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  1. - Top - End - #301
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Naruto d20 (Team A)

    Chiiro winced as he saw the blood-splattered Michiko behind the fallen spearman. Jerking the spear back, he quickly looked around for another target that would move him away from the volatile genin, seeing all of the soldiers fallen by his new allies teammate. Then he noticed the beleaguered black garbed figure on the rearing horse surrounded by samurai.

    Coming to a decision, he focused for a moment, red fire chakra spiraling up into the head spear in his hands - soon, the tip of the spear glowed with a small ball of fire. As soon as he finished, he gave Michiko a apologetic "Sorry, didn't mean to do that!" and then began to move towards the rearing horse, heading to the last team member's assistance.

    Spoiler
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    Homura Dama DC 17 (1d20+9)[25]
    Sorry about the delay there - poor Chiro.
    Wanting to add more depth and realism to that roleplaying game, character, or even just writing in general? Exchange of Realities continues to amaze me, from how to run politics of the dead to the aspects of betrayal, to the unforgettable Generic Villain's wry pieces on the life of a genre baddy.

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  2. - Top - End - #302
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Naruto d20 (Team A)

    Michiko

    Wiping blood off her face with the sleeve of her jacket, Michiko wanted to retch. She had knocked the soldier out cold, and this boy had run him through without even blinking! Perhaps this was the way of real ninja, but the impaled samurai's body stared up at her grimly and she resisted the urge to shudder. He didn't even seem to notice.

    The battlefield had been almost completely emptied, and the swath of bodies cut down by Rio's blasts of wind made a garish carpet over the dusty road. She forced her gaze away, yet there was no were else to look. She shut her eyes, yet the memory would remain. How many men had died--for what, an insult?

    Focusing on the cloud of mist that held Masaru and the commanding officers, Michiko released the threads of chakra that held the blue-grey blanket in place, and the mist quickly evaporated under the bright sun, revealing the battle within. Darting ahead, she moved to where her teammate held his own against the samurai leaders, shouting for their attention.

    "HEY!" she began with a yell. "Look, you fools--your army is gone!" Sweeping her arm, she gestured to the vast stretch of dead and dying. "Collect your wounded and dead, then leave," she said coldly. "And let's all remember the 'great' Tachibana and how many died for his stupid pride."
    Last edited by Catch; 2008-05-27 at 11:02 PM.
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  3. - Top - End - #303
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    Default Re: Naruto d20 (Team A)

    Rio

    Crimson drops fell slowly from Rio's skin, splashing on the ground, only to blend in with the blood of the fallen. Grim proof that inside, we're all the same, though Rio. Casting a glance at Kaken, then the other two genin, Rio stifled a scoff. Those two had killed, what, two, three? Maybe four? How many had he been forced to kill? Twenty five? More? Why did they stand there? he fumed. He nearly died alone, by himself, because his "friends", "teammates", "villagers" had paid no heed to him. His "guardian" had nearly drowned him.

    As he retrieved a couple of his nearby weapons, scattered by his attack with Kaken, Rio began to tense up. He'd thought that Keimatsu said the team was most important. He'd been oh-so-proud of everyone else, after all. Disdained Rio for having gone for the objective. Patted Daddy's Girl on the head, and told the shallowest personality this side of a puddle he was awesome. Rio thought that his "shame" was because he'd run, and didn't have power. That if he could contribute, aid, and maybe even save his teammates, it would pay off. It hadn't.

    All that had happened was that he nearly died, while his "friends" stood aside. Obviously his ability wasn't enough. He had to make it so that he wouldn't need their help. Keimatsu was wrong, he realised. Team loyalty was a lie. You protect those you want to protect. Surprisingly, the one who came to his aid was Kaken, though Rio suspected it might have been a little out of guilt for smoking him with that water technique.

    What was this? Why was he thinking like this, this wasn't him. Rio closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths. As he was able to calm himself, and regain his focus, he looked around himself. Still, he pondered, Masaru is still in trouble. And Michiko had her hands... half-full, so I can't blame them too much.

    Somewhere in his mind, the fact that he had killed over twenty men was rattling around, but he kept that fact firmly in check for the nonce. His friend was in trouble, after all. Striding towards the men assaulting Masaru, he called to Michiko, after her... tirade. "What are you talking to them for? The only ones who will leave alive ran from me. These two are leaders. Let's kill them and move on." Bitterness dripped from Rio's words, prompted by the fact that this unprovoked, and unwanted, assault had resulted in needless, gratuitous bloodshed. The "leaders" weren't family men, like the conscripts who ran. They were the reason for it all.

    "If we don't kill them, they'll regroup and come again. With more forces, and better knowledge of what taking on Kagekure means."
    Last edited by Bariko; 2008-05-28 at 11:42 PM.


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  4. - Top - End - #304
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: Naruto d20 (Team A)

    Rio would find that Kaken was looking at him in a most...curious manner, not quite able to put his finger on it but it was unsettling in it's own way and Kaken's grin didn't quite reach his eyes. "Well said and well done Rio. You've done well."

    As the pearly mist began to dissapate, no longer held together by Michiko's will, the performance between Masaru and the two samurai could be clearly seen by all still standing on the battlefield and a few who probably weren't. From where Kaken and the white-armored samurai had been standing there was nothing there except for a trembling and skittish looking warhorse. A quick scan of the battlefield didn't show any white-armored bodies but it was possible it was beneath someone else's corpse. Things also became clear for Masaru who could clearly see the samurai who had tried to behead him, glaring malevolently at him through the mask of his helmet. The other yanked his steed around towards the black-garbed genin but both of them paused as Michiko spoke up.

    Armored heads swiveled to look at each other and the one closest to Masaru tilted his head back to give a somewhat strained laugh. However the other doesn't seem to share his bravado and the katana he holds begins to lower down towards the ground.

    "Kill us? Leave? All you did was kill some chaff and conscripted soldiers and now you think your big sho..." The samurai paused in surprise and the reason was obvious to everyone watching. Kaken blurred into view behind the man, hands darting out to grip his chin in one hand and the other the top of his head.

    Crack!

    The noise of cracking bone was audible as Kaken wrenched his hands dispassionately in opposite directions, releasing the corpse to fall to the ground in a clatter before directing himself to look at Michiko, nothing but stern un-yielding command in his voice.. "You kill the last one Michiko." was all that he said, a tone very different from the approving one Rio had received. Upon seeing this though the last dropped his sword in surprise, staring at what had happened before tugging his reins and trying to yank the uncooperative horse around.
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  5. - Top - End - #305
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Naruto d20 (Team A)

    Michiko

    As her conjured cloud of mist lifted, and Kaken landed safely with Rio in hand, a wave of relief washed over Michiko. She hadn't seen much of either boy after the three of them separated to fight their own battles, and the growing knot of worry that had been tugging at her stomach seemed to unravel. Everyone was alive and together, though they were all worse for the wear. Still, the team had gathered and that was important.

    Then Rio opened his mouth. Her head snapped around, and the girl looked at him as if he were a stranger, wide-eyed and shocked. Amidst the chaos of their battle with the samurai army, her soft-spoken and friendly teammate had disappeared, replaced by someone bitter and battered and merciless, talking of killing so flippantly. And Kaken, he agreed, as if the best solution to a problem was to murder it. Ire welled within her, yet before she could even open her mouth, the jounin had disappeared.

    She turned her head away, knowing what was coming. Crack!

    The silence that followed seemed to roar in her ears, and the officer's limp body crumpled in slow-motion. Panic stained his face, eyes frozen in shock and horror. She forced herself to watch. He thudded to the ground, joining all the others in whatever lie beyond. Kaken's words struck like a hammer blow, and she shook her head weakly in disbelief. This was the way of the ninja--heartless, cruel and efficient, she knew. No mercy, no pity.

    A whimper, barely audible. "No."

    This was everything she would never be.

    Louder, firmer. "I won't."

    Everything she refused to be.

    Now, iron. "Never."

    Michiko locked her gaze with Kaken, her blue eyes blurred and wet, yet there was a profound defiance in them, a fierceness that bore almost a tangible heat.

    "I will never be anything like you," she growled. "I'll won't hurt anyone unless I have to--Keimatsu taught me better than that, and you should be ashamed to call yourself his friend. If you'd kill someone just to prove a point, if you'd end someone's life just like that, you're no teacher of mine!"

    "Do your own dirty work,"
    she said icily, turning away in disgust.

    "And you." Her eyes locked on Rio's, wrathful and unrelenting.

    "I thought you were different, I thought you understood. We're not killers, we save lives! Shinobi are supposed to protect people!" she shouted, half sobbing.

    Advancing, Michiko marched as though she were ten feet tall, clenching her little fist, gesturing with vigor. Face to face, eye to eye, she stared him down, jabbing a finger into his chest.

    "What kind of person are you, to lose your sense of right just because you're angry? How can you be so callous? Do you want to be like him? Wake UP, Rio! You're better than this!"

    With a shout, the tearful girl lashed out, striking her friend in the jaw with a full-armed blow, heavy and resounding. Following through, she stood visibly slumped, voice falling as her head hung, laden and burdened.

    "Wake up, Rio. You're better than this."

    Spoiler
    Show
    Attack roll: 1d20+6=11
    Action point: 1d6=4
    Fist damage: 1d6+2=7
    Last edited by Catch; 2008-05-29 at 02:06 AM.
    Yotsubatar by Dr. Bath

  6. - Top - End - #306
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Naruto d20 (Team A)

    Chiiro stopped his forwards charge, looking on dubiously nearly dropped his spear as the female ninja protested against the cold, cruel leader. As she spoke, his expression twisted into shock and fear, having been snapped out of his rage at his prolonged treatment, pondering her words. Did they really deserve to die? Were the men really responsible for their officers orders? He looked at his red glowing spear, trying to find answers in it like he usually did.

    When she hit her friend, it rattled on the ground, where he had dropped it in complete surprise, the blade hissing and fizzling against the soft earth. Whats going on here? What I have I walked into? What should I do now?

    He watched numbly, the outsider in the group as the conflict unfolded, trying to make up his mind as to what to do next, the image of the guard he had just slain hovering in his vision.

    (Chiiro is currently holding)
    Wanting to add more depth and realism to that roleplaying game, character, or even just writing in general? Exchange of Realities continues to amaze me, from how to run politics of the dead to the aspects of betrayal, to the unforgettable Generic Villain's wry pieces on the life of a genre baddy.

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  7. - Top - End - #307
    Troll in the Playground
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    Default Re: Naruto d20 (Team A)

    Ibaraki Masaru
    AC: 19
    HP: 28/43
    Chakra: 7/20


    Masaru joined the others in his stoic, silent way, keeping a hand placed over the bleeding wound in his flank. He didn't seem to be reacting much to the pain, but he did walk with a slight limp. He looked at Rio when he spoke up, acting much darker than usual, then to Kaken when he continued the trend. Finally, he tilted his head to the side like a curious dog when Michiko slapped their teammate. Rio had a point, thinking strategically, but Michiko brought to mind what Keimatsu had taught them. Stay strong and vigilant in your duties...Open yourself up to your teammates more. Should he follow Michiko's example? Were shinobi there to protect people? This was news to him.

    As far as Masaru had been taught, ninja existed to protect the village and destroy its enemies. Maybe Michiko was just confused? Either way, he'd do her a favor and take the matter out of her hands.

    Suddenly bounding forward, Masaru took a running jump. Twisting in the air, he brought his knee arcing down towards the samurai's face as he planted a hand on the horse's neck. It was a startling display of athleticism and acrobatics for someone with a stab wound, but Masaru's destroyed nerves made it possible for him to simply ignore the pain for the time being and deal with it later.

    Spoiler
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    Taking 10 on Rendan Kidouki (Combo Starter) at DC 16. Passed. If I hit, the target loses its next turn and becomes flat-footed for the next attack.
    Tumble:1d20+4=22
    Attack:1d20+8=18
    Action Point:1d6=2
    Adjusted Attack Roll: 20
    Unarmed Damage: 1d6+3=7
    Paladin, Green Lantern, and Cyrine by DarthRaynn!

    “I've never believed in the End of Times. We are Mankind. Our footprints are on the moon. When the last trumpet sounds and the Beast rises from the pit -- we will kill it.”
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    Kismet and Deadshot by kpenguin.

  8. - Top - End - #308
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    Default Re: Naruto d20 (Team A)

    Rio

    ((Man, I know, I suck at this. All of you get to mock me two times, and only two!))

    Broken, battered and bloody, Rio stood silently and watched as Kaken eliminated one of the remaining men with a sickening crack. At least, he knew it was sickening, and that part of his mind was railing against it, but it was held in check by... something. Rio wasn't sure what, but he knew that this was atypical behaviour for him. What's happened? I'm trying to be a doctor, for crying out loud.
    He has to die.
    No, he doesn't!
    He's a threat.
    YOU'RE a threat.
    Go away! I can't deal with you right now!


    Something clicked dimly in Rio's mind, as part of him realised he was likely in shock, tossing up a defensive measure. But that, too, was soon silenced.

    As Kaken told Michiko to kill the remaining enemy, Rio stood there, watching impassively. Kill him.
    Don't!
    He has to die, he's a threat.
    He's one guy, don't do it!
    He deserves it! Now be quiet!


    Thusly, when Michiko said no, a feeling of relief settled in the back corners of his mind. Outwardly, though, Rio shook his head, ever so slightly. Was it really so hard to tell that the man had to pay? Slight surprise registered when Michiko revealed her complete insubordination, though, and Rio paused as her words reached his ears. Had he really changed that much in a day?

    When she wheeled on him, Rio straightened, caught somewhat by surprise. Why was she so upset about this man being condemned? Why was she so angry about him knowing the man should die? She approached him, still ranting, as he opened his mouth to reply, only to get cut off. We're not killers.
    She's not.


    As the little girl approached him, and planted a finger on his chest, Rio struggled for a way to interrupt, to counter and contradict her words. The chance never really came, as his teammate, his friend, curled her tiny hand into a fist, and punched him squarely in the face.

    Rio stumbled backwards. The punch had rattled him. Shaking his head, Rio tried to regain some composure and for a retort. A thousand reasons raced through his head; the man was a threat, he wouldn't hesitate to kill any of them, he was a military man and knew the stakes of a battle, all reasonable and correct ideas. As he rubbed his jaw, and spat some blood on the ground, Rio opened his mouth to reply...

    "Look... Look what they made ME DO!" he shouted, unintentionally. His reasoned arguments went out the window as he lost it. "The officers brought the men to the fight. The officers gave the orders. You say we're not killers. YOU'RE not a killer. Thanks to these officers, I've killed or defeated two dozen men." Suddenly, it was extremely obvious how old Rio was, and how unable to cope with the situation. He was a kid, forced into a terrifying situation where it was literally kill or be killed, thanks to that wayward water tech he'd been hit by. "I don't know whose blood I'm covered in. Some is mine, but lots isn't. The leaders brought the men. The leaders made the fight. The leaders made me a killer! Of COURSE I think he should die. Wouldn't you?" he yelled at her, finally out of the shock he'd been keeping himself in.

    Dropping to the ground, he pulled out a first aid kit, and quickly went to work on himself, staunching the worst wounds, and setting what he thought was a broken rib from the water pressure. As he worked, Rio looked up at his comrade. "Hey. Thanks. I needed that shot from you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got something good to do." So saying, Rio stood and went towards the ranks of the fallen and wounded, first aid kit in hand. Who says friends are hard to come by?


    Avatar generously made by Zolkabro.

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  9. - Top - End - #309
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: Naruto d20 (Team A)

    "Wake up Michiko." The cool response didn't have any malice in it, just disapproval from Kaken as he turned his one eye unto the blond genin. "This isn't a matter of killing someone to make a point. This is a matter that if left alive that man will become a threat to those around him. This is a matter that as a shinobi, as a weapon for your country, you will be forced to take a life and hesitance will only put the lives of your friends, comrades, family, and yourself in mortal danger. Grow up girl...what will you do if ordered to assassinate someone for no better reason then someone could afford the contract? What about if someone has a knife to Rio's throat? Would you endanger his life trying to save his attacker's own, someone who wouldn't hesitate a moment to end his or yours?"

    Kaken hopped down from the back of the dead samurai's horse as Masaru charged after the one that the man had charged Michiko to slay. Masaru could feel something break under his knee but the man didn't look particularly flustered by the blow. Instead his bare blade swept across towards the black-robed genin, barely missing flesh as it went off in a wild arc that left him un-harmed.

    "You are a ninja. It is inevitable that you'll have to take a life and I won't lie...it could seriously change you for the worse or give you nightmares for your entire life. Some of my oldest friends wake up screaming because of things they've seen, and that's why I was trying to help you." Kaken's voice changed from the one of subtle disappointment. It was soft, subdued unlike many other things about the man, and it all but forced a person to listen and at least consider. Honeyed words that came from a sorrowful looking man.

    "To take somebody who was a threat, somebody who needed to be disposed off, and present him to you for this first time. To make it easy. To make it so your first time killing another thinking feeling human being didn't leave you an emotionless husk of a person. But no, you want to save him at the expense of others even though he was partially responsible for the imprisonment of one of your fellow ninja. Don't take the moral high ground with me Michiko...I want to save lives too but I know how to do it better then you, who have probably never even left your village or seen how the world works. So before you call me a killer again think this first...'Do I save more lives by saving him or do I end more by letting him go?' Once your able to answer that, without mistake, then you can take the same philosophy as Keimatsu, a jounin who has had to ask himself that question every day of his life, with every opponent he has fought, until it became second nature to him. Not the adopted attitude of a spoiled girl who refuses to see the larger picture and do the right thing because it'll get her hands bloodied." Again there was a subtle shift in tone from soft cajoling to persuade someone to his line of thinking, to a slowly growing irritation mixed with the disappointment from before. Kaken stared unblinkingly at Michiko after he finished, lips in a tight line, as he crossed his arms over his chest. Wherever he had gone...the joking man from the previous night was gone and a much more solemn individual who looked to have born the weight of the world stood in his place.
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  10. - Top - End - #310
    Troll in the Playground
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    Default Re: Naruto d20 (Team A)

    Ibaraki Masaru
    AC: 19
    HP: 28/43
    Chakra: 3/20


    Masaru pushed off the horse's neck with the one hand and arm he was holding himself up with in order to avoid the samurai's clumsy slash. He righted himself in the air only to come down at the samurai with a dizzying flurry of blows that sounded like a machine-gun hitting the warrior's armor. He hit sixteen times in rapid succession, targeting any weak points he could find as well as the man's eyes or face if possible, hopefully toppling him from the horse in the process and/or killing him.

    He didn't hear what Kaken said to Michiko, but he would have agreed. In his own damaged way he was also doing it as a favor to the girl he had come to know a little bit. He did it so she wouldn't have to. So she wouldn't have to shoulder that particular burden. Masaru had seen death before, but taking a life was never an easy thing, even for him. But Masaru was nothing if not practical. The samurai had to die for the village to be protected, so he committed the act the same way he did everything else...with that infuriatingly stoic demeanor. He did it even though he knew Michiko would probably be mad at him and hate him for it.

    To those that didn't know him, and even to his comrades, it might seem like Masaru was a cold-blooded machine, a one-dimensional character with no hopes or goals, and for all they knew he was. He'd been that way as long as they'd known him, from the ill-fated first mission where he'd coldly warned the thugs to leave before slaughtering them to the encounter with the spider when he'd cracked it open like an egg. He was so closed off, almost sociopathic or even anxious about social interaction. In fact, no one had ever tried to get him to open up except for Kaken. Not even his teammates seemed to believe there was anything under the black bodysuit that completely covered him.

    Keimatsu had advised him to open up to his teammates, but he was never the kind of person just to come out and tell everyone his life story. He didn't think Michiko or Rio even cared, nor did he matter very much at all to them. He hadn't had any real friends in a long time, and he didn't expect them to think of him more than a teammate. Why should they anyway? He wasn't normal. He was the weird kid that never showed his face, even when he ate. He was creepy and socially awkward and never left the Mibu compound. Why should he have friends? He didn't deserve to have them.

    So he just stuck to the mission, stayed cold, or else it would consume him...being so lonely all the time.

    Spoiler
    Show
    Attack: 1d20+8=25
    Juuroku Rendan (DC 20): 1d20+12=29
    Juuroku Rendan Damage: 5d6=16
    Paladin, Green Lantern, and Cyrine by DarthRaynn!

    “I've never believed in the End of Times. We are Mankind. Our footprints are on the moon. When the last trumpet sounds and the Beast rises from the pit -- we will kill it.”
    ― Travis Beacham, Pacific Rim: Tales From Year Zero

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    Kismet and Deadshot by kpenguin.

  11. - Top - End - #311
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    Default Re: Naruto d20 (Team A)

    Michiko

    All of this could have been avoided, and Kaken refused to see. The precious ideal of Team Keimatsu was unraveling and Michiko grasped at the stay threads fervently, feeling them slip through her fingers. The carpet of lifeless bodies and pooling blood made her head swirl she and wanted to retch up every meal she'd ever eaten. She forced herself to see, to watch as men lay broken and dying--the price paid for following one fool's orders. Everything was coming apart and she wanted someone to blame for all of this.

    Masaru and Rio hadn't understood Keimatsu as she did, they'd forgotten what lives were worth. Rio had panicked, and for that she forgave him, but the dark-clad genin.... She saw the boy bearing down on the injured officer--merciless and detached as always--and her fists tightened in their gloves, the leather creaking in protest. The boy never listened! Her anger rose, swirling--Tachibana's arrogance, the pointless battle, Rio's broken rage, Kaken's cold-hearted condemnation, and her ideals, fleeting away with the wind.

    And Masaru. She was fed up with his selfish silence, his empty stares and swinging fists. The boy refused to be a person and seemed to exist only to kill and maim. He was a weapon, and she would sheathe him. For good, if she had to.

    In spite of her and with careful, cold precision, the masked genin unleashed a flurry of blows on the samurai commander and he crumpled, his body falling limply into the dust.

    The river raged and swelled, roaring in protest, beating against the dam that dared hold it back. In a moment, the last support snapped, wood shreiking, and it broke, the denied waters bursting forth with freedom and fury, sweeping over Michiko and carrying her forward with unbound fury. She surged, rushing past Kaken and the fallen soldier and hammered into Masaru with all of the river's might.

    "That's enough!" she shouted, driving him back violently, knocking his feet out from under him. Standing over Masaru, she growled, fists shaking as words spilled out, heated, like they'd been held back for too long.

    "Since day one, you've done nothing but swing your fists and shut everyone out, Masaru. You're on the road to becoming a heartless killer like the rest of them, just a weapon without friends or feelings or anything but blood on your hands. You're a shinobi, but you act like an attack dog! Are you a thing or a person!? Make up your mind!"

    Turning, she faced Kaken now with folded arms, the remnants of her anger hardening her gaze into an obstinate stare.

    "I won't be your dog either, Kaken. If you think you can train me to kill, if you think I'm just a 'little girl' with silly ideas about mercy and saving lives, you've got something to learn about the Chiba clan. These officers, she said, gesturing to the fallen soldiers, "lead the last of a broken army. You said it yourself, they're bandits, which means they were just a bunch of wandering thugs. Leaving one or one hundred alive wouldn't have made a difference because they've got no friends, no leader, and nowhere to go."

    "But you didn't think," she said, tapping the side of her head for effect. "Killing them all does nothing except pay the gravediggers, but leaving some alive sends a message," Michiko emphasized. "Our own Kage says the Shadow has no reason to hide, so if these samurai had friends, let them come. We're not afraid and letting the leaders run spreads the word that starting a fight with Kagekure is a one-way trip."

    "That protects the village, she said with iron. "But you thought I was just a silly girl with silly ideas. Don't underestimate me, Kaken."

    Spoiler
    Show
    Charge (Bull Rush): 1d20+8=26
    Strength Check: 1d20+4=18

    Masaru is pushed back 15 feet, Michiko is adjacent.
    Last edited by Catch; 2008-06-28 at 12:28 AM.
    Yotsubatar by Dr. Bath

  12. - Top - End - #312
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    Chiiro winced as she shoved her other teammate back. For someone who's preaching nonviolence, she sure seems to like punching people. As he heard Michiko's words, he finished his previous train of thought, and seemed to come to a decision, stepping forwards with the spear across his back behind her. "I've never met this Keimatsu of yours personally. But if our enemies who raided us years ago had taken a stance similar to yours, my Clan would still be alive, and for that, I'd give anything."

    He plants the butt of the spear in the ground next to him as he stands across from Michiko, in the field of fallen bodies. "I hated these men, but that was because they were following the orders of a fool, and I let that hate take me too far."

    The sturdy, scarred genin jerks the spear out, and then points it first at Masaru, then Kaken in accusation. "Something I think you've taken too far already today; no, for most of your life if I heard you right. Everyone has someone who cares about them or they care about. So if you're going to try to punish her for what she's said and done, then you'd better try to punish me, too, because she was right."

    (Taking a stance beside Michiko in a supportive manner; point of spear is for emphasis, not hostility or attacking. Wish I had one more level for Harm's Way ability.)
    Last edited by Dark_Prophet; 2008-06-20 at 11:59 PM.
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  13. - Top - End - #313
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    Ibaraki Masaru
    AC: 19
    HP: 28/43
    Chakra: 3/20


    Masaru landed on the ground at about the same time the samurai fell to the dirt in a clatter of cracked and broken armor. He stumbled back a couple of steps and put his hands on his knees, feeling the world blur and spin a little bit from chakra depletion. The horse snorted and walked off aways, giving them all space. Masaru took deep, tired breaths and looked up just as Michiko blindsided him.

    Ibaraki flipped like a ragdoll in midair, caught off balance by his teammates charge, and skidded to a halt in the dirt on his back some fifteen feet away from where he'd been recuperating. Feeling the world continue to spin, he elected to stay there as Michiko berated him. Her words didn't exactly strike home, since most of it was simply stating the obvious, but two things did make him lift his head off of the ground. The first was her assertion that his lack of friends was his own fault because of how private he was. It was basic, but it made sense. He'd been waiting for someone else to take the first step and try to get to know him for so long that whenever someone did give it a try he just shut them out. He took their interest as an insult about his appearance and ignored even the most innocent of questions.

    The second was her question...was he a thing or a person? He honestly didn't know. When he looked into the mirror he didn't see a person. He saw flame, murder, and revenge. But he still felt like a person, didn't he? He had long assumed that Masaru the person had died in the fire with his family. It was easier when he didn't have to feel like a person would. Instead, he could be a weapon and simply focus on the next task. But did becoming a weapon mean severing himself from what he was and why he was becoming this thing in the first place? Did he even know how to be a person anymore?

    Masaru reached out and grabbed Michiko's arm as he tried to rise, catching himself once before he could get his knees under himself. His head hung as he still was breathing heavy from his exertion earlier, but he was able to stop and speak. "Michiko... I need to know something, but I need you to see something else first. Rio, too. Will you two walk over there with me?" he pointed towards the bend in the road. Kaken and Chiiro weren't being invited as this was purely a matter between the three of them. Masaru had decided something and needed to have a certain answer.
    Last edited by ChronicLunacy; 2008-06-20 at 09:17 PM.
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  14. - Top - End - #314
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    Rio

    As Rio stood, he spied flashing movements of black as the last commander fell. Masaru, of course. Well, given what Michiko just said, I don't think this'll go over too well... And it didn't. Michiko rushed at him, charging into Masaru, and sending the combative genin flying. Rio paused, watching the situation unfold.

    As she stood, staring at Masaru, Rio listened to the words pouring out of her. Her lambasting of Masaru caught his attention, as she pointed out that Masaru was solitary by choice, and questioned his nature. Then, as she whirled on Kaken, Rio nodded, realising something. Kaken was right, but he admired Michiko's adherence to her ideals nonetheless. Michiko played the idealist protector, and Masaru the striking weapon, but where did he lie? If it was up to him, Rio realised he never would have harmed any of the soldiers, but he would still have attacked the officers and leaders. He was a shinobi and a doctor. His was the grey area.

    "Michiko," he called "I respect your commitment to your ideals, you know I do. I try to hold fast to my own. Keimatsu taught us all important notions. But Kaken is not wrong, and I have a feeling that Keimatsu would agree. It's beside the point now, as the one who was running is down. But, did you fail to notice that one of them did escape? The leader, who started this whole mess. So, maybe you're right, and he'll go spread the word that ninja aren't to be trifled with. We can hope so, I suppose. I, myself have to do something. Excuse me." So saying, Rio approached the bodies of the fallen, and began methodically checking each for signs of life. Those he found still alive, he treated with emergency care for the moment, ensuring that they did not worsen. Unheard by the others were many whispered apologies to the men on the ground. Thusly, when Masaru made his request to be joined, Rio paused for a moment and glanced up.

    "One minute. I have to finish this." Once all of the men were treated, Rio jogged over to where they were, looking more... at peace than he had since they left the village.
    Last edited by Bariko; 2008-06-28 at 08:22 AM.


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    Ibaraki Masaru

    Masaru walked away from the battleground after giving Rio a minute to do his thing. He stayed silent and calm as always despite the beating he seemed to have taken, but there was a certain stiffness to his frame...a slight tremor. He seemed apprehensive or anxious, almost nervous if one really read his body language. It was strange for him, who everyone had come to see as just the stoic weapon. Even so, his shoulder had a strange set to them and his fists kept clenching and opening over and over again as he lead his two teammates around the bend in the road where they could no longer be seen by Kaken and Chiiro. He never once looked back at the others until he stopped.

    Once he'd stopped, Ibaraki turned and faced his teammates and looked them over one after the other starting with Rio. Rio, who had gone out of his way to heal his enemies, who had beaten himself up for thinking he wasn't holding his own and then had taken out most of the soldiers all at once.. Rio's kind heart and sincere nature did a lot for Team Keimatsu even if he didn't notice the effect. He was the glue that stuck them all together.

    Then there was Michiko. Boisterous, confrontational Michiko. The girl who acted so bossy, yet took it upon herself to save a little boy from thugs, fight a chuunin by herself and win, and stand up for her beliefs so adamantly even when it came to her enemies. Masaru envied her fiery nature, her passion for life he so lacked. He wished he could be like her sometimes. He wished he could understand her. If Masaru was the weapon, Michiko was definitely the shield.

    Both of them he'd come to know but he'd never let them in, never really tried to become friends. He'd had his shell, his mask on so long that it had become him. If he was going to have friends, to learn how to trust, going to have to take down the barriers and hope they could accept the real Ibaraki Masaru for who he was. ...And that wasn't just a metaphor.

    "I...when I was younger..." he started, real pain apparent in his voice, making him sound raw and human for the first time. "I didn't always stay with Esanu-sama. I had a family, a clan. During the attack on the village a rival clan targeted us specifically. They slaughtered anyone who went beyond the compound walls and burned the rest of us alive in our own houses. They killed my mother, my father...my entire family in front of my eyes, then broke my arms and legs so I couldn't get away and threw me in the fire with the rest of them. Esanu-sama saved me and gave me medical care, trained me as his own son, made me into a weapon so I could have my revenge." he told them, clenching his fists until the leather of his gloves creaked loudly in protest.

    "I'm telling you this because I...want...I want to be your friend. But before you give me your answer, I have to show the two of you the real me. This mask hides the monster my family's killers made me into. I need you to see that monster, know who and what I truly am before you decide if you can be...my only friends. I won't be offended if you scream or run away. So if you want to leave, I'll just put it back on and concern myself only with the mission from now on." he said, his voice and hands shaking as he turned his back to them and reached up.

    Masaru haltingly reached up to his collarbone and found the bottom of his mask. From behind him, Rio and Michiko could see the material loosen as he started to move it upwards over his chin. He faltered at that point, his shoulders straining as he warred with himself over the decision, but eventually the two of them began to see the skin of his neck as the mask lifted itself up and off. It was...horrible, even without seeing his face. His hairless head and neck were nothing but a puckered mask of skinless scar-tissue, showing wet where the mask had kept it humidified. Muscle showed through where the skin was just gone, criss-crossed with grafts where the medical nin had tried to replace the epidermis. Masaru shook, fitting his chin to his chest and staring at the ground as he slowly turned around to show them what was left of his face.

    In the textbooks at school they'd sometimes show what the head looked like when it had been stripped of skin to show how the muscles worked underneath. This was nothing like that. More skin grafts had been stretched over his face like bandages, more muscle showing through around one eye and his jaw, where one cheek had been completely burned away. His lips were mostly gone, showing a skull's macabre grin. His nose had gone that way as well, leaving just a pit where the cartilage used to be. His ears were mostly gone, just holes and a lump of flesh in the side of his head. No eyebrows at all. One eye was wide and lidless with the other showing just part of it still connected. They were bloodshot from lack of lubrication and getting worse from being subjected to the air. The mask's goggles were there to keep them lubricated, as his tear ducts no longer worked. It was fortunate, in that a salty tear would have caused his puckered, exposed flesh excruciating pain. Simply being in the air without the mask's skin-like protection was like putting needles in his face, but he could bear it for the moment. As long as it took them to see him.

    Masaru kept his eyes on the ground at his feet, waiting for the scream, the sound of choking horror he always heard when someone saw him by accident without the mask. He thought he'd grow accustomed to it after awhile, but every time someone made that sound he could feel it like a dagger in his heart. Oh my god, what is that thing? or It's a monster! He could hear them echoing in his mind. Would his teammates react similarly? Would they run, vomit, cry and turn away? He expected it, tried to fortify himself against it, but there was no way he could. Physical pain he'd lived with most of his life, could handle it no problem, but this... It hit him just as hard every time. There was no steeling himself against that kind of pain.

    "Tell me..." he slurred the word, having less than half a face made it hard to annunciate. "Could you be friends with a monster like this?" His voice cracked midway through the question, unable to stifle it.

    Could a monster like this even have friends? Or was he really just a weapon?
    Last edited by ChronicLunacy; 2008-06-28 at 02:17 AM.
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  16. - Top - End - #316
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    Michiko

    Breathing heavily, eyes narrowed, the tiny-yet-towering genin pulled the sprawled Masaru to his feet and frowned. Her anger, bursting before, seemed murky and distant, smoldering where once she had seethed. The boy had not reacted as she expected and now Michiko was unsure of what words would now fit. Her heated speech seemed to still linger in the air, echoing uncomfortably throughout the deathly-still battlefield. She nodded stiffly, wiping the sheen of sweat from her brow.

    "Lead the way."

    The walk around the bend in the road stretched out for what felt like an hour while the mid-day sun shimmered overhead. Masaru's silent, tense disposition was unreadable and the question of what exactly he had to say nagged at Michiko's mind. To her, the boy was almost wholly alien, so following his grim figure down the dusty path conjured a swirl of incoherent questions that bounced against one another in her mind. What was so important that Kaken and Chiiro couldn't hear? Had she actually gotten through to him? Would Masaru finally listen? Was he something more than just muscle? Could he be?

    Their abrupt stop shook her from the haze of questions and she glanced at Rio briefly, as if he might have any clue as to what was going on, which she doubted. She waited expectantly for the other boy to speak, arms folded to mask her discomfort with skepticism.

    "If you've got something to say...." she trailed off, waiting for him to take the reigns.

    His words came out slow and staggered, then in a steady stream, as if they had been long-dammed and were only now unbound. The story of his clan struck Michiko as familiar, in a strange way, and amidst flashing memories of the burned out strips in Kagekure, she again remembered the far-away rumble of falling water and the glimpse of a village, yet this time there were heated shouts and thick smoke all around. She remembered fear she had never felt and she remembered running, being dragged away from a burning village. This was Masaru's story, though, not hers, and Michiko chased the images from her mind, closing in on the sound of his strained voice.

    A friend and a monster, he said. Up until now, she had seen neither, only a shell of a person, alive, but not living. She had long wondered what lay beneath his mask and bandages, yet now she had to see. Masaru had bored, confused and frustrated her, yet now he was willing to take a first step and she would not--could not--refuse him, whatever horror he might reveal. For his courage, she owed him that much. With jaw set, she waited and watched.

    But it was horrible. His glistening, skinless face was a ghoulish mask, unlike anything she could have expected. The exposed tendons and muscle that stretched and contorted as he breathed and spoke gripped at her stomach, yet Michiko forced herself to look. This was Masaru, what he had been hiding for so long, what he had been afraid to show. His ravaged body must have held him back his whole life, how he must have hated the pain and the stares and the loneliness. Suddenly, something settled into place in her mind, and Michiko understood, perhaps for the first time. The boy had been alienated for so long, alone for so long, feared for so long that he now saved everyone the trouble by setting himself apart. No one had ever tried to be his friend.

    They had made him this way. She had.

    "We--I'm" she struggled to find her voice, "so sorry."

    Michiko stumbled over words as the came out, avoiding Masaru's macabre stare. "We did this. Not the fire, not your body, but... you. No one's ever tried to be your friend. We've all just left you on the sidelines, in the shadows, like the freak you must have felt like. No one gave you a chance. I didn't--I just thought you were strange on purpose. I've got no right to be angry with you if I never tried to be your friend."

    She cleared her throat and faced him, a new fire in her voice that seemed to sear away all the nervousness and tension of before. She jabbed a finger at him like a lance, a challenge, eyes set with determination.

    "But this doesn't mean I take back what I said. You've got to use your mouth and your head from now on, not just your fists. We're a team, the three of us, and I'll be damned if I let any one of us fall by the wayside. You're my friend, like it or not, and I won't let revenge ruin you. Healers like Rio can fix your body, but it's up to you to heal the inside. Inflicting pain won't cure yours--it can't. But I swear, on whatever means most to me, that I'll make sure that what was done to you never happen again."

    She clenched her little fist, a grin adding confidence to her fervor. Remember that. Believe it!""
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  17. - Top - End - #317
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    Chiiro turns away from the reunion, knowing that this is a private moment, and having something thats been nagging at him for the entirety of the encounter. He finally stops when he faces Kaken, and points at him with his left hand accusingly, retrieving the spear from the ground again with his other hand. "Kaken, was it? I can't help but notice that you don't wear the headband of Kagekure - and I've never heard of you before. Who are you, and by what authority do you lead this team?"

    He assumes a challenging, formal pose, his eyes cold and gleaming at the jounin, despite his weary frame and battle wounds. "Keimatsu I know of, but you speak of him as if he's dead - he wasn't when my team left Kagekure. And what gives you the right to make your students violate their central beliefs? Thats not standard Kagekure policy."
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  18. - Top - End - #318
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    Rio

    As Rio finished healing his former enemies, and muttering apologies, he stood and quickly joined his friends. He noticed with slight surprise that Masaru lead them out of sight and hearing of Chiiro and Kaken. I suppose it's something about the village, or Keimatsu maybe...?

    The sunlight began to do its inevitable work and dry Rio's soaked clothes. Pain was still coursing through his body, but Masaru sounded.... different. More emotional than usual, and this was indeed a rare event. So, Rio said nothing, and just appreciated the sunlight, and the evaporating water. Rio tossed a glance towards Michiko, seeing if she knew what was going on. Evidently, no.

    Masaru began to speak, with absolutely more emotion than he'd heard from the boy before, though it wasn't hard to beat a level of zero. As he listened to Masaru's story, Rio could barely imagine the emotions. He knew nothing of his childhood, before being adopted by Sakada. He supposed that as an orphan he may have had similar experiences, but if he did, they were, thankfully, locked away. Still, the visions of fire and blood were vivid in his mind as he listened to his teammate, suddenly the heat of the sun was uncomfortable rather then a comforting embrace.

    Stiff with apprehension, unwarranted but present, Rio waited while Masaru removed his mask. True to himself, Rio did not flinch, nor look away from what was revealed. The sight was gruesome, but as a medical trainee, Rio knew he had to be able to face things like this. The "monster" Masaru was showing them was only flesh and blood, ot malevolent or terrifying. A victim's face, not a freak's. Rio had always believed that everyone deserved friends, period, and so he'd tried to be Masaru's as well. He'd been rejected out of hand almost, and had foolishly made the assumption that Masaru didn't want to be his friend. He hadn't stopped to consider the other possibilities.

    As Masaru finished his revelation, Michiko started to speak, articulating the truth, and nothing but. As she finished, with her defiant challenge for him to change things, and not accept what happened as an excuse, Rio nodded.

    "Masaru, I can't become your friend. I've always been your friend. Your attitude notwithstanding, you're a comrade, a teammate and a friend. But man," he grinned, "why so serious? Lighten up, tell a joke, sing a song, have a conversation. That's what friends do, and it's what we'll do. Your face doesn't make you a monster unless you let it. So don't. You are the master of your face, not the other way around. No, a monster you're not, and a friend you are."

    As Rio flashed his typical smile and easy grin, no hint of revulsion or fear, he paused for a moment. "One more thing. I promise I'll do everything I can to fix this for you. I don't promise anything I can't deliver on." He laughed, and mimicked Michiko's voice, "Believe it!" Then he took off out of the way of the punch he was sure to get from the girl, laughing. Maybe this time, he'll chuckle, too.


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  19. - Top - End - #319
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    Masaru

    Masaru first had to take a moment to put his cool, medicated mask back on his face to ease the itching and burning that came with exposing it to air and sunlight. Even when the implacable blankness of that mask was back over his scarred features he seemed to reflect a little of his comrades' emotion and hope. It was timid emotion, just treading the waters like someone just learning how to swim, but it was there nonetheless. They could catch it in the turn of his shoulders, the slight change in his posture that showed a huge amount of relief and a sense of acceptance. He was still a bit stiff, as he had a long way to go, but every journey started with the first step.

    Gloved hands reached out and caught both of his teammate's shoulders, giving them brief squeezes. "Thank you." he said, the smile he couldn't really form still apparent in his voice. "I can't promise I'll give up my revenge, Michiko, but I will try not to let it consume me with your help. The reason for my revenge is the same as the promise you just made...to make sure it never happens again, to anyone. That's my responsibility, the oath I took, that's why I'm a weapon. If you want to join me in that oath then I'm glad." he explained. "As for my body...the best medical nin in Kagekure have tried and failed, but if you can do it I won't complain, Rio. I want that man to see what he did to me and understand that justice is coming for him before I heal, if ever."

    "Um...also, I'm very private with the things I've told you so I'm trusting you to keep it a secret." he added just in case they had any thoughts about telling Kaken. "We should get back before Kaken comes looking for us." he finished, starting to lead the way back.
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  20. - Top - End - #320
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    Default Naruto d20 (Team A)

    Kaken shook his head as the three walked down the road and away from him and Chiiro, head tilting to the side as if the wind would carry the words to his ear but then he was interrupted. The single eye flicked over to the genin holding unto the spear and for a second it kept the same cold hard edge that had ordered Michiko to take a life. "By what authority do you question my authority? You were a prisoner until less then five minutes ago kid, try figuring out the rest of the situation before you accuse somebody of something."

    With a blur, the same fantastic speed that had lead to the death or forced sleep of others, the man appeared in front of Chiiro and shook his head. "If you want an answer then ask your compatriots back there. They should be coming back soon enough and it'll give you a chance to bond with them."

    Then, as if nothing had happened, like the small battle that had just taken place, Kaken gave a slightly sheepish grin and reached behind himself as if to grab his tanto but the hand went into a zippered pouch instead. Walking right by Chiiro, he wanders closer towards the wounded troops and pulls out a piece of folded paper that he opens up into an ancient looking map...But it did seem as if he was right, the moment he stepped away Rio, Michiko, and Masaru were heading back.

    "Alright, let's not dally here. We still have a lot of ground to cover and this little scrap has slowed us down."
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  21. - Top - End - #321
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    Chiiro whirls, and blinks, not taking his eyes off Kaken and recoiling as he appears beside him, spear instinctively poised to strike, then falling limply to the ground. He just stands there, turning back to look as the rest of the team returns beside him. "Hey...could I talk with you guys for a second? I don't think I'm understanding the whole situation here, but your Jounin seems like a bastard to me - maybe you could explain exactly what happened with Keimatsu?" The boy's gaze shifts quickly back to Kaken suspiciously in the distance as he talks, and he straps his spear across his back. "There's a lot that isn't making sense here - its not like I was locked away for years or something."
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  22. - Top - End - #322
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    Masaru

    "Keimatsu-sensei is no longer our team leader. We don't know why, and we were ordered not to talk to anyone about it, even other kage-nin like you. Apologies." Masaru said as he came to a halt in front of Kaken and Chiiro. "As for Kaken-san, I'm not even sure if he's a jounin. He might be a bastard. I can't be sure yet." Masaru said, looking sidelong at Kaken. He didn't seem any different than he had been before he'd led the others off around the bend, except for being a mite more talkative. He still didn't really show any real grasp of social niceties.

    "We should keep going. Is Chiiro-kun coming with us?" Masaru added.
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    Michiko

    Trotting back up the road with her two friends, Michiko felt her usual lightness of spirit returning, and she took the opportunity to crack a handful of jokes, as if making up for lost time. The battle had weighed heavily on her, and the girl was abundantly glad to be on the move again, despite the dull ache from her injuries. If Masaru could keep going with his, she could manage just fine, Michiko thought.

    Kaken's mysterious map intrigued her and Michiko very much wanted a peek at it, but Chiiro's question hooked her attention more. Keimatsu was becoming a sensitive subject, and she chewed her lip while Masaru explained. He was oddly willing to talk about, as little as they were allowed, anyway, but she was glad he let the subject drop. There were still too many unresolved questions and Michiko was too worn-out to stir up her mind again.

    "Keimatsu is a story we don't have time for and Kaken's a bastard only if he doesn't feed us soon," she quipped with a hint of a grin. "Did I mention I'm starving?"

    The girl rolled her shoulders to shake out the stiffness, cracked her neck with a grimace, then cocked her head at the boy with a look of appraisal. After a moment, she nodded to herself and jerked a thumb at the road they had been following.

    "C'mon. I don't believe in coincidence, so you're coming with us," Michiko said matter-of-factly. "'Sides, I doubt you'd wanna be here when all these ronin goons come to, 'f you know what I mean," she added with a grin.
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  24. - Top - End - #324
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    Bariko's Avatar

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    Default Re: Naruto d20 (Team A)

    Rio

    Returning with his friends, Rio actually had his trademark smile on his face for a moment. He'd helped win the fight, healed those who deserved it, and seen Masaru open up, if only a little.

    Spotting the map Kaken was holding, Rio tried to get a glimpse, but the angle made it impossible. Pausing at the mention of Keimatsu, he listened to the explanation offered by Masaru.

    "It's true, we can't talk about it. But I'd say Kaken isn't a bastard, and Keimatsu didn't think so either. They're friends," he said matter-of-factly. "Though I am hungry, so I might call him one like Michiko, if we don't get some food."

    Glancing at Chiiro, Rio paused. "You should probably go back to the village, in honesty. But, it's ultimately up to you, I suppose. What do you think, Kaken?"


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  25. - Top - End - #325
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: Naruto d20 (Team A)

    "What? You guys are hungry already?" Kaken said incredulously, looking stupefied by that little tidbit and blinking his one visible eye rapidly. "All of you should be fine for the rest of the day! You eat now, and not work it off, and you'll just get fat trust me. And the only who'll benefit from that will be Michiko. So we're not eating now and definitely not here. Once we get to the border of the Land of Rains we'll find a place to eat and not a moment sooner."

    With that firm stance the man folds up his map and slips it back into it's pouch, tugging the zipper shut over top of it and returning to the discarded packs that had been dropped on the eve of battle. Slipping it unto his shoulders once more the charismatic man continued on past the troops that remained alive without a second thought and set off down the road without so much as a glance back to see if his charges were following.

    An hour later, after the sun had cast it's last fitful ray of sunlight, there seemed to be respite in the shape of the warm glow coming from an inn. Twin red lanterns chased away the dark from around the doorway with the sweet sweet smell of barbecue coming from past the greeting hall. Inside a comely young woman stood behind the desk, a ledger laid out in front of her, who smiled as the five entered.

    "Welcome to Shima Inn and Hotsprings!" She chirps out, pausing at the sight of the rakishly grinning Kaken to smile, if it was possible, even wider. "Oh! Master Kaken, have you come back for another visit?"

    "Er...actually just passing through tonight Aya. Are there any other customers here?"

    The young woman, Aya presumably, regretfully shook her head and gave a theatrical sigh. "Not today, all empty."

    Alright then! Give me five sepererate rooms, what ever smells so good and towel!" Kaken grinned as he pulled a money purse from another zippered pocket and tossed it over to the greeter. Finally his head twisted about to look to the genin. "Alright, you four get some food in you then your on your own. We leave at first light.
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  26. - Top - End - #326
    Troll in the Playground
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    Default Re: Naruto d20 (Team A)

    Masaru

    Masaru gave the others a small shrug and followed Kaken without another word when his friends' demands for food were denied. However, his ruminations on whether Kaken was a bastard or not were quickly made up when he led them to a hot spring inn. Masaru may not have let the others see it, but he was dead tired and his wounds pained him. He'd been able to quickly bandage them up on the way, but he'd need to take off his outer coverings to look at the stab wound in his side, maybe even have Rio take a look at it. With his lack of skin in places, an infection was always a deadly possibility. So he'd have to find a private area to bathe himself with the special medical agents and solvents the doctors at the Mibu compound had given him once the others had gone to bed.

    First, however, food.

    Masaru stuck to soup and other non-solid food items. He could still chew, but doing so was very messy so he tried to stick to things he could spoon himself and eat on the first bite, tilting his head so that he didn't spill so much. Still not comfortable with doing this in front of anyone else, he secluded himself in his room after he'd served himself just like when they had been eating rice some time ago.

    Afterward, he did something a little out of character and stripped down to just his white, linen bandages, leaving his black mask on, and joined the other boys in the hot spring after seeing to his newly acquired wounds again. He was still pretty much covered from head to toe, and favored his (heavily) bandaged flank where he'd been stabbed. What little healthy skin remained showed through a little on his chest and upper legs. Surprisingly, he was being a tiny bit sociable, even around Chiiro and Kaken. That being said, he didn't elect to speak very often. He just sat about shoulder-deep in the water and watched. He wondered how Michiko would be doing by herself in the girls' side of the springs...probably thankful she had some time alone.

    OOC:
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    I'm assuming they do separate the hot springs by gender like in the anime.
    Last edited by ChronicLunacy; 2008-08-04 at 04:12 PM.
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  27. - Top - End - #327
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    Dark_Prophet's Avatar

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    Default Re: Naruto d20 (Team A)

    "Aw...but I'm literally starving. Well, I'll stick around until-" Chiiro looks at Kaken in surprise due to his seemingly quick changes in attitude, then realizes the Jounin is just ignoring him. He retrieves his pack, and trudges along behind the group, grumbling to himself for most of the journey.

    When they reach the inn, the scarred boy's sulking composure is instantly replaced by contented happiness as the Jounin pays for their room and board, his stomach rumbling after the hour long walk.

    "Hey, thanks Kaken! Thats really nice of you, since I lost all my money and all my stuff. And all my friends..." His smile sort of remained fixed, and he glanced around, heading towards the nearest table, sitting down and falling into a chair, breaking the spear on his back with a audible snap in the process, and glancing blankly over the menu, not seeming to notice, finally settling on ordering a enormous helping of roast pork with rice, digging into it absently and finishing it quickly.

    After he was done, he followed Masaru and the others out to the hotsprings, still withdrawn and silent even while enjoying the warm water and being out of his tattered clothes, reflecting inwardly on everything.
    Last edited by Dark_Prophet; 2008-08-04 at 04:24 PM.
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  28. - Top - End - #328
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default The End of the Beginning!

    Kaken nods friendly enough to the comments as the four of them, Rio, Kaken, Masaru, and Chiiro soak in the water but there was no sign of Michiko considering that there was in fact a separate bathing area for females. After a nice relaxing soak Rio gets out and quietly says he wants to get to sleep early, likely to try and forget the events of that morning. Considering the rooms were all separate Chiiro and Masaru didn't see Rio and Michiko when they went up to the hot spring rooms themselves but they did note that Kaken wasn't heading to his own room when he got out.

    ----------------------------------------------------------

    In the morning Chiiro and Masaru are forced to wait down in the lobby for at least an hour before Kaken joins them, subtly cleaning his nails on his long black coat and looking solemn with his backpack thrown over one shoulder. The eye-patch was still in place oddly enough and he made no move to wait as he moved to the door.

    "Come on...Michiko and Rio have left for the capital. They said to go ahead without them since they refuse to travel with me anymore." He says softly, pausing as he opens the sliding door, "So we're going to continue our original plan to go to the Land of Fire and try and send a messenger hawk to see if their alright." Was all he would say on the subject but he left before Chiiro and Masaru could question him and didn't answer their questions as he walked along. With no other choice, not knowing which direction Rio and Michiko took, the two genin are forced to follow the man that Keimatsu had trusted enough to care after Masaru and the other two and who had been partially responsible for freeing Chiiro.

    The entire day hadn't even passed before Kaken frozen in the middle of the path and turned his head up towards the sky and grimaced. "Something's happening...I can practically feel the chakra in the air...Come on! Something this big happening in the Land of Birds? It might bode ill for your village so get a move on!" He barked out before breaking into a quick sprint that turned off the road and into the woods, doubling back towards Kagekure before leaping up into the tree branches and hoping from branch to branch. It was difficult to keep pace with the man but all too soon even you two can feel the pressure mounting of multiple high-intensity chakra sources close together and the fluctuation that could only be shinobi battling!

    Finally the three of you explode out through a gap in the trees, landing on the dusty ground to take stock of the situation before you...
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