Retrieve the Kingdom Hearts [Mission]

He hadn't waited for too long before the figure of another made itself visible to the Jounin. Though he still could not remember the name he did remember that it was to be a female, and given the Chunin rank it was very possible that this was her. As she bowed and apologized for her tardiness Taichi made a mental note of it. She seemed respectful and though this was the beginning of their very first encounter fairly capable. "Not a problem." He replied turning towards the gate as the parameters for the mission ran through his head once more. It seemed fairly basic and the opportunity to fight had not presented itself to the man in quite some time so there was definitely a lot of steam to let off. Hopefully there would be some leftovers for the Chunin.

"Yes, let's." He added as he began to pass through the gate that provided a decent level of security for the village. Iwa's natural terrain kept it safe from most who had intentions on causing harm to the village and for all intents and purposes it did better than the gates. That was usually the case for man made designs as they could be beaten by both mother nature and other men. No matter, that was reason guards were stationed at the gates in the first place, and so far they had not managed to screw anything up. As the pair would venture away from the village Taichi figured that at some point there would at least need to be some sort of small talk as the terrain didn't grant them any worthwhile views. Besides, this would prove a great opportunity to go over strategy... and learn the Chunin's name.

"Masaru Taichi. What was your name, again?" He asked, figuring that it was only polite to give his name and that just maybe she had not remembered his either which would effectively avoid any and all awkwardness. A less than clever ruse to be honest, but Taichi couldn't be bothered coming up with some elaborate plan to figure out her name; even though he had more than enough time to given the length of the mission.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Maeda-san."

Ah, Maeda Masumi, that was the name. He would not forget it, at least for the duration of the mission. Her tone held a slightly serious vibe to it, almost cold and unyielding. Hopefully that meant she was smart enough to not make any cracks at his height, though Taichi would have preferred not to pick a fight on an official mission. She didn't seem much of a talker and honestly the Jounin was content with not having to rack his brain for a conversation starter. After all, the two should have been completely focused on the mission at hand and used this opportunity to put themselves in the right position mentally. Yes, this was no doubt how things would turn out. Dead silence. With the occasional gust of wind making a passing sound.

Rocky terrain led to... more rocky terrain as the pair continued their trek through the stone country. Every so often they would come across a deep gorge that provided a deep view but not once did Taichi consider stopping to look as he had locked himself somewhere deep in his mind to go prepare himself for the mission. The sun's natural progression from east to west had put it slightly past noon and brought with it the unforgiving heat that those who called this land home were accustomed to. The Jounin barely noticed it at this point in his life, having felt it everyday for over two decades, and he surmised that the Chunin was also unaffected.

For a moment Taichi wondered just how long the council were going to stall on giving him a team. It had been the only reason he accepted the promotion to Jounin in the first place, but it had been a couple years now and there had yet to be any Genin assigned to him. Sure, leading a mission with a Chunin counted for something he supposed, but it was a far different scenario than the one he wished. What his sensei had been able to do for him Taichi wanted to replicate to whomever was put under his tutelage and he wondered why the council were blind to see that fact. Yes, his temper was well documented but nobody was perfect, and he was fairly certain that it wouldn't be an issue around a group of Genin. Perhaps he would ask for an audience with the Tsuchikage when they returned so he could get to the bottom of it, or at the very least put in another request; though that would more than likely require paperwork which Taichi could not stand, and probably the reason he didn't bother to memorize the mission details.

The two would continue to journey with not so much as a sigh having come from either of them. For most it would have been eerie and awkward but for some reason the silence was rather quaint and felt necessary. It meant that both of these shinobi were focused on the task at hand and preparing themselves for it. Since he had neglected to look over the mission details there was little strategy Taichi could employ at the current moment seeing as how he didn't know what type of techniques Maeda-san used, though he would be sure to rectify that whenever they stopped to set up camp for the night. For now he would simply do what he could to the best of his abilities, which was mainly taijutsu with very small amounts of ninjutsu thrown in the mix. Even then, it was mainly for espionage purposes which would prove quite useful until the actual fighting started.

The sun's travel across the sky had put it near the western horizon and light was rapidly beginning to fade. They were fairly close to their destination but far enough away that they could not be spotted by any sentries sent on lookout duty. Taichi gave the area a once over and saw that a mostly dead piece of shrubbery was protruding from the stone surface, a perfect fire starter. "We'll set up camp for the night there." The Jounin stated while pointing an index finger toward the bush. From his bag the man fished out some flint and still along with a couple small bricks of fire starter. Luckily the shrub caught quick and soon enough a small yet sustainable fire was burning. He could only imagine what, if anything, would come out of the girl's mouth had he taken any longer to start the fire. With a thud Taichi took a seat on the hard surface, heat still radiating from being baked in the unforgiving sun all day.

Once more than the Jounin would rummage through his pack and this time emerged a scroll that contained all the details for the mission. A quick yank revealed its contents which held in it names, locations, and most importantly information on the Chunin. Her skill set was similar to that of Taichi in that she knew her fair share of taijutsu techniques but also seemed somewhat practiced in both Doton and Suiton ninjutsu, as well as sealing. An interesting girl, to say the least, but something one would never know since conversation didn't seem to be her strong suit. Chances are the two would be dealing a hefty amount of physical blows to the opposition and then at some point Maeda-san would fall back and use ninjutsu, and she had probably already worked that scenario out in her head hours ago.

The scroll also contained information on the hideout where the bandits had set up camp: a couple of shacks that probably couldn't house more than a dozen that were roughly two floors each. Whether the stones were all in one location or split up was something the two of them would have to find out on their own. "We'll set out at dawn to check out their spot and see how many we're up against. At some point we'll have a fight on our hands and the quicker we dispatch of them the sooner we can start looking for the stones. We'll each take a house and search it, probably better that way. Any questions?" The explanation was direct and covered most of the basis but there was always a chance the Jounin missed something which the Chunin was probably going to have no problem pointing out given the aura she exuded.

Taichi could feel his eye muscles begging to react and shoot a glare towards the girl for her comment, but that would surely undo all the "progress" had taken place today. Besides, after the mission there was a chance the two probably wouldn't see each other so there was no reason to get all worked up... at least until the journey back to Iwa. Her response was concise and though the instructions weren't all that different to begin with it was a relief not having to go over them a second time. Taichi felt that would not be case when, or if he ever got his team as Genin were either dense or aloof and needed much more guidance than the Chunin that sat across from him.

His eyes did shoot up when Maeda-san began to speak again, however, as he wasn't planning to hear her voice until the morning, if at all. She had inquired about his Kekkei Genkai, the Bakuton, and its abilities so that she could adequately adjust her strategy. This one was wise beyond her years and would probably make Jounin in no time, most would have just gone with the flow and tried their best not to get in the way. But not this one, who seemed to have an active mind and wanted things to go as smoothly as Taichi did. Perhaps she wasn't all that bad after all.

"Ah, of course. Simply put I channel chakra to my extremities and after making contact with someone or something the chakra explodes. Fairly messy when used on people." He began, throwing in the last part as an off attempt at humor. "Since I have to channel chakra first you shouldn't be in any direct danger if we happen to bump into each other or something along those lines, though when the explosions do occur the immediate vicinity is a bit of a danger zone depending on how much force is output." Thus ended the explanation of his ability and hopefully alleviating any fears of being caught in it, though there was one more thing the Jounin wanted to add just in case Maeda-san was still a bit apprehensive.

"Judging from your skill set I saw on the scroll you should be able to operate at multiple ranges, so there shouldn't be too many instances where we get in each others way." Taichi added in that last part to show that while he had not read up on the mission information before setting out that he had soaked up the information rather quickly. It was more him trying to protect his pride than anything else, with a smidgen of sating his conscience.

She was quick on the uptake, that much was certain and her explanation was spot on, though the force of Bakuton was much more considerable than an explosive tag, but he was sure the Chunin would account for that. The snort was also a welcomed sight, or in this case sound as it proved that there was indeed life behind those soulless eyes. She probably scared small children with her gaze, if she ever ventured around them to begin with; Taichi's guess was no.

The Chunin's words about her fighting skills were extremely helpful as the Jounin had glanced over them just enough to know that they were there and not necessarily what their application was. An oversight on his part and one that he would need to separate from his hatred of paperwork so that a mistake could be avoided on the next mission. It seemed as though they would both be utilizing taijutsu should the need to fight arise. Fair enough, Taichi enjoyed finding others who preferred to use their fists instead. This would be an interesting turnout, and more than likely an all out brawl at the heart of it. He nearly cracked a smile at the notion but thought against it, at least until he was out of eyesight of the girl.

"Fair enough. If there's nothing else we should probably call it a night." Taichi stated as he couldn't think of anything else to say and knew that this girl was not the one for small talk. That much he had learned during the entire days journey. He would use his pack as a head rest but needed no blanket as the heat from the surface would be more than adequate for a single night added to the fire which would eventually burn itself out by the time the pair awoke. A few sporadic thoughts crossed his mind as he slowly drifted off to sleep. Few were of the mission but instead were calming techniques to help clear the mind of unessential thoughts. They proved most effective and within minutes the Jounin at passed out.

Seemingly as soon as the man closed his eyes they were back open in the morning. Sleep had come and gone and while he wasn't particularly well rested it would suffice until he could return to the village. The sun had yet to break the horizon but there was enough light to get around. Taichi sat up and took a look around the immediate surroundings. Maeda was still there and the fire looked to have fizzled out some time ago. There was little need for morning pleasantries as the Chunin would probably not reciprocate them, but that wasn't a big deal. The time had come to focus solely on the mission and needless complications such as not saying good morning to each other would just get in the way.

It took only a few moments for the Jounin to ready himself and his belongings, and during that time he hoped that Masumi was readying herself as well. "Alright, let's get moving." They still had a bit of a walk before reaching the encampment and the less sunlight there was to give away their position the better. It was amazing how similar everything looked out here and to the untrained eye getting lost was sure to happen. Perhaps not as bad as walking endlessly in a desert but just as unforgiving. East was the direction that the duo had to travel and in time they would come upon a the top of a cliff that overlooked the two shacks. Taichi extended a single hand and signaled for them to drop to a crawl as to not be seen.

Peering over the edge yielded an excellent view, and the reconnaissance had now begun. There were three of the bandits lunging about outside, all holding some form of weapon though none looked to be particularly reliable in a fight. It was safe to assume that the rest were either inside or on patrol somewhere. Leaving them unaccounted for would be a grave mistake so something had to be done. Of course, they could have easily just began fight which surely would have drawn out the rest of them, though if any of them were smart enough to attack from a hidden position then it would cause a problem. Perhaps a new view was necessary to handle this problem.

Slinking back from his position over the cliff the Jounin turned towards his partner before speaking. "What would you say we do about the others who we can't account for?" He asked. There were two reasons for this, one of them actually wanting to find an answer, and the second being an opportunity for the Chunin to to showcase the prowess that she obviously had. One person doing all the work, while fine if it was correct, didn't necessarily foster the best of partnerships, though that probably didn't mean much to Masumi. No matter, it was on her to answer now and depending on the plan they would either run into a fight or continue the espionage tactics.