had been utterly pulverized, either by the immediate destruction or by flying debris and glass. It was a grisly sight, and as hardened as he was to death, Kaimera felt sick. These people had not deserved their fate.

Shaking off his feelings, Kaimera returned to his search, hoping that there were survivors to be recovered, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary. He activated his Kashogan and swept it over the wreckage, hoping to pick up any heat signatures of life.

Suddenly, Kaimera detected a life-sign. It was faint, but it was there. he frantically began digging under the wreckage, throwing pieces of debris away haphazardly.

“Utsuro! Utsuro, I’ve found someone! He’s alive!” Kaimera shouted, waving his arms to attract attention, Utsuro quickly rushed over to help, hastily throwing aside the slab of debris.

Lying pinned under the wreckage was a male, perhaps in his mid-thirties. He was covered in dust, and he was badly injured; blood was pouring freely down his forehead. His uniform had been damaged by the destruction, but Kaimera could see that he was some sort of police officer of Kirigakure.

“Help me…please help me…” The man pleaded, his voice barely above a whisper. Tremblingly, he slowly held his arm out to Kaimera.

“What’s your name?”

“Jirou…Jirou Konno…” He struggled to speak, he was clearly in a lot of pain, and he was afraid.

Kaimera looked around, hoping to see someone coming to help. Utsuro, now standing by Kaimera’s side, was peering at him curiously, but he was the only one, the other rescue teams were looking for other survivors and clearing out the area. Slowly, Kaimera then reached down, just as cautiously, he took Jirou’s hand in his own.

“Mine’s Kaimera. I’m a medic; I’m going to help.”

Jirou looked faintly hopeful. Kaimera reached for the morphine injection and prepared to attend to Jirou. Kaimera struggled to keep his hands steady; he knew that it would make no difference. Jirou was badly injured; he would die soon. Perhaps if he had been found earlier. Kaimera swallowed, the least he could do was make Jirou’s last moments as comfortable as possible. He did not need to know that he was dying. There was no point in letting his last moments be filled with terror.

A voice from behind Kaimera spoke up. “Kaimera, you’re needed elsewhere; we’ve recovered an injured shinobi.”

Kaimera turned and saw a Jounin standing over them. ‘Escher,’ Kaimera thought, struggling not to scowl. He quickly fixed his disgruntled look.

Kaimera looked over and saw the man to whom Escher was referring to. The shinobi jacket around his torso had been removed, revealing the tightly fitted shirt underneath. It was torn and ragged, and Kaimera could see that there was blood flowing freely down his side. Beside him, however, was another medic, who was helping the shinobi to apply pressure to the wound. It looked bad, Kaimera admitted, but it looked like the man would survive, the injury was not critical, and he was being attended to already. Which was more than he could say for Jirou.

“He’ll live,” Kaimera said curtly, turning his attention back to Jirou, “but this man won’t. Just give me a few minutes with him, I need to stay with him until he dies. I won’t let him do it alone.”

Escher sighed and stepped closer, one handheld out, as if preparing to grab Kaimera. “You’re right, he is going to die: so, there’s no point in wasting precious time. Your comrades, the ones who actually stand a chance, they need you now.”

Kaimera struggled not to whirl around and punch Escher for his callousness. Jirou might not be one of his brothers, but he did not deserve to die here, scared and in pain. Utsuro took a step towards the pair, “sir, perhaps-”

Escher held out a hand to silence Utsuro, and he went immediately mute, “I won’t ask again, Kaimera.”

Kaimera twisted around to face Escher, “if this man is going to die, then he will not do so in fear and alone. I’m going to stay with him, Escher, until he passes on. I don’t care what your orders are.” His voice was low, his tone adamant. And really, why should he follow Escher’s orders? He always fretted over shinobi casualties, but whenever a civilian or non-shinobi officer was reported dead, Escher never seemed to care less. Kaimera found it disgusting, whether a person wielded chakra or not, they were still people, and their deaths were always tragic and worth mourning. These men and women had family and friends; it was not right to dismiss their lives as meaningless.

Escher stiffened, and Kaimera wondered if his chakra was beginning to flow rampantly through him. Then, before Kaimera could go back to Jirou, Escher’s hand shot out and grabbed Kaimera’s arm firmly. Escher roughly pulled Kaimera up and began to drag him away, towards the injured shinobi.

“Let go!” Kaimera snarled, twisting frantically in Escher’s grip.

“Sir!” Utsuro exclaimed in shock, rushing forward to assist Kaimera.

“Back away, Utsuro!” Escher ordered, his patience since used up. Utsuro froze, as if he had been stunned, before backing off.

“Jirou can’t be alone!” Kaimera brought his free fist down onto Escher’s arm, but if he felt any pain, he did not show it.

“Listen to me! He is going to die, you dumb bitch! He is going to die, and you can’t save him! You are done wasting time with that civilian!” Escher snapped.

Behind them, Jirou let out a pitiful cry. Escher and Kaimera froze. Escher had said that out loud. He winced, evidently, he had not meant to. The damage had been done though, and Jirou was whimpering softly. Kaimera wrenched his arm free, slugged Escher with enough force to stagger him and hurried back to Jirou’s side.

“Sssh, it’s okay, Jirou, I’m here,” Kaimera said softly, trying to be comforting and grabbed Jirou’s hand on his own.

“Don’t leave me…please, don’t…” Jirou sobbed faintly.

Kaimera was dimly aware that the ones behind him were talking but he paid them no mind. Jirou was the sole focus of his attention. Even when Jirou’s hand went limp and his breathing stopped, Kaimera paid the others no heed. Not even when Utsuro came over and gingerly placed a hand on Kaimera’s shoulder. He sighed, closed his eyes and hung his head. What is done, is done.

“May you find peace in the afterlife, Jirou,” he said in a whispered-like state as he quickly gathered his things and shoved them into their home. Stepping over his body, he moved into the direction that he needed to go, which was the other Shinobi in need. But would he get there? Unfortunately, not at this time. As his eyes scanned over the area, he could see two heat signatures approaching from the alleyways. One was familiar and normal, while the other was foreign and depleting.

Running up to the familiar individual, Nemui. He saw the state that the man he was carrying in. “Nemui, is everything alright.” Kaimera asked, knowing full well that not everything was alright. Especially concerning the man, he was carrying. Once Nemui would answer him on the state of the individual, Kaimera would ask, “alright, lay him down and I’ll begin to administer treatment.”

Once Nemui would lay down the man, Kaimera would rush into immediate action as he saw his breathing was getting shallow. "Just hang in their sir," he said as performed the hand signs: Snake, Ox, Tiger, Ram, Rat (Mystical Palm) then his hands started to glow bright crimson color as he placed his hands above his abdomen, sending chakra at an accelerated rate to heal the wounds he currently has.

As Kaimera continued to heal him, he would say to Nemui and any others that might be around, “I tried to follow you guys, but the storm kept getting worse. I wasn't able to see where you went and then I found these people in need of help. It seems we are in the eye of the storm currently. We need to get everyone to safety; can you do that?”

WC: 1,731
TWC: 3,279

Leon would feel something on his hand before suddenly feeling some fingers interlocking with his. This caused him to look up as he was getting pulled away by Kai, as they ran through the village trying to find Heifu and Nemui again the crackle and flash of lightning lit up the village the more it cracked. As they continued to move to avoid the lightning Leon would look up as they came to a place of ruins, as Kai told him they needed to help he would nod in agreement and moved towards the rubble with him. He'd look at the building that was once the tavern and began moving rubble alongside Kai. As the rain let up some Leon began to move a bit quicker as the inspector came over to them asking if they found anyone besides the dead. Leon would say nothing as his eyes were filled with determination and some hope they'll find survivors. Though that spark was dying, despite his background Leon hasn't seen such a gruesome sight before. The civilians bodies were.... disheartening to see especially this close. Even with the explosion from the last time they were here he was so focused on the survivors he didn't even think about the how bad the casualties were. He has to turn his head a few times but swallowed everything as he pushed forward, he had a job to do and he was gonna complete it.

Just as he was about to give up Kai found someone, when he began to dig more Leon would come over and began to help him he would move the rubble just in time to find the man named Jirou Konno. As Kai began talking to him a jounin would almost push past Leon as they began speaking to Kai and the man he was trying to reassure. This jounin was talking to Kai and things were quickly getting heated as this man named Escher had grabbed Kai and tried to force him to pull from the man just to get loud with him. This caused Leon to take a step towards them but stopped as Kai pulled away from his grip and returned to the dying man. Leon would shake his head as he bit his bottom lip before looking at the Shinobi that Escher was trying to get him to go to. Leon would approach the Shinobi and checked the wound just to see how bad it was, it wasn't nothing too nasty but a very deep cut that got in deeper than what they hoped. He would have the medic ninja give him some morphine as he signed bird -> boar -> dog as he placed his hands around his wound as the chakra glowed as he used healing hands on him. He would breathe softly as his hood covered his face and the water washed over his face hiding the pain in his face. As the shinobi's wound closed and the bleeding stopped he would nod towards the other Shinobi before finally stopping. His head would snap up at the mention of Nemui name and began to make his way over to them before sliding to a stop on front of them. He would look at Nemui as he spoke then back to Kai as he was right they had to figure something out for this predicament since they were in the eye the back half of the storm is gonna be devastating if the lightning is striking the buildings like it has been.

WC 587
TWC 1571

Nemui was not aware of the fury building up inside of Heifu and instead focused his complete attention on the man's wellbeing. Stepping out from the sheltered alleyway, Nemui was shocked by what he saw. Rain pelted down ferociously and his intention to search for Kaimera seemed it would be futile, now looking out to the street he couldn't even see a few meters in front of him. The nearby buildings creaked while their rooves attempted to support the immense amount of water landing atop them and the rain itself was so terribly loud he could barely hear anything else. Walking back into the sheltered alleyway, Nemui considered their options momentarily. It wouldn't do to get lost in the rain or to drag this injured man around in it where he might become hypothermic. So he would decide to wait in the alleyway and eventually it seemed this was the correct decision as the rainfall slowed down dramatically.

Kaimera's visage emerged from the rain only moments later as though he knew their plight. He was quick to understand the situation and Nemui, not wanting to cause the man distress with discussing his condition, would simply point to his shattered fingers and feet before complying and laying him down inside the nearest store. While there was danger of the building collapsing under the rain's weight, it was far safer than laying the man outside where people may trample him accidentally. It appeared to be a building that sold exquisitely crafted dresses and so Nemui grabbed one such silken blue dress before folding it up and gently placing it under the man's head. At this point he allowed Kaimera to take charge of the situation, comforting and healing the man.

Once Nemui heard from Kaimera that he'd lost sight of them he immediately thought of how self-absorbed he'd been, unable to notice just how serious the storm was getting around them. Following Kaimera's explanation and request to get people to safety, Nemui nodded solemnly and answered while walking to the door "I'll go down to the docks and get the old man to safety if he's still there, as well as anybody else I find along the way.. I imagine I'll find some of the tourists along the way too." Immediately stepping outside as he'd finished speaking, the boy began sprinting back towards the docks. While being in the eye of the storm allowed greater visibility and would make these efforts easier, it also allowed Nemui to see the sheer destruction he'd been oblivious to before. It was eerily similar in appearance to the attack a week prior.

Buildings were collapsing and debris had toppled into the streets, crushing passersby while the rain lowered their visibility, allowing no chance of escape. While he'd only see three people having suffered this fate along his journey to the docks, none of them had been lucky enough to survive and two of the victims were faces he recognized, tourists from the group that mustn't have understood the predicament and to seek shelter. Nemui realized upon seeing them in such a miserable state that he didn't feel hatred anymore, instead that all-powerful feeling was replaced with guilt and remorse for not taking better care of them. All he could do for the moment was to ensure the survival of anybody else he might have the power to save, so he'd run past their bodies with the commitment to retrieve them later. Almost at his destination Nemui would suddenly stop, realizing the horrific situation before him.

Arriving at the path that lead down to the harbor a boat had been launched several hundred meters onto shore. It looked as though a tsunami hit the harbor and all he could see was the wooden remains of the docks, with boats in areas and positions they shouldn't be. He knew at this moment if the old man had still been waiting where he was when this tragedy occurred there would have been no chance of survival. Even still, Nemui trudged his way down while screaming out, begging for any survivors to make themselves known. He couldn't stay in this area for long, once the eye of the storm moved further he would be in just as much danger as the victims of this disaster before him. Processing the situation he was in, Nemui couldn't help but cry. Once again he was incapable of saving lives that needed his help, again he was forced to look upon the aftermath of his abject failure.

Everywhere he looked there was debris but he hadn't seen a single person yet, not even a body. That suddenly changed when Nemui, completely assured of his inability to save any lives, heard a faint shout carried by the wind. He came to an abrupt halt, jolting his head left and right in search of where the voice came from. Beginning to think he'd imagined it, the shout suddenly came once again and this time he immediately looked in its direction. In the water he could see the underside of a yacht poking up only twenty or so meters off the shore. Without hesitation Nemui sprinted to the water before leaping atop it and using surface walking to reach the voice. Getting closer he could tell it was a lady shouting and a child screaming intermittently, panicked by his parent's reaction to their plight. Nemui immediately knelt down by the bottom of the yacht and shouted to them, "Get away from the bottom of the boat!"

Then, winding up his right fist, Nemui began punching it as hard as he could. At first he dented its surface but with each subsequent hit a hole would suddenly form, with his arm driving through. The woman and her child were on the ceiling below and their cries for help grew louder and more desperate by the second. Knowing his actions would sink the ship faster, Nemui acted quickly, forcing his other arm into the same hole he'd pry it open to the point an adult would fit through before dropping into the yacht himself. There he immediately grabbed the woman and utilizing his abnormal strength, hoisted her up through the hole. Then with the child in one arm he leapt up, grabbing hold of the hole's edge with the other hand and passing them through it. Finally, Nemui crawled up through the hole while the yacht finally sank underwater.

Unaware of the swimming capabilities the woman or her child possessed he immediately grabbed both, elevating them above the water and sprinting across its surface to shore. During this ordeal the eye of the storm had begun to move as he feared and the waves were growing perilous. Nemui decided it would be best to retreat with the two survivors he could find rather than risk letting them travel alone, so instead of putting them down he continued to carry them both, sprinting back to the relative safety of Ginza District. He wouldn't make it all the way back to Kaimera's location and instead settled on the first building he came across, a quaint looking store with memorabilia intended for tourists. With extremely low visibility plaguing the area once again, Nemui knew he was incapable of doing anything else and stayed with the two, ready to protect them should the building cave in.

Thankfully however, as the storm eventually passed their safety was assured. Nemui breathed deeply to prepare himself for the terrible sights he might face following this disaster before finally stepping outside to help with rescue efforts.


[Exit]

WC: 1,259
TWC: 3,214

Postponing Wordcount Claims Pending Power Rank Up - All Requirements Met Following These Missions

Mission Rewards: 1xE, 1xC, 1xB

11,000 Ryo
55 AP (Cap Already Reached) | 55 x 50 = 2,750 Ryo
Current Ryo: 56,440
New Ryo: 70,190

Nemui wrote:


[Exit]

WC: 1,259
TWC: 3,214

Postponing Wordcount Claims Pending Power Rank Up - All Requirements Met Following These Missions

Mission Rewards: 1xE, 1xC, 1xB

11,000 Ryo
55 AP (Cap Already Reached) | 55 x 50 = 2,750 Ryo
Current Ryo: 56,440
New Ryo: 70,190

Approved

Heifu pulled herself together as Kaimera healed the broken man. She sheathed her blade, a vow she would not forget, but now was not the time for it. As the storm raged on she knew she could better serve Kirigakure by helping mitigate the damage. However, she was still worried about Nemui. So as he volunteered to head to the docks she followed him, giving the two genin she left behind a solemn nod. They were doing their best for the village as well, and that at least raised them a notch in her book.

She sprinted along Nemui, ignoring the immense destruction the storm had already wreaked. While the bodies were sad she'd long hardened herself to such sights, but it was clear Nemui hadn't. His desperation and survivor's guilt were apparent in his every action, his every movement. It finally boiled over as they reached the docks. As tears streamed down the blond boy's face Heifu placed a gentle hand on his back. She knew words wouldn't help and so simply consoled him as best she could wordlessly. The genin had clearly suffered some PTSD from his last mission and it was clear this type of disaster was too much of a mission for him to jump back in the saddle again. When the current emergency was over she may have to leave a private word with the mission desk to give him some time off. Being in the emotional state he was in on a more high stakes mission could mean his death. One wrong decision and he would be another name on the Kirigakure veteran monument.

It was then they both heard a shout on the wind. It came from a nearby boat and, not thinking of his own safety, Nemui launched himself in that direction in the voices aid. Heifu decided to stand back and allow him to help them hoping that not only would it grant him some confidence down the line, but also so she could maintain a watch on their hazardous environment. Debris was being whipped everywhere, the winds strong enough to hurtle loose wooden beams and various rubble through the air. As Nemui emerged from the craft with two civilians in hand a few pieces of rubble began a dangerous trajectory towards them. Heifu quickly formed her hands into the following handseals Rat → Tiger → Dog → Ox → Rabbit. She formed six fireballs and launched them towards the dangerous debris. She hit each of them well in advance of their getting near Nemui and his rescuees, but in a twist of irony, after completing the maneuver a fist sized piece of rubble hit her in the back of the head.

Dazed and bleeding steadily, Heifu shook her head in an attempt to clear it of the quiet buzz that had built with the onset of her likely concussion. Once she was able to focus again, she followed Nemui wearily and took shelter in the building he pointed out. She huddled with them, holding a hand to the back of her head to try and stop the bleeding as best she could. As they waited for the storm to clear she turned to Nemui and said, "Our job is hard. Whether or not we are in combat, death follows us wherever we go. But so does life. We can't control who lives and dies, but we can control who we save. If you save even one life in your career as a shinobi, you've done well. Remember that."

She remained quiet after that hoping that her words, with time, may help him. When the storm finally died, she left with him in search of a medic and then to help any other survivors she could.

WC: 625
TWC: 2,665
MTWC: Exceeded/5,500

Exit:

1,307 WC Smoke Release (The rest learned here)
359 WC Feint (The rest learned here)
999/2,500 Body of Smoke

Stats:
+26 speed

Mission Completion:
+11,000 ryo
+55 AP (New bonus AP total: 120)

The mystical palm hummed and glowed as it flooded the man’s body with rejuvenated chakra. Bruises upon the skin began to fade away. Cuts and scratches began to stitch themselves close. Bones began repairing themselves as they shifted and molded together. The excruciating pain began to dwindle until it seemingly disappeared. The staggering breaths began to form normal as the chest began to intake and outtake air as normal.

A smile formed over Kaimera’s mouth as saw the irritation and pain fade away from his face. Releasing his jutsu, he placed a palm upon the man's forehead. Subtly warm. It seems he doesn’t have a fever as of yet, whether or not the infection is inhabiting his body. While he seemed to be clear of his injuries, he still needed a thorough checkup. Therefore, the best place for him was the hospital.

Focusing his vision around, he noticed two medics running around with a stretcher. “Hey! Over here.” Kaimera yelled out as he waved for the two to notice him. Immediately they noticed him and ran over to him and the man.

“Is everything okay!?” One of the shinobi medics asked.

“I have healed his injuries, but his injuries were almost critical. He needs to be transported to the hospital for further diagnosis and a checkup.” Kaimera said as he stood while the other rolled out the stretcher and began placing him on it.

“Okay, we’ll get him to the hospital. Thank you,” the medic said as they began to run off with him.

Turning to look at all the destruction that was caused, he couldn’t help dwell on how the village has been suffering through the weeks. Infiltration of a missing-nin, a disastrous storm, and the creatures from the rifts. Oh, how hard times have fallen on Kirigakure once again. However, in the face of such advisories, not only he, but the entire village has and will once again persevere. Things like this are testament of the will that the Kirigakure shinobi and civilians have always instilled into themselves and others. As much as Kaimera wanted to dwell on those thoughts, there was still much that needed to be done. Numerous people still needed help, and thus, he ran back and forth from the hospital and damaging sites. Carrying all those he could for them to receive aid and shelter. Even after the storm had subsided.

EXIT
WC: 397
TWC: 3,676

Claiming:
+11,000 Ryo (Increasing Ryo: 257,750 Ryo -> 268,750 Ryo)
+55 AP (Increasing Bonus AP: 681 AP -> 736 AP)
Claiming WC Later

Heifu Jōnetsu wrote:
WC: 625
TWC: 2,665
MTWC: Exceeded/5,500

Exit:

1,307 WC Smoke Release (The rest learned here)
359 WC Feint (The rest learned here)
999/2,500 Body of Smoke

Stats:
+26 speed

Mission Completion:
+11,000 ryo
+55 AP (New bonus AP total: 120)

Approved

Kaimera Yakedo wrote:

EXIT
WC: 397
TWC: 3,676

Claiming:
+11,000 Ryo (Increasing Ryo: 257,750 Ryo -> 268,750 Ryo)
+55 AP (Increasing Bonus AP: 681 AP -> 736 AP)
Claiming WC Later

Approved

Nemui wrote:
WC: 1,259
TWC: 3,214

Postponing Wordcount Claims Pending Power Rank Up - All Requirements Met Following These Missions

C-Rank Obtained

Claiming with 25% Discount:
Willow Cannon x1 > x2 Speed Mastery 1966/2063 > 2063/2063 (97)
Hiyu - Muscular Overdrive A > S | 3000/3750 > 3750/3750 (750) *Slotless, Taijutsu Primary Spec Clan Technique
Crashing Thunder Charge B > A | 1500/1875 > 1875/1875 (375)
Crashing Thunder Charge A > S | 1875/3750 > 3750/3750 (1875)
Perfect Body B > Progressing A | 1750/2063 > 1867/2063 (117)

3,214 WC Spent