Snakes in the River Basin [Closed-I/O]

The Mission:

The summons for the mission had come early this morning before his father had even awoken to leave for his daily duties. This meant that maybe even more so than usual, Ryojin was a bit of a mess. He had managed a quick breakfast, shower, and he threw himself together, but the signs of ware were obvious as he stood there at the gates of the village awaiting his two charges. He had one foot flat on the ground, and one against the side of the gates. His calves and his forearms were as always wrapped in bandages. His hands were in fingerless black gloves and his feet were in standard black shinobi foot wear, these matches his under clothing. Atop his standard wear was a light jacket that tied around him flowing loosely any time the wind blew. The jacket in itself was two toned, light blue base and a darker blue for the trim and the dragon that rested on it appearing ready for attack at any time. Around his neck rested his headband, the usual village symbol plated onto light blue fabric to match the back ground of the coat. His short length, but left a mess hair was as black as midnight and his eyes were just as cold a blue as the very ice he manipulated. He was making hand signs, but pushing no chakra into them. This practice made it clear the his left hand was missing it's index finger, perhaps a bit of an oddity among shinobi.

As the sun finally began to break through the horizon, it crept it's way along the main road toward the village. This was probably akin to how their target had crept it's way back to the river basin. Their target, according to the picture in the envelope, was a massive 30 meter long snake. This snake was brown in color and had black spots among it's skills. It's current known skills were and odd dash that seemed to be rather difficult to avoid as it scrunches it's entire body up and vaults forward, it was known to spit some sort of acid or venom that definitely was capable of melting stuff, and if one looked into it's eyes directly, it could apparently place them under a genjutsu. The last part was the most dangerous for Ryojin. Despite having faced genjutsu users several times now, he had yet to buckle down and have his father teach him Kai. This meant that Ryojin's one escape from genjutsu was pain. Self inflicting pain was not something Ryojin was particularly into, but if anything, this had reminded him the hard way that he would need to ask his father to teach him the genjutsu removal method kai. A long sigh escaped his lips, and he knew fully extended his bo, swinging it about his farm rather gracefully and intently. As he finished, he pulled both ends back in and stowed it away again. Who were his charges to be this time? Nobody had mentioned a thing to him regarding that.

A new day began, and a new chapter would unearth itself in the life of Letony Konowari. He had been given a rather unusual summons this time around. This wasn’t your standard run-of-the-mill type of day. Letony awoke to a brief letter detailing the gist of his next mission. ‘A B-Rank?’, Letony pondered, ‘This must be some sort of sick joke or unintended mistake,’ he mused in his mind. He read the details of the mission continually shocked by its contents. He groaned, “They must be into playing mind games. Why would I receive a B-Rank mission after failing the last?” It didn’t seem to make any sense to Letony, however, the chance for a B-Rank mission was something he desired immensely. He just thought it was too good to possibly be true. No matter, he held the mission dossier in his hand, “So I’ll be finally going to the moon village,” his mind flashed back to the bridge for a mere moment. “I might see what’s his name? Ryo, Rya, Ryoji, Ryujin, Ryojin. That’s it, Ryojin.” Letony would immediately prepare, assembling his garments. He needed to do a full inventory of his weaponry after losing a Katana in combat, and using a single 1 of his 5 explosive tag set. He laid his items across his bed; he would need to go to market sooner or later. He remembered how unprepared he was for the Bridge mission, and ended up doing a considerable amount of training after its conclusion. He would never be caught ill-equipped again. After a thorough item check, he assembled the items and hid them amongst his now fully dressed physique. “Time to go. I need to leave a few days early if I’m going to make it in time,” he spoke to himself; knowing full well this mission would take place outside of Nikkousato. This meant he would face the treachery of travel, and enter a place he had never been before to complete a high-level mission; the likes he had never seen before either. ‘When I get there, this better not be some sick joke or I'll be pissed,’ Letony thought as he made his way to Nikkousato’s village gates. He nodded at the security stationed there; ensuring his Nikkousato forehead protector was visible on his forehead this time. Although, his pearl white hoodie and jet black cloak seemed to cover the bulk of the headband.  

Letony took a moment to ask the guards stationed at the gates a quick and essential question, “How do I reach Gekkousato?” The guards reacted quickly, yelling out some quick navigation tips and handing him a map to said location. “This will guide me through The Infinite Canyon’s correct? So that I may exit on the right end,” the guards quickly reassured him of what they had told him and given him. Their parting words were, “Make us Nikkousato shinobi proud. Don’t let any Moon shinobi outperform you.” Letony became annoyed, ‘Do they think I’m that weak?’ He sighed and pushed forward, leaving the village to participate in a joint mission.  

After an arduous travel, Letony could now be seen approaching from outside the gates of Gekkousato. He was well rested after setting up camp the night before and now stood only a few feet from entering Gekkousato. Letony displayed his credentials to the guards of Gekkousato’s gates. This granted him entry, the light brown eyed and short silver haired Letony displaying the mission dossier with his name. The Kage’s stamp was clearly there. He would now partake in a joint mission with some shinobi from the Moon; they must have required his expertise in some manner or another. Letony was skilled in some areas where plenty of shinobi were deficient. Once Letony entered the gates his gaze fell upon a familiar individual. ‘What a coincidence?’ Letony thought. “Ryojin,” Letony uttered in a non-formal sort of greeting. He had arrived just in time to witness Ryojin store his Bo. Letony wasn’t particularly in a good or bad mood, but even if he was in a good mood; he’d never reveal it. With the situation being so casual Letony began to interpret more about Ryojin’s appearance and physique. His looks certainly matched his abilities in Letony’s opinion. Letony would be a mere two meters from Ryojin; the close distance allowing him to notice one of the man’s appendages missing. It was the left index finger, and it left a bad taste in Letony’s mouth; reminding him of the potential hazards of being a shinobi. Considering this was the rendezvous point entailed on the mission, meant Ryojin must be the B-Rank shinobi who would lead this mission. Letony had a feeling he was at a higher level than himself; it just wasn’t apparent by their ranking as Genin. However, you could not fool what the eyes have themselves witnessed. “I’m assuming you’re team captain, correct?” This reassured Letony fore he already knew the answer to his own question, but he did not know who else would be joining them. He was just confident in his own interpretation.  

The wind rustled the jet black cloak covering over the entirety of Letony’s physique save for the portion which revealed his white Konowari jacket and white hoodie underneath. His headband would be nearly invisible due to the hoods, but seeing the white jacket with the Konowari clan symbol would immediately familiarize Ryojin of who he was. Letony knew this; otherwise he may have approached the man differently, or rather more cautiously. Ryojin was the type to stand out in a crowd in Letony’s opinion; not many possessed the cold blue stare that, that man had. He disliked his flamboyance last time but the results of the battle made Letony easily overlook this, this time around. Letony needed a smoke while they waited on the last member of their group to arrive. He would bum one from a man nearby prior to approaching Ryojin. He stored it in his pocket until he arrived at the man, now removing it and searching for someone with a lighter nearby. Where was fire release when he needed it?

[WC: 1,021]