Chapter 2: Those who look up to the Sun

A quadruple bikini shoot, eh? Not a bad idea. Her eyes lit up when Meran was about to whisper his plan to her, when the journalists came into view and the mood in the entire group changed. From lighthearted to annoyed. "Nice camera's they have there.... It would be a SHAAAAMMMEEEE if something were to happen to them.." Her smile returned at his wink. "Very much a shame." she agreed.

She listened to the guys' plans. Sounded logical enough to her. Her eyes drifted over to Akira, still being fussed over by the medics. They wouldn't allow Akira to do anything. What's more, if they wanted to do something about the journalists, they would have to do so quickly, before they were stopped by the adults. However, she was surprised when all the medics were irritated as well and one of them even wanted to deal with the journalists alongside them. 'Mist?' she thought, the cogs in her head turning at what this meant. But she decided she would store that bit of information for later and deal with the situation at hand.

"Don't worry, miss," she said with a polite tone but mischievous glint in her eyes, "We won't give up." She looked at the cameras and surrounding, trying to find something she could use. She needed a good way to distract and maybe even stop the journalists while staying as innocent looking as possible. 'Don't forget you're a clan heir, Hina. You can't go around doing whatever you want just because you feel like it.' The words she had heard so often. However. If she had to choose between protecting her friend's privacy or upholding the clan honour. She.. would probably want to do both. She gave a small sigh at feeling so conflicted. It wasn't a new feeling, but she sometimes wished life would just be simple and let her do whatever she wanted to.

"Anyway, I guess our start would be a nice mist cover. And then someone to cover for Meran and I. Henged clones perhaps? I can't distract them from here. Thoughts?" She would look at Meran, Hiten and even the medical woman, apparently named Yuuyou, asking with her eyes if they thought this was a good plan and if they had more ideas themselves.

Akira rolled her eyes when she heard her friends go on and on about the bikini photo shoot, though admittedly... she nearly had to laugh at some comments.

The moment the camera crew came in sight, Akira felt her spirits drop in dismay.

Oh god no.

Was this her fault for tempting fate? She's been thinking about how awful it would be if the media found them first only moments ago. God fucking dammit.

Since she was already lying down on the stretcher she allowed herself a moment to recuperate and recapitulate. The female medic had stopped tending to her, and with the cooling sensation of the healing technique gone she felt the full heat of the sun blasting down on her body, heating her up, making her feel even more tired than before.

She had no, absolutely no time for playing pretend with some information hungry vultures. They'd only write down what they wanted to hear anyway. Besides, she could do without the cameras on her first day of getting her headband, her first day of being a genin, and oh yeah, first thing that happened was getting beat up by some crazed lunatic. Yes, she could definitely do without a screaming headline that would make her sound like some poor weakling.

Ugh, she felt a headache coming on.

"Yes. Mist. Sounds like a plan," she said after hearing the others talk. "I don't think any one of us is in the mood for some bullshit journalists, me least of all... So let's do our best to avoid them."

[Admin, due to talks with you and Danny, I came to understand that Computer skill is in regards to anything with regards to computer technology, not technology in general. Seeing the level of technology in the verse, I figured that some things are still common knowledge and that Computer skills included things like automated locks, computers etc. In short everything with a circuit board inside.

I figured a character without Computer Skill would understand technology to a level I myself could as a five/six year old. Which is not too indept, but more than you are describing. As a six year old, i was would understand that when pictures were taken with an analog camera, they were stored on film/tape and when it became exposed to light, it would be bad. I did not understand why, but I knew, film + light = Bad. Just like I understood, Sand inside Camera = bad.

So I would ask you to consider doing one of two things:

Either take intelligence of a character in consideration and allow for at least some technological knowledge if the character is smart. (Not asking for a full understanding, this you know, but at least the knowledge a normal 6/7 year old would learn without having a huge interest in the subject.)

Or change the name of the skill to Technology instead of Computer Skill. Because Computer Skill refers to a certain kind of technology, not all encompassing.
(If it was named such, I would have allocated points to it )
We are playing in a world with the technological advance of the current world had during Win 95.
So not everything was digital, So I assumed that our characters know at least more of the workings of things than nothing. Camera's (at least professional camera's) did not have circuits back then. ^^ But again, your choice, I do recommend to do either.

Also, please for future characters to be created, make sure the skills are described with what things they cover exactly. Because I have run into this problem multiple times before and with me others as well. Thanks for the understanding.

"I guess we need to solve this as adults right, Hina?" Meran sighed and visibly slumbed. Excitement fleeing a little, but as always, not for long, turning to his three compagnions and the medical shinobi he spoke somewhat rapidly, because they were getting closer.

"Well, if we cannot go around them or bash through them, we'll just have to part the ocean of media, to get to our promised land. I am sure that I could manage to push them aside without hurting them or damaging their equipment, however we would still need the mist and I will need Hina's help." He winked at Hina with a sly smile.

Hiten, could you work together with Yuuyou-San on a mist dense enough so it does not debilitate Hina and me too much? He smiled, trusting his friend to get the hiding part fixed. No need to think about that anymore. "Hina, I am going to use the sand they stand upon to trap and move them to the sides, can you please make sure that if they drop anything that you catch anything that falls?"
He knew that the two would know his plan now, Meran wanted to let the media sink away into the sand they were standing on, after which he wanted to move the sand in which they were trapped, to the side(like a conveyor-belt , opening a path through the middle, with Hiten covering them with mist and Hina making sure that the media do not destroy any of their own equipment by the surprise or by the gentle push aside that Meran planned on doing.

He was sure that his friends would protest if they did not like the plan, just like he thought that Akira would not mind sitting this one out either. He smiled at her, in part to check out how she was doing and in part to show her that her friends were trying to make her as comfortable as she could be.

He would also turn to the remaining two medical shinobi,
"I hope my plan is also more to your liking? I would certainly not mind suggestions or further tips. You are afterall all more experienced Shinobi as we are. I for one would not mind learning from you. Would you mind if I asked you some questions when we have Akira settled?" His Fingers ached for that book burning inside his pocket, but after his sister's comments, he tries not to think about the book, not yet anyway.

Hiten thrilled with the anticipation of the tricks that they would try to pull of and looked at his team.
"Sure thing Meran I'll fix the mist and I hope Yuuyou-san would be so kind to help." He looked at the nurse and then turned back to his team. "Also still looking forward to the clone trick.."

(Tiny reply.. My mind is occupied with the upcoming weekend and it is required to think up weird stuff for it..)

Hina gave Akira a sympathetic smile. She wouldn't want to be in her position either. So they would do anything they could to try and keep their friend's dignity and privacy intact.

She also smiled back at Meran's wink. "You can always count on my help, cousin. What's your plan and what do you need?" She listened to his plan. It seemed good enough. The mist would hinder the sight enough that the journalists probably couldn't get a good shot from afar, she assumed. His sand was a smart way to move them aside. She did however roll her eyes, but with a smile on her face, at Meran's question if he could ask the medic shinobi some things afterwards. 'Probably more info for his little book.' she thought. That boy and his gathering.

She quickly came up with the plan of having Chouchou catching fallen camera's and catching others with the chakra strings on her other hand. If she was able to control three puppets with two hands, then surely one puppet with one hand would be no problem. She also gauged the distance between them and the journalists.

"Sounds like a plan, guys," she said, small smirk playing on her face, "How about we get a move on? Though I can't be further away from them than about ten metres. That's pretty much my reach when controlling Chouchou." In the meantime she would mould chakra so she would have it ready for controlling her puppet and using chakra strings would she have to. (Moulding chakra with 4PEME causes her to have 25 Chakra Points in her Chakra Pool.)

Akira was glad that she could count on her teammates to take care of their situation. She'd have loved to help out, but truth be told there wasn't much she could do in her state. Well, she had no problem relying on her friends. They had each other's backs.

Peering at the journalists standing at the hospital gates she noticed the distance becoming shorter and shorter... "Is there really no other way to get in?" she muttered, more to herself than anything. It would be great if there was some sort of side entrance, but the medics taking them to the hospital surely would have known if that was the case. Regardless, she looked around just to be sure.
(Investigation roll, looking for other ways to get to the hospital)

She lay her head down and let out a breath, looking up at the clear, bright sky. Everyone was doing their best, but what if all plans failed or backfired? A horrible image crossed her mind's eye, where she saw a picture of her lying on a stretcher being carried to the hospital on a two page spread, with huge headlines saying 'Kazenkou's squad injured on first day!'
She resisted the urge to moan. Her face wasn't going to appear in any newspaper or magazine. Not gonna happen.
"Guys, I'm going to henge myself just in case."

(molding chakra (specialty), 1PE+1ME = 5 chakra)

[Meran I have responded to your remark and suggestion in the Suna Graduation event discussion, please check that topic for more information on that.]

Ichiro would begin to laugh as he heard Meran speak, but it wasn't a mocking or demeaning laugh, more like an amused and pleased laugh. The tall blonde medical Chuunin would smile and nod towards Meran.
"Naturally. You are free to ask us anything once we're done here. And it's good that you'd like to hear our plan...." He smirked.
"That's cause why you guys were talking, I was already on it."
He would look back over his shoulder at the rest with a friendly yet somewhat cocky smirk and then turn sideways slightly to them revealing the fact he was performing seals.
"The mist however would be very handy as a cover. Though no need to bother those people and their equipment whatsoever. So Yuuyou-chan, Hiten-san...go right ahead. The rest of you. Just make sure to stay close to one another and be as silent as you can. I'll explain later, just stay as close to Akira-san's stretcher as you can and keep moving together as one."[b] He explained and hearing and seeing this Yuuyou would gulp and blush for a moment and then smile.
[b]"Ichiro...kun...you..." She gasped rather surprised by the blond man's actions and then grinned and chuckled happy and exited and then nodded as she began to mold chakra.
"I know what he's planning guys...this should be just fine. " She spoke as she then nodded to Hiten.
"Hiten-san...let's do this." She confirmed and took the initiative starting to perform the handsymbols for Kirigakure no Jutsu. And then slowly the mist began to settle.

The other medical nin would stick close to the stretcher but pull a sour and unamused face.
"Bah! I thought you preferred not to use Genjutsu...Ichiro-kun. I thought you hated it.
To this Ichiro would chuckle and shrug.
"True, I hate it. But it is the easiest and least risque solution to the problem and besides, this is not my problem, I am doing it for them....and for the Village as a whole. So I can deal. Besides my Genjutsu is usually to weak to be effective on Shinobi, but it works just fine on most if not all civilians...so fun for me."
Fuushou would roll his eyes at that reply, clearly he thought all of them were taking this too far and should have just talked to the media like reasonable people or perhaps it was more his team-mate's attitude that displeased him.

"That's because when you guys were talking, I was already on it." Hina raised an eyebrow at his cocky smirk. He was what? She saw that he indeed was making seals. 'Is he.. just ignoring our plan?' she thought, slightly offended. And now he was telling them to stay put and shut up?! With a promise of a later explanation. She could feel the offended feeling grow in to anger. She however bit her lip and held her tongue. With much self control. Her hotheadedness was never a great feature of hers. Besides, yelling at the people that were there to heal one of your friends isn't a good idea.

She tried to get rid of the annoyed expression on her face and stepped even closer to Akira's stretcher, now being close enough to put her hand on the stretcher. She also shut up, being the good little girl that always did what people told her to, like they expected of her. Sarcasm, sarcasm. Damn the manners that were drilled into her from a young age...

"You know," she said to the blond shinobi, luckily without any anger in her voice, "if you despise using your genjutsu so much, we could also just henge. Making us look like journalists or medics would make their pictures useless. Meran here can't do a simple henge," she glanced sideways at Meran with a smirk on her face, "But if I attach Chouchou to him, her mass will have changed enough for me to henge her, and in the process him, into a different looking human. I'm not sure if you can do a henge," she said to the three medics, with a questioning look on her face. All the anger having disappeared because of her mind doing what it loved most: thinking. "And I'm not even sure if that is necessary, actually. But you can if you want to. Though I think this picture will be useless to them anyway."

Fuushou would see the mist start to settle as he would hear Hina's words and nodded to the girl.
" Heh! Little girl got a brain on her, unlike you Ichiro-kun. Perhaps that is why your Genjutsu doesn't work on most Shinobi." He chuckled mocking his team-mate a bit jokingly.

As Yuuyou's part of the mist would start to settle Fuushou would then add.
"These kids had a pretty good plan, ya know." He glanced back to Meran who was still close enough not to be obscured by the mist.
" Forgive my team-mate, he's always a bit......rash.."

Ichiro hearing this would start getting increasingly annoyed.
"Ohw shut up! At least I am doing SOMETHING...anyways. We should be more silent now, this Genjutsu only alters their vision not their sense of smell or hearing. And it doesn't alter their sense of touch either so stick close." He'd explain and sighed deeply still a bit annoyed at his team-mates mockery.

Yuuyou placed a palm on each of her team mates shoulders and gave them both a glare as if telling them to stop the quarreling.

Though Meran was bumped out that the medical nin seemed to just skip over his plan, he was glad that at least one of them thought it was a good one. But now was the second time he got screwed over by that dump Genjutsu... Meran would make sure that he would not need genjutsu ever! He knew what to do against it and that was enough! At least, he could work a little more on that, but still!

Complying the boy got closer to the stretcher, brushing against Akira's arm, just a tiny amount,but still.

As the medical nin explained his genjutsu, Meran's smile got wider and wider. "And it doesn't alter their sense of touch either so stick close."
Ooooohhhhh Reaaaaaallllllyyyyyy.... He smirked while seeking eye contact with Hina, making his sand tap Hina's shoulder, knowing she'd practically be able to read his mind with that hint.

Hiten smiled when he used the hidden mist as subtle as he could and slowly walked with the group.
"I really dislike those mundane journalists. What's so important about a group of recently graduated shinobi?, It's not like we are going to destroy the other villages within a week or so."
He chuckled a little and stared at the group. "But... What should we expect for the next test? And will it involve combat?.. Only time will tell and I think it is going to be awesome!" His voice had a joyful tone to it. His face on the other hand was cold.

Akira looked to the entrance's left side incredulously, glanced at the medics but didn't say a word. Honest to god... She was going to store this information away and confront the others with it later.

The medics started their own plan and had everyone move closer to her. Meran even 'accidentally' brushed against her and Akira pretended not to notice. Maybe she would have said something under other circumstances, but now was no time and place for argument. There was nothing to do for her now but to be quiet and let everyone else do their thing.

Still, she made the seals for a henge and concentrated on transforming her appearance. Regardless she was going to henge, she wasn't going to let the possibility of a picture getting taken of her be left to chance.

Now only one question remained: who to henge in? She could just simply tweak her appearance. Or...

A chuckle rose up in Akira's throat and her lips curled up in a smirk. Or I could use this opportunity to get back at a certain dickwad.

There was this boy who was in their academy class. Never spoke much. Of course he wouldn't, he was mute. And he was Souran's son. It had never meant anything to her. Hina had spoken of it sometimes, because she disliked his father who was also from the Chikamatsu clan. But now, now Akira had met Souran. She knew who this man was and this man had wronged her.

She felt satisfied vindiction as she made the transformation. Sorry mute kid, she thought, let's hope for your sake no one manages to take a picture. Her female body changed to that of a male, fully clothed like she remembered the mute kid to look, though the clothes were bloody and torn in places, ruffled shortish dark hair, broken glasses on a scratched face.

"Heh! Little girl got a brain on her." Hina couldn't help the tiny blush and happy smile that appeared on her face. She was always happy when people complimented her, especially on her intelligence. She still had a smile on her face when the mist started to settle in and she suddenly felt something tap on her shoulder. Looking to the side she saw Meran with a smirk on her face. 'What's up with his face?' she thought, turning her smile lopsided. A second later though she caught the hint. He wanted to annoy the journalists anyway? Well, that was fine with her.

If that tap on her shoulder was any indication, he would use his sand for that. He used his sand for almost everything, so that wasn't such a big surprise. She decided not to be surprising either and use her puppet. She nodded back at Meran and threw a quick look the journalists' way, letting him know she was in on it.

"I really dislike those mundane journalists." she heard Hiten's voice. "Don't worry about them, Hiten. We've got them." she said in a soft voice and a smile his way. "As for the next test. I don't know." But she had to smile at the excitement in his voice.

Just as she was going to think about the next test, she still had some time before the mist would be thick enough to give them enough cover, she heard a poof next to her, on Akira's stretcher. Alarmed she whipped her head around. Was someone attacking Akira? Now?! On a stretcher?! 'Those low life little scum-!' And that's when she started laughing.

She clutched a hand to her mouth, trying to stifle the sound of her outrageous laughter. Her laughing burst had soon died down to just some giggles. She almost found it a shame that they weren't going to be seen through the mist. Having a picture of Mukade in the papers. Bloodied and beaten up. She gave the girl- eh, boy a wink and a huge smile.

The mist would be thicker by this time and she was preparing to attach her chakra strings with her right hand to Chouchou. When the mist would be thick enough she would attach her strings. Suddenly a thought struck her, 'Just.. how thick is this mist going to be?' Would she still be able to see well enough to have her puppet manoeuvre around the journalists without bumping in to them? Her brow furrowed.

They would now be close to the Journalists and passing them by the mist now so thick that Hina could barely see, but she could still see, normally when it would be just Hiten's mist she would be able to see just fine to control her puppet on the range she had. (10 meters) (Focus 7 - 3....= 4 focus after Hiten's mist.)
But the two Kirigakure no Jutsu working simulteneously made her vision rather obscure at the moment.
(Focus 7 -3 -3 = 1 FCS for the purpose of movement, attack , defense and puppet manipulation)

Meran would be having about the same problem this mist so thick that he could still see, but not far, and not sharp at all and at some moments, not at all even.

Akira would find herself completely blinded by the mist not seeing a damn thing, not even her own hand unless it would be no more than an inch from her face.

They would hear the Journalists panic.

"What?! Mist?! Huuuuuuh?!"
A fat man in a tight suit holding a microphone would exclaim

"What's going on here?!! How the f...?!
The young camera man wearing a cap would blink around himself in confusion and even a bit of fear.

"Is...is the Village under attack?! Where is everyone?!"
A woman that was holding a stack of paperwork behind the two would ask blinking and looking from side to side nervously before tripping over some wires but managing to still keep her balance for the most part shaking on one leg making sure not to drop the paperwork.

A old short man with a mustache and a golf-cap that had a notebook much like Meran's in his hand and a pencil in the other ready to write down things would close his eyes a bit annoyed and let out a deep sigh.
The old , wise and experienced usually knew what was going down even if they couldn't do much about it.
"How disappointing...." The old man mummbled

There was another camera man somewhat older and muscular and tall, he looked like he could make a good warrior or even shinobi but the look in his eyes gave away that it was just the body not the spirit or mind that were suited for the shinobi life. He had somewhat darker skin like Ranmaru and a thick jawbone.
The man would act like a complete sissy though as the mist rose denying him his vision.
He would jump up and let out a girly sounding yelp almost dropping his camera.
"Eeeeeeeek!" The man squealed before shaking his head and grabbing the camera before it fell.
He would then speak in a scared tone but in his deep manly voice, contradicting to the girly squeal just seconds before.
"Ohw Sages! Ohw Sages! The hell is going on? I can't see a damn thing....ohw my....ohw my....D...d....don't h....hurt...m...me...p.....please..." He stuttered looking rather pathetic when seconds ago before the mist those that saw him might even find him threatening or intimidating.

The well toned, pretty boy faced journalist that was with this darkskinned camera-guy, was a handsome young man with loads of gel and hairspray in his hair making it look slick and shiny, much like his expensive looking tight suit he was wearing. Obviously this guy had the good looks given to him by mother nature, but likewise this guy seemed to be the biggest fan of his own looks, judging by how he dressed, did his hair and the fact he even seemed to apply a bit of make-up to make him self look that tad bit better. Ofcourse the cocky expression on his face would be the biggest hint of it out of all of these.
However the cocky expression faded as the mist settled as he would back up against the wall surrounding the hospital pressing his back firmly against it and just breathing heavily looking around himself.
"Wha...what? I.....you can't hurt me....I can't die here....I am the great Naiya Juuhon! I am too great to die! No...they....they wouldn't dare! They know who I am...anyone who watches TV does...r...riiight..." He stammered scared dropping his microphone and blinking around himself his hair now a bit messy due to the movement, but the heavy amounts of hairspray still seemed to hold it all in place for the most part.

The group had easy entry pass the gate now it seemed, with both the double mist and a Genjutsu in place.
In fact it seemed the two mists combination was more than enough of it's own for this bunch, unless it was the Genjutsu that was cast that caused them all this elevated form of tension and fear.

Meran sighed, this made the fun he was planning to have a lot harder. He wanted to have fun and he would!
With some effort he tried to make out the the journalists. He pitied those truly afraid, but he decided to give those that weren't petrified a little extra motivation to jump aside..

As the medics had said, he stuck quite close to the stretcher, but his fingers moved ever so slightly, tapping the less feared journalists on the shoulder. The movement was subtle, not hard, just enough to form an extra distraction.

Hardly able to keep his laughter in check, meran struggled to get inside the hospital, without bursting out laughing. Perhaps he should go back after settling Akira in a room... Just to check how much of an effect the combined actions had caused to the journalists.

Hiten slowly walked with the group and rolled his eyes. 'Unbelievable people freaking out this much after a little mist.' He counted the steps they took towards the hospital.
He sighed when they entered the hospital and looked at Akira. "Anything I can get for you?"
Hiten disliked hospitals. They always made him feel vulnerable and uneasy. So he always tried to avoid spending time in there.

As the mist began to thicken more and more Hina soon came to the conclusion that this mist would be a lot thicker than she was used to. She was used to Hiten's one man mist. Was it a good idea to still go through with their plan of teasing the journalists? She tried looking around to catch Meran's eyes, she was planning on silently asking him what he thought, but she found she could only see a vague shadow where she knew Meran was. Now what? It was irresponsible to have her puppet fly around while she couldn't see her. It.. wouldn't be ideal if Chouchou smacked into someone's face. And her puppet would be immediately traceable to her. She heard Meran sigh and felt like doing the same.

Her disappointment however was short lived as she heard the journalists start to panic. A grin appeared on her face. 'Seriously, guys, it's only a simple mist jutsu. You shouldn't be too surprised in a village filled with shinobi.' One of them let out a sqeal and Hina had to clamp the hand that was not touching the stretcher over her mouth to prevent a snort from coming out. She followed along with the stretcher in to the hospital.

The last thing she saw before the mist became thicker than usual was Hina's wink and smile. Akira returned her look with a dramatic zombie face by rolling her eyes back as far as she could and poking her tongue out, but when she looked back up again she couldn't see Hina's face anymore. A couple moments later there was fog all around her and all she could do was simply lay back.

Screaming journalists were heard through the mist. Akira didn't pity the terror of most of them, in fact she thought it rather funny. What simple minded people. Did they think hoarding at the gates was going to force shinobi to stop and talk to them? Well, let this be a learning moment, she thought bemusedly.

They entered the hospital rather smoothly. It was great and Akira felt relieved, but she wasn't going to let her guard down just yet.
"Is there anything I can get for you?" Hiten asked her. She noticed he looked kind of uncomfortable in this place. Well, she couldn't blame him. Healthy shinobi didn't go to the hospital unless they worked there or were injured, and like all people Hiten probably avoided getting hurt. Akira did too, but she wasn't afraid of getting hurt. It was simply a nuisance.
"If you'd get me something to drink, I'd appreciate it," she replied gratefully, still in her henged form of Souran's son, Mukade. "In fact, I think we'd all like something to drink," she continued after a moment of deliberation, looking at Meran and Hina as well, then returned her gaze to Hiten. "And why don't you get some for yourself as well?" She offered him a small smile.

Hiten nodded. "Offcourse how could I forget the rest. I'm not thirsty but I'll bring some nice drinks for the rest." The boy walked out of the room and tried to find a place where he could get drinks for his team and wondered how long the next mission would take. Would they really be up to the challenge? Or could it be a huge reality check for them.

[Please Continue Play in Chapter 3]