Errands [Solo][Plot][Finished][Not that plot..]

It was a fairly standard day in the village of Hoshi. At least, up until that point, for the majority of the population, it had been.

Let us focus in on a particular man. His name is of no consequence yet, his story is our interest. He had not been in Hoshi for long. In fact, he had been there mere minutes. Perhaps his rather.. startling appearance could be attributed to this? Let me explain. This man had worn clothes and bedraggled hair. His simple black tee shirt was the host of several holes. His pants were a faded blue. The bottom trim was plagued with loose strings, some hanging down several inches past the beaten remnants of a well hammed rim. Yet, these loose threads did not trip the man, nor even touch the ground, for the pants ended several more inches above his bare ankles. With blacked with what appeared to be soot and soil, he was truly a sight to behold to the well developed people of Hoshi.

It came as a surprise to many when the man washed off his feet in a small stream. Those of higher society looked on, mouths agape at the sight before them, before quickly gathering their wits and looking away, pretending to have never seen this disgrace of a man. From those of a lesser social status, however, many were left watching. The man seemed to rummage into his pack, and put on a pair of worn geta. A smile could be seen creak over the mans face, if those watching were at the correct angle, as he walked away, heading in the direction from which he had come.

It was not long till this man wandered into a shop. The store was simply a clothing store, though they focuse only on the finer looking adornments, even providing services to those connected to the royal family. The shopkeep, seeing this vagrant walk into his most prestigious of boutiques, left his position at the counter and huffed across the room, making an audible "thump" as he went.

"I must ask that you leave my store, sir," he said, standing behind the man with the unkempt hair.

Yet the man would not move. Or rather, he simply moved deeper into the store, continuing to look through the different shirts and jackets available for purchase.

"I must ask you to leave, sir." Once again, the shopkeep stated his position. This time, however, the man would speak.

"Do you perchance have this in a red?" he said. His voice was deep and booming as an arm was raised, holding in the hand a hanger, which was in turn suspending a suit jacket in the air. The suit jacket had three buttons along its center, with two more to secure the lapel. Perhaps more intriguing still was the long trail at the back. Instead of ending, as most suit coats would, this one dragged on, becoming what resembled a split cloak, and would reach at least to the knees of the wearer, even if they had abnormally long legs.

"Sir, I must ask you to leave, or I shall have to bring in the authorities." The shopkeep was perturbed by this strange man, though he could not place why.

"I do not wish for that to happen, young man, though I doubt your superiors would likely appreciate you forcing out a paying customer." The disheveled man would turn. Until this time, the shopkeep had merely seen the back of the man's head. His hair had appeared overgrown, and it threw itself wildly into the air, individual hairs pointing in any direction they so pleased. The front was even worse. Hair grew down over the man's face, blocking sight of most of it. The shopkeep wondered how he could even see past this wall of stringy, oily filth. Only the nose and center of the mouth could be easily seen. The sight became even worse upon him smiling, revealing several missing teeth.

This appearance left the shopkeep in a state of bewilderment for but a moment, before he once again had his wits about him. "Sir, I do not wish to play games. This suit is well outside your ability to afford, and one in red would only be more expensive. Now please leave, this is your final warning." The shopkeep raised one arm, pointing his hand, palm up, towards the door, and bowed slightly, making one last attempt to get the fool out of his store.

Guffaws escaped from the mouth of our main character, as his hand reached into a pocket of the pants which hung loosely around his waist. Upon his hand returning, it was rolled up into a fist. The hand quickly ascended to meet with the hand of the shopkeep, even as the latter man wished to avoid the contact. He was too slow, however, and our protagonist, if we should call him that, managed to drop the contents of his hand into that of the shopkeep. It was a large wad of bills, and a small pile of coins. The total value was well over the price of a single suit coat, even of the most expensive red coloring. "I will take three suit coats of this style in red, with these measurements," he said, before reciting off a list of dimensions for which only one seemed to fit himself.

The shopkeep, red showing across his cheeks, bowed and went to the back of the store, not saying anything more until he was ready to check out. "Sir, I must ask your name for the receipt."

"Just put down Jonius Thrae, if you would," our lead would say, before spelling it out. With the coats in hand, he would return to the streets of Hoshi, an even odder sight than before.

---

Perhaps it is time for a new hero in our story. Our new idol is shorter than our last, though not by much. He is also much more corpulent, being over twenty pounds more "endowed" than the last. He wears clothes of the commoner, but walks with his head held high and his chest out. We join his story as he walks through, as many of you will be unsurprised to learn, Hoshi. He is also a newcomer to the town, having arrived mere minutes after the last had left. Mayhaps there is a connection between our two heros?

We first notice him walking out into the street from the black shadowed stretch of land between two small cafes. His shirt, though made of cheap hemp, is pressed flat. Not a single wrinkle can be seen across his entire portly body, despite the obvious tightness off the shirt. His pants are equally smooth, except for the crisp lines at the seam that shows how carefully they are maintained. The pants appear to be made of cotton, a much finer material than the shirt, but it is difficult to tell. The pants have been died a dark black, while the shirt must have been repeatedly bleached to get such a fine white coloring. Rarely is such detail taken with hemp.

Our new hero continues his gait through the village, drawing the occassional look, but nowhere near the number as our first. His attention remains unmoved, never looking to his surroundings, nor the people before him, save for what needed to be done to avoid contact with the potentially vile "people" of this village.

Soon, the man arrived at a store. No, this store is not the same as the last. It is, however, another high end clothing store. The shopkeep, looking up from her book, sees the man walking in, and pays him no mind. Several minutes pass before our new lead approaches the teenaged girl and asks to purchase the three pairs of dark red pants he has procured, as well as the three white cotton dress shirts. The girl stares dully at him, or more accurately past him, while getting the prices, asking the man his name. "Jonius Thrae will do," is the only response from this man. Once money has been exchanged, the man is on his way, and the girl once again glances down to her book, having to start over the chapter due to the disturbance of her job.

Yes, yes, I know you have questions. They shall be answered, I assure you, but you must be patient!

---

We shall now come upon our third lead. This person is much taller than either of their predecessors, though not unnaturally so. Unlike the unkempt hair of the first and the short hair of the second, the third has medium length hair slicked towards the back. Combed well, the hair resembles rows of corn, though it is not in the style of cornrows. A two button black suit sits on top of a firm white button up shirt. Under the collar rests a simple black bowtie. Obviously steam pressed, the  black pants fit closely but not tightly, well defining the longer than average legs.

Our third hero is not going to a clothing store, as you may have come to expect. Instead, a theater store is on their agenda. A small store, it nonetheless has withstood the tests of time. A bell rings as our champion walks in, bringing the attention of the shopkeep.

"Why hello there, names Tomai. What can I do for you?" This man is no simple shopkeep, he is the owner of the establishment. Business has been slow lately, but it is not theater season just yet, so that is expected.

Our mainstay keeps their back to the elder, searching through the first row of masks. Picking one up, they observe it. Flipping it over once, then twice, and a third time, a smile appears, though the store owner cannot see this. Bringing the mask up to their face, holding it there with the left hand, the smile grows more as two more are grabbed off the shelf with the free hand. Walking to the counter, a melodious voice speaks. "These will do most nicely," says the voice. But quickly situates himself.

Wringing up the price, and asking for the cash, the store owner speaks. "Might I inquire your name?"

"Thrae. Jonius Thrae," says the man as he leaves the store, not letting the mask leave his face until out the doors.

---

Still perplexed? That much is expected. Perhaps we should rewind a bit. About ten minutes before the arrival of our first hero in the village of Hoshigakure.

A woman is sitting in her abode. Consisting of a single main room, a closet, and a bathroom, the small apartment is well below what the woman could afford, and well above what she needs. Her hands are clasped together, and her face bears a grim expression. She appears to be focusing intently, sitting upon the floor, the soles of her feet connected. She has been in this position for quite the time, even, this moment marking nearly two hours of effort. For you see, our heroine is special. She can do things that other people cannot.

But that is not very specific, is it? She can do many a thing that many an other can as well. This list even includes things that many more othery others cannot. But the important thing is something that very few of this first group of others can do. She has an innate understanding of her own body, and the ability to control it well past the ability of even her closest peers. Our heroine does not know it, but she possesses a birthright few may lay claim to. What is natural and easy to her can be impossible for even her superiors. Though she has suspected having one such birthright, she has found neither head nor tail of writings that describe an ability so peculiar as hers. For someone as interested in information as our heroine is, she was noticeably peeved at that.

There I go once again, getting completely off topic. We were talking about what our heroine was doing, correct? Yes, quite. She is changing herself in a most basic, and yet complex beyond belief, manner. See, all beings have energy that courses through their bodies. Some of these beings learn to harness and control this energy, seeking power through its uses. Some of these people can even sense this energy, and have honed this ability to the point of being able to recognize others merely by the faint aura their inner energy gives off.

This was a problem for our heroine. She wished to do something quite extravagant, and wished to do so anonymously. Anonymity is hard when your identity is constantly pulsing from your body. Therefore, our heroine sought to change herself. This change was fundamental. Primal. She could be anyone she desired, possibly. Perhaps if she honed the rough craft that she was contriving, she could attain that power. For now, however, simply being “different” was the goal. Her desire was to be an “other”.

The energy pulsed through her body. Though an outsider, even one experienced in the sensing of inner energy, would notice nothing, much was happening inside the body of the girl, particularly her gut. For you see, hundreds of thousands of cells were growing, splitting, merging, changing, and even dying, at a highly accelerated rate, and in several unnatural manners. It was nearly complete. Our heroine was nearly a different person. A no name. A face in the crowd. A single drop in the ocean.

She knew when it had finally worked. She had spent several hours working to attain this power, and she had finally succeeded. Our heroine was reborn, so to speak. Her next steps were carefully planned. She used another one of her tricks, manipulating her body to change its very shape and form. She was now a true nobody. None would know her, or rather him, no matter the tricks, less they were to delve into her mind.

Thereafter our heroine, who is a she despite appearing to be a male, walked to a secluded alley, making sure they were away from any and all onlookers. With a forming of the hands, her body morphed once again. This time, however, it assumed the shape of one So Chan. Chan was a prominent character in this village, or so he chose to believe. In truth, his status was minimal, and his power inconsequential. However, his name was known.  Perhaps knowing more about this man would be better than continuing our tale. At least, for this moment.

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So Chan, stood straight up, would reach 5'11. However, the man is nearly always hunched over (think Boomi from Avatar, but less buff). His extremely loose, often oversized clothes does a great job of hiding his decently muscled body. While he is by no means sculpted, he is not a toothpick. Some attribute this to a mastery of Zui quan (real life level of mastery, not ninja level of mastery), though it has never been confirmed, and even if he is, his power level would likely still be below that of even a novice within the ranks of Hoshigakure's elite forces. His black hair lies in an unruly mess at the top of his head, and his skin takes on a deep tone due to his near constant tan.

So Chan is a beggar. For several years, he has lived off the kindness of others. Surprisingly well, even. He saw the destruction of his home at the hands of the missing ninja. He was the first to strike back against their attackers, after the standard powers proved ineffective. The attackers took pity on the fool, leaving him blackened and bloodied, but alive. To this day, he speaks out against ninja. His following is small, but powerful, one of the few groups with both the intent and the ability to fight. So Chan denies having anything to do with a number of riots, but it is commonly thought that he has orchestrated several in an attempt to scare the monarchy.


Finally, we have reached the moment of reveal. Our heroine, having taken over the form of So Chan, is actually our very first hero, the man who purchased three suit jackets.

Aha! Were you surprised? Truthfully you should not have been. I did make this quite obvious from the get go, or so I believed. Mayhaps I placed too much belief in your use of context. Either or, however, it does not truly matter. Our heroine completed her tasks as were listed above, and continued on with her day. Eventually, she assumed the form of one Ceri Siors. This state of our heroine is what was referred to as our second hero, the one who purchased several pairs of pants. Certainly now it is no surprise that our third hero was once again merely our heroine hiding herself, though what you were unlikely to know was that this form was that of a “Tomi Udgorn”. Let us lavish in the backstories of the two men who inspired our heroine’s transformation.

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Ceri Siors stands at 5'1. A Short individual, his height is more than made up for by his girth. From the right angles, he actually appears as a ball. His appearance is near comical. Yet he is not ridiculed. Dark brown hair dresses his head. Unlike the unruly mess on So Chan's head, however, Ceri's hair is carefully combed back. Whereas So Chan rarely bathes, Ceri enjoys a shower daily, if not more frequently, sometimes paying extravagant fees just to access that much water. Ceri tries to dress in clothing that appears expensive, but he is rarely able to afford truly good clothing.

Ceri Siors was once a rich boy. Born into money, his life was destroyed when his parents lost their fortune. Sent from mansion life to living in a two room apartment, Ceri considered his life over, even through his parent's constant assertions to the contrary. He grew to hate them, and smiled when he learned they had been killed in an MN attack on his 30th birthday. They had ruined his life.

Ceri seeks to out the ninja from the village for his own personal gain. He gathers people’s attention, and holds it with tales only partially planted in reality. Many a man has felt grief as Ceri tearfully chokes out the sight of his parents' corpses after they had been brutally murdered by the animals that call themselves human. While his stated goals are pure, his true desire is to get his power back. If he were the one to convince the royalty to kick out the ninja, then the council would have no choice but to give him a position as a representative. At least, that is what would have happened had the council not… yeah.


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Tomi Udgorn stands quite tall at 6'3. His body is lean, showing no fat and no excess muscle mass. His blond hair has a slight bounce to it, but is by no means curly. While he does frequently style it, his hair is rarely as structured as Ceri's. Tomi indulges himself in cleaning rituals, but he attempts to be as conservative with water as he can, often using washbasins instead of showers, and occasionally even reusing the same water. He dresses in a business casual. His look is crisp, but not intimidating, frequently using brightly colored shirts and tan khakis, shorts and short sleeves on hotter days.


Tomi grew up poor. His family had it rough, living paycheck to paycheck. He had to begin work at an early age. As a child, he dreamed of being a Queensguard, but his family simply could not afford that dream. When he was finally an adult, his dream had changed. Now, he wished to make sure that no one else had their dreams squelched by poverty. And he had the means. He was a self taught business master. In his first job after becoming an adult, he quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a manager. Unfortunately, his parents were no longer around to witness his success, having succumb to disease when he was 16.

From his position as manager, he saved up every penny he could, until finally he purchased the company. With his knowledge, he was able to increase employee satisfaction, product quality, and income. Within a few years, he had purchased another company, and another, and another, improving each one along the way. He was an everyman who made his own riches through hard work and determination. Even as his number of companies grew, he would still most often be found working the floors of his stores, the registers of his restaurants, or whatever be his fancy really. Few recognized him for the power that he was, and even with his potentially massive sway, he rarely pushed his own ideals, instead choosing what was best for the village and country, even if it meant a loss for him.

Perhaps this is why his following is so large. Tomi witnessed the destruction of so much at the hand of the missing nin. While he supports the use of ninja to exterminate external threats, he is against the idea of granting them asylum. Hoshi, and the country of Haven, is wealthy enough to afford the price of protection from another village. Tomi has even stated multiple times that he would gladly help fund this sort of action.

He also expresses his fears that the presence of ninja in the village is more detrimental than helpful. He cites the destruction of several major ninja villages. Even through the rampant missing ninja attacks on the villages of Haven, nothing has been on the scale of the destruction of Kirigakure and Tengakure. These villages, ones that should have been able to protect themselves. lived in a bubble of assumed safety, and because of that, they were slaughtered. Being a ninja village makes you a target, and Tomi wasn't going to let the monarchy paint a giant red X across the city.


Certainly by now you have noticed the theme! Our heroine was assuming the forms of major leaders of the largest anti-ninja groups within the village, and using these forms to perform menial tasks. Why I can hear you asking. Well the answer is quite simple: our heroine seeked to incite a sort of civil unrest. Yes, that is right, this women is attempting to throw the country into a spot of bother, and yet she remains our heroine. Why? For, to her, the ends justify the means, and a small jaunt of civil misconduct, that would end the resentment and hatred coursing through the city, is but a meager price to pay.

You may be wondering how these simple actions could incite a civil war, and justly so! These actions alone could do nothing of the sort. But you see, our heroine knows things, things that should not be made known to the public, according to her superiors. Our heroine, however, disagrees. She foresees trouble if these events are left unhandled, undisclosed, and has taken it into her own hands to make sure this trouble never comes to fruition.

After these errands, however, and a small few more, her day was done until much later. Our heroine would meet with each of the three men she had become, continuing to hide her identity. This time, however, instead of appearing as one of the three men, she would appear as a version of herself that had not been shown in quite awhile: the (in)famous Painted Smile. So you see, our heroine once went around capturing enemies of the state. She did it not for pay, nor for glory, but for the practice. As such, she had transformed her body and wore a mask at all times. This alternate persona of hers wore a red suit with a trailing split cape, and a white porcelain mask. The exact same materials she had procured earlier this day, though her items were much older than the three sets.

The three men would initially be quite hostile to the girl, whom they saw as a male. She would have broken into their homes, after all! But a show of force, followed by a show of peace, would quickly pacify them. All three would hold doubts about the girls plan, and none would know our heroine was a she! Her form would include altered vocal cords. But that is not the true point of this. The point is that, after much convincing, and the dropping of bombshells, the three men would agree to her plan. They must. Tomorrow, they would work together and rally the village against the monarchy. Their words would be spread across the village in the depths of night, and come the morrow, their followers would surely grow. Any an uncertain heart would quickly flock to the aid of the three man, and many a previous opponent to their ideals would likely support them as well.

For you see, the three men would have new ammunition. New knowledge. New power. Plus red suits and a neat mask each.

---

It would not be long before the sun would rise and the three men would begin their work.

The village would question them at first, the writings on the wall. Those were simply to drive the curiosity of the people. The speakers would be the main attraction, fed information by our heroine.

The speakers would speak of many topics. They would know of the circumstances of the queen’s death, and how it had been hidden away. Nedron and the council would certainly be a hot topic, though not the most convincing burning topic.

“Why was Nedron killed? Did he learn too much? We were told that he conspired to kill the Princess of Bird, but how can we believe them? We can believe that a ninja killed the princess, but was this ninja an outsider, one of the ones that attacked our village and killed our people, or were they one of the ones that live among us? And the publicized murder of the council: was it justified as the ninja so claimed, or brought about when they feared the council knew too much? We do not know! We cannot know! But we accepted their stories, not because we believed them, but because we had to. We trusted the Queensguard, and the Queensguard worked with the ninja. We trusted the Prince, and the Prince was on their side. But now, the Queensguard has met its end. Many have died since our “protectors” arrived, and those that remain have been kicked out of the group they have strove for their whole lives. And who fills their roles, who seeks to lay claim to their titles? The outsiders. The ninja. 

“We wish not to see this village burn! We wish not to hear the cries of the people as their families die! We wish for the truth! But how can we accept anything as the truth when they would hide the death of our beloved Queen!?

“Yes! The queen is dead. A sad day indeed, a well spent celebration, but that celebration was long delayed! For the Queen has been dead for months, and the Queensguard, in all their vast knowledge, covered it up! But was it truly the Queensguard? Surely their members most deeply faithful to the Queen would have required a ceremony for her Majesty! We can confidently say that several of these men have met their ends, though to what remains uncertain.

“We require the ninja’s aid! We would surely perish without it! But they have grown too strong, too encompassing. They possess far more power than they should. They should be our protectors, not our rulers, and yet here we stand! Princess Tehniyat seeks to return some of this power from the ninja to our people, but she is a single person, with no training in the way of a ninja. Should one force her to comply, she would have no real option on the matter!

“This is why we ask- no, we BEG you, to please, speak out against these forces! A village is nothing without it’s people. Should we decide it, the Ninja must abide. We collectively hold more power than the entire royal family! More than the entire ninja force! We can force change upon them. We can force them to reset, to back down, to take a proper role in the governing of this land: a role of suggestions, not one of decisions.

“We seek the end of the Shinobi reign! We seek the creation of a new council, one comprised of the public, of the royalty, and of the ninja! For so long, the monarchy has only done what it thought best for us! Now we must do what we think is best for them!

“Ninja of Hoshigakure! Hear our plead! We want our village back! We want the proper powers in place! We do not wish you dead, we do not wish you gone, but we desire for you to cease your takeover of this village! Whether it be your intention or not, you hold too much power over our lands! It leaves us displeased, so we beg you: step down!”

---

Yet, these were not the lines she would have discuss with them. As our heroine lay in her room, having finished the errands not long ago, but not having left to meet with the three men yet, she realized that, no matter what she said, Ceri Siors, and perhaps even So Chan, would twist her words, weave tales. They would force a civil war, not the civil unrest that our heroine seeked. Our heroine understood the complexities of some of these events. She would not wish Nedron casted as a martyr, for he was a traitorous man. She would question the form of punishment of the council, not the act of punishing itself.

Tomi Udgorn was trustworthy. He would see the truth in the words, and recognize the protection that was placed upon the village by the questionable actions of the ninja and Queensguard. He would not weave tales, he would not incite sensationalism. Yet, our heroine knew that she could not tell even this man. For if he knew, he would speak it. Should either of the other men learn it, they would twist it to their own whims. So even the most trusted of the three would go unconfronted. Our heroine would not leave her house that night, so when the morrow would come, the three men would simply do as they had done before. Tomi would return to work, perhaps hold a speech or attempt once again to meet with the Princess. Ceri would try to stir fear, gain followers. So Chan would beg, and spread his ideas. They would do what they would have anyways, for there was nothing to inspire them to do otherwise.

No, our heroine needed a new plan. This one would need to be simple and direct, cut straight past the fancy stories, and get to the meatiness of the plan. For you see, there was another piece of information that our heroine knew, though she did not yet know enough. This piece of information, should she ever find its completion, would likely prove vitally useful.




[5228. Claiming http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t31841-v6-chakra-absorption and http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t33007-yowaiga-dokutoku, as well as 26 stats]

[exit]

Didn't realize the ceremony had already happened. I can edit around a bit to make that still make sense.

And just to be clear, she DID NOT actually speak with the NPCs, so they didn't learn that stuff from her, so I guess they can do w/e. What I wrote was her thought process on what would happen if she did, which Shiroi quickly realized would result in a much worse situation than she desired. I know I didn't make that very clear, so apologies about that. I kinda realized it myself while writing, and didn't want to lose all the words, so I just rewrote it using "future in the past" tense to signify that it didn't QUITE happen yet, and added on a bit at the end about how "That's not how I want it to go down though. Fuck. I can't do that anymore".

I can tackle editing it to fix it in a few hours.

Removed a lot, but added in some clarification bits. Made it more obvious that Shiroi did the errands and then... just stopped. She had thought it over after the errands, realized it would go terribly, and decided upon a new plan of action, though she's not certain how it will work out yet. Hopefully I got it to fit well within current state of plot, so yeah.


Removed: all of the spray painting, it didn't really fit in anymore. I originally wrote this topic like 3 hours after something happened in Transparency, but I couldn't figure out how to quite get it to work, so yeah. Now it's edited to be more up to date and better fitting in general. Also removed  some implications about the Nedron part, and clarified Shiroi's stance on it, since that entire section is rather questionable.

Added: mostly just clarification on when Shiroi stops doing things.