Strings [IO]

Princess, the prissy calico that has wormed her way into Murata's life, insistently nudges against her vassal's hand with a 'prrp'. Murata idly strokes at her ears, reading the letter again and again. Her apartment is quiet and cluttered around her, the intensity of her recent schedule leaving cleaning tasks far along the wayside.

Emergency Response Team 3,

I write to you today to express my deepest gratitude to your team and the rest of Kirigakure's ninja forces for your efforts in the aftermath of the typhoon. There are so many families that did not have to bury their kin due to your work and diligence. Ours is one of them.

My grandson, Seiki, would be gone if it weren't for all of you. Our clan owes its future to your efforts.

We would like to extend an invitation to all of you to attend a dinner at our estate so we can express our thanks properly. We are a humble clan, but we will extend the warmest welcomes we can provide. It's the very least we can do, and Seiki would love to meet his heroes now that he has recovered.

If you are interested in attending, please get in touch, and we will arrange a date that is to everybody's liking.

Sincerely yours,
Junko Itoshi

The elaborate, looping pheasant crest of the Itoshi clan stamps the bottom of the letter. Princess sniffs at a matching wax seal attached to the discarded envelope. The handwriting is immaculate, flowing like honey from one word to the next in lovely scarlet ink.

Murata had been informed, in a quick chat at the mission desk, that the kid they'd pulled from the water over a month ago had pulled through. It hadn't seemed quite real, then, but now there's a name. A family.

The letter fills her with shame. She'd thought him dead and gone the moment they pulled him from the water. It had been the rest of the team that had saved him. How is she going to look this woman in the eye and take credit for her clan's future? Murata will have to, of course. There's no way she could live with snubbing an invitation like this, either.

Now that that tiny, shivering boy is a real person in her mind, somebody she could bear to think of that way without steeling herself against the cruelty and inevitability of the world, she finds herself desperately wanting to see him in good health. It will not be her victory to claim, but it's a small kindness she can allow herself to be reminded of. A small forgiveness.

"I am going to another nice dinner, Princess," Murata coos. Princess blinks at her skeptically.

---

The Itoshi clan's estate is located deep in the village's old downtown. Not too far from the Hisori theatre, Murata notes, and she hopes that this clan isn't in similar rough shape. Color and history blossoms around her, these neighborhoods near unchanged in decades and shouting for all to see that this place was once named Shimagakure. Murata looks down to the directions note that had been sent to her when the date had been finalized, allowing it to guide her through the small tangle of old neighborhoods.

The district it leads her to is unassuming and quiet, the scarlet crest above the entry gates indicating it is clan property her only confirmation that she is in the right place. Murata steps through the gate, tugging at the collar of her grey kimono with slight discomfort. She had been able to afford fresh formalwear, having become quite taken with the clothing she had been temporarily treated to on her mission out in Horoichi. In these circumstances, for some reason, being so comfortable... is uncomfortable. She feels vulnerable.

"You must be Murata."

A tall and slender woman, at least seventy and with a grace to her age, steps from the door of one of the buildings. She immediately stands in absolute contrast to the smooth stone and fog around her by the sheer beauty and complexity of her dress, and Murata blinks in surprise, suddenly feeling quite inadequate. It is immediately obvious that the Itoshi clan is one of tailors and textiles - the sheer masterwork and density of embroidery in the woman's layered silks boggles the mind, animals and nature scenes weaving together in a novel's worth of story in a single garment. Murata is not sure whether to assume it was the work of ninjutsu or if suggesting such would be an immense insult. The woman's silver hair is held simply and gently cinched behind her neck with a gleaming pheasant brooch, falling to her mid-back.

"Lady Itoshi," Murata greets, the formality alien to her tongue. "...Junko Itoshi, I take it?"

"Just Junko will do just fine. We don't do fancy here," she says, beckoning Murata inside. "Come on in, get warmed up. Just you so far?"

"It seems that way," Murata murmurs, stepping through the doorway at their host's invitation. It seems that the Itoshi clan keeps all of its beauty on the inside. The interior of the house is lush with rugs and textile work, warm and comfortable and inviting, furnished in yellows and reds. It feels as though she could sit anywhere in here and instantly drift away to sweet dreams. Although richly furnished, it is not a large house - it's a simple single family home, and Murata is at no risk of getting lost on the way to the dining room. Overall, she feels conflicted as to how seriously to take the assertion that they 'don't do fancy here'. She takes a seat, Junko stepping over to pour her a glass of tea. "Thank you."

"Seiki's upstairs. Watching out the window. He shouted for me when he saw you."

"Is he to wait until everybody is here to join us?" Murata asks, smiling in amusement. She holds her tea to her lips, daring at it, but finding it too hot for the moment. It smells quite nice - a little spicy.

"If he has the patience...!"

---

1,012

Kita squinted down at the letter in front of him, slowly reading through the fancy text as he finished the last of his breakfast. Bobo sat at the other end of the table, playing with a fork as he waited for Kita to finish eating and alleviate his boredom. "You almost done reading that piece of scratch paper or am I gonna be sitting here another 30 minutes?" Kita stopped reading for a moment and looked up at Bobo, eyes slowly narrowing. "What? What'd I say?" Kita gave a long sigh. "Bobo, I think more than ninja skills, you need to learn some manners. Besides, this isn't a piece of scratch paper. It's an invitation." Bobo snorted. "An invitation? To what?" Kita turned it around and slid it over for Bobo to see. "To dinner. Looks like the family of one of a kid that I rescued want to thank me and the team who saved him." Bobo's simian eyebrow raised as he read through the letter himself. "You sure that this lady has the right guy? I don't remember this." Kita gave a soft laugh. "You wouldn't Bobo. You do realize that I was a ninja before you joined up with me right? This was actually one of the first missions that I was assigned on. There was a storm that hit northern Kirigakure. It flooded a good chunk of the area. Me and a team of a group of three other shinobi were assigned to look for survivors and get them to safety. It took about three days for us to finish the mission. The last person that we rescued was a little kid that we really thought wasn't going to make it. I guess that he ended up pulling through." Bobo shrugged as he slid the note back over the table to Kita. "Well are you going?" Kita nodded. "I mean, why not? I don't really have any other plans for the day, and I'm never one to turn down free food."

Kita brought his fingers together into the shadow clone symbol, and summoned an identical clone of himself (Shadow Clone). Without looking back at the clone, Kita continued eating as he gave orders. "Go ahead and contact Mrs. Itoshi and tell her that I'll be coming. You know my schedule, anytime works." Bobo snorted once again as the clone began walking off to perform Kita's bidding. "Well maybe he knows your schedule, but what about mine? He didn't even ask if I had plans." Kita polished off the very last of what he was eating and pushed it to the side. "He didn't ask because you're not going. You weren't on the mission, you need to catch up on your studies into ninja arts, and you're incredibly rude. Bringing you just isn't a good idea." The indignation was clear on Bobo's face as he rose to his feet and pointed a finger in Kita's face. "Now that's just hurtful kid, real hurtful. I'll have you know that I'm the nicest monkey that you'll ever meet! Besides, I'm perfectly caught up in my ninja techniques." Kita stood up from the table and made his way over to the fridge, selecting a soft drink for his consumption. "Bobo, let's not kid ourselves here. Fine, you're not rude. However, you still haven't learned how learned to heal people like I wanted. That's the number one most crucial thing for you to learn Bobo. As an animal, even a chakra enhanced one such as yourself, you can't match up to a regular shinobi in strength. What happens if someone attacks you? What happens if I get too injured to fight? You need to learn how to heal Bobo, that's your number one objective right now. If you can't do that, I can't in good conscious take you with me on my most important ninja missions. Besides..." Kita popped off the lid of the drink. "I don't have a suit for you to wear."

Kita showed up at the front of the estate attempting to look as nice as possible. He had picked out the only black suit that he had owned, and his black hair had been combed as well. Kita was surprised when he had looked in the mirror and saw the length. When he had first started as a shinobi, it was too short to be combed. Now, just like his experience, it had grown. As he stood in front of the door to the modest home of the family in question, Kita rapped on the door only twice before it swung open to reveal an older woman adorned in fine silken robes. "Ahh. Kita Hajime was it? I remember you sending your little clone to reserve a spot at my table. Please, come in. We already have another member of your team here." Kita nodded. "Thank you Mrs. Itoshi." She chuckled as she held the door open for Kita, allowing him into the intricately decorated home within. "Junko will do well enough dear. Don't worry about the formalities." She guided her newest guest through their gorgeous living room and into the kitchen, where Murata had already been seated. She turned to Kita and smiled, gesturing to the table. "Please, have a seat dear."

Word Count - 876

The pair have a bit of time before Kita arrives. Murata wonders if her invitation had been intentionally scheduled a little earlier. They discuss Murata's recent missions and her growth as a shinobi. Junko is remarkably deft at directing the conversation away from herself, and Murata begins to feel like she has sat down for some manner of interview just before Junko drops the bombshell.

"I will be sending a recommendation for your promotion to Chunin." Junko takes a sip of her tea, and Murata's first reaction is acute awareness and embarrassment at how closely Junko is watching her for a reaction. Murata's reaction is embarrassment, overall. This must be a mistake.

"I am... flattered," she stumbles. Unwilling to directly question the woman's judgement directly, she grasps for words. Is it too late to say something stupid enough to make her reconsider? "I did not think I would be eligible for a great while." Is this woman aware that she has spent less than a year's time in this village? She had somewhat hoped that her showings had been... simply adequate, rather than impressive enough to attract attention.

"The world turns quickly. More quickly every day." Junko smiles. "Our dear Mizukage appeared from nowhere, didn't he? I see no reason to allow talent to languish."

"I was content to languish," Murata says mournfully. There is a sort of sardonic, affectionate edge to her voice, accepting this woman's kindness and investment of her but still taking all the time she needs to complain about it. "Should I consider this set in stone?"

"Better, but not good enough," Junko says. "Aren't you getting yearly bonuses, now? Lucky kids. You're better off than we were. I would consider it done, yes. My words have a little more sway than you might expect." A hint of amusement enters her voice. "Your reluctance only makes me more secure in my decision, I'm sorry to say."

Murata sighs. Well... at the very least, most of the supplementary roles in the village are filled by Chunin. Perhaps she could parlay this into a position at the Academy or elsewhere that won't require so much work in the field... at the very least, this means that for the moment, her position is secure. Secure as it can be in one of these villages, at least. Finally, she remembers herself, and allows herself a small smile of gratitude.

"...Thank you."

"Of course. Do not think this means that I have fulfilled my debt to you, either." Junko gazes out the window. "I will extend the same courtesy to your team, when I feel that they are ready. But they're so young... perhaps Kasumi, soon."

There's a shout from upstairs and a rapping at the door. Junko excuses herself to go greet the next to arrive, which turns out to be Kita. Murata greets him with a warm smile, though it seems slightly distant, her mind obviously occupied with something else.

---

491
TWC: 1503

Mid-thread claim: Chuunin rank claimed via C-rank power, as per village laws (kage permission here also), coming with the following perks:

Chuunin flak vest
2,500 ryo

Approved.

Kita took his seat at the table, smiling to his host and the other guest at the table. "Hello Murata. It's nice to see you again." Kita would have to try his best to speak fancy. After all, this house and dinner was far finer than Kita would've expected. He found himself thanking his lucky stars that he didn't bring Bobo along. Murata gave a smile back to Kita in response to his greeting, but something about it seemed off. Foreign. Not exactly unpleasant, but almost like she wasn't quite there. "That's pretty strange... She looks like she's thinking about something. It's probably personal business, so it's best not to bring it up at the table." Kita tried his hardest not to feel inadequately dressed as he sipped at a complementary glass of water that had been placed in front of himself, hoping to remain as small as possible in hopes that Junko wouldn't notice his somewhat lackluster appearance. "So, if you don't mind my asking Mrs. Junko, how is Seiki? He wasn't looking too well the last time that I saw him." She gave a smile and took a sip of the drink in front of herself. Wine it seemed. "It took quite a while, but he's doing well. Since then, he's been rather smitten with the tales and fantasies of being a ninja. I suppose that every child goes through such a phase, but I'm certain that you know how it goes." Kita nodded slowly. Being a ninja certainly wasn't as exciting as he thought it would be. "Yes, I know how it goes."

A few moments after, Junko excused herself once more to let in another member of their team, Gonk. As she left, a certain question wormed its way into Kita's mind. It grabbed hold of him and possessed his jaw before he could stifle it. When she was out of earshot, Kita absentmindedly muttered the question to Murata. "I didn't say anything before, but how exactly did she lose track of her kid? I mean, Kasumi found him on the roof of one of the buildings in the market district, and Mrs. Junko was nowhere to be found. That's a bit irresponsible if you ask..." Kita silenced himself as he heard Junko walking back to the table with Gonk in tow, and suddenly he wished that he was dead. Kita crossed his fingers that their host hadn't heard anything as Gonk gave his greetings. His appearance still struck Kita as odd even to this day, despite doing a number of missions with the young Hoshigaki. His scales and gills gave him a bit of an inhuman appearance, especially with his purple hair. Kita noted the slight dip in his voice when he asked for Kasumi's whereabouts, and an eyebrow slightly raised on Kita's forehead. "Hmm? Guess he hasn't seen Kasumi in a while." Kita pondered that for a small moment as Gonk sat down in one of the chairs, noting that of the three remaining chairs, Gonk sat in the middlemost one. Seems that if Kasumi did come, she would be sitting by Gonk. Kita gave a smile and sipped some more from his water cup. "No, Kasumi isn't here just yet. I think that she'll show up so long as she got the letter. She was with me when we checked up on Seiki in the hospital, so I imagine that she would want to make sure that he's alright." Kita sat back once more and sipped on his water as he waited for their food, and their host's son, to come out. He would be content to just listen to the conversations for now.

Word Count - 611

Total Word Count - 1487

The dinner goes forth, Seiki eventually emerging from his room and fawning over his rescuers - though he is disappointed to find that Kasumi wasn't able to make it. When this becomes apparent, Junko becomes oddly slightly more reserved, as though she has made some plan that has now been derailed. In any case, things are pleasant enough, and their host makes clear that she will be helping out the team in whatever capacity she can manage to repay their actions.


80
TWC: 1583

training at max stat discount
1125 words into Hidden Mist
remaining 458 words into Vanish (prev trained hereand here, now at 2400/3750)

approved

The rest of the dinner was pleasant enough. Seiki was completely fine it seemed. Kita could've sworn that the frostbite would've caused some damage at least, but he was relieved to see that wasn't the case. Kita thanks their hosts on the way out, and feels a warm sensation as he returns home. It was a difficult mission, but it felt good knowing that Kita had managed to do some good. He'll have to train Bobo so that next time something like this occurs, he can actually come along and participate. Kita had to wonder if he was making any progress on his mission to learn medical ninjutsu. Now that Kita was thinking about it, it probably would've been better to stay and actually watch his progress...

Word Count - 127 Words

Total Word Count - 1614 Words

Exit Claims:

Approved