Not the Ideal Vacation... [Contract Search]

[Kazumi]

[col]Ragged breaths escaped the young blonde as she fought against the sands which gave way under her every step as she struggled her way up the steep dune. The starlit sky came unto view over its peak as Yumi crested over the horizon, only a few scant seconds ahead of that determined straggler.

It was going to be fun!

Tears and sand stung her eyes as she tumbled head over heals over the top, collapsing and rolling her way from the peak towards the base just as the glint of metal in the bandit's hand reached the top of the dune.

Get out and see this majestic city by the ocean!

"If you stop running I promise I'll make it quick!" The gruff man called as he stood atop the sandy hill, breathing as heavily as she was while he watched her come to a rest at the dune's foot, her body half buried from the sudden stop.

Take a break from studies and relax for a week!

Vaguely hearing that malice filled voice from her sand filled burrow, Yumi hurriedly pulled herself free from what she hoped would be her sandy tomb. Her face, her hair and her clothes were all a sand covered mess, cold grains adhering to her face as she stood and began to run once more.

I am not cut out for this...
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[/col]
A loud angry grunt of frustration called down from behind her as the man began to run down the side of the mountain of sand, perhaps only ten seconds of travel behind her. Suddenly a white reflection loomed on the horizon, a distorted reflection of the half-moon that hung over head in the skies. Dark curved silhouettes stood sparsely scattered around the reflective surface that seemed to be infinitely far away from the frantic girl. Gripping at a fleeting handhold in the smaller dune ahead of her the thought of freedom came to her, perhaps only if she could reach the safety of the oasis... perhaps she could escape him. It was naive and baseless, but her mind clung onto that delusion as a surge ef energy hit her, urging her to a full run down from the peak she had just crested.

...

It had been a relaxing night. She and her friend had been fast asleep under the stars, bundled up in sleeping bags to protect them from the cold as Naoki had suddenly awoke with a shout of alert. There had been a dozen of those marauders, though in the blur that followed there might as well have been a hundred. She was a coward and she knew it. Yumi heard the cries of pain from some of the bandits as she fled their camp as Naoki had urged her to do. She shouldn't have left though, it was abandoning her best friend but... what else could she have done? She was no shinobi. She was barely a student at this point.

Two had given chase after the escaping girl, and despite Naoki's best efforts to the contrary, one of the pair had escaped after Yumi before Naoki had to focus on defending herself. Perhaps Naoki had expected Yumi to be able to handle a single sword wielding bandit. She had dealt with threats before after all... imaginary ones, but those still counted... right? Even with all her training all Yumi could think to do was flee, leaving the sound of battle behind her as she ran as fast as her small body would carry her.

...

Somehow she found herself leaning on one of the trees, the cold air biting her flesh and lungs as she gasped for each and every breath she could handle. Had she made it? Was she really-, "You... you know, you shouldn't run girl." The taller leather clad man stopped his run, looking as exhausted as she was as he leaned over onto his knees, still clutching the thick curved blade. "It'll only make you die tired... and here I was just gonna take your stuff and leave the desert to have you. Now you've... you've gone and changed my mind." As he breathed heavily between his sentences he picked himself up, the dark moonlight hiding an even darker smile as he made his advance towards the one armed tree hugging child.

 

[Samejima]

"Outta the way!" Three or so of the bandits were in front of her, and Naoki performed a series of punches directed at their torsos to hopefully show them she wasn't some random kid sleeping under the stars with her guard down. Once it ended, it was apparent that the one wave wasn't enough. Not wasting a second, she performed the handseals necessary for Shadow Dance, going into stealth and moving as fast as she currently could under the circumstances. Move move move MOVE! She targeted the bandit furthest from her, the other one who had been going after Yumi, gripped the wrist holding some sort of bladed weapon and very nearly snapped it to disarm him and use the thing herself, figuring it was killing two birds with one stone anyway. She stabbed him through the chest with it, and held what she identified as a scimitar backhanded, moving to the next closest one to execute another stab to the chest. If the others hadn't been frightened off already, she'd continue the massacre until she was sure these cowards who ganged up on two girls in their sleep were no longer able to pass on their lacking sense of honor and exceedingly bad luck.

The remaining seven bandits decided to try and surround her, and were shouting over each other as they rushed at Naoki from all sides. She rushed in turn, at the one closest to her, using the same move to try and stab him through the chest as well, but she was a split second too slow as one to her right side hurled his own weapon forwards at her, causing her to reflexively twist mid-stab and stop in her tracks. Momentum from the rush lost, she grunted in frustration and dove between the legs of the bandit in front of her, the one who threw her weapon just now, escaping the situation for a precious second and gaining another kill as she stabbed through the bandit's back, a mortified gasp and some gurgles escaping from that one before she heard a wail from the one she'd planned on stabbing initially. That one then pushed the others aside, and luckily for Naoki she couldn't see the look of pure rage in his features, lunging at her without a care for what happened to himself... his face would remain in that expression as the genin stabbed him like she originally planned, minus the extra momentum.

Five were left, and they weren't looking so sure of themselves anymore, looking down at the bodies of the recently deceased as far as she could tell. If I can just scare 'em off... Her brow furrowed at the thought. She could think a little clearer now, and didn't want to kill if she could help it... She was panting just a little, not from exhaustion but from the realization that she'd just killed four people who didn't need to be killed. But they're just so... ugh! The bandits were talking tentative steps back, though one of them took a step forward. Headband having been taken off for sleep, she put it on now and stood firmly. "Leave, NOW!" The rest of the bandits stood around in confusion, while the one who'd taken a step forward earlier went on the offensive, seeming to know a bit of ninjutsu himself as he performed a few well-practiced handseals.

"Hametsu no Ken!"

The blade in Naoki's hand glowed, and she couldn't see it do so as she prepared to strike. He knows ninjutsu? And what's that... blade of destruct- Whoa! It came not a moment too soon, her understanding of what the handseals were for, as she dodged the blade that left her hand and slashed down at her. It drove her backwards step by step, and she was unable to figure out how to counter it effectively without snapping her fingers every time she finished a dodge. When a slash grazed her right arm, she knew she needed to take down the one controlling the scimitar, and did a tuck and roll straight at him, running faster than he could control it. It was increasing in speed however, and she went just about as fast as she could go, blade whizzing along behind her, directly at the bandit, seemingly about to tackle the man. Aaaand...

Just as the man prepared to take the tackle and restrain her, Naoki dove away from him, causing the excess speed behind the scimitar to end the bandit's life. The other bandits summarily ran off, and any remaining bodies would be tidied up in due time... For now, "Yumi!!" she shouted, taking off as fast as she could in the direction the student ran once she picked her bag full of water and healing supplies up... Just in case.

 

[Kairyuu]

The men running were too concerned about the girls at their back, and not about the thing that rose out of the sand before them. As Naoki and Yumi only just begin to recover from the attack, a tail rises from the sand before them and snaps, sending several of the brigands to the ground. With the speed of a hunting cat a scaled beast leaps from the other side of the group and pounces. Within a few seconds it was beginning to feast on its latest catch.

That is, until its eyes find the two who led these men to it. The monster was only five feet tall, but twice that in length and nearly a solid ton in weight. But it moved like quicksilver as it burrowed into the sand to hide the corpses and began to move towards the two, it's blue scales reflecting off the moonlight and those eyes liquid pools of obsidian. For now it seemed curious, not threatening. But who knew if that would change.

(You have found the Lizard contract! Do you accept this find and prepare for a journey through the Mountains of Madness in the port town of Innsmouth!?)