Mission:

Sunadokei couldn't help but feel excited, the mission she had been giving was to be the first one she'd spent outside the borders of Kohana by herself. Word had reached the village of a bandit clan that preyed upon the traders coming to and from the Land of Noodles, a small but very wealthy country located on a peninsula on the southeastern regions of the Land of Fire. Located on the Bay of Whirlpools the Land of Water, the Land of Noodles served as a buffer region of sorts between the two great nations. Without a hidden village of its own, it tended to be preyed upon heavily by pirates at sea and bandits on land. Both of which could act largely with impunity save for local peacekeeping forces.

Sometimes, the two respective nations would tire of these antics, and carry out extra-national efforts to rid the Land of Noodles of problems that threatened their borders. These missions were never discussed between the two nations politically, as the Land of Noodles was wholly independent, politically neutral, and served as an important hub of trade and commerce to both countries. As a result, missions to and from the Land of Noodles were often left to as small a team as possible and carried out as swiftly as possible. Sunadokei had swelled with pride upon the Mission Assignment Committee granting her this mission, accepting it with great confidence and determination.

Within the day she'd been stocked and ready for her voyage, packing only a rucksack of supplies though carrying plenty of ryo in her coin purse. The later of which she kept stored snugly in the depths of her vast cleavage, joined by her mission scroll, and a kunai. Wishing her mother Kikyo Akimichi well, giving her a tight hug, Sunadokei sorely wished her father had been home to see her off. Makaro Akimichi, ruling head of the Akimichi clan, was currently away on an S-Rank mission of his own. At the behest of the Hokage, Formation Ino-Shika-Cho had been assembled, with the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clan heads once more fighting as one in their ancient alliance.

And so, Sunadokei had set off on her long journey; though not before one last home cooked meal. Her mother had prepared a vast feast for the young woman, a farewell present and likely the last homemade meal she would eat until her return. Sunadokei, naturally, had gorged herself well beyond the point someone not of her clan may literally have burst. With a belly so distended onlookers might wonder if she was carrying twins Sunadokei headed out. She had a lot of ground to cover, and the extra calories to do it.

Days passed in travel, with Sunadokei stopping at inns and tea houses in the villages along the way, on occasion finding her night's rest in the spare bedroom at a farm house or monastery after explaining her plight and offering to pay for her room for the night. Soon enough though, the rolling hills and dense forests of the Land of Fire began to give way. The land grew flat and the trees grew sparse, replaced instead by golden fields of wheat and grain. The Land of Noodles was upon her, and Sunadokei could only marvel at the sheer scale of the farms as she passed the border towns. True to its namesake, the Land of Noodles produced by far the most grain per capita of any of the nations great or small. Its chief export, and major revenue source was the seemingly endless varieties of noodles made from said grain. These found their way to the four corners of the world, transported by ship to most regions, though trade to the Land of Fire was chiefly done overland due to their shared border.

The bandit clan in question operated over a wide territory, seemingly moving between several hideouts following their own logic. Sunadokei had found one quickly, the location looking long since abandoned with no human presence for weeks, if not months. She had destroyed the hideout, burning it to the ground with her Fire Release and collapsing the cave it was built into with her Earth Release. Not content until she had the head of the leader to haul back as proof of her task, Sunadokei continued her search. The bandit clan chiefly operated in the southern part of the Land of Noodles, and despite being a small country it seemed they had no end of places to hide. It did not help Sunadokei was also forced to constantly act undercover, posing mostly as a rather buxom Geisha, the disguise she most preferred. Ninja caught in foreign countries were political prisoners of the highest order, and Sunadokei would not chance exposing her village acting in foreign territory.

This made her search slow going, though after several days searching she finally had a lead. She had tracked a fresh attack, stumbling upon a ransacked caravan raided by the bandits. After scouring the nearby countryside Sunadokei discovered their hideout was built into a large grotto along the coast. The entrance was well hidden behind a waterfall, and the inlet it say in was too small for ships to enter. Sunadokei sat on a small sandbar, staking out the grotto entrance. She wanted to know how many bandits she was dealing with, and more importantly wanted to strike when they had all returned from their plunder.

That said, she had a bit of time to kill. Sunadokei sat cross legged on the considerable cushion that was her ample rear. She had a small cook fire going, and a large spear fishing harpoon sat leaned against a rock behind her. She found spear fishing significantly easier when the fisher had super human reflexes, enhanced eyesight, and most importantly, elastic limbs that could stretch a hundred meters. And so, Sunadokei sat there at her post, cooking up the net full of fish she'd caught earlier. Greedily eating them one after another as she kept a constant vigil on the bandit hideout. Waiting for the last of their numbers to return, only then would come her moment to strike.

"They better hurry up and get back soon." The curvy kunoichi mumbled to herself between mouthfuls of seared fish. "I don't have all day. If they don't get back soon, I'll kill the ones here then track down the rest..." She let out a soft sigh, looking up to the midday sun peaking out behind the clouds. Once she was finished here she could finally return home. When she left, Sunadokei had craved the sense of adventure that a mission to a foreign land brought her. But now, after a week traveled and scouting out the Land of Noodles, she was more than ready for home. So, homesick and with her patience wearing thin, Sunadokei sat there in the sand eating her meal. A last few moments of peace and tranquility before the swift and brutal killing she had been ultimately tasked to carry out.

---

Word Count: 1,533 | Invite: Yomechiro, Nobuya

I was out on the open water, wind whipping in my face as the ship cut through the waves lapping at its side. I was on a journey to the Land of Noodles, a relatively small country on the border of the Land of Fire, and like many countries, sharing a sea border with the Land of Water. The nation itself wasn't at all far away, and the journey would be short. Honestly, I probably could've walked it, though that may have been a decent bit of chakra to stay over the water. But out here, on a ship propelled by the wind, I felt like I was home. I had been born on a ship, and I'd spent almost my entire early life on one. Seasickness was a problem of the deep past, if it ever was a problem at all. And I loved the smell of the salt, the feel of the water, and the sounds of the waves. It just felt right.

I was on a minor mission from Kiri at the moment, one of my first C-ranks. Normally, they wouldn't have sent me alone, but the ninja they picked to be my mission partner had something major come up, and they decided -- though they didn't like the situation -- that I could handle it, or at least gain intel on the problem. The problem, as it turned out, was bandits. Not an entirely foreign problem, and one I had helped in handling before, but this was the first time I'd be handling any on my own, and I was a bit apprehensive to be honest. My skills mainly dealt with non-combat roles, though I still knew how to fight. I'd just have to be clever about how I approached things, and not afraid to duck out if I needed to. It would mean their guards would be raised after each attack, but it was better than me trying to "bite off more than I could chew" and take them all on at once. I could maybe do that with a partner, but I wasn't able to summon Aruide yet, and I really didn't want to bring Arusuno into a combat situation if I didn't have to. The two of them are giant armadillos from The Burrow, an underground summoning animal city underneath the Land of Water. They both are very clever and have helped me out a bunch recently, but Aruide's been training Left to guard the village, and Arusuno doesn't like fighting.

So I was out here, not on my own but without any other ninja. My parents had convinced a friendly captain to give me passage to the Land of Noodles as long as I brought my own food and helped out with some of the more menial tasks. Fortunately, doing the menial tasks were the most fun I'd had in a long time. A lot of the things were things I hadn't done since I was a young kid, before I was a ninja, and let me tell you -- ninja training makes everything else in life seem so much easier. I had gotten done with my chores in record time, and after volunteering for a few more things, finally just had time to meditate and ruminate on deck.

When I finally reached the Land of Noodles, I realized I really didn't know where to start. I was supposed to take care of a bandit problem, but the problem with that was that I just had a general location. This wasn't viewed as that large a problem that they'd need to send two different parties, so I was to function as both scout and assassin.

At first, I sort of just wandered around, occasionally summoning Arusuno to show him the sights of this foreign land. I was pretty unfamiliar with the area, and I didn't have any particular destination in mind. I wanted to get rid of the problem as quickly as possible, but the last thing I wanted to do is be sloppy with it. I spent some time tracking down a couple of different clues, finding a few camps, though most seemed to be abandoned in favor of more lucrative grounds. One had even been burned to the ground inside a collapsed cave. I thought it might've been as a very thorough way to cover their tracks, but something told me it was a bit too much destruction for that. Finally though, a couple of local fishers had pointed me in the direction of yet another cave behind a waterfall in which they often saw armed people walking in and out. I took up a position and activated my jutsu.

Ox.

Once again, I felt the rush of smells I was getting more and more accustomed to as my vision slightly blurred. Bad for keeping track of my surroundings, but good for helping me focus. Fortunately, there wasn't anyone I could smell near me, so I was safe for now.

Ok, it's hard to tell exactly how many are behind the waterfall, the moving water's blocking a lot of the smell from escaping. Still, there's a definite scent of humans in the area. If I take my attention elsewhere, maybe they have lookouts posted outside I could see myself to interrogating. In fact, I think I smell someone now. But...wow, that smells REALLY good.

I just ate a while ago -- never go into battle on an empty stomach -- but the delectable smell of cooking fish was a bit too much for me to just ignore. Plus, it's not exactly like the bandits were going anywhere. I'd have time. I just really hoped that this would be another bandit to whom I could ask a couple of questions.

I quickly hopped from outcropping rock to outcropping rock, making my way towards the smell of cooking seafood. Sitting there on a small sandbar was a...fully-figured woman eating alone. A strange spot to have a picnic, but I wasn't exactly in a position to judge. I was about to approach, kunai behind my back, when I heard the faintest mumble.

"They better hurry up and get back soon. I don't have all day. If they don't get back soon, I'll kill the ones here then track down the rest..."

Ok...I might've found a lunatic.

Thankfully for my own peace of mind, I spotted a ninja headband from the Leaf, at least a small assurance that I hadn't just found a crazed killer talking to themself. Or if they were, at least they had standards. Since there was a good chance she had sensed me by now, and I didn't want to have to fight before I could explain myself, I stepped forward and spoke.

"Hey! The name's Nobuya Yomechiro of the Mist. How's it going?"

If she decided to ask me what I was doing here, I would respond, "Actually, I'm just in the area to take care of a little bandit problem, and I sorta thought you were part of the problem based on how close you were to them. Sorry to bother you, but I do have to say, those fish smell absolutely delicious, so very nice job with that," giving a small laugh at the end. I kept the kunai behind my back, just in case she was a missing-nin fallen in line with the wrong sort of company. One could never be too careful with this sort of thing.

Chakra 235/250:

WC: 1279

Sunadokei was still lost in her thoughts, idly staring at the waterfall as she watched carefully for the returning bandits. Suddenly her ears twitched, she had heard a noise behind her, and whirled around in a blur to face it. Fists raised defensively as she took a fighting stance, Sunadokei paused upon seeing her so called intruder. She'd expected some bandit trying to sneak up on her, but instead she found only a young boy. He immediately introduced himself, despite the obvious fact he was holding a weapon behind his back. Sunadokei couldn't see it, but from his height and his stance it couldn't have been anything bigger than a kunai knife or maybe a hatchet.

The buxom woman raised an eyebrow questioningly as she relaxed her stance slightly. "Nobuya Yomechiro of the Mist... So you're a Kirigakure shinobi?" The boy was barely a teenager, and if she had to guess most likely a Genin, if even that. Why was he so up front and forward with her, was it a ruse? Sunadokei did not like deceptions, ironic given her life as a ninja. "It was going better before you showed up." She admitted aloud. "Less variables then..." While she spoke the Akimichi woman was adding up the possibilities in her head. What were the odds a shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Mist had been sent here, on a task to clear out bandits no less? Was it that likely? Both their countries had a vested interest in keeping the Land of Noodles free from banditry for their own nation's trade. But to be so forward about his task with her? This Yomechiro might be the least stealthy ninja Sunadokei had ever met. And she had seen the Uzimake youth, wearing their ridiculous orange jumpsuits.

"Nobuya was it?" Sunadokei said slowly, reaching for her chest and retrieving the kunai she kept hidden between her massive bosoms. "If you wanted to attack me, you'd have done it while you had the element of surprise." She drew the weapon, clutching it in hand aimed at her opponent's heart. "And if you wanted information from me, I haven't told you anything about myself yet. Nor will I." Her gaze narrowed, and Sunadokei quickly spiked her knife on a fish, lifting it to her plush lips and chewing great greedy bites as she spoke. "My fish is delicious, my mother's quite the chef, and I learned from the best." Sunadokei swallowed and took another bite, eyes never leaving her target. Watching the boy for any sudden movements.

"You have no idea who I am, or why I am here. For all you know I killed this headband's owner and took it as a trophy. Or I'm a missing-nin from the village on my forehead, striking it out on my own free from the Hokage's shadow." She took another bite, devouring the last of the fish, bones and all. Sunadokei didn't care, her stomach could digest it regardless. "Or, maybe this headband is a fake, and I'm impersonate a Konohagakure shinobi, looking to soil their reputation or accuse them of crimes they did not commit." Sunadokei grinned, tossing her kunai into her free hand and reaching back into her valley of cleavage with the other.

"But... luckily for me there's one way I know we can prove to each other who we are..." Sunadokei slowly slid out the mission scroll given to her when she first embarked on this journey. "I know for a fact Kirigakure operates its shinobi the same way Konohagakure does. So, Nobuya Yomechiro, if you are truly 'of the Mist', then you must have your own scroll just like this." Sunadokei held out the scroll in hand, tucking away her kunai back into her cleavage as a gesture of goodwill, disarming herself. "And just like mine, I bet yours is stamped with the special seal of your village's Kage, in an ink only the Kage and Daimyō of the Five Great Nations are permitted to use. So how about it Nobuya, I'll show you mine, if you show me yours."

Sunadokei waited for this so-called mist shinobi to answer her proposal. Already weighing her odds and formulating a plan of attack should he refuse or show hesitation. The boy likely knew nothing of her clan, or their kekkai genkai. If he did, he wouldn't be standing so close. Sunadokei could have a Partial Multi-Size Jutsu enhanced fist in his face in a fraction of a second. And that little blade he was hiding behind his back would hardly slow her down once she was pummeling him into red mist. And if he proved stronger than he looked, she'd make for a hasty retreat. Just Human Bullet Tank her way across the countryside, no looking back. Better to live with a failed mission that to die trying to achieve it. As she thought to herself the woman's green eyes remained locked on the boy's.

Behind them on the shore the last of the bandits could be heard, then seen. Laughing among themselves, some swinging back drinks of grain alcohol, others chomping on large fruits as they hauled sacks of produce. They'd looted a farmer's wagon, bound for the east the old man and his wife now lay dead on the side of a nearby road. Their throats slit and arrows buried in their backs. Their lives taken and their livelihoods plundered by scum who deserved nothing better than the executioner's blade. Sunadokei growled slightly, her chance was slipping away. This Yomechiro had better hurry the hell up. Either he was with her, or he was against her. For a shinobi there was rarely ever a middle ground.

---

Word Count: 1,027 | Total Word Count: 2,560

I have to admit, I was a little pissed off, and I wanted her to know it. She seemed to me like one of the most simultaneously trusting and distrusting people I'd ever met. Like she was a trusting person who wanted to distrust people, which I suppose might not be too uncommon for a shinobi. And I wasn't exactly too pleased by her statement that things were going better BEFORE I showed up, as true as it may be. I just came here to see if she was a bandit lookout, which in retrospect admittedly is kind of an offensive assumption on my part, but now she was just insulting my carefulness as a shinobi. Sure, I definitely could've and should've been more careful, but it had been a long day, and I really wasn't my best self right then in terms of my attitude. There were more bandits close by, so I had a little time before I wanted to make a move. Attacking them now whilst I had a possible threat in front of me wouldn't be a good idea, although she hadn't called out to them yet. I took a moment to look her over, analyze the situation, and respond.

"You're sitting much too close to my enemy's encampment for you to have any sort of sensory jutsu. Either you are way too overconfident in your skills, and therefore would be relatively easy to trick in battle, or you don't yet have the experience to be able to keep an eye on them from further back. What's more, you set up a campfire here, alerting anyone careful enough to look around nearby that someone's set up a temporary camp. Which means you most likely didn't eat enough beforehand or you got bored and decided you might as well fish. In either case, a lack of preparation didn't exactly do wonders for my perception of you -- sorry. In any case, I'd guess you wouldn't be any higher ranking than a chunin."

"Anyways, I am also really sorry if I'm being a bit too forward when I introduce myself, but I figured that if you were hostile it wouldn't be impossible to escape from you. You certainly look like you could slice me up or beat me up pretty badly, and I don't doubt you would, but I would live. Plus, your mannerisms that you've shown already in the time you've talked have suggested you don't fall withing any of the hostile categories you've so nicely outlined. You've talked positively about your mother, and without hesitation, so it seems like you aren't discontent enough with your homeland to be a missing-nin from Konoha, and there aren't any tragedies involving change that would cause you to hesitate. Leaf shinobi aren't sloppy enough to let you have that headband without marking it or getting it stained in blood first, and I doubt a killer would take that much pride to wash it out, but then tell a random passerby that they might've stolen it, so I'm pretty sure you haven't stolen it. And you might be trying to frame Konoha, but then it doesn't make sense that you wouldn't have attacked a Kiri-nin on sight. After all, Kiri and Konoha are in an alliance, and what better way to frame a nation than to betray its brethren? And if you don't mean to betray the alliance, then there isn't any reason why you would be hostile to me. An enemy of Konoha isn't always an enemy of Kiri."

I smiled, "So you say you've given me no information, but in comparison to what you've given me, the possibly fake name and similarly possibly fake headband I've presented to you are nothing. Adding to that, you've shown me proof of your mission, quite a nice gesture, while I've merely said it. It's easy enough to find out that this is a bandit camp, and its easy enough to assume that any ninja out here from one of the five great nations would be looking to get rid of them. I could've been lying, but I was previously unsure of your motives. Now I have proof."

Easy enough? What are you talking about Nobuya, you found this place based on a bit of lucky conversation! Now you're just talking out of nothing to make yourself feel superior in some massively stupid and mean sense! At least her points were valid! Although, technically you are right about the other things. I mean, I am from Kiri, but Yomechiro isn't exactly my family's original name.

"Yes, I took a gamble talking to you. I was just trying to be friendly, I've had a long day. I don't expect you to trust me, and really I don't care much if you do. I just saw -- or more accurately I guess -- smelled, the opportunity to complement the lovely cooking. Now, if you wanna help me, I'd be up for it, but I'm gonna go before I lose my best chance."

I put back my kunai, took out a scroll from my belt, unfurling it and unsealing the OTHER scroll I had placed inside, the one that detailed my mission. I took care not to show her anything about it other than the Mizukage's seal which she had requested to see. I still didn't trust her, but she had a certain way about her that was starting to grow on me.

Still, maybe I've been a bit too mean...If she agrees to help, maybe I should apologize when this is all over. You know, if she doesn't turn out to be a bandit spy.

I had been sent on this mission to do it alone, and as much as I appreciated possible backup, a partner more concerned with keeping a distance, as completely understandable as it was, might cause problems. A few more bandits had made their way into the cave, and I didn't want anymore company for now. I wasn't a combat specialist and I knew that if it got too dark I would be at a disadvantage. Whether she followed me or not, I started sneaking my way towards the grotto, using the noise of the waterfall as cover.

WC: 1093
Total WC: 2372

Sunadokei scoffed at Nobuya's 'assessment' of her, crossing her arms as he spoke. "Hmph. It's only called overconfidence when it's not backed by skill. Perhaps the real overconfidence is blindly assuming you could treat me in battle? A set up camp here because I already staked the place out during the morning. This bandits spent more time drinking than they do anything else. And if they spot me, so be it. They're easier to kill out in the open; I'd welcome them to try and kill me."

The Akimichi woman continued listening to Nobuya speak, she waited until he was finished to reply, holding her tongue for now. Not that she agreed with hardly anything he said. "A bit forward? That's quite the understatement, or maybe I missed the history lesson how blunt the shinobi of Kirigakure are. As towards you living, maybe. I've got know clue what you're capable of, but neither do you. It's equally likely you overestimate yourself, and you do die. And I end up dragging whatever's left of you back for the medical-nin to pick apart how you tick. Or you do the same to me. Because that's the life we've chosen to lead. Always dancing on the knife's edge in the name of our homeland."

Sunadokei cracked a grin, a wry expression as she chuckled to herself. "Isn't that what it means to be a ninja? Everything either one of us said to the other could be a lie. Lies on top of lies on top of half truths. Layers of deceptions, one stacked on the other. We're full of secrets, we shinobi. It doesn't matter the village, lying is the first thing they teach us. That's why I asked for the only proof either of us has. The one thing we can't forge, or if we could... we'd be a much more grave threat to diplomacy between our nations." This much was true, any missing-nin who could successfully impersonate a Kage was at least an S-Rank threat to diplomacy and the well being of not only hidden villages, but entire countries. Sunadokei was not to proud as the realize if she ran into such a threat, she'd be dead the moment she ceased being useful to them.

"We both took a gamble, Nobuya." Sunadokei said wistfully, a mournful look in her eyes. "Every day we live this life is a gamble. Every mission, every battle, we all know it might be our last. The longer we live, the better we get, the stronger we become, the more they throw at us. You either climb the mountain, or get buried beneath it. And of us will bury our friends and loved ones after enough years of it." Sunadokei hadn't lost friends yet to the shinobi life, but her father had. There were many missions Makaro Akimichi did not speak of with his daughter. Many doors he wished to remain closed. Scars healed, everywhere but the heart that is.

"Trust is earned, not given. I'm sure that Kirigakure has a saying like that." Sunadokei stated matter of factly, eyeballing the scroll when Nobuya finally presented it to her. "Well... I'll be damned." She said as she rubbed her chin. "You're genuine after all. Huh, who'd have thought? Well, that means I don't have to try and kill you at least." Sunadokei said, relieved as she tucked her own mission scroll back into its hiding place. "Seems your gambled payed off then, the winds of fate smile on us."

Sunadokei then plopped back down on the sand, sitting cross legged using her enormous pillowy rear as a cushion. "You came all this way to compliment my cooking? I must be doing something right. There's a few fish left, eat up. If you don't I will I have no intention of going into battle on an empty stomach." Sunadokei patted her midsection, it grew fuller with every fish she devoured. "I suppose I never introduced myself then. I am Sunadokei Akimichi, and if there is one thing you should know about my clan, it's that we are rarely full."

The woman's verdant green eyes shimmered with her intentions, as she cast a cocky gaze over her unlikely companion. "I don't want to help you Nobuya. What I want to do, is what I have been assigned to do. And what I'm going to do, is finish my meal, march my way into the bandit hideout, and kill every last one of them as punishment for the crimes they have committed against the merchants of Kohana. If your mission happens to overlap with that, then you are more than welcomed to do whatever Kiri no Kuni has requested of you."

It wasn't long after that Nobuya had snuck off, making his way towards the waterfall. Sunadokei just let out a huff, rising from her seat and following after him. "Kids..." She muttered to herself, making her way close behind him. Sunadokei quickly threw out the hand seals for the rabbit, fox, and dog, and pressed her hands to the damp ground at the base of the waterfall. "Earth Release: Mud wolves jutsu!" She called out, soft enough the waters drowned out her voice. Three large wolves emerged from the wet earth, their bodies composed of mud and silt. These were not intelligent summons, little better than earthen puppets. They could obey simple commands, and fought without fear. But they did little else.

Sunadokei took her place besides Nobuya, her wolves at her flank, snarling as they smelled their prey. "So, mist ninja, do you have a plan you feel like executing, or do you want me to just charge in their and get to killing?" The buxom woman said with a grin, as her fists and arms began to grow until the were the size of anvils and as long as her body. Sunadokei cracked the knuckles on her massive hands, clenching them into fists with a wild look in her eyes. She was more than ready to fight, all this talking and posturing had bored her. Akimichi much preferred the direct approach.

---

Word Count: 1,110 | Total Word Count: 3,670

One thing I could tell about this girl -- she loved to fight. I mean, Kirigakure had a fighting-based culture in a lot of ways, but I'd never before seen anyone so eager for it. I was honestly kinda impressed.

Maybe she would've killed me faster than I could escape. That'd be a fun fight.

After she performed her analysis of my analysis, an analysis I decided not to analyze for fear of never escaping the hole we would dig ourselves into -- and because I was pretty sure I would eventually lose -- the Leaf kunoichi expounded upon some of the more intricate philosophies of shinobi life. Specifically commenting on the natures of deception and mortality, of struggle in its basest form, a smile grew on my face.

She's obviously thought a lot about this. It's nice to meet someone who can motivate themselves like this. It's clear that she really cares, which I appreciate. Still, I definitely shouldn't discount the things she's saying. I mean, she's right. It's true that every mission might really be our last. I never really like thinking about it though, I have to admit. I mean, I don't want to live with regrets, but I also don't want to live in constant fear of screwing up or dying. For me, that's just not living. All it is is preparation. My thoughts have always been that, as noble as it is to live in a way that others can enjoy their lives, that doesn't mean that you have to stop enjoying yours. It is interesting, I have to say, how duty- and honor-bound Leaf shinobi seem to be. I really admire that in a culture.

"Trust is earned, not given. I'm sure that Kirigakure has a saying like that."

"Yeah, that's true enough, but where's the fun in that? It's not exactly healthy for a ninja to take risks, but it makes the job a bit more fun. Plus, trust can't really be earned, can it? Anyone could be playing a long game, or things could change unexpectedly, and it's way too boring for me to not take blind leaps. And while I don't know if we have a saying like that, I do know that we have fun with our fights, though it can honestly get a bit sadistic with a few of my compatriots...Still, there's a reason people keep hiring Hunter-ninja besides their cool masks!"

I grinned a slightly cheeky grin. I really hoped she would be willing to help me out with this task in front of me.

After I helped her finish off the last of her fish which she so kindly offered me to join in on eating, and we made sure no more bandits would be coming to surprise us while we were infiltrating the base, we headed down towards the waterfall. Once we reached the entrance to the bandit hideout, she made a few hand signs, pressed her hand against the ground, and three wolf-like creatures suddenly appeared. From the fact that it was an earth style jutsu she had just used, I could guess that they were earthen constructs of some kind, but I'd never seen anything like them before.

"That's so cool!" I excitedly whispered, taking care not to allow my voice to travel.

"So, mist ninja, do you have a plan you feel like executing, or do you want me to just charge in their and get to killing?"

She had used some form of taijutsu or ninjutsu, hopefully not genjutsu, to make her arms appear much larger at her side. From the look in her eyes and the way she was postured with her wolves, I could tell that she would much prefer to just "get to killing," rather than listen to what I had to say. Still, I didn't want to take any chances. I had incomplete information, and that meant that people could be in danger.

"Well, Leafy," I teased, "I was thinking of doing some recon first. Make sure they don't have any hostages or prisoners. I don't think they would, but better safe than sorry, ya know? Can you talk to those at all? If so, some sniffing around might be handy. If not, I have my own summonable friend who could help us out."

I took out my kunai to draw some blood (I never really like the whole biting-thumb thing that a lot of summoners did), and I made my own hand signs.

Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram.

I placed my own palm on the ground, and in a cloud of smoke, Arusuno appeared. Unfortunately for me, he was currently asleep. I blushed, realizing that this wasn't exactly making me look good in front of my impromptu partner. I gently prodded.

"Arusuno?"

He woke with a start, uncurling himself (though he wasn't even fully curled in the first place), and looking me straight in the eyes.

"Oh hey Nobuya, what's up? Who's this? It's nice to meet you!"

"This is..."

Oh crap, I've forgotten her name. It started with an s- sound didn't it? I know she's an Akimichi, but what was her first name?!? I am truly terrible with this sorta stuff.

"This is another friend from the Leaf, though we just kinda met a few moments ago. We've got a couple of bandits in a cave behind this waterfall. Would you mind digging under and making sure they don't have any captives before we go charging in there?"

Arusuno pawed at the ground, looking slightly worried.

"Ground's kinda hard here, so it might be hard to dig out, but I'll try to act normal."

"Ok, just be careful and stay safe. Don't be afraid to unsummon yourself if you need to."

Arusuno nodded and got to work, sneaking himself into the small cave with nary a sound. After about ten minutes, he came back out.

"No hostages, but you guys probably wanna be careful. There's about four people right in the entranceway, and it's not going to be easy to sneak in."

"Thanks Arusuno, I'll talk to ya later."

"Good luck!" he quietly exclaimed as he vanished back to his village.

I turned to Sunadokei, whose name I had managed to remember whilst Arusuno was searching.

"Well, looks like charging in and killing's probably our best bet. Ready?"

Once she somehow expressed that she was indeed ready, we would charge through the waterfall. The four bandits on the other side jumped in shock, but quickly gained their composure, taking out kunai in defensive positions. Two of them threw theirs, and I stopped to use a jutsu, allowing Sunadokei to continue ahead.

Ox, Boar, Dog.

A giant shield made out of water suddenly appeared between us, absorbed the kunai, and sank back down, allowing my ally from the Leaf to continue forward and beat them to what I could only guess was going to be a bloody pulp.

Chakra 200/250:

Arusuno Chakra 95/100:

WC: 1199
Total WC: 3571

Sunadokei just turned to eye her companion questioningly. "Every risk should come with a reward, that reward should balance out the risk. I try to take 'fun' out of the equation on missions. Fun is for after the work is done. Fun makes people sloppy, sloppy ninjas don't tend to last too long in our line of work." It was growing quite clear to Sunadokei she did not see eye to eye with this shinobi she'd found herself an unlikely companion to. "Blind leaps lead to long falls. You'll understand when you're older..." The Akimichi woman considered herself headstrong, nut not brash. She was not fond of recklessness for recklessness' sake. It was why she'd spent the better part of the day staking out the hideout in the first place.

The woman chuckled at her comrade's excitement, was her comrade really that impressed by a simple Earth Release jutsu? "Yeah, I suppose it is cool. I promise I am much more impressive in action." Sunadokei quickly became irked her companion couldn't seem to remember her name. "Leafy? Really? I've been called curvy, but not leafy. It's Sunadokei, Sunadokei Akimichi. How would you feel if I just called you Misty? Hmm?" Either way,  Nobuya had inquired about her mud wolves, to which she simply shook her head no. "Sorry little man, Mud Wolves aren't true summons. More like chakra puppets, they obey simple commands and don't have independent thoughts."

To her surprise, her companion took out a summoning control, enacting his blood seal and summoning his own actual summon in response. "Fūinjutsu huh? Aren't you full of surprises." Sunadokei had sought to master that eventually... one day. She was a long way off from even the basics, first her Ninjutsu needed to be brought up to par with her Taijutsu, which admittedly was skilled well beyond her lowly rank as a Genin. Still, seeing an actual summoning performed was quite the spectacle. Even if the creature came and went into only a few minutes. The animal itself was some kind of armored roly poly thing she didn't quite recognize. It looked desert dwelling, but she couldn't say for sure. Soon enough though Nobuya released his summon, leaving the two shinobi alone once more.

Sunadokei grinned fiercely when Nobuya admitted the direct approach was likely the best approach. "Good, I've been itching for this all day." She retorted back, fists clenched in anticipation. Once the shield of water dropped Sunadokei leapt past it, into the fray with her mud wolves fast behind her in tow. She grabbed two of the bandits, one in each hand. The two men kicked and screamed, pinned in her enormous grip as their ribs cracked and they cried out in pain. Sunadokei bashed each of them into the ground, over and over until their faces were mangled and blood ran from their injuries. Once finished she cast them aside like ragdolls, tossing them at their comrades to knock them to their feet. Her mud wolves pounced, lunging on the downed men and tearing and slashing at them as they attacked. Punches, kicks, even slashes from kunai did little to deter the wolves. They quickly reformed with fresh mud, keeping up their attack. Sunadokei rushed up, slicing their throats and finishing the injured bandits off.

"There's still more of them." Sunadokei said gruffly, her arms retracting back down to normal size. She raised a hand and pointed, and in a moment her mud wolves were sent snarling and snapping after more bandits. Sunadokei swung out a fist, her arm extending to twenty meters as it crashed into a man's chest like an elastic sling shot. She grabbed the man, retracting her arm and pulling him towards her as her opposite fist swelled to the size of a dumpster. The bandit could do little but scream, as the giant fist delivered a bone shattering punch, sending the lifeless body of the bandit crashing into a rocky wall of the cave with a sickening thud. "Hmph..." Sunadokei said simply, as she trudged on ahead, limbs shrinking back to normal once more.

---

Word Count: 740 | Total Word Count: 4,410

While Sunadokei was bashing two of bandits on the ground, I rushed forward to attempt to take care of the other two in the room. The noise we were making would certainly alert anyone nearby, and I didn't want to have to fight more people at once than I needed to. To be fair to my Leaf-village companion, she seemed to be handling the two pretty well with her simple-yet-effective approach. It wasn't as clean as I usually preferred, and it was painful-looking enough that I involuntarily winced when she started, but I couldn't say it wasn't working.

I ran forward with my kunai out, the two other bandits ready with their arms up to protect their upper body and face. From training with Gattsu, I knew that this was a boxing stance, and they seemed to not have the best form. Their stance seemed just barely off, but it was clear that they had trained with it at least a little. I'd need to be careful not to get too close without having a plan. I approached the one on my left, and he shot out with a left jab. He did it a bit early, but even without that I probably would've been able to dodge. It took way longer than Gattsu for his muscles to tense up and actually go through with the punch. I was able to rather easily hop backwards.

Interesting. They probably aren't too skilled in taijutsu anyways, but they may be trying to lure me into a false confidence by punching slower and shorter than their max. Then, once I overextend myself, they'll easily counter and take me out. It'd just be a waiting game.

Of course, they could also just be THAT bad.

The other bandit ran up behind me, attempting a running hook to the head. Once he was right behind me, I swiveled down to my knee.

Ox, Ram.

I thrust my right hand onto his midsection, placing my chakra-draining seal. He was knocked back slightly, but what caught my attention was the sudden change in expression. When he rushed up to me a moment before, he looked like he was at the top of an adrenaline rush, but now he looked like all the wind had been taken out of his sails.

So these guys must not have developed their chakra networks at all if I could weaken him that much with just a minor seal. So maybe these bandits really aren't that formidable after all.

I decided to release delay another chakra seal, just in case. Before I had a chance to do anything else, the two bodies Sunadokei was handling came flying from her direction, knocking my two bandits down. Her wolves followed, and soon there was no life left in any of the four as she ran up and slit their throats. I turned to her.

"Thanks!"

"There's still more of them," she replied.

Right on cue, another bandit turned the corner, perhaps worried about the commotion in the entrance to their hideout. Whatever the reason he came alone, he was soon to regret it, for Sunadokei sent wolves down his path in search of more bandits while she herself grabbed the man and rather violently punched him, sending him flying towards a nearby wall of the cave. We both advanced down the twisting and turning passageway, following the sounds of yelling and screaming as the wolves reached their targets. We eventually reached a large chamber, empty save for the goods plundered from the earlier wagon heist, the earthen wolves, and five more bandits, one wearing a red bandana rather than the black the others wore.

"I don't suppose we can come to some sort of arrangement? A mutual agreement? No? Then I'm afraid I'll be going now."

Though he spoke with a surprisingly posh and proper tone, he blitzed past us down the passageway we just came from. For a moment, I considered trying to catch him with my Binding Leg Seal, but he looked like a blur, and I was pretty sure he was faster than my doton-infused tendrils could catch up with. If one of us didn't act fast, he was going to get away. I didn't know if Sunadokei could catch up with him, but I didn't want to take the chance that she couldn't.

"You handle these guys, I handle that one?"

I clasped my hands together, making the boar hand sign as I sunk into the ground. He may be faster than me above ground, but underground I was just as fast, and didn't have the disadvantage of having to turn throughout a winding passageway.

I popped up in a narrow space of the tunnel, but thankfully a spot I recognized as being part of the tunnel, and waited only the briefest of moments before the red-bandanna'd bandit came into view.

"Heh. So the scrawny kid goes after me. Fine. I can get rid of you if you so desperately want to die."

Scrawny? I mean, I'm a bit on the lean side, but I wouldn't exactly call myself scrawny...

He rushed forwards, launching a furious series of blows as he continued to advance, pushing me back. I kept looking for a window of opportunity to counterattack, but I couldn't find one. He was too fast with his punches for me to follow them with an attack of my own, and he was too strong for me to take a direct hit just so I could get through with an attack of my own. And on top of that, I didn't exactly have any super powerful attacks of my own. I didn't have to worry about my plan of attack for much longer though, since the bandit so helpfully limited my choices by punching me hard in the stomach, causing me to cough up a good amount of blood.

He could've left me there and gotten away, he could've continued punching me until he killed be, but being the bandit he was, he decided to reach for my ninja pack instead. He made the mistake I could've earlier. He overextended. I only had a moment, but it was a moment I couldn't afford to waste. As quick as I could, I made the Ox, Ram hand signs once again, this time directing my chakra to my left hand, and immediately afterwards releasing the chakra seal I had stored in my right hand. I slammed my hands into his sides and applied the seals.

I waited with bated, blood-saturated breath. The other bandits didn't have developed chakra networks, but that doesn't mean he didn't either. He seemed to be the strongest of the bunch, and he was already faster than a lot of genin. Getting to that point would be a lot easier with chakra. I looked up, expecting to see cruel eyes looking back. What I saw instead was the face of a man teetering on unconsciousness.

Yes!

I prepared one last seal, this time with my Mercy Seal included, and pushed him over that edge into losing consciousness. I coughed up a small amount of more blood, before wiping my mouth with the back of my hand and standing up. I looked down over the body.

Master Sero would want him dead, and so would Sunadokei by the way she was talking and acting earlier. This is a man who would kill any one of us in a heartbeat, and a man who has killed plenty before. But this is a criminal of the Land of Noodles, not Kirigakure. He deserved their justice, not the Land of Water's, not Kirigakure's, and not mine.

I sighed as I picked his body up, and once again burrowed underground, this time creating a hollow sphere to put the unconscious body in. I was running a bit low on chakra, but if the Leaf ninja saw this, she might try to kill him herself. A crime in Kiri, but who knows how things work in Konoha. I burrowed back out to the surface, taking note of where I stashed him, and ran back out to see if Sunadokei needed any help.

I doubted she would.

Chakra 115/250:

WC: 1404
Total WC: 4975

Sunadokei shot a glance back to her unlikely ally, surprised to see him employing sealing techniques even in combat. She envied him slightly for that, though she tried not to make it known. The two pushed on ahead, following after her Mud Wolves. She could here them ripping and snarling at more bandits, feel the chakra dispel through them as they were attacked and forced to reform their injuries. The leader of the bandits and the remainder of his men lay ahead, though not long after encountering them said leader simply fled.

Gritting her teeth in anger, Sunadokei was torn between going after the leader or dealing with the rest herself. Luckily for her, she didn't have to make that decision. Nobuya did it for her, shouting out his plans questioningly. "Fine, just don't let him get away." Sunadokei shouted back, setting her sights on her foes. The Kiri-nin chased after the bandit down another winding tunnel, using some earth release to keep pace. Good, Sunadokei thought to herself. The bandit would be hard pressed to escape so long the two were underground, not unless he had something clever up his sleeve.

Five bandits remained, holding weapons in hand with their backs to the wall. Unlike their leader, these men weren't so fortunate, they had nowhere to run. A corner dog fought the hardest though, Sunadokei mused, and with a command dispatched her wolves. The mud wolves charged, leaping at the men and knocking three of them to the ground and snapping at their faces while they raked them with their claws. The other two attempted to help their comrades, stabbing and slashing at the wolves with their weapons. The mud wolves began to dispel, having taken too much damage to repair their forms.

It mattered little, as it bought Sunadokei time. In one swift motion she threw her kunai, still held in hand at one of the men. It burrowed deep into his right eye, and the man howled in pain. When his comrades glanced to see the damage, Sunadokei moved into action. Another Partial Multi-Size Technique and her right arm shot out, grabbing a man and crushing him against the ground. She felt his back break, her enormous hand crushing the life from him in one swift, brutal motion. His death was quick, the others would not be.

The surviving bandits reached over the hack and stab at the huge arm that had slain their comrades. Sunadokei retracted it to normal size in time to avoid their weapons, and swung her leg out in a savage kick. As she did it expanded, whipping through the air like a battering ram and sweeping three men off their feet. One ducked low, while his comrades were smashed against a wall. Winded and with fractured bones they staggered to their feet, as Sunadokei rushed forward. She ripped her kunai from the eye of the wounded bandit, quickly gashing his throat and kicking him aside. Another charged her, and she parried his axe with her blade, arm extending out as she grabbed him by the neck.

Turning quickly to face the man rushing her form behind, Sunadokei threw the bandit in her grip into his comrade like a human shield. He was run clean through by a spear, and Sunadokei kicked him like a sack of bricks knocking the two to the ground. Her Partial Multi-Size Technique finished the job, as she brought it slamming down on the two as they lay in a heap. Feeling the snap of bones, she turned to the last surviving bandit, feebly clutching his weapon. He dropped his blade, clasping his arms and begging for mercy. As he pleaded, Sunadokei looks around the room. "Mercy? Is that what you want?" The man nodded frantically. "By the will of the Hokage of the Village of the Hidden Leaf, you and your comrades are sentenced to death. I am its harbinger, because the only price you can pay to atone for the lives you have taken is your own."

With that her hand shot out, extending like elastic and grabbing the last bandit by the throat. He panicked, screaming and desperately clutching her hand as it squeezed tight around his neck. The man's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and with a sickly snap his neck was broken. The Akimichi woman cast his broken body into a heap with the others. It was done, the men were slain. There was no joy in it, though Sunadokei did feel a tinge of satisfaction these men would no longer threaten the innocent. That only left the leader, whom she hoped her companion had dealt with. Sunadokei retrieved her kunai, wiping it clean of blood using a bandit's tunic as a rag. She stowed the blade away in her vast cleavage, before taking a seat on a barrel.

"So where is he?" Sunadokei asked when Nobuya returned. He didn't have the corpse with him, or proof he had killed the man. "You're too capable to have let him escape. Either he cut you a deal, and you've directly interfered with my mission. Or, you're deliberately keeping the body from me. I don't know what your mission calls for, but mine calls for the death of all the bandits. Their lives are forfeit by order of the Hokage, fair punishment for the lives they have destroyed." Sunadokei had no intention of fighting this Kiri-nin, not when they were both technically acting outside their own respective nations. Sunadokei crossed her arms, glaring at the young shinobi. "I can wait." She said coldly, patiently waiting for an explanation.

---

Word Count: 980 | Total Word Count: 5,390

Shame, I was hoping that there wouldn't be any complications like this. What should I do? I don't really like the idea of killing him outright, and it should be left up to the Land of Noodles, but it's not exactly like I have much choice anymore. Those are the orders of the Hokage, and I don't want to do anything that could harm relations. I like the Village Hidden in the Leaves. But still, I need information from the bandit if I'm to fully carry out the Mizukage's directive. This is turning out to be a more political mission than I expected.

I would keep my distance, wary of a sudden attack from her. I didn't think she'd do it, but given how battle-prone she was, and how little she trusted me, I wouldn't exactly put it past her. I myself made no aggressive movements, but mentally prepared myself to burrow under if I needed to. Cautiously, I spoke.

"Fine. Only on one condition though: Before you kill him, he needs to give some intel to us. This may have been their main hideout, but given how relatively sparse it is, they probably used somewhere else as a storehouse. If you help me get that location from him, I'll turn him over to your custody so you can do with him what you've been ordered to do. But my mission was to stop the bandit problem. It's still a problem until the Land of Noodles sees what was stolen from them returned."

I briefly paused to study her facial expression. As much as I liked to work with partners, seeing different fighting styles and meeting different personalities, it could sometimes be a bit much when we had competing ideologies. And usually I could find a middle ground, but it seemed that we were in pretty stark contrast. Even our battle tactics were at odds. Still, as abrasive as her personality might be, her strengths covered for the weaknesses of ninja like me, and I certainly respected that. Sometimes I could be much too cautious, and sometimes I could show too much mercy. Enough that it could jeopardize a mission if I wasn't careful. But I had my strengths as well, and the world needed ninja like both of us. It was just something I had to accept.

"Do we have an agreement, Sunadokei Akimichi?" I asked.

If she declined the deal or made any sudden, aggressive moves, I would once again burrow underground. It really was becoming a favorite jutsu of mine quite quickly. It just had so many uses.

If, however, she accepted, I would lead her back through the tunnels, reach the spot I had come up from earlier, and burrow back down to grab the unconscious body. He was still out for now, since I drained nearly all of his chakra. Still, he could come to very soon, and we needed to be ready to interrogate. I propped his back against his wall in a sitting position, stepped back a couple meters, and used my Earth Style: Binding Leg Seal to make sure he wouldn't try anything stupid. Well, anything ELSE stupid. The seal was far enough away, and we had stripped him of any weapons, so it should be able to hold him pretty easily.

When he came to, he would groggily look around, gathering his bearings. I stepped on his chest to wake him up some more. A bit of a weird angle, and I'm not quite sure why exactly I did it, but I leaned in to get a better footing. His arms would weakly raise, but he was still too out of it to do anything.

"Tell us where you stashed your loot. You've been stealing from a lot of merchants, and you've been a pretty big threat in the area, but you've got nothing here. So where is it?"

"No, no, no. That's not how it works. What's the point of me telling ya without getting anything in return? No, that's not how it works at all. But I'll tell ya what. I've stolen a lot of things, made deals with a lot of people. There's a treasure trove of stuff in our warehouse, and we all know it."

He gave a somewhat sinister and sarcastic grin to Sunadokei. He shifted his gaze between us as he spoke.

"I'll tell ya what. I'm a nice guy, I'll make you an unfair deal. Unfair for me that is. You let me go, and I'll tell you where to find all of it. All the trinkets, all the foodstuffs, all the precious gems, just all of it! All of it can be yours for just letting me go. It's a good deal if you think about it. You got rid of the rest of my gang, so it's not exactly like I'll be coming back to major crime anytime soon. And the Land of Noodles isn't like any of the Great Nations. They can't exactly afford to lose all that stuff, letting it rot away somewhere forever! So, how about it? Sparing my life in exchange for the good of the Land? Or condemning us both?"

"Tell us where the storehouse is!" I shouted, "We aren't playing games here!"

He just smiled back, frustrating me to no end. I wasn't good at interrogation yet, and we both knew it. Now it was a game for him, a waiting game if nothing else.

Ok, how can we get this guy to fess up? Torture? Persuasion? But what else would we give him? Sunadokei wants him dead, and I don't think there's anything I could do to change that. But I need those supplies to be returned! What to do...

Jutsu Referenced:

WC: 993
Total WC: 5968

Sunadokei eyed her uneasy ally as he spoke, giving a huff as Nobuya informed her of his own mission's objectives. She folded her arms crossed beneath her massive bust, watching as the Kiri-nin studied her expression. "Fair enough. We do." She said simply, nodding along in acknowledgement as the Kiri-nin asked for her approval. Her tone was irritated, but ultimately cooperative. "The intelligence your nation requests of the bandits is not counter-productive to my own mission objectives. Our goals can coexist, so I see no reason to interfere with them. You'll have you intel, I swear on that by my honor as a Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village." Sunadokei stood up, giving a short bow as she swore her oath. "And just between you and I, my sense of justice agrees with your village's belief the stolen should be returned to the people of the Land of Noodles. Konohagakure simply called for the deaths of the bandits to protect our own merchants and traders, our concern was not with the people of this nation. Not officially at least..."

When Nobuya accepted her agreement, he led the curvaceous kunoichi out the same tunnel he and the bandit leader had taken. It bore the scars of his tunneling earth release jutsu, Sunadokei mused if she could fashion something similar with her Human Bullet Tank technique, a high speed subterranean drill of sorts. That would be a task for another day though. She watched as the shinobi burrowed down into the earth and retrieved the unconscious body from bellow the surface, raising an eyebrow at the unorthodox hiding place. She watched silently as Nobuya bound the bandit's legs with a seal, before bringing the man back to consciousness. Sunadokei was more than ready to get this over with, the sooner Nobuya had his information, the sooner she could kill this bandit and go home. The land of fire called, and she was more than ready to answer.

Sunadokei listened to the bandit speak, clenching and unclenching her fist as she did. She did like his tone, his words, or anything about him. When Nobuya commented and said they were playing games she placed an arm in front of his chest and gently pushed him aside. "I am." She said coldly, holding out her fist. It quickly swelled with chakra, growing into an enormous fist as large as a wrecking ball, almost as large as Sunadokei was tall. "I've got a game for you. It's called 'more weight.' The rules are simple." She said, lowering her fist to gently rest on the man's chest. It was heavier than an anvil, already she could hear his ribs begin to crack and fracture as he cried out in pain. "You tell me where this warehouse of yours is, or I add more weight. My mission calls for your death, it doesn't specify how long it has to take." She said coldly, pressing her fist down harder, the bandit's body being pushed an inch into the soft dirt. "I can do this all day. Nice and slowly. This is just the start. There are two hundred and six bones in the human body. Imagine how long it'll take me to break each and every last one of them? Don't worry, I have plenty of tricks to keep you alive through it. But I can't promise I know how to dull the pain."

The Akimichi's gaze was cold, sinister, she flashed a wide smile, a malicious Cheshire grin. In truth she was bluffing, this was all a ruse. Sunadokei was great at breaking bones, she much was true, but she knew nothing of medical ninjutsu. She push too hard, and the man was good as dead. She didn't actually know any techniques to help prolong his suffering, not that he'd know that. So would happily play the bad cop to Nobuya's good cop, so long as it got her mission done. "So what'll it be?" Sunadokei purred out her words, looming over the man looking down at him past the slope of her magnificent bust. "How long do you want this to take? I can be merciful. I promise you a quick death if you talk. Just like I promise you endless suffering if you don't." She pushed harder with her first, loud pops and cracks could be heard from the bandit's chest. He coughed and sputtered up blood. Sunadokei eagerly awaited his reply.

---

Word Count: 795 | Total Word Count: 6,185