Mission:

Throughout Kumo, rumors spread of a new bandit group that had formed. Apparently, the bandits were ransacking and stealing. From what information was spread around, the thefts were petty and they have not yet acted violently towards a villager yet. Problem was that they were still breaking the law and needed to be stopped before anything major happened. Skye took the mission and was rather surprised to see that someone else had taken it. More so that it was someone he knew. Hanbei was one of the two that went with him on the last mission, so knowing her abilities was definitely a plus. She might have even learned some new Medical Ninjutsu since he last saw her. Whatever the case may be, he went to the spot that they were to meet at before they went to confront the bandits. Skye was the first one there, so he found a good place to sit while he waited on his teammate for the mission. It wouldn’t be long due to the urgency of the mission. Bandits were no laughing matter. Having fought a few bandits in a different mission, he knew they fought dirty and a bit unfairly. While sitting, he decided to look up at the clouds. He started to think about where his path was headed. After a mission or two more, he would reach Special Jounin and be eligible to face his father for the title of clan leader. Of course that would mean more work running the clan and such. Thinking a little harder on it, he thought about what his father has to go through on a daily basis, and what it would be like if he had to go through something like that. Just thinking about it made him a little anxious. His father would definitely push it on him, and he would have to fight him once he was eligible to. There was no doubt in his mind about that. With a sigh, he continued to stare up at the clouds. Picking out a few of them, he kept his eyes focused and tried to make out the shapes they were. He grinned a little as he watched them. One even looked like his clan’s symbol. For some odd reason, Skye enjoyed taking time to just relax and not do anything. It might have just been something he used to take his mind off things, or even something to relieve stress. Whatever the reason was, he enjoyed it nonetheless.

Mission Word Count: 420/1000

Training Word Count: 420/1000

(Will also be training Hanbei's Medical B->A 3k words)

Hanbei, like most mornings found himself awake in his bed, having been dreaming of himself standing amidst the stars he yearned so long to join. There were 108 of them, all once demons, all trapped for what seemed like an eternity of purgatory. Hanbei often thought that perhaps they were more like heroes that had gone through stages of transition in their lives. Bandits, and sell swords, farmers and kings which had once not been so benevolent. He thought about what could have caused all of their minds to be changed to the path of righteousness. Perhaps there was a catalyst, in a time of war... Hanbei with his eyes open and looking to the roof of his room listened to his dad walk into to his room. Looking at his father Kanbei for only a moment before looking back up to the roof, as if to stare past it and continue looking onward through the sky where the light does not shine and the stars were always out.

I know that look Hanbei... what's on your mind? His father spoke lightly, his baritone but soothing, calm voice earned his respect alone as he spoke.

Do you ever think the stars of destiny were just men? People who history turned into demons and deities, only because of the things they did? Hanbei looked down and sat up in bed facing his father. Who took a seat next to his son's bedside as his own eyes drifted away forming his own philosophical words.

History does indeed have a way of forging heroes to be greater in scope than their very deeds, but thats the testimony of greatness. Where it is written that the greatest hero created the universe... the sage of the six paths, for example, was said to have made the moon, and is no deified as a legendary figure, though little is known about him... History, and legend blur together as metaphors and similes, its up to you to decipher the truth. But, I think that the 108 stars of destiny could have been but men, perhaps in some time of war, long ago, who came from all walks of life, and rose up to greatness. With training they became heroes. But it is just as likely they were spirits. Chakra made manifest in flesh, and in bone. Much like the old tailed beasts 100 years ago. How you decipher the legends is up to you Hanbei... but some paths are harder than others to become.

With that Kanbei left his son's breakfast and left the room, upon the breakfast tray there was a note, a mission. Hanbei took his egg noodles and sauté beef, reading the mission, it seemed bandits had been plaguing kumo, for whatever reasons. Hanbei remembered the monster the bandits had made along the countryside, frowning, he finished his meal quickly, he got dressed in his long robes, applying his own make-up and fixing up his hair. Grabbing his wooden sandals and needles being strapped to his body, he fleeted out of his home some time half an hour or so later. this mission took priority over a day of philosophy and training. Looking over the mountains. Looking down he saw someone he knew at the mission application area. It was Skye!

Jumping down from his perch he ran toward him and ultimately dropped down beside him. Smiling the ever present smile of Hanbei he took a couple of steps forward before disclosing his arrival with a quick hug. Though from this close angle he could actually see the piece of paper he was holding in his hand, it looked like the same mission he had only just recently taken, well, his father had taken for him. Hey Skye, looks like we get to be mission buddies again! Hanbei spoke excitedly, his eyes lighting up joyously like the eyes of a child on Christmas morning. I hope you've been well my friend, are you hurt anywhere? have the missions been good to you? He spoke somewhat concerned for his well being, Hanbei believed in piece as well as the well being of the people he knew.

I'm glad you're here, this mission may have been a little too dangerous for me on my own, though, most of my skills hit wide areas, i could probably have gotten most of them on my own, but, you never know, it's better to be safe, rather than sorry, one direct hit from them and i would probably be out for the count, I'm not very large... and i know that. So, yeah. Thanks for taking the mission, together you and I will crush these guys, you take the front, and make sure To halt their progress coming toward me, and ignore all of their attacks. I'll make sure none of them lay so much as a finger on you with my needles from the back lines. They'll learn to not mess with Kumo ninja! Hanbei spoke enthusiastically, he was not the somewhat shy and reserved kid he once was when they first met, the missions and training he had been doing seemed to have effected his confidence considerably. Laughing and carefree, although having almost barraged Skye with questions, grabbed his hand and started to pull him in the direction of the exit of the city.

Come, walk and talk, tell me everything, i need to know! Hanbei laughed, but his mind went back to think of his dad, he had mentioned a couple of days ago he would be heading out on a mission today, which was a somewhat depressing thought, though Kanbei was Hanbei's father, he was a part of Hanbei's life which he found acted as a pillar for all of his philosophical questions. Someone he never really thought about not being there when he came back home to brag and tell about his mission as well as all the adventure he had. He liked the look that flashed through his father's eyes which always told Hanbei that he was proud of him, as well as proud of his accomplishments. It was a little sad he may not be able to to that this time... but, there was always the chance he was back in time. Hanbei hoped...

Word count: 1k/1k:

(I'm a little more awake and aware now, so I might as well do a training too. ^-^ )

With one single guess, he assumed the voice that yelled his name was none other than Hanbei’s. Skye turned his head towards the quick tapping of feet. Just through that one look, he saw that he was right on the mark. Hanbei was happily running towards him. Sitting up slowly, a few bones in his back gave way and let out a slight crack here and there. He tensed up for a moment, and then let out a heavy, but silent, sigh. All of slight shifts of his bones turned into a great stress reliever. With a quick smile to greet his friend, he answered the question with a calm voice. “I’m doing well. Nothing’s been hurting, since we took down that monster. And as for the missions, I think I’m pretty close to getting recognized for all of them.” With a slight laugh, he tilted his head as a way of reassuring Hanbei that everything was fine.
Skye’s grin widened slightly as he listened to his friend’s little comment on the mission. It was somewhat true that it would be difficult for just one person to deal with this mission. It would probably give Skye some trouble as well. From the mission specs, all of the bandits were pretty lethal with taijutsu. He himself being more of a ranged fighter wasn’t too used to fighting up close and personal. In fact, he even had jutsu to stall an opponent long enough so that he could get some distance. Shaking his head once to snap out of his drifting thoughts, he focused his attention right back on Hanbei. Skye was lucky enough to catch the last bit of his friend’s comment. “Damn right.” With another quick grin, he noticed that Hanbei had grabbed his hand and started pulling in the direction of the mission.

As the continued to walk, he noticed that Hanbei said that she wanted Skye to tell her everything. Straightening his posture so he would no longer be pulled, he slowly released his hand from Hanbei’s grip. “Well… Let’s see… What’s happening in my life as of now…?” Skye tilted his head up and pondered of the possible future events. “I might be promoted to a higher rank soon. Considering I’ve done a few missions successfully with and without help. Though there is a bit of an issue with me becoming a higher rank… My father… He isn’t exactly the kindest of people, but that’s just him. Since he’s the leader of my clan, and I’m his son… It’s only going to be a matter of time before he forces me to fight him for the title of clan leader.” Skye sighed slightly after finishing his little tale. It was obvious he wasn’t looking forward to it. By the sound of his voice, there was no mistaking that these fights for leader were intense and rather brutal. Which might be considered a little strange due to the fact it is purely a genjutsu versus genjutsu fight.

The road ahead seemed a little longer than Skye expected. The way Skye saw this mission going was a quick go in, beat the snot out of some reckless bandits, then come back and maybe have a nice meal. Due to it being morning, they would’ve probably been finished by Lunch. Maybe as a treat for victory he would take Hanbei to a restaurant. That is of course, if they came back. Ah, there was no way they would get beaten. Two well-rounded ninja versus a bunch of street thugs, there would be no doubt they would be victorious. It would be a piece of cake. Come to think of it, some cake after the fight would be a nice treat as well. Skye immediately stopped his mind from going any further. All that thinking of food and reward would go to his head and probably make him a bit sloppy during the mission. Whatever… After all that thinking, he consumed enough time to make the bit of travelling go rather fast. They were at the sight of a recent break-in, no doubt by the bandits. A slight clinking noise followed by some quiet footsteps could be heard near one of the shops. Another quick moment of a shadow ran down a nearby alley. Skye leaned over to Hanbei and talked quietly in case of listening ears. “Hanbei… Take out your needles… I don’t think the bandits have left quite yet.” With a silent breath, he put both hands together and waited for the slightest bit of noise. Hopefully, his teammate would catch on to the happenings around them and become alert.

Mission Word Count: 1213/1000 (Completed)

Training Word Count: 1213/3000

Hanbei listened and hung on to every word which Skye spoke as he slipped his hand from Hanbei's, though the twelve year old was not terribly worried. He walked across the ground on his wooden stilt like sandals watching out for potholes, dancing and spinning like a child as he walked, without a care in the world, whimsical was nature and continuous state of Hanbei whenever he was not in trouble. Though he was glad that his friend was going to be recognised for his achievements, and in time Hanbei hoped that he would be recognised for his, though, he was far too young to be granted the honour of being accepted into the world of the chunin, he was an experienced Genin, this was for sure, who was capable of wounding a jounin in a fair fight, since he had his duel with Binsu. Butt he did not like the sound of Skye having to confront and fight his father... Fathers were a sacred thing for Hanbei, and though he understood they were not perfect all the time, they generally tried their best to protect their children, and love them as long as they knew how.

If you ever need a hand in fighting anyone, just feel free to call on me okay Skye? I don't know how much help i can be in matters like that, but I'll always have your back, okay? It was funny to hear Hanbei speak in such terms, hearing the small, nigh on 4'10 boy no more than a mouse speak with the courage of wolves and the pride of a dragon. He would have helped fight his father if he asked, but he doubted that would be that kind of challenge, few challenges ever were something you could ask for help for. It was something they had to do on their own. There was only so much you could ever do to help the people whom were close to you in this day and age, ninja, war, strife, chaos. The world was crumbling to pieces, and it was only a few months ago that he could see the smoke rising from over the sea. Death was the great leveller, but it seemed as Hanbei had continued to keep his thoughts to himself, something had been occurring around him. Looking up a small village seemed to have materialised out of thin air.

six needles were already in Hanbei's hands, between each of his fingers though you would never have known under the thick, long silks which trailed well over Hanbei's hands. Hanbei went into alert mode, falling back behind Skye into a ranged position. the place seemed to have been ransacked, though there was a chance this was just the villagers whom had been robbed hiding for their lives. I don't like the looks of this Skye, how do we know if these are the good guys or the bad guys? Hanbei squeaked, he could see a few of the darting shadows, his keen eyes able to pick up some of the features of the people behind them, though what he saw was not a positive thing. He felt that these were the bandits they were looking for, and they had found them first. Surrounded, or so it seemed, the two ninja may be having to deal with multiple foes at once. hopefully they did not attack from too many directions simultaneously, Such could cause them to be separated, and perhaps easily disposed of.

Hanbei however kept a brave face, moving to be back to back with the other ninja, assuming his hands down battle stance, swaying lightly from side to side. looking for a chance, for an opening, just one. One that would send one of his needles deep into, and potentially through an opponent. Hanbei's arms seemingly hanging limp and dead awaiting the next crack or sound of any life other than his own or Skye's to hurtle needles through.

Skye backed up to close any gap between him and Hanbei. It was probably the best move to make considering they were surrounded by buildings. Thankfully the area around them would provide a fair amount of reaction time. From what he could see, they would have the more favorable defensive position if an attack came. Noticing Hanbei’s words, he listened intently, and then answered with a clam and soft voice. “If they were good guys-” His sentence was interrupted by yet another shadow quickly darting around inside of a nearby shop. He stared for a moment before resuming his statement. “-they would have come out to see us… plus, both of us have our Kumo headbands showing... They’d probably recognize that we’re shinobi…” His voice died out into the silence around them. All of the slight noises and flashes of figures moving made Skye a little on edge. There was no doubt that these were the bandits that had been causing so much grief in the area. Just through seeing a few bits of their movement, Skye predicted they were setting up for an ambush. Worst part about it was the fact he knew it was coming, but didn’t know when. Leaning into Hanbei a bit, he whispered once more. “They’re going to try an ambush… I just know it…” Pausing for just another moment, he glanced around once more, and even looked above. Predicting the ambush was going to happen soon, he added one last instruction before straightening up and getting fully prepared. “Watch above us… I’ll tell you if any come from the shops, and block them if necessary…”

A quiet gust of wind blew by the two of them. All was still. All of the sudden, a battle cry broke through the silence and started to get louder as it headed towards them. Multiple yells followed the first. Just like Skye thought, they planned a quick ambush and decided to attack them from a few locations. Two enemies came out from one store, while two tried to jump from the upper part of the building and attack from the air. Skye didn’t notice the ones above because of his focus on the few coming towards him from the shop. "Two up front! I got them!" He yelled out a quick statement so that Hanbei could be informed of his current situation. Putting his hands together, he started a quick stream of hand signs and finished before the two were in range. Turning his hands outward, he watched the movements of the two running towards him. Looking a bit more closely at the bandits running towards him, he saw that they each had a different weapon in their hands. One looked like thick wooden clubs that had been sloppily cut and rather shoddy. The other was definitely a somewhat dull knife. The only bandit to have their weapon eady to strike Skye was the one with the knife. Fortunately, Skye had his jutsu waiting for them. As they drew near, Skye thrust his palms forward and made contact with each of their shoulders. Both bandits immediately froze in place. Skye grabbed both of their arms and spun around once before tossing them a good distance away. Once that was over and done, he would turn his head to check on Hanbei. Reason being that he heard more than just two yells.

Mission Word Count: (Complete)

Training Word Count: 1783/3000

Chakra:

Hanbei acted quickly, there were several coming from the front, more from behind, and even more coming from above them. But Hanbei's actions were simple, grabbing two fist fulls of his own needles he threw them upwards at the two whom were foolish enough to leap, meaning their trajectories were locked in place, their bodies became peppered with Hanbei's B rank needles, 4 each in total as hanbei span, activating his chakra senbon technique he threw another set of six chakra senbon deep into the chests and lungs of the two fiends attacking from the air to finish them off once and for all. The aim of the young boy was immaculate. Though, he had more tricks up his sleeve. Though he did not see the need to use them in this scenario. Each of the two airborne men struck the ground with over half a dozen needles in them each. Bleeding heavily if they were left here, they would die.

Finally using his last technique of the mission he moulded his chakra with his hands, fibres from his silk clothing unwound into the sitting needle jutsu. Three dozen needles fired in a blanket for the two on the ground, not penetrating their vitals, but instead pinning them to the earth. With that successful, Hanbei needed to leave. He had played his part in this mission, but left a note on the ground to be found by his partner. After his dead was done, he used the Body flicker technique to disappear and return to the village, the note said:

"Dear Skye:

I'm sorry i had to leave so suddenly, it was kinda bad of me, though, I had fun walking with you, i need to run back to see if my father has successfully finished his mission. Which, being a ninja of much higher capability than me, entails its danger level. I need to make sure he's okay, he means the most to me in this world, and is my only parent, and the though of him being killed on this mission has been plaguing me this entire time, please forgive me.

But i hope we can go on another mission soon, yours sincerely.

Hanbei Guanyin~ <3"

Chakra 110:

Skye tightened his fists and saw that he would have no time to start a jutsu just yet. Reason being the two enemies he threw away from him were already up and heading for him once more. It seemed that during the throw, the one with the club had lost his weapon and was using his fists now. With a bit of an annoyed look, Skye prepared himself for the two attacks coming directly at him. The first swung his arm a bit low, but was still able to be blocked by Skye’s right arm. The other went straight for him. Lifting his arm up, he caught the balled up fist and pulled his opponent forward. From there, he rammed his head into the guy’s chest, causing him to falling backwards. For the other, he quickly extended his are arm struck him in the cheek, again, making him fall flat on his back. The moment Skye was about to start a series of hand signs, another bandit decided to join the fray and fight alongside his comrades. Seeing this, Skye took his chain scythes out and grinned. He wasn’t alarmed at how he was outnumbered. At this point, the only thing he was concerned about was Hanbei. Just from the amount of noise coming from behind him, he could tell Hanbei was already having a bit of trouble with multiple bandits. Shaking his head, Skye decided to end the fight between him and his group of bandits, and then turn his attention to his teammate. Closing his eyes for just a quick moment, he opened them suddenly and looked directly at the bandits. His eyes had changed from the original shade of light blue to a shade of purple and an interesting symbol was in the place of his pupil. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to keep his Kekkei Genkai up for long, he would have to work rather quickly. Seeing that the three he was facing were going to attack again, he would have to use his scythes to counter all three. Judging from their movements, it looked as if all three bandits were going to work in sync and all attack simultaneously. Smart move, considering Skye would have a little easier time fighting each separately.

Two spilt up and went to flank him on both his right and his left side, while the remaining bandit would rush forward and swing his fist upward to knock into Skye’s jaw. Seeing all this happen, Skye gripped his chain scythe and leaped forward. A few thoughts shot through his head as he moved. He had to focus on multiple enemies at once. Added on to the stress of his Kekkei Genkai, it was a little difficult to fully calculate and predict what would happen next. The only thing he could really grasp was what he was going to do the moment he moved. Bringing his mind back to the fight, he angled the chain scythe slightly as he brought it down on the bandit in front. It cut through the bandit’s chest, but wasn’t deep enough to cause real damage. The two bandits that were to flank him changed direction and rushed right for him. Skye didn’t have enough time to fully react, so the bandits were able to get a quick strike on his arms before Skye struck them back and pushed them forward. Finally having a much needed opening, Skye dropped his scythes and put both hands together. Streaming together hand signs, he looked up at the three and exhaled. The bandits immediately noticed the void forming beneath their feet. In a bit of a panic, the three of them tried to run to its edges in order to escape the trap. However, they began to feel a tugging on their legs. Flat, paper-like arms reached out from the void and were pulling them downward. It was now obvious that they were afraid. From the view of someone that wasn’t in the Genjutsu, it would look as if the three were standing, but holding their heads dude to the stress of the Genjustsu. Slowly but surely, they sank into the void. They kept struggling until they were completely under. The moment all three disappeared, the Genjutsu was ceased and the bandits passed out unconscious. Now that his three were taken care of, he turned to see how Hanbei was holding up. Though when he turned, all he saw was a few dead bandits, as well as a note on the ground. Ignoring the note for one quick moment, he walked over to the three passed out bandits, tied them up, and left them for pickup by the higher ninja. As he passed his chain scythes, he picked them up and hooked them back on the loop on his belt. Walking towards the bodies left by Hanbei, he started to think a little on their death. It wasn’t like Skye to kill needlessly. He wasn’t of fond of death and dying. The way he saw, a life only needs to be ended if it threatens the life or lives of others. From the look of things, the bandits weren’t exactly threatening the lives of the shopkeepers whose shops and stores they were raiding. After he was finished tying his opponents, he went to Hanbei’s dead and put them all together in lines. While dragging a few, he made sure to avoid the needles left by Hanbei. Once all of that was done, he went over and picked up his partner’s note.

"Dear Skye:
I'm sorry I had to leave so suddenly, it was kind of bad of me, though, I had fun walking with you, i need to run back to see if my father has successfully finished his mission. Which, being a ninja of much higher capability than me, entails its danger level. I need to make sure he's okay, he means the most to me in this world, and is my only parent, and the thought of him being killed on this mission has been plaguing me this entire time, please forgive me.
But I hope we can go on another mission soon, yours sincerely.
Hanbei Guanyin"

Reading it rather quickly, he grinned slightly once he finished. Folding the note into a smaller square, he tucked it away and turned to where he and Hanbei had come from. Due to the contents of the letter, Skye could only guess that Hanbei wouldn’t have time to go and report that the mission was a success. With a simple shrug of the shoulders, and a slow exhale, he started off to the main administration building. While walking, he thought a bit about what Hanbei’s note was about. Knowing Hanbei, she wasn’t one to just leave so suddenly. [i]Her[i] father must have meant a lot to her. Tilting his head slightly in thought, Skye started to wonder if his father would be as pushy as he is now if he wasn’t clan leader. Again, his mind drifted into the concept of him becoming clan leader. He started to wonder if things would be easy or difficult. Would he have to fight others that believed they could face him? So many questions unanswered, but still possible in the future. Skye ended up at the administration building and turned in the mission specs to show that the mission was a success.

Mission Word Count: (Complete)

Training Word Count: 3011/3000 (Complete)

Spoiler: