C Rank: Treasure in the Mountains

[Viseres]

Disclaimer: This most likely will have profanity and foul language in the story.


Mission: C Rank: Treasure of the Mountain

Reward: 0$ but the sword of bandit king (depending on grade, is how much I pay). 150 for whoever wants to come along

Description: The feudal lord of a neighboring country has had one of his small gold dragon statues stolen. A sly bandit was able to sneak in past the guards and escape to his mountain before sunrise. Now the dragon rests upon the stump of a tree that resides next to the bandit. Little is known other then the location of the hideout. The mission is to retrieve the dragon that sits with the Bandit King.

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--It had been a long series of nights since Taihen could last remember anything. The nights had begun long and dry when he finally got a call from the Hokage for a mission. Since becoming a genin, he had yet to receive a mission and only entered a tournament on a whim. Little was known why he was removed from the tournament after only the second round but he didn’t put too much stress on the issue and instead just kept with his daily life; eating, drinking and cutting things.—

--The day’s new sun had just arisen when Taihen got the notice, a sealed scroll with the Hokage’s mark on it. As Taihen opened the scroll up, joy filled the young shinobi. Due to the ban of leaving unattended, Taihen never had the chance to explore that mountain in which he had heard so many rumors about. The bandit in which stole the dragon, Taihen hoped held one of the legendary swords but, wouldn’t get his hopes up too much.—

--Walking outside of the safety of the village gates, Taihen begins to read over the scroll once more.—

Taihen (to himself): Gold dragon with this cheap reward? Man the Hokage got taken for a chump with this reward

--Sighing at the stupidity of the Hokage, Taihen begins his journey for the rescue of a gold dragon, while the debate on whether to keep the dragon or not weights on Taihen’s mind, he knows he first has to get there.--


Diamond Bladed Katana
Urami
3 Canteens
Ring of Eternal Light
Tent
Spiked Gauntlets merged around skin

[Viseres]

--The sun's early rays rose across Taihen's face as he woke. This tent he was given as a gift proved quite useful as the night had a windy chill which was blocked. Not dwelling on the past night, Taihen rose early in the hunt for some breakfast.--

--The morning dew made it so plenty of animals were up and scurrying around, so hunting was rather easy. Within an hour Taihen had two squirrels strung through his metal gauntlet's line. Easily luring them in with fruit that grew on a nearby bush, the metal acted as a quick and deadly snake easily kill its prey.--

--Arriving back at his tent, a fire was quickly made with bark scraps and striking his metal gauntlets into creating a spark. The fire roared silently within a minute as Taihen spent his time, skinning the soon to be breakfast. As the squirrels roasted on the open fire, Taihen pulled out a map and examined the mountain.--

Taihen: Hmm, most likely the only place these bandits could be hiding is inside the cave up here *pointing at the map while talking to himself*. Meaning the best way up is this…

--As Taihen stared at the map, he slowly turned the roasting squirrels with the other hand. Finally content on taking the “easy” path up the mountain, Taihen turned to his squirrels as he slid one of the metal spike. Biting down upon the flesh Taihen devoured the squirrel leaving only the bones in which he casually tossed aside. While staring at the second squirrel, a light hungry growl came from the right of Taihen. While it sounded as it meant business, it was merely a young brown bear cub. Pulling the squirrel off the spike, Taihen tossed the cooked squirrel to the bear as it started tearing into the cooked body as if it hadn’t eaten in days. Standing up as he is about to leave, Taihen unscrews one of his canteens and quickly puts out his fire to make his way up the mountain before him.—

Taihen: Take care little bear

--The bear looked quietly up at the young genin who begun his ascent up the mountain to what the bear did not know.—

--The ascent up the mountain proved to be quiet easy. It was a steadily traveled path which seemed to be almost paved out for him. Even though it was an easy path, Taihen’s hand rested upon his new blade’s hilt under his cloak at all times. Ready for anything, Taihen knew that a bandit willing to steal something from a feudal lord would not be alone.—

--It was already high noon as Taihen reached the midpoint in his ascent. The sun stroked down upon the genin even though the heat was not felt that much. It was a windy and quite chilly afternoon so whichever heat Taihen could get he enjoyed. As Taihen turned a corner an arrow went flying by his face only to find the trunk of a tree.—

???: Oh looking what we got hear Shinto, a premier little baby. Why don’t you just go back to the whore of a mother you came from you brat?

--As the unknown assailant strung his bow back once more, Taihen could see the second person jump down from a tree on the opposite side of the path. Surely this meant he would have to fight.—

Taihen: I guess you all leave me no choice but to kill you here and now and end those worthless lives of yours.

[Viseres]

--The archer strung his bow back and released his arrow only find his target already gone. Taihen knowing what is going on knew that the possibility of the bow to the back was too great to deal with in the open. Heading east into the woods Taihen is bombarded with arrows from the man across the path still trying to hit him but, his attempts are all in vain. The arrows met the trees as Taihen rose up the hill attempting to find a safe outlet. As he weaved through the trees he realized the arrows had stopped coming, did he go too far?—

SFX: Crunch :SFX

--A twin bladed axe soared through the air attempting to take Taihen’s head off. Luckily for the young genin, the wielding was rather unskillful. The axe tore into the tree just a few inches above Taihen’s head as the burly man now meant business. Quickly rolling to the side Taihen know knew why the arrows had stopped; the man didn’t want to hit his partner. Gathering up his stance as the mountain man pried his axe free from the tree, Taihen begun for the assault. Quickly reaching to his left side, Taihen drew what could be his new favor sword, the diamond edged katana. The sword glistened as the sun dove down upon it as the mountaineer let out a bellowing laugh.—

Mountaineer: What do you expect to do with that twig you’re holding boy?

--As the mountaineer let out his taunt, he begun to charge at Taihen. As a typical big man, the guy had no agility and was rather slow but, after seeing what the axe did to the tree, Taihen knew better then to be hit by it. As the man neared in for the strike, Taihen lowered his body in readiness for the strike. The mountaineer only acting on brute strength swung the axe from overhead in a downward fashion. Due to the rather large height difference, this gave Taihen a perfect chance to dodge. Moving closer to the opponent with his sword rose above his head, the blade met the metal handle with a loud clank. With the weight pressing down upon the blade, Taihen quickly shoved the axe sideways as he sidestepped next to the big man’s knee. Taking advantage of the now unstable man, Taihen slid is sword across the man’s knee as he heard bones and muscles being cut by the extremely sharp blade.—

--Screams fill the air as the mountaineer went tumbling down to the ground. Clearly unable to walk on that leg Taihen felt the fight was over and begun his movement back towards the archer.—

Mountaineer (breathing heavily): You little fuck. Do you think this is over?

--As Taihen turned around the man had the axe in one hand swinging it back about to throw the axe. A loud and quick trample came from the leaves behind him causing the man to stutter in his throwing attempt. As both Taihen and the mountaineer turned to see what was coming, a small brown cub came roaring into the fight with the look of blood upon his eyes. A small piece of what appared to be a rat’s tail hung from its mouth as it Taihen realized it was the same bear he fed earlier in the day. As the mountaineer smirked thinking it was only a cub, the bear leaped into air with mouth wide open. This obviously meant one of two things, it was still hungry or it was repaying the favor to Taihen. Not wanting the bear to fall a horrible death at the hands of this man, Taihen took off back towards the bear but, he was too late. The axe came swinging down with a massive force and yet it missed the bear. Due to its compact size the bear easily dove under the blade as it reached in towards the man’s throat and face. With a rumbling growl the bear bit down upon the man’s throat and in one quick motion ripped his head sideways pulling out the man’s esophagus. Blood spilt out from the wound as no sound came from the man. The bear begun to continuously bite down upon his fallen prey as Taihen, not knowing the true reason the bear showed back up, begun his walk out of the forest to find the archer who had been trying to kill him only moments before.—

Taihen (thinking): Thanks little bear but please do not follow anymore for I will not want you to get hurt.

[Viseres]

--Taihen slowly walked through the trees as the sound of the bear cub still eating the mountaineer could be heard behind him. While the disturbing sound could be heard, that was not the main matter on Taihen’s mind.—

Taihen (thinking): Where in the world is that bowman…

--Taihen kept walking slowly through the forest in hope that he would not be caught unaware. Edging towards the end of the forest line, Taihen could see the bowman still in the tree. A scared look rested upon his face as it was evident that he heard the screams of his partner. A smirk fell upon Taihen’s face as he couldn’t help but do so. Debating on what to do, Taihen knew he had to take this advantage and use it. The longer he waited the more chance there was that another person could come by and be told of the situation. Armed only with his katana in hand, Taihen broke out of the forest’s cover into a full sprint heading towards the tree in which the man was hiding.—

--Taihen was about half way across the path before the man realized what was going on. Quickly trying to ready himself, his nerves were still in a knot after hearing his partner scream in pain. Thoughts raced through his head; who was his opponent? What could of possibly happened to his partner? Realizing he had no choice but to keep fighting he tried to block off his thoughts but all he could think about is the darkness that had befallen his partner. What was about to happen to himself?—

--Taihen watched his opponent closely as he was clearly disturbed by what he heard. Using it to his advantage, Taihen left up on the tree blocking off any type clear shot the man could have. Carefully climbing the tree, Taihen arrived on the opposite side of the tree only to hear a subbing noise coming from the other side.—

Man (sobbing): Why did he have to lie to me? He swore no one was going to get hurt

--The man had set his bow down upon the tree and just sat there crying. Taihen managed to maneuver around the tree’s trunk into position to see that the man no longer had a weapon on him as his dagger sat next to him. Knowing full well he could not just leave the man, he could not kill one whom would not defend himself, especially since it was never stated he had to kill people, only retrieve the dragon.—

--Reaching over and grabbing the dagger, Taihen reached back with his katana and swung the sword at the man’s head. The broad side of the blade struck the man’s head as he fell backwards against the tree already knocked out due to the blow to the temple. As Taihen grabbed the dagger he immediately started channeling chakra through the metal creating a fine wire which he started tying up his opponent with. Quickly securing his opponent, Taihen ripped a piece of cloth off his cloak and gagged the man before climbing down the tree.—

Taihen (speaking softly): On my way back, I’ll set you free. This appears you were betrayed and I am sorry that your friend had to pay for it.

--Bowing to his target Taihen starts heading back up the mountain path in hope to finish this mission and find out exactly what is going on here.--

[Viseres]

--Taihen’s last opponent now rest upon the tree, tied down in what Taihen hoped would make him not visible and not talkative. Something about this whole mission did not seem right to Taihen. People here were most likely lead to believe that nothing would happen while the leader goes off and steals an expensive item, from a feudal lord nonetheless. While he knew he could not dwell in the people’s situation that much as his job here was still his job. That was what he was hired to do, simple retrieve the dragon at all costs. Yet the term “all costs” began to worry Taihen as it could possibly mean killing innocent people. While he really didn’t care about the killing, he didn’t want to have to kill someone because of another’s brainwashing of them. All the thinking begun to make Taihen’s head spin as he still climbed up the hill to find the entrance to the cave.—

Taihen: Finally this forsaken cave.

--Inside the cave, torches lit the path revealing the cave to be rather shallow as it was merely only twenty meters deep. Taihen could see the dragon resting upon a small table in the back with a candle on either side.—

Taihen (thoughts): Too easy…something isn’t right

--Taihen hid in the tree’s coverage surveying the area, he could not see anyone but he knew this couldn’t be right. Why would something just stolen remain unguarded? Several minutes went by as Taihen tried to figure out what exactly was going on, but nothing moved nor gave a sign of something suspicious other then the fact no one was there.—

Taihen (thoughts): Could it be that those two earlier were the only guards?

--Finally getting fed up with waiting, Taihen left his cover and started walking towards the cave entrance.—

???: I wondered when you were going to leave the trees

--The sound just sent a cold chill down Taihen’s back. He knew something didn’t seem right and now it was going to prove it. Taihen heard the voice from in front of him as a man dressed in all black came out from the only corner with a shadow in it hold a sword longer then Taihen’s katana on his shoulder already out of its sheath. This man had to be the one who stole the dragon, he had a certain arrogant poise about him that gave off the wrong signal.—

???: What too afraid to talk? Well I guess my friends will just have to force it out of you.

--As the command was spoken two men appeared from the shadows on both sides of the cave’s entrance. Dressed like their leader, these two held normal katana that had the hunger of blood showing in their eyes. Taihen knew that there was no way out of this without bloodshed. Drawing his diamond katana, Taihen crouched down in ready for the attack. His sword rested in front of him as he kept checking left and right at his opponents who both just begun their charge towards the awaiting genin.--

[Viseres]

--Taihen stood his ground as the two assailants came storming towards him. Watching as both drew unique weapons from their back, Taihen stood in the middle of the oncoming barrage. As the one to the left pulled out a set of shuriken, the one on the right drew an extremely large katana, one about one and a half times larger than his katana. Taihen didn’t have much time to wonder about why the person was using a lengthened katana as the shuriken came flying from his left causing Taihen to jump backwards in defense.—

--As Taihen slid to a stop he jerked his head upwards to see the two now coming directly towards him again. Knowing full well that since the one to the left had now pulled out a katana, with severe arc on it, that his diamond katana would not be enough to handle this fight. Quickly sheathing the sword, Taihen was faced with another barrage of attacks as the twins delivered a par o strikes, one high and one low causing Taihen to tumble between their blades landing several feet behind them.—

--Reaching down and resting his hand upon his waist, Taihen grabbed the hilt of his urami and prepared for his next plan of action. As he was strafing to his left, the twins turned around and begun to give pursuit to the genin. Using boulders and trees to cause the further one to slow down his pursuit, Taihen left a large enough opening to fight the closer one head on. Charging directly into the opponent’s chest, the assailant simply reached back with his extended katana and swung for the oncoming genin’s head. Using the element of surprise to his advantage, Taihen quickly unraveled his urami to meet the oncoming katana with its broad side. As the sound of metal on metal filled the air, Taihen’s urami buckled over from the pressure quickly wrapping around the blade of the assailant. As a glint of a snicker crossed over Taihen’s face he reached up and grabbed the sword with his metal clad hand. With the sword stuck in a physical tug-a-war with Taihen’s own sword, the assailant either had the choice of dropping his prized weapon or trying to force it loose. Not knowing what his opponent was capable of the bandit clad in black, attempted to pull the sword loose as the metal gauntlet gripped the blade. Within a matter of a second the blade of the extended katana shattered into dust—

--As the blade shattered the bandit’s eyes grew wider. In complete shock the man did not see the fist coming from his opponent that sent the bandit tumbling backwards.--

???: What the fuck was that?

Leader (to himself): So this is Kaidene’s child….*gently pats the sword upon his back*

--As the bandit looks up from the ground he no longer could see Taihen. Looking around for his opponent a loud clanking of metal is heard as Taihen’s umari met the second bandit’s arced katana symbolizing the fight was still going on.--

[Viseres]

--Taihen turned his head as the one assailant went tumbling away from him. The second assailant finally caught up and swung his arced katana to with a meaning to decapitate Taihen. Using the little time he had, Taihen flicked his wrist to send his urami quickly up to block the oncoming attack with a loud clanking of metal. As the black clad man’s katana clashed with the urami he quickly begun his second attack. Shifting his wait to his front leg, he quickly spun to the side of Taihen landing a kick to the midsection sending Taihen sliding across the dirt in a slide. Not having a full time to recover Taihen saw his opponent quickly begin his charge towards him again.—

Taihen (coughing up blood): Damn this guy is fast

--Quickly resting his left hand behind his back and grabbing the hilt of his diamond katana, Taihen straightened out the blade of the urami in preparation for the oncoming attack. As the arced katana rained down from the sky, Taihen quickly swung his urami to meet the blade sending it to his right as he twisted his body for his counter. Pulling the katana out from its sheath, Taihen used his momentum to quickly launch an attack at the unaware target. The blade sung out as it was released from the sheath, quickly meeting the flesh of the man’s thigh. –

Man: You little bitch

--Reaching down and clutching his leg the man repositioned himself in a defensive manner. As his katana now was positioned in a defensive manner Taihen knew it was time to finish the fight. That was until he forgot about the other assailant. Taking a few steps forward towards the cut man, a knife dug into the lower back of Taihen. As the pain shot through Taihen, he quickly turned around allowing the urami to swing freely. With it’s now unraveling blade the overall speed of the blade picked up with the movement of Taihen’s body. Unaware of where exactly the opponent was, Taihen’s quick spinning left his wrist at neck height of his opponent. The man still clutching onto his knife which was in Taihen’s back fell forward onto the oncoming urami. With a crunching sound the head of the opponent toppled off the body leaving the body to go limp and fall to the ground.—

--Knowing he has no time to lay his mind to rest, Taihen quickly turned to see the other assailant hobbling over towards him with his katana raised for the strike. Not really wanting to kill his opponent for the sake of killing, Taihen knew he had no real other choice. Charging towards his opponent Taihen raised his diamond katana to meet the arced katana well above his head. With one fluid motion Taihen sent his urami into the side of the opponent. As the broad side hits the opponent’s waist line, the blade arcs as the points dives directly into the spinal cord of the twin. Tears fill the eyes of the twin as you can see the pain cannot be fully felt but he knew what happened. Letting go of the body the twin fell to the ground unable to move. Wanting to show mercy, Taihen reached down with the tip of the katana and slit the man’s throat ending his life and preventing the rest of his life being lead as a paralyzed man. Turning towards the mouth of the cave Taihen did not want any more bloodshed as he would ask this only once.—
Taihen: Just give me the dragon, I do not feel like shedding anymore blood today

Bandit (laughing): Do you really think you scare me, son of Kaidene? I was able to outwit your mother once and you shall be much easier.

Taihen: ….my mother?

[Viseres]

--The bandit let out a screeching laugh as Taihen’s puzzled face showed. The bandit’s was going to just have some fun with this kid as the kid did not know his true intentions.—

Bandit: What you didn’t know that your mother was none other than Kaidene, one of the direct leaders of the black market?

Taihen (puzzled): Your saying, that the mother I never met is actually a strong shinobi?

Bandit (chuckling): Poor little boy, not knowing anything. Your mother is a ruthless killer who got to her spot due to her willingness to kill anything and everything. While her skills are impressive it’s your father, Vis, who is the one who is the great shinobi.

--A puzzled look still rested upon Taihen’s face. He had heard about Vis from the stories that were told in Konoha; the man who showed no fear and was always as cold as death. If he was truly Taihen’s father, then why was he treated with kindness in Konoha? Several questions needed to be answered but Taihen had not the time to ask them. Before he could speak the next set of words, his opponent was gone in a flicker.—

???: Never lose your concentration in the battle, boy.

--As Taihen turned his head, a roundhouse kick connected with the back of his head sending the young genin sliding across the dirt. Clutching the ground Taihen started to lift his body up but a sudden flow of blood filled his mouth. Taking a second to cough, blood shot out from his mouth as he turned to see the man with a huge smile on his face.—

Taihen: Just who are you?

Bandit: Oh, you thought I was just some random low life thief? I killed every shinobi sent to recover something I’ve stolen waiting for them to send you. You Taihen are the one I want to kill.

--With his final words he immediately took off in a sprint towards the genin reaching his arm over his back drawing out his katana. The man’s speed was far superior to Taihen as the only thing he could do was roll to dodge the swing from the katana coming for his head. Immediately after regaining his balance, Taihen positions his diamond katana in front of him as the man delivers a strike from the left which Taihen attempts to parry. Due to the man’s strength the blade slices into Taihen’s side sending agonizing pain. With the katana being pulled out Taihen could feel as if the blade was sawing into the bones as it was pulled. With two open wounds, one in his side and other in his back, Taihen knew he wasn’t going to last much longer. Trying to hopefully do his best, Taihen turned to see the man coming at him again. Reaching back with his left hand Taihen drew his urami, unraveling the blade as the katana again came soaring in from the side to cut open Taihen. The two blades met as Taihen ducked to dodge the attack. Using the diamond katana, Taihen knocked the man’s attack to the ground. Quickly dropping the katana, Taihen grabbed the blade and attempted to force chakra into the blade; yet nothing happened. Confused Taihen had no time to really think about the situation as the man delivered another kick this time landing in the rib cage where he had been cut just a few seconds earlier.—

--Sent turtling over, Taihen refused to let go of the katana as it came with him. Rolling a few times Taihen was in a defensive position trying to cover his vital points from another oncoming attack. Waiting for the onslaught to come, he merely heard the sound of laughter. A sudden jerk on his arm had the man pulling his katana free. With the scraping of metal of metal, sparks formed which caused a reaction unknown to both. The blade of the man’s katana erupted into flames sending the man backwards in fear and pain as the flame scorched his hands which was holding the blade.—

Bandit: What the fuck was that?

--Taihen knowing this was an opportunity quickly grabbed the hilt of the blade, picking it up for an attack. As a surprise to both, the flames started turning color as Taihen’s eyes turned from scared to anger. The flames became darker and filled with anger as Taihen begun to cry out.—

Taihen: You killed people, lied to your partners all to try and kill me? What
type of man are you?

--Not waiting for a response, Taihen took off towards his opponent. Knowing the situation the man quickly disappeared with a flicker of wind and arrived near the mouth of the cave. Motioning for stop, he began his answer.—

Bandit: So you do have some fight in you, boy. All I’m doing is what any man has the right to do, whatever the hell he feels like. Take the dragon and remember where you come from. That sword is one of your mothers, the one who shares the same bloodline that flows in you. Seek her out when you are finally strong enough, for now you are weak.

--With the final remark he vanished into the air. Leaving Taihen alone in the on the mountain top holding onto the flaming sword. As he drops the sword the flame vanishes. Kneeling on the ground Taihen clutches his side as he attempts to wrap his cut with shirt cloth. Knowing that this won’t stop the blood flow that much, he quickly realizes he needs to get back to Konoha or this could cause some serious injuries. Grabbing his diamond katana and sheathing the blade once more, Taihen wraps his urami again around his waist. Hobbling into the cave, Taihen grabs the statue of the golden dragon and begins his descent of the mountain. Pausing as he turns around, Taihen walks back up the mountain and grabs the katana the man left, realizing this may be his only clue on who his family really is it would be better that he takes it.—

--Clutching his side Taihen travels down the mountain. As he comes back to the place where he began his attacks, he looks up the tree and sees the man still tied. Walking over to the tree, Taihen reaches up with the katana in his right hand and severs the wrist straps holding the man to the tree.—

Taihen: Be free and kind. Make a real living and give up this crap, you are not one for this.

--With those words of advice Taihen continues on his path to Konoha. Knowing full well that the Hokage is going to ask about what happened along with other jounin. So he might as well figure some random story up now and prepare for the onslaught of questions.--


MISSION FINISHED

OoC: If you can't figure out the final bandit situation, he's a jounin sent by Kaidene to test the growth of her son.

[i_feel_tiredsleepy]

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7/10
Pay: Whatever discount this means for your sword price.
XP: 6

Hey Vis, OK so this was a very well structured mission which displayed the "Quest" archetype in storytelling very well. There was a journey with a series of obstacles, and at the end the protagonist is back where he started but somewhat changed. I also thought that you did a good job of describing the setting.

My problems with it were that the villains were relatively bland, the crying man being slightly different. I realize from the structure of this mission that any serious characterization would be difficult. There were a few cases of improper verb tense and change of tense that I felt were cumbersome but did not remove a point for (send me a pm if you want specifics).

Finally, I kinda wished that you hadn't put that OOC telling me the origin of the bandit. I prefer hints than a complete statement of fact :p. Well done mission, leaving me interested in what will come of this developing plotline of the unknown mother and father.