Silent but Planty [A Rank]

[Shimatsu Shigeru]

The many peaks of the Spine rose up around the two men after their short journey. Throughout they met exactly as many perils as one would expect. Their cloud banners made commoners flee at the sight and bandits think twice before robbing them, but nature holds no such qualms against biting into cloud shinobi. Wild animals could have gotten to them at any point, and the snow was a constant harbinger of a coming storm. Though, this did not matter, the two shinobi would persist and arrive at the Spine in a timely fashion, and just as the plantmon had explained, there was a barely hidden castle nestled within two of the farther peaks. Though it was clouded in some clouds, snow, and was the same color of the terrain, the shinobis’ eyes would be able to pick it out. However, it did not seem to have much in the way of entrances, at least from the faraway vantage point the men held.

How would they approach? How would they get in? There must be a way, they just have to find it.

 

[Oshiro Saki]

Though the trip was nothing special, it worried Saki greatly that this mission may be a little more than even he was cut out for. If he were alone, then it would be of no concern to him whether or not he was right for this mission. However, he now had to take care of Ri, who had shown him the second they met that he would be an eccentric type, impatient and easily provoked. That was his first worry. His second cause for concern was the ever-growing fear that he might not be remain in this world for much long. Every time he coughed, he felt the slithering of the plant latched onto his chakra system as it took over more and more of his body from the inside out. It was only a matter of time before he completely succumbed to its power. However, he still had time, time that was extended by the properties that the Forest Deity's antler had given him. Although it was only one antler, Saki had managed to boil it enough to where he could incorporate it's parasite-suppressing properties into 60 soldier pills... enough for a month.

It had a week since he killed the Oenothera Biennis.

No doubt Ri might have noticed that Saki was sick, at the very least. As the effects of his pills started wearing off, he began to cough more. Sometimes he expelled vines from his mouth, though he did his best to hide that fact. Truth is, Saki managed to put the fact that he was dying in the back of his mind for the majority of the time. He figured that there was no use in dwelling on it so while he was here he may as well get as much done as he can. He did care... he just didn't want to be depressed for what time he had left. That was one of the first rules they taught you at the academy, anyways: a shinobi must never reveal his true emotions. The mission comes first.

As Saki and Ri approached that castle, the former would motion for the two of them to crouch down. "Okay then. It is most likely that the castle is going to be heavily fortified from here on out. Ri, you're much more suited for close range combat than I am; I'm a long-to-midrange distance fighter, and you are proficient with a sword. Here's my plan: The castle is in a location between two separate peaks. We can use this to our advantage. While the castle itself is cloaked in the clouds and fog, making it hard to see, we are also hard to see. Knowing this, the castle will most likely be guarded by a series of guards from here to the castle, as they would most likely not be able to see us coming from the castle itself. We can sneak up the back of the peak to the right of the castle and look for an entrance along there, however, if we cannot find one, I can use water ninjutsu to quietly cut a small hole for us to crawl into. If you have any stealth-ninjutsu, now would be the time to use it. If we can avoid a confrontation with anyone at all, that would be best, though I am sure we can handle any of the guards with ease. This is about stealth, after all. Do you understand?"

Saki took a deep breath of the chilled air. Time to man up and move out.

If Ri confirmed, then Saki would throw a few hand signs and disappear from view, becoming nothing more than a little clear blur that would most likely be indiscernible from the snow around him.<i></i>

Spoiler

Actions:
Active Camo (Rank 1)

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

---

The journey through the mountains was about annoying as one would expect, especially since it was Lightning Country's mountains. Place is basically a hell hole for humans, with some kind of animal that wants to kill you around every corner. Thankfully, because of their status as bad ass shinobi, any and all animals that tried were quickly dispatched, and any supplies they could get off of them was taken. Not only that, but any bandits or other groups that even thought about giving them trouble, thought twice after seeing their forehead protectors. The only other thing that was really annoying about the whole trip was the constant coughing coming from his partner, which always made him lose his train of thought whenever he thought he had a moment to himself. Why the hell did the village choose someone so sick to go on a mission that was supposed to be super important? After a decently long journey, the two finally arrived at the specified location, and Saki was quick to explain what they would do.

"Of course, getting into a fight with a castle full of guards would be a pain. Even if I'm better at close-range combat, I wouldn't want to go through all of that. Just let me think." Stealth jutsu... He'd never really been one to go into combat stealthily, so he didn't really know what he was capable of in that department. Maybe he learned one of two back when he actually enjoyed learning things? After a few minutes of thinking, there was only one solution that he came up with. "This is kind of a... Stupid idea, but it might work. Maybe." He made a few hand seals as his partner did, and transformed into a snowball. It wasn't exactly how he saw himself sneaking into the castle, but it would have to do. Paying close attention to the blur as it moved toward the castle, he rolled as quickly as he could to try and keep up.

"Really should've invested more time into learning stealth jutsu..." The boy thought as they moved across the snowy plain. This might be more of a pain in the ass than he originally thought it might be.

---

 

[Shimatsu Shigeru]

The air was chilly as a contingent of guards crossed the outer perimeter of their territory. There were three of them, and they had been a team all their life, a small squad to say the least. However, their patrons up at the castle didn’t like to have many people, especially guards, around the premises. They were weird up there, but the guards did not care, for the strange people paid their bills. In a few years, every squad would have enough money to branch out and start an early retirement, so they put up with the strangeness and stayed in the barracks. This of course, gave them no formal stealth training, so when a snowball nonchalantly passed by, the guards didn’t notice it. Later a spirit ghosted past them, except for a slight chill, none of the men even budged. A comedy of errors to an observant uchiha, but nonetheless, the two shinobi made it safely past the first wave of guards undetected.

For some unbeknownst reason, there were no guards closer to the castle, so as the two approached the structure, they would be able to see absolutely no human life anywhere near the outer walls. If they chose to, they could stop being invisible snowballs and return to human form to talk. As far as entrances go, there was a large door at the front of the castle, none too inconspicuous. However, there seemed to be several entrances from the roof area, if they could somehow get up there. The two were shinobi, so they would figure out a way through the structure, however, what traps lay in wait?

 

[Oshiro Saki]

Thankfully, the observant Uchiha that would have noted that this was a comedy of errors was not an actual character in this story. That would have been... well, a comedy of errors, still, but this time it would have been the shinobi that would be on the comedic error end of the deal. And since they're the good guys, we're all glad that that didn't happen.

Saki mentally facepalmed when Ri turned himself into a snowball. It ended up working, but still. Snowballs don't just propel themselves around, y'know? Unless, of course, they are migratory snowballs. In that case, it is entirely possible that one might roll itself around and not draw any attention to itself from any guards. It is important to note that unlike these snowballs, coconuts are not migratory, so if you were to see any coconuts rolling around, please act under the suspicion that it is a shinobi using the transformation jutsu. Everyone knows coconuts require a swallow to carry them.

That said, once they were past the outer layer of guards, Saki was shocked to see that there were almost no guards visible at all closer to the outside of the fortress. Which was strange. Cause, you know... thee should have been guards. Saki immediately began thinking of reasons why there might not have been guards. Seeing as he didn't know the exact value of this flower that he was retrieving, he couldn't make an accurate assumption with confidence. His first thought was that whatever group had this flower couldn't afford more guards, or assumed that their outer layer would be enough to spot anyone coming for the castle. His second though was that the castle itself had a sensitive barrier around it that would alert someone if anyone tried to get in without some form of authorization, or if someone tried... oh, say, cutting through the side wall with highly pressurized water ninjutsu. But who would ever do that?

Saki led Ri up to the side of the castle, wary of any guards who may have been hiding, and with his ghostly figure, motioned for him to halt just before the wall. Although there was an obvious door in the front, and what appeared to be several small hatches at the top of the compound, Saki decided that to use a predetermined path was essentially suicide. Or, at least, something bad. It was a bad idea. Yea.

Saki uncloaked from his Active Camo, then said, without turning to face Ri, "Stay disguised until we get in the castle. I don't want any guards we missed to see you, too. Worst case scenario, if someone ambushes us, they'll only see me, and you can use their lack of knowledge of your presence to take them by surprise." Once he finished, Saki flipped a few more handsigns, then held his right index finger against the wall. Immediately, a small jet of water shot out, attempting to cut through the side. Assuming it went through, Saki would spend the next minute cutting a hole in the wall for the both of them to enter. If it didn't work, he would recloak and lead Ri up the side of the compound to investigate the hatches up top.

Spoiler

Actions:
Water Gun (M)
enhanced by:
Pressurize (The user may allow a single Water-based Jutsu to go through barriers to damage targets on the other side normally as well as damaging the barriers. If the user criticals with this jutsu, the barrier receives 3x damage. A specific target may only have this used against them once every other round.

[MFT]

OOC: New color to post with

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

It was almost surprising how easy it was to slip past the only guards on the outside of the castle. You would think that, if the ones in charge decided to only have one patrolling party, they would at least choose someone skilled enough to tell the difference between a normal migratory snowball, and a shinobi disguised as a migratory snowball. After all, there was one distinct difference in the way that Ri was moving, and the way that a migratory snowball moves. Ri was moving in a straight line, while a real snowball would travel in a zig zag so that it gathers more snow to survive the warmer temperatures during summer. Rookie mistake obviously, one that those guards would most likely not make again.

Upon reaching the castle's walls, both shinobi were equally surprised by the lack of guards here as well. For such an important flower, these people apparently didn't care about guarding it too well. Maybe they assumed that whoever entered would just charge in like some maniac, which is actually the way the giant would have preferred things. A straight up fight is far more fun, even if he has to miss out on watching the three stooges miss the fact he was a shinobi and not a migratory snowball. Which was still making him crack up internally, and almost made him miss the instructions from his current leader.

To signal that he understands what he was told to do, Ri moved side to side. Soon after his signal, Saki released his stealth jutsu and began sawing into the side of the castle with one of his water based techniques. Seemed to be fairly helpful, but his "big and loud" approach would have worked much faster than that. Too bad they had to be stealthy, otherwise he could be doing something fun right about now.

 

[Shimatsu Shigeru]

Oh the life of a wall! In the beginning you are built up brick by brick by men who can’t help but never wash their hands after they scratch their backsides consistently at intervals after passing extraordinarily noxious gas. This is a long and laborious process that was compounded over and over again as the wall was pounded into place in an oh-so-precarious manner. How did someone think this was a good idea? Walls had feeling too! Why couldn’t scantily clad women who sang trilly little songs stroke the bricks as they set into place? Why couldn’t the original planners put that small thing into motion? So the time goes by and finally the wall is part of something grander, something wonderful! A castle is a thing that people look at and adore; the wall would have loved that! However, this stupid castle was put in between two mountain peaks where only dead men walk, where was the glory in that? No, the wall was stuck on the side of a castle freezing slowly, not even a single hand to warm the frozen mortar. This was a horrid lot in life to say the least, but in a single moment all those fears were put aside and new ones took the front stage.

Oh the pain! The inhumanity is unbearable! Some beanpole that fancies himself as a water fountain decided that he had the right to cut through the wall like some primitive butcher to a tasty side of beef. What a frigid squirt face! How dare he lay his slimy hands on such a piece of ornate workmanship? If the wall could scream, even the small girl-boy shinobi lying in their shark-shaped cradles would hear such a racket. Unfortunately, the wall was in no position to do any of the things it wanted to do, and the shinobi was too skilled in his jutsu to stop for something so trivial as a wall. In the end, the wall got a hole cut straight through it and two shinobi had an entrance to their end goal. What more could the two men ask for?

Once inside, the men would find themselves in a dimly lit corridor. If there were any internal patrols, the two would not be able to hear a peep coming from the left or the right. The walls were bare save for a torch mounted every few yards. The only decision now was the direction and the plan. How would the men proceed from here? Their very destiny hangs in the balance on their decisions.

 

[Oshiro Saki]

Before the narrator of this story had the time to write two whole paragraphs to explain what happened, Saki had cut his way through the stone and slipped inside the darkness of the castle. Inside was cold and darker than expected, much like my ex, with dim torches being the only hope for light within. Not that it would ever get any lighter inside. That would probably be impossible. We're still talking about my ex, right?

Failed relationships aside, Batman and Robin were then faced with a tough decision exit stage right, or exit stage left? Thus was the the most difficult decision of a playwright's life. Many a playwright have been dropped from the industry for choosing incorrectly, you see. However, it is a well-known fact that the vast majority of playwrights did not deal with extraordinary humans, such as the two shinobi not in the back door of the castle. most playwrights wouldn't even deal with characters who could penetrate so deeply into something so secure, actually; the fact that there were two people inside this castle was a testament to their abilities. Utilizing those same extraordinary abilities, the senior of the two flipped a few ganghandsigns before holding his right arm away from his body. Slowly, water began to accumulate around his arm before gushing out from him, spilling on the floor and forming into an exact replica of himself.

"You take the left side with my Water Clone, and I'll take the right. If you need to, let the clone take a hit for you. I can't keep him camouflaged, so we'll have to sneak around the old fashioned way." he said, pushing up his glass. The clone also pushed his glasses up. If he'd been one with a dirtier personality, he would have made an "I'm wet" joke, but no. Saki was much more mature than that.

Spoiler

Actions:
Water Clone

Clone take the Left path, Saki takes the Right path.

[MFT]

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

It didn't take long for Saki to drill through the sad, sad wall which was built on the side of a cold and unforgiving mountain. But despite how quick the process was, one could not help but feel sorry for the poor thing, since it was painful as it was speedy. As the two entered the hole in the wall, shadows stretching out in front of them with the light on their backs, the first thing that came to Ri's attention was how damn dark it was. It was the kind of dark that you heard in legends, one that might hold the dreaded White Beast of Argh. Perhaps this castle was really that castle, and the only reason it didn't have as many guards as one would expect is because it is guarded by the formidable Mouse of Caerbannog. Surely this couldn't be the Castle of Aaaaargh, however, so there was nothing to fear! Hopefully, anyways, trying to break into that castle would be a total pain..

The two marched on, but they were quickly met with a choice that could forever change their lives: What is their favorite color? At the very least, this was what the younger of the two had on his mind. Their trek to the castle left plenty of time to think. Sure, he could have talked to Saki about this and gotten off of his mind so nothing would distract him on this day, the day that they retrieve the oh-so-important flower and save Planty Man's people. But could his sensei truly understand the beauty of both the colors blue and yellow? There is simply no way to decide between the two. Perhaps these questions would be answered at a later date, but it seemed Saki was tending to problems that were far more important to their quest. In his senile old mind, anyways.

A slight puff of smoke covered the snowball's former position, and once it disappeared, a wild Ri had taken its place. This was no time to be taking out little red and white balls, however, as it was now time for Batman's faithful sidekick to once again save the day! And by that, he means walk with a clone made of water to see what's behind door number left. "Ooookaaay, see you on the other side I suppose." With that, the giant shinobi began walking at a normal pace toward the side he was told to go. Now that he was actually trying, the wooden sandals he wore produced no noise, and he and the clone first peeked around the corner to see what they might find.

 

[Oshiro Saki]

[Topic left - Inactivity]

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

[Inactivity Leave]