At hearing Sigmund's response, Nori's smirk widened slightly and she nodded. "I guess we will," she said before she felt him slip his arm from around her shoulders and stood to get up from the hot springs. She stood up after him and got out, using her own fire chakra to dry her undergarments and body. Once she was fully dry, she slipped on her black fitted capri pants and made her way over to her bag that was across the room. She opened it up and dug inside it before she pulled out a dark burgundy fitted tank top with black trimming down her sides. She slipped it on before she sat down and put on her black sandals before she reached into her bag and pulled out her roll of bandages wrap. She began to wrap it around both her fingers, hands, and forearms, tugging at the wraps to make sure they were secure. Nori looked it over, making sure it was good to go before she crouched down and began to roll up her sleeping bag. Once it was rolled tight and was secured to the back of her bag, she moved to close the her backpack up but saw something glimmer near the bottom of it. She reached inside and pulled it out. It was their headband that she was told to keep hidden in case they had to play themselves off as rogue ninjas. Well, there was no point in that anymore, was there? She clenched the headband in her hand and upon hearing Sigmund's voice, she turned her head and looked over at him. Nori pressed her lips tightly together and nodded. "I'm good to go," she told him as she closed up her bag and stood up from the ground. She looked down at the headband in her hand once more before she brought it up and tied it around her left bicep.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:25, Mon 16 Oct 2017.

Nanami stood up "Already ready, Captain. Oh.." She walks up to the pair, and takes out two small pouches "There is a soldier, chakra, and healing pill in each of these small pouches. You should take the soldier pill before we head out. Even though they taste awful. The vitamins and caffeine will give us some extra energy so we can move more efficiently, and conserve chakra use." She hands a small pouch to Sigmund and Nori. Nanami doesn't say anything about what she heard when she woke up. There was no real need to. It was between them. She looked at the entrance "I also have a pouch for Shiroma."Nanami leans against the wall and goes back to studying the plan she was in the process of finalizing, while waiting for Shiroma to open the wall. She seemed in high spirits and was looking forward to seeing where this mission takes them next. There was little else she could do at the time but wait for the command to move beyond the cave.

Moving it along:

Shiroma received the pouch; she also opened the cave enterance.

The group will resume in the mission, somewhat acknowledging her presence; try to avoid text dialogue with Shiroma until the player decides to post. But also don't forget about her character as well.

   Sigmund took the pouch that was handed to him as Nanami explained its contents. It was advised they take the soldier pill now and of course use the other two only when necessary. She also explained what the soldier pill actually did. He opened the pouch, taking out the said pill she deceived to be Horus tasting and by the smell of it, he was positive he grabbed the correct one. He didn't hesitate to take it as he placed it in his mouth and chewed it, the bitterness of the pill not taking a physical reaction out of him as he swallowed it.

   He closed the pouch and shoved it into his right pocket of his pants. Placing his hand in his left pocket he pulled out a folded map and began to unfold it as Nanami walked away. He looked over a map of the land they were at. "I managed to come by a map of the land from one of those dead shinobi. They have a couple of ports on the other side of the land on the coast. That's where we're headed to borrow one of their ships and sail off to the Land of Demons," he started. He knew his words were echo to the rest of the group. "Just like before, another beam of light structure we need to destroy. However our plan is going to be different this time," he said seriously as he folded the map back up and placed it in his pocket.

   "We are to avoid contact with Kotatsu at all costs. Clearly we have enough tensions between us that a successful confrontation is just not possible so we are avoiding a fight with him unless I give the order to. If any of you decide to make a move on him, I'll terminate you on the spot. I'm done playing games," he warned. "Secondly, Shiroma is only here from the land of frost as she mentioned she's been stationed here for the past year so we will not have any intel on this land as an advantage this time so every move we make is critical. This means don't be a hero and don't do anything unless I've ordered it to. We didn't get to investigate the beam of light this time so I will not make that mistake again this time," he added.

   "Lastly: we are to terminate any hostiles we encounter when traveling through this land. Any innocents are to be spared of course. When in the land of demons, stealth approach so we can gather any intel off of them. We will not be traveling to the land of snow to invade or attack. We will worry about that once the second light structure has been taken care of. Have I made myself clear?" he asked. "If any of these orders are just too much to follow, say so now so you can depart from the group and head back home. I will not allow the same mistakes take place again. I will not hesitate to take action upon any of you. I am the captain; I am your leader and if I haven't ordered it, then don't do it. I am not trying to be a bully but what happened yesterday and the day before could have been prevented. So does anybody have any problems?" he asked again.

   A part of him felt terrible for how harsh he had to be but after the events that unfolded yesterday with the building and all the confrontations and conflicts they put themselves into, he wasn't going to allow it this time. He couldn't. Jeopodizing the mission was one thing, but to jeopardize your own squad was a serious offense to him. He had to report everything back and if this came out bad due to his leadership skills, he would be taking steps back instead of forward. He awaited their responses quietly.

Nanami smiled.. Finally the leader she had wanted from the beginning. Though there was so much tension between the three that, it was not as possible as it is now. Everything happens for a reason. That is one of the few things Nanami does believe. There are no coincidences. It was seriously harsh, and she understood the reasoning behind it. In the last two days the only thing that went to plan was the initial assault on the Snow's stronghold. Everything after that was seeded with mistrust among her team. She was glad in some ways it had come to this. Forcing Sigmund's hand so to speak. Though Nanami knew that an encounter with Kotatsu in the future would be avoidable. But it would be on their terms, not his.

"Understood captain. If I may speak about it. Every encounter with Kotatsu has been on his terms, and at his whim. That is part of the reason we failed to take him down. To beat him it has to be on our terms and the field of our choosing." Her eyes dance to each of her friends "Though if possible I would prefer to avoid encountering him. I understand each order given, Captain." She does smile slightly when looking between Sigmund and Nori "We will succeed. Let me know when you want me to start using my Sharingan to scan area for ambush parties and such. Also let me know when you want me to cloak us using my Genjutsu. It won't fool Kotatsu, but a sensory nin will have to be very close to us, so sense us." She bowed her head respectfully to Sigmund.

Nori took the small bag of pills away from Nanami and pulled out the one that she had spoken of. She looked it over, questioning how this thing was supposed to give them energy and conserve their chakra. Well, she was the expert. She popped the pill into her mouth and munched on it, tasting the bitterness on her tongue as she chewed on it before swallowing it. She brought up her hand and covered her mouth to hide the disgust that had spread across her lips. After she swallowed it, she stuffed the pouch into the side pouch of backpack to make sure that they wouldn't fall out. She turned her attention back to Sigmund, listening to him speak about a plan to steal one of the shinobi's ships to get to the Land of Demons where another light structure was located. Now came the plan. They were to avoid confrontation with Kotatsu and they were to eliminate any hostilities they may, and most likely will, encounter. They couldn't afford to have any kind of slip ups again. He was right. They weren't going to have Shiroma's expertise this time. They were going in blind. Every move they made was critical like he said. They had to be careful. "I understand, captain," she said with an affirming nod. "We'll follow your lead and do what you need us to do in order for this mission to be a success. We trust you...Sigmund." She smiled.

   He seemed to have nodded his head in approval with their answers. "Your Sharingan will become useful just before we hit the ports on the coast of the land. You'll use it then to scan how many we may be dealing with. Your genjutsu will become useful once we arrive at the land of demons,"  he explained as he glanced at the exit of the cave. "Let's go " he said as he walked next to Nori, grabbing her hand in his and tugged her along with him. He had something he wanted to speak with her as they left the cave and into the bright snowy land.

   It had been chilly and snowing again. He didn't seem bothered by the snow; it gave them some camouflage to their destination for the meantime. Glancing at his watch, he estimated it would take the remainder of the day to arrive on the other side of the land. He had hoped they could be codinated this time. Their ambush plan seemed to have worked okay when it came to infiltrating the village yesterday so perhaps the same plan could work for the ports too depending on what Nanami could scan around and find first.

While Nanami would be using her genjutsu to help them when they got close to the Land of Demons, Nori couldn't help but wonder what she could do to help. Of course, it would have to be up to Sigmund to come up with what her role would be when they got to that point. Everyone had their role to play in this, so she was sure she was going to be doing her own part. Part of her did hope, though, that she wouldn't have to kill anyone. With what news she received the day before, she didn't think she would be able to handle that just yet. She didn't want to resort to that if she didn't have to. It was just as she was heading towards the exit of the cave that she saw Sigmund come over to her side and felt him take hold of her hand. "Oh, uh, okay," she said as she held onto his hand in return and walked out of the cave with him.

   The group traveled in silence for a bit as he didn't hear Shiroma or Nanami really speak much. Nori and Sigmund had taken the lead on their own for a bit. They walked hand in hand together, only doing it for the benefit for Nori as a nice gesture to her. He finally cleared his throat. "Where do you want this to go? What are your expectations out of me?" he whispered to her, trying to keep the conversation on the down low as it was hard to talk about this with the other girls around. "I want to know where do we stand. At least from your point of view," he told her.

   He was going to discuss another topic at a later time however he wanted to be done with this conversation so he knew what she wanted from him. He was unsure after earlier this morning. Yes he professed his feelings for her however he didn't know where that left them. He knew he wanted to avoid personal relationships but after everything they had been through, he was still kinda conflicted whether or not he should give it a go or not.

The group walked in silence for sometime with Nori and Sigmund walking ahead of Nanami and Shiroma some feet behind them. It wasn't really an awkward silence like it had been before. It was more comfortable, however, she had this feeling that he wanted to talk to her and that was why they were ahead of the others. "Hey, Sigmund. Is everything- she began to say before she finally heard him speak up. "Expectations?" She blinked at him, but grew silent once again. She stayed that way as she looked down at the snowy ground they were treading through. "Sigmund...I'm sure you already know by this point about what my feelings are towards you. I mean, I-I've loved you for as long as I can remember and I honestly...I honestly didn't think I'd ever have any hope that my feelings would ever be returned. I thought it was going to be one sided forever, but hearing you say you love me...well, it only made me hope that we could be together like I have always hoped." She lifted her head up and looked over at him walking beside her.

"Look, I know you have things you want to do with your life and you know no matter what, I am going to support you but...I also don't want to stand in your way or compromise your goals because you're with me. I know you think that relationships will only cause you to lose focus of your goals and I know that your goals are important to you. I mean, I would say that I would love to help you accomplish them, but they are your ambitions. Your dreams. All I can really do is support you," she said as she gave Sigmund's hand a slightly tighter squeeze. "All I ever expect from you is just to be yourself and follow your heart. I'm not sure if you have a place for me in your heart or in your future, but I do have hope and that hope is what I've been holding onto for the past ten years," she said with a small smile. "I love you, Sigmund, and I just want you to be happy. I do want to be with you more than anything in the world as cheesy as that may sound, but it's something I want and if you don't want that than...than I'll understand."

Nanami nodded her head once "Understood. If you have need of anything let me know." She intentionally stayed back a ways. The entire team needed to clear their systems. So she gave Sigmund and Nori the space to do so. There was still a lot for them to work out. From all of the stories, and novels she has read. There was a danger apparent to having feelings for another teammate. Though there can be advantages as well. Not like she really knew much outside of what she has read in books, and what her mother told her. Nanami watched the pair, in many ways she hoped this would ease tensions among them. Her concern was in a fight one of them could do something based on emotion, and it could be costly for them or the entire team. This is what she feared the most. So many what if's crossed her mind. She looked down and sighed a little.

The gloomy landscape was much nicer in the light. It was almost pretty. The ice and snow sparkled, and it wasn't very cold. This helped keep her own tension and stress down "Hmm, so a small port huh..? What is common in ports? Usually two towers and a wall. Some are made to withstand attack, some are not. I wish I had more info on the port. If there was a schedule all of us could sneak onto the boat. But since nothing is known on departures that is out..." All of this are just thoughts racing through her mind.. Nanami looks forward towards Nori and sigmund "I'll need to ask that once it seems like they are done talking." Which she didn't know when the right time to ask mission questions would be. So she sat back silently hashing out a basic strategy, with several alternatives. The scene was kind of awkward for her.

   He remained quiet and allowed her to express her opinion about the current situation. She even admitted to him about her feelings that have led up to this moment. He was rather grateful that she explained she would support him regardless of life took him, but she also hoped she'd be apart of the journey. That was the bit that had him conflicted. She understood his beliefs over having personal relationship were a slow down, but Shiroma mentioned they were also good. While friends was one thing, an actual relationship with a person was a different story. She continued on about how she did want a relationship with him.

   "I do have ambitions. I do have my goals. My dreams, my destiny. I'm choosing my own path. Knowing you'll support me regardless where I go, is enough for me to give you what you want as well. I may not always act like it and I may hardly ever express it, but," he paused as he brought her hand up to his lips and pecked it lightly. "I love you, Nori and I will forever keep you in my heart and I will protect you with everything that I am until I take my last breath. That is the promise I will make you," he uttered under his breath. Although he didn't smile or didn't show too much emotion, she knew he meant it.

   "Enough of this though. There is a time and a place for this and now is not the time," he ended the conversation at that point as they all continued to walk ahead. The snow crunching under their ninja shoes as they continued to walk through. The sun could not be seen and the light snow fall was pleasing for the most part. However knowing the weather, he had feared a blizzard could arise whenever it felt like it. He couldn't understand how people could have civilization here with such harsh weather patterns. With his training though, he conditioned  himself to withstand such weather.

Nori didn't know what Sigmund was going to say about what he wanted or where he would like to go from here, but hearing him say that he was going to give her what she wanted made a soft smile curve upon her lips. She let her hand be lifted up and a kiss pressed against it. Hearing him say that he loved her was still a little foreign to her as she was not used to hearing him say such words before. Regardless, though, she was happy to hear that he wanted to protect her and that he was going to keep her in his heart. Those very words made her want to cry, but she held herself back. She knew she couldn't do that. She had to be strong. Although, his face didn't entirely express what he was saying, she knew that he meant every single word of it. "I love you, too, Sigmund. I always have and I always will," she said as she leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss against his cheek. "And no matter what, I will always be by your side and support you no matter what. I know I may not be the strongest person in the world or the smartest, but I want you to be able to depend on me and lean on me when you need to. Not saying you ever will, but I will be there. I'll be your rock and your safe place whenever you need me." She smiled and looked into Sigmund's blue eyes. "I will also protect you withe everything that I am until my last breath. That is a promise I will make to you, too." Nori leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to his lips before she pulled away and grew silent. She silently nodded at his statement and continued walking forward with him, letting her fingers quietly lace with his as they walked though the freezing snow.

As the group progressed to their destination, the snow fall became heavy, piling up faster than they could walk. This would likely effect destination arrival time. It would seem what sigmund feared could become a reality of a blizzard. It had been hours of non stop traveling but the solider pills Nanami had given out had energized them enough to want to keep moving however the weather's cold would start to take its toll soon. The entire group was as silent as the night reached over them, making it almost near impossible to see soon; the pace was then reduced to avoid getting separated from one another.

   Sigmund held Nori's hand the entire way as they came across what seemed like clearings, bridges, overpasses, and even a mound. After awhile the snow became to come down more heavily, indicating a blizzard was brewing. This impaired his vision for quite sometime before it finally became annoying. He had slowed the pace down of their travel and finally needed more visual. "This snow fall is becoming impossible. Nanami, it's time," he uttered as he stopped and turned around. "We need your eyes. Scan the area, look for any hostiles and see if you spot the ports. From my guess, if the ports were marked on their maps, I'm sure they'll be a patrol or two overlooking the ship activity. Can you get a clear and full active intel from your Sharingan?" he asked, not directly a complete order, but it was implied he was ordering it.

   The snow made is impossible for the rest of the group to see if any patrols or shinobi were out and about; it even made it harder to even see if they were close to their destination or not. He'd have to decide to put Nanami in the lead to successful guide them through the snow. Shiroma knew the land even better; putting the two greatest minds at work had its benefits in this case on this land, but their next land of interest would be limited. With the temperatures dropping, he assumed it was getting late, so he had a feeling they were close by or maybe even closer than he actually believed to be.

When her walking became restrained, she used the wind walking jutsu so her feet didn't sink into the snow, allowing her to stay mobile and not lag behind. The snowfall would be a pain. Thankfully the cold weather suits provided exceptional warmth even in these conditions. When asked she nodded "I'll do what I can, Captain." She stuck with that for the time being, no need to side track herself when things might become perilous. Her Sharingan would be hampered a little. Cutting her visual range in half. Though the outlines of chakra networks would still be visible. So Nanami could still be pretty accurate with her assessment of what is out there.

As she scanned the area she was amazed by the snowfall that had happened while they travelled.  In this type of weather one would think a patrol even if used to it would be pointless. It would take someone with sensory or extreme visual acuity to see them. Even then the enemy would likely have to put themselves in visual range of the group to see them. Nanami stood still for several moments taking in everything. She looked for even the smallest chakra signature.

With the Sharingan's abilities Nanami was able to enhance her visual; through the blizzard she saw faint chakra networks. With the networks being so faint she guessed they were further away to the ports Sigmund had directed them too. However there was strong chakra presence about 20 meters away from where they stood. With the port being so far away and the blizzard causing a bit of a challenge, she couldn't get a complete reading on the port just yet.

Nanami gauged their distance. Focusing her eyes in such a way allowed the wind and cold to sting a little more harshly than normal. Not knowing the exact distance and the weather was not helping it made things more difficult to gauge. As she focused on the closer surroundings she noticed a single moderate to strong chakra presence. She took a step back for a moment, then walked up to Sigmund "Captain, about twenty meters ahead. A strong chakra presence is there. It seems to be stationary for now. It's most likely not Kotatsu or a sensory ninja. Otherwise they would have noticed us by now. Though it could also be a trap-like jutsu. Activating under certain circumstances. I suggest we cloak ourselves with my Genjutsu and go around it." She pauses and looks again, it was still there for now..

Nanami starts to talk again "Also we are further from the port. Still a few miles at least. If this is a Genjutsu the Sharingan would have pierced it or identified it at the very least. So I doubt it is that."

Her eyes dance around the surroundings "What are your orders?"

   He waited silently as Nanami scanned the area. He wouldn't be surprised if she picked up something from this far away, but it would give the group an advantage. When she said "captain" it began to rub him the wrong way. It wasn't the first she's been addressing him as such but he would make sure it would be the last. "I have a name, Nanami. Just because I'm having issues with you doesn't mean you need to act so weird and treat me differently," he snapped calmly as he continued to listen to her findings. "Must be a small group nearby. Shouldn't be too hard to terminate. We'll take your suggestion though. Cloak is now. We'll have better chances for another surprise ambush,"  He explained as he squinted his eyes in a failed attempt to see anything beyond the snow but couldn't.

Shiroma had slept fitfully  her dual mind not being able to settle something had bothered her about what Nanami had said, something that had struck a nerve and had not let her sleep well.  She had taken the pouch and eaten the pill without so much as a word.  She had agreed to what Sigmund said without hesitation and without comment on how strict he was being. She moved through the trip mechanically not really talking to anyone just working through something inside her own mind.

~So you don't remember?~

~Nothing, I mean...I remember using the dark chakra, but it always just seemed to be there.  I don't remember how I called it up~

~That's really...kinda scary.~

~Yeah tell me about it.~

The internal conversation continued for some time trying to piece together what memories they could from the last year.  She dropped down next to the team half listening to what was going on around her.  She knew her duty and would carry it out but she needed to get her head into the game just a little bit more.

Nori held onto Sigmund's hand as they walked through the harsh snowfall. She brought up her free hand and shielded her eyes as she attempted to see where they were going, but honestly, all of them were walking blind. She couldn't see a thing. Upon feeling Sigmund stop abruptly, she paused in her footsteps and turned to look at Nanami as he spoke to her, telling her to use her Sharingan to see if she could see any ports nearby. They had to have been getting close. The cold air burned her throat as she breathed it in and she could feel her face start to grow numb as the air hit her. This wasn't good. A blizzard was coming in and they needed to get out of this snow now, but they couldn't really do that if they couldn't see anything. Hopefully they were close. She stood close to Sigmund's side as Nanami began to scan the area with her Sharingan, seeing if she could pick up any signs of hostile intel or if she she was able to see the ports.

When she had finished scanning the area, Nanami had spoke of a chakra presence about twenty meters away. It wasn't Kotatsu, but she feared it could be some kind of trap so she suggested using a Genjutsu to cloak them to go around said presence. "That sounds like it is going to be the best option. Let's cloak ourselves for now until we know more about what's actually out there," she spoken up before she stepped closer to Sigmund's side, wrapping an arm around his while her free hand pressed lightly against his shoulder. She heard the way that he had snapped at Nanami and it caused her to look up at him. "Okay, let's just calm down for a second. I'm sure she didn't say it to annoy you, Sigmund." She kept her voice soft and subtle to keep him calm and relaxed. She turned her head and looked over at Nanami. "Let's get going. The snow is starting to come down pretty hard," she said.

Nanami sighs "Sorry Sigmund-kun.. I am just trying to stay focused is all. I wasn't saying it to be disrespectful or anything." She looked at Shiroma and Nori and smiled.. She brings her hands up and they all feel themselves glow slightly and then they vanish to all that could perceive them. They could still see one another. She also smiled a bit and the wind-running jutsu covers all of their feet "No sense in leaving a trail for someone to follow." With the jutsu active they could hop out of the snow onto to the top of it. making them all more mobile.

Nanami looked at Sigmund "On your order Sigmund." She smiled rawring to get things moving forward. She knew things were forever going to be different between them. Hopefully not to different. She waited for Sigmund to give the order to move "It might be tactically to our advantage to surround the target, and ambush from multiple sides.. Just a suggestion." The tactic was the most optimal for this type of ambush "Confuse the enemy by forcing them to look in all directions and not just one."

   He particularly didn't mean for his snap to come off harshly and he had tried saying it as calmly as possible however the girls seemed to have taken it a different as Nori pulled herself closer to him and placed her other hand lightly on his shoulder and cooed for him to calm down. The look of annoyance remained on his face as Nori tried to defuse him to avoid tension between the group again. However that didn't settle well with Sigmund. He had agreed to be her boyfriend, not allow her to have a chain and have him wrapped around her fingers. He had barely glanced at nori before looking back at Nanami, the annoyance disappearing.

   Silently he awaited for the genjutsu to be cast. It wasn't long before she cloaked them all and smiled at them. He merely nodded in approval. Nanami had mentioned not leaving tracks, which made him believe she used a secondary jutsu as well hat would enable them to travel outside of the snow as if gliding across it. It worked to their benefit. "We are to terminate, not spare. Surround the target and let them have it," he ordered. Hopefully it was a small patrol group wondering around. They had ranged attacks; every single one of them could produce a unique range ability and they could leaving their targets questioning everything in confusion. However Sigmund was worried about Nori's performance. She had been emotionally shaken up after the secret was out, not knowing if she'd be willing to kill or not or even attack if it came down to it.

Nanami nodded "Understood Sigmund." Her eyes look over to Shiroma "I suggest we start by just trying to wipe them out in one go instead of worrying about hand to hand fighting." She looked back at Sigmund "I suggest Shiroma places a volley so they land on all different sides of the group. Causing the enemy group to cluster, and then I use to flame arrows and well the blast radius will kill most if not all of them. Then Nori and Sigmund move in to finish the remaining if any." She smiled a little "Does this sound like a good way to open up against them Sigmund?" Her Sharingan was still active and she glanced back at the chakra presence. Already she felt like they had taken a step forward to becoming a team. Everyone seemed to be listening and giving feeback. This made Nanami happy, and eager to see if it translated into combat.

As she waited for Sigmund to agree to the idea, and Shiroma. Nanami happily focused herself and prepared to deatroy their enemy. Plus the girl had all the but one thing she needed, as far as things to study the enemy. That would come in time. Her mind filled with ideas, and her heart raced in anticipation. She was as ready as anyone could be.

Shiroma felt the jutsu going into place around them and realized she was so deep in her own thoughts that she had missed a lot of what was going on with the team.  She pushed aside the thoughts that had been consuming her for the last few hours and looked around her taking quick stock of the situation. She recognized the area and nodded pulling her bow out and then looking to the team.  She heard the tail end of the ideas and the orders from Sigmund. She bit her lip softly, she was glad that most of the frost shinobi had been killed during the takeover of their country.  It meant that there were fewer she would need to worry about killing now.

Her eyes shifted to Nanami as her plan was suggested and then nodded. She had been able to pull off her  Ice arrow Barrage when they had been fighting Kotatsu but she wasn't sure that wasn't due to the extra power she had absorbed from the dark chakra she had been hit with.  She pushed it down for the moment and nodded. "It works very well I can make some quick strikes to push them toward a central point for Nanami to strike at. Depending on how many there are at this point. More then a dozen or so and it won't work as well."
This message was last edited by the player at 10:10, Sat 21 Oct 2017.