Lord Kishi Needs a Bodyguard. (Mission)

Spoiler:

Used Jutsu:

Lakin was happy to have something to do. He resented being nothing more than a babysitter to some spoiled brat who was likely going to just look down on him. But he had been selected for the mission, and so he had no choice but to accept it, and make sure that it was done properly. He was sure that it would only take the first attack from a bandit or assassin to get the brat to listen to him. He watched the indicated departure point from a public bench. While Iwagakure was a Shinobi village, there were also civilians who lived here under the protection of the ninja who also lived and trained here. This was certainly one of the most secure villages, nay cities, in all of the Earth Country. The departure time was only a few minutes away, and still no sign of the one to be guarded.

It was at ten minutes past the designated time that not only the one whom he was to protect arrived, but an entire entourage. It wasn’t unexpected but he had hoped that the young man he was to escort would have the sense to bring a small one, not this obscenely large group Lakin saw before him now. He watched the fool arrive, and let him sit until he got restless. When it looked like the idiot would just go without him, and that was when Lakin stepped forward.

“You’re late,” the insolent wretch complained.

“What are you talking about? I was here early, and you have barely arrived.” Lakin stated, clear as day. He looked the young man up and down. The only good thing he could see was that the boy was dressed properly for a walk in the woods. “Your party must go, I am not here to protect them, only you, and they will only get in my way.” This met him with a growl from a somewhat burly man; Lakin didn’t even look at him.

The kid looked like he was about to protest, but was cut off by the growling man. “Master Kishi will not be spoken to, but we will compromise; only the bodyguards will be joining us past the gate.”

Lakin looked around the group. There were a few that were dressed much better for the long trek. Many of them were carrying packs, and a few even had some weapons strapped to their belts. Lakin could only think that if he were hired it was because this Kishi was a target for assassins, or his guards were either incompetent or suspected to be on someone else’s payroll. Lakin simply nodded, sighed and began walking to the gate. He grabbed his pack, strapped it on his back, and then equipped his preferred weapon. They were simple, but effective, not much more really than sharpened rods sticking out from a metal plate on the back of his hand, with bands and buckles almost up to his elbows to secure them to his hands and arms. They were designed to provide full use of his hands while also giving him more options to fight with.

He looked over at the ragtag group he had now. He was ready, and now that they were at the gates, he would show them the route they would take to the capitol. The mission parameters were to escort the young lord Kishi from Iwagakure to the Earth Country’s capitol city. Gate to gate, it was seemingly simple, but there were plenty of choke points on the way, and several points that were perfect for an ambush. The group would take the same route to a fork, and then they would split into two groups, in order to reduce their size, and possibly distract any potential pursuers. It was simple, but it would allow Lakin to control the group. The first and most likely ambush point was between here and the fork. They had to take roads for safety, as there were wild animals like bears in the area, and it wasn’t wise to tread on their turf. The chances of an encounter were still within mention taking the roads, so they had to be prepared to fend of beasts as well as men.

With the ambush points as well as the plan laid out, Lakin decided that it was time to leave. So far, the young lord was actually quite sensible, and was taking his advice. Not that he had any choice, but he seemed to be quite accepting. The first leg of the trip was quiet, but that was not destined to last, as expected, there was an ambush waiting for them, it was further along than anticipated, potentially to have them let their guard down, but it wasn’t optimal, and so Lakin was able to react in time, batting a kunai away with the claws attached to his right hand. He had been sure to stay close to Kishi, and it had paid off, as the ambushers lost their element of surprise. They dove out of the trees, ten in all.

That was one for each of them, including the noble, meaning that Lakin had to fight two. One swung a heave blade across at him, Lakin ducked and lunged forward, raking across, causing painful lacerations on the bandit’s abdomen, then he brought his knee up, striking hard into the man’s chin, rendering him unconscious. These men were not trained shinobi. Loche turned, and saw the only un-occupied bandit menacing his charge. That was unacceptable, and so he put out his arm, shoulder height, with his lower arm bent towards his target. He dashed forward at high speed and caught the would-be murderer in the throat, and felt bones break. He knew immediately that he had just killed a man. It wasn’t his first, and it wouldn’t be his last, but he still disliked killing those without proper training. It was almost like killing an infant. He looked around, the fight was over. There were few casualties, most injuries of the noble’s guard were minor, but the bandits had several dead, the rest unconscious or otherwise incapacitated. He made a few graves for the dead, and tied the rest to a tree, with some of their own rope no less.

They made it to the point where the paths split. It was more important to be sure that there would be no one who would make the rest of the trip more difficult due to fatigue or injuries. Besides, something was bothering him, the place they chose was not ideal for an ambush, and it was like they knew that they would be expecting an ambush there. He didn’t know for sure, so for the moment he shrugged it to the back, there were more pressing matters besides, the ease with which they were dispatched indicated they may have just been incompetent. The biggest issue was making sure everyone was rested before they split up. He had the two groups chosen, and he decided that since it was getting dark, it would be a good time to set up a camp. With the light fading, and a good place to stop under a tree between the path’s bisection, it would be a good staging point in the morning. Lakin directed everyone in their shifts, and made sure to keep the fit ones paired up with the ones who weren’t as well off. It was as much to make sure that there weren’t any conspiracies when he wasn’t able to watch. He allowed the noble to sleep, and elected to take first and final watch. That way he could get everyone up when it was time to get ready to go.

The night was uneventful, boring even. In the morning the group was ready to go, and though Kishi wasn’t exactly pleased with the early day, it didn’t take much to make him understand that he didn’t really have a say in the matter, this time, they would make it to the Capitol by the evening, and that was if they had several extended fights along the way. The smaller groups meant they had to make a different array, one in the center, two in front and two in back. In Lakin’s group, the one in the center was Kishi, the best way to keep an eye on him. They made it past the second and third ambush points with no trouble, allowing an expeditious journey. It was the final point where things really got interesting. There was a large man standing in the road. As they approached, he made no move, not a single motion. He just stared until they got close. Then he began to shout.

“Shinobi, you killed some of my men yesterday, and left the rest to die. I am going to have to repay the favor. This was just supposed to be a kidnapping, but my employer failed to mention anything about you, and so I terminated the contract. This is just to be you and me. No one will pass until one of us lies defeated.”

“I have only one job, and that is to protect this brat until the capitol. It was nothing personal when I killed your men. If you do not get out of our way, I will have to defeat you and move on.”

Lakin could tell the man was strong. Much stronger than his men, but Lakin had a duty to perform the mission, and he would succeed, if war were to break out, a failed mission could mean his death, and so he would not fail. He tightened his fists, then launched himself forward with Shunshin, and began the clash with the man.

First a kick towards the head, the man was able to react in time, blocking with a massive forearm, which he then pushed, throwing Lakin into a tree. He gasped in pain, but wasn’t badly hurt; the man chuckled before charging in himself. He brought a huge fist in towards Lakin, but Loche ducked, causing the man to strike the tree. There was enough force to crack the tree. Easily would have killed Lakin had it landed. The tree groaned, dropping nuts, and granting Lakin time to find a new location to attack from while the brute was distracted by the rain of acorns and twigs.

From his new vantage point, he threw four shuriken, two utilizing the Shadow Shuriken technique. The man was able to block the two he could see, but that left him open for the other two. One struck the man in his shoulder, causing nothing more than pain; the other struck him in his left eye. The star wasn’t able to get deep enough to kill the man, but it was enough to destroy his eye. He dove in again, this time, going in low and on the man’s left, being sure to stay in his blind spot, and struck him hard in the gut. The man now buckled, and Lakin took advantage of this, bringing his elbow into the temple of the man. The beast of a man was a worthy opponent, but it wasn’t necessary to kill him, and so Lakin left him alive. He looked back, and with the twisting winced. He hadn’t noticed it, but he probably had quite the bruise on his back, though nothing broken. The others had formed a triangle around Kishi, who was now staring at the large man whom his shinobi bodyguard had just defeated.

Lakin simply motioned for them to keep moving, and they met up with the others at the point where the two paths met, which happened to be only a few feet from the other group. Lakin hadn’t learned anything about the circumstances, but that wasn’t his job. He had more than a few bruises, but nothing broken, a few scrapes, but nothing serious. He arrived at the gate, and received the document that proved he had accomplished his mission, all that was left now, was to return to his village and claim the rewards for doing the job. Before he left, he walked over to Kishi to speak to him briefly.

“You started this trip as a brat; I hope you did not end it as such.” He then turned and walked away before the young noble responded, but he heard the whispered “thank you,” from behind him.

On his return, he stopped to check on the man whom he had left there. He was gone, but on a tree stuck there by two bloody shuriken was a note. It simply read: “This isn’t over.” With that knowledge, Lakin sped back to Iwagakure through the treetops, taking the shortest route, and was there by nightfall. He turned in his mission report, and headed home for some well needed rest and relaxation.

2139 Words Total. Maximum Ryou and XP obtained

2139 - 1380 = 759.

759 excess words. At two xp for every 10 words...

759/2 = 379 bonus exp.

579 exp gain total.

Whoever made that mission set it for 100xp higher than what it should be, but wasn't your fault so I gave you the full exp amount. But I'm rectifying it in the actual mission so that everyone else who does it, doesn't get that much exp.