A Call For Help (Hive/Raven)

The only thing Bakuhatsu wanted was simply to enjoy a nice time at a hotspring maybe like anybody else, relax, get his ideas straighted out, perhaps had a drink or two before falling asleep in some cozy bed in some warm inn. But the life of an adventurer was not an easy one and certainly not for the weak of heart. You needed one heck of an iron will to pull yourself out of many situations as well as the intelligence and strength to go with it. In this world a lone, unskilled shinobi could not survive very long.

Upon his arrival to the Grass Village, it was obvious something had gone horribly wrong. Many habitations were under reconstruction, more of them had caught fire, now only their charred remains were left to be seen. Stalls were robbed, other completely destroyed. Karts were even pulling bodies, a white cover over them all, arms and legs could be seen hanging from each sides.

Stepping further into the village, that's when two guards would intercept Bakuhatsu, thinking it was yet an other thug storming in to deal with some unfinished business. The wanderer only had time to summon one of his random weapons (a woodcutting axe) out of his scroll to block their strikes.

-Don't you think you've done enough trouble as it is?! Leave us alone you criminal scum!

Shaking his head as he'd push them aside, he would then raise his arms.

-Dudes! I am not one of them! I just came here planning on relaxing and stuff, like any normal person normally would... ya feel?

At this the guards would squint their eyes... this person was armed and obviously knew how to fight... a shinobi with no village identification? A nukenin?

-But you're a missing ninja! You can't be trusted!

Bakuhatsu would only let out a long, weary sigh. The second guard putting a hand on his colleague's shoulder.

-But... now that I look at it, he doesn't bear any resemblance to the thugs that attacked us... his clothings are all wrong and he doesn't bear their clan symbol... Calm down, I think he's okay.

Wow, some sense and cool-headed thoughts, finally. Smirking, Baku would the speak.

-Yeah man! And I can see you guys had dealt with some reaaallly dull shit! Who the heck did all this?

Finally lowering their weapons, the both of them would calm down, now looking around them, obviously depressed by the scenery.

-The Harbingers. At least, that's how they call themselves. It's a criminal organization, simple as that... and it would seem the Hot Spring village was under their crosshair today. They caught us off guard with unprecedented forces.

Looking at Bakuhatsu, the guard would then raise an eyebrow, now seemingly curious about something.

-Say... you wouldn't happen to be the skilled type of ninja? Because right now we're building a milita to better defend ourselves... and I'm pretty sure we could use people like you.

At this the adventurer would simply cross his arms, raising an eyebrow.

-Depends, what's in it for me?

He'd ask. The guards would look at each other, sharing sheepish looks.

-Saving innocent lives?

There was a moment of silence as both of them obviously realized that Bakuhatsu was far from convinced. Truth to be told, He would've done it anyway... but if he could pull a few more things while he was at it, why not?

-Er... well, some free food? Drinks? A place to sleep in for a couple of nights? I'm sure we could arrange that!

Smirking, Baku would nod.

-Heh, yeah, don't sweat it, that'll be more than enough. So... what's the plan?


-------------------


Posted on the small village's wooden barricades, Bakuhatsu was handed over a pair of binoculars, now acting as sentry, on the lookout for any suspect activity. The village was barely able to fend off the first assault... no doubt the bandits would be back with reinforcements to end what resistance was left and take over the village.

Too bad for them, Bakuhatsu would be putting a stop to that. Looking to his left, an other man would be standing there not too far from him... probably an other volunteer to defend the village like him given he didn't wore an of the guard's uniforms.

-Sooooo... yeah. You're in for the fight too, eh? We'll show these bastards, right?

He'd say, nudging the man's shoulder with his elbow.

Loki had been having a rather nice day.

It had started with eating breakfast, lazing around for a while, playing a prank on a merchant (who had been cheating customers with unreasonably high prices), and being assigned a mission to Kusagakure.

Apparently, some clan of thugs had tried to overtake one if the surrounding civilian villages...something he did not approve of in the slightest.
Though sometimes it was fun to mess with people (and he knew this well, being the person he was) there were things that were too far...attacking a civilian village? That was dishonorable and an unfair fight.
Needless to say, Loki did not find anything against completing this mission.
Everything had gone well so far- he' interviewed a few of the townspeople who had experienced the attack, and now he was waiting for the attackers to come back.

And then someone had touched his shoulder.
His eye twitching, Loki looked over at the man who had apparently nudged him with an elbow.

"I suppose so," he answered after a moment, in a quiet tone.
Except for the eye-twitch, there was no sign indicating his irritation.

Oh right. That was probably an other one of those overly serious type of guys that doesn't get to talk much, acting all badass-like in their dark corners, head looking down with arms crossed. They had some skills, right? Acting loose a bit and have some fun was the thing that simply couldn't go together. Pffff, as if! In fact, knowing you had some serious power over some regular joes usually gave you some feeling of... superiority, invincibility! As if the whole world was yours to toke and enjoy! Squeeze every single little drops out of it before getting you butt buried six feet under. Might as well poke some fun out of this guy while he was at it.

-"I suppose so, hurrh, duurrhh!" My man! We'll kick. their. asses!

He'd say, giving him one generous pat on the back.

-I'm sure since you volunteered that you must have some serious jutsus or something! I mean, look at you! You seem like the type of guy that would get snap in half with just flick... yet wouldn't... Like, you're hiding your game... ya feel?

He'd say, giving him his best shit-eating grin.

-Right, anyway! We got some guarding to do.

He'd say, now putting on his serious face... which was far from convincing. Bringing his binoculars back to his eyes, that's when a shuriken thrown from somewhere within the darkest recesses of the forest would lodge itself right into his left lens. Not moving a muscle and still looking through the apparatus, concentrated, Bakuhatsu would then speak with a voice perfectly natural and collected.

-I think I saw something...

Loki, having been about to snarl and say something rather...rude, suddenly grinned, his mood at once lightening.
He was feeling rather amused.

And it showed....
It started with a small chuckle. Then a slightly larger chuckle. It kept growing until it reached a full-out laugh....

After a moment, Loki's laughter subsided, and he looked with glee towards the person.

"Yes, I believe you did see something," he commented.

"Did you actually see what it was, though?" he was prodding at him, trying to get a reaction.

He had to admit that he had totally not seen this coming. That shuriken literally came out of nowhere... it did seem pretty funny at first glance; the way he took it mostly. But still; remained the fact that thing thing could've literally gouge his eye right off his face. Luck was with him today, let this be a warning to tray and not get himself distracted too much in the future. But still, something about this guy's change of mood and laughter made in contagious as both of them were now laughing their asses off over the wooden walls. Bakuhatsu's laughter sounding more like an almost inaudible wheezing. Briefly looking in front of him, that's when he saw a complete volley of projectiles being tossed at them. Grabbing his companion by his collar, he would then tug him down behind the wall as all the throwing weapons flew above them or lodged themselves on the barricade.

-I'm fairly certain it was something meant to tear part of my face off. My beautiful, beautiful face.

He'd say, holding his cheeks and making pretty eyes at him.

-Pffhaha! Just kidding... *ahem* ... yeah... Oh that's right! SOUND THE ALAAAARM!

And with that, few other sentries at their posts jumped from surprise and ran for the bells and started swinging the chains, making them ring for everyone else to hear. The infantry got into lines, those armed with long range weapons went further back, close quarter specialists on the walls and more at the entry. The doors were closed with heavy duty wooden structure; literally using tree trunks in vertical angle to block the door, which was pretty thick on its own. Commanders would get on the walls, looking around. Archers and soldier awaiting orders.

A silence would take place before a wild war cries of several hundred men let themselves heard from within the woods. All of them came out of it running wild, brandishing weapons. Those who weren't just ordinary thugs with weapons and actual missing ninjas would leap toward the wall. Arrows from the village's arches would fly, putting down a great deal of enemy but with not much of an effect.

-Welp guess I'd better summon... something.

He'd say, shrugging. Pulling out his scroll. Putting his hand on one symbol, Bakuhatsu would spawn one of his melee weapons... this time a shovel with sharpened edges.

-Huh, that should be interesting.

He'd say, with a smirk as one rogue leaped right toward them, his katana up for the strike. Skidding right, he would let the man land and hit thin air. Not letting him time to recover, the bandit barely had time to turn around that the adventurer's improvised weapon's edge would lodge itself in his skull, half a feat deep. Tugging it out, he would then swing it back and hit the side of his face with the blunt side of his shovel, a loud "F'TANK!" letting itself heard as the dead body would tumble down over the edge.

-Shovels! Useful for gardening... as well as for killing it would seem... AND bury them after, how handy!

After this, several more leaped on the wall as other began climbing. Seems like this part of the wall the two of them would have to defend on their own...

-Seems like we'll be here a while, huh? So what's your name? Mine's Bakuhatsu!

Loki raised an eyebrow, watching Bakuhatsu's actions. "The ridiculous antics of this man.." he muttered to himself, too quiet for anyone but himself to hear.

From what he was observing, Bakuhatsu seemed rather....annoying. Cheerful, but annoying.

And yet...there was something about him that Loki could not place, something that he didn't recognize. He felt himself becoming....happy? What was this?

He eventually realized that he was feeling....humoured. He felt like....laughing! It was funny!


This did not happen often- with Loki's natural habits of being antisocial, he didn't associate himself with many people, therefore limiting his time of amusment shared with peers. The only thing (other than his one and only friend) that could make him laugh was the low-scale pranks he would pull on townspeople.

Not that he was cruel or anything to do this but... he found it amusing. And, in his lifetime, amusment was something he didn't come across often.

So what was so amusing about this Bakuhatsu fellow? Loki couldn't seem to put his finger on it, watching observantly as the man continued to kill the invaders with his surprisingly versatile shovel.

All the while, he kept an eye out for any that would come after him- Loki was feeling rather tired today, and he didn't feel like fighting unless he really had to. And, from the looks of it, Bakuhatsu could take care of the situation.
For now.

In response to Bakuhatsu's question, Loki grinned slightly. "My given name is Hikaru....but most people know me as Loki. You may call me by either name...I don't really have a preference."

Taking care of his own enemies on the battlefield was something Bakuhatsu could easily do. And by the same occasion, saving people of this village as much as he possibly could. Getting attention was easy enough; the more you displayed skill on a battleground, the more you involuntarily pulled attention toward you... and boy, some guy in a white martial suit kicking, punching and smacking people with a shovel sure did seemed to grab many of those thug's attention. All the west wall seemed to have taken a liking to him... but none of them were able to land a hit on him, at least, none that truly left a mark, glancing blows, light punches, scratches, so on and so forth.

However.

Things were really starting to get intense as seconds and eventually went by. They just coming and coming! There was simply no end! And his shovel was really getting worn down, having delivered well over 9000 hits, the thing was now just a tend, bend out of shape piece of metal on a stick. Throwing it against someone's head with all his might, the once-weapon would lodge itself into some thug's skull. The moment of the throw giving one of his enemies the opportunity to land a punch square on his jaw. Fumbling back a bit, Bakuhatsu would then jump in the air, landing on some guard tower's roof.

No amount of weapons would be enough to deal with all of this. He had to dispose of them with something more powerful. Hand clenching together to form a seal, his explosive tag dispenser hanging on the back side of his belt would then begin to spit out many of them, all of the rectangular papers folding into small, paper planes which would soon after fly straight toward the enemy, exploding upon impact, taking out severals at the same time.

However, such detonations only managed to drag even more attention... a large group of the never-ending army of gang members would now come from behind. And it so happened that Loki was in their way.

It was at this moment that Loki decided to make a move. Having been watching the show for a while, he was starting to grow tired of simply watching Bakuhatsu take down thug after thug.

And, it seemed that his shovel was beginning to wear down...

Loki's actions, it seemed, were now needed.

And so, with his slight irritation returning to him, Loki jumped from the gate. He landed on a treebranch in the middle of the fray.

He had somewhat realized the amount of enemies after him, but...he had seemingly made a miscalculation in how close they were, for as soon as he took a breath they were apon him.

"Idiots," the man growled under his breath.


An idea suddenly formed in Loki's mind. It would cause a stir, most likely, among the thugs that surrounded them.

He jumped down from the tree and landed softly on the ground.

"I'm down here," he purred to those who remained in the trees. It was a mocking tone- and seemed to piss off a lot of them.

And then, Loki began to run, using his natural agility to out-maneuver them with ease.

It was then that he set his plan into motion.

He made a few handsigns, and then grinned. This was going to be entertaining.....

Potholes.

The instant it was said in Loki's mind, ten large holes opened up in the ground, causing many of the people chasing him to trip, some breaking their legs in the process.

Loki sighed at the idiocy of this.
Honestly, he had expected better of them....

But, then again, the fight wasn't over. There were others still left....