[attr="class","APP3"]Benkei's strike would cut the leg of the approaching thrall, which let out a pained groan that was not quite human as it stumbled. Stupidly the next in succession tripped and fell over the fallen one as the swordsman signaled for withdraw. Even more enemy forces could be seen emerging from the woodlands, more than the detail at the gate could handle by itself. Goro who had been too enraged to see reason slammed two more of the living dead face first into the ground, their heads disintegrating into soil and leaving them lifeless. His gorilla companion seemed to have their wits about them and grappled the fighter to start pulling him away from the battle.
The eastern side of town was a residential area, as it was furthest from the main trade routes leading into the city. Homes were boarded up, and were supposed to be evacuated, but passers-by would be able to see people in many of the homes peaking from windows and several who had climbed on thatch rooftops to observe the hell that had been unleashed on their village. Perhaps the most notable feature on this side of town was a large 'U' shaped mansion that was gated off and surrounded by a wall of its own. Someone had been wise and used doton to create walls to create a chokepoint that led towards the mansion, blocking numerous alleyways in a hope that they could funnel the incoming enemies into the yard of the mansion while shinobi with bows and kunai ready stood atop its roof in waiting for the undead to arrive.
Sanosuke Himura was on the ground level of the chokepoint. The shinobi that had helped him to create the point with doton had used his chakra haphazardly and had gotten to a point that he was too weak to stay back. Unlike the other shinobi that had put on the rooftops to counterattack against the incoming dead, he was on the ground level to stop enemies from compromising the chokepoint.
The chokepoint wasn't perfect, but it would force the dead to take a roundabout way to get to the rest of the city that would help buy time for the others. There were many choices to be made. The dead were already spilling onto the streets and the sounds of screaming could be heard as some broke into the homes of civilians. The roundabout side streets were unchallenged, so without intervention they would eventually make their way past the fortifications of the mansion. The mansion itself could eventually be overwhelmed, though no enemies had yet arrived at the position.
Meanwhile back towards the shrine, shinobi battled against swarms of bats. Kikuyo would notice that when they struck their first bat, it would dissipate into a puff of smoke and disappear. Several other shinobi would notice this as well. As Anotsu called for suiton users to direct their waters towards the swarm, many of the users seemed hesitant as chakra was limited and much of the city was on fire. A few obeyed without hesitation, but others turned to using kunai and other weapons to fight the swarm, unsummoning them strike by strike. Among the suiton users that had been helping to stop the fires brought upon the city was Hideyoshi Satō of the mist, perhaps annoyed that his father had left him in garrison, perhaps not. Either way there were more important things to worry about now, like trying to get to the well to resupply and help put out fires around the area. Up until now, Izumi Niijima had the simple task of helping carry buckets of water to help put out fires the old-fashioned way, but with bats circling around her trying to bite she would likely have to drop them to defend herself.
A concussive grenade caused a temporary scattering of the swarm. Those listening carefully could hear little shrieks with high-pitched voices behind them "Run away!" "Ahhh!" "OUCH!" and a wave of other words jumbled together by many voices. There was a temporary dispersion of the creatures away from the area the grenades had landed, making an opening for those who desired to get through to the shrine. Kikuyo, Hideyoshi, Izumi, Chinetsu and others in the area had a chance to follow Anotsu through to the building and the well outside of it if they moved quickly before the bats moved back into the circle and to harass them again.
Once in the garden outside the shrine, Anotsu and any that followed him would draw closer to the well and the foliage that surrounded it, including a cherry blossom tree that had lost many of its leaves due to the cold. The inside of the upper floor of the shrine would lead to a prayer room that was open with mats laying before a carved figure of a large feline with chubby cheeks and its eyes closed. On the floor there were various papers that were scattered along the floor. The room was dark beyond the death throes of sunset peering in through latticed windows. There was a staircase to either side of the idol that would wind up to the top floor. To the right of the prayer room was the quarters of the priest left abandoned and creaked open. In the back left corner of the prayer room were shelves packed with scrolls and books in a reading area, but many had fallen on the floor and were scattered about.
The upper floor was only slightly more well-lit because of the large hole in the roof letting more of the fading light in. Junko would be able to observe peering down a black circle that had been left on the ground and smeared with blood that had a strange oily substance mixed with it. There was no sign of the large bat beyond the vague outline of its shape in the rooftop. The ground was littered with wood and debris. On the ground near the right staircase leading down to the first floor, a scroll was left with a symbol painted on it in blood that was too hard to make out in the low light.
On the far end of the room away from the stairs was a bell that rest over an arched window with a cord for pulling that rest in a dark corner of the room void of light. The bell would suddenly begin to toll, but she could not make out the figure pulling at it from her position. Both herself and everyone below and around the outside would hear the sound of the bell.
The eastern side of town was a residential area, as it was furthest from the main trade routes leading into the city. Homes were boarded up, and were supposed to be evacuated, but passers-by would be able to see people in many of the homes peaking from windows and several who had climbed on thatch rooftops to observe the hell that had been unleashed on their village. Perhaps the most notable feature on this side of town was a large 'U' shaped mansion that was gated off and surrounded by a wall of its own. Someone had been wise and used doton to create walls to create a chokepoint that led towards the mansion, blocking numerous alleyways in a hope that they could funnel the incoming enemies into the yard of the mansion while shinobi with bows and kunai ready stood atop its roof in waiting for the undead to arrive.
Sanosuke Himura was on the ground level of the chokepoint. The shinobi that had helped him to create the point with doton had used his chakra haphazardly and had gotten to a point that he was too weak to stay back. Unlike the other shinobi that had put on the rooftops to counterattack against the incoming dead, he was on the ground level to stop enemies from compromising the chokepoint.
The chokepoint wasn't perfect, but it would force the dead to take a roundabout way to get to the rest of the city that would help buy time for the others. There were many choices to be made. The dead were already spilling onto the streets and the sounds of screaming could be heard as some broke into the homes of civilians. The roundabout side streets were unchallenged, so without intervention they would eventually make their way past the fortifications of the mansion. The mansion itself could eventually be overwhelmed, though no enemies had yet arrived at the position.
Meanwhile back towards the shrine, shinobi battled against swarms of bats. Kikuyo would notice that when they struck their first bat, it would dissipate into a puff of smoke and disappear. Several other shinobi would notice this as well. As Anotsu called for suiton users to direct their waters towards the swarm, many of the users seemed hesitant as chakra was limited and much of the city was on fire. A few obeyed without hesitation, but others turned to using kunai and other weapons to fight the swarm, unsummoning them strike by strike. Among the suiton users that had been helping to stop the fires brought upon the city was Hideyoshi Satō of the mist, perhaps annoyed that his father had left him in garrison, perhaps not. Either way there were more important things to worry about now, like trying to get to the well to resupply and help put out fires around the area. Up until now, Izumi Niijima had the simple task of helping carry buckets of water to help put out fires the old-fashioned way, but with bats circling around her trying to bite she would likely have to drop them to defend herself.
A concussive grenade caused a temporary scattering of the swarm. Those listening carefully could hear little shrieks with high-pitched voices behind them "Run away!" "Ahhh!" "OUCH!" and a wave of other words jumbled together by many voices. There was a temporary dispersion of the creatures away from the area the grenades had landed, making an opening for those who desired to get through to the shrine. Kikuyo, Hideyoshi, Izumi, Chinetsu and others in the area had a chance to follow Anotsu through to the building and the well outside of it if they moved quickly before the bats moved back into the circle and to harass them again.
Once in the garden outside the shrine, Anotsu and any that followed him would draw closer to the well and the foliage that surrounded it, including a cherry blossom tree that had lost many of its leaves due to the cold. The inside of the upper floor of the shrine would lead to a prayer room that was open with mats laying before a carved figure of a large feline with chubby cheeks and its eyes closed. On the floor there were various papers that were scattered along the floor. The room was dark beyond the death throes of sunset peering in through latticed windows. There was a staircase to either side of the idol that would wind up to the top floor. To the right of the prayer room was the quarters of the priest left abandoned and creaked open. In the back left corner of the prayer room were shelves packed with scrolls and books in a reading area, but many had fallen on the floor and were scattered about.
The upper floor was only slightly more well-lit because of the large hole in the roof letting more of the fading light in. Junko would be able to observe peering down a black circle that had been left on the ground and smeared with blood that had a strange oily substance mixed with it. There was no sign of the large bat beyond the vague outline of its shape in the rooftop. The ground was littered with wood and debris. On the ground near the right staircase leading down to the first floor, a scroll was left with a symbol painted on it in blood that was too hard to make out in the low light.
On the far end of the room away from the stairs was a bell that rest over an arched window with a cord for pulling that rest in a dark corner of the room void of light. The bell would suddenly begin to toll, but she could not make out the figure pulling at it from her position. Both herself and everyone below and around the outside would hear the sound of the bell.
