Adventures in the Sun 1/2 (Mission)

Spoiler:

354/1600

Kannagi Irezumi left the village proper with her arms full of masks. The merchant who had hired shinobi to escort him across the perilous desert and back to Gekkousato had been a quirky salesman who refused to remove his own mask. Additionally the odd man had wheeled his own small cart with him, the wheels modified with smooth features to effectively move along the desert sands. The kunoichi had discovered that along his wheeling out the gate, he had dropped a handful of masks along the way and bade her seek them out. Because Kannagi was waiting to depart with the other shinobi anyway, she had seen no harm and going the extra mile to help the man in the mask out. He had lied: by a handful of masks, he had meant an entire armload of them. Kannagi had to actually ask for help to retrieve them all because her arms were to full to pluck up the last one on the ground in the village. The blue haired woman returned now and deposited the masks with care atop the man's cart. "I believe I found them all," She informed him without emotion in her tone.

Her blue eyes turned to the white haired male standing and looking at his scroll. Perhaps it was one of his first assignments, she considered. "My name is Kannagi. I believe we are partnered for this mission. I have trekked this path many times, so no need to fear that we might lose our way." She gave him a cautious smile, trying to be friendly or casual. The blue haired woman wore a sleeve-less neck high top in matching color to her dark black shorts. A crossing of straps held up a medical bag, flak jacket and nin pouch on her back. Encircled around her waist was her forehead protector, denoting her a shinobi for Nikkousato, and a flowing navy skirt which overlay her shorts. The long skirt was tied up in the front by her hips, possibly for better movement, but it wasn't as if the intention was obvious enough to explain itself. Kannagi turned to see the cat masked man putting the final securing locks upon his wares and then closing a large cover over his goods to hide them from view and prevent them from being lost in transit. "Mr. Neko, I believe we are prepared if you are," Kannagi stepped beside her new partner and whispered, "He won't take that mask off, you know. Additionally, I doubt if Neko is his true name." The masked man gave a silent nod and the blue haired woman was at least grateful that he didn't talk much.

If her partner was ready as well, they would begin their sojourn out of the village and towards the dry expanse of desert with nothing but their own shadows behind them and endless sand ahead.

WC: 480

711/1600

Kannagi held her palm up to the air, much the way one would do if they were testing to see if it were raining around them. The air was its usual hot, but it didn't feel that hot. She blew her breath over her hand and then felt as the bare level of moisture retained from it settled on her skin. It wasn't even that dry. She lowered her hand without saying a word; Moon shinobi were notoriously bad at telling the temperature or adjusting to the dryness of Nikkousato. She had no way to blame him. As pale as she was, it was because of her bloodline abilities with paper that she didn't get burned by the sun and her well traveled history that told her the weather was quite nice for a change. It looked like the Mask salesman was ready, as he stood just staring at the shinobi while they greeted each other. "If you lived here, you would grow accustomed to it, Jayy," Kannagi assured the male, stretching her arms behind her head.

Kannagi allowed Jayy to take the lead as he wished and fell to stand behind the cart to keep a lookout. It made little difference to her as a practiced desert guide as she could still point out if they were heading in the wrong direction or direct attention to a stormy burst of wind upon the sand. It was made even easier that the road was used often lately and it was easy to make out compared to the season of low travel between villages. As they journeyed along, it surprised her that Jayy wanted small talk, but she conceded and answered him. What would it hurt? Her voice was like that of a young school teacher, even though she was just nineteen, "My favorite feature of Nikkousato.." The blue haired kunoichi considered it thoughtfully. Nikkousato as a village was not her real home. Her real home was out here on the road, in the sands, over the plains, anywhere the sun rose and set. After four years though, she had to have liked something in the place. "I suppose that I like the tea house the best. I keep a small room above it and the music and drink have come to feel like a home to me." She turned her head upwards to look at the sky. There was nary a cloud in it. With a sound like surprise, she realized she hadn't asked him and quickly rectified that. "What is it that you enjoyed most about your visit to my nation?"

WC: 432+480= 912 /1600

1131/1600

It would seem both Mr. Neko and herself had caught Shinigai's literal misstep but other than a passing look of comprehension, neither did much else to indicate it. It made no sense to humiliate him for something so petty. "I can take you to the tea shop sometime. I would be happy to provide them with further business." Kannagi listened as he nervously confessed to his inner thoughts. The kunoichi wasn't sure if he told her this information on purpose or out of the sheer need to create something to fill in the silence during their travel. He spoke of experience with travel and referenced an unconscious uncertainty of being around novel situations even then. She pitied his family experience as her own family was tightly knit. The Irezumi were often so tightly knit as a clan it was nearly impossible for people who were not nomadic as they were to be allowed knowledge of clan traditions or culture. Kannagi had grown up with bountiful love but a strict restriction placed upon her and all the women in her clan had forced her into a situation where Kannagi had needed to leave. She wondered if they still loved her despite the disownment or if she was more like Shinigai now in that sense.

"It grieves me to hear such things. I see nothing wrong with your skin, or any other part of you," She paused, "Though you may want to work on your sense of balance." A teasing smile came with her words, hoping to give him the opportunity to feel relaxed. Mr. Neko didn't seem to be listening but there was no way that he could not hear the two of them speaking. Kannagi didn't like sharing information with others, especially in front of civilians which had significantly less loyalty to Nikkousato than the shinobi who campaigned even still to continue living in peace. That being thought, Kannagi could barely help herself when Shinigai mentioned her employer and friend, Sojiro. Her blue eyes expanded and she was taken aback for a moment. Was Sojiro attractive? Yes, yes she supposed he was. The kunoichi gave her attention to her partner and replied bemused, "I don't think much of those around in me in terms of beauty. I see potential and capability as more remarkable traits. I could give you a list if I thought about it." Kannagi touched her cheek thoughtfully and added, "If you seek physical attraction, Sojiro is a good start. Genkumaru, Tatsuya, and even Arashi display some well proportioned features."

Was this what small talk was like? Mr. Neko had watched her through his mask and she offered him a smile in return. The man turned back to pushing his cart and took a draught of his canteen. Shinigai drew her attention to the whispering of merchants and shrugged to herself. "It could be. But it could also be nothing, stay calm." Kannagi could not help but to ponder if they whispered because they recognized her, they child who left her clan and family for selfish reasons. It would not be unheard of for the merchants to notice changes within the Irezumi family but then again, a masked tradesman was just as odd a sight. Kannagi was alert but she deferred to Shinigai's instinct. Instinct wasn't always wrong.


WC: 912+551= 1463 /1600

1602/1600

Kannagi stopped and listened as Shinigai warned what he was about to do. The break was clearly a ruse, since the man hadn't mentioned soreness or needing a break. It was neither done for the sake of the merchant either, though Mr. Neko was sweating beneath his mask until the collar of his shirt turned dark with the dampness. Without even using hand seals, or at least not that Shinigai could see once he turned to face an approaching bandit, Kannagi had let out a yawn of her own during the break. She heard the bandits behind her, two loud clomping men with swinging blades. They weren't even in the slightest intimidating. She doubted if they knew any real fighting techniques or if they had fought a real shinobi before. As a kunoichi with significant power, she knew when to hold back and use less chakra. Kannagi wasn't a show off and she never did more than she needed to. For Mr. Neko's immediate safety and her own, she called to the two bandits, turning to face them with blue eyes.

"You don't want to make this decision. Turn back," the blue haired woman ordered. She could hear the clang of a blade behind her and knew Shinigai was now fighting. As the other two approached, they seemed less sure of themselves, but the sight of their comrade facing off with Shinigai made them more determined to take Kannagi on. "Stand aside woman, we only want the merchant!" Kannagi's eye brow twitched and she had to take a deep breath. A feral look appeared in her eyes as she tilted her face upward. "Woman. So you underestimate me," She uttered. The tone in her voice was different, frightening and cold. She curled up her arms towards her chest, letting her chakra become visible. Whether or not she needed to use the chakra or the jutsu to dismantle or dissuade the two bandits became no longer important. Her anger was fueling her jutsu and the addition of unnecessary chakra coated her arms in swirling wind-like movements.

With a downward slashing of her arms, a pair of wind blades soar away from her and towards the shinobi. Each wind blade propelled diagonally and lacerated the bandits across their chests. They screamed and dropped their weapons in surprise. Kannagi didn't kill. She thought first. She didn't waste chakra. Kannagi was intelligent and rarely emotional. But the bandits had triggered the rage in her and for once she was not thinking about all the other ways that she could handle the situation. With a third wave of her right arm, a horizontal strike cleanly crossed the distance between her and the bandits. The clutched to their chests in a panic, trying to stop the pain and blood from escaping. It was as if they saw her still as such a little threat that they did not bother to defend themselves from her. When the final horizontal strike landed and removed their heads simultaneously, the kunoichi felt no pity. Instead she felt only relief as the anger she felt dissipated.

She took a deep breath and turned to the merchant as if nothing had happened, "Are you all right Mr. Neko?" The merchant stood alert behind his cart, body erect as if he was staring at her with his entire being in shock. Judging by his silence, Kannagi confirmed his well being and faced Shinigai. "I believe we are safe now. You handled yourself well."


WC: 1463+580= 2043/1600