There have been reports of a small bandit camp on the outskirts of Kumogakure. They have been holding up important imports and robbing them. We cannot allow this to go on, we need you to take care of this problem.

“Why the hell am I being asked to deal with some run of the mill bandits?” Bokuden growled to himself, clearly annoyed, “Don’t they have some lower ranked shinobi to deal with such a minor issue?” Bokuden folded the missive he was given by the kage’s office to carry out this mission and tucked it into his coat pocket, not wanting to look at it any longer. Bokuden was offended that he was being asked to deal with such a basic task. They needed a shinobi of his caliber to deal with common thieves? Sometimes he questioned the judgement of the paper pushers in the Raikage’s office who dealt with distributing missions. What could they possibly be using to judge whether or not a shinobi is suited for an assignment if they were sending jounin to deal with bandits. As far as he knew the village was not in dire straits for ryo or labor, so this was just a waste of his time. Could he get the job done? Of course. But the fact that it was felt necessary to send a jounin to deal with some highwaymen made the village look weak, in his opinion.

“Well, perhaps this isn’t a total waste of my time,” Bokuden thought to himself as he and Satomi made their way from rooftop to rooftop, “This might be a good opportunity to test my squad’s abilities in a real world setting.” He immediately scrapped that idea however, as he had neither the time nor the patience to run around town trying to find his girls. Well, at least not Miho and Masayo. There was probably a good chance that he would be able to track down Miyako, though. She was in his clan after all. “Now to see what this girl is up to…”

---

Word Count: 346/1500

A soft whistling sound could be heard – just barely, but audible nonetheless. The quiet rustling of a swaying tree branch had preceded the whistling, the source of the latter could be determined to be the curved blade in Miyako’s hands. She had been waiting patiently – ever so still – for the wind to pick up, lightly caressing the branch that she was focused on and causing several small leaves to dance off their perch and flutter towards the ground. But of course, they never made it to the earth in one piece. Not all of them anyways. Unsheathing her katana as the five leaves began their descent, her first move was a down slash, slicing two leaves symmetrically down the middle. But as expected, the motion of the katana had disturbed the air flow around the remaining leaves, causing them to flutter in opposing directions. Without a pause, Miyako swung diagonally upwards, aiming for the one that had headed to her right. Hitting her target with precision, she turned to finish off the last two, but a twinge of pain shot through her right arm, causing her fingers to twitch and loosen her grip on her katana.

Letting out a sigh, she lowered and sheathed her katana in one smooth motion, stormy gray eyes watching as the remaining leaves floated to the ground, unharmed. It had only been an hour before that she had been standing within her home, fending off another one of her mother’s mood swings. But to say she was fending it off would be incorrect – it was more of Miyako being subjected to her mother’s wrath. This time there had been no particular trigger, and the blows weren’t as heavy as usual, but in her luck Miyako managed to open a previous wound. Being unable to heal herself with the usual medical salves, she was always prone to reopen old wounds, as was the case now. Pulling up her sleeve to inspect the white bandages that she had wrapped on her arm, Miyako sat down and made sure that they were still clean before looking around for something else to do. Perhaps some ninjutsu training, or maybe she should head into the village and check for any available missions.

[ Word Count: 372/1500 ]

Bokuden brought himself to a stop as he arrived at the Ryuzoji clan’s private training grounds. It was here that the members of the clan who did not have access to the head family’s facilities conducted their training, away from the prying eyes of the outside world. It was also where he was told he could find Miyako, so if the information was good then she should be around. If the information wasn’t good however, there was going to be problems for the man feeding him false information.

As he scanned the area from the rooftop of the tall building, which shaded a large portion of the training ground from the morning sun, Bokuden did manage to spot Miyako, or at least what appeared to be her from afar. Bokuden signaled to Satomi for the two to move in silently, keeping their distance as to not alert Miyako via their kekkei genkai. As they approached it became evident that it was certainly Miyako, but she was behaving a bit strangely. Bokuden saw her take a seat and pull up her sleeves to reveal bandaging on her arms, no doubt covering up more wounds just like the other day.

“More injuries sustained during training?” Bokuden inquired as he walked towards Miyako, making both his and Satomi’s presence known, “Or are you going to tell me what is really the cause of those injuries? Now that the rest of the squad isn’t here you don’t have to worry about them prying into your business if that concerned you. I as a teacher however, would like to know what is causing harm to one of my students.”

---

Word Count: 626/1500

Miyako flinched in surprise upon the arrival of Bokuden and Satomi, having not realized that anybody else would be in the training grounds at this time. Of course, her kekkei genkai allowed her to be alert of the presence when they were within her perception range, but even so she was startled to see who the two arrivals were. Gray eyes - startling gray without the usual mix of blue - looked up at Bokuden, then his companion, then back at Bokuden. Even never having met Bokuden's combat partner, she knew that the dog before her was none other than Satomi. Scrambling to her feet, she offered both of them a collective bow, greeting each one in turn.

"Hello Sensei, Satomi-sama." Her greeting gave her some time to think, desperately trying to think of some way to answer the question without truly giving anything away. There was no way that she could pull off a lie, but she hoped that Bokuden would overlook her truth-evasion once more. "I ... yes, they're simply training injuries. I apologize for the burden it is causing you, I didn't realize -" She cut herself off with wide eyes, but realized that it was too late to not finish her sentence. "... that you would take the time to concern yourself about me." Was that too selfish to say? Too rude? Hastily trying to make amendments lest he be angry at her statement, she dropped her gaze. "I'm sorry. ... Did you come here to tell me something?" Of course he came here for something - Miyako inwardly kicked herself for asking such an obvious question. It was clear that the more flustered she was, the more prone she was to actually talk. But it was rather curious, she had heard much - or at least, whatever Bokuden allowed to circle around - about Satomi, and had thought that the combat dog only made an appearance when Bokuden went on missions or trained alone.

[ Word Count: 698/1500 ]

"I ... yes, they're simply training injuries. I apologize for the burden it is causing you, I didn't realize ... that you would take the time to concern yourself about me."

A slight frown grew on Bokuden’s face as he listened to Miyako’s words. He furrowed his brow for moment before taking a knee to get down closer to Miyako’s eye level. “Listen to me,” Bokuden said as he lifted up her chin with the tips of his fingers, forcing her attention back to him, “You aren’t a burden and I don’t want to ever hear those words come out of your mouth again. I want to help you and whenever you are ready to tell me what’s really going on I’ll be glad to listen.” Bokuden rustled Miyako’s hair with his right hand before getting up from his kneeling position and brushing off his knee. “Now then, onto business,” Bokuden said as he adjusted his appearance, “You were right about one thing, I did come here for a reason. A mission, to be specific. Some bandits roaming the countryside, wreaking havoc on travelers. The Raikage’s office wants them taken care of. You interested?” Bokuden examined Miyako once again, scanning her up and down while taking note of her condition. “Although now that I’ve seen you injured like this I’m having second thoughts about taking you along,” Bokuden continued after a moment’s pause, “I’d understand if you aren’t feeling up for it.”

---

Word Count: 882/1500

Those weren't the words that she had been expecting. Not even in her wildest dreams. While she couldn't deny that Bokuden had continued to surprise her every time they interacted following their first meeting at the cafe, nothing had rendered her frozen in surprise like this. To have the person whose father her own had tried to kill show her such compassion, so different from the scorn that their family had received countless times throughout her life ... Her eyes stared questioningly into Bokuden's when he lifted her chin, making no move to resist, as though she was too in shock to move. Was this just a test? Perhaps even a unique form of punishment? If so, then he was cruel. Too cruel. Her head dropped under the protected of her signature red scarf when he ruffled her hair, as she silently chanted, "Don't react. Don't react. Don't betray your emotions, Miyako."

"N-no!" Her sudden response surprised even herself as she raised her head again after he mentioned the mission, as well as his doubts about whether she was fit to go with him. "I mean, I'm ... interested, if you are sure you want to take me. I'd be ... honoured." A mission that had been assigned to Bokuden ... surely it wasn't something low-ranked. And to have him request for her to accompany him - whether it was his own suggestion or the influence of those in the administration office - was exhilarating. She silently contemplated asking him about whether they were going to go retrieve her squadmates as well, but couldn't trust herself to say any more.

[ Word Count: 974/1500 ]

"N-no!  I mean, I'm ... interested, if you are sure you want to take me. I'd be ... honoured."

Bokuden raised an eyebrow at Miyako’s reaction, surprised at the sudden outburst from the typically soft-spoken girl. “And you’re sure that you’re good to go?” Bokuden repeated his concerns, still hesitant to bring her along injured, “Danger is a certainty on this mission, death a real possibility if you are being hindered by your condition.” Despite his concerns Bokuden knew that expressing them further would only be a waste of his time. It was clear that she would have no intention of willingly backing down and allowing herself to appear weak or incapable. “I guess I’ll just have to keep an eye on her while we’re there,” Bokuden thought to himself before continuing out loud, “Alright then, you can come along. We’re going outside of the village for this mission, in the countryside just beyond the gates. Let’s go, kid.” With that Bokuden patted her on the head and turned to make his way out of the village.

---

Word Count: 1068/1500

There wasn’t a chance in the world she was going to pass this up, injured or not. Even as he voiced out his concerns in what appeared to be an attempt at dissuading her, she wasn’t at all fazed, standing there quietly as she waited for him to finish his warnings. Just the mention of danger in the mission confirmed her belief that this mission wasn’t something simple. Although she didn’t really mind the missions she had done thus far – babysitting a child and tending to an antique sword – she was thrilled to be given a chance to do something more, even if it was simply to accompany the one who was assigned the mission. Though rumours of Bokuden’s prowess floated constantly about, she had yet to truly see him in action – save the small display during their most recent squad training session.

The pat on her head made her blink in surprise – she really needed to work on not reacting so much to his little actions, or it’ll be used against her someday, she was sure of it. But she couldn’t help it, such gestures of affection were foreign to her, having long since forgotten what it was like to have anyone do this to her. Pulling herself out of her thoughts, she followed behind him as they headed out of the village. “Um … sensei? Do we know the number and skill level of bandits that will be present?” Ever the meticulous person, she couldn’t stop herself from inquiring for details.

[Word Count: 1234/1500]

It would not take long for the duo to make their way out of the village gates and towards the destination Bokuden was instructed to travel to by the village. “Um … sensei? Do we know the number and skill level of bandits that will be present?” Bokuden heard Miyako inquire.

“Well,” Bokuden began as he removed the mission briefing from his pocket and looked over the details once more, “According to all of the information on the group that we have gathered there seems to be a total of eleven in the group. The highest priority target being the leader of course, with his ten henchmen being secondary concerns. By all accounts the leader himself is decently strong. Among the traveling caravans he robbed was a chunnin from Iwagakure… who is now dead. So, someone in that group was strong enough to at least kill a chunnin. If these numbers are accurate we are looking at an 11 to 3 fight. Should be pretty easy. In fact, their camp is right over there.” Bokuden stopped for a moment to point to a poorly constructed camp just on the horizon before continuing, “Shall we introduce ourselves?”

---

Word Count: 1263/1500

A total of eleven bandits, strong enough to kill an Iwagakure chuunin. For a genin like Miyako, she would be sorely beaten if she herself was given this mission, but the task seemed relatively easy for someone like Bokuden. Even if she wasn’t completely privy to the amount of power the other Ryuzoji had, it was clear this mission wasn’t on par with the level that he would usually be assigned with – if it was, there would be no reason for him to take her with him if she would potentially be presented as a liability. Miyako followed the direction of his point, eyes narrowed at what appeared to be several random pieces of equipment and shelter. Resting her hand instinctively on her katana even though she had just come to the conclusion that she probably wouldn’t need to do much, she nodded. As they neared the camp, Miyako began taking in the details, spotting several sacks of what she assumed were stolen goods.

Disgusting. To attack and even kill others for their personal property and then profiting by selling these items to others was revolting.

[Word Count: 1420]

Bokuden casually strolled into the camp, signaling for Satomi to stay by Miyako and keep their distance from him. Unsurprisingly, the sudden appearance of a man waltzing into the middle of the camp caught the attention of its inhabitants. Bokuden’s eyes scanned the area, searching for anything that might prove problematic, but found nothing of note, freeing him up to deal with the prey in front of him. “This is going to be even less work than I originally anticipated,” Bokuden said to himself as he stared straight ahead to see that all of his marks were accounted for right before his eyes. The ten common thugs had stood themselves up upon his intrusion, assuming amateurish fighting stances around the large bonfire that laid at the center of the camp, and the their hulking leader sat in the shade in his makeshift throne just behind them.

“You got a death wish?” the bandit closest to Bokuden yelled, “Do you know what you just walked into? Who do you think you are?”

A smirk appeared on Bokuden’s lips, amused by the audacity of the man, before he answered, “I’m sorry, I had heard that Twin Blade was a warrior of honor, open to any challenge, not one to hide behind his little guard dogs.”

“What the hell did you just say?” the man roared in response, “Do you know who the hell you are speaking to? I’ll kill y-”

The man was interrupted by a loud thud against the ground coming from the leader’s position which drew the attention of all parties involved. “Don’t let this man’s words break your self-control,” a deep voice echoed, “You have come to challenge me, no? Let’s get to it then.”

“You misunderstand,” Bokuden replied as the grabbed his sheathed sword by his left hand and held it in front of him. As for what happened next? All that would be noticeable was the distinct click of a sword being unlocked from its sheath, a blue blur as Bokuden danced his way through the group of thugs, and the audible sounds of his sword being sheathed once more. As the final inch of the blade was hidden in its scabbard the ten men who once stood before Bokuden were reduced to nothing but an expanse of carved up bodies which fell in place. “I’m not here to challenge you, I’m here to kill you,” Bokuden continued before glaring over in the direction of his last target.

---

Word Count: 1685/1500

Miyako would have been much more disappointed about being left to watch as a bystander had Bokuden not left her with Satomi. Clearly, Bokuden found the mission much too easy. The moment he entered the heart of the camp, Miyako was sure that it was going to be a pure slaughter - especially when the bandits stood at attention and began cluttering around the jounin. It wasn’t hard to hear what they were saying, even if she stood at the edge of the camp, almost out of sight. The bandits – or bandit, as it seemed only one of them was talking to Bokuden initially – seemed unconcerned about the amount of noise he made, the immense volume of his voice carrying his every word to where she stood. Her sensei’s response was a bit harder to catch, but it appeared that he was calling out on the bandit leader’s honor, a challenge of sorts. Was it to be a one on one fight?

No. Miyako’s breath caught as Bokuden moved – only knowing that he was in motion because she could no longer see him in his original spot. Even if she could barely see his movements due to the overwhelming speed at which he travelled, it was clear that expert swordsmanship was at work, if the almost artistic bodies strewn across the dirt ground were any indication. She had known he was fast, but the extent of his speed still took her by surprise. Without moments he was alone with the bandit leader, and Miyako trained her gaze on the suspenseful scene, suddenly realizing that her hand was still gripping her katana, to the point where the designs on the handle were once again digging into her palm.

[Word Count: 1710/1500]

The mountain of a man erupted from his seat as the bodies of what used to be his henchman began to hit the floor. He yelled out with an unintelligible grunt as he charged at Bokuden, brandishing his two swords as he drew closer. Seemingly unfazed by the approaching threat Bokuden stood in place awaiting his prey to come to him. Once the man was within a few feet Bokuden would take action. Utilizing his Iaijutsu to perform a single, lightning-fast slash from the draw Bokuden dashed forth and clashed with Twin Blade, bisecting his body at the waist. Without ever turning back to look at his cut Bokuden performed the usual chiburi process to shake the blood off of his blade after a fight and put his weapon away.

Bokuden turned and proceeded walking back to the location where he had left Miyako with Satomi, throwing a quick glance down at the body of the bandit leader as he passed by. “I apologize for how boring this trip must have been for you,” Bokuden said with a smirk, “I guess I couldn’t bring myself to risk you getting hurt after all. But I’ll make it up to you. Is there anything you would like to do?”

---

Word count: 1895/1500

It was over all too quickly. With a single slash, the bandit leader had crumpled to the ground in a bloody mess, obviously dead. This was a true example of a talented Ryuzoji, there was no doubt about it. Still craning her neck to observed the now corpse-littered camp, it wasn't until Bokuden spoke to her that her gaze shifted back towards him.

“I apologize for how boring this trip must have been for you, I guess I couldn’t bring myself to risk you getting hurt after all.” At his words, Miyako quickly shook her head. “No, I learned a lot just by watching you. Thank you for taking me along.” Her words were mild and polite, but she meant every word, even if she was bad at expressing it. At his offer to make it up to her, her eyes widened a slight fraction. “There’s no need for that, Bokuden-sama. I mean – sensei. I should be thanking you for allowing me to come along, there is no reason for you to … reward me for anything.” Miyako was confused – why would he ask such a thing? It was not her place to request anything of Bokuden, and certainly not because he owed her for something.

[Word Count: 1920/1500]

Everything was most bewildering; his kind words and actions were so vastly different from the treatment she had received from those around her all sixteen years of her life. He sounded so genuine that Miyako wanted to wish that this treatment was sincere, wanted so much to have someone like this in her life. But just were the foolish wishes of a dreamer, right?

The offer he mentioned brought no outward reaction from her, but at the use of the word 'debt', her head looked up at him in surprise as she walked. Him, owing her a debt? She needed to correct this situation before he mother heard of it, but how? Even if she tried to think of something simple for him to do, nothing came to mind. She was, after all, a child too used to not hoping for much in life. "Must this be a debt, sensei? Please, I ask that you withdraw your words."

"Must this be a debate, Miyako-san? I would ask you to put aside your reservations... but somehow I feel that might be too much to ask of you, at least for now."

Miyako had no comment to those words, but the words hit a bit too close to home. Flinching slightly at the pat to her head, she simply nodded in response, unconsciously tugging at her scarf. Just a test … It was all merely a test to check her resolve. Repeating these words to herself in her mind, she was relieved when Satomi complained at their pace, happy to just simply trail after them in the silence that she was so accustomed to.

[Exit Thread]