Work, work, work

Mission(s) Details:

Today was gonna be packed full. There were 3 separate missions in which a Kumo teen named Hiroki Shimada had decided to take on. The three had a bit of a link to them, they were all in a pretty close proximity to one another. All three were located on higher ground within the village of Kumogakure, the aviary being the nearest point to where the vulture's nest presumably was. If this area had been the location of said nest, then that just so happened to be by a cave leading to the cavern complex where there was rumored to be a scroll hidden within. All in all, the first two wouldn't be that fun or amazing to deal with, the only real exception to be had was dealing with the vultures nest; most of the time located right along the cliffside. Whereas all the real glory to be gained would be from the last one, exploring a new place, not knowing whether or not there would be danger, that would be absolutely splendid.

Speaking of splendid, the young one's mood much reflected that last thought. The reasoning as to why? To simply put it, he was just feeling good as hell. On top of the world, even though most of the tasks for today might not have his best of interests, there would still be nothing that could possibly drag him down. It wasn't a gray day either, so just everything within this very moment was picture perfect! Bright white teeth beaming, Roki could barely contain his glistening smile. Positively ready to make the best out of this day, he begun to get a head start to the necessary activities. First stop was the aviary.

The way there wasn't anything too special. Even though it was so nice out today, not many people were walking out and about. The few that were seen got a polite nod of the head in acknowledgement as the normally chaotic dude would pass them by. No pranks were being played on them, oddly enough. Not even just general troublemaking. Maybe the Kumo ninja's rebellious ways were coming to an end as he was beginning to gain more power? Or maybe, then again it's just because he found himself constantly being bogged down with other things. It was probably the latter of the two once he actually begun to think about it, but then again, who could say for sure? The lad wasn't a seer after all, he didn't entirely know what the future could possibly hold.

But boy, oh boy, was his future shitty...both literally and figuratively...it turns out after the rather long climb up the mountainside to reach where the falcons had been kept was only met with an even worse than expected thing to do. He had to clean...the poop...This wasn't what he had originally signed up for. The shinobi was told he would be helping the attendants to the avian messengers with mundane tasks. However what he wasn't informed, was that one of these tasks and the most important one, was having to clean up after the predatory birds would go to the bathroom.

This unwanted thing to do was just generally unexpected as well. Who would possibly even think that a ninja would be spending precious mission time on cleaning up shit? Granted, it was an E Rank Mission, but still! There were better things that could be done in this current moment. Like he could've been getting into those caverns right about now, and be searching for that mysterious scroll. Heaven forbid someone else was also seeking it out, looking to claim the reward for themselves. With this current string of bad luck that Roki has been dealing with, it wouldn't come as a shock to be honest. Even though this may very well be a situation in which would have to be heavily considered when it came down to getting the other missions out of the way as soon as possible, he still didn't want to worry too much about it. Trying to keep his positive mindset, the two colored haired youngin' just simply thought to himself: It'll be fine. Cleaning won't take too long. Hopefully. Plus, as long as they don't find it first or just get there at the same time, I can easily handle them. Stressing about it will only make it worse in the long run

With that in mind, Hiroki got to scrubbing. He scrubbed the walls of the place where the birds were held. The floors of it. The cages within it. Hell, there was even the exterior of the building which was dirty that needed some scrubbing as well. All this work and no play made Roki a mischievous boy. Now running amidst his feelings, doing speedy circles around his thoughts, was the hungry wolf that was an idea of some way to cause some form of trickery here. It would keep him somewhat entered and sane after all. Besides, as long as the place was clean. He did his job. There was nothing ever said about future cleanings. Before the teen would take his leave once the deed was complete, he would make sure that the falcons were well fed with some snacks that were high in fiber. This could then go one of two potential ways. The first being they just were fed, and there was no harm, no foul. While the other one, the one in which was hoped for, was that the place would become just as dirty as it was found, but only after the assistants had seen Roki actually cleaned the place. He wasn't dumb enough to go pulling that without making sure that they knew his job was indeed, done.

With this first one being done, it was high time that he had been on his way to the next mission. Another relatively simple one, but one with a bit more added danger due to the nature of the fact that vulture's had the inherent tendency to nest on the edge of a cliff. Being so close by this area in which could possibly end up in a fall would most likely lead to at least some form of an adrenaline rush. That and heights in general typically added to this as well. There was just some unexplainable about the whole thing. Chasing after the surging sensation of, in theory, near death experiences or situations in which harm could occur. For whatever reason though, this was just something that the teenage Shimadan just loved.

Climbing up to the higher cliffs was rather tough work. But the upcoming journey was used and thought of like how his short term goals would eventually roll out. They would be long and tedious. A steady, yet impactful pace was a necessity in order to achieve reaching it. Many obstacles would be eventually presented, but no matter what the challenge was, Hiroki Shimada would not falter in the slightest. He was stronger than all of that. He was stronger, and would become even more so down the line. One day, the Kumo lightning specialist would get his revenge for the death of his loved ones. The last remaining people that truly understood him, and cared for him. Gone. This is what shaped him to want more, always thriving to be greater than before. There was a tormented soul deep down within, and the only way it knew to fight off the pain was to grow bigger than it. Become more than it could ever be in order to fully destroy it. Then and only then, would he be truly free.

But, currently, it was as if he was chasing ghosts. Besides the fact that it was a missing ninja who had done it, there was nothing else to go off of. There was no identity known for the potential suspect or suspects. Very few traces of evidence were left behind, but, somehow, someway, they would be found. Once that day would arise, there would be a much needed confrontation. Maybe this was why the ninja had begun to study the art of Ninshu? Could it possibly have been that his subconscious craved to look into a person's own past, to fill part of the void that is his own? Was it to possibly even reveal the killer? The more the thought went into, the more it began to resonate within him. Almost as if there was a sense of agreeance and actually finding the path that led forward.

A few minutes after these thoughts had begun to transpire, the Kumogakuren's path was met with the cliff where the vulture was spotted flying towards. Thankfully, the old lady managed to spot at least that after her purse had been lost to the talons of this winged scavenger. The leveled area which laid before him was about 10 meters long, and 15 meters wide. One side was met with another, even higher cliff of the mountain. In the face of this slope, was an entrance to a cave. The same one which he'd known about, if he wasn't mistaken. It was even closer than he thought. Maybe there wasn't a string of bad luck happening to him after all? This theory was only further evidenced by his blue eyes making their way towards the opposite edge. This one leading over a steep decline, which would go further back down the mountain. On which, a nest was located; sticking up from the branches, a small, brown leather handle was sticking out. His hunch was right, as per usual. There was the stolen bag, and not a carnivorous raptor in sight. It was his for the reclaiming.

Grabbing it would be a very delicate process. First, Hiroki would have to make sure that his balance was on point. Falling over the cliff, from the looks of it wouldn't cause too much damage, as the incline from it wasn't very steep. The angle would only cause him to roll down, in where he would eventually tumble onto the path which lead up here. So, while he would have to start from square one if this were to happen, it wouldn't be the end of the world. Then there was the off chance of accidentally dropping it while retrieving the old purse. The teen was nowhere near fearful of doing that though, as he knew his reflexes were decent enough. However, to discount the possible outcome would be ignorance, to say the least. Every single thing must be thoroughly looked over, even in low-risk situations like this one. It just made life a bit easier that way.

So he made his way over, to the left side where the nest was seen. He didn't get near the edge quite yet, as the stability of it was still unclear. Drawing forth his trusty katana, he gently started to poke the ground with it. A few rocks fell from the side, but nothing major happened; meaning that it was indeed, stable enough to the point where he could at least be standing there for a few seconds. Placing the sword back within it's sheath, he then withdrew some wire from one of his ninja packs, strapped along his belt. This was to wrap around the handle of it once he'd place his hands on it, just to add a safety measure if it were to slip from his grasp. Now, time for the moment of truth. Inching his way towards the creation at a sluggish pace, the would-be future Raikage extended his hand as far as he could to try and touch it, but to no avail. He'd need to move closer in order to get it. Heartbeat pounding with a loud thud, each beat louder than the last, his thoughts were becoming foggy. A panic was beginning to approach, but he wouldn't give up. Not now. Not ever. He simply drew closer. Closer to the edge, so close that his toes were almost hanging off. Lowering his body all the way to the earth in order to ground himself, he reached out yet again. Left hand extending forward, intent on snagging the handle from the organized pile of twigs, leaves, and even some rocks, with his right hand hot on it's tail; with the wire at the ready to be wrapped around it. And then, in an instant, contact had been made. As fast as he could, the right hand maneuvered through the opening while simultaneously pulling the leather purse backwards towards his body. Just as his grip was about to falter, the wire flicked out with a swift motion in the right wrist. The left hand proceeded to palm it. This allowed for the bag to just simply dangle over the side, instead of actually falling. Second mission, was now a success. Thankfully.

After this success, the Shimada Ninjutsu user decided to just take a short break, and lay there for a few. Eyes gazing upwards, he took in the absolutely breath taking view. It was around 4 in the afternoon now, and the sky had begun to fill with a numerous amount of white, fluffy clouds; and some light and thin ones. There was also a mix of both scattered throughout the seemingly endless sky. Some days like this one, he always grew curious about what it was like up there. Did the birds and other flying animals get too hot up there? What was going through a cloud like? What was being above a cloud like? Were there bodies accustomed to being at such a high altitude for long periods of time? All were excellent questions, which unfortunately he didn't have too long to ponder over. Still, with the little time that he could, he did precisely that.

With each passing cloud flying over head like a ship along the seas, he went back to his youth and made shapes out of them. One had seemed to be a giant, two headed snake. The clear, narrow slits along what would be the head, which showed the blue tones from the sky above were clearly serpentine eyes. This was accompanied by the two forked tongues which sneaked there way out of each; one's mouth was agape, also featuring a lone cloud which formed a resemblance of a fang growing from the top of this opening. A different cloud had taken on the appearance of a turtle, swimming through a patch of clouds disguised like lily pads. It was like a picture taken from an aerial perspective: there were four distinct stubs poking out from the sides, which didn't quite come to an actual stop as they slanted upwards. A circular, dome shaped shell was created using an extremely poofy cloud in the center, with two proportionate pieces at either end to form the tail and head of the turtle. As it moved across the air, seemingly light as a feather, it made contact with one of the aforementioned lily pads; the two merging into one, until the picture vanished entirely.

Making sure not to get too lost in this calming past time, the Kumo shinobi got up from his restful state. Bag in tote, his tired and aching feet began to move in the direction of the cave. This last stretch would definitely become more tiresome than he thought. That climb up the mountain really took it out of him earlier. Apparently, this meant that more training was necessary. Growing up, this would've been a piece of cake. At least, that's what he'd like to think. While it's definitely a bit of an overstatement, the point is, he was starting to get out of shape from the looks of it. Well out of shape for him at least. It could've been the fact that he wasn't used to that steep of a climb in a matter of minutes. He was seen skipping a few leg days here and there, so it really wouldn't be all that surprising if it was just that. Or maybe, there was the slight possibility that this was all just in his mind. The anxious thoughts within the genin hadn't entirely ceased after all.

But, not to digress too much, after a very short few seconds, he found himself in the mouth of this cave. The breeze was now fully blocked from the formation of stone built inside the massive mountainous region. Although there was no movement from the wind, the air was still a bit chilly and damp inside. There was enough light to show some of the features within. Man made markings were painted along the walls, most likely via spray paint. Some were mere scribbles, initials here and there, a phrase or two, or just a general graffiti tag. But the one to captivate above the rest, was a massive mural which spanned the entirety of the length of the stoney interior, the width of which spanning at least 7 meters. It was a clear drawing of a sunset above the Lightning Country. Gorgeous and vibrant oranges, pinks, and fuschias blended together seamlessly to form a brilliant skyline at sunset. To contrast these warm colors were cooler shades mixed with neutral ones, more specifically a blueish gray tone at the top, flowing down to shades of brown created the mountains, or more specifically a single one. Perched around the sides of the slopes were various degrees of detailed line work. Altogether it seemed very maze like in it's pattern, but it certainly wasn't resembling something known. Then, at the base of this was dotted bits of green, speckled splashes here and there to make what seemed to be trees. Splashes of dark brown were added to form the trunks of these, adding yet even more intricacies to the work.

These paintings were oh so beautifully crafted, yet still ever so mysterious. The main one of interest being the huge one. Hiroki couldn't help but ponder over the amount of tedious, nitty gritty details which went into the mountain itself. Drawing a closer look at them, there was even more curiosity sparking with electricity inside him. These lines weren't just running up and down, left and right, they undulated and circulated, some even forming almost room like designs. This same curiosity peaked, as inside an area where all paths had connected towards the base of this mountain, was a very tiny x that one would miss if they hadn't taken a second glance at it. And just like that, the pieces of the puzzle all clicked together, forming it's own beautiful masterpiece. How clever Roki thought to himself. The realization that this was actually a map of the caverns all became so clear now. The x, the location of the scroll which was the goal of this entire mission. The "rooms" so to speak, were cavernous areas within this complex, while the lines were tunnels which connected them all together like a spider web.

While taking a closer look at this spectacular picture which had a hidden map within its design, another thing caught his eye. Peering along the rocks, he took notice of a pair of tags which were lined up vertically from one another. Each of them had a particular sheen to them which all the others that were there as well didn't share. The graffiti just seemed to be two sets of initials fused together in a heart shaped, becoming one with each other. Most likely from lovers. One set of initials had a green color scheme, while the other complimented it in shades of pink. Both were extremely noticeable, but next to the behemoth which outshone them all, it wouldn't have had too much attention drawn to it.

This caused a stir within the fair skinned, rebellious spirit. It was big enough to the point where he had went over to investigate that one further as well. Stepping a few paces towards it, an echoing began to reverberate, coming from deeper down within. The sound was indistinguishable, and it was extremely feint. But he kept moving forwards to the neon lover's piece. Now only a few feet away, there was a rather familiar scent, not all there but still somewhat present. This smell was shocking to be taken in, but at the same time it wasn't. In better terms, it was rather unexpected, than surprising. While each distinguishable piece would provide evidence of this odor, the fact that Hiroki was actually smelling relatively fresh spray paint was off putting to him. This could only mean one possible thing and therein lies the main problem; an obstacle which would become a trifle in the path to success here. It meant that someone else, two people actually, were also here within this cave or at least nearby. That could have been what caused the sound. Now the true question was, did they know as well? Were they also here for the scroll, or just to be here? Roki was about to find out.

Heading deeper into the cavern, the sound from earlier began to happen more often. Louder this time as well the further he walked inward. What once wasn't clear about what exactly this noise was, became whole now. It was the clear sounds of a conversation. One of the voices, a bit higher pitched and more feminine in tone. While the other was a stark contrast to the first, rather low and gravely, with a more masculine presence to it. It didn't take long until the entrance to what would be the first of many caverns came to sight; in which were the two people who were talking amongst one another. One male, while the other was female. The male was rather tall and built pretty well. Sporting a buzz cut, his blonde hair short and very militarized. This man wore a came track suit, much like the fresh tag was seen at the entrance, in shades of green. The female on the other hand was taller than Hiroki, but shorter than her apparent boyfriend. Her hair was cut into a dainty pixie cut which highlighted delicate, curly locks of reddish auburn. She had on a pink bomber jacket, accompanied by a matching pink crop top and shorts, splatters of green sprayed like paint splotches inlaid along the shirt.

This wasn't as planned, but boy oh boy was Hiroki about to have some fun. Nerves washing away now, the appearance of these two were just mere citizens. So certainly, there wouldn't be too much of a problem here, right? Even still, it was nothing that Hiroki Shimada couldn't handle. This would be easier than taking candy from a baby had combat ensued, and always to plan for the off chance of the worse thing to occur, the young lad was actually expecting it to happen. It still didn't stop him though from casually sauntering on into the cave, rather a bit too prideful as just by doing that he caught the other two's attention. Their faces looking onward towards him with confusion yet surprise. Immediately after the man's eyes had looked towards the shinobi headband wrapped around Hiroki's arm, he got in front of the girl, as if to protect her. "Stop! I won't let you harm her! You ninja killed the rest of my family, I won't let you take her!" Without hesitation, he then proceeded to lurch forward, dashing towards the black and white haired teen, becoming a flash of green in sight. But Shimada stood firm in his spot, not showing a single sign of fear towards this challenge. "You're speedy for not being a ninja, I'll give you that. But you're in over your head kid." Before the punch could meet with him, the teenage rabblerouser drew his katana, stopping the attack with the blunt of his blade to ensure no lasting damage would occur.

While this one deserved to be taught a lesson for attacking without reason, there still wasn't a need to kill the poor boy. He was seemingly just scared after all. The expression of his face matched what Roki had thought. The pure look of horror, as the skin tone of his wannabe opponent's face began to drain to a pale white due to being blocked so quickly, made it evident of him thinking that it was all over. Utilizing the pause from the shock created by this moment, with a swoop of his opposite hand, he reached for the lappel of the graffiti artist's shirt. Picking him up a few inches from the ground, Roki's voice spoke out to pour some salt in the wound "I told you, this wouldn't end well for you" And there was a pause. An almost neverending moment as he decided on what to do next. Energy seeming to fade from within this dude, it had appeared that the point became clear. Lowering his blade, he lightly threw this guy back away from him. This fellow Kumogakuren then falling upon his own ass, about a meter away. "Now go, the exits that way." Hiroki's tone filled with feigned malice and contempt, as if the kid should be thanking him for not doing the deed. Without missing a beat, this amateur fled the scene, even leaving behind the other who quickly and quietly followed suit, looking just as shocked as her boyfriend.

Little did Hiroki know that this would only be the first of a few challenges that would be tested within the tunnels. Remembering the mountain map, he took the left most tunnel which led deeper down towards the second level. About after ten or so minutes of a medium paced jog, pushing himself through the pain within his feet, he was stopped as the path ahead was divided by a chasm. The distance from one side to the other was ten meters. Had he not been previously in pain from the hike to get here, this would be an easy jump. But due to this now throbbing pain's location, the teen wasn't so sure exactly of how well this could go. There was always the option of going back, as all tunnels eventually led to where this scroll was supposedly being hidden. However the path that he was on was definitely the fastest route to get there! The uncertainty of whether or not someone else was here was still unclear, so time was of the essence. Not really wanting to waste all the effort he just made by going backwards, the high energied teen decided to just do what he does best. Push forward, through it all. No matter the cost. With this in mind, he backed up a few paces in order to get a running start. Then, with a quick surge, he darted forward, making the leap of faith at the last possible second. And...he made it! Just barely though, rolling onto the lip of the platform in order to not hurt his feet further.

Pushing on forward, there was about an hour walk of complete and utter nothingness. The only miniscule detail which was new to this part were the bats which had screeched as a wrong step made accidentally awoke them. Besides that though, it was all just twists and turns. Bend and the occasional cavern here and there, where he occasionally took a short rest just to catch his breath. All throughout this exploration, he'd make sure to keep his pace up. Considering this to be it's own special version of training. With that being said, he still treated it more than just that. Knowing this was obviously a matter to not be taken to lightly. It was one of the higher ranked missions which had been entrusted with him to do after all, so he'd be treating it as such.

Then, at long last, the final cavern had been reached. Hiroki knew it was such because of the amount of entrances which poured into it, their halls extending back out into what would be assumed, previously unexplored areas. That wasn't to say that he didn't come across their paths at all, because this was essentially a giant labyrinth after all, and many of those were designed to have a numerous amount of ways to get to the end goal. Unlike the other areas, this one was clearly carved by man, while the others were much more natural looking. Only a few stalactites were hanging from the ceiling, occasionally a single drop of water would fall down from one. The sound of each drop, a longing sensation for peace, as it was much like that day. It was after a storm, and there had been a leak within his old home. That was the very sound which had awoken him on that morning before finding his parents.

Some other details of the chamber which was fifty feet in diameter included eight statues lined up around a somewhat raised circular dais made of marble. An interesting detail about the dais in particular was half of it was black marble, while the other half was white.. Four of these statues were made to match one half, which were placed on it's opposing side, and the other four were made of the other half. So the statues which were consisted of black marble were positioned on the side of the dais made from white marble and vice versa for the other ones. Five of the statues were seemingly locked in place, the platforms which they had been standing on sunk into the floor beneath them, and all had been facing a certain entrance to the cave. The other three were resting upon a raised platform, pointing inwards to the dais. A description could be read around the ring of which 'Once Ying and Yang have been restored and the tunnels sealed one by one, what you seek shall be revealed.'

The clue to this riddle was somewhat obvious. It clearly had to do with the positioning of the statues, that was for certain. But the sealing of the tunnels part was what tripped him up. This stumped Hiroki for a second as all of them, even the ones being pointed at by a marble figurine were opened. There wasn't even any sign of some sort of door or way to close it off. It couldn't have meant by causing a cave in either, for that would be a suicide mission then. Something was missing here. A clue was yet to be found.

One by one, the youth went around to each statue, investigating each one with intent. Looking for any give away as to what the answer was, it wasn't until he reached the fourth one facing the tunnel in which he came from, did he realize what it was. Engraved onto the hand of the statue facing it, was a seal. A simple one from the looks of it, and one that must not have had any inherent effect. But that's what was meant by the tunnels being sealed, one by one. It was a tricky play on words referencing to the symbols placed upon their palms, and each one only pointing to a single entry way. Now knowing how to solve this puzzle, that's what he did. Spinning the remaining three so that their palms reached outwards towards the other three tunnels, a click was heard as the last one fell into place. Turning around to the source of this sound, Roki could see the dais beginning to spin clockwise until it's rotation made it move 180 degrees; converging each color to it's respective side. Two chunks of each side of marble formed into slabs which proceeded to go downwards into the floor, after a matter of seconds re-emerging on the opposite end in which it was. This fully formed the ying and yang symbol, restoring it's balance. The center of which then spiraled inwards, another table like platform being raised up from inside this hidden chamber underneath it. On top of said table, was a lone, gilded scroll. And thus, his last mission, was achieved.

Making his way out from the cavern, it was now night, as almost three hours flew by while Hiroki Shimada was down there. Returning to the village, he successfully returned both the scroll and the purse back to it's respective person, and went on with the rest of his night. Still in a shit ton of pain though.

WC: 5,374
Mission WC for all 3 achieved
Claims: 6,000 Ryo
30 AP
1,125 words to Lightning Clone, completing it for B Rank (25% max stat discount), then putting another 750 words to it, completing it for A Rank (25% max stat discount)
1,000 words to Genjutsu Binding (500/1500 from here, completing it)
1,243 words to Ninshu (757/2000 from here
1,125 words to Poison Mist, completing it (25% max stat discount)
134 words to Mortifying Sight
Thread Exit

Approved