Back Into the Thick of Things! [Open]

[Chiyo]

The past year had been just short of hell for one redheaded teenager. Not long after she had earned the Genin rank in her shinobi career, her father's health began to decline, causing his inability to lead their clan effectively. From that point on, Amy was the acting leader of the Suchiru clan and could no longer spend much time doing anything other than her duties as her father's heir, running her blacksmith shop, and working in Keystone Prime.

All of this left very little time for the young girl to spend with her first boyfriend, Ryuu Yoen, who had begun to become ever more distant as she continued to become ever busier between her career as a merchant and a craftsman, and the leader of a merchant clan. The widening gap between the two eventually became too vast to repair and the young couple ended things as amicably as they could, though it would be weeks before she could fall asleep and actually sleep through the night.

Amy threw herself into her responsibilities and her clan and business really began to boom. Soon enough, she had earned more than enough to upgrade her business once again, and with help from the rest of her family, managed to purchase a large compound for the entire Suchiru clan within the glittering Diamond district as well as a brand new high-end shop for herself in the Golden Crystal district.

Another month passed and the clan settled into their new, comfortable lifestyle. Amy's father was being looked after by one of the the best medical ninja available, and though his condition continued to decline, he continued to fight harder than ever so that he could see just how far his adopted daughter could take his life's work. Soon enough Amy's sixteenth birthday approached and it passed with little notice but for a small gift given to her by her father - a simple charm bracelet with intricately crafted charms he explained he had made for her with each milestone she passed.

The days continued to pass after her birthday much as they had been passing for the past year, up until the announcement from the Cabal. From that point each small family of the clan retreated into their respective safe rooms – stone lined basements underneath each of the households that were stocked with enough food and drink to last each family about a month – and hunkered down until they received any further notice. Of course they were well aware that the Cabal would know about these safe rooms, but the looters and raiders would have no idea, besides, the blacksmiths naturally hoarded a few well crafted weapons, just in case.

-------​

Amy, her father, and the live-in Medical Ninja the redhead had hired were all hunkered down in a room approximately the size of the average studio apartment, and set up in a very similar way, though in order to make enough space for all the medical equipment, the two small beds were pushed into the corner. All in all, the three were reasonably comfortable, the bathroom was complete with a full shower and toilet, and the galley kitchen had a full refrigerator - no stove, however, the smoke and steam would be a bit obvious - but all in all, the trio got comfortable quite fast, though Amy began to grow restless after the first week.

"I can't just sit down here anymore....I have to do something!" The redhead's hushed voice had an unmistakable urgency in it as she spoke to her father, who followed her with his weary grey eyes as she paced around the room, gathering the supplies she would need when she went to help her comrades.

"There's nothing you can do that isn't already being done by the other shinobi, you haven't even hardly picked up your sword in the past year and you expect to just get back out there and save the city? I think you really need to rethink this, Amejisuto." Kitaeru said, his voice becoming more and more exasperated with every word. A sixteen year old girl who had undoubtedly grown rusty with her swords over the past year had no business risking her life to save a village that could surely save itself. Admittedly, the old man was being a bit selfish, but she was his daughter, and he needed her, not to mention that clan that she was now acting head of.

The redheaded teenager stepped from the small bathroom and stared across at her father with the unmistakable glare of a woman who was not going to back down. By now she had outfitted herself in dark colored linen pants, a sleeveless top to match, and her swordbelt. Her immense red hair was, as it always was when she was training, bound into a long, whip-like braid, fastened at the end with a strap of black leather. Her hands were on her hips as she looked into her father's eyes, before she walked toward him, dropped into the chair at his bedside and took his hand into hers.

"Father, I know you need me, and the rest of the family as well, but Suna needs me more right now. Without the whole of the village, there is no Great Suchiru clan." Amy's green eyes stared into the wise grey eyes of her father and waited for his decision. Regardless of what he said, she knew what she had to do and no one would stop her, but she would be able to concentrate so much better if she knew he understood why she needed to go.

After a few long moments, Kitaeru gave his daughter one curt nod and squeezed her hands in his, "You sure have grown this past year...you remind me of myself when I was your age. The clan will do well with you as its leader." He gave her a small smile before allowing her to place a quick kiss on his weathered cheek and walk away.

As she moved to the stairwell, however, she noticed a crate she had brought from her shop with an assortment of weapon scrolls tucked into it. Kneeling down, she grabbed a few of them before uncovering a slightly more worn scroll that caused her to pause a moment, her slender fingers touching the lightly weathered paper. As she hesitated, her memory went back to a day just under a year ago, when her mentor had come to her to say good-bye. Uzumoreru Toushin had left his equipment with her for safe keeping, giving her hope that one day he might return, a fact that proved to be the only thing that kept her going through everything she had endured the past year.

Shaking her head, she began to draw her hand away from the most treasured scroll, knowing full well that Toushin wouldn't be back, at least not this soon after leaving, but something in the back of her mind made her grab it and tuck it into one of the loops on her swordbelt with a smirk - it just wouldn't feel right to leave it behind. Standing again, she turned to her father and smiled before bending again to lace her sandals up her calves and head upstairs and back into the main house.

[[MFT // WC: 1218]]

 

[Toraono Michino]

Topic Entered with iNPC: Uzumoreru Toushin<i></i>​

The streets were nothing like he had remembered them. Terror and chaos had spread so far in that single day. He had seen it many times before in his missions, but never on such a grand scale that encompassed so many people. He could only continue to curse his lack of strength and lack of preparedness. He remembered the terrorists speaking of the many sins of the shinobi, and he wondered if he too deserved this by simply expecting that the Sunans would protect any who entered or exited their village. His child was safe, for the moment, but unless he got the supplies back that he was sent here for, Uzu doubted it would stay in such a way. Bandits weren’t exactly known for their hospitality unless you had something they wanted.

Funny that as he traveled slowly through the terror looting of the richest of the Sunan districts that he saw the long flash of red hair. His heart skipped a beat for just a second when he realized that only one person in the entire village had hair that color and length. His hand reached out for a second as if to stop her but realized better of himself to draw any attention her way. She was moving through the back allies just as he taught her and was avoiding the most dangerous of the open streets were women were privy to...rather terrible attacks. He was, however, confused as to why she was here at all. The Suchiru Arms was a shop that was located back near the Bazaar as well as the homestead for the entire clan.
Perhaps Tama lived here and she too sought him. It would certainly solve two problems with a single attempt; yet it would be getting her attention quietly that held the challenge. Uzu turned around and started to slowly scale a wall facing away from the street before pulling himself into a building through a broken window.
The darkness of the building swept up around him and he embraced it gladly as he took to the corners and walls to keep as far away from the other windows as he moved through the looted house.

The sound of a vase shattering caught the assassin’s attention long before the hushed whispers that followed. Uzu dropped into a crouch and rolled silently towards a door opening. He peeked his head around to see two Sunan shinobi, or at least two older men dressed as shinobi, with bags over their shoulders full of only Kami knew what. After seeing the travesty on the streets he wasn’t sure if the two men were traitors or just really smart shinobi. Either way it gave the assassin an idea of how he could get close to the red head without drawing too much attention their way from the wrong people.
As soon as their backs were turned the killer swiftly darted around the corner to raise up behind them. His hands snaked around the first man’s head and snapped his neck and with the same flowing motion struck his partner in ‘crime’ in the throat before following up with a blow to his nose delivered by the palm of his hand. The shinobi dropped his gear and tried to counter half blind only to have Toushin side-step and grab his body to throw it out a nearby window in the room using the man’s own momentum. The assassin wasn’t hear to aid either side - he only wanted out. Grabbing up the two bags full of ‘loot’ he went to the window his last victim was thrown out of and looked for that shock of red hair again. He found it below him and a little to the north.

With one hand holding onto the backs and the other to the window seal, Toushin swung himself out and from there he launched himself onto the roof of a shorter house. He ran along the edge of the roof until reaching an end, to which he leaped down from and onto the fence and down into the back street that Amy was running down. He landed a few feet in front of her and tossed one of the bags of loot at her before loudly announcing,
“Here, that is your share of that last house I was in<i></i>,” and then quietly so that only she could hear, “Feathers are easy to kill, after all.<i></i>” It was a code that would have sounded like nonsense to anyone else, but held a deep meaning to the teacher and student.

 

[Chiyo]

The redhead almost jumped out of her shoes as the assassin dropped in front of her, but her instincts and training kept her from reacting too noticeably – other than her arms crossing over her torso to grip the hilts of her swords that rested at her hips. As she looked at her would-be ambusher, her green eyes twinkled with recognition of the familiar man who stood in front of her. Blinking back the onslaught of tears that threatened to burst forth at the sight of the very man she had most wished to see, she took a deep breath and caught the heavy sack with ease before laughing a little.

“Ha! Sorry, can't be too careful these days. Excellent haul, though!” She cried, trying to keep the charade going in case of any unwanted onlookers, she opened the bag and pretended to look through its contents with an excited expression, but she lowered her voice and spoke the practiced reply. “As long as the bird continues to fly.” The exchange was indeed nonsense to anyone else that might be listening, but the pair had agreed upon this particular exchange long ago so that they might be certain the other wasn't an impersonator.

Closing the bag once again, she looked up at her Sensei with a wide smile and hefted the bag over her muscled shoulder. Her free hand reached for her belt and pulled the weathered scroll from it before handing it to her comrade with a knowing grin. “I found this in that big compound we discussed and thought you might find it useful.” Knowing he would be questioning why she was so far from the home he had known to be hers, she tried to put enough meaning behind her words so that he would be able to discern her situation and some of what had happened in his absence. "The place was deserted and just about picked clean, looked like everyone packed up and went into hiding somewhere."

Holding his scroll of weapons out to him, she wondered at the fact that she had known to bring his weapons with her, but it was clear that it was her unwavering faith in her mentor that had fueled the need to pack the scroll. There had been no doubt in her mind that the assassin was a long way from where she needed him, but in her heart of hearts she had known that he would come to help her and the village when he was needed most. Smiling at the thought, she fought even harder to push back the tears of relief that continued to prick at the corners of her eyes, not to mention the strong desire she had to drop everything she had and throw her arms around him.

“I also found a few more things that might come in handy if the need arises.” She said, continuing the act while letting her mentor know that she was prepared to do whatever he asked of her. With that, she patted the other scrolls she had tucked into her sword belt and waited for Toushin to make his move. It had been so thoroughly drilled into her brain over the years to follow her Sensei, that now – even though they had been apart for over a year – her instincts defaulted back to what he had taught her.

[[MFT // WC: 562]]

 

[Toraono Michino]

Uzu couldn’t help the painful smirk that threatened to lift his lips when she not only repeated the code words back but actually handed him a scroll with all of his old equipment on it. Quite easily she played along with the ruse though he could see by the look in her eyes just how much she had aged and how much he had been missed. Honestly it had only been half of his choice to leave Sunagakure; the other half was determined by the dangers he represented by staying there. Sending a nod her way he straighted back out the look on his face and jerked his head to the side so she would follow him.

Through the back alleys he traveled through the district, trying to avoid anyone who might try and cross their path. Twice they were seen by other looters on the way to his destination, and that many times did the assassin choose to changed the direction he used to get to the end. When they did finally stop it was outside a high fenced yard located in between two large houses that both had the same sized yards but with smaller fences. Carefully he looked around before turning his back to the wooden fence to hide from view his hands so that he could push in the secret switch that was all but invisible. A trap door opened up suddenly underneath Toushin that he only barely dodged by moving his feet out of the way in time; Tama had already gotten him once with this.
He silently nodded to Amy to follow him as he turned his back to the hole and began to crawl in facing away from the fence via a ladder built into the wall of the hole. As soon as he was down there and she was safely away from the door, the assassin closed it and activated the little trick latch to keep anyone who did see them from being able to easily follow.

As soon as the door closed they were engulfed in a darkness.
“Follow me,” was all Uzu said to his apprentice as he slowly began to walk forward, hoping that she would follow the sounds of his footsteps. Eventually the darkness began to lighten as they neared a turn in a tunnel that revealed a dim light. However once the corner had been turned all there seemed to be was a large glowing rock. Reaching up Toushin grabbed the cloth that was patterned to look like a real rock and push it aside to reveal a large dirt floored room with a giant sealing jutsu/pentagram written into the floor with concrete.

Toushin walked easily into the room as if he had been here before and set down the scroll on a large desk in the back of the room. A strange mechanical yowl filled the room for a second as a strange feline figure with mechanical appendages dropped down in front of the assassin with hackles fully raised. He simply made a weird hand gesture at the creature and it relented back to its spot on the book shelf where it was known for living. The Uzumoreru assassin reached back down to his scroll and gently broke the wax seal that held the roll together before stretching it out across the table to reveal the sealing jutsu that was used to store his equipment in an alternate space that could not be accessed - since it was lost at the bottom of a cave lake. He bit his thumb until blood pooled up and carefully wrote in the counter seal at the bottom before turning to the red head that was following him.

“Would you mind? All you have to do is focus chakra into the center circle until stuff appears on the other circles. I...don’t have the chakra to undo the seal because a certain scientist thought it’d be a great idea to seal it back ‘just in case’. Pfft, but the fool didn’t see this coming...” The last bit he muttered more to himself than he spoke to Amy. It was a hell of a shame to have to request help from his apprentice in anything, but hopefully after this he wouldn’t need to. He was in Tama’s main research room and would hopefully have some notes about the weird sealing jutsu that was on the back of his hand keeping him from full potential.