Destiny Doesn't Wait! [Training/Open]

[Ikki Ko]

“Well come on, lass. Spit it out. Which one are you taking?” – Gareth, Mission Tasker

Ikki Ko stood on the other side of the counter, tip toeing to see over the pine wood top, and pushing her right and left index finger together so the tips touched. There was a line of rough looking men and women behind her, all into their adult years, and all waiting impatiently for her to hurry and decide on a mission to take from the board. Her eyes darted from paper to paper, those crimson orbs reading each mission, and yet she still couldn’t decide one what she wanted to do. It would be her first mission, after all, and she did not want to mess it up like she did her job as a dishwasher down at the Tavern. She had been confident before, striding up and waiting in line, but the wait had allowed her time to think and she was beginning to get cold feet. No. I have to decide. I can do this, I’m definitely old enough.

Name: Blade Runner
Rank: C
IIC Length: 2 days
Difficulty: Moderate
Objective: Take the Busōsen master his katana
Description: The Busōsen master in Kaze no Kuni had his new blade commissioned two months ago and now it’s finished, but we don’t have time to deliver it, unfortunately. Please, could you help us? We need to get it to him as soon as possible! You will be paid by a representative at the Blacksmith Guild in Hitofuki upon completion of deliver. We strive to be satisfactory! Don’t dishonor us!

Warning: Be careful of bandits and thieves, the lands are thick with them these days.
Reward: 6,000 Ryo

Ko raised her hand, much like a student would in a classroom environment, and Gareth looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. Several sighs of relief came from behind her as they realized she was finally ready to decide, and several people stepped back when Ko turned, leveling a fiery glare in their direction. Turning back to Gareth, she cleared her throat, which was a small mousy sound due to the higher pitched nature of prepubescent children. A smile played on her lips and she pointed, showing her pearly white teeth, the determination bright in her crimson oculi.

“I want that one!” - Ikki Ko, Daughter of the Demon Dog

The man turned to his left, glancing over his shoulder and looking at the board, spotting the mission that the girl wanted and removed the tack. Mission in hand, he scanned over it with a critical eye, then looked back up at the girl and shrugged, placing the paper on the desk. Lifting a stamper off to the right side, he brought it down hard on the paper, then returned it to the ink block he got it from. Two red rings with the word ‘Approved’ were now on the paper, the word angled diagonal as was customary, and the mission signed by his hand first. He passed it over to Ko, along with a pen, and she signed as well. Handing the paper off to a boy behind the counter, a runner, he looked at Ko as the runner left.

“Alright then. Took ya long ‘nough. Stop by the Blacksmith Guild two blocks over to get the sword and get on your way, word will be sent ahead of you so that everything is arranged. Good luck out there, kid. You’ll need it.” – Gareth, Mission Tasker

Ko nodded to Gareth and turned to go, passing by the older men and women who had been in line, giving them no second glances. She pushed through the pine double doors and out onto the street, taking a right and making a line for the Blacksmith Guild, which is where Gareth said to go pick up the sword. Even though the town of Mitsubachi was surrounded by pine forest only a mile or two out and lush green grass grew all over, the roads in town were hard packed dirt, from years of people walking and carts moving through; probably horses eating the grass as well. People panhandled on the street and various colorful market stalls were set up, but Ko ignored them all, on a mission to get to the Blacksmith Guild and begin her very first mission. After what seemed like an eternity of wading through people who were out, since it was a bright sunny day without the miasma that drifted around the country itself from time to time, Ko finally found herself turning the knob and entering the squat one-story building that was the Blacksmith Guild.

An older man, squat like the building with a thick black beard and bald head, was busy at the forge. A robust blaze burned and the sound of the hammer and anvil filled the dark building, which was most likely darkened by smoke and ash, of which lifted out of a chimney above the forge. How had she not noticed that from outside? She would have to pay more attention to details. The man put the length of iron into a bucket of water to cool, using tongs so as not to touch the red hot steel, and then set his hammer down on a table next to the forge. Turning to her, he smiled, and all that could be seen through the thick bushy beard were his teeth. Squinting eyes regarded her, then beckoned her over with a wave of his hand, lifting a long bundle from the table he set his hammer down upon.

“You must be Ikki Ko, the one who accepted the delivery mission. Gareth told me about you. You’re tall for a lass your age, y’know? Taller than me. Hahaha! Anyway, this is the blade. Don’t lose it! Things like this aren’t easy to make, y’know! We have a pigeon flying ahead of you to deliver word to the guild in Hitofuki, so they’ll be waiting for you. Good luck out there!” – Barnes, Blacksmith of Mitsubachi

Ko took the package from him, the weight catching her off guard at first, causing her to nearly drop it. It was so heavy, nothing like her father’s sword on her hip. The thought caused her to look down at her own blade, the black lacquered sheathe that held the black blade within, a weapon made from steel that was infused with onyx in a special way to color it so. When she looked up, she found Barnes laughing, his hands on his belly. It was a warm laugh.

“Now don’t go takin’ that blade, lass. It ain’t for you, y’know! Haha! Alright, be on your way, gotta make sure to keep up customer satisfaction, y’know!” – Barnes, Blacksmith of Mitsubachi

Ko nodded to the man, strapping the blade to her back with some rope that he gave her, then turned on her heel to leave. This was to be the beginning of her first mission and she could not fail, she had to prove to herself that she was as independent as she believed she was. Pushing open the door, she stepped out into the streets and made her way through the mass of people, heading toward the exit of town. However, she was not about to step outside unprepared, regardless of how gung-ho she was, and turned into the shop.

[Look to Shop for Purchased Gear]

After acquiring a few supplies for the trek, checking her map, and looking at her new compass, she made her way out of town and into the open world. These were the first steps that would set her on the path of her destiny!

[Exit Mitsubachi]

[Ikki Ko]

The sun shown down on the little path, not nearly as worn down as it had been in town, consisting of two wheel distance strips of dirt that had a slight curve to it as it moved away from Mitsubachi. A few birds chirruped unseen as was the norm, just out of sight as always, the invisible musicians of the world who only played the flute. The scent of pine was heavy in the air, the spaced pine forests of Kuma no Kuni ever present, especially in the summer. A few fat lazy clouds pandered through the lush blue sky, making their way to some unknown destination, where they would deliver their waters to some part of the world that was unknown. I wonder where those clouds go? Must be someplace nice. Maybe somewhere dad visited at one point. A wagon pulled by a horse rolled by, a child having moved out of the way of the passing vehicle, and she watched it go with crimson eyes.

Ikki Ko, or lesser known as Genkaku Kousei, walked down the road alone, a blade wrapped like a bundle on her back that needed to be delivered to its rightful owner. Her right hand touched the blade at her hip, the black blade that her father had given her, Nameless, and she remembered him fondly the only way a daughter could remember a father. Her left hand held the strap of the backpack she had bought in Mitsubachi, which only had a map, a compass, and a few arrowheads in it. It was a good buy, since she got a new bow out of it too, the shop owner giving her quite the deal for it too; at least that’s how it seemed. Her eyes checked that her quiver was full of arrows, her right hand touching the pouch of smaller weapons on her hip, and she gave a satisfying nod. The wagon was off in the distance now, almost in the pine forest.

She wore her T-shirt and Jeans today, her shirt having a logo for the local Air Trek Roller Derby team, the Grizzlies. It was a little silly, a bear with Air Treks, pads, and a helmet on with a fierce expression while on two legs. However, it was the cheapest shirt she could find in her size once she got to Mitsubachi and, despite its silliness, it had kind of grown on her. It was going to be a rather long walk, nearly a day to get out of Kuma no Kuni, but that didn’t matter. She had a bit of time, despite the sense of urgency that they were putting on her to deliver this blade. I’m nine years old, they have to realize that I don’t walk that fast. She put her hands in her pockets, her left elbow bumping the new bow that was strapped to her back, forcing her to adjust just a little bit.

[Several Hours Pass]

It was getting dark by the time she reached the forest proper, the spaced trees allowing for the light of the setting sun to come through with ease, and the birds preparing to go to sleep as night spread across the sky where the light died. The path branched off in several directions, a road sign posted off to the right, the arrows pointing in the directions to the other lands that were around Kuma no Kuni, also one pointing back to Mitsubachi. She ignored that one, since it was no use to her. A sign pointing off to the right at a winding path through the pine forest was what she needed, the words reading Kaze no Kuni, and she grinned. It was a lot closer than she thought it was, then the grin faded to annoyance, glaring at the sign.

“I…seriously walked all the way here…when I could have just gone this way out of the village…” – Ikki Ko, Daughter of the Demon Dog

Shaking her head, she pulled off her backpack, along with her bow and the bundle, since they were in the way. Digging into the large pack, she pulled out the scroll that held the map of the world she purchased recently. Opening it, she looked at it in the evening light, squinting a little due to the poorness of it. Looked like there was a mountain range directly to the south and the road she was on went through a pass, a valley that split the mountain in half, before turning westward a bit and heading toward Hitofuki. Guess it wasn’t so foolish after all. She’d have to remember that these roads held a purpose. Putting the map back in her bag, she lifted her stuff, but did not put it back on. Instead she left the road and walked into the pine forest until she found a nice clearing, putting her things down and gathering rocks and dry sticks. A few minutes later, she had a nice campfire going, starting it with nothing but her bare hands like she usually did. I don’t know why I can do that. I always have to buy these fireproof clothes so they don’t burn off me. Dad taught me that too. She really missed Genkaku Houkou, the Demon Dog of Kusagakure no Sato, and her father.

Finally the tent and sleeping roll were set up, the moon in the sky now and the light all gone from the horizon. She cooked some beef she bought at the hunting shop along with her bow, chewing on it slowly, making it last. After a while she was finished, placing the remaining beef back in her pack, taking a drink from her canteen and then reaching her arm in the fire. She did this every time, as if the flames licking her flesh but causing no damage would give her answers, but they never did. She ran her hand through her corn yellow hair, sighing and blinking her crimson eyes. It was time to get some rest. Placing dry twigs all around her camp some twenty meters out, she finally entered the tent, climbing into her sleeping back and dozing off to a light and alert sleep. Her bow, arrows, blade, and gear were close to her just in case.

[N A T S U M I]

The sun had long since crept behind the horizon, birds having nested for the night. The entire camp site appeared eerily silent aside from the soft crackling from the unattended fire. As the bright yellow and orange flames slowly dwindle down to dark red ambers, glowing within the darkness. A cool air wafted into the site, brushing up against the tent that provided the young girl with shelter and warmth. A soft howl of the wind whispered unknown threats to one so completely oblivious to what lurks out in the gathering night. But was the merchant wonderer aware that she was not alone in these woods?

A pair of eyes studied her from a distance of roughly forty meters. These eyes were a startling emerald green in colour, yellowing around the edges. They peered through a pair of binoculars. Breath escalating into a somewhat excited pant as he watched the young woman sleep inside the tent. Mindful that she was armed and probably skilled in combat. Little did he know of her name or where she desired to go, but what he wanted were the assortment of weaponry that this young woman wielded. It laid so closely to the door of the tent, zipped closed yet still available to his reach.

It mattered little that she would fight back. Eyes scanned the area thoughtfully as his larger frame standing at six feet seven and weighing far more than this girl did. He fled across the area on silent feet, moving with the grace of a jungle cat until he stopped abruptly just feet away from the sleeping girl’s tent (arms length). Had she known he was there would remain a mystery to him. However, after weaving through a short series of handseals, he would gently drop a small orb of fire beside the tent’s entrance in an attempt to burn through the fabric.

His body remained still, standing there while the tent slowly began to catch fire. The flames danced up along the outer wall of the tent, directly above the sleeping woman while burning a medium sized hole, just large enough for him to reach in and grab the quiver, already loaded with arrows. She had already prepared them for me, such a kind girl she was… he thought with a smile. But knowing that the flames were bound to awake this young woman, he simply tightened his grip upon the loaded quiver, having forgotten about the bow and began his retreat…

Jutsu used:

SPOILER: Click to show

Hanabi no Shinka: Mi (Fire Flower of Evolution, Seed)
Rank: “D” Rank, 5x “E” Rank Potential Additional Training
Skill: Ninjutsu, Offensive
Effect: Uses one of the petals of the Hanabi no Shinka to create a small orb of fire in the right hand.
Special: The forward movement of the index finger of the hand holding the Hanabi no Shinka.
Drawback: Uses one of the petals of the Hanabi no Shinka.
Description: The Orb ability of the Fire Flower of Evolution is a simple cantrip. Once the user has the Hanabi no Shinka in play, all the user must do is move the index finger of the left hand forward, and one of the petals of the flower will seemingly fade. The user will then open their right hand, revealing an orb of flame that bursts into life. The orb itself is small, with a diameter of about three inches. The orb itself hovers about two inches from the hand. The user at this point can either attack or continue a combo chain. Each time “E” rank training is performed, the shinobi then gains the ability to create one more orb. However, the ratio is always 1:1 for petals: orbs, so creating additional orbs will still require a petal.
Limit: Must know Hanabi no Shinka

[Ikki Ko]

She had the flashing dreams of a light sleeper, popping in for split seconds of time as the crickets played their tunes out in the evening and the owl asked their questions. Ko asked her questions as well. Why had her father left her like that? Was it to make her strong? To keep her safe? To get rid of her? She would need to get more powerful for him, she knew this, and he could not always be there to protect her. He had his own war. Yes, she needed to get stronger to help him, to protect him from himself. Houkou was self-destructive, a product of his creation and recreation, but Ko could see the light in his eyes, the drive to live a life filled with happiness too; at least that’s what she thought she saw. Her father had evil in him, much evil, but there was still good in him as well. He could be saved…saved by her…

Oct 31, 2014 21:18:23 GMT -7 Ikki Ko said:

Placing dry twigs all around her camp some twenty meters out, she finally entered the tent, climbing into her sleeping back and dozing off to a light and alert sleep. Her bow, arrows, blade, and gear were close to her just in case.

A prowler in the night, swift, but not so swift witted. It would seem that even though he moved like a cat, the thought like a bull, unaware of the twigs cast around the campsite as an alarm system. A snap in the night would occur, the breaking of a twig, small and seemingly insignificant. It was not. Ko was swift, reaching out and gripping her blade, the sword her father had given her…Nameless. The blade made no sound as it left the sheath, just as her father had designed, and the black blade reflected no light, instead seeming as if it drank the light in. She waited, crouched in her own tent, poised to strike, off to the immediate right of her gear.

A bright orange glow lit the outer area of the tent, an orb it seemed, about the size of a baseball or so. If the twigs had not awoken her, this ball of flame would, crackling like a campfire, though there was no fuel for it beyond chakra. Still she waited, even as her tent burned, she waited for the man who had apparently been watching her, who had seen through her tent and knew where she slept somehow. As the hole formed, the flames lapping up the fabric, and arm reached through the hole intent on seizing her quiver of arrows. The night sky could be seen clearly through the new opening in her tent, stars winking out in a black sky, and a nearly full moon providing light down upon them to illuminate the area as if it were some twisted form of day. The silver light of the moon showed her what the thief was, as the thief had the build of a man.

An arm pierced through the circular hole that had been burned into her tent, a groping hand that reached for her gear, intent to rob her of that which she had earned. However, Ko had been ready, prepared for the inevitable and acting accordingly as her training from her father dictated. Her left foot stepped out, pale legs in the silver moonlight the flitted through the hole, bare feet on the grass inside of the tent and feeling the cool tingle of it between her toes. The ball of her left foot planted only two feet away, toes splaying just a little, giving her purchase on the ground. Her other bare foot dug into the grass as well, first with the heel, but then pushing off until the muscled legs were extended and she was on the ball of her right foot.

Using her left foot for balance, flattening it and turning it sideways, she thrust the blade Nameless through the tent, using the silhouette as her guide. Both of her hands were on the blade, left hand near the guard of the katana, while the right was closer to the pommel. Her arms would extend, lending their power to the thrust, moving in sync with her legs to transfer the power through her body and channel it into that very thrust. Straight was her back, a perfect line, and the perfect thrust for the chest. The man reaching into her tent would not have seen her, not unless he could see through walls, and the blade would pierce through the fabric where his chest was. There were only a few feet away, well within her katana range, and the blade would explode out of the tent and hopefully into the chest of this very large man. Just to add further damage, she would twist the blade as well, if it bit flesh, and then pull the blade free. Perhaps it would put her assailant down; perhaps it would merely be a very painful warning, or even something in between that.

[Ikki Ko]

Natsumi missed the IIC. Since this is merely an NPC, I assume the blow to be fatal, rather than critical with a second chance posting.

The ripping sound of the tent assailed her ears, it would forever now, a constant reminder. It tore like paper, like a stack of papers, ripped by hands much too powerful. The hands of God? The hands of Fate? She could never know, would never know, but she would always know this sound. Red leaked through the tiny hole she had made in the tent, dripping on the grass, a soft splatter in a slow rhythm that mesmerized her. Moonlight danced on little rivers across a black surface, the surface of Nameless, a blade that had bathed in this type of river many times in service to her father. As the rivers flowed, the moonlight causing them to gleam, the blade began to shake. No, not the blade, her arms…her whole body. Was she in shock? Muscle memory made her pull the blade out and something thumped outside, the man who had reached into the tent, something thumped inside too…Ikki Ko falling to the floor.

Nameless thumped to the ground between her and the body, the tent wall all that saved her from what was presumed to be a glassy, dead eyed stare of a bandit who had been unfortunate enough to move against the daughter of the Demon Dog. If only her father could see her, shaking in a corner of a tent, bloodied blade on the ground, bandit dead outside, and her body shaking from shock due to her very first kill. Her father had talked about this before, that it happened to nearly everyone, and he only knew a few that it had not happened to; a list that had included himself. She remembered and could nearly smell him puffing his cigarette, looking at her with his own crimson eyes, his white hair wafting in the wind.

“Listen up, Kousei, cause this is important. One day you’re going to have to kill to survive, that’s just how this world works, and you won’t be ready. Very few people are ever ready and I’m glad you won’t be, glad you won’t be like me. But, do not be like them, the filth of this world, too weak and easily broken. Think of me on that day and pull yourself together. I know you can do it, my daughter.” – Genkaku Houkou, Father and Demon Dog of Kusagakure no Sato

Her hand began to reach out slowly, shaking violently, as if in an earthquake. Her body wanted to reject the death, vibrating, her stomach churning and attempting to relieve the contents of her stomach. There was something wet on her face, it shined in the fire light of her still smoldering tent, as well as the moonlight that filtered in through the new holes. Tears were running down her cheeks. She heard her father’s words play in her head again and again, she wished they would summon him, wished that he would appear before her in all of his magnificent stability and just hold her like he used to. He did not come though, did not meld out of thin air, and did not come to comfort her. She was on her own for this, one lanky arm wrapped around her long legs, the other lanky arm reaching out to Nameless.

Her fingers closed around the pommel and she brought the blade to herself, staring at it for a time, watching it as if it might corrupt her just from the very touch. It was merely a blade, the steel black, and it seemed to drain the light. Was it evil? Had it pushed her? Or had she pushed herself? Broken sobs racked her body, the tears still flowing freely down her face, droplets falling from her jaw to strike the ground. She cleaned the blade on the grass, even as she cried, and her heart started to become steel. A small piece, insignificant it would seem, merely a drop in the bucket, but it was there. She was protecting her precious heart, the beginnings of a defense against the death, against the pain that was this world. Her father was right, he was always right, and she knew that she would have to kill again if she expected to live the life she had chosen. Sliding Nameless back into the sheath, she picked herself up off the ground, pulling herself back together slowly as if made of porcelain.

Only a few hours passed before the sun was creeping over the horizon, lifting toward the sky to start the new day, and her camp was down. She did not want touch the body, a man with dead emerald eyes, but she did search it for gear as her father had taught her. [Gear up to GM/Mod discretion] Once she was finished, taking anything useful that she found, she left the area. Behind her she left the tent, burned as it was and now useless, along with the unburied body of the bandit with a hole in his chest where his heart would be. All of her gear in its rightful place, she made her way back to the road, still a little shaken from the experience, and moved swiftly away from the area. There could be others and she did not want to be around when they came looking for their missing comrade.

[Move to Kaze no Kuni]

[Solus]

~Taking over as per request. Due to passing of the IIC a critical hit occurs. I don't feel like GM'ing NPC's I did not make myself so he dead. Moved this thread.

D

ead eyes stared up to the skies, eyes that had glimmered with life no more than a few hours ago. His life had been brutally extinguished. By none other than you. A deserved punishment or simple misfortune? Thoughts on this seemed futile as judgement had already been passed and it had been as swift as it had been severe. Your nimble fingers would quickly browse through the personal belongings on the body. Nothing much of value. He did possess an empty carton of cigarettes, an empty box of matches and a wrapper of some kind of energy bar without the candy inside. This guy must have been hungry, he was extremely skinny and the wrapper looked as if he had been sucking on it. In the distance in the direction from the city you could hear voices, but it was impossible to distinguish what was being shouted. Probably the mates of this man. Finally in a pocket of his pants you struck gold. A binocular with some kind of special sight attached that allowed you to see through things.

The voices were getting closer. Better move. If whomever it was found this dead body you could bet that they would either open the hunt or alert the authorities. Better not stand around for that to happen. Swiftly you departed, the border would not be far away. When you reached it you could hear the voices exclaim something behind you. They had found the body. Immediately the shouting ceased. This of course did not mean that you were off their radar. Rather, it only meant that they had stopped calling for their buddy. Beyond the border the forest quickly diminished in density until an eternal savannah remained, stretching out in front of you. Hiding here would be far more difficult. There was tall grass, which was about a meter high and there were trees, hundreds of meters apart, providing potential hiding spots, but unless you were prepared their effectiveness would be limited.

SPOILER: Click to show

You find:

Binocular
Rank: "B"
Type: Secondary, 1 per Slot, Gadget, Surveillance, Spectacles
Effect: A hand-held device consisting of a series of lenses and prisms, used to magnify objects so that they can be better seen from a distance, and looked at through both eyes.
Special: ---
Drawback: May hold up to 8 kinds of Surveillance Vision.
Description: Binocular telescopes, or binoculars, (also known as field glasses) are two identical or mirror-symmetrical telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point accurately in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes (binocular vision) when viewing distant objects. If a Binocular has a zoom of 5 it brings objects 5 times closer through vision. The basic vision before adding a Zooming Vision capability is 5. When adding the basic Zooming Vision, it will bring it up to 10. Binoculars have enough carrying capacity for 8 types of Surveillance Vision. Does not fit in Scroll size Slots.
Limit: These items may be bought inside any Gadget Shop.
Cost: 3,000 Ryo Each

X-Ray Vision
Rank: "A"
Type: Secondary, 0 per Slot, Gadget, Surveillance, Vision
Effect: A vision relay that releases high-speed electrons to strike a solid target creating short electromagnetic radiation allowing the user to see behind walls.
Special: ---
Drawback: Only able to see through so much.
Description: A vision that allows the user to see skeletal figures, and metallic objects through other solid objects. They are only able to see through 2 meter worth of solid objects. If no obstruction is in the way the user is able to see another person's skeletal figure and/or metallically objects the person may hold within the distance of normal eye sight.
Limit: These items may be bought inside any Gadget Shop.
Cost: 9,000 Ryo Each

[Ikki Ko]

Pine trees faded in the distance, the body left forgotten, and perhaps his comrades in pursuit despite the increased dangers of the desert landscape. The smell of pine faded in the wind, like a memory, carried away by the hot carrion breezes of Kaze no Kuni, a land that knew nothing of green life. Plateaus rose in the distance, the golden sun blazing high overhead, the blazing golden eye down upon the land to banish those too weak to withstand its harsh nature. Yet the path continued, etched into the centuries of packed hard dirt, more like stone than actual soil. A cry filled the sky, shrill and piercing, a hawk circling the prey it had found out in the distance. The wings did not beat as it circled, held aloft by the heated updraft of the land. It was beautiful, brown and black and powerful, as if it were king of the skies, and then it was ripped from them just as easily by a dark shadow that cross the land.

This world…it’s only about survival, just like father said. That man was nearly starved to death, it seemed, and he just wanted to survive. I killed him because I wanted to survive. That’s all this world is. Ko watched with crimson eyes as the strange creature carried away its own meal, saving the life of the morsel below, which could never show gratitude. She realized that it looked as if it were a flying boulder perhaps, or some kind of rock formation with wings, but it was powerful with each beating of its wings and enormous. Turning away as it left into the distance, she could see signs of vegetation, that this place was not as dead as she first thought. Shrubs grew out in the distance, spaced apart so that they would not have to compete for the small amount of water that they did get each day. Dust was kicked up into the air, a little getting into her eyes, as if to banish her more hopeful thoughts on Kaze no Kuni. A slap in the face with a harsh reality.

The sun beat down relentlessly on the land, but it had no effect on Ikki Ko, not even a bead of sweat on her brow. The Airontoku, they did not feel heat of this pathetic level, they did not feel the cold, for they were born of fire. Ko was no different, but the pink tint of her skin would hide that fact here in desert, as many would think it just a little too much sunlight for a young girl like herself. They would underestimate her, like everyone else, and she would always use that to her advantage. Of course, there was another reason she had come to this land, the money not being enough of an incentive. Her father had mentioned a man that lived here, skilled with the sword and quite the adept teacher at that. Here she would learn to fight, become powerful like her father, quick and agile and feared. It was here that she would begin the first steps back to her father, back into his life of constant peril, and she would be able to protect him as he had protected her. They would be a complete family again.

Green distracted her from her thoughts. Vivid green on a dead landscape of brown, where even the plants preferred the color brown, there was green. Sparkling blue water seemed to bubble to life from nowhere, a pool of cool and refreshing water in appearance in the center of this green landscape. Birds chirruped here, they did not cry out, did not call out the deaths of their food from above. Here they were happy, flitting about the palm trees that grew high, dropping their coconuts onto the ground so that other creatures could enjoy. According to her map, she was only halfway to Hitofuki and this was the marker, an oasis for travelers to spend the night before making it into Hitofuki.

The Michibata Oasis, which literally meant the Roadside Oasis, was a popular resting spot for the weary travelers. In the past, it used to be struck frequently by bandits and outlaws due to its proximity with the road, along with the popularity and irresistibility of its allure. However, in recent times, Hitofuki has been sending its soldiers to patrol the roads, something that Kuma no Kuni could not afford to do, and they have successfully cut bandit activity down to nearly nothing. Of course, that does not mean that there are no bandits, but that they are simply hiding better now instead of brazenly sauntering around as if they owned the place. Even though she had just crossed the short distance and was barely in the oasis she missed her tent, burned by that bastard who wanted to steal her things, that dead bastard who lay in the woods.

Surprisingly, the Michibata Oasis was much larger than it looked from the road, almost as if two or three oasis had been put together through some effort. A very large palm tree grew at the edge of each lake, of which the water was so clear one could see straight to the bottom, to gaze at the soft sand below and even see where the water bubbled up from the well of water below. Short soft grass seemed to grow everywhere, along with bushes that had large fat leaves, of which hid small fuzzy looking animals with tufted ears and long bushy tails; like a cross between a rabbit and a mouse. Tropical birds danced through the smaller palm trees that dotted the area, colorful creatures with long, curved, fat beaks and constantly knocking the fruit from the palm trees. It was a place teaming with life, surrounded by a world that looked as if it were on the verge of dying, like a defiant green beacon of hope that this place could be beautiful once again.

Ko found her way to the center of the oasis, the enormous palm trees all facing inward, their lakes creating three paths that led to the center. This was the resting area, shaded from the harsh sunlight, but allowing the breeze to come through and filtering out the sand. Here the air was sweet and refreshing, the cool water kept the temperature to a bearable minimum, not that it truly mattered to Ko. It was just so peacefully, even though there were clouds in the sky, nearing the end of summer, and this time of the year being known as the rainy season of the desert, Ko was at peace. Here, she could forget about the guy in the forest, his hungry eyes, his starving body dripping blood from a wound that she had inflicted upon him. Having left him for his friends or family to find, dead, without so much as a note as if she were the true brigand. No, she would never forget her first kill it seemed. Her father was always right.

[Solus]

F

inally, rest and quiet. But of course not for long. From the edge of the forest you could see them appear. There were two men, from the distance, about three hundred meters you could see them appear from the tree line. Though from distance they merely looked like two specks in the distance. Without aid it would be impossible to distinguish anything. Should you choose to observe them through the binoculars you just found you would get a bit more information. They both were brown clothes and pants, though it was difficult to distinguish more other than that both sported brown hair. One of them carried a bow in his left hand and occasionally stood still to observe his surroundings a branch next to the path or something on the ground. He was tracking. What exactly would not be difficult to guess. The other did not carry any clearly recognizable weapons, but that did not mean that he had anything hidden on his persona. Still, difficult to see, even through the binoculars it was if you observed them from sixty meters.

Their behaviour however betrayed that they had not spotted you yet. There was still the option of sneaking away and trying to lose them or await them in ambush. The choice is yours.

[Ikki Ko]

Her eyes searched the seemingly peaceful oasis paradise she had found, crimson eyes traveling over a pristine landscape, hidden in a barren waste. It was beautiful and magnificent, a diamond hidden in the grime, and she cherished it. This oasis, it allowed her to almost forget, but the world was never so easy. The desert outside the oasis shifted like the ocean, waves overlapping one another, intent on being at the top. At least that is how it seemed, the heat of the desert changing the landscape as the heat escaped the sand, the baking earth testament to the conditions just outside this desert paradise. As if to emphasize the death just outside of this paradise, a buzzard called out unseen over the land, a carcass found somewhere out in the sands that would be the scavengers next meal. Perhaps today it would have a feast though.

In the distance were two blotches on the desert waves, striding down the very path she had taken, headed in her direction. She could not make the two out, not from this distance, with her normal eyes. Already she could feel the trembling, as if her body knew what her mind was only thinking, what her mind was only theorizing. They were men that had been comrades of the one in the forest. A shaky hand reached for the nearby backpack, unzipping the top, reaching into the depths of it with a tiny trembling hand. She probed the darkness, but not for long, easily locating the binoculars amongst the gear that was already in the bag. Slowly she brought them to her eyes, hoping that what she would see would not be what she feared, and she was rewarded with disappointment. Was this the way it had to be? Could there be no other resolution? People like this were quick to kill first in order to simply take her material possessions, perhaps more, and she could not let them.

There was no place to run, not in a desert such as this, where she would be out in the open for all to see. But, here in the oasis, it would seem that they had yet to spot her, as they were still following her tracks and searching. Brown hair and brown clothing, just like the man she had killed in the forest, and so she was positive that they were comrades. A bow in the hands of one, but the other had nothing, yet that would still make him deadly. Her father was an expert at hand to hand combat, capable of killing a man, so she knew what could happen to her if such were the case. The bow was on her back in an instant, liberated from the ground upon which it had rested, so that it would be battle ready when she needed it. She would not wait around, dashing to a nearby palm, one of the three tallest, and climbing its rigid surface. Of course, she took her bag with her, lest they wish to snatch it instead should they get the chance. In this instance, she would have to strike first, instead of asking the questions like she wished she could. Their intent was obvious.

Atop the tree, she used the belt of her outfit to loop its thin peak, in order to keep her from falling. Using her feet to purchase stability, she hid amongst the pine froths, the spiny leaves acting as a sort of cover for her. Her bow was in hand, having made sure that her hands could remain free, and an arrow was slack against the taut string. It was here that she would wait for her prey, refusing to be the hunted, and once they were within thirty meters of her she would open fire. Though she wore a face of determination and courage, inside was a hurricane of guilt and turmoil that it had come to this, sadness drenching her soul. She did not wish to kill anyone, the death of one man would give her nightmares already, destroying her inside. However, today she would be forced to pile two more corpses onto the stack, the nightmares tripling, for her heart was not as hardened as her father’s. She was not engineered for this at all. But she was engineered for survival and that was what it took in this life, the will to survive, and it was a will she had in spades. These men would die, because they wanted to hurt or kill her, and she would never allow that. The arrow was notched and readied.

[Solus]

S

lowly the men were nearing, reading the landscape and following the path you had tread with an eerie precision. At least the man with the bow seemed to know what he was doing. Still crouching every so often he would adjust their direction until he at one point, about one hundred and twenty minutes from your position, pointed at the oasis below you. Immediately both men crouched down, using the sparse grass there was for cover. They started to sign to each other and then suddenly split up.

The first man procured a club and circled to your left, staying about seventy five meters away from the oasis. The bowman went in the opposite direction., following a similar trajectory. They stayed low, moving slightly faster in the empty spots between the grass patches to reduce their time in sight as much as possible, until both men were on opposite sides of the oasis, each about seventy five meters away. Had you been on the ground and had you not spotted the men it would probably have been nigh impossible to spot them. From your elevated position it was however child’s play to track them. You could easily see them easily since the grass did not block your view from this angle.

The bowman imitated the chirping of a bird quite correctly and at that cue both men started to close in on your location, the bowman knocking an arrow and the other man readying his club. It would not be long until one of them would spot you.

[Ikki Ko]

Thirty feet up was quite the vantage point and it provided quite the view of the landscape, one that she could not have gotten from the ground, and would not have been able to appreciate the beauty of the land in which she was in; considering she thought it dead complete. Dotting the landscape, between plateaus that she could see, there was a few more oasis, although they were not near the road at all. There was even desert plant life teaming across the landscape, from cacti on top of the plateaus to various dried up looking bushes with thorns on the branches; she knew that from books. Of course, everything in the desert was designed to bring pain, but that was the only way it could survive, or it would perish completely. She would have to be like these plants, unable to waiver in its self-defense, unwilling to submit to the area around it. In this case, she would have to steel her heart, and do what needed to be done.

The man with the bow was making the bird noises, but they were not the exotic noises of the birds that lived in these trees, but of those back in Kuma no Kuni. It was now obvious; these men were out to kill her for sure, as a form of revenge for their fallen comrade. The only choice left to her was to kill them before they could kill her. They were in range shortly, due to her elevated position, she would have the much longer range, where these men would find themselves hard pressed to strike her, unless that man was more trained with the bow than she was. Strength and skill were always a factor and he might be able to easily pick her off out of the tree, especially since she could not move. With that the choice of who would die first became instant, realizing that she had picked already, her eyes fell upon the man who seemed to be the tracker; the one that knew what he was doing.

Once the tracker with the bow was in range, she was aimed on him, having taken the time all the while since he was walking up. The height would lend its range to the bow, so that her arrow would go further, the aid of gravity helping it maintain its speed of 122 miles per hour once fired. The arrow was knocked, the shaft resting against the smooth wood of her recurve bow, the point poised on her target. Her elbow began to bend, her arms straight previously, and the bow string began to grow more taunt as she drew. The bow itself began to bend from the weight the string placed upon it, her left arm being used to aim, her right holding the arrow between her index, middle, and thumb to pin in and draw, and her left index finger pointed out toward her target as well. Crimson eyes rested on her target, her cheek near the arrow itself, triangulating the target in her sights. Her breathing was smooth and steady, calm as her father had taught her, the bow only shaking a minimal amount from the effort it took to hold it like that.

As her target entered the effect range, she caught her breath, holding it so that it would not alter her sight picture. The moment seemed to last an eternity, although it took all of a single second, and she could almost imagine her lungs burning from the length of holding her breath for the unrealistic timeline. The arrow was loosed with a twang, perhaps imperceptible from where she was, and the height along with the air currents this far up, but it would not matter. The arrow sped down toward the earth, toward her target’s chest, even as her right arm extended from the shot. Her hand was already falling toward the arrows still resting in her quiver as the single shot zipped through the atmosphere, slicing the aether and seeking her target’s life. The arrow itself never wobbled, never wavered, at flew true at her target. Perhaps she would get lucky after all. Maybe she would kill the man without any trouble, but she could only hope.

Without waiting to see just yet, she twisted her body toward the other man, hoping that even if he heard, he would be caught by surprise; a hope she shared for his partner. This man only held a club, the same brown hair and brown clothing as the other man, with features that would not stand out in a crowd. An arrow was being knocked, the bow string pulled taunt as she studied him and brought the bow to her face to aim. Her crimson oculi fell on his form, the point of the arrow hungry for the life blood in his chest, the largest target on his body. It was strange the details you noticed just before you attempted to take another man’s life, how the man below was well muscled, perhaps in a more prime state than the one she had killed just the night before, who appeared more feral. Although the scars were easy to figure out, these men were clearly bandits, used to a rough life in the woods killing for their food and money. These men were evil men, regardless if they were pitted this way by circumstance, and Ko knew she was doing the world a favor; yet it still left a bad taste in her mouth.

The arrow sped away with a twang, the exact same as the other, zipping through the aether toward her target and poised to pierce his body; to end the beating of his heart. They had been fifty meters away when she launched either arrow, ten meters inside her effective firing range, and the arrow sped without slowing thanks to gravity. The man with the club would be only slightly less dangerous than the one with the bow, so as her arrow sped for the man with the club, she turned back to where she had found the man with the bow, readying another arrow in her right hand, just in case he had escaped or lived. In the span of only three seconds, she had loosed two arrows, one at either target, and was prepared for another volley of her own, should she need it. This was to be her last stand against these foes and hopefully this skirmish would end quickly, without harm coming to her. She had to get this sword to Hitofuki. She just had to.

[Solus]

W

ith a sickening sound the arrow would embed itself in the man's chest. Of course only in fiction this would lead to immediate death. In real life, even when struck in the the heart people still had time as they would bleed out. And even then the brain could go for four minutes without oxygen before shutting itself down. Thus, when you struck the bowman he would collapse forward, screaming and clutching the stick protruding from his chest. When you turned the other way you would find the man was running to your left, stopping every so often randomly to zip in the opposite direction. Incredibly difficult to hit. As he ran he slowly would increasethe distance between him and your tree. If nothing happened to interrupt this he would not stop until he had reached a 75 meters distance from the tree again. A distance at which the man knew he would be safe. There he would eye you and wait.

Meanwhile the bowman would lay at the bottom of your tree, gargling, coughing blood an writhing in pain, locked in a death struggle he was bound to lose.

[Ikki Ko]

Ko heard the arrow imbed itself in the chest of the bowman, heard him cry out, her him drop and start to crawl. She could imagine how he looked, clutching his chest, the life blood draining from him in rivers between fingers that gripped the smoothed wooden shaft protruding from his center mass. It made her sick to her stomach, but she had no choice, for they would feel not such inclination to feel sick for killing her, or even worse. These men were bandits and she had no choice. At least she hoped they were bandits. The other man, the one with the club, he ran from her in some kind of erratic zigzag pattern, too difficult for her to hit without more proper training with the bow. He got to a safe distance and, instead of fleeing, turned to face her and watch. She would have to fight him after all, since she could not possibly stay up in her tree forever.

“Listen to me! Just…just go away! I don’t want to do this, so leave me alone! I don’t want to have to kill you too!” – Ikki Ko

She pleaded to the man, but fully expected her words to fall on deaf ears, as this was his second companion that she had killed. She stowed her bow and secured her arrows swiftly, eyeing the man at a distance, as well as the man at the foot of her tree dying. She would have to put him out of his misery; it was too painful to listen to. Loosening her belt just a little, she was able to slide down the palm tree rather safely, reaching the bottom swiftly, whipping her katana out in an instant. The onyx infused blade seemed to absorb the light as always, constantly making the area seem just a little darker because of it, dimmed as if by the sorrow of the souls that it had taken; the bandit of the forest included. Yet she would add another soul to the blade, to make it even darker, to dim the light further. She stabbed it through the bowman’s back hard, the sharp blade’s point more than enough to punch through his back and out of his chest, stabbing into the soft fertile soil.

She pulled her katana free, the sickening squelch of blood and tissue sucking in air from the now exposed space loud and disturbing, a sound that would be permanently in her mind forever. She hoped the other man would die quickly at least, as the agony of the bowman was almost too much for her to take, and it had not lasted long at all. With a flick of the katana, the way her father had taught her, the blood that was on the blade was tossed aside, splattering in the grass silently. With a grim determination that would not let her crumple up on the floor, she took up her blade in both hands, not strong enough to hold it in one hand like her father. Her eyes were on the man who was seventy five meters away, keeping a safe distance from her, but clearly planning to attack still.

“There’s still time for you to run. You have until I reach you to flee, otherwise I have no choice. I can’t let you live after that. It’s what my father taught me…” – Ikki Ko

She began walking toward the man, not swiftly, because she was hoping that he would run away from her. However, she understood that she was only nine and this man could be in his thirties, which meant he would not fear a child. Inwardly she sighed, but she was growing more resigned with each step, steeling her heart as she had before, coming to grips with the fact that the nightmares would keep coming now more than ever. The onyx infused blade, Nameless, it seemed to love this, holding to the dimming halo as if hungry for more. Her father had told her something interesting about the blade, about the spirit that each object contained if you infused your own soul into it.

“Nameless is a blade of darkness and death, made from my own soul, so to speak. Perhaps it is not a special blade, but it is a type of special blade, none the less. This blade is cursed and blessed, those who carry it will be victorious in almost all battles, but they will almost always find battle. You will be fighting forever and it will be your life now, one that I forced on you, and one you’ll have no choice but to accept in time.” – Genkaku Houkou

She believed it now, with her whole heart. It was the first time she had used the blade ever, just the previous day, and it had brought nothing but death and trouble. Even now, her steps confident and firm, she strode forward to kill yet again. This path, she could not stop it now, as if she had to walk it in order to measure up to her father. This choice she had subconsciously made, it would be her life from now on, once she killed this man who refused to run. Only he could save her. If only he would run…

She was only forty meters away now.

[She of the Mighty Bow-Gun]

[Hopefully you do not mind my entrance ^^]

The sun in Suna was also so ruthless and unforgiving, brutal and overbearing, but for Claire it was just another day. Having been left to Suna for the extermination of ghouls she was more than used to the sweltering heat. When she had seen the trees from a distance she was confused as to how, how trees could grow this large in a desert with nearly no water. Oasis these were called, or so she thought. With a little kneel when she entered she saw prints, many, from the looks a child, a small handful of men. Her skills in tracking were exceptional but not perfect, however she could deduce enough to say this wasnt a game of tag or chase, these men meant harm. [Identify tracks: 72+10 Tracking:60+10 Track tech adds 10 to each if applicable]

Her short cropped red hair was tucked well beneath a hood that covered her entire face, leaving only her bright crystal blue eyes to be seen under normal circumstances. The hood was more so part of a hoodie/halter top mix that reveled the hard leather body that hugged her small breast. She was moving quickly now, following these tracks as quick as possible without losing time to maybe save this little girl. She was nimble enough to evade them though that was good,but who knew what else she was capable of? The tracks werent all together either, the pair came after the initial and she vaguely remembered to think on the depth of the footsteps. Were they deep? These were usually caused by men carrying heavy object of who were just large naturally.

One man seemed a tad healthier, his steps dominating the ground. "Leader maybe?" She ran along, checking for all the signs of broken this and mushed that. When she found what she was looking for. Out in the distance. A girl with a sizable blade in her hands,heavy and thick, black as the soul of a sinner and wielded in very capable hands it seemed. She had come out some 25 meters from the action, using the trees for cover, noting where the men had split up and flickering between the trees to follow. The light steps went to her own left so she went right, catching patches of sight between trees she passed. Someone was dead at the base of a tree, not possible to make out any details from this range but it had to be a man from the size of the body, and from the way the girl walked she did not fear them. "Bingo."

The foot steps of the other man, the leader she presumed, continued onward and she was sure he was trying to hide. The way the steps deepened usually meant one was applying more weight, possibly he had bent over to run, lowering his center of gravity and thus his weight to the earth. When she followed the angle of the girl vs the foot step she was followed she found the back of a man some 20 meters away. Who was the guilty one here? Was the girl a criminal, wee these men bandits? Did she have a bounty? Were they rapist? Smugglers? On her hip Claire had a belt quiver holding 10 slots of bolts, 1 slots of broad point bolts, 2 slots of borehead bolts, 2 watakushi tipped bolts, 1 slot of chaff arrow tips and a slot of sting arrow head tips. In her hand now was a modified pistol grip cross bow that she was very comfortable with.

She reviewed everything in her head now. The tracks. They had underestimated her in some capacity now that she was walking forward. Well...Claire made a snap decision. Loading a bore head arrow into her pistol grip crossbow she burst forward, running hard for 3 meters then shunshinned forward, coming out of a flicker and stopping to aim. Her proficiency at this range would be godlike, using her forward motion of running after the flicker. 6.6 meters was the usual 2/3 range for shooting on the move. She fired a bolt, powerful, merciless, pushing him forward with the force of the blow. The second arrow was the worst, and intentionally so.

The second bolt could be fired without the use of a movement, using it in a way to knock him forward into a tree,hopefully stunning and winding him, embedding it into his right shoulder and using that forward momentum to twist him at an angle if he was wasnt already facing a tree. The knock back had a range of ten meters anyways. hitting anything before the inertia wore off had to hurt,maybe even break bones.

SPOILER: Click to show

Track
Rank: "C"
Skill: TaiJutsu
Effect: The Venatores are known to be great trackers.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: A Venator adds +5 points per Class Level to their Identify Tracks, and Tracking skill made to follow or identify tracks.
Limit: Must be a Venator.

Quick Draw
Rank: "C"
Skill: TaiJutsu/Supplementary
Effect: User has learned how to draw their weapon without taking up a movement.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: The user can draw a weapon without a movement. The user can draw a hidden weapon (With Sleight of Hand) without taking a movement. A user who has this technique may draw a throwing weapon and hurl the weapon within 1 movement. Without this technique, the user may draw a weapon as a movement.
Limit: Must be a Throwing Specialist.

Shunshin no Jutsu - Oshi (Body Flicker Technique - Push)
Rank: "C"
Skill: NinJutsu/TaiJutsu
Effect: A Jutsu that allows a user to rush forward in almost instantaneous speed. Used to draw the user close to the opponent.
Special: ---
Drawback: May use 3 times a day. May perform 1 more each time learned. Passing amount renders the user's legs immobile due to severe pain. Unable to perform again unless gained medical treatment. Must move through an opening. Unable to maneuver around obstructing objects. Can't attack while performing any Shunshin or Variation.
Description: User is able to move forward in a straight line along the ground in almost instantaneous untraceable speed while temporarily masking the user's movements within 10 meters. A puff of smoke is occasionally used to disguise the user's movements. It is accomplished by focusing the user's chi along the ankles and foot. User mostly moves just with their ankles and feet. Jutsu takes up no movements. User may only use this Jutsu half of the movements may allow in a single round while rounding down. Example: User has 5 movements, user is able to perform Jutsu 2 times per round.
Limit: Universal NinJutsu or Universal TaiJutsu.

Accurate Marksman
Rank: "D"
Skill: TaiJutsu/Supplementary
Effect: An attack that allows the user to fire at an opponent who is taking cover with at least half cover allowing the user to attack with greater proficiency.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: At this point the user is able to hit an opponent who is half covered with great proficiency and power able to hit an opponent with "C" Rank of power. An opponent may be hiding and it becomes difficult for an Marksman to hit that opponent. With this technique the user may shoot 1 arrow against the opponent per movement in which would negate hiding effects unless the opponent is 100% covered from all around. This technique allows the user to hit hidden opponents with much more ease.
Limit: Must be a Marksman. Must know Precise Shot.

Point Blank Shot
Rank: "D"
Skill: TaiJutsu/Supplementary
Effect: A technique that gives the user greater proficiency within the range of 10 meters.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: With this technique the user has learned how to combat against opponents within 10 meters without fear or fumbling with their weapon. They gain the courage and ability to perform combat without much effort. This is a prerequisite technique for more popular techniques. What good is an Marksman if they are not ready to battle while in close range.
Limit: Must be a Marksman.

Knockback Shot
Rank: "C"
Skill: TaiJutsu/Supplementary
Effect: This technique allows the user to hit the opponents they wish that are standing within thirty meters of his threat range with great power.
Special: ---
Drawback: Only works within 1st Range Increment.
Description: The user is able to launch their projectile with such fierceness that when it hits the opponent it knocks the opponent back into the distance. This technique may be used to knock down other opponents as well or lure other opponents out if the time is needed. Depending on the user's Class level depends on the knock back power of this technique.
"D" Class - 5 Meters Knock back
"C" Class - 10 Meters Knock back
"B" Class - 20 Five Meters Knock back
"A" Class - 35 Meters Knock back
"S" Class - 55 Meters Knock back
Limit: Must be a Marksman. Must know Point Blank Shot.

Shot on the Run
Rank: "C"
Skill: TaiJutsu/Supplementary
Effect: When attacking with a ranged weapon, the user may move while attacking while being 2/3rd proficient in range.
Special: ---
Drawback: Only works within 1/2 Proficiency.
Description: Normally an Marksman is only able to shoot within the range of 1/2 of their proficiency while on the move. This technique increases the range up to 2/3rd of the total proficient range. Example: 1st Range Increment of a Pistol Crossbow is 10 meters. While on the move user may shoot within 5 meters proficiency. With Shot on the Run user may shoot within 6.6 meters proficiency while moving around.
Limit: Must be a Marksman. Must know Acrobatic Shot.

Fast Aim
Rank: "C"
Skill: TaiJutsu/Supplementary
Effect: Marksman able to fire an extra time per movement while sacrificing accuracy.
Special: ---
Drawback: Only works within 1st Range Increment.
Description: The user is able to take their weapon and fire an arrow quickly while sacrificing aim. The user shoots an extra time per movement while stationary as they are only able to shoot at the range proficiency as if they were moving. Without Shot on the Run the user may shoot at half their proficiency within the 1st Range Increment and must not be moving. If user has Quick Aim this technique works with Far Shot.
Limit: Must be a Marksman. Must know Improved Rapid Shot.

Killing Blow
Rank: "C" Always 30 TP
Skill: TaiJutsu
Effect: With a precise and underhanded attack the Venator can inflict serious damage.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: The Stalking Shadow gains the ability to perform Sneak Attacks with added damage. Their Class Levels determine the damage and flanking ability. The user can make one melee or ranged attack while using a movement against that opponent making this a sneak attack performing added damage to the attack depending on the user's Class Level. As a "D" Class character this attack does +12 Armour Points of Damage. As a "C" Class character this attack does +24 Armour Points of Damage. As a "B" Class character this attack does +36 Armour Points of Damage. As an "A" Class character this attack does +48 Armour Points of Damage. As an "S" Class character this attack does +60 Armour Points of Damage.
Limit: Must be a Venator. Must be a Stalking Shadow.

[Ikki Ko]

A hooded woman appeared from seemingly nowhere, wielding ranged death, unleashing fury upon this very field of battle. The speed at which the woman had moved had been unreal, almost as if an illusion, but Ikki Ko had seen it before, she had been part of it when she traveled with her father. It was called Shunshin, a technique of the Shinobi, warriors of the Hidden Villages and uncommonly friendly for the types that were supposed to be assassins and warriors. In fact, now that she thought about it a little more, despite the heat of the moment, why was this particular Shinobi helping her? That probably did not bode well. There was no time to dwell on this matter, at least not yet, as it seemed this Shinobi might be an ally.

The bandit was unfortunate to be alive still, after the entire trauma, and the sound of his bones crunching. He had been flung by the bolt of the crossbow wielding Shinobi, blown from where he stood and slammed into a tree some several meters away with quite a bit of force. She could hear the sickening crunch of his bones against the living palm, shaking the plant to its very foundation, yet not toppling it. He fell the floor, moaning in pain due to a mangled leg and possibly several broken ribs. Blood, dark and rich, leaked from his mouth, coughed up by his punctured lung. It would be a slow death for him, or at least it would have been, had Ikki Ko not continued the trek over to his body.

She stood before the man who lay at the base of one of the other scattered palm trees, coconuts split on the floor, having fallen from the shaken tree violently. Nameless still drank the light, still hungered for the blood, and she eyed the blade in her hands. This man had chased her with the intent to kill her, perhaps even worse, and here he lay broken and dying. She could feel the anger, that same anger that lay in wait within her father, waiting for a chance to escape its cage. Red hot, her vision flashed like the blood that leaked from this man’s mouth, coating the world in scarlet. It was quick; the man’s head rolled from his shoulders and down his chest, onto his lap and then finally resting on the floor. The face was expressionless, blood smeared on the chin, both body and head leaking from the wound onto the green grass, feeding the soil the life blood of an evil man.

Ikki Ko flicked the blade, droplets of blood flung to the floor, leaving the blade as clean and pristine as if it had never been used before. As she sheathed it in the lacquered holder at her side, the world around her seemed to brighten, as if the very act of putting the blade away lifted the darkness from her soul. She then turned to the Shinobi, giving the woman a wary glance, ready to pull her bow free should she need to; knowing full well that close range combat would not be an option if it came to that. They were some thirty meters apart, perhaps a little more, and Ikki Ko merely stared at the woman for a moment to drink in the details. A breeze had begun to pick up, wafting the child’s long blond hair, and even from this distance Ko could tell that she and the Shinobi were nearly the same height. It was an odd thing to notice when one was staring down possible death.

“Who are you, exactly? Why did you show up and help me…Shinobi? I can’t pay you, I don’t have any money on me.” – Ikki Ko

It would seem that the curse of Nameless was still going strong, a Shinobi having appeared before her, and she knew it was too formidable a foe for her to take down if it came to that. Damnit, Father. Why didn’t you train me in the Shinobi Arts before we parted? I could really have used them. Instead of remaining so tense, Ikki Ko crossed her arms under her nonexistent chest, tilting her head to the left side and leaning on the left leg a little more. She was a firecracker as the people who tended the fields would say, though she never knew what they meant before. Again, the odd things one thinks about when they stare death in the face.

[She of the Mighty Bow-Gun]

Both shots found their mark true and unabated, flinging the man out several feet to impact a tree, crumple to the ground ad seriously contemplate what he had been doing with his life. That too would be coming to an end soon with the sword wielding blonde haired little girl who had tasted the glory of a kill. Was there any relishing in this for her? She had been tracked like an animal and now that she had the upper hand surely she would be feeling some type of elation. Retribution? Anger? It was hard to tell from this far back, but thats what Claire ha felt when she was driven from her home by demons.

The blade fell, crisp and clean, severing the head of her would be attacker turned prey. She didn't savor the weakness he exuded in his crippled condition, not sick light in her eye, just the quick and clean death that most people reserved for men and women of honor; something she was sure this man had not been. The shuffled thud of his cranium falling to the ground reached Claire and she smiled beneath her hood, an expression shrouded by her hood. When the damsel, who turned out to be the dangerous one, turned to face her she was quick to straighten her posture.

There was no congrats or thanks exchanged between these two, not a word or sound unless the static that filled the silence of the woods counted. They both knew what had happened here, death and the taking of a human life, the question now though, was whether they were both content with letting one another live to tell the tale. Claire had come into this wanting to simply be the helping hand and ended up being the unneeded savior. Even when the wind blew and rustled the bright strands of the little ones hair, did she really let the depth of the situation sink in. She meant the girl no hard at all.

She brought both hard up slowly, pistol crossbow empty of ammo, letting her weapon hand slack on her finger before holstering it behind her back to the clasp on the back of her belt. That hand that disappeared to holster the weapon returned to view empty-handed with fingers splayed. "You did well in dispatching your pursers, better than I would have at your age. Dropping one hand she used the other to pull back her hood and reveal her face. The red fluttering of her hair was caught by the passing breeze, obscuring her dull features. She was no more than an average looking woman.

She hadnt answered the question yet intentionally but remembered the Suna headband fastened around her waist with the metal at her back, covered by her cloak/hoodie. "I am indeed a Kunoichi of Sunagakure, but that was not the reasoning for my interference." She locked eyes as best as she could with the girl and took an nonobligatory step forward. "I helped you because you wee being pursued by men, with whom I believe were, of ill intent. I do not expect payment, just my bolts out of that body in front of you and maybe a little explanation?" Claire found herself hoping she didn't have to go into any kind of offensive against her...she was just a girl, deadly or not. Life had just began for her.

[Solus]

SPOILER: Click to show

You find:

Bowman:
-3 basic arrows.
The rest is all unusable due to structural deficiencies or being severely bent

Clubman
-1 stick that is basically a branch, useless and worthless.

[Ikki Ko]

"I helped you because you were being pursued by men, with whom I believe were, of ill intent. I do not expect payment, just my bolts out of that body in front of you and maybe a little explanation?" – Claire Vandaline

Ko watched the Shinobi, who was apparently from Sunagakure no Sato, wary of her intent but willing to believe someone who had lent her a hand. Apparently this lady, who was only a few inches taller than herself, had done this out of the kindness of her heart; a concept that Ko was not quite familiar with outside of her own father. Even then, the only kindness or warmth he ever showed was to her, where others were faced with fiery rage or cold hate. She began to draw circles in the grass with the tip of her left foot, looking off to the left for a second, trying to decide exactly what she should do. Honestly, it shouldn’t matter if I tell her or not, I suppose. What could she possibly do with that information? Maybe it will be fine. If not, then hopefully I can just leave without any harassment.

Ikki Ko began to recant her tale, starting from the beginning, or at least the beginning as it pertained to Kuma no Kuni. She could not mention her father to others as he had many enemies in many nations; all who wanted him dead, and could use her as a means of getting to him. So she told this Sunagakure Shinobi of Kuma no Kuni, leaving and heading through the forest, on her way to Hitofuki. However, she left out the part about her mission, unwilling to trust this woman with that information, unless she wanted to try and get the money for herself. Instead she claimed it was a delivery for her grandfather who was in Hitofuki, who was a practitioner of a sword style, and who wanted to see his granddaughter. She told of the first bandit and her burned tent, how she had killed the man, and then was followed by his friends. That was the whole tale in a nut shell.

Ko hiked up the wrapped blade and her gear, having brought it down from the tree when she had come down, and replaced everything on her back. It would seem that she wouldn’t exactly be getting rest in this spot, not with these dead bodies, these men she helped kill. They would haunt her dreams as well, little nightmares for when she closed her eyes, nightmares of men caught in the throes of death. She could feel her gut twisting and started walking, mostly to calm her stomach down, but she really needed to get moving if she was going to meet her deadline.

“I have to get to my grandfather’s. He’s a worrier, you know?” – Ikki Ko

She kept walking, heading back toward the road, back toward the task at hand. Perhaps the old lady from Sunagakure no Sato would follow her, out of some kind of obligation to make sure she made it safe, and that would be okay. It would make her job easier. These Shinobi, they were trained to kill people, but she was not. She wanted to vomit every time she thought about, three lives already, how many more before it stopped? Her father had warned her about this, that in this world, she would have to kill a lot of people in order to realize any dream she might have. He said there would be people that wanted to kill her, just because she was alive, and that she would have to be ready to face them. It made her shiver despite the heat. Finally on the road, she began to head toward Hitofuki again, to deliver this blade, and to collect her money. Maybe she should ask the man to train her in the use of Nameless, her own blade, so that she could fend for herself more effectively. Perhaps so well that she would never have to kill again.

[She of the Mighty Bow-Gun]

The silence that hung between them was heavy and cloying, Ikki taking her time to reply, or possibly fabricate a lie. Who knew at this point, for even as she recounted her tale from the Land of Bears and all the insanity she had been through. So this had't been her first kill, the man at the tree up ahead from whence she had stalked. Even by the time she got to the parts Claire ad pieced together in her own mind she could find that she felt nothing but a deep and remorseful sorrow. Innocence lost so soon, and for what? A bounty? That delivery for her grand father? Pathetic men with pathetic motives. What had the world come to these days?

Just like that though it was over, Ikki adjusted her pack, turned swiftly and left Claire with a departing message. She wanted to call out to her, something in her foreseeing nothing but more issues ahead of her. There were still several meters separating them and they were only growing larger. "Well if he is a worrier, perhaps showing up with company will give him reassurance." She called after her, breaking into a short job but made sure to come up a meter of her position next to the girl. "It' rare for people to have Grandfathers still alive in this day and age, its best to give them as much reassurance as possible between visits." She offered Ikki a smile, her red hair plastered to the side of her face from the drilling head of Suna.

Yeah it was possible enough to think she might be lying, that there was no grandpa, no elderly man waiting for her. But she hadnt been aggressive, mean or disconcerting so it seemed befitting to follow her till she was at least safe. should it go smoothly Claire would pipe up, trying to fill the silence with some non-committal questions. "So what lands do you hail from? I was raised in Rain Country, it was...bland." Much like Claires features, her life as a whole up to the demon attack. Just the flicker of the though stilled her into a bitter silence, that laugh echoing around in her thoughts.

[Ikki Ko]

"So what lands do you hail from? I was raised in Rain Country, it was...bland." – Claire Vandaline

They had walked for only a short while before the lady who saved her began to make small talk, although it was not exactly unwelcome, as she had been alone for most of this trip. Honestly, her only companions for this trip were dead, because they were trying to kill her, or worse. She looked over at this older lady, wondering about her intentions, and why a strange Shinobi would help her still. Her nature got the best of her and she had to answer.

“I was born in Kusa no Kuni. It’s a beautiful place! Large meadows full of flowers and green grass everywhere. Exotic forests on the borders full of strange animals, all of them very colorful, but some of them are deadly. I wish I could go back, but not until I’m ready. Gotta help my dad with his job.” – Ikki Ko

She looked down at the sword at her side, Nameless, the sword that her father had gifted to her. The black blade, the light drinking cursed blade, which always seemed to be begging for blood. What exactly was this weapon? Her father carried it always, but he gave it up so easily, so it did not possess him, but could it change him? Was she the only thing keeping him from going over the deep edge, from murdering everything in sight? He had said that to someone before he killed them. She still remembered. Turning from the dark thoughts, she looked around at her surroundings, taking in everything. There were large rock structures, hard packed earth, sand, and plant life unlike anything she had ever seen. Almost everything had thorns, much different from the Oasis that resembled Kusa no Kuni very heavily. This place was harsh, a place to harden, to build into something stronger than what it was before; whether by choice or by force.

“Why is this place like this? Did something happen here to make it this way? How did you end up as a Shinobi for this place?” – Ikki Ko

Then a thought crossed her mind, causing her to speak again quickly, in the same manner a child would once they remembered something that was vital to them.

“Oh! I forgot! My name is Ko. Ikki Ko. Thanks for…helping me back there.” – Ikki Ko

Everything was still too fresh in her mind, unable to be forgotten, hounding her every thought and hovering just outside of it. She was hoping that talking would get her to move away from that topic, to forget that Nameless had killed three men, and maybe get on with her life. They would be at Hitofuki soon and she would be alone again, so she had to get her questions out as quickly as she could. It could be her only chance to ask things of a Shinobi.