Mission name: His Teachings.
Mission rank: C-rank.
Objective: Escort the priests.
Location: Border-camps.
Reward: 300 ryo + 2EP
Mission Description: “The way of Hastur’s Divine Mandate must be spread, for the good of the world, into the Great Nations. Glory be to Kumogakure.”
Mission Details: A group of three Kumogakure priests will meet up with refugees en route to another nation and join the pilgrimage. While taking the priests from the Kumo border camp to the desired other camp, their course will be assaulted by independent forces consisting of two C-ranked shinobi (one with Wind and Fire, one with Water and Fire, both with all applicable library techniques) and five D-ranked non-ninja NPCs who each possess various C-rank weapons. It is vital that the holy men are unharmed and they will be the main targets of enemy forces throughout any fighting.

Myrddin would stand at attention as the the three priestesses entered the tent, they were more than shinobi they were above them. These three held more power within the land of lightning than any other person, save for the Raikage himself. They were chosen by the divine as the speakers of truths, and the light within the darkness of the world. They had but one goal to spread the word of Hastur to every nation, and now they came under his and his Anbu squads protection. His task was a simple one, escort these three to a refugee camp where they can blend in and travel with the refugees to the other nations so that they may spread the word of Hastur and the might of the village hidden in the clouds. Myrddin looked at the three men that would be his squad in the guiding and protecting of these priestesses, he did not know any of them nor had he worked with any of them before. The boy's one hope was that this sounder would be better fitted than the last one he had been strapped with if things went south. In the short amount of time he had been among the shinobi of the hidden cloud village the boy had made a name for himself as a competent shinobi and he looked down upon those he view incompetent, which in the boy's case was almost everyone that he worked with. This lead many to avoid working with him, even now that he was an Anbu many did not wish to work with him causing more often than not for the boy to work alone on missions. However this mission was different, orders were given by the Raikage himself, and no one would dare oppose his direct order. Myrddin had been put in charge of the squad and so it fell to him to ensure that these priestesses make it to their destination unharmed.

---

327

Faith. Mizuki had never put much thought in it until Hastur had appeared to claim the title of Thunder God. Even then, she had discarded that as the antics of a man driven by hubris and a need to make a name for himself in the Sagaverse. It was with some surprise and scepticism she was now moving towards the gathering point where she'd serve as a guard for the three priests of Hastur. Her father was a spiritual man. Not a faithful one. And to some extend, though she didn't admit this easily, Mizuki was just as spiritual as well as she followed in the small sentences of wisdom her father had always imposed upon her. The truth about those words ran deep, much like they sprang forth from a lineage way before Mizuki. When she had asked about his philosophies, her father always referred to the ronin samurai that was his father, hinting vaguely at the samurai lineage that had deluded somewhere along the road of life and mingled with their branch of the Raiu clan. Despite still bearing traces of samurai lineage in the way she was brought up, Mizuki was however a shinobi. What samurai would have considered a respectable approach to unknown forces was for Mizuki just a tradition held up in respect for her father, the essence of 'faith' simply being kindness and respect for Life itself.

Upon arriving at the meeting point, a collective of people were already present. A group of ANBU, a selection of priestesses. Mizuki would bow briefly in greeting, the three priestesses looking down in return. A cold tension rose between the women of faith and the herald of Hastur as a sense of disdain and jealousy welled up within the women. Yes, despite them being selected to gospel his word, the name of the man leading them had been made known by Mizuki. While Mizuki's selection had happened based on her desire to bring diplomacy and peace, that of the three priestesses was based on wishing to receive his personal, undivided attention. To be chosen and considered a 'precious jewel'. Like he had once called Mizuki before she had left to do his biding. Ever since, the man had only eyes for the socket upon which those beneath him placed him, revered him and granted him even more reasons from which he could call himself a 'god'.

Faith. Mizuki found it a peculiar thing. Once Man himself considered itself a god, had he not become less than what he used to be? For the name of a legend would live forever without worship, but the name of a god would die as soon as his followers perished. How ironic that the man considering himself the strongest needed others the most of all to sustain his illusions of grandeur. And for such reasons exactly Mizuki preferred to walk with commoners, giving a hand in working the land, calling upon the blacksmiths of her own home to forge her blades. Because the simple man toiling in the earth was the one who shaped it every day.

"Ready when you are."

A mission of this low a rank seemed to be overly crowded with high ranked shinobi if you asked Mizuki. Perhaps the Raikage was doting over his Voices a little too much...?

---

564

The priestesses had just finished their pre journey prayer, when the raven haired woman walked into the tent. Raphael had no idea that Mizuki was to accompany them on the mission as well, though the boy would not say anything to the her. She did not know him as he was now, she only knew the boy beneath the mask. Raphael was not about to reveal his identity to the woman as that would of broke the most sacred code of the Anbu, to keep one's identity a secret from the rest of the world even those among his Anbu brothers. The men and women that the young blonde had worked with were all the same in his eye's, faceless with the exception of their mask. It was possible that he had worked with the same people both as an Anbu and as a civilian, yet the boy would never know it to be so as the boy never knew the faces beneath the other masks.

The tension of the room was so thick that the boy could have cut the air with his Tanto, Ikari. Judging by the look upon Mizuki's face as well as the look of pure disdain that he could see upon the faces of the priestesses beneath their veil, it became obvious to the boy that they did not get along. There was nothing that could be done about that however, they would have to learn to get along or just stay away from each other as the boy did not have the time nor the patience to care about their personal issues or feelings. They had a job to do and that was the only thing on the boy's mind. Raphael would not be leading this mission however, instead one of the captains of the Anbu was chosen. The young shinobi however did not have a problem with that as it meant that he could focus more on the completion of the mission rather than having to coordinate everyone and ensure that the ladies got along and whatever else the captain might have to do while on this mission.

"Alright now let's get a move on it, Hato and Ryu. You two will have flank position, I will take point and Myrddin will cover the rear." The captain began as he delegated which position in the diamond formation each member would be around the priestesses. The captain would then turn his head to Mizuki, "You may take whatever position you wish Lady Mizuki, you are more than welcome to scout ahead or cover one of the flanks whatever you like. However I do ask that you stay close should things take a turn for the worst. Also report to me the moment you see anything out of the ordinary." The man finished before taking his position at the front of the priestesses and waited for the others to take their positions. Raphael took the position at the rear as he was instructed to, and once everybody was ready they would move out. They would not move at a particular fast pace on account of the priestesses were not the running type, along the journey if Mizuki got close to the one identified as Myrddin in the rear the boy would avoid direct eye contact with her. It was not that the male had a problem with the woman nor did the woman do anything wrong it was more out of self preservation of his identity. For beneath his mask the bright electric blue eyes of the Kozai radiated forth, eye's that the Lady Mizuki were familiar with and would allow her to identify the boy beneath the mask. The first leg of their journey was peaceful without so much as a sign of trouble, that was until the boy caught movement to the right side. Something was heading for them at an alarming rate, they were not trying to hide their presence as they made their way towards the troupe that lead the priestesses, it was all too obvious what was going on, they were under attack.

---

1016

"You may take whatever position you wish Lady Mizuki, you are more than welcome to scout ahead or cover one of the flanks whatever you like. However I do ask that you stay close should things take a turn for the worst. Also report to me the moment you see anything out of the ordinary."

Lady..? Woah. Mizuki blinked slightly at being given such a courteous title and the liberty to make her own decisions despite having a man of higher rank being in charge. She would grant him a bow and a smile in return, taking his word to heart as he dropped the idea of scouting. She was far from being a sensory or stealthy type but Zhinu gave her the pair of eyes she generally lacked when it came to scouting. Most people would disregard the presence of a majestic hawk high in the sky anyway, not aware that the piercing eyes of a hawk could spot an ant moving if it so wished.

"I'll send Zhinu, my hawk, ahead to scout. Her sharp eyes, high altitude and trained upbringing should give us a good awareness of movement if our opponents aren't using stealth techniques. As for myself, I'll remain close as I have a technique that should grant us good cover against ranged strikes. My archery skills will provide assistance in ranged and covering fire."

The idea of remaining close to the priestesses was not the most comforting thought but Mizuki's sense of duty would not allow their disdain to get the best of her. If they wanted to be envious of someone who had done her duty, then so be it. She had no need herself for such trivialities when lives could be at stake. Moving into position with the others, Mizuki would whistle sharply to command the rather large grey hawk into the air, and whistle a different tune to order vigilance. With strong flaps, the bird would move up and away, it's speed remarkably matching that of most special jounin as it brought its light-weighted body up high into the skies. When Zhinu was in position, Mizuki would form the dog hand seal and throw her protective measure around the advancing cart. The three meter radius would suffice to take in the cart and the priestesses but their guards would have to stand rather close if they wanted to benefit of the anti-ranged protection. Mizuki was confident attacks blocked by the barrier would pose any real danger to the ANBU, however, their strength and skill outmatching the abilities of her own barrier with ease.

The cart would move on at a slow pace, the blistering sun of the desert only broken by the rare but welcome passing of a bird's shadow that provide a second of shelter against it. Maintaining her diplomatic nature even when the priestesses would chose to avoid her gaze or questions, Mizuki picked up small banter along the road with those wishing to share a casual conversation. The presence of Myrddin would not go unnoticed as for one reason or another unknown to her - his scent maybe? - made her give the impression she was supposed to know the individual behind the mask. For a similar strange reason he attempted to avoid eye contact with her, making Mizuki wonder if she was truly imagining the supposed familiarity or if it was just a case of prejudiced disinterest as that of the priestesses. Whichever the case may be, she didn't prod nor impose herself upon the matter, instead keeping her vigilance up for intruders rather than personal curiosity.

A piercing cry would cleave the skies, and in an instant Mizuki would grip her bow tightly and knock an arrow, allowing blue-green eyes to perceive Zhinu's circling flight above the point she had spotted them. Having no need to tell the others what the hawk's cry meant as they either were empathetic or skilled enough to understand it on their own, the heavily guarded cart would come to a halt and weapons would be drawn.

The attack had begun.

As they ran in to assault the cart, unaware of what vast power backing the existence of the three priestesses, she'd hear the women already panic and order the lot of them to take those 'heathens' down. And so one of them would be met with an arrow piercing its chest deeply, the impact strong enough to send him flying a meter before hitting the ground. The man would not stand up, his life ended well before he would have made his life useful. By the time she would have knocked her second arrow, there would be little left to take down. The small amount of people simply being insufficient and too unskilled to deal with the ANBU squad that had shot into action as fast as she had released her first arrow. The attack was over before it had begun.

---

831
Total: 1395

325/340:

Item & Pets:

Myrddin and the Anbu wasted little time in their actions, the poor souls that attempted this assault were no matched for their combine strength. Myrddin shot forth like a rocket colliding his fist into the face of one of the men, sending the man rocketing backwards slamming into the sandy ground hard, the man was dead before he even realized he had been struck. By the time Myrddin moved onto his second target, the others that had dared attack the vassal that was the Raikage's Will were all but dead. The man plead for his life yet Myrddin was not listening, the was but one punishment for those that sinned against the Raikage and that was death. Pulling Ikari from its sheath on the back of his belt, the male drove it into the man's neck causing the man to begin choking on his own blood. It was a painful way to die, not as quickly as his comrades had died, however it was a death worthy of the low life that the man was. Myrddin sheath his blade and turned to return to the rest of the group and resume his formation, he would be much happier once this was all behind him and the priestesses were where they needed to be safe and sound. The Anbu Captain however was not convinced that the threat was over, "that could have just been a scouting party," the man shouted to the group as they returned to their formation. "Take formation Delta Seven," the man commanded causing the young Myrddin to let out a sigh, he hated this formation for the simple fact that it would mean that it would take longer to complete the mission, however he would not let his disdain for the order to show as he quickly moved to his new position. Delta seven was a position the group would take when under the threat of an attack, they would move in closer to those that they were meant to protect almost to the point of touching as they continued to move. The problem with this formation was the lack of movement, at least in the male's opinion, for them being in such close quarters they cannot really move as fast as they were in the previous formation which was little more than a crawl as it was. The male would of much preferred them move quicker allowing them to reach their destination with ease and before the sun set, however at this rate it was more likely that the sun would rise before they reached their destination. Luck however seemed to be one the male's side, once it was confirmed that there was no sign of any more approaching danger they finally picked up the pace, even though it was not by much he was happier that they were at least moving a little faster. The sun had set many hours before the completion of their task, however once the priestesses were safe within their new camp the male smiled beneath his mask taking off as fast as he could. He was in no real hurry to return to the base camp, he was more in a hurry just to move, to feel the wind against his face. Removing his mask as he ran the boy felt the cool night air hit his uncovered skin and his smile grew finally he was happy again. Free to allow the wind to blow through his hair, free to feel the night's light upon his face, free to do as he pleased without having to do what someone else wished.

{Exit Thread}

---

1622

Mission Completed -1500
Extra Words: -100

Ryo gained: 325

There was nothing to say. The absurdity of the attack left most speechless, and so they would move on. The rest of the road would happen peacefully, no other attacks coming in. Maybe the first one had left the rest demotivated, maybe those had been the only brigands trying their luck. Whatever the case would be, when they the arrived at the end of the road the people would part ways again. The priestesses would move to speak about their Lord Hastur, the ANBU would disperse as the wind. And Mizuki would take a break before she continued the next point on her diplomatic schedule.

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[EXIT]

105
Total: 1500
- 1500 mission