Dusty Trails [Entering Country]

[Tomomi]

The swinging, the stabbing, the blood and sweat all for not as a defensive technique was used by Kagemaru in the form of Eight Trigrams: Heavenly Guard. Mizuki was making some hits, but most of the damage wasn't hitting Kagemaru at all. It was annoying and frustrated to the Minister as he kept swinging and now screaming like a psychopath. His sword was swinging from his chest and his spear stabbing, but nothing was working. Hell, the poor weak Mizuki even swung his head and tried to hit Kagemaru but nothing. He had that damn guard up and it wasn't going down at all, and Mizuki was getting harmed from strikes from the technique.

As a last resort, Mizuki used his strongest sword and spear taijutsu moves at the guard, but still nothing was working. The last move a right fist towards Kagemaru that was catch and pushed away. Sending the boy flying from the fellow Minister, and landing several feet away. The Kindred Fusion disposed, his katana and spear laying beside him with a pool of blood underneath him. In intense pain, and physically exhausted he managed to turn his hand to Kagemaru and smiled. "You...w..on. Con..*cough*...grats."

The Minister closed his eyes and passed out from the fight. Laying there, bleeding everywhere...Mizuki was not in any good shape at all. He probably had internal damage, definitely had external damage and many broken bones. But none of that would matter if Mizuki bled to death. What would the children and Kagemaru do?

 

[Sekuro]

Monday : Soon's Haven : 9:15 PM​

Kagemaru had managed to keep his barrier up for about 5 minutes before Mizuki's transformation began to wear down. Finally, as Mizuki threw one last desperation punch, instead of using his barrier to simply block it, Kagemaru apparently countered it while swinging the opposing Minister several yards away. The match had been decided.

Kagemaru was getting tired, and now Mizuki was going to be out of commission for a couple days. The scratches that he'd sustained during the battle were already beginning to heal but his clothes were still cut in plenty of areas. Kagemaru walked over to the laid out Mizuki and simply looked over him with his glowing eyes.

Hopefully from now on, we'll be able to work together better. As per our agreement, I'm in charge. I don't wanna hear no smack anymore. With that, Mizuki fell unconscious and Kagemaru knew that it was truly over at that point. He then looked over to Ginjiro who's been watching from afar the entire time and motioned for him to come to where Kage and Mizuki were.

Kagemaru wasn't angry with the boy for disobeying orders, though he'd be punished accordingly later. Kagemaru also lifted Mizuki up onto his shoulders in a firemen's carry position. Kage had been careful not to do any permanent damage, but attacking organs is a delicate business. Walking with Mizuki's body on his shoulders' he spoke to Ginjiro.

So... what'd you take away from this experience? A light hearted approach to a conversation, Kagemaru didn't really have much to say but now that the fighting had stopped, the quiet of the desert had returned and there was going to be a long walk back to the hotel room.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

As the visitors to Soon carried on a well armored, and well armed messenger placed a flyer on the main board of the exterior of the Hotel nearby. The dark skinned messenger stood at six feet even and wore sand tone camouflage armor which stood out quite well in the city but he didn't seem to mind with his large blade spear strapped to his back. He was well muscled and it was obvious that he trained in taijutsu relentlessly. His sandals were reinforced and careened to allow swift movement across the sands. His pants wear reinforced leather on the outside but breathable cotton/silk mesh in the crotch and inner thigh. Even his teeth were immaculate allowing his smile to shimmer as he tacked the flyer up on the hotel board. His eyes were hidden by his hood but his hair was not, it was slightly curly and pitch black. He almost seemed to purr as he walked off to the next message board.

The Flyer Read:


There will be a convoy at Sunset to attend the Wedding of Toraono Kuro & Yamazaki Suzuhime

All are invited at the behest of Queen Nobuku Azame and her consort Grandmaster Toraono Kuro
The convoy will ensure safe passage of all visitors from sandwyrms and bandits to the Toraono Dojo
Visitors will be treated to dinner and show along with their personal choice to participate in the festivities
Viewing of the wedding party is limited to the first four hundred reservations.
Please Enjoy yourselves at the request of the Toraono Clan

By the Hand of Mother Suna be Blessed

 

[Kazu]

What were these two? Monsters? Demons? Angels? No, they were very much mortal men—it was for this reason that Ginjiro was all the more terrified of them. It was scary to think that men were capable of such incredible power. Power enough to do whatever they wanted, without hesitation. So it seemed as if Mizuki-sempai was a living weapon, huh? Ginjiro was gaining all kinds of valuable information from this battle, and he intended to apply every little bit of it in the future. The way that Kagemaru-sensei, instead of simply attacking Mizuki-sempai head on, simply allowed him to wear himself out on that barrier—what a brilliant move! Ginjiro would never have thought about that! And the usage of the terrain and the setting! Man, the young boy was loving this! As the fight came to a close, Ginjiro was prepared to sneak off without Kagemaru-sensei noticing him. He intended to just make it back to the hotel, and pretend like he'd never been gone. Unfortunately for the young boy, he'd overlooked one major detail: the eyes of the Hyuuga Clan, the fabled Byakugan, see all. Kagemaru-sensei motioned for the young boy to come to his side before the Ayatsuri child even had a chance to attempt to escape. Letting out a sigh, feeling his defeat, Ginjiro made his way down the sand dune and over to his Sensei. Ginjiro looked like a child that had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Kagemaru-sensei, if he was mad, didn't seem to show it, and instead just asked the young boy what he had gotten out of it all. Thinking for a second, Ginjiro answered with a slight smirk to him. "Swords are surprisingly useless against a supposedly blind, unarmed, man?" Chuckling a little to break the tension, Ginjiro then composed himself a little better. "Well, let's see. There was the proper use of your surroundings, a bunch of battle tactics, and some things about the two of you." Looking his Sensei right in the eyes, Ginjiro asked him a very simple question. "Why didn't you just tell us? We wouldn't have told anybody." It was obviously a reference to his Byakguan. Ginjiro had thought that Kagemaru-sensei had trusted them. Were they still not good enough to be told everything? Ginjiro felt like he was being led blindly into a shit-storm by a guy who was telling him they were going to a birthday party. Seriously, what more did Ginjiro need to do to get this guy's trust?

As they kept walking, the two of them passed a large armored warrior. It was strange, what was a man like that doing here? Who knew? As the two of them—three, if you counted the unconscious Mizuki-sempai on Kagemaru-sensei's shoulders—approached the hotel, they passed the main lobby. As they walked, though, Ginjiro's attention was caught by a poster of some sort. It was quite flashy, though it looked regal at the same time. Abandoning Kagemaru-sensei for a moment, Ginjiro walked over to look at the poster. What he saw, though, was better than he had imagined. His eyes lit up, and he turned to talk to Kagemaru-sensei directly. "Kagemaru-sensei, come here! It says here that they're giving safe passage through the desert to anyone going to some wedding at the Toraono Dojo! It also says that everyone is invited! Maybe we should go to this?"

 

[Sekuro]

Monday : Soon's Haven : 9:35 PM​

This kid was funny. As he joked about Mizuki's swords being useless against Kagemaru. However, this was untrue.

That'd probably be false if he'd used them more. If you were watching, you probably noticed the number of ninjutsu he fired at me. Kage paused for a moment, but he wasn't waiting for a reply. Simply allowing the young one time to recall what Kagemaru was speaking about.

Even after I revealed that I had a superior defense, his battle strategy consisted of firing large jutsu at me in an attempt to overpower me. That was his mistake. Kage knew that Mizuki had to be more skilled with his sword then he lead on.

Truthfully, now that I've fought him, if he was a bit smarter about his actions, he may have won that fight. But a win is a win and a loss is a loss. Some times the best way to get to know someone is to fight them. Words that his very own father had told him. Kagemaru didn't have many friends so he didn't have the opportunity to test this theory out often, but it rang true enough at this moment so he accepted its meaning. As they continued to walk the cold dark sands back towards the town, the chill began to set in on Kagemaru's skin. The adrenaline was beginning to fade away and his temperature was lowering due to the night air. They would need to hurry but it would be best to be more careful with Mizuki's unconscious body so he decided to take his time.

Why didn't I tell you? Kagemaru smirked at this question when the boy asked about his Byakugan. Thinking about his reasons, they were justified, but he'd tell the boy all the same. No use in hiding it at this point.

Do you tell everyone everything about you when you first meet them? A joke, but still serious all the same, Kagemaru would continue.

My eyes are called Hakumei Byakugan. Its more rare, then... I'll say the Mangekyou Sharingan. You remember Sumina right? Her Sharingan can evolve into the Mangekyou Sharingan. However, the Byakugan in my opinion is more stable then the Sharingan, so it doesn't require the need to continue evolving. However, evolution continues and as such, there are those who will sometimes be able to evolve their Byakugan into these. They no longer require chakra, which is why there are no veins pulsing through my face. I don't need to send any chakra there to keep my eyes on. I see everything for several hundred kilometers in every direction, at all times. He spoke the truth but even if it were true didn't mean it was a good thing. Kagemaru had to constantly focus or he'd overload himself with sensory input. Headaches were prone to happen if he surveyed large areas for vast amounts of time and he could even black out from over exposure. However, it had been quite some time since any of those things happened as Kage had' learned of his limits and when to stop pushing them.

And its not so much that I didn't trust you. But there was no real need to tell you. And I also don't like the looks people give me when I walk around with glowing eyes, so I mask them. Its easier for people to digest a blind man then one with glowing eyes. It also serves as a good way to fool those who'd seek harm on me. You're a lot more likely to underestimate a man with no eyes then one with glowing ones. Either way... I had my reasons. He'd answered the boy's question, albeit a bit long winded. Kagemaru didn't usually talk this much. However, in most cases he worked alone so he didn't have anyone to talk to usually which would explain why he was compelled to speak so much now. They eventually reached the town and as they got closer, Kagemaru instantly spotted a somewhat large chakra sourse. Even though his eyes were covered by his blind fold once more, he'd noticed that chakra several hundred meters away.

As Kagemaru focused, he saw that it was some form or man. The man was placing up a poster and it didn't seem as though he was looking for anyone. Kage still would keep his guard up in the event that there could be an ambush. Zenichi was still alone in their room and Mizuki was currently incapacitated. His chakra was recovering but he was not in any condition to fight a lot of people now especially if he had to protect Ginjiro as well.

Eventually, the man with the large chakra left and Ginji pointed out the poster that Kage had actually read some time ago. As such were the powers of his eyes, but he wouldn't take the discovery away from Ginjiro. Children like to think they are helping.

Thats not a bad idea actually. We were heading there anyway so now we don't have to worry about traveling on our own. The three of them would proceed back up to their rooms and Kagemaru would lay Mizuki upon the free bed. They were back in the room they initially met at and it seemed that Zenichi had decided to heed Kagemaru's words and stay behind. However, given the situation, he would let Ginjiro's insubordination pass this time and chalk it up to a learning experience.

I'll be staying in here so that I can go over the plan with Mizuki when he wakes up. I fucked his internal organs up pretty bad so he may be out for a while, but at the very least hey may be able to walk tomorrow. You can do whatever you want for the time being as we don't need to do anything until tomorrow at sunset. So there is no longer any rush to get thigns done tonight. We can travel to this wedding just as we are... Travelers from Fire Country who were passing through that happened to come across the poster. Fast, loose, simple and true all at the same time. With that, Kagemaru himself began to go through his own bag that was laid out in the corner. He was tired but there were some things he needed to document before he could call this a night.

Spoiler

So we can call this a /topic if you guys want. And just RP the details of how we got to the Toraono Dojo when we get there.

Also, if there is anything IC that should be said to me atm, feel free to stop me from leaving the topic. Otherwise, I'll see you guys at the dojo.

[Topic Left?]

 

[Kazu]

As Kagemaru-sensei began to explain different things about the battle and his reasons for not sharing the information of his eyes, Ginjiro would not question him. There was no need to. Ginjiro merely wished to hear what the man would say, and from there he'd do with the knowledge and information whatever he chose. For now, the young boy would just nod and add quick phrases like, "Yes, I understand. Mhmm," to the conversation. In this way, there wasn't much else for Ginjiro to say. He merely took the time to absorb the messages Kagemaru-sensei was telling him. On the one hand, Mizuki-sempai lost because he spread his type of attacks too thin—as well, they didn't compliment each other well enough to be used together effectively. On the other hand, Kagemaru-sensei did not reveal himself simply because it wasn't necessary. It seemed that Kagemaru-sensei enjoyed working on a 'need-to-know-basis', which may or may not cause problems down the road. If they weren't to find out things until they needed to, then they wouldn't have any time to prepare—the team wouldn't be ready to handle whatever situation they found themselves in. Ginjiro would never voice this, however, as it wasn't his place to tell Kagemaru-sensei how to run the team. He would have to trust the man's judgement, and hope that he knew what he was doing.

When they got back to the hotel, and Ginjiro had pointed out the poster to Kagemaru-sensei, the Hyuuga said that it might be a good idea for them to go with that. That seemed like a good plan to Ginjiro, and he was starting to smile from thinking about it. "I've never been to a wedding before. I wonder what they're like? Do you think there will be good food there, Kagemaru-sensei?" As the two reached their rooms, Kagemaru-sensei deposited the unconscious body of Mizuki-sempai onto the bed in their room. As they were getting re-situated, Ginjiro saw Zenichi-kun stir in the room. Smiling at him, the young Ayatsuri burst out at the young kid. "Guess what Zenichi-kun? We're going to a wedding! Exciting, huh?" As the young boy exclaimed the news, Kagemaru-sensei began to speak. Ginjiro immediately settled down to hear what the man was saying. "Sounds good Kagemaru-sensei!" With that, Ginjiro let out a big yawn that he couldn't quite manage to stifle. Rubbing his eyes, Ginjiro suddenly seemed quite tired. Stretching a little, Ginjiro sleepily spoke to the rest of them. "Guys, I think I'm going to," the young boy paused midway through his sentence in order to yawn once more before continuing, "hit the sack. I'm dead tired. I'll see you all in the morning." With that, Ginjiro walked over to the other room they had rented, his and Zenichi-kun's room, and fell down on his bed. He didn't even bother to change into his night clothes, nor did he bother with any of the other things he should have done. For one night, the young boy didn't care. He simply wanted to be enveloped by the soothing sensation of sleep. Sweet dreams, everyone~

[ooc]
Marked for Training.
Topic Left.
Continued Here: http://www.ninpocho.com/viewtopic.php?f=369&t=4521

 

[Zethui Kobayashi]

Guess what Zenichi-kun? We're going to a wedding! Exciting, huh?

Zenichi didn't even know people had entered the room because he was drying his wet head off with a towel as they entered the room. He might have missed the whole statement Ginjiro made if it wasn't prefaced with his name, which made him immediately stop the business with the towel. A slight buzz remained in his ear but the plan soon made sense. Which was fitting since the truth and lies seems to be unfitting

I'm not sure I packed formal clothes for a wedding!

This trip was getting more derailed by the minute and Zenichi wondered if he was being to complacent about it.

[Topic Left]

 

[Tomomi]

Awaking from his slumber, Mizuki was lying on the bed with Kagemaru as the only one in his room. He was quickly explained to what was going on and what happened to him. Nodding, he rolled slowly out of the bed holding his head as it was pounding fiercely from the fight. He was surprisingly able to walk as he followed his fellow Minister out of the room and away they went to the next destination.

[Shitty post and topic left]