Responsibility Breeds Activity

Thoughts of the examination he had done the day before brought his mind back to the mission to deliver news to the family. He thought on how tough the daily life in the villages must be with bandits and criminals on the loose. He had heard of individuals such as missing ninjas and vagabonds who traveled with all kinds of reputations about them. Dracoso wondered if there was some way to meet them and actually build out an understanding. Each probably had their own reason or story behind how they ended up that way. To Dracoso, it did not mean that they might be all that different from the average village ninja. He shrugged as his thoughts shifted back to the need to take on a hunter mission in the near future. He had spent so much time learning how to use his jutsu and apply them to different situations, he realized that he needed to learn how to fight.

Sparring was one of the main methods he was considering before he took on a mission to hunt down one of the more aggressive troublemakers. He knew that his life would be in danger and there were only so many tools and methods that he could use to deal with the fight. His mind wandered from one possibility to another as he walked down towards the mission center. He could practice at home and try to improve his accuracy. Coordinating with another ninja might give him the advantage and allow him a higher chance at success. Each one would require more time and preparation and he organized his mental notes to deal with them later.

As he walked into the mission center, several shinobi were browsing the mission board. They were reviewing possible jobs to take, and some seemed to already have a few scars from past battles they had engaged in. Dracoso looked past them to the desk where two villagers, who looked a bit roughed up, were speaking with the assistant. He decided to listen in to see exactly what was going on. "We need more help," one of the villagers said in a hushed tone. "Our villages are attacked multiple times each week and more and more of our livelihood is stolen. They started with things we could not keep inside. From the cattle and farm animals to our tools and whatever we left out. They have started to break into our homes and steal our food and anything we do not nail to the floor!" 

The assistant nodded along with the man's statements and responded, "We have heard of your issues with bandits lately and we have a team which has just recently been formed who will be on their way shortly-" The other villager cut in, "We need them to go now! It is at least a six-hour trip to our group of villages and the more time we spend here, the more likely another attack will come!" The second villager appeared a bit more worn than the first and spoke in a soft female voice. "If you have your team ready, we can show them the fastest route there to deal with-" The assistant held up a hand. "I understand the situation is dire, but we cannot send our shinobi out without a proper team in place to deal with it. Right now, we are dealing with a shortage of medical ninja on hand and the village cannot send a team out with the appropriate support."

The two villagers seemed to deflate as her words. One subtly waved a hand back at some of the ninjas checking the mission board. "Why not get one of them? They all look capable of going on a mission," the man said with a touch of desperation in his voice. The woman shook her head and said, "we could ask for volunteers, but due to this being a more dangerous mission with unknown elements, we would be held responsible for any negative outcomes. The mission was posted, and several have come forward, but due to the high risk of injury, we need a medical ninja to assist with this." The woman began to plead with the assistant to send the team to at least defend the village when Dracoso sighed and stepped over behind the pair.

"I can join the mission if it will get it off the ground," he said. The two villagers pulled away from him as they turned to look at him. The assistant at the desk smiled as she recognized him and said, "well, I guess you two do have a bit of luck today." The two looked back and forth between the assistant and Dracoso before relaxing. The woman spoke up, "what do you mean? are you a medical ninja?" She looked Dracoso up and down, sizing him up and not seeming impressed. "He specializes in medical jutsu, if that is what you are asking," the assistant answered for him. She pulled up a document and began to comment on it, "he is still a genin, so his combat experience is not too... varied. He has supported other ninjas and dealt with several problems around town and shown that he is more than capable. If he was to join the mission team, we could have it start as soon as they have gathered."

The man sighed with relief and leaned against the wall nearby. The woman crossed her arms and continued to observe Dracoso. He felt like he was on display in her eyes and figured he would want to make a good impression. "My name is Dracoso. I may still be a bit rough in terms of combat-" he glanced at the assistant who was determined to continue reading his document, "-but I have plenty of practice dealing with wounds and people problems." The woman scratched her chin with a finger before pulling her sleeve up to reveal a bandaged gash along her arm. "Well, if you have experience dealing with wounds, try your hand at this one," she said. Dracoso gave a nod and held up his hands as a soft blue aura came off of his hands. He gently applied them around her wound, running the tips of his fingers over the outline he felt of the wound through the bandages. As his fingers traced it, the wound slowly scabbed over and closed. 

The woman looked carefully at her arm as she unwound the bandages. A layer of scabbed skin came off along with the bandages and floated to the floor. She picked it up and bundled it into the bandages before shoving it into her pocket. She looked closely at where the wound had been and after a few minutes, she gave a firm nod. "Good enough. If you can heal injuries, and she says the team can go, then that is all that matters." The woman turned back from Dracoso, as if done talking to him altogether, and focused back on the assistant. "How long will it take for your team to gather here? Every minute counts to us and we want to make sure to prevent any more loss of life." The assistant turned back to the woman. Dracoso barely caught sight of what appeared to be a small puff of smoke disappearing from her hand. "I have just informed the team of the need to meet. I am unsure if they are already handling other business, so we will need to see how long it takes for them to arrive. For now, we will simply need to wait."

As she finished, a rather tall man with his hands in his pockets bent through the doorway and made his way towards the desk. He held up a blue piece of paper before placing it on the desk. "The mission is ready to go?" was all he asked. The assistant nodded and held a hand towards Dracoso, "This will be the medical ninja on the team for this mission. The rest should be arriving shortly." The man turned to Dracoso, towering over him by at least a foot and a half. The man took a hand from his pocket and looked at it, before wiping it on his pants and holding it out to Dracoso. "Name's Tsuyki, but you can just call me Tsu." Dracoso shook the man's hand and responded, "Dracoso. Pleasure to meet you." Tsu nodded and leaned against the same wall as the villager. The smaller man seemed to lean away, slightly intimidated by Tsu's size.

Tsu looked to Dracoso and asked, "so what made you sign up?" Dracoso rubbed the back of his neck as he said, "I overheard that they needed a medical ninja and the mission couldn't start without one. I figured that I was looking for a mission anyways and this one just fit." Tsu chuckled and said softly, "right place, right time. Can't tell you how often I wish I could say that. I joined up because they needed a heavy hitter to handle the front line. The assistant suggested it to me, and I figured it would be a good way to deal with some of my recent frustrations." Dracoso raised an eyebrow, but Tsu shook his head, predicting his next question. The two villagers shifted to the other side of the group and talked quietly while they waited.

After a few minutes, a small ruckus outside preceded a girl running in. She made her way quickly up to the desk with another blue paper as Dracoso recognized her. The girl confirmed her part in the team to the assistant before being directed towards the two of them. The girl turned and started, "Hi there. My name is Enesh and I will-" she paused as she recognized Dracoso. She gritted her teeth before giving a sigh of exasperation. Tsu looked confused between the two of them. He spoke up, "Do you two know each other? Maybe dated?" The two looked at him in shock for a moment before Enesh blushed and said angrily, "why would I ever date someone who would humiliate me!" Tsu looked to Dracoso for an answer. He decided to explain, "when we first met, she tried to demand that I 'assist' her with a mission that we had both signed up for. I refused and she tried to force me to. When I ran, I substituted the standee out front as a distraction and she... tackled into it at full speed."

Tsu broke out laughing and took a minute to recover. Enesh was blushing even harder as Dracoso continued, "after that, we were handling that sand mission that came up about a month ago. Turns out the sand was boobytrapped by some prankster. In the middle of it, I found out from one of my guard friends that Enesh had been consumed by one of the sand traps. I used a couple of jutsu and freed her from it. The last time I ran into her, she thanked me for my help and ran off." He gave a shrug as Enesh was blushing a full red at that point and slapped his arm. "You do not need to describe it as if I was some kind of helpless child!" Dracoso held up his hands defensively and took a step back. Tsu was laughing again as another person slipped past the group towards the desk. Dracoso glanced over in time to see the blue paper and the assistant pointing them towards the group.

The man who stepped over behind Enesh seemed rather somber and looked carefully from one person to another in the group. Tsu finished laughing and glanced up to see the man observing him. Tsu sobered up quickly and made a pointed stare back. Enesh recovered from her blushing and said, "to continue where I was, my name is Enesh but my friends and allies just call me E. I guess it's nice to meet you." She finished begrudgingly as she crossed her arms. The man spoke up from behind her, "I go by Shiku. Just Shiku." Enesh jumped as the voice came from right behind her and she spun around with her arms up. Shiku looked down at E as she stepped away. Tsu pointed his thumb at himself and said, "call me Tsu." He poined at Dracoso and said, "and he will be our medical ninja for the mission." Dracoso nodded and said, "Dracoso. Nice to meet you." Shiku nodded softly.

They shared details on their experience and skills. E turned out be rather experienced with weaponry and focused on lightning ninjutsu while Tsu handled Taijutsu mixed with earth jutsu. Shiku had more of a variety of skills, reaching into time/space and fuuinjutsu, but his main focus was on Genjutsu. Dracoso shared a bit about his own experience with water ninjutsu and medical skills and his recent delving into wind jutsu. E seemed impressed by his array of skills and Tsu grinned as he informed them that he was already a Chunin. He was working on specializing in sensory jutsu so he could hunt and track his opponents. At this, Dracoso mentioned that he also has a familiar who would be tagging along for the mission and that he would introduce the group to her later. They seemed curious but decided to wait to see more.

As they finished their discussion, the two villagers walked over and patted on the desk. "Is this the full team? Can we get going please? We can do our talking on the trip there," the woman said. The assistant looked up and replied, "we are waiting for one more for this trip. They are more of a chaperone for your trip than a team member, so understand that they will only help if your mission has problems." As she finished, a woman walked in and headed for the group. She stopped just short of them and gave a small salute with two fingers. "Looks like the team is all here," she said as she looked over the group. She seemed to count off each person as if seeing their skills, "controller, front line, pusher, and medical. Decent balance, especially for a combat-heavy mission." Dracoso looked to the rest of the group. Tsu seemed as if he was used to this treatment while E appeared irritated to be summed up in such a way. Shiku simply stood nearby as if he was not involved.

"Alright, we should head out," the woman said as she walked over to the villagers. "You two are the guides I take it? My name is Kosei. It's a pleasure to meet you. We will be in your hands until we arrive at the mission area. On our way, I want you to outline the numbers of the bandits you have seen, how frequently they have attacked, and what kinds of methods they use to fight. I will be weighing up our team as well and making a plan for the team to deal with the bandits. I also want to know how many of the remaining villagers are capable of combat and where they have hit recently and where they have yet to attack." She gestured for them to lead as she dropped a red piece of paper on the assistant's desk. The assistant collected all the papers and filed them away.

The team left the village rather quickly on a large wagon. They sat in the back while the male villager provided the details that Kosei requested. The bandits had been attacking for a few weeks now and had stolen many of their belongings. Each week, they seemed to alternate between 1-to-2-day intervals of attacking using many basic implements or old weapons. Most used staffs or swords while there were two archers spotted. Of the villagers, only a handful were still capable of fighting. Most who had tried to engage had either ended up injured or dead with few causalities on the bandits' side. Their attacks did not seem to hold any pattern until Kosei detailed considering the thought processes of bandits. At first, it seemed as if they were striking out for food and necessities, so this bandit group was probably just formed or desperate. From there, they became emboldened and attacked the homes and even killed off some of the villagers. It seems as though they were slowly ramping up the difficulty of their attacks to get at more likely places for valuables.

So far, they had not attacked any of the major buildings in the villages, such as the town halls or the inns. Guard patrols had been set up, but they were more often run off or killed when the bandits came. Kosei pulled out a map and slowly drew lines and circles, matching where the attacks had been and then connected the lines slowly to different points. From the looks of it, the bandits were most likely making camps that slowly rotated around the center of the group of villages. As she followed the pattern, she added an extra line and circle to show where she predicted the next attack would come. It appeared as if two villages would be skipped and one of the larger villages would be next. The two guides nodded and sat in the front of the wagon to discuss the quickest route and who to alert.

Kosei then turned back to the group and, with a smile, began to drill out details on each of their skills and experience. Tsu bragged about knowing several styles of taijutsu and that he could engage and take down a foe with each hand. As Kosei asked on his specific jutsu, it turned out that most of his abilities were about dividing an enemy and taking them down one on one. She moved on to E who focused more on speed and could deal with multiple enemies while forcing them to either follow or move away as she needed. Shiku had a bit of summoning ability and combined that with distractions and influence through genjutsu to create openings. Of the three, Tsu had a bit more experience than Shiku and E had seen almost no combat.

Kosei finally turned back to Dracoso and looked him over. She asked him about what medical techniques he knew, and he began to list them off. As he went down the list, her eyebrow slowly raised and she asked, "and you are still a genin? Just how much time did you spend in that library?" Dracoso rubbed the back of his neck and looked away as she gave a soft shrug and asked him what other jutsu he knew. He began to describe the water ninjutsu he had when Kosei held up her hand. "It sounds like you have a good balance of ability for combat as well as support. You have only had a couple of opportunities to test it, so sparring is a good choice for you in the future. What abilities does your familiar have?" 

Tsu and E turned their heads at the mention of the familiar and Shiku glanced from the corner of his eye. Dracoso smiled as he sent a soft sensation to Sutsui and she slipped her head onto his shoulder. "Well, this is Sutsui. She mainly focuses on sensing what is around us and sharing that information with me. We have a natural form of communication that we share to improve our coordination." As he went into detail on her skills, Kosei nodded and said, "I am impressed. Many people depend on their natural senses or abilities to be aware of their opponents. The issue is that they can be easily deceived. Having a familiar who can disappear in so many ways and provide you that intel makes her a very capable addition to your own personal team." 

The team chatted for the rest of the trip to the village and by the time they arrived, the sun was already setting. The villagers headed off in separate directions while Kosei described the general plan. Tsu would act as a guard and draw in the enemies to engage as the front line. E was responsible for peeling off the enemies and trying to drive them back in case the archers were involved. Shiku would focus his efforts on reducing their numbers, whether temporarily or permanently. Dracoso's job was to figure out the exact direction they were coming from and silently post himself towards the center of the situation and provide awareness across the battle. He would have Sutsui use her eyes of the kagura while he used ventriloquism to silently communicate the situational details as well as enemy locations to the rest of the team. 

The villagers returned and handed off a map of the village to Kosei. She outlined the most exposed point of the village along the line she had drawn on the larger area map. She detailed where Tsu would post up with E tracking from a few yards further in. Shiku would remain with E while Dracoso was set up in a small house a few rows in from the edge of the village. When combat started, E would join Tsu and the two of them would engage as needed with Shiku supporting. Dracoso would rush out and pinpoint the rough direction they were coming from the choose one of the circled houses at the edge of town to track from. If anyone was injured, Dracoso was to join the fight and actively force the bandits back and heal to help the injured recover. If the situation turned dire, Kosei would step in and force the enemies back herself.

With the plan set, several villagers stepped forward wearing old, rusted armor and each carrying a spear. Kosei had them post up at different parts of the village so as to avoid scaring the bandits off immediately. They were informed to listen for the sound of Tsu's overdone laughter or for a signal whistle to engage. Once everyone knew their role, the team split up to take their positions. Dracoso sat down in the house he was positioned in and leaned against the wall. Sutsui activated her mind's eye of the kagura and began to track everyone on their team while feeding instant updates to Dracoso. The night was rather quiet as all that could be heard were the crickets and the burning torches outside the house. The stars could be seen through the window and every now and then he heard Tsu passing while grumbling softly about wanting to fight the bandits already.

Dracoso leaned back to listen and focused on his own senses. Sutsui shifted as she sent Dracoso an image of a new chakra source appearing on the edge of her awareness. He focused on their connection and watched as the being had roughly the size of a human. He quickly whispered through ventriloquism to Tsu the general direction of the intruder. As he followed Sutsui's sensations, he felt four total beings making their way towards the village, two were directly headed for Tsu. He passed this along to both Tsu and E before letting Shiku know the specific path Dracoso would take to move towards the edge of the village and where Tsu and E would most likely be fighting.

As he slipped out of the house, he heard the first clash of metal and the roar of laughter from Tsu. He knew they had engaged in combat, so he quickly charged down the street, having Sutsui double the range of her awareness. She picked up three more targets, one far off in the trees and two more holding position in the middle. Dracoso quickly relayed the long-range target to E and the middle ground individuals to Shiku. As he finished, he slid into a small barn right on the edge of town and pressed his back to the wattle and daub wall and focused back on Sutsui. One of the bandits was already down and Tsu had taken a slight cut down his arm. E was distracting another two while the long-range bandit appeared to be releasing chakra filled arrows across the field. A moment later, Dracoso could see through a window that parts of the field near E and Tsu lit up on fire. Shiku had quietly engaged one of the further out ninjas and the second appeared to be caught in a genjutsu Shiku was maintaining.

While Tsu was overpowering a second bandit, E forced the other two towards the fire and made them scatter, providing Tsu with some breathing space to fight. He directed E to chase one down towards the archer and try to deal with the archer first. Shiku received a few cuts but was able to knock out his opponent with the help of a few bird summons he had conjured up. Dracoso quietly leaned out a window nearby to see the fight live and saw the dead bandit laying only a few meters away. He let out a tense breath before realizing that Shiku was moving out of the range of ventriloquism and would lose communication. Dracoso made a quick call and left the building, moving low on the ground as Sutsui covered them both with hiding with camouflage. He shifted up the field to keep constant connection across the other three while they fought. E was unscathed as she chased down the archer. The other two had regrouped and were headed for Tsu just as he finished the second bandit. He had several cuts across his body, but seemed to be smiling from what Dracoso could see.

He had Sutsui focus on tracking and to inform him if anything serious occurred. With a few hand seals, he created a bow in his hands and formed silent wind arrows through a combination of yin yang release and elemental arrows. He took aim and carefully provided ranged support to Tsu as he fought and ended up putting three arrows into the back of one just as Tsu slammed him into the ground. The second tried to take off, but Tsu summoned up the earth to catch his leg and promptly knocked him out. Tsu was breathing heavy as he held up a hand in victory. Dracoso returned to his focus on Sutsui and she reported back two more dead and one more unconscious for the remaining bandits. He collapsed in the field, feeling just how tired he was from the amount of communication, casting, and movement that was done in such a short amount of time.

As he stood up, Kosei walked out towards him. Dracoso smiled to her and just as they met, she slapped him across the face. He was stunned. He looked at her confused. "You left your post and engaged the enemy. Whether or not we were winning, doing so could have put lives in danger. With you here, if one part of the team fell off, it could have been like a river and gone far further than you could have handled," she said sternly. He looked to her and then hung his head, feeling like all the strength of the victory had drained from his body. She relaxed in front of him and said, "be glad nothing too bad happened. You helped in the end, but next time consider what would happen if anyone else was out of position."

He nodded to her solemnly as Shiku walked up dragging one of the unconscious bandits. E came in shortly after, carrying the bow of the defeated archer while grinning. Dracoso glanced back to see Tsu making his way over with a tired grin. He seemed to be calming down himself from the adrenaline rush. Dracoso watched as he stumbled towards them. Then collapsed. 

Silence rang throughout the field. Things seemed to move in slow motion as Kosei bolted past him. Before he knew it, he was running full sprint at where Tsu had fallen. He could hear his heart beating and an odd ringing in his ears as he arrived over Tsu. Kosei had turned him over and was shaking him softly. Dracoso heard her voice as if muffled from far away. He saw her pointing at the cuts on Tsu's body and Dracoso could see an odd purple color spreading. The effects of poison were spreading through Tsu's body rapidly and causing his heart to stop. Almost by instinct, an aura appeared over Dracoso and he threw his hands on Tsu's chest, causing the aura to spread over his body. The purple seemed to waver and retract back into the wound. His hand shook softly as he held one up and a glow came from Dracoso's hand. As he pressed it to Tsu's chest, his wounds began to close as the purple receded from them. 

After a minute of intense work, Tsu's breathing returned and steadied. His wounds were gone, and the poison had been dispersed. Most of it had either dripped off of Tsu's body or out of his mouth as he had coughed up pieces of the poisoned material. Dracoso sat back hard on the ground and breathed slowly, still shaking softly. Kosei was staring at him with her jaw firm. Her eyes softened slightly as she watched him and said, "this is why we cannot drop our guard until the fight is over. This is what experience teaches us." She shook her head softly and said, "you did a good job. He will survive. He just needs rest for the trip back and beyond. Welcome to your first taste of real combat."

The villagers thanked the team repeatedly as Tsu was gently carried off to a nearby inn. Kosei would remain behind to make sure he recovered and headed back as soon as he was able. Dracoso, Shiku, and E climbed into a new wagon and headed back towards Kirigakure. They slept in shifts throughout the night as the wagon made its way. The quiet of the night, aside from the sounds of animals, gave Dracoso time to think. He realized that poisoned wounds were not something that Sutsui had issues with and so it was not something she would track for naturally. It was a blind spot that he had missed, and it almost ended up killing a teammate. He realized that he needed to consider what weaknesses he still had in combat and to grow from this experience. As he woke Shiku and took his place for rest, he decided that he needed to ask more questions from the people who had already been there. 

He slowly nodded off and slept for the rest of the trip until they arrived back in the main village. The three were solemn as they thanked the villager for carrying them and then split off to deal with their own business. Dracoso wondered how much more he had to learn, but he felt like he was still heading in the right direction.

{Exit}
C-Rank Mission - Liberation
Rewards: 4000 Ryo + 20 AP
Event Reward: 15 Beachside Tickets

Total WC: 5161 (rounded to 5150)
Stats Maxed, AP Maxed - 25% reduction on jutsu cost

C Rank - Chakra Mask - 750 (Originally 1000)
B Rank - Body Part Replication - 1125 (originally 1500)
B Rank - Shadow Clone - 1125 (original 1500)
B Rank - Minus Field - 1125 (originally 1500)
D > C rank - Ninjutsu Amplifier - 375 (originally 500)
D > C rank - Yin yang release: Recurve Bow - 375 (originally 500)
B Rank - Hidden Mist Technique - 275/1125 (originally 1500)

Approved