Isamu had taken a mission with Strafe in an effort to both catch up with the friend of his but also to, obviously, complete an important task. They were to destroy a bridge that was built connecting them to the Land of Blood, the Shichiouza's former country full of rogue ninja and random other malevolent people. It was rather saddening to know that even with the recent break of the organization, there were new missing-ninja and those that despised the villages that were willing to keep the Blood Country going, still remaining an active threat. Breaking a bridge between the killers and Kirigakure was the first step to preventing them from doing any more damage than they already had to the five great nations.

So, there the Maeda sat, smiling to himself quietly and waiting for Strafe to arrive. He had told Strafe to meet up at the coastline, near the wide beach where he and Yuudai had finished their last mission. From there, they would head to the bridge, only a few miles east; a short trip. What they would encounter there couldn't be predicted, he only hoped that it wouldn't be too dangerous. No, not for his own safety or for Strafe's...he was a Jounin, and Strafe had advanced to Sannin more recently, but rather for the builders that had made the bridge. Isamu's thoughts wandered, thinking about how things had changed. He'd heard of Strafe's ascension through word of mouth, but hadn't seen the boy in over five years...that meant he would be, what, 17 or 18? He could only imagine what the once-so-young boy would look like. "Time never ceases to amaze me..."

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OOC: Sorry for the short post, I just wanted to get this started already

A very happy shinobi rode atop a enormous beast as they headed towards the coastline. It was a nice place and he was to do a pretty simple mission. That was just the everyday routine that he was used too. However, on this mission he was going to be alongside Isamu. His relationship with Isamu was one that was very happy and upbeat. He was a good guy who had a bright future ahead of him. However, he hadn't seen the man in about five years. They were both high ranked ninja and were quite busy. He was surprised that it had been that long though, as they were two of the best medics in Kirigakure. Regardless, this would be a good day if nothing went wrong with the mission. One could only hope.

Strafe smiled as he saw sand. Joy gleamed from his eyes as he saw the man he was assigned to be on the mission with. "Isamu! Hey!" He yelled as he looked down to Momaru. The lion simply chuckled as he saw his partner's joy. As they neared the seated ninja, he jumped off Momaru and walked up to him. "How's it been?" He asked.

(202)

A voice from afar yelled, and the tone was a bit unrecognizable. It was deep, yet upbeat cry that said, "Isamu! Hey!" Isamu turned in response to see Strafe, sitting on a giant ass lion. Seriously? Seriously? Why was everyone getting cool pets and stuff and leaving Isamu in the dust!? He sighed to himself. Yuudai got a penguin. Strafe got a lion. All he had was Kuremachisu, and she didn't really help much in terms of battle. He made a mental note to train her later on so she could be of some use in a fight, rather than just flying around and delivering his kekkei genkai to other people. Still, she was an adorable bird, so he didn't really need to start training right away. It wasn't all about battle sometimes. Realizing that his mind had wandered off, he turned again to Strafe, who had dismounted the beast and come running. He certainly was different; he was over six feet tall, standing over Isamu like an older brother or something. He still had the same soft look, blue hair and eyes, though, so it was a familiar scene. "How's it been?"

"Pretty good, I've just been doing a lot in the time since we last saw each other. I'm definitely looking forward to this mission...speaking of which, we should probably get going." the Maeda replied, with a genuine smile. Strafe's personality was always a nice thing that brightened anyone's day up. Isamu began walking towards the clearing, heading in the general direction of the bridge. There was no sense of urgency, though; any opposition they faced while destroying the bridge wouldn't be much trouble to them, as a team AND with a lion. That brought Isamu back to his previous thought before reintroductions came into play. There was so much to catch up on, so he included a few other tidbits when he called out a question, casually: "And how've you been? You look so much older than before, and I heard you made Sannin. Also, care to explain to me where you got that huge lion thing? He looks awesome." His footsteps were slow as he asked, just in case Strafe was trying to remount the creature or something so that there was ample opportunity to catch up and walk at the same pace the rest of the way, making conversation easier.

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Mission Word Count: 696/1,500

"The same here, I've been kinda busy." Strafe said smiling as he finally got to see his friend. "Yea, your right!" He said nodding as he turned to Momaru and used his staff to vault onto the lion. Momaru immediately caught up with Isamu. Strafe listened to the fellow shinobi's questions, making him smile. A lot of stuff had happened since they last spoke, so it made sense that he would be curious. "Yea, I'm a Sannin." He said shyly as he still couldn't believe it himself. It seemed just like yesterday that he was a genin helping rebuild the village. "I'm still not used to the idea, but I appreciate everyone's confidence in me." He said as his face turned a little red. He was never one to absorb attention. He was a background kind of guy.

"His name is Momaru and he is one of my dearest friends." Strafe smiled as he answered the second question with pride. "Momaru, this is Isamu. Isamu, this is Momaru." He introduced them and waited for Momaru to respond. The first time they here him speak was always a fuuny moment. "Nice to meet you, Isamu." The raspy baritone rung out as the lion looked to the Maeda clan member. "I met him while on a mission. He saved my life and we have been comrades ever since." Strafe simply patted the lion on the back as he finished explaining. "So I hear your a Jounin now! Congrats!" He said with an enthusiastic tone. The small talk wouldn't last much longer though, as they got closer and closer to their target. He didn't really want to fight anyone today, but he was sure there would be some sort of problem. There always was.

Word Count: 501/1500

The lion spoke to the Maeda, introducing himself casually, and he couldn't help but smile. The small talk continued for a bit as they were now arriving at the bridge, and Isamu answered Strafe's next comment with a simple statement. "Yeah, I'm a Jounin. I plan on joining ANBU at some point, maybe, but until then I'm fine where I am. And it looks like we're here." and they were. It was eerily quiet, and mist had settled over the landscape; not a product of a jutsu, visibility was maybe 15-30 meters in front of them, but it was still an unsettling feeling that it happened to set after they arrived at their destination. Isamu took a few steps forward, scanning the bridge for a sign of anyone. He took a full minute, but he didn't see nor hear not one person at all. Something was up, this mission wouldn't be that easy. It's got to be an ambush... Surely enough, a footstep resounded from behind him and he ducked immediately as a blade swung over his head. As a response, Isamu made a hand seal and in under half a second a thin film of water spread outward from his skin, forming a bubble that burst so violently, the assailant was thrown off the edge of the bridge. More footsteps could be heard now, scrambling and preparing to attack. He could see their figures shuffling left and right...he counted their bodies as they moved.

"Strafe! You and Momaru take four, and I'll take the last three. Go!" He barked as he ran toward his next target, holding a Dragon hand seal with both hands.

(286)

Mission Word Count: 982/1,500

285/300:

Strafe's eyebrows furrowed as he watched all around him. As Isamu looked around and checked the area for any disturbances, Strafe did the same. His eyes darted from side to side as he started to sense something. "Behind us." Momaru said as Isamu reacted quickly and performed a quick jutsu to disable the threat. The bubble that he created was unique and impressive as it sent the assailant over the side of the bridge and into the water. "Got it." Strafe said to Isamu as he nodded to Momaru. He jumped off the the lion's back with his staff in hand, preparing himself for battle by getting in a defensive stance. Momaru simply grinned as he let out his claws. The poor fools had no idea they who they were facing. The enemy surround the duo on all corners, hoping to trap the ninja and lion from escaping. However, they were just sealing their own fate.

Strafe moved first with blinding speed as he darted for the first one. He crouched and pushed the end of the staff into the man's sternum. This technique was one that he learned in his fight with Kaguza, and one that would be helpful against multiple opponents. He then brought his bo-staff around and swept the man's feet, making him crash hard to the ground as he gasped for air. The combo was meant to disorient the man as the Sannin took care of the other one. Strafe's ear twitched as he heard a man charge from behind. He grinned as he turned to meet him with an attack, but he didn't get the chance. At speeds that were contrary to his speeds, Momaru moved in an instant and slashed the man with his claw. Blood splattered everywhere as the man fell. He was dead, that much was certain.

Strafe then opened his mouth and released twelve ice darts into the face of the man he had just knocked down, killing him as well. While his style of fighting was brutal and merciless, it was fast and efficient as well. He knew that it might surprise Isamu based on how kind he was as a person. However, being kind will get you nothing but killed in battle. The last two men got into offensive stances as they got ready to fight the duo from Kiri. Strafe simply waited in his usual defensive stance while Momaru seemed calm and unaware. They charged with a war cry as they attempted to strike. The one to the left attempted a side kick to Strafes face, while the second one attempted to punch the lion in the nose. Strafe simply grinned as he prepared himself for step two of the fight.

He moved his bo-staff to strike the man's leg, effectively blocking the kick in the process. He then brought the weapon around his waist, sweeping it up to strike the man's shoulder. It connected with a crack as it sent the man to the ground. Strafe sighed as he moved his hand in front of him and created a disk of ice, sending into the throat of his enemy. The man gargled a minute or two before dying like the rest. Momaru simply moved his head to the right to dodge it, slamming it on the man's chest to knock him backwards. He then let his animal instincts take over as he pounced on the fallen man, clawing his face until he was dead. That was all four of them.  

Word Count: 1095/1500

Chakra 310/350:

Isamu faced his three opponents. They weren't much, two of them were carrying weapons and the last was just sitting there, waiting for someone else to make the first move. Isamu merely stared back at them, hoping to catch them by surprise. He made a hand seal and blew a ball of wind into his hand, began lunging forward suddenly and throwing at one of them. The target managed to raise their battle ax and block the ball slightly, still being pushed back a bit by its impact. He then came at Isamu with wild disabandon immediately, raising his ax overhead and bringing it down hard. Isamu instinctively dodged and returned the favor with a second wind ball, holding it in his hand and pushing it directly into the guy's stomach. It shredded at his armor and skin until it dissipated completely, and the man fall to his knees, clutching his bleeding torso. Isamu wasn't done quite yet; there were still the other two. The man without a weapon, apparently a Taijutsu user, was the next to approach with his fists bared.

Isamu ducked under the first punch, but couldn't avoid the second, getting struck right in the face, and then kicked to the ground. He somersaulted backwards and back onto his feet, before slamming his hands to the ground. A wall of Fuuton chakra appeared, and the two mercenaries ran right into it, getting cuts all over and being thrown back. The Taijutsu mercenary returned to his feet and used a Fireball jutsu, engulfing the wall completely and nullifying its effect. Isamu still had a trick up his sleeve, though, so he created a mass of water using his kekkei genkai, and formed a basilisk from it, launching it at the other one. It stabbed through his leg, snapping through the bone, and he fell to the ground, clutching at it helplessly. As a final touch, the Jounin blasted a barrage of wind bullets, 2 to each mercenary, to put down the Taijutsu user and ensure the other two were unconscious. The Taijutsu user was struck in the face by both, leaving him with little time to react as Isamu launched a much more powerful wind bullet that bore a hole into him and punctured his lung.

Now that all three targets were down, Isamu frisked their unconscious bodies, hoping to find something of us. He eventually found and pillaged a few paper bombs from their fallen figures and attached them to the bridge's surface, 3 meters apart from each other. To guarantee the mercenaries were dead, he took each of their bodies, including the four that Strafe had handled, and placed them between the bombs so that they would either die from the force of the explosion or die from the impact with the water far below the bridge. Finally, he detonated the bombs with a Tiger hand seal as he stepped back, blowing the bridge to pieces and successfully completing the objective. "Nice work, Strafe." he told his comrade as he surveyed the ruins of the structure along with the corpses (or what was left of them, rather) falling into the water below.

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Word Count: 1,513/1,500
OOC: Feel free to exit the thread in your next post

240/300:

Strafe exhaled as his enemies fell before him. He knew that these guys didn't have a chance in hell against high ranking ninja from Kirigakure. He looked to Isamu to see him handling the three that dared challenge him as well, making him smile a bit. While Strafe was technically higher ranked than the jounin, he still respected the man as an equal. The ninja's power with the fuuton element was quite impressive indeed. Strafe's gaze moved from Isamu to Momaru, who was licking his claws clean. "Well that was kinda entertaining." Momaru chuckled as Isamu finished off his enemies. Strafe simply smiled as he walked over to start gathering bodies. The three of them remained uninjured and their enemies were dead. It could have been a lot worse.

As Strafe dragged the bodies in to their appropriate place, Isamu set up the explosive tags that were going to destroy the bridge. Strafe made sure to search the rest of the bodies for anything valuable, but it was a waste of time. They barely had any money on them, much less anything of worth. Strafe sighed as he finished with the last body and walked over to Momaru. He vaulted onto the lion once more and got back a clear distance. They waited a few moments as Isamu finished up his task and joined them. With a half-tiger hand sign, the bridge exploded. It fell violently into the water, along with the bodies that were on it. Their mission was complete without much of a problem. If only all Strafe's missions went like this. "Well, it was nice going on a mission with you Isamu. We need to get together soon and catch up on things!" Strafe suggested with a friendly tone as he looked the ninja over.

"We have to go now though, hopefully it won't be too long until I see you again!" Strafe waved with a smile as he said goodbye to his long time friend. "It was nice meeting and fighting alongside you Isamu." Momaru added with a nod as the duo turned around and headed off in the direction that they came. They had to go back to the Mizukage's office and write up a report of the mission, as she was still out of the village and would be back shortly. The write-up would be a simply one though, as it went well without any problems, save for some incredibly dumb attackers. "We should do missions with him more often." Momaru commented as they headed back towards the village. "You know what? You're right." Strafe said thinking of the future. Considering they were both medical ninja, and two of the best in Kirigakure, they would probably start seeing a lot more of each other.

-Exit Thread-

Word Count: 1564/1500