Giving Life a Purpose (IO)(NK)

Ban had no mission today. Every shinobi had a day off once in a while where they were free to hang out with their family or friends. It was supposed to be a relaxing day for them. However, Ban just felt empty. She had previously just prided herself on her work as a shinobi and trying to make her parents proud. But since they weren't around, there was nothing. Her work had also made it hard to find friends because all she did was focus on the mission. Sure, she met plenty of people but didn't grow close to any of them. Even while at the academy, she was too busy training her skills to make meaningful connections. There was nothing for her. 

In her depressive episode, she decided to pay her only physical representation of her dreams, the Mizukage statue. It was a reminder of her great leader, who she had never met. It filled her with pride seeing the statue most days. It would remind her of her heritage and village that she worked so hard for. But today was different. It didn't give her that same motivation it did before. It couldn't tell her that it loved her. It couldn't watch her become stronger and stronger. It couldn't watch her live her life. It was just a motionless and emotionless statue.

Ban sat at a bench that was position toward the statue so that visitors could rest while gazing their eyes on its glory. Ban looked at the statue for a moment and then look down at her hands. "I know you can't hear me..." She began to pray silently. "I wish you were here...I wish I could see the pride in your faces and see that I was doing well. I wish you could see that I am a strong woman that is able to defend her nation and heritage." It was clear she wasn't talking to the statue. She was praying to her parents. "I wish I could hear you guys...just once...anything..." Her vision began to blur as tears traveled out of her eyes and down her cheek. She hadn't cried in a very long time. 

WC: 361

A messenger hawk lands on the bench next to Ban. As a bird, it does not understand the human emotion of sadness. It stares evenly at the woman with sharp, impatient amber eyes for a few moments. It has a parcel in its talons, and if Ban does not deign to immediately take it, the bird will drop it beside her and take off back into the skies of Kirigakure.

The parcel is wrapped in newsprint by a careful hand, and the card reads:

Ban,
I hope this gift finds you well. It has been a hectic month for me, and my mission schedule does not look like it will let up soon, so I am getting some of my gifts for the festival out of the way early - I hope you do not mind.

I understand that your clanmate meant a lot to you. This is the memoir of his brother, and I believe it will include passages you will find to your interest, both about them as people and about the history of this village. Let me know what you think after you have finished it!

Your comrade,
Murata

The gift itself is a book - a small, unassuming volume, titled 'The God of Shinobi' by Takeo Tadashi.

If Ban chooses to seek Murata out, the vague direction of other members of the village will lead her to the Military Training Facility, where Murata is preoccupied with getting a handle on her new weapon... much to the dismay of the training dummies she is dismantling. Her poleaxe, Fish Eagle, gleams steel-blue as she alternates between getting a feel for hacking, jabbing, or hammering, alternating between each method of attack with an intent focus on her expression and a sheen of sweat on her brow.

[295]

[Gifting 1x The God of Shinobi from inventory to Ban.]

The fluttering of wings stopped Ban for a moment. The Hozuki looked over to see a hawk perched over her bench. Ban wiped her eyes to see where the hawk came from. There was no one else around. Before Ban could look at the hawk again, a newspaper-covered book and a note written on in. She opened the note to read that it was from her comrade Murata. She was gifting this to Ban in the spirit of the festivities. She tore open the newspaper covering to read the title, "The God of Shinobi." According to Murata, it was written by the younger brother of Xyxer. Ban was less interested in the book than she was that Murata got her a gift. She was twenty years old and had never received a gift. Her parents were always busy and she wasn't close to any extended family. Ban place the book and the note that came with it in her weapon pouch and took off from the monument to look for Murata. 

Ban asked around the village to see if they'd seen Murata. They were all vague answers but her shinobi skills allowed her to detect her target. She was at the Military Training Facility. When Ban got to the facility, she found the kunoichi training with a halberd. It was a beautiful work of craftsmanship in Ban's eyes; it looked brand new. Ban would not approach for a moment just watching Murata work on her fighting techniques with the blade. She watched as her teammate slashed and stabbed targets beside her, sweating from the hard labor. Ban would finally get the guts to approach her. It was only till she got close to Murata that she realized she didn't know what to say. She stood there for another moment, silently panicking and thinking about what she should say. "Ummmm...Thank you..." Ban mumbled out. Ban felt flustered for not being able to properly say thank you or talk about ANYTHING else. "For the book, I mean...I'm sure it cost you a lot of ryo." Cupid would be in awe of her sense of social anxiety.

WC: 354
TWC: 715

Murata recognizes a presence at the door - the instinctual prickle of eyes on the back of her neck. She pays it no mind at first, continuing her drills. The way the blade moves in her hands stands in stark contrast to her usual jovial, curious disposition. The first weapon she had ever held was the spear, and with the spear she had ended her first life. A spear holds the enemy at length, and it is the weapon of the desperate masses, meant to be fielded in groups. As much as a weapon can be impersonal, a spear is such. Ban may observe that Murata just slightly favors the speartip of her new weapon, dispassionately testing its length and weight with practiced jabs through the ballistic jelly of a dummy's throat, eyes, and abdomen.

The stranger approaches. Murata turns towards Ban at the sound of her footsteps, holding Fish Eagle vertically with its blunt end resting on the floor - a cool, distant expression on her face, likely not helping the other woman's anxiety as she agonizingly tries to spit out her words. At Ban's stumbling thanks, Murata's expression gradually warms to a vibrant smile, posture easing.

"...did you run right here to say thank you? I only sent it a short while ago!" she says, visibly a little surprised and flattered that her gift has received such a warm reception. "I prefer to ask directly what someone would like, so as to not use what understanding I have of others to peacock, but it's been so busy..." Murata snickers. "...honesty demands that I say it was not expensive. I only have to hope that is not your metric for judging its value." It is clear from her self-effacing tone that that is for Murata's sake, and not any judgement towards Ban if she has expensive taste in gifts.

---

308
TWC: 603

Murata welcomed Ban's random approach with a warm smile and a kind tone. She didn't quite understand why Ban was thanking her so soon and also not understanding the value of the book. At that moment, Ban realized what she had said and flustered deeply in embarrassment. "I didn't mean to... I mean I did...I really..." She stopped herself from falling apart even more and took a deep breath while not being able to look in Murata's eyes. "I had never really gotten a gift before..." Ban looked at Murata with her soft lavender eyes. "I couldn't think of anything else at the moment, so I thought it would be a good idea to thank you." Ban was still embarrassed but then got a look at the halberd that she was training with and thought it was a good topic changer. "Thanks a really nice blade you got there." She said, clearing her throat in an attempt to return it back to normal. It was a huge polearm, larger than both Murata and Ban, that shined with a strange blue tint and a hammer instead of another blade on the opposite side of the ax blade. Ban blushed her hand along the ax blade side to feel the smooth metal. "Can you use it?" Ban smirked at Murata in a challenge. She had never seen the genin fight before, so it would be interesting to see how well she can do.   

WC: 241
TWC: 956

Murata leans slightly on her weapon, reaching to brush the sweat from her brow. Ban is visibly nervous, and Murata does her best to make her expression and posture come across as reassuring as her comrade navigates this kind of social situation for the first time. The softness of Ban's eyes, set in such a strong, handsome face, is a pleasant contrast.

"Isn't it? To think that nobody wanted it," she says, allowing Ban to escape the even, confident eye contact that her nervous gaze had met.
"It has been languishing in the back of a shop for years." The metal is cool and smooth against her fingertips, but there's something else. For the briefest of moments Ban's consumed by a memory that isn't her own - stepping through knee-high wildflowers on a mountain slope.

Murata draws the weapon away the moment she realizes that their Chakra has made contact, the motion just a little abrupt. She gives Ban a confident grin, just the faintest hint of tightness in her smile. She cocks her head towards the eviscerated dummies, and takes a step back, drumming her fingers against the handle of the weapon. "I would like to think so," she says, proud, but slightly ambivalent - their brief contact through her abilities has caused her to slightly withdraw, but if Ban wishes to push on, it appears that she will definitely acquiesce to a spar.

---

233
TWC: 836
Skill activated: Ninshū.

Each player may offer a small glimpse of their character's history or life as a brief sensory experience in the opposite character's mind. It does not have to be significant, revealing, or useful, but it should be sincere.

Murata mentioned that the halberd was just sitting in the back of a store and no one wanted it. "Aw, what a shame. I wouldn't mind meeting the-" Ban froze when she touched the blade. For a moment, she saw a field of wallflowers on a mountain slope. She was knee-deep in the dry flowers. It was a place she had never seen before in her life, so it couldn't have been a memory. The vision was only a moment and she quickly found herself back in the military facility facing the halberd. "What was that? That vision was of something I've never seen. It was... pretty." Ban's eyes were confused but engaged in the blade. She believes at first that the blade held this power and it wasn't Murata's ninshu ability.

WC: 132
TWC:1088

Ban Hozuki's History wrote:This gave her some joy and inspiration on working on her fighting techniques, envisioning herself to be among the shinobi in those games.

Joy, excitement, and hope flash across Murata's awareness, memories and imaginations. A younger Ban picturing herself in what must have been the Blood Games - strong, victorious, and proud. Murata smiles, at first with simple fondness, in spite of her momentary apprehension. When Ban describes what she'd seen, a tinge of relief enters Murata's expression.

Since her mission with Kita, she'd sort of begun to realize what had caused that inexplicable panic attack when she'd met Kato and Gonk. She'd begun to fear that she was not necessarily safe from the lingering consequences of what she'd done, and that her faith would inevitably betray her and show her friends something that would drive them away.

Only flowers, this time.

"It was somewhere I've been," she says, words sounding like she has said them many, many times. "...when I was taught how to use chakra, it was in the way it was always intended to be used. It speaks and listens."

If she were brave, she would invite Ban to fight her. Indulge her friend in what obviously makes her happy, spark that joy she had glimpsed in her memories. Further fundamental understanding between people and fulfill her purpose in this world.

Murata is not brave.

"I think it is time for me to have some rest, anyways," she says, smile turning wry as she pulls Fish Eagle's leather sheath over the pointy bits and slings it over her back. "How do you feel about getting some lunch?"

---

246
TWC: 1082

Ban was still unable to process the vision, even while Murata was trying to explain it to her. According to Murata, it was a special way she learned her chakra. But Ban had never seen chakra be used like this. It was always for aggressive ninjutsu attacks or special clan techniques like her hydrofication. But looking into the people's memories? It seemed way more magical than it already was. "I don't understand it much... But there seems to be a lot I don't understand," Ban admitted.

Instead of continuing on a spar between each other, Murata suggested they should get some lunch. "Yeah, good idea." Ban stroked her chin. She didn't know what Murata liked for food. She didn't want to lose the chance to keep a friend, so she needed to think of something. There was an indoor diner that instantly popped in her head when she thought of good. "There's this restaurant by the beach that serves great seafood..." Ban instantly got nervous again hoping she didn't screw this up, "What do you think, I'll take you there?" The restaurant was a favorite for Ban when it came to fresh seafood, and it was a small local place that felt like a second home. It was called the Sailing Chef, ran by a former captain. 

Ban would take her to the restaurant if she agreed to go with her. The sea was visible from where the restaurant is, shining in the bright sun. Inside, the restaurant was small and had a lot of sea-related decor like nets over the walls and a steering wheel at the front. The restaurant smelled of cooking fish and a variety of sea-salty smells. Ban would let Murata order what she'd like first before ordering a plater of some fish with an assortment of rice and vegetables. Ban paid, of course, and found a place to sit by the window facing out to the sea. A very romantic view that Ban was too awkward to notice.

WC: 333
TWC: 1421

"I will answer any question you pose to me to the best of my ability," Murata says. Such is her obligation. She considers, perhaps, that Ban has some reservations with seeking clarity, given that shinobi are so private about their techniques. It would be at least some compromise for her to communicate greater ideas, if she is to keep her heart so guarded out of fear. "None of it is a secret.."

Murata responds to Ban's suggestion of where to eat with an approving hum. Seafood sounds wonderful.

She excuses herself briefly on their way out of the facility to make use of the showers, eager to rinse the sweat and grime from her body before going on a casual outing. Attending to her hygiene and physical comfort in such a way was not something that had always been accessible to her before her arrival in Kirigakure, and she is always sure to appreciate the amenities that come with her new way of life. Still, old habits cling to her. When Murata steps back out into the hallway of the training facility, sporting a clean and casual set of clothes and damp hair, Ban can see that the heavy shoulder bag Murata's folded armor must now be packed into is slightly wet around the bottom edges. She must have brought her equipment in with her, reluctant to leave it out of her sight for even a moment.

Murata wonders, after ordering her shrimp curry, why Ban is paying for their food. Murata had been the one to suggest this, hadn't she? It seems uncharacteristic of Ban to do so as a sign of pity, but the possibility gets slightly under Murata's skin, and no other explanations occur to her. She slips her share in ryo across the table to Ban when they sit down. "There's no need for charity. I have the same job as you do," she says, tone pleasant, but with a faint edge of warning. She visibly regrets the words as soon as they leave her lips. "...that was overly accusatory. Why did you try to pay for my food?"

It's a nice little restaurant. The sea gleams outside, bright blue.

---

364
TWC: 1446