Mr. Asano's Farm [Mission | Izumi]

It was dusk by the time Rin and Izumi comes upon a large clearing within the Senju Forest. Surrounded by vibrant trees is a field of crops with a wooden fence forming the perimeter around the farm. Wheat so tall they come up to Rin’s waist level, corn fields reaching for the skies as they tower over the average human by a foot or two. It practically was the typical farm layout given the spacing between each crop and wooden fences separating each field. ”Seems like we’ve reached the farm, but these fields appears to stretch on for a good mile or two.” Rin noted breaking the silence between Izumi and himself. Even with his keen eyesight he could barely see the opposite side of this field. In short Rin can barely make out the distant silhouettes of the fence line.

Luckily the trail they were walking through is a clear path towards the heart of this farm. Noting the fence that seems to stretch infinite on both sides, albeit they eventually began to see what appears to be a short wooden gate half a mile through the fields. ”This is a lot of ground to cover… It’ll probably be easier if one of us stays around the farmhouse while the other surveys the perimeter.” It was a suggestion as Rin could form shadow clones to patrol the perimeter, while the real body stays with Izumi for better protection. But that’s a thought for later as they neared the gates. Rin took a moment to inspect the wooden gate as it was short at chest level and wide enough to cover the road. Although the wooden posts were secured into the ground, based on the spacing in the boards this gate is designed to keep wild animals from intruding. However Rin can already see ways of getting over this gate as he could easily jump over this thing, and the average human can climb over it so chaining the gate up isn’t going to do much. Rin has some idea to place a trap or two on it so that any bandits trying to come this way will have a harder time, and perhaps buy them some time to catch these culprits.

The problem is that this road is well-traveled which means this road gets a lot of traffic on a daily basis. So trapping it would be a very bad idea unless he can just set it at night. In which case Rin could take over a night shift. Noticing that he’s been quiet, Rin merely present a smile. ”My apologies. I’m just checking on some stuff.” Luckily the gate was simple to open as Rin just needed to lift up the latch before pulling one side open. Just enough for them to step through and Rin was courteous enough out of habit to allow Izumi through first before closing the gate behind him.

The farmhouse had two other pens sectioned off by fences that contained pigs and chickens. Two barns were located near the farmhouse as one was opened while the other only had one of the big doors open. It really was a big establishment that Rin really thought it would be better to form shadow clones to cover this farm. ”Let’s go see if someone’s at the house over there first.” Unless Izumi wants to inspect something else Rin will trek over to the farmhouse. As he was walking up the stairs while viewing the front porch; the front door opens to reveal an impressive tall man that has some silver streaks along his groomed black hair as his trimmed beard compliments his form. Rin at first thought this man was Mr. Asano, but when Rin looked up into the man’s piercing amber eyes something felt off. Like this man was trying to tear down Rin’s mental wall and read every little thought running through his mind. What’s more is that Rin can’t sense this man’s energy at all.

”You’re not Mr.Asano are you?” Rin asked as he tries to keep a neutral stoic expression on his face. The handsome man did not change his expression as he shifted his gaze over to Izumi. ”No I am not. But you’ll find him inside.” A moment of silence passed as he seems to be maintaining eye contact with both Rin and Izumi. Which honestly was quite intimidating as it felt like he was trying to read how each of them truly were. A very faint smile passed on his lips as his eyes closed for only a moment. ”My name is Kenshi Hiruma, head of the Hiruma family. May I acquire your names?” Kenshi held a smoky tone to his voice that held mystery as it was attractive to listen to. Rin recognized the last name though as that family is practically a noble within the Land of Fire. Specifically the ones that help run several establishments within Tanzaku Town. ”Mine is Rin Uchiha, Genin of Konohagakure.”

The Uchiha part rewarded a brow raise on the man’s face until something dawned on him. ”Oh i remember you. You’re the one who warned the Tanzaku Town of the forest fire a couple of years back. How’s your arm?”

”It is fine as it wasn’t permanent nor lethal.” Kenshi’s expression shifted to stoic as he returned his attention to Izumi.

”I see. And you are?”

Kenshi Himura:

Farmhouse:

Izumi followed Rin all the way to the farm. She kept fairly quiet the entire time, only whistling every once in a while when a blissful bird in the forest was singing a catchy tune. Birds were such fun little creatures. She loved listening to them.

She stayed silent while watching over Rin's shoulder. She'd never done a mission like this so she wanted to learn how. Rin seemed like he knew what he was doing so she kept a close eye on everything he paid attention to. The fence was huge. It was way too big for them to be able to keep an eye on from one place. That meant they would have to patrol the area every once in a while. But maybe it would be better if they patrolled it constantly, she pondered. If they only did it in shifts, some bad guys might catch on and do bad guy things while they were on break! They couldn't have that!

Rin obviously thought the same and suggested a solution. Izumi nodded her agreement, secretly hoping that she'd get to guard the farmhouse. It was the target of the bad guys, but she'd also not likely be the first to have to fight them, since they'd have to get through Rin's perimeter first. If they caught her out there all alone, she might be in for some trouble.

They got to the house and this super tall guy answered the door. After Rin and that Kenshi guy got their introductions out of the way, Izumi chimed in with her super long winded and thorough introduction. "I-izumi..."

Hearing Izumi speak of her name did not bring a reaction that was evident on Kenshi’s posture. Instead he dipped his head in acknowledgement.

”Interesting. Well then I’m sure we’ll meet again so i won’t keep you two waiting. Until we meet again.” Kenshi presented a formal bow to the two shinobi, and to Rin this man screamed noble with the etiquette and how Kenshi carries himself. Just as he said, Kenshi stepped to the side and climbed down the stairs past the duo. Without looking back, Kenshi just kept walking through the main road to which Rin raised a brow.

”He’s risking a lot traveling on foot by himself like that.” Rin spoke more to himself than anyone else, but as if to respond to that comment a masculine laugh rose from within the house. Shifting his eyes over to the still opened front door Rin sees another man that does appear middle aged with a weathered complexion and his once brown hair is mostly covered in grey. His clothing was mainly functional with a dirty tan tunic that has a leather brown vest with pockets. The man wore a pair of plain pants that has some tears and patches along the knees.

”Bah i wouldn’t worry about that man. He may not look like it, but Kenshi is adept in the arts of the sword. Anyways from what i heard you two are the ones that took my request. Although i have to admit i didn’t expect a couple of kids were going to accept it.” Mr. Asano took a moment to have a good look/analysis on each of them. Whether he was impressed or worry Mr. Asano kept a warm smile on his face.

”I can assure you Mr. Asano that we’re more than capable for this job. My question is if these bandits have attacked before, can you recall where they came from and what point did they strike?” Rin responded as he’s used to being questioned given that he does look a bit young, but his age has little to do with his training. Mr. Asano’s smile only grew smaller as a trademark before he began explaining the situation.

”The crooks only seem to attack during the night as broad daylight you can see them within those tree lines over there. They also wait until we’ve loaded the caravans before attacking.” From the sounds of it these people only attack the caravan where they know the resources are held. Rin had some ideas that they could bait the enemy, but even bandits aren’t dumb enough to go after something that’s so easy to take. After pondering on some thoughts, Rin turned his attention over to Izumi.

”Think you’ll be okay with guarding the farmhouse? I’m just going to check on the perimeter for a bit to get my bearings around this place.”

Izumi had already starting to form her plan for this mission. While Rin may have a lot of confidence in his ability to do this mission, Izumi had none. She already knew where she wanted to be and that was away from the front lines. If not for Rin, Kenshi may have picked up on her timidity and called her out on it, but fortunately for Izumi, Rin had everything covered immediately. It sounded like he probably ran into that sort of thing often.

When Mr. Asano came out and began relaying the details, Izumi knew what she wanted right off the bat. She wasn't going to say anything, of course, but going through her mind over and over again was "please let me guard the farmhouse". You can imagine her joy when Rin asked if she'd guard the farmhouse. "Yes!" she shouted, probably a little too joyously. The shy girl didn't realize how loud that had come out and covered her mouth, hoping nobody noticed. Everybody probably noticed.

With her duty set, Izumi took off to scout out the farmhouse. While Rin got his bearings on that super huge perimeter, Izumi went to memorizing every inch of her assigned building. She wanted to find good places to hide and surprise bad guys. She also needed to know what obstacles were where so that she wouldn't get tripped up in the dark. Maybe she could use them to trip up the bad guys, instead!

Izumi's exaggerated confirmation that she wanted to guard the farmhouse was noticed by both Rin and Asano. Rin shrugged his shoulders before speaking.

”At least she's enthusiastic about it. Alright, i'll be back.” With a temporary bid of farewell Rin departed into the fields as he takes care not to step on the growing crops and mounds. It'll take him some time to go around, so it boils down to Izumi. The barn contains the horses that are resting after a good day's of work in the heat. The other is actually a workshop of sorts and taking up most of the space is a large caravan. It is safe to say that this caravan is what is going to be used to carry the loaded produce into Konoha. Mr. Asano follows Izumi to this workshop as he stood with his arms crossed over his broad chest.

”She's a working art. Built her with my own two hands, and my source of income too. We still need to load up the last of the goods which may take all night, but come tomorrow morning it should be ready to go. However that doesn't mean they'll try to strike early.” Asano seemed to have taken pride with this cart, and at the same time there was a hint if worry on his face. The biggest vantage point aside from the farmhouse itself would be the barn.

”If you guys need some time to rest we have a spare bedroom you two can use, but i'd be comfortable having both of you out here.”

Izumi wasn't so much tired from the journey there as she was bored. Now that she had some stuff to do, she was wide awake and energetic. She felt like she could stay up all night and she knew she'd only get more excited when it came down to a fight. At least, that's how she hoped she would be. Izumi always loved to fight, but those were spars against students and teachers. She didn't know how a real life or death situation would feel and that frightened her. Hopefully she could steel her nerves when the time actually came. For now, she had to focus on some kind of strategy.

With Rin guarding the perimeter, he'd be either the first or the last into action. In either situation, with two or more groups from opposite directions a possibility, Izumi would have to prepare to guard the caravan all on her own. The young girl scanned the large space in the workshop and then stepped outside to look over at the barn. The barn would be an excellent vantage point to see anybody coming. Unfortunately, she couldn't make it to the caravan in time if it were in danger and she couldn't be in two places at once. Plus, without ample lighting over the fields, that vantage point wouldn't make her aware of any presence until it was probably too late. She'd have no warning and that meant she'd have to be on her guard all night long as she hid in the workshop.

"Oh, no, that's okay." She finally replied to Mr. Asano. "I rested up plenty before heading out here and the journey didn't take much out of me. I should be good until morning, at least." She continued with a smile. "I'm sure Rin over there is the same way." She finished.

Pacing around the workshop, Izumi spotted several tools and some equipment. It was all farm and travel type stuff, but it gave her a small idea. "Say, do you have anything we might could use to rig up some traps?" She asked. Being a hand to hand fighter, Izumi didn't stock up on a whole lot of ninja tools and wasn't sure of what to even buy, let alone how to use any of it. But if Mr. Asano had any ideas, it might could help out when the trouble starts.

Mr. Asano dipped his head in acknowledgement to Izumi's words. Lowering his arms Mr. Asano noted Izumi's eyes scanning at the tools. When she asked about anything for traps he chuckled.

”My son used to hunt a lot when he was younger. He used to set up rabbit traps to lure in small game until he knew how to use a bow.” The man rambled as he went over to what appears to be a chest and when he opened it there was some mechanisms such as bear traps and snares. Bringing out the chain of iron as the heavy trap remains closed since no one wants to accidentally get chomped by it. Then Mr. Asano brings out a string and forms a noose.

”Other than forming this noose here and this bear trap i'm afraid i don't know much from here. I've only caught small game not actual people.”

Izumi looked the noose and the trap over. She didn't really like either option very much. She wasn't strong enough to open that trap or at least not strong enough to get it open without risking her arm in the process. The noose just seemed a bit much. It wasn't like she was here to hang people or anything. Plus, she couldn't think of a way to set it up secretly and have it trap a bad guy without her being there. That was kinda the whole point in having traps and these just weren't doing it for her.

"Oh, okay. Thanks, but I can't really use either of those. That's okay though, 'cause I can just beat up the bad guys when they come." Izumi gave an assuring smile to Mr. Asano, then she looked out to the horizon. The sun was starting to set, which meant it was almost time to start watching out.

"Why don't you go on inside, Mr. Asano? Rin and I can take it from here. We'll smack down any bad guys that come around!" She exclaimed with a wink.

The middle-aged man nodded his head in agreement before putting the traps back into the chest and closing the lid.

”Very well then. I trust my farm in your hands, and i’ll see you two in the morning.” Mr. Asano then departed from the workshop and walked towards his two story house. Walking down the road is Rin as he seems no different than when he left. Rin bid the man to have a good night, and Mr. Asano in turn bid caution before disappearing behind closed doors of his house. The Uchiha spotted Izumi and made his way over to her direction. When he’s within distance to speak without shouting, Rin gives his analysis.

”This place is kind of big, but i can cover the fields. The fences are all secured and in good condition so we shouldn’t have to worry about them. Regardless, in the case of they get past me at some point i need you to deliver a signal to me.” Rin raised his hand up to his chest level before he concentrated his chakra into the palm of his hand. Thanks to the sunlight the sudden brightness of pale blue wasn’t blinding. Still a ball of pale blue light hovers above the palm of his open hand.

”This is called a Fusee. It is literally just a chakra ball of light that you can do by molding your chakra into a tiny ball like this. When you get the chance, form the Dragon hand seal and then aim your hand skyward as you discharge it. Be careful as it does let out a loud bang and is incredibly bright in the night. I’ll make my as quick as possible when you do.” Rin dropped the ball onto the ground, but it twinkled out of existence as Rin dropped concentration on it. Lowering his hand to his side, he just needed to make sure of something.

”Any questions on the job?

Techs Learning:

Izumi stared at the ball of light. She had no idea chakra could do that! That's probably because she liked to focus more on Taijutsu. Now she saw that she was missing out on a whole other world. She'd have to spend more time practicing her Ninjutsu in the future.

She concentrated her chakra into a ball like Rin instructed, then she pushed the ball out from the chakra network in her hand. She kept it floating in her palm and stared right at it. It was a bright blue light! She made that!

Izumi started to make the dragon seal but she stopped just before doing it. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to fire off an exploding chakra ball in an enclosed space, especially with Rin standing right there. She let the chakra ball fall out of her hand and dwindle away into nothing before it touched the ground. It made her feel a little sad, watching her baby ball die in the middle of nowhere like that.

"Nope!" She snapped back on the mission at hand. "I think I've got it. I'll fire off that signal if I need you." She replied with a smile. Now all they had to do was wait for the bad guys to show up.


Learned Fusee and Flare Gun Technique!

Izumi performed the technique with flying colors, but then again it is very basic use of chakra. Still it was assuring that she grasped it very quickly. Rin held his hand up to stop when he saw Izumi was about to form the Dragon seal as they don’t want to alarm the farmer nor spook the animals around them. With Izumi reassuring that she understood what to do, Rin smiled as his response as the Uchiha turned his attention over in the forest’s direction. The sun was setting behind the tree lines painting the sky in a fiery orange color that fades into scarlet before revealing the blue sky.

”Alright then. Hopefully we can wrap this up soon provided they arrive early. I’ll head back to the fields, and if you have found an vantage point i suggest you position yourself there.” Rin reached in his hip pouch to retrieve five kunai and five shuriken along with a couple of flash bombs. Then the young Chunin hands them over to Izumi for her to take.

”These will help give you an edge in case you’re not familiar with tackling multiple people at once. It’ll be night so these flash bombs should be very effective, just mind the blast and you’ll be alright.” Rin has been instructive and simple as he can make it for anyone to understand. Alas he makes sure that Izumi is at least equipped to handle this task. Then with a slight wave of his hand Rin will begin to depart for the fields once more. Giving Izumi enough time to prep and position herself however she sees fit.

[OOC: My next post will start the bandits]

Izumi accepted the tools and stowed them away in her jacket. She wasn't terribly experienced in using these kinds of weapons. She did basic practicing with them during the academy, but her focus was always Taijutsu. There was hardly any need for this sort of stuff in fights. But now that she had to fight a whole bunch of bad guys all at once, she was sure they would come in handy. The flash bombs would probably be the most useful especially in the dark.

Izumi nodded to Rin and went for the lookout point while Rin went to the fields. The workshop was the target and any high up window would only show her one direction. She'd need a full field of view and that meant getting on top of a building. She figured the best one would be the workshop itself, since that's where the caravan was. The bad guys would be way easier to spot if they were all running right at her. Of course, that meant she might be in the most dangerous spot when the fighting starts. She'd just have to do her best and fight them all off!

Bandits C class NPCs:

Night has fallen as the distant sounds of crickets and frogs croaking can be heard from Izumi’s location. The sky was pitch black save for the few stars that she could potentially see as there appears to be a number of clouds blocking the rest. The waning moon hides behind some of the clouds, but barely sheds light onto the land around Izumi. Livestock are mostly sound asleep and horses remain quiet in their dens. Overall it was pretty quiet and possibly calming to the mind.

A couple of hours go by as Izumi eventually sees movement within the fields. Soft breeze combs over the genin as her watchful eyes sees the corn stalks move aside in roughly a line towards the fence. Emerging from the fence is two humanoid figures climbing over the fence, and both crouched as they begin to make their way over to the farmhouse. What does young Izumi do?

Young Izumi stares intently at the moving corn stalks. She feared the worst. It was the middle of the night. She'd spent hours on lookout and had grown terribly bored. Maybe she had become passively inattentive. In this distracted state, she may not have noticed the ritual happening two fields over. A sacrifice to the dark gods that brought upon this world a creature so horrifying that it was scary! The Great Pumpkin.

Izumi sighed relief when she saw bandits instead. They scaled the fence and kept low on their approach to the farmhouse. Izumi thought it odd that they'd pick that over the workshop, when the workshop was what had the caravan. Maybe they didn't know which building had the caravan? Maybe she didn't know what the buildings were called? She gets things mixed up a lot.

Still! She couldn't just sit by and let them sneak up on the farmhouse! No matter what was inside!

Izumi fished around in her jacket and poked her finger. Was she drawing blood to make a summon? Not even close! It was an accident...

She pulled out a kunai and held it in one hand while sucking on the finger of the other hand. Maybe she should listen to Izumo and buy those fingered gloves after all. The bandits started to get a little too close for comfort. It didn't look like they noticed her presence. That's kind of what you'd expect though since she's done nothing but sit there like a gargoyle. If only she could grow wings and fly like those superheroes. That would be awesome!

With a whip of her hand, Izumi flung the kunai right at the bandit closest to her. She missed.

She threw two shuriken and those were probably maybe a bit closer to the bandits. She kinda hoped at least one would hit them. Next, she reached for one of the flash bombs. But she stopped herself. If she blew up a flash bomb, that might alert the other bandits to swarm the place! Like some sort of signal! Speaking of signals, wasn't there something Izumi was supposed to do?

The forgetful girl shook her head and left the flashbombs in her pocket. Then, she jumped off of the building she was sitting on and landed pretty close to the bandits. Hopefully just bandit, cause maybe the other one had a shuriken in his eye. She got ready for a close quarters fight using the Taijutsu she learned from Kanna a while back.

With a solid thunk in the earth drew both of the men’s attention to the source. They drew their weapons, one held a club and the other held an axe. The axe wielding bandit was looking around when he caught sight of Izumi’s shuriken flown towards him. Reacting on instinct, he raised a hand to protect his face and one of the shuriken pierces into his forearm which rewarded a muffled yelp of agony. The other shuriken was avoided by the club wielding one and immediately looked up at where it came from. With Izumi jumping down, the bandit with the club quickly dashed over to Izumi’s direction and when in range the bandit will attempt to swing his club upwards in a diagonal motion aiming for her head.

The other reaches up to take the shuriken biting onto the handle of his axe that he put between his teeth. It muffles the grunts as he pulls the four pointed blade out of his arm, and taking his axe back in his free hand the man begins to run towards Izumi’s direction as well. Coming around the club wielding bandit is the other as he attempts to swing his axe downward into Izumi’s left shoulder that’ll leave a nasty gash into her shoulder.

Bandits:

Her eyes were only barely able to keep up with everything going on. These bandits were faster than the academy students and Genin she was use to sparring with! Izumi could see that the first bandit was going for a swing with how he was getting that club ready. That meant she'd need to wait for him to start the swing and then duck under it. Using her Strong Fist style, Izumi ran forward to meet the clubber and when he started his swing, she weaved under and spun really fast. Her leg was sticking out so that she'd be able to sweep out the bad guy's legs with a Leaf Gale attack while she was ducking from the club. Hopefully, that would put him off balance enough to get him out of the way.

Then the other guy came at her. This one had an ax and Izumi reasoned that it would probably be much worse to get hit by that than the club. Maybe she should've picked a different move than one that had her so close to the ground? She jumped up before the axman got his ax pulled all the way back and went to kick him in the face. She pulled it back just before it hit though and went in for a low kick to bop him in the knee. That one was for real! Then she did another kick to the gut.

If the move worked right, the axman would be too distracted by the idea of getting kicked in the face to try and defend the kick to the knee. That way, the kick to the knee would bring him closer to the ground since he wouldn't want to stand on that knee anymore. Finally, the kick to the gut would have him topple forward and maybe even roll backwards to try and recover. She wasn't really sure how it was gonna play out but she had to try!


Learned Leaf Gale and Leaf Whirlwind 2 D-Rank Canon Taijutsu

Post Stats:

The man with the club was confident that he could outwit Izumi as he swung his club upward at her. What he didn’t account for is when Izumi got low to the ground and something solid slammed into his right knee. The bandit was caught off balanced as he tumbled over her and landed on his bum behind Izumi with a grunt. As for the other, he flinched seeing Izumi’s leg coming at his face. Thus creating the perfect window to achieve her desired results and he ends up rolling backwards onto his hands and knees. In the process he accidentally dropped his axe next to Izumi’s position.

However before Izumi could touch her foot on the ground, she’ll suddenly feel a strong hand grab ahold of her ankle and another hand will follow up to grab for her thigh. Due to her being in the air there will be little resistance as the bandit previously wielding a club swings her over above him and attempts to slam Izumi’s back against the dirt. Hoping the strong force will at least stun her, the bandit cocks back a curled fist as he’ll attempt to punch Izumi’s face. That is, of course, until all of them heard a distant boom coming from the fields. The rough one that had the axe grunted and essentially crawled over to his axe on the ground assuming that it is still there.

”What in bloody hell is that?” Says the one who’s essentially on top of Izumi right now as he was talking to his partner in a whispering tone. Now that Izumi can clearly see right now the one she’s closest had chestnut matted short hair and wore some pieces of leather armor on the chest and arms.

”Beats me. Now hurry up and deal with her before anyone wakes up!” He barked in a commanding tone. The matted-hair man shrugged his shoulders assuming that Izumi hasn’t moved to block or even struck at him. He’ll resume his attempt to throw a punch at Izumi’s face with strong force. But before he can accomplish this whether if it would be a success or fail. A dagger with a blade as dark as the night flies from the fields of corn and slams with great force against the bandit’s shoulder that was over Izumi. He let out a yelp as the man flops over to the side and off from Izumi opening an opportunity for her. With a near dazzling blast of light, the dagger in the man’s shoulder disappeared and reveals the puncture wound. Jumping over the fence is Rin as his eyes appear sharp as he is holding a knife that looked similar if not identical to the one that just disappeared.

Bandits:

Uh-oh, Izumi thought. The second that she felt a hand on her ankle, she knew she was in trouble. He reached up and grabbed her thigh, making her blush and get super mad. How dare he touch her there! She couldn't do much about it though because she was already on her way to being slammed way hard on the ground. Her back hurt so bad and the impact with the ground was so hard that she actually coughed up all of her breath right there. She would've been done for if it hadn't been for that boom!

Izumi saw that opportunity and took it. She was still out of breath, but she managed to conjure up that light ball that Rin showed her earlier. Then, while they were still talking, she fired it with the dragon hand seal right at the rude thigh grabber's face! He got stabbed in the shoulder with a knife after that. But he deserved worse. For now though, Izumi needed to catch her breath. These guys were way tougher than she thought they'd be! She crawled back really quickly and got on her feet fast as she could. Then she ran towards Rin, hoping that would put enough distance between her and the bandits to let her get her bearings again. Her back hurt so bad now!

With a fizzle the light flared into the man’s face as he cried out closing his eyes only to find that the ball of light sticks on his face. Reeling back as he tries to claw at the light yet he simply can’t touch it at all. Luckily it allowed Izumi to get up and make a run for it. The axe wielding bandit cried out after her, and if she ever were to look back she’ll see that he was running after her. His partner still got stabbed by the knife. Seconds later after, the light emitted a loud bang which startles some of the cattle, pigs, and chickens around them. The bandit that was running after her utilized the Flash Step to steadily gain on her, but Rin made the bandit think twice on doing that.

As the man brought the axe up to ready his strike against Izumi’s back, another boom emits from Rin’s direction as there was a light rumble as Rin suddenly moved faster. Utilizing the strong fist along with the leaf great flash Rin seemingly closed the distance in a flash. Heavy distortions of wind following behind his wake as Rin sailed past Izumi just to deliver a powerful, lateral kick into the man’s ribs that completely threw the bandit off his feet. Axe fell from his grip once more as the grizzly man flew for 10 meters back into a mound of dirt.

Rin’s knife is slick from wet blood and his left hand is bloodied yet no sign of injury can be found on him. The Chunin turned around as he places a non-bloodied hand on Izumi’s shoulder that held firmness yet not intentionally harmful.

”Are you alright? Is there anymore of them out here?” He asked while his hazel blue-green eyes shifted from one eye to the next as he remained eye contact with Izumi.

Even though she was running at her top speed, the bad guy was still gaining on her. Her back already hurt, but thinking about that ax made it hurt even worse! She wasn't sure what she could do but to stop and face him. Luckily, Rin flew past her so fast that her hair blew after him. He kicked the bad guy so hard that he probably wouldn't be getting up again any time soon.

"No, I think that's...-Ah! the caravan!" She shouted. There was so much going on with the little fight between her and the two bandits that she'd gotten too focused and forgot all about why she was here in the first place! The direction where Rin had come from was obviously clear, but the other way was wide open and probably where these bandits were going to come from. Izumi rushed to go check on the caravan, but she didn't go too fast. She definitely wanted Rin close by just in case the bandits were already near their target.

Rin was relieved to see that there was no obvious injuries that can be seen on Izumi’s person. Though she seemed to remember the true goal behind this defense as she bolted towards the workshop. Rin followed behind Izumi as she reached the shop only to see that there are now four more of these people. Two of them are on the caravan itself holding crates in their hands while the other two were helping to unload them. A couple of the crates and barrels are already on the ground pried open. The instant Izumi opened the wide doors all four of the bandits ceased what they were doing and whipped their heads over at the entrance. When they see Izumi one of them drew a tomahawk from their belt and threw it at Izumi’s direction.

Luckily for her Rin just happened to be behind her, and seeing the tomahawk from over her shoulder Rin will attempt to reach out to grab Izumi by the arm and quickly yank her behind him. Just so that Rin can swing the knife he held in his hand at the thrown axe, and while the head of axe is no doubt iron. Rin’s ebony knife cleaves through the iron head and through the shaft with little resistance it was like slicing through butter. The opposing force sent what is left scattered to the side. The two bandits, meanwhile, drew clubs that had iron spikes at the end and charged at them.

”Flash them!” Rin quickly said to Izumi as he threw the knife at one of the charging bandits’ knee which pierced through flesh and bone. As he crumpled to the ground, the ebony knife vanished in a brilliant light once again only to reappear in Rin’s hand. By this point Rin swiftly spun around the other bandit with the spiked club, and with deft coordination Rin grabbed ahold of the man’s arm that held the club and guided it along with Rin’s spin to twist and extend completely from the man’s side. Rin’s other hand was placed directly above the man’s shoulder as his hand is curled like he’s holding something. When the knife reappeared in his hand with a flash the blade pierced into the man’s shoulder and with a twist of the handle Rin pops the shoulder out of socket. It had a sickening pop to it as Rin forced the man by dragging him around and threw him on top of the other bandit who essentially got his knee shot out.

Izumi opened the doors and saw a whole bunch of bad guys. They stopped and stared holes right through her. She stood there for a second, eyes wider than theirs. One of them made the first move and threw a cute little ax at her. "Oh sh-" she started to say, but was cut off when Rin yoinked her around and took care of the ax for her.

Two of them pulled out these nasty looking clubs and started towards the door. Izumi was getting ready to run up and pound their faces in when Rin called out over the noise.
"Flash them!"
"Wh-what?!"
...
"Oh!"

Izumi charged up some chakra in her hand and made the bright light ball like before. She immediately made the hand seal and fired it at the bandits just before Rin got in her line of sight to dispatch them. The bandits screamed and shielded their eyes. Their pace slowed to a halt while they tried to recover their sight. That made them easy pickings for Rin. While he took care of those two in some gory detail, Izumi ran past them and went for the other two.

One had just seen his prized tomahawk cut in two like it was moldy bread and the other wasn't even here for a fight! They told him this was an easy job and he wouldn't have to get beat up by anybody! Boy were they wrong. Izumi tripped up the pacifist and bopped him on the head and he was out just like that. The other one was staring blankly at his lifeless split baby ax like he'd just watched his puppy get run over. Izumi waved her hand in front of his face, but he didn't even blink! She waited a little bit. He just kept standing there. What was she supposed to do?

She grabbed his hand and balled it up into a fist. She was pretty sure she broke his thumb when she used it to knock him out. But that's what he gets for being a bad guy!

With Izumi dealing with the other two they virtually made short work of these bandits. The ones Rin effectively disabled were still groaning and hugging over. One with the shoulder stab was tenderly holding onto his shoulder and surprisingly there was sobs coming from him. He more than likely will not use that arm for a long time unless someone applies medical ninjutsu because Rin not only popped the man's shoulder out of its socket but it pierced through the bone as well as severing the nerves. The other while not so crippled practically had his femur cut into and that was a very unsettling feeling as the man probably won't be able to walk properly for a while either. As for the ones Izumi dealt with they were the fortunate bandits to not come across Rin's attention. Instead one was unconscious while the other was staring blank at the tomahawk that littered the ground.

Seeing that all of them are dealt with now, Rin wiped the blood off from his knife onto a small cloth that Rin retrieved from his pocket. It looked like it was part of a shirt given the cheap linen that it was.

”Alright, i believe that's all of them. Here…” Rin approached Izumi as he both stowed away the ebony knife and retrieve some zip ties and hands the zip ties over to her.

”Tie them up with their hands behind their backs. The one with the shoulder stab tie him up with another on his wrist. I'll go round up the ones outside.” Once Izumi takes the plastic ties, Rin makes sure to conjure a shadow clone that'll remain in the workshop to serve as a lookout while Rin steps out to tie up the other two.

[My next post will timeskip to morning and we'll begin to depart with the bandits in tow.]

Izumi nodded enthusiastically and obediently tied up the bandits with the zip ties as instructed. She was shocked when she got a close look at the bandits Rin had beaten up. He used that knife super effectively and his taijutsu ended with this one guy having a weird looking shoulder. She took care of hers, but they were only knocked out. Other than the one broken thumb, they were just fine. Was she going to easy on the bad guys? She didn't want to be too mean, cause she felt kind of bad if she were to do super painful things to other people. Even if they were bad guys. Maybe she should toughen up. Then she could be cool like Rin-sensei and beat up bad guys nice and quick.

Izumi walked out of the workshop and waited for Rin to finish up outside. Now that the bandits were taken care of, they'd just have to wait until morning and then hopefully take off home. Mission success!

After Rin made sure to tie up the two others he dragged both of them up to the workshop with the rest of them. Noting the blood that is drying on his right hand, Rin spoke to Izumi.

”Watch over them for a minute. I got to fetch some bodies from the fields.” Was it terrible to think that despite how young he is that claiming a life matters little to him? Rin didn't think so, but still Rin left for a few minutes and comes back with exactly two dead bodies. Both bodies seems to have a deep puncture wound at the back of their necks that could indicate Rin severed their spinal cord. The chunin dropped the lifeless bodies next to the group of six. Those that were conscious grew pale at the sight of it.

”I suggest you get some rest Izumi. I'll stay and watch over them for the night. Just be up and ready by dawn.” Whether she does or not is completely up to Izumi for Rin was merely suggesting. It seems these bandits are more afraid of him than Izumi at the moment.

Come dawn the front door of the farmhouse opened with a mechanical click. Rin was getting the group to stand, or lean in the one bandit's case, in front of the house. The dead were piled next to them and by now the corpses have taken a pale color. ”These are bandits that were attempting to rob you last night.” Rin spoke to Mr. Asano who looked rather surprised to see the two dead.

”So it would seem… Let me check the caravan.” A minute passed as the farmer walks up to the workshop and investigated his goods. When the farmer returned he came back with a faint smile on his lips.

”The crates are a bit scratched up from them prying it open, but nothing was really taken. You two have done a fine job, and i hope you two come back again under different circumstances.” The farmer offered, and Rin presented a bow in respect before replying.

”We're glad we completed the task at hand with no collateral damage. We'll be seeing you at the market in Konoha so if you want to sit down for a cup of coffee and talk i wouldn't mind that at all.” Rin positioned himself to the right side of the group of bandits before turning towards Izumi with a hint of a smile.

”Shall we depart?”

[Possible Exit to Konohagakure]