Avengers, assemble! [Mission Briefing/Leaving Village]

[Tsukino Dante]

Dante sat inside the gates to the village, standing, waiting... most likely bored, but he could suffer that easily enough. It had been some time since he had finished his scouting mission, but he was at the ready, his headset tuned in to the military frequency he had been given, just in case it proved worthwhile.

Surely enough....

"Genin Tsukino-san, are you there?" the familiar voice of Dante's employer cracked through the headset.

"Yeah, still here, had a feeling you'd call. What's the situation?" Dante replied.

"Our retrieval team is ready to go, but we'd rather not get ambushed when we get there."

"Fair enough, I was pretty sure no one was still around when I searched the place, but they might just be waiting for a bigger target."

"Can you relay another mission to your village? I'd appreciate shinobi support in reclaiming the area. Our forces would be in the area and on call, so you wouldn't be alone."

"Seems easy enough, same pay grade as the last run?"

"Of course, my budget is more than able to afford that."

"Well, I'd guess you've got yourself some ninja. We'll be in the area ASAP. Dante out."

Dante cut off the transmission, then switched the frequency to a public Kumogakure channel for another broadcast.

"Tsukino Dante, Main Branch Genin, reporting in. New orders received, C-rank mission, moderate risk. Will provide briefing at the gates in thirty minutes. Out. " he said before cutting the transmission off. Well, now he just had to wait (again). The teenage Genin walked over to a nearby tree and casually leaned against it, keeping a spare eye out for anyone who might now be looking for him.... not that any of them would actually know who they were looking for at first unless they had access to his files or had met him before, but if they were good little ninja they'd wait at the gates until the briefing time as instructed.

And if they weren't good little ninja? Then everyone would be better off, they'd just get everyone killed if they were let out of the village.

 

[Keiji]

A rough night. Shit, a rough night is just putting it lightly. Keiji has had it difficult to sleep for many days, it's been difficult to keep his head in the books without dozing off.

His fists tightened as he neared the gate, last time he was here had been with his Sensei, Kushin. His bags were packed with the usual mission equipment, some food, drinks, wires, weapons, he had even scavenged a few soldier pills just in case the going got tough, and of course a few medical supplies. In his ear his earpiece suddenly buzzed. He held his finger on the earpiece to make sure he heard what was being said.

"Tsukino Dante, Main Branch Genin, reporting in. New orders received, C-rank mission, moderate risk. Will provide briefing at the gates in thirty minutes. Out."

A slight smile appeared on his lips. Looks like this'll be a fun mission after all!
He had been asked to do a mission, with some random Shinobi, he didn't really like the idea of working together with strangers as a team, heck, the only people he thought he'd like to do missions with were Kushin, and maybe Kahako-chan..

Thrirty minutes? I can go grab some food first!
He first went over to a nearby food stand and asked for Onigiri to-go. A few minutes past and he got a small bag with four Onigiri inside. He took one out and took a bite as he headed for the gates to await the briefing.

Whoever it was that was gonna brief him and the others, whoever they were Had better be ready to having this hard hitting party machine in his or her party! He punched in the air in front of him in excitement.

 

[Junan]

Kushin was still taking it easy. He'd been cleared of any issues in regards to the incident which happened nearly a week past now but he was still a little uneasy. He didn't want to end up taking on something which might actually be life threatening and then losing control of his own body suddenly. That would be a pathetic way to die. Kushin, the pathetic. That was not how he wanted to be remembered.

C-Rank missions, they had moderate risk, enough that he would at least be able to test his body a little. And with his abilities should things turn to crap, well... that just meant he would have to finish it before it got to a point where the enemy might even be able to hurt him. An added bonus to this was that Keiji was taking part, and Kushin hoped this might allow him to watch how the younger generation worked with each other.

He would remain in a constant state of transformation, he knew that if Keiji were to activate Byakugan and then pay any kind of attention to him he would be figured out. But that was a chance he'd just have to take. It wasn't like he would be automatically aware of everything going on around him, that would surely be too much for the brain, especially when they could see up to three kilometers away, depending on the individual reports of the Hyuuga clans.

K Nishu

A false identity, he only ever used the initial K for the clan name, and never gave an answer if asked.

So it was that Nishu arrived and noticed Keiji and another boy where they had been told to gather. Very well then. Let the fun begin.

 

[Himura Kiyoko]

PC - Suzuki Kiyoko​

I stumbled around my apartment room in a rather humiliating state of undress, I had just finished taking a shower (yes, I was taking a shower, a lady can take a shower whenever she wants, thank you very much) when my headset started transmitting. I picked the electronic device up and hurriedly pressed the listening piece against my ear. I only was able to hear the end of whatever was being said, but that was enough... somebody was recruiting for an impromptu mission of some sorts. Well, I guess it was about time I earned my keep for this village. If there was anything I was not, it was a freeloader; I work for my meals! Mommy and daddy would be proud!

"Suzuki Kiyoko, Main Branch Genin, reporting for duty!!!" I enthusiastically replied before setting my headset back down and rummaging through my drawer for something to wear (going on a mission naked would be a very bad idea, after all). After a few minutes of searching I settled on a white tank top, khaki shorts, and a pair of hiking boots; it wasn't anything glamorous, but it would be easy to move around in and that's what counted. For finishing touches, I grabbed my headset again and fastened it to my head. Finally, I walked over to the corner where I kept my arsenal; a longsword and a grenade launcher, both sealed inside a scroll small enough to (just barely) fit in my pockets. I also picked up a small pouch filled with medicine and food pills, just in case.

All right, now I was ready.

I darted my way out of the apartment complex and rapidly made my way down the main streets of the village, I was so excited! I was ready to go! Yeah!

After what couldn't have been more than five minutes of running, I arrived at the gates to find that a small grouping of Shinobi had already started to form, although there seemed to be a notable lack of coherence... that seemed fair enough, we still had at least ten minutes or so before this Dante kid made his grand entrance to tell us what exactly was going on. Still, there was one face I could recognize; the boy from the hospital, Kei. Oh yes, I was going to have some fun while I waited.

Kei would only have one warning of what was about to happen. "Dynamic Entry of Happiness!!!" I shouted mere seconds before launching myself at the young man and clinging to him as hard as I could, after waiting a few seconds to gauge his reaction I let go and calmly stood next to him. "So, Kei-san, it looks like we'll be working together today?" I asked, an obvious question, but I asked it anyway because... well... why not?

 

[Keiji]

A third bite had just been taken as familiar yet strangely appealing shout came from behind him, at the time his mind was absent minded with the delicious taste and lovely mushy consistency of the Onigiri.

Tight.. Squeeze.. Rice.. Stuck.. In throat.. COUGH! HARCK! HURK! COUGH!
Rice had stuck itself in his throat as the girl spoke calmly at him, maybe she didn't notice, but it took a few seconds of coughing and punching his own stomach to get the rice to flow properly.

He then turned after he had settled his stomach. "Heh, why hello there Suzuki-chan, happy to see you again. And indeed" He mellow smile appeared on his lips "Indeed it does seem like we'll be working together on a mission, a most unexpected one at that."

In the corner of his eye he saw a curious looking guy, he had just appeared recently, and he seemed to be waiting for something or other, granted many people here tend to do that, but something seemed.. Odd, about him, alas Keiji dismissed it as nerves, and continued to take another bite of his Onigiri.
As he was chewing through he scanned the area for any familiar faces, but alas none seemed to be around, unless they were hiding or Keiji might be needing glasses soon..
After he swallowed the rice he looked at Kiyoko with a smile, "Hungry? I bought extra, just in case!" He handed her a wrapped Onigiri. "So we're the only ones who are here at the moment? I kind of hope there'll be more than just us two."

 

[Junan]

Isaki Kushin as K Nishu

He looked around. There were four here waiting. A couple who might have been meeting here in a lovers encounter, except he knew Keiji was in the team. A boy waiting under a tree, perhaps who had gone to sleep.

The one who was meant to be leading them was late, and Kushin didn't know whether to just go on without him or what the story was.

If they left without him that would make Nishu the one in charge, which would in some ways destroy the point of the disguise, though at least no-one would expect more from him than they would a chuunin. Though he wasn't exactly sure what that was anymore.

If this is everyone then shall we head off? Nishu asked, his voice bored. Kushin didn't like waiting.

 

[Himura Kiyoko]

Yup... I had just made an idiot of myself! Way to go, Kiyoko (sarcasm, yes, I can do sarcasm)!

By the time I had realized just how badly I had timed my 'spontaneous act of affection and happiness' Kei had already recovered and started to reply to my initial question; we were going to be on the same team today, so at least I would know one of my teammates... that was good. "Well, good to be working with you, Kei-san.... and... uh... sorry if I startled you." I said. After a short pause Kei went back to his food... and it was about now that I remembered something. Yup.... I had forgotten lunch. Great.

Kei offered me a helping of the food he was eating, given the circumstances I was obliged to accept his offer... although, seriously, why does every guy I run into end up giving me food? I guess it's just their way of being polite? Well, I would never discourage sharing. I reached out with my right hand (not the left one, the left one does all the heavy lifting and tends to get the dirtiest) and took the food that was offered to me, I took a deep, long stare at the ball of rice, trying to gauge the quality of my potential me- actually, no, I only tried to do that for a second or two at most, I was hungry, it was time to eat.

I took a large bite out of the food, while the taste wasn't something I could see myself craving it was good food, and it was filling. "Yummy... thanks for the meal, Kei-san!" I said after swallowing the first bite.

Kei had wondered if anyone else was going to be on this mission; which was a pretty legitimate question, actually. "Well, I'm guessing Dante-san is somewhere around here. So, that makes at least three of us...." I commented, somewhat idly "Well, no matter how many people we end up with, we'll get the job done, right?" I added reassuringly.

 

[Tsukino Dante]

All right, so, sorry for the delays. I'm keeping myself to a 48 hour schedule starting now. With any luck this mission will move... as fluidly as possible for a mission group consisting of (as far as I know) three different time zones.

So, Dante has called the group in and told them the general gist of whats going on. If the group is ready, we can leave and get this stompin' spree started. Lovely.

EDIT: Remembered to count.

Waiting.... nothing but waiting.

As the slowest half-hour of his life trickled by, Dante really couldn't do much other than take inventory and avoid falling asleep.

'Bolter? Check. Knife? Check. Sword? Check. Grenades? Check. Shuriken? Check. Com systems? Obviously, I just used them. Med kit? Few painkillers and blood pills... should stave off any major injuries until better treatment is available.' Dante went through the check list in his mind, searching his pockets, pouches, and holsters for relevant items with each step.

As the time passed, Dante took note of the individuals who slowly trickled in; of the ones who weren't just 'passing through' three stood out.

One was a young man, about the same age as Dante as far as could be told. Possibly another genin like himself?

The next one... a med-nin, perhaps? Well, that at least meant that if something went horrifically wrong, there would be someone specifically trained in how to clean up all the blood.

Finally, a teenage girl, not bad looking by Dante's standards.... also most likely a genin from the looks of it. She appeared to have some prior relationship with the young man. As far as Dante was concerned that was a good thing; with any luck they'd have an easier time working together in the field.

Overall, it looked like an interesting group, and Dante looked forward to seeing how each one of them performed on what would hopefully be a relatively routine mission. Well, it was time to find out, thirty minutes just ran out. "Mission group, on me!" Dante called out, waving the mission participants over to the tree he was casually leaning against. Once the entire group had assembled the briefing would start:

"Good afternoon, gentleman and miss. I'm Dante, the genin who broadcast that mission alert." Dante introduced, "Now, I'm not one for elaborate speeches, so I'll keep to the point: earlier today I had been contracted to investigate an area where Kaminari soldiers had gone silent some time earlier; long story short, the entire place got toasted. The army wants to be sure it's safe to re-establish it's presence in the area, simple enough. As luck would have it, the CO is a generous man who happens to think shinobi support for his troops is a smart investment, I am inclined to agree." Dante paused for a second before continuing "Our job is simple, secure the ground while the army moves back in, reclaims anything valuable, and retrieves their dead. Our other goal, and this one is specifically our job, is to patrol the area, and if possible find and capture any parties responsible for the attack."

After a short pause, Dante would continue with what little intelligence he had to go off of:

"The area around the former army base is moderately forested, there is no lack of things to climb. The base housed about a platoon of army regulars, so if we find the culprits they'll be expected to put up a good fight; but we pretty much have the army on speed dial, if we don't do anything stupid we should be able to take them out without any major risks."

After finishing his impromptu briefing, Dante straightened his posture and stretched out a bit. "If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Otherwise, I'm guessing it's fine if we familiarize ourselves with each other en route? Either way, I'd prefer it if we spend as little time idle as possible." if no one had any objections, Dante would start to make for the gates.

WC: 583

 

[Junan]

Isaki Kushin as K Nishu

He stood and listened as a genin spoke about the mission at hand. Who in their right minds gave mission details to a genin to give to a squad. Especially one which originally had two chuunin involved. He realized of course that it was the genin who had called for the assembled squad, but the council would need a talking to after this to get their shit together. Letting a genin organize this kind of stuff could be seen as character building, it could also be seen as attempted forced suicide, if that was a thing.

Still, he was here to do a job, and although the pipsqueek was giving the details and doing things like he was running the show Kushin knew that in the end it'd fall on him if shit went sour. Not Kushin himself of course, but on Nishu.

He walked after Dante after the boy said his thing. Silently. An army. Well. That wouldn't worry him too much would it? It would simply be interesting to see how everyone else handled themselves.

 

[Keiji]

"Sure, of course we'll get it done!" He replied to Kiyoko's question with a smile, and a nod.
A few seconds later he was called to the briefing, a strange, at least around his age, probably a Genin stood and started to brief, Dante?

A slight smile appeared on his lips as Dante explained the situation and gave the briefing of the mission, surprisingly he was quite thorough in the explanation.
Army? Pfft! As we'll need em' we can take care of anything that pops out against us as he thought he looked at Kiyoko with a self affirming smile.

Surprisingly the guy Keiji had noticed before joined them at the briefing. So he's also a part of the mission, heh, well I suppose he might take the role of primary Med-nin.
I might just have to take the backstage of healing if shit comes down.. He tightened his fist a little I can easily be a fighter instead of a healer after all, heh
Keiji didn't take heed to if he was noticed or not, his eyes were resting on him for a few seconds, after which his eyes shifted back to Dante's briefing.

"I approve!" Keiji shouted out loud as he brandished a raised thumb in the direction of Dante after having heard the entire briefing.

After Dante had spoken and began walking towards the exit, Keiji ran up beside him and spoke.
"I'm ready, let's get this show on the road! when we start approaching the location, mind if I take point?"
He pointed at his eyes with a slight smile "I can scout ahead easily for us after all, heh"

"By the way, I'm Suzaku Keiji, you can just call me Kei, if you wanna" He stretched his arms up in the air as he looked around curiously. "Now where's the guards when you need em?"

 

[Tsukino Dante]

[Mission-Leader's note: Since Kushin has had the unfortunate luck of getting his sorry butt banned, his actions during the mission will be governed by my post (I have been given full permission to do this). Obviously, he will not be receiving any rewards for this mission. Good day.]

 

[Himura Kiyoko]

I smiled, assured by Keiji's confidence in our abilities; I just hoped I was up to the task... oh, who was I kidding? Of course I'd do well! I knew what I was doing!

A moment later, we were called over by a young man, who apparently was the one who sent out the call for help. Dante started to explain the job, somebody had destroyed a military base, and the army wanted help moving back in. Something didn't feel right, who was attacking the army in this state? Makoro had already been defeated, could someone be trying to avenge him?

No, that couldn't be it, Cloud wouldn't leave loose ends like that. I had to trust them that much, at least. But that left the question unanswered... which was equally unsettling.

I cleared my mind and continued to listen to the briefing; it sounded simple enough, Dante had already searched the area and no one tried to hurt him, so odds were we wouldn't even have to fight. But I wouldn't hold back if we did find the people who did this, we can't have people running about the country burning down camps! That's just not right!

Once the briefing (the somewhat brief briefing) was finished, Dante started for the gates. The older med-nin who had fallen in with us followed, and one by one we all started towards the gates. Keiji volunteered to take point for the group... I wasn't entirely sure what everyone was good at, but I trusted Keiji to know his own strengths. "I guess I'll cover our rear guard, then. I'm good with a blade, so I can fight up close if it comes to it." I offered as I made my way to the gates with the rest of the group.

 

[Tsukino Dante]

Well, there wasn't much to think about now. It was just a matter of talking to the guards, and hoping they were feeling nice enough to let a ragtag bunch of misfits loose on the countryside; nothing too big to worry about. Nothing too big at all.

As the group prepared to leave the younger man, Keiji, offered to take point for the team. "If that's where you feel comfortable, then go ahead. I normally take point, but I'll stay in a variable guard this time. If either you or Suzuki-san need a shield, I'll swap in." Dante replied. He took a short second to think about the team's composition.

"Keiji, I think I'll defer to your judgement for today; I know the lay of the land, and I might have some useful information, so I'll keep you informed. Nobody has a problem with that, right?" he said, if Keiji seemed to know his own abilities well enough, and he at least knew Kiyoko on a social basis... it would be interesting to see how he reacted to basically being put in charge of this operation. Worst came to worst, Dante could always take over in an emergency.

With basic decency (mostly) taken care of already, it was about time the group headed out. Dante looked up at the gates of Kumo.

"Hey! Guards? I'm heading out again! Three more with me! The employer from the last mission can confirm the contract, we're expected in the field ASAP!" Dante called out... now it was time to wait.

[Requesting Exit for all shinobi present]

 

[Takaki Saeko]

“Mais oui! J’adore Les Aventures Bibliques de Jesus Saito! L’acteur pour Shinbatsu, il est tres magnifique, non?” asked Sei excitedly as she rounded the corner of the gatehouse, pausing only to take a bite out of her stuffed crepe filled with all matter of amazing cheese and fruit preserves. Accompanying her, an older man also with his own stuffed crepe.

“J’ai entendu dire qu’il est tres massive, oui. Si t’aimes cette emission, essayez ‘GJ-Bu’. C’est un spectacle mettant en vedette harem avec Hayata Shin et ses copines,” responded Masao to her, chuckling as they both conversed in a decidedly foreign tongue.

“Tais-toi!” she said, punching him playfully in the arm. At this point, she suddenly noted that the group of younger shinobi waiting patiently for their exit. “Excuzez-moi! I did not notice you, Tsukino-san!” she said, blushing. “Masao, zis is zat boy I was telling you about! Is he not tres bel?” she said, gesturing at Dante.

“Oh yes, Dante-kun. Otherwise known as ‘Pimp-Daddy’, ‘Brotagonist,’ ‘Charlie Tunoka’, ‘Swag-Master’, and ‘Loli-Destroyer’. Keep up the good work, young man. Now, off to investigate more military mishaps?” asked Masao, cocking his head at the group. “Oh, hello Suzaku-kun, Suzuki-chan. Medic,” he said, nodding to the disguised Kushin. Looking at Kiyoko, he really did have to wonder what sorts of wacky-ass hormones were injected into the academy food these days.

“Bon! Votre papiers are all in order. I wish you good luck!” said Sei, after poring over a nearby roster of mission issues.

“And as the famous sage Gandalf once said, Use the force, long live and prosper, and may the odds be ever in your favor, Mr. Potter,” said Masao, giving a salute to them. “Now come, Sei, we have a lot of TV to watch, and also I wanted to talk to you about Hyuuga Numa…”

[Exit granted, go get'em]

 

[Keiji]

While getting his papers checked out, he took the last bite of his Onigiri swallowing it completely. He tucked his bags around his shoulder while a smile grew on his lips revealing his teeth slightly.
His eyes shifted quickly to the entire group, his eyes rested a few seconds on Suzuki-chan. Then shifted back ahead in front of him.

"Let's go!" he said with a firm voice.

He tightened his fists and began to run ahead of everyone else.
Heading out to the designated area. When they would approach the area, he would enable his Byakugan and keep his eye out for any and all danger.

[Topic Exit]

 

[Tsukino Dante]

'Oh, hell no....'

Dante could do nothing but die a little on the inside as both Sei and Masao greeted him for his pre-deployment send off; Sei he was expecting, Masao, however, caught him completely off guard.

Dante's internal execution continued to play out as Masao rattled off the list of various nicknames... needless to say, Dante wasn't amused by any of them (okay, maybe he was a little amused, but he was also disturbed). Well, destruction of ego aside, it seemed that their trip would (thankfully) not be met with any delays from the paperwork department. Lovely.

"I'm quite sure most of those titles do not fit me at all... whoever is spreading these rumors, I must kindly ask them to stop." Dante said, his forced calm tone was the only thing holding him back from a more... violent choice of words, words that he would never say to his superiors without severe provocation. "The man who paid for the scouting mission is willing to pay an entire squad to play around in the woods. I ain't gonna argue with him, my only regret is that the pay isn't slightly higher." he continued, a small smirk on his face.

As the group prepared to leave, Masao rambled... something, Dante couldn't make heads or tails of it, which naturally made it amusing to him (nonsense, oh how funny you always are). As discussed, Keiji would take point and be the first out of the gates. Dante would follow shortly behind him after making sure the rest of the team was ready to go.

[Topic left to Outer Village]

 

[Himura Kiyoko]

We were greeted at the gates by Sennin Masao and a woman... one of the regular gate guards; but I never really familiarized myself with the gate staff, so I didn't really know her all that well.

Dante seemed rather distressed by Masao's choice of words for him... to be honest, if I were in his position I would be pretty embarrassed as well, I couldn't help but wonder what kind of history the genin had to cause that greeting. Okay, maybe I had heard some rumors from the girls at the Academy, but those were all just rumors. Right? No sense in putting too much trust in rumors, it's just not smart!

Anyway, despite the somewhat awkward exchange between Masao and Dante, our clearances checked out without too much hassle, which was a bit of a surprise considering how improvised the mission sounded; but I wasn't going to question that bit, I was thankful that we were being let out without too much trouble...

As the group made ready to leave, Masao opted to dispense some wisdom... or maybe just some random nonsense disguised as wisdom; I couldn't really tell which. Whatever it was, it wasn't anything I had ever heard of, so I didn't pay too much attention to it; hopefully that wouldn't turn out to be a mistake.

... who am I kidding? My Sennin is a loonie. Crazy, I say!

As discussed, Keiji left the gates first, Dante and the med-nin followed some time after. I was the last one out of the village... I had to calm myself a bit as I walked through the gates. "It's just a mission, Kiyoko... nothing will go wrong if you keep yourself awake..." I told myself, forcing an imagined image of the gas-bombing out of my mind. I wasn't going to let any screw-ups like that happen ever again...

[Topic Left to Outer Village]

 

[Tsukino Dante]

[Mission continued HERE]