Hot Boy Summer

The Sun, The Sea, and The Sand!:

Summer Days Driftin Away:

Summer Lovin', Had Me a Blast:

Summer Lovin', Happened So Fast:

Taking a break from his life as a ninja on the run, Auron looked to rest up at the inn he had been staying in. The recent string of missions he had found himself completing could be described as manual labor. It was honest work, but nothing overly exciting. Instead he had felt as nothing more than a cog in the wheel the majority of the time. At best, an appreciated hand for hire. And truthfully it became draining, not just physically but mentally as well. As a shinobi who saw himself as capable and crafty, he began to lose sight of his purpose. It almost as if his life had been reduced to nothing more than a lackey. Infuriating. In any case as he laid in his bed, he would find himself drifting off rather quickly. His mind relaxed alongside his body and soon he'd be deep in slumber. As he slept, the environment around him would transition into that of a place he had never been. The cold room he laid within would heat up, and the bed he laid upon would coarsen into a grainy texture. The sound of the wind whistling through his window shifted into the sound of waves crashing upon a shoreline. And though Auron was ignorant to these transitions while he was sleeping, something had felt...off. But his slumbered subconscious would not alert him of it, for it did not feel any level of danger. Not until the sound of rustling footsteps began to approach him. And as they came closer, they became louder. In a sudden Auron would lift his torso up and prop himself from a prone to a sitting position. Instinctively he'd grab ahold of his Shimmering Blade which had laid next to him, in preparation of defending himself. But when his eyes would fall upon the stranger before him his entire demeanor would calm.

It was a young boy, no more than 5 that didn't seemed alarmed by Auron's rapid movement. Instead he stood in a friendly and juvenile fashion holding a bucket and pail in hand. Auron would raise an eyebrow upon observing the child, then peer off behind him to notice the background: sand and ocean. Confused, he'd first assume he was in a dream. None of this had been real, as he was certain he fell asleep in the inn. And though he had heard of the beach, he had never even been to one. Hell, he didn't even know how to get to one. So for now he just decided to play it safe. 

"Uhm mister, can you help me?"

Looking upon this child, the Yamaguchi was reminded of the gentle nature of Aihara. He smiled softly underneath the cover of his mask. "What do you need help with?"

"Well, my mommy and daddy are angry and I want to build a sand castle but they won't help me 'cuz they're angry. So you have to."

Even more confused now, Auron would scoff. Just what kind of dream was this? "Uh, okay. Sure." Auron would say as he propped himself to his feet and towered over the child. "Where do you want to build it?"

The kid would turn and point off in the direction of the water. He'd sprint over, and Auron would shake his head. What a day. Walking over towards the child, he'd notice a small group of people in the vicinity of the start of a sand castle. There was a man and a woman nearby, in somewhat of a shouting match. As Auron neared them he could overhear them fussing about how the firework show was canceled and how it was going to ruin their honeymoon. Paying little attention to this, he proceeded towards the child who had apparently already seemed to recruit several other people to work on this sand castle with him. Clearly he was a hustler.

"I didn't realize you already had help. Did this kid con you guys into this too?" Auron would ask as he fell to his knees and began compacting wet sand with his hands to expand on the start of the sand castle being created. From the looks of it, the project was almost done. But this ambitious child surely wanted it as magnificent and large as possible.

WC = 716

Auron would extend his hand outward to meet that of Travin as he worked on the sand castle. It was hot, and bright. So much so that Auron could barely make out the appearance of the stranger. In any case once he sat down and got to work, he'd respond to Travin's introduction. "I'm Auron, and yeah I can tell. I didn't know he was running a whole operation here." 

While the Yamaguchi worked, he'd passively eavesdrop in on the argument the kid's parent's were having. It seemed petty and like they were just bickering, especially over some fireworks? They didn't even pay attention to their child. And their frustration over the honeymoon didn't seem like enough justification to make their whole trip a bust. Or to warrant their child to resort to recruiting two strangers to play with him. It was weird, and certainly felt like nothing more than a dream. But after some time passed and the castle was complete, Auron would look over towards Travin and offer a nod of acknowledgement. "Alright, I think we're all down here. Hey kid, let's see if we can help your parents out. They should be the ones playing with you."

"Well thanks mister..." the child responded in a lowered and dismissive tone.

Auron would rise to his feet, brush the sand off of his attire, and walk the several meters over to the parents. He assumed Travin would follow, unless of course he wanted to build sand castles all day. Once close enough, the parents would cease their argument and simultaneously offer rude glances at Auron and Travin. "What is it that you want?"

"Uh..." Auron began, unsure of why they had been so hostile to the pair after they just helped out the child. "I'm Auron, this is Travin. We've been entertaining your child while you've been over here. Seeing as neither of us should be damned to play with sand all day, I'd like to offer at least my own hand in resolving your problem. I overheard you two mentioning the beach's firework festival going south due to the fireworks being ruined. Point me in direction of where we could find who is organizing the firework show and you have my word that it will be resolved. All I ask you to do is...just spend time with your kid."

Exchanging looks at each other, the parents would shrug and soften their coarse expressions. "I...I guess..." the woman whimpered out as she pointed north of the shoreline towards where a large gathering was. Following this she led the charge towards their child. After, Auron started to walk towards the gathering alongside Travin. "So where are you from?" he'd ask to make some small talk.

WC = 455. TWC = 1171

This Travin had been the first shinobi that the Yamaguchi had met from Sunagakure. It was a land that he had only heard tales of, which supposedly was renowned for its open door policy towards missing shinobi. It had been something refreshing, but almost too good to be true. Almost like it was a set up. At least that's what his intuition had told him. For a moment he was tempted to ask Travin more about what Sunagakure had been like, but considering the admitted relationship that he had with the Kazekage that might not have been a good idea. To Auron at least, it was never a great idea to get too close to authorities. But for now Travin seemed okay. He seemed young, like Auron. And equally as misplaced on this beach as well. For what it was worth, it seemed like it was in the both of their best interests to assist each other.

"Congratulations, I imagine your ability must speak for itself. Tell me, how did you end up here? And...where are we exactly?" Auron would ask as the pair proceeded up the beach. He thought this had been a dream but the details of it seemed all too thorough. In the case this was reality, he wanted to deduce any clues there were as to how he got here. When Travin would respond, Auron would pause momentarily to take in whatever intel he had and reflect internally. The day was all too strange. But when this conversation concluded, they'd arrive towards the fire work show's starting place.

"Are you the help?" a voice from the crowd would call out. Suddenly the whole group would shift their attention towards Auron and Travin. Pushing through the crowd was a single man, shorter than Auron and stockier as well. He had glasses on, making him seem more technical and intelligent at face value. But considering his presumed situation with the fireworks, he couldn't be that bright. "If you're here to help, then can you run to the boardwalk and grab my extra supply of fireworks. It's a bit far and the show starts soon. I don't think I'm quick enough to get there in time but you...two, one of you may be?"

Auron somewhat shrugged in response. "Well, what's in it for us?"

"I'll pay! In advance! And I'll allow you two to have last minute entries in our Marathon. It starts as soon as the fireworks are concluded, and extends all the way down to that lighthouse in the distance!"

With the man's offer, he would rummage through his pockets and toss two small bags of ryo towards both Auron and Travin. This was all the convincing that Auron needed honestly. And so he'd nod at the man, and turn to Travin. "Well, money talks I guess. Let's do this."

Following this, Auron would run off towards the direction of the boardwalk. His natural base speed was vast, allowing him to make short work of the long distance there was. When he'd arrive, he'd see a series of large bins and bags propped underneath a tent off in the shade. That had to have been the man's stash. And so Auron rushed over to it and immediately poked around in the inventory. Within it there were tons of various styles of fireworks, the kinds that Auron didn't even know how to operate. But that wasn't important. The crucial part was getting the fireworks to the organizer. As he slung a couple bags across his body, he'd see Travin running up shortly after him. 

"Feel free to take what you can haul. I'm guessing this is enough?"

The instructions they received were vague, so the Yamaguchi assumed whatever help they offered would be sufficient. Or at least he hoped it was. So once they were loaded up, the pair would book it back towards the gathering. Luckily the two men were relatively quick so the entire process didn't take too much time. They'd be welcomed with applause and cheers, which Auron was not accustomed to. And of course...more instruction.

"Alright, help me position these fireworks for takeoff!"

The man would grab ahold of one of the bags from Auron's shoulder, and toss it on the ground. He'd rummage through it and retrieve and number of fireworks and begin setting them up like a mad man. Auron just followed his lead, and he assumed Travin would too. Quite frankly this work sucked, but it was simple. And he already got paid. When all the fireworks were unloaded, the man would instruct everyone to stand back. Just moments later he'd set off the series of fireworks which would fly into the air before combusting into a miraculous sight. Even Auron marveled at the visuals, but not for long as he could see the group running off in the distance to prepare for the marathon. 

"Travin, you up for this run?" Auron would ask before walking away from the group of spectators and towards the band of runners. As the fireworks concluded, all of the runners including Auron would line up at the starting line. About a minute later, an audible countdown was shouted out from the sidelines of "Three...Two...One!" And with that, everyone was off. Auron would sprint full speed initially, misinterpreting the purpose of the marathon as being a race. Though his speed was commendable, several glances backwards would indicate that the other participants were treating this as a game of endurance. They ran at a controlled and well paced manner, and seemed surprised that Auron was full on sprinting. But he didn't care. To him the purpose was to finish the race, and he'd be damned if he finished after anyone else. Therefore he'd maintain his accelerated pace, and grudgingly breathe heavier and heavier the longer this went off. Though his stamina reserves were decent, they weren't magnificent. And expending chakra almost seemed easier than running at this fast speed. But at least it felt like he was in the lead. And as he ran, the feet would turn to yards and the yards would turn into miles. The sun would set, and the winds on the beach would start to cool down. It had gotten chilly and dark within what seemed like minutes of the race starting. Nevertheless he didn't let this affect him. Instead he just persevered. Still under the impression that he was in the lead, he'd slow down to a controlled jog and look behind himself. He'd notice Travin just behind him, and so he'd match the Sunagakure shinobi's pace.

"I guess this isn't a race, huh?" Auron would ask with a slight chuckle and a deep exhale. "If you're around after today, we should link back up and see what work we could find. I need the ryo, and you seem alright by me." The Yamaguchi would stick around for as long as Travin spoke with him. Aside from Grey, Cid, and Aihara he seemed to be someone who he could get some work done with. His original squad had still been back in Earth Country, but it had been some time since he had seen them last. Interestingly enough it seemed as if fate had been leading him to other people. Maybe this was a sign that venturing West wasn't as fruitful as returning East. Well at least he assumed he was East. In any case Auron would nod and offer the peace sign to Travin before speeding up and taking off. The last thing he'd say to the man tonight was simply, "Alright yeah, that sounds good to me! I'll catch up with you tomorrow."

Finally Auron would sprint off until he finally reached the lighthouse. There he'd collect his reward, then head off in the direction of the boardwalk again. It seemed like there had been some housing there. The last thing he wanted to do was sleep outside in this cold. But with all the people he helped out tonight, maybe he'd sleep with a clear conscious and a sense of fulfillment.

WC = 1343. TWC = 2514

- Exit -
Mission Rewards: 
- 1,000 Ryo / 5 AP
- 1,000 Ryo / 5 AP
- 2,000 Ryo / 10 AP
- 2,000 Ryo / 10 AP
Starting Ryo = 3000
New Ryo Total = 9000
Starting Bonus AP = 100
New Bonus AP = 130

25% Max Stat Discount:
- 590 WC towards Sensory Specialty (1500/1500); Rest trained here
- 1125 WC towards Hiding Within Camouflage (1125/1125)
- 799 WC towards Mind's Eye of the Kagura (799/1875)

Event Tickets:
- 2 E Rank Missions = 10 Tickets
- 2 D Rank Missions = 20 Tickets
Total Tickets = 30

“Thanks, and to be honest I have no idea where we are, I went to sleep last night in my bed and woke up on this beach this morning. It was a bit troubling waking up where I didn’t go to sleep, so I did some recon first thing and found a sign saying Mikadzuki beach. I’ve never heard of it before, but I've yet to leave Suna either. On my way back to the beach to try and find others, I ran into a cart that was selling these fruity drinks called Mai Tai’s. After getting one, I returned to where I awoke, thinking that there could be others nearby. 

It didn’t take the two long before they were at the crowd with a heavy set fellow yelling at them wanting to know if they were the help. Once again Travin simply let Auron take the lead after all the man had yet to steer them in the wrong direction. After some negotiating, the two were paid to go and get some fireworks from down further on the beach. It seamed like an easy enough job, and Travin agreed upon catching his loot bag. With that the two were off, and Travin noticed that he was not as fast as Auron having to push himself to keep up. Once they arrived, Travin rested for a second, breathing heavy with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. After a second, he started to control his breathing. Breathing in his nose and out his mouth to help steady himself. Catching his breath and picking up a couple bundles of fireworks, the duo was back at it again, running back. The run back was no better and reminded Travin that he desperately needed to work on his physical attributes, even if it was just his running time. It has been a weakness of his for a long time, and he had gotten used to letting his ninjutsu do all the heavy lifting with his massive chakra reserves. However, now he was seeing the need of at least being able to run for a long distance. 

Upon returning, Travin dropped the bundle in the sand and nearly fell over, his breathing pattern having fell to shit. A random person in the crowd gave him a bottle of water with a thanks. Travin chugged the bottle, taking deep breaths in between drinks, as Auron and the man started to set up the fireworks. Travin finished the bottle of water and jogged over to give them a hand, grabbing a bundle and placing them in the ground like they were. It seamed that some fireworks needed to be close together, while others needed to be spread further apart. The guy explained that it was all do to the timing of the explosions with some stuff that Travin didn’t understand completely, but he got the jest of it. With the fireworks set up, the man motioned everyone back for safety as he lit the fuse. 

However, the fireworks hadn’t even gotten to It's big finally when everyone started to move over to the marathon line. “About as ready as I'm ever going to get” Travin said with a bit of strain in his voice. The run to the fireworks had been a marathon for him, just trying to keep up with Auron. However, Travin knew that there was a difference in sprinting and running a marathon. With everyone on the line, the gun fired off, and they were all off. Auron ran like the devil himself was after him. Letting Travin know that this man had never run a marathon, in his life. Neither had Travin having no reason to until today, but he knew that you had to pace yourself, so Travin kept a good 10 or 15 meters ahead of everyone but Auron knowing that he would catch him as the man slowed. 

Travin had a few advantages over Auron for this marathon. Travin was born and raised in Suna and was used to running on sand, something that slowed most people down due to its lake of consistency. Travins plan was working, he was slowly catching up to Auron and gaining distance on the other runners, it was about the halfway mark that Travin had caught up with Auron and had created a solid distance between himself and the others. A little further, and he was within talking distance from Auron who said that this wasn’t a race. Slightly out of breath, Travin could tell. “No, this is long distance running, it's about who can run the longest not the fastest” Travin said with a slight chuckle between his breaths. While he was still good to go for a while longer and would finish the race at this point with no problems, he was starting to feel the burn in his legs and side a bit. “Yea that sounds good, I can always use the money, but plus I have no idea where here is so unless I wake up in my bed in the morning like this was all a dream than I'll still be here” Travin told him. “How about we meet up on the boardwalk tomorrow sometime, and we can grab some breakfast and figure out how the hell we're going to get out of here, or where here even is” Travin added as the two ran side by side now. Auron agreed and then kicked up another notch, taking off from Travin once more. Who just shook his head, thinking that he would never learn what a marathon was.

However, not wanting to be out done, Travin kicked up another notch as well, catching back up and using the last of his stamina to cross the finish line just behind Auron. Travin hit his knees for a moment and the man came over and handed Travin his winnings before going back to the table he would have a little wait before anyone else crossed that finish line, Travin knew that much. However, he still had one problem, he had nowhere to stay. After taking a few moments to catch his breath and let the burning sensation die down. Travin got up and started walking into town. There had to be a motel or something near the boardwalk, he thought.

WC-1052 TWC-2296

Exit
mission rewards
-1k ryo/5ap
-1k ryo/5ap
-2k ryo/10ap
-2k ryo/10ap
starting ryo 500
new ryo total 5,500
ap gained 30

stats gained 22. 20 into vigor, 2 into speed
1500 WC towards Shadow clone
500 WC to Body flicker
250 WC to Genjutsu Release

Event Tickets
-2 E ranks=10 tickets
-2 D ranks=20 tickets
total tickets=30

Approved