A garbage can by any other name (p, shunro & yuu)

Bulk Trash Day:

Passing on the Torch:

The fact that Shunro and Yuu were really, really not going to enjoy this made it all the more amusing.

A garbage can by any other name would smell just as sweet. They wouldn’t know that, though, as she hadn’t told them the specifics of what mission they were taking- just the bare minimum.

Not that she’d express it outwardly, of course. She was intending to train their physical stamina as well as build tolerance for gross smells and situations. In Yuu’s case, especially; she didn’t want his enhanced senses to come back to bite him in the ass at an essential moment. A lot of times, the smell of rot was worse than the act of seeing a body. Some of it was absolutely reflected in what they were assigned to carry; some rotting meats were definitely tossed a few days ago.

Maybe she should throw in a lesson on sanitation as well. She’d instructed the two of them to meet a couple blocks away from the landfill- a reasonable distance- and stated that they’d be working throughout the day.

Because she was feeling generous (and organized- you should really let someone know what they’re getting into beforehand… at least where ryo was concerned), she stated that the job they were taking was C ranked, and as such they’d all be receiving two thousand ryo each as compensation. Not a huge amount of money, but she imagined Shunro needed every piece he could get at the moment, and Yuu probably had no idea what to do with spending money.

The fact that she was utterly broke didn’t hurt, either. Disposable weapons were expensive and the recent taxes made it difficult at best to get ahold of anything decent.

It was nearly 10 am- the instructed time- and her face was carefully manufactured into a mask of strict indifference. It was nearly indistinguishable from her resting bitch face. Either way, she rarely had fun considering the circumstances of the past few years. Even if today would mostly be hard labor, the act of messing with her temporary subordinates in an innocuous way was addictive in its entertainment value.

All that was left was for them to show up.

[WC: 368]
[Total WC: 368]

A bright and wonderful day. The sun is shining. The day is young.
Waking up early had been regular practice for Shunro for a while now. It was a bit of a necessity in the woods unless you wanted to get robbed or wake up to your camp torn up by animals. Honestly though he was surprised he was being given permission to partake in a village mission. Though he did also think it was likely Lachesis doing so so she might be able to keep an eye on him for the day.

Either way it was money and something to do. Shunro kept the peppy kind of air to him as he treks to the meeting area. The same kind of smile on his face as he waves to Lachesis. His blonde hair tied up in a long pony tail today. He was dressed simply since he fully expected some kind of hard labor today and he didn't want to dirty his expensive imported clothing.
"Wonderful morning Ms. Lachesis"
Ah yes. Her resting face of disdain from the gate. She really should smile more. Then again he supposes finding things to smile about here is rare.

[TWC: 200]

It was yet another bright and early morning for the Ex-Hyuuga.

Yuu exited the training ground, a light sheen of sweat coating his pale skin. Ever since Lachesis had promoted him to Genin, Yuu felt like he'd been making further strides in his training. Getting more out of less. Whether it was a motivation thing or not was unknown, but he didn't want to waste the chance to better himself at every opportunity. For the first time in a while, he felt like he was finally gaining some semblance of control over his life despite the multiple things that set him back.

Walking through the streets of Konohagakure, he knew where everything was: the direction that the heat from the sun was coming from let him know roughly what time it was - 9:45 - and he could now sense the chakra of all living beings around him. The wings of an insect beat the air with the ferocity of a marching soldier twenty metres ahead of him, the rolling sound of a pram with a slightly short front wheel just behind him. He couldn't sense stuff with this level of detail before; he was definitely improving.

Somehow, the blind boy managed to navigate the various roads and arrive just in time for the mission to start. He heard an unfamiliar voice mention Lachesis' name just as he rounded the corner, and he approached his two mission partners silently. Lachesis was probably the only one to notice, but Yuu was looking... Better, the pay from his time as a Genin obviously helping him tremendously. His thin frame was starting to fill out with the tiniest amounts of muscle, and his long dark hair looked like it had been thoroughly brushed. Despite the vast majority of it being tied up, a fair amount of it still hung over his face.

He stopped once he got close to the pair, waiting for further instructions from Lachesis.

WC: 323

“Good morning to the both of you,” Lachesis greeted simply, gesturing towards the pair with a subtle nod. “As you may have known beforehand, we’re on a mission today.” a pause as she took in their expressions, face blank but eyes expectant.

“We’re to monitor and assist in the disposal of solid waste. Mishandling of the materials can result in long term contamination, so it’s important to do so quickly and efficiently,” she said. “Furthermore, it can provide a valuable lesson about sanitation. If a medic is not immediately available, it’s good to know how to dress wounds in the field. Over fifty percent of post battlefield deaths come from infection- any strong spirits could clean most normal bacteria, so even if you don’t drink, it’s a good idea to carry some around.”

Her gaze did not linger on Yuu, but the genin would likely be able to tell she was referring to him at this next part. “I don’t suspect either of you have been in an environment such as this before. Landfills are usually regulated by the daimyo’s commission, but since this one is intended to be disposed of, the ground you will be walking on may not be solid, and you will be exposed to strong odors and fumes. You may not enjoy them, but I’d rather the two of you learn how to manage sensory overload in a controlled environment rather than on the field.”

The Yuki let the words sink in for a moment. “Any questions?”

[WC: 251]
[Total WC: 619]

"So we're gonna be taking care of garbage then? Shouldn't be that hard a job" His own face was calm and collected. Though he did scrunch his nose as they got closer to the landfill. Ugh. Even back home the smell never got easy to deal with. Buuuut still. He had a job here to do. Even if it was annoying he had to bear with it. Hopefully he would be able to get it over and done with quick enough to get out of here.

Even if it was easy that didn't mean it wouldn't be an annoying one. All the garbage, and filth and just blegh. All the stuff he was trying to avoid being covered in while out in the wilderness or in the town. Ah well. If its a mission Lachesis needed from him he'd have to do so. Not to mention being here he probably wouldn't get a chance to make anything useful as he was staying here. With Lachesis watching him that ruled out any attempt at stockpiling his tags any more.

"Are we at least getting any equipment for this? I'd rather not have to shovel this shit with my bare hands" Worst came to worst he could make himself a mask and some gloves at least. It wouldn't be perfect but it would be something to keep himself clean. Buuut then he'd have to explain it to lachesis and it would be a whole nother issue entirely.

It was only really then that he managed to notice the genin he recognized from the training facility. Yuu was his name huh? He wondered how often he'd end up seeing this one while he was here. Blind and still thin, even if he was filling out. He still felt bad for the kid seeing him having to deal with the job. Still, they were both D ranks he supposed.

[TWC: 519]

Yuu nodded his head as Lachesis wished them both a happy morning, looking strangely happy to be there despite his face having the same vacant expression that it always did. How the boy managed to convey any sense of happiness without moving any of his facial muscles was a skill in itself, but that happiness surely wasn't going to last long given what mission Lachesis had chosen for the group to take. As Lachesis continued to describe what the mission was Yuu's happy mood, like predicted, took a downward turn fast. Strong smells... One of the worst things to experience for someone with senses as sensitive as his.

It sounded like Lachesis had chosen this mission for that specific reason: to train Yuu to get used to stuff like this. If he was being honest he appreciated that someone was looking out for him, even if he would really rather be doing literally any other kind of mission. Landfills were the worst. Even now, as far away as it was, the sour smell of the pile of rubbish was creeping to their position; the group were right on the edge of where the smell would start to get bad. Along with the smell, Yuu felt a sense of dread slowly overtake him. It was a rare thought indeed, buy Yuu was heavily debating just walking away. However, he desperately needed the funds and Lachesis was right: this was something he'd have to get used to.

He shook his head to indicate that he didn't have any questions, and didn't make any further motions when his partner thought of a question to ask. It was a good question, and one Yuu was curious about as well. He'd rather not, but if Lachesis wanted them to do it with their hands then Yuu would clean the rubbish up with his hands without any complaints. Assuming his partner had no further questions and Lachesis began to lead them to the mission area, Yuu would then follow wordlessly.

WC: 334
TWC: 657

At their visible protest, a simultaneous flare of vindication and sympathy welled in her gut. She allowed a bare glimmer of understanding to come to her eyes, though whether it was visible to Shunro was ambiguous. Yuu likely felt the fluctuation in her chakra regardless.

"I do not expect either of you to shovel anything with your bare hands. However, you will certainly recall the experience as if you did." she formed a series of handsigns, carefully slow as to allow them to follow, naming them as she did so for Yuu's benefit. "Tiger, Horse, Ram, and then you cross your fingers like so."

A puff of smoke and an identical copy of Lachesis came to life at her side. "That is how you cast a Shadow Clone. Identical copies of yourself that you control in battle or garbage disposal alike." she remained quiet following the statement, allowing the information to sink in. "It is cast similarly to the clone technique, which I suspect the two of you are already familiar with. You'll have to experiment with the amount of chakra you use and the rate at which you expel it, but should you cast it correctly, you can carry all the trash yourself and not dirty a finger."


"A word of warning, however: this divides your energy. If you create too many, you'll spread yourself thin. Remain vigilant of yourself and your surroundings, both when using this technique and when not." she finished sternly, a contrast from her previous supportive instructions.

[WC: 252]
[Total WC: 871]

Shadow clone huh? Odd. He could recall memories of it back in Hoshigakure but he'd been so out of practice that he was effectively starting from scratch. Still, he performs the hand seals to her specifications. Tiger, Horse, Ram, and then crossed fingers. A double of shunro appearing beside him. Shunro himself looking at it curiously. Their movements mirror one another as they bring their hands up to touch. Both staring at one another.

"Still as weird as I remember" the two say in unison. A similar feeling of deja vu hitting the two of them.

"So, you'll be taking care of the trash then"

"Do I really have to?" The clone asks, whining. Seems even as a clone shunro was a bit of a prissy boy.

"C'mon you're the clone. I literally made you to do this" says the main shunro, crossing his arms and getting a bit annoyed. Forgetting the clones were also their own minds.
"Faaaaair" the clone concedes. A bit annoyed but not much they could do. Not like they wanted to get dispelled so early. Though their mind wonders why they didn't really care too much. Was it because they were just an extension of the original ninja? But they had their own decision making capacity. Ah well. Not like it mattered in the end. 

The clone gets to doing the work shunro himself dreaded. Though with a bit of help from shunro they at least make a pair of makeshift gloves out of their own paper press The chakra inside it helping make sure nothing leaked through. Even if he was ordering his clone around he hated the smell and feeling of this stuff on his skin so he knew the double would aswell.

[809]