Protection [Yuichi / Modded]

[Kari]

Time had passed as carelessly as a grain of sand might in the deserts of Wind country. Since the conflict with the Jashinist tyrants, the nomads had finally established their residency not far off from the Titan's Keep, in the forest of the petrified redwoods. A week had passed since they had called for the chuunin Takamura Yuichi in the village of Iwagakure. They needed his assistance again; they feared that the Jashinists might have returned, for the night before the message was sent, an ominous warning came, written in blood on the chief's tent: "I am coming" written in a slashing manner, almost as though the font was meant to add another factor of fear on top of the events. Some of the nomadic tribe threatened to leave, fearing for their lives more than the overall well-being of the tribe.

Not long ago, the chief's health was shown to be at jeopardy; the message sent to the shinobi made note that no recoveries had been made. The nomads were already in discussions of who would succeed him. The tribe was overall in a sense of disarray; just for a short time, they would need the shinobi's assistance. They needed protection. Just, at least, until this entire situation was determined.

At the Embassy office, a note was filed for the chuunin, expressing the tribe's desire for Yuichi to return to the tribal residency. They needed his help again.

 

[Takamura Yuichi]

Yuichi pulled on his gloves, wrapping the bandages that were interwoven into them tightly around his wrists. The new equipment had a bit of heft, but as he was now, the feeling of weight was more comfortable to him than his older, lighter gloves. Forming a quick seal, Yuichi applied Slight of Color before checking himself one last time. Satisfied that he wasn't missing anything, he took the slightly crumpled paper notice in hand before folding it neatly and tucking it into his gi. With this, he headed out the door, and off towards his destination.

His brows were furrowed as his feet dashed lightly over the surrounding terrain. While he wasn't aware of the most efficient paths through the surrounding area to his destination, his steps were still sure and light. The area around the Village of Stone was still slightly foreign to him, but after spending nearly two years living here, he had gotten used to the climate and the land formations. In all honesty, the weather was comfortable compared to what he was used to back in the Village of Mist - perhaps comparable to a slightly warm spring day in terms of temperature. Perhaps this was why the Chief and his tribe had decided to settle down here. However, who would have known that even after moving this far away, the Jashinists would still be able to track them down? Just what was it that this village in particular was hiding that had earned them this sort of undivided and focused attention from those cultists? On the flip side of the coin, maybe it wasn't that the village had anything to hide in particular. Perhaps it was just the simple fact that they had managed to thwart their plans not once, but twice, that had made them the target of such concentrated targeting. If that were the case...

Am I the one who's been causing those cult bastards to continue targeting this group of nomads...?

Shaking these thoughts from his head, Yuichi slowed himself to a leisurely jog as he approached the the light fence around the small nomadic village. Stopping to a halt in front of the entrance, Yuichi waited until someone noticed him standing there. The man who spotted him, an older middle-aged man who had been here since Yuichi had first rescued their children, nodded in recognition of the man wearing the flashy red Gi, and motioned at Yuichi to let himself in; it looked like he was rather busy hauling a hefty sled of chopped wood to where the community deposit was. Flashing an easy smile towards the man's direction, Yuichi lifted the unlocked hatch on the gate, before heading off towards the chief's easily recognizable yurt. As he neared, he saw a familiar figure's side profile scrubbing at the yurt's outer skins. He turned to look at what she was scrubbing at with such a frustrated look on her face.

It was the message that had been detailed in the mission summons.

"Suzune..."

Of course, she was having a hard time scrubbing the message out of the carefully cured leathers. Blood by itself was hard to clean; blood that had been left sitting so long was only going to be even harder to get rid of. He walked up to the girl, then gently patted her on the back to get her attention. As he did so, she suddenly jerked around, her tear-stained face clearly showing how frustrated she was at the situation. Upon seeing the familiar red Gi, she burst into open tears, dropping the cloth that she was using onto the ground. She simply stood rooted to the spot as she sobbed, seemingly unable to move. Yuichi approached, before giving her a tight hug. She shivered slightly as his arms wrapped around her. After a few seconds, her shoulders finally relaxed, her sobbing subsiding as well. She pushed Yuichi away lightly, but forcefully.

She's a strong one...

"*sniff* I'm so sorry you had to see that, Yuichi-san. My fa-...The Chief is inside. Go on ahead. I...still have to clean this mess up."

Nodding, Yuichi lifted the slightly damp leather covers that served as the doors for the yurt, before stepping into the dimly lit area. While it was dark, it wasn't the first time that he had visited. Furthermore, it didn't seem like the internal arrangements of the furniture had changed at all. Familiarity lending to the situation, Yuichi maneuvered swiftly towards the Chief's bed. The Chief turned his head weakly towards Yuichi.

"Ah...who's there? *Cough*...Ah, that red attire...You've come, Yuichi..."

"This one apologizes for not noticing anything the last time this one passed by..."

"*cough* No, Yuichi, please. Don't be. Who could have forseen that they could track us...track me all the way here?"

"Would you let this one see?"

"Go ahead..."

Opening the robes, the Chief's skin was a pale, fragile shade of grey. The veins around the area where the Jashinist had placed the Seal stuck closely to the surface, lending an eerie sort of blue, veiny highlight to the seal. Activating his Eyes, Yuichi once again Saw the Chief's already weak chakra being forcibly extracted and converted into an evil chakra by the cursed seal. The fact that it was still active, combined with what he had learned of the Jashinists from the Village of Mist's archives, were more than enough to tell him that the one who had inscribed this seal was still alive. Wrapping the robes tightly around the Chief's body to keep him warm, Yuichi pulled the covers over the fragile old man. Placing one hand over the Chief's own bony and cold hands, Yuichi began to speak to the Chief in a convicted tone.

"This one vows to protect you at all costs. The Jashin scum won't lay a finger on you. This won't be able to do much for your actual condition...but this one feels that it will help with the pain, at least. Relax, and look into this one's eyes."

Obediently, the Chief did as he was told. Forming a few seals, Yuichi cast a low level Genjutsu over the man.

With that, Yuichi sat himself down in the middle of the tent, eyes closed, and began to meditate. He wouldn't let a single person escape his Sight.
[spoilername="Actions"]

• Cast Rank 1 Illusion Fortitude on the Chief
• activated Byakugan
• started resting

[/spoilername]

 

[Kari]

The first of three nights passed quietly without problems. The most the shinobi might notice were some smaller animals moving closer to the fires within the residency out of curiosity. Yuichi had two days left before his requested time to stay ended. It was morning now; women were smoking meat and cleaning tents and other fabrics. If something was going to happen, it was more likely to occur during the night hours. That left the chuunin the day to do as he pleased for the most part amongst the nomads. The women might use his assistance in their work, or Yuichi might spend the morning hours navigating. What he would have to do before any of that, however, is check on the chief. Who knew how long he had left?

Yuichi, after checking on the Chief, has six hours to do as he pleases before he needs to return to the tribe for another check-in. The sun just rose, and the time would be put as just after the first quarter of the day -- Yuichi would have to return at noon.

 

[Takamura Yuichi]

Yuichi exhaled deeply, his breath forming a light, foggy trail from the day's cold morning, as he stirred himself from his meditation. He opened his eyes, before quickly closing them again, eyes squinting shut. Normally, using his Sight doesn't affect him much, but he had been using it almost constantly for three nights straight; even if the Sight itself wasn't straining, the fact that he had been keeping watch over the entire camp by his lonesome was quickly catching up to him. If he had caught any sort of evidence that the Jashin bastard was coming, then at least the strain would have been worth it. However, for the past few days, there wasn't really anything out of the ordinary going on. He had spotted a few small animals approaching the camp, but that was it. The lightly pulsating veins around his temples gradually settled back into their normal positions. Yuichi turned to look towards the Chief.

The Chief's condition, thanks perhaps to the pain-dulling genjutsu that Yuichi had been applying from time to time, was more or less the same as how he had been when he had first arrived. On the other hand, this wasn't much of an improvement either, as the Chief himself had been in a bad condition from the get-go. He moved towards the Chief, before placing his hand on the Chief's forehead. The poor man's entire body was chilled. He turned to look at the small furnace that was in the room. As he had commanded all the villagers to refrain from entering, it seemed like no one had bothered to come fill the furnace once it had started running low on wood. Forming a few quick seals, Yuichi gathered chakra into his hands before tossing a small bunch of fire into the heater. Immediately, the general area around the furnace started to feel a bit warmer. As he moved back towards the Chief, the veins around his eyes started to swell once more. There was a slight bit of tingly feedback, but it wasn't so bad that he couldn't See. Satisfied that the situation in his chakra coils weren't any worse than they were yesterday, Yuichi deactivated his Byakugan once more. They'd probably be alright now that the morning had started; he couldn't see the Jashin bastards coming at any time other than at night. It had been their modus operandi since the very beginning, after all.

He'd come check back on the Chief at noon.

As he headed outside, a blast of chilly air hit him. It wasn't as bad as the chill that permeated Mist, but it was still rather cold. Yuichi rubbed his arms, wondering absentmindedly for the three million, five hundred eighty three, two hundred thirty ninth time since he had started wearing his sleeveless gi why he hadn't chosen something with sleeves that he could just roll up instead. Seeing that he didn't have much else to do while waiting, he decided to help the rest of the village with their chores; as they were a nomadic group, even though they had settled into the area, the things that had to be maintained and re-done was almost endless. Forming a couple quick seals, several other Yuichi's appeared behind him.

"What might you require of this one?", the other three clones said simultaneously.

"Please go help the villagers with whatever they might need help with. We've got a couple hours left before I need to check up on the Chief again."

"This one acknowledges your request."

"Oh, and, please keep a lookout to see if any suspicious individuals approach the camp. Don't let down your guard..."

"Acknowledged."

With that, the group of four split up, dispersing into the community. They would continue working, gathering back up in front of the Chief's yurt at noon.

 

[Kari]

Working the early morning proved to be beneficial for the chuunin, it would allow for him to be more alert for when the meeting at noon was held. Nothing obvious had occurred within the village, or in the more immediate area. While Yuichi's special eyes might permit him to see generally for incredible distances, he couldn't see each thing at every angle, so he might need to actually investigate the surroundings.

At noon, Yuichi was granted permission to see the nomadic chief. He was unconscious and breathing lightly. Already, it appeared that it was only the medical treatment and genjutsu that was keeping him alive. He was on a life support system of sorts. Others from the village were also in the tent; two of them in there began arguing over the succession of the chief. Both desired it, and both were able to get it. That was a matter Yuichi would have to handle as the chief's chance of survival appeared slimmer and slimmer. At this point, there was nothing that one could do save prolong his life. Even if the seal were removed, he was close to his death; now he just danced with it.

Yuichi was requested to take part in the village's search party. As the situation was getting worse, the nomads were getting bolder. Some of the men, who hoped to be chief, or nominated for it, volunteered to search the forest for any signs of the Jashinists. Of course, they would need Yuichi's help for protection if they found anything. If he went, the ordeal would last four or so hours, leaving him time to rest for a bit before the village held a meeting regarding the succession. Things were getting tense now; how would they be when even more were discussing it?

 

[Takamura Yuichi]

At noon, Yuichi and his clones had gathered again in front of the Chief's yurt. Despite their nature as elemental clones, the other three versions of himself were sweating as well. While they all had an equal amount of physical conditioning, the fact that they had been doing hard physical labor for half the day would be more than enough to make anyone sweat buckets. However, while they had indeed been helping, this wasn't the primary focus of them splitting up. Yuichi turned towards the first of the clones.

"Please make your report."

The clones took turns making their reports. While everything seemed normal on the surface, the entire village was abuzz already about how the succession would be like. There were those who supported Yamada-san, from the Large Yurt. He had always been ambitious, and so his actions had always reflected this. His slightly artificial attitude was testament to the nature of this individual. Due to this nature, he had the majority of the elders in the village on his side. On the other hand, Suzuki-san, from the Side-Hacked Yurt, was the other likely choice. He was not only a relative of the current Chief, but was also genuinely concerned for the people. However, because this often put him at odds with the concerns of the elders, he wasn't particularly popular with them. Not only that, but sometimes for the good of the other people in their small tribe, Suzuki was willing to make hard sacrificial choices. For example, when the Jashinists first came for the children, Suzuki was one who had adamantly suggested that they simply give up on the children and leave the area afflicted by the Blood Curse. This made him both loved and hated by the source of his political clout simultaneously. As he took this all in, Yuichi couldn't help but wonder why the politics of such a small group of nomads could end up being so complicated.

On the other hand, he was rather surprised that Suzune wasn't included in the discourses at all as a possible heir. He had assumed, perhaps in an uninformed sort of way, that leadership in nomadic tribes such as this one would be passed by bloodline. However, from the look of things, it seemed as if she had either abstained from involving herself in any of the politics, or the rest of the tribe simply didn't even consider her a candidate from the start due to either her gender or her youth. Either way, unless Suzune herself approached him about this topic, he probably wouldn't bring it up with her on his own initiative; as a hired Shinobi from another Village, regardless of his prior involvement, he should not be meddling in their internal power struggles. After having taken the reports that the clones had to give, the three disappeared in clouds of smoke. Straightening up his Gi, Yuichi then lifted the flap covering the front of the Chief's yurt and headed in.

The two mentioned in the reports were already seated inside. When Yuichi entered, they stopped talking, looking at Yuichi briefly, before returning to their topic. Ignoring the contents of their conversation for now, Yuichi headed over to the Chief. He performed a cursory check on the Chief. By this time, he couldn't really do much else for him. The tribe had already brought in various medical equipment from Maruishi to try to help with the situation. However, it was clear that the Chief was on his last legs. His face had gone a deathly pale, the skin on his skinny arms had become even more wrinkled and had even taken on a grayish hue. His brows furrowed in concern, and took one of the Chief's wrinkly hands in his own. The Chief's current form was a far cry from the healthy visage that Yuichi had in his memories. He didn't really know why, but Yuichi gave the hand a light squeeze, perhaps to pass along some encouragement to the old man. He turned around as a voice called out to him.

Suzuki and Yamada had both come to an agreement to send out a search party. They were under the impression that perhaps they could somehow smoke out the Jashinist with a search party of their 'stoutest men'. It seemed that they had forgotten entirely about how their 'stoutest' had already been slaughtered by the previous Jashin who had attempted to do a blood sacrifice with their young. In any case, it was blatantly obvious that the two were only doing this in order to be recognized by the others as having been the ones to take the swiftest course of action to resolve the dilemma. Even the fact that they were requesting that he take part was not one borne out of the tragic memory from the past - it was merely to demonstrate that while it was the current Chief who had placed the request for the shinobi, the shinobi had recognized the two of them as the ones in charge when the one who had placed the original request had become incapacitated. Sighing deeply, Yuichi began speaking.

"Suzuki-dono, Yamada-dono. This one truly does not believe that this course of action is the best course to take in the current circumstances."

"Oh, but Yuichi-kun, surely you must see the importance of this endeavor! The sooner we bring this injustice to light and quell the threat to our tribe, the better!"

"Yuichi-kun...While I do not claim any sort of injustice needing to be remedied, surely you must realize that leaving the tribe in such a state, without any firm leadership, will cause it to collapse? We must resolve this situation as soon as possible."

The two continued to try to persuade Yuichi with their words, but to no avail. Yuichi simply could not see the benefit of taking such an action. If they headed out now, when the Jashinists were not likely to be active anyways, the chances of finding anyone or anything would be even lower. However, on the off chance they did, all of their defenses could be wiped out in one convenient focused attack. There was no way that these untrained men, despite their physical strength, would be able to even pose any sort of threat to the Jashinist. Worst come to worst, even more members of the Tribe might have the blood curse placed upon them. However, despite the many rebuttals that he had been giving, the two elderly individuals only grew more and more demanding in their tone towards him. They demanded that he do his job of helping them locate the one responsible instead of 'loafing about', as they called it, inside the village and waiting for the enemy to come. As they said this, a blast of chilly air came into the room, signaling that someone else had entered the tent.

It was Suzune.

With this, the three members of the stage that Yuichi foresaw had all gathered in the same place. Was he really going to be dragged into the politics of their group? Who should he listen to if push came to shove? However, as this thought surfaced in his mind, Suzune turned towards Yuichi.

"Yuichi-san...Take me with you on the patrol. I can't stand this anymore, seeing my Father like this! Help me!"

Yuichi thought for a moment before giving a slight bow towards Suzune, before turning his eyes towards the other two. The choice was obvious. Between two who were bickering in a man's room about who to succeed him without a care as to how to actually help the man in front of them and the daughter who simply wanted to do something to help her father, it was clear who his morals would tell him to support.

"....Understood. This one acknowledges you."

The other two narrowed their eyes, glaring at Yuichi pointedly. The shinobi had cast his ballot - he was to not be a friend for either of the two. With that, Yuichi turned around, giving the Chief one last lookover with his Sight, before leaving the Yurt with Suzune.

Don't worry, Chief. This one will ensure your daughter's safety. Stay strong...she still needs you.

About fifteen minutes later, a small group of men had gathered up by the gates where Suzune and Yuichi were already waiting. There were some who were genuinely concerned with the Chief's well-being, but it was obvious from their demeanor that most of them were only here in order to have a chance at earning the recognition to be considered at least a candidate of Chief or to gain favor with either Suzuki or Yamada. Suzune hid the disappointment in her voice as she thanked the group for gathering. The group seemed to be convinced that their goals had been missed by the girl, but Yuichi didn't miss the disappointment that was in her voice.

With this sort of complicated dynamic, the group set off to patrol the area.

 

[Kari]

The patrol party was to split up shortly onto their journey, given how the forest diverged at one area where the mineral-laden trees were nearly too dense to travel through with easy -- and certainly too much so to camp there. The major part of the tour in the wood was light. Some people who seemed intent on the search initially were lightened to a better mood with light conversation with those working with them. It seemed almost as though they didn't care too much after they made it beyond their small village. Others, though, maintained their search, checking for any kind of small or large clues that might point them towards the Jashinists.

At some point in, a member of the patrol that stayed with Yuichi would call out to the shinobi excitedly, claiming he found a torn piece of cloth connected clipped onto a log. It wasn't too weather-beaten, suggesting it was relatively new. It was small, light piece of fabric coloured black -- more accurately, a dark blue. Where they were wasn't overly far from the campsite of the village, so someone (or ones) were close. Would Yuichi return to the nomads with this information or continue on with the investigation?

[Sorry for the delay on the mod. Okay, so right here I'm providing you with a binary choice for the continuation of the mission: you can take this info back the nomads, or you can use the remaining four hours (until 8 PM/sunset) to continue the patrol. You might find something more important. It also means you might get to the village a little late, though.]