The Village Hidden in the Marsh, Episode 1: Fresh Blood

[Nyan]

As Hisahsi got up the hill he would quickly asses the situation. Their leader and the archer on the bridge occupied with Rikku and Minamis bugs, getting a light shiver down his spine as he felt the same overwhelming aura emmiting from Rikku as his eyes would linger on her a bit longer. To think that she could really be this fearsome in contrast to how she was normaly. He would then see the smoke cloud from his bomb which he had placed out for the others and he would, without saying anything to the others dash in to the area filled with smoke. "Torasi-chan! Are you alright!?" He would call out as he would search around for her and once he did he would take of his cloak and wrap it around her shoulders. "Let's get out of here. Everything is okay but we should move away from Rikku-sensei. It is not safe." He said as he would get up with her and run out in to the forest and hide with her somewhere safe as far as he could travle with her. Picking her up if he had to, tho in that case leaving the huge pack she was wearing so he would not break something trying to lift her up.

[HanaRei]

Reina shifted a bit feeling the 'killing intent' as one might call it. Her eyes fixated at Rikku hearing her voice. She looked over to Hisahsi giving alight nod. The girl quickly jumped back pulling a bit of distance moving towards her fellow 'allies'. As loose of a word she felt it was, she didn't want to risk herself getting hurt. She moved towards Hisahsi pulling away as Rikku asked of them. She gripped her blade tightly keeping it within her grasp prepared should something happen on the way.

[Princess Tracy]

Rikku looks over her shoulder at the genin, not seeming to particularly listen to Minami, more watching the Aburame do what she needs to do. There's nothing playful about her at the moment; a real opponent has made clear his intent on her life and the threat he poses to lesser allies. There wasn't any other way she thought it wise to deal with him other than to take him as seriously as she would a jounin, wounds are not. If he wanted an honourable fight from her at her fullest, then she would gladly overwhelm him just as his last opponent did.

Minami's last proposition of leaving him humiliated seems to make Rikku actually look at her, then to Tsume. She gives them both a last, stern look. "I told you to stay back," is all she says before turning back to face her opponent. Her hand rips back through the air and she flails it out behind her, preparing for quite the swing - in fact, sparks seem to fly from the very air being scorched. With the last man handily stabilised, Minami has a few moments still to get going. If she doesn't move the man away, then the girl who was holding the chain does - still shaking with too much fear to actually go against RIkku. The spearman that Reina had at sword point also scrambles away, clearly no one is opposing Rikku in any case, and they're smart enough to avoid Hisashi and company too. Hisashi finds Torasi easily enough - she's quite quiet but quick on her feet to run away if he holds her hand.

Baboa tries emerging from the bug cloud at one point, but Rikku just booted him back in so Minami could finish talking. It was clear that even without Minami to suppress him, she was physically dominant. She takes a step back, patiently giving the kikaichu their chance to scatter and fly away. "Do not blame your wounds; you could never beat me." The archer gives a cry as she watches Rikku slam her fist forward, Kuretsu scowling all the way with a final battle cry of a wounded animal. "Ryuushimai Tenjutsu - Ougi: Yuumaigaryuu!"

A shockwave is felt as well as it is seen, some feat of chakra making the attack plainly visible as pure force spills out without her even touching her opponent. There's a gust of backlash the genin feel, though nothing so damaging as what happens dead ahead of her - an arc of golden energy like a torrent of a burst dam reaches out, tearing up everything in its path, the jutsu molding itself to resemble the chomping maw of a dragon. An atack like this - perhaps it was her namesake. The earth shakes as the entire bridge cracks, snaps and explodes from the pressure of the attack, and Kuretsu seems to have been utterly consumed by it. The whole attack dissipates with a flash, as the bridge's unorthodox strut-based structure can't take its new devastated form and begins to collapse forward.

Kuretsu is nowhere to be seen for a moment, though a keen eye eventually sees his unconscious body plummet into the river below. The bridge's debris is blown away from the river so nothing else collapses on him as he hits the stream and is carried away by it in the direction of the smoke cloud the medic had conjured. Rikku herself kicks hard against the bridge, leaping from it onto the opposite bank. The archer looks up in horror in time for Rikku to give her an open-palm thrust to the chest, knocking her out safely.

The remaining bandits look on in horror at the whole thing, the fight having utterly left them. Rikku looks back across the bank at the genin. "That is a way of the warrior. To show no weakness to an opponent, to never let them believe you can be defeated. That is how one secures oneself in the world of ninja; to appear invincible to those who seek your head." Her heavy tone is different from normal and once again that heavy aura presses on her again. "It is only an insult to an opponent to hold back. While I train lightheartedly by handicapping myself, against a true opponent of personal vendetta against me, battle is no longer a game." She holds up her fist, now looking somewhat scorched at the knuckles - made obvious by the slight smoke still rising from them. "Tsume. That is the strength of a Jounin in Taijutsu. A power beyond even the ninja clans traditions. You must seek your own strength, but more importantly know how to use it. I can show you how to make your body a weapon beyond the sharpest sword or heaviest axe, but responsibility on the battlefield is something you can only teach yourself. I am not the strongest there is, do not make me your target. Aim beyond me if you ever want to match me!" That said, she turns her attention to the bandits one last time, all two that remained conscious. She presses her aura down on them again, and this time the genin feel it themselves as she seems to have it much less discriminating. A heavy feeling, like being held under the paw of a great beast, toying with its meal, Rikku looks like a monster for a moment. And then again, as it had before, it passes and she is normal. The bandits cower utterly, at the genin's mercy, something about RIkku's presence informing them that they were below her attention and that they were lucky they were left to her students.

With a sigh, Rikku walks down the side of the cliff face and across the stream, calmly approaching the group again. She seems herself again, though a fair bit calmer, tired even as she stands before them. Actually giving a yawn, she ***** her head... then does a double take and looks to her side at the state of the now utterly destroyed bridge - one half reduced to splinters and the other collapsed in two pieces to the bottom of the ravine. She rotates her head back to the group, looking a bit... mortified. "Um, may have.... may have overdone it. Like, a bit..." She particularly avoids the eyes of Minami who had advised her specifically NOT to destroy the bridge. "Um, anyway, um, Kuretsu's alive, so there... probably..."

Hisashi feels the grip at at his hand slip away and sees Torasi sprinting away from the group, giving a frightened squeal as she runs into the woods without a word. Rikku raises an eyebrow. "Um, sorry about that, I forgot there was a civilian here, shouldn't have used my presence like that..." she apologises more, bowing her head. "Um, Hisashi, somebody, go make sure she doesn't go too far. We're on a mission, so I'm not sure what to do with these bandits... but I guess they'll not be stealing on this bridge anymore, right? Eh heh heh... um, if anyone hasn't learned the jutsu to climb walls, I'll gladly carry you across," she offers. "No point going around, right Minami? I'll get the terraforming team or someone to fix this later, out of pocket, honest..."

If Hisashi or anyone else follows Torasi into the forest, she stops running about a hundred feet in and crouches behind a tree, shaking softly when you find her. (anyone that follows her should make a perception check) The mist cloud of the fleeing medic actually seems to have grown or at least spread out with time, almost reaching Torasi. While upset, she seems basically alright and unwounded, and doesn't talk until someone starts talking with her. Either way, she eventually calms down, gives a sigh of relief and moves on, but it happens a lot faster if Hisashi tries to calm her down.

---
Rikku feels embarassed at the results of her taking the initiative and leaves some decisions to the genin. She intends to carry everyone across the canyon as necessary unless everyone insists on going around. "Well, there's the issue of if we should take a rest before continuing on and where to take it... and the issue of what to do with the remaining folks. If we should arrest them, take them to the nearest village, set them loose, or... finish them off." After seeing how determined Minami was to see them live, she didn't see anyone going for that. "I have some rope and I'm good with bindings if you want them restrained." The sun will set soon, likely before they would reach the circus.

[Nyan]

Hisashi takes Torasi's hand and quickly hurries in to the forest away from Rikku. Getting to a reasonable safe distance he would then stand with her behind a tree, still grasping her hand and looking out towards the bridge. He can see Rikku charge up her attack and he could feel the aura emitting from her becoming stronger. As she then releases her attack Hisashis eyes widen as he then shrug back and takes cover behind the tree, pulling Torasi closer and embracing her as the shockwave passes them. Hisashi then looks back utterly dumbfounded towards Rikku as she jumps over the gap to take out the girl on the other side only to feel his heart skip a beat when she the feels her aura now more powerful than it was before and he could not help but tremble slightly as he would swallow from the feeling. "...T-That she could be this...This powerful... I-It's...Unreal..." He thinks to himself when he then feels the aura disappear and he breathes out heavily and closes his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath and begins to try and walk back to the group.

He then feels how his grip slips from Torasi's hand as he quickly turns back to see Torasi run away. "Kh!...Dammit Rikku!" He shouts back towards the others before he then dashes after Torasi shouting her name as he tries to catch up to her. As he then sees her crouch down behind a tree he quickly goes there and goes down and places his hands on he shoulders. "It's alright its alright...It's over now Torasi-chan. Don't be scared." The way he spoke was a bit awkward. Not really knowing what to say to her in order to comfort her. Quickly looking to the side as he notices the pool of water nearby to which he looks over to Torasi again. "It's not safe for us to be to far away from the others, lets hurry back okay? Come on." He says as he would help her to get up and take her back to the others. Keeping an eye out for anything that could harm them. For all he knew the medic could still be around. But with that thought he would then stop as he continued to look around. "...How did we first meet?..." He would ask Torasi in his regular speaking voice as he would look at her putting his hand in to his cloak and grabbing a smoke bomb.

Spoiler

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Preparing an action to throw a smoke bomb. Call me paranoid but im suspicious.

[Jacior]

Tsume watches Rikku's devastating display with awe and more than a little jealousy. That was what he aspired too. And even more than that. He'd surpass Rikku. He'd surpass everyone at taijutsu. Just because he wasn't as smart, charismatic or possessing in common sense like other ninja, didn't mean he would let them surpass him. At that moment, two crazy ideas popped into Tsume's head. He'd be able to do one now. And the other later. Much later.

With a shout, he charges the groups current leader and teacher, fists flying towards her.

Spoiler

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Activating Strength and Speed Ranks.

Charge Attack: (1d20+12)[27]
Damage: (1d4+3)[6]

[Princess Tracy]

Torasi shakes a little still as Hisashi helps her to her feet, looking into the distance still, a little jumpy. Her hair looks positively ruined with twigs and leaves sticking out of it, and she holds Hisashi's hand tight. "Y-yeah... I guess you're right. After all, sh-she's on our side, huh?" She wraps her arms around his, holding him close for support as she prepares to be led out of here.

At Hisashi's question, she blinks for a moment, before blushing a bit and looking to the side, though the distraction seems to slow her fearful quaking at least a little. "Well... um, I'm not sure if you would call it our meeting but... back in the orphanage.... wh-why are you asking, I mean it's..." She seems rather flustered. Before she can go much further in her explanation though, Rikku starts off toward them.

She waves "Hey, you kids okay? Sorry if I scared you... c'mon, I'll give you a lift across, or Tsume can do it if I creep you out." Speaking of Tsume, Rikku hears the sudden footfall of her personal apprentice and turns around, curiously looking as she's entirely too late in getting her guard up - hardly expecting to be assaulted then and there. Tsume's blindly charging in and flailing his arms manages to hit soft flesh and send Rikku staggering back, surpisingly. She splutters as she falls back on one knee. As Hisashi and the others watch though, she glares up at him, utterly indignant as she gets her air back from the sudden hit. "You punched me in the BOOB! You have no idea how much that SUCKS!" she roars at the top of her lungs. She flies up in the air and brings her fist smashing down on Tsume's head in retribution, seeming to momentarily forget to hold back for her younger opponent. Even if he blocks it, he still feels his arms smarting from the force she throws behind her punch

Either way, Rikku staggers away looking rather winded, swearing under her breath at how it smarts and how she should kick Tsume between the legs. He seemed to at least make her feel that one, but it's probably not a weakness he should exploit often. She snarls at Hisashi. "Are we going now or what?"

Torasi looks a little frightened to be so close to her, but still gives a nod of appreciation as a fellow woman - at least now knowing that Rikku was subject to the same pains she would be. "Um, I can't d-do ninja things..."

Spoiler

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Rikku uses Mountain Blow on Tsume, attack (1d20+16)[19] damage (1d8+8)[9] and you must make a DC 18 Fort save or be stunned for 1 round and knocked prone

[Jacior]

Tsume almost managed to get out of the way of Rikku's counter-attack, but the forward momentum had thrown his balance off. But when her fist came cracking down on his head, it was met with the force of his own resistance to the blow. It hurt, but she didn't manage to knock him over, and that was enough for him right now. "I'll surpass you Rikku-sensei. If it takes me a hundred years. A thousand. I'll be the greatest who ever lived." He grins and it seems his bad mood has evaporated.

Still running off the energy from releasing his true strength and speed, Tsume dashes over to Torasi and picks her up, despite here being bigger than him. "Let's get going. If we hurry, we can still be there before it gets too late." He adjusts his grip slightly and then runs at the gap, then runs straight down the cliff wall. "Hold on!"

[Nyan]

As Torasi answered his question he would let out a light sigh while he slowly moved away his hand from under his cloak and let go of the smoke bomb. As then Rikku came over he would look towards her and then down to Torasi again with her still grasping his arm. But before he had time to say anything he would look back in slight shock as he noticed Tsume charging towards Rikku and strike her. "Tsume!?..." He exclaimed as he saw Rikku stagger slightly and would simply watch in shock from Rikku's retaliation just wondering what the heck just happened.

At Torasi's statement he would snap out of his blank stare towards the display of Rikku and Tsume. "Rikku will take you across. Don't worry its the safest way. If I could I would take you over myself but Rikku is far more capable of than me considering you have all of that heavy equipment you are carr-." He would then notice how Tsume would run towards and try to pick Torasi up to which his eyes would flare up slightly as he would quickly step between the two. "...Take your hands off her Tsume...She would be safer with Rikku carrying her over..." He said as he looked down on tsume with a slight glare before he would call out to Rikku. "Rikku please take her over. No offence to your student but I'd rather not have him be the one to do so."

[Princess Tracy]

Rikku sighs and grabs Tsume by the scruff of his neck before he can try something stupid. "I didn't hear a 'sorry' yet, you know," she growls. Calming herself, she adds, "I'm flattered you've taken my words to heart about surpassing me, but there are RULES, man." With that, she flings Tsume over her shoulder fireman style. "Punishment is good for discipline," she replies simply if he complains.

Rikku offers her hand to Torasi, who hesitates before seeming to remember Hisashi's words. Nodding, she lets Rikku whisk her off, carrying her more gracefully - like a bridal style, but slanted as she has to use one arm for securing Tsume. She quickly sprints down the canyon and emerges on the other side, dumping Tsume and Torasi down on the forest floor

The bandits who had surrendered cut their losses and get running while everyone's distracted with that unless Reina or Minami do something about it. Rikku yawns, shrugging. "Well... let's move on, shall we? These guys have nothing to do with out objective." If no one objects, she resumes the trek through the wilderness, though does eventually stop to let Minami heal Tsume if she asks nicely.

[HanaRei]

Reina watched Rikku's attack with awe... and Tsumes attempt to attack Rikku with quite disdain. It was quite amazing how one could shift from being amazed to being taken back with stupidity. It wasn't at all what she had expected. Her eyes glanced as her gaze was far from hiding how stupid she thought the boy's display was. Had she really gotten angry about him before?

She shimmied over towards Manami, who seemed to keep to herself at this point rather then jumping in to stop it like Torasi had. "Tell me... is he really that stupid?" She asked her, looking over just as Rikku flung him over her shoulder.She noticed the bandits not giving them much heed seeing them as an annoyance an nothing more.

[Regalus]

Minami groans in frustration, face palming at the sight of the destroyed bridge as she glared slightly at Rikku in a rare expression of raw emotion for the Aburame; yet she doubted even her grandfather would argue the insanity did not warrant it. The fact Rikku immediately recognize the fault and would pay for the repairs ameliorated the act now, and she took comfort in the fact she wouldn't have to deal with the comity once the local daimyo begin whining about the loss of the bridge.

Oh but it wasn't done just yet!

She'd just finished tending her new patient and about to present, in her opinion at least, a rather thorough and well thought out plan on how to handle the bandits; only to witness Tsume assaulting Rikku, the other one kicking his ass, before he tried to take the client away from Hisashi and almost instigating another confrontation with the boy before Rikku intervened once more.

The young genin sighs in frustration as Reina shimmies over, joining the Aburame on her small island of sanity while the bandits are allowed to escape. "Ancestors I hope not," she swears under her breath , "He's a bit of a twit, but this? This is a whole new level for him," she admits with a sigh, sounding a lot more like a normal girl her age as her kikkaichu soon retreating into the folds of her clothes and out of sight.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I need to patch him up," she says before starting after Tsume to treat his wounds.

Spoiler

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Took ten on another Treat Injury check on the bandit before he was taken away. He healed (1d4+1)[3]

Also, taking ten for one on Tsume since that only takes six seconds. He only took 8 damage so depending on how well I roll I might not need to use Chakra on him just yet.
(1d4+1)[5]

Really is a shame extra successes don't increase damage healed though, beat both checks by 10.

[Princess Tracy]

Rikku sighs and presses on. The group has no real difficulty clearing the bridge, though their jounin seems to be whispering an account of her finances to pay for the bridge. "Oh god, it is the festival, isn't it. A lot of traders won't be happy about this... Maybe I should send a messenger if I can get hold of one, have them tell the Terraforming team to make one. I gotta learn some more 'supplementary' doton..."

She leads everyone out of the valley shortly and presses through the wilderness. As they reach the summit of the more mountainous terrain, lights and structures come into focus against the encroaching dusk. Lanterns and fluorescence of all sorts glowed brightly as the night becomes overcast, and below tem stretching out for a mile on either side is all manner of colours. Vast tents dominate the landscape, makeshift cabins, a few permanent residences, all run to and from by locals and merchants alike, the whole place teaming with life. Torasi gives a wistful gasp, "How romantic..." She had a point, it looked quite magical to see the gathered throngs of humanity and the will o wisps of live tat darted around them casting soft oily rays of light, a rainbow going from place to place. It was calm here, yet rather loud, quite the opposite of a ninja village

"This is the Royal Festival, held once every 10 years. If you make it as ninjas, maybe you'll be able to come here again one day," Rikku says, turning to the group with a goofy grin. It was quite a positive spin, all told, compared to what Yamanaka may have said. "For now, let's enjoy ourselves a bit once we figure out where we're going. There should be accommodation for us," Rikku remarks, checking the mission scroll.

As Rikku descends the slopes slowly with you all, she oohs and aahs like a schoolgirl as she sees some exotic animals being taken from one tent to another, in rather large cages on wagons. "Stick together now, everyone. There's about two thousand civilians here, we don't want to get lost. So help me, I will institute a buddy system if I have to. Me and Torasi, Hisashi and Minami, Reina and Tsume, maybe...?" she mutters to herself, trying to figure out a non-stupid configuration.

Rikku looks around a little disappointed as she leads you to circle the largest tent. "We're supposed to find the 'main desk', but this place is massive and there's no mention of where that is. Wanna help?" Rikku powers through either way, though unless someone helps her it takes her over an hour and the sun goes down (dc 20 wits gets it done in a half hour instead). All manner of colourful guests are in attendance, and one can see it may even be well over RIkku's estimated two thousand. A number of obvious performers walk among the crowd, but every time Rikku gets distracted by a clown or a quaint trained chimp, Torasi pokes her to get her attention back on track. The group finally come to a little log cabin on the outskirts without the clearest marking in the world - just a 5-foot post outside with a sign attached saying 'main desk inside'. It looks to be some repurposed inn as you head inside.

Things are surprisingly quiet in here, it seems to be for administrative use only. An oddly western design fills the place, with hard wooden panelling and doors. A girl seems to be taking a nap behind the counter, and from her costume looks like some off duty performer just hanging out - her eyes are closed and hood pulled back, makeup washed away on her black and red getup. Along with her a far more normal looking type comes out of the back room once she sees you, waving to you. Long blonde hair with curled bangs, and a rather business-y suit juxtaposed with a vibrant red. She gives a bow and apologises for the delay, asking how she can help, she looks no older than the genin.

Spoiler: perception dc20

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The girl in the jester suit isn't asleep

Torasi points to Rikku's mission scroll and asks for it. RIkku hesitates before shrugging and handing it over. "You're my employer, right?" Torasi questions. The secretary looks it over briefly, then nods. "In a manner of speaking. Come, I'll show you to your rooms." The secretary heads up the stairs, leading you to three sets of two-person rooms, as she explains Torasi's duties to her, that she'll need to get to work tomorrow to have their equipment prepped in time for the big show, though Torasi just brags she'll have it done in a day. The genin aren't the only one's hear, a few doors have sound or are even partially open, all seeming to contain a myriad of performers or coordinators.

As soon as the first door opens, torasi runs inside and dumps her bag, collapsing on a bed. Apparently this room is her's now. The secretary giggles and excuses herself. "Feel free to enjoy our attractions."

Rikku shrugs. "Well, here's the deal. We'll be looking after her for the nest few days at least. We might get some training in but I wouldn't worry too much - we've gotta have you ready in case something happens, but not tired out from unnecessary training. Practice on the job can be irresponsible unless it's very long term." Like always, training is first in her mind before other matters. "Anyway, we could enjoy the attractions for a bit, but soemone should be watching her at all times. I'll share a room with her 'cause I'm the strongest. Minami and Reina take the room on our left, Tsume and Hisashi take the room on your right, here. For the sake of me not having to gender mix our sleeping, can you two just get along for an evening?"

If there's nothing else, Rikku hands the genin their room keys and heads into her room, though is happy to answer any questions they have. It's a good 4 or so hours until midnight, enough for a half day of training, or they could explore the circus for a bit and get an early night.

Checks

Spoiler

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Perception DC 20 if you want to spy on the mission scroll like a jerk instead of just asking.

Ninja Lore and/or Popular Culture to know about the Royal Festival.

Perception to see wacky things at the circus

Spoiler: Super special plot-jumping checks of fairness, nah but seriously go ahead if you think you're hard enough

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Can anyone even hit a DC 30 Wits/Perception check?

[Jacior]

Tsume grinned at Minami as she patched him up. "Thanks. You wanna train together later?" Whatever foul mood had been plaguing the genin has thoroughly evaporated. He seems to be back to his annoyingly cheerful self. Whether this was an improvement or not, only time would tell.

The travel goes much quicker without him being extraordinarily obstinate. He takes the lead when the path is obvious and charges obliviously forward. That was until they crested the hill and there on the other side lay the circus he was promised. "This is the second greatest thing I have ever seen." Tsume's eyes got so wide one might think they were going to pop out of his head.

Tsume gets just as easily distracted by the goings on as Rikku does, maybe more so as he doesn't have to try and act like a team leader. It takes a hand pulling on him to drag him away from the attractions and cages. He sighs and follows along, knowing he'll get to see it all later. When they get to the office, he spends the whole time watching the sleeping clown girl. She was creepy. But cool.

They get led to their rooms and with the assignments, Tsume shrugs. "I'll share with Hisashi if he promises to stop being a stick in the mud." He grins that manic grin of his. "If not, then I reserve the right to prank him in the middle of the night." Regardless of how anyone responds, Tsume takes his key and heads into his room. "Training tonight, circus tomorrow!" He says to himself looking around the room. "Actually... I should go ask Rikku-sensei if she can help me." He peeks out of the room before thinking that Rikku would have her hands busy with Torasi. She wouldn't have the time anyway. He sighs and just sets to work by himself.

[Princess Tracy]

If Tsume requests training, Rikku shakes her head. "Take care of it on your own, this time, Tsume. Someone need to watch out client, and that's kind of my job, remember? I think there's a rehearsal show or two on, why don't you go and see those. Or if you insist on training while on duty, maybe being left to your own devices will be the inspiration you need." She winks at him, knowing he could handle it himself

[Nyan]

Hisashi would make his own way over the canyon by walking down the face of the ravine now when he could not cross over the bride. But once he was down there with the remains of the destroyed bridge he would look around to see if he would perhaps find something that may have been dropped by the samurai. Once he was done he would then walk up to the other side to the others before then looking down on the girl Rikku knocked out earlier. "Should we just leave her here?..." He asks as he looks around at the others. Not really caring about it but just bringing it up to see if anyone had anything to say about it. But if no one objects to leave her there he will simply continue to follow the others. Staying right next to Torasi like before. "...Are you alright?..." He asked her after a short while of walking and would start to small talk with her a bit to make her perhaps feel less tense about the encounter.

As they would get a lookout on top of the hill Hisashi was a bit taken back by what he saw. It was the first time he had seen anything like this in contrast to the dark boggy marshes where he lived. Hisashi was mostly quiet and tried not to be all to distracted by everything that was going on but the loud noises and the large amounts of people was making slightly uncomfortable even tho he tired his best not to show it. He helped Rikku to find the main desk and it kinda seemed like he was in a hurry to do so. Tho one could not blame him as he was very tired and drenched in cold river water which he had almost completely forgot himself. So by the end of the day he was trembling slightly from the water having soaked in to his clothes and he was exhausted having had carried around that extra weight from the water.

As Hisashi would follow the others up the stairs and they would come to the three sets of rooms he would give Tsume a slight look when Rikku mentioned they would share rooms. Only scoffing at Tsumes words as he would walk in to the room next to the one Torasi occupied after Tsume. "Tsk...Whatever..." He muttered to himself as he dumped his pack and started taking of his armor and hung everything to dry that had not done so already. "I will stay by Torasi at all times. I have no intention of going anywhere." He mentioned to Rikku as he came out from the room with a new pair of not so wet clothing. Quite relieved he had not walk around with that armor anymore. At least he looked like he had just taken a bath so he was rather clean.

[HanaRei]

Reina bowed her head lightly, watching the girl move ahead in order to treat the injuries of her teammate. She looked away a bit in disbelief in how dumb he seemed. Had she really let him anger her before? The thought in its own way made her frustrated at herself. Still, she couldn't help but feel a strange sense of... enjoyment? What was the word? She fumbled in her own mind as her frustration subsided a bit.

Finally getting to their destination, she couldn't help but ogle the festival with such child like delight. She hadn't ever seen such a thing. Having been kept down below away from the world had denied her such pleasantries. Her mouth practically was gaping before she quickly realized and shut it with a blush on her cheeks a bit shameful of her display hoping no one had noticed it.

She stood behind walking forward as they found the woman's room, seeing as she dived onto the bed. Her eyes darted to Rikku listening in on the woman. Excitement filled her as a bright smile lined her cheeks before suddenly fading away as she blushed yet again. It was embarrassing just how childish she got thinking of the festival. As the key was offered, she took her own initiative to stand up and take it. "Thanks." She spoke heading over to inspect her own room she would share with Minami. As far as she saw of the girl, she had no problems at all sharing a room.

Opening the door, she walked inside, giving Minami plenty of room to wander inside if she decided to go to the room with her. Her eyes glanced over to the window, biting her bottom lip. She wanted so badly to go out and enjoy the festival, yet it made her only feel more guilty. She couldn't act like a child. She was doing this for her friend. She looked almost like a lost puppy uncertain what to do with herself.

[Regalus]

"Maybe. Let's see how the day goes before making any plans," she commented with a polite smile as she slipped back to her usual demeanor, her frustration ameliorated somewhat by the boys loss of aggression. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

"She'll be alright," she replies upon noting Hisashi's concern, "Rikku-sempai didn't cause her serious injury, she'll wake up on her own in due time; and she already dismissed them. So yes, this time we leave her here," she explains having no love lost for the one's that had just threatened her life, along with that of her client's.

With the unpleasantness behind them Minami marches on, wary of danger up until they reach the mountains crest and are graced with the sunset view of the grand festival; allowing herself a relieved sigh at the sight, knowing the worst was over for now. Though still security conscious, the Aburame heir allowed herself to take in the sights far more at ease; though she abstained from reveling in them quite as much as her fellows had.

Blessedly the pair arrived at their destination with little trouble, and the rooms were divided swiftly with little incident; and the sight of Tsume at least trying to bury the hatchet made Minami far more content than she would likely admit, even if Hisashi and him still had quite a ways to go.

Politely excusing herself, Minami quietly shuffles out and into her own shared room; neatly placing her pack at a corner of the room before she double checked its contents, making sure her goods were in good condition and accounted for. Sighing regretfully at the loss of so many Tags due to the bridge's destruction, it was then that she took note of the strange silence that had fallen and the wistful look of her fellow kunoichi as she stared out into the festival. "Is something wrong?" she asked eyeing the other girl with concern.

[HanaRei]

Reina looked back hearing Minami speak up. A rather goofy look of unease as well as embarrassment filled her. She shook her hands in front of her with a light glow on her cheeks. "Wh... what n... nothing is wrong r...really!" She spoke, only furthering her embarrassment realizing she was fumbling stupidly with her own words. Damn it, why do you gotta be so stupid Reina? She yelled at herself within her own mind.

Turning away slowly to hide herself away in some part, she glanced towards the window. It wasn't exactly that she wanted to look out at the festival as much as it was trying to not expose her goofy blush. "I guess I'm just not use to seeing a festival is all... n... not that I care about it or anything." She spoke shrugging in response after her words. She was never very good at hiding things despite what she tried.

Attempting to change the subject to avoid more attention upon herself, Reina turned to face Minami. Her complex was much more refined disguising away her reaction from earlier. "Those guys... have you been with them for a while?" She asked curiously. Truthfully she hadn't really gotten much of a chance to talk with them. Of the three, Minami seemed perhaps the easiest for her to do such with.

[Regalus]

Taking a seat, Minami looked on in bemusement at Reina's attempt to conceal her interest in the festival, "From one kunoichi to the other, sometimes less is more. If you cannot trust your voice, quick short answers or body language is the better choice Reina-san," she offered up kindly, momentarily taking in the sounds of the festival beyond their walls.

"That said we are teammates in the privacy of our room, you don't need to try quite so hard here," she adds with a reassuring smile, mauling over her next answer in deep thought before finally speaking up. "Depending on your definition I I suppose I have; I've known them both for weeks now, though only Hisashi studies under my own sensei. Why do you ask?"

[HanaRei]

Reina blushed quickly deeply hearing Minami comment about her attempt to hide her excitement. She bit her bottom lip shaking her head a little bit. "I... I don't know what you are talking about with that..." She spoke looking away again hands crossed. Her eyes darting back to her. "... and... and I'm not really being hard..." She spoke softly, commenting more to herself then to Minami.

She looked back to Minami hearing her speak up about her team-members. She nodded, managing once again to compose herself a little bit. "I was... just a bit curious was all. I guess I'm not really use to the idea of teams is all. I wasn't sure just how close you all were together."

Spoiler

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Sorry small post. >.<

[Regalus]

Hmm... civilian raised definitely; or at least loose home instruction, commented Minami to herself as she scrutinized the other kunoichi, her glasses hiding her measuring gaze. Reina clearly had genin level training, and adequate situational awareness; yet there did seem to be a few holes when it came to the finer points, indicating a missing personal touch to the lass' training. Thankfully it wasn't anything training and experience wouldn't be able to get her through if all went well.

"I see," she replies with a polite smile, allowing the point to fall to the wayside for now, "Sadly, we're not that close as you've seen. Hisashi and I share a different sensei from Tsume who's Rikku's personal pupil; though our teachers are on amiable enough terms, so Hisashi and I work with Tsume often enough." she clarifies before sighing slightly as she raises a hand to rub the bridge of her nose slightly.

"And of course, you've seen how the boy's are; they get along about as well as oil and firecrackers," she joked attempting to get the other kunoichi to relax, "Tsume tries to befriend the boy, but they just don't know how to talk to one another; but he does try. Usually I need to step in to keep things civil, so I can't help but wonder if the two will make it past breakfast without a fight,"

"That said, the two are still shinobi at heart and can put things aside while on a mission; we haven't any problems on the field yet, so hopefully things will settle down in time, she quickly adds with a hopeful tone, ending her short narative. "What about you Reina-san? What was your last assignment like, or is this the first time you've worked with other genins?"

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No worries Hana.

[HanaRei]

Reina nodded a bit looking towards Minami. "I see I see." She repeated her words quickly as if confirming her understanding. "He does seem to be one who can be a bit of an idiot..." She spoke referring to Tsume who had done a good job at angering her earlier on. While she had allowed those flames to simmer down in her mind, they still lingered to be quickly relight given the boy pushed on insulting her friend (although unknowingly) further.

Hearing as Minami question her own experience, the girl began to blush lightly. "Ah... w... well... I..." She spoke as if trying to find some words to use to manipulate into making herself sound better off. It was an attempt she gave up on quickly. She didn't want to make herself sound inexperienced or troublesome.

She sighed a little bit deciding against it. "N...not really. Truthfully, I've been stuck back at my village my entire life... not even able to see anything outside of it." She spoke, uncertain if perhaps she was saying too much. Still.... she couldn't help but feel a bit more at ease around Minami. It couldn't hurt to speak a little about it, right? "Unlike the others my age, I was kept seperate from everyone... training under several different mentors. They never really allowed me to go out from the village. Probably because my father..." She spoke softly shaking her head a bit.

As far as she saw it, it was likely her fathers hand that kept her from any sort of danger. He just thinks I'm just some kind of mistake, probably just someone to keep on a leash that could be used possibly later for some political type marriage or something else. I'm sure if he thought he could get away with it, he would of gotten rid of me completely if he had the chance to himself without looking bad. She thought to herself, the fire in her eyes likely noticeable to Minami.

[Regalus]

Minami nodded in understanding, watching the girl as the emotions played across her face and pleased to see the wound up genin start to relax, "I take it you and your father weren't that close were you?," she mused with soft and understanding smile.

[HanaRei]

Reina heard Minami speak up. She looked almost fierce with her reaction, not directed towards her but rather her father. She turned her head away with her arms crossed. "Hmmph, most I ever seen of him was from a far distance. Truthfully i'm surprised I ended up being trained as a ninja rather then locked away and kept in a room the entire time, though it wasn't very far from that with my training." She spoke a bit of fierceness in her voice.

She let out a soft sigh, cooling down once again. Her head tilted a bit looking over at Minami with a rather neutral expression on her face. "I guess in that end, while it wasn't the freedom I wanted, I at least got to meet a few people through that I felt closer too. Even if it was just brief." She commented, looking back outside.