Kiri Reconnaissance [Mission, Dark]

Mission:

Since he hadn't been on a mission in awhile Akio figured now was a good a time as ever to take one. Having just finished left the village of Kirigakure the Chunin sat upon a rock, twirling a single senbon in his fingers, weaving the steal rod in and out of the gaps between his fingers. As he continued to focus on the tool in his hand the blue haired shinobi saw it fit to wait for any of his squad to show up. After all there was always the off chance that one of them would get word. Plus if none of his squad mates were informed his Sensei would surely be notified of one of his students going on a mission and that meant he should at least give the old man time to show up if he were to consider the mission important enough to tag along with Akio.

Thinking over the mission he was assigned the Chunin was getting a little bored of waiting for someone to show up, none the less though it would give him time to prepare. A luxury that would be needed for such a mission that he was assigned to. Today he would have the task of gathering intel on a well known warlord of The Land of Water. While the Chunin would be in danger if he were to be saw by the man this is the reason that he would still find himself sitting on the rock he called a seat for the moment. While he might not admit it Akio would need some help if he were to be spotted by the man or either of his bodyguards that is why he was hoping that his Sensei or at least Chikara were to show up before he had to leave to begin his mission. Tightening his hand around the senbon the boy checked his pouches and adjusted his gray Chunin vest and brushign off his black baggy pants before continuing to spin the needle-like weapon with his fingers.

WC: 340

Today marked the first time Erwin would get to see one of his students in action on a real mission, that student being the most senior of the three Akio Kaguya. He had heard through the grapevine, so to speak, that his Chuunin ward had been assigned an important reconnaissance mission for the village. Naturally Erwin relished the chance to see how his student handled himself in the field. He could observe the young Kaguya, his strengths and weaknesses, that way he could develop Akio’s skills down the line. Their target was a Warlord that held the territory north of Kirigakure, which was centered around a dry steppe, granting the Warlord ample visibility of any invading forces. While this Warlord was allied with Kirigakure there had been reports of suspicious activity within the area, which the Warlord claimed was nothing of note but Ōsharu disagreed. Akio and Erwin would be the Kage’s answer to the Warlord’s evasiveness, their job was to recover any and all intel they could and remain hidden while doing so, and Erwin couldn’t agree more with his course of action. One can never be too careful when village integrity could come into question.

Seeing as the area where this Warlord centered his operations was a rather open plain with very little cover, and that there should be nothing linking him back to Kirigakure should the worst happen, Erwin needed to dress properly for the task at hand. The area may have been far more arid than most of the Land of Water but it still supported long grass and shrubbery, meaning that for the best result he would need to blend into a primarily green environment with a little brown and tan, and since it would be getting dark soon that meant darker shades of color. For this mission he would be foregoing anything that directly linked him to Kirigakure including his inscribed eye patch, jounin flak jacket, and official credentials. He chose to wear a mostly dark olive drab colored attire consisting of a long sleeve form fitting shirt that was tucked into a pair of matching slacks, which in turn was tucked into a pair of matching combat boots. He had the sleeves of his shirt tucked into a pair of dark greenish brown gloves, wore a plain black eyepatch, and his pants were held up by a matching belt-suspender combination that held most of his equipment.

Erwin was equipped with two five piece kunai holsters at mid abdomen level, with one in each attached to an explosive tag, and four waist pouches positioned above the front and back of each leg. Each pouch held a relatively even amount of smoke bombs and explosive tags, totaling fifteen and six respectively, as well as separate empty pockets should he need to retrieve something from the field. In addition to the armaments attached to his suspenders Erwin was also equipped with a third five piece kunai holster on his left thigh with two kunai being attached to an explosive tag, and of course his two trusty blades, with his saber hanging from his left hip and his wakizashi from his right. His student wouldn’t be waiting long for Erwin to arrive at the staging area south of the Warlord’s steppe, where he would spot Akio sitting atop a small boulder checking his equipment before returning to spinning a senbon between his fingers. To Erwin’s concern Akio was still wearing his Chuunin vest, if they were spotted or caught he could be tied back to Kirigakure due to the mark on the shoulder pads, but at least he was dressed for stealth.

”Greetings Akio, I hope you don’t mind my addition to this operation.” Erwin said in a slightly hushed but professional tone as he approached his student from the south, he doubted Akio would mind considering it was a rather dangerous mission but the chance was still there. ”I see you’re still bearing our emblem upon the shoulder of your vest. I’d recommend removing it, the emblem or the vest, before we move on.” He said in a sterner tone as he neared his student. Akio would likely notice the express lack of anything related to Kirigakure on Erwin’s person. ”We don’t want our actions to fall back on the city should someone spot us, or worse, unless you’re prepared to silence any witnesses and risk starting a war in the process.” Erwin continued in his mildly harsh tone but there was absolutely no hint of sarcasm with his comment of silencing witnesses, it was something he had needed to do before and would likely be something he would need to do again, it was also the very thing that got him exiled from the Land of Iron when someone leaked a bit of information about his actions.

[Word Count: 800/600]

Finally meant by the older man that he was expecting and hoping to arise to join him on the mission Akio flicked his senbon into the air before catching it and securing the piece of metal in his hip pouch, notably the only pouch that the shinobi had on his person. Such a case would usually be viewed as a junior mistake for any shinobi since it would make close combat tool use hard on any shinobi, no matter the rank they were. However should such a matter occur Akio's enemy would be proved quite wrong. However that was not of any concern at the moment. Noticing Erwin before he even spoke the Chunin remained quite until the man said something to him. "Not at all...Sensei." Akio added the title not just to show his respect, but more because he didn't remember the older man's name. After all Akio saw no point to remember a name of a shinobi unless they had some significance to him personally, something Erwin has not proved to do very well for the Chunin. Not to mention that the blue haired male figured that the man would be out of his hair in no time, seeing as he had to deal with not only him, but his old squad mate Chikara as well. Pushing such thoughts from his mind Akio barely caught the last few words Erwin said before the boy stood up from his hard stone chair.

Shaking his head softly the Kaguya refused to remove either the vest or even the shoulder pads that held his village's emblem, which were in fact removable with a bit of effort. "I earned this vest and unless a more worthy attire comes along I shall bare it along with my headband." Akio tapped his finger nail on the metal that also held the same symbol. However this article of attire would be in a more hidden location, tied around the Kaguya's waist instead of his forehead where most shinobi would position it. Suddenly the familiar wicked grin crept onto the shinobi's face as he thought about the last part, a low menacing chuckle accompanying the expression. "Honestly, I couldn't care less if we were discovered and the village were targeted by this man. After all Kirigakure has seen far worse in her days. Plus I could finally get a chance to see that so-called Mizukage of ours squirm a bit." A much longer chuckle followed Akio's words, almost like the cackles of a mad man.

After finishing his spiel the young shinobi turned to face the direction that the two would be heading to continue with the mission. Awkwardly tilting his head to the side the Kaguya hummed softly and spoke without turning to look at his Sensei. "Enough talking...Let's get this over with. We have a hill to the Northeast that is right next to our target's location, it will serve as our cover until night...seeing as it is right along the treeline and slightly elevated." Not even thinking for a minute Akio took charge of the mission even though the man next to him was his Sensei. It was a habit that he seemed to have for as long as he could remember. Anyway the blue haired male wouldn't give the older man time to reply before he set off in the direction he was facing. Taking his time as he calmly strolled through the forest. This would be the last cover the two would have before reaching the grassy hill Akio mentioned, then from there on out everything would be completely flat. It was no matter though since Akio had planned to use the cover as night to collect the Intel that they were suppose to gather.

WC: 627

Erwin couldn’t help but notice the boy’s lack of equipment as well, but that could mean a few things. Either Akio was foolish and inexperienced when it came to preparation, which he highly doubted given the young man’s promotion to Chuunin; was arrogant and believed his skill in hand to hand combat would be enough, which could be the case but was still doubtful; or he genuinely didn’t need the supplies, which hinted towards the chance that Akio possessed the Kaguya’s rare genetic trait, that or he could simply be capable enough with a few senbon and hand to hand combat. Of course a combination of the latter two was even more likely, considering arrogance isn’t usually born from weakness. ”Not at all… Sensei.” A title of respect from Akio was somewhat surprising, they didn’t exactly get off to the best start. He didn’t sense any sarcasm in the boys tone, but there wasn’t much of anything else in it either. Akio probably just used it as a title for the sake of formality, but who knows. Regardless, Erwin was still disappointed with the Chuunin’s response to his suggestion of removing the insignia on his vest’s shoulder pads, and once the boy stood up he could see his forehead protector being used as a belt.

”I earned this vest and unless a more worthy attire comes along I shall bare it along with my headband.” Worthy attire? Was he that naive? A symbol is nothing but a symbol, it has no bearing on one’s place in an organization. That’s decided by the other individuals within an organization, how much respect is shown, what they expect of you, a symbol or article of clothing is just a visual reminder. Then the same wicked grin that adorned the young Kaguya’s face before their squad examination made a second appearance, accompanied by a low menacing chuckle. ”Honestly, I couldn’t care less if we were discovered and the village were targeted by this man. After all Kirigakure has seen far worse in her days. Plus I could finally get a chance to see that so-called Mizukage of ours squirm a bit.” It seemed the problematic mental traits of the war mongering Kaguya clan were indeed present within his pupil, and he didn’t seem to be fond of their Kage either. Did he have a death wish or did he simply not think things through? He was confessing his lack of concern regarding a civil war within the Land of Water to a high ranking member of one of the affected parties as if there was nothing at risk to his own concerns, did he truly think there would be no consequences for doing so?

Not that Erwin didn’t think taking out this Warlord and assuming control of his region wasn’t a good idea, providing the Warlord didn’t honor his alliance with Kirigakure at least, but required careful planning and execution and only if it would benefit the city. Even if Akio was only concerned for himself he should be wise enough to realise that making an enemy of both a Warlord and the Mizukage would be detrimental to his health. ”Enough talking… Lets get this over with. We have a hill to the northeast that is right next to our target’s location, it will serve as our cover until night… seeing as it is right along the treeline and slightly elevated.” Even odder still the young Kaguya seemed to be taking the mission seriously after just saying that he didn’t care how it turned out if they were spotted or caught, his plan was solid and used the lay of the area to their advantage until the time came to strike out through the darkness, was his naivety and recklessness simply a facade to make him appear more “hardcore”? He didn’t even wait for a reply before setting off towards the northeast, was he disciplined at all as a Genin?

”One warning before we start this endeavor.” Erwin said in a stern tone as he reached out to grab Akio’s left shoulder with his right hand to get his attention, while moving his left hand over to the wakizashi on his right hip to serve as both visual reinforcement of the seriousness of this situation and defense should the boy lash out. ”If you do anything to purposely sabotage this mission I will take action to ensure it never happens again, are we clear? His tone switched from stern to deathly serious with a matching facial expression as he spoke to his student, releasing his grasp on Akio’s shoulder if had managed to grab it or if Akio hadn’t previously shaken his hand off. Erwin’s threat wasn’t a hollow one, he had done far worse to maintain the integrity of his home, including the stamping out of rebellious sparks and anyone they may have inspired. Executing a child because their parent was a rebel activist is on a long list of actions he’s taken to maintain his country that the morally dictated would find heinous, he held no regrets in disposing of a problematic subordinate if the situation called for it, which hopefully it wouldn’t. As long as Akio understood Erwin would go along with his plan and follow the Chuunin through the forest towards the hill he spoke of, where they would wait for the cover of darkness.

[Word Count: 783]
[Total: 1583/600]

While he walked Akio was a bit confused by his Sensei's silence for the moment. The young shinobi was almost sure that a higher ranking man such as himself would correct him in some way. What he was goign to correct Akio was not sure, but he assumed he would have done something not to the man's liking. However his expectation seemed to be wrong as the older man remained quiet, seemingly being in deep thought as the blue haired Chuni just remained silent himself and continued to walk toward their destination. This continued for a few moments and the forest was oddly quiet before Akio was caught off guard by his Sensei.

It all happened so quickly that Akio's actions were more influence by instinct then thought, but even if he did realize it was a friendly shinobi grabbing him he would still show his true attitude toward the man. A low and hostile growl resonated from the young ones throat as he looked up at Erwin before gazing back down at his hand that was placed on one of his swords. While it wasn't his main swords, something Akio realized from the size of the two swords, he still saw it as a threat or challenge. Call the boy old fashion, but he went by the old code of the sword even though he didn't posses one at the current moment. His tone would change from hollow and monotone to an aggressive seriousness as he allowed his arm to remain in the other's grip for now. "Touching your blade...you should be prepared for retaliation for such an act." As his venom filled words left his lips Akio yanked his arm from the older man's grip and turned to break his hold even more. "You may be my Sensei, but don't think that means I fear you" While Akio didn't have the intention of sabotaging the mission he would still show aggresion to anyone touching his arm, especially when there hand rested on the hilt of their sword. However while he was obviously aggitated his voice remained somewhat like usual, carrying an almost calm feel with it.

While he may seem hostile this didn't mean that Akio was not thinking and absorbing information on his Sensei. This was also one of the reasons that he hoped Erwin were to join him on the mission. Though he didn't gather much that peaked his interest the Chunin had learned a little of his Sensei. For a start he seemed to rely on his sword as his main form of defense and perhaps offense, but Akio could not be sure of the latter. Which meant that he was either not cautious about showing his strong suit in battle or perhaps he didn't know much other forms of combat. If the experienced part was true perhaps Akio should be a little cautious about the man's swordsmen ship since he most likely used all of his time mastering the sword. An act that could proved fruitful, but was still a very naive choice. Shooting Erwin a piercing glare that would shake anyone to their core, Akio turned on his heels before continuing on with his missions. Again not giving Erwin much time to respond before continuing on with the task at hand.

WC: 549

As expected Akio wasn’t exactly fond of Erwin grabbing him by the shoulder, that much was apparent by the low menacing growl that escaped the young mans lips, be he had enough sense not to strike out immediately without thought or care to the consequences. ”Touching your blade… you should be prepared for retaliation for such an act.” The young Kaguya’s words were seething with spite as he yanked his shoulder away from Erwin, to which the aged Samurai released his grip. ”You may be my Sensei, but don’t think that means I fear you.” Even though he was aggravated Akio kept rather calm given the situation, someone dangerously unstable wouldn’t have done so, there was no indication that he would lash out unreasonably. Regardless, Erwin would be keeping an even closer eye on the kid than before. ”One must be prepared for anything, even the most regretful of circumstances…” His voice held a tone of sincerity, although it was still quite serious, as he returned his hands to their resting positions as his sides. The kid was smarter than he let on, and Erwin knew this. Even if he didn’t like the man it was unwise to make an enemy out of someone of unknown strength, skill, and influence.

”I do not desire your fear, only to make my position perfectly clear. You will act as you see fit, whether that be following or disobeying orders, and I will act as I see fit. I don’t care if you are my pupil, my superior, or even my own flesh and blood, actions detrimental to my home will have consequences. As long as you don’t give me a reason to act I don’t care who you dislike or how you handle your business.” Erwin’s voice remained serious throughout his brief speech, but there was hidden context within his words. The young Kaguya’s comment about seeing the “so-called Mizukage” squirm did more than hint towards a dislike of the man, and Erwin tried to play into that by mentioning his willingness to act against unfit or corrupt superiors, as well as his lack of concern for whom the young Chuunin chose to dislike. In truth he did care about who, or rather the effects of disliking that someone and how beneficial they were to him, but he would need to get Akio to open up more if he wanted to know the full extent of the young man’s dislike towards their Kage. Perhaps hinting that aforementioned willingness to the kid would put Erwin on the path to doing just that.

However it would take time and careful “nurturing”, so to speak, to get that seed to grow into something useful. Night was approaching and they had a mission to get on with, something that Akio appeared to understand as well. The glare that the young Kaguya shot him before turning around and continuing on his way was met with an unintimidated stone-faced expression from Erwin, who followed closely behind and to the left of Akio. The kids intel was accurate, the forest ended roughly a third of the way up an incline that marked the southern edge of the Warlord’s steppe, and the end of most of their cover. With the aid of night it shouldn’t be too difficult to lay low, move cautiously, and blend in with the tall grass to gather the intelligence they required, but until night fell Erwin would stick to keeping his eye and ears trained on his surroundings while occasionally peering through the tall grass atop the hill to watch for the Warlord’s scouts. From recent reports the Warlord’s operation was built around a crossroads near the center of the steppe, heavily fortified, and frequently patrolled. However this played to their advantage, with the false sense of security the steppe provided the Warlord’s men would likely be easily evaded, especially by two shinobi trained to act upon the faintest of figures within piss poor visibility. The vast emptiness of the steppe gave them ample time to spot others and act accordingly.

[Word Count: 647]
[Total: 2230/600]

While Akio tried his best not to give much attention to Erwin's last words, but the Chunin couldn't resist. The casual manner that the man's voice carried caused the boy to hum curiously. However the shinobi did not show much else of a reaction as he continued through the forest. As he neared the treeline the Chunin veered right a bit to compensate for the few feet off track that they seemed to have went. Finally scaling the hill and reaching the top Akio sighed and leaned against the sole tree that was tucked ever so slightly on the side of the hill. If one were to gaze in their direction all they would see is the top of the tree, making this the perfect spot to scout and wait until the right time to strike the enemy.

As he waited the few moments for his Sensei to reach him Akio began to nibble on his bottom lip, a nervous habit of his that seemed to follow him everywhere. Then a small yawned parted the boys lips as he sighed once more. Gazing up at the sky that just seemed to have started to dim Akio new that the two would have a a good bit of time to spend 'bonding' while they awaited for the shrouds of night to consume the flat plains that currently housed their target for the mission.

WC: 232

A curious hum was the only response Erwin managed to pry from the young Kaguya with his words, but that hum was more than satisfactory in his mind. It meant Akio was thinking about what he had said, probably at least, he could have just spotted something curious within the forest. Only time would tell whether or not Erwin was successful in planting the proper thoughts within the young Chuunin. Erwin trailed a slight distance behind and to the left of Akio, walking silently so he could pick up on any audible disturbances within the natural sounds the forest without interference from his own foot steps and only faint steps from Akio, noticing that they had strayed slightly to the left of a direct path to their destination as Akio shifted his path to the right. Perhaps their brief confrontation shifted the boys sense of direction or location a bit, no matter, what was important was that he realized it before too long and corrected it. Once they reached the hill the young Kaguya immediately scaled it and took up position underneath a lone tree near the top on their side of the hill. For some reason the rest of the forest stopped a third of the way up the hill, maybe someone planted that lone tree as a marker for something.

As Erwin neared Akio he couldn’t help but notice a subtle marker upon his face that could have designated a few things, namely stress, nervousness, or intense thought. That marker being the act of biting one’s bottom lip, which only appeared briefly before it was dispersed by a slight yawn and sigh. He was on the cusp of a risky infiltration mission and his Sensei had just threatened to “take matters into his own hands” if he did anything that could be perceived as detrimental to the village, Erwin could only wonder what was going on within Akio’s head in that moment. Erwin ventured a little further up the hill than Akio, crouching to remain hidden just on their side of the kill while peering through the grass to get a glimpse of the steppe in the dying light. Judging by the remaining light and the sun’s position in the sky there was roughly twenty-five to thirty-five minutes before the sun dipped beyond the horizon and another thirty minutes until it would be dark enough for them to proceed with their operation, that gave them roughly an hour of time to kill. Erwin was used to extended lengths of time with little movement and complete silence from spending days, and sometimes weeks, on surveillance when he was in SOAR, the question was how well Akio was accustomed to it.

Erwin spent a few moments observing the layout of the Warlord’s steppe, for the most part it was completely flat with only a sparse few landmarks. To the west-northwest there were a few scattered rock formations, presumably man made, with a dirt road beyond them. To the east-northeast there was a mildly wide river that winded its way from the southeast edge of the steppe to the northern, as well as another dirt road that followed the river for the most part. Far to the north he could make out the hub of the Warlord’s operation, a small city built upon the meeting location of the two aforementioned roads, with no cover other than the scarce shrubbery and tall grass between their current location and their target destination. Erwin also took notice of a few roughly build outposts along the two roads leading towards the main city to presumably provide checkpoints for travelers and central locations for those patrolling the various sections of the steppe, and that there were no nearby patrols. Retiring from his observational perch Erwin moved away from the crest of the hill and back towards his pupil, stopping roughly three feet away from him.

”There appears to be five paths we can take from our current location. To the north-west there are some unnatural rock formations that can provide cover, but a road runs past them on the far side. The north is barren apart from a select few patches of shrubbery. A river runs from the east to the north with an accompanying road and larger flora. We can also circle around the border of the steppe in either direction to scout for a better entry position if necessary but I believe that the rock formations should be our first destination once night falls, it will provide better cover should the moon rise before we finish. I also suspect they serve an ulterior purpose, perhaps one related to our objective.” Erwin spoke in a hushed and professional tone as he laid out their options for Akio, whether or not the young man was listening. ”We still have a little time before the sun sets, is there anything you’d like to suggest or discuss in the mean time?”

[Word Count: 822]
[Total: 3052/600]

Remaining against the tree the Chunin carefully kept his eye on his Sensei. After all him and the older man have not been getting along and he had to be cautious just in case the man got any ideas. Plus all in all the boy was actually a bit curious of what Erwin was going to do while they waited for the sun to set. Staring at the man as he crouched down and went to the top of the hill Akio let out a soft chuckle of surprise, he was actually rather impressed that such an old man could still get that low. None the less it wasn't that interesting since he was indeed a shinobi. Continuing to keep his eyes locked on the man Akio awaited for him to descend down the hill.

As suspected his Sensei was merely scouting the area and gathering information before he were to propose their options to the younger shinobi that rested against the mossy trunk of the lone tree. Raising his brow as the man gave him his options Akio was honestly a bit surprised by all the options that he was presented with. However he would not choose one seeing as Erwin followed up the choices with another question. '...anything you’d like to suggest?' Oh, now that was very interesting. Akio had not expected for the man to grow so friendly all the sudden and want to know his opinion. Although the Chunin would make sure that Erwin was aware of what his was asking before he were to answer the man, after all Akio's way of thinking was very...odd compared to most others. "You want to hear my suggestions, really?" The Kaguya asked in a faint monotone voice as he glared up at the man who been threatening him not so long ago and now wanted to be all supportive and listen to him. "I don't think you would, or the Mizukage for that matter, would approve of my thoughts on the mission. However if you truly want to know I am in no way opposed to telling you them."

Adding the last of his words Akio lowered his brow and kept his piercing gaze on Erwin. The ever so familiar wicked grin could not be stopped from conquering his face once more as he thought of all the choices and scenarios  that he had conjured up in his mind. Oh, how lovely it would be if he were allowed to take matters into his hand more often. The village would surely not have to worry about this warlord anymore if he had the mission his way. Alas that was not the case though, the Chunin would have to carry out the mission as the Mizukage expected. While he did have to do as expected that didn't mean he couldn't daydream a bit and surely that would not stop him from casting his thoughts onto his Sensei even if his earlier words have put him on thin ice as it is. Akio was always one to test his luck and push his boundaries. After all why would having a new Sensei change any of that?

WC: 527

It seemed Erwin’s words had stoked something within the young man’s mind, as should be expected considering recent events, after all who would expect someone that had recently threatened you to genuinely ask for your opinion on a matter. Nonetheless Erwin’s concern lied with action, not thought. If Akio didn’t act upon rash or hazardous thoughts then Erwin had no issue with him having them or hearing them himself, they would still exist regardless of being spoken aloud, although that didn’t mean he would relax his suspicions if the young Kaguya explained everything from his point of view. ”You want to hear my suggestions, really?” The general lack of emotion within Akio’s voice coupled with his glare implied an understandable disbelief. ”I don’t think you would, or the Mizukage for that matter, would approve of my thoughts on the mission. However if you truly want to know I am in no way opposed to telling you them.” Once again Akio adorned his signature grin, likely in relation to the various thoughts he had mentioned, while his maintained a piercing gaze. Erwin kept most of his senses trained on the surrounding area just in case, but he didn’t shift his gaze away from the Chuunin in front of him.

”I like to hear the perspectives of those involved so I can address any concerns involving the mission. Whether I may or may not  approve of them doesn’t change the fact that your opinion exists and you’re directly involved with this operation.” Erwin maintained his calm professional tone as he explained his reasoning to the young Kaguya, he knew the Chuunin was sharp enough to see through simple questions and answers. When they first met Akio was the only one of his three pupils that questioned his motives for asking general questions that, given his position, he should already know the answer to. There was no reason to beat around the bush, but that didn’t mean he had to explain it as a whole. “Addressing concerns” could include dealing with problem individuals within his own squad, or even changing the mission parameters, in addition to laying to rest the concerns of those involved. Akio’s earlier comment made it apparent that he wasn’t a fan of the mission parameters set forth by the Mizukage, if Erwin knew why he may be able to assist Akio in understanding the mission on a deeper level, and he may be able to peer further into the young Kaguya’s mind to get a better assessment on just how dangerous he actually was.

[Word Count: 381]
[Total: 3433/600]

Akio was still a bit surprised he had not been scolded for thinking of disobeying the Mizukage or even speaking out about having other thoughts for the mission. However he wasn't too shaken from the unsuspected understanding of the Chunin having his own thoughts even thought they might hold a slight bit of insolence toward the Mizukage and maybe even a bit toward the village as a whole. Shrugging it off Akio continued to gaze up at his Sensei as the man made it clear that he wanted to at least hear his students out when they have an idea.

The same menacing grin held firm on the young blue haired male's face as he replied to Erwin. "Well the village is concerned of the warlords motives so why not put them worries to rest. After all no one has to worry about a dead man." An low laugh parted from the Chunin's lips as his grin widened. "Plus the mission never said we couldn't fight. Just don't let them know you are a Kirigakure shinobi, right?" As he waited for a response Akio hummed softly as he tapped his lips. His mind was away thinking about possibly acting on his thoughts after hearing his own words. After all he was correct with the mission never saying anything about not fighting, but even if it was allowed Akio figured that his Sensei would most likely forbid such actions. Although Akio could always hope that their was a slight chance he would be able to do as he wished.

WC: 258

It seemed the young Kaguya was slightly surprised by Erwin’s willingness to hear his opinion on the matter, which was understandable given earlier actions, perhaps he would begin to understand that Erwin’s concern lies more with action than thought. It was unwise to suppress the thoughts of those under your command, it prevents one from understanding their comrades and allows false and hazardous ideas to build in the darkness rather than addressing them in the open. Once Akio had gotten over the initial surprise of Erwin’s response the same grin had adorned his face once more before he spoke. ”Well the village is concerned of the Warlord’s motives so why not put them worries to rest. After all no one has to worry about a dead man.” Erwin maintained his rather emotionless professional facade as the Chuunin let out a faint low laugh and widened his grin. A straightforward and violent proposal, as would be expected of the stereotypical Kaguya, not that it didn’t have any merit. ”Plus the mission never said we couldn’t fight. Just don’t let them know you are a Kirigakure shinobi, right?” The second question was more along the lines of youth splitting hairs, but he was correct on the matter nonetheless.

”While this is true we also have to weigh how beneficial and how harmful this Warlord’s motives and actions are for our city, as well as the results of our corresponding actions. There’s no reason to dispose of an asset with no proof of foul play, which is why we’re here tonight, to attain that proof. If the Warlord is breaking the terms of our alliance then the next step would be to arrange their neutralization and seize their territory, but to do so before planning with the rest of the village would result in a power vacuum that we would have to fight to fill. This Warlord provides a buffer for any would be invaders or bandits coming from the north, without them we would need to stretch our forces thin to cover the area until we can properly maintain our presence here.” Erwin spoke in a quiet professional tone, explaining some of the in depth workings behind how these missions are decided upon as he kept his senses trained for any sign of patrol. ”However an all out neutralization of the Warlord and their forces would bring unnecessary risk to us, leaving us open to attack in the process. Alternatively we can hunt down and gain the cooperation of those within the Warlord’s ranks that are willing to accept our lead, planting the seeds of a mutiny backed by Kirigakure through the shadows and granting us more direct control over this region of the Land of Water while avoiding the blow back from creating a power vacuum.”

.Erwin paused for a moment to allow his words to settle within the young Chuunin’s mind, granting Akio a brief opportunity to ask a question should he feel the need before moving on to address the second question. ”As for avoiding conflict, it’s far easier to infiltrate and gather intel when the target doesn’t know you’re there, unnecessary or excessive killing would draw unwanted attention. When a patrol fails to check in they’ll know something is awry, but obviously if we are spotted we will need take action to make sure they can’t report in, and if we need to break some fingers to gather what we need we’ll have to make sure to dispose of them as well. Since you chose not to leave behind your village emblems there can be no witnesses left to report our allegiance to this Warlord or any of his subordinates, even if they aren’t directly involved with his operation.” Erwin maintained the same quiet professional tone as he responded to the young Kaguya’s second question, although he put emphasis on “no witnesses”. Whether or not Akio would realize it Erwin’s use of the term was extremely literal, if there was potential that someone could reveal them to the Warlord or his forces then they needed to be silenced, even if that included innocent civilians or even children. ”In short yes, we can fight, but we will need to be extremely careful when picking our targets.”

[Word Count: 657]
[Total: 4090/600]

Akio mentally sighed to himself as Erwin began to explain and pick at his suggestion. While the Chunin knew his plan wasn't the best and it would be wise to conform to the mission as seen fit the Kaguya was a bit upset. He had never had any 'real' fights, or at least not in his eyes, that would satisfied his clan's thirst for blood. Furthermore this is why he never got along with any of his Sensei's all of them were too long winded and were always looking to do the 'right' thing. Although Akio was quiet intelligent and tactful when it came down to it the Chunin didn't really feel like following the rules that much. Typically all of the boundaries set when on such a missions were so clean cut. Tipping off that everything had to go as the Mizukage asked or he wouldn't be pleased, even if said task was finished and dealt with the Mizukage wouldn't be happy unless it went exactly as planned. Although that is just how Akio viewed it when he was on his missions and the boy never really bothered to test if his assumptions were correct.

As the boy was deep in thought his ears picked up bits and pieces of his Sensei's reasoning. As he tuned back in to the conversations Akio's ears twitched a bit as Erwin mentioned there should be not witnesses. Now there the man went again saying one thing but conveying another as he finished up his thoughts. While the Chunin understood Erwin's reasoning the man seemed to teeter ever so slightly on the line of hypocrisy. Although the young blue haired Kaguya would take in what he heared of Erwin's reasoning he would not question the man any more. After all they had spent a good bit of their time with their back and forth. This was evident as the sky grew a faint blue that began to swirl with a faint black as time passed. No doubt darkness would be upon them in a short few minutes.

Standing up Akio glanced at the sky in awkward silence before gazing at his lone holster, checking it one last time before turning to face Erwin. "Fine...we'll do this the smart way, but we better get going now. There is enough light to see in front of ourselves while still providing a shroud to hide our movement." With that said Akio turned on his heels and began to walk around the left side of the hill. They would not need to worry about any guards or patrols for another few meters since the hill was a decent distance from the warlord's position. Although that didn't meant that they, or at least Akio, would drop their guard. After all in their line of work their could be someone watching you from any possible direction.

WC: 478

As per usual when explaining the faults in youth’s ideas Akio didn’t seem very enthusiastic, at least he seemed sharp enough to understand. The act of war may not be a complex one but making sure you come out on top is far from simple, if the Warlord was breaking their terms of allegiance then need for war would arise. However, the best way to win a war is to make sure it never reaches the battlefield. The key to victory is strategy. Subduing an enemy, breaking their resistance without direct conflict is the pinnacle of warfare. If need be Kirigakure had the raw military might to win a war against this Warlord on the battlefield, and Erwin would be more than willing to lead the assault, but the most efficient way to ensure victory was through the shadows. Hopefully Akio would come to see it that way before his preference for more direct action became a death sentence, whether that be due to underestimating an enemy down the line or forcing Erwin’s hand in the matter. There was a reason Erwin had lived to the comparably ripe old age of fifty-one as a soldier, and martial skill was only a small part of it.

Night was approaching fast, it would be only a few minutes before the last glimmer of light from the sun gave way to the darkness of night. Erwin observed as Akio silently glanced up at the sky before checking on his only holster then eventually responded to Erwin’s explanation. ”Fine… we’ll do this the smart way, but we better get going now. There is enough light to see in front of ourselves while still providing a shroud to hide our movement.” Erwin nodded agreeingly as Akio turned and began walking towards the west, to which Erwin did the same shortly after, moving to follow beside the Chuunin a couple feet from Akio’s left. It was both good and bad to see that Akio wasn’t the type to act out simply because the mission wasn’t planned to his preference, either he was somewhat amenable to wisdom, which was good, or he hid his true intentions well. Regardless, Erwin would still be watching him to make sure he doesn’t purposely act against the mission, as he would with anyone whose intentions were an unknown to him. If Akio was simply “all bark and no bite” when it came to his reckless ideas and opinions then there wouldn’t be a problem.

Once they cleared the western side of the hill Erwin’s faint footsteps suddenly ceased to exist, although if Akio had the notion to glance in his direction to see if Erwin had stopped he would see that he was still following along in the same position. The silence may not have been necessary quite yet but it never hurts to be cautious. Keeping in line with his aura of silence Erwin extended his right arm out enough for the young Kaguya beside him to see, pointed twice, then straightened out his hand and moved it in a shallow left parabolic arc towards the faint outlines of the unnatural rock formations he had mentioned earlier. The first point to set the destination, the second to imply an increased pace, and the parabolic arc to imply an arcing path from their location that approached their destination from the left. He then looked to Akio to confirm that he understood the gesture, if so he would then ramp up his pace from a steady walk to a mild jogging speed as they both made their way towards the rock formations under the cover of night, if not he would make sure to clarify before they set out.

[Word Count: 583]
[Total: 4673/600]

Remaining completely silent as he lead the small squad toward the ruins that were mentioned earlier Akio realized that the two had never agree on an approach to take. However they both seemed to have wanted to head to the ruins since Erwin quickly pointed him in that direction as they rounded the side of the hill that they were on top of not even two seconds ago. Although the pointing did make it clear to Akio that he was still being followed as his Sensei's footsteps faded out of existence. Slowly inching his way closer to the stone structure Akio sped his pace up slightly as the older gentlemen beside him gestured for him to move faster. While the two continued to move the moon began to fall at a steady rate. As they would reach the ruins the area would be nothing short from completely pitch black.

The minute that he began to speed up Akio noticed Erwin beginning to jog. Shrugging quickly Akio did the same until they reached the ruins. Sliding into the building, if you could still call it that, the Kaguya turned to face Erwin. Awaiting his next order Akio remained quiet as his ears perked up slightly, listening for the slightest of noises to sound from outside of the ruins. Although he didn't do so because he wanted to be caught Akio actually welcomed a fight, but he would want to at least be ready if such a thing were to arise. After all even though he was confident of his skills the Chunin knew that their target and his bodyguards were not to be taken lightly in combat. They didn't get their position protecting such a highly skilled man for nothing after all. Keeping most of his senses on alert Akio paid most of his attention toward Erwin as he hoped that someone were to step foot in the old stone establishment.

WC: 320

The precaution of extra cover within the moonlight seemed to be unnecessary as its current cycle resulted in its early setting not too long after the last rays from the sun disappeared beyond the horizon. It was practically pitch black as they reached the edge of the unnatural rock formations, the only light coming from the distant stars and the Warlord’s own outposts and settlements, the perfect environment for an expert of stealth. Shortly past the outskirts of the now apparently man made rock formations from their direction of approach lied a small seemingly abandoned building, a good place to start their search for information. Erwin held out his right arm horizontally into the young Kaguya’s line of sight and tilted his hand at an angle so his palm was visible to Akio, a signal for a decrease in speed as they quietly approached the structure. Once he was sure Akio was paying attention he then straightened his hand out horizontally and lowered it towards the ground, implying for them to start a low stealthy approach. The ruins, as one could call them, on the outskirts of the area appeared to be the remnants of an ancient wall, but this seemingly abandoned structure was relatively new. There was a chance that what was seemingly abandoned wasn’t actually so, they would need to be cautious in their approach.

The structure itself seemed to be in disrepair itself, but was still newer than the ruins of the surrounding walls. Perhaps it was built on top of a separate ruin in the center. Though some of the walls were damage its overall design was still easily discernible. It had six even walls roughly ten feet in length, giving it the shape of a hexagon; an arched doorway in the center of each wall; one small window on each side of every doorway centered between the doorway and the corner, a total of twelve; and for whatever reason lacked any signs of a degraded or damaged roof, it was just open to the night sky. As they neared the structure it would became apparent that it truly was abandoned, at least for the time being. Once he was certain there was no one around Erwin nodded towards the nearest entrance, giving the order to enter, before slipping through the empty doorway. Once inside Erwin’s hunch was proven correct, this was indeed the site of something most unsavory, and given the fairly fresh unlit torches within the sconces on the walls something recent. Upon the stone floor were the remnants of mostly erased chalk lines that when whole formed some sort of design around a fairly large central circular pedestal.

Erwin kept his hearing tuned for any audible signs of company as he silently approached the central pedestal, holding his right hand behind his right ear briefly to gesture for Akio to listen for signs of patrol just the same. Once he was within a couple feet of the pedestal the faint scent blood and decay hit Erwin, and it became apparent that this pedestal was actually a sort of well or basin capped by a stone slab. However what was the most troubling was the design upon this stone slab, which immediately put him on high alert, resting his right hand on the handle of his wakizashi in response. If Akio was paying attention to Erwin he would most certainly have picked up upon this sense of heightened alertness, and he would have noticed Erwin motion for him to join him beside the capped well. Once Akio did so he would probably react the same general way upon seeing the design on the stone cap, providing he was somewhat educated in signs of the occult, a circle with a triangle inside with points that met with the surrounding circle, all painted in dried blood.

((Sorry for the delay, was unexpectedly busy yesterday.))

[Word Count: 638]
[Total: 5311/600]

After awhile of waiting the Chunin would break eye contact with his Sensei to admire the designs on the stone walls of the ruins they were currently in. However this would not be long since he noticed Erwin's motions once more. Although he didn't fully understand them he just followed the man and did exactly as him, or as best as he could. Following step by step Akio seemed to be watching his Sensei more then his surroundings. This was until a horrid sent fell onto the small squad. While most would shy away the familiar smell only excited the Kaguya more. As the smell of copper wafted through the air he chuckled softly before snapping back to reality. Taking a few more steps the boy grabbed his Chunin vest at the bottom with his right hand and turned it from side-to-side until he felt comfortable with how it was.

This would be the moment that the boy like the most. While he didn't exactly know what the symbol in front of him meant he was smart enough to know from Erwin's reaching that it couldn't be good. While it was written in blood the symbol didn't seem intricate to be some kind of seal and if it were Akio had no knowledge of it. Stopping for a moment the Chunin decided he was okay to speak up on a mission where they should be stealthy. "Is this what we are looking for?" He asked in a hushed, but still clearly audible tone as he stared at the symbol before turning his head to meet Erwin. "Well, is it?" He asked again, however this time in a louder tone as he was growing a bit impatient with the smell of death lingering in the air around them.

Even though he was a young shinobi that didn't mean he was shy of a fight and the Kaguya blood running through his veins didn't help him much either. Although Akio would not strike until Erwin told him so. After all the Chunin might be bloodthirsty, but he was no full and therefore would not lash out with no reason. Especially when it meant he would have some form of punishment when none was needed and he could just wait for such an order. Akio held his thirst for blood at bay for a moment as he golden eye scanned the area. They would have to act or move soon or someone would certainly return to such a place of importance to make sure no one would see a symbol. Akio knew this and surely hoped that his Sensei was thinking the same. It would be no fun if the two couldn't get the jump on their targets. It's always fun to see the surprised look on someones face before watching their last breath leave their body in the blink of an eye or at least it was for Akio.

WC: 487

The true scope of this mission’s danger and importance was now apparent. These ruins were far too close to the road for them to go unpatrolled by the Warlord’s men, meaning that either the men that patrol this route were secretly worshipers of the old Jashinism way, were being payed off by those that were, or that the Warlord himself had Jashinist connections. This didn’t exactly mean that the Warlord was breaking the rules of their alliance, but the presence of Jashinism of any extent so near to Kirigakure was a threat of its own and needed to be addressed regardless of the Warlord’s involvement. However, Erwin wasn’t going to report back to the Kage until he had a little more to go off of than a symbol painted in dried blood that may or may not be the real deal. Regardless of the next step there was still there here and now to deal with, namely the well. ”Is this what we are looking for? Well, is it?” Erwin looked Akio in the eye with a gaze that spoke of very dangerous times ahead before responding to the curious Kaguya in a low whisper. ”Yes and no. There’s nothing concrete linking this to the Warlord, but it does indicate grave danger for both us and Kirigakure. We probably don’t have much time before our cover is blown, let us hurry.”

Erwin then motioned for Akio to take his place on the other side of the stone slab, he wanted to see what exactly was underneath it. If Akio had no objection to doing so then the two of them would quietly slide the slab slightly to the west enough for them to get a grip on it and hoist it up and off to the side as quietly as possible, leaning it against the western side of the well. The stench of decaying corpses would immediately below forth from within and with the faint starlight overhead Erwin was just barely able to pick up the glimmer of metallic objects on the corpses in the darkness below, a couple of which were the same size and shape of forehead protectors, although he could not see the marking noting their particular affiliation. Even if they weren’t from the Hidden Mist the fact that they were here in the Land of Water risked an international incident, their presence also heightened Erwin’s personal “threat meter” from orange to red, a place with this sort of incriminating evidence wouldn’t be this weakly guarded for long. There may have been no audible or visual signs of anyone patrolling the immediate area but that didn’t mean there couldn’t be anyone out there. They needed to leave the place just as they found it if they were to remain hidden, so Erwin motioned for Akio to take up his half of the stone lid once more in order to return it to its exact starting position.

”Retreat to the outer ruins, we’ll watch for activity and plan our next move from there.” Even though his voice was but a low whisper it still held both authority and the indication that they were in danger. Without waiting for and question or comment from the young Chuunin Erwin silently moved towards the south-easternmost doorway, gave the area a quick scan, then motioned for Akio to follow him out into the darkness. Upon reaching the outer ruins Erwin took position within the remnants of a shattered wall large enough to conceal the two of them from both the inner ruins and the outer plain. In order to get the information Erwin desired they would need to observe the comings and goings of this ruin, perhaps ambush someone to pry the necessary intelligence from them. The young Kaguya might get the fight he so desires after all. Once he was sure they weren’t followed and the area was empty Erwin would turn to address his pupil. ”Tell me, are you at all familiar with the Cult of Jashin?” He asked in a hushed and serious tone, the lack of urgency displayed by Akio upon seeing their symbol spoke otherwise but he may have heard some rumors revolving around their name.

[Word Count: 688]
[Total: 5999/600]

Hearing Erwin give him two exactly different answers Akio sighed in irritation. However he would bottle up his feelings for the moment seeing as they were of no concern and would just endanger then both right now. Quickly following his Sensei's unspoken orders the Chunin positioned himself on the opposite side of the slide and attempted to get a grip on the stone construct. Slowly lifting the slab with his Sensei the young boy's grip would quickly falter, causing all the weight to fall onto the older male. The Kaguya's usual emotionless look took on a hollow stare as his lips remained slightly parted. Staring off into the distance Akio;s face remained hollow and even paler then usual.

The young shinobi would continue to stare off into the distance as if in a shock as the putrid smell wafted through the air and could probably be smelt from a mile away. While the Chunin seemed to not be able to move his body he made sure not to look toward the hole they had just opened, for he knew what would most likely happen if he were to catch a glimpse of something that was creating such a smell. Still staying silent most would think the boy was too shook to move and perhaps his stomach was upset from the stench. Although this was not visibly noticable the blue haired male zoned off from most of the world, not hearing anything but complete silence as he turned an caught a glimpse of his Sensei.

Gaining back control for a moment the Kaguya shook his head before nodding as he noticed Erwin signalling to cover the spot back up with the original slab that they had just moved. Taking up his position once more the boy was just able to get it to it's original placement before beginning to pant softly. His hands shook violently as his blood rushed through his body. Even though the scent was extremely dulled down Akio could still smell the copper sent of blood and the smell of rot lace through his nostrils as his body shook in excitement. "Retreat....outer ruins..." These were the only words that go through to him in his trance like state as he ran his right hand up the right side of his face and clutched onto his blue hair as he nodded slowly. Quickly following behind his Sensei the boy leaned on the wall of the ruins as he made it there. Sliding down the wall he continued to pant as he rested his elbows on his bent knees and held his head in his hands, not making any noise besides breathing as he tried to calm himself a bit.

WC: 452
Total WC: 4,270

It appeared Akio wasn’t satisfied with Erwin’s response but he would have to deal with it for the time being, they didn’t have time to discuss things in detail. Akio’s mental state faltering just as they began to lift the slab didn’t help at all either, but Erwin was sharp enough to make sure the stone lid didn’t come crashing down and alert anyone in the vicinity. Utilizing the same technique shinobi used to keep themselves attached to vertical and inverted surfaces Erwin locked his hands onto the slab to keep his grip from waning, his feet to the ground in order to prevent the slabs weight from tipping him off balance, then with some effort managed to quietly place the slab where he had originally intended before Akio’s slip up. From the young Kaguya’s state of shock it was apparent to Erwin that the overpowering stench of decay bellowing forth from the well was too much for him, a surprising turn of events given Akio’s lineage and eagerness for direct conflict, perhaps the boy was more bark than bite after all. Then again the stench of corpses in all stages of decay bottled into a single well would probably put all but the most veteran warriors and killers in a state of nausea and shock.

Once Erwin gathered the information he needed, the sight of forehead protectors of unknown origin, he signaled to Akio that he was ready to place the stone slab back how they found it. If Akio hadn’t recovered enough from his state of shock Erwin could manage alone but it would be far easier with the Chuunin’s assistance. It took Akio a moment but he seemed to have regained his composure enough to continue, although not completely as he began to pant slightly after they replaced the stone lid. Erwin took note of Akio’s violently shaking hands as well, if they were to be ambushed before he regained control of himself he would be a liability, that made the situation even more dire than it already was. Erwin made sure to confirm that Akio had heard him when he gave the order to retreat before proceeding to lead him to section of destroyed wall on the outer ruin that gave them cover from both the front and back. The young Kaguya still seemed to be in a state of shock as Erwin finished scoping out the area to make sure they were clear, enough so that he didn’t even notice Erwin’s inquiry revolving around knowledge of the Cult of Jashin, he was simply curled up at the base of the wall with his head in his hands trying to calm himself.

If Akio wasn’t able to regain his composure Erwin would be forced to call off the mission, he couldn’t risk the chance of Akio slipping up and alerting the enemy to their location or allegiance, the boys mental state was just as much a necessity for his survival as it was for Akio. Placing his right hand on the young Kaguya’s right shoulder as he crouched down next to him Erwin spoke in a calm hushed tone. ”Long slow breaths from the diaphragm, count the number of mostly whole bricks in the wall behind me.” Doing those two things should steady the Chuunin’s hand, providing he actually took Erwin’s advice, by regulating the flow of oxygen throughout his body and providing a means to take his mind off of what had just happened. While Akio steadied himself Erwin kept watch for any signs of activity, in the distance there appeared to be a horse drawn cart accompanied by three individuals with torches approaching via the road on the far side of the ruins, only time would tell whether they were connected to these ruins or passersby.

[Word Count: 630]
[Total: 6629/600]
[Chakra: 250/250 (No Cost for E)]

Jutsu Used:

Remaining clung to the base of the wall the Chunin laughed manically as he slowly looked up to Erwin, blood lust evident in his one-eyed glare. "Heheheee...Blood, so much blood." The boy would say softly with a hint of delight in his voice as his body continued to shake violently. In his current state the young boy didn't seem to hear his Sensei or rather didn't pay attention to him as he continued pant and snicker under his breath. "W-weak, weak...they were all weak." While his first two words were broken and whispered, but the rest of his words were more of a hushed yell. "They deserved to die." Snapping out of his state for a moment the Kaguya seemed to have heard his Sensei before hand because now he was going back to the mention of a familiar group.

"Yes, yes Jashin. The cult ooooh what power. If this means what I think then...perhaps this mission was worth more then I thought." Hearing the creaking of the wooden cart wheels and the slow clop of hooves outside the ruins the Chunin grinned widely. Slowly turning his head toward the noise he could see the slight glare of the torches shine through the breaks in the wall. His mind raised through the possibilities as he held the hollow glare at the lights. Travelers, merchants, missing-nin, the warlord himself...or maybe, just maybe followers of the cult. Yes, it had to be them the boy thought as he jumped to his feet and looked toward the door. Although he knew deep down Dark would stop him the boy wasn't thinking of his Sensei, in fact the man had gone unnoticed to Akio in the last few minutes. Hurrying toward the opening they had entered from the boy began to laugh in a low tone. "This is my chance." He spoke under his breath.

While most would think of the mission first the boy couldn't help himself in his current state. His Kaguya blood was practically boiling as he got closer and closer to the door. Everything seemed to slow down with every step the Chunin took. He didn't really care of the alternative at the moment. For all he knew they could just be innocent travelers passing by or perhaps some innocent family trying to find a new beginning, but the chances of gaining power would override the boy's mind. The Kaguya would have the answer to the location of the Cult, which could all be a hoax right now or he would have blood. One of the two would satisfy him for the moment. Cackling madly the Kaguya had just reached the door as he snapped back to reality, his mind only set on retrieving the group that was outside. Having gotten a head start on his Sensei the boy would a bit surprise as he made it out the door, now attempting to make it to the right side of the building from the door he had exited. If he could accomplish that he would be right in front of the group that he had saw.

WC: 520
Total WC: 4,790

The onset of maniacal laughter from his student made it evident that Akio was not actually suffering from a sort of panic attack caused by the gruesomeness of what he had just witnessed, no, he was suffering from a psychotic breakdown as the stereotypical bloodthirst of the Kaguya clan consumed the young Chuunin’s mind. ”Heheheee… Blood, so much blood.” This wasn’t good, the last thing Erwin wanted to deal with right now was a berserk inheritor of the infamous Kaguya kekkei genkai in the middle of enemy territory. ”W-weak, weak… they were all weak. They deserved to die.” Given the boy’s mental state and his somewhat rebellious nature he was almost too much trouble to keep alive, but with his “gift” Akio had significant potential as a war asset. Although given this new turn of events concerning his mental health Erwin would recommend against sending him on any sort of mission that involved subtlety or indirect action, the best way to make use of a weapon such as him would be shock and awe assault operations or general wartime deployments.

While Erwin thought about how to handle the situation he gazed through the cracks in the wall they were currently hiding within, the cart and its escort had indeed left the road for the ruins but it wasn’t quite there yet. He had to decide what to do with his student and quickly. In his current state attempting to knock him out, hold him back, or drag him away would likely result in Akio lashing out at him, notifying these travelers and potential threats of their existence and putting them both in danger. If Erwin was going to make full use of this situation he would need to prey off of Akio’s bloodthirsty urges, use them to his advantage in order to make it out on top without alerting the Warlord or whoever these people were connected with to their allegiance. ”Yes, yes Jashin. The cult ooooh what power. If this means what I think then… perhaps this mission was worth more than I thought.” The realization of the true nature of their current predicament seemed to be getting through to the young Kaguya, fueling that bloodthirst with promise of powerful foes to be slain. It also appeared that Erwin’s earlier words did manage to get through to the boy, although that wasn’t very important right now.

With the sound of creaking wheels and hooves on barren earth Akio’s Kaguya instincts seemed to be kicking in, his prey was near, attempting to stop him would only prove detrimental so instead Erwin decided to use the Chuunin’s readiness for bloodshed to his advantage. As the young Kaguya jumped to his feet and locked his eyes on the nearest doorway into the inner ruin Erwin slipped away into the dark without so much as a single sound, taking advantage of Akio’s “battle trance” to go unnoticed. He could see his student sprinting towards that doorway as he quickly circled clockwise around the inner ruin in the shadows of the outer, taking positing at the envoy’s rear right flank as the cart and its escorts entered through the outer ruins. As suspected this wasn’t your typical late night mercantile shipment. There were three armed guards, two leading the carriage from positions ahead to the left and right while a third rode the back of the cart watching for followers, and a seemingly unarmed coachmen. The cart itself appeared to have some sort of boxes or cages in it, hidden by a tarp, and held the faint smell of blood and death. Perhaps they were the disposal crew.

Since the cart was being guarded from the rear as well Erwin couldn’t approach immediately so he waited in the shadows of the outer ruin for Akio to make his move, which happened to be the best thing he could have done for Erwin, a direct frontal approach. ”What the hell!?!” ”A Mist Shinobi!?!” ”Whoa!” The two frontal guards exclaimed their surprise almost simultaneously, drawing a couple serrated swords while the coachman calmed the startled horse. Of course this surprise would have also garnered the attention of the rear guard, who immediately turned his torso around to his right to see what was going on, although he wouldn’t see much before his gaze fell to the ground. The very moment the rear guard started to turn Erwin leapt into action, silently sprinting towards the rear right corner of the cart with his left hand holding the base of his sabre’s sheath and his right gripping the sabre’s handle itself. In one undeniably swift motion he silently drew his sabre, stepped onto the rear right corner of the cart, cleanly severed the man’s head, hurdled over the covered crates while shifting his left hand to the wakizashi on his right waist, drew his second blade, severed the coachman’s head with it, walked onto the horse’s back, and severed the beast’s spine a the base of its neck with his sabre. The course of action he took from there would depend on how his student was fairing.

((Not exactly sure if we need a person to play npcs here, if so then that last paragraph is pretty much void, but this is the clean up crew and no one particularly special in terms of combat capabilities.))

[Word Count: 806]
[Total: 7435/600]
[Chakra: 250/250|Both passive styles, no usage]

Styles Used:

Seeing as he was not stopped by force or even ordered to do so Akio's thirst for battle would not falter even the slightest as he rounded the corner of the building with not as much as even a resistance. Quickly locking his eyes on the group of guards that had obviously seen him by the sounds of their screams followed by the drawing of weapons. "So you want to play, huh?!" The boy would yell as he continued to rush toward the guard closest to him. Since the other would take a split second to close the gap between the him and his teammate Akio would utilize these few seconds to strike the sole guard. Acting fast the Chunin would take up a stance while leaning on his right leg while springing forward with said leg and extending his left leg toward the guards chin. Following the guard the boy would hop into the air and grab his target by his legs flinging him toward the cart and the other guard.

While the target he had in hand had no time to resist the toss Akio would throw him into the cart since the other guard hopped out of the way. Having immobilized one of the guards the other guard would be all on his own as Akio grinned and held his hands out toward the man with his palms down, all ten of his fingers pointed at his target. "Goodnight..." Akio would add in a sinister tone as tiny holes formed on his fingertips. Sending chakra through his skeletal system the Kaguya would form long senbon like bone projectiles and force several of the custom made senbon out of his flesh. As the thirty bone spikes would spiral toward the guard he would attempt to dodge the white , but would ultimately be skewered by at least ten of thirty the projectiles.

Watching the bone needles puncture several holes in the man Akio held his trademark wicked grin as he stood over the man and watched him bleed out. However, he would be interrupted by the moans coming from the man he had tossed earlier. Taking a deep breath a soft sigh escaped the boy's lips as he ripped one of the barbed bone senbon from his victims arm. Walking over to the man he replaced the grin with a smile as he looked down at him. The man struggled to stand up, but obviously had some sort of injury to his leg as he yelped from the pain as he collapsed. His screams echoing through the area as he tried again and again to stand up. Although in his struggle the man's leg would buckle with every attempt that was made. All the while Akio would hold back his urge to strike at least for the moment.

"Oh, you've came around great." He said in a cheerful tone as if he was glad. "To bad you are interrupting my moment." Akio replied in a bit more stern of an attitude as he stepped closer to the man. Hunching over him he began to stab the man several times with the bone needle. "Now be a dear and pipe down a bit!" The Chunin shouted, ignoring his surroundings for the moment as he continued with his slaughter of the final guard. Twenty, thirty, perhaps forty stabs later the Kaguya would slowly get back to his feet as he pant, tossing the blood soaked bone aside as he turned to face his Sensei. Amazingly the man he was stabbing seemed to be gasped for air, blood slowly trickling down his uniform as he slowly started to die off. Shooting his superior a glare before scanning the area Akio's rage seemed to be slowly boiling down as he took in what he had done. Chuckling softly he would focus his eye back on Erwin. "I believe that wraps things up." The young shinobi commented as if they had just delivered a package rather then slaughtered a whole patrol.

WC: 668
Total WC: 5,458
Chakra Usage: 157.5/170

Jutsu Used:

”So you want to play, huh?!” Erwin could hear his students bloodthirsty voice as he rushed the closest guard to him, the young Kaguya seemed to be reveling in the chaos. Standing next to the paralyzed and dying horse Erwin silently watched Akio take on the two remaining guards, should he need assistance Erwin would be ready, although it was unnecessary in the end. His initial attack with a spring kick, a technique by the name of Leaf: Rising Wind if he remembered correctly, reminded Erwin of the first time he got to see the young Kaguya in action, when the Chuunin attempted to use it against him. It was a risky technique, one that left the user open to attack if they missed or were blocked, but held a high reward factor should the technique actually connect, which it did in this case. As Akio followed through by grabbing the man’s legs mid air and tossing him at the cart Erwin cleaned his blades of blood with a simple, short, and quick flick of his arm starting with his sabre, causing the blade to stop mid swing with such force that any trace of blood simply continued in the direction of the swing. He then sheathed his sabre and calmly repeated the same process with his wakizashi, the thrown guard missing him by a few inches and crashing into the front of the cart behind him.

”Goodnight…” Once more the young Kaguya spoke in a sinister bloodthirsty tone, this time aiming his fingers at the one remaining guard in the exact same fashion that he did against Erwin while he tested the squad he was given. However, instead of bullets made from the boys finger bones Akio fired several barbed senbon from each finger. A useful alteration, or so Erwin thought, but there was no further need of him watching Akio “play”. He could obviously handle himself. While the young Kaguya took his time with the second guard Erwin moved to confront the previously thrown guard, who was just now trying to get back up, forcefully kicking the man’s knee in and severely hyperextending his leg. The man grunted and tried and reach for his weapon but Erwin pinned him against the cart by the neck, feeling his pulse with his hand and looking him square in the eye. ”Who do you work for?” He asked in a deathly serious tone, showing no emotion whatsoever. ”W-Warlord Kain, we’re just the clean up crew I swear!” ”Hmm…” The man was telling the truth, or so it seemed, and he was no Jashinist himself.

A true Jashinist would never give in and would revel in a fight to the death, not cave in with so little effort, this man was a simply lackey. Either way this was the information he needed to incriminate the Warlord for these murders, he still lacked concrete evidence that true Jashinists were involved but with this incident there wouldn’t be enough time to search for it before someone found out what happened to this squad. They needed to wrap up things up quickly. Releasing the man before him Erwin shifted his attention to the cart and moved around the side to the back. The wounded guard saw this as his opportunity to try and escape, but as Erwin had hoped his grunts and moans attracted the bloodthirsty Chuunin. ”Oh, you’ve came around great. To bad you are interrupting my moment.” Akio’s voice started off cheerful but quickly switched to a more serious one as he approached the wounded guard. ”Not be a dear and pipe down a bit!” As Akio began his onslaught of unnecessary stabs Erwin peeled back the tarp covering the contents of the cart, revealing cages with mutilated corpses and crates with dismembered body parts.

The trademark details of Jashinistic torture were prevalent throughout the cart’s contents, however none of which seemed to be bearing any sort of item or symbol that linked them to Kirigakure. Perhaps they were purposely avoiding Kirigakure citizens and shinobi in order to maintain the terms of their alliance. Nevertheless this was still a threat that needed to be dealt with. ”I believe that wraps things up.” The voice of his student caught his attention, his tone was rather nonchalant given the circumstances but that didn’t exactly surprise Erwin at this point. ”That it does. I have the information we need, would you mind grabbing the stray and tossing him in with the rest? I’m going to make it a lot harder for others to tell what transpired here.” Erwin spoke in a very relaxed tone himself as he nodded towards the skewered corpse that was off ahead of the cart, this was hardly the first time he had ambushed and slaughtered unwitting targets. If Akio agreed to do so Erwin would then scope out his surroundings to find a good vantage point for what he had in mind, settling on a nearby stone pillar that overlooked the cart.

”Once I act we’ll need to leave immediately, there’s no doubt patrols within visible range will see this. Feel free to get a head start.” Erwin said in a serious tone, making sure Akio had no objections to leaving now that they were finished before climbing the pillar. Once he was atop the pillar Erwin would motion for Akio to stand clear, unless Akio had already started back towards Kirigakure, then place his left hand on his wakizashi in a ready to draw fashion. If Akio had stayed to watch out of curiosity then he would likely know Erwin’s hand placement as a ready stance for his ridiculously fast drawing-striking-sheathing style, although he would likely miss the actual movements of the blade as Erwin unleashed a dense wave of destructive light blue chakra upon the cart that upon impact that literally ground everything other than the thick metal cages into a pulp, even the metal cages were damaged beyond use, before carving a shallow crater into the ground beneath the cart; which served as a rather nice place for the bloody pulp to collect.

As soon as he unleashed this technique Erwin leapt off of the pillar, made sure Akio wasn’t wasting time (if he was still there), and proceeded to meet with (or lead) Akio back at (to) their staging area. ”That blood rage of yours didn’t exactly help with the secrecy of the mission...” He would start in a calm factual tone with no hint of speaking down to the Chuunin. ”... but I hold those that assigned you this type of mission responsible for that. It is not without its uses, and as long as you can keep that bloodthirst in check and focus it towards our enemies I have no problem with it.” Akio may be psychotic but few killers with his potential aren't, as long as he didn’t act against the village and channeled his bloodthirst against their enemies Erwin would have no reason to follow through with his initial threat, and quite frankly Erwin considered the boy very skilled at what he did. ”I’ll see to it that you’re given the chance to do less... subtle missions in the future.” He said in a professional tone, nodding slightly as a farewell to his student before disappearing back to Kirigakure at full speed to deliver the recovered information to the Mizukage.

[Exit]

[Word Count: 1191]
[Total: 8626/600]
[Chakra: 246.25/250|-3.75 for B-Rank reduced to C-Rank via weapon special ability then reduced via mastery]

Technique/Styles Used:

”That it does. I have the information we need, would you mind grabbing the stray and tossing him in with the rest? I’m going to make it a lot harder for others to tell what transpired here.” Would be the first words that the Chunin would actually process as he came down from his blood rage. Nodding Akio would quickly drag the body over to the cart, making sure not to stab himself on his own bones as he returned back to Erwin. While Akio would be more content on just leaving the group how it was he figured Erwin had a better idea. Although the Kaguya figured if they just left now the warlord would figure an escaped Kaguya had just ambushed the group. However, being in a good mood he figured he would listen to his Sensei and place the body by the others before evacuating the area.

While the Chunin made sure to get a good distance away Akio turned to face Erwin once more. Although he was suggested to leave the area he wasn't going to miss whatever technique his Sensei was about to use, especially if it was going to hide the wreck they had just caused. Taking note of the familiar stance the blue haired shinobi was a bit curious. He had seen the same stance in combat and surely it wasn't strong enough to decimate a cart, horse, and even the guards. Plus, Erwin would still have to do something about the metal cages in the back of the cart. However, the boy would be surprised as his Sensei made a single slash at the air that sent a huge wave of chakra at the cart, effectively grinding everything but the metal to a paste. Having seen all his need the Chunin would continue back to the hill they were at when they were planning the whole mission.

Making his way back to the hill Akio would soon be joined by his Sensei. Turning to face the older man the shinobi took it upon himself to actually pay attention to the man. ”That blood rage of yours didn’t exactly help with the secrecy of the mission...” While his Sensei was right Akio didn't pay much attention to the comment.  ”... but I hold those that assigned you this type of mission responsible for that. It is not without its uses, and as long as you can keep that bloodthirst in check and focus it towards our enemies I have no problem with it.” The next few words were not of much concern to Akio, actually he couldn't care less if Erwin was disappointed on the performance. After all they had finished the mission and got what they needed. Plus no one knows that they were from Kiri. ”I’ll see to it that you’re given the chance to do less... subtle missions in the future.” With the last comment his Sensei spoke the boy's ears perked up a bit. Now that is what he wanted to hear, the Kaguya actually would love to have the chance to go on more dangerous straight forward missions. A small smile would creep on the Chunin's face as he followed his Sensei back to the village. Perhaps the man wasn't such a bad replacement for a Sensei after all.

[Exit]
[Thread Closed]

WC: 550
Total WC: 6008/600