Moles Above Ground:

Maikeru walked through the blazing dessert, once again being met with the Sun’s dominance over Wind Country’s landscape. He was arriving from an important mission for one of the independent factions, aiding in another raid on a bandit group. This experience had began to become heavy on him. Maikeru had hours before he would began his assignment. He needed to do something. He needed to train. Training had been his saving grace in these events that had transpired. They had been his place of peace. A he would do so go to that one tent, filled with equipment, and train. Train his heart out. As a result he had begun to grow bulkier, as lifting weights was his Forte. He sat up under the bench. He stole a breathe from the air and returned it. He grabbed the bar, getting a good grip. But then he didn't move. He just held his hands on the bar. His mind went to all the killing and espionage he had to do. He closed his eyes. “This is the life I chose.” He shot them open, sternness taking over his face. “I will persevere.” He began to move the bar of heavy weights up and down, repeatedly. He moved them faster and faster, and increased his breathing. Maikeru moved it more and more. He had been going on for at least ten minutes, moving that same weight and just thinking. He hadn't realized that his muscles were screaming at him to cease. Until he finally gave in. He stood up with the bar over his head. And then he threw it. He gritted his teeth and roared. Then he threw the heavy weight across the room. He dropped to his knees and panted. His arms felt numb yet he could feel the pulsating. His breath was heavy. Maikeru got to his feet, and left the tent. He noticed he was being stared at when he left. Of course he had made more noise than he intended. Something he will be careful of in the future.

Maikeru leaned up against the sturdily built tent. And yawned. It was time to get back to work. He reached in his pocket and pulled out something he never thought he would until a month: a cigarette. He put the stick in between his lips, and created a tiny spark with his thumb, using explosion release, heating it up, and sparking its light and smoke. Maikeru took a puff. When this stuff with Suna blows over, I'll quit. Maikeru sighed, allowing the fire to invade his lungs. A man. Then being approached by a wirey looking man, he immediately took it out of his mouth, and stepped on it, putting it out.  “Alright, your mission is to take this stone masons’ uniform and make your way into one of Kumogakure’s forward provinces you’ll be able to use our tunnels to keep out of sight as well as the fact they’re in the middle of combat so you should go unnoticed. We want you to identify and steal their officer’s orders and get out. Erase anyone in your way. And don't worry. You'll be getting some help along the way.”

“Do I really need it?” The man simply tossed Maikeru the scroll, who dexterously caught it. Surprising seeing how he wasn't usually dexterous. “Not my problem.” He walked away nonchalant. Asshole. Maikeru continued to the entrance of the camp, where he would wait for his partner. He reached in his pocket and took out another cigarette.

603 WC

Suna was no beach festival. That much was certain. She had hoped to be freed of duty after that little job with N'Jobu but Administration was of a different mind. Did a good job, they said. We got more for you, they said. She didn't remember wanting more missions in this Land of Drought. The wind and sun were one thing, but that thirst... How could one even live in here? And yet here she was still, resting in her tent, hands in her neck. About to doze off and dream about a beautiful schooner. Until some spoil sport obnoxiously stood next to her bed, serious frown on his face, eyes fixated on her like he had called her three times already.

"Alexa!"
"Yer?"
"I've been calling you three times."
"Really?"
"You have a mission."
"No wonder I dinnae hear ye."

Huh. So he did call her three times. Who would have thought. The parrot perched on her bed was very interested in cleaning his own feathers, already learned that swearing at these higher rank shinobi generally costed him a couple of feathers. The salty bird didn't seem to be interested in losing even more now.

"Fine~. What ye wan' o' me anyway?"
"Wear this, meet up with a few others and go steal some papers from Kumogakure."
"Ain't wearin' no stinkin' used frock."

Perhaps it was just her imagination but the air seemed to cool down. Like... thunder clouds coming up and pressure going down. Sparks of lighting would run across the body of the shinobi standing at her bed, making Alexa narrow her eyes suspiciously for just a second before she felt electricity run through her body. Enough to jolt her awake, not enough to wound her. A numbing sensation would spread through her body as she puffed up her cheeks with the beginning of a tear forming in her eyes.

"Alright, ye thunder-spittin' tyrant. I'm goin' already."
"Seriously... Why are you such a handful?"
"'cause I'm the best, o' course. Ain't going to find another rebel like me doin' the dirty jobs"
"You're full of it."
"Only thing I'm supposed to be full of is rum, and that ain't happenin' much in Sunagakure."

She'd hop out of bed and snatch the report and clothes of the shinobi's hands, the tingle of raiton still numbing the most sensitive areas of her body. Once the messenger had shaken his head and flickered away, she'd get dressed, wear her long coat and hat on top of the stone mason's outfit and run through the contents of the mission. Seeing as how they'd need tunnels to get to their destination, she already sighed at the prospect of such a typical 'land lubber duty', though the idea of wading through a battle field like there was not the slightest of thing to worry about was right up her alley. Chaos was a language she understood just fine.

Well, no point in disappointing the Powers that Be, lest she ended up with another half-a-day of kata training for no other reason than indulging the anger-fuelled disappointment in their unorthodox Hyuga daughter. So Alexa made her way to the rendez-vous point, hoping the folks there were more interesting than these slave-drivers at base camp...

---

562

Maikeru looked up and down at the boy who had approached him. He took a puff of the cigarette between his lips, raising an eyebrow. To Maikeru, he sure didn’t look like much. After asking his question, Maikeru responded. “Considering you are wearing that Stonemason outfit, you must be. I am going to assume that you got the briefing. And by the way, it's nice to meet you. I’m Maikeru.”

Maikeru took another puff at the cigarette. He was supposed to be waiting for someone else, as the scroll said. He yawned a bit, out of sheer boredom of doing nothing but waiting. Until he saw a girl approach them as well. Ryo didn’t look like much, but she looked less than much. He rubbed his temples, and sighed, letting the stick drop out of his mouth, allowing him to step on it, putting it out. “Anyway, we should be on our way. Let’s go. No time to waste.”

Maikeru walked towards the direction of where one of the Kumo Bordercamps resided. He stopped his two companions. “Wait here a second. There’s going to be a battle starting soon. I got word of a bandit raid on this camp. Shouldn’t be long.” Maikeru sat in the sand, and took out a book to pass the time. Specifically a Murder Mystery to charge his brain, while allowing the other two to converse if they so choose. All Maikeru wanted to do was get this over quickly and get the hell out. He tore his gaze from the book to check on the status of the camp. He couldn’t help but feel a bit envious. Kumo’s Camp was practically a small town with small buildings other than small tents to be in. After that thought he heard something. He looked to the east to find that the bandits had finally arrived. He closed his book and stood to his feet. “Any second now. It was a stronger band of bandits. Stronger than most anyway. They had successfully breached the Kumo defensive with relative ease. The walls that had protected. “Alright kiddies. Time to go to work.” He led the two to scurry through the breached walls, immersing himself in the confusion. He looked back at Alexa and Ryo. “Stay together. If you get swept up in the chaos you might just die.” Moving through the battlefield it was absolute chaos. The bandits had fought with much savagery and rage. Maikeru avoided any and all confrontations with everyone other than his two partners.

429/1032 WC

So here she was wearing the 'stinking frock' of the stonemasons under her leather coat. Blonde hair bound together into a braided ponytail would hang down from under the tricorne. Bottle of rum at her lips, she'd take a swig, mood fouled by the weather and the duties. She'd eventually arrive at the meeting point, watching two other guys standing there. A commoner and a hulk. The contrast was all too real. She'd raise her hand in greeting, and share her name with the two of them, forced to raise her lookers up just to be able to talk to him. Assuming the hulk to be their lead, he'd not make his name known and instead grunted with unknown reasons for disappointment that they should get going as there was no time to waste. Oh well.

Another good walk later he'd stop them, stating there would be a bandit raid. Nice. Alexa wouldn't mind a bandit raid. She had always wanted to join a raid or a sea battle. A pity he wanted them to stop, for the sailor would gladly have joined the mayhem to dish out a few punches and throw the whole area upside down. Nothing more like having some random chaos as fun. The team lead decided otherwise, preferring to pick up a boring book and have his eyes glide through its content. Really? A book? Alexa would sigh, instead taking another swig of the rum bottle as she waited impatiently to get into action. There was stuff to do, and they were just standing still. Maddening!

Then the bandits ran in under loud cheering. Crashed the defences like it was made of mashed paper. All hell broke loose. Alexa would smile as it that sort of chaos was like music to her ears and would also mean they'd finally get into action. They'd run through the breach that had been formed, skimming the sides of the chaos that was ongoing. Alexa was inclined to use a technique to protect herself but since this was an infiltration she decided against it. Better to run around like a commoner and get wounded to maintain disguises as there was no saying what they would do if they'd catch a glimpse of her protective aura.

"Whereto, doc?", she'd ask Maikeru since he seemed to be rather well aware of what was coming. It didn't take a genius to figure out he either had been properly informed or had some contacts outside Administration, but the half-drunken teenager preferred to keep such deductions to herself. She loved it when people underestimated her as a shinobi and were left in the dark as to what she truly knew and didn't know. And being a rebel without a cause only helped her in keeping all of that together, even if it meant getting into trouble with superiors most of the time.

---

491
Total: 1053

OOC: Two weeks passed. Skipping ryo to get this mission going

Maikeru would grab both of their hands, as the fighting had started to get intense. He needed to hurry and find the documents as quickly as possible as the brutal fighting ensued. He watched someone get impaled by a large javelin, and thrown into a wall. He looked onward, to find the administrator's office. As he ran, he felt something hard pound against his face. His head jerked back, and then the rest of his body. He fell to the ground, and looked up to see who the assailant was. Rubbing his cheek he looked up to see it was a man who was not as large as he was, but obviously had strength to call his own.

Maikumaru got up and looked at the other two. “Go on ahead. I’ll handle this.” He raised his fists. He was tall and burly. He didn’t take up any noticable fighting stance, so Maikeru only guessed that he was a master at no refined fighting style, and only knew the art of having raw power. He raised his large fists at Maikeru. He was slow, and there was an obvious opening. But the Iwa Ninja was curious to what he could exactly do. He liked sizing people up in a fight before actually engaging. It made the actual defeat of his foes easier than they would have been, and it felt good too. Maikeru rolled out of the way as the man’s fist hit the sandy ground, shaking the earth. Just as he suspected. All power and no finisse. But still, his power was impressive nonetheless. He cracked his neck and continued to hold up his fist. Maikeru hadn’t spat insults in fights since coming to Suna. It felt like a good time to do that. “All brawn and no brain. Is this all you have? Do you use your big muscles to compensate for the spec of dust in your head you call a brain?”

“Hey! What did you just say to me?!”

“Didn’t know you couldn’t hear either. You are a real mess.” The man, clearly enraged. Maikeru had all he needed. The man obviously didn’t really do ninjutsu, he didn’t have any weapons on him, and he knew taijutsu, but it was atrocious. The large man threw a slow and heavy attack, one that was easily dodged by Maik. The Iwa Nin gave a hard punch to the man’s face, and another to his gut, a one two combo. “Your roided up muscles seem to be holding you down big guy.”

“I’ll kill you!!”

“Well not with THAT attitude you will.”

He threw more heavy and slow punches, a left and a write, and Maikeru was able to dodge each one of them. He had begun to get bored. He was only buying time for Alexa and Ryo to go and find the documents. He took out a kunai while weaving the hits, and at one final dodge, Maikeru went in for the kill, and slashed the weapon at the man’s throat, blood spilling out like a fountain. His job was done. It was now up to Alexa and Ryo.

Reaction Time C-C~1 575WC
Speed C-C~1 575WC
[EXIT]

553/1585

435 remaining

Getting dragged like a little kid was an annoying experience but no matter how disgruntled the chick was, the chuunin wouldn't let her go. She could run around just fine! But her frustration wouldn't last long as the sound of battle and the vision of strife appeared closer and closer. Alexa's would gain a shine. Illuminated by the prospect she too would be able to join into the fray and beat up some people like it was just another tavern brawl, the eagerness to join the fight was clearly visible on the girl's face. A fist to the face of the chuunin would attract her attention to a closer proximity, seeing a burly ape of a man stand before them. Barring the way. He had nice muscles but his face really looked like he was missing a couple of brain cell, the stupidity on his face readable even by the blind. Alexa set her hands on her thighs, seizing him up like she didn't even care that he could be harder, stronger and faster than her. If anything, the privateer wasn't quite known for her cautiousness, life at sea being a constant danger.

“Go on ahead. I’ll handle this.”

Alexa's vein on her head twitched at the idea that her little fun would be taken away by the unknown guy nearby but the smirk on the ape's face pretty much told her even their opponent was looking forward to a mano a mano rather than to fight with a girl a head shorter than him. Rolling her eyes at the two, the kunoichi guessed there was nothing else to do than to move on to finish this mission. She left the other guy for what it was and stepped inside the Administration building. The dust of the battlefield blew in, the shadows lurked ominously. And she had no rum to add in some fun for herself. Quieter than one would credit a pirate, Alexa moved through the shadows with a sway far too alluring for a girl her age, the shinobi nature of her training mingled with the distraction of feminine grace. The entrance quickly made way for the large income hall that formed that administration. A large desk greeted her, no longer accompanied by whoever was supposed to hand over the missions, left on its own. A solemn symbol of administrative regality. The walls were sober with the sandy colour, the cork prick boards still revealing a good selection of requests despite the abandoned state.

Ignoring the boards, Alexa slipped behind the desk, throwing a good look at eventual remainders of scrolls but found nothing at first glance. Whoever had been here either had taken the scrolls with them, or never had them to begin with. Finding nothing of interest, she would continue her search. Stairs led up, a large window right before the flight of stairs allowing a peek onto the still raging battlefield. Alexa would move up, feet quietly resting upon the stone stairs with every new step. Circling within the building, she'd eventually reach the second floor only to be greeted by a flurry of shuriken. The weapons biting into the walls with a dull 'thunk', the distance really been too close to be comfortable with, Alexa would grab her own shuriken before running into the room. More shuriken would be thrown around, countered by her own tools, and before they realised it, the rogue was confronted by a boy about her age. Without a word, he'd proceed to close the gap between them and start with a flurry of blows that easily found its target. Alexa would find herself slammed against the wall by his skill before he came to realise he was fighting a girl.

"What's a girl doing here?"

Dusting off her tricorne and tucking her long blonde hair under it, Alexa would ignore his question and instead shoot daggers with her eyes. He was quite skilled but if he was about to get cocky like that, she'd show him what 'girl power' meant. Adjusting her Konoha headband and taking on the Drunken Fist opening stance, she'd sway about as she gave her own reply.

"Ain't 'ere to flirt with ye, that's fo' sure."
"Drunken Fist? Please. You probably never got drunk to begin with."
"Can drink ye under any day, ratface."
"Tsh, whatever."

He'd charge in again, finding it slighter harder this time to deal with the kunoichi that was better prepared this time. However, his skill in hand to hand still outmatched hers, driving her into a corner despite the unpredictability of her moves. Too slow, he could anticipate moves that should have been unexpected. To add insult to injury, his strikes would leave cuts across her clothes and even start biting into her flesh as fuuton lacerated her with every new strike of his fists. It didn't take too long before blood welled up and showed her the wounds she was suffering.

"You're no match. Is this all what Konoha has to offer?"
"We playin' games? Oh, jus' be a man and start doin' somethin', hm?"

Seemingly triggered enough to no longer play it nice, the wind would seemingly pick up as he channelled fuuton around him. Forming her own hand seals, his jutsu would clash with the flicker of her aura of determination. With his jutsu spent, she'd go in for the counter, smoothly switching into Gentle Fist and landing in a couple of blows in turn. He'd jump back to take his distance and scoff at her 'lack of strength' that came paired by her technique. As he shifted back into his opening stance, Alexa would suddenly vanish from sight only to reappear right next to him, sweep his legs from under him and kick him back up with her own Wind Demon Whirlwind Kick. He'd slam against the ceiling uncomfortably before she jumped up after him and followed up with her Avenging Seagulls. The combo of her techniques, backed with the precise strikes of her Gentle Fist were not that much of a comfortable experience to endure, the boy eventually crashing down into the ground uncomfortably with a painful moan. Above him, feet stuck to the ceiling, Alexa jumped down and as she came down fast, flipped mid-air to ram both of her feet straight on his stomach. Forcing the air out of his lungs, he'd grab his stomach in pain as it temporarily overwhelmed the pains of the several major bruising he suffered across his body. Alexa grinned as he crawled about in pain, but the rogue was nothing if not thorough. Making guns from her fingers, she'd point both of them at his head and unload a couple of chakra blasts straight into his face, knocking him out cold as the overload of pain got the better of him.

"Well, you dinnae last long...", she'd say in disappointment as he laid there unconscious. "Oh well. Can't expect more from a lan' lubber. All talk, no performance."

Leaving the guy to his dark dreams, Alexa found a table shoved to the side at the end of the room, battle plans clumsily scattered about. Carelessly forgotten. Shrugging her shoulders, she studied them for a moment, realised those were the documents they had been looking for and rolled them up. Pocketing them in the many pockets of her leather long coat, she moved back downstairs and out of the building. The path cleared as the bulky man laid in his own pool of blood. A mere 'woops' was all Alexa said, hurrying along the exit to finish her part.

---

[EXIT]

1288
Total: 2341
-2000 Byakugan, D-rank.