the Bandits Ire 2/3 (Group Mission)

Mission Info:

The Kataki Road was usually quite peaceful generally, it had several guard spots and rest stops along its long and winding road. Almost everyone took its path to get to their destinations if possible as banditry was significantly lower because of the periodic guard presence in and around its region markers. This lead to a false sense of security for most as they traveled along the roads. For those that traveled to the barrens to plunder its legendary riches, turmoil had begun as of late. A bandit lord had begun stirring up the region and making it almost as dangerous as it was lucrative. Bandits and all sorts of villains had begun plaguing the merchant caravans and small outpost towns that had been setup in the region for treasure hunters and companies to sell their finds. The party has been hired by the local Headman Toshie Hijiro to Eliminate a small scale bandit lord that has positioned his camp near the second largest Merchant outpost in the region, supposedly the bandit serves The Boar, and has been successful so far in his raids from the fear that name brings.

The journey had been long and tiring so far for Genkumaru as he was put in charge of a mission with several C-rank Genin having a chance to prove his leadership abilities like his brother Sojiro. The missions he had taken on for the region involved doing the dirty work of the local Headman Toshie Hijiro, a pompous and self important merchant baron who had started to lay claim to the barrens and its untold riches. This time he needed him to protect one of the three outposts in the region from the local banditry problems that were ever growing. The villages in all their wisdom had sent Gen several of their own to learn from and support him in his efforts to help pacify the region.

As he waited at the second largest of the three outposts for his charges to arrive, he struck up several conversations with the miners and laborers discovering that they were fairly consistently moving large sums of art, relics, gold, weapons, and rare gems from the nearby ruins and area, making Hijiro a very rich man in the process. However, he didn't pay for a lot of armed guards choosing instead to pay for laborers in bulk. If someone was too injured or died they were easily replaced by two more. Which sickened Gen some, but this was the duty he was saddled with, as Toshie Hijiro was regarded as an important man the world over.

The men had also told him that ninja were only hired to guard the outposts when large shipments were being gathered, or if losses were too great, this being such a situation as they figured that roughly twenty thousand or more Ryo must be sitting in value in the warehouse as it was being prepped to be moved. Such greed would eventually catch up to Hijiro if he continued to plunder this lands. Anytime Gen tried to learn about The Boar, the eponymous grand bandit tyrant of the region, no one was willing to speak up for fear of their own life. And in this case he needed to know if he was going to go after what could be a lieutenant of his, in defending this outpost.

As his wards filtered into the outpost they would find him sitting in front of the main main warehouse that was in the center of the wooden walled boxed outpost. He would be on a wooden bench over looking the large gates that allowed traffic to flow in and out of the place, waiting to see some more headbands so he could get a start on the days tasks. He was fairly confident that they would be able to handle what ever was thrown at them, as long as they all followed his lead and didn't act like he had done when Sojiro was in charge of him last.

WC: 668/1600
PC: 1/4

Ryojin had taken what his brother had told him to heart. When he heard that a friend of his would be leading an execution mission, he had chosen to take this on head first. Truth be told, he had yet to face the moral dilemma of actually taking a life. He could often feel the hesitation in his own hands when it came to the idea of slaying another human being. Ryojin did like people, but he would need to face the realization that killing was part of the job. He didn't have to be merciless. He didn't have to be apathetic. He just had to come to a conclusion on whether or not he himself was actually capable of doing such a thing. Sure, he had incapacitated others before, he had harmed them even to a severe degree, but never taken a life. He had chosen to take this mission in order to prove to himself that he was capable of forgoing his own inhibitions and embracing the fact that at the end of the day, he truly was a Shinobi.

Ryojin made his way up to Gen with a softer than usual smile on his face. "Oh-Ho! Nice to see you again Sir Lion." Ryojin chuckled and stood relaxed in front of his fellow shinobi. "Word on the street is you've ranked up yourself! I'm hoping the kage does it in for me soon too!" Ryojin had crossed his arms gently over his chest after saying so. He wasn't discouraged and he wouldn't be hesitant. He couldn't afford to be, especially with one of his sun friends leading the charge. This was a chance to prove himself, not only to himself, but to his village as well.

Gen chuckled as he realized his first assistant on the mission was someone who for all intents and purposes was just as strong as him. Smiling widely he stood up from the bench and spoke with his trademark kind and reassuring dulcet voice, "Ryo! Good to see you friend, hopefully the muted temperatures here help you. I am excited to have you helping me today and I am sure you will be in my shoes soon.", he would clap a meaty hand on Ryojin's shoulder with a playful manner as he beamed at him.

Whilst they waited for his last assistant, the white haired tanned male like himself had entered into the outpost. Gen watched as he bee-lined for him and Ryojin and bowed in front of him, announcing that he was named Shinigai and was here to be of service. Smiling at the new comer he spoke to him the same way he did Ryojin, as Gen was known as a man with boundless kindness, "Pleased to meet you Shinigai, I am Iwamura Genkumaru, call me Gen if you like. I will be the lead on this mission today. Its a simple elimination act so I expect all of us to put that first. The mission and doing our duty is a priority. Understood?", he was kind about it but it still carried weight with how he said it.

Maneuvering them to just outside the back side of the outposts walls through a secret panel, he would point down at a tent camp in the valley below, its concealment was almost non existent, movement a plenty in the camp as well, signifying that the inhabitants had no fear as to whomever knew of their presence, "See that down there? That is where our target lies. He is a medium sized man with a tattoo on his face in the style of a red dragon. Our job is only to eliminate him, however if anyone gets in our way... Deal with them.", having finished speaking he went over to some of the nearby bushes and revealed a huge coil of rope that was seemingly attached to the walls of the outpost.

Grabbing hold of it he chucked the length over the side of the cliff and looked back to his charges, "I want a simple cut and dry mission okay? We scale down, hide in the forest until night time all while observing the camp to make sure our target doesn't leave, and then we eliminate him.", for anyone who knew Gen these words would sound foreign coming from him especially as he seemed so callous on his delivery. Without a second word he would grab hold of the rope and begin repelling down the cliff side.

Once he was on the floor of the valley he would secure the rope for his charges, making sure it didn't whip around or anything of the like. After they came down he would traverse through the forestry and stop at a bluff just over looking the camp. It is here where he would stop and rest until night time with Ryojin and Shinigai.


WC: 1199/1600
PC: 2/4

"It's a pleasure to meet you Shinigai. I am Ryojin!" Ryojin curiously looked the other up and down for a moment but then shrugged and moved on. He listened carefully to what Gen had to say and nodded.It was a simple enough task, though Ryojin knew that dealing with the men meant actually killing them and confirming they had died. This wasn't one of those times where he could let his opponent walk away or just incapacitate them. That fact nearly had his hands shaking, but he kept them behind his back while the others spoke. He couldn't allow this to be a problem. Sooner than later this would become something he had to learn how to deal with.

He would await Gen to reach the bottom and secure the rope a bit better. Once gen had done this, Ryojin grabbed the rope and repelled himself down slowly. He landed still all in tact at the bottom and stretched a bit. So this was another stealthier mission. He had been getting much better at these, but still wasn't quite up to snuff with other shinobi at the whole silent and menacing thing. This was another weakness he had chalked up to the board that he would need to address and work on sooner than later.

He peered out at the camp below that they were intended to invade and cleanse. With a small sigh he found a spot where he could sit comfortably in wait for nightfall as well.

As nightfall came the trio would have heard the bandits in the camp launch a raucous party that lasted several hours after sunset. Finally however, the noise would die down and snoring could be heard rising from the camp, as if all of them had finally fallen into a drunken stupor. It was here that Gen would finally rise from his seated position and look to the other two, a fierceness evident in his eyes. Using silent hand motions he would let them know it was time, where their rendezvous spot would be, and a secondary task of retrieving maps. He also gave them the signal to move independently of him. In this regard it was almost a competition now, as who ever found the red dragon tattoo first was the winner now.

Leaping over the side of the small hill, he fell ten feet or so and out into a roll to recover silently. Moving his way around the camp stealthily he started taking note of all of the supplies held here, the amount of men and the general layout. Choosing to let his charges have this one, he began piling an oil barrel near each lodging, and with a barrel of gunpowder he found, he made a line that connected the whole camp together into one giant powder keg now. Moving as swiftly and quietly as possible, he would achieve his goal without a hitch. Once done he simply waited just outside the camp at their rendezvous spot. Ready to blow the whole thing sky high as soon as his charges returned to him. He wondered which one would be back first.

WC: 1473/1600
PC: 3/4

Ryojin would go to the cliff end and he would run down quickly in the cover of night. He would move as quick as he could quickly through the cover of the trees. These men had been absolutely careless in their partying stupor. He had entered quietly and was beginning to make his way to the various men laying down. None of them held the dragon tattoo. He kept going about quietly, and unfortunately, he would eventually come to the mark. His breathing would slow, almost even more so than the men sleeping. He would approach the soon to be lifeless man. He formed his hand seals, two kunai coming in hand. He was careful not to disturb the soft moonlight pouring over the man so not to wake him up. He gulped, but silently. The world outside had completely faded out to him. It wasn't something to take lightly, but it was something that had to be done. He felt his heart racing and his hand began to shake. Any longer and he risked discovery as well as making the mission more difficult than it had to be. He shut his eyes. He thought of his brother. How he was treated by him even now. How the man had looked at him. How the woman who was stronger had looked at him. He didn't want to see those eyes any longer. Those eyes peering sharply down on him. Those hollow judgements. He took in a shaking breath.

A shinobi's job was to obey orders. A Shinobi's job was to do what needed to be done. He wanted to go further as a shinobi, and this was blocking his path. He leaned in close to his target and the man's eyes had opened, the realization had hit, the crest of the serenade had come and gone. Ryojin had pushed one of his ice kunai directly into the man's throat. The second, he pushed into the man's chest for confirmation the job was done. The man struggled slightly for a moment, lightly coughed sending blood splattering. The light in his eyes faded away. Ryojin stood there a moment. He looked upon the corpse that had been created by his own doing. A single tear may have even made it's way down Ryojin's cheek as he realized he had just let go of something within him that until now he had very much valued. He felt the tear with his bare finger, and gently wiped it from his face. He had done as he had came to do. His hands were still softly trembling, but by the time he made it back to the rendezvous point, this mostly came to an end.

Ryojin made his way back to the rendezvous point, his hands still slightly covered in blood. He nodded to Genkumaru as if the blood on his hands wasn't evidence enough. The men around the camp still lay sleeping. There were no short cuts. No witnesses. Ryojin's hands were still trembling in just the slightest, but he had done what needed to be done on his end.

Shinigai would wait in the trees as he watched the camp go dark. The two members of the mission seemed to be highly skilled ninja and shinigai needed to show why he could hold his own. Hoping to find the man before the other boy could Shinigai would search all of the tents in search of the man with the dragon tattoo. His eyes would dart to the boy named ryojin as he would search around for the man as well. 'A race to kill? boring...' Shinigai would think to himself as he exited one of the tents and would notice that the young boy was taking a while in one of his tents. tiptoeing to the tent shinigai would wonder if the boy had found the person they were searching for.

Right outside of the tent Shinigai would open the tent moments before the death of the bandit. His eyes scanning the area and then seeing the blood just after the bandit had opened his eyes. Shinigai had been a bit disappointed at being late to the party but he could tell that the other boy needed this kill under his belt. Is he shaking? The demon would say he shinigai would head back to the higher ranked ninja. Signalling with his head that the other moon ninja had completed the job, shinigai would fill a bit unfulfilled as he had little to no contribution to the kill.

As the younger men made it back to him he looked upon them somberly, having seen what devastation such a task had caused to Ryojin. It was good that he could still feel, and had obviously had remorse fro his actions. It meant that he would not be a mindless killer, and simply a sharpened tool like Gen himself was, as he could choose to be blunted at times if need be. Exhaling deeply he would clasp Ryojin on the back to show him he understand and then he would hold his hand aloft and let out a gingham shot at the gunpowder, causing a chain reaction to occur as it lit on fire and cascaded down the area, running quickly to the multitude of oil barrels that had been placed around the camp. Within mere moments several explosions were heard as the camp lit on fire and became engulfed in a cacophonous destructive wave. The sheer burning intensity of the flames licking at their skins even though they were a safer distance away. This camp would no longer threaten the miners above. And with that he would be back to the outpost, his charges in tow to sleep the rest of the night away.

Good job guys!

WC: 1678/1600
PC: 4/4

Ryojin was still trembling ever so slightly, but the reassurance from his much larger friend definitely helped. Ryojin mulled over the consequences of taking a life. He felt himself reflect on whether or not this man would be missed by family or friends if he even had those. He considered the idea that the world could have very well been a better place without him. All these thoughts swirled about Ryojin, but he found an odd solace in the face of the fact that he didn't think he would be able to do it at all. A little shaking was the least price possible to pay for the reassurance that he was capable of taking a life, and still capable of understanding it's value after it was gone. This was sombering to Ryojin as he reflected on the idea that all lives were definitely worth something, no matter how dirty or clean they may be. Every life gave something to this world, even if it was only the means to push another to even further heights.

Ryojin remained hidden through the explosion, and he waited to ensure there would be no stragglers. No witnesses to their kill. He watched the burning camp anxiously for quite a bit longer, hesitating to leave until he knew for sure there wouldn't be any cause for concern that any of these men had made it out to tell the tale. No movement from the resulting fire. No screams. No blazing running bodies. All that remained was the crackle of flames and the billowing smoke pluming into the sky. It was for the better perhaps that Ryojin would not have to take yet another life this evening. He wasn't sure he had the mental fortitude to be the one to slay another person. Not tonight at least.

He turned and began to head back to his own village. The orders had been carried out and the mission was successful. Why was there still some sense of distain and incompletion? Perhaps it was just the after effects of him taking a life for the very first time directly with his own two hands. He took his time getting back home reflecting on Gen, on the fellow young shinobi from his village, on the fact that he definitely wasn't the same person he was before he had taken the life of the man with the dragon tattoo.

Regardless of how he felt now, he had done what he needed to do. He had pushed himself into the next stage of his self growth. He had proved to himself that he was fully capable of killing if he had to and on top of that he could do it relatively well. The next step in his growth was to understand the difference between the necessary and not necessary taking of life. He would end up spending even more of the evening reflecting on this idea. Life was precious, but in order to preserve the lives of others, the lives of some had to be taken. This merchant had been one of those cases. He could debate this with himself all he wanted, but at the end of the night they had brought solace to someone just as much as they had brought discord to another. This was what taking a life meant.

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