Mission Details:

It was his every intention to try and avoid this place if he could. Memories of blood and screams flooded his mind, the fires that seemed to engulf the entirety of a village that should have been inflammable. It was pure luck and generosity that got him out of this situation in the first place and he was keen on not coming back until he was prepared. However he had a duty to those still here and to those officials in the Konohagakure that placed his trust in him to assist in these efforts. It was for this that he brought every weapon in his arsenal. Which was just his umbrella and pinwheel. Sadly his best creations were destroyed in the during the burning, and he couldn't weasel his way into his old lab to restock on weapons. There had been no time. So, it was just him, his weapons, and whoever else showed up to help him on this mission. As he waited patiently outside of his assigned target's refuge, currently transformed as a cactus, looking for any other ninja.

'They had mentioned they may have another ninja work alongside me but if they don't get here quick enough I might have to just deal with this on my own.' The Ushinatta grumbled to himself. Even transformed the sun wore down on him and wasn't going to let up anytime soon. 'You know I'm just now starting to question why I always wore black in this weather' honestly, it was probably time for a change of clothes. Something less, black and leathery....

For a while he contemplated how this change of outfit would affect his smithing work. So nothing to big or extra. He was so caught up in thought that he switched out of his cactus form and sat down on the sand, umbrella opened above him providing a bit of shade; hm... "When are they going to get here?"

The barren desert that once held home to suna, the sand village, painted a gloomy reminder of the real horrors reality brought out. The amount of pain and suffering that went on here was almost so intense that Kreiger could feel it in the air, resonating all around him as he walkes through the desert to the meeting point established in the mission scroll held in his right hand. He had been sent down to the Suna excavation site to assist in the leaf villages relief efforts, having been given his first assignment now that he was fully equipped, his large sword holstered on his back.

The scroll held very little information on his contact, and merely stated he would be meeting another shinobi to assist him with the assignment. Drawing near to the close destination, Kreiger couldn't help notice a far off cactus seem to suddenly walk. Once he had walked a few more feet however, he noticed it was a person blocking the sun with an umbrella. The scorching heat was killer afterall.

Kreiger could have sworn what he had seen was a cactus just moments ago and so he figured this must be his contact using the transformation jutsu to conceal himself on approach to target location. Not wanting to seem like a threat of some kind, considering the environment around them, Kreiger approached his supposed contact hands raised and visible stamping a loud stomp to make his presence known. On approach, though appearing non-threatening Kreiger did keep his guard up to some degree in case he was mistaken on this persons identity.  

"Yo, Konoha Genin Kreiger Fox reporting for the assignment."

Mission Details:

It was a strange feeling, to see the ruins of his once great village so alive with activity again, but Rokumaru was not sure it was a good feeling. He had spent some time acting as a courier for an independent faction that was forming in the wake of the many nations racing to claim a piece of the glassed village and its people, and much of what he had heard about the other villages was not anything to celebrate. Konoha was more interested in luring the people of Kaze no Kuni into their service rather than helping those who chose to remain here and build a life. Although the other villages had much more sinister intentions for the Land of Wind, he was currently tasked with hampering the efforts of the Leaf.

After many miles traveled between the hidden camps of the independent faction and nearly a dozen messages sent in between, Roku was now ordered to prevent efforts to recruit the remaining inhabitants of Suna to leave in favor of Konoha. And so, all day, he had wandered through the broken streets that crunched glass beneath every step while looking for groups of people to speak to. It was a difficult task, convincing desperate people to wave off the offers of refuge and prosperity that came with abandoning their village, but he simply advised people to collect aid while they can before the villages left. He spoke of building the village of Suna again, stronger than before, and on the dime of other nations who were pouring resources into the area to curry favor.

Roku had mixed success all day, as many did not care where they lived so long as they lived at all. It was a discouraging task to speak to so many of your former countrymen and listen to them speak of abandoning their home, but he contained his anger as best as he could.

What helped was learning to find the foreign shinobi before or during their attempts to lure away the refugees. Some could not be swayed from the idea of a better home beyond the desert, willing to let Suna wither and die, but some were encouraged by seeing someone who would not sell out to the villages. If they were allowed to listen to the foreigners propoganda then they would allow the idea to stew in their mind until it was the guaranteed path, and nothing he could say would change the minds of the hopeful.

He was not alone in his guidance, thankfully enough; he had met a few that day who also were tasked with combating the propoganda of the villages, and some who listened to his urging about remaining independent chose to spread the idea themselves. One particularly proud individual actually turned out to be a rather skilled shinobi, more skilled than himself, and so Roku had allowed the man to order him around. It was enjoyable, leaving the decisions to a superior you respected, and it reminded him of what once was.

Currently Rokumaru was supposed to keep an eye out for any foreigners who dared spout their propoganda on the streets of Suna. He continued to wander the alleyways and push his way through crowds, keeping an eye out for suspicious persons and an ear out for blasphemy.

WC: 552

A frown formed on the cloaked figures face as he moved through the streets of the small ramshackle of village, it reminded the young shinobi of the slums of Sunagakure, he hated it then and he hates it even more now. How could people prefer to stay in this when Kumogakure could offer so much more, not just the protection unlike anything that one of the other villages could offer but also decent accommodations. The sad fact was that the tents of Kumogakure's board camp would be considered better accommodations in comparison to this rat's nest the criminal groups were insisting was a village. The boy had turned his back on this place over a year ago when he left the land of wind and fell into the grace that was the Raikage, however the young shinobi's heart still went out to others that had suffered during the destruction of his former home. After the destruction of the village over the course of the last year many had fled the country spreading to the winds to the other great nations seeking refuge, there were some that had made the smart choice as he had and made their way to Kumogakure no Sato and still other went to some of the other nations. Then there were these idiots that could not see the fact that Sunagakure no Sato was gone, and dwelling in the past was not going to bring it back. No it was time to start looking towards the future not just of an individual but of the entire nation of Kaze no Kuni, that is why the shinobi was here walking amongst the filth that had remained to impart his Kage's will upon the land. They were not here to hurt his former village survivors nor were they there to force anyone to do something against their will. No they where there to offer them a future and a life worth living by convincing them to go to the Kumogakure's boarder camp, the boy however was not much of a public speaker so he took this task in a different way rather than trying to talk out against the criminals of this stubborn agenda and drawing attention to himself that could probably result in a fight.

He had been at it for a few hours or rather since his arrival in this place, and yet due to the boy's constant practice of this technique he could preform it without the use of handseals, so no one would even notice what it was that he was doing. The cloaked figure filled the air around the dumpster the people called a village with whispers of doubts and talks of leaving this place and seek refuge in a place where they could truly be protected, his voice like that of a ventriloquist with his lips never moving so even though he could only throw his voice a short distance no one would be able to prove it was him doing it even with the slight tint of silver flowing through the air. The most lingering word among all the whispers was that of Kumogakure no Sato, his whispers merely subliminal messages to these people. Over the last year the boy had perfected the art of manipulate people with his words, it would not take long for his word to convince even these stubborn people to join the fight for Kumogakure and its quest to erase the past and the mistakes of the former village and bring order back to this lawless country. The village hidden in the clouds were offering more than just getting these people back on their feet like the other villages were, but to bring in the authority of the Raikage to this land both with the protection of the Kumogakure Shinobi and the law and order provided by the village itself under the rule of the Raikage.

---

656

Chakra 250/260:

OoC: Due to Raphael's passive those within 25 meters of him would see faint slivers of silver in the air and different whispers heard on the wind but would not be able to pinpoint the origin of the voice without chakra sensing.

Kisei sighed to himself at the sound of shifting sand behind him. Well, I could always use the stress relief. Pushing his right leg forward Kisei immediately twisted upward like a corkscrew, his umbrella pointed straight at the chest of whoever this person was. Kisei's eyes clouded for a moment, slightly dry. A few blinks revealed who he was addressing. They introduced themselves as 'Kreiger’. Immediately they stood out as an odd sort of fellow. A third eye tattoo? No account for taste, or design choice… however they certainly were much better dressed for the desert than Kisei was at the moment, so could he really judge? They were a genin of the Hidden Leaf Village, or so they said. Kisei didn't have the time or patience to interrogate someone for the identity so he’d just take this on blind trust this time. They didn't really scream 'danger’ so he supposed that he was safe for now. Relaxing his stance he closed his umbrella before swinging it over his shoulders, opening it once more.

“Alright let's head out, the quicker we get this done the faster we can move on to other things, got it?” Kisei said more than asked. Whether or not the acknowledged him the Ushinatta would move down to the scene. He had spotted a small group of former Sunagakure residents slowly moving through the area, luckily they hadn't left yet. They were currently talking with some native tribesmen. Kisei moved towards them, boots shuffling the grains of sand and glass beneath him. He’d stand next to them waiting, eventually they must have caught on that he wasn't going to leave and the tribesman left the refugees, moving over away from the two former Sunagakure citizens to rest in the shade. The representative was a mature woman of lighter hair but tanned skin, an interesting contrast. He didn't get much time to see anything else before she started talking.

“So, what do you want?” They asked curtly.

Very simply Kisei answered, “What's best for my people.” For a moment the stranger looked puzzled before it dawned on her. “Oh. You’re a village representative eh? A bit young aren't you?”

Kisei took a deep breath unsure of what to say. They didn't sound hostile but who knew how would change if he revealed himself as an ambassador for his own people. However lies weren't how you started a conversation. “Indeed I am Kisei Ushinatta-”

She pressed a hand forward, pausing him. “Wait, like, Alpha Ushinatta? But his little brother?” She asked curiously. Kisei’s eye widened at the sound if his brother’s name. “Yea how did you- did you work with him?” I asked, thoroughly intrigued now. Then I realized that she was still standing in plain sunlight, while his umbrella was open, shading only himself. Kisei quickly muttered an apology before moving the umbrella to shade the two of them as well as Kreiger if he elected to stand close enough.

“Ah! You're just as charming as Alpha told me.” She beamed causing the Ushinatta to flush with embarrassment. “But yeah we worked together occasionally in the administrative building. Ya know, before the fall….” She trailed off. Kisei nodded understandingly, his eyes snapping to attention as a, not so minor, detail arose to the front of his mind. “Anyways I wanted to ask a favor for you.”

They nodded. “For the sake of everyone here, we need to ask that you evacuate to a safe village.” The lady pursed her lip, thinking, but not overly surprised at the idea. Perhaps a few others have tried to convince her but failed. Let's just hope that he was different. She crossed her arms. “Alright, let's talk. But before me, explain what exactly you're asking here.”

“My objective here to locate as many people to safe locations, preferably to the Konohagakure because that's where the majority of us have gone, and because it's a lot closer, but other villages will be willing to accept you I'm sure. As for this guy-” he gestured to Kreiger, “I’m sure he's got his official reasons, may be a bit different from mine though, so why don't you tell them Kreiger?”

After Kreiger had introduced himself to umbrella weilding shinobi, his contact for the assignment, he quickly took off yelling behind him that they should get moving immediately. "Well damn, no introduction, no greeting or anything I know the relief effort is important but would a five second greeting be that disastrous?" Kreiger thought to himself following as close as he could behind the umbrella weilding individual. Closely approaching two other people who Kreiger deduced were most likely Refugees talking to some local tribesmen tribesmen.

As they closed in on the Refugees Kreiger could feel the shifting sand and hot glass beneath his feet, thinking back yet again to the horror show that must have occurred here. The thoughts looming in his head reminded him that he needed to be sensitive when speaking to anyone previously apart of suna. Though said sensitivity was usually not in his nature, Kreiger couldn't help but feel for the people that once lived there and all they lost, having lost something very important to himself as well.

As the two approached the refugees and the tribesmen the umbrella weilder quickly scooted close to the two refugees which after a few moments prompted the tribesmen to walk over to a spot of shade hidden away from the scorching sun. They began to stare down Kreiger once they had put their attention on him rather than the umbrella wielder. They stared intently focused on him like he was some monster, thought this was most likely in awe of the tattoo that rested on Kreigers forhead of a third eye. Such a marking wasn't very commonplace in the world afterall.

The staring of the two tribesmen prompted Kreiger to return the gesture staring intently back at them. The muscles in Kreigers legs and arms tensed up, preparing his body should the tribesmen get to acting silly. Kreigers focus on them however was broken when he was addressed by Kisei. “I’m sure he's got his official reasons, may be a bit different from mine though, so why don't you tell them Kreiger?”

Kreiger cleared his throat as he stepped a little closer to the female Kisei was now talking to. "Please to meet you, im Kreiger fox a representative and shinobi of the hidden leaf, our goal here is build a relationship with the citizens of suna through disaster relief efforts. These relief efforts are mainly focused around protecting and providing aid to the weakened or innocent."

Word count: 408

He had slightly underestimated the amount of recruiting the other villages were performing in the excavations of Suna; he couldn’t walk longer than ten minutes without finding an unfamiliar headband and the shinobi it was worn by, often found speaking to lone travelers or large groups in order to lure away interested people. It made the task of undoing all the damage done by the foreigners propaganda so much more difficult when he realized thousands of shinobi had flooded the desert of Kaze no Kuni together, bound by their village and whatever ulterior motive led them to this ruined corner of the continent, whereas it was only himself and a handful of shinobi who made up the independent forces. Rokumaru knew who would win the hearts and minds of the people left here, and it was most likely going to be the wealthiest village who drained the most resources into aiding the refugees and recruiting them.

That by no means meant Roku wanted to stop, however. The only difference made was that the redhead decided his efforts were more or less a waste of time, too likely to be overshadowed by the dozens of foreigners who were telling everyone the exact opposite of what he was, and so he cared less if he failed to persuade his former countrymen. While he still wanted them all to stay where they were and to work towards building back the village of Suna, their reasons to leave were not as selfish and short sighted as Roku wanted to believe they were. He still followed after the small groups of foreign shinobi, trying to refute what they had told the crowds, but he usually left after hearing any voiced resistance from the group. All he cared about was the village itself; filling it with these fickle civilians did not matter.

There was also the fact that these foreigners were much more dedicated in stealing away the refugees, and who knew the various ways they planned to go about it? Rokumaru learned how much effort went into these foreigners’ recruitment when, while moving down a seeming nondescript street while part of a moderately sized crowd, the redhead swore he could hear a disembodied voice. Despite all that had happened in the past few months, Rokumaru was not a lunatic and did not hear voices; the incident was suspicious and the quiet whisperings he heard were biased in who they said could help the villagers.

With hours of daylight left to complete the task he now felt was pointless, Rokumaru had decided to wander around trying to stay within range of the anonymous Kumo-nin that was using this peculiar technique to spread his message around like a loudspeaker, just listening to the things the voices whispered. It was slander. He grit his teeth when the voices had the nerve to claim Kumogakure could protect these people from the mistakes of their old village, as if they had any right. And to go even further, to say that Kumo would bring order back to this land, was the straw that broke the camel’s back: Rokumaru moved away from where the voice moved, not wanting to fill his head with any more foreign deception. He also felt rather heated towards any shinobi of Kumogakure, and wanted to leave the area before his fragile pride goaded him into a fight with whoever used that technique in the first place.

Bored, too jaded to believe he would have any success with all the competition around, Roku simply joined another crowd a few city blocks away and listened to the things these foreigners had to say to convince these people to abandon their former homes. It was not as difficult as he would have liked, unfortunately, as the home they were leaving behind was a village ruin in a hot desert. Heck, Roku himself could see himself accepting the offer of refuge in more hospitable lands had he been a different kind of person. This did not stop those who were around him, though, as they either accepted without hesitation or had the good sense to ask questions and voice their criticisms of the foreign lands and their villages before accepting any offers.

The redhead eventually left the crowd he had joined which had slowly become smaller and smaller; no none noticed as they were too busy listening to the pitch of some black haired boy and another, dead-eyed Konoha-nin. Rokumaru decided it was pointless to try to keep anyone here when there was nothing keeping them here but the ruins of a once-great Hidden Village. That was fine. One day, the high sandstone walls of Suna would rise once again, a strong Suna rebuilt behind the formidable construct, and only then would Rokumaru worry about populating it with the civilians and support it would need to thrive. No sense keeping all these unfortunate souls around in the heat to waste away while he went about his business.

Rokumaru sought out the independent shinobi who he had joined in combating the influence of the foreigners and their attempts to recruit the refugees and informed him of his decision to cease his efforts. To say the man had not been happy was an understatement, and to say his words about Roku’s apparant dedication to the cause were hurtful was just as understated. But the redhead did not accept the man’s assessment of the situation; it was better to cut your losses and to retreat rather than waste the time and energy it took to try to keep these people here when there was nothing here to make them stay. He was waved off, but the boy was not too broken up about things.

Roku left the excavated ruins of Suna a few hours before the sun began to set, returning to his secluded camp in the desert to rest and plan out what his next move would be. He tried not to think about the foreigners stealing away the refugees, or that he had turned his back on those wastes of space.

WC: 1018 | 1570
Exit Thread

A smile formed on the young special jounin's face as his hard work began to bear fruit, already he was hearing the villagers speak about Kumogakure and their decision to travel to the border-camp of the cloud village. They boy's job was done and he did not even have to actually talk to anyone and they were already willing to travel away from these slums and move towards the prosperous village hidden in the cloud, this would make the cloud shinobi's job all the easier when they move in to wipe out the remnants of Sunagakure and the criminals that were now in power within it. Raphael figured that his work was now complete here and moved to begin his journey back to the Kumogakure border camp when a man moved into his path, when the boy moved to go around the man he moved in front of him yet again before grabbing the boy's hood and ripping it from covering his face. "I knew I smelled scum, you have no business here shinobi these are my people and I will not let you take them." The man stated in an angered tone, he did not know why the man was so heated nor did he really care however the man touching him caused the boy to respond less than ideally. "Lay your hands on me again and it will be the last mistake of your pathetic life, if anyone here is scum it is you. I came here with the sole purpose of offering the good people of this land an opportunity for a life better than living in this dump you call a village, however if you do not move from my path I will end your life without hesitation." The young special jounin stated with a flash of anger in his eyes as he stared the man down.

The man hesitated for a moment taking a step back as he saw the seriousness in the boy's eyes, "I want you out of our village, you are not welcome here and neither is your lies of a better life." The man shouted drawning the attention of the citizens that were now crowding around the pair, Raphael let out a sigh, he did not want this he was hoping that he could of completed his task without confrontation or having to speak with anyone directly as his people skills were not as good as his skills as a shinobi. Still it was obvious that this man wanted to make a spectacle out of the situation leaving the boy little choice in the matter, "I hold more right to be here then you do, I was a shinobi of the hidden sand, I walked these streets when this was still a great village honored and feared by the entire land of wind when scum like yourself would not dare to step foot in my presence. These people are my people and as such I wish only the best for them and that is not you nor is it the remnants of once was, I was granted a better life by the grace of the great Raikage Hastur and he has given me the right to pass his blessing on to the rest of my country men. The truth of the matter is you do not care for these people nor can you offer them any protection against bandits or other raiders, the hidden cloud village is not looking to relocate these people like the other villages. We are seeking to get the innocence out of the way so that we may forge a new path for them within the sand, we will wipe out the threat of the bandits and bring order to this lawless land and people like yourself are keeping these people from that glorious future. Now I will say it again for the last time, remove yourself from my path or I will end your life." Murmurs began spreading through the crowds, despite his people skills the boy's words seemed to have some sway over the large number of people now gathering around himself and the man that stood in his way. The man hung his head realizing that he was fighting a losing battle and his pull over the masses was dwindling, taking a few small steps back the man removed himself from Raphael's path opening the way for the boy to make his way from the village. The young special jounin grabbed his hood pulling it back over his head shielding his eyes from the sun before he announced in a loud voice that seemed to echo across the crowd, "I am making my way to the Kumogakure border camp, and anyone that wishes to join me may do so." As he began to move forward the boy looked back one final time at the man that had originally stood in his path, "if anyone tries to stop those wishing to leave will answer to me." Though his words were directed towards the large man it echoed out so that all would hear him so that no one would try something stupid and with that he lead those wishing to follow to the Kumogakure border camp.

{Exit Thread}

---

1535
Mission Completed

The lady thought on Krieger's response momentarily before replying. "Sounds just like every other relief effort Konoha has sent our way, not like we can blame ya though. A mission is a mission after all." She shrugged. "Good answer overall." He clapped the konoha ninja on the back, turning back to Kisei. "Now, you looked like you had something else to say?" She raised an eyebrow.

Kisei bit his lip, turning to Krieger. "Sorry that I've been pushing you to the side, lots of things on my mind." Returning his attention to his brother's former coworker. "Like one of the perpetrators of the Fall of Suna being in this village right now." He announced gravely. The lady stiffened but kept face. Her eyes telling him to continue. "During one of Alpha's... Excursions... He found that one of the ninja was still lurking around the very ruins around us. At first we didn't know which of the handful they might have been, other than a warning to watch the snakes. Later on, it was revealed during an exhibition match in the Kumogakure Chuunin exams, just who they were talking about." He finished gravely.

For any of those who were there during the Fall can describe the infinite fear that massive serpent struck into your core. Towering just as tall as most buildings in the village, paired with vicious, inhuman eyes, a real monster. The threat of having to face that thing again, it was unbearable for some. Both former Sunagakure residents, both Kisei and his brother's compatriot knew that this changed the entire game. It wasn't about surviving bandit raids or running out of resources anymore, but about risking getting digested wholely, slowly, but a massive fifty meter serpentine monstrosity controlled by a psychopathic snake woman. Kisei could see her weighing the options behind her eyes. Risk the trek across a desert, or a horrible death at the hands of a monster. To Kisei, who had somewhat made peace with the idea of his home in pieces the answer was obvious. Though he could understand if she and the other- "When is the next group for transfers to Konoha leaving?" She quickly interjected.

Kisei was surprised, looking to Krieger for support. "I think, we'll gather around the entrance with all the refugees we've managed to round up tonight. That sound right Krieger?" He shrugged, clueless of the exact details of this mission. After guiding her with the instructions of their next pick up point he would drag Krieger along to the rest of the refugee camps to try and persuade the inhabitants to move to another village for the time being. Finding some success in his endeavors while some either wanting to wait a bit longer or flat out denying the offer. Kisei throughout all of it tried his best, because while he may not have known them personally, all of them were his family.


1542/1500
Mission complete~
[Exit]

The lady Kreiger spoke to looked at him with unwavering normalcy, like she had heard the reasoning he gave more than once before. "Sounds just like every other relief effort Konoha has sent our way, not like we can blame ya though. A mission is a mission after all. Good answer overall." In response to her words Kreiger simply nodded his head to show respect. He knew she had been through a lot over the recent times and thus her cautious, somewhat withdrawn attitude was completely understandable. Kreiger himself had never been through a tragedy as horrible as watching your entire home village be destroyed right in front of you, the toll that takes on ones own mental stability must be enormous.

Turning back to Kisei, she seemed less careful when speaking with him than she did to Kreiger. She paused for a moment before stating that Kisei looked like he had more on his mind to say than he had already. With a nibble on his lip, Kisei turned to Kreiger and graced him with an apology, "Sorry that I've been pushing you to the side, lots of things on my mind." Kreiger smiled back at Kisei upon hearing this before responding back to Kisei himself. "Hey Im just a foreign body trying to help you do what you gotta do I get it."

The mood of their conversation was sure to quickly change however, as Kisei pointed out one of the perpetrators of the hidden sands destruction could still be lingering nearby. If this was true, then Kreiger himself would also need to be on high alert, this was easily signified by the immediate tensing of Kreigers muscles upon Kisei announcing this. Kreiger had no idea whom exactly kisei referred to but if they were someone strong enough to destroy an entire village then they were someone Kreiger should definitely avoid.

"When is the next group for transfers to Konoha leaving?" the woman quickly interjected. This caused Kisei to look to Kreiger for an answer as he simply said they would meet at the gate. In response to this Kregier nooded stepping slightly forward holding out an open scrool in plain veiw for the woman and refugees to see. "Yes, mission details state that refugees accepting relocation to konoha should meet by the gate which leads out of the ruins. From there I and a few other konoha shinobi will escort you all to the border where we will renedevous with a recovery team for the rest of your trip. The recovery team will also have medical ninja standing by in order for us to tend to any wounded or sick that should happen to fall prey to bad luck along the trip to the border. Your safety is our priorty on these relief missions so be safe out there." Kreiger said with a bow of respect to the refugees whom had lost their homes. Their situation was similiar to his in a way, they had lost their home while Kreiger had lost not his home in a literal sense but all the memories of it at least. The feelings were probably the same even though the circumstances were not.

After they had finished with this band of Refugees Kreiger was led by Kisei through the devilsh heat of the desert to the location of other refugee camps. Most of the people out here werent shinobi who knew how to protect themselves from bandits or vicious wild life. Most of the refugees they came acrossed were ordinary citizens, scared for their familes and their lives unsure of what they could possibly do to make it through this. They tried their best at each different camp to conivnce the people they met to migrate to the leaf because, while asking someone to abondon a place they had always called home is not an easy thing to do, their safety and well being was much more secure inside the walls of the leaf village than out here in the desert.

The ones that Kisei and Kreiger had been able to pursuade however, met the gates just before night fall. The journey from their meet up point to the border for the land of fire was about a days journey should they stay able to keep moving without too many interruptions. They would spend a large portion of the first night to escape the desert, taking advantage of the massive temperture decrease that occured at night in order to avoid the heat of the direct sun during the day hours. Stopping to rest whenever time would allow and tending to the sick and injured as they continues their journey. By day break the next morning they would reach the forest which would give them a small glimmer of hope and increase their morale as the realization they have made it safely out of the desert sank in.

The next part or their trip was arguably the easiest. Passing through the forest close to border connect the land of fire had a much easier to traverse climate and less criminal threats to worry about as well. After nearly twelve hours of travel they would reach the border, making it to their rendezvous with the recovery team just in time. Kreiger approached a leaf jounin to inform them of the successful venture before having the jounin sign a scroll stating mission completion and success. Kreiger smiled rolling up the scroll and waving back to the refugees as he left them in the safe hands of his comrades. Knowing he still had unfinished business to attend to on behalf of his village, he was not lucky enough to be able to finish the trip with them however. Instead Kreiger would make the journey back to the desert solo. His thoughts weighed heavily on him during the trip back, remembering what Kisei had said. No telling what might happen from here on out.

word count: 1673/1650
Mission completed!
[Exit]