Aye, here there be monsters

Mission Link

Spoiler:

A slight drizzle plinked and plunked off the deserted docks of Kirigakure. Trade was halted, fishermen were bound to the shore at certain hours, and people remained indoors; the village was at war once more. Last time, Asami had been too young to recognize the differences in the village around her, but now it was impossible not to notice it. Indeed, being tasked with the village's defense by Naoki Gekou had not helped either. She hardly slept as the black circles around her eyes would surely attest to along with her wrinkled uniform of Kirigakure—for the past few days, if there was a job to be done then Asami was sure to be there, much to the detriment of both her personal health and hygiene.

And now there was a job to be done beyond the storm wall, so here Asami was, waiting.

When the mission came down from the higher-ups, the chuunin was the first to jump on it. After all, who wouldn't want to hunt down pirates in their spare time? It was like a dream come true for the diminutive kunoichi. Her late father always used to tell tales of the gangerous miscreants who sailed the seas. Apparently, before Kirigakure became, well, Kirigakure her father often saw the black sails of pirates on the horizon. Now, however, the mighty storm wall repelled all unwanted influences on the island nation. Outside the wall, though? Well, that was a different story entirely, and the primary reason Asami was on the docks in a yellow slicker.

Despite the early hour, she was ready for what lay ahead. The past few days had all passed in a blur and she doubted this would be much different. Putting the fear of Kirigakure in the hearts of criminals couldn't be that hard of a job, could it? All she needed was for the second half of her squad to arrive, a chuunin who she had yet to meet, the operative word being yet, of course.

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TWC: 334/4000

The News had spread quickly. “ Pirates have been seen circling outside the storm wall of Kirigakure”. The fear of these Ugly pirates had changed a lot of things. Market women couldn't go about their daily activities and business as they should. The market street had been deserted, everyone wanted to avoid these pirates at all cost and the best way to do that is to stay indoor. The situation of things outside the storm wall of kirigakure had left some villagers starving as they couldn't not come out of their houses to buy food and other items they needed because of the fear of been hurt by pirates. Sakuragi, though young but intelligent had been appointed the task of defending the village by Naoki Geokou. It was the first time he had been appointed for such a mission. He had completed several missions in the past but they were nothing compared to this one. 



Sakuragi wanted to do something a bit different, he wanted to carry out a mission that he had never done before, something more tasking, so when this mission came, he didn't hesitate to go for it. He was to do the mission  together with a young Kunoichi, who was a member of his squad. The day finally came, the day Sakuragi and his teammate had fixed to execute the mission. The two had choose a place where they would meet to discuss how to carry out the mission. For days, Sakuragi had spend more time training and honning his skills. He doesn't know what kind of pirate they would be up against so he needed to prepare for the worst. 
It seems last night training really put a lot of strain on his muscles, he slept late and woke up rather late due to his intense training during the day and overnight. Today wasn't a day to joke with, it wasn't  a day to wake up late as a lot of things are at stake.  Realizing he was gonna be late to meet his teammate, he dazzled out of the room, took his bath, wore his shinobi attires, ate a handful of crunchy peanut butter cookies and dashed out of the house. The crunchy cookies should sustain him for some time. He had trained his body to go a day without food, however, he ate those crunchy cookies because he was gonna need reserved energy and somehow that would give him a bit. 
Sakuragi arrived at the proposed spot, it seems he was late but he doesn't think he was late. His teammate appeared to have waited for quite a while. Sakuragi walked towards the young kunoichi with his hands in his pocket as his ponytail hair dangles front and back. A smiled appeared on his face when he got close enough to the girl... “ Hi, sorry I kept you waiting ” he said with the hope that the girl accepts his apology. Anyway, whether the apology was accepted or not,  they both had a common goal here and that is to deal with these intruders causing trouble in the village.



TWC : 517/4000

"It's ok," Asami gave the boy a shallow bow and gestured over to the fishing boat to her left. "The captain is still getting the vessel ready, so you're right on time."

It was a rarity that the diminutive chuunin met someone so close to her own height. And, sure, it looked like the boy still edged her out by maybe an inch. Either way, it was nice to not have to, quite literally,  look up to the person she was talking to. That said, it didn't take a practiced eye to read the youth on the boy's face as well. Of course, the boy's long hair lent him a few years, but it was not quite enough to make the boy seem all that close in age to the teenage girl he would be working with for the foreseeable future. Luckily, age was no indicator of competency in the shinobi world.

"My name's Asami, Asami Miyamoto," she held out a small hand, having picked up the habit of shaking hands in the Land of Tea during her travels. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

If the boy accepted her handshake, she would give his hand a firm shake before pulling away and glancing over at the rickety fishing boat. The hope was that such an unassuming boat would bait the pirates into a confrontation they wouldn't soon forget. Though, looking at the boat, Asami was having serious doubts about the integrity of the vessel; the sails looked tattered, the hull of questionable make, and fayed rigging. Nonetheless, the chuunin liked their chances in the coming mission. After all, the captain, Captain Shino, looked experienced with a large white beard and a gnarled scar running down his left cheek that told of a lost catch long ago.

"Aye, you two," Captain Shino barked from his boat. "We'll be setting off now, get on board."

Nodding once to the long-haired boy, the Terumi female slipped aboard with all the grace of an individual raised with the sea in her blood. Unlike the last time she plied the waves, the tears did not come or even tug at her ducts. Certainly, she could not ward off memories of her father as she stepped on a boat once more, but they were not memories of his death. Rather, they were of his life and the good memories Asami had once shared with him.

Indeed, finding her way to wheelhouse along with the captain, the memory of her first time at sea came to her in a nostalgic rush. Much like today, it was rainy and her father was taking her out for her first fishing trip. Everything felt fresh despite the salty atmosphere and the girl's initial trepidation on going out to sea. Now, standing next to Captain Shino, she felt the same fresh feeling. The trepidation of the past, however, was replaced with a quiet confidence. Today this fishing boat would not be catching any fish, only pirates. With any luck, they'd be back by dinner time without a scratch on them—only time would tell if lady luck smiled on the two chuunin and their captain this day.

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866/4000

It seems these two will get along well. Sakuragi wasn't too late as he thought he was,  he looked around as asami spoke words related to the captain, he saw a man who would be pretty much above his age, probably old enough to be his father. The man had white beards and gnarled scar, he's was getting ready the vessel they will be using.  Sakuragi focusing his attention back to the young kunoichi,  he stretched forth his hand to receive a hand from her. He wasn't fond of shaking people, he seldom do shakes, but become the girl initiated a hand shake, he was left with no choice but to shake her in return. Not receiving her hand to shake her may give the girl a bad impression. Asami gave the boy a firm hand shake before pulling away. Sakuragi couldn't wait to get into the boat and get things done , he watched as the captain barked from his boat unto the two ninjas. Sakuragi watched as the terumi girl slipped aboard. He smiled to himself realizing that his teammate was one with much enthusiasm. The boy puts his hand into his long blue jacket and slowly followed asami, he got on board and took seat. He wasn't sure if he had ever ride a boat, if he had, he couldn't remember. Sakuragi made sure he sat beside the terumi girl, occasionally looking into the girls eyes. In no time they should arrive at their destination.



TWC: 746

Idly watching the captain dash about the deck as he cast off lines, Asami's mind wandered far afield, over the water, and to the metropolis of greenery that was Konohagakure. She wondered what Minato was doing; she had only shared a meal with the boy once, but still, he seemed to occupy a disproportionate amount of her headspace. She wondered if, like all his fellow shinobi of Konohagakure, he had gone to war. Was he somewhere out there in a godforsaken desert fighting a war he never wanted to be a part of? The thought scared her more than she could say and so she returned her attention to the here and now where Captain Shino was maneuvering his way out of the crowded marina.

"I don't think I caught your name," Asami said, breaking the momentary silence that had fallen over the main cabin. Sure, she knew the long-haired boy's name from the mission readout, but it was common courtesy to introduce one's self. Or, rather, it was common courtesy for Asami and always had been—over her travels she'd found that many customs did not hold from country to country.

Ahead, the ominous storm wall drew ever closer. Either Asami or Sakuragi would have to be the ones to open it. The good captain, while well respected in Kirigakure, did not have the ability to control the island country's defenses. Indeed, not even the genin of the village knew the proper hand seals to control the ever-present wall of clouds that encased their own. In fact, Asami only learned them in her recent security briefing with the central office. Beyond the wall waited the two chuunin's mission, somewhere on the rolling waves of the open ocean.

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TWC: 1154

Sakuragi seems to be enjoying the waves, he was enjoying every bit of it. He was sitted beside azami and watched as the captain ride the wheels. For some time, silence filled the room and sakuragi was lost in thought.  His attention was on his father who got injured in  an S rank mission, luckily  , he was able to escape and come back alive and suffered severe injuries. Though he couldn't  finish the mission, it was better he terminated the mission and live than to complete it and die. His father is being taken care of at the hospital. For almost two weeks now, Sakuragi and his mother had been checking on him everyday and cooking him food, they visited the hospital twice a day, morning and evening. Now the job of looking after his father had been placed on his mother alone because of this mission. His dad is recovering fast and he would only need few more days at the hospital before he is discharge, so sakuragi has nothing to worry about which made him accepted this mission. His througt was interrupted when azami spoke and asked for his name. He turn his head to look at Azami “ Humm, I'm Sakuragi. Sorry, I was arrh, lost in thought kind of” he said . Sakuragi wasn't  a boy with much courtesy, he wasn't a disrepecful kid, he was just someone who see things from a different perspective. Most times he would say something and people would argue while he would remain silent, this is because their perspectives were not the same. As for him he didn't see a reason to tell the young girl his name unless she asked. He wasn't  trying to disrespectful, that was just him. To him, it was cool. 
The captain was pretty much skilled, he was one of the best in Kiri, he had been doing this boat thing for a very long time, he had grown old in it. He made sakuragi enjoyed every wave.  it would seem they were almost at their destination. Sakuragi felt they needed a plan so he turned his attention  to azami and asked her  “ So what's the plan?,  I mean we need a plan,  we can't just go in there and kick some damn asses we don't know, how do we plan this? ”. Sakuragi believes girls were more brainy than boys, they could reason faster even in delicate and pressured situations. 
 Though, sakuragi was a genius, he didn't seem to have any plan or tactics  for this mission, probably because his mind had been drifting up and down in the world of thought. He felt it would be better  to ask her for a plan or talk tactics  since he couldn't think of any. It was a good thing his partner was a female. Things could go well with them and their bond could grow stronger than just being mere teammates, a bond thicker than blood. 



TWC: 1239

She nodded once at the name mention of the boy's name. It was a small thing to have the mission readout confirmed for her, even it was just the name of her partner. For whatever reason, she felt comforted by the idea that someone far above her in the village hierarchy knew what they were doing. It made her feel more secure in the mission that lay ahead—the burden of defending her home did not fall on her shoulders alone, she shared the load with countless other shinobi and Kunoichi like Sakuragi.  

The came the question Asami had been dreading: what was the plan? It was the right question to be asking, but it was also one that the chuunin wasn't sure she could answer directly. So, for the time being, she acknowledged the boy's question with another nod before falling deep into thought.

"Well, let's see," she spoke up, breaking the silence once more. "We'll want to use the fact that they won't suspect a fishing vessel to be well defended to our advantage. I'm thinking we should wait below decks until they attempt to take control of the boat and then, once they board, we strike."

She paused and glanced over at the captain who was giving the two shinobi a sidelong glance.

"Naturally, our first objective will be to safeguard the good captain and his vessel," her gaze returned to Sakuragi. "After that, we'll want to focus on neutralizing the pirates by any means necessary. What do you think?"

She stopped here, allowing the boy to get a word in edgewise. It wasn't the most detailed plan in the world, but the girl liked to think it would do. After all, in her experience, plans tended to go sideways the moment they were enacted. Nonetheless, it was helpful to have the broad strokes mapped out to some extent so when things did go wrong they could follow through on the important bits, like keeping the captain safe.  

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TWC: 1489

It would seem sakuragi asked the right question at the right time. He couldn't  think of a plan, his mind seems occupied, yet he didn't allow ego to eat him up by asking the girl a question. Ego had swallowed some people up, making them a fool when they ought to ask questions to gain knowledge. Sakuragi was simple and unique and wouldn't hesitate to ask questions if he isn't clear with something . He was an intelligent kid, yet he believed  that azami would be more intelligent than he was. Azami didn't fall short of his expectations, the girl reply him when sakuragi asked for a plan. His attention was on the girl as she spoke, occasionally looking into her eyes. It would seem that azami came up with a very good plan. She stopped talking and asked for sakuragi’s opinion about what she just said...


“ I agree with you that safe guarding the captain and his vessels are our first objectives. That's very important. But we could get distracted. Our attentions and focus would be splitted by doing that, the pirate escape or harm us.  I'm not saying we shouldn't protect the captain, we will. But to prevent being distracted, I will use two of my  clones to guard the captain. That way, we would be able to protect the captain, at the same time focus on the pirate, what do you think? ”. Sakuragi hopes azami agrees with him. He wasn't a good planner when it comes to things like this, but he believes his idea and hers should work.  He kept mute, awaiting for the girl's response. 







TWC: 1511

"That sounds like a plan," the chuunin confirmed with another nod. "Excuse me for a moment."

Stepping from the protected cabin of the vessel, Asami took a breath of the clean salty air and made her way to the bow of the boat. The turning and tossing of the sea did not disturb her sure-footed approach nor did it shake the firm stance she took upon stopping. Perhaps 300-meters away stood Kirigakure's mighty storm wall, churning the water at its base into an angry foam and flashing with the occasional blot of lightning. It truly was a sight to behold up close and it was now a sight that would bend to Asami's will as she formed a unique string of hand seals.

Holding the final ram seal in the sequence, Asami waited with bated breath. At first, nothing happened and then came a groan from deep within the storm itself as the wall directly in front of the boat split in two making a corridor of clouds.  Sucked forward by the vortex of wind and confluence of tides, the small fishing boat inched forward, flanked by storm clouds that still flashed with lightning and roared with thunder. For Asami, each second seemed a minute and each minute an hour; she could feel the jaws of the storm wanting to snap shut and swallow the vessel and its passengers whole—nature was stronger than any foe she'd faced yet or, she suspected, ever would face.

In a matter of minutes, the fishing vessel and all aboard passed through the storm wall without incident. Beyond the storm wall, the sunny, warm weather stood in sharp contrast to the omnipresent rain of Kirigakure. Releasing the ram hand seal to close the wall behind her she allowed her body to relax; it felt as if she had been holding her breath through the crossing and now, as she was about to go head to head with bloodthirsty pirates, she felt at ease. It really was a rather strange feeling.

"I'll be going below decks," she said, passing by the cabin before descending beneath the ship's deck. It was certainly the hold of a fishing vessel, for nets, traps, and rods littered the cramped space below. It wasn't the nicest place in the world, but it would do for now until the pirates made their move.

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TWC: 1885/4000

A bright smile would appear on sakuragi’s face,  his teammate bought his idea. The  plan was that sakuragi would release two clones to guide the captain while they would go below the desk.  He watched as asami walked to the bow of the boat, she would perform the hand seals and hold a seal to open the storm walls of kirigakure. The door opened slower than a snail would walk. Once the boat and the vessels were past the storm walls, she would release the hand seal she was holding to close the wall. 
Just when the wall closed, sakuragi knew it was time to get into action. Sooner or later, the pirate would arrive here.  He stood up from his seat and would perform three hand seals and end with the tiger hand seal. Instantly, Ice began to grow from the body on both side, the ice grew into a figure like shape and eventually harden into exact copies of sakuragi. Two clones were made, one to the right and the other to the left. The clones knew what to do,  they need not to be told that they were to protect the captain, they have the will of their original. The clones walked towards where the captain was, sakuragi  barked to captain “ my clones will look after you ”,   one of the clones said “ we will protect you sire” . The ice clones stood side by side to the captain.  
Once the storm walls of Kiri was closed,  it was time to swing in action.  Sakuragi was fully ready for whatever comes up. To him,   protecting the captain isn't only the top priority. His other top priority is to protect asami too. Protecting asami was more important to him than the mission itself.  He not only have to look after the captain but also after asami. No matter what happens, he must protect these two. Asami told him she would go below the desk. To him, that would be signal,  it's time for them to hide themselves away. 
Meaningwhile,  one of sakuragi’s clone would use transformation jutsu to transform into asami. This would fool the pirates,  not knowing that they are clones. So the clone and the transformed Clone stood side by side the captain, looking around to be see if anything or anyone was coming. Once asami reaches below the desk, sakuragi would follow and join her. Several fishing tools were there  , it's not really a nice place like below the desk, but it's worth staying here for the main time.  Sakuragi got  below the desk and got into a squatting position placing his right palm to the ground surface.  “  Hey asami , I had one of clones transformed into you. The clones should be able to fool the pirate and lure them out”.  He got up from his squatting position, slowly walking towards the girl.  When he got close enough,  he asked  ,“ how do you feel about the guys we are about face ?, fearful or strong? ” . His question was really to get her talking from her heart.  Sakuragi wanted to make sure his is at peace in her mind and not being fearful of the pirate. 




TWC: 2049