Every rose has its thorns

Madara received a similar letter that Youta had, although it spared a lot of details since they’d dumbed it down for her. This was her first A rank mission so she just had to know the basics. Get some ghost roses and follow the lead of the more experienced shinobi in her team. There was also a note in there about being safe or whatever, though she thought that was obvious. She geared up in her armor and brought all her weaponry with her, though most of it would be out of sight tucked into some small bags that were tied around her waist. She’d bought all of this for a mission not to long ago and even now she wondered if it was even worth it. She was not an offensive or a defensive shinobi so if she got hit she was probably done for anyways. She let out a sigh upon realizing that she was basically a glorified detector who could do little else than hide and freeze people at a distance.

Madara put aside her worries and walked to the gates of the village which were surprisingly not that busy today. There were some people standing around, no doubt waiting for mission partners, and then there were the common folk lazily filtering in and out of the village. Madara didn’t recognize the other shinobi she was supposed to work with so she shouted:

“Is anyone here waiting on Madara? If so, that’s me! Anyone?” She’d then look around to see if there was indeed anyone who might be searching for her. She had arrived right on time so she would understand if people had gotten a little late. If nobody responded she supposed she would just stand around like everyone else until more people arrived.

298 wc

During a late evening of Yutaru studying in one of the smaller village libraries, a nondescript ninja of Hoshigakure interrupted his study. While reading Yutaru had activated his Byakugan, so he wasn't surprised to detect the chakra source move close to him. When he looked up and saw an envoy of the Star he was quite shocked to say the least.

Over the last few days Yutaru had underwent some preliminary exams at the Hoshigakure no Sat Ninja Academy. Most the work was simple checks to grasp Yutarus intuitive intelligence, but most recently he had taken an advanced curriculum perquisite exam on Iryojutsu. Typically a pre-exam for new genin who would enter the medical field, Yutaru had been noted as a medically inclined scientist. 

After scoring well in the Iryojutsu pre exam Yutaru had been chosen to participate in a mission being undertaken by a small team. According to the scroll delivered to Yutaru in the library the team would be dedicated to foraging for a ghost roses. Contracts between Hoshigakure and Haven Country industries called for at least three to be recovered from the field in tact. Along with helping gather the ghost roses, Yutaru was explicitly tasked with analyzing the natural buome for replicatable conditions.

The budding roses were to be found within a wide expanse of the desert and local fauna were known to be prey for giant reptiles. Despite the thirty six kilometer radius where the search would be held and the main roadside, these dunes were infamously littered with bandits who preyed on those searching the ghost rose. 

The job would be dangerous, but if Yutaru was inclined to display his ability he certainly would. Yutaru left the library ary after reading it and prepared himself. He had one night to be ready, and memorized every aspect of the briefing he could. The team he would be with had names, Madera and Youta, and detailed descriptions were given too. Yutaru planned to meet them for the journey at the gates, and promptly packed a wick basket full of water bottles and salted meats. 

With the tan leather poncho he wore for foraging equipped Yutaru left the gates carrying the wicker basket on his back. Walking quietly along the streets with both hands securing the basket he soon found himself by the village gates. Yutaru's dark jet black hair was hanging in front of his face while he searched for the party. While he looked around he found his first team mate in Hoshigakure. 

Madera called out for her team mates, and Yutaru responded. Not letting his hands off the thick wicket bands holding the basket to his back, Yutaru blew his hair in the wind and it fell back. Calling out, "Madara! I am Yutaru." Yutaru walked forward to where Madara was waiting. Yu wondered who nearby was their third team mate for this mission, and as he walked closer to the official ninja Yutaru was scoping everyone he passed by with his pale eyes.

WordCount: 500

Fu had only been home for a day or so before receiving her next mission. Hoshigakure had kept Fu busy during her short time in the village. Despite the dense population of Shinobi, there was no lack of work to be done and missions were in abundance. Fu was pleased, she had earned more money in her short time here than she ever could have if she was still in Konoha. Also, with each new mission, they were becoming more and more interesting, and she was meeting a lot of different characters. The last mission she had completed, she had gotten the chance to work with the shinobi they called ‘The Hound’, along with the not so lazy boy who owned a business in the village. Fu glanced over the mission details once more before coming to the realization that she should probably get a move on- she didn’t want her team members to wait. “Oh!” Fu exclaimed, “I know that name!” Her tan finger ran down the paper until it fell on the name of “Youta”. “He was the other boy on our team with the Hound and Not-So Lazy Boy!” Fu said aloud, although there were no humans present before her.
 
Of course, Fu was not talking to herself. Although eccentric, even she wasn’t that crazy. Fu was speaking to her oversized familiar, Archie the Brown Bear, native to the forests that surrounded her old home on Konoha. Fu had free’d Archie from an animal trader in Sunagakure and since that day- he hadn’t stopped following her. At first it was kind of annoying, but Archie grew on Fu and now they were the best of friends. “Sorry Archie, you’re going to have to sit this one out. Another recon mission, don’t want you getting us caught. I’ll be home later!” Fu said her farewells to her furry friend and the door of her small house on the outskirts of town, slammed behind her.
 
Fu was approximately 5 feet 7 inches tall. She had soft, tan skin and a feminine, but toned build. Her hair was shoulder length and powder blue which provided a great contrast to her skin and large, orange eyes. She was wearing a short white robe without sleeves with a black belt tied at the waist, keeping everything together. On her right bicep, was a white cloth tied tightly bearing a new and shiny Hoshigakure band, signifying she was a shinobi of the village she currently resided in. She wore her new band with pride as she had given her word to Ayato, the Hogokage, that she would put everything she had into the new opportunity to live a meaningful and purposeful life.
 
Fu skipped to the gates where she would quickly identify a group of shinobi congregating. Her keen eyes scanned their faces and one individual was familiar, Youta. “Hey guys!” Fu called out in stride, still too far away for a proper meeting. She finally arrived and now that she was with the group, she would introduce herself. “I hope I didn’t keep you all waiting to long, I’m Fu!” Fu was chipper and appeared to be the only one excited about today’s mission. “Oh hey Youta!.” Fu’s attention turned from the two stranger to the boy she had worked with on her last mission. “Hopefully the council will look into our last mission report and send us to Iwagakure next! I was bummed we didn’t get to go last time.”

WC: 579

Youta would hear someone in the crowd ask if anyone was looking for a Madara Youta would raise his hands and yell from across the gate “Hey Madara over here!” He would wait for her to come over. He saw a young woman who looked all decked out ready for a mission. She had blonde hair and Sharingan eyes so she was obviously an Uchiha. She was loud and boisterous.he would continue saying “hello, Madara I am Youta Shinkou.” He would wait for a little longer then another young shinobi would show up. This time it was a young man who showed up “hello are you looking for the group going to find some flowers.” He worded it hoping that he knew what Youta was talking about but if he was not on the mission he would not know that he was specifically talking about the ghost roses. Assuming the young man comes over and says he is part of the mission Youta would proceed to introduce himself saying “My name in Youta Shinkou what is your name?” He would then hear him introduce himself as a Yutaru he would then turn to both of them and say “Are you guys ready for a trip through the desert? Got your water? If not…” he would then make a few hand signs and get some water bottles that he got and stored in his wrist bands then he would continue saying “I have some extra. I don’t know how long the journey will be the map is kind of vague. I saw a oasis close to the field with flowers. But do any of you have experience collecting and transporting scientific samples? because I have none.” At about this time Fu, a shinobi that Youta has worked with before showed up “Hey Fu! It’s good to see you again my friend. Maybe next time after this we will meet to take care of whoever is trying to corrupt our government in Iwakagure but that’s not our decision. I guess let’s focus. This is Madara and Yutaru they are joining us but Have you transported or collected scientific samples before?” He would look at the map and say “I guess we can make a plan and stuff on the road. I don’t know who wants to take the lead but if you want to lead please do? Whoever is the best at navigating the desert should probably lead the way.” He would then look around and see who would step up then say “I will follow your lead then.” He would follow whoever volunteered to lead the way. And ask “Anybody know how long of a journey this will be or how long it will take to collect the samples?”

WC 459

“Nice to meet you Yutara,” Madara said as she walked to meet up with him. However before she could engage in any further conversation she heard someone else shouting at them.

Madara turned her head to see that Fu was coming along and Madara introduced herself again, “hiya, I’m Madara. I haven’t waited that long, don’t worry!”

Then someone else called out to her. She turned her head again, it was Youta. Madara ended up walking over to meet with Youta cause he looked like he wanted them to come over there. Madara was surprised at just how many people showed up to this thing. Four shinobi for one mission seemed like overkill, but hey maybe they just needed that much help out there.

“I have a canteen which should be enough, well I hope it’s enough,” Madara said with a shrug, “I don’t have any experience with moving samples but how hard could it be? I’d imagine that it’ll only be a hassle if people attack us with the intent of destroying the samples.” She had come along to help out, she definitely lacked any experience to take a leadership role in all this. She would have to defer to one of the others to lead the way.

“I can’t lead the way but I am a sensory and genjutsu user. I can at least give out warnings if we are heading into an ambush,” Madara added so that everyone would be clear about what her main contribution to the team would be. With that out of the way she formed handseals and activated her Mind’s Eye of the Kagura technique. If the team decided to get on with it and get going she would follow along. There was plenty of time to talk on the road so there wasn’t much point in standing around.

306 / 604 wc

With everyone gathered around Yutaru found himself in a new personal situation. While a nomad he had spent some time with ninja from Hoshigakure, but they were always operating in an official capacity. Usually the Hoshigakure ninja could be found securing points along common roadways, so that meant the scientist participated in a short and simple hello as the extent of being around ninja. This would be different however, and as everyone was introducing themselves Yutaru studied his new team members.

First Madara introduced herself, and Yutaru happily greeted her. The young Uchiha seemed to be an adept young ninja of Hoshi when she wisely proclaimed her profeciencies with sensory and genjutsu; making sure her role in the team would be clear as a watchful eye. Unsuited for front line work she preferred to provide ranged reconnaissance; Yutary found this fact to be advantageous for the group.

Majoring throughout life as a botanist Yutaru was familiar with the preservation of some roses and assumed they could store the roses with their roots in some sand using a paper tag. If they could do so he imagined Madara would play the essential role of main eyes on the road, with two holding the roses and two protecting from the woodside. 

The travel back would be most dangerous, and Yu figured Madara and himself would be given the duty of guarding the more power packed duo of the group.

When the young man Youta introduced himself Yutaru found that he seemed to be very experienced, with a plethora of water for a long journey. Not needing any hydration himself, Yu politely refused and introduced himself. Yutaru quite respected Youta's work ethic. Youta was certainly capable as a seasoned warrior, and Yutaru quickly found himself pondering where precisely Youtas place would be on the team; but his thought was interrupted by the final arrival and introduction of the team leader.

The leader of the group was the groups esteemed senior, Fu. A perfect example for ninjas Fu seemed well put together just like Youta, and their previous work together gave Yutaru a knot of confidence to rest inside his stomach.

Not exactly a professional ninja, Yutaru was mildly nervous that he would become a burden in the mission. Fortunately he was sure enough in his ability with the Gentle Fist that he was sure he could utilize his ability properly. After all Yutaru was a botanist, and with the Byakugan he could see vast distances. All he had to do was know where to look, and Yutaru was sure the ghost rose could be found with some hard measures. 

As the team got to know each other Yutaru expected he could present his knowledge of the subject, and propose a position for himself. Thinking hard about his words Yu stood quietly in the group while everyone arranged introductions.

When the moment arose Yutaru spoke to the group in a mild mannered voice. The Hyuugas grey, leather poncho was pulled over his mouth, but Yu spoke loud to his team mates. 

"Well from what I know about roses the ghost rose generally will be seen as the translucent flower grows off tall vines in a rocky ground where they bury their roots about 1 meter down. So when we reach the sandscape with the most rocks I can use my Byakugan to search for the roses. If we can properly dig around the bushes we could safely bind the entire root ball into a sealed tag. With enough roses stored we can quickly travel back in teams of two; as strong Frontline warruors Youta and Fu could walk the roadside with Madara and I using our visual prowess to watch from a distance, in the shadows around the roadside."

Yutaru had been studying at the Acadamy and his already present skill in analysis was present as he spoke. The words seem to roll off his tongue and Yutaru waited for some feedback on his plan before the group continued on their journey.

WordCount: 668

The boy she worked with on her last mission, Youta, remembered her name! Things were off to a great start already, but then Youta started asking a lot of questions like, “Have you ever transported stuff before?”, “Where are we going?”, “How far is it?”, “Does anybody have a plan?” Fu, still very chipper, took in an exaggerated deep breath as though she were about to solve all these unanswered questions that Youta had. “I” she said in a high-pitched voice, sounding like she knew what was going on, “Have no idea!” Fu laughed, hoping that she would get a reaction from her other team members. In all honesty, when it came to missions, Fu wasn’t much help unless someone needed an ass kicking or if there was a need to blow a very large hole into something. Other than that- she was mostly here to have fun.
 
There was another girl on the mission, Madara, who introduced herself to Fu. “Nice to meet you! I love your hair!” Fu would say, getting a little too close to Madara for comfort so she could examine her hair more closely. “What kind of shampoo do you use? You know I have this really good stuff I picked up while I was in Sunagakure, I’ll give you some next time we see each other! Just don’t tell anyone where you got it…” Fu had a really good way of making normal day things seem mysterious. She was also great at over exaggerating as well- which may come off as annoying to some, but she didn’t care.
 
Fu’s eyes turned to her last team member, Yutaru, who was looking rather nervous. “Hey! lighten up, you have nothing to worry about as long as I’m around.” Fu seemed sincere in the words she spoke, but based on her actions up until now, it was easy to question the validity of them. The nervous boy spoke up, and although he appeared to be the most anxious, he had the most knowledge about their mission and possessed the byakugan. “You’re a Hyuuga! That’s so cool. You know, the Hyuuga clan actually originates from my former village of Konoha!” Fu wondered how the Byakugan measured up against her sharingan. If all went well, maybe she would have an opportunity to spar against the nervous boy and find out- at a later time of course.
 
“Aw that’s no fair, you get to hide in the back and have all the fun.” A thought rushed through her head momentarily, maybe she would join him? No, she couldn’t- anxious boy was stepping up as the leader and in retrospect, she didn’t care for doing much work. “Okay- sounds like a good plan!” She said- still as chipper as ever. Now that a plan had been devised, Fu would look around and come to a half-baked conclusion that the start of their mission was- “That way! Come on guys, what are you waiting for?”

WC: 492

“Hey Fu it’s always good to see you as happy as ever. Your always a good team member.”  Fu would talk to the other people on this mission talking about shampoo and other stuff like the history of the Hyuuga. One of the other ninja would speak up and suggest Fu and Youta lead the way.  “I am not really a front line fighter but I can pair up with Fu and lead the way.”  Youta would follow Fu’s lead and they would head out into the desert. Fu kind of acted like she knew which which way to go. “Are you sure this is the right way Fu? Why am I in the front? I am definitely not a front line fighter.” He would take a drink of his water and offer it to Fu “are you thirsty?Fu. If you were right we should be coming up on the site soon.”  The group would travel for another 30 minutes or so and they would come up on a group of rocks that he remembers on the map. “Hey Fu! Are you sure we shouldn’t have turned west about 10 minutes ago?”  He would pull out the map and show it to him. “I guess now we need to travel South West now.”  Assuming everyone agrees he would point south west and have Fu start heading that way.  

They travelled for a little bit of time before he would say “Alright everyone I guess let’s keep an eye out. We should be getting close.”  He would activate his Meigan.  His eyes would turn a very dark crimson and he would start looking around and keep moving.  “I can’t see flowers but I will be able to see shinobi if they are around.  They would come up to a ridge above the ghost roses.  There was water trickling down all the rocks and all these stark white almost translucent flowers. “Anybody see anything!?”

WC 324
TWC1096

Yutaru was indeed looking nervous. For one he wasn't sure of what kind of experiencee shinobi he was working with, and quickly Madara seemed to be flighty eyed. It was n unforunatnate way to see with such such red eye, but Yu paid it no mine since Youta and Fu were a good pair. Instead of worrying alone like a scientist, he gathered between Youta and Fu as they were chatting like shinobi.

This epic milestone would be remembered for years to comd.

Yutaru knew the Knooha Hyuuga lines history quite well, his mother a graduate princess of the royal Dojo. However she hadn't been known for that, and the missing ninja gave her sin her own version to the story. This version Yutaru knew was probably better kept under his breath, and Yu was just happily smiling in agreement. [Cilor=teal]"Yeah Fu, they built a great village into a global village. Quite the group of leaders."[/color] Yu didn't go beyond that and instead activated his Byakugan. 

The blue eyed jewel was trengthened by his chajra, and Yutaru could see what was ahead. Thebgroup walked on for quite a while, mostly staggering when their different Soujutsu would be used. Yutaru saw a lot of action checking under rocks, and nothing would come to pass for a whole day's worth of rummaging in the allotted sand. 

Yu wasn't much of a shinobi, but he was familiar with foraging for rare items. As they decided on a night time campsite he used soft claps of wind from his hand to clear the path. Anyone looking for them would have to be smart, and onto them already.

The group was sitting down by a sand dug hole filled with some embers brought by Yu from the Hoshi Village ninja shop. A special pot roast was heating up, and the top began to top side to side as it was done. 

The day had been useless, but they were where they needed to be and another day was sure to come.


WordCount: 337