Bandit Trouble - November 6, 2014

== Participants ==
Nara Ban
== Bandit Trouble ==
- You would expect the rain to take a break once in a while, but that never seems to be the case here in Ame. I stood there, facing the mission board and scanning each request for help till I found one that best suited me and what I was in the mood for. - "Pulling out weeds, no. Rescuing a cat, no. Dealing with a bandit, yes." - I'd smile a bit beneath my face mask that was designed to keep everything from my nose down to my chin, warm. I reached out to grab the request sheet and began to read it, making sure to memorize important information. - "So the bandit seems to be on par with a Genin. This should be just fine for me." - I thought to myself as I folded up the request sheet and slid it into my back pocket. Before I headed out to the Training Ground, I decided to make sure I was carrying all my equipment and that everything was accessible. I wouldn't want to be struggling to open up my pouch to retrieve a kunai while in a fight. So I reached over to my backside and unstrapped my pouch and held it out in front of my chest. I'd unbutton the flab and flip it up and over, exposing the contents of my pouch, and I'd begin to check off my inventory. - "Let's see. I've got my kunai each laced with an explosive tag, a shuriken, a small scroll, and two flash bombs. Perfect! Just how I left it last night." - I closed the pouch and made sure it was securely sealed and strapped it back around my waist and rested it on my backside, just above my left back pocket. - "Time to go deal with this bandit." - I said lowly to myself and began to sprint towards the Training Grounds with haste. - "This is going to be a great opportunity to put my skills and knowledge to the test." - I thought to myself as I ran toward the crowded streets, dodging villagers, leaping over crates and displays. It didn't take me much time to get over to the Training Grounds and lucky for me, I didn't burn away all my stamina. I stood there by the entrance and began to scan the area through my goggles. - "Hmm. Where are you?" - As I was searching for the bandit, I was pulling up the request sheet to look at a sketch of the bandit that had drawn onto the top right corner. - "Short haircut, small scar on the left cheek and pierced ears." - Now that I had the image fresh in my head, I noticed the bandit sitting on top of a couple of crates, eating an apple. From what I could see, he didn't wear much protective clothing, other than the right shoulder plate that was strapped securely around this chest and waist. The bandit wore a faded green long sleeve shirt and khaki shorts that stopped just above his knees. - "Why isn't he wearing anything on his feet?" - I thought to myself as I looked at his dirty bare feet. The bandit also had a blade hilt sticking out from his back, but I can't see any sheathed blade, so I assumed he was wielding a tanto. The bandit was resting about 20 yards from my location, so I had to either confront him face to face or catch him off guard for a more successful attack. - "There's a tree right behind him and a couple of target dummies that I could use to keep myself hidden while I make my way to the tree and scale it. That's the plan, get him from above." - I said lowly to myself and began to sprint towards the line up of target dummies. I swiftly made my way through the center of the Training Grounds and pass the target dummies. I rested for a moment against the tree trunk and waited to see if the bandit had spotted me or change positions. A couple of minutes passed and the bandit was still static, so I decided to climb up the trunk of the tree. It was quite easy, due to the fact that the trunk was bending over the bandit, casting a shadow and doubling as cover from the rain. I'd make it to the top and crouch onto a branch. Without noticing an acorn detaching from the branch I was crouched on and falling onto the bandit's lap, causing him to look up and spotting me. - "Hey! What are you doing up there? Get down here so I can deal with you!" - The bandit shouted out with rage at me and tossed his half eaten apple in my direction with all his strength. I tried to duck out of its way, but it crashed right into my forehead and knocked me off balance. I came crashing down and landed on my back. - "Ouch!" "Now you're going to get it!" - I was laying on the ground, only a couple of feet away from the bandit and now he was charging at me, ready to crush me like a helpless bug. I dug my hand into the damp soil and waited till the bandit was just close enough, before tossing the dirt towards his face. The bandit halted in his tracks and rose his forearms over his face to block the dirt from hitting his eyes. I quickly rolled over to my stomach and rose to my feet. The bandit detached his sheathed blade and held it out with both his hands on the hilt. Time froze for a brief moment as I analyzed every bit of information about the bandit and his form. "Wide stance, both hands on the hilt, and a short sheathed blade, therefore he is wielding a tanto as I had previously thought. He's going to try to and close our gap and knock me unconscious with blunt attacks." - I thought to myself and retrieved a kunai from my pouch, making sure to have a sure grip on it. I'd create more space between my feet, bend my knees slightly and hold the kunai out in front of my chest with the blade of the kunai pointing outwards to my right elbow. I was going to try my best to block and parry his attacks, but I've yet to train in kenjutsu. - "Ah!" - The bandit cried out and sprinted towards me, closing the short gap between us and swung his sheathed tanto with an overhead strike. I didn't expect the bandit to be so quick and suffered a blow to my right shoulder, sending my down on my right knee. The bandit leaped back and prepared for another strike. - "Alright, so he is quick. I'm going to have to keep my distance and end this as quickly as I can." - I thought to myself for a moment and then rose to my feet with my left hand over my shoulder. Unlike the bandit, I wasn't wearing any protective clothing. All I had on was a black hoodie, a face mask, standard pants and open toed sandals, and goggles. The bandit was coming in for another strike, but this time he kept the sheathed tanto low, as if he were going to try and strike my head with a diagonal uppercut motion. I leaped back and tossed my kunai towards him while weaving a half ram hand seal and watch as the explosive tag lit up and erupted in a small explosion. The bandit attempted to dodge the explosion, but was caught in its blast radius, sending it flying into the crates he once sat on. I on the other hand was propelled back from the force, but manage to control my body and slide along the damp soil. The smoke would dim away and through the smoke came charging the bandit. - "Tch. He was able to withstand such a blow and recover so quickly. Impressive." - I thought to myself and tried to retrieve another kunai, but the bandit was too quick and slammed his sheathed tanto right into my left thigh. That was surely going to left a bruise. - "Ow!" - I cried out and flew on my butt. The bandit stood over me and prepared an overhead strike to knock me out, but I managed to retrieve a shuriken and flung it right into this left bicep, sending him stumbling back and causing him to drop his tanto. - "Perfect." - I quickly reacted, kicking away the tanto and diving forward while having my hands take hold of his ankles and pull on them. I'd ram my left shoulder into his gut while I dove into him and he fell off balance. The bandit would bump his head hard onto the ground and fall unconscious long enough for me to bring him in. I'd rise to my feet and dust myself off, just as a couple of curious villagers arrive at the scene. - "Oh my! Are you alright? We heard an explosion and came to see what was going on." "This man is has been causing trouble lately. Bind him to that tree and I'll report this request as complete." - I said to the villagers and they quickly went to work. I limped back to the mission board and turned in the request, informing the Overseer that the bandit was bound to a tree at the Training Grounds. -
== End Results ==
The bandit was defeated, but Ban suffered a blow to the right shoulder and to his left thigh that will leave him limping for less than a week if he tends to the injury properly.