Konoha Festival!

Mission Assignment:

 
Today was a beautiful day in Konoha. The sun had been shining especially bright today and there was no sign of rain or storm in sight. Today was a day of celebration for everyone in the village, and yet for some reason, it was bittersweet. Historically, today was the celebration of Konoha’s independence as a village. It was usually a day full of excitement. Kids would always look forward to the colorful and vibrant festivals that took place on the main streets of the village. It would be complete with masquerades, giant moving floats, and even giant figures that were larger than life, usually embodying an animal or a previous Kage of the village. The food during these festivals were always on point too. That was perhaps Allegro’s favorite part. He had not been in the Leaf village for long, but he had been here long enough to know that this was one of his favorite holidays. He got out of his bed this morning and marked the day in his calendar. He quickly got dressed and headed outside. To his surprise, no one seemed to be as excited as he was. The villagers were smiling, but the smiles seemed to be fake or forced. The kids were playing with eachother, as children do, but there parents were not far behind. After every few minutes, the parents would warn their kids not to wander to far and that the village was not as safe as it used to be. Allegro was quite perceptive to what had been happening. The truth of the matter was, Konoha could not truly celebrate its independence while still under the military control of the Mist village.
 
Allegro could not walk a mile in his own village without seeing a Kirigakure headband at least once. Due to a recent battle that occurred before Allegro became a genin, Konoha had surrendered to the might of Xyxer the Mizukage. He was rumored to be stronger than the Hokage and, for the sake of the village, the Hokage conceded to his terms. Allegro could feel empathy for both sides. On one side, what kind of selfish leader would risk the lives of thousands just so they could put up a good fight, one that she knew she would lose. On the other hand, Allegro could hear the whispers that said this village was being led by a weak leader. Allegro’s fists tightened by his side. It was frustrating indeed. Allegro himself thought about he felt. He held no disdain for the village’s current Hokage, he thought the right decision was made. However, he did blame himself. It was his fault for not being there to save the day. Had he been strong enough, had he trained as hard as his father had suggested, maybe things would have been different. Allegro wanted to be stronger so that he could be a dependable force in Konoha’s ranks. He would one day become the grooviest ninja in the whole village, one who sings a song of protection and could make everyone feel safe. Allegro’s resolve as a ninja bubbled over and forced him to smile. He put on his headphones and turned up the volume. The song that was playing was invigorating and made his blood pump. He was ready to go.
 
Just as Allegro jumped to the first rooftop, he was stopped by another ninja. The kunoichi landed with one knee and one fist planted on the ground before she got up to face Allegro. “Good morning Allegro! Up early, I see! You’ve been summoned by the Hokage!” Allegro paused his morning playlist and listened to the fellow ninja. He had been summoned on his favorite holiday for a mission. Just his luck. Regardless, he thanked the kunoichi, and she immediately vanished away in a flicker of movement. Allegro sighed. It could not be helped. This was part of his duty on the path to becoming a groovy and dependable shinobi. He too, would flicker away and head to the large red building in the center of the village: The Ninja Academy building. When he stepped inside, he went towards the Mission Assignment desk. It was there that he found a large table with several ninja waiting there for him. The Hokage was absent, as usual, probably away with busier work. Allegro made a note to himself that he would have to pay her a visit. It was getting frustrating that he was working for someone he barely knew. But before he could say anything to express his frustration, he was addressed by one of the ninja sitting down.
 
“Uzumaki Allegro. Welcome! The Hokage has dispatched you on a mission for today. Are you ready?” Allegro gave a nod and took his place before the ninja at the desk. He looked behind him at the door to see if perhaps his teammates would be joining him on this mission. He didn’t see Jason or Higuto in sight. Sigh. Another mission by his lonesome. Allegro faced front and waited fo the man to continue. The day light shined from behind the desk through a set of glass windows separated by large stone pillars. On the very high ceiling of the room, Allegro could see the kanji marking that read “Shinobi” in big black font. The man assigning the mission continued on to say, “As you may know, today is a special day of celebration for Konoha. Today there will be festival celebrations in every main street of Konoha. We are assigning you on security detail for this sector. You will be directly responsible for looking after the Daimyo, a Fire Country VIP. Please represent us well, and be on the look out for any suspicious activity. Apprehend anyone who might have intentions to harm the feudal lord.”
 
Allegro raised his bowed head and confirmed his understanding of the assignment. He stepped forward and collected a scroll from the ninja before him. Once he was dismissed, he took off. He was back on the rooftops of the village, dashing around trying to find his starting location for his mission. He opened the scroll he had collected from the ninja who had assigned his mission. Within the scroll was a map with a red X on it, indicating the start location. There were also a series of red dashed lines to indicate the route the Fuedal lord would be taking throughout the day. It was a simple, D Ranked mission. Allegro hoped it would stay that way. He wrapped the scroll up and continued his race towards the Fuedal Lord. When he finally arrived, he was on the roof of a local shop looking down on what was the initiation of a fancy pants parade. There were fireworks, large decorations and beautiful women. Allegro’s breathe was heavy as he tried to snap out of the infatuation that came with the colorful and sexy costumes the parade walkers were wearing. He took off is headphones and let them hang on the back of his neck. It would appear that he didn’t need them for this mission. The music of the festival was more than loud enough, and sounded quite beautiful and festive. Finally, Allegro spotted the caravan that carried the Fuedal Lord and immediately walked up to it after he jumped down from the roof of the store.
 
Allegro walked alongside the caravan, and as if by cue, the Fuedal Lord opened a small shutter that exposed his face. “Well! It’s about time you showed up!” Allegro averted his eyes, as a sign of respect and said nothing. He had been distracted by the beautiful pairs of breast and festive music longer than he had planned. The feudal lord continued after seeing that his comment would not be enough to goad a rude reply from Allegro. “Im trusting my safety to you, shinobi of the Leaf! Please do not disappoint me” Allegro gave a dutiful “Yes Sir” before the daimyo closed the shutter to reinstate his privacy. And with that, the festival was now in full effect. Allegro had to keep on his guard at all times. There was so much noise and commotion that an assassin would not have a hard time maneuvering in this environment if the daimyo’s guard were just any ol’ ninja. Luckily, The Hokage had chosen an exception shinobi for the job. Allegro’s eyes darted from left to right, pin pointing any little thing that made a sudden movement. There was nothing. All was regular. Allegro noticed that the celebration isn’t quite what it used to be. The kids were not screaming hysterically like they usually were. In fact, no one really was. The citizens of Konoha had just gathered around the main street to offer their weak, half-assed applause. There was something wrong.
 
Allegro soon noticed movement on the rooftops as day turned to night. As far as he knew, he was the only one assigned to security for this route. Therefore, Allegro came to a conclusion. Someone was up to no good. Allegro made no sudden movements, except for his eyes darting to find his targets. “2 enemies…no, 3!” Allegro grimaced at the realization that he was now out numbered. To make matters worse, the air was growing thicker. It was almost like, a mist. Allegro could not afford to play coy for much longer. “This mist…..is this ninjutsu?” Allegro only knew what he has studied regarding the Mist village. However this technique was pretty obvious that even an academy student could figure it out. He was being attacked by ninja of the Mist village.
 
As the fog thickened, nothing was left to be seen. All that could be heard was the gasps of the nearby villagers, and the clashing sounds of metal. Allegro’s kunai against whomever it was casting this mist ninjutsu. Allegro, from within the mist, kicked and punched, and even tossed the men that he deemed enemies from the rooftop so that the landed on the dirt road. The parade had stopped in its tracks and the mist began to lift. The three men that Allegro had counted before the mist ensued actually turned out to be boys. They were around ten to twelve years old, old enough to be students of the academy. Allegro kept his kunai drawn and pointed it to the boy who seemed to be the leader of the group. “Explain yourselves! Why are you disrupting the festival?”
 
Two of the boys whimpered while the third kept his cool. He scoffed and spat out his reply.
 
“Mannnn fuck this festival! The Leaf village is weak! Its not independent at all. My big uncle said we came to this village and conquered it, and we’ve been living here ever since”
 
Allegro stared in bewilderment. Clearly these children were migrants from the Village hidden in Mist. Soon they would be enrolled in the ninja academy, judging from their early affinity for ninjutsu. Allegro wondered how Jason or Higuto would handle this situation. He was scared that Jason might take his anger out on these kids. Instead of succumbing to the same anger, Allegro dropped into a crouching position and stared the kids directly into their face.
 
“Well, aren’t we fortunate to have such strong kids like you to help look after our village for us. Thank you in advance!” The smile Allegro would be offputting and shocking to the kids. The leader of the group would scoff and scramble to his feet before running away. His followers would follow suit in a scramble as well. With that resolved, the festival could now continue. The caravan carried onward and the daimyo inside was unharmed. Allegro thought about the relationship between the mist and leaf villages. It was definitely rocky to say the least. However, Allegro was hopeful for the future. Maybe there was a chance the two villages can call eachother comrades some day. He knew he would like that. For now, he would do his best to prove the young kid wrong. The Leaf village would not be so long as there were those with the Will of Fire within it. That fire was one that would never be snuffed out, even if doused in mist.
 
Mission Accomplished.



[TWC 2035]
+3 AP
+1000 Ryo
Learned Leaf Style Willow
1035 Words towards Chakra Barrier Seal