Doing the jobs they never could [Missions/Sho]

Missions:

Suna was amazing!

Blair exited the house the Kazekage had allowed him to stay at, spinning the keys around his index finger. Last night was probably an absolute blast considering how little of it he actually remembered; he must have had a lot to drink. He'd somehow managed to purchase enough food for the next week, and had managed to fill up his wardrobe with decent clothes while in the drunken stupor. Blair had also woken up with a pocket full of mission slips, and a checklist of everything he needed to do for the next day. 'Thank you, drunk Blair. I salute you, my good sir.' The pale Tau thought, even stopping his stroll for a second to do an actual jaunty salute.

He was dressed in a white shirt with several of the top buttons undone to reveal the red stitching on his chest, rainbow suspenders, and some black shorts. It had been a long time since he'd been able to dress in such revealing clothes due to his albinism making him get burnt so easily, but the regulators around the village allowed him to express himself in the way he truly desired without fear of repercussions. Blair was even walking with a little extra pep in his step because he was in such an excellent mood.

Following the directions Drunk-Blair had put on the checklist, the Tau arrived at the Monkey's Uncle. Apparently, they needed some help with a shipment of goods. He was also supposed to have a partner for all the missions he was doing. So, Blair stopped just outside the front of the establishment and begun to look around for whomever his partner was supposed to be.

WC: 283

Standing outside of an establishment called the “Monkey’s Uncle” was a male draped in a dark charcoal gray cloak with mousy red hair. Sho would have preferred to be completely covered but the heat in the village made it almost impossible, so the cloak acted as more of a cape, revealing his black pants. Sho wore no shirt, but instead his torso was covered in bandages, up to his neck, hiding the grotesque burn scars that he was embarrassed to reveal. ‘It was better this way’ because by exposing his scars to the world, he would draw an exponential amount of unwanted attention and that was a dreadful thought to say the least. Sho had hopes of completing the missions he had been assigned today swiftly and wanted to interact with others as little as possible so that he could be on his way. That was until he saw a male heading straight towards his direction. This person was exactly the opposite of Sho- radiating an exuberance for life and as he grew closer to where the Genin was standing.
 
Blair grew closer and as he did, Sho now had a chance to fully observe him, taking note of his rainbow-colored suspenders and red stitched chest. As blair skipped along, he drew the attention of pedestrians, but he appeared not to have a care in the world. Sho wished he had that kind of confidence. Blair had now stopped in front of the shop and began looking around as if he were expecting somebody. ‘Great. He’s definitely my partner…’ Sho thought to himself. Although Sho had been in very close proximity, his sheepish demeanor made him almost invisible, so he was not surprised that he did not draw Blair’s attention right away.
 
Sho was only a few feet from the doorway and Blair at this time and in an attempt to gain the persons attention, he would raise his hand to his mouth, coughing into his hand to clear his throat. “Hi.. My names Sho. I believe we were assigned the same mission…” He would say in a awkward manner.
 
Just beyond the pair were several carts filled to the brim with supplies for the restaurant: sacks of tea leaves, fresh food, and other materials in crates that were labeled. A large brawly gentleman who appeared to be a manager of sorts was standing next to the carts, looking rather impatient. The man was so large that Sho wondered why he had employed their help as he could probably complete the job himself in minutes, but it was not Sho’s place to ask such questions. If they were willing to pay him to do a couple hours of grunt work, then so be it.

WC: 454

Blair whirled around as a quiet voice spoke up from behind him. When his crimson gaze landed upon the guy who'd introduced him as Sho, Blair's pale face split into a wide grin that was all teeth. He sauntered up to the red-head with weird lanky steps and stopped in front of the boy who, Blair noticed, was actually shorter than him. That wasn't something that Blair ever really experienced since he too was rather short for a guy.

"Well, heya Sho!" Blair said exuberantly, radiating confidence. He started to raise his hand for a handshake when the warning of the Kazekage echoed in his mind. Blair, the smoothest dude around, continued the hand upwards and ran it through his hair, giving his white locks a good shake. He tilted his head and his smile took on a teasing edge, "Don't usually miss good-looking guys such as yourself, I apologize. The name's Blair, by the way."

The pale boy followed Sho's gaze towards all of the stacked carts and he brought his hands together in front of him to generate a satisfying crack. How Blair achieved this considering he had zero bones in his body was a mystery that would remain unanswered for now. He looked towards Sho, "Let's get to work!"

Blair skipped up to the big burly man and gave him a bubbly wave, ignoring the man's impatient stance. After a short conversation with the burly man where he gave the pair instructions for where everything needed to go, Blair would burst to work and get started immediately. Some of the boxes were a little too heavy for the lanky Tau, so he employed the use of his Bloodline's threads to get them to move. Anyone watching would see the red stitching on Blair's arms suddenly burst open and release a dozen black threads that wrapped around the crates as he carried him inside the building. While, presumably, working with Sho to bring boxes inside, Blair would attempt to open up a line of communication with him.

"No offense but that outfit does absolutely nothing for you. Have you considered wearing something else? We're in the desert, show some skin!" Blair offered the redhead some, probably unwanted, advice with a grin. It was just like Blair to stick his nose into other people's business without any tact or subtlety.

WC: 400
TWC: 683

Now that the two had become acquainted, they would begin working. Sho walked over to the cart, placed his hands on the first box, checked it for shifting contents, and with a “Hmph”, would lift the box, grasping opposite corners and using his chest to bear most of the weight, and would bring the box in. Blair would be right to work behind him, although he was doing something rather strange. The red stitching that Sho had first noticed on the man’s chest, had now begun to protrude from the Blair’s arms- about a dozen or so- and the threads would begin assisting Blair with moving the goods. Sho, who was now intrigued as to what the threads were, was no longer working, but staring at the anomaly. Sho’s gaze would remain until noticed, and if not noticed, he would catch himself staring and sheepishly look away, returning to retrieve another box. Continuing to work without addressing what he had saw, Blair would make a comment on how overdressed Sho was. By this point, Sho was about 5 boxes deep and was beginning to sweat. Blair wasn’t wrong- it was hot as shit in this village and the more Sho worked, the more uncomfortable he became. With beads of sweat dripping down his brow, Sho would become impatient. “You’re right.” Sho hated the heat of the desert despite having lived in the Wind country the entirety of his life. The dry desert heat had been haunting Sho his whole life and the sun was no friend to Sho’s pale skin.  Feeling more confident in himself after seeing Blair release his odd threads without a care of what others may think, Show removed his cloak to reveal his completely bandaged torso. Although his body was still effectively covered, the removal of his cloak had provided some much-needed relief and provided him a second wind of energy. Sho walked to the cart, grabbed another box, and began moving the contents, moving much quicker than he had before.  

After a while the two had finally completed the job and they would check in with the burly man before leaving. The shop manager inspected their work and gladly signed off on their mission documents, thus the two completing their first of the three missions they had been assigned for the day. The shop owner offered Blair and Sho some cold-water bottles for the road and thanked them for their work. Sho, who was parched and drenched in sweat, would consume the water bottle’s contents immediately before pulling out their mission details to determine what their next task would be. A few droplets of water or sweat would fall on the parchment as Sho looked down, reading the details of what was going to be another mundane task. ‘Public Art Project’, Sho scoffed. Sho didn’t necessarily like or dislike art, but he was sure whatever it was, was not going to be anything profound.

Turns out, there was a metal water feature that was going to be implemented in the grove. Sho wasn’t entirely displeased with the task, but he wasn’t a fan of modern art in nature. Either way, his opinion didn’t matter and if they were willing to pay him for a few hours of work, then so be it. “Looks like our next task is in the Grove, I know the way.” Sho offered his expertise to Blair, unsure if he knew where the Grove was.

Sho entered the Monkey’s Uncle one last time, retrieving his cloak, and then started off in the direction of where the Grove was. After a few minutes of walking, presumably next to Blair, Sho would muster the courage to ask Blair about the red threads that he had produced from his body earlier. Sho only decided he would ask because Blair appeared to be someone who would happily entertain Sho’s questions. “If you don’t mind me asking, what are those red threads on your body?” Sho would inquire, hoping that he would not offend Blair.

WC: 669

Blair grinned when he noticed the redhead sheepishly checking out the threads from his bloodline. The boy looked away sheepishly upon noticing that Blair had spotted the intrigued stares from Sho, though he would also see that Blair was completely comfortable with it. Blair dressed the way he dressed because he loved being the center of attention, and he would never shy away from the spotlight. If anything, he was flattered by the whole ordeal. He was also happy to see Sho take his advice and take off the stifling cloak, though the heavily bandaged torso made Blair's eyebrow raise curiously. The bandages weren't bloody which meant they were there to hide something rather than try and stem a wound. Such a concept was odd to Blair - who rarely had anything to hide - but he chose to respect Sho's boundaries and not inquire about them.

Their task was soon done and the shop owner offered the pair some bottles of chilled water, which they both accepted at the same time. Sho downed his instantly but Blair took his time, slowly glugging it down while they walked towards the next destination. When he'd drank about three-quarters of the water, Blair decided to cool off a little bit by emptying the rest of the contents onto his face. He shook his head, probably splashing the poor guy next to him, and ran a hand through his now-wet hair to scoop it off of his face. He sent a wide grin towards the red-headed boy next to him as an apology; splashing anyone other than himself had not been in his intention.

Blair shrugged nonchalantly at Sho's question, not offended by it in the slightest. "These?" He asked rhetorically as some stitching on his palm opened up to let loose some of the threads from his body. They twirled about in the air above his palm lazily whilst he spoke, "I have absolutely no idea. They've been in me for as long as I can remember." He snorted at the small inside joke that only he'd get; 'as long as he can remember only extended back about 3 years or so.

Upon arriving at the grove, it became clear that some more heavy lifting was going to be expected of the pair. A short woman in overalls appeared to be overseeing the construction project and she gave the pair a wave when they came into view. She approached them and offered a handshake to Blair, which he accepted, and then would go on to offer one to Sho afterward. Whether or not Sho accepted the handshake the woman would excitedly begin to speak.

"It's great that you've finally arrived! The boys and I just needed some help carrying the heavy stuff to the construction site." She jerked a thumb backward at a group of men struggling to carry - what looked like - parts of some sort of sculpture further into the grove. Blair sighed, more lifting? No matter, he thought, stretching, at least they didn't have to actually build the thing.

"Yeah we're up for it," He would then nudge the boy next to him, assuming Sho was there, "Right, Sho?"

WC: 535
TWC: 1218

Sho’s calm and wide grayish-brown eyes watched in fascination as Blair released several red threads from the palm of his hand and they began to dance. “How fascinating.” Sho would say, starting to feel more comfortable around his new mission partner. Other than showing his threads to Sho, Blair offered no explanation as to what the origin of the threads were or how he got them. “Fair enough.” Sho would say, shrugging it off. It really wasn’t any of his business to begin with, so he didn’t intend on intruding any further.
 
The two quest goers eventually arrived at the Grove with the intentions of completing their second mission. For Sho’s sake, he hoped he wouldn’t have to do anymore heavy lifting. Upon arrival, a short woman in overalls waved them over and so the two went. She shook Blairs hand and then his own. Sho wasn’t very found of physical contact with strangers but figured it would be rude if he did not comply. He also didn’t want Blair to think he was a total drag either. Sho’s hopes for a less physical mission were shattered almost immediately after she shook the woman’s hand. She made a jerking motion with her hand to draw the pairs attention to a group of struggling men behind them. Blair then eagerly told the woman that him and Sho were good for it causing Sho to immediately regret waking up today. Sho hesitated for a moment but would finally reluctantly agree.
 
Now that the short overalled woman had gained two more workers, she would happily walk away leaving Blair and Sho to get to back breaking work. Once she was out of hearing distance, Sho would turn to Blair while looking over at the men struggling to carry a large modern sculpture in a group. “That looks really heavy…” Sho would say, hoping for Blair to erupt into a thousand red threads and save Sho from a potential trip to the hospital.


“Hey can we get some help over here!”


“Yeah! I can’t hold on much longer!”
 
The voices of the struggling workers could be heard calling over to the duo for assistance. Sho gulped and then started jogging over. Sho bent he knees and leveraged a portion of the statue on his shoulder and started to bare some of the weight for the group. Assuming Blair would join him, the group would complete the moving process of the statue and prop the piece into place so that all who ventured into the grove could admire it.
 
WC: 424
TWC: 1547

Upon seeing Sho's reaction to the additional hard labor that had just been dropped on their laps, Blair couldn't help but let out a little small snicker. After all, the boy couldn't cheat and use freaky inner tendrils to do all the hard work as Blair could. He did feel the slightest bit sorry for him but Blair guessed, from the short time they'd been speaking, that Sho wouldn't enjoy the attention that having the threads inside of him would bring. Blair loved the attention, but he understood that it wasn't for everyone. The snicker turned to a chuckle when Sho subtly hinted for Blair to use his threads for the heavy lifting.

"Don't worry, I got this." He held out a hand to try and stop Sho before he ran off to the sculpture and possibly injure himself by picking it up. He then sauntered up to the group of burly men around the sculpture getting ready to pick it up and called out, "Gentlemen, please step back."

"Why? Do you think you can pick this up by yourself?" One of them asked. Blair just sent them a cocky smile and made a shooing gesture with his hand for several seconds until they finally relented and safely placed it on the ground. Without any warning, the young Tau's tauso torso would suddenly burst into a dozen black threads that all wrapped around various parts of the sculpture and lifted it off the ground with ease. His poor shirt couldn't withstand the onslaught and was completely torn to shreds.

"Ahhh! What the fuck!" One of the workers screamed, scrambling away from Blair on the ground after falling over. The others just sat and watched him carry this large chunk of metal to the desired place with dumbfounded expressions on their face. Once the sculpture was safely on the ground where it needed to be, all the threads receded back into his body revealing... Absolutely no damage at all. The only evidence that the whole event had transpired was the fact that his pale torso was now only covered by the thin shreds of his shirt that had been eviscerated by the threads.

He dusted his hands, seemingly uncaring of all the odd stares directed at him, and turned to the group of workers. "Is that all you need?"

The woman in overalls gulped, "Y-yes, that's everything."

"Perfect!" Blair declared and then languidly made his way back to Sho, grinning widely. "Thought I'd save you the trouble. Now, time for the final mission!"

WC: 414
TWC: 1632

To Sho’s relief, Blair offered up his help, relieved Sho and the other men of their duties. He instructed the other men to step back away from the now stationary art piece. The men bickered, not believing that Blair could take on the task without their help and began to shout comments to the boy, feeling emasculated.
 
Blair’s torso bursted into a dozen dancing threads that lurched outwards and wrapped around the sculpture and lifted it clean off the ground with ease. Blair moved the sculpture into place while the onlookers watched in disbelief, besides Sho. Sho knew that Blair could do it and actually had hoped for it.
 
Now that the job was done, Blair brushed off his hands in the manner one would after a hard day of work. The woman dismissed them and then Blair called for Sho to join on their final mission. “Thanks for that.” Sho would say, “I don’t know how much more labor I can take today. Your shirts a little ruined though.. I owe you a new one.” Sho was beginning to really like having Blair along with him on their missions, it made things much easier.
 
The duo’s final mission proved to be much easier than the previous. They were tasked with assisting a photographer with a couple of trivial tasks. Upon arrival, the pair assisted the photographer with several tasks, such as lighting, placement, and a few other things that Sho found to be annoying, but thankfully easy. At the end the photographer urged Blair and Sho to get a picture together for all their hard work, and despite Sho sheepish behavior, he eventually agreed. The photographer had dressed the two of them up, giving both Sho and Blair hats and scarves. “1.. 2.. 3.. Cheese!” The photographer yelled enthusiastically, clearly loving his job. “Alright you two.. thanks for all the help! Here you go.” The photographer handed the two of them a polaroid picture.
 
Sho held the picture in his hand and watched it fully develop until it was clear. Sho took a moment and staired. He never had taken a picture before, especially not with someone else. Sho then shoved the picture in his pocket and turned to Blair before heading off to receive their mission rewards. “Hey.. Uh- thanks for all the help today.” Sho felt weird saying this, but felt he owed it to Blair for accompanying him on the missions and making them more bearable.

[Exit/Missions Complete]
 
WC: 410
TWC: 1957
 
Ryo: 3000 + 300 Genin Bonus -= 3300
New Ryo Total = 51200
16 Towards Speed = 50 New Total
3 Towards Chakra = 53 New Total
15 Mission AP

1957/2750 Towards A-Rank Damage Reduction Shield

Approved

It was nice to see Sho slowly opening up to Blair over the course of the few missions they'd been selected to do. It was a small thing, but it brought a small smile to the pale Tau's face. "Nah, don't mention it. Also, I got plenty of shirts so you don't owe me anything." He waived off Sho's concerns. It was true, he did have an absolutely incredible amount of shirts. Oh no, Blair realized with sudden dread, his prized rainbow suspenders had also been trashed by his careless use of threads! They were limited edition and he'd probably never be able to find them in shops again. Almost enough to bring a tear to his red eyes.

The next mission was incredibly easy and almost seemed to slip by in the blink of an eye. It turned out that Blair's natural flamboyance lent itself to the busywork of photography and he didn't seem bothered by the monotonous tasks in the slightest, doing it all with a large smile on his face. He managed to nick a simple white shirt from the prop cabinet, putting it on during a brief lull in the photo-taking. The photographer appreciated the work that Sho and Blair had been doing so much, that he offered to take a photo of the pair. Blair, of course, accepted the hat and scarf with excitement and quickly put them on. He gave the camera a big grin while the picture got taken, and accepted it impatiently when it was handed to them.

Blair grinned at his companion's words, "Please, the pleasure was all mine." With that, after going to gather the rewards for the mission of the day, Blair went to go exploring around Suna. He didn't really know what he was looking for, perhaps he should have a quiet night in... Nah, he decided. Quiet nights weren't his thing.

[Exit]

WC: 312
TWC: 1944

Claims:
3 E-Ranks completed
3300 Ryo
15 AP
19 Stats
400 words to complete Ninjutsu Amplifier, other words trained here
1500 words to train Black Threads from C to B to A