Mission:

The battlefield was chaotic, riddled with fights from all angles ninja at skill levels that he could only dream of achieving for now found themselves locked in mortal combat. Yet, this is not why these two were dispatched, as always Tsurugi found himself working side by side with a familiar face, the fish girl Ciera. Someone who in their youth he had limited interactions with, before the two went their separate ways only to reunite years later; it seemed that both of them were quickly finding their place in the shinobi ranks of Kirigakure, not long after the Suiton using Kunoichi had become a Chuunin did Tsurugi also earn the rank. With this new title came some more serious ninja work, nothing like the stuff these two found themselves doing when they were mere Genin but regardless of that, it did not change the fact that he was a long way from even being close to achieving his goal. He had yet to get an answer from Ciera, regarding the offer he made but not wanting to pressure one of his few if not his only acquaintance he would focus his attention on the mission ahead.

The two had already been briefed so there was no reason for them to linger behind chit chatting strategy, it would be about getting through the battlefield, and then making their way to the mirrors so they could destroy them. “We get through it, if one of us gets held back in a battle the other falls back to help. We watch each other’s back, neither of us dies here today” he said to the girl giving her a glance over his shoulder at the girl. With that he would rush from where he stood towards the battlefield, watching as the battles around them raged on he would continue to move forward towards the area where the mirrors where located. Looking over to Ciera every once in a while, he would make sure that the girl was alright so that the two could get this mission over with, this was after all a big deal so it would benefit them both to do a good job at it. Despite his dislike for the higher ups, Tsurugi knew one thing he needed to be in good favor with the Mizukage, gain her trust perhaps even achieve the rank of Sannin. A smirk would spread across his cheeks as he continued to run ahead, he would shake his head pushing away the thoughts that would surely distract from the mission at hand.

426/2000

Running. They were running. The two partners, paired again because of their familiarity with each other through missions and training sessions, were running for their very lives. To their left and right, ninjas rushed into the fray, stopping every so often to throw out another technique or shuriken at the opposition. It was chaotic. It was euphoric. And ultimately, it was overwhelming. With so much battle and carnage going on, it was hard to stay focus. Yet, she had to. Sidestepping the severed limbs that leaked their remaining blood into the grass of the Country of Birds and rushing past wounded ninjas of either side, they had only one goal—one destination in mind. The mirrors.

They were their current objective. They had to safely get past the battlefield and rush behind enemy lines to take out the mirrors. There were other teams on the prowl, aiming at different groups of mirrors. Why these were important? They were the power source for the dolls that were controlled by The Seven Bells. Gathering energy from the sun’s bright light, it was then injected into the dolls to power them. This made them nigh unstoppable. Even now, she knew that various dolls on the battlefield, out of sight, slaying shinobis left and right with the assortment of weapons that they carried.

If something wasn’t done, there would be far more casualties. Even if she couldn’t see them, she knew her clan had joined the attacking force and were on the beach with her. For their safety as well, she had to complete her mission without delay.

A severed arm smacked her on the forehead, sending her sprawling backwards into a crater just as a trio of dirt spikes flew overhead, which would have impaled her had she been standing. Tsurugi dropped down into the crater as well, crouching down low so that his head wouldn’t be exposed. Lying on her back, entrenched in an explosion’s crater alongside Tsurugi, she was not in a happy mood as she rubbed and sat up a bit. It smelled like char, but if they moved now, while the current fight raged above them, they would be hit for sure. Looking up, she saw a dozen kunai with exploding tags passed by, followed closely by a wave of wind slashes. Still, time was of the essence.

“We can’t keep staying here,” Ciera said, but even as she said that, she didn’t quite know how to get them out of the situation. There was too much fighting going on for them to just make a run for it. Trained ninjas weren’t known to be that bad of a shot, and there were no trees around for proper coverage. Yet, just dozens of feet away, there was a line of trees that marked the start of the forest, and it was also where the mirrors were located in, situated on the top of a group of trees that had been spotted by a hawk summon. However, it was behind the enemy line, which made the endeavor all the more dangerous. There could be traps and ninjas waiting in ambush, but it could also provide a measure of safety that was better than the wide open field that they were currently in.

There were tons of jutsu’s of all elements flying over them, often hitting each other in mid-flight as well. Small mid-air explosions of fire and water kept them stationary, unable to move further on their mission.

Then an idea caught hold of her.

“Run when I say so.” Ciera flew through a small series of hand seals and gathered the chakra from her coils. “Suiton: Hidden Mist Technique.”

Water from the surround area, of which plenty had been made from the various water jutsu’s that had been thrown around, began to turn into mist. As the mist gathered in strength, the fighting began to less and the techniques that flew were beginning to become sparse. If she was right, then there were waiting for the first visual sign of an opponent before attacking. This was a dangerous gamble in that while they were hidden from sight, one wrong movement that exposes them in the mist would make them the target of focused fire from all available ninjas in the area.

Still, it was a gamble that they had to take.

“Run.”

Chakra 210/220. +1 power (clan):

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WC: 743/2000

The two had been running across the battlefield, Tsurugi himself jumping over piles of corpses, and avoiding pools of blood with fear that they might be pits which his foot might slip into, and maybe twist his ankle. However, as careful as he was there was no way he could avoid the chaos that had taken over this battlefield as such it would not be him he would fall victim to the chaos, but his partner in one of his occasional look backs he found himself looking just in time as Ciera’s feet where in the air, and her body vanished into a dark crater; sliding to a sudden stop he would kick off the ground barely avoiding a series of kunai that dug into the ground where he stood. His duster rustled wildly behind him as he focused his eyes on getting to the crater, jumping up he would dive into a quick descent feet first, landing with soft knees he knelt almost completely down to the ground as he stayed next to Ciera his eyes analyzing her from top to bottom. She seemed fine, but her face showed signs of being annoyed then again how could he blame her she had been knocked into this crater, which looking around this was not a safe place. The sounds of explosions above their heads caused his golden eyes to travel from their surroundings to the raging skies above, just in time to see a stream of flames collide with a series of lightning bolts the resulting clash creating a fierce explosion.

He would nod in agreement to her comment, “Yes, staying here would end in our death…” he would respond as he waited quietly his own eyes trying to find a way out of this shit hole the two of them had landed into. Just when it looked like they were going to have to run wild into the dangerous firing zone, he found himself observing as Ciera quickly performed a series of familiar hand seals easily catching on to her plan he would smile, this girl never seized to impress him. Once the mist had begun to rise around them concealing the area, and obscuring the once clear battlefield he would notice the lack of explosions, it was their chance without hesitation he ran with her when she gave the command. He was running in the mist, moving as fast as he could knowing that if any ninja here took notice of the disturbance in their movements disturbing the settled mist they’d b—Just as he was about to finish the thought it happened, an enemy appeared in their path emerging from the ground, a Doton user? Whatever the case the enemy was wielding a great big weapon overhead!

Clearly aiming to slam them with it, but Tsurugi had no intention of letting that happen thanks to his finely tuned reflexes he was already performing a series of quick hand seals with his hands. Once he was done he would release a concentrated blast of hot vapor from his mouth, this would find its way to the mans face slamming directly into it falling back in pain the man dropped his weapon to the side grabbing hold of his face as his voiced broke the surrounding silence with loud screams of agony. With the man on his back they were in the clear, but his screams attracted the attention of ever able bodied ninja on the battlefield, “RUN!” he yelled out to Ciera as he rushed ahead moving as fast as he could, lucky they moved when they did the screaming man was soon silenced by a barrage of elemental attacks, not only that but everyone’s attacks had managed to disperse the once thick mist, resulting in a volley of fire being shot back, and forth; but also charging ninja aiming to slaughter one another. Amidst the chaos, Tsurugi would continue to run until reaching the lining of the trees that started the first feet of the forest, jumping in he would roll into a stop with heavy breaths escaping him, “Good job” he said to Ciera between pants, as he gave her a quick glance before nodding his head at her.

This time they had trees to hide, and cover them from any surrounding enemies, though he was sure the surrounding enemies where also using this vegetation as a means to keep their presence concealed. Just ahead of them through the gaps between the trees, he could see it, the mirrors…their objective was so close yet so far, for both of them to charge through would not be a good idea, perhaps creating a diversion of sorts? Looking around his golden eyes searched the area for anything that he could use, it was then that he got an idea, “Ciera, time to take a page out of your book” he said to his partner as he performed the same hand seals she had performed before, when he was done the same mist that Ciera had conjured up before began to manifest. He was using the water that was around them, thankfully some rogue water jutus had found their way in the forest making this a bit easier, with his chakra releasing from his being he was able to manifest a full mist in no time. Once it was settled, he placed a hand on the girls shoulder to get her attention, “Pincer tactic, I come in from the left, and you the right stay within the mist as much as you can. If one of us gets caught the other keeps moving to the mirrors” he explained before moving on his own path, quickly vanishing in the mist that enveloped him.

Tsurugi ran through the bushes, and between the gaps of the trees the thick mist concealing him from view as he made his way towards the mirrors, Kirigakure nin were accustomed to this mist so they had better vision in its confines than any outsider. He could see the mirrors in the distance…


1432/2000

140/150:

As the mist spread through the confines the forest, Ciera ran through it like a seasoned hunter. Ninjas from the village of Kirigakure frequently trained with the mist techniques and thus, they were far more used to seeing and sensing inside such a mist as this. So while there were plenty of trees and wayward branches—enough to knock the unsuspecting shinobi off their feet—for Ciera, there was enough forewarning to dodge it in her run. Within the mist, she could hear others fumbling about, far more noise than what Tsurugi would have caused even if he hadn’t been a ninja.

They had agreed that they wouldn’t help each other. At least one of them had to make it to the mirrors to complete the missions. Even if they wanted to help each other, finding the other through the mist was a major hassle, especially since it would be easy to mistaken each other as an enemy ninja. The good part was that it would be the same for the enemy as well; they would be extra cautious not to attack their own allies.

The mirrors were situated on top of the treetops, so they would be in clear view of the sun. However, the mist didn’t reach that far up. If they tried to go up there, they would be exposed, but if they could get close enough, then she doubted they would risk firing at the mirror. However, that wouldn’t stop them from chasing her up the tree. Another option would be to take down the trees themselves. While she did have a jutsu that would be ideal for that, she only had one that could be done without a nearby water source. As such, she only had one shot to do so.

However, her partner had far more options.

“Tsurugi, burn them down!” Her yell echoed through the mist, and she was already diving as a pair of shurikens sunk into the trunk of the tree next to her. Rolling onto her feet, she was already running. Flashing through a series of seals, she activated her suiton technique, gunshot. The water in her mouth condensed into small bullets, fast and dangerous enough to disable the enemy.

At the first sound of rustling, she spat out a water bullet, letting it rocket through the mist and out of sight. She was rewarded by a surprised cry of pain that originated from deeper in the mist, but even as she savored the moment, she was already on the move. Staying in one place was very dangerous, even with the mist hiding her.

As it was, she was providing all the distractions. She knew that her shout out to Tsurugi had been heard by the enemy ninja so they were probably going to send some to go after him, but she wasn’t going to allow that if she could help it.

Hearing another rustle, she fired another shot, but the only sound that came back to her was the breaking of bark. It was a dangerous game that she was playing, and she knew far too well that she was outnumbered. However, as long as she could control the vision of the battlefield, there was still a chance. Keeping on the move while attacking and retreating was the key to staving off the enemy assault.

After all, fighting without sight was a skill that was difficult to find, even in supposed shadow warriors aptly named ninjas.

Ciera swished the water bullet in her mouth with her tongue. A specialty of the Hoshigaki clan was that their water techniques were a degree stronger than normal, which allowed these bullets to be able to pierce into bone. In this deadly cat and mouse game, there were few that would want to risk getting injured for recklessly chargining in, straight into enemy fire like cannon fodder.

She fired another bullet into the mist, eliciting a grunt. The shark woman didn’t know what part of the body she had hit, but this one seemed to be tougher than the last. Ducking behind a tree, she waited, watched, and listened for the next sign of the enemy.

Chakra 195/220. +1 power (clan):

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WC: 1444/2000

He had to admit the voice that echoed in the mist would catch him by surprise, why was she yelling? Maybe she had been caught by the enemy? His eyes would narrow, he was tempted to break his own rule but shook it off Ciera was able to take care of herself, he needed to get to those mirrors now it seemed like it was all up to him the male would kick off the ground dashing over the nearby bushes, with a rough landing he would stop his running those golden eyes of his traveling upwards to the mirrors high above. The reflection of the light form the polished glass was high above the secure cover of the mist, climbing up the tree was an option but it was also suicidal; well maybe not that bad but it would be a risky move. So instead Tsurugi would take note of all the mirrors that were within range, there was three here in total a tightly clustered group, so it was going to be easy for him to get them all, he would focus on the tree tops instead of working from the bottom up.

Quickly he began to perform a series of hand seals keeping those eyes focused on the tree tops, with his target in range he would hold the last seal allowing his chakra to spill from his body in a controlled flow as it began to manifest around him in the form of eight fireballs that floated all around him. The condensed balls of fire that found themselves floating around Tsurugi would soon launch themselves up in rapid succession, this time the tight knit group being just a tiny bit more spread out so he could make sure at least one fireball hit each tree top to help catch it ablaze. The barrage of fireballs traveled upwards at a high speed, each crashing into the tree tops one after the other, on contact the fireballs would burst from their compressed ball shape into individual explosions of fire that would easily set the tree tops on fir. With that the tree tops found themselves set ablaze, the roaring flames crawling across the surface of the branches, and leafs spreading from one tree top to another.

Tsurugi would watch quietly as the flames began to engulf the mirrors that rested safely in the tree tops, the growing temperature from the flames would begin to crack the mirrors the long scars across the reflective surface traveling all around the mirror itself. Yet as Tsurugi watched this, he also notice one thing a stream of water headed for the fires he had caused, quickly the male would perform the tiger hand seal holding it in place inhaling deeply he would manipulate his chakra to cling to the oxygen he had filled his lungs with; releasing the oxygen with a strong exhale he fired a stream of flames from his open mouth. The roaring flames would travel from where Tsurugi stood, through the mist, and as he had hoped clashed with the stream of water the resulting clash created a dense cloud of vapor from the two clashing elements. This helped to cover up the burning tree just for a moment, and had stalled any other attacks long enough to let the mirrors shatter into bits from the pressure of the heat that burned away at them.

Paying no mind to the ninja who had tried to stop the fire, he rushed back into the forest trying to find Ciera they needed to regroup, and leave. With blue bangs of hair moving about wildly as he ran, he found himself spotting someone gripping their arm, he was not an ally he was obviously an enemy, those golden orbs focused on the man judging from now he was looking off in another direction he was expecting him to be distracted with Ciera. Taking the chance he would perform the necessary hand seals as he covered the distance between himself, and this unsuspecting ninja exhaling in a single burst Tsurugi would release a close range blast of flames that shot forward clinging to the opponent’s body burning away at his flesh that was exposed. Dashing past the man, Tsurugi would call out to Ciera, “I got him! It’s me!” he would hope she’d recognize his voice, and the brilliant flames that burned away at the ninja made him a living torch that disrupted the pure white of the thick mist. Finally stepping into his partners eye view, he gave her a nod “The mirrors are done, let’s get out of here” he said to her waiting for the girl to run alongside him so the duet could return with a job well done.

2222/2000

110/150:

Running. They were running once again. Through the forest, they ran. The mist that had once been spread widely through the forest had been dispersed by the ninjas chasing them. Even now, she noticed the shadows of their running forms to her left and right, moving at a pace that seemed to defy human motion.

She had spat out a couple more water bullets at them, but that just seemed to only slow them down a little bit; since they had a line of sight on her, they were dodging the moment that they saw the water leave her mouth. It was obvious what they were doing. They were encircling them, and at the pace they were moving, it wouldn’t be long before some of them would cut the pair off from the front. It was only a matter of time.

Those ninjas were tossing shurikens and kunais at them, but they weren’t aiming to kill; most of them never even came close. Instead, they were herding the partners in the direction they wanted, and to be honest, the two Kirigakure ninjas had to follow the laid out path. Deviation was discouraged by a hailstorm of throwing weapons. It was a cautious tactic, one that was typically used for powerful opponents.

Luckily, they didn’t know what Ciera and Tsurugi’s actual status was. Probably thought that the fact that they managed to get past everyone and destroy the mirrors meant that they were dealing with two powerful ninjas. That was fortunate, because that meant that they weren’t willing to do a direct assault, at least not without creating as much advantages for themselves as they could to minimize casualties. That meant that they had been given time, time to figure a way out of the situation.

Or at least, that’s what she thought.

Four shinobis had made it past them, turning about and rushing at the pair, brandishing their spears and swords. If they were stopped now, that would be the end as they would be caught in the web. Her hands sped through the seals and her heart pounded painfully against her chest as the chakra flowed out from her body.

“Suiton: Water Shark Bullet!” The chakra turned into water, forming a large shark in front of her.

“Hold your breath and jump!” Grabbing her partner’s hand, she jumped with him into the water that composed the shark’s body. The cold water immersed her as she felt her gills began to work, helping to make it feel less suffocating for her. Once fully within the confines of the shark, she thrust out her other hand. The shark—instead of slowly accelerating—leaped to speeds of 80 miles per hour, ramming straight into the line of enemies. The four shinobis were ripped apart on contact with the speeding bullet-like shark, their body parts flying in every direction.

The shark continued to rip through the trees, shattering them on its devastating rampage. By the time the chakra water began to dissipate and they came out of the shark, they had flown more than 65 feet, far ahead of the opposition. The pair released the breath they were holding and resumed running.

They had finally escaped the worst part.

It wouldn’t be long before they reached the cliffside. While it far too time consuming to scale upwards, jumping downwards into the sea was fast and it provided a safe route back to the main forces.

“We did it, Tsurugi! I just can't believe it,” Ciera said as she began to see the light at the opening in forest, where she could see the vast sea just beyond. This was an exciting day.

Chakra 170/220. +1 power (clan):

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WC: 2070/2000