Naruto d20 (Team A)

[Callos_DeTerran]

The voice boomed across the bowl as Masaru leapt from the edge to flip through the air towards the large spider that had turned with a hiss towards the blond genin trekking carefully across the ground towards the small hole. His feet cracked sharply off of it's carapace, shattering the chitin and flinging little globs of ichor into the air to splatter on the ground. Multiple legs thrashed and twitched in anger, black eyes turning to face this new assailant

Michiko carefully made her way across the ground towards the hole, steppping and ducking under various sticky threads of webbing that the other's had missed and made it to her destination. There she had to pause and stare at the thick and quite obviously man-made trip-wire that was strung across it. This close she could hear that the sobbing had quieted down and two big frightened eyes looked eagerly out of the entrance at the genin there. Carefully stepping over the wire Michiko crawled into the entrance to find a book wormish-looking boy huddled in one corner trembling, kunai held in one hand.

[ChronicLunacy]

OOC:

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So, since no one's posted I'm just going to drop this in there for whenever it's my turn again.

Ibaraki Masaru
HP: 34/34
Chakra: 6/15
Defense: 19

"Juuroku Rendan!!!" [Sixteen-Hit Combo!]

Masaru rebounded off of the spider, hit the ground in a crouch, then went charging in as it staggered back. Focusing his attacks on its vulnerable eyes and underside, the masked shinobi started a flurry of blows on the target. Using fists, feet, eye-gouges, knife-hands, knees, and elbows, he laid into the spider's armored, chitinous body, trying to crack it open with overwhelming force and end the battle quickly. If it survived the attack, he wouldn't have his teammates to rely on, so he had to make sure it wasn't going to get up. If this didn't finish it off, he had something in reserve that he hoped would...

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Okay, so here's the crunch. Perform DC is 20, so if I could take ten on that I can easily beat that as well. If not, here's a roll: 1d20+13=29.
Juuroku Rendan deals 5d6 damage, doesn't say if STR mod adds to it so I'm going to assume it doesn't: 5d6=23.
The spider has to succeed in a Fortitude save or be stunned for 1d4=4 rounds afterward.

[Catch]

Michiko

Squeezing through the opening, Michiko grinned when she spotted the boy.

"Hey kid, sorry that took so long. Did you see the huge spider out there? Don't worry about that, though, one of my friends is squishing it."

Dusting herself off, she extended a hand and offered a friendly smile.

"C'mon, let's get you outta here. What's your name, kiddo?"

[Callos_DeTerran]

Glinting glasses peered at Michiko as she extended her hand to the frightened boy, tear trails showing clearly on his face as he reached out and took the hand. "I-I'm Eteta Okoni...w-w-who are you?" He stuttered out to the blond girl, despite his caution, the kid was quick to pull himself close to the genin and peer out over her shoulder to where the spider was...

Masaru's blows drove the spider back, shrill shrieks of agony offset by the massive fangs it presented with it's cries. Still as the spider was driven back it's legs grew shakier and shakier and once the onslaught was finished it stood there, bobbing back and forth as if in a daze as it's bulbous thorax thudded to the ground by the frustrated Rio. "Geez! What are these webs made of, steel?"

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Gah, short post. Rio rolls a 16 to try to escape his bonds and fails. The spider also fails it's fort save.

[ChronicLunacy]

Masaru
HP: 29/34
Chakra: 6/15
Defense: 19

Masaru stared at the shaken spider through the lenses of his implacable, black mask. The fight was over now, he thought grimly as he formed a seal with his two hands, then another. He was a bit shaken from all the chakra use, and it was beginning to take a strain on his body, but he had enough to make sure the spider wasn't going to bother them or anyone else ever again. He formed another seal. "Doton!" he announced as he placed both of his palms on the ground, chakra lancing into the dirt. "Douheki no Jutsu!" (Earth Split Technique)

Underneath the spider, the ground rumbled, crackled with energy, and then exploded with a loud CRACK!, throwing the spider, or pieces of it, skywards as the thunder echoed off of the walls of the bowl. If it was still in one piece when it landed, the arachnid wasn't going to be too terribly happy. and Masaru was going to be very surprised. He really hoped that finding the other children was going to be a bit easier...

OOC:

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Chakra Control to convert HP to Chakra DC 10: 1d20+9=25
Ninjutsu Perform DC 13: 1d20+10=19
Damage (x1.5 because spider is prone.): 2d6=9 x 1.5 = 13.5 (Damage can be halved by successful reflex save.)

[Catch]

Michiko

"Me, I'm Chiba Michiko," she said, pressing a finger to her lips. "Try to stay quiet, though. We're going to go rescue my friend out there while the spider's getting squished. Think you can help me with that, Okoni?"

Squeezing back through the passage, Michiko beckoned for the boy to follow, keeping an eye out for the scattered webs. As soon as she was out, Michiko trotted over to where Rio was bound by the spider's webs, and withdrew a kunai from her pouch.

"Hold still, I'm gonna cut through these. Way to get stuck and be useless," she grinned. "Oh, and this is the kid," she added, nodding over her shoulder to the boy. "Gimme a hand, will ya Okoni?"

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Kunai damage: 1d4+1=5

[Callos_DeTerran]

Okoni followed along nimbly after his rescuer and went with her to the entangled Rio with his kunai in hand. Along with Michiko he worked at cutting into the webbing with his sharp little weapon and between the two of them they were making swift progress at cutting through Rio's problem.

Masaru's problem...ended much much sooner. With the use of the doton technique, and the spider's inability to escape out of the blast of dirt and rock, resulted in a sharp cracking noise. Carapace cracking and splitting under the assault, translucent goo seeping out of the spider as it gave one last death scream before collapsing to the ground, shuddering then growing still...

[ChronicLunacy]

Masaru
HP: 29/34
Chakra: 6/15
Defense: 19

Masaru slumped against the nearest rock for a moment to catch his breath as the spider's stinking corpse started to steam in the cold, filthy ichor running from the cracks in its armored carapace. He couldn't afford to rest for too long however, as he knew that carrion would definitely attract scavengers and other predators to the spider's nest that could kill them just as well as the spider might have. So, he made himself useful by hooking his arms under Rio's and dragging him out of the webbing once Michiko and Okoni had cut enough of the webbing away.

"We should go." he panted, still his terse, quiet self.

[Callos_DeTerran]

There hardly seemed to be any disagreement as to simply leaving the, now at least, putrid little bowl and continuing on with the mission that had been assigned to you. Once you make it out of the tight passage way though, Rio clears his throat loudly and waits until your attention is on him.

"I'm going to lead Okoni here back to the front gate, it can't be safe to have him keep following us while we look for the others. Once I drop him off then I'll come back as fast as I can." No room for arguing in his resolute tone, Rio gave a confident nod to you and began to backtrack back along the way you had come from. Soon the both of you lose sight of him among the bland earthen brown walls of the training ground, leaving an almost tangible void with his absence.

With out wasting any time Michiko and Masaru continued their search for the missing children, now keeping a wary eye above them as well as around them. Nobody wanted to be caught unaware by a giant spider again.

At first it seemed a bit hopeless, with no sign of the little rugrats along the path you were taking but with two very close calls with exploding tag traps that had almost been tripped. But then Michiko caught sight of something that buoyed your hearts. An empty candy wrapper lay half covered in dirt on the ground, easily seen in the slightly wider (ten feet wide) passageway the two find themselves in. Even better when Masaru catches sight of something nestled behind a pair of large rocks, a white wrapped bundle that looked to be the size of a kid that squirmed or wiggled occasionally but otherwise made no movement.

[ChronicLunacy]

Ibaraki Masaru
HP: 32/37
Chakra: 6/15
Defense: 18

OOC:

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Ahem. I'd just like to say, "ZOMG NEW POSTS!!1111!!!!!oneone!!!11eleven" That is all.

Masaru immediately hid himself under the cover of some brush and motioned for Michiko to do the same, not taking any chances in case there was yet another trap waiting for them. ((Hide: 1d20+9=20)) It was a pretty obvious spot for someone to hide, especially a child training at the shinobi school. A while blanket on dark rocks? He was either incredibly lucky that nothing had tried to eat him yet, or it was an ambush. Then again...the spider could have gotten him and was saving him for later. Masaru couldn't immediately tell. So, keying his comm device, Masaru pulled a shuriken from his belt pouch.

"Stand by." he whispered just loud enough that the microphone taped over his throat would catch the sound.

[Catch]

Michiko

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OOC: Bah, you posted while I was still typing. Lemme fix this one up.

Waving Rio off with a grin and a wry comment--something about spiderwebs--Michiko eagerly resumed her search for the missing students. It seemed like an eternity had passed since they started looking, yet it couldn't have been all that long. Her sharp eyes picked up a discarded candy wrapper, and she quickened her search, aided by Masaru's notice of the peculiar white bundle. She paused, stopping a few feet from the wriggling mass while her partner hid in the bushes.

"Well, there's got to be a kid 'round here somewhere, we might as well take a look. D'you think that thing might be... say, a kid wrapped up in spiderwebs?" She chuckled lightly to herself, "I hope it's not Rio."

Ever the brave one, Michiko fished a kunai out from her belt pouch and approached the white mass, ready to cut it open and reveal its contents.

I sure hope this isn't full of spiders...

[Callos_DeTerran]

With Masaru taking up position to give Michiko cover, the blond genin approached the bundle and started to try and slice through it with her kunai. Surprisingly, the thread was remarkably tough and proved quite resilient to her efforts and the work was slow and hard. Luckily enough after the first slice she is more then able to see the form of a kid bundled up inside of the cocoon.

Attacking it with renewed vigor, it takes close to a half hour to saw open an opening big enough to pull the child out and when Michiko does she sees the truth of the scene. The child, another boy, was limp inside of the cocoon with an empty look on his face. Even once she tugs him into the light, he gives no response even though he's breathing weakly and easily alive. A haunted look lurks behind that vapid gaze and each one of his breaths seemed to be laborous to him as if extremely tired.

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You can roll a Chakra Control Check DC (15):
RESULTS

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Oddly enough...and your really at a lost as to WHY but it's almost like the kid is suffering from severe chakra exhaustion

He carries no equipment with him, unlike the last one who had at least carried a kunai with him.

[ChronicLunacy]

Ibaraki Masaru
HP: 32/37
Chakra: 6/15
Defense: 18

Masaru watched as Michiko strode boldly up to the cocoon and started to cut the kid free. He expected that the culprit had been the spider he'd just killed...more hoped than expected, really. He knew he could kill another one if he had to, but he would be in no condition to perform a search afterward. And there were still five more children to find. Maybe they'd been smart and stuck together?

During the nearly half hour of work, Masaru kept watch for dangers. He was ready to spring into action in Michiko's defense, but he barely moved a muscle from where he was crouched in the underbrush. He stayed as still as he could so as not to give himself away.

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Spot: 1d20+1=19
Listen: 1d20+1=9

When the kid was out, Masaru dared to whisper into his comm device again, pressing the tape to his throat. "He dead?" he asked matter-of-factly, to the point as always.

[Catch]

Michiko

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Chakra Control: Take 10 +8 = 18

Michiko grumbled quite a bit in the half-hour it took to cut the boy loose, but her sweaty frustration passed as soon as she saw his condition. She snapped her fingers in front of his eyes several times, but the boy seemed almost completely catatonic. She sensed almost no chakra presence from him, which turned her mouth as she hefted his body out of the discarded webbing.

"Nah, he's not dead, just exhausted. You'd think they'd remember their Academy training and conserve their chakra, but no."

Setting the boy down gingerly, she patted her pockets, then turned to Masaru.

"Do you have any food or soldier pills, maybe? It'll be a real pain if we have to lug an unconscious kid around."

[ChronicLunacy]

Ibaraki Masaru

Masaru moved out of the brush and helped Michiko carry the nearly comatose kid into the cover of some trees. Once there, he removed a small box from a breast pocket and flipped it open with a small click! Inside, several colored, unmarked pills lay in neat rows. He took one of the red pills between his thumb and forefinger and laid it in Michiko's palm.

"Soldier pill." Masaru explained. "He's going to be sick after we get him back to the village." Masaru didn't seem particularly concerned about that. It was more a statement of fact. As long as they got him back alive, then mission accomplished.

[Catch]

Michiko

"Better sick than dead, I figure. 'Sides, he might be able to tell us where the other kids might be hiding."

Bouncing it in her hand, Michiko eyed the pill casually, then gently opened the boy's mouth and unceremoniously stuffed it in. She knelt down to face him, resting casually on her heels as she waited for the pill to take effect. Idly drumming her fingers on her thighs, Michiko looked up at Masaru, questioning.

"So, this kids makes two, which means there's three more, right? How are we going to keep a gaggle of rugrats safe if we end up against more traps or monsters?"

[ChronicLunacy]

Ibaraki Masaru

"Five more." Masaru corrected, holding up his hand. "Before we set out, sensei said...

The known children are as follows...Meni Suro...Roya Nimakon...Ihisu...Eteta Okoni...Fumonu Wanan...er...hmmm..what were the last twos names...but there are two more.

"We've found Eteta Okoni and this other boy, but that leaves five more." Masaru sounded frustrated through that mask. "As for how to keep them safe, we'll just have to keep them between us and hope we can slow anything down that might want to eat them. Hopefully they've learned enough at the academy to not be completely useless."

[Callos_DeTerran]

Michiko takes the offered red pill and slips it into the kid's mouth. He doesn't respond right away, but in a minute or two his breathing is stronger and he seems less tired. However he stays in that same catatonic state that the two had found him in, not asleep...just sort of...staring listlessly ahead as if the lights were on but nobody was home.

There were several genjutsu techniques that could do something like this or similar to this, but pinning down the exact method just by observing the effects would be a little...difficult. It did look like he was mumbling something underneath of his breath now though, and when the two leaned down to hear it they could hear him repeating like a mantra "...two women...two women..."

[ChronicLunacy]

Ibaraki Masaru

Masaru listened carefully to what the boy was repeating over and over again. Apparently it was not a simple case of chakra exhaustion the boy was afflicted with, but possibly some sort of genjutsu effect. Masaru knew next to nothing about genjutsu, so he wouldn't be of any help in figuring out a cure. In fact, he was more concerned about the "two women" that the boy spoke of.

"Kunoichi?" he asked Michiko, leaving his other guesses unspoken since as of yet they held no weight.

[Catch]

Michiko

After poking the boy in the ribs a few times, Michiko shrugged.

"Huh. I think he's under the effects of some kinda Genjutsu technique, though which one, I dunno. What kind of technique lasts this long, anyway?"

Placing a hand under his arm, Michiko rose to her feet, pulling the boy up with her, brushing dust from her pants.

We probably shouldn't stay here much longer, I don't think, especially if there's other ninja around," she said to Masaru.

Holding the boy by his shoulders, Michiko looked down into his eyes, at least trying to get him to hear her.

"You okay to walk, kid? I don't know anything about these women, but if you follow us, you can go home."

[ChronicLunacy]

Ibaraki Masaru

"If he doesn't wake up we should dump him outside and come back for the others. He'll only slow us down." Masaru said as he placed himself underneath the kid's other arm so that they could move semi-normally. The others were bound to be around somewhere. "Let's search around first, though." he added, then started them moving. Between the two of them they had ample strength to carry the child and stay to the mission.

[Callos_DeTerran]

The boy remains in his catonic vacant state and after a moment of waiting to see if there was any response, Masaru shrugs and shoulders the relatively light load unto his shoulders. This wasn't long before he heard a surprised voice coming from the ninja com device.

"Masaru? When did you get one of these things?...Nevermind that right now, report the status of your mission. I found two of our objectives already, Roya Nimakon and Ihisu and I'm on the trail of a third." A crackling pause then as if saying to someone close by before turning on the comm device again. "No matter what though, keep your guard up. I don't think we're alone in here, and I'm not talking about venomous creatures either."

[ChronicLunacy]

The boy remains in his catonic vacant state and after a moment of waiting to see if there was any response, Masaru shrugs and shoulders the relatively light load unto his shoulders. This wasn't long before he heard a surprised voice coming from the ninja com device.

"Masaru? When did you get one of these things?...Nevermind that right now, report the status of your mission. I found two of our objectives already, Roya Nimakon and Ihisu and I'm on the trail of a third." A crackling pause then as if saying to someone close by before turning on the comm device again. "No matter what though, keep your guard up. I don't think we're alone in here, and I'm not talking about venomous creatures either."

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Is that Keimatsu or Rio? Their text colors keep changing.

"Aye. We've found one more of them in a cocoon, but he's in a catatonic state and won't come out of it so I don't know his name. He keeps repeating, 'two women, two women'. We're going to keep him with us while we search for the other two children." Masaru said into his comm device., using his free hand to press the tape against his throat.

[Callos_DeTerran]

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It's Keimatsu's voice. Purple and Pale Turquoise go to Keimatsu because I keep forgetting which is the 'official' voice color.

"Understood. You've only managed to find one of them so far? You three better step up the pace, this is no time to take your time." The voice paused then...the silence dragging on for a couple of minutes before an exasperated voice came through the ear-piece. "Damn..I thought Roya was just frightened senseless but she's catatonic too. Don't worry about that, I'm familiar with genjutsu and depending on the strength of the ninja who did it and how long he was in there, it should wear off on it's own. Keep an eye out for someone trying to use it on you, it's called 'Magen-Shinkei Nigai (Demonic Mirage-Nervous Convulsions) and it can be brutal if you don't fight it off...to think somebody used it on a child..."

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Once the kid wakes up, will you guys lead him back to the entrance or just have him follow you?

[ChronicLunacy]

Ibaraki Masaru

"We've found two of them so far. Rio is on his way back with the first, Eteta Okoni. Michiko and I have the other with us. We're going to find one more and bring them back with us. We won't be able to carry more than two if they're all like this." Masaru reported. "Let's go. There should be two more." he nodded to Michiko.

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If Michiko doesn't have a comm device, Masaru will relay all pertinent information to her.

[Catch]

Michiko

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Michiko does have a comm device, but let's wait for her next time, mkay? Sheesh.

Letting Masaru relay their status to Keimatsu, Michiko ambled ahead, looking for tracks or anything else that might lead to finding another of the missing children. She laughed to softly, murmuring a comment to herself about Masaru's sudden loquacity but stopped dead after hearing her teacher's reply.

The creak of stretched leather broke the long silence, her clenched fist shaking. Michiko's voice, however, was icy calm.

"Keimatsu-sensai. Do you know who would have done this? Tell me everything."

Quickening her pace, Michiko trotted briskly through the passages, scanning the area for any sign of of danger or a trail. She hoped to find these two women before they found her--and bring to them exactly what they had earned.

What kind of person would attack a child? These Academy runts don't know the sharp end of a kunai from the handle and those women... This won't go unpunished.

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Search: 1d20+3=19
Spot: 1d20+5=8
Listen: 1d20+5=17

[Callos_DeTerran]

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Hehe, it was just conversation. n.n;

"It's hard to say who could have done this...Any Chuunin with a more then passing interest in using genjutsu could learn the Magen-Shinkei Nigai, its hardly one of the more advanced Magen techniques. I can even do it myself. Keep your focus Michiko-kohai, this is rescue first and an attack second, don't forget, and I want the children found first. After that we'll see about capturing the two women for interrogation. Keimatsu, out."

The jounin's side of the comm went dead (Though he'll respond if you ask any more questions), leaving the two genin with their thoughts and a comatose Academy student. Michiko's search did prove of some use for she found four sets of foot prints in the soft ground of the training ground. Two sets of them were smaller then her own foot prints and picked up a more jagged pace another ten feet down the passage way. while the other two were large. Steady from what she could tell, not people in any particular rush.

With a nod between the two of them, Masaru re-adjusted the kid's weight on his shoulder before the two continued along the north-westerly corridor of stone before it came to a split. One path doubled back along to the South East, running parrallel to the one they had just been on before veering sharply to the east and Keimatsu's half of the training ground. The other path stayed to the east and actually seemed to be heading for the outer edge of the training ground, signaling (perhaps) another entrance into the grounds. One of the larger set of foot prints too the south east path, but the others stayed to the east...

[ChronicLunacy]

Ibaraki Masaru

"East. Sensei can handle the other." Masaru said, crouching down to examine the two sets of footprints along their chosen path. These two were obviously just toying with a bunch of terrified children, taking their time and mopping them up. If they were shinobi then there was a chance that they were chuunin or stronger, but if they'd split up there was a chance that the two genin could overpower one. If it was the genjutsu user they would have to hit hard and fast before she could use one of her mind-attacking techniques on them. She might be weak against taijutsu if she spent all of her time learning genjutsu, but he couldn't assume that at this point.

Masaru shifted the boy's entire weight onto his back, holding him under the legs and throwing the boy's limp arms over his shoulders. One of them was going to need to be able to react quickly and Michiko hadn't already been in a fight today so she was still fresh as far as he knew. He looked to her for any objections before nodding and setting off down the path.

[Catch]

Michiko

Michiko stared down the southeast passage, following the tracks with her eyes and tapping her foot in consternation. After a moment, she nodded and turned to the southeast and Masaru.

"Right. Splitting up would leave us vulnerable, and I don't want to chance a fight with a Chuunin by myself."

Kneeling to peer at the footprints that traveled east, Michiko ran a finger through the dust, rubbing it between her fingers. She stood and dusted her hands with a look of confidence.

"These are pretty fresh and it doesn't seem like anyone made an effort to cover their tracks. Shouldn't be too hard to track 'em, I don't think."

Setting a comfortable pace for herself and her burdened teammate, Michiko started down the east passage, seemingly more relaxed, yet keenly focused on following the trail. Without looking up, she murmured to Masaru,

"Gimme a yell if you see anything. I can't keep my eyes everywhere."

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Survival: 1d20+5=17

[Callos_DeTerran]

With a silent nod from Masaru, the two set off carefully along the eastern path with their eyes all about for any sign of a sneak attack from this mystery person. The meandering path doubled back on it several time, and there were...hazards that they encountered along it. Luckily the only real threat had been a hastily dug foot trap with bungee sticks at the bottom which Michiko had been unlucky enough to step into (2 damage). Not long after that though Masaru could feel the weight on his shoulders shifting and when he looked, he found the kid stirring from his catatonic state.

Finding a safer place to pause for a moment, a deep bowl carved into the side of the wall (About 45 feet in and 20 feet wide) that was carefully examined before entering. Once the kid was set down he started to cry, pulling his legs up to his chest and rocking back and forth as his eyes darted from one of you to the other. Before you can question him on this odd behavior though, both of you can feel the ground shake and the noise of an explosion. Dust was shook from the cave roof but the source sounded far off, on the other side of the training area.