"There now, in the bushes, do you hear it?" Takumi whispered, pointing ahead.
"Mm," Kenzō nodded, the slight hum of the Greater Locust shaking the bush as it devoured the roots. His father had slain the others earlier, before wordlessly handing the swords over to Kenzō and giving him a reassuring look. Now, the blades shook slightly in his hands. Not out of fear of the beast ahead, but of embarrassing himself.
His father placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, but said nothing more, giving him a slight push. Kenzō relented, creeping forward toward the bush, slowly approaching the last of these pests. Just this morning, they were minutes away from decimating the village's food stores, driven off just in the nick of time by a robust counterattack led by Kenzō's father. And now, no longer on the brink of annihilating an entire village, they were little more than target practice.
Though Kenzō was careful not to snap any twigs or crunch any leaves, the noise from the bush became quiet as he came close. In a flash, he began sprinting towards the bush, feeling a rush within. He jumped up just as the Greater Locust blasted forth from the bush, trying to fly away. One of his hook swords caught a wing, biting into it and pulling the bug back down to the earth with a crunch. It buzzed madly, trying to wrench its way out of Kenzō's grip, but Kenzō managed to get the other hook around the beast, digging his heels into the soil as it pulled with supernatural strength.
It reversed course, lunging free of the hooks towards Kenzō instead, who sidestepped and swung downwards with his full strength - which admittedly still wasn't much yet - but it was enough to cleave part of the way through the Greater Locust and put an end to its furious buzzing.
His breathing was heavy from the exertion of restraining the beast, and he didn't even notice his father walking up until he felt a congratulatory hand on his head. "Well done, Kenzō!"
Kenzō grunted appreciation, still too tired to soak it in. Takumi laughed in response.
"I can see that this style will be tenfold times more effective in your hands than that of a mere civilian. Even one as cool as your old man."
Kenzō had recovered enough to roll his eyes, but he still smiled.
His father stooped down on one knee. "Kenzō, listen… the lowlands Daimyō has already sent word to Hidden Rain. You'll likely be recruited soon, a great honor and blessing for our little village. But the money and goods that come with producing a ninja still can't cover everything our people need."
Kenzō may have been young, but he knew his father. He'd suspected this for a while. "You want to stay." As sad as it made him, it made him proud too.
His father nodded solemnly. "I… I wish to be with you in your new home, but… y'know, Bunko, Mokoto, Momo - there are still too many people here still depending on me. Do you understand?"
"I get it," he said, even if he didn't yet understand why anyone would willingly live like that.
His father hugged him tight. "You're always welcome to come back here, though I'll admit I don't know how often they'll let you." He tapped the swords still in Kenzō's grip. "Take these with you, okay? A little piece of home while you learn how to be a ninja."
Kenzō squeezed the handles tight. A little piece of home…
Makiko was waiting for him at the gate, standing a ways away from his two escorts. Kenzō had been a bit worried when she wasn't among his other friends saying goodbye, worried that she would be mad at him for going (not that he could say no to a summons from Hidden Rain itself.) But it seemed like she did still want to see him off.
Kenzō returned her smile as he walked up. Makiko was standing placidly, hands crossed in front of her. She was still in her samue, likely taking a break from helping in the gardens just to come see him. "Hi," he said awkwardly.
"Hi," she replied, quiet and thoughtful. She didn't seem to quite know what to say. Not that he really did either, but he tried anyways.
"Um… Sorry I gotta go away. I don't know when I'll be back."
"But you will be back?" Her eyes were pleading. No fair.
"...yeah. I'll be back. Someday."
Silence loomed. Kenzō found that he was frustrated with himself. In his ten years in this world, how had he never learned how to talk to her the way he wanted to?
"Makiko…" he trailed off, sweating a bit. How could it be so hard to say how he felt, dammit?! His two escorts were at least courteous enough to pretend like they didn't notice him totally floundering.
She giggled and slowly wrapped him in a hug. "The feeling's mutual."
Maybe sometimes, words weren't necessary.
Kenzō ran his hands over the sheaths at his side, reminiscing about home as his sparring partner took position across from him. He ignored the jeers directed his way from his classmates. They could call him "Mudfoot" and "Dork" all they wanted - not a single one had beaten him in a spar yet.
He fumbled with the sheaths, which drew the usual round of laughter. Hook swords were a highly atypical weapon for a reason - they weren't very convenient to carry around and tended to get caught while drawing them from their sheaths unless the sheaths were oversized. Kenzō did not care. He would master it regardless.
The teacher raised his arm to the sky and swung down in an almost lazy fashion. "Begin."
The other boy, from some minor Clan Kenzō couldn't be bothered to care about, advanced with a spear that was pointed on each end.
Kenzō leaned out of the way of the first stab, batted the next aside with a pommel, then jumped over a sweep, kicking his opponent in the head. The other boy stumbled back to recuperate, holding out his spear to keep Kenzō at bay. Kenzō, for his part, simply stared impassively, waiting for the fight to continue.
Words of encouragement poured forth from the crowd for the other boy - Kō was his name, evidently - but there was none for Kenzō. When he first started at the Academy, he'd thought after his first few bouts that he'd win the others over, but it only reinforced their disdain for him. At this point, he concerned himself only with showcasing enough skill to graduate. And if these idiots could graduate, he would be passing with flying colors, no doubt.
Kō came at him again with reinforced vigor, but Kenzō caught the spear with a hook and twisted it out of Kō's hand, thwacking him on the side of the head with the flat of his other blade at the same time.
Kō sprawled to the ground, and Kenzō stalked over, but the teacher called the match before he could loom over his opponent. He offered a hand to the boy on the ground, who batted it aside in frustration. Kenzō just sighed at being forced to interact with more losers, before walking over to sit at the edge of the arena and watch the others spar. A few of Kō's friends stared daggers at him, but they were beneath his notice. So why did he feel a hint of worry this time?
Kenzō made his way out of the Academy bathhouse, hair still dripping slightly (this seldom mattered as it was typically raining when he left anyways.) He paused and bundled the dirty clothes back up in his hands after the wind nearly knocked them away. Not long after, a kunai flew by where his head would have been, lodging in the wall behind him.
He dropped the clothes in an instant and pulled out his own kunai (only an idiot would ever be completely disarmed), but was too slow to Substitute as four of his classmates blocked his path, descending upon him and knocking him to the ground. He reflexively shielded his head as they began kicking him repeatedly.
"Not so tough without your freaky civilian toys are you, mudfoot?"
"It's time someone taught you the way of things around here!"
Kenzō lashed out with the kunai, slamming it into the back foot of someone who was mid-kick, causing her to howl with pain and collapse on top of him - somewhat helpful in this case as she shielded him for the moment. With that reprieve, he shoved himself free and rolled through a gap in the others, Substituting himself with a shoe cabinet inside the bathhouse lobby.
As the other three rushed him, Kenzō ran his way into the pool area, shouting and trying to find someone around - but no one else was inside at the moment. With his injuries, he was no longer any faster than his opponents, and they were nearly upon him. He reversed course and charged the nearest one, a tall and lanky girl with short hair, slashing her across the torso and shoulder-slamming her to the ground. In the process, he took several painful cuts of his own on the arms, and barely managed to block the punches and kicks from the other two.
He locked himself into a grapple with the blond one, trying to push him back, but Kenzō was growing weaker by the moment, and the other enemy was running around to assist. Kenzō had a flash of inspiration and hauled backwards as hard as he could.
As he suspected. The blond guy sank like a stone while Kenzō loomed over him, water-walking on the surface of the pool with chakra repulsion. The moment that Kenzō learned that 'Mudfoot' referred to civilians and civilian-born ninja unable to use repulsion to walk over mud and keep themselves pristine, he made it an immediate priority to learn in yet another vain effort to showcase that their words were untrue.
His opponent, evidently, had no such drive. "Who's the Mudfoot now?" Kenzō sneered, stomping on his face with a crunch.
The last boy - Kō himself now that Kenzō took a closer look - managed a shaky step onto the water. It seems that he had practiced the technique.
Kenzō let out a guttural shriek, scaring even himself for a moment. "What the hell did I ever do to any of you?!" Kenzō screamed, releasing a pent-up frustration he hadn't even realized had been building until now.
Kō shook slightly at the shouting, and then replied in a low voice, "You never learned your place. You never learned how to lose, Mudfoot."
That was enough. Kenzō tackled him into the water, pummeling Kō's face repeatedly, feeling his arms grow weaker as he lost blood, turning the water red. A tooth or two flew out, and Kō began to slump in his grip until Kenzō simply had no strength left, drifting onto his back and floating through the water. His hands unconsciously gripped imaginary hook swords, wishing for a little piece of the home he felt so far from.
Kenzō's teacher Ito came to see him in the hospital, offering Kenzō no condolences for his injuries. Instead, he handed Kenzō a file with information on the team he would be assigned to. It seemed that, rather than getting grouped with any of his classmates, he would be placed with two other genin who had graduated a few years prior and were in need of a new teammate.
"But… what about graduation?" he asked groggily. "Isn't it still two months out?"
"It was the Academy's opinion that you have already demonstrated all the requisite skills needed to become a genin. No further testing is required."
"I… see," he said. "Get beat up in a bathhouse and they promote you to genin so you can get away from your attackers. Great."
Ito softened slightly, but didn't drop his professional demeanor. "Kenzō… you fought off four of your classmates at once, without your primary weapon. That's no easy feat, even if a few of them were a grade below you."
Kenzō's face soured. "Maybe they kicked each other's asses beforehand for the honor of kicking mine. How do you even know what went down? No one was around."
Ito sighed.
"...you're kidding. You were there the whole time?!"
"Not me specifically, but- look, Kenzō, I get it. As a clanless born outside of Hidden Rain, you haven't quite grasped the reach of the Clans yet, but it's not the place for commoners to interfere in their affairs."
"Fucking useless, all of you."
"I know," Ito said, mournfully. "We could only step in to prevent anything life-threatening. Intimidation is something we just… have to overlook from time to time."
"Intimidation? They threw a kunai at my head!"
"Not very hard. You'd have lived," he replied, uncertainly. "Which you did. As did they, which is the main reason you aren't in further trouble."
"They attacked me!"
Another voice, feminine, called out from the doorway. "That fact has not gone unnoticed, young one." A woman in a pristine kimono strode over. That crest… Naegi Clan? He knew that much, at least. In fact, it was a bit familiar... She caught his gaze at the crest and smiled crisply. "I am Naegi Kayo, Jōnin of Hidden Rain, Head of the Naegi Clan, as well as little Kō's aunt."
"What are you doing in my hospital room?" Kenzō asked. Ito glanced between them nervously.
"I'm here to thank you," she said plainly.
"...what?"
"It's clanless like yourself that serve to remind us not to shirk on our own development as ninja. Clan status should serve as a leg up, not a means just to break even with peers. This is a lesson Kō needed to learn, and one I will be sure to remind him of at home." Despite everything, Kenzō suppressed a shudder on Kō's behalf.
"I'm not here to be your tool," he grumbled.
She laughed daintily. "We're all here to be tools, young one. Play your cards right and you might get to pick which kind you become, and perhaps who will use the tool. Play them wrong, and you may get discarded for a tool with a sharper edge… or find yourself in a less forgiving grip."
Kenzō squinted at her words. "Whatever it is you're selling… I'm not buying. I know who I am, and I've seen what you are."
"Oh, I very much doubt that." Though she merely stared at him kindly, arms crossed within her sleeves, he began to feel an almost palpable sensation of being crushed as if by a great python. "We don't always choose our enemies, young one, but when we do, it is unwise to choose one who knows more about you than you do of them." Kenzō began to sweat under the pressure.
Ito cleared his throat, rising from his chair. "Let me know when you've made your decision, Kenzō." Ito glanced at the Clan Head staring Kenzō down, and she momentarily flashed a look of annoyance at him. They really hated it when you interrupted the grandstanding, it seemed. "I'll… support whatever you choose. I'm sorry I couldn't do more." He bowed to Lady Naegi and made his exit.
"Indeed," she said, though he wasn't exactly sure which part she was agreeing to. She made her way to the doorway. "Your teacher won't be the only one watching your career with great interest." The door closed with a serene grace behind her.
Kenzō approached a small plaza near an apartment building, one that was allegedly housing his new teammates. "You the new kid?" the girl who must be Sayuri asked, lazing about in a hammock.
"Yeah," Kenzō replied, curt.
The boy who must be Yasuo said, "Is it really true that you fought off four Clan kids at once after they tried to jump you?"
Kenzō was a bit wary. Would they judge him for it? "Something like that."
Sayuri laughed aloud. "Ha! Serves them right."
Yasuo clapped him on the shoulder. "Hell yeah, brother. Stick it to 'em."
Kenzō blinked rapidly, unaccustomed to this behavior.
Yasuo, a couple years his senior, took on an air of timeless wisdom. "Listen now, some of them clan kids is good people. At the end of the day, peoples are people. But only a clanless kid really knows what it feels like to be clanless. You're in good company."
Kenzō took that in and nodded. Sayuri came over to size him up. She wasn't quite as tall as Yasuo but she was still a few inches taller than him, and he suppressed an impulse to try and stand straighter. He startled when she pinched his cheeks suddenly. "Are you really graduation age? I swear they look younger every year…"
"Sayuri, you're all up in his space right now."
"Look at the lad, Yasuo, he's irresistible," she said, mussing Kenzō's hair furiously, much to his annoyance.
"How about we spare him of your antics and take a trip to the training grounds, so we can showcase our skills?"
Reluctantly, she released Kenzō. "I hate it when you make sense." She turned to Kenzō, who automatically took a step backwards. "Alright kid, let's see what you got."
"Sun's going down, finally," Yasuo noted, leaning against a tree trunk.
"The hour of restless spirits approacheth, the souls of Naraka are upon us!" Sayuri declared in a low voice, raising her hands and making ghost noises.
"Isn't that more of a midnight thing?" Kenzō asked, though admittedly he was unfamiliar with the superstition. Must not have spread to his corner of the Land of Rain.
"You think that the souls of the damned care about what the clock says? Typical ignorant mortal!"
Yasuo cleared his throat. "We'll make our way around the den, Kenzō. See you in a minute."
The sound of ghosts faded into the night as they moved into position around the glowfox den. Kenzō was the stealthiest of the group, as the other two never bothered to practice, so he would lie in wait to sneak attack the glowfoxes as they ran by, fleeing from the other two as they killed the pests. They were easier to see in the dark, so they were often hunted at night.
Sure enough, within minutes, Kenzō was pouncing on foxes as they ran by, chasing down a straggler who hadn't quite run in his direction. After slaying the last one, he panted from exertion, stumbling a bit in the dark as he made his way back to his friends. Though it was a full moon, clouds were blocking the light.
He was growing a bit unsettled that he hadn't run into the others yet, and decided to call out to his teammates. "Sayuri? Yasuo? I can't see shit. Where are you?"
He heard more totally spooky ghost noises in response and rolled his eyes, making his way towards the sound.
"Not funny anymore," he said, squinting in the dark. He jumped as Sayuri came into his view, further pissing him off. Was she just waiting to try and scare him?
"Oooooooo," she said, again.
He turned his back on her, annoyed. "Sayuri, would you please just shut up? Let's get out of here and set up camp."
"Kenzō," he heard Yasuo croak.
He whipped back around as moonlight began to crack through the clouds, glistening on the falling rain. And the blood glistening on Sayuri's torso. A dark, spiky silhouette was piercing her chest and carrying her corpse around. The silhouette extended further, towering over Kenzō. The creature did not seem to have legs, or any discernible bottom… it simply faded into the ground. Bright, distant lights like stars dotted the silhouette. Four arms sprouted from its chest, with Yasuo clutched in one of them, and Sayuri in another.
The creature cocked its head, as if trying to figure something out. "Kenzō," it repeated in a nearly perfect imitation of Yasuo's voice, but for a slight high pitched whine that echoed while it spoke. As if in celebration, a wide, lopsided smile cracked across its face and it waved the two bodies around merrily.
"Kenzō… please… kill me…" Yasuo pleaded.
Kenzō turned and ran as fast as he could, putting everything he had into fleeing, tripping and stumbling over the damp roots and loose soil of the forest floor, gulping air down as fast he could take it in, not even knowing where he was running. By the time he was done, he'd be retching.
He ran until he could no longer hear his name being called out to him.
Kenzō rose to answer the knock on his door. "Kobayashi Jun, I take it?" he asked neutrally. The man had asked to speak with him previously, and Kenzō had provided his location of residence. An experienced clanless ninja, even a chūnin, could be a useful connection to forge, after all.
"The very one," Kobayashi agreed. "May I come in?"
"You may," Kenzō said, sweeping his arm to the side in an inviting gesture.
"Thanks," the man said, stepping into the room with a slight thundering in the ground, and sitting across from Kenzō's cushion. "Nice to meet you, Hayashi Kenzō. I bring refreshments," he said, pouring from a flask into a cup.
"Tea?" Kenzō asked.
Kobayashi knocked it back in an instant and sighed contentedly. "Nope. Sake."
Kenzō stared for a moment, then shrugged and took a cup. Though it was available to him ever since he was an Academy graduate, he'd never bothered with the stuff. He took a hesitant sip and screwed his face up tight. "Blegh!" And just like that, his coolguy persona was ruined. Dammit.
Kobayashi chuckled and poured himself another cup. "I'll be blunt, Kenzō, as I hear you're the type to appreciate that. I've recruited two talented genin to join me as my students, but I need a third to complete the team."
"No, I don't do teams anymore," Kenzō replied automatically, sipping the sake more carefully, and yet still grimacing slightly.
Kobayashi set his cup down, solemn. "Right. I know about your former team. It's a sad fact of ninja life that we don't always make it to the end of every mission."
"It was more than that," Kenzō insisted. "I-" He paused. I abandoned them when they needed me. Abandoned them to that… thing. No one ever believes me about that part. Some beast in the trick of the light, traumatic, confused memories. Maybe they're right...
Kobayashi nodded, passively examining the scars on his arms. "You think you're the first to let your teammates down? You think you'll be the last?" Kobayashi shook his head, as if changing his mind. "But no, I'm patronizing you. Of course you've thought of that already. I won't make this choice for you, Kenzō. If you can't bear to rely on another or be relied upon, that's your business. But the seemingly easy road imposes its own hardships. You limit your own potential, isolate yourself." Kobayashi flashed a sudden glare at him, intense. "Have you ever truly desired the easy road, Kenzō? To settle for average? To accept things as they are?"
"Uhhh… what are you…?"
"You didn't patronize an entire Clan just to make things easy for yourself. If anything, you just don't know when to quit. A problem I share, for what it's worth. But taking hardships onto yourself, because you think you deserve it? That's easy. Forgiving yourself once you've admitted your mistakes? Much harder."
Kenzō was so caught off guard. "Who the heck just comes into someone's home and starts talking like this?" he finally said, bewildered.
Kobayashi stared for a moment and began to laugh. "Okay, fair enough. I admit, I like to proselytize from time to time. This is part of why I think you'd make a good fit. For better or worse, you prefer to stay cool and grounded."
Kenzō just shook his head slowly, staring at the floor.
Kobayashi exhaled. "Very well. Let me provide you with some advice, regardless, as I so love the sound of my own voice," he said, smiling. The smile slipped away. "More than just teammates, I've lost students in my care in the past. The war claimed so many, so indiscriminately… The guilt was agony. I- I didn't take very good care of myself. You deserve better than that, at least, whether you think you do or not."
"If it hurt so much… why did you return to teaching?"
"For a long time, I didn't. It was easier to stay away. But a friend brought me to a realization - that there were things in this life that I still wanted to see done. That there was still more good I could do despite my past mistakes. That there were still those who could benefit from my guidance even when it fell short before."
"And so you think, what, there's still more I could be giving to new teammates that they wouldn't be getting otherwise?"
"It isn't about what I think, Kenzō. It's about what you think of yourself. Are you satisfied with the path you've chosen? Does it atone for your past mistakes? Or… is there another path where you could be more, do more? Wouldn't becoming your best self be the truest form of atonement?"
Kenzō wasn't sure he cared about being his best self. But… Kenzō thought of his father, of his friends back home, Makiko… he hadn't had the chance to visit home in months, and they weighed extra heavily on him recently. He wanted them to have his best self, if nothing else. Would Yasuo and Sayuri have wanted that for him, too?
Kobayashi was right about one thing. Kenzō was the type of person who would never be satisfied until he tried.
Kenzō shifted around awkwardly. Kobayashi-sensei and Shion were bustling around administering emergency medical care to the injured, while Momoka made her way around from bug corpse to bug corpse, extracting venom where she could and humming a jolly tune. He decided to strike up conversation with one of the civilians. He couldn't tell if they were actually in charge or not, but they wore slightly nicer clothing and spoke with some authority, directing people back and forth to help treat the wounded and patch up the damages.
Kenzō will attempt to make friendly with a leader nearby.
Kenzō, Rapport: 7 + 6 = 13
Civilian, Empathy: 11 + 6 = 17
They are more concerned with the injured and rebuff him, dealing two mental stress to Kenzō.
Kenzō will shrug off the kid gloves and take command.
Kenzō, Presence: 23 - 3 = 20
Civilian, Resolve: 6 + 6 = 12
Okay, okay, take the ninja seriously.
"Mind if I ask you some questions while they handle things?"
The man didn't notice him speaking at first. "Mmm?"
"We're here to investigate reports we've been hearing. Can you answer some questions?"
"Ah… I really should be attending to my people-"
Kenzō masked his annoyance. "Sir," Kenzō interjected, forcefully but gracefully, "They're in the best care they could possibly be receiving at the moment. Leave it to my sensei and teammates. You can provide more help to them by providing us with whatever information you can. Time could be of the essence."
The man seemed to regard him fully for the first time, stroking a gray beard. "Yes... Yes, yes, you're right of course. Ask your questions, honorable ninja," he said, leading Kenzō into a nearby study for privacy and introducing himself as Miyata Teruo.
Kenzō pulled out a blank scroll from his gear and began to write. "We've heard that your people recently began getting sick from the wells. Can you corroborate?"
Miyata glanced around. "Seems so. This isn't something we've been wanting to advertise exactly, but all the same, we don't want people to unknowingly get sick, either." Kenzō made a note to check the wells once his more observant teammates were available.
"Do you know when this began?"
"Hard to say, but… Not too long ago? Two weeks at most? Around the same time the spider wasps moved in, as it happens. We believe the two events are connected."
Kenzō paused. His team had come to the conclusion that the two events weren't connected - but happening around the same time was suspicious in and of itself. "Do you know which direction the spider wasps came from?" he asked.
"South- no, Northeast. Or so it is believed. They weren't from around here at any rate. We believe they were looking for new food sources and were drawn to our livestock."
Kenzō nodded. If Momoka was right and they were saving up energy to breed, hunting down new prey might prove more fruitful than waiting for others to wander into their web - or, if the two events were connected… was it possible someone drove them or led them this way? And why? Surely there were easier ways to torment civilians?
Kenzō will ask about ninja activity. Does Mr. Miyata share what he knows?
Miyata Teruo, Deceit: 13 + 0 = 13
Kenzō, Empathy: 16 + 9 = 25
Not so fast!
"Miyata, we have reason to believe ninja may be active in the area. Have you seen anything?"
Kenzō noticed the barest of flinches.
"No, I don't think that I have. Nor have I heard anything from my people, for that matter."
"I see. And no new faces coming through?"
"Ah, well, we get the odd trader or traveler now and again. Nothing out of the ordinary. Though, of course, your disguises surpass the senses of us mere common folk. So, I may have missed something."
Kenzō set the brush down and interlaced his fingers. "Perhaps we can catch what you've missed. Suppose for a moment that a ninja came through and, having been unintentionally noticed, threatened harm upon your people should word come back to him that he was exposed to enemy ninja." Miyata paled, and Kenzō pressed on. "If that were so, it would be prudent to note that he would be unable to do so if these enemy ninja were to defeat him. It would also be prudent to note that harm is already being done to your people regardless, and that he may even be in possession of an antidote to the poison administered to their water supply - if there is an antidote, that is. If such an individual were to have hypothetically passed through this village, when might that have been? Around the time people began getting sick from the wells?"
Miyata took a deep breath. "I would suspect that it is unlikely they would be noticed by a civilian at all unless they had dawdled for too long in the open, perhaps weeks before waterborne illness began to spread." He wiped his brow. "I must insist that I know little and witnessed nothing personally."
Figures. There might not be many more details to extract from the local populace, but it was a start. With any luck, they could put the rest of the story together.
General investigation, few hours -> all day
Jun, Examination: 21 + 6 (timeladder) - 3 = 24
REROLL!
Jun, Examination: 21 + 6 + 6 = 33
Examination TN: ???
Jun finds some stuff :^)
Discerning the ID of the poison? Few minutes -> several hours. This will become a multi-day investigation
Jun, Examination: 21 + 6 (timeladder) + 3 (Aspect generated by Shion's MedKnow) + 3 (Poisoned Heritage) - 6 (dice. Also, bruh) = 27
They were able to find pulp, likely from some kind of root, but it is not a plant any of them are familiar with (and very likely is not present in the Land of Rain at all). The origin of the root may not provide much info in and of itself, as it could be traded around to anywhere.
[/SPOILERS]
Kenzō was last into camp, where Shion was already preparing dinner for them (was that… deer kabob?) Kobayashi-sensei was going over written notes, and mumbling to himself. Momoka sat on a log, counting through her remaining weapons and cleaning them.
Kenzō slumped with exhaustion on the ground, wordlessly passing the rest of his notes to Kobayashi-sensei, who was scribbling intensely. "Wells were definitely poisoned on purpose - identifying the poison was a bust, but can likely rule out locally sourced... And the beasts? Best guess- wasps were a false trail for anyone who managed to put together the truth… but follow where they came from and more clues could be found along the way…" Kobayashi-sensei muttered.
"Are you going to share with the class?" Kenzō asked.
"Mmm? So far as I can tell, they've moved on from…whatever they were doing here. It seems to be a local trading hub, but not so big as to be some amazing source of intel. I can only presume it was some kind of staging ground for a bigger operation…"
"What kind of operation?" Shion asked, as she rotated the kabobs over the fire.
Kobayashi-sensei grimaced. "I don't know. War…?"
"War?"
"I don't know what all history they teach in the academy these days, but one of the most effective strategies for international warfare was to strike directly at the civilian population. Even a genin can easily subdue virtually any civilian, they produce all the food, they produce half the new ninja inducted into the Academy… it was- is an excellent way to cripple your enemy over the long term, as despicable as it is."
"But… who would we be at war with?" Momoka asked.
Kobayashi-sensei shrugged. "We're near the border of Fire, but perhaps that was deliberate to associate the blame with Hidden Leaf. We've always had a bit of an uneasy rivalry with Hidden Grass, but they'd be bold to take action like this. Hidden Rock, Hidden Sand, and Hidden Fire had their way with the land of Rain when they fought each other in the war, but that's no reason to target Rain's people so deliberately like this… we need more information."
"So, what do we do?" Kenzō asked.
"I hate to say this, but I think we may need to split up for the moment. Frankly, I have half a mind to send you to Hidden Rain immediately, if the case for mass sabotage were just a little bit stronger…"
"Split up? While there's potentially enemy ninja running rampant?" Kenzō was in disbelief.
"It doesn't sit well with me, I admit, but you don't send the expensive and powerful jōnin away from protecting your homeland just to go make a hundred villagers sick. This has the markings of a hit and run, the role of highly expendable genin - no offense, but that's often how the Tower will view you. I want you to search the nearby area for any hint of their campsite - so far as we found, they weren't staying in Sarobetsu itself. Do not travel more than a day's distance away from Sarobetsu, and do not engage the enemy unless absolutely necessary."
"So…what are you going to do?" Shion asked.
"I'll be staking out the town, see what I can turn up. I would have you do that job, but I'm frankly far stealthier than any of you."
Kenzō said, "I should stay with you, sensei. I'm stealthy, and you shouldn't operate alone."
"I operated alone for nearly twenty years, Kenzō," he said, smiling sadly. "I'd rather you three keep each other safe. There's decent odds none of us turn up anything in the next few days. If that happens, we'll follow the direction that the spider wasps traveled from, together, and search for more intel."
He took a deer kabob reluctantly offered to him by Shion, waving it around dramatically.
"What we've been doing up to this point mattered, but even I'll admit this is much bigger than hunting some stray beasts harassing villagers. I expect the best from each of you. Take this job seriously and bring pride to the Village Hidden in the Rain."
No amount of protesting was able to sway Kobayashi-sensei, leaving all three of them in a bit of a foul mood as they searched for clues. You didn't disobey a commanding officer in a situation like this without serious consequence - even so, they'd strongly considered it.
Kenzō sulked in the back, while even in a foul mood Momoka dutifully searched for old signs of enemy ninja - thus far, turning up jack shit.
"Did anyone else get the feeling he was just trying to shield us on purpose? Ugh," Shion moaned, albeit quietly.
"I think he is taking this far more seriously than any of us," Momoka said, without looking back. "Though, that doesn't mean he's making the right choices, regardless."
Shion glanced back at Kenzō trudging behind them. "Don't run off on us now, Kenzō."
"I wouldn't do that!" he proclaimed, loudly.
Shion flinched in surprise. "Uh, okay, sorry. Was just making a bad joke."
Kenzō shook his head. He felt uneasy, antsy. Sensei wasn't wrong that there were good odds they wouldn't notice a thing, but it didn't make the wait any easier-
"Guys," Momoka said, pointing at the tiniest of scrapes ten feet off the ground. She hopped up to the branch to inspect it further, and the other two fanned out in an instant. "It's not recent," she noted, hopping from branch to branch. Shion and Kenzō followed behind her, warily while she climbed to the top of the tree. "Not much of a trail, really, just an accidental scrape. Seems to fade east, but there's a farmstead over here. Maybe they know something."
"Worth a shot," Shion agreed, heading to where Momoka pointed and ascending a small hill while Kenzō followed behind.
There was a man tending his garden, who straightened up in an instant upon seeing them approach.
"Honorable ninja, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
Kenzō is taking command. Tell us what you know, citizen.
Kenzō, Presence: 23 + 12 (!!!) = 35
Civilian, Resolve = lol
After spotting the trail, the adrenaline began to pump. Kenzō was locked in. "Hello sir. We are here on behalf of Hidden Rain, searching for enemies who have infiltrated our homeland to spread strife and misery. I'm sure you've heard of the illness sweeping Sarobetsu - we're looking for those responsible, so no more of our people get hurt." The man was clearly overcome with nerves, so Kenzō tried another approach. "Look, sir, I grew up in a village not much bigger than Sarobetsu, and the people there didn't tend to care if the ninja was from Hidden Rain or Hidden Leaf or Hidden Naraka for that matter - we're not here to squeeze you dry. We're just trying to end this conflict before it intensifies. Have you seen anything you could tell us?"
The farmer took a deep breath. "Nothing directly, but- I'd noticed Takashi was a bit… off, when he came to the market days. It's a fear we all learn to recognize, you understand."
"Where might one find this Takashi?"
Going to fiat that Kenzō is not currently detectable at this distance, since they are indoors.
Can Kenzō hear them?
Kenzō, Alertness: 34 + 6 (Stolen Whispers) - 12 (dice) = 28
Reroll!
Kenzō, Alertness: 34 + 6 (Stolen Whispers) + 3 (dice) = 43
Yep. There's 3 ninjas - that he can hear talking anyways. No snoring or any sounds like that. There's also ~6 people in Takashi's family that's still here.
"Wind Release: Stolen Whispers," Kenzō intoned, before sneaking up to the edge of the clearing, where Takashi's farmland began. His hearing expanded greatly, as the winds carried distant sounds to his ears.
A weight settled deep in Kenzō's stomach as he heard several distinct voices coming from the farm. Even chatting aimlessly, it was clear that no fewer than three of the voices did not belong with the rest of Takashi's family - but where was it coming from? The house? The barn? He suspected they were hiding in the barn based on the commentary about getting straw in their hair. He signaled back what he could hear to Shion and Momoka, who paled but nodded.
Now the question of whether to flee and retrieve Kobayashi-sensei. If they left now, the enemy may not be present when they returned. Worse, Shion and Momoka were not particularly stealthy - the enemy might be able to track them before they reach sensei, especially if they're booking it rather than moving carefully…
On the other hand, victory was significantly more likely with sensei here to help, as it wasn't clear how strong their opponents were.
Kenzō began to creep his way back over to deliberate with his teammates, when his ears pricked at a stark comment.
"...t's just kill them tonight and move on. We've been here long enough."
All three PCs will receive a compel on the Aspect, "Hidden Rain Ninja" to engage immediately, not wanting their quarry to kill the farmers and escape.
(+1 FP) Accept Compel: Attack!
(0 FP) Reject Compel: Retreat for now.
It is currently early afternoon. You are around 6 hours Northwest of Sarobetsu at a leisurely pace, maybe more like 4 hours if you sprint the whole way.
Vote time! What to do? This vote will showcase 'compels' so there will be a compel vote and an action vote.
[X] (Compel) Accept.
[X] (Compel) Reject.
[X] (Action) Throw explosives at the barn immediately and collapse it on them.
[X] (Action) Have Momoka start stabbing them from a distance with Living Roots and Spine of the Earth.
[X] (Action) Rush the barn with clones and then attack the enemy as they exit.
[X] (Action) Retreat and run full speed to retrieve Jun.
Yep, a bit of a railroad to make the squishy PCs just a bit more vulnerable :^)
If you're running a game, be careful about doing this sparingly. Generally speaking, when you run a game together, you're trying to tell the most interesting story you can as a group. Sometimes that means making sub-optimal choices. But it's very frustrating to get the sense that your choices don't actually matter, so where you can, you should try to respect player choices - if only to give more weight when you later rob them of it.
Great update!! Just a heads up @Shrooms that part of the dialogue got lost in the first spoiler.
1) So our party is entirely traumatized, marginalized sweet little beans that we need to aggressively optimize so they survive at all costs, got it.
2) I really do want to keep stealth reasonably leveled for all of them, since it's seeming important and it would be cool to gank genin and chunin in a medium bit.
3) Jun is giving LotRoL Minato vibes, in some ways. Definitely on the higher end of chunin, and probably could be jonin if not for some factors, given the base 60 combat stat and 3 elements. Very good instructor, clearly wants to help his students.
3.1) Jun should be running their academy, 100%. He's also giving self-aware Ebisu, and I love that so much. Then, lots of his students will become jonin before him. Dude's a good bean as well, and I really hope he doesn't Jagen or get killed off screen on us.
4) Also a good example of why a couple socials are a good idea on any build. Henzo as the presence dude just raising the eyebrow would be cool. As a tertiary, anyway.
5) Now that the sannin are dead, I really want our squad to be the new sannin. Heroes who discover enemy action, grows in strength quickly, and who's existence rights against the clan less inadequacy narrative. Like, sure, Jiraiya and Oro were clanless, but they were in with the Senju Heir and the Clanhead Hokage Sensei. We can do what the did, but better. More equitable. More of a giant middle finger to the bourgeoisie who...
*Ahem*
Where was I? Oh right! Great chapter, love the character work!
PS: 6) That creature that highjacked the dead bodies is nightmare fuel, and very powerful. Also gives hollow vibes (Grand Fisher or Espada 9(?)), which is cool and terrifying.
Also, would prefer a plan that tries to take out the ninja without automatically killing all the civilians. Being unknown right now, whisper plus living roots should allow for a surgical strike.
Also, would prefer a plan that tries to take out the ninja without automatically killing all the civilians. Being unknown right now, whisper plus living roots should allow for a surgical strike.
The Ninja being in the barn and civilians being in house is conjecture from the character (them talking about killing the civilians, the straw in hair comment), but there could be civilians in the barn, we don't know for sure.
More importantly: explosives are kinda known for, you know, exploding. I'm pretty confident the house is going to also be damaged, catch fire, cave in, etc if we blow up the barn. But I'll admit I was imagining the barn and house as being attached or next to each other.
@Shrooms how close is the house and the barn, zone wise?
Okay, so still likely to destroy their livelihood, but reasonable chance that the house won't get damaged, and the family won't come out to investigate. I would still like a battle plan that discourages them running and taking a pot shot at the house on the way, but concern about explosives being instantly lethal to civilians retracted.
Okay, so still likely to destroy their livelihood, but reasonable chance that the house won't get damaged, and the family won't come out to investigate. I would still like a battle plan that discourages them running and taking a pot shot at the house on the way, but concern about explosives being instantly lethal to civilians retracted.
It's incorporated, if there are civvies in the barn we'll use SotE. However, if not, we use explosives. I am not risking the Kenzou's life to save some cows. My plan offers to replace the barn afterwards, that'll have to be good enough.
[X] Action Plan: Universal Problem-Solving Technique
[X] (Action) Have Momoka start stabbing them from a distance with Living Roots and Spine of the Earth.
[X] (Compel) Accept.
I was not, in fact, saying to prioritize livestock over the kids lives. I was trying to talk on broad strategy, and also say that I wasn't as concerned anymore about using tags if there aren't civilians present. I do prefer to talk through strategy generally instead of instantly centering a plan. Sorry I was not clear in my communication.
Yeah let's dial down the snark, it has exited friendly banter territory and entered condescending
No rush on battle strategy here, you have til Friday (you also don't NEED to specify more than the basics if you don't want to, the characters have a pretty good idea of what to do too.)
No rush on battle strategy here, you have til Friday (you also don't NEED to specify more than the basics if you don't want to, the characters have a pretty good idea of what to do too.)
Okay, so Momoka has LR and SotE at level 30, so assuming neutral dice, that means she can yeet a stalagmite at 30 + (4 LR AB) + 4 (tag "flat-footed") = 38. Since she's fulfilling her professional duties by defending Rain civilians, she will probably be able to tag "Hidden Rain Ninja." Depending on just "cavernous" her heart really is (i.e., "does momoka actually care about saving these civilians?" or "does Momoka think saving these civilians will help her feel better?"), Momoka may also be able to tag "Cavernous Heart."
These two additional tags would provide +8 to the 38 roll, bringing it up to 46 (again, assuming neutral dice). Which isn't terrible, for a genin.
If we're facing early-to-mid ranged genin, like Jun theorizes, then we can assume that their Athletics are likely in the 30s or low 40s. Assuming no buffs are active, and that the dice are neutral, then Momoka should be able to at least hit one of them.
Unless these genin have spreadsheet vision, and are optimized for pure combat, or are on the cusp of Chunnin-rank... then we might be in trouble.
A dark, spiky silhouette was piercing her chest and carrying her corpse around. The silhouette extended further, towering over Kenzō. The creature did not seem to have legs, or any discernible bottom… it simply faded into the ground. Bright, distant lights like stars dotted the silhouette. Four arms sprouted from its chest, with Yasuo clutched in one of them, and Sayuri in another.
The creature cocked its head, as if trying to figure something out. "Kenzō," it repeated in a nearly perfect imitation of Yasuo's voice, but for a slight high pitched whine that echoed while it spoke. As if in celebration, a wide, lopsided smile cracked across its face and it waved the two bodies around merrily.
