A Greater Offensive [B-rank Mission]

The fact they weren't seeming to pay Iolana as much heed was honestly perfect to the young weaponkin, and just what she wanted. She fought in what many would think an unorthodox and silly way; not a threat. Which in fairness, her main role was as support and heals, but still, she was getting better with straight up fighting. Throwing herself back in to the fight she coursed through the seals before she swept her hands around herself in a spin, collecting up as much of the ash she had been generating as possible, and with the same motion throwing her arm forwards. As chakra mixed with the ash, she formed a multitude of needles, all together preparing 40 needles out of them by expending double the amount of chakra instead, splitting it out between two of the opponents for 20 on each.

Spoiler:

It would appear that the bandits were close to the end of their time. The one launched into the air was hit by needles and ended up dropping, lying on the ground and just hoping they'd think he was dead so he could run away after it was all done, he was tired of fighting now. The two elite bandits would end up in a bit of a sorry state as the swordswomen was replaced with causing her knee to get blown out and then she got shot with needles in the back and went down screaming, she was about to start fighting back until the Iai Slicing ended her life, causing her to gurgle her last breath and stop moving.

The Toad Faunus was stunned at what happened and narrowed his eyes before spinning and stomping the ground. Immediately spears of earth stabbed upwards at Indra to try and keep him in place as the Toad Faunus leaped up and snapped out a kick at Indra's face, hoping to just use his raw strength to snap the boy's neck and end this fight once and for all although he had a feeling it wasn't going to work.

Toad Faunus:

--

For her part, Shurui was honestly slightly shocked that Sid had came out of the Blinding Five Strikes completely unphased but then again, hitting the woman had felt like striking stone so it was likely she had access to defense tiers. Shurui grit her teeth and knew that if she didn't activate her trump card she'd end up getting slaughtered and she couldn't have that. "You should have just accepted the deal, for fucks' sake!" She roared out, tapping her fingers against the blade and causing the ringing sound to echo out again. This time rather than normal Wind Scars, deep glowing red ones would appear on Sid's skin where she had been hit during the Blinding Five Strikes, although only two of them would actually open.

As they opened, they'd shred the skin and open up massive lacerations before fading away and the same effects as before would be applied, interrupting her kicks, although she was only able to interrupt two of them and the third slammed into her, thumping her into the ground with a squeal. She managed to hold onto her blade but she ended up lying on the ground, clutching her stomach and chest that had been sliced open from the attack, knowing her death was coming soon. She only hoped that she'd be taking Sid down with her.

Shurui:

The swordswoman's blood flicked from the edge of his blade, splattering the ground before the Toad Faunus as Indra sheathed his blade. It'd do him no good to be out if he wanted to try that again. Seeing the senbon protruding from the bandit's back, Indra took a moment to glance at Iolana. He hadn't realized how close she had been and offered a nod of thanks before returning his attention to the corpse and his remaining opponent. It struck him that he had taken the woman's life, even if it hadn't been his initial intention. Oddly, he found himself feeling...nothing. Unfortunately, Indra wasn't given much time to ponder what this meant for him or his mental wellbeing as the Toad Faunus had registered the last few seconds and also acknowledged what happened to his teammate. His eyes bulged and muscles became taught with a dangerous, reckless rage.

The earth near Indra shook minutely as his eyes registered what was happening. He moved quickly as the first spear made its ascent towards the sky. Rather than backing away though, he moved towards the Toad Faunus, hoping to end this charade for good. As the second spear rose, this time faster than the first, Indra barely avoided it with a sidestep before leaping upward to meet the Toad head on. He moved his hand from the hilt of his blade, making a fist and targeted the Toad's outstretched foot. Indra struck, leveling his fist with the Toad's foot in a true show of strength. If successful, it would hopefully not only shatter the Faunus' foot, but also send him flying away and back down into the ground beneath him. Hopefully that would be enough to keep him down for good.

Spoiler:

Sid let out a scream as the after effects from her kick and the woman's attacks hit her all at once. Luckily for her, the interruption meant she wasn't able to fully form the other kicks and thus their recoil didn't apply to her body, though she was still losing blood a little too quickly for her liking. She took a few shuddering steps before falling onto her back right next to Shurui "You're tough as all hell, Shurui, I'll give you that." She huffed a laugh that sent a ripple of pain through her fresh cuts "That was...fun. As fun as a fight to the death can be, anyway." She looked up at the sky, but there was a slight smile on her lips. She and Shurui might've just tried to kill each other, but Sid found more than a little respect for the woman settling within her. She could imagine some alternate universe or parallel dimension where they would be friends, possibly "Wow, Sid" she rolled her eyes at her own musings "Way to romanticize a fucking criminal."

Spoiler:

Iolana slipped back in to a defensive posture after her needles took another out of the combat, leaving the group all but dealed with in her mind. She cast her attention back towards Sid and the woman she was fighting, just in time to see... what honestly looked like a rather brutal sudden attack. With another flick of attention to Indra she saw there was a good chance, and so hurried back over to Sid, skidding to her knees besides her. One final show at what she could do, and what she saw as her main trait to groups like this, bringing her hands up over some of the wounds and focusing her chakra down in to healing them. She figured Sid wouldn't be taken that easily, but at least stopping the bleeding was something she needed to take care of for safety.

Spoiler:

Although Indra's punch would land, he'd still be intercepting an attack without defense tiers and would suffer the C-Rank damage and knockback into the ground himself although it wasn't enough to be anything more than just kinda painful. The Faunus on the other hand would end up slamming into the dirt, his body mangling from the force of the blow that he just... Hadn't expected in the slightest from the boy. So it was that the bandits had all been dealt with.

--

"You crazy bitch..." Shurui laughed and slumped down into the dirt as well, giving a deep laugh from her belly and shaking her head. "You've got some damn good moves and yeah that was... That was a lot of fun, been a while since I got to go all out on someone. Hitting you was like striking a stone fuckin' wall." Shurui grinned and clutched the wound on her chest, feeling the darkness starting to creep into her vision. When Iolana came over and healed the bleeding wounds on Sid, Shurui clicked her tongue and sighed. "How rude... You don't even end up dying with me... I'm offended... Hey, feathery girl any chance I can get some of that healing? I'll promise to be good and come quietly, wouldn't mind some prison time and then I can try my hand at that kunoichi business again, eh?" She even reached over and picked up her blade, sheathing it and tossing it over to Lana so she knew Shurui wasn't going to make any funny moves.

Indra groaned as he hit the ground. In hind sight, while it may have looked cool to overwhelm his opponent midair with a punch that probably broke the guy's leg...there was a reason his mother had taught him how to dodge. Picking himself up, he began to dust himself off, noticing that Lana was healing Sid now and things seemed to be wrapping up. Wait, she can heal too?! Lana was turning out to be one hell of a team player as far as Indra was concerned. He heard the samurai Sid had been dealing with, apparently the bandit's leader of some sort, talking and turned his attention to her just in time to see her reach for her sword. Indra's body moved before his mind processed what exactly was happening. The primal, preservation part of his brain flared as he realized Lana and Sid were distracted with Sid's healing. They'd be taken completely off guard by this samurai Missing-Nin who simply refused to go down. Indra's feet moved while his brain tried to keep up and although he was actually moving relatively quickly towards the samurai, looking back the events of the next few seconds would seem crystal clear.

Step.
Draw.
Slice.
Sheath.
...sheath.

There was a sheath in her hand, but it was too late. Indra had attacked on instinct to defend his allies...right? That was the reason, obviously. He hadn't seen the sheath in her other hand because where she lay on the ground, her body blocked it from view. Yes, that was it. This was a mistake. It was a mistake that he had gone for the neck and not the hand to disarm her, but instead attempt to sever her spine or simply bleed her out. It was a mistake that he had gone for a kill shot rather than a safer disarming...or was it instinct? He stood over the Missing-Nin, watching her, but not really seeing her. He wasn't sure if Lana and Sid were watching, or had even seen what happened, but he muttered to himself, Sword. He swallowed, his mouth dry. So dry, why was his mouth this dry all of a sudden? She was going for her sword. He stammered out, his eyes now entirely focused on that damned sheath.

Spoiler:

Sid looked impressed as Lana moved over and began to heal her, the bleeding being cut off and her wounds slowly closing. She even felt the ache in her body from the damage she had forced upon her self begin to fade slowly, becoming much less sharp. Sid signed a quick <"Thank you"> to Lana before looking back to Shurui, a smile on her lips. Sid was going to throw some quip back at her about her probably making a shit kunoichi, about her needing some good friends to help guide her and keep her on the straight and narrow. She genuinely thought that Shurui had a chance to do good, or at least be an excellent hunter, as she knew how the bandits in these areas thought and could probably track them down with ease.

There were times where enhanced perception was a blessing. Watching someone's throat bloom open in a crimson wound as they reached to sheathe their weapon was much more of a curse. Sid couldn't help the gasp that left her, all of the wind rushing out of her chest as though she were the one who's throat was slit. As though she was the one that should be sputtering, coughing up blood. She stared for a long moment, horrified and confused about what happened, until Indra spoke and snapped her from her stupor. She didn't look at him right away, but his words told her that he was responsible. She couldn't look at him. Not yet.

Sid moved slowly, not because she was in pain but to measure her actions. She rose, drawing her hand over Shurui's face to close her lifeless eyes. She picked up the weapon and finished sheathing the blade, as its former owner had tried to do. She reached behind her to hand the weapon to Iolana, though still remained with her eyes locked on Shurui's form. She took five, deep long breaths before she turned to Indra. Her eyes were full of sympathy as she reached up and placed her hand on his shoulder "She was going for her sword." It was a confirmation, an absolution of any perceived sin. She didn't want him to blame himself for this, not at his age. Not about something done on instinct. "Let's go check to see if the village people are okay and then get you home, yeah?"

Iolana didn't see it. Maybe that was a blessing. But the gasp from Sid was what brought the weaponkin's attention away from her job healing, turning to seeing the Missing... finished. And she felt her stomach drop. Her last words continued to ring through her mind, wondering if maybe she could've done something to prevent more loss of life. But that was just her medic teaching talking. Right? A mistake was made. She had to tell herself that. She took a deep breath, taking a tight hold of the sword she was given and looking it over. Thoughts pouring through her mind as... a peculiar sensation was coming over her looking at the weapon. Like... something in the back of her mind was pressing for... something. She would have to do some more research in to this. Maybe speak to her sensei for some guidance.

Kirai sprung to her mind for a moment, wondering if... Iolana cut herself off. She compared herself to others far too often, she was her own person, and she couldn't be looking to others for what could have been. Extending the strap of the sword to better fit, she slipped it over her head and let it fall against her back. It felt uncomfortable, unnatural. She was clearly not a swordsman. By any stretch.

Iolana however was a medic, and now was a better time than ever to be of that. Stretching her arms off first, then her fingers, feeling a few joints pop delightfully, to work off some ache from the fighting and final healing. Though along the way to check in with the village, she made sure to give each of them full work overs as best she could on the move. Just in case there was something sneaky she had missed, but especially with Sid after the unusual attack she suffered. No more death.

One moment there was a real chance of a future for Shurui but it was gone with a flash of steel. It took her a second to realise what had happened, the new figure standing over her and her complete inability to breathe. Blood pooled in her mouth and dribbled down her chin as she looked up at Indra, nothing but raw confusion in her eyes. She tried her best to speak, to utter a 'Why?' but she failed, nothing but gurgles coming from her mouth before she slumped down. The life faded from her eyes as the lifeblood drained from her throat.

Sid closed her eyes and Iolana took her sword, a bloody handprint on the scabbard the only remnant of the Samurai that was Shurui. Her story was over, her life done and the Genin Trio had come out the victors. The villagers were happy to have their supplies back and were grateful to the trio, making sure to add on a stipend for each of them from the small savings that they had left over.

Mission Complete:

Shimakaze:

Right, yeah...okay. Indra said, closing his eyes and letting Sid lead him away. Killing the other bandits hadn't presented much of a problem at all. It was unfortunate and not entirely intentional, but they had died and Indra felt little to nothing for them. Why then, why was this eating away at him so much more? She was defenseless. He thought by accident and quickly shook his head, trying to dismiss the invasive truth of what he had done. Sid and Lana dealt with the villagers, who had kindly scraped together some extra Xel for ridding them of the bandits. Indra took it numbly, not even realizing what he was doing. His body was on autopilot at this point and in truth, he didn't even remember the walk back to Kohaigakure. One minute he was standing in the middle of the settlement they had rescued, the next he was passing under the gate to Kohai when his brain decided to tune back into reality.

[/exit]

Sid didn't talk all that much on their way to check on the village, other than to give thanks for the small reward they were able to scrape together. She walked Indra back to the village, though she withdrew into herself for the most part. Focusing on her thoughts was the only way she could keep the scene from replaying in her head over and over, so she tried to think about any and everything else. She thought about the sky and Kohai's climate and getting home to her maman so she could just cry in her arms for a bit. When she had dropped off Indra at Kohai, she gave him a pat on the shoulder and Iolana a gentle wave before slipping on her skates and making her way back to her own village.

If she took a detour back to where they had met the bandits in order to give them a proper burial, that was between her and the desert sands.

[Exit]

Approved:

Spoiler: