The messenger came the day before from the Kage's office looking for the young lass. She expected it to be the message to meet the Kage for a squad meeting, having been ready for it for the last few days. To her surprise though, it wasn't to set a meeting with her squad leader, Kazu the Tsuchikage and her despicable team mate. It was a message to join another person for a mission.

A C rank mission was being given to Suteki Yaku, and it would be her very first mission above D rank at that. The Kage personally saw to it that she was ready for C rank missions and higher now it seemed. It wasn't what she was expecting, but she listened closely to the messenger. "Suteki Yaku, you are going to the outer reaches of the Village, within the Countryside of the Earth Country to protect the roads from several group of bandits that have been attacking traveling merchants and countrymen of our country. Though we want you to attack them within their camps mostly."

She got the jest of what was required for the mission. It was suggested to her to get an early start and she thought the idea over and agreed it would be best as well. The messenger started to walk away as he remembered. "Oh, you will be working with Kurai Han by the way. Another Genin. He is your elder in ways so he will be in charge of the squad. He asked me to tell you to meet him at a bookstore in the center of the village, next to a bagel shop." I looked at the messenger and a slight smile crept onto my face. He laughed slightly, "Good to see your okay with that." And the messenger left. The rest of her day she enjoyed as her day off. She went to a pastry store and had some sweets, as after completing this mission, than went shopping for some decently priced food. For dinner she would have a nice fish, plenty of vegetables and a decent sauce to accompany. She would have a decent amount of money to pay all that she bought that day and than some. Along with a higher ranked mission, was more money. And of course, more danger would also come with the mission, so if it were her last day, she wanted to enjoy her favorites.


The next morning, she got up before sunrise and prepared for the adventure ahead. She packed some dried foods and water for the mission ahead and grabbed her gourd and headed out as the sunlight just started to show. She packed light, since all she had and needed for missions was her gourd really. The food and water were extras in case. She stepped out from her home and breathed in the damp cold air, as it slowly started to rise in temperature.

By the time she made it to the bookstore, the sun was just about above the horizon, shining the light upon the new day within the village. She saw the silver haired Kurai and headed towards him.

---

532 words

Kurai greeted the young girl and she waved at him as they both met up. The girl was much different than the last time they met up. They were both meeting on more professional grounds this time, and her embarrassing reasons for the last time she ran into him weren't to be repeated this time around. She would have seemed like a different person perhaps this time around. Plenty less shy, and much more confident. She watched as he signaled for her to wait and he turned around going back for his bag.

She wondered what he had brought along with him in his bag for the mission. She only knew a little about him, even after their training session. He was skilled in Taijutsu, but was he skilled with weapons, or just with his immediate body? Either way, she had zero skills in close combat so he filled that gap for this makeshift temporary squad. Everyone learned how to use kunai and such in the academy so if needed he could fight at a distance anyway. Hopefully he brought some with him as she didn't have any kunai with her. He hadn't shown much ninjutsu or genjutsu skills during their training session, but she could take care of that if he preferred straight hand to hand combat.

He rejoined her and she responded, "Sure, we have a little time before we have to set off." They went to the bagel shop and she browsed the selection they had. Bagels was a rarity for her really. This might be her first time having one actually. She didn't dwell on that thought though, as the smell seemed enticing enough. She waited for Kurai to place his order, trying to figure out what to get.

After Kurai placed his order, the girl turned towards her, "And what would you like to have sweety?" She decided to just go with something more plain, and just pointed at a random bagel that caught her eye, "Um, can I try that one right there please." The manager watched where she pointed and grabbed it for her. "How would you like it?" She thought for a moment unsure of the diffrent possibilties, "Toasted with butter?" The manager nodded and turned to complete their order. "Oh, and could I have some milk please?"

As she prepared their food, Suteki found a spot they could sit at. Whether he would join her or wait for his order, she would start to explain where they were heading. "So I was told we were to head out to the outskirts of the village. It shouldn't take us much longer than half the day to reach our destination." She waited a moment for some response to be given to her to make sure he was paying attention.

Kurai inquired about some unrest on the countryside, but she had little knowledge about such. It would seem he had a greater amount of knowledge about the current standings of the village than she. "I don't know about any unrest on the countryside. But perhaps it is connected." It would seem a little odd to have something considered as chaos within the lands surrounding Iwagakure, and to have it labeled as a C rank mission. Perhaps their was more to this than she was told?

"The messenger told me that we were to deal with the bandits and their camp sites. He mentioned that their were multiple groups. So I am guessing this can take a few days." The waitress arrived with their food, and Suteki stopped talking about the mission. She placed a cup of apple juice and what she learned to be a blueberry bagel. The waitress placed in front of her a toasted and buttered cinnamon raisin bagel. The bagel was cut into two, showing the swirls of brown with black dots within. The smell was intoxicating. She looked over to see what Kurai received, wondering if it tasted good. His bagel seemed to be filled with black dots called blueberries, something she hadn't tried before. She looked at hers again, easily recognizing the smell of cinnamon. She pulled off a piece and tried it. The taste was good, though she preferred pastries or bread. She grabbed another piece waiting for the waitress to exit earshot.

"I was thinking we could.." Suteki paused for a moment remembering the last few words from the messenger, 'you will be working with Kurai Han by the way. Another Genin. He is your elder in ways so he will be in charge of the squad. Kurai was in charge of this mission. She was overstepping her bounds.'

She grabbed another piece of the bagel and pulled it off, just holding it in her hands. "You were placed as captain for this mission as well. I, kinda forgot about that." Was she just telling him things he already knew? She placed the food in her mouth and her face turned a little rosy. She might have embarrassed herself yet again. She was doing all the talking, turning it into less of a discussion. He was in charge, and she forgot that little fact. Surely he knew of the mission already. She looked at his face to see if he was just playing a game by letting her speak about the mission, or if he genuinely didn't know.


Mission:
1217/1000 words

Taking mission again

Suteki listened to Kurai explain how he wanted to run the mission in the terms of leadership, sharing that she should express any opinion on a situation that she felt needed. He than explain the current situation on the borderlands of the village, and that an increase in activity from bandits and are possibly over-extending their reach. He explain that the first thing they should do is gain information about their locations than decide how to precede . It was generally the same way she felt, but she extended her plan to the after effect of intel. Suteki would wait till the time was right than suggest a possible plan of attack. Perhaps taking it in stages was a better plan.

Suteki took another bite of her bagel while he spoke and wrapped up the reminder when he asked if she was ready. She wasn't done eating but she was pretty full anyways. "Sure, I am good to begin."

They both headed for the exit to the village and began the journey to where the reports of bandit attacks were occurring. About 10 minuets into their journey Suteki remarked, "I have exited the village and explored around here a few times, but I have never gone out this far." She looked around, taking in the slight change of scenery. A few more trees were around but for the most part nothing was different. Rocks, rocks, some form of sand, some more rocks and a few bushes here and their. "Are bandit attacks or otherwise a common occurrence? Why would we allow for such a thing to go on for so long." She was inquisitive about the subject. She felt that if she was in charge, the situation would never get bad enough that the bandits would have had a chance to expand in the first place. But the village did send out two genin, so perhaps it wasn't that bad just yet. She listened to Kurai's explanation, as they came upon a small town just ahead of them.


Kurai explained that something seemed odd about the area. It seemed he had visited the area before and the sign along the archway had been changed. Kurai examined the sign and noticed something. He lifted some debris and found something it seemed. Suteki took a step closer to him and saw the explosive tag. As Kurai finished his explanation, she quickly went through a multitude of uses for this trap. "What if some kid from this town or another traveler tripped this wire. If the bandits are in this town, it seems they are out for blood." She paused for a moment looking around to see if anyone was watching them. "It will be hard to tell who is a bandit, and who is a villager. And visitors like us would stand out easily if we continued on. Perhaps we should move away and hide, than trip the trap. At least than we will know a few who are bandits and can follow them."

Kurai agreed with her plan, and moved off to a nearby bush. Suteki followed, getting behind him and moving into the shadow of the bush. Kurai told her to use the transformation technique to become a part of the bush and she did so, still able to keep watch as he tossed a knife he formed from his Doton technique he showed her a few days ago during their training. She watched as the arch way had been blown to bits, crumbling to the ground in large chunks after the several explosives. She had thought it was one, maybe two but it was much more than that. If they had tripped that trap, it would have been bad for the two of them.

She watched as a group of people came out to look at what happened. Soon after coming out though, another group of people joined them, four of them. One had a large axe on his shoulder, two had swords at their sides and another seemed to have brass knuckles on. The guy with the knuckles pushed some lady out of the way, "Make way you stupid bit$%!" The others joined in, making disdainful but unheard comments, one of them kicking at her legs. The group quickly made way for them, someone dragging the lady away from the four. Everyone quickly dispersed, as they got close to the pile of rubble. It seems they found some of their targets.

Kurai glared at the arrival of the suspects. They came, four of them, knocking out of the way anyone in their path. It was already vivid, that these guys were source of all the strife being burdened on the people of the village. This is only one of the factions, we need a way to determine the location of the others. Talking to the people would be too risky... as they'll likely be too scared." Kurai continued to think as he watched the four guys, one carrying an axe, another a pair of brass knuckles, and the other two swords at the hip. Kurai's keen vision was able to discern that the weapons were poorly crafted. They seem to all be weapon user, but by the look of the quality of their weapons, not very good ones. The bandit group kicked aside the rubble, apparently looking for victim.

"Fuck! Where is the body?! I was looking forward to seeing some crushed skulls, it's been weeks since the last person tripped the trap!" The guy with the axe shouted. One of the men carrying a sword spoke calmly in response. "You idiot, it has only been two days. Regardless, this sight poses a much more pressing issue. We have ourselves a scouter, maybe an assassin..." There was no time for Kurai to hesitate, the guy that was speaking seemed to be more calmer and more dangerous, so Kurai had to take him out while he had the chance. Kurai's doton technique allowed him to create multiple projectiles, so he took advantage and created two more kunai. "Suteki, I will let one survive ok. Once there is one left you call out to me, telling me we need to go... trust me on this." Kurai's plan was simple, he was a skilled fighter, and from his skill in deduction he had deemed the men well below the skill level to pose any real threat.

Kurai launched one kunai from within the shrubbery while simultaneously undoing the substitution. The single kunai lodged into the bandit's throat, the one that had already figured out their plan. He fell to the ground in a heap. Kurai exploded out of the brush at Chuunin speed. His initial intention seemed to be a straight ahead attack at the guy with the axe. He looked slower and from his earlier outburst wasn't as sharp tactically either. The axe wielder began to smile at the seemingly brash Kurai, as the Uchiha came within two meters, he launched the last kunai that missed on purpose, then entered into a furious slide. The speed and the surprise of the move left axe swinger at Kurai's mercy. Kurai's right foot smashed into the brute's left knee knocking him into the air. He fell on his neck, finishing him. The man with the brass knuckles then charged him. From his weapon, he liked close combat like Kurai, so it was up to the Genin to prevent that from happening.

As soon as the opponent entered striking range, he simply hit the man with a swift tap to the neck that did little to stun him physically, but after a few moments, mentally, he was Kurai's. The back pedaled as confusion settled in. His eyes firing from one side to another. Kurai smiled as the man had lost complete awareness of him, allowing the Genin to rush in and deliver a ferocious punch right to the chin, knocking the unsuspecting foe out... It was just him and the last sword user now. Kurai waited for Suteki to call out to him, so they could "flee". The purpose of it was so that the survivor would lead them to the rest, as he would be under the impression and false security that the enemy had fled the area. Suteki, make it convincing. Kurai stared the sword holder down as he waited for the ploy to be set into action by his partner.

125/150:

Completed Second Mission: 1000

Taking a third time: 338

One of them jumped quickly to a conclusion of someone being nearby that was of their, Suteki and Kurai kind.  Though to her it was a lucky guess, their wasn't enough proof for such she thought.  Either way, if he was just being overly suspicious, or was extremely deductive, it could put the bandits on high alert, making their mission just that much more difficult.  It would be prudent to stop or kill them all but one, capturing at least one of them to interrogate.  If even one of them made it back to camp reporting that they were in the area, it could become troublesome.  The could become more on guard, or even worse escape, and even more so if they warned the other bandit camps.  

As Suteki was about to inform Kurai of a plan of action, he had his own suggestion. He was going to stop all but one, but wanted to let him escape by calling Kurai back to her to hide.  She quickly went over the idea, but before she could answer him, Kurai was off after the group.  Suteki focused her chakra, getting ready to release an attack if he needed help.  She was not sure what his plan was, but they could at least follow the one that escapes.  'We would have to strike them just as the man entered the bandits campsite', was the only thought that came to mind.

Suteki watched as Kurai moved to the side, seeing the one speaking about intruders falling to the ground, bleeding from his throat.  Kurai slide into the axe wielders leg, causing him to smash his face into the ground, going limp.  Kuria was now facing the brass knuckled man.  Kurai hit him and than went into the defensive for a moment.  The man stood their, looking around for some reason.  Kurai punched the man in the face, causing him to collapse.  Then their was only one left.  

Kurai had a plan, and Suteki respected that.  He seemed sure of himself, and she would carry out his plans as best of her abilities, until it became prudent to do otherwise.  What should she say?  What could be used to throw the man off?  She could use her hidden mist jutsu, masking their 'escape', but that would show they were shinobi.  Though...Mist Shinobi!  They were far from any Hidden Mist village, but it should do.  Suteki spun her jutsu, releasing a cloud of fog towards Kuria.  He was partial engulfed by the fog at his feet. She shouted loudly to Kurai, "Hey, com'on, we need to get out of here!  Their are to many witnesses!  We'll attract unwanted attention!" The fog rose to his midsection by the time she finished her sentence.

Chakra: 120/130:

Mission Count: 1000 / 1000
Completed

+207

It seemed Kurai did have a plan all along. And as they followed the remaining man from the group, a thought of this going awry was stuck in her mind. Her pace slightly slowed as she got deeper in thought, the man under chase getting slightly further, though not enough to lose the two of them. The two of them stopped as the man slowed, and entered a two story building, fortified slightly.

They went along the side of the building, as Kurai tried to listen in on their conversation. Kurai asked if she was able to make out what they were saying and she placed her finger against the building. Wind quickly wrapped around her finger and she pushed forward, her finger slipping within the wall like it wasn't their. The wind around her finger moved swiftly, sand pouring out from where her finger passed the wall. She was grinding a small hole within the wall. As she passed the wind through, the hole went through and the words spoken became more apparent.

Spoiler:

"There is this bad m***** that has just taken out a few of our best bandits. I also heard a girl call him to retreat. She used a mist jutsu." Kurai and Suteki continued to listen closely to see if there were anymore camps established. "I see. We're going to have to meet up with the other camp, but only briefly. They have remained in the shadows, we don't want to draw suspicion to them. That could be all this... bad m**** needs to track us down... as a matter of fact, we'll use the messenger cat to contact them instead." A small cat scurried into the room after the guy whistled. Kurai tapped Suteki's shoulder and whispered. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking. Since we now know this group's location, I say we follow the cat, take out that post, then return here to finish the job. What do you think?"


Third Mission: 771

Kurai suggested the plan, and I looked through the hole, to see what was within. If we were to discover this other location with the most ease, we should follow the cat. The only other option would be to split up, which if their were more people within the structure, could become problematic. The decision needed to be made now. The man had finished writing his note and was putting it on the cat. It seemed these people were going to wait for a response from the other camp, so the answer became obvious as the cat exited the room. Suteki whispered, "That is the best option we have."

The cat had multiple exits, and she listened closly to see if she could hear it. She moved along the building towards an exit and heard the sound of loose sand being moved. The cat ran out and stopped, licking itself for a moment and than looking around. The cat stood it's ground for a moment looking around as a small group of people walked by the building, not taking notice of the cat. I hid behind a grouping of boxes, hoping that it wouldn't move in my direction.

The cat moved quickly, running towards a building across the way and into the doorway. This was going to take a lot of tracking ability to keep up with it moving through buildings. Suteki looked back at Kurai, and pointed to the top of the building. She waited for a response of any sort before jumping on top of the building the cat ran into, than ran to the edge and looked down, looking for the cat's exit direction. The cat darted out, moving quickly out on the other side of the building furthest from them, the cat was gaining ground on them. She ran across the top of the building, along the edge, looking for where to go to next. The cat ran through a side alley between two buildings so she jumped across to the building it was running between. She continued tracking it with Kurai as it darted between buildings until it started to run along a wall surrounding a large building. The cat ran towards the gate and entered it. Suteki Stood atop a building 2 buildings away from the gate, watching as the cat ran along the path towards the house.

Third Mission: 779

Suteki decided following the messenger cat was the best way as of right now to pinpoint the bandits' likely final location. The fellow doton user was the first to act. She listened closely, tracking the feline's movements with exquisite concentration, resembling that of a elite shinobi. As the duo followed the cat, they hid behind a pile of boxes, as they were unaware of the full abilities of the messenger animal. If it was aware that it was being followed, two things could happen, neither in their favor. One, it would attack, drawing unwanted attention to Kurai and Suteki. Two, it would utilize its full evasive abilities. No matter how skilled of a shinobi you are, you're going to find it difficult to keep up with an alert cat, never the less a trained one. Thus the two were on the right track so far. They remained in obscurity as the cat paused to clean itself. It was back on the move within seconds.

As they mustered up every fiber of their tracking ability, Suteki signaled to Kurai that they should take to higher ground. After the signal she was already in route, and Kurai was close behind. The kunoichi impressed time and time again, she wasn't just following the cat, she was constantly anticipating where it was going by contemplating its exit options and etcetera. Kurai on the other hand was just trying to keep up. They followed the cat to what seemed to be its destination. It wiggled through a large gate, and trotted up towards a house. Meanwhile, Suteki and Kurai stood atop a large building a considerable distance from the gate, as they pondered their next move. There really wasn't much to examine at this point. Their task was to bring down this destructive bandit ring, and the only way they were going to do that was if... All of a sudden it came to Kurai like a lightning bolt, his head jolted and his eyes pierced into Suteki's. "We need the cat!"

Kurai wasn't sure if Suteki understood, but there was no time to explain, the cat was near the building, fortunately for him though, it was trotting, moving at a slow pace. Kurai was about 30 meters away, just in range for him to pick the small animal off. He began molding doton chakra in his hand, and then he shaped it into a kunai. The sharp earthen projectile gleamed in the poet's fingertips. His keen eyes would aid him the most in his attempt at taking out the cat, there were only a few people around, but he would have to take his chances that they wouldn't see a small projectile pierce a cat, causing it to lie still on the ground. The kunai whizzed through the air, finally finding its tip pushed snuggly in the cat's neck. It dropped instantly. Kurai's eyes scanned the area. "I'm going to pretend to be the cat. While transformed I should be able to pass through easily." Kurai took a deep breath. "Taking them on directly wouldn't be wise, this is our best chance to catch them off guard. Cover me from outside the gate alright, if things go badly, don't worry, I'll find a way to escape."

Kurai transformed into a cat and jumped down from the building, and entered the gate and soon he was in front of the house. It looked painstakingly plain from the outside, a good cover he supposed. The feline Kurai dragged his "claws" against the door. It creaked open, a man with a large scar across his face greeted him. Kurai tried to step in, but the man put his boot in his face and extended his hand. "Sorry kitty, but you know the rules. Now what do you have for me?" Kurai undid the transformation and instantly formed two more kunai in his hands. He plunged one of them into the man's throat and after retrieving it launched it and the other one at the two other men he spotted instantly in the house. After the three fell, he heard motion somewhere else in the house, he sprinted to the kitchen and took cover as he awaited the opportunity to strike. Kurai placed a substitution on a frying pan, and would use that as his exit plan. Kurai revealed himself, and almost instantly three fireball came crashing into him. The substitution saved him. He used the feint to get in close undetected, and just in time he was able to deliver a front kick to the woman's chin, stunning her, he followed up with a short straight right fist to the solar plexus and finished with a arching elbow to the temple. Kurai searched the rest of the house.

He left as a kitten. He scurried to the gate, and climbed through. After entering an alley he cancelled the transformation. Kurai made his way to the top of the building where Suteki was watching. Kurai was out of there in about 5 minutes. "Alright, it's time to finish this. I promise you can get in on some of the action this time." Kurai said jokingly, his tone returning to a slightly more serious one. "Are you ready to liberate this town?"



3rd Mission Complete: 1000/1000

4th Mission: 660/1000

(Sorry about lack of posting.  Will try to come daily for now on)


Suteki sat atop the house, watching the cat slowly move towards the house.  It seems they found their other hideout.  Though, what to do about this was something else entirely.  The mildly large yard would make it a little harder to just walts up to it in order to form any plan or act without being noticed.  That was when Kurai turned around to face her, his face seeming to brighten with the formation of an idea.  He excitedly spoke of needing the cat, and Suteki drew a blank.  The cat seemed pointless to her at this moment, it had done what they needed of it.  She contemplated it's usefulness with a quizzical look on her face.

Before the idea could come to her, Kurai was already forming earthen kunia in his hands.  Kurai skillfully tossed the kunai towards the cat and Suteki's gaze shifted towards it.  By the time she turned, the cat was falling to the ground.  It seemed a little horrific to the young girl.  Kurai slaughtered the cat, and as for as she knew it was for no reason she could sum.  She moved forward towards the edge of the roof and placed her hands on top of the ledges.  It was an 'Enemy Cat' but still it seemed slightly tragic to her at that moment.  

Kurai spoke, his words barely getting to her as she shook off the awed feeling.  Kurai spoke about pretending, pass through and off guard.  After that she heard the rest about covering for him.  As she turned towards him a cat jumped up next to Suteki that looked similar enough to the one that she had been staring at.  The cat jumped off the roof and ran through the gate towards the other feline than towards the front door.  Suteki understood now what he had planned, though it wouldn't have been her methods, it might have been the best way to accomplish what was needed. So, Suteki did what he asked, and stood a top the roof, watching Kurai's back as his plan unfolded.  She pushed her feelings for what had been done down, and washed them away.  What was done was done, and it didn't change anything except to their favor.  

After a few minuets a cat exited the house and headed back towards her.  No one was following or heading towards him.  It seemed his plan went flawlessly.  Suteki met him at the edge of the roof, examining him visually for any injuries.  He seemed, 'puurrfectly fine'. She laughed slightly on the outside at her joke, under her breath repeating the phrase "purrfectly fine", perhaps trying to hide any lingering distraught more so.  Kurai spoke and she responded.  "Yes, let's finish what is needed."

470

Both, Kuria and Suteki made their way back from what they thought to be the main base of the thieves.  Though, unfortunately, they might have been duped.  It would seem the band of thieves still had others in their rank around the city.  'Could sending us away a diversionary tactic?  Someone was behind the scenes still it seems, and quite astute to what was happening.'  Along with Kuria, they stood at a distance, examining the building they had left not long ago.  Two guards stood, watchful and vigilant.  This building they had just left perhaps fifteen minuets ago, was of greater importance it seemed.  Though, it had seemed empty before, of very low importance.

Kurai spoke, he had came to the same conclusion as she.  Suteki looked around, trying to see why they would choose this building as their defensive measure.  Suteki responded to Kurai, "It would seem we are at the disadvantage now."  Civilians?  No more than the other building.  They must have stored their goods here is all.  Kurai inquired her thoughts as to the next plan of action.  Suteki hadn't the required skills to pull off any roundabout method of fighting at this time, and Kurai was a direct combat fighter as well.  

Their were 3 openings around the bottom floor of the building.  An unknown number of opponents, unknown contents of the building, and their could just as easily be enemies in buildings nearby.  They needed intel, or to just go for it.  "Perhaps we can reuse that cat disguise?  They might be expecting it to come back, we could learn something useful.  Or we can go guns blazing?  I can block two of the entrances from the roof, and you can take out anyone that is exiting the remainder.  Though it will be risky, the doorway will act as a bottleneck at least.  Hopefully they aren't smart enough to stay inside."

Though as she finished her sentence, someone came around the corner, practically running into the two of them.  He seemed as startled as she was, as they stared at each other trying to figure out what was happening.  He was standing 2 meters away, with his hand was on his sword.  "Hey!  What are you two kids doing over here! You should know better!"
 They had been made, and now the deciding factor was made for them, they would have to fight.  

The man spoke loud enough for the two guards to hear them.  They stirred awake and looked in the direction of the shouting.  Kurai would have to deal with the man with the un-drawn sword.  They had to act fast, and she felt her skills would only be useful at a distance.  She ran from the corner, showing herself to the two guards.  She moved towards them, and blew into her hands.  A small ball of wind formed and she blew the ball at the first guard.  The ball of wind ripped into the man's face, blowing him back into the other.  She formed another ball, shooting it at the doorway.  It collapsed onto itself sealing it.  She moved around the other corner and repeated it on another doorway.  She continued her trek, going for the final doorway.  She made her way back around to where the two guards were, the one not hit picking himself up.  She stood behind him and formed another ball of wind, unleashing it upon the tall man's back cranium.  He fell forward and seemed to stay on the ground.  It wouldn't be permanent, but for now it would stick.

Suteki looked towards where Kurai was, hoping he managed to subdue or at least still be fighting the guard.  She watched for any other guards to come, but it seemed they were safe for the most part.  She would rejoin him, hoping he was uninjured.

648 +249 = 897 to forth mission

Kurai waited for Suteki's response... and after she spoke, he believed in the phrase "two heads are better than one" entirely. Her planned boiled down to essentially staying the course, and he couldn't have formulated a better method of approach. She insisted that he use the cat transformation again. Kurai sometimes got so caught up in being creative that he often forgot to revisit proven solutions. Needless to say, Kurai was ecstatic and more than willing to use his kitty trick again, but just as Suteki was about to elaborate on other possibilities, an unwelcome straddler gave rise to a new development.

A sword wielding man collided with Suteki. As he rose to his feet he shouted, questioning their reasoning for being here. The two guards were alert now, Damn it! Suteki dashed off and dedicated her attention to the alert guards who were at range. It was now Kurai's duty to deal with the sword wielding man. The young Uchiha didn't have much experience against weapon specialists, but he was highly skilled in close combat in general, and thanks to his keen sight, it allowed him to adjust to many situations. The foe flanked wide, holding his two bladed weapon with both hands. Kurai was not in the mood to play around with this opponent. With a simple flex of his chakra, he had already invaded his enemy's chakra in his brain. By yanking on the senses of the foe, he would see bright burning arches of flames branching from his body, blinding the enemy. Always the opportunist, Kurai knocked the supposed bandit out with one straight punch to the jaw.

After the guy's jaw crumbled on Kurai's knuckles, his eyes swayed over to the direction of the bandit hideout that him and his partner were previously watching. He watched as she collapsed all the exits/entrances, at least that's what it seemed like to Kurai. She went on to finish the guard at the front. Their eyes met, as the pondered their next move. Kurai gave a slight nod, giving Suteki the go ahead to proceed with whatever plan she had in mind. If she wanted to verbally fill him in she could, but at this juncture, she might have felt Kurai's resourcefulness would allow him to adjust and cooperate with any plan she had without the need of communicating aloud.

A few seconds later, a loud explosion went off. It came from the side of the house. Similar explosions went off from various positions inside. Emerging from the smoke were 3 more shinobi. "I told you they were pesky! Let's just go!" A chuckle rang out in the smoky air. "I wouldn't dream of letting these brats get away with what they've done." "He's right!! We picked on this town because of their lack of defense, their helplessness. If these two can cause us this much trouble, even if we dispatch of them, imagine what Iwagakure's more skilled ninja would do. We've overstayed our welcome for sure." Kurai, becoming aggravated by the bandit's dialogue, blurted out, "HEY!! Stop talking like we're not here, and stop talking like we're just going to let you waltz out of here after all the strife you've caused. Today, right now, you will face the wrath of justice!"

Kurai lunged ahead at one of the shinobi at Chuunin speed. The shinobi smiled at his zeal, and with matching speed he extended his leg swiftly, looking to catch Kurai in his tracks. This will be my first time activating my sharingan... The speed of the kick, along with Kurai's momentum, would have normally been too fast for him to react, but with his sharingan active, he was able to react quickly enough. At the last second, he put all his weight on his left foot, causing him to lean out of the way of the strike, as he did he placed his hand on the foe's leg, snaring him in a Genjutsu. He shifted slightly, looking at Suteki, winking at her with his sharingan active, which would probably startle her, and mouthing "He's all yours now." The man would now be in a highly confusing illusion, likely giving Suteki enough time to take him out.

Kurai set his sights on the next guy. All Kurai would do is form the rat hand seal to give himself the advantage over the guy. He could tell the man was phased, but was keeping his nerve barely, as his greatest fears were manifesting in front of his eyes. Kurai knew close range wouldn't quite work as of yet, so he launched two earthen kunai from his palm and used that as a distraction to get in close for the finishing combo. He kicked the man on the side of the head, staggering him. He followed up with a switch kick to the knee of the already unbalanced foe. Once he hit the ground, Kurai proceeded to pummel the foe until he was unconscious. The only one left now was the perceived leader.

Kurai couldn't locate the leader, he looked over at Suteki to see if she knew of his location. He likely fled already, while Kurai and Suteki were occupied. Did he flee? Did he get away?

75/150:

4th Mission: 1675/1000

After her attack on the building, Suteki had expected the problem was solved for the most part.  She was now back where she started towards Kurai.  Now they had time to form a plan for any remaining bandits that might be within the building.  With no way out, it should not be that much of a problem to just alert some authorities or to just force them to give up.  As she was about 2 meters from Kurai, explosions echoed from two locations around the house.  Suteki practically muttered every word that came to her, distraught and some anger coming over her, she thought to herself, 'They had bombs, what the holy hell...' than muttered, "Why would they have bombs..."  

If Kurai would have seen her face at that moment, her face grew long and solemn.  She slowly turned around to see as two of the guys emerged together nearby, from a cloud of dust.  As they spoke, she thought of what could be done.  She would try out a rather new jutsu to her perhaps, it should do the trick.  And to top it off, she would combine it with another jutsu she had been working on for quite some time.  As Kurai spoke, water formed below Suteki's foot.  The water swelled below, getting ready to rip into the enemy before her.  She had never used this technique on an enemy before, and it would turn out to be a little much perhaps.

Kurai lunged, at an speed that would overwhelm normal people, to tell the truth it easily beat her movement by quite a bit.  Though she easily kept up with his speed, by utilizing her own skills.  She launched her wave of water as he was about to hit his opponent.  The third man, possibly the leader, started to pull out several throwing knives and that was her target.  A wave of water flushed around her foot and quickly a sliver of water 4 meters tall formed, moving towards the man at a similar speed as Kurai's lunge.  The man hadn't expected the attack, only able to place his arms up just as the thin wave crashed into him.

The block would be pointless.  His wrists were cut, and his clothing torn in half.  A huge line from his right edge of his left foot, up along the side of his body and his arm squirted with blood.  With his block, he positioned himself to take more damage than he would have avoided if he hadn't stopped moving.  His arm was torn up, and a small portion of his other hand was also bleeding.  The attack caused the man to slide backwards into the wall behind him, as the remainder of the slice of water cut into the building, causing a 1 meter portion of the wall to be sliced into clean through.

Suteki turned her attention onto Kurai as he struck the man and turned towards her.  The fight seemed to be going in slow motion almost.  He winked at her with eyes of red, and mouthed for her to take over.  Suteki reached back, pulling a lid off one side of her gourd.  She drew some of the sand out, and it floated around her hand, gathering.  Kurai was already launching his next attack on the other guy, though she couldn't focus on him at all.  She started to send the sand out towards the guy that was within one of Kurai's genjutsu.  "What the hell is this shit."  The man tried to attack the air.  The sand traveled towards him, gathering quickly into a ball.  His back was towards her, so he wouldn't see her attack coming at all, as he swiped at the air.  Kurai was already beating his opponent on the ground, perhaps even done, as a needle formed from the ball of sand, ripping into the opponent's back.  He fell to the floor, as blood pooled around him, screaming.  

At this point, the other guy she had attacked at first was now gone.  Suteki looked towards Kurai, seeing his opponent unconscious.  She started to walk towards him, the sand from before coming back into her gourd as she headed towards him.  "Two down, one to go it seems.  Though, he won't be getting to far."  Suteki pointed towards the blood on the wall and floor where she had originally hit him.  He might have slunk off, but with an injured foot, leg, thigh, arms, hands, chest, "he will need attention quickly if he wanted to survive."  

775

75/130:

The stream of sand had finally rested within her giant gourd. She placed the cap within the hole, and followed Kurai as he tracked the blood stained trail of their final target. Though, to her dismay, they found him in the clutches of another group of men. She inspected the group, as the man layed face down on the ground, tied up. They were shinobi, armed to the teeth it seemed, kunia pouches, one with twin swords and all with fairly experienced mannerisms. Their headbands belong to Iwagakure, allies.

They quickly reported why they were their, it seems the group were backup for them. They said that someone got word to them, and reported a need for help. The leader though was quick to remark of their achievement of doing a bang up job. Though they might not have needed their help, who knows what could have happened if the two of them had to transport this man back to the village. Other bandits could have been in the area, seeing their boss bound and attacked. So it was a welcomed relief.

The group took off in the blink of an eye, leaving them standing now within the streets of the small town. Kurai made a remark that seemed just, that asked how she was. The adrenaline was still pumping from that fight back their. It was her first taste of actual combat, and though she managed decently enough, she wouldn't have been able to do it without Kurai. "I seem to be in good shape." Suteki dropped the large gourd off her back with a thud and sat down on it catching her breath before their trek back to Iwagakure. She inspected Kurai for any injures, but he seemed to be doing fine. She looked into his eyes, seeing they weren't red anymore. Had she imagined it, with all that was happening it was plausible.


After a day of travel, they were back in Iwagkure, Home! They walked back to where the mission started together, and Kurai spoke to her in a friendly manner. He offered to go out with her sometime, and her face flustered a little bit. She wasn't able to make any remark as he turned away and left. She went back home, and relaxed, reprieved and jumped atop her bed for a good rest.

395

5th mission done as well!