Mined your Step [Kokokokokokokoro]

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Kokoro was busy stuffing her face with a bowl of ramen at a ramen ship in the village. She always gave into her hunger, often stopping in the middle of anything she was doing if she felt hungry. Today was one of those days, as she had planned on doing some training at the academy when her stomach grumbled. Almost immediately she had searched for any food she could eat, resting on a ramen shop serving her favourite: miso ramen. She had ordered a large bowl, and was busy devouring it like a monster when she felt a sudden tap on her right shoulder. It was a small tap, not enough to make her jump as she turned around, her blue eyes meeting that of a boy. She had seen him numerous times before acting as a sort of messenger.

"Kokoro-san, you have been summoned." he said to her quietly. Slightly annoyed that he had not addressed her using her family name, she would give a small sigh. She hated people who weren't clear in their messages, her impatience getting the better of her. But Kokoro would nod, slurping the last of her ramen rather loudly before placing some coins on the counter, thanking the shop owner for a fantastic and quick meal. The Inukura would follow the boy, deciding not to ask any questions. If he knew he would have already told her, she thought to herself, all the while being led to outside the village gates. Who had summoned her...she wondered. The girl would notice a crowd of people gathering over something unknown. Her curiosity peaked, she scanned those there, her eyes resting on a very familiar young woman.

"Imino-san?" she said quietly as she walked towards the other shinobi. It had been some time since she had seen Shizuka, having finished their last escort mission together a few weeks ago. She was thoroughly surprised to learn that the woman had remembered her enough to request for her to join in on what she guessed was a mission. Kokoro gave her a smile, a genuine smile she rarely showed anyone else, not even her brother Sojiro. She would turn her head towards the sky, and then tried to take in what what happening, slightly confused. By then the messenger boy would have left the two women and Kokoro would wait for Shizuka to tell her what it was they were tasked with this time. From what she could tell it wasn't going to be a pretty assignment, so to speak.

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Shizuka would waste no time in briefing Kokoro about the mission details. She liked that about the woman, all business when need be and slightly more relaxed all other times. She listened with interest. A mine had collapsed? Not only had she never been to a mine, but having to rescue people who may be trapped inside was also something new...and somewhat exciting. She was about to say something when a woman arrived with a donkey, carrying some supplies for the two kunoichi. Kokoro saw Shizuka take some kunai, medical supplies and some water. Good thinking, she thought, as she too would follow her example, taking some extra kunai, some exploding tags and some water as well.

The two girls would head to the site, with the other teams a little far behind them. They would be sent to assess the situation and then call for backup if there was a need. From what she could tell nobody knew exactly what had happened, or rather the cause of it all. When they got to the mine, she could definitely see that the entrance was caved in, a sign that it had collapsed. But her blue eyes would wander and scan the area as they neared. There seemed to be something fishy in the air, something that told her the mine hadn't collapsed because of some natural disaster. Had it been, the area around the mine would also have been affected. But it was peaceful, eerie and peaceful. 

Running at full speed without stopping, the pair would arrive at the disaster scene. Their bodies would be incredibly hot from both the heat as well as the intense running. As soon as they arrived, people came to them, offering them cold water. Shizuka took a sip and poured the rest on to her head. Her body would give off steam as the people in charge explained to her what had happened.

"So we stopped using dynamite because it was so volatile in the desert. The new tags, the ones you ninja use. We have been using them for about 2 years now, there wasn't a single problem. Now today as we were carrying a box in, they blew up and now there are a dozen of my boys trapped down there!"

So it hadn't been an attack. That much was an assurance to the experienced Kunoichi. However, explosive tags going off on their own warranted and investigation. For now, Shizuka would see to the rescue of the people first. She handed over the water, food, and medical supplies and turned to face Kokoro.

"Sakuragi-chan, please follow these men and see to the rescue of those trapped inside. Make sure to look out for anything that might cave in as a secondary effect." When mines collapsed, most often there were cases other places would begin to crumble moments later. "Give me a moment." Shizuka would form a set of hand seals and a strange apparition would leave her body quickly. It was invisible to the naked eye and in the haze of the desert heat, it was indistinguishable.

"They're cut off completely from fresh air. Sakura-chan tries to get a pipe through first so we can buy more time to dig them out. The village will soon send out the main force to help excavate everyone out. However, if you feel like you need to do it quickly, then do so. You are in charge."

Shizuka needed to conduct an investigation of her own. She turned to face the foreman asking him where the injured were. She followed him to the tents where several men were lying down groaning and in pain. There were a few whos injuries weren't as serious, they had bandages and stitches. Some others had their legs and arms squashed and would need some serious medical help very soon. Shizuka would give anti-biotics to those who needed it the most and painkillers to those who could have some.

Through all this, her mind was racing through stuff. She went alone to the tools shed and began to investigate. Explosion tags were a controlled item of the village. They made them internally with experts to avoid such mistakes. Careless detonation. If she understood correctly, the boxes the construction teams got were sealed, only becoming weaponized when the foreman opened them up. Now the foreman couldn't benefit from destroying his mines and injuring his own men.

Someone had sabotaged the boxes. Imino looked for the boxes. They were all there and accounted for. The wooden boxes were correct and the seals we-. "That's a fake seal." Her inner spirit was correct. The seal that sealed the box shut was a fake. It had been tampered with. "Either someone at the factory messed with it but more likely someone intercepted them when the tags were being delivered." Shizuka would quickly move back to Kokoro to see how she was doing.

word count: 1057

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And Kokoro would follow in silence, rushing to the collapsed mine. When they arrived, the Inukura would listen to what the person in charge had to say. Explosive tags had gone off in the mine? That much she had gotten from the briefing. From her limited understanding of village operations, explosive tags from the Sun village were usually made and guarded by people of that village. There was a rare chance that they could malfunction, and she had frankly never heard of such a thing. The young girl would nod at Shizuka's request, heading with the men towards the mine. Her blue eyes assessed the situation before her, which wasn't looking good at all. The entrance of the mine had caved, blocking anyone and anything from passing through.

She walked up cautiously and called out to the people inside. "Is there anyone badly hurt? We're going to get everyone out but please hang in there!" her voice turned warmer, much warmer than she would have spoken if this was not a dire situation. The last thing she needed were panicking people. She stood there and listened for a response. After a few seconds a voice would come from inside, calling out to her. "We have a guy here with a bad concussion i think. He got hit on the head when the mine caved. Some of the boys here have broken arms or legs. Please save us!" His voice radiated panic and she would try to reassure him that they were going to work as fast as they could. She was more concerned about the man with the concussion, seeing any number of brain complications could happen if they didn't get him out quickly.

Turning to the men she had accompanied, she would ask about the tractor, or any big operating equipment that could help take away the blockage at the entrance. The men replied that the tractors were on their way but for now they had use manpower, half a dozen men shoveling the dirt to try and make a dent. Kokoro would follow them, looking up at the sky. She could see black clouds forming close to where they were which could mean a big storm was fast approaching. If they didn't get the trapped men out, the moment rain hit they'd be as good as dead. She quickly took a shovel and started to help the team out, praying the tractors would arrive soon.  

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This was probably the first time she had sweat so much while doing a mission. Kokoro didn't mind of course, a firm believer that she had to work for every mission to make it worthwhile. She and the team continued to dig through the dirt, her eyes checking every so often to see if the earth shinobi that were supposed to be here had arrived. She was still mindful of the time, knowing that the longer the people were trapped inside, the smaller the chances of their survival. She was most concerned about the guy with the concussion. Kokoro would try to continue conversation with the man who had responded to her from inside the collapsed cave the first time, just in case the situation changed in any way.

The black clouds were slowly starting to shift, although slow enough that it didn't cause immediate concern of heavy rainfall. She would stop her shoveling for a moment, taking some of the water that she had gotten from the relief carriage and wiping her forehead of sweat. Shoveling was hard work especially because it was important to always keep an eye out on where you shoveled in case of a second collapse. And it was a gruesomely long process. It would take the earth shinobi two hours to arrive but at least they had brought with them some kind of plan. They were going to have to dig a small enough, ironically, hole to stick a ventilation pipe in since any bigger would probably collapse the mine.

The day was not going to end quickly, she concluded to herself as she continued to dig with the group. 

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Kokoro gave Shizuka a small smile as she saw her pick up a spade and help with the rescue efforts. She would continue to dig a little more before taking a break, her eyes shifting from the mine to the sky once again. The black clouds were moving, inching its way to where they were, threatening to rain upon them at any moment. She turned her head back to the busy team of rescuers, praying that they would get to the people inside before it was too late. She would pick up her spade again after a couple of minutes, digging alongside her partner.

And then the inevitable would happen. Droplets of rain made contact with Kokoro's face as she looked up at the skies. The clouds had shifted, and were hanging luminously overhead. As the rain came down, she noticed that the workers were already making efforts to not flood the tunnels. But her only concern was the mine in front of them. The girl had stopped talking to the man inside, concentrating on trying to get the trapped out. But now she would call to him, her voice laced with unmasked panic. "Hey! Can you still hear me?" it was a desperate attempt to get some reassurance that they were still alive. She waited a little...nothing. She called to him again, this time a little louder...but still nothing. Her eyes traveled to Shizuka, speaking volumes of her panic and worry.

The Earth shinobi had arrived them. Kokoro's worry turned into frustration and anger as she made her way towards the group. When she reached one of them, who she guessed to be the leader, her words were cold and collecting. "Took you long enough! Did you not get the memo?" She knew that there was no use blaming them, but she couldn't help. The girl waved off their apologies and took them to where Shizuka and the others were still digging. She truly hoped that the people inside would make it out alive...nobody died on her watch. "There's a guy with a concussion inside and some people with minor injuries but otherwise nothing."