Scouting Marauders [Missions/Private]

Today's mission was different from her usual ones. While most military missions required scouting and patrolling, today's objective had a specific subject to the details. There had been reports of Marauders coming through into the forests. These reports had begun to increase in frequency as more and more Marauders returned in greater numbers. At first the Senju clan had chased them away with scare tactics seeing them as nothing but bandits and thieves. However each time they returned with greater numbers and showed signs of group training designed for war. With the current situation all lower ranking Shinobi were pulled off patrol duty and all on field Shinobi of high ranks would be called in for a defensive positioning around the mountain ranges.

Rules of Engagement were clear. Do not get spotted, do not engage them and get every information you can by observation. The morning had yet to come and in the cover of the dark multiple pairs of high ranking shinobi would set out into the forest to gather information on the marauders. Suji was dressed in her usual patrol gear. Dark clothes, coupled with a black cloth pulled up to her mouth and nose. A backpack filled with some survival gear. Her partner for this missions was another Senju member, Sasuto. They had met a few times before but saying they were closest buddies would be wrong. In the night she waited for her partner at the gates of the Compound as multiples groups began to set out for their missions. She yawned the last of her sleep away.

[Mission Complete]
[Word Count: 270]
[Exit Thread]

A small trio of Senju youth's bowed modestly before Sasuto who responded with a nod of approval which signaled their dismissal. He and a small group of rookie ninja he was assigned to today had just wrapped up what was a successful bout of low-light combat training. Having been briefed on the contents of the mission he would be deployed on afterwards, he felt such an activity was only appropriate. In addition to that it meant he would already be dressed for the occasion, not that his wardrobe required an adjustment.

His naturally nearly ebon locks rested on his back down to just above his tailbone, his torso was clad in a cloak of black, beneath it was his bare torso, though this was modestly concealed. The inside of this cloak was home to the tools he'd need for the mission he was about to embark on. His legs were covered in black pants that had loose volume to them, but were clenched closed below his knees. A pair of straw sandals that had a typical look to them protected his feet despite meeting shinobi regulations.

"We're late we should make haste to the gates." "I'm aware." Sasuto said aloud to no one but himself as he rushed towards the front gates to meet his partner for the assignment at hand. She was a woman he had encountered in the past, not necessarily an acquaintance, but someone he was to regard as an ally. Arriving at the gates he approached his partner and scanned the area. He didn't make his duo the last to depart, but they would be among the last, much to his discontent. "My apologies for my tardiness. Ready to depart?" Being a goal oriented person, Sasuto always had a dogmatic air about him that people either loved or hated. There were rare cases of indifference towards his mannerisms, but for the most part he knew a handful of his peers viewed him as an oddball for seemingly taking things so serious and talking so decorous.

It didn't take long for her partner to roll up. Dressed in his heavy clothes that draped over his tall body. His looming presence could be seen even in the darkness. He was a stoic man in his own right, yet those who were acquainted to a softer side of him would feel his passionate side of life. That was the strange thing about the Senju clan, as common as they were known for their brightness and compassion, they all had their own twist and flavours of fruit yet at the end of the day they were all some kind of Senju with their feet deep in the same earth. He apologized for being late, albeit perhaps 5 minutes or so. She hitched her backpack on and took off her boots. She felt the cool soil beneath her feet as she wiggled her toes.

" Ara~ Let's not delay any further. "

With that she would set off. Her movements light and nimble. In the early hours where the night still ruled as king, she was but just a feint shadow moving in between the trees. Suji wasn't the fastest person alive but nor was she the slowest, in fact she wasn't just okay at moving fast either. If she had to toot her own horn, she was on the faster end of things. Her feet were light, making sure not to leave a trail coming out the compound. Even without the assistance of Chakra her speeds were something. Her feet would touch only the tips of the earth, occasionally grass, occasional soil, occasionally rocks. She chose her path wisely, making her way to the base of the Mountain side where she would stop and wait for her partner. He too was someone considered to be fast. She would not need to wait long.

"Iron Tree is our sector, from there we should be able to move between the trees and search for them as the sun slowly rises. The sun will rise behind us so they'll face the sun if they're looking towards our direction." She would speak to him in a low voice that wasn't quite whispering.

The Iron Tree was an old pine tree that young students often raced to the top and punched. It was a sort of tradition. Running to the peak punching it on the summit and returning back down. The years of being punched the tree had developed a hardened finish on its trunk, earning its name the Iron Tree. Suji had many memories of it, shaving her head like the other boys and competing with them to see who would be the first one up and to punch the iron tree. As her legs carried her up the mountain memories of her youth came to her, fond memories. Marauders was not something she permitted in woods of the Senju.



[Word Count: 270 + 481 = 751/600]
[Exit Thread]

Sasuto nodded to Suji and with a slight bend to his knees, he took off behind her. Trailing behind his companion, he observed as she took a more unpredictable route, while Sasuto just stuck to typical treetop travel. His steps were easy on the branches, despite the bountiful amounts of distance each of his strides rewarded him with. Watching the female Senju from above and behind, Sasuto stayed alert and ever aware of their surroundings. They weren't far out of the Senju Compound yet, so the chances of finding these targets of interest were very slim, but still a possibility. His eyes restlessly devoured the contents of the dim lit forest, occasionally checking the duo's six.

While Suji was faster than him, she remained in sight the whole duration of their first travel's term. Leaping down from the branch of a tree to the ground at the mountain base, he safely cushioned his landing and walked a small distance to approach Suji. "Her approach is optimal save for the sun's projection of your shadows." Sasuto gave an affirmative nod, not to her, but his own thoughts then looked around, resting his eyes on the Iron Tree for but a moment. Looking back at Suji he spoke. "Sounds like the ideal way to carry out the task, but we should be wary of our shadow's since they'll be stretched from the sun rising at our backs." The sun rise was honestly a double edged sword. While it would make spotting them directly harder, it could very well give away their presence before they themselves became aware of the marauders themselves. "If I may, I think the optimal approach would be beneath the earth's surface. Once we locate them we surface and gather what information we need, then egress how we came." He would look far beyond the trees to where the sun would be rising, to see no light had begun to peek from around the world's curve yet. Then he'd look back at Suji once more. "Are you familiar with the Hiding Like a Mole Technique?"

It did not take long for her partner to catch up to her. It must have been no more than a few seconds. Suji let out one small exhale of breath, as a trainee the road up to the Iron Tree would have been harder. However with many years of practice, going up a rocky and tree woven mountain path was second nature to her. She wasn't exhausted, on the contrary the run up wouldn't have even counted as a warm up. Suji stretched her fingers, locking them between each other and cracking them forward. Their hiding spot was perfect, despite her partner's protest.

" "Sounds like the ideal way to carry out the task, but we should be wary of our shadow's since they'll be stretched from the sun rising at our backs.""

Partly true but it leaned on the more unlikely. The trees would be casting the same stretched shadows with the gradient of the mountain. Yet a Shinobi practised absolutes and any possible event you could eliminate and avoid was a point. Suji nodded to her partner. Hiding a like a mole technique. It was such a simple almost childish Jutsu but it was one of the most effective and cheap utility ninjutsu anyone could ask her. Her eyes scanned the opposite side of the mountain. The other side had a much lower peak, it trees were less dense and any movement would be easily be noticed by the pair.

And no sooner had they arrived small movement would be picked up by their scouter's eye. A long figure at first but soon he approached a stout tree. Soon the tree moved, as a man shifted in is hiding spot. The sun began to rose, they would be completely blotched out from the Mountain side. Suji counted with her eyes at first, spotting, two, five and eleven as far as her eyes could see. However information had to be confirmed and more detailed than that. Move closer, spot them out.

Silence would be practiced now among the two. Hiding well behind a tree, Suji would signal to her partner. A fist clenched and was placed on top a open left palm. The first would smooth out as it dug underneath the left hand. Suji pointed out where she would go, right of the Mountain range, more hand signals followed, Sasuto would take down the center and move towards the left of the mountain range. A few handseals and Suji had disappeared from the surface. Her hands made quick of the soft soil, diving in deep and moving towards the base of the mountains.

Do not get caught at all costs. This was simply a reconnaissance mission.

[Word Count: 270 + 481 + 435 = 1232/600]
[Exit Thread]