When it rains [B Ranked Mission] [End]

Fri May 01, 2020 8:57 pm

B-Ranked Mission Start

The mist seemed rather light today. The sky looked an ominous gray making the village appear mysterious and dangerous. A few segalls could be heard squawking as they flew to and fro. The chill in the air was brisk and silent. Footsteps patterned through the village as a young shinobi made his way toward the Leader's Office. Even though this was a place he had spent many years and knew well it seemed mysteriously creepier today for some reason. He wasn't sure what it was that made his skin gooseflesh whenever the wind hit it. His exposed forearms and ankles were massaged with the gentle breeze of the wind. The feeling he had tingling through his bones were familiar but unsettling all the same. It reminded him of his past, when he was rushing to the home that used to be his within the Uchiha Compound back in Konoha. The day he found his mother, lifeless on the floor, her hand clutching onto the pendant she wore that reminded her of her son. The same son that looked over her non moving form on the ground before him. His head shook slightly as to physically remove the thoughts from his head. Why was he even thinking about that was a mystery to him. It wasn’t as though one could lose their parents twice. Still something was in the air today. He could tell. He didn’t know what exactly was different about today but he was sure he would find out soon.

His eyes flickered onto a fast paced form moving in the opposite direction he himself was heading. The blur was a friendly shinobi who, from the looks of it, just left the Leader’s office to handle something urgent. Zieg only saw his face for an instant as the two passed each other no farther away than a few meters. What he saw was unrest and worry stretched all over the friendly shinobi’s expression. Has something drastic happened, he wondered to himself as he continued making his way to his destination. Zieg had been spending his time after hours the last two nights with Ayami, his friend he liked to check up on from when he first arrived in Kirigakure after running away from Konoha. In actuality she was the first person Zieg had ever spoken to within the lands. Despite Ayami’s first words being screeches of detest and pleads for the boy to go away the two were now incredibly fond of one another, even though Zieg did not like to admit he cared for the girl more than he admitted to himself. She resided a couple islands east of the main village where Zieg and his brother usually spent time carrying out missions or doing some other tasks. He began to feel guilt in his throat for being away. Calm down. I don’t even know what is happening yet. He forced his overactive mind to a halt as he picked up his pace in heading to the Leader’s office.

Before actually making it to his designated point he saw several other shinobi go in different directions, all also in a manic rush like the first. What the hell was going on he thought to himself. Of course he saw the Mizukage himself was out during all of this. Several of his administrators were handling the missions for the local shinobi. He did not stay long in the slightest. He was asked to take one of the absurdly numerous requests from one of the villages on an island further west. It had seemed nature was feeling particularly cruel this night as a tropical cyclone had ravaged the island just the day prior. It was a natural disaster. Of course it immediately all made sense. The rushing shinobi, the piles upon piles of letters stacked at least a meter high and perhaps even the absence of the Mizukage himself. Well maybe not the last part. Zieg figured even with something as cataclysmic as this, as a tropical cyclone happening to one of the islands he is in charge of, he surely had more important matters to tend to. He simply thought to himself if he was the kage if he would have time for something like this. No. Surely not. This is why he has the many talented shinobi of Kirigakure in his employ to handle these situations. When asked if Zieg wanted to joint a cell that was awaiting a third to undergo the mission he had politely declined. He asked if his brother, Ballian of the Yuki clan had taken this mission on. It seemed he too were too busy for the helpless civilians who had most likely had their entire way of living jeopardized. Or worse. Seems he had a desire to be responsible on this day for the civilians. The heavens know Zieg’s very being would be at state if everything in his world was suddenly changed over the course of a day. He has had it happened once before. He could attest to the feeling of hopelessness and helplessness the people had to be feeling. He had come to appreciate the villagers and all they did to keep Kirigakure and the Land of Waves going. He felt like he would be better for helping and so, much like the shinobi that rushed off before him, Zieg had taken to the path west where the island people would need assistance.

His hair flung wildly through the air and around his head and face as he moved with grace and speed westward. The island would be on the opposite side of another he had to cross, making his way to the first bridge. It was cluttered with people moving to and fro, rather frantically. Seems others were attempting to do their part in aiding the ruin struck island. Bedding and foods were being carried in bags and makeshift wraps to transport to the island. It was a good idea. Zieg hummed to himself as he realized he had left in a rush not gathering anything. Yes a relief supply seemed to be making its way to the islanders but Zieg would have arrived and had nothing to offer but steel. He spent his life turning himself in a killing machine, just as any shinobi would have. The tools he carried were not for building but for breaking. He would reflect more on his nature later as it interested him in a philosophical way. He always felt this way on non lethal missions. He decided to mingle with the people to see if he could acquire some of their supply to bring forward to the island. He explained who he was and his task and the civilians were more than happy to saddle him with an assortment of all types of goods. A large backpack was thrusted upon his shoulders over his Jounin Flak jacket. It was stuffed to the cap with various items. Foods. Ointments and bandages. Old clothing and rope. Whatever he and people decided were extremely important. After the brief meeting Zieg once again took off at a blazing pace, making sure the people saw he had not been joking when he told them he would be there five times faster than they could. He had truly eased their minds when they saw him move like the wind across the bridge and then swiftly disappear into the distance towards the next bridge.

Ever since the destruction of Kirigakure after a war Zieg had not been a part of the total country consisting of 10 islands that would be linked to each other like a ring via large bridges. One along each side, making the country as a whole able to be traveled through without the need to boat large quantities of people around as they used to. This meant that Zieg was looking at having to travel essentially through an entire village sized amount of land before making it to the other bridge. This failed to even be a concern for the ninja as he made his way forward into the town. It appeared to be more of a shopping central for the island as a whole. Rather large buildings and duplexes making for home and store combinations. Some men and women could be seen assembling that which they could spare to give to the neighboring island. Some men, Zieg took note of in passing, were being rather greedy with what they were gathering to offer, in comparison to others. He could not blame them for it was not their obligation to assist at all. It was just out of the kindness of the hearts of many to want to help their fellow brethren. Zieg himself at times felt a wash of this, though it was never a wave powerful enough to move him for absolutely no gain. He was in essence a soldier for the lands and his capabilities are vastly more valued than that of your average man, woman or child. The panicked civilians would see that soon enough. Zieg was able to take to the rooftops, shortening his time of travel quite a bit, not having to weave through the pathways and people that would be sure to be filling those pathways. It also happened to be his preferred method of travel, completely avoiding the usual traffic one would come across from being on ground level. People looked up to just barely see Zieg zipping over their heads from one building to the next. The next bridge was in sight.

Zieg took to the ground as he began approaching the bridge. From afar he saw a vast number of oncoming people crossing the bridge toward his direction. He slowed his pace as he began to approach the first group of people moving along the bridge. It appeared to be a family of three. A tall, stout mountain of a man walked with his arm wrapped around a smaller, dainty woman. In front of her a child with some stuffed animal Zieg couldn’t quite identify wrapped in his arms. His head and eyes were looking downward at the ground as his small feet carried him in front of his mother. The trio halted as the little Uchiha stepped out in front of them, eyeing them over. “Another shinobi from the looks of ya. Little on the small side though.”, the big muscular man said to Zieg. He was almost twice Zieg’s size, both in height and girth. If people were to look at the two and be told the smaller one was the deadly assassin surely they would be keeled over laughing. However Zieg’s jounin flak jacket and his shinobi headband on his waist was all one needed to see to know a trained killer. Fortunately for them Zieg would be playing the role of a savior and not a murderer for these folks. The large man seemed to have recognized this in his head after he spoke and saw not a hint of amusement in Zieg’s honey like eyes. “Ahh uh, my apologies. I realize you could chop me to pieces in seconds if ya wanted. I take it you’re heading to the island to assist the townsfolk. The storm was tragic for many.”

“Are there many injured? Were there fatalities?”, the young shinobi asked with vigor. The man placed his hand on his chin to think for a moment about that second question.

“Injured? You bet. Lots of folks with some cuts and bruises. Others broken bones. We managed to rustle up the folk that could move and made this here, uh I guess caravan.” His free arm went behind him to gesture to the dozens and dozens of people who had whatever possessions they could carry with them. The group was lively with chatter as they all slowly started coming to a half since Zieg had stopped the head of this train.

“And the fatalities?” Zieg insistently inquired again. The man returned his gaze to Zieg and pressed his lips together hard before speaking.

“That I cannot say. I’d like to believe no one lost their lives in this tragedy but alas that's not how these types of things tend to go, do they?”

“That is normally not the case.” Zieg responded.

“Well,” the father said with a large huff of his chest before puffing the air all out, clearly physically and mentally exasperated with the entire situation. “You would know better than I. This little caravan here isn’t even a quarter of the people that were on this island. We all have a big day ahead of us.” The man felt he wanted to say more but decided against it. He felt once he started he wouldn’t stop. The experience was truly horrific. His wife shuddered almost as if she knew what exact thoughts were going through her troubled husband’s head. He nodded his head and began to start walking forward, herding his family along closely before Zieg held a hand out and said, “Wait.” He slipped the backpack off of his shoulders letting it hit the ground behind him. He turned and squatted, opening the bag and sticking his hand inside. He shuffled around for a bit before standing back up and looking down at his hand. He turned around and leaned over to meet at eye level with the young boy who had not lifted his head once the entire time the two men were conversing. He smiled faintly before reaching his closed fist out.

“Candy?” he said softly. His hand opened to reveal several little pieces of wrapped hard candy. All different colors and shapes. The boy lifted his head to meet with Zieg’s eyes. “Go on. Help yourself.” The child looked down nervously, unsure of whether to accept this stranger’s offering or not. He looked up briefly at his parents, who were both smiling down back at him, their gentle eyes telling him go on, you can have it. The child reached his hand out and plucked absolutely all of the pieces from Zieg’s hand and swiftly wrapped his arms around his stuffed animal again. Zieg could see better now it was some form of giraffe with what looked like dragon wings stitched into the back of it. Zieg rose, equipping his backpack once again before leaving the caravan of people to make their way to the other island to find shelter and recuperate. It truly would be a most busy day for the Uchiha as his eyes began to see the devastation left by mother nature, the very earth herself.

The scene looked like some horrible nightmare and the overcast certainly did not assist in making the scenery any less gloom in appearance. What appeared to be parts of small boats were scattered everywhere. As Zieg made his way further the wood started becoming not only boat parts but building parts also. The scattered grew thicker and thicker as he advanced, eventually becoming the very ground itself. Zieg had to slow his movement as he could walk on nothing but bunched together wood of every variety. The water that maintained on the land beneath it made loud splashing sounds as Zieg pressed the wood into the mud beneath him with his weight. He didn’t travel much longer before eventually finding a group of people. They had made a makeshift tent with sticks and random forms of cloth all tied together to make shelter. Zieg made his way over to them. They looked and waved him over. The conversation would be one he got from many of the people he came to assist. They explained their horror as they watched a giant cyclone making its way to the island. It apparently was not the first and would not be the last of them the islanders explained to the ninja, as it was simply how the weather was around these parts. Some however tried to convince the Uchiha it was some form of curse.

The hours were incredibly long. Acting as a first responder Zieg found himself doing a large variety of tasks to help ease the suffering these people were going through. At the end of each person he assisted however he felt like he did not really do as much as he wanted in his heart. It was troublesome that the Mizukage was not concerned with issues like this enough to personally come out and try to assist but being a leader meant essentially walking on a different plane of existence from everyone else. The young dark haired ninja could hardly understand it all himself. The responsibility to watch an entire country and step in and handle every situation. There simply was not enough hours in the day. He would want to speak with the Mizukage on the matter, to see if he could enlighten himself on what it meant to be a leader.

It became easier as the day went along and more ninja were able to make their way to the island. Following them the caravan with supplies and first aid kits for the shinobi without practiced medical ninjutsu. He did all that he could but at the end of the day all that was was the comfort he provided, making their suffering a little more bearable. Retrieving valuables from the water was a common thing. Lots of jewelry was lost amidst the pools of water created on the land. A team of construction would have to be hired to truly build this place up however. Zieg’s body ached from all the extended exercise he was getting but with professional help on the scene it was time for Zieg to make his way back to his own village. He gained a lot to think about today. He eagerly thought of getting home and reflecting on these thoughts with a bath. Though maybe he had taken enough baths for the day. The thought amused him and forced a small grin on his face as he zipped away with the sun setting behind him. Many civilians who recognized him for the actions he did would wave as he flew by. He hoped these people could return to their normal lives soon.

[EXIT]

WC: 3027

+3000 Ryo, +15 Stats

2000 words to learn One Tomoe Sharingan.

1027 words towards learning Two Tomoe Sharingan.