Into the Maelstrom [Mission]

[Michi]

This is simply a group meat-up thread for this mission. So just sign up for the mission (if you have not already ) HERE

It was dawn, too early for a sane person to be awake. The shuffling of ANBU guards restlessly near the threshold was the only sign of life. Outside those doors was the wail of the storm, it battered and threatened to break down the Toraono defenses each passing moment but it never did. It was a queer fact in all honestly how such a massive building was able to withstand the storm in such a way, but it always had. The mission group was to meet here, hopefully they came with supplies and were prepared to face the elements.

Just a meet and greet to get you guys started.

 

[Akako]

[col]Early dawn. And she was already up way before that. Perhaps she wasn't a sane person after all? But, even outside of missions, Nanami's body clock had a schedule. Although she often slept at midnight, having been busy throughout the day with medical work and mercenary work, the woman always woke up automatically at four thirty in the morning.

That gave her a good two hours, more or less, to be prepared.

So, by the time she went to the rendezvous point at the gates, she was more than ready. The woman was bright eyed and looking fresh, courtesy of a cool shower and a hearty breakfast. The kinks had been worked out of her hair and her clothes were immaculate, beyond what the sand had done to her shoes anyway.

Gone was her usual lab coat, long sleeved turtleneck and Mary Janes. In their place was a hooded tunic and brown boots that would fit the desert conditions better. The pants stayed. Fitted to a belt with summoning scrolls (the only sign that she was actually, technically a shinobi) were supplies. Two were filled with rations, protein and energy bars and MREs. Three others were filled with all sorts of medicine, perhaps enough to fill a small pharmacy. The last contained a tent, bed rolls, garments and other supplies that may be necessary in the long run.

She was prepared. Perhaps a bit too prepared. But better safe than sorry, right?

And it looked like she was the first one here too.|</FONTFACE>[legend="[b]Out of Character Notes[/b]"]

• So... uh, I'll just wait here.

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[Shiruko Makoto]

Someday, Makoto was going to invent time travel so he could go back in time, find the person or people responsible for deciding that the day ever ought to start very early in the morning for anyone, and kill them. Slowly. Until that day, he would have to disrupt his precious sleeping hours for the ridiculously early things people liked to hold that he needed to be involved in.

He didn't have to like it, though. This business of actually Doing Things was getting tiresome.

He did the customary I-barely-care-about-my-appearance-and-am-only-doing-this-for-the-sake-of-hygeine morning routine, although his shower was a little longer since he was going out into the infernal heat and dust. He didn't bother sheathing his parasol, as he would need it for protection, and instead carried it at his side. A blue kerchief hung around his neck, to tie around his nose and mouth for when they went out into the storm itself. His backpack was filled with water bottles mostly, but also the rest of his weaponry, save the knives inside his jacket, and some packed food.

Unless one could tell that his parasol was a weapon, he didn't look a whole lot like any kind of ninja. That was par for the course with Moon nin, of course.

As he trudged up toward the gate, he only spied one lone person waiting there already. Hm. He was perhaps a bit too early, then.

The polite thing to do would be to say 'good morning,' but in Makoto's opinion, the words 'good' and 'morning' did not go together, particularly when the sun was not quite fully over the horizon.

"Hello," he said simply to the woman, dragging his feet a little on his way over. They probably weren't fully awake yet either. "You're here for the mission to the storm, then."

No point in asking; anyone clearly waiting at this exact location at this time had to be.

[Topic Entered]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Steward arrived not late, but not early either it had seemed with his husky Kitchy. He wore the same armour he had when he picked up the mission. Given the nature of the mission, and his constant ... well ... he had a long history with diamond sand overexposure. Today would be different. The armour he had made was crafted from Zephyr-steel made from the smelted feathers of the skyward sirens he had defeated a while back. Fire-forged steel had its weaknesses to diamond sands. Zephyr-steel had a great defense to the diamond sands, or so it would seem. If though this mission were to go over a week (which Sousuke hoped it wouldn't), then of course he would need to change the original elementium that the steel consisted of.

As Sousuke found his allies, he stared at the two of them. He knew Nanami who was not wearing her lab coat. The other person he did not know. He blinked at Makoto's ... wear. He expected to survive the diamond storm in that? The husky let out a series of barks at Makoto. It was probably some form of greeting. "A simple scarf won't suffice out there."<i></i> Sousuke reached to his backpack and set it on the floor. As he did this he kneeled and with his spare hand he patted his dog on the head and scratched behind her ears. Kitchy wasn't going with them of course, but the canine wanted to see him off. Sousuke removed from his backpack a set of breathers. He held them out for the taking. "Breathers. They've been plasma sanitized ... if you're wondering just where they came from ... aside from my bag of course. Diamond sands if inhaled in time corrupt the lungs, and ... the medical treatment for them is ... quite unpleasant. I have one built into this helmet."<i></i> He was missing something. Sousuke patted the back of his helmet. "Oh. Yes. Good morning. I am not an automaton or puppet by the way. I am Takahashi Sousuke the third. This is my pet Kitchenzilla, or more commonly known as Kitchy. There is a very long and complicated history with her, but ... maybe another time?"<i></i> As Sousuke finished his introdction his pet let out another series of playful barks. Clearly this was not an Inuzuka familiar, otherwise ... the animal would have been speaking common.

MFT: 399

 

[Mikaboshi]

[Alright folks, let's get this show on the road!]

Long yellow scarf flapping in the wind behind him, Katsuo arrived slowly on scene wearing a somewhat strange-looking red and white colored helmet with a mask that managed to entirely shield his identity from those looking upon him. He had no intention of actually hiding his identity -- that really wasn't his style, after all -- but that type of thing was necessary while traversing the Diamond Maelstrom. The surface of the helmet showed it's age as it was pock marked with various dents and scrapes over it's surface. The only piece of it which managed to stay relatively in-tact was the black visor that covered Katsuo's eyes and allowed him to see in the bright sunlight of the desert without hindrance. It seemed as if the intrepid wanderer had decided to forgo his trademark weighed coat for this trip and opted instead for a ventilated leather coat that secured itself at his waist which sported long sleeves that ran down the length of his arms where it met a pair of equally rugged-looking gloves. Commbined for the tightly packed under shirt he was wearing would keep any of the grit out of places that he didn't want it to get. This was the typical desert wear of the man that the people of the frontier had come to call "Iron Wolf" and was ordinarily meant to handle the mundane type of sandstorm but had held up just find when Katsuo had first arrived in Sunagakure. Strapped to his back was the longer-than-average Tatsumasa -- the "sword of the king" so to speak -- which he couldn't leave behind even if he wanted to. Who knew what kind of threats they were going to run into in the Maelstrom?

The armor itself, along with the scarf, had been a gift from an old friend of his that he'd met during his travels. The helmet was specially fitted for him to protect his head but contained a special hearing apparatus that allowed sound from the outside of the helmet to pass to the inside without muffling or reduction. He didn't pretend to understand the science behind the device, all he knew was that it worked and worked well. He'd never had to repair the helmet itself save for replacing the composite plastic visor from time to time after a few very inconsiderate demons had thoughtlessly tried to punch him in the face through the mask. Arriving just as Sousuke was handing out sets of breathers, Katsuo held him his hand and tapped the side of his helmet.

"No need, got my own. Thanks."

It had been a few weeks since he'd donned the helmet -- after all there'd been no point to using it in Sunagakure with the lack of any sort of real wind in the underground and certainly the lack of any sort of sandstorm but he had to admit that it felt good to be wearing both it and the scarf again. The scarf, realistically speaking, had nothing to do with the functionality of the mask as Katsuo had come to learn. It had it's own special properties but really the reason he liked to wear it was it brought him comforting thoughts. It's creator had been a dear friend of his and as a result the scarf had ended up being an even more important possession to him than the helmet.

Turning to Makoto, Katsuo thrust out his gloved hand in offering to him, "Name's Katsuo, guess we'll be partners for this job." Katsuo's voice emitted from the front of the helmet, presumably through a shielded speaker or potentially through some kind of sound-projecting seal. Again, he didn't understand how it worked nor had he ever attempted to investigate the helmet's function. He trusted that it worked and so it did. The sound of his voice inherited a slight reverberation to it in the process even though it was still very clearly his own voice for those that would recognize the sight of it. "You'll have to forgive the mask, it's kind of a process to take off and put back on."

His words were earnest and up-beat, even if the thought of the coming mission weighed over his mind like a dark storm cloud. There were a lot of unanswered questions about the Diamond Maelstrom for Sunagakure but to a man like Katsuo who was descended from the line of men that were supposedly capable of shutting off such a menace with their mere willpower there were even more unanswered questions. Following his acknowledgement and subsequent introduction to Makoto, Katsuo nodded his head and waved enthusiastically to Nanami.

"Good to see you again Nanami. Glad you're with us. Hopefully I won't need you to patch any holes in anybody this time." He joked. It was a grim joke to say the least but for someone who had seen so much violence in his life, such pieces of humor helped to break the gravity of the situation and helped him keep his mind focused on what needed to get done.

 

[Michi]

The door swung open, perhaps by one of the mission-goers or perhaps the bettering winds pushed the door open and beckoned them onward. Perhaps to their destiny.

A veil of howling wind and rushing earth would greet them at the threshold. Despite the battering maelstrom, the dojo refused to shudder or submit to the raging storm. It was still dark outside, the sun was barely past the distant horizon blackened by the dense curtain of sand. It was time to go, time to put an end to this terrible curse that has plagued Wind Country for decades.

When you are ready to go/feel like you have finished your meet and greet, enter the Maelstrom topic.

Good Luck.​

 

[Akako]

[col]Nanami wasn't a morning person. She doubted anyone actually was. But she certainly was more ready for the day than the man dragging his feet on the ground. Most likely unpleasant, considering the ground was made of sand.

"I am," the doctor greeted him with a nod. Although she realized how pointless it was to confirm something so obvious, she didn't quite know how to greet the other man. A good morning didn't seem proper, considering what they were about to do.

Fortunately, they were saved from too long an awkward silence by the third of their team. She didn't recognize him, at first, but the name was familiar. It was one of the men from before, with the whole Cabal debacle. He probably recognized who she was too. But any form of proper greeting, aside from "Hey, you're tha-" flew out of the window at the sound of barks.

The doctor was kneeling next to Kitchenzilla in the blink of an eye. Her face was serious but her eyes betrayed the awe and giddiness she was hiding as she stared at the dog. "Good morning, Kitchenzilla," she intoned, hand twitching. Nanami wanted to pat the husky. But she knew better than to touch a shinobi's dog, Inuzuka or otherwise, without permission.

She loved dogs.

Katsuo's arrival was almost missed. But she was polite enough to give the fourth of their team more than a cursory glance and another nod. "Holes are detrimental to one's health. Unadvisable. Especially for dogs like Kitchenzilla. I'll do my best to make sure you're all in the best shape when we finish with the mission. Ready, whenever."
|</FONTFACE>[legend="[b]Out of Character Notes[/b]"]

• Ready whenever.
  
  Edit: Topic Left

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[Shiruko Makoto]

Makoto's main thought upon seeing yet another armored giant was does half the population here use armor followed by oh right, the other one was from Moon, this looks like a different guy and hm, actually that seems quite useful in some ways here if you can avoid sinking into the sand.

The dog he blanked on. It had to be trained or it wouldn't be here, but could a dog manage in the storm? Apparently, or again it wouldn't be here. Barking at him. He eyed it cautiously. He had never been especially good with dogs...

Gods, he hated mornings, they were terrible for letting your brain work properly.

"Considerably worse than the rest of the desert?" he said with a frown, accepting the offered breather. "Much thanks, then."

It didn't seem that difficult to work, either. More to the good because his brain wouldn't finish waking up for at least half an hour, or until the first real emergency. He'd prefer to expend as little effort thinking about things as possible until that point, even though he was relatively sure 'the first real emergency' would occur within a minute of stepping outside, because that was how these things worked.

"...Do you have a lot of automatons around here, that you have to clarify that?" he asked warily. That was...something, alright. He hadn't even been previously thinking it, but now... "And...hello, I suppose? I'm sorry, I'm not awake right now. My name is Shiruko Makoto, I'm a mercenary." No point in revealing his point of origin; people didn't ask that of mercenaries anyway.

He knelt a bit, feeling awkward, but since these were native Sand nin he had to at least try and be nice. "And uh. Hello Kitchenzilla?"

That is a very odd name for a dog. I suppose it's part of the story.

He straightened up to see the new arrival, the last member of their team. The helmet made him raise an eyebrow--perhaps Sousuke's expectation people would think he was some kind of mechanical creation was because there were actual mechanical people in Sand--but it became apparent it was a man in a helmet and scarf. Makoto wrapped his own scarf around his neck a little tighter absentmindedly, then patted down his jacket for his own protective goggles, slipping them on over his eyes. The saleswoman had said they were 'nifty goggles that would protect his eyes from desert sandstorms.' They definitely seemed like a good investment now.

(Blue, of course. Everything on him was blue.)

Maybe mechanically-appearing people were completely normal in ninja villages. It would certainly be a reasonable inference, from Sand alone anyway.

He blinked in surprised and cautiously accepted the man's hand, shaking it lightly before releasing it. "I'm Makoto. It looks as if we will, yes. And honestly, it seems like a wise idea to have such a kind of protection when you live here."

Upon further reflection, he pulled out his gloves, too. They were technically made for combat, which made them quite resilient, and he ought to be wearing them anyway. Anything thicker might hinder his ability to cast handseals.

He glanced at the opening gate and unsheathed his parasol from across his back with his free hand, thumbing the release on it. A canopy of sky blue unfolded over him, silver spokes gleaming dimly in the pre-dawn low light. The device would be an added layer of protection, on top of a weapon, should he prove to need one out in the glittering but dangerous storms. It should block just about everything in the direction he held it, in fact--it had on his way to the village from the port, although he hadn't been traipsing around trying to find anything other than the village itself.

It's hard to conceive of that anything might voluntarily live out there...well, anything normal, at least. Maybe the storm is controlled by some kind of demon, or other powerful creature. His blood fired a bit at the thought they might have to fight a creature like that. Either way--battle or puzzle--he'd get some kind of kick out of this mission.

He glanced back over at the woman who had been there before him. So she was a medic--tactically useful, especially in a harsh environment. He resisted the urge to rest his face in a hand at her reaction to the dog, mostly because both of them were full.

It was reasonable to assume that everyone present was a Sand nin except him, since they all knew each other seemingly. Although the medic certainly didn't dress like a ninja.

"I suppose we'll move out, then." He shifted the parasol to account for the wind, as he would continue to while they were out there, and affixed the breather over his nose and mouth one-handedly before adjusting his scarf again. He only needed one hand to cast any jutsu even in a pinch, fortunately.

What strange things are out there in this storm, waiting for us...?

One foot forward. Let's go.

[Topic Left to mission w/Everyone else?]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

"We are going to approach the eye of the storm. By my calculations we are ... going to be in quite a mess. The winds are stronger, thus propelling diamond sands at fast speeds thus ... considerable damage is increased by ... fifty percent. This is what we live with every day, except that we're located away from the eye of the storm therefore we deal with ... hostile conditions, but those hostile conditions in this case will only get worse."<i></i> Sousuke tapped his fingers together He sincerely hoped that Makoto didn't get lost half way. Katuso, Okibi, Shinji and many many others got lost in his explanations. Given the question that followed, it was presumable that Makoto was of ... a higher level of intellect. It was most refreshing. He actually understood was an automaton was. Quickly following that came the reveal of his name. "House Takahashi has been known to work with puppets for a very long time. Once every few generations one is born with ... difficulties in controlling them. My father is known for ... being a host to very special techniques which have not been passed down to me due to the aforementioned reasons. This armour design is ... derived from one of his puppets designs except it has had significant reworks in highly hostile environments mixed with the ability to ... make several moments that humans require where as puppets do not require."<i></i> Such as the ability to turn one's head.

Kitchy being a dog, and knowing people quite well could tell that Nanami wanted to pet her. The canine in turn pawed at her foot. It was a welcoming gesture of course. When she spoke of holes being detrimental, the canine quite unusually nodded her head. She understood certain things. She used to be a machine herself once and had a diet of nuts and bolts. She loved nuts and bolts, and didn't take quite well to the concept of having to eat meat. "Agreed. Kitchy is not coming with us. She just wanted to see me off. She ... has formed a habit of doing so because of one particular incident that had occured several days ago."<i></i> Not that Katuso, Makoto or Nanami would know but he was locked outside of the village for three days with the storm raging on top of him. Kitchy would return to his side for a moment. He patted her on the head. "Don't worry girl. I'll be back. You take care of Aki for me. Don't let Maximus get lazy either..."<i></i>

As the gates open up Sousuke nodded his head. "I can summon a variety of barriers to guard against what lies ahead."<i></i> What truly did lie ahead? He wasn't sure, but it would be found out.

(Topic left)

 

[Mikaboshi]

Positivity was good. Katsuo wasn't sure if the others that were accompanying him on this mission were up beat because they didn't comprehend the magnitude of their task or because of other reasons but he certainly hoped for the latter. He had to admit that at the premise of such a challenge... a task worthy of legends, his heart jumped. In his heart of hearts, Katsuo was a warrior that lived for competition and strove for improvement. As a core tenet of his chosen philosophy seeking challenges in life was the ultimate pursuit of happiness and there could be no greater or worthier cause than to bring the Diamond Maelstrom to an end. Even if he were not descended from the Sunahoshi line, this was a mission that would boil his blood with excitement in a way that few other things possibly could. Manifesting as crackling bolts of ambient lightning around his body, Katsuo's anticipation of the task at hand was palpable to the naked eye.

"Stay together and keep alert. We have no idea what we're going to run into out there." Katsuo said as the make-shift "gates" creaked open and light poured forth from the outside. In the distance he could hear the howling of the winds and in a way he couldn't help but feel like they were calling to him.

Time to bring this to a close.

[Topic Left]

 

[Michi]

...and they are out of here.