The Tactician's Strike (Lee, Kumori, and Aki)

Gen had just received a mission to complete, and as he walked he thought. Kaji had stuck him with the boy he expressed his distrust toward, he didn't quite understand, but maybe he could learn to trust him this way. He had also been stuck with the boy named Kaima, and he chose to have Shikama come along. He felt this was a good team for now, and if he needed to ditch someone he wouldn't hesitate. He began to think out loud, saying, "This can not turn out well... an 'order' convoy. Dammit all, three of them nearly wiped out Suna according to the rumors." Gen sighed and shook his head, it didn't matter enough to stop him.

Gen, after walking a ways, knelt down and created three small creatures of bone, muscle and tendon, and then covered them in exoskeletons. He then used chakra to give them routes to go, each one going to a different person. Once they would arrive they'd drop off a note and die, as the chakra in them would run out. The three notes said the following:

You are required to report to the entrance of the kanto group base,
as a mission has been assigned and you are called to duty.
-Gen

Once the message was out Gen headed to the entrance himself, where he would wait for them to arrive. As he waited he scanned his visions as normal, only these were not visions of this group's futures he was scanning, but more specifically his own. This was rare for oddly enough, but at the same time he wasn't one for direct conflict so he usually didn't worry about his own life. As he scanned through them he got to one where he seemed to die but he couldn't find the reason, this never happened before and it freaked him out. He would likely be on edge this entire mission.

Gen had decided to go all out ready for a fight, and as such he grew arm guards and had his helmet pulled back into the shoulder armor he had it in the form of before. He also had the base of the arm blades he often used already formed, as he wanted to save as much chakra for an actual fight as possible. He also had a secret tucked away under his clothes, something he usually had hidden, but didn't intend on using normally. He knew it would be a while before the others would show, but he waited, not minding one bit.

The nice smell of the bamboo forest kept Kaima slightly relaxed, as he sat against the largest tree in the forest. It wasn't made of bamboo, for it was not hollow. Kaima had declared this his new spot to vent his new ideas and feelings, it being so close to the base of his mercenaries group. His first stay there hadn't been exactly a warm welcome. He had been called their, sucked into an underground cave, drawn blood, been branded with a symbol that made him able to speak to others telekineticly, attacked his leader, seen his leaders whole damn life inside of his mind, then abruptly sent away. After that big old scene inside a cave near this forest he was in, Kaima needed to take some relaxing time to draw in his idea book.

What he began to draw in his book was an idea that he had never had before, but he liked the gist of it. This, being his biggest creation ever, had been required to draw the outline a lot bolder. He needed to draw three layers along the outline, making the creation filled in a little more. When he would actually apply chakra to this, bringing it to life, it would be harder to destroy then a simple thrown kunai, as his other only required a small outlining, and could be destroyed by a stab with a chopstick. It was sort of a mix between a hedgehog and a large bear. In the formation of a bear, it is much larger, and grows spikes from every aspect of it's body, except for his feet. Both Kaima's mind and fighting style were a mix between artistry and violence. This creation, which he called, "The Bearhog", was perfect example of that.

As he flipped his page, thinking of more ink summons to create, something rummaged through the bamboo ahead of him. He closed his book, not wanting anyone to see his creations. It's not that he was embarresed of it, he was just a bit of a private person. The figure appeared in front of him, not appearing to be quite a full person. Before he could make out the figure of it, it collapsed in front of him, leaving a letter dropped right by his feet. Kaima looked around a little bit, kind of confused, then he quickly grabbed the letter and began reading it.

"You are required to report to the entrance of the kanto group base,
as a mission has been assigned and you are called to duty."

-Gen

Kaima sighed, then got up and began walking. He wouldn't waste time with sitting around anymore, for he was actually quite eager to go into battle. Atleast, he hoped this was about battle. He didn't want to keep the others waiting as well, he wanted to go and be the first one there. After he walked for a bit, remembering the kanto base coordinates now by heart, he found that he would be the first one there. He saw the older jounin there, waiting or him and whoever else was going on the mission. He wondered if it would be everyone, but probably not, seeing as Kaji wasn't leading it himself. Kaima felt the back of his neck as he approached, passing by his dark blue hair. He descided to try out his seishen, see it's effects at 1 on 1 speaking.

"Hello Gen, you called?"

Shikama let out a small yawn as he finally woke up. Amazingly, he had managed to go for one night without taking blood... but he was sure that would have to be changed soon. Perhaps he'd meet with Aki later and see how she dealt with the whole blood issue. He was going to meet her... or try to find her, but a small creature caught his eye. It had a message attached and with mild interest he read it.

A mission for Kanto? Interesting. He crumpled the paper up and slipped it in his pocket. Shikama let out a small sigh and began to walk back towards the base. He wondered what the mission could be. Something important? Perhaps. He shrugged it off though, he didn't care much. All he was really concerned about now was keeping his secret, well a secret, and destroying those idiotic ninja villages. As long as the later happened before his death, he was fine with whatever came his way.

He was the last to arrive... "So what's the mission?" asked Shikama in a somewhat cheerful manner in his slight feminine voice. He waved at Kaima and looked around for Gen and soon spotted him, ready to go. I wonder if I'm late... thought Shikama, he didn't despise being late, but it could be troublesome if his "teammates" preferred not to be late.

((OOC: Sorry it's short... but due to my very limited amount of time on the PC, now 30 minutes. I will try to post as often as possible... but if a day goes by and I don't reply, just skip me.))

Gen sat, bored and kind of fidgety for a bit before he began carving bamboo to keep himself occupied. As he carved a hollow piece of it he accidentally cut himself, the blood ran down the center of the bamboo and dripped out onto the ground. This gave him an idea, a blade that could allow the drainage of blood but not only that, the aerodynamics of it could be interesting as well. Suddenly Gen kneeled down and began to form a blade. This blade would be hollow inside from tip to the butt of the handle, and have a serrated edge. Under each serrate would be a hole going through the hollow center and through the back of the blade, this would allow the user to leave the blade in and drain blood from the tip and all along the blade. He also would form a larger, star-shaped hand guard. This hand guard from front to back was to be long enough to hold fully in two hands, one at each side of the blade. From side to side it would be smaller and more star shaped, as the front and back parts were to be more resemblant of handles.

As he nearly finished forming it he heard the boy approaching and soon heard the words in his head, they were somewhat quiet and echoed and garbled among other thoughts, but he could make it out. He smiled as he raised his head saying, "Nice, you're already getting a hang of that!" Gen wished he could do that, it would certainly hep as a tactician. He finished forming the blade quickly and then responded. "Ok, there's two others coming, I'll explain the mission then." As he said this he slid the blade into the back of his shirt, parallel with his spine. It was pulled into the hard protective covering he had over his spine at all times, this would perfect the blade, perfecting the edge and the design all at once. as then took place he remained kneeling and made a focusing seal.

After a while the second person showed up, asking what the mission was. Gen continued to hold the seal as he spoke, saying "There is still one other, and once they are here we'll go through that." Gen then just sat quietly and continued to perfect his blade. As he got it to the point of perfection he removed it, sliding out of the bone over his spine. He held it and looked it over, it was an interesting looking blade he believed. He began to mess with it, focusing wind chakra into it and feeling and listening to the flow. He soon got bored and set it down, he hoped he wouldn't be here much longer.


It was getting later and later as they waited, and Gen was getting aggravated. Suddenly he spoke up; "Okay, I'm done waiting, We leave now. Kaima, can you leave a note, just in case he shows? Here, put this on there." Gen handed Kaima a piece of paper with the location on it, it was also in brail underneath it. He then stretched and said, "Leave the note and follow me, I'll explain on the way." He then started at a trot that turned to a jog and, logically, soon became a run. This truly showed how he could overcome his blindness and he dodged bamboo and occasionally slid below low hanging objects.

As they moved Gen finally spoke, "There is supposedly an order convoy up this way, we are to take it out. Now, I don't have much on it but I believe this will be a heck of a fight." Suddenly Gen seemed to dodge nothing but a moment later a rather large piece of old bamboo fell and stabbed into the ground. "We'll need to be careful and play the proper roles. Kaima will stay in back, and I will be in front. Shikama, you I want to stay at my back unless Kaima is in trouble, in which case you will go and help him after telling me you're breaking off. Any objections?" Gen hoped this was agreeable, as they couldn't afford to lose anyone or have any break offs.

Acknowledging Shikama with a wave, he turned back to Gen, sitting criss-cross with his legs. After being told that there were two more coming, Shikama being one of them apperently, Kaima nodded his head at Gen, and continued waiting. His left hand forcebly went to his inside pocket from time to time, for Kaima usually only drew in his book while he sat. Actually he only sat when he drew in his book, or waiting for something. Although, he didn't like to draw in this book in front of people. It was like a sacred, outside of society, hobby, for Kaima. It was a fun way to further improve his skills, other then vigorously training in the heat like most others. Although he knew he should have been improving his kenjutsu skills in the last couple monthes, he didn't quite feel like it. He wanted to get better at kenjutsu however, so he could defend himself in case something bad were to happen to him.

He tried to get his mind off of his book, and maybe test out his seishen a bit more. Right as he was about to socialize with his companions via telepathy, Gen began to speak once again.

"Okay, I'm done waiting, We leave now. Kaima, can you leave a note, just in case he shows? Here, put this on there," his squad leader said, giving him some directions and a piece of paper. Kaima began writing on the paper, explaing the dilemma to the missing member. Then he had an idea, which he knew Kaji would hate, personally. He would pour chakra into the brush he was writing with, each letter turning a certain blue wavy color. In case the missing teamate were to come and not find the letter, whoever he was, this would make sure he did. The piece of paper drew a little smoke, and instantly turned into a penguin, black and white. It held the piece of paper in hand, and was given instructions to await the missing teamate. If he saw Kumori, he would yell to him the words: "We waited here for a while, but you failed to show up. I hold the directions in my hand. Make haste to the desired point."

After that, the penguin would dissentegrate, as if he were being erased. The directions would fall to the floor, letting Kumori pick them up. Lee sighed, hoping that the missing teamate would show up. Then, he had an idea of how to get there faster, especially with all these bamboo trees in the way. It was a creation he had drawn in his idea book, but never tested it out. Using his seishen, he thought, "Wait one second. I have a plan." While thinking this to his teamates, he brought out his scroll and slapped it across his knee. Quickly, he drew an odd form of a rhinocerous, by the name of Camocerous. It had a double face, with two horns, which Kaima outlined strongly to make them durble. The rhinocerous had humps on it's back, like a camel.

The creature flew from the scroll and to the floor. Kaima hopped onto the front hump, grabbing onto the rhino's neck. He planned to ride through the forest, taking down bamboo in his path. Kaima waited a few seconds for his teamates to get on, or not. After a few seconds more, he began riding through the bamboo forest, riding over the bamboo sticks with his large creature. he ducked his head down, his dark blue hair rippling backwards as he rode along. As Kaima saw the supposed Order convoy, he jumped off of the camocserous, slicing it's throat with a katana as he got off. If he didn't, the rhinocerous would blow there cover by continuing to charge forward. Kaima slapped the scroll across his knee once more.

"I'm ready.."

In a few seconds Shikama smelled the blood. It was very tempting to him. But he would hold... at least he hoped he would. It would be bad, wouldn't it? Taking blood from your "teammates" upon meeting them... He settled on staring up at the sky until it was time to go. He heard most of what Gen had said, he just didn't really process it. It seemed alright with him, nothing too... dangerous or boring. And, he might even be able to sneak a few mouthfuls of blood if they had to fight. He needed to practice that anyway. He was part of an organization now, wasn't he?

He mentally sighed as they waited. I wonder what could be taking the last one so long... And why does that guy have to keep moving?! The scent of blood only gets stronger and stronger. I better not lose it. I can't...

After what seemed like hours, they finally began to move out. Shikama nodded to the instructions he was given. The man seemed to have thought out the mission well. He watched with mild interest as Kaima set up the instructions for the late guy and then summoned an ink beast? He didn't bother getting on. He was more at ease with passing through the bamboo forest with its splotches of shadows here and there. Sunlight didn't affect him too much, but at times it did get irritating. And it would be faster for him anyway. With his vampire powers he could easily see through the forest and make his way through efficiently.

It then occurred to Shikama that they might have to extend the mission overnight... if that happened he would need to get away. He already smelled blood now, if the mission lasted overnight... Shikama shivered slightly. He didn't want to think about that, knowing that more than likely he'd go on a blood lust and kill everything. He really needed to talk to Aki and see how she managed the whole blood problem.

He waited patiently. Gen was apparently the leader, so he'd have to move out first. And then they moved out. It only took a few minutes, at least that's what it seemed like to Shikama, to get there. He was first there, he thought, and soon saw Kaima coming in on his creature. He waited for Gen to move so he could follow him as planned. He closed his eyes and focused on sensing the humans up ahead. He didn't think there were too many, but that wasn't the issue. Skill was what mattered, not numbers.

Gen moved swiftly through the bamboo forest, slowing only once to listen to ry and make out what Kaima was doing, when he couldn't he proceeded. The other boy seemed to take a less direct trip, from side to side. He wasn't sure as to why he was doing that, but he didn't care enough to question it. He then sped up to keep ahead, the Shikama boy managed to catch him at one time, but he then sped up in return and took a less filled path, making it easier to move. He knew if he didn't stay in the front that it could compromise the mission, and if that happened it would be bad.

As he arrived he dropped closer and listened, it was supposed to be a simple convoy, but he could hear blades and the lack of chatter hinted an army. This he hadn't planned for, but he quickly shifted tactics, instead of attacing the cencer and pulling them back into the bamboo forest's entrance he have to draw them down the path to a narrow point he could 'see' up ahead. that gave them the best odds it seemed. He waited shortly for the others to come to him, at which time he said "Kaima, this will sound odd, but I want you in front, Shikama behind, and I'll be in back. What we're gonna do is jump down next to them to draw their attention, and then straight up the road, I'll take the heavy flak and keep you covered. If anything passes me, Shikama, you will take care of it. Now, my reason for this is the fact that there's a narrow pass up there. It will force then to thin out and tighten up, but we HAVE to keep them there. Kaima, can you link us all mentally yet?"

As Gen said this he was also listening to the movements of the troops, he wanted this all to play out properly, and not have any sneak attacks. Once everything was good they would do just as he said, jump down and draw the nin right with them. To assure this Gen listened for a leader figure, even scanned futures. Oddly he couldn't seem to find one, so he guessed. as they'd leave he would launch the blade from his left arm at the man, and it would be infused with wind chakra so it would cut right through. Onceeverything was decided Gen said "Okay, good. Let's execute." Then all of them should pop out, and gen launched his blade. Now it was all about teamwork and following one another's instincts as well as gen's orders.

Kaima shifted his thin eyebrows a bit, as Gen began to say what he said. He had stated that Kaima was to go into the frontlines, a space that was unfamiliar to him. All his life, he had been the sniper type in battle, staying behind in an abandon shack or house, or behind some bushes, making creations or soething. Being in the front was something that he was both unexpierienced at, and scared of. However, Gen was the leader, and what seemed like, a much better tactician then Kaima himself. Whatever this plan was, it had to make some sort of sense. Kaima nodded at Gen, then at Shikama. He sheathed his blade, which he had taken out quickly to end his creations life. He shifted and looked past the trees and bushes they were by, at the long road ahead.

Oddly enough, at the end of the road, a good 30 meters away. He gulped, then heard Gen talk about the Seishen. He remembered that Kaji had unlocked the telepathy for him, which may have been the reason he was invited onto this mission. He put his hands to his head, knowing in the back of his mind how to use this telepathy thing to it's full potential. He cleared his mind a bit, squinting, not very tightly however. Suddenly, his brain seemed to break up into different devisions. On the left side of his brain, he could hear SHikama's thoughts, and broadcast his thoughts directly to Shikama. With his right side, he could do the exact same with Gen.

Then, the imaginary semicircle in his brain grew another circle, in the middle. This was only Kaima's vision of the process, it may have been much different. With this circle, all the thoughts of the three seemed to jumble around together. He figured that this was something like a mental lin, between all of their thoughts. Kaima was a bit dazzled at this. Especially cause he could hear what his own voice would have sounded like if he weren't mute. He smiled, then remembered back to the mission at hand. Kaima put two fingers to his head, then directed his thoughts to the center circle of the brain.

"Alright, we should be able to hear eachothers thoughts now. You guys can test it out if you want, yet I'd advise that we only use it when we have critical information to share. For me to keep these different channels in my head, it requires a lot of my outside focus," Kaima admitted, his hand still to his head. He then position himself on the open road. "Alright, here we go. Be careful everyone, I know I will..."

Kaima began running along the dirt path, eyeing the supposed Order convoy. That was the word that kept popping up into his head. Supposed... Although, he could hear the sounds of swords clanging, and it felt as though there were a lot of people in there. Without paying any attention to anything else but himself and his seishen connections, he darted passed the convoy, and stopped in what seemed to be a chokehold, made up of dense amounts of bamboo, formed into the perfect rectangular dent. He stopped and turned around, to see if SHikama had succesfully followed him, and how Gen was doing, all the way in the back.

Shikama once again nodded to the change of plans. He too had sensed more people than normal for a normal convoy. I doubt this is a normal convoy. Something must be up. He shrugged it off though. It couldn't be anything too bad... Kaji wouldn't have sent them on a mission to just simply get killed, would he? ... Unless he wanted to get rid of them for some reason.

He sighed and let the memories and thoughts troubling him fade away. He needed to concentrate. There were guards than planned or suspected. A narrow passage further up ahead, easy for them to simply lay in wait and take them out. Though slow, it would be effective and no one should get injured too badly. And if they needed to hurry, they could easily move out and attack on their own as well. Gen was good.

As he waited for Kaima to get ready he sent felt another presence or two. He soon heard Kaima, once again he was reminded of the power of the Seishin. Since this was simply the conveyance of mental thoughts, Shikama sent a small wave of thought to Kaima to acknowledge that he was connected and understood what was to be done. He noticed too that in their connection they all seemed to be thinking about the same thing, how this was a normal convoy with so many guards. But he couldn't make much else with all the other memories, emotions, and thoughts all collected into one area.

Shikama supposed it must have taken Kaji a lot of time to make use of his Seishin if he could use it as easily as he had demonstrated, and the was just what? 15? And now Kaima had the ability. It was probable that for the moment he could not control it as well as Kaji... not unless he trained with it, but seeing as the boy was mute, that wouldn't take long. He vaguely wondered what other uses the Seishin could have and how effective it would be in battle. He let the thoughts fade away though. He needed to concentrate.

Concentrate on the upcoming enemies... and the blood he was not to touch. He followed Kaima as they began to move. Shikama briefly registered Kaima turning around to see if he were following and then quickly returned to scanning out the rest of the enemies. So far, he didn't think they were too powerful. Maybe around Chunin level? Or were they even ninja? He couldn't quite tell. There were too many people and they were moving as well. Soon he wouldn't be able to tell much at all because they would land in the middle of them, and then chaos would ensue.

Shikama readied himself for the possible counterattack that might follow when they land in the middle of the convoy... He hoped blood wouldn't be drawn too soon, or too much for that matter. Gen's blood was already tempting enough.

The convoy that was supposed part of the order had been making slow progress throughout the day. It had arrived at the spot where the moutains came togethor and was known as the devils path. It had become under a gang territory and everyone in the convoy knew they would be attacked. So when the group of 3 came down they were prepared. It would be a sudden surpise in how it worked so smoothly.

Instantly from where the 3 hit the surrounding area a giant wall of earth arose around them in a circle. That wall then instantly began to fill with water as a giant ball of fire came falling from the sky. It all looked like magic but it was all just extremely planned jutsu’s carried out instantly as there ranks broke.

It would be obvious very soon to them that it was another tactician who had somehow predicted or planned out all there moves. It was all just to clever as the fire ball hit the water and it began to boil instantly. If they didnt get out soon they would be boiled into a light chowder and served throughout the ranks. It could be heard in all of there heads ‘Check’

As Gen moved there was suddenly an earthen wall rapidly forming around them, and then water was filling it. 'Crap, we have to get out of here, lightning or electricity and were done f-' Just as Gen thought this to the others he heard flames, he understood now. This, oddly, actually helped him. Just as the flames formed he ran up the side of the earth wall and used his enhanced wind chakra control to actually guide the flames back into the mass of the soldiers. He then thought to the others, 'Move, now! Kaima, shikama, stay behind me and cover your ears, now!'

Gen jumped down between the apparent convoy and the exit farther down. He then stood and did a few handseals, breathing in before doing his Deafening Resonance Technique. This he made resonate forward into the convoy, hopefully effecting their eardrums. This would make anyone effected temporarily deaf and unable to keep their balance. After doing this he called out to the others 'Okay, you can uncover your ears. Shikama, up here, Kaima stay behind us and support. I'll take them from the left and shikama you take them from the right. Anyone that squeezes between, and anyone in the middle, you take care of Kaima. We'll compress them in and destroy them. if for any reason I get taken over, Sikama you stay in the center yourself, and Kaima will cover you. I'll try and draw as many to me as possible.'

Gen then cast off his shirt, revealing his wing bone form and the exoskeletal covering over the bones, muscle, and tendons of his skinless and flightless wings. This also revealed the bone that covered and protected his spine. He then sighed before jumping forward at the convoy and struck at the first person.