Pick your poison

Mission Details::

Today there was no dream, there was only silence as he slept. He was still stuck in that room with the shadow, but there was no talking being done, not a single word. The boy wasn't sure if he had angered the figure in some way with the way he was living his life, or maybe there was just nothing that the spirit had to say to the child. He figured that it was likely the second as he hadn't done anything against Yuumei and if anything he was allowing more and more of his influence into his heart and mind, so he would imagine Yuumei would be quite overjoyed with him, instead of the opposite.

He shifted his weight onto his feet and rose from the bed, beginning to walk over to his bathroom so he could get ready for the day to come. He walked to his bathtub and leaned his head over the side, turning on the cold water. He allowed the water to rush over his head and run through his hair. He thought more about his dream, the lack of talking and just why it was that it was silent, was this a test of his own resolve that Yuumei was putting him through? Or was he just overthinking things too much, he tried to get his mind off of it for the time being. The cold water caused his eyes to shoot wide open as he began cupping his hands and splashing the cold water onto his face to really wake him up. 

He shut the water off and reached for the towel hanging on the curtain rod and he gently patted his hair dry and wiped his face. When he was finished drying himself he placed the towel back onto the curtain rod and walked back into his bedroom so he could get himself dressed and ready for a mission that was quite irregular for him. He had been so used to going to only the mines day after day, but after his most recent trip to the greenhouse, he decided that he was going to do that again today. The work was a little bit easier, and that was something he was looking for for right now, a little bit of a break from the back breaking work in the mines.

He wasn't too sure just what he was going to do with the material just yet, if he was able to turn the hemlock a poison that he could use he would begin coating his blades with it, making sure that he was even more prepared for battle should one ever come to him. He had been practicing with his refined katana a ton since he had first gotten it from the store, he loved it and every day he was excited to work with it and get even better with it. He had been practicing a few combinations that he was going to use in combat, combinations that would pair together not just his skills with his weapons, but also with his skills with the specialty of his clan, ninjutsu.

He didn't really need to worry about what it was that he was going to wear as the armor was going to be doing pretty much all of the covering for his body, but he still wanted to make sure that he was looking decent and presentable should the need to take his armor off come to pass. He looked through his closet and he found a decent t shirt and some shorts that he would wear. He had worn the same outfit the day he went and took up the meteoric iron, and he loved how perfect it felt then, so he figured it would be the perfect outfit to wear underneath his armor again today.

After dressing himself, he walked into the kitchen and he looked over at the coffee table in the living room, where he had laid out his set of armor that he was going to be wearing for his mission today and likely from now on whenever he left his home. He turned back to face the kitchen as that was going to be his first and foremost concern, for if he didn't get enough to eat, then he was likely to pass out. His body was getting used to extra amount of calories throughout the day, now that he was actually feeding himself and not going on week long fasts.

After entering the kitchen, he leaned down and he looked through the fridge to see just what he was going to have today. After a few minutes of thinking, he decided that he was going to just have his regular, some sausage and eggs. But he decided that he had some cheese leftover in his fridge, so he was going to throw some of that onto the mixture and eat that for his breakfast. He grabbed the ingredients out of the fridge and he set them all on the counter. After placing the ingredients he reached up and grabbed a pan from the rack and set it down on the stovetop.

He turned the gas on and it lit straight up. He let the pan heat up for a little less than a minute and finally he threw the sausage onto the hot pan. He browned the sausage and he decided to leave the little bit of fat that had rendered in the pan, figuring that would just add more flavor to the eggs. He grabbed the eggs and he cracked four of them into the pan and listened as they began to sizzle. He stirred the eggs in with the sausage and cooked it all together. Finally when the eggs were all cooked, he topped the mixture with shredded cheese and stirred it some more, allowing it to melt over the mixture before turning the gas off. He picked up the pan and he poured the egg mixture into a bowl and topped it with a little bit of hot sauce. 


After he had finished cooking his breakfast, he went into his living room and he stared at the set of armor for a few moments. He analyzed the armor, recognizing each of its curves and plating. Still being surprised that when he went to purchase the set of armor, he was told by the shopkeeper that the set of armor was already paid for. He wasn't told exactly who paid for it, but he was just told that I did not have to pay anything for it. He didn't know what to even do, but he knew that he was very thankful and he took the shopkeeper up on his word and he took the armor home with him that very day. He was still so excited that all of his work in the mines had led to this, his very own armor that he was going to be able to wear. He grabbed the armor and piece by piece he placed it on his body, feeling the fit of the armor being practically perfect, almost like it was made specifically for him. 

When the armor was completely put on, he began practicing his footwork with the helmet on. He wanted to see just how he was going to be affected by the more limited eyesight that was slightly hindered due to the helmet. As he pirouetted a few times, he realized that his strength from working in the mines had aided him so much that the weight felt like nothing to him, but the eyesight was actually not messed with all that much, he was still able to see all he needed to be able to fight just as before. After his brief warm up, he looked to his front door, where next to the door lie his brand new sword. 

He grabbed the sheathe holding the blade and he lashed it to his body, favoring the right side as he used to with his father's sword. With his armor on and his katana placed. The only thing that was left was his bow and arrows. He threw the bow around his shoulder and he lashed his quiver to his waist, favoring the left side, opposite his sword. This was the way that he was to keep his tools of his trade, always in a ready position for combat, no matter where he was or what he was doing. He always wanted to make sure that he was ready for combat.

When he was all equipped and ready he opened his front door and he headed down the stairs that led to the main road of the village. He was as ready as he was going to get and he was excited to start his day in the greenhouse. He knew that he was going to be a bit overheated in the armor inside the greenhouse, but it was worth it because he never felt like taking off his armor. This was something that was all his, his parents had nothing to do with it. Not that he had anything against his parents, for he loved them very much. It was more so the fact that he now knew that he was contributing to the world with not only his money that he had earned himself. He was now going to be making his own mark on the world with his own work, not being shadowed by his parents any longer.

The death of his parents took quite the toll on him, but after a few months he realized that he was never alone. He always had Yuumei on his side and that wasn't something that was going to change. He walked through the village, ready to grab himself a little more of that hemlock so he could think of just what he wanted to do with it. He could turn it into an oil and coat his blade with it, he could even make some hemlock coated arrows so he could handle his business from a distance like his mother always used to. He remembered stories of his mother, she was quite the shot with her bow, and it was now time for him to make his own name with his own bow. He took the bow off of his shoulder and he just observed it for a few moments as he walked along the roads of the village. He was so proud of himself, being able to buy himself his own arsenal was a huge milestone for his own life, and he was going to keep this train going.

He was nearing the greenhouse, where he was going to be grabbing himself that hemlock, and of course picking whatever herbs the ladies at the greenhouse needed to be picked. He knew that there was always help needed over at the greenhouse, for it was a giant burden to take on and they were always understaffed, hence why they always had a mission listing up on the boards almost every single day. This was one of the things that he could definitely do more often than not for the job was easy and it had very low difficulty, but it was important as this greenhouse didn't just have the ingredients for Ninja to make their poisons, but it was also where most of the village's vegetables and herbs and even the ingredients for the medical ninjas to create all matters of potions and tinctures that would continue to keep their fighting forces in fighting shape. He was saddened by the fact that the greenhouse was always understaffed, but it did give him the ability to provide a source of help for his village that he loved so much.

There was two things that his parents had passed down to him, the love for weapons and the love for his village. There was nothing more important to his parents than the well being of the village, and they even gave their lives to ensure the safety of the village and all the villagers that lived inside the walls. He wanted to keep their memories alive by continuing that desire for the village's safety and thriving by doing all he could to aid the village. He knew of the Nova Corps, the local heroes of the village. They were the highest level a shinobi could achieve before becoming Deputy Kage or the actual Hogokage itself. 

That was his goal, to become one of the greatest shinobi in the village, to protect this village from all harm. He didn't care what the danger was or what kind of harm was coming to the village, he wanted to be the one to end the danger and to protect all of the people who lived within its walls. He got to the greenhouse and he decided that he was going to go without the full protective suit, but instead just go with the gloves as that was the part that was going to be touching the plants themselves. He couldn't stop thinking about the Nova members, the local heroes of the village. 

He knew that he wanted to become one, but he just didn't know how he was going to get that good, good enough to be the strongest within the village, and probably within most of the other villages. He wanted to get that strong, but he knew that he had to start somewhere, and where he was was as good as any place to start. His heart was solid and his work ethic was matched by no other member of the village. He was going to become a Nova corps member, and that was an absolute fact. He walked into the greenhouse and he approached the women who worked inside the greenhouse. He asked if there was anything that they needed picked other than what he was there to gather. The women all looked at each other and gave a small giggle as they handed him a rather long list of items that needed to be picked from throughout the structure. 

He accepted the list and he told them that he would be sure to try and gather as much as he could for them before he gathered the hemlock that he was there for. The women accepted what he said and he then walked further into the greenhouse and he began to scan the area and gathered as much of each item that was on the list. Each item seemed to be the for the hospital wing, the ingredients just sounded familiar from the academy, in the medical classes where they learned the use for many different types of herbs. He gathered as many herbs as he could, he was beginning to feel quite hot due to him being in a greenhouse with his full suit of armor on. He knew that the armor was not necessary for the job that he was completing, but he wanted to get used to wearing it so when the time came for combat, he was as ready as he was going to need to be. 

After a few dozen trips through the aisles, picking hundreds of herbs and preparing them as needed, he walked over to the women and he handed them that very list that they had given him, but with all of the line items crossed off, showing that they were all picked and ready to be transported. The women all thanked him for the job well done and he went back into the depths of the greenhouse so he could grab himself a couple handfuls of the hemlock, enough for him to begin crafting some poisons, potent enough to take out any combatant that needs a little extra persuading when it comes to dying by his hand. 

The very thought of killing someone was one that was interesting to him. For sometimes, it was a horrid thought that he wished he never had to bring into reality. But at other times, it was a mere fact of life that he was ready to accept in his life of being a ninja. He knew that that was really the only reason that he would be gathering hemlock, was to harm another person, and he was okay with that. He knew that killing people was sometimes a necessary evil when it came to keeping the village safe, and that was something that he was willing to do for his village to keep it safe. 

He reached the area that was growing the hemlock, a rather popular plant among the shinobi of the village. He grabbed a few handfuls of it and he placed them in his pouch for the time being. He wrapped it in a cloth beforehand, ensuring that when he reached into his pack, he was not unlucky enough to touch the hemlock bare handed and caused any problems for his very own health. After putting the hemlock into his pouch, he walked out of the greenhouse, being happy that he had done a small service to his village and furthering his own ability to perform even better for his village. 

As he left the greenhouse, he thanked the women for their time, to which they thanked him for the work he did. He left the greenhouse and he decided that he was going to go into the village and go to the training grounds. He was going to spend every moment that he had free, getting stronger, becoming a better shinobi and make sure that he was a shoe in for being a member of the Nova corps. He was going to spend his time getting used to his new armor, and be sure to train even more now that he had his own bow and his own sword. He wanted to make sure that he was as prepared as possible for combat, because he knew soon he was going to be taking more dangerous missions that were going to require it.

WC:3002
EXIT
Claims:
+30 AP from WC
+30 AP from Mission
+1 Hemlock
+6100 Ryo
+2363 towards Shade Release: Yuumei's guidance (Completed) (Previous Progress)
+637 towards Embracing Shadows (637/2000)

Approved