Mission name: Break a Bridge (Repeatable.)
Mission rank: B
Objective: “while some bridges need to be built, others need to be burned. Take to the wing and sever the bridges which draw too close to the land of blood, to remove them as an entry way. Other builders have been heard to be building and repairing others we have already disrupted, remove them.”
Location: Kiri
Reward: 500
Mission description: Travel to near the border and burn down one of the several bridges which connect us to the mainland nearing the land of blood. By any means necessary. There may be opposition.
Mission details: The ninja will travel to the location and meet resistance in the form of 8 mercenary guards, as well as frightened builders. The guards have B rank Tai/ Bukijutsu and C rank spears, swords, etc. Destroy the bridge; the fate of the mercenaries is up to you.

NPC:

Verdandi fixed up her latest chuunin gear and packed her things. Bracing her fingertips along the little shiny coloured crystals that were dangling from the roof of her apartment. She did a little twirl, a soft little dance moving through her apartment. She was on high spirits and greedy to explore into her newest challenge. She inhaled while standing in front of the mirror. Today would not be a happy day. The task given at hand was not an easy one. Unlike the briefings as Genin, this one had been a few days prior to today. She had been informed in detail about the target in question. A bridge leading specifically towards a country that had declared war on Kiri. Not a real threat to the eye of the Mizukage and yet still an annoyance. It’s not the first time they are trying to reach our mainland. Their ships had been sent to the bottom of the sea to rot along with the others that tried to sail against Kiri. Their legions have all been destroyed time and time again and yet they do not yield. Verd almost caught herself finding their perseverance admirable to some extent and yet they killed shinobi and civilians of kiri alike and that is something that even she cannot accept without feeling the lust for revenge.

It wasn’t that Kiri was better than them. Technically the bloody mist had been a very mean country to many neighbours for centuries. She wouldn’t even be surprised, if the nation that started this conflict, would turn out to be no one else but Kiri. But this was their world. This was the nature of their existence. Kill or die. It was the one thing Aya meant when she first trained Verd in her Genin days. She was proud to see another prodigy raise from their blood but yet she was sad to know that she would, alike so many others of their profession, sooner or later be confronted with the bloody truth of their lifestyle. So far Verdandi had coped pretty well with the act of murder. Killing those who deserved it. Not going to break over a simple mistake. Not going to crush under the pressure of war. Able to forgive oneself and others. Able to accept their lifestyle and able to coexist with the peace she craved and the violence that seemed required to sustain this peace.

Verd sighed. Deep contemplations over good and evil were not her favourite topic in the morning. She had a mission to accomplish. One that wouldn’t be done without her today. Heading towards the West gate of Kiri, she’d meet up with Haka and Chi. Nodding to her partners and ready to go. They would eventually check their gear once more and then head off towards the mission’s location. The bridge was many hours away and most of their travel seemed pretty eventless. However, as dawn approached. They were about an hour away from their target. It seemed logic to set up camp now where one would not suspect any enemies or where they could make a fire without problem. Once they would enclose their target location, they wouldn’t be able to do this anymore. Verd formed a little ice igloo out of some water from a nearby pond. They made sure to set up the fire inside the igloo. The hole in the roof would filter the smoke and burned out oxygen and trap it in little filters of ice that would pile up on the side of the igloo. Even if they were far away from their target, some security measures are always fine to hold up with as long as they didn’t cost too much energy.

Sitting at the fire Verd would gaze at her team mates. “Hmm for once I think we need a strategy.” She said, drawing the outlines of the bridge and the shore onto the ground with a stick. “We can sneak in and stealth kill one person each and make our way towards the bridge… I can always put up a snowstorm if too many enemies approach us at once. Just try to stay out of it if I cast one. Especially you Chi…” Their enemies were supposedly strong. Very strong. A surprise kill would only work on the first ones. “Considering their strength, we probably have to use teamwork for once to kill the rest of them. So, I’d suggest to stay close to each other and not going in solo after the initial kills…” Verd wondered what the others had to say. The mission was unique. It would require all of them to eliminate the many strong, well equipped targets and combine their strength to keep each other safe and sound.


800

Foam and froth leaked from his mouth, spilling out of his lips and down his chin. The toothbrush in his mouth was clenched tightly between his teeth, being held there temporarily as the dripping boy fumbled with his hair. Typically, not much of any attention was paid to it, letting it do whatever it wanted. That he was trying to brush his snowy white bangs into something a bit more presentable and managed was a change of pace for him. Ranking up to chuunin had meant a lot. The insignificant genin stipends that the village delivered him were barely enough to live on. Between rent and eating there was barely enough to think about sharpening himself, and even less for cosmetic pursuits. It was funny how a little bit of money changed things. He had to worry about so many more things once he became a chuunin. Making sure his skills were at the requisite levels, higher grade weaponry, chakra training, licensing and registration, more dangerous missions, but also fashion, dining, and hobbies. Home décor, something that he never would have considered for a moment in the past, suddenly become a concern that snuck itself into his head. He had bought a few throw pillows for the dinky little couch in his apartment, along with a coffee table and some coasters. It filled him with a strange sense of pride noticing the difference it made in how the room appeared.  

His squad too, suddenly appeared in his life. Now with people he would be meeting and interreacting on a regular basis he suddenly began to care a bit more about his physical appearance. Hygiene was something he was always onto of, of course, but before wearing around decades old ragged outfits with unkept hair was unfortunately common place for him. Now he was looking closely at his haircut in the mirror of his bathroom, wearing a brand-new outfit. Those that had been familiar with him in his genin days would probably have a difficult time recognizing Chigetsu now. The frothed-up toothpaste would be spit from his mouth, and the toothbrush put back in its holder afterwards. He would squish a bit of water between his cheeks, all of it being hydration pulled from his body, which would be spit down into his sink afterward he was done. Fresh. Minty. Pleasant. His kunai made a comment of approval, complimenting Chigetsu on his new looks. He smiled.

A quick breakfast would be prepared, just a simple bowl of rice along with an egg. All prepared and consumed quickly. Weapons would be prepared. Beyond the kunai he kept with him at all times there would be nine more. All of them shoved into his stomach, liquefied and added to the slurry that was his body. The stack of senbon came after. The sloshing around of liquefied metal in his gut felt pleasant and familiar, and quickly those weapons would be distributed around his body. Mostly in his arms, to easily slot into his hands if he needed them. He was prepared. He had more weapons that he needed, but it was good to be safe. Having so many voices inside him made him feel full anyway, which was better than empty and lonely. They were all useful in many ways. He could stab with each many times, as many as he needed to make any foe fall to the ground. They worked fine for intimidation too, although it was doubtful that any trained foe would be intimidated by a simple kunai. Intimidation wasn't exactly his strong suit either. Chigetsu was sure they all had plenty of non-stabbing uses though.  

Gear would be fit on after that. There wasn't much for him to bring. All he carried out other than his weapons on missions like these was his travel pack. It was a simple backpack filled with enough supplies for him to set up a small shelter to spend the night. Tent, sleeping bag, a mess kit. Just the basics. While it hadn't happened yet being caught out at night without a place to sleep would be unpleasant. Assuming he couldn't find a nice pond of lake to sleep in he would have his waterproofed sleeping bag, along with a tent for some privacy. It was handy to keep with him just in case. He would have to update his collection of camping gear at some point in the future.

He would set off. It was still early in the morning, so he would be surprised to see Verdandi at their designated meeting spot before he got there. Perhaps she had woken up even earlier than him for this mission. It wasn't anything to be concerned about, but it did miff him a little bit that he wasn't the first to get there. He would greet her with a smile and wave, rushing forward to the gate. Idle conversation would be made until Haka arrived, mostly consisting of the mission they had ahead of them. Chigetsu wasn't all that concerned to be completely honest. He had read the description but had put little thought beyond just what was general. How hard could blowing up a bridge be, really? Bridges were over water, and water was his natural element. With the addition of Haka and Verandi there was nothing to worry about. They would all set off once Haka arrived, giving their equipment one last check before leaving Kirigakure.  

He had been right. The bridge wasn't close enough that they could travel in a day. He had been prepared for this and was about to set up his tent until Verandi showed him up. An igloo all prepared and ready before he could even take off his backpack. He frowned. While she would set up a fire inside and everything Chigetsu would still be reluctant to enter. He still could remember. The touch of coldness and frost on his skin made him think back to how they had met. The raging storm and vicious spirit. His arms freezing so cold he couldn't feel them, and then shattering off into thousands of pieces. It sent a chill up his spine. He would refuse to enter. Getting too close would be difficult for him at all, his stomach turning and rolling around inside of him uncomfortably every time he looked at the structure. He would sit outside, looking in through the entrance. Even with the slight distance he could still hear the conversation, although it was a bit difficult. Planning. Plotting. Danger. Strength. He wasn't all too concerned. He would almost object to the suggestion of a snowstorm before holding that opinion back. He would much rather play the role of a distraction, absorbing attention while they picked away at the mess, but it likely wouldn't have gone that simple. A snow storm over the enemy's heads would make it much too difficult for him to get close. With his distance from the others he would have a difficult time participating though in the planning, eventually giving up. Whatever they came up with as an idea he could fit himself into, so the end result wasn't the most relevant.

---

[1209]

As usual, the remote island that was her home received all information through messenger ravens, the black birds shrouded by mist or night, sometimes both, as they left the Administration building to reach their destination. On top of that, the letter itself was coded just in case the bird did fall into the wrong hands. Today's mission had a weight. A B-rank mission. Her first one. Unlike the early ones she had undertaken, this one would hold a certain danger, a mission that would require preparation and vigilance. An unauthorised bridge had been constructed and now served as an unwanted access from rogue territory into Kirigakure. The bridge had to be destroyed, but scouts had preened sufficient information to know that it was guarded with relatively skilled men, each of them a veteran in their own right, and a group of builders moving around to rebuild and repair other bridges. All of them had to be removed.

Guessing she could eat one of them, that would mean there were still too many other corpses that would end up wasted. Their deaths had no other reason than amusing the Mizukage, or protecting the masses of pitiful humans that had gathered under the protection of the ruling Queen. If it simply that, Haka would have shrugged it off as not being interested in caring for a sentience that had chosen to remain weak and unevolved. But there was Sero. As his living weapon she was obliged to execute the wishes of the Spider Sage until she was strong enough to surpass him. Brushing her long hair out of her eyes, she moved to the room she had claimed a while ago. It was her room now, until she could finish her plans for the Unmei lair that brewed in the back of her mind.

Inside her room, which was once a well-cared for guest room, cobwebs now covered the walls and most of the window. So webbed it was that even the front door could no longer be closed entirely, its only means of dissuading eager visitors from entering being the Unmei kamon on the door and the Fuinjutsu trap hidden at the entrance. Anyone entering this private space without her consent would end up thoroughly cocooned until her return. The servants had already suffered such a verdict, so calcified in their cleaning habits they had not paid attention. In that little lair of hers, she would proceed to change into a simple black shirt, pants and tabi before outfitting herself with her custom armour and finishing it all with the black spider silk cloak of the Unmei, white hair draping on top of that.

Like a shadow, Haka then left the manor, destroying the letter of the mission with a spark of katon chakra.

---

The unmistakable presence of Yuki. Was it not the cold aura, then it was the igloo build at an hour travel distance of the rendez-vous point. Haka would appear in a flicker under the cover of mist, her own monstrous aura oppressing a 10 ft radius around her so sudden the hairs on the arms would raise up and leave goosebumps. In Kirigakure, things went bump in the mist. Without a word or sound, she would slip into the igloo, red amber eyes as apathetic as always, her primal nature as a predator flickering like a little katon flame in the depth of every Fire user. She would sit down with the other two that had already arrived, as quiet as a tombstone could be.

Verdandi talked plans. It seemed the ice princess was not about to take this mission as lightly as they had usually done. Much like Haka, she was aware of the dangers and the professionalism that would be expected of full-fledged shinobi. The early rise to reach a rank known as 'special jounin' began at this point. Haka would nod at the idea of a plan. They had the advantage of surprise, so an easy stealth kill was what they needed. Haka's speciality, even if she said so herself. She could use the mist to great advantage, silence the area, kill and search for her next prey. The first strike could be delivered without a sound. But if she wanted to share that benefit, they would have to stay close to her as she had no means to share the benefits.

"We need to know their positions first."

The trouble was that snow storms and most other jutsu were not subtle enough. Such displays of power would instantly alert the whole area of their arrival, possibly making it too difficult for them to handle if they ganged up all at once. Dealing with them one by one was favoured, but it would consume precious time they didn't have once they started. However, none of that would work if they could not be scouted out first. Were some hidden? Were they brazenly standing in the open?

"We have mist. If you two stay close we can kill without sound or sight."

Haka preferred solitary assassinations but this was no moment to take risks. With three or even two of them, death would strike from multiple angles before they realised what happened. If even one or two could be taken down before alarms were raised, they would have done a good job. After that... Haka glanced at Chigetsu. If he fought like in their spar, he'd be standing still like a turret and beating up whatever came his way, whereas Verdandi was more mobile. Haka could offer a modicum of protection to Chigetsu, or she could assist Verdandi by altering the speed of movement for both her and the opponents.

"After stealth, Haka can web things."

She knew Chigetsu had a strange way of prioritising, beating up targets at range rather than to deal with what was attacking him up close, whereas her spar with Verdandi told her she was strong on a short range base. The strategist in Haka was of a mind that it might be of greater interest to boost the strengths of her allies should it come down to an all out open combat as her own strengths were assassination and crowd control, or dealing with multiple situations at once when there was no need for such focused destruction.

---

1056

OOC: Kinda waiting for a bunch of jutsu to get approved. One of them is a B rank AoE defensive technique that could be useful to shield Chi.

Verdandi nodded. Snowstorm was out of question. But Chi trying to stay out of the improvised hut was annoying her. "I don't mind if you set up your own tent, but please, if you want to be in a team with me you have to let go of your fear of ice. I can completely control what gets frozen and what not. Ever since I touched your belly I know exactly that your liquid is filled with chakra. Your body will not freeze on its own by touching my ice. It will only freeze if I forcefully send ice crystals into your… blood flow… or water flow… or whatever you have there. So please. No time to play scaredy cat hmm?" She would smile. He could still decide to wait outside or set up his own tent. However he had to abandon this fear of ice quickly. If he wanted to prove Verd's words he could even touch the ice wall. It certainly would feel pleasant to him but it wouldn't freeze him. Frost doesn't work on chakra filled liquid bodies the same way as un wild water.

Scratching her head she was indulged by their comments and agreed. "Fine, no snowstorm. We will stealth in together as a group. If any of you end up charging to deal with an opponent one on one then make sure you return to the group afterwards. If you need help… well use a water gun or something and shoot it into the air so the rest of us can try and reach you for support." Verd wasn't sure if their teamwork was supposedly going to be perfect. But she was a prodigy and Haka was a born killer, Chi had tremendous talents. Then again Verd often overestimated her own powers, Haka was incapable of following human logic and Chi… well he was Chi. They had to stay aware of their weak spots and rely on each other to fill the gaps.

"Haka… you lead the way. Your assassin senses will properly lead us through the mist to our first targets. I suggest, once we have killed our primary targets. Preferably three at once to maximize our initial damage during the moment of surprise, Chi will deal his ranged attacks at the ones that will charge us. I will go into melee and stop them in their path and Haka will take care to precisely single out her targets one by one and… deal with them. Again, try to stay within simple movement distance. If you can't see your own team mates in the mist… you've gone too far." That being said. They could continue to focus on making their tactics work together. Yet Haka wasn't the person for huge long discussions and they would have to improvise as well. "Ok… once more… move in, recon shortly, determine positions, according to previous recon there should be EIGHT targets but you can't be sure if they had gotten reinforcements by now. Haka takes the lead. We single our three targets. Kill them. Then Chi does the range, me the melee, Haka the support and kill." She didn't like to repeat herself but she had no idea how well they would work together in this first try. She could only hope and rely on them using their exceptional talents to a common advantage.

They would soon rest. But not until morning. Enough hours for them to feel recovered but not dawn. It was around past 3 AM and they would arrive at the bridge within the next hour. Verd would let the igloo melt away. All of them would get one last chance to pack their stuff and check their gear. The heavy mist lingering upon them was annoying but would come in handy for the way they intended to kill their targets. If Haka wished to place a speed seal on Verd now, or any sort of support mark, Verd would be up for it. Any boost could help now.

Once arriving at the scene. The enemies were well prepared. Four guards were standing watch. Each of them equipped with a lantern. The lanterns were bright. Very bright. Shining forth and making an actual stealth approach more difficult. But then again, it also gave away their positions. Which basically would make the initial recon part easier. The remaining merc's were at the bridge kicking around the slaves that were forced to work on the bridge for them. Civilians had been mentioned by the mission briefing but the recon team did not state that those guys were working on that bridge unwillingly. To kill the merc's without harming the slaves would be a problem left for stage two, three or four. But for now, they had to focus on stage one. Getting in position. Getting ready to strike. Haka would lead them. Verd trusted her to take them the safest way towards their targets while protected by the mist.


830 / 1630

Verdandi's pleading surprised Chigetsu. He hadn't expected something so earnest. She made a good point. It would be difficult being in a squad with her if he kept on shying away from ice like this. At the same time his fear was understandable. Ice was one of the few things that he had been hurt by in the past. That she could control what got frozen was somewhat comforting to hear, but in the end it only meant that Chigetsu would have to be incredibly careful of how close he got to her while she was in combat. Even if he was afraid he couldn't say no, especially when she put it like that. "Alright. Alright, fine..." He would sigh as he began to scoot forward into the icy dome. Carefully, cautiously, he would enter the igloo as she asked. He would get as close as he could to the fire in the center of the igloo as possible. He was caught now between two things that could destroy him, fire and ice. Perhaps Verdandi and Haka should be added to that list as well.

He would be intensely uncomfortable, but he was in the igloo nonetheless. At the very least it was a start. The lack of a snowstorm was a relief though. Stealth was fine as a solution, although a large part of Chigetsu wanted to just run in swords drawn and guns blazing. His liquefication made him cocky like this. Hired hands armed with swords didn't particularly concern him. They couldn’t pierce through his body no matter how hard they tried. He could understand that Haka and Verdandi didn't share the same thoughts though. It was a shame that they couldn't liquefy too. Haka taking the lead was something that he could manage. She certainty was intelligent enough to guide them, and while Chigetsu hadn't seen her assassin prowess directly it was something he could assume just based on how she carried herself. Chigetsu had no objections, other than the obvious ones against the igloo. Although dealing ranged attacks wasn't something that he considered to be his expertise it was something he could do all the same. He would have a hard time calling himself a Hozuki if he couldn't attack from range.

As their meeting concluded Chigetsu would scoot his butt right back out of the igloo. He had no intention of sleeping in it or resting in that ice prison for any extended amount of time. That was why he brought his own tent. It would quickly be set up for his own personal use, a good distance away from the igloo. He knew he would have to get over his fear of ice in order to better cooperate with Verdandi, but at the same time that didn't mean he had to like ice. While he was resting he could keep a good distance away from it. The sleeping bag he prepared would be set up quickly and Chigetsu would slide himself into it, zipping it closed after he splashed inside. He would rest until the time they had agreed on, waking himself up from his light rest and slipping back out of his tent. The entire thing would be collapsed and contained back in his pack in a matter of minutes, and he would be prepared to go.

As they began their prowl Chigetsu would assume a formation close to Haka. To better mask his presence his feet would melt into the ground, and he would progress forward in a similar motion as if he were ice-skating. Since his feet never left the ground as he moved there would be no sound of his footsteps, allowing him to move more silently than he would have otherwise. He would keep low to the ground, somewhat crouched as he slid forward with the others. The lanterns that their targets were using were incredibly convenient, making them impossibly easy to spot out in the thickness of the fog. Like little lighthouses. That was probably for their own sake, as it would be impossible for the guards to see each other without them. Still, the lanterns represented a problem just as much as they did a convivence. If they went out or were shaken too considerably the others would be alerted. Something so simple as one of the guards silently falling to the ground would be enough to alert the others to something being wrong. It was frustrating.

He would allow Haka to guide them forward, waiting on her movements before approaching. The faces and shapes of the four initial guards were something Chigetsu quickly memorized. If it came down to it he could assume one of their identities through simple shape changing, although the way their voices sounded wasn't something he would be able to copy until he heard it. Hopefully, it wouldn't come down to that.

---

[832/2048]

Decisions were made. The assassination part would be lead by herself, then she would offer support where possible. A fine choice in the eyes of the spider since it would allow her strategic mind to provide assistance where she deemed it necessary. Her own techniques had been developing and growing in power, offering various possibilities that would be able to weave a fail safe net there where her team was lacking, but it also made her conscious of the increasingly limited use others of the Spider Clan offered her. Ameya was a powerful ally in her own right, but the higher classed the missions became the riskier it was to call upon her to take down enemies. She was a headstrong force with a straight-forward approach that simply didn't fit in the ever evolving nature of the Unmei. The fate of the black widow was yet to be determined by the Unmei as most of her time had been spent on running missions and plotting the future of the clan in general.

But with the team's plans set, it would be time for some rest. Chigetsu scampered away out of the igloo and Haka was not averse to following his lead. Even if ice was less of a danger to her than it was to Chigetsu's form, her arachnid nature was naturally averse to an element that generally drove her into a hibernation. Right now, she didn't need to sleep as someone was bound to keep watch during the night. At this distance, though unlikely to meet opposition, it was still preferred to keep an eye out. Or eight of them. So while Chigetsu would find his own resting place and Verdandi would have a luxurious beauty nap in her igloo, Haka took on her natural form to blend in with the mists typical to Kirigakure and kept watch.

---

Way before the first sunrays, Haka spotted the movement of her team members waking up to prepare for the mission. Out of sight for most of the part, she would shift into her human form again and rejoin them. Armour, cloak, jutsu and awake as the spider had her own ways of 'sleeping' throughout the night without losing too much of her awareness. A spider nap, as it were. All set, the group would travel under the guise of darkness and mist to where they were supposed to be for the execution of their mission.

Despite the sun's rays barely illuminating the place, work on the bridge had already started again. Sawing, hammering, murmur and the occasional directional shout as construction plans had to be followed. Thick mist covered most of the area, especially on the deeper section where the river ran, but the four lanterns betrayed the position of the guards on land, watching the beginning and the end of the bridge like jealous trolls expecting toll to be paid. A challenge, but not impossible. Starting a series of hand seals and molding much needed chakra, the spider started with her preparations.

First came the Mark of the Spider in preparation of a battle that had yet to come as it would allow her allies to continue their own actions unhindered by her other techniques. Allowing her chakra to flow through her finger, a menial sting would be felt within the necks of Chigetsu and Verdandi, a small seal forming itself in the process. Then, she would form the Rat and Bird hand seals to form a seal around her own throat. With it, all sound within a 4m radius would fall away. No words, no footsteps, not even the sound of jutsu forming would be heard. In the silence of the dead, she created a water clone of herself out of the lingering mist that would tag along until it had to take over the lantern of their first victim and hold it up to maintain the semblance everything was right. Finalising her preparations, Haka allowed chakra to mingle within the mist that covered them, enhancing her detection of nearby presences within the mist bank. All set, she would sign the others they would move on.

Like a ghost, the four of them moved forward, shrouded by mist and jutsu alike towards their first victim. Ending at about seven meters from the first target, she once more formed hand seals to thicken the mist that surrounded the lands before she signalled the others there was one hostile nearby, followed by signing them assassination was eminent. The group would then rush in, surprising the first guard as each of them would strike at him with their own weapons or techniques. Haka would rush in to strike at his legs to avoid a potential escape or run towards his buddy, while her clone instantly stole and took over the lantern to take his position, leaving the effective killing blow to Verdandi or Chigetsu.

By then, the mist was thick enough to reach the second guard nearby, and a rinse and repeat of the first assault would follow under Haka's lead, with the difference that her clone would remain behind to hold the first lantern, assimilating the role of a guard on watch duty. Once the second guard was down, Haka registered a large amount of other presences within the mist, making a proper assassination too difficult to guarantee success. Dropping Quietus so she could share her perceptions, the group would halt briefly before the next step could be taken, the spider taking a quick glance on the other side of the bridge where the two other lanterns still remained unmoving.

"I sense about ten people under the bridge. Two constantly moving on the outer sides."

She deducted those were the workers and some guards, but her jutsu didn't allow her a proper view of who or what they were exactly. Neither did it tell her if the workers were being helpful or not, as voices were mostly distorted by the sound of their hammering and sawing. It was a matter of taking down those two guards now, but assassinating one would certainly raise alarms with the second and there was no saying how the labourers would react. Taking them both out was a favourable approach, but the question remained if Ahoban could pull that off.

---

1052
Total: 2108

125/200, Clone 20/20:

Verdandi slept like a princess. Literally. The igloo would swoon her with the cool breeze she preferred as her natural surroundings. Waking up from an icicle falling to the floor that was specifically timed to break loose from the igloo roof after a certain number of hours. As her wake-up clock had woken her the igloo would slowly start to melt. The water would rush past Verdandi's head and hair to give her some sort of refreshment. Enjoying the cool fluid pass over her skin and the dampness of her hair allowed her to fix her bed hair into a comfortable ponytail again. Removing the remaining moisture from it and hence all ready to go.

Verd would follow behind her squaddies. Eyes on the lookout for surprises. Watching her assassin friend do her job as she prepared a myriad of skills Verd was familiar with already. She hated the quietus tech. It always lingered a weird heaviness on her throat even though that was more of a psychological thing. Not being able to speak was an annoyance but she knew it would be required for their assault. The soft sting of the spider's mark was nothing too bad. She preferred to have it in case Haka would unleash her summon. Still having creepy memories about the monstrous Ameya.

As they moved in. Haka's clone quickly came into play. Surprising the guard who was unable to scream thanks to the quietus spell. Verd would wait until Haka had him down on his knees. Chi would eventually stab him, but Verdandi's long katana would precisely slice into his back, next to his spine, past the rib cage and pierce into his heart. The dead body would drop to the floor and Verd would pull Wyrm's Tooth from it's target. Slowly moving it aside in a quick motion to splat the blood off the blade and down to the ground. Haka's clone casually grabbed the lantern and stood in place. Verd understood the concept and formed her own water clone that would follow suit in Haka's plan.

As they reached the second guy, the same process would repeat and yet, after Haka sliced his legs, he would turn around facing Chi and Verd. Chi's attack would have to shock him and Verd would pull the trigger on her sword, turning Wyrm's Tooth into a saw blade, slicing it down over the man's chest as it would rip his skin open. Every shark tooth on her blade would dig 1/4 inch deeper into his skin until her blade would cause a wound so large that the poor fellow would instantly pass out from the shock and die from bleeding out with that large wound. Verdandi's clone grabbed the lantern and held it accordingly to Haka's plan.

When Haka removed the quietus spell, the dying body of the bandit before them gave away a nasty noise. Probably he was soiling himself one last time as dying bodies often do. Verd made a disgusted facial expression and yet the third lantern guard would see this as a reason good enough to come forth and walk towards their position. Verd knew she messed up a bit and should have gone with a more instant killing blow. Inhaling once deeply while her comrades would stare at her before she touched the ground. The man would turn into a living ice sculpture before he was able to alarm anyone. His squeals within the ice would yet prove to be heard soon. So Verd would slowly concentrate on the ice surrounding the trapped man and as her eyes would glow with cyan colors she would make a grip with her palm. The frost surrounding her target would instantly crush down on him. Killing him under the pressure and melting his skin with a sudden frostbite that would create an unholy frost within the ice prison. Certainly not the easiest way to die. But sometime one had to improvise.

Due to the fact, that the man died as a frost statue. The ice-covered palm of his still standing frozen corpse would neatly keep the lantern in his palm held up in the air. Verd would suggest anyone to not take a look inside the frost statue if they had just recently eaten something. But that wouldn't be necessary at this point. Three men down. Five to go. Some of them at the beach near the bridge workers. But how many were really workers or guards? Just two? Where would the others be hiding? Verd felt uneasy. Something wasn't right. But they would follow Haka. Moving slowly after the spider assassin. "We need to separate civilians from enemies…" she murmured. As they enclosed the beach. The two guards were facing away from the squad towards the slave workers. They were obviously expecting that the guards behind them safely had their back. Still sometimes turning to check for the light of the lanterns.

The squad would have to wait until the two guards would fully face the slaves again. Yelling at them. At some point one of them leashed out his whip and started to hit one of the workers. Drawing the attention of all including the other guard on them. A perfect distraction. Eventually it was now Chi's moment to shine. Verd gazed at him and basically asked if he could initiate the advance. If necessary. Verd would join along. Ready to slice down at whoever survived Chi's primary attack. Not afraid to deal the killing blows wherever necessary. Already having tasted blood today.


940 / 2570

Chakra, 140/200, Clone 20/20:

The Mark of the Spider pressed to his neck would cause a slight reaction from Chigetsu, but as soon as the chakra set he would stare at where it had been placed in fascination. He would twist his neck and head in impossible ways to look down at it, curious at the seal. It didn't seem to be anything dangerous. Even though Haka didn't properly explain it there wasn't any reason to be worried. He trusted her enough as his partner to assume that this was a helpful seal, perhaps foolishly. He would watch carefully as she formed hand signs. The technique that she produced would be noticeable after a few moments of thought. The intense silence, along with how she placed the seal to her throat, gave him enough context clues to figure out what was happening. A moment was taken to check if he could hear his own heartbeat, or his own breathing. He would cough to test it, only to hear absolutely nothing. Interesting.  

The four of them would prowl forward on the hunt towards their first victim. The two Hakas took the lead while Chigetsu and Verdandi kept slightly behind them. The sudden presence of the thickened mist made this rather textbook. This was often one of the first maneuvers that Kirigakure academy students were intoduced to. Bringing up a cover of thick mist and then assassinating targets silently. The Village Hidden in the Mist had a very particular way of doing things. That these guards hadn't noticed the sudden thickening of the mist must have said something about their inexperience with dealing with Kirigakure ninja. Moving through the mist like this would have usually be something he accomplished with echolocation, but with this silencing effect on that was completely unavailable to him. He could only follow behind Haka, blindly trusting her to guide him through it all.  

Their rush towards the first guard would be executed quickly. Haka would go straight for the legs and thinking swiftly her clone would assume control of the lantern. His earlier fears of the lanterns falling giving away their positions was apparently something Haka had planned for. It was a swift and clean attack, and already as her blade left his skin she would be moving on. Chigetsu could only watch the man's face twist as he was attacked. A guttural scream would well up in his chest and burst out into silence. There was nobody that could hear his pain. He fell to his knees, unable to stand or escape. Chigetsu had his kunai already drawn and prepared. There was the slightest moment of hesitation from him as the guard fell. Soon though he would surge forth. Always aim for the vitals. The neck in particular prevented targets from screaming as you took them out and resulted in a quick and efficient murder. That was the basis of Kirigakure's silent killing. Killing though. Even though he knew he should be driving his kunai into this man's throat Chigetsu wouldn't. Instead into his gut. The vitals. Right into his stomach, shoving as much of the steel into him as possible. Blood would spurt out from the initial wound, staining his wrists and fingers red.

Verdandi would follow up with her Katana. Her blade would slice carefully into the man, piecing between ribs and spine. She had run him through completely, piecing through the heart. It was very quickly becoming clear to him that both of these girls had much more experience with death than he did. While stabbing and slicing and maiming weren't anything new to him taking a life was still something he was a novice at. He would focus forward. The next attack he would make would have to be fatal. A stab and slice to the stomach wouldn't produce the quick death that Chigetsu knew was necessary. The second guard had to be taken care of now. The neck. The neck. This was where he focused. His body moved on its own. The tip of his kunai would be thrust forth into the man's throat, piercing in as deep as the blade would allow. Blood would spurt forth. It would cover Chigetsu, who had apparently sliced open a vein in this man's neck. He would be coated in red now, his entire body adopting the crimson coloring of blood. Verdandi would follow up, carving through the dying man's chest.

The silencing had been removed. His heart was beating in his ears, pounding so loudly now that he could notice it. He felt so sticky. Haka's shared perception would be focused on, but the implications were lost on him. Twelve people in total? That meant four for each of them, more or less. With the clones already created being able to drop the lanterns once real combat began the difference in numbers would be changed somewhat. Five against ten. With enough clones they could even out the issue of numbers. To fight in that style would be a massive waste though. Just trying to solve every problem with excessive amounts of clones wasn't a method of combat that suited shinobi.

The noise that came from what he assumed to have been a corpse shocked him somewhat. Chigetsu, still a novice in the art of death, wasn't aware that bodies defecated themselves after being killed. His face was a mixture of shock and disgust as the smell wafted near. The subsequent startling of the guard and death by ice was enough to make Chigetsu shiver though. He wouldn't wish such a terrible fate on anyone, although perhaps he was a bit biased when it came to cold. Not able to look for long, Chigetsu would follow along with his squad. There were some things it was best not to linger on.

The two guards stationed near the bridge workers would need to be taken care of next. It was an easier task than what the earlier ones had been. All lanterns were still in place, and these had the additional distracting element of the slaves. Chigetsu would nod in understanding to Verdandi's gaze. A short string of hand signs would be formed before he started his advance. Immediately as he ended his right hand would begin shifting in form. Eight octopus tentacles would branch out from where his hand had been, and through the mist they would extend out towards the two guards. The distraction was perfect for this. The one guard beating the slaves would have his focus entirely captured, and so his partner was focused on first. From behind the eight tentacles would pounce, wrapping around each limb with a startling speed. Before a sound could be made a tentacle would violently shove itself into his mouth, the water that made up its form sliding down his throat in a thick sticky mess. It would block out any screams. Using two to loop around his limbs and restrain him and one to silence him, the remaining five tentacles would then turn to the other guard. A similar display would happen, with one tentacle violently shoving itself into the guard's mouth, seeping goo through his teeth and up his nose. Once restrained they would be held tightly and carefully, and then Chigetsu would aim. He would stick out two fingers of his left hand. With the two restrained there wasn't any chance of him missing. Four water bullets would propel out from his fingertips, two into each of their throats.

---

[1263/3311]

Chakra 150/190 | Hydration 12/15:

Two guards had swiftly been dealt with before a third one unexpectedly stumbled upon them. Verdandi jumped to action, turning the third one into a frozen statue, the lantern he held solemnly dangling to a halt. Observing Verdandi's gruesome piece of art, the spider had to admit it was a surprisingly efficient way of dealing with the enemy and the lantern situation. Cocooned. In ice. Now all that remained was for Verdandi to turn into a frosty arachnid and enjoy her meal. Haka wondered if the ice queen was picking up traits of the Spider Clan much like she picked up humanity, but if it was the case she somewhat doubted the human would agree to the idea of her slowly turning into a monster as Haka.

Chigetsu on the other hand already was a monster in his own right. Not an animal, but really a monster. An odd creature with odd techniques. He came to prove this again as the team was faced with the dilemma of dealing with two sides at once. Splitting the team was not efficient despite that each one of them could probably take out a guard just fine. Chigetsu solved that problem by splitting the amount of his tentacles over the two guards and go about dealing with them in a rather questionable way. Haka was used to a lot having grown up in the Spider Clan but this made even her blink a couple of times in disbelieve. It helped muffling the sound and their struggle, that was for sure.

Two more guards out, there were still three about somewhere. Two lights in the distance, on the other side of the bridge revealed two of the remaining guards, leaving one to wonder where the last one was hanging out. The civilians were of little concern as the mission was the destruction of this bridge, not to create a graveyard for the masses. Should the need arise, they were easily dealt with through Ameya or a well-aimed fireball.

"Bridge is open for destruction."

The civilians would have to run. Once Haka would set the bridge on fire, it would be up to them to swim, climb and run to save their own lives. It would be their only task, and yet Haka was under the impression they would still fail at doing that. All together, the chaos that would come from setting the bridge ablaze would draw the attention of the remaining guards. Distract them. And give the Ahoban another opportunity to deal with them.

Haka glanced briefly at Chigetsu. He'd be fine where he was. With his range, he would have all he needed to pluck guard after guard and kill them. She had seen how he grew blades from his tendril-arms before. He could turn his arms into a squishy sort of an iron maiden. Just deadlier. And if they inched closer, he could pin them. She could web or slow them, seal them. They would stand no chance. Shifting her stare to Verdandi, the spider wondered what the princess would do. She was rather fond of humans, generally unhappy anytime Haka took out some weak-spine 'leader' or struck down those who opposed her. While the spider didn't doubt Verdandi's efficiency in dealing with the guards should they show up, she was interested in discovering how far Verdandi would go with her care for humans. Would she run in to save the civilians? There was only one way to figure it out.

Standing near the bridge already, Haka inhaled deeply as she formed the Tiger hand seal. Katon. Dragon Fire Jutsu. Exhaling the molded katon chakra, she spit a jet of fire and dispersed over the entire entrance of the bridge, setting the wooden construct ablaze in a matter of seconds. Shrouded by the mist, the fire would become a beacon of attention to the guards, and the herald of a successful destruction. Holding lanterns would be pointless now, so Haka dispersed her clone and prepared to take on her supportive role in the second phase of their plan.

---

684
Total: 2792

125/200:

Verdandi watched Chigetsu do his tentacle thing and she was indeed impressed by his handiwork. Given the basic perquisite of creating a suitable environment for him, his talents could probably exceed those of both, Spider Assassin and Ice Princess. Verd would note down this as a reminder to herself, to find future team strategies, creating situations that would compliment Chi could probably prove to be of crucial value to their strength as an effective and powerful team when working properly together. However, while Chi was showing his good side. Haka had to play the bad girl card again. The sudden burst of flames was well aimed at the crucial part of this end of the bridge. Most of the corner was already burning. She could have easily waited for the civilians to disperse and move far away from the target before dealing further damage to the structure. Her fire impact obviously would put many of the civilians in direct distress, harming them and obviously leaving them to burn if no one would come to help them.

Verd crunched her teeth together. But she knew better than to scold her mate. Instead she sighed and moved slowly towards the burning bridge. She would do what had to be done. The structure was still somewhat intact allowing Verd to form a single snowflake seal as an armor of blue, glassy hue would raise from the ground and cover her. The level or protection this chakra filled ice could give, was so high that the flames didn't even damage the armor anymore. Dandi could move freely through them, pick up any potentially burning civilians and toss them into the water near shore. Moving on along the bridge. Starting to fish out the few of them that were seemingly too stupid to swim. Picking them up by either limb close enough for Verd, to toss them in direction of the beach as well. By the time she arrived at around middle part of the bridge, the two guardian mercs they had spotted were already close to her. Verd saved the last remaining workers that pathetically swam around like baby seals near the burning bridge, by simply casting a wild water wave technique. Instead of exhaling the water herself she simply used the chakra expelled from her lips to control the already existing water enough as to cause an actual water wave that would shove those silly humans all towards the shore as well.

Her clone shortly dispersed as well, just alike Haka's and the lantern would splat along hers to the floor. The frost surrounding the icy statue would slowly melt and disperse as well, what would leak from within the frost statue to the ground was something gruesome that it was better no one really saw that.

It didn't matter if they had mild or severe burns on them. Once they would arrive at the shore, either by swimming there, being tossed there or forcefully wave-planted onto the shore, they would start running away. Luckily in various directions in case Haka actually decided to end their misery. Them being seemingly dealt with. Verd turned around. The mercs were standing on the bridge and basically waited and dared Verd to come at them. Instead Dandi just didn't. She would remain standing in the flames. Coated in her perfect armor of ice. If they wanted to attack her they would be free and welcome to try and walk into the flames like she did. There was no specific reason or motivation for Verdandi to do them the favour and step on grounds that didn't naturally hurt them.

Verd took a quick gaze upon her surroundings. She was still the middle of the bridge. The part in front of her was still in good shape but the fire started to spread forward. The part behind her was greatly damaged and the structure would probably break beneath her feet any minute. The main part on their end had been set ablaze by Haka anyhow. Verdandi decided to move into an action that would hopefully complete their task and get rid of the remaining mercs here.

As for the initiation of her attack, it would look like Verdandi did nothing but slowly take a deep breath. The mercs would throw kunai and shuriken in her direction, but as she stood there cold and emotionless like an ice berg, she could easily parry them with her frost-covered sword. She exhaled a sudden wave of wind from her lips and she would spin quickly in a circle, not without aiming the coming bladed wind to not only cut its way through both mercenaries but also through the bridge itself. The wind extended from 5 meters to 10 meters pretty quickly. Covering all targets, bridge included. The wind blade was further fuelled by the fire that Verdandi was standing in, causing the two mercenaries to not only be cut in two pieces each, but also being burned alive by the fire that extended along the wind explosion. The whole tech would probably look like a pretty large flame pillar from afar. While Verdandi was walking back. The part of the bridge that didn't explode within her fire blow was crumbling behind her. She had to actually jump from debris to debris to make her way back towards the shore.

Her squad members had to deal with their own problems. The final merc had disguised himself as a civilian. Using his chance of the overall mass confusion to charge towards Chigetsu. Completely unaware of Chi's body texture aside from his monstrous weird arms. He would slice his B ranked sword towards Chi's chest eventually cutting right through the fluid body of the Hozuki. Then stabbing his blade deeply into Chigetsu's stomach. Obviously feeling triumphant quite quickly as the blade would seem to penetrate the blobb man's body.

At the same time an actual civilian that was nearby the bridge as Haka's fireball hit. Was walking slowly up to the spider person. "You Monster!" he claimed. Probably having seen one of his co-workers die within the primary impact of the flames. Taking forth a knife from his belt. Quickly charging Haka in an attempt to slice said knife deep into her throat. His screams obviously filled with rage. His own skin showing minor first-degree tissue damage all over his arm and chest. Implying that this was also Haka's work of sorts.

By the time Verdandi would arrive back at the shore she would see what happened to both of her teammates. Chi facing the last mercenary and Haka forced to face the revengeful civilian, that her own destructive behaviour had created for her. The remaining debris of the bridge would fall into the water until basically nothing of it would remain visible to the naked eye, save for the still burning entrance.

Verdandi would remain coated in ice as she stepped out of the flames from said entrance. The ice somewhat melting by now but seemingly undisturbed by the temperatures of this degree. Probably more damaged by the fire explosion that she had created on her own rather than any burning the natural wild flames could cause. Wondering if their objectives had indeed been now all but fulfilled and if it was already time to go back home?


1230 / 3800

Chakra, 85/200:

"Bridge is open for destruction."

The words were sweet music to his ears. The signal that the mission was prepared to be completed. With the guards all taken care of there wouldn't be any resistance to them razing the entire place now. While in theory the razing part should have been something he was capable of, Chigetsu stood true to his watery roots. Katon was something he was capable of but absolutely refused to learn. It just wasn't his style. Haka though, the origin of those words, seems all ready to let loose though. He couldn't help but smile. She had done good in leading them for this assassination. Despite how quiet and eerie she could be, Haka was pretty reliable when it came down to it. She was a woman of few words, but how direct she was made her seem trustworthy.  

Trustworthy and reliable, he thought, and she spewed flames. Fire rained down and cascaded down over the entire construct of the bridge, setting the entire thing ablaze. Chigetsu couldn't help but smile. Mission complete. He was lucky Haka was here to assist in the burning part, as he doubted Verdandi would have been capable of such a feat of destruction. Her ice was terrifying, but it didn't have the same bridge-burning potential. The best that Chigetsu would have been able to do himself was tear away the support beams, and that would have taken forever.  

Verdandi, speaking of, happened to be approaching the bridge now. The reason why was lost to Chigetsu, until he remembered the others that had been here along with the guards. Civilians. Workers. Slaves. Whatever they were, it wasn't really a problem to him. Irrelevant to the mission, they weren't something he worried about now. The only reason they had been on his mind in the slightest was to separate from the guards as not being active foes, and for their handy distraction earlier. He would watch their fate. The mission he had been given was to burn the bridge, not save the workers who were building it, after all. That Verdandi, who was now inching herself forward onto the burning bridge, was deciding to help was definitely curious though. Perhaps he should have expected this sort of behavior from her by now. Feeling the slightest bit guilty, Chigetsu would only watch as she fished the workers up and threw them to the shore. After all was said and done he was beginning to think he should have done something, one way or the other.

"Indecisiveness. Weak-." "Shut up." He would snap almost immediately, grumbling in a whisper.

He had already been distracted watching Verdandi. That he suddenly starting grumbling and mumbling to himself under his breath, staring down angrily at the ground likely didn't help with his awareness. The disguise likely wasn't even necessary. The mercenary that had approached him was hidden beneath the appearance of a civilian, but it was doubtful Chigetsu would have noticed them anyway. Ironically, it would be the civilian that walked up to Haka that Chigetsu did notice. Pointed out in his peripheral vision by his taunting kunai, he would see the approach of the man to the girl through squinted eyes. The burnt skin. The flash of the knife. He would move, his left arm raising up. His two fingers were following the man, everything happening in slow motion. Two bullets remained in his fingers, ready to be fired.

His aim would be thrown off by the katana in his chest, arm being jerked upwards by the force. The water bullet would whizz up above the civilian's head, a few degrees too high as he charged Haka. The timing had been unlucky for Chigetsu. The sword would penetrate through his body easily though as the disguised soldier sliced him. The katana would penetrate through his heart, and then drug down in a diagonal cut through his chest. The blade sliced through flesh and bones, and the boy that was Chigetsu would be torn asunder. The cut went clean through his body, entering in through his left armpit and being drug down to his right hip in a clean motion. Red would spew out from his wounds, welling up from the torn skin and leaking out in an ugly mess. Blood. Blood everywhere. Everything was red. It leaked down Chigetsu's lower half, his torn shirt falling away and letting the blood drool down his stomach. Chigetsu's upper torso would slide downwards on the diagonal cut, greased by the leaking bloody, and gravity would pull it away from his body and have it fall to the ground. His lower half would remain standing, blood welling up and now spurting out like a fountain. For a moment it would stay like this, and the mercenary would be allowed to revel in his victory.

The end. Chigetsu died.

With the fountain of blood from his torn lower half, up too would come intestines. Snakey tentacles of flesh and blood, a mess of bowels would rise as if they were being possessed. The ropey flesh would stream out, rising a meowner'swards from their owners exposed guts, and spew down on the mercenary in vengeance. His exaltation turned into shock, and then fear. This man had never witnessed such a grotesque sight. The intestines swarmed down around in, seizing on this shock, and bundled him in their filthy internal flesh. Immediately the man would be covered in the blood of the young boy he had killed, and the leaking grime from what had likely been his digested lunch. He would scream. Scream and struggle. Had he been more prepared the katana he had been wielding would have been able to free him, but his hands had been the first things to be bound. The slime and grime would drip down, sliding into his palms, and slick the weapon from his grasp and to the ground.

From behind would come tentacles. The upper torso of Chigetsu, which was now face down in the ground, still maintained a right limb of squirming octopus. It would snake around, and from the opposite side as the intestines would bind the man. A tentacle would flow into his mouth, the watery form flooding up his nose and down his throat. He would be silenced, and likely drowning as the tentacle forced itself down into him. It bulged in his throat, twitching and squirming like an eel had been shoved straight down into his stomach. Their owner, Chigetsu, would be looking up at the man. Bleeding profusely, stabbed through the heart, cut in half, Chigetsu would stare up at the man.  

It wasn't just the water of Chigetsu's tentacle that had been forced down the man's throat. His ability to liquefy weaponry came in handy here, and five senbon were compressed into water and taken down with him. These would be his gift to the man. He would leave them inside the man's throat, and as they turned solid it would be very obvious where. The length of the needles was too long to contain in the man's throat. They popped out, their sharpened points easily penetrating through the inner flesh and sticking halfway out of the man's neck.  

Going any further would have been overkill. The tentacle was pulled out, and the man was allowed to clutch at the needles protruding from his throat as he died. Chigetsu's upper body on the ground would collapse into a puddle. His lower half would puke up goo, which would quickly reform his upper torso. The blood would be sucked back up off the ground, reabsorbing into his form. Despite being cut in half he wouldn't be much worse for wear, other than his destroyed shirt. It seemed he had been unable to liquefy that in time and as a result it had actually been sliced in half. He would rip off the remainder with a sigh, being forced into being bare-chested.  

Done with his little distraction, Chigetsu would turn back to his squad with a pale face. Worry would consume him as he turned back to Haka, dread consuming him. Having failed to get that shot off could have meant she would be injured. Although he knew inside she likely wouldn't have any problems, it still represented a failure on Chigetsu's part.

---

[1357/4668]

Chakra 130/190 | 10/15 Hydration:

Fire, or crashing debris. It would take a while before the bridge would get to that point but the threat was growing with every passing second. As expected, Verdandi couldn't leave the humans for what they were. Rather than to remain focused on the mission, her humane morale forced her to take actions in favour of the civilians that would soon find themselves in peril. She inched to the side, trying whatever laid in her might to fish out the people. Jutsu, physique. Just anything to save every last one of the human cattle. Haka simply could not understand her need to protect the weak, but considering the mission had come close to an end there was no need for her to ask Verdandi to focus.

Two guards had spotted the raging destruction on the bridge and were running up to Verdandi. Their presence would draw her attention away from the weak side, forcing her to force the real threat in the situation. Fortunately for Verdandi, she was perfect where she was. In the middle of the flames, having donned an icy armour, she would simply watch how the flames consumed everything around her. Haka, who would have helped out at the sight of the mercenaries, withheld that thought. Seeing the flames do her nothing was an interesting piece of information, much like observing how she would deal with them would be valuable.

The mercenaries were kept at bay by the fires as they had no direct means to deal with it, attempting a poor attack by throwing kunai. They were swiftly parried, and Verdandi blew out air in response. Fuuton. That made Verdandi have three elements now, making Haka wonder how many more the ice queen had and how many more elements she could claim for herself. More so, after the Fuuton breath cut through the area like a blade, it also fuelled the flames, hastening the process of the burning bridge while setting the guards aflame. In a matter of seconds, the mission's end would be sealed.

All that time, Chigetsu had been standing still, seemingly dealing with his own troubles as he mumbled in between his teeth. Haka would briefly glance at her apathetic partner as she guessed him to be talking to her at first, but with his eyes fixated on the hungering flames it pretty much looked like he was talking to himself or commenting on the beauty of it. Eventually, the bridge was falling down. Pieces of coal crumbled, still burning parts broke off within the inferno. Verdandi had to jump from piece to piece, and the two remaining members of Ahoban squad's attention was being pulled away as unexpected threats crawled towards them.

"You monster!"

Haka would see a civilian stumble towards her with drawn dagger, ready to attack her. He was untrained. Slow. By far not in any position to hurt her, but the spider found his vehemence fuelled by rage an aspect worth respecting. Of all the people that had fled for their lives, this man was showing spirit and spine despite his foolish approach. She would not kill him, but he would be taught a lesson nonetheless. As he came to charge him a pair of bullets narrowly missed the man, yet startled him sufficiently to fail his charge. Not giving up on his rage, he would continue with one goal in mind. Parrying his attack with a strike of her own, her hand would smash painfully against the wrist that held the dagger, the pain sufficient for him to drop the knife. She would then follow up her strike in exactly the same way as Sero had done with her - a strike at the chest, more intended to push him back than to actually harm him. Her strength at this point was sufficient enough to push him back a little less than two meters and make him tumble over his own imbalanced stance. Notbad, but still a shadow from what she had felt at the hand of her Creator.

"Leave."

A single word, backed by her flaring monstrous aura and the increase in feral instinct visible in her eyes was all it took for him to ultimately scamper away in fear. As he did so, Haka brushed her hair out of her face and turned her head to see a bundle of tentacles and intestines sprouting out two Half-getsus to envelop a now terrified last guard. Truly. As if the first tentacle terror wasn't enough, Chigetsu would already surpassing himself with a new technique that was double as horrible. As if that wasn't enough, sharp needles suddenly pierced the man's throat from the inside out, leaving him to die a merciless death as Chigetsu pulled back his horracles and reformed himself, now lacking a shirt. For some reason, the waterboy would look at her with pallid face. Haka answered his worried expression with an apathetic gaze, not quite understanding why he was worried to begin with. Her eyes would then trail downwards on his bare chest with the beginnings of a smile and slowly she would raise her hand to point at his navel.

"Chigetsu needs a new shirt."

Leaving her opinion at that, the spider-nin watched the last of the bridge crumble down and sink into the river as the three of them were now reunited. As if it would be her last sun set. Though the flaming inferno would douse upon contact with the water, the steam that rose up from their brief yet intense encounter between the two elements would so possibly add more shroud to the mists of Kirigakure no Jutsu.

With this, their mission had finally come to an end.

---

[EXIT]

954
Total: 3746
-2500 mission [500 ryo]
- 1200 extra pay [+300 ryo]

120/200:

Seeing Chi's interesting way of dealing with the last merc was indeed a sight to behold. Verd had yet to experience properly as to what powers his ability was limited towards. She would gasp in awe of the gruesome bloody display. For a second there she could be even fooled herself. The needles he put in that poor mans throat already seemed a bit overkill but no one was to say that Verd alone had the rights to experiment with her techniques in situations where they were applicable. Such were basically both, the ice grave and the wind cutter blade something she had trained just recently but not really put to good use yet.

It would be a surprise to see Haka allowing the civilian to live. Since he dared to be offensive, even if it was a justified cause within, Verd would not have tried to save him at this point. But Haka allowed him to move on. Her values were indeed something Dandi still needed experience with to get used to it all. As he left, Verd would glance around, only one civilian seemed to have really fallen within this battle. But a myriad of them had been rewarded with a life-time keepsake in form of a burn wound. Verd would see that as appropriate punishment. A reminder for those who dared to oppose the wrong nation.

Content with the mission's outcome. Verd would lower her armor and move towards her squaddies. Chuckling at Chigetsu's display of boob'ness, giving him a playful wink. Knowing the boy would probably end up blushing again. Whistling a few times loudly would attract Verd's messenger raven. She was getting used to this one but didn't know about a name for him yet. Placing the 'mission accomplished' info into the scroll holder, adding a few numbers about casualties and 'bodies for pickup'. The clean-up team had different interest upon defeated opponents depending on their level. Mercs like this weren't much of interest. Sometimes the clean-up team would appear days later when the corpses were probably already rotting away.

Verd knew that in high end missions, where powerful enemies were defeated. The clean up or even the ANBU themselves would come to take a look if the body of the enemy had some juicy secrets or useful chakra insights. Best if they had a bloodline to study. Eyes to extract and alike. Sometimes during war, it was also important to study the standard gear of the enemy in order to equip the own soldiers with the most effective counter gear. Verd would probably, someday, be part of an ANBU squad herself. Eventually her friends Haku and Chi would have the same interest. Insights to this kind of clean up would probably come by the time she'd join these ranks.

As they packed their things, the raven was sent off to headquarters, Verd jumped forth, leading on the path towards Kiri. A good successful mission had to be rewarded. Food and drinks would await them at the Siren's Den. A place probably neither of the three would know if it weren't for their illusive sensei. Having a major discount was certainly a favour. Verd didn't mind to watch pretty girls dance either. She wasn't sure if she could persuade Haka for one of those plum wines she kept talking about. Dandi would certainly get one of them.

Teasing Chi, Verd would imply that he should keep his shirt off when going to the Sirens, pretty sure his bare-chested approach would net him some attention form the dancers and maybe some free drinks. Verd chuckled. Despite all the trouble they had gone through today it was yet still a completely normal mission. The work they did as shinobi started to become more and more casual. The dangers involved in their job would come more and more under control. The teamwork was rising slightly step by step. They still had to figure out a lot about each other. But seemingly as intensely different as their characters were. Mutual respect would keep them together and the stronger they would become the more they would be able to compliment each other in battle.

Verd was hoping that this would last. For a very long time.

[EXIT]


720 / 4520

WC Usage:

His white face quickly turned red. Terror and shock at being unable to protect his ally turned fast into embarrassment. The remnants of his shirt would be clutched at. As easy as it was to liquefy his clothing to prevent it from taking damage liquefying himself reflexively was a different story. He could only liquefy his body when it was done like that, and so damage he didn't know was coming would wreck his clothing, as it just did. He hadn't expected it to be a problem, but the reactions he got made him incredibly self-aware now. The wink from Verdandi and strange reaction he got from Haka. He would cover his chest, before then realizing he had nothing to cover. He was a man, why was he covering his chest? He would rub at his cheeks. This situation was so silly, and almost bizarre considering what it followed.  

He looked back. The man he had just dealt with was finally dead, suffocated on his own blood. The sight made him wince. In the moment he hadn't needed to think about it. The violence was all done instinctively. It was weird to think that his body was moving on its own to do that so naturally, especially just moments after he had had his first kill. The terrible wounds from the neck made him feel sick. Still, he would go to retrieve the senbon that he had left there. It would all be done while looking away. So close, Chigetsu would be afraid of losing his lunch if he looked down at the gore. The blood that covered them would be wiped away.

The situation with his shirt became a lot worse as he realized that he had to walk all the way back to Kirigakure shirtless with his squad. He should have looted one off the bodies, although maybe that was a bit disrespectful of the dead. Any hesitation he would have had with taking a shirt from the bodies went out the window as Verdandi mentioned the Siren's Den. It was a place he was barely comfortable going to normally, but without a shirt? The mere thought of it set his cheeks on fire. He would return to covering his chest now, regardless of whether or not it made sense. The teasing he got from Verdandi was something he still wasn't quite used to, and any progress he might have made on enduring it in the past melted away in this situation. It was weird. He wouldn't have been self-conscious at all about being bare chested if he hadn't been teased about it. Expecting that he wouldn't be able to stop by his apartment to snatch a fresh shirt, or more accurately that he wouldn't be allowed to do such a thing, he would resign himself to his embarrassment.  

Even with his red cheeks he would smile. Against all odds everything had went well. The mission had been completed. None of them were injured. There was sure to be a solid payday coming their way after this, and now they were celebrating their victory. It felt so pleasant and simple now, even with how complicated it all had been. Getting this far felt worth it, even if just for moments like these.

---

[EXIT]
[555/5223]

[5223]
Mission: - 2500
Extra Pay: - 2000