The E-Ranked Adventures of Asahi

Asahi had left his village and gardening behind to return to Sunagakure and the way of the shinobi. The irony that his first such task as a fully fledged Genin was to pull out weeds was not lost on him.

So it was the the ninja rose with the rising of the sun over the Hidden Sand and made his way to where he was bid to begin his very first mission. A light breeze was about, kicking up sand and threatening to blind those who did not shield their eyes. Asahi wasn't yet used to such things since his return and he worked some dirt out of the corner of his eye as he walked. The weather was nothing to the other inhabitants of the village and they went about their day as usual, unhindered by the "sand storm". I'll get used to this again, eventually, he told himself.

The rounding of a corner and a short trip down an alley brought him to his destination. He had wondered how he was going to find a garden in a place such as this, but the see-through building before him answered all questions. A greenhouse, he thought. What a treasure hidden in such a desolate place. For a brief moment he longed to return to his old farm, but he had business in Suna and a new path to walk on. He got to the glass door and turned the handle to find it locked. His hand went to a pocket to retrieve the key he had given for the task. The lock clicked open granting him entry.

He was hit with the many lively smells of nature as he entered the greenhouse, a stark contrast to the bleak environment outside. Asahi took a moment to take in the smells before he set out to work. It was his job to tend to the gardens in the absence of their normal caretaker. He had needed little instruction in this regard, so natural was the act of gardening to him. The house was back tight with tables filled with a variety of plants. He filled a watering can and checked the soil of each flower one by one. Where it was dry he showered it with water, yet where the soil was still moist he moved on.

With that done he then started from the beginning again to check the leaves of each and every plant to ensure that they were healthy. Many of the plants were in good condition and a simple spot check was all that they required. Yet some were in need of care, and Asahi's keen eye to their plights was put to work well in caring for them. A few plants had leaves which were dried out and dying: for these Asahi trimmed them where possible to make way for new and fresher leaves. He rearranged the placement of some of the flowers which were blocked by larger ones so that they could get a better share of sunlight.

After all that had finished he went around to the last task: one that required even more particular attention and a knowledge that few in the village likely possessed. Many of the larger plants had extra flowers growing in their pots, something that even the civilian taking care of the greenhouse had failed to spot. Weeds. A weed is but an unloved flower, he thought to himself. But this is no place for them to grow. They'll hinder the growth of everything else in here and soon make it their own. Out in the wild that was just the way of things, but in a greenhouse was a different matter entirely. He felt sorry for the little plants in a way, but he had to do his task.

It took him another hour to rid the house of the infestations. When he was finished a large stack of green stems and leaves sat next to him on a table. Then he went back to each of the plants and fed them a fertilizer mixture that's use had evidently been neglected. After that he was done. The sun had started to make its downward arc to sunset and it would only be a few hours before night fell upon Sunagakure. For a first mission it was easier than expected, and too similar to his previous life. He hoped that his next task would be more ninja-like, but he was satisfied for now with what he had accomplished. Asahi was about to step out of the greenhouse when something caught his eye.

On the ground had fallen one of the weeds he had collected. He had thrown the rest away but somehow this one had been forgotten and escaped the fate of its comrades. Asahi bent to a knee to pick it up.

"How'd you get there?" he asked the weed, turning it over in his hands. He thought for a few moments as he stared at it. Finally he rose and looked around the greenhouse. He found a small spare pot and filled it with some soil. Then he placed the same flower into the soil. It only stood an inch high when it was buried, but Asahi knew that with enough care it would grow exponentially soon enough. The soil was moistened with what remained from the water can. With a smile he picked up the pot and his new friend and left the building.

With the door locked he returned home with the weed held close to his chest. The streets of Sunagakure were winding down by now, and many of the residents were closing their shops for the day or also returning after a hard day's work. Even the sandstorm from the morning had ceased and things were eerily calm in the Hidden Village. It didn't take long to return back to his room. He had just recently moved in and it was sparsely furnished. This is what the place needs.

Asahi sat the plant on a small table next to his bed with a smile. "Flowers are just weeds that are loved," he said quietly to himself, promising to give the flower everything it would need.

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E- Ranked Mission Complete, 1022 WC + 600 Ryo (500 + 100 Genin Bonus)

Spending 1000/1000 WC towards Great Fireball C-Rank and +5 to both Strength and Speed Stats

22 WC leftover, putting 22/2000 WC towards Eight Inner Gates (Skill) and 22 WC towards next Stat increase

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E-Ranked Mission Complete, 713 WC + 600 Ryo (500 + 100 Genin Bonus) and 1 AP

Spending 250/250 WC towards Genjutsu Release and +7 to Speed stat

463 WC leftover, putting 485/2000 WC towards Eight Inner Gates (Skill)

E-Ranked Mission Complete, 725 WC + 600 Ryo (500 + 100 Genin Bonus) and 1 AP

Putting 725 WC towards Eight Inner Gates (Skill), leaving it at 1210/2000 WC total and +7 to Strength Stat

"It's somewhere in here?" he said incredulously, looking around the large estate. "This won't be easy, there's plenty of places he could be hiding."

"That's why you're here," the client said. "You ninja specialize in this sort of thing, don't you? If you can't catch a cat how can you be expected to catch another of your kind?"

I suppose that's true. "Well I'm going to need some more details. What does he look like? Where are his favorite hiding spots? Is there anything else I need to know?"

"He's orange. His name is Harry. Oh yeah," the client paused for a moment as if in thought, "he especially likes high places."

"You don't say," Asahi said looking around the grounds. There were plenty of tall buildings where Harry could be hiding. "That should be enough, I'll get to it, then."

"One more thing, he doesn't like being picked up. He'll bite."

Just great, Asahi thought.

Asahi started at ground leveling first, simply walking around the estate and shouting Harry's name periodically. It was unlikely to work, but it was worth doing at least, to ensure that he wasn't in a simple to find place before searching the harder spots. Thirty minutes of circling the grounds twice and looking under every nook and cranny bore no fruit. Perhaps it is time then to look up not down, the ninja thought to himself. There was a three storey tower just across the way and he decided to look there next.

He checked the door but found the heavy iron door locked. There's no way Harry got in that way at least. His eyes scanned the tower from top to bottom. There were small ledges that looked as if they could be climbed. If not by a human at least by a feline. Up I go then. He took the ledges one by one, taking his time as he attempted to summit the mountain before him. There was only a single window on the top floor, and luckily it was open. My destination is obvious. He reached the top with little trouble but sore arms and hopped through the window. The room was empty and the door was shut. There's nothing here. No Harry.

Asahi leaned an arm out the window to catch his breath and plan his next course of action. It was there that he saw an orange tail bobbing up and down in the distance. It was in the next building over, roughly the same height as the tower, but its walls were almost completely flat and devoid of any hand holds. How the hell did that cat get up there? It was a thought for another time though, right now he had spotted his target and he had precious little time to close the gap before it moved on.

The Igarashi leapt from the window and landed on the rough ground below in a roll. He was covered in dirt but relatively unharmed from the maneuver. He ran over to the building and began concentrating his chakra in his feet. I'm still not very good at this, but it's the only way up. His feet left the ground and began sticking to the wall as he continued running in a single motion using the surface climbing technique. He reached the top and spun forward into a front roll at the same instance he released the hold of his feet with his chakra. Asahi landed and came face to face with a very startled kitty.

Harry bolted immediately. The ninja went running after him towards the opposite end of the roof. Evidently it wasn't Harry's first time coming face to face with a shinobi. Asahi did not think that it would be his last. Troublesome bugger. He realized then that if the cat made it to the other end of the roof first it would have nowhere to go. Harry might jump, Asahi thought, there's nowhere to go but down. He could kill himself. Suddenly the cat and mouse game was very real. He knew he couldn't fail.

He concentrated all his energy into his feet again, but this time inside of focusing the chakra to the surface he was pushing against it. The energy released at the same moment he lunged forward. Asahi smacked into the roof hard but he managed to keep his arms outstretched. They latched onto the cat who gave a loud hiss of annoyance in return. Got you. He tucked Harry under his arms and made his way down the building, this time taking the stairs. The cat fussed and fought the entire way. You know it's time for your check up, don't you?

"I'm sorry buddy, it's for your own good." He tried to soothe the cat but his efforts fell on deaf ears.

Asahi returned home later that day with another mission complete. The scratches and bite marks on his arms came with the territory on this occasion.

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E-Ranked Mission Complete, 812 WC + 600 Ryo (500 + 100 Genin Bonus) and 1 AP

Putting the 812 WC towards Eight Inner Gates (Skill), finishing it off at 2000/2000 WC. +3 to Strength and Speed each, and +2 to Vigor stat, discard extra 22 WC

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Thread Roundup

4 E-Ranked Missions Completed, 2400 Ryo Earned +3 AP

Great Fireball C-Rank Learned
Genjutsu Release Learned
Eight Inner Gates (Skill) Learned

+15 Strength
+15 Speed
+2 Vigor

Approved. Great job