Spoiler:

The sky was clear, without a single cloud to help hinder the devastating rays of the sun. It was a relatively calm day. Everybody was calm and collected. There weren't any hooligans running around the village and the caravans were riding just fine. Thus, it came as a surprise to a certain duo that they're being called to the border of the Kaze no Kuni to help settle a bandit problem. Lovely. That being said, the two were sent out about two to three days ago. They were giving the supplies needed to help survive in the desert for a few days, which was carried on the taller one's back. The taller one being Zaiaku. He wore his chunin vest and headband around his left bicep for this mission.

He was accompanied by Aiden, his lover. The two had managed to travel so far without a hitch and were currently nearing the village. If memory serves, its name was Kazegakure.

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Aiden would be trailing just a few feet behind Zaiaku, his unkempt blue hair partially kept down by the forehead protector tied around his head and a white jacket tied around his waist, exposing the pink short sleeved shirt he wore underneath. There was one thing he hated about Sunagakure, and that would be the blistering heat present in this desert environment, which at the moment would be causing him to sweat a bit as they traveled. Nearing the village, the Genin's thoughts would always go back to wondering why there is even a village in the desert, let alone a Village hidden in the Sand, and why these people are crazy enough to choose here and not somewhere that actually has decent weather.

"How are you even used to this heat?" Aiden would ask his giant companion, Zaiaku, whom of which seemingly looked unaffected by the heat like Aiden himself is. He knows that they're nearing a village called Kazegakurame or whatever, a random village on the edge of the border that has been the victim of constant raids recently, but beyond that, he doesn't even understand why there aren't Shinobi kept out here to watch over it in the first place, let alone why bandits would consistently attack this village more than anywhere else.

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With his heavy hands hidden within his pockets and his pouch full of kunai, Zaiaku was seemingly undeterred by the extreme conditions of the desert. He walked comfortable enough through the smoldering sand and was seemingly relaxed, even in this kind of heat. Not a bead of sweat has fallen off his head dome today. Thus, when he heard his otterish companion complain about the heat, Zaiaku simply replied with "You'll get use to it. We're almost there." Their journey through the desert has been relatively calm. Boring even. No wild animals have tried to attack them. No raiders have came and attacked them. So far, nothing bad has really happened. However, they were still on a mission to kill some bandit group, so they'd best stay on guard. As Zaiaku thought about this, he began to see the village upon the horizon. "See? Only a few more minutes". Indeed, it was only a matter of time until they saw just how ruined and poverty struck Kazegakure really was.

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Aiden sighed in an exaggerated manner in response to what his lover had said. "That's easy for you to say, your skin is like, metal or something. I bet you don't even sweat normally. You probably sweat inside your mouth and that's it." He would tease, though he must admit that, in regards to what could have went wrong, nothing did. He doubts he even saw an wild animal that even looked as if it was going to cause them trouble, and he's unsure it it's because of the behemoth he's traveling with, or because of dumb luck, but if he had to admit it, it was peacefully, to travel through this.  

As they reached the horizon, he and Zaiaku could see a fairly small village, one that didn't even look like it was worth raiding, let alone raid over and over again. Hearing his companion reassure that it's only a few more minutes, Aiden would respond with "Want me to time you on that?" Before beginning to walk towards it once more, eager to reach it and see what's happening.

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Zaiaku lightly smiled at the sound of Aiden's exaggerate sigh. "I think sweating inside the mouth is just your spit, Aiden." He would say matter-of-factly as they pressed onward, the image of the village was slowly drawing closer and closer until they were within the desolate location of Kazegakure. The village was in ruins. Windows of the various buildings were broken and jagged. Wooden debris cluttered about the main "street" of the village and there seemed to be almost no residence. That is, until a door opened and a small, elderly man approached the two ninja. As he came closer he slowed his step, taking in the visage of the two ninja he contracted. He almost seemed like he regretted his decision for a moment before shaking his head, as if to throw the thought away.

"Are you shinobi from Suna?" He asked in a wizened, dreary voice.

"Yeah. We've been told there is a....uh..." Zaiaku began to trail off as he looked about the surrounding area. "Bandit...problem." The old man looked up the giant, then to the otter-like young man accompanying him. With a sigh that seemed to be half of exhaustion and half of something Zaiaku couldn't quite put his finger on, he began to speak. "Please, follow me." He said as he made his way back into the building from where he originally came. Zaiaku, without word, began  to follow after the old man.

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"Yeah well, you suck." He would retort as he playfully bumped into Zaiaku as they pressed onwrd, nearing the village, the buildings slowly growing larger and larger the closer they were. Soon enough they reached the rundown village of Kazegakure, a small village that was currently in ruins, with the windows of various buildings broken apart, leaving jagged and sharp shards instead, and wooden debris cluttered around the main street, a clear tripping hazard for the average person. There would be seemingly no one in sight until a door would open, a small elderly man appearing and approaching the both of them, slowing his step as he came closer. After shaking his head for some reason, he asked if the two were from Sunagakure.

"Yeah." Aiden would merely respond as Zaiaku began to go into detail, his voice seemingly trailing off before he said the word "bandit problem", though after looking at Zaiaku and then towards Aiden himself, the old man would sigh in exhaustion with a hint of something else as well. "You don't look amazing yourself, buddy..." The younger male would say under his breath quietly, just quiet enough that Zaiaku could hear it, but not the old man. After muttering that under his breath, he would follow behind the old man as well, waiting to see what would happen.

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Zaiaku wouldn't respond to Aiden's little backlash against the old man as they both went into the old building. The moment they entered they were greeted with numerous people. Dirty, famished, and some injured. Men, women, and children. All of which looked at the abnormal duo. Some looked with curious stares, while others looked with a certain tiredness. As is they couldn't go on much longer. In the middle of all this was the old man. "I'm Sosai Munechika. Leader of Kazegakure. Please...help us." He would say, falling onto his knees and lowering his head. Zaiaku would look awkwardly at Aiden, clearly not used to such archaic forms of respect and begging.

"Yeah..uh...stand up old man. There are shards of glass on the floor." He would say as he helped Sosai up. "It started weeks ago. Some group of men came here and tried to steal our crops and tools. We drove them back, but they kept coming back sooner and sooner. Eventually, they assaulted us at night and took almost everything. We killed a few of them, only five remain. But we can't defend our home like this!" Sosai would be referring to the malnourished and exhausted nature of the denizens of the village as he said this, with them sadly looking up. "They attack us every other day now, and we won't last much longer! Please, ninja, help.." Sosai would fall onto his knees and again and heavily bow before Zaiaku and Aiden, his head touching the wooden floor. "Uh...." Zaiaku began, "sure...just tell us when they'll be coming." Sosai looked up at the giant and nodded, getting back on his feet. "Tonight, at 10 PM. They've taken a likening to attacking at that time."

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The moment they entered the building, Aiden could see the situation was much worse than he had imagined; Numerous people, dirty and famished, were hiding within the old building. Men, women, children, the elderly, it didn't matter, and while some looked with curiosity, others looked with a lack of hope, a sense of tiredness even someone like Aiden could notice. It was clear to anyone that these people couldn't last much longer with the way things are, and to top it all off, the old man began to speak, introducing himself before suddenly requesting their help, falling onto his knees and lowering his head. Aiden noticed that Zaiaku looked uncomfortable by this begging, and he could understand where the Oni was coming from. To have things end up so bad that the leader of the village resorted to losing all sense of dignity, to kneel before two Shinobi whose duty should already be to help them, to beg for the help of these Shinobi, it angered the Genin.

He listened as Zaiaku told Sosei to stand up, helping him up as he did so, and then as Sosei would describe the situation, informing them that the whole thing began a few weeks ago, where some men arrived and attempted to steal some of their crops and tools, though when they drove them off, they returned sooner and sooner, assaulting them at night and taking nearly everything. Despite killing a few of the bandits, the remaining five are still alive, and the villagers look at though they would be unable to defend themselves any further, which would be further confirmed by Sosei's claim that they can't defend their home like that.

Aiden looked at the villagers as they sadly looked up, their faces confirming a loss of a spark, a willingness to go on. For things to get this bad to a village in their own territory.. it's pathetic. Once more suddenly, the old man would ask for their help, bowing heavily on the floor. After Aiden listened to the time of which the bandits will arrive again, along with Zaiaku awkwardly telling them that they'll help, Aiden would look up at Zaiaku. "We should set up an ambush and target whoever seems like the leader first, kill the rest afterwards if we can afterwards. It's obvious we can't let any of them live after what we made the mistake of letting them do." He would say, referencing how it seems as though Sunagakure is more lax than he expected in regards to its own people living outside of the main village. Honestly, he would rather just outright attack the bandits as they arrived, but an ambush would give the bastards less of a chance to escape.

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Zaiaku would look down at Aiden with a mildly surprised look on his face. He never really heard Aiden talk so seriously about..well...killing someone before. Or anything for that matter. Nonetheless, the look of surprise only lasted for a mere instant as his face reverted back to its usual non-caring looking. "We could wait on top of some of the buildings until nightfall. They won't see us coming then." He would say, thinking it was a simple enough and effective plan. Before more could be said, Sosai suddenly began to talk. "The bandits...they all wear tan clothes. Color of their little group I guess. They all hide their faces with bandanas. The leader wears a red one." Zaiaku looked at the old man and silently nodded. "The stairs are behind me. They lead to the roof. Please, save us ninja." The old man was about to bow again before Zaiaku's hand stopped him. "Let's go Aiden." He would say as he made his way to the stair well.

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Aiden would nod his head in response to what Zaiaku had said. Waiting on top of some of the buildings would be pretty perfect, especially if the both of them were together on the same building. Even an idiot could see that attacking from the same place will help confuse and catch the enemy off guard due to the variety of Jutsu or whatever else they use. With it being nightfall, it will help them be seen even less. After agreeing to the plan, Aiden listened as Sosai described what they looked like, which turns out that all of them wear tan clothes and bandannas over their faces, though the leader wears a red bandanna, probable as a way to arrogantly point out that he's the one in charge of this whole issue.

After pointing out the stairway that will lead them to the roof, Sosai would try to bow again, though thankfully Zaiaku would stop him. As Aiden would follow Zaiaku to the roof, he would stop for a quick second in front of Sosai. "We're sorry." He would say, apologizing for what not only he, but Zaiaku, and anyone else had failed to do, and that was to ensure the protection of these people. After saying that short statement, he would continue on to the stairwell, running to catch up to Zaiaku, where they would head upstairs and wait until nightfall.

At night time, around ten o'clock, it would be Aiden's shift to keep a lookout for the bandits. At first, after waiting a few hours for them to arrive, the Genin doubted they would even show up at first, though just in case in order to better blend into the night he put on his black jacket, keeping it unzipped but using it as a means to cover his pink shirt, so that way he wouldn't be a dead giveaway should a bandit nearly spot him. After a few minutes of waiting he could hear some whooping and hollering, along with a singular, loud voice. "We've come back to take more of our shit! You all better deliver!" Aiden could hear what was most likely the leader yelling. Soon enough, out of the shadows stepped the small gang, where five bandits stood behind a singular one that was a few steps ahead of them, a red bandanna covering his face. "Zai, get ready, they're coming!" He would whisper to his lover as he turned away for a quick second to look at him, turning back to see that they're nearing the building.

Eager to begin the surprise assault before they got close enough to possibly break in and harm the villagers, Aiden would wait until the leader was but a few meters away from the entry into the building, whom of which's front door would be barricaded in the hopes of keeping them out should they try to break into the building in order to attack the villagers in response. Kneeding the Chakra within his body, Aiden would form the Tiger sign, wait a few small moments, and fire off two, minuscule water spheres in quick succession, one aiming directly for the top of the head of the leader and the other aiming for the regular bandit on the far left of the group, whom of which just happened to be one of the ones whooping the loudest.

Afterwards, the Genin would break the tiger seal halfway, rising his right arm upwards and, almost immediately afterwards, would begin spewing a thick mist, which would slowly climb downwards, enveloping the ground, taking up a fifteen meter radius in front of the building, and just high enough for those below to be unable to see what was happening. At this point, Aiden would hope Zaiaku was also hammering down upon them from above, taking advantage of before and after the hidden mist to attack them. After this, he would duck behind the cover in front of the building, hoping to remain out of complete sight until he could attack once more.

Justu:

Spoiler:

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Within hours, the two had decided to take shifts in-order for them to maintain energy for when the bandits decide to show up. Zaiaku was currently asleep as it was Aiden's turn to keep watch of the town. Soon enough, he felt Aiden's distinctively small and generally soft hands nudge at him in an effort to wake him up. Zaiaku, didn't start to stir until he heard the loud voices of the bandits themselves. Upon realizing who was making the noise, he instantly woke up and rushed along side Aiden, watching as he did some sort of Water Release and shot two of the bandits, one of which was the leader. Afterward, he preformed the Hidden Mist jutsu, essentially blinding the bandits....and also themselves if they went down there to engage them. That...was a problem. Zaiaku didn't have any sort of technique to help him see the mist and, considering how Aiden was currently hiding to remain out of sight, it seemed like he didn't either. After some quick thinking, he eventually came up with a plan. A stupid plan, but a plan nonetheless. He quickly left the rooftop and rushed down the stairs unto the main floor of the building.

Sosai along with other villagers had managed to push whatever intact furniture they had to block the doorway. "I have an idea." Was all the giant would say as he began easily moving the obstacles out of his way. Sosai and the villagers began to protest at Zaiaku's actions, but they fell on deaf ears as the door to the building suddenly swung open. Zaiaku would then take a few steps back as a certain figure wearing a red bandana came stumbling in. He held his head in pain as moist, darker red liquid soaked into the faded red of his bandana. The man would look up, in pain and agitated, only for his face to change into that of fear as he realized an 8 foot monstrosity stood in-front of him.

"Hey, bitch."

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Seeing Zaiaku run downstairs, Aiden would only assume he's heading down to deal with the leader of the bandits, which would be just fine with him, as he could begin picking off the remaining three bandits. Waiting a few moments with three loud voices outside yelling out in confusion, Aiden would look over the cover, looking down upon the mist only to see one of the other bandits having found a way out of the mist, where seemingly he would be attempting to make an escape. Quickly, Aiden would pull out two shuriken, aiming and throwing them at the bandit, one of which would strike him in the back as the other would hit him in the midsection between his thigh and shin, directly in the knee joint, forcing the tan-covered criminal to fall to the ground in pain.

Carefully, though knowing that chances are that Zaiaku would be handling anyone at the doorway, Aiden would get on the other side of the ledge, scaling down via ledges and windows until he was just above the doorway itself, all the while looking towards the direction he would need to run in. As he let go and landed in front of the doorway, he would immediately run in the direction towards the downed bandit, having little effort to find his way out of the mist as a result. As he would break out of the mist, he could clearly see the bandit pulling out the tools with yelps of pain, trying to scurry away as he did so. Due to the man's leg injury, Aiden had no issue with actually catching up to the fiend, where he would then tackle him to the ground from behind, planting his knee and his entire body weight on the injury, making the man yell in pain even more. "People like you deserve this." He would say coldly, his clawed fingers slowly curling partway.

Bringing his hands against the sides of the man's throat, Aiden would dig his claws in and pull upwards, ripping the skin and making the main look like he had a pair of jagged gills. Afterwards he would get off of the man, facing his left side, in which he would take a few steps before darting forwards, bringing his right foot directly into the man's side, knocking him nearly a meter away, where he would lie there, groaning. Afterwards he would look back towards the mist, still hearing the yelling of the other two. Swallowing as he would begin to walk towards the mist, beginning to enter it. He knew that he wouldn't be able to see at all, but as long as the other bandits were still around this general vicinity, he doesn't regret using it.

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"W-who you calling a bitch?" The bandit leader would stutter out, pulling out a kunai with his free hand, visibly intimidated by Zaiaku. "You, ya fuckin' period blood red bandana wearin' shitface." Despite the seriousness of the situation, and how there was a good chance death was about to take place, Zaiaku could've sworn that he heard one of the villagers snicker at his insult. In any case, Zaiaku brought his hands together and began to walk around the man as he began to speak. "See, me and my uh........companion were sent here on a mission. A mission to deal with some bandits. Now, we thought it was just a group of worthless thugs peddling the roads around here....but as it turns out...it's actually just a group of men who get hard off of stealing and threatening the already starving and injured." Having walked a half circle now, Zaiaku stopped and faced the bandit while also standing in-front of the door way. Almost as if it were timed, the shriek of one of the men outside could be heard.

"And I think you can tell, unless you're just that stupid, that me and my companion don't exactly like that." Now, the large teenager began to slowly walk towards the bandit who, in response, began to walk backward. "It disgusts us. Makes us really want to rip out someone's throat and use their tonsils as tinsel for the Christmas tree, ya know?" All of the villagers stared at what was occurring before them. This man. This murderer and stealer. This...waste of a human being, who has caused them so much pain, was now in a state of utter terror. And rightfully so. "I think you can guess what happens next." Zaiaku would say as his fanged mouth slowly contorted into a wolfish smile. "I want to hear you scream. I want to watch you die. And I'm sure everyone else in here does."

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Aiden would enter the thick, moist mist, slowly walking through it as he could hear the angered yells of the two remaining bandits. It would be only clear to him now that Zaiaku could possibly be facing the leader by himself, and wondered if he should provide him with some help. He also knew that, by now, he forgot how to reach the entrance, and the locations of the other two bandits. Still, Zaiaku matters first. With the other two bandits it wouldn't be difficult to track them later if they have to. Still, even though he decided to go after Zaiaku the blue-haired Shinobi needed something to help him catch the leader off guard, but what exactly would do that?

He would figuratively snap his fingers as he realized just the jutsu that would work for him. After performing Ram Handsign with his hands, a small puff of smoke would envelop him as, when it cleared, a bandit wearing tan ragged clothing and a tan bandanna would be in his place, with slightly darker skin and a head of dark brown hair, which looked messy and uneven, as though someone blindly cut their own hair with a knife. Looking down at himself, he struggled for the first few seconds to really get used to his new appearance and the loss of his claws and tail visibly, though after those few seconds he shook it off and wandered towards the general direction of the buildings, where he would place his hands on the walls, following them along until he reached an open doorway, which he would immediately step into, escaping the mist.

Looking in, he would see the large form of Zaiaku standing closest to the doorway, with what he could only assume to be the leader of the bandits in front of him, seemingly terrified. Aiden himself would be within the doorway, slowly grabbing a Kunai and pulling it out as he would try his best to be quiet and move out of the doorway, moving to the right, where he could get a better look at the leader of the bandits. He smirked behind the tan bandanna as he saw that his water bullet from earlier left the now terrified man's head bloody, and the fact that he was scared made him nearly grinning. Chances are the leader would have noticed him by now, but didn't wish to sell him out, to keep him hidden so his "ally" could strike from behind, though he was sorely mistaken, as the Kunai would fly out of Aiden's right hand as he threw it, aiming for the sharp weapon to fly directly towards the man's throat.

As it flew, he would cast the Ram Handsign again, turning back into himself with a puff of smoke.

Spoiler:

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The bandit leader would slowly back away before stopping, smiling behind his mask. "You the one who will die today." He would say as he saw one of "his men" sneaking up behind Zaiaku. "Oh?" Zaiaku would respond in a mocking tone before Sosai and some of the other villagers would yell. "LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!" His eyes suddenly widening, he would quickly look to his left and right, catching a bandit next him before being enveloped by smoke. With a slowly growl, he would lash out as he turned and try to grab the bandit by the neck. If he would succeed, he would hold him up high in a tight grip...only to see that a certain young man had replaced the man in his hands. Surprised, he would then turn to the bandit leader, only to see him chocking on his own blood while he struggled to get the kunai out of his throat as he slowly collapsed to the ground. Upon seeing this, he would instantly let go of Aiden and hastily apologize for grabbing him in such a way and for mistaking him for one the enemy.

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All Aiden would hear would be a growl as he felt a large hand clasp around his throat, cutting off his airway as he breathed in, making his breath suddenly get cut short, making him gasp and struggle, his hands holding onto Zaiaku's wrist while his legs swung around, his tail lashing out in a pancked manner as he continued to get held up high. After seeing his lover look back towards the leader, whom of which, to Aiden's pleasure, would be choking on his own blood, the kunai having made its mark, Aiden himself would attempt to tap on Zaiaku's wrist, trying to get the Oni to let go, which he would do so immediately, apologizing to him. Aiden would fall to the ground, landing on his hands and knees as he would both cough and snicker at the same time. "G-Got him, th-the bastard." Aiden would stammer out as he coughed some more, gasping for air.

As the coughing stopped, he would begin breathing in and out, savoring each intake and outtake of the dry air, allowing him to stand up. Hugging Zaiaku right away, Aiden would turn around and begin moving towards the doorway. "There are still two of them left. You know some kind of clone Jutsu, right? You should use it to help us find them." He would inform and ask of Zaiaku as he ran out into the mist. A disembodied voice resembling his would yell out "C'mon!" as he immediately assumed the leader to be dead, though not fully knowing if he is or not.

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"Two left, huh?" Zaiaku would say as he now stood straight, his hand ruffling Aiden's hair up affectionately as he was hugged. "Yeah I got a clone jutsu. I'll summon some up." With that, the giant would do a handseal and two more Zaiaku's would poof into existence and would each run into the mist after Aiden without a second thought. Zaiaku would then proceed to walk before turning around to look at the bandit leader one last time. He was still bleeding out on the floor, seriously injured but alive. Surrounding him, however, were some of the more bigger and stronger villagers, including Sosai. A vengeful expression was painted on their faces as their fists balled up. They were slowly moving upon the man. Zaiaku simply grinned at the sight before resuming his entering of the mist, letting out a wolfish grin as the scream of the bandit leader could be heard.

He would now be inside the mist and, frankly, he couldn't see shit. Nonetheless, he simply stood there and waited, listening.

~~~

The clone would be cautiously moving through the mist, its eyes peeled as it blindly ventured throughout the area. All would be silent until something went on jumped on its back. Immediately it would try to reach back, raking its claws against the skin of its masked attacker. Said attack would let out a pained yell, indicating that it was actually one of the bandits. Almost instantly the dirty, masked man would take out a kunai and begin to stab the claw in its chest and shoulders, drawing blood. Drawing his arm back, he was about to stab the weapon directly into the clone's neck until a strong hand grabbed the man's wrist. It was the second clone! The pseudo-giant would snatch the man off its companion's back, holding both of his wrists tightly. The other clone, growling, would proceed to grab the man's ankles. Together, the two clones pulled, effectively becoming a living stretcher.

The bandit would whoop and cry and attempt to thrash about in pain, but to no success. After several sustained minutes of this torture, a loud crack could be heard and the bandit would go stiff. His spine was broken. Dropping him to the ground, both clones would proceed to raise up their feet and stomp down. One on the bandit's neck, other on his chest, effectively killing him. With that job done, they both would call out. "One bandit down!"

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Aiden would hear two versions of the giant run past him into the mist, blindly exploring their own way into it. Aiden himself would head towards where he could hear the other yell from before, making him nearly snicker at the fact these two bandits were seemingly stupid enough to not even really find their way out of the mist yet. As he would continue blindly wandering towards the angered yelling, Aiden could hear the distant sounds of a scuffle, along with a thud, and then finally the sounds of two Zaiaku's yelling out "One down!" Aiden himself would continue on, the yelling abruptly ceasing. Aiden himself would stop in place, listening, trying to better pinpoint the location of this bandit, though when he felt a sharp stabbing pain in his left shoulder, one of which made the Genin yell in pain as it was ripped out of his shoulder right away. He would turn around, seeing the hazy tan figure of the bandit try to stab him again, though the Genin's right hand would dig its' claws into his arm, making him drop the weapon.

Directly after, however, the bandit would rip Aiden's hand out of his arm, knocking it away from him as he grabbed the Genin by the throat, forcing him to the ground, choking him. As Aiden once more felt his airways blocked, the grip of the bandit tightening as he straddled the fifteen year old, he would flail his arms around, trying to find the dropped Kunai to no avail. Instead, he would settle for plan B, where he would immediately dig his right hand's claws into the side of the bandit's neck, tearing into the skin as he would, with pain, raise his left hand, doing it on the other side of the man's neck, where he would keep tearing away at it in a panicked flurry, even sometimes missing and ripping into his shoulders and face instead. When the man would finally let go, he was a bloodied mess that would fall off of the Genin, lying on the ground next to him, prompting Aiden to scramble away, staring at the man with wide eyes as he breathed in and out for a few moments. Afterwards, as the mist cleared, he would yell out "Last one down!" and get up, his left shoulder aching as a light amount of blood would stain his pink shirt.

Taking off his jacket, he would remain where he was, breathing heavily in and out as he begun to calm down.

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Zaiaku didn't like this, not one bit. He was hearing too much fighting and movement within the area around him. Crossing his arms, he would feel nothing but tension in the air as he heard more and more. He practically was gritting his teeth at the sound of Aiden yelling, despite the fact that he called out that he killed the last bandit. Within moments, the mist would finally dissipate, revealing the perimeter once again. One bandit was strewn about in-front of the building, blood pouring out the top of his head. Another laid on his back and looking to the sky, his throat torn out. Another was thrown on the ground, his back stretched and neck distended. The last lay close to a injured Aiden, his face and neck torn apart. Seeing this, Zaiaku immediately made his way to his lover as the clones poofed away. He would place a hand on his good shoulder and take off his headband, wrapping it around the wound, allowing the cloth to soak up the blood. "Are you alright, Aiden?" He would ask with concern very present in his voice, one of the few times he ever shows it.

Before anything else could be said, however, the sound of footsteps filled the air as Sosai and some villagers slowly walked out. They eyed the carnage but said nothing. It was only until Sosai fell to his knees, tears streaming down his cheeks, that sound returned. "They're gone. By the Heavens, they're finally gone!" The old man would call out as looked towards the night sky. Despite the obvious horror on some of the faces of the villagers, it was evident that a great, looming shadow has finally been lifted from Kazekagure. With that in mind, Sosai quickly stopped and nearly tripped as he went to Aiden and Zaiaku, dropping onto his knees and deeply bowing to both of them. "Thank you, thank you!" He wept happily, with some of the villagers nodding and bowing to the duo in respect and admiration. After all, they effectively ensured their survival. "Uuuh...." Zaiaku would begin, obviously not used to such praise.

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Aiden would smile at the clearly concerned giant, wincing as he would feel a sharp pain from the headband being wrapped around the wound, soaking up the blood. Smiling at the obvious concern in his lover's voice, Aiden would begin to think of something to say in response to try to lighten things up now that his anger is gone, though he would nearly jump when he heard the old man from earlier call out about how the bandits are finally gone, which had immediately put a damper on the Genin's mood as he watched the teary-eyed man nearly tripped as he moved towards the both of them, dropping to his knees and bowing to both of them, thanking the two of them all the while. He could see behind Sosai that a few other villagers were nodding and bowing before them, but they aren't what would make the Genin look away and down in shame, instead it would be those that were clearly frightened by the brutality the two Shinobi showed towards those bandits.

"It was for a good reason.." Aiden would say, though despite saying it loud enough for it to be taken as a response he in all honesty was directing it towards himself, trying to convince himself that he acted the way he did for a good reason, and that those that are now frightened of him and Zaiaku are still free, but for how long? The very thought made a lump form on the Genin's throat. "Let's just go, Zai. I don't want to be here anymore, not like this.." He would tell his Oni lover as he would begin walking away, following Zaiaku out of the village as the elder would look towards the two, confused as to why they didn't stay and accept the praise, and wondering if he had done something wrong.

wc 318

twc 3702

[MISSION COMPLETE]