Village Graveyard

[Marii K. Kazeraikou]

((OOC: Oh whoa...so much DRAMA!))

"A wise man once told me, to accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe. I find this to be one of the truest things ever said to me, so I pass on this belief to each and every one of you.
Dream of reaching the rank of Sannin, strive to make yourselves better. Heroes are remembered, but legends are never forgotten. So go forth, become the legends that you all dream to be!" stated the male.

It all happened so quickly that the female could barely react. A tiny steel weapon flied through the air prior to hitting its target. "RAIKAGE-SAMA!" shouted the bear ANBU that was right next to their leader.
"Activate your Ryuugan kids!" told Masao. His cobalt blue eyes were already forming the white clouds.

'RYUUGAN!' thought Marii as she awakened her heritage. She turned her head to see where the attacker was. 'THERE!' thought the young woman as she spotted some odd light reflections about 100 feet away.
The explosion was deafening thanks to her bloodlimit. Both of her bony hands clasped her ears in order to protect herself.

"Did you see anything Marii? All I saw was a flash of light over there" told Ryota as he looked at her. "Same here, but it was over there" informed the Sannin as she pointed her thumb towards a nearby tree.
"PEOPLE OF KUMOGAKURE! WE MUST KEEP CALM!" called a masked shinobi from the stage.

"Kurogane and the council had planned for this, should he fall the man known as Raikou was to take his place," informed the ANBU. The female felt quite torn emotion-wise.
A part of her wanted to cry since some skilled assassin had just claimed the life of the present Raikage. But another part of her was happy because of her promotion.

"You stay here kids" muttered the male. She glanced up at her father, who was scanning the graveyard with his eyes. 'Looks like he's in 'all protective mode' now' stated her inner.
She saw her aunt Hinata a bit further away while Takeshi had stepped in front of his family. They may be shinobis of Kumogakure, but they were also parents.

[Raikou!]

It happened in an instant. An explosion rocked the stage, engulfing the the Raikage. People in the front rows were tossed backwards however mostly unharmed. Panic swept the crowd immediately.

Raikou looked around hurriedly. He could see no one. And his powerful sense of smell could only pick up the left over explosion sulfur. He was about to jump into action when came a hand placed on his left shoulder.

"It's your time now..."

Immediately he knew what the words meant and it caused him to freeze. Everything was now under his control. He was responsible for everything. At the village's lowest point he was now the one to raise it back up. The only question was how. The indecision locked him into place like a scared deer.

An Anbu screamed over the crowd. Raikou knew he was talking about him but all he heard was white noise. He could only hear his own heart beating. He could only see himself standing frozen among the panicked. His body screamed to move but nothing happened. Until finally his other half took over...

"Dragon! Pass me a comm unit!"
He did.
"All Anbu and active ninja secure the village! I want a complete lock down now! No one in or out!" Yelled Raikou into the communication device.
He pointed back at the white dragon in front of the stage.
"Dragon secure the Raikage's body! No one gets near the area!"
He then heard information pertaining to the location of the assailant over his comm unit. Quickly he jumped onto his chair and yelled over to the Kazeraikou clan.
"Marii-San! Please follow me!"
At the same time he spotted a Genin within Marii's clan he recognized.
"Raika secure the graveyard and get anyone injured to the hospital!"
And then he was off.

The new Raikage bolted off into the direction of the assassin. It seemed the Anbu Ops already had him cornered. Although it seemed unlikely for a high level assailant who had just pulled off the murder of a Kage to be caught so easily. He was probably setting some sort of trap. However it didn't matter at this point. It was now Raikou's duty to face the man.

[Exit after the assassin.]

[[Marii I'll set up a thread for us later tonight. Please just follow me out. Raika you have damage control. Ill continue to post in here as Anbu until your ready to leave.]]

[Raika Tatsu]

"What just.....happened...?"

Raika was in shock. The Raikage....another assassination...but how?!

How were the Gale Empire able to do this? Were the attackers during the invasion a few days ago merely the fodder? Were the invaders hiding something, were they stronger than they had seemed? So many questions raced across Raika's mind as the crowd of people began to panic and hustle. Many were scared, few were injured, and some were starting to chase the assassin. Tatsu had stood up the moment he saw the kunai pierce Kuro, but had been knocked back a bit from the explosion; he was still standing, but he stood frozen.

The young shinobi heard the ANBU proclaim the ninja named Raikou as the new Raikage, but it barely registered. How could this have happened? How did the assassin get past all the defenses? Had he been here this whole time? It was not until Raikou himself addressed Tatsu did he snap out of the shock.

With a shake of the head, Raika quickly re-focused on the situation. He could not allow such a freeze to happen again, he had to act. He looked to Raikou and nodded, "Ye...YES, SIR!" Tatsu quickly bolted into action as he watched Raikou and Marii head in the direction of the killer. Tatsu sprinted next to an ANBU who was also surveying the damage, activating his Ryuugan as he ran.

First thing was first, the crowd needed to be calmed so that the full effects of the blast could be assessed. Thus, Tatsu yelled into the crowd, catching the ear of most of them. "Everyone, you must remain calm! We will have time to mourn later, but right now we need to secure the area and make sure it's safe! Parents, if there are any children here, calm them! If you have a doujutsu, scan the area, we need to make sure there are not anymore of those invaders here! Point out any injured near you, and get ready to help transport them to the hospital!"

Once he finished addressing the crowd, Raika turned to the ANBU next to him. "Sir, I am here to help, what would you have me do?

[Marii K. Kazeraikou]

((OOC: Sorry if I'm posting a bit out of order))

"Marii-san! Please follow me! Raika secure the graveyard and get anyone injured to the hospital!" shouted a man that the female recognized. 'Wasn't he one of the shinobis that worked with me during the formal party earlier this year?' thought Marii as she looked at him. He had a familiar face, but she could not remember his name.

"I have to go dad! I'll come right back home after this!" told the young woman as she jogged after the young man. 'Note to self; fighting in a kimono is HIGHLY impractical' thought the Jounin as she weaved through the crowd.
Her student was helping to take charge while the ANBU guards were securing the place. This was turning into quite a dramatic event...

[Exit with Raikou]

[Raikou!]

Black smoke still filled the area with intense heat. Families scrambled to get a hold of their young and elderly. Cries could be heard above the rustle as people became overwhelmed with grief. Even for the strong, today was too much...

"Go on ahead and lead the evacuation. And take these to the Raikage tower."

The Anbu in the white cloak pulled out from underneath the burnt podium six blades. Four of which were normal katana and the fifth and sixth being the legendary Kyuushi and Benehmie.

"These were the Raikage's they are very valuable to the village. After leading everyone out of the graveyard safely bring these to the Tower right away."

Ripping a piece of cloth from his cloak, the Anbu wrapped the blades up tightly and passed them to Raika. He then stood up and assumed a defensive posiition around Kurogane's body.

"We have no idea how many of the enemy are still inside the village. So please be careful. Now go!"

[Raika Tatsu]

"Yes, Sir!"Raika nodded as the ANBU finished speaking, taking the swords in his hands. These blades....they were all owned by a great shinobi of Kumo. Of the six swords, Tatsu only recognized one: the Kyuushi. There were very few blades of its kind, and Raika had learned about it in his readings. It was a powerful blade, and the young shinobi hoped to one day find one he himself could own.

They were heavy--the swords--but Tatsu was not going to fail. These weapons were that of Kuro, who had just given his life for the village. Tatsu could not let them fall into the wrong hands. He slung the blades over his shoulder and ran towards the entrance. Raika ushered the crowd towards the gates, making sure the injured got carried and that no one went astray. He kept vigilant, looking around the area to see if you find anyone suspicious using his Ryuugan, but so far he saw no one of the kind. The crowd, though a bit frantic, was evacuating the graveyard rather orderly. The few injured were being huddled towards the hospital, escorted by some shinobi.

After making sure everyone was getting out safely, Tatsu surveyed the area once more, and began to make his way towards the Raikage Tower. Hopefully he could make it without incident.

[Exit]