The Floor is Lava (Guren)

Mission specs:

Walking around the cleft while running in circles angrily was none other than Sunagakure's favorite Berserker. "Patrol duty. Me, the great Sebastian Mikaelson". If he ever believed in a god the man would now be cursing at him for having to deal with a trivial task such as inspecting the walls and other means of making sure no one tried to enter the village illegally. The young Tau would have rather continued spending his time practicing those torture skills that made him remember the old days of when he earned a living as a mercenary, completing questionable jobs that sometimes required one's hands to get dirtied. But not today. No, the once notorious butcher was too busy keeping an eye on the dome to avoid any rats attempting to make their way in.

Dressed in a black hoodie and similar colored pants Sebastian roled up his sleeves, revealing the many tattoos on the Tau's arms as he enjoyed the pleasant temperature inside the village walls. Thinking about what the higher ups required him to do the Berserker wondered if there would truly be anyone foolish enough to try and enter Sunagakure secretly. Even a dense idiot like himself simply walked up to the gates asking to be let in. Of course those instances couldn't exactly be compared, the former mercenary had nothing to hide the day he found himself in Wind Country, only a place to crash and some food to eat. Funny how much had changed since then.

Stretching his legs while doing some squats Sebastian kept the blood in his body flowing, all the different hearts being kept together by the Tau's threads. "Perhaps I'm finally turning into a monster" the man smiled, realizing that ironically that used to be his goal when joining the ranks of Sunagakure. To find his place among the truly powerful beings of the shinobi world regardless of what needed to be done in order to reach that goal. "I guess I'll start by finishing this little task" the Berserker would speak under his breath, waiting for his mission partner to arrive soon. 

(WC: 350)

Guren patiently awaited the arrival of his teammate while within the confines of one of the shaded guard towers. Today he had specifically put in a request for none other than Seb to join him in his weekly patrol of Sunagakure’s dome. He had figured it had been quite some time since he was able to leisurely speak with his friend, as his own time was spent in two ways. Either he would be overseeing the construction of some new projects within Sunagakure, or he would be out of the village on a mission. As a result, he sparingly had time to catch up with old friends. So this week, he sought to do just that. Besides, the monotonous task of inspecting the village usually was pretty uneventful. What better way to kill time than to do it with good company?

Guren figured that Seb’s assignment to such a mission would do nothing but annoy him, so he was fully prepared to listen to his tirade. But strangely enough, Guren looked forward to it. It would probably be quite humorous. As he waited, he would finally hear the Berserker begin to approach. He seemed to be pacing in a vexation of anxiety, cursing the very nature of the mission. Guren chuckled to himself lightly, propped himself up from his chair, and proceeded out of the guard tower. As he exited, he could see Seb doing a series of squats. Guren found it funny to see the man warming up for such a light mission. He would call out in a jocular tone, “Getting old huh? Never thought I’d see the day where you of all people would need to stretch before going on a walk.”
As he heckled Seb he simultaneously approach him, hands tucked into the pockets of his tunic and a smile upon his face. Undoubtedly it had been awhile since Seb had seen Guren. Upon Guren’s face was a lush and full beard, a handful of additional scars, and his hair was quite a bit longer. His braids originally ended at the base of his hairline, but now they extended all the way down past his shoulders. “Long time no see. You ready to go on this patrol?”

Guren had an ulterior motive of spending time with Seb. The last time the two were able to catch up, their catch up was cut short and both med had to depart for more pressing manners. However, that time Guren had a gift he wished to present to Seb. This time he wouldn’t allow his intentions to be interrupted. For it was something that would be quite beneficial to his Tau friend. Upon their initial greeting and banter, Guren would lead the way from the Cleff and onward towards the beginning of their patrol. The first place they would need to inspect would be the walls of the village.

WC: 480

Sebastian couldn't believe his eyes as he saw Sunagakure's biggest playboy walk up to him. "The fuck happened to you?", touching the man's beard in order to make sure it was truly his friend. "Alright, it looks and feels real" the Tau spoke as he crouched up and down, watching Guren from different points of view. Crossing his arms, taking a stance and rubbing his chin almost as if he was about to shout "Eureka!" after making the greatest breakthrough in the history of mankind. "So what, you had to spend a couple of months without me and you go in hibernation?" the young Berserker said in a jesting manner.

Truth be told it had indeed been quite a while since both men spent some time together, let alone go on a mission. If memory served him right the first and last time used to be when they joined the current Kazekage on one to gather and collect plants, but not the good kind of greens. "I'm not that old, or at least I think", a sudden hesitation in Sebastian's voice, wondering how long he'd been walking the earth by then. "As long as I keep my hearts beating I'll be causing trouble" a big grin on the man's face as he put his arms behind his neck. 

On their way to the walls of the village Guren would inquire whether or not Seb was ready to take on the mission waiting for them. "The question is, are they ready for me?", with a smug look on his face the Tau attempted to resemble one of those evil masterminds people saw in movies. During their walk Sebastian would try his hardest scaring little kids that passed both men on their path to their destination. "Hehe, still got it". Although trouble had yet to appear at the location mentioned in the report the young Berserker realized the importance of taking even the more trivial tasks seriously. 

As they finally arrived at the walls the Tau began to wonder why Guren requested Sebastian to join him on the mission when he could have easily picked anyone else, or simply complete the task by himself considering the low difficulty. "Besides my good company, was there anything else why you needed me for today?". He wasn't the brightest out of the bunch but even Sebastian knew there would be more to it than just a simple day of patrolling.

(WC: 405, TWC: 755)

Guren couldn’t help but laugh upon hearing Seb’s impression on his new look. He appeared rough, rugged, and umkempt: three non - characteristics of Sunagakure’s second biggest playboy. But the real number one playboy stood before Guren, with his chiseled abs, muscular stature, and poised physique; all with a look of skepticism upon his face. The disbelief led Seb to hesitantly poke at Guren’s beard, which was nothing short of scraggly. Guren didn’t flinch, as he expected this to be Seb’s reaction. And instead just nodded in confirmation of his unusual appearance. “Yeah, I know. This is what months away from the village will do to you” he let out while motioning his hands up to his chest then down to his waist, pointing out his lean, borderline skinny body. The series of seemingly endless missions had led Guren to be malnourished and unable to upkeep his image, but since returning to the village he had slowly been regaining his former figure. The only excuse as to why his beard still remained was because it was starting to grow on him. In response to Seb’s joke on his lack of time spent with Guren, Guren softly retorted with, ”Yes, hibernation indeed.”

Seb seemed to defend himself with a level of uncertainty, attempting to confirm that he was young. Sure he was. Still though, for an old man Seb was in excellent shape. Following this, he made a mention to Guren regarding his hearts. Ironically enough, this had been the very reason why Guren wished to be accompanied by the man of Tau descent. Guren just kind of snickered at Seb’s comment, as he probably didn’t realize he was eluding to the proposition Guren would later offer him. Nevertheless, the two continued onward in the direction of the walls, where Seb would question if the mission was ready for him. “I would hardly think so,” Guren responded bearing a smirk of his own to match Seb’s energy. Little did Guren know, Seb would be referring to the children of the village as they all cowered in fear as he would spook each one individually. It would seem the only trouble being caused would be that of the pair on the mission. Guren just let out in response to Seb terrorizing the younglings.

Arriving at the walls, Seb would finally inquire on Guren’s intentions of requiring him in today’s mission. Guren would smile, turn his back towards the village walls, and look at Seb. “Well actually I owe you something. Some time ago, I had a present for you that I was unable to give to you the last time I saw you.” Looking around and noting the improper location for such a gift, Guren would hesitate on elaborating. “However, once we finish this mission I’ll present it to you. Likely in the confines of somewhere more…conspicuous.”

Without further description, Guren would leap from the ground level surface and with haste begin ascending the village’s walls. The best way to patrol them along with the village would be from an overhead view. And so he would lead the charge. Because of his quick first step, he would be some distance from Seb. And if Seb wanted to know what the surprise was, he would just have to keep up. Thus Guren would reach the top of the teeming walls, and begin to rapidly tread across them. Simultaneously he would survey the ground level occurrences on both the interior and exterior of the walls. So far, there was no trouble. He would continue sprinting at this pace as they would eventually traverse the entirety of the walls. From here, Guren would leap off from the walls and land on an adjacent rooftop within the village. He would persist in the patrol, now conducting a more thorough inspection of the affairs of the village. Nothing appeared alarming or out of the ordinary, just as he anticipated. And at this accelerate rate of examination of the village, the two would conclude the mission in no time. Upon wrapping up their investigation, Guren would halt his momentum and stand firmly upon a rooftop, out of sight from any potential onlookers. And from where he stood, he had a clear view of The Grove. Here, Guren had a quick flashback of the events that ensued that resulted in his acquisition of Seb’s gift. He stood here in silence as he awaited for Seb to catch up and approach him, and would only begin speaking once his friend had addressed him.

WC: 753, TWC: 1233

A present? For Sebastian? It wasn't his birthday nor a special occassion so the young Berserker started wondering what all this could be about. "I thought I was the gift" the man spoke under his breath, now standing close to the village walls where their mission was about to take place. Guren informed him that once they were done completing today's task the two of them would move locations in order not to attract unnecessary attention. "Must be a dead body, awesome". Needless to say, the Tau's expectations were high. However, first things first and back to the order of the day, the mission.

Seb noticed how his friend began ascending the village walls to get a better view of their surroundings and potential problems that might find their way to Sunagakure. "It's a good thing I don't have fear of heights" the man voiced as he prepared to follow behind Guren. Focusing chakra into his feet the Berserker placed them on the wall before making his way up similar to how Guren moved around. If there were any spectators they would soon witness two men traversing multiple surfaces almost as if they were practicing parcours. Quite a sight to see, or so he imagined.

Maintaining focus and chakra Sebastian continued following behind, keeping an eye on both village and surroundings. So far there hadn't been anything suspicious going on, if anything two dudes walking on walls would be the most out of the ordinary. It was to be expected, ever since the Tau arrived in Sunagakure there never really happened something one would consider troublesome, at least not for as far he could remember. Quite funny if he thought about it, a village full of misfits yet none dared to cause trouble. Most of them left their past behind the moment they entered the village gates.

After a while of surveilling and patrolling the examination of the village would be complete, and with it their mission as well. Finding himself on one of the many rooftops Sebastian finally joined Guren's position, figuring time to find out what the present was about had arrived. "Should I close my eyes or count down from ten?" the man smirked, curious what gift he would be receiving. With a clear view of The Grove things were about to get interesting. 

(WC: 387, TWC: 1142)

Approved except for rank up- rank ups are done on stat page.

Sebastian watched as Guren took out a scroll before placing it on the ground, revealing the contents inside. "I knew it was a dead body" the Berserker shouted enthusiastically while rubbing his palms together. The Tau listened attentively as his friend explained to be aware of the Earth Grudge Fear bloodline and its powers, something that made sense considering he must have spent quite some time learning from Kenshin, the First Kazekage and the man possessing the same DNA as Seb. As the reason why he decided to hand him one of those organs Guren would call it a reward for showing loyalty towards Sunagakure and a sign of their friendship.

The misfit crouched down, looking at the corpse in front of him. "Terumi, sounds Mexican". He almost poked the body but then realized it wouldn't exactly be hygienic to do so. All jokes aside the young Berserker knew about both the clan and its abilities, as well as the fact they would go well together with his own. Before he was able to fully show his gratitude Guren informed Seb there were other matters that required his attention and needed him to leave. "Thanks bro, I owe you one". Accepting the fist bump the former mercenary watched as his friend jumped down, blending into the crowd as he disappeared.

Standing on the rooftop, now all by himself with an organ in hand, Sebastian figured it wouldn't hurt taking the opportunity with both hands. "Might as well". Sitting down he would remove his shirt before activating a technique, a sharp, blue blade forming off his fingers. Making a cut big enough the misfit then placed the Terumi organ inside his body before using his Black Threads in order to fix himself up. "What a little pain can't do" he voiced while slowly getting up. It wasnt the first time Sebastian experienced the sensation of receiving surgery, only this time he performed it on himself.

Once the discomfort subsided the Tau would jump down as well, heading back home in order to test out his new powers. Terumi, another fine asset to his already impressive arsenal of existing abilities.

(Exit)

(TWC: 1500)
Claims with 25% max stat discount:
- Terumi DNA
- 1500 to adjust to Terumi Lineage
- Mission rewards (6000 + 100 Genin bonus ryo, 30 AP)

Approved