Romeo And Juliet 2: Electric Bugaloo (IO)

The Mission: Matrimonial Bliss

Masashi's Stats at the time:

Love was in the air. Not for Masashi though, he hadn’t found that someone yet. Not that he was actively looking for someone. He had quite a few things to focus on and love was not one of them. No, the love in the air was for a different couple, at least that’s what the mission report said.

He’d received the report earlier that morning, while he’d been eating breakfast in the lounge. His butler brought him the mail, the notice was on top. Masashi put his fork down, and opened the report, reading over the details. The bride and groom to be were part of two different factions living in the village and both of those factions hated the other. Naturally that means that their planned nuptials are not something either faction supports, and they will likely be attempting to ensure that the marriage doesn’t happen. On top of that, all of the religious leaders that Masashi was aware of would not condone this arrangement, so getting them married that way would be a near impossibility if not for an addendum mentioning a few possible people that could be convinced to perform the ceremony. ‘They don’t make these missions easy.’ Masashi thought to himself after reading through the briefing.

The rest of the report provided him the other important information related to the mission; the identities of the couple, the location where the couple was staying, the resources they would be provided, and the other members of the team that would be working on this mission along with the arranged meeting location. It was not his usual team. They were only three this time; he would be working alongside his mentor Keina Schwachling and another Chuunin, Akaboshi Uzumaki. ‘Another Uzumaki eh.’ Masashi thought to himself. It wasn’t a name he was familiar to him, but there are a lot of Uzumaki in the village and he had not really bothered to learn everyone of them that were living here.

They were to meet in an hour at the City Square. Masashi put the report down, finished eating his breakfast, and got ready to head out. Rather than go with his normal outfit though, he went with something a little different. He’d acquired something new last night; it was called Manipulated Fabric. It’s a small black cube that is currently sitting on his bedside table. Placing his hand on the cube and infusing chakra into it, the cube flows up his arm, forming his normal outfit. The primary difference is the material used in the Manipulated Fabric is much more durable than his normal attire. On top of that, he puts his Chuunin Flak vest, and his leather duster. Fully dressed, Masashi made his way out of the house towards the meeting area.

It took him a about ten minutes to make it there. The Uzumaki Chuunin wasn’t in a hurry; he still had plenty of time before the intended meeting time. Masashi was always one to arrive early, especially when he didn’t have anything else to do beforehand. All he could do was simply wait for the others to arrive.

WC: 521

Stat page:

Ah, love. The phenomenon known worldwide where two, or in special cases more, people have lost the ability to live without the other. Songs, books, tales, you name it. All have and will be written about love. In all honesty it wasn't a subject unbeknownst for a certain red haired Uzumaki. No, Akaboshi already experienced such a thing and to be more precise, he still was. Not that long ago did he finally confess his feelings to his long lost female friend, Reminisce. It had taken him a while to muster up the courage and admit how he felt about the kunoichi but in the end he was glad he did. But of course that wasn't the reason as to why the Chuunin was on his way.

Earlier that morning did he receive a mission report, an interesting one to be precise. It seemed a young couple fell in love. At first sight nothing out of the ordinary one would say, if it wasn't for the fact one was a shinobi while the other a civilian and part of Hoshigakure was still having trouble accepting such a thing. "Their families do not agree, huh. Where have I heard that before?" The redhead suddenly remembered a popular story from the past where a similar scenario took place. "How did it go again? O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?" Laughing with his own recital Akaboshi was headed to the meeting place.

Wearing his usual attire which consisted of his Chuunin jacket with a fur collar and a white V-neck underneath. Dark blue, denim jeans held up by a simple brown belt and black shoes to top off the rest of his outfit. It didn't take him all too long before he'd arrive at the location described in the mission report. Upon his arrival the red haired Uzumaki noticed someone already present. "Ah right, there were going to be two others" he remembered. He'd then walk towards the individual as he offered him his hand. "Ah, love. Am I right? Akaboshi Uzumaki by the way." They were still one man short but he assumed the third shinobi would be arriving shortly.

(WC: 359)

Keina's Stats:

Ninja are a complicated topic.

On one hand, Keina is a ninja.

Technically.

She's part of the ninja forces. Officially she has a rank.

But she's not really a ninja, and she knows that.

She's a civilian that lucked into having godlike muscles.

No access to chakra means no access to most anything. Even what they refer to as taijutsu and bukijutsu, they almost always use SOME amount of chakra for. Even subconsciously!

She heard this one story of a ninja from long ago who could not use jutsu and was restricted to only only taijutsu (because he did not really like using weapons). And supposedly, he was able to access and open his inner gates.

Keina tried that once. Not opening the gate, but trying to get in control of her body. She had no idea how to open the gates, not really. But she'd spent enough time looking for this stuff to know that this control she was practicing was the first step.

It went badly. Very badly. Like, week in a coma, badly. She would have died had she been training at home. Her only saving grace had been someone finding her body in an old, repurposed Queensguard training building (which now served as an indoor market).

So even though Keina knew she was listed as a ninja, she also knew she wasn't one.

It was to the point that she was able to go to some stuff that... maybe she shouldn't go to. At the same time, she had some skills that were worthwhile protection. She wanted to get to the bottom of things. She had seen the first fall of Hoshi. There was not going to be a repeat.

So Keina's thoughts on this mission were a bit mixed. She was happy two people had found love and were to be married. She was unhappy their families despised each other. She was very unhappy that there would likely be attempted assassinations.

But Keina had a unique perspective among ninja. She... she knew.

Today, Keina wore no headband, no flak jacket, no weapon pouch. She was effectively unarmed.

Other than her arms. Which were deadly weapons in their own right.

Keina was here as a civilian bodyguard, regardless of how the mission office saw it. Her name had been the only name specified on the request. This detail was, supposedly, only told to Keina herself, but she did not much trust the people at the mission office. She had been given some sketchy missions in the past and had, on one occasion, been told she was not qualified to know who her client was.

Keeping that level of secret from a village jounin was something interesting. Really made her wonder if her rank was anything more than show.

But right at this moment, none of that mattered.

Keina was arriving at the meeting site. She wore a beautiful floral sundress that reached down to her knees. To one side was the groom, dressed in loose fitting pants that hid his ninja weapons.

To the other side was the bride. Wearing a Hoshigakure headband and a flak jacket, with weapon pouches loaded.

[525]

Masashi was the first one to arrive at the designated starting location for the mission; that didn’t surprise him at all. He was almost always the first one to arrive when a new mission was to begin. Likely due to a combination of a few things; a sense of punctuality drilled into him by his parents, a physician’s need to start early in case the extra time made the difference, perhaps even anticipation for the mission to begin. In any event, The Uzumaki Chuunin would simply lean back against a wall and wait for the other two members of this mission squad.

The first to arrive was the other Uzumaki. Akaboshi was his name, unless Masashi was mistaken. It had been known to happen, but not often. Turns out it was the same person that had helped them out with a hostage situation at the academy that took place not too long ago. Masashi smiled as the man approached. When Akaboshi got close enough, the other Chuunin held his hand out, which Masashi accepted. Akaboshi decided to make a wisecrack about the situation, which Masashi wholeheartedly resonated with. He would laugh before giving a response. “You’re right about that. It makes people do crazy things, like try to kill their relatives.” He would smirk before continuing. “It’s nice to see you again Akaboshi. Masashi Uzumaki-Akari” he would say. “Glad to see another clan-mate. Should make the mission go easier.”

Masashi then looked around to see if Keina had shown up yet, which she had not. She still had plenty of time; as the two of them had arrived fairly early. Nothing to do but relax and keep an eye out. Masashi would bend down and collect some dirt in his palms. He would then infuse chakra into it, turning the dirt into three small balls of explosive clay, which he would then place into a weapon pouch with the rest of the clay he’d accumulated so far.

It was at that point Keina arrived, or rather, he thought it was Keina. The woman walking towards them was the same height, same blonde hair…but never in his life had Masashi not only not seen her wearing any shinobi gear, BUT WEARING A FRIGGEN SUNDRESS?? ADORABLE! It was not something he ever saw Keina wear; was not typical for her character to wear something cutesy, but she wore it well, and it showed off her legs nicely. His eyes very nearly popped out of their sockets in surprise. He realised that his mouth was open, and quickly closed it. His eyes then shifted to the pair walking with her. One man, one woman. The man was wearing civilian clothing, and the woman was wearing a Hoshi Hitai-Ate and flack jacket, which Masashi recognised as Keina’s. They did not fit that woman well at all, so he could only gather that it was either an attempted disguise or a way to provide her some added protection.

"Hey Keina. Nice dress you have there." Masashi said as he walked over to his mentor with a grin. “I guess these are the two we’re supposed to keep an eye on?” He would ask her.

-15AP (creating explosive clay x3)

WC: 530
TWC: 1051

To his relief Akaboshi saw how his fellow shinobi accepted his extended hand as the two of them indulged in a firm handshake between men. To his surprise he heard the other Chuunin formally introducing himself as Masashi Uzumaki, it seems he wasn't the only one of his clan in Hoshigakure after all. Mostly Hyuuga, a couple of Uchiha, you name it. But to find another Uzumaki in the village had proven to be rather difficult so it was safe to say the redhead didn't mind finding out he wasn't alone. "Interesting, I was afraid there weren't any others in the Land of Haven." With the formalities out of the way the two of them only had to wait for the third member of their party to arrive before they could officially begin their mission.

The red haired Uzumaki witnessed how his fellow clan member suddenly crouched as he collected some dirt. Perhaps some sort of ritual or maybe Masashi was superstitious, but Akaboshi figured there had to be a reason as to why his companion decided to act that way. It wasn't that long after that the two Chuunin noticed three others had arrived at the scene. One men accompanied by a pair of good looking women, which made it not hard to figure out it was Hoshigakure's own Romeo and Juliet. Masashi, with his mouth wide open, was quick to recognize one of the women as Keina, the Jounin who helped them during the hostage situation. Akaboshi figured they had a long road ahead of them so he figured they might as well get started. After greeting Keina he'd briefly address the couple. "Don't worry, you're in safe hands." The red haired Uzumaki would look around, checking his surroundings in case they were followed.

(WC: 296, TWC: 655)

Keina tilted her head to the side. Someone who could not see her face might thing this was a movement displaying confusion. Anyone else, which would likely include the two ninja (at the very least Masashi) would likely catch that it was a look of annoyance. With a quick jab of her elbow into the other woman's side (not a hard jab at all, moreso a quick one), and the woman, Sofia Nussbaum, looked towards Keina and the man, Harri Badham. Keina began to move her hands in a way that was obviously meant to be expressive.

After a bit of communication, Sofia spoke. "Thank you, Masasi (sic). I know black isn't normally my color," she says, refering to the black dress she has on under the gear, "but I am glad you like it! Yes, these are the people we are escorting. And she," says Sofia, pointing towards Keina, "knows someone who would be willing to marry the happy couple but it is a multiple day trip by cart and any closer ideas would be greatly appreciated."

The two ninja likely knew what Keina had been signing, or at least knew it was a type of civilian sign language. Most every ninja was INTRODUCED to it, but few bothered to become even close to fluent. They generally stuck to a subsection and adaptation of the movement based language that was used for giving quick commands and passing simple communique between ninja. These adaptations were closely guarded secrets.

Well, they were at one point. They had kind of been leaked a long time ago, and a bunch of places mixed theirs together...

There was now a big book of silent communication, basically. And it was tasked to specific stealth-focused groups to determine if they needed to develop a new, truly secret system. It still took dedication and time to learn the system, so there was a decent chance a random bandit would not know it (especially since the "books" were very, very difficult to get outside of a village).

Keina HAD noticed Masashi's reaction, she was pretending to ignore it for now.

"For now, we should get out of the village proper, unless one of you two knows someone inside the village who is magically OK with this union." Assuming nobody offered up a solution without leaving the village, Sofia would sign towards Keina and Harri, relaying the conversation. The two would watch closely. Then, after a quick back and forth with Keina, Sofia would start walking towards the village gates, and eventually out of the village itself.

This entire time, Keina would be making hand and arm motions towards Masashi or Akaboshi every time either of them looked towards her, hoping that either of them knew the sign language. If both made it clear they did not, she would stop after the first true notice.

Alright look, I'm pretending to be the bride, and pretending to be deaf. The groom actually IS deaf, and has managed to be an asset of a ninja despite it. I'm not going to talk until we are out of the village, and I am going to avoid talking as much as possible and try to direct her through the stuff. Masashi is acting commander while I'm playing the deaf civilian.

[547 words]

Masashi laughed. “There’s more of us around than you’d think. I even have another Uzumaki on my team, Yoko.” He said to his friend with a grin. “Not that I mind, it’s nice to know that our clan is doing well enough around here.” There could never be enough Uzumaki in the world according to him.

Rather than Keina responding to his comments as he’d expected, the woman to one side of Keina responded, clearly trying to pretend to be Keina. It took him a half second to realise what was going on and play along. Masashi nods to her and responds “I don’t know anyone in the village, so if a few days’ trip is what we need to do, then that’s what we’ll need to do.” At the same time, he could see Keina signing. Normally this was not a skill shinobi would pick up, but because Masashi worked out of the hospital, having a better understanding of different types of communication was important to good bedside manner. He went through the gestures and fully understood what was being said. He would then make a pair of gestures of his own, slightly subdued in case there was someone watching so that they would be harder to read. I understand. He would lean over to Akaboshi and ask “did you get that?” If he didn’t, he would relay the information. If he did, Masashi would nod and say out loud. “Lets get moving then, we have some ground to cover.”

With that, he would bend down, pick up some more dirt to form into explosive clay, and lead the way out of the gate.

WC: 275
TWC: 1326

-15AP (creating explosive clay x3)

After a little bit of small talk between both Uzumaki, it was interesting to witness what started to display in front of them. Not Keina, but the bride would speak up, acting like she was the Jounin and vice versa. It was obvious they weren't acting or putting on a show, of course there was a reason behind why the two women decided to go with that approach. It seemed Masashi also figured out what was going on as he simply replied to her. Immediately after, he could notice Keina using sign language. It was a skill not many shinobi were familiar with, but luckily Akaboshi had delved into it back when he served in the Queensguard. 

With a simple and discrete nod he would notify Masashi and inform him that he successfully understood the kunoichi's message. Akaboshi would then follow behind his fellow Uzumaki who'd be leading the mission while Keina continued playing the role of the bride. Their little group had a long road ahead of them, whether it would be one full of danger was still undecided. Of course the redhead was hoping for a safe travel, it'd mean they all did their jobs and Hoshigakure's own Romeo and Juliet were able to live a happily ever after. But regardless of Keina playing a different role, this wasn't a movie.

Exiting through the gates of the village the mission could officially begin. Looking over his shoulder he noticed everyone was following behind, all the while Akaboshi himself was paying attention to his surroundings, carefully and full of caution in case someone was laying in ambush.

(WC: 268, TWC: 923)

It was unfortunate today on avenue main, as the couple and the ninja crew walked that way, they were headed to Vaneer, it would take all year, if they moved at a snail's pace it would take them that long.

Luckily, there was a simple solution to their issue: walk like normal people. Thankfully, they were, in fact, walking like normal people. It would PERHAPS be faster if they got a cart and a horse, but in all actuality there would likely be someone walking who would be forcing the horse to slow down to walking speed. Since nobody in the group had an issue of not being able to walk for extended periods, walking would be the best bet.

After leaving the village, Keina would point in a few directions. Only every few minutes, to correct their direction if they drifted. Well, that would be the case AFTER they finished passing through the preserve. The preserve had a few roads, and it was nice to not have to be in the sand and sun all day.

Once they were sufficiently far into the forest, Keina would break her silence, and would speak and sign. "We are headed to Vaneer. Glad it seems that both of you know the sign language. Anyways, I'll direct us. We probably want to stick to traveling in the morning and afternoon when we get out of the preserve, so let's try to pull an extra long march today. See how far we can get."

[250]

They left the village and travelled Northeast until they entered the Tachibana Wildlife Preserve, talking casually amongst themselves. Once they were a solid distance inside, Keina took over as the need for the subterfuge was no longer really necessary. It was at that point she mentioned that they were headed to Veneer, which was where her contact was located that would marry their two charges. Masashi nodded at her suggestions of A long march today, it made sense while there would be some protection from the sun. “We should be able to make it at least all the way through the Preserve by the end of the day today.” He said to them as they made their way through the forest. He couldn’t remember exactly how far away Vaneer was from Hoshi, only that it was at least a couple days away. The Uzumaki Chuunin didn’t mind the travel, it was the constant watch they needed to maintain that was the chore. ‘Oh well, it’s part of the mission.’ He thought to himself as they trekked through the dense trees.

When they’d finish their march for the day, Masashi would help set up camp, making sure to make it as obscured and inconspicuous as possible and volunteered for the first watch of the night. He did not like waking up when he’d already fallen asleep so he tried to either have the first or last watch whenever he could. He hoped that the potential threat to their wards was minimal, simply because it would be a lot easier if the two families didn’t put a serious effort towards preventing the marriage. All he could do was stand watch and hope nothing happened during the night.

WC: 285
TWC: 1611