"Sunaribian Bandits" (Playing Hero Quest)

The time in Suna was educational to say the least for Shao and his squad. Squad 3, as they were assign, had been making a great impact on Shao and he loved to spend his time away from Konoha. It wasn't like he didn't like the village, but the dysfunctional relation at times he had with his father made it hard to stay around with him. So the time he got to go on missions with his squad made Shao truly alive as a shinobi.

To see distant lands-- and Suna, while a desert, was a beautiful landscape for many reasons.

Though Shao could do without Kyle making a racket. The whole purpose was trying to be positive examples, and here he was complaining and causing trouble.

Luckily, the sand Shinobi were more accepting of his childish behavior. Despite them being shinobi, they were still kids after all.

"it's amazing that Suna can survive in this kind of environment," Mari said as she sat upon the cliff side that was the border for the Village hidden in the sand. "I do like that we got the chance to come out here, but I kind of miss the forests of Konoha."

"Yeah, me too a little," Kyle said, " At least there is more shade there. "

Shao kept quiet, not wanting to go home too soon. The three of them had finished a rigorous training exercise and now were just taking a moment to relax. They also had done a couple of missions around there, but what they were more excited was the fact that the chunin exams were around the corner. They just had to keep working hard and fill out all the requirements they could before that time.

"You three have a lot of work ahead of you. I hope you all can do a good job in time when we return to Konoha." Yasha said, watching them from the rear.

Shao paused as he thought back to Konoha, and his father... "Do we have to go back to KOnoha too soon?" he asked.

The other two of his squad looked at him. Even they could tell there was hesitation in his voice. It was almost fear-- that Shao didn't want to return home. They didn't know why clearly, but the hesitation was clear on Shao's face. That he didn't want to have to go back.

Yasha looked on with a calm understanding. "Well, we got time before we need to report back to Konoha. Our time in Suna isn't done yet." he said.

"I definately will go to Kiri after here. Plenty of water and rain there," Kyle said, leaning back against the rocky ground. "Anyway, we should definately shape up for it. "

"It's rare to see you get excited over this," Mari mentioned to Kyle.

"Why wouldn't i?" he said and soon vaulted back up to his feet. "The chunin exams. No better place to show what I am made of! You know what that is right?"

"Hot air and attitude?" SHao said in a half-joke.

Kyle snapped a gaze at Shao and soon loomed over him. "Heh, talk smart now, but if we end up fighting eachother in the matches, I'm gonna make you eat those words, Byakkugan-boy."

"Okay, you two... " Yasha said to calm them down. "Less trash talking, more team work. After all, we have a small mission now. "

"A mission?" Shao asked and turned around, now interested. As Mari stood up in attention, Kyle pratically skipped up to Yasha sensei.

"The mission is to meet up and check on a trade convoy heading to Suna. Once you meet them you are to escort them to Suna." Yasha explained. "Suna obtains weekly orders from the neighboring countries and villages for supplies and other materials. They usually arrive this day in the morning. They have not shown up yet."

Like in a class room, Mari rose her hand to ask Yasha a question. "Yasha Sensei, If i may ask... isn't it possible the convoy could just be a little late? Maybe they got a little lost."

"That is possible," Yasha said with a small nod, "However, if the convoy makes the trip weekly, it is unlikely they would get lost so easily. Like the sand village, they are adept to travel in the desert. That and there were rumors of raiders that travel through the sands."

Shao grew more alert with the promise of a real mission like this. "It is probably nothing and they got delayed. Still, Suna asked us to find them and bring them here safely. So that is our task."

Shao slowly smiled as he rose up . "Okay, we will take care of it." Shao said proudly.

"Good," Yasha said, "but listen-- this time, will be a test to see if you truly are good to make it as Chunin personally. That is why the three of you will do this on your own."

"Y-you're not coming, Yasha sensei?" Mari asked, a nervous tone to her voice.

"I'm sure nothing bad will happen, and nothing you cannot handle. Just remember your training." Yasha said. "Just remember to work together."

"You can bet on it! WHoohoo!" Kyle shouted with a fist in the air. "Come on! Let's go get those guys!"

Kyle soon jumped right of the side of the cliff, heading down to the sands below. Shao looked alarmed, seeing him go off all excited. "Kyle! For crying out loud, so impuslive!" Shao called and chased after him, with Mari behind him.

Yasha merely watched as they ran off into the desert. They vanished beyond the heated dunes and he just stood there, awaiting their return.

As the three traveled through the desert, they were now moving at fast speed much alike how they would among the forests. They had learned the geography of this area, and were able to travel the desert with ease-- of course they slowed down as Kyle got overheated easily.

They soon made it beyond sight of the village till when Shao caught something. "Hold on a minute," he called out to them. ONe by one, they skidded to a stop along the sand, leaving tracks in their wake. Shao had already utilized his Byakkugan and sensory abilities, trying to sense traces of the convoy they were sent to find.

"Do you see anything, Shao?" Kyle asked, his tone both eager but serious.. a welcome change from his usual idiotic carefree attitude.

Shao looked at the direction ahead of them. Though the heat warped the general lighting and caused mirages, he could see enough and even more sense the chakra of others. "I can see something that looks like the ruins of a wagon in the distance... but more importantly, I can sense the chakra of multiple people. Too many in fact for a simple convoy."

"Do you think they are under attack?" Mari asked, her hands close to her chest in worry. "What should we do?"

"We don't know that yet," Shao explained as he looked to the distance. "We will know more when we get closer. For now, lets slow down our approach and try to get closer to see what is actually going on. We will go to the south and approach from the side."

Slowly, at a less fast pace, the three of them approached the dune and were now closer for them to see. For Shao, he could see like a hawk with his Byakkugan. He soon could make out three figures, tied up and out in the sun. There was no doubt they were the convoy with the way they were dressed. They were tied up snugly around their arms and chest, and legs as well. AMong them were six other men, all dressed covered head to toe in sand covered cloaks-- their faces hidden and not wearing any kind of headband to show their affiliations. The way they handled themselves, they were shinobi-- probably rogues. A good four of them kept guard while two of them dug through the wagon for the supplies.

"I guess Yasha sensei was right to send us," Shao said softly. Mari and Kyle were to either side of him, as they hid low behind the nearby dune. "This might be difficult."

"We got to stop them. There is no guarantee the bandits will keep the captives alive when they got what they want." Mari said, concerned for their safety.

"We first need to seperate their formation and get them away from the prisoners, or we may face a hostage situation," Shao said. "So this is what we should---"

"Um, Shao..." Mari spoke up, a more urgent tone to him. "Where did Kyle go?"

SHao blinked-- he had been focused so much on the bandits and the convey-- even with his 360 degree vision, he lost track of Kyle.

His Byakkugan faded and he closed his eyes in humiliation. "Oh for the love of..."

"YAHOOO!!!"

The bandits all turned to the top of the caravan now on its side, and right there in the sun was Kyle, standing there like some epic hero from the movies. His hair whipped in the desert wind as he glared down at the enemies. "YOu made a big mistake, you low-life, third-rate bandits. You had the bad luck to tangle with the mightest, shinobi of the leaf!" He then made a dynamic pose hand out like some over-the top master. "I'm the mighty KYle! Hero of the leaf!"

The bandits looked back to him, quiet and pretty much either thinking he was a fool or some dumb kid playing hero. Then the bandits finally spoke up to say two words. "Kill him."

The swling and ring of Kunai and shuriken quickly filled the air as from all sides, the ninjas moved in to try and strike Kyle. Like a clown, Kyle quickly moved and ducked under the barrage of Shuirken and kunai, now on the run from their assaults.

Though he made a good diversion, Shao just glared at him. "That idiot..." Shao said and reached for a few ninja tools in his pocket. "Be ready to move in when the coast is clear."

"Got it," Mari said as SHao moved in.

Kyle ran like a monkey around the convoy, now having ducked into the inside of the canvased wagon and ducked low as shuriken and senbon tore into the canvas. "Maybe going in liek that wasn't the smartest plan," Kyle grumbled, hearing how angry he made the bandits.

"No kidding?" SHao's voice came in, and Kyle turned to fi nd Shao behind him.

"How did you get---" Kyle asked, baffled.

"Quietly," Shao said with a hinting tone to his partner. "Something you could learn from." With his byakkugan active, he could see the outside of the wagon, along the position of the enemies. With that, he took out a ninja tool with a round ball attached to it. With an easy toss, he tossed the kunai out a hole in the canvas that arched up and back into the sand near the bandits.

"What?!" One of the men shouted but was too late as he saw the object attached activate. BOOM! A huge cloud of smoke eclipsed half of the area, blinding many of them in its hold. Coughs and chokes could be heard as the cloud of smoke blacked out their vision.

What they didn't know, was Mari now had moved in. THe sweet girl had in the midsts of the smoke screen uncut the captives and whispered to them to hold on to her to guide them out. Each at a time, she quickly led them out of the smoke--- now leaving the area clear for the other two to fight.

From their hiding place-- Shao could see it all and saw that Mari had moved the captives away. "We're good. Mari has freed the hostages," Shao said.

The slap of Kyle's fist met his palm as he smirked. "Alright, now we can really cut loose," he said with excitement. With one hand, he drew out a tanto from his side and held it easily with one hand.

"Try to contain yourself please," SHao warned. "Remember, lethal action should only be a last resort. "

"Yeah, yeah..." Kyle said with a smirk. "Doesn't mean I'm not gonna rub their noses into the sand."

It was then that Kyle jumped right upward and tore through the canvas with his Tanto. As he was now airborne, Shao witnessed as he returned with a 360 spray of Shuriken in all directions. A few of the shuriken struck a couple of the ninja, but many were able to deflect it with their own kunais.

Though impulsive, Shao was impressed by Kyle's physical capabilities. He had the agility that Shao wished for as well as physical strength. Kyle was quick to move towards the enemies stunned by the smoke bomb.

However, a few others were still unfazed and were moving around to counter attack.

As Kyle had knocked the kunai out of hte hand of one ninja-- one enemy soon took distance away. He made an odd hand sign. "Ninja Art-- Sand Controll!" It was one of the Sand's most known jutsu-- the ability to manipulate sand. In an area like this, it was a fatal jutsu as the very terrain itself would be a weapon.

At that moment, Kyle felt something around his feet. "What?!" he shouted. The sand had ensnared his legs, keeping him from moving.

The bandit sneered as he focused on Kyle, the sand soon creeping up at him. "Don't worry. Its much cooler 10 meters below the surface, kid." he said, about to make another hand sign to pull him under. "Sand Burrial---"

WHOOSH!

Shao swooped in behind him. He used body flicker-- a ninjutsu skill that seemed like instant teleportation. With Byakkugan active, he immediately saw his target. Before his enemy could catch on, SHao delivered a strike to the left under arm and part of the back, targeting something that caught the man off guard.

"Gha!" he gasped, his jutsu stopped as he felt the odd sensation of pressure upon his limbs. Kyle's demise was suddenly haulted as he wasn't pulled under. However, it didn't stop a few of them from throwing kunai.

While kyle blocked with his short sword, the bandit now turned to face Shao. "You little---?!"

But it was too late. Too close to evade, the bandit was right in Shao's line of sight. "Sand style, huh? An annoying jutsu, indeed." Shao spoke, followed by a series of light strikes. The man was stunned as he felt the blow to his chest, shoulder and side, all by sharp jabs of Shao's palms.

"Y-you little shit!" he said as he jumped back and quickly made a one hand sign. "You're scorpion food!" He seemed to try to move the sand, which did and reached up lightly.