do you wanna build a chuunin part 1 (mission)

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This was the most exciting day for the young duo...well, At least for one of them. The day previous Rei had taken a visit to the mission board, and nearly screamed at the realization. There in the higher ranked missions tab was exactly what she'd dreamed of. Under C ranked missions She'd found an invitation to a dangerous mission that could end in a promotion. She rushed home, explaining the situation to her sister who was quite a bit less interested then she. The night had seemed to drag on endlessly as the young ninja took time to polish and sharpen every single weapon in their aresenal, testing the joints of her puppet and planning out strategies to fix the problem quickly. She knew the important factor to consider would be how to stop Ash from causing problems, attempting to put on a ridiculous show that would only get them killed. She wasn't sure who her partner was, but she had noticed another name signed up. This could be excellent or completely terrible.

The morning finally came, the sun peaking over the horizon to meet the eyes of an exhausted but still excited young sun sister. "ASH ASH ASH GET UP ITS TIME. GODDESS. I SWEAR I WILL COME IN THERE AND PULL YOU FROM THE BED." It was less of a threat of course, which she proved only moments after speaking through the large wooden door. pulling a bobby pin from her hair she picked the lock to allow the door to swing open, granting her entrance... sort of. Shifting left the girl would dodge the first trap, a large wooden fist coming strait down the center to slam into the wall behind her. Rushing forward Rei grabbed the item, lifting it up over her head to allow the rope holding it in place to be cut as seven shuuriken came shooting towards her. The second round of attacks was caught in the wooden arm, a string of four kunai that would have caused incredible trouble, and finally she'd gained initial entrance. Hopping over an electrified plate she landed on the bed, scooping her sister up and jumping out the window as two flame throwers dropped down from a hidden place in the ceiling, torching a large portion of the contents of the room.

"Lets go, and stop trying to set our house on fire!" The shattered glass gave way to the two who moved quickly through the buisy streets, the small puppet following behind the moment it was free.

"Damn it." Ash said behind tired eyes. Her traps had failed, meaning that she'd spend the entire trip thrown over her sisters shoulder, the tiny girl's bony shoulder poking into her chest with every step. "ca...cant we just like.... Go back to bed." She knew the answer before it was even given. They were on their way towards the water gardens, where she was told the night before a great fight had broken out.

"NO. We need to get to the mission location. Now ash. Understand. There will be no theatrics, no cosplay, and absolutely no singing. We're figuring this problem out and dealing with it as quickly as possible. Mostly just keep quiet and do what I say so you dont make things worse. "

(548)

The bells of Hoshigakure, scourge of the sleepy and joy of the holy. Love them or hate them the bells were a part of everyday life in the village blessed by the stars. On this particular day the bells sounded as they always did, just before dawn calling the faithful to prayer and rousing others from their rest. Lucian Nazar, genin of Hoshigakure, could not be counted among the local faithful nor the resting. However, the bells did jolt him back to reality rather abruptly.

Lucian had been up since midnight. As of late the young Nazar clansman had found it difficult to sleep through the night. Vivid dreams would constantly jolt him from his sleep. As a result, the boy would average much less sleep than he needed. Of course, during the first few days of these dreams Lucian began to feel the effects of sleep loss. No amount of will could help him here. Thus, he came up with a solution. It was a simple solution, but it worked.

Upon waking from his dreams early in his sleep cycle, the Nazar would not attempt to get back to sleep. After all, his early attempts to return to bed were a complete and utter failure. Instead, Lucian would practice an art that many of his forefathers had: meditation. The meditation of a Nazar went well beyond a normal person’s meditation. Aided by their unique bloodline, a Nazar clansman could enter a state in which he was neither asleep nor awake. The elders that taught Lucian were fond of calling this state ‘limbo’.

Entering the aforementioned state of limbo could allow a Nazar to survive without food or water for extended periods of time. Furthermore, the technique put the mind in a resting state that had all the merits of sleep without the dreams; the Nazar clansman was able to guide their thoughts in this state to ponder greater meanings in the world and get closer to their goal of personal enlightenment.

So, on this day, Lucian found himself awoken by a particular odd dream. He was falling in an endless abyss. No walls, no light, no nothing. Only the sensation of falling and nothing else. After what felt like hours of falling the genin found himself jumping from his bed in Wuark’s house as if he had just experienced a night terror. It had become normal by this point, at least he didn’t scream out anymore. In the beginning he had screamed out probably scaring his roommates more than he should, but they never complained.

Now, instead of screaming out, he simply hyperventilated. As always he waited for the cold sweat to leave his brow before he seated himself at the foot of the bed. Then, in the glow of his bloodline activation, he would enter limbo. Being in limbo was not an unpleasant feeling nor a pleasant one. Rather, Lucian found that he simple was. He existed here and could look at memories in detail and focus his mind. However, most days he allowed his thoughts to flow fluidly from one to the next. Until, inevitably, the joyous sound of bells resounded across the starlit skies of Hoshigakure.

For a moment the boy sat still with his eyes closed. Then came the third round of bells, which prompted him to get up from the ground and get ready for his day. As of late, Lucian had seen neither heads nor tails of Wuark or Kuro. He was not too sure where there were, but it was not his job to chaperone them. After pulling on pants and a white tunic, the Nazar slipped on a pair of sandals and went out to the kitchen.

Truth be told cooking was a skill that the boy was never all too good at. Sure, one was taught to seek enlightenment and ignore pain, but he had never had any lessons on cooking. The older Nazar clansmen did most of the cooking. Since his departure from Funkagakure however, Lucian had slowly stepped up his game when it came to making a meal. Near the beginning of his trip the boy had splurged on prepared meals, but, as it turned out, it was not economically sustainable for him. Thus, yes you guessed it, he had to learn how to cook.

Walking into the kitchen, Lucian dug out the eggs he had bought the other day. Finding them he set a pan on the stove and got to work. While he waited for the pan to get a bit hotter he retrieved the last of the bread and popped it in a toaster. It was only the heel of the bread, but it still tasted great. Lucian had spent ages talking to the baker himself about baking though a lot of it went in one ear and out the other. With the stove hot enough at last, the boy cracked three eggs into the pan and proceeded to scramble them. No, he did not yet understand that scrambling the eggs before putting them in the pan made for better eggs. As a result, the eggs were more easily separated into egg whites and yolk, shame he had yet to understand that.

Regardless of the boy’s questionable kitchen skills his breakfast was done in a matter of a few minutes. As such he quickly found himself a seat at the table and quickly scarfed down his meal. Days such as these had become rather routine. He would eat breakfast and then head over to the mission center of Hoshigakure to see what awaited him there. For the most part the missions that needed doing were very simple such as cleaning the streets or gardening. The lack of complex tasks did not matter to Lucian as he did not hunger for prestige or inevitable killing that went with the higher ranking missions. He was content.

With his meal finished and the dishes now done, Lucian stepped out into the early morning twilight. The sun had still not yet broken over the horizon yet the sky was an indigo blue with small pinpricks of silver starting to fade with every step he took. The air was still cool yet there was a surprising amount of people out and about. Well, it would be surprising for anyone who did not know much about Hoshigakure culture. Lucian was no expert, but he knew the people up at this hour were either religious acolytes going to mass or merchants preparing to peddle their wares.

Lucian was, of course, neither of these groups. However, he still walked with them as equals. The general disdain for shinobi in Hoshigakure did not extend to Lucian on sight. After all, at first glance the boy appeared to be a part of one of the sects of monks that call the village home. The resulting anonymity gave Lucian a freedom to walk the streets unscathed by harsh words or piercing glares. Other shinobi were not so lucky, but such was life in a village where the shinobi class did not rule supreme. In all, it was a nice change of pace.

So, much like the holymen at either side of him, Lucian moved swiftly through the streets with long even strides. A few minutes of walking through the dimly lit brought the Nazar to the mission center of Hoshigakure. It was not really a grand building, rather it was a bit unassuming. Considering the village itself, unassuming was good, very good. Pushing open the door Lucian stepped into the mission center.

Taking care to close the door behind him, Lucian walked into the reception desk. The man there looked almost knightly if it weren’t for the headband he wore around his head.

“Good morning,” Lucian chirped. “I’m here to pick up my mission portfolio for the week.”

Yes, there were portfolios; folders filled with missions to be done for the week. Normally, there were about four or five mission specs, but today the folder was surprisingly light as the man handed it to him.

“Here you are genin Lucian,” The man said cheerily. “Have a nice day!”

This man was clearly a morning person.

Bowing ever so slightly, Lucian took his leave of the far too cheery deskman. Moving over to the waiting room of sorts he took a seat in one of the more well upholstered chairs. Flipping open the folder he had been given, Lucian found himself doing a double take.

A C ranked mission?

No, it was not a normal mission. Nor was it brutish killing operation, rather it was a diplomatic mission of sorts. It appeared that some shinobi were putting on a demonstration of jutsu in the water gardens. This of course would incur the wrath of more than a few civilians of Hoshigakure who disliked the shinobi establishment.

Tucking the folder into his satchel, Lucian departed the mission center and took to the streets that were now slightly busier and lit by early morning sun. Preparations needed to be made. He had to purchase supplied. Hell, where was he to start? Giving it some thought as he sifted through the crowds, he made his way to the water gardens.

Upon arriving the man easily picked out the two groups, the shinobi on the left and civilians on the right. Two distinct groups were formed and there seemed to be some yelling going on from both sides. An argument? Or just friendly banter? Lucian could not be too sure. For now, though he watched and waited. Supposedly he was to meet another here that would help in keeping the peace.

[1600]

Finally it was time! Team awesome was on the scene shortly after the other genin, moving at a brisk pace to stop beside lucian. Placing her sister to sit gently on the ground before her. "Alright. So now we just need to find the other person on this mission and figure out what to do." She took a glance at the scene before her. There was quite a crowd, which was overall a big problem. She listened for a moment as she scanned the area, looking everywhere asside from directly beside her. Her search was met with a sea of faces none of which resembled a shinobi at all. Was he or she not here yet? It confused and worried her. Somehow of course she'd found a way to completely miss the nazar boy she'd walked up to, her thoughts lost in exactly how to maneuver around her sister's idiocy while fixing the problem at hand, and oh what a issue it seemed to be. While Ash sat slightly confused on the ground at Reial's feet the leading sister would listen in to the argument. It would seem the first group, who we will change the name of for their group and call them code name hatfield,

The hatfields were pretty upset, yelling at the second group... Let's call them the code name McCoy, yes that will do well, But anyway, The hatfields were pretty upset, quite a crowd yelling and raising..... Where exactly did they get pitch forks and torches? WEll, they had pitchforks and torches which were raised high above their heads as they screamed slurs that as much as i would like to repeat i cannot my good readers in good conscience. The cruel phrases uttered from angered civilian lips cut strait to the quick, which I might add is not quite an easy feat against battle hardened shinobi. It would be important also to point out that the team code named hatlfield seemed to have missed out on the realization that upsetting the group they were currently slinging malicious insults and threats at was quite a horrible idea. Two of the group code named McCoy turned as the pair approached, one in particular, a tall black haired man who much to her dismay had a ninja pouch openly displayed on each of his hips with one slender hand slid into the pouch on the right, most likely clutching a cacophony of terrifying tools just out of sight that would make far too quick work of the practically unarmed civilians before them. This was dangerous and needed to be fixed quickly, which proved to be far too tall of a feat, which was proven as he addressed her.

"Hey. I know these two we have more reinforcements! LEts take them out. Wipe the village clean of these biggots and their hatred. The hour of shinobi control within the village hidden in the stars is upon us friends! Let us take up arms. " Rei's first response was swift and nearly reflexive. Her glanced turned down to her sister, her lips uttering the word no to her sister. Somehow in the short moments her attention was broken Ash had slipped away, ducking around a corner and into a convenient alley way, pulling from the bag at their puppets back, which somehow by magic and luck she'd gained control of over her sister.... Has anyone else noticed that a string of very odd events keeps happening around the blond haired twin? It's almost as if fate shifts to her whim, only like.... Not for important events as much as to ensure this unimportant and rediculous plan would just happen to work out perfectly? No, just me? Well alright. She returned wearing a very old looking outfit which she'd hidden somewhere, with a paper flower with alternating white red and blue colors. At her side were two flintlock pistols.... That I really hope arent real, though I cant say with any certainty that the small girl hadn't recently snuck off to order a set of colonial flintlock pistols. Naturally the excitement drained from her eyes as Rei shut her down, which was for the best. Had she not been caught a much greater riot would most likely have been raised as the girl burst into the song of revolution, bringing this shouting match to blows.

"Where the heck is this guy?!" Rei asked searching once more, only to feel the small meowth puppet tugging on her shirt tail. It's head turned to the side in confusion as it's wooden hands pointed beside her, assumably where the nazar boy still was, assuming he hadn't already responded to the pair. "Oh. Alright. So now we just need to figure out how to stop these two groups from like..... Killing each other. Because civilians are important. Civilians keep the economy going so that we can do our work and defend...them? Maybe that'll work. Ugh. No I need something better. something with some pop. How do I get through to these people.....no Ash. put them away. " In an attempt to help Ash drew one of the flintlock pistols, gesturing to the group with a look that suggested she had a plan. It was once more very quickly shut down.

(1424)

A low lying cloud of dust started to form as the two sides, shinobi and civilian, started to jostle about. No one struck out at one another physically. However, both sides used insults that Lucian had never heard used. Truth be told both sides clearly had a vast repertoire of insults from which to draw. Were the Nazar not tasked with keeping the peace then he might have been taking notes. Building one's vocabulary was always helpful. Alas, now was not the time. Especially considering the boy heard a child's shrill cry over the the bustle. It was not a normal noise, no, it was something wrought from pain.

I guess that is my cue. No time to wait.

Glancing to his side he took note of the two newcomers. Odd kids, he had never seen them around the village before. However, judging by the puppet they had with them they were shinobi. Perhaps at another time Lucian would have shared pleasantries with the two as one of the pair went on about why they had to stop the fight. Normally the boy was not rude, but he cut into the small girl's digressions about civilians.

"Listen, just keep the shinobi from doing anything rash." Lucian said calmly. "I'll talk with the civilians."

There was no time to argue or discuss and Lucian kept hearing that scream yet still the two sides got thicker and thicker. The situation was escalating, quickly. Time for talk was short. Now was the time for action. Hopefully the two kids took orders well, because Lucian was already wading his way into the mass of civilians and towards the ever present cry. One second the twins would likely see the back of his bald head and the next it would be gone, swallowed by the masses.

Hit this way and that, Lucian found it was almost impossible for him to force himself through the crowd, almost. With a bit of effort he was able to make some ground. It took what felt like an hour to reach the center of crowd; only a minute had passed. Perhaps it was chance that guided him or some higher power, but the Nazar was able to finally push through the crowd and find the child.

The child must've been no older than five with a shock of unruly black hair and only stood up to Lucian's chest. The kid looked lost and scared almost like an animal as it realized it was caught in a trap. What other option did Lucian have? He picked the kid up and boosted the poor tike to his hip so as to avoid him getting trampled. Then, he yelled, no he screamed. Noise came from his throat unlike any other. He screamed for the people to stop for them to calm down, to stop, to think about what they were doing anything. For a while there was no response beyond more profanities and general rage.

Then it happened.

"I have a kid! I have a kid god dammit!!!!!!"

Ripples of silence started to pass over the civilian side as people turned to notice the odd bald boy yelling nonsense. Making his way to the rift that had been created between the shinobi and civilians, Lucian turned around and faced the civilians. Putting the kid down next to him he took a breath. His throat burned, but that didn't matter in the slightest.

"You lot almost trampled this kid."

A pause and another breath.

"Does your feud with shinobi run so deep that you would put a child in harm's way?"

A murmur spread through the crowd. A few people yelled something about death to shinobi, but were quickly silenced by their fellow man.

"Listen, like it or not, we all live in the same village blessed by the stars. We accept so many people for who they are, what gods they may worship or not, hell, I can go to the market and sample foods from across the shinobi realm. That is what makes us different. That is what makes us what we are today. Would you throw that all away over a petty dislike of another group? Of another culture?"

Another breath as the boy throat started to dry and the crowd still stood spellbound. Perhaps they were more astounded by the fact that the boy was yelling at them. Not about what he was yelling about.

"We are all better than that. Please, back down. All this violence is pointless. We all live under the same sky and in the same village. Please."

Lucian was interrupted as slender woman pushed her way to the front of the civilians. She had wiry black hair and the worried look of a mother. Without a word she walked up to the child Lucian had fished out from the center of the mob, held out her hand, gave Lucian a glance that said more than words ever could and walked away through the crowd with child in hand. Along with her went the once unruly mob of civilians.

It is done.

The episode lasted less than half an hour yet Lucian felt the fatigue of a full day on his body. His throat hurt and his ribs ached where he'd been elbowed trying to get through the crowd. With his part of the mission done the Nazar turned around to face a hopefully pacified shinobi masses. Lucian had done what had to be done. He could only hope the odd pair of girls had done the same.

[2510/2000]

The realization that this strange bald headed boy was the one she was looking for ripped through her, reddening her cheeks and lowering her spirit, but his statement drew her form her thoughts and back to the matter at hand. "Got it. " She said. Sweet and simple. SHe watched him disappear through the crowd. Now came the true question. How would she take care o.......was that a kunai? Her thoughts were paused as a weapon came flying above her head, flowing just shy of the tops of the ninja's heads. THis wasn't exactly odd of course, considering half of the combatants that were in the squabble were ninja however, with the two groups in front of them..... Of course. Having lost track of her sister for barely a few moments she'd missed vital information. Ash drew a kunai from the ninja pouch at her side, releasing it high above the group. Fuck.

"What the actual hell are you doing?!" Rei asked waiting for the inevitable fight to break out. Thankfully most of those in the area hadn't noticed the stray weapon, though the civilians definitely would have. The tension grew with people on both sides pushing in, conflict clearly inevitable. The begining strike came quick and hard as a ninja brought his hands together, preparing to cast a jutsu of some sort. Ash climbed up one of the tall buildings, getting a birds eye few as the weapon flew, its momentum stopped completely to fall helplessly into the center area where Lucian stopped. The ninja formed two seals before completely stopping, surprise pulsing from his large brown eyes. he tried to look about, searching for the cause of this but found nothing.

How..... How had these civilians learned a way to stop me, he thought as he struggled against seemingly nothing, the kunai now at his feet having done it's job perfectly. The strings attached to it reased as it fell, catching his arms and dropping them down to his side.

"Alright. Just watch and learn sis. " Ash spoke, grinning. As lucian spoke, his powerful speech beginning to turn the tides of war the man would speak up.... Or seem to. Using the ventrilloquism technique Ash would agree with lucian through teeth bared grin. "He's right. Why are we fighting when we should be working together. Apart we could feud endlessly and eventually kill each other off, but together we could do anything! Let us band together and forget our differences!" To follow up with the words the ninja paralyzed by terror would seem to speak he turned, giving the ninja group a thumbs up. Rei, finally realizing what she was doing allowed the strigns to flow from her fingers, taking control of a short konoichi near the back of the group. She took two steps back prompted by the skillful art with a human body technique, A second ventriloquism joining in.

"Yes. Let's give this fued up. We all live in the same village. It just wont do to have to fear for our lives in the one place we should be most safe. " her head nodded as she would seem to speak, and thankfully with this done several others not under the control of the twins would speak up in agreement. The crowd would slowly disperse, the hatfields and McCoys going back to their duties, both in civilian life and within the ninja comunity. As the masses disappeared, so did the two twins, off to collect their reward.

(2005 claiming mission done, 2k ryo, 5 ap, and part one of the advancement mission finished! exit unless stopped)

Well, all in all, it could have gone worse. In the end, no one was hurt though Lucian's body felt as if it had been put through the wringer. As each side broke apart the Nazar remained standing where he had addressing the crowd. At the moment no thought of reward money or recognition drifted through his mind. Rather, he felt at peace, which was surprising considering the circumstances. For a while he stood there simply watching as civilians and shinobi went their separate ways. While some shinobi would see dispersing a potential mob situation as 'just a mission' Lucian felt it was more a duty. People were not made to fight one another. A few minutes more he would stand in the water gardens before departing. He could pick up his reward in the morning, it would still be there. All he wanted right now was a shower or maybe a bath...He'd decide later.

[Exit, claiming mission rewards. Topic closed and mission complete.]