Hallowed Grounds (Youta, Ceil,

Mission:

The day was young, and the wolf had a great deal to do. He started with his usual task of chopping wood for the church. With his newfound shinobi techniques he was able to focus more time on cutting wood and could quickly make his way to the village unencumbered to summon the wood as needed. 

The priest offered the wolf a seat and a drink of water for his efforts. "As always, thank you Sebastian. You are too kind." the priest would offer, but the wolf would shake his head and decline. "You need not thank me, Father. I only seek to help however I can." The priest would look around, seeing who all was around to hear his next words. "I find it so hard to believe that you fit in among those shinobi heathens." He would say placing his hand on the shoulder of Loghain. "Perhaps I just don't see them as the monsters that you do." Loghain would reply, his head hanging low in reverence. 

"Just know that you will always have a place among the faithful." the priest would offer, hushing his tones as others made their way into the church. Loghain would walk up to the altar, taking a kneeling position and bowing his head with his eyes closed. 

Loghain was deep in prayer, kneeling before the shrine. He sent out word to the others, though he wasn't certain that they would show up. The religious sects and shinobi didn't tend to get along and the young wolf had vaguely recalled that Youta in particular wasn't keen on the church. Still, he hoped that with this small show of good faith that some healing between the two 'warring factions' could take place. 

WC: 287

“ What a beautiful day it’s starting out to be” , Ciel would say out loud as he looked at the village from the top of one of its tallest buildings. He had been there for most of the morning just gazing at the clouds and scaring the shit out of any birds that would happen to land on or near him. He had a tendency to become completely still while cloud watching as if he was some sort of statue or something.
It wasent to long untill he peace and happiness was interrupted by a carrier ninja bringing Ciel his latest assignment. 

“Morning, I got your mission here”, the ninja would say befor handing Ciel the latter and then leaving to go to his next delivery. “ Ah it was about time I got something to do , I thought I was gonna be sitting here for a while before something interesting came my way”, he would say to himself as he opened the letter and read it. “Well damn , seems like today really is gonna be a interesting one”, he would say with a smirk as he started running down the building and making his way to the church. Ciel didn’t believe in god nor an afterlife , especially for people like him and he knew that the church didn’t care much for shinobi’s so today would be the perfect day to piss of a couple priests.

Even though the mission was to mend the relationship Ciel doubt he would be much help, but at the same time he wanted to get paid so he knew his best bet would be to try and play nice with them so he could atleast get money for his troubles. Upon arriving at the church he could see that the inside was almost full with people and that there was a shinobi kneeling at the altar, something he could never see himself doing. If he was going to praise anyone it would be himself , he didn’t think god had any role in keeping him alive and thriving. Ciel would take a seat at the entrance of the church and wait to see if anymore of his fellow shinobi were dragged into this mission, that to him atleast would fix anything.

Wc:381

Jun's relationship with faith was interesting, to say the least. It was clear for many of the villagers and the religious folk that Jun's clan was one of deep faith. It was a foreign faith, sure, but it was still faith. The Varma clan practiced the Art of Atman, a teaching that was focused on looking at yourself and transcending one's self and unlocking one's Atman, a true expression of being. 

Jun was able to unlock it herself and hence had a good understanding of herself on a basic level. She knew that she was a product of her ancestors and thus blessed with their abilities. However, Jun wasn't ordinary in her clan. She was loud and energetic and full of ambition, in contrast to a lot of the meditative and calm personalities of the Varma clan. Jun knew that she was different from the day she was born. Due to being the first to have a father that was an outsider of the clan, she was treated differently from her elders. Only after accepting that she was different was she able to unlock her Atman. 

Her strange personal path made it hard for her to follow in the footsteps of the clan. Thus she fell out of the traditional practices of her clan's religion. She still respected the religion and teachings even after the separation however found that the life of a shinobi made it hard for her to stay with her family's practices even more due to the hate of the shinobi by many of the religious folks. A further divide for Jun and her clan.

All this came up again for Jun after receiving an invitation to a mission where the Loghain asked them to aid the church community with simple tasks. She wondered how this interaction would go down if there would be any negative reactions to their appearance. But Jun remained optimistic and took the call to meet her sensei down at the church grounds.

Jun appeared to Loghain as requested at the renvue point. Jun greeted her team with a cheery smile. "Well, we better get started." 

WC: 353

Youta would wake up pretty early but obviously not as early as Sebastian who sent everyone a message about meeting him at the church. The church and Youta have a very complicated past because of the family that Youta comes from and his Yuumei. They view it as his family made an ancient deal with the devil so the church, who already did not really like shinobi, had a special disdain for his family and therefore him. Youta always was nervous to go anywhere near the priest or the church especially with his blood red eyes and signature Shinkou hair. Best Youta felt like Sebastian knew what he was doing so he would comply and get ready for a mission but not knowing what they were doing he would put all his battle equipment in his wristbands and slip those on. He was also a little nervous that some devout priest or member of the church might attack him. He would make his way to the church and see the rest of his teammates who were able to make it there with Sebastian.

He would see Ceil sitting in the front “so Sebastian talked you into doing this too. I heard we were getting a new teammate. My name is Youta. What is your name?” After a brief introduction he would see Jun and Sebastian in the the distance. “Hey Jun it is more like get this over with.” He would then turn to Sebastian and in probably the most serious tone Sebastian has ever seen from Youta say “I am here and I would like to state I will not be taking any shit from these guys. Any of this your family literally lets themselves get possessed or I can help you. I am out just a heads up.”

WC 300

The wolf could tell that everyone seemed to be a bit on edge. Honestly, such a reaction was expected from most shinobi. With the church and shinobi not usually being on the best of terms, this unease that they felt was warranted and partly what Loghain had wanted out of this mission. Doctor Terumi made his team do things to take them out of their comfort zones, to really reinforce that the shinobi life was not one to take lightly. You would be ordered to do things, some of which you might not entirely agree with. The good Doctor made such very clear during their first team mission... Loghain would rise from his position at the altar, greeting the team. 

"Good, you are all here. First and foremost, this is Ciel. He is the newest addition to the team and I hope that you all will make him feel welcome to Team Spring."  Jun was already rearing to go, and Youta made his feelings about where they found themselves very clear. "You need not worry, Youta. You know what I am, and I am a respected member of this community. I have my doubts that any of the priests will bother you, so long as you do not instigate a reaction." He would think for moment, looking around at the place they had found themselves, "Not that I believe that you would do something of that nature." A reassuring grin and nod would hopefully let the Shinkou know that he was in good hands and that all would be okay. 

"The tasks we have to do today are all very basic, and nothing that truly requires your shinobi skills." He would point to the back exit of the church, "We must first honor the dead. We are to assist with digging their burial plots and will listen as the priests speak their prayers and usher the fallen to their final resting place." It was a simple objective, one that he figured any of them could do. "All I ask is that out of respect for the priesthood, you refrain from using your jutsu." That last part might have caught them off guard, as this was technically a shinobi mission assignment, yet the wolf was a firm believer that a little hard work and a bit of sweat on your brow was good for everyone. 

"If what I ask here is too much, please make your objections clear." Sebastian was not as stern a team leader as Doctor T had been. He truly wouldn't force them to do anything, but he would simply note how they handled the situation for the future and how best to guide them on this arduous path. 

wc: 451

Understandably, Jun knew that there would be shinobi that wouldn't like this mission too much like Youta. She knew about the controversial relationship between the religious community and the shinobi world. Though she had the knowledge of the history, she was still new to Hoshi and didn't get the same impact many shinobi had growing up with being demonized by certain members of these rituals, some even facing worse than just verbal assults. Was she about to face it today?

Youta would seriously inform their sensei that if any possession happened, he was going to head out. Jun laughed and lightly punched her teammate's shoulder. "You big baby," Teasing him like he was a brother. 

Loghain assured their safety and suggested they don't use any jutsu or techniques as they performed their tasks of respecting the dead, working with leaders, or anything else that they could assist with. Loghain mentioned that he was a part of their community, which added a personal layer to the mission. Jun wondered what lead Loghain to this group and did he have problems with them as he was a shinobi himself. 

Jun had no objections to the mission was prepared to go on with the mission. 

WC: 202
TWC: 555

He would turn to Sebastian “I am trusting you here Sebastian. I know the Yuumei seem like demons but they are not technically demons. He is not always nice or in good mood. You know and possession is such a mean word we prefer a symbiotic relationship. And I won’t start anything but I will finish it if they do. I also think it’s the blood red eyes. It can scare and freak people out.”  He would then turn to Jun “how am I a baby? They are the ones who are scared of my family’s power thinking we are possessed and prefer to be that way.”  

Sebastian would say something about honoring the dead “well from our first meeting with Akabayashi you know that I feel that the dead should always be honored but I do not know how they do it here.  I was always taught that cremation is the way otherwise the Yuumei tend to be nasty and will not die.  So just a heads up if I die, cremate me. I will respect the priest and prayers as long as they are not offensive.  So Sebastian, what is the plan for the day? Lead the way boss and Jun” punching her shoulder “I will follow your lead into the church.  Have fun!”

WC 216

Everyone seemed to be on the same page, though Ciel was suspiciously quiet, simply following along without much in the way of input, almost as if his mind was elsewhere lost in deep thought. The wolf would make a mental note and bring the group out through the rear of the building to the burial plots at the adjacent cemetery. A few of the faithful would smile and acknowledge the wolf and his companions as they made their ways to the site they would be working. Despite the usual conflict between shinobi and the faithful, they were nothing but friendly towards them, offering short greetings and hellos. It would seem as if the words of Loghain were true, he was a respected member of this community and was treated with kindness. Whether the kindness shown to the others was genuine or simply because of his presence was unknown to the wolf, for he always knew these people in a kind light. 

They would find themselves at the site, shovels at the ready and four plots marked for digging. An older man was there, already starting the dig. "Mr. Frank! You don't need to work so hard! You'll make us young folks look bad. Please, take a moment of rest. My friends and I will finish this task for you." He would look towards the others, scratching his chin. "I suppose I could use a rest. Who are your friends?" He would ask, pulling out a bottle of water to take a long drink from. "This is my team, Mr. Frank. We are here to make sure the day goes as smoothly and easily as possible for you and the others." Loghain would look to his comrades, "Please, introduce yourselves."

Old man Frank would offer a smile and tip his hat, "I'm Mr. Frank, just the simple groundskeeper around here. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." 

Loghain would take up a shovel and quickly begin lifting earth into a pile beside him. "Mr. Frank is far too humble. He's the one who keeps this place beautiful and running smoothly." A few of the priesthood would walk by, quickly and quietly moving towards the area where the shinobi were. They were not openly hostile, though their demeanor was far less friendly than many of the others. This place was sacred to them, and the most zealous of the priesthood probably weren't comfortable with them being there. "Father Sigmund, Father Gregory. I hope that we can lighten the churches burdens this day."

wc: 419