Summer Freedom on the Beach

4-Person Team:
Dracoso Hehane
Heroshi Hamatoi
Karma Ushitora

Missions Targeted in this Thread:

The Sun, The Sea, and the Sand!:

Summer Days, Driftin' away:

Summer Lovin', Had Me a Blast:

Summer Lovin', Happened So Fast:

Teen Beach Movie:

Surf's Up!:

Cast Away:

Baywatch:

Endless Summer:

Jaws:

Jaws:

Pirates of the Caribbean:

{Enter}

Dracoso had spent most of his life at home or in the village asking questions. Stepping out onto the sand, he felt a bit overprepared. The sun fell squarely on him as he stood in his lightweight bodysuit. His teacher had suggested heading out to see the ocean and told him to bring plenty to enjoy his time at the beach. He figured that meant to bring the tools he would need to deal with any problems that might arise. He didn't think that meant suntan lotion.

He adjusted his bodysuit so he was not complete covered, even with Sutsui loving the closeness the outfit presented. The sand was a new sensation to him, and the crashing of the waves gave an ongoing sense of peace to him. At least, they would if it was not for the child who had run up to him and demanded his team to build him a sandcastle. He raised an eyebrow and asked the child why he wanted a sandcastle and if he was here alone. The child shook his head and pointed at a couple who were bickering nearby. They, along with two other couples, were arguing over how bringing a child on their honeymoon had ruined any real chance to intimacy. From what he could overhear, it turns out that all three groups had agreed to this trip, but two of the couples had brought their kids.

This would be his first mission spent with allies he had met during his travel to the beach. Two were relatively new to the shinobi experience, similar to him, while the other had been his proctor for his Genin exams. The child started by yelling, only to deflate and ask the team to help. A little girl walked over and looked to the four of them and said, "they couldn't get anyone to watch us, so our parents took us with them. They have been arguing ever since we arrived and try not to yell around us, but it doesn't help. We just want to build a sandcastle, so we at least have one good memory while we are here." The kids looked dejectedly down at their feet and Dracoso gave them a soft smile. "Well, hey, if that cost of a good memory is a couple of sandcastles, then we can do that with ease," he said. Dracoso figured that building a sandcastle for each kiddo would give them some time to enjoy together and separately in their own way.

Dracoso started by pulling out his scroll and releasing some water out into the nearby sand. He worked alongside the team, trying to make pockets of wet sand so it would stick together a bit better while making trips to the ocean to collect more. As the sandcastles were being built up, the parents arguing nearby only worsened. He couldn't tell which was louder, the crashing waves or the roaring couples. He helped to build the main base of each castle, clones assisting where they could, before he headed off in the direction of the parents.

As he approached, one of the women threw up their arms in frustration and walked off, her husband chasing after her. The other two couples just crossed their arms and alternated between shooting glares and then refusing to look at one another. He shook his head as he walked up and said, "plenty of space for silence it seems." The four looked in his direction, a bit surprised, before returning to their frustration. "Yeah, well these two brought their kids on a honeymoon trip!" one of the husbands exclaimed, pointing a finger at the other couple. "What were we supposed to do?! We couldn't get a sitter and now we can't even get peace on our trip! We were just asking if you couple watch them for part of the trip so that we could get some alone time!" the wife of the accused party responded.

"It's not our responsibility that you brought your children on our trip! They are your children, so you watch them and don't blame us for your choices!" The wife of the first couple stated. They seemed right about ready to get back into the fighting when Dracoso used his ventriloquism to exclaim above them, "TAKE A BREATH." Both couples jumped back, looking around above them anxiously to figure out where the sound had come from. Dracoso rubbed the back of his neck and said to the couples, "Listen. Me and my team just got here and we are planning to be pretty active for the next couple of days. We are already building a sandcastle with both of the children, and they seem comfortable with us. Why not let us keep an eye on them? There is a marathon coming up as well as some fireworks tonight where we could watch over them." The parental couple looked at each other nervously, "we aren't all that comfortable with leaving our kids with someone we literally just met."

"I can understand that. My name is Dracoso and I am one of the ninja of the Kirigakure village. As is Karma and Shikami, the Jounin over there. Heroshi is from Hoshikagure and is also a very capable ninja in his own right," he explained to the couple. They seemed to calm down at the mention of a Jounin and spoke softly to one another. After a couple of minutes, they nodded and said, "Ok, but make sure you stay on the beach and do not go too far out of sight." Dracoso agreed as the wife of the second couple, still looking frustrated, said, "Yeah, well that handles the kids, but it still doesn't handle how you dealt with it," before pointing a finger at her husband. The man looked at her confused as she walked off. Dracoso sighed and decided that he needed to keep an eye on the kids, Maybe someone else on his team could handle the other two couples who had walked off.

{WC - 1003}

Heroshi woke up for the day more excited than ever, today was the day he would get to go to the beach for the very first time. He hadn’t ever left Hoshigakure so he was beyond excited when he heard the news that he would be able to go to the beach. He used to not be as interested in making friends as he is now, but the beach would be open to other shinobi from other villages and Heroshi had seldom interactions with Shinobi from other villages. This would be neutral ground where there was to be no fighting between the shinobi, they left it outside the beach. Heroshi would get ready for the day by putting on loose-fitting clothes such as cargo shorts and a white tank top, with some slippers for the sand. Heroshi’s complexion meant that he could burn after a few minutes in the sun, which meant he also brought sunscreen and a big sun hat that would help protect his neck. He would also bring a beach umbrella he had been loaned from his dad, and some sunglasses to help keep the sun out of his eyes. With that Heroshi would run to the meeting place to get teleported to the beach.

Heroshi would enter the beach excited to get some rays and meet new people. He was there for a few minutes before he ran into a Shinobi named Dracoso. Dracoso was a shinobi from Kirikagure, he was taller than Heroshi, and his hair reminded Heroshi of a stream of water. Dracoso didn’t seem like the run-of-the-mill shinobi, he was kind and approachable. Heroshi introduced himself and was in the middle of a conversation with Dracoso when another small child approached the group that had been formed between the four shinobi. The child started yelling about needing help with a sandcastle and how they were a burden to their parent’s honeymoon. Heroshi told the children that they could play with them and Heroshi had been watching the other castle builders on the beach and how they were using water and buckets without a bottom to make their castle. The children along with the three others would help the children build exquisite sandcastles. Dracoso kept getting distracted by the yelling parents, but Heroshi was used to it, so he started blocking it out. Until it reached a climax.

Heroshi would have gone to confront the parents, but Dracoso was already on it. He had performed some jutsu to make his voice project and it freaked Heroshi out a little bit. It also worked on the adults, because they weren’t being loud anymore, he heard Dracoso mention a marathon and fireworks, and this piqued Heroshi’s interest, he hadn’t been a part of any organized sports in his life. He didn’t want to let his new group of friends down, so he would use any means to help his team win that coveted first place when the time came. For now, Dracoso looked a little dejected with dealing with the parents and the other couple so Heroshi would take the helm on this one and chase one of the other couples that took off down the beach. “I’ll be back after I get this couple to calm down.” Heroshi would say rushing past Dracoso to reach the couple before they got too much of a lead.
Heroshi would reach the couple after a few minutes of running, they were still arguing when Heroshi caught up. “I told you not to invite Tayoa and Fiaki! They have kids and you know how I feel about kids. I should have just stayed home.” The woman would tell her husband while he was desperately trying to calm his wife down to no avail. They wouldn’t even notice the young shinobi from Hoshigakure until the brim of his oversized hat would brush against their leg. “Watch where you’re going kid, can’t you see we’re trying to have a privet conversation?” The woman would say sticking her nose up at Heroshi. “I don’t think it’s a privet conversation when all of the beaches can hear what you’re saying, ma’am.” Heroshi would respond sarcastically. “Is there any way I can help you guys with your problem, from what I’ve gathered from briefly following you, your problem isn’t with the other couples, but the fact that the kids are here?” Heroshi would finish by asking a leading question one that he already had an idea the answer would be. “If the kids weren’t here, I think we’d be having way better of a time, all they want is our attention when we’re trying to relax. No offense.” The wife would say looking at the young shinobi that she might not have known was a shinobi. “That’s fine, none taken.” Heroshi would allow that slight to be overlooked, “My friends and I have already assumed responsibility for the children at this point, we’ll hang out with them and keep them from your vacation, how about you go back and hang out with your friends?” Heroshi would ask gesturing towards the couple they had just left. 

Everyone agreed to go back and have the best vacation they could, Heroshi felt like he did good, and would walk back to Dracoso. “I got that couple back I saw the annoyance on your face. Want to go back to building sandcastles now that we’ve handled the adults and their problems?” Heroshi would ask without waiting for a response he would head back to the other squad members and the children.

Heroshi would go back to helping the children build a wonderful castle out of the sand, and there were no more interruptions from adults screaming and arguing about who was ruining the vacation. The beach was back to its almost serene state, where everyone was just enjoying themselves and the warm cheerful atmosphere where one could forget about country lines and who is at war with who, here they were all a bunch of beach bums enjoying the beach with each other. Heroshi was glad to meet his new friends and even the other kids that they were helping, there was no place like Mikadzuki Beach in Heroshi’s mind. Heroshi would decide to go for a swim in the ocean because he had never swum in the ocean before, when he got to the water, he expected it to be frigid, but it was pretty warm. Heroshi wasn’t the strongest swimmer but the water wasn’t too deep and there were too many people around to feel much danger. And the more Heroshi thought about it the more he thought he could use his jutsus in case of emergency.

While swimming was fun, he saw others with long ten to twelve-foot swimming boards Heroshi would soon learn were actually called surfboards, he would run up to Dracoso and ask him if he’s ever been surfing before and if he wanted to give it a try with him. “Dracoso, it looks like so much fun. I literally watched a guy get swallowed up by the surf and then come out the other side!” Heroshi would exclaim with such enthusiasm anyone would be motivated to at least check it out. “It’s okay if you say no, I know I’m going to check it out,” Heroshi said as he ran towards the surf shop careful to not kick sand on people enjoying themselves in the sun. When Heroshi reached the surf shop he looked back at Dracoso and then at the shopkeeper. “I’ll take two ten-foot boards please.” He would request from the shopkeeper and he would get them handed to him as the board would be double his size Heroshi could only take one at a time unless Heroshi would produce a shadow clone to help him carry a surfboard over to his new friend. “Come learn to ride these waves with me?” Heroshi would hand his fellow shinobi a surfboard.


WC: 1321

mission 1:

Mission 2:

One hot summer day, Karma was walking down the roads in Kirigakure when she heard someone call out to her. As she turned to see who had called her, she noticed Dracoso standing just a few meters away. She hadn’t talked to him much before. However, she had seen him around the village running around helping out with missions. She waved to him and said, “What’s up?” He looked at her and motioned for her to follow. As they walked, he started talking about a place his teacher mentioned which could be a good place to train. He went on to say that working in a team could be beneficial for everyone on the team. She followed and asked, “ Would it be okay? I mean I've never really been somewhere like that. I would like to help though if that is something that you need.” As they continued walking, she noticed around her that they were no longer in the sand village. The scenery around her looked a lot more populated with tall and strange trees that seemed to have brown spheres hanging from them.

Looking around, Karma could hardly believe her eyes. The once desert surroundings she was used to now were completely different. The sand seemed finer and the air had so much more life, blowing her hair around instead of the normal stillness in her home village. There was a long beach in front of her full of people. The sound of gulls, water, and laughter filled the air. She looked over at Dracoso with wonder. As she did, she heard the sound of people arguing nearby. She turned to look over and saw a few couples arguing. Nearby, Dracoso seemed to have seen some people he knew and was bringing them over.

Karma looked down as she felt a tug on her shirt. What she saw was a small child and he asked,” Miss, would you build a sand castle for us? Our parents are over there and they couldn't get anyone to watch us, so our parents took us with them. They have been arguing ever since we arrived and try not to yell around us, but it doesn't help. We just want to build a sandcastle, so we at least have one good memory while we are here.” Karma smiled and asked Dracoso and the rest of the group if they would also help with building the sand castles. As she started to pile the sand and dig out a little bit for where the sandcastle would be, Dracoso released the water in his scroll onto the sand. Karma started to form the sand into a pile and shape it into the walls of the sand castle. While she worked, she heard more and more yelling from the couples on the beach.

Looking over, she saw Dracoso walk over towards them and started talking. A few of them seemed to calm down and walked away. “I’ll be right back.”, she said to the kids. Walking toward one of the still arguing couples, Karma noticed that one of them seemed to be crying. She asked,” are you ok, ma’am?” The woman seemed to be more upset about something else than the other couples had brought their kids. The woman said, “ well, I don’t see how this is any of your concern.” “Well ma’am, I couldn't help but notice. All I want is to help if I can and make this a good vacation for everyone if possible.” The woman seemed shocked for a second, but she seemed to collect her thoughts and said, “ I lost a child years ago, I couldn't take it so the man I was with at the time left me. I can’t have kids anymore, and I can't stand hearing them. The last time I heard the sound of a child was in a village raid years ago. It was the sound of my little girl screaming for help. That was the last time I heard her.”

Karma looked at the woman with sympathy and said,” I understand that it is hard for you, and I am very sorry for your loss. However, there are other ways you could have kids, you could adopt, or foster. I know it can be hard, but it is a valid way. Also, I know you may not be used to children, but there is a better way than getting mad. People are going to have kids, it's how you handle it that will make all the difference.” The woman looked like she was shocked and then looked to think about it for a moment. “ I may have misjudged that couple. I also may have misjudged you too, dear. I let my own emotions control my actions and words. Maybe i should apologize and offer to watch the children for a little while. That may get me used to taking care of them and might help me through the feelings I have. Thank you, dear. I really appreciate you coming over to talk. I may even take what you suggested.”

Karma smiled and said,” well, I know the pain of losing someone. I also know to truly be happy afterward, you have to move past it. Don’t forget that it happened, just move past it. Life has a way of going in directions you may not want, but it usually ends up taking you where you need to go.” As she finished talking, Karma saw one of the children out of the corner of her eye come over. The child asked if the woman would help build the sand castle with them. The women seemed hesitant at first. After a few moments, she seemed to relax and really have fun with the children. Karma smiled and returned to her group. This was a job well done in her eyes.

WC:974

Dracoso sighed as he watched the couple run off, one chasing the other. He figured he was here to have fun and apply his skills, but he did not quite expect to have so many people struggling with their trips. He glanced back to see Karma crouching a little way off, talking to another couple. The woman seemed to be recovering from crying while the man was unsure how to react. Karma appeared to be handling the situation well and from the looks of it, they were getting ready to spend some time with a third child that had appeared. Karma had seemed young and unsure of herself at first, but she seemed to truly immerse herself once she was in the thick of a situation. She had been nervous that morning when he had spotted her as well...

"I'll be back after I get this couple to calm down," was all he heard as he came back from his reminiscing. Heroshi went running by him towards the couple who had just walked off. Dracoso watched him for a few minutes as he caught up and seemed to engage them in a similar way to how he had. Their irritation quickly turned into contemplation before they seemed to be in an agreement. Dracoso leaned towards the couple that was still beside him and said, "It looks like my friend talked them down a bit." The couple looked up and seemed to sigh in relief. Dracoso turned to them and said, "Look, I can understand wanting to enjoy your trip out here and wanting some time to yourselves. I know you were not able to get someone to watch the kids, but it was still your choice to come on this trip. I do not mean to sound insensitive, but it may be good to keep in mind that they also came here to have fun. Try showing them that you understand their side of it and they may be more open to understanding yours," he suggested to them. Their attitudes seemed a bit deflated as the other couple came back over with Heroshi leading. 

The two couples seemed to have both wound down a bit from their earlier tensions and were talking again. Heroshi let him know that they he had brought the couple back and asked to build the sandcastles with the kids, running off before he could reply. He smiled after them and watched as Heroshi and Karma helped them to build sandcastles with the parents. He thought back to that morning when he first ran into Karma before they had traveled to the beach.

He had just left from the academy where his teacher had told him a bit about the upcoming event. "It is not all that unusual for people to open a dimensional rift from time to time when certain groups plan to have meetings or share in events. We received word a few days before this one that they were going to have some kind of beachside activity. They are even offering some unique prizes, depending on what catches your interest," his teacher had explained. Dracoso had asked for a bit more detail, but his teacher did not want to 'ruin the surprise'. His teacher had told him to simply head out from a specific village gate and to focus on the idea of a 'beachside party' and that they would be transported to the event.

Dracoso felt a bit silly at the idea of wishing something into existence, especially after all his training. He figured that the dimensional portal was set up to make sure normal or uninterested parties did not randomly end up there. He shrugged and focused on his path towards the village gate when he spotted a young ninja heading in a similar direction. As he was interested in exploring team missions, he had asked his old teacher if he had any suggestions on newer shinobis who might benefit from teaming up. The teacher had described a few of the newer ninjas who had graduated around the same time as Dracoso and the description of one came to mind.

"Hey there, are you Karma?" he called out to her. She looked back him in surprise and had asked, "what's up?" He smiled and introduced himself as he motioned for her to follow him. He explained his interest in exploring as a team and described the upcoming event with the possibility of unique items that were being offered. Karma asked about whether it would be ok and Dracoso assured her that this was a normal occurrence, apparently, and that they just had to travel with the destination in mind. As they walked out of the gate and made their way out into the open lands, the scenery began to shift. Little by little, the plains gave way to sand, and the sound of the wind gave way to the sound of waves. Moments later, they were standing on the edge of a beach with many other shinobis expressing their surprise.

One young ninja had run ahead of the rest of the shinobis and seemed excited to have arrived. He was well prepared with an umbrella and sunglasses and seemed ready to take on anything that came his way. A soft smile played across Dracoso's lips as he walked down the beach towards the boy. "Quite a sight to see," he had said as he got close. He scanned the waves as he spoke, "my name is Dracoso. You seem as eager to engage in this event as I was in asking questions at your age." The boy had introduced himself as Heroshi. They had chatted for a time before the children had shown up and their first activity had been decided.

Karma seemed like someone who was cautious, but willing to get involved to help. She seemed to have a lot on her mind during the walk and was always trying to be aware of those around her. Heroshi seemed straightforward with his efforts and dove into whatever his interest was at the time. He was a bit blunt, but it made him more honest in how he expressed himself, so it came off as a positive point. For a first team, Dracoso felt like they were well-rounded.

Dracoso headed back over with the couple and started to put on some of the finishing touches on some of the sandcastles. After an hour or so, Dracoso realized that Heroshi had slipped away. just as he began to look for the young ninja, Heroshi came running back up, exclaiming about men in the 'surf' and the desire to try doing it as well. Before he could respond, Heroshi ran off towards one of the stands nearby with what appeared to be large shaped wooden planks. Dracoso looked back at the water and saw several people riding similar looking planks and were sliding along the water like a sled through the snow. He asked one of the parents what they were doing, and the woman responded, "oh, they are surfboarding. They use the board to balance in the water and ride along the wave. If you are good with your feet, you can even ride inside the wave when it becomes like a pipe." 

Dracoso tried to imagine riding one of those boards through a pipe made of water and felt like it would collapse around him at any time. He stood up to get a better look right as Heroshi ran up with a board that was almost twice Dracoso's height. "Come learn to ride these waves with me?" Heroshi had asked as Dracoso felt a bit nervous but nodded to him. He lifted the board, which felt much lighter than he expected, and headed down toward the waves. He paused after a few feet and turned back towards the kids to see that they were nodding off. Dracoso walked back and leaned down as one of the mothers softly helped their child stand. "It looks like all the excitement and activity wore them out for now. We haven't really had a good night's rest since we got here, so maybe a nap is in order. Thank you for keeping an eye on them," she said to the three ninjas. Dracoso smiled and thanked her for trusting in them and hoped that the rest of the trip went well.

After the parents and children had headed off, Dracoso turned back towards the waves and took a deep breath to steady himself. As he walked towards the surf, as Heroshi had called it, he tried to learn what he could from watching the people already riding their boards out in the waves. It seemed like they were keeping their balance by staying low and leaning somewhat with the board to following the path of the wave. They shifted their weight slowly as they moved along the board, as if they were trying to stand on top of a free-running horse. He imagined a few of the jutsu he might apply to this method as he suddenly heard a loud voice announcing nearby that there was a surfing competition going on later that day and that they were welcoming any participants. Dracoso smiled to himself and was glad that he was just learning how to surf for the first time.

As he made his way to the shoreline, he mentioned his thoughts to Heroshi and glanced back to make sure Karma was not getting left behind. He suggested possibly using the surface walking to help with staying on the board and focusing on their balance. From what he had seen, he tried to explain the idea of adjusting with the waves and letting it become natural. He had never ridden anything other than a wagon and one time on a horse, so he tried to explain it to the best of his ability in terms of these two things. After they had finished their chat, Dracoso followed another person on their board and tried to mimic their actions. They began by paddling out, laying down close to the board, until they were with a small group of people on boards. They each seemed to wait until a wave came by and then one or two towards one side or the other would begin paddling to match the speed of the wave, jump to their feet and balance, then slowly ride the wave as it rolled in.

A few waves made the pipe shapes that the woman had mentioned, and the riders slid through them and out the other side with some ease. He was curious what it would be like when the person next to him suddenly started to paddle forward. Dracoso decided to follow him and try to get in the next wave as well. He pushed as quickly as he could, feeling the wave slowly begin to lift him up. The board began to move along with the speed of the wave and Dracoso could feel as if his board was being pushed forward. He leaned his weight slowly with the board and felt it speed up slightly or begin to shift and turn. His front foot began to slip, and he immediately attached it with chakra, feeling the board begin to wobble with his weight now attached to it. He looked quickly at the rider he had gone with and saw the stance the riders took more clearly than he had from the distance. He carefully shifted his weight to stand in a similar form while trying to feel out the movement of the board.

At first, it was like trying to move a rock with just his feet. The wave was jostling him slowly, but he kept his balance long enough to finish the ride. He repeated this, trying to take on more waves as he felt the energy for it, and found that each time he did, it got easier. The board began to feel more like an extension of himself and he was able to start traveling along the side of the wave and change his direction as he went. Occasionally, if it seemed like he was in trouble, he would quickly summon up his water beast below his board to give a bit of extra balance. After a couple of hours of practicing, he was finally able to ride up the top of the wave and even make small jumps before swinging back around. The board at his feet felt almost like a blade in his hands at some points and he was enjoying the feeling. 

As he came in from another wave, Dracoso closed his eyes as he smiled to himself and felt more relaxed than he had earlier. Things seemed to be calming down. "Congratulations on being chosen to join the surf competition!" He opened his eyes and looked at a man who was holding out a waxed piece of paper with a number on it. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "what are you talking about?" The man chuckled and put the paper down in Dracoso's lap and said, "we saw just how quickly you opened up on those waves. You are set to be number one, and we want you in." Dracoso looked around, making sure no one was going to surprise him with anything else before asking, "in what? I thought you had to sign up to be in the competition?" The man put his hands on his hips with a grin and nodded, "well, normally you need to sign up, but when we see talent, we go for it. You, my friend, seem like a natural. You have a way to your board, almost as if the water itself is carrying you. You really stick your footing and keep going, even when it seems like the wave wants you off." 

Dracoso looked down quickly as the man mentioned what sounded like comments about his jutsu. The man continued, "I hope you enjoy the competition and give it your all. You get three waves to really show us what you can do, and we take the best one to compare." Dracoso nodded as the man smiled and walked back towards the announcing booth. He figured he would get it over with sooner rather than later, so he paddled back out and began to ride his waves. The first wave was rather dull as it didn't begin to crest until right before it hit the shore. All Dracoso got out of it was a peaceful ride back and forth across the wave for a warmup. The second wave was a bit better, but he ended up on the wrong half of the wave as it started to break.

As the third wave came up and Dracoso began to paddle, it felt stronger than most that he had ridden that day. He pulled himself forward on it and dug as hard through the water as he could. He barely got in front of the lip of the wave before he went sliding down it. Most of the waves he had ridden that day were three to six feet tall. The one he was on was easily twice the size of the largest waves he had ridden earlier. He felt himself being jolted and jostled the moment he came down the front of the wave and felt as if he was being forced with the wave, rather than riding it. He breathed and tried to feel his weight again, summoning up the water beast below him in an attempt to steady himself, but the wave kept fighting at him. He felt moments where the wave calmed, only to pick back up again. His feet felt like they were becoming numb, and the spray kept washing over him. 

The sound of the wave was deafening and Dracoso had to wipe the salt from his eyes, when suddenly there was a roaring around him. He opened his eyes to find himself inside a full tube of rolling water. It felt like all the sounds of the world had become muffled and nature itself was cradling him in a slowly moving slice of the world. He breathed in and felt his weight following the tube, working his way slowly up the side of wave. It felt like he was connected with the heartbeat of the water in that moment. And in that moment, he let go of his focus. As well as his jutsu.

His feet slipped from the board, and he was suddenly turned upside-down in midair within the tube. His mind raced as it bounced to his board, which had flown up the wave as it was carried away. He threw up the most familiar jutsu that he knew, and two clones appeared directly below him. As he fell towards the water, flashes of panic in his mind, the only thought he had was that he wished his board was back under his feet. His clone had just finished the hand seals and, in a poof of smoke, had transformed into an identical copy of his board. Dracoso landed hard on the board, his knees banging against the wood, as the other clone pushed him back to his feet. He regained his surface hold and used his water beast to rebalance well enough to ride back out of the pipe. As the wave crashed into the shore, Dracoso could hear cheering from several people on the beach. They were clapping as they looked out towards him. He fell down on his rear on the board, his knees aching from the earlier fall, and took his time to catch his breath. Once he had recovered enough, and had applied some medical attention to his knees, he paddled back to shore. 

The announcer, along with a small crowd of people, met him at the edge of the beach and congratulated him on how well the wave went. He thanked them before the announcer told him that he was in a good spot to possibly win the event, but it seemed like a couple other contenders might have a strong hold as well. He would find out later whether or not he won the grand prize, but for now he would at minimum get a consolation money prize for the effort he had put in. With a nod, Dracoso thanked the man and everyone congratulating him before working his way down the beach. Once he was ample distance away from most people, he let the transformed clone board dissipate and sat down near the waves. As he was trying to process what had happened, the soft crunching of approaching footsteps let him know that someone was behind him.

"Hell of a show you put on out there. Most people couldn't even tell that you had switched boards in the middle of that wave," a husky male voice said. Dracoso looked behind him to see a man in a jacket and swim trunks standing with his arms crossed. The man was looking at Dracoso with a sly smirk. Dracoso gave him a cautious shrug and said, "I am not sure what you mean. If I had switched boards, I am pretty sure people would have seen the second one when I paddled out." The man nodded and chuckled, "almost like magic, that board of yours appearing there. I can only imagine it came from the same place that little water animal of yours came from. Same place your knee recovery came from. Wouldn't you agree?"

Dracoso regarded the man carefully, before giving and sigh and asking, "if you know all that, what else do you want from me?" The man seemed to lose some of the slyness to his smirk as he replied, "a bit of help. That stunt you pulled out there may be exactly what I need for my work. I am shooting a movie down the beach and one of my stunt doubles just up and quit on me in the middle of a shoot. On top of that, two of my other actors thought that since this would just be a beach movie, they didn't think to bring their stunt doubles at all!" Dracoso stood up, patting the sand off his pants before turning to the man. "So, how do I fit into all this? I have never been in a movie before." The man chuckled before saying, "obviously. Stunt doubles do not have lines and they do not need to do more than look like the person they represent. If you can make a board appear out of thin air, I think you have the ability to make a person appear out of thin air too."

Dracoso took his meaning as knowing more about what had happened out in the waves and asked, "how do you know all of this? Most of what happened was hidden in the wave." The man grinned and said, "I have amazing eyes for seeing distances and I learned a bit about being a ninja when I was younger. Enough to see other talents when I need to." The man ended on a mysterious note, to which Dracoso simply followed up, "so all you need me to do is provide you with a stunt double for your actor and we are all good?" The man nodded and smiled before saying, "of course. I believe that it is always good to help those who are... in need." He finished by pointing a thumb over his shoulder towards a small tent set up near what appeared to be the movie area. Dracoso looked more closely and realized that a board, which was very similar to the one he had been riding earlier, was standing inside that very tent. With another sigh, Dracoso nodded and said, "I do enjoy helping others, whether or not they have helped me already." The man smirked and nodded again as they headed down the beach together. 

Dracoso figured that his team might be able to fill in for some of the other missing stunt doubles as well or, if it was possible, there might be other sets around to assist. He shrugged as he was ushered off towards the setup. Even though it was bright out, extra lights were set up to give full clarity of each character. Dracoso was given a script that he read through to understand where his clone doubles would be needed. The script was somewhat convoluted. The main actor was a man who had been hired to figure out whether someone's wife was cheating on them or not. As the man got closer to the truth, he got closer to the wife. At the same time, another man fell in love with the protagonist and became irrationally jealous of the two of them. That man then hired hitmen to try to kill the woman while trying to kidnap the protagonist for the other man to 'save' him. It eventually ran out to where the main actor defeated the hitmen, convinced the other man to stop chasing him, and the woman fell in love with him. The ending scene would be a shot in the future of the protagonist marrying the now single woman with the blessing of both the ex-husband and the other man.

Dracoso's head was spinning by the time he finished. So many plot holes and points of convenience blared at him, but he wasn't here to judge, just to assist. The main scenes he saw that he needed to attend to were during a few chase scenes and a couple of the scenes where two or more of the characters ran into confrontations. One example was when the main character was fighting off two pursuers while trying to chase down the woman who had stolen something from him. The man was to tackle the woman as they crested a steep incline on the beach and then roll down the hill to land in the water. Another was when the protagonist needed to wrestle against the man who was in love with him and pin him to convince him to respect his wishes. Luckily for Dracoso, most of the stunt scenes were planned for the same day in the hopes to reduce the impact on the actor's schedules. It was also in the hopes to 'keep energy high' for all the intense scenes. 

It took a few hours and several creations of clones before the scenes were complete. The director thanked Dracoso profusely for his help in his 'most dire of movie moments' before letting him go. Dracoso walked back up the beach, wanting to get away before that man asked for any more favors. He saw Heroshi's umbrella had been set up on the beach towards the waves and figured he would take a break there ahead of the rest of the team. While his clones had been the primary ones to engage in the movies, Dracoso still felt the wear from all the jutsu he had used that day. he figured a nice rest to recover his strength wouldn't be out of the question.

{WC = 4186, Total so far: 5189}

You know that feeling you get when you feel like you’ve known someone forever? Like you just click and you become on the spot best friends with someone? Heroshi had just met this shinobi a few hours earlier and already it was like he had discovered his big brother. He would call him onii-chan and would want to do all the activities on the beach with him. Dracoso had also brought a friend from Kirigakure, of the two of them Dracoso would seem more talkative at first. Heroshi wouldn’t have to put any effort into getting to know Dracoso they got along like two peas in a pod, but he would have to step out of his comfort zone to talk to the kunoichi she was a little bit older than himself, a little taller, but Heroshi wasn’t proficient in talking to girls, and in Hoshigakure he was the youngest shinobi, which had its ups and downs. It was interesting to Heroshi that they had both chosen to become ninjas for their respective villages at such young age. Her name was Karma and she was Dracoso’s friend so she was also Heroshi’s friend whether she liked it or not. Heroshi would attempt to engage Karma after he had seen if Dracoso would want to surf with him.
 
Heroshi would grab a surfboard from the rental shop and bring it to Karma and offer it, “Hey, I don’t know if you want to try, but it looks like fun, doesn’t it? Look at Dracoso go” He would point at their friend figuring out how to ride the waves, and it looked like some serious fun to Heroshi. He would drag his own board to the water and then following Dracoso’s instruction would walk his board out to the surf, but he would differ to his own intuition when it came to learning how to ride. He would walk his board out, and then paddle it out a few more meters while he rode it to feel how it would cut through the water, how when each wave went over the board it would push down, and after the last of the wave passed over his board it would bobble a little. Heroshi would feel this every time he passed through a wave. After a few waves and he tried to memorize the feeling, he would watch the others on their boards paddle towards the shore and as they hit the peak of the wave they would hop up and the ride would begin. Heroshi seeing this found himself confident he too could perform these maneuvers. He would paddle as hard as he could away from the incoming wave and as he reached the peak he would jump up trying to keep his balance, on his first try he would jump up and the board would fly ten meters into the air and would crash hard into Heroshi’s back.
 
Feeling silly, but not defeated he would find his friends and wave and laugh, he really was enjoying this new activity. Heroshi would watch Dracoso figure out how to surf with ease, after a few waves it seemed like he was a professional surfer. Heroshi would watch a few more times as the more experienced surfers would wait for the wave, they felt would be the best for them, and each one would paddle at it until they realized it was the swell they wanted to take, and then they would turn around, paddle as hard as they could the opposite way, hop up and ride the wave towards the shore. Heroshi would try this approach, paddle hard out, paddle even harder in, and then hop up at the crest of the wave. This time he was able to stay on the board only to lose his balance and fall off to the side. Heroshi wasn’t about to give up and leave the water just yet, he had an idea. Heroshi would create a few clones of himself and send them to the equipment rental shack to outfit themselves with a board and they would try to surf as well, three heads are better than one Heroshi would think to himself.
 
Heroshi and his three clones split up so they wouldn’t block other surfers from doing their things, Heroshi had read a sign that told him to be courteous to other surfers and it really stuck with him. So, he wasn’t about to ruin someone else’s trip to Mikadzuki beach experience, so the trio would assume different parts as well to catch different swells. Heroshi would chase a monster of a wave and would attempt to ride it, failing spectacularly, but the insight he gained from this one was about his front and back balance, he would keep his center of gravity lower next time and would go towards the front of the board more and use the whole board rather than stand to the back of it. His next wave wasn’t nearly as big, and he was able to stand up and ride the wave until it diminished, at that point he considered dismissing his shadow clones, but he wanted to try another wave before he did so. When he approached the wave, he paddled as fast as his little arms and legs would carry him and he jumped up onto his board and he caught the wave, he rode it for a little while, but he wasn’t enjoying the ride, it seemed as he was fighting the board the whole time. He would call for his cones to meet up with him on the beach. There he would dismiss the batch and with the learned knowledge for the three of them would give him more experience of riding waves. He would summon two more shadow clones.
 
This time Heroshi was on the water he was looking to improve his form to help make the trip over the water more enjoyable. He and his clones had that as their goal in mind. Each of them would catch wave after wave trying to keep the board under themselves with minimal effort. Heroshi was having the worst time of it and would constantly be fatigued. His time between catching waves was longer and longer each time. He didn’t know if he’d ever be able to figure this out when he got the signal from one of his clones to meet up at the beach. When Heroshi arrived, the clone was too excited to speak, he told Heroshi to release him and Heroshi would learn the trick.
 
After Heroshi released his clone and learned the experiences his clones both had he found he did know a little trick, he would grab his board and head out to the water right away. Heroshi would ride out to the wave wait for the perfect one and paddle as quickly as his body could away from it, as the wave would pick him and his board up he would push off evenly with his arms and legs to a standing position he would spread his one foot in front of the other, and he would be in a low stance, he would ride the wave on the convex so he couldn’t catch the tunnel forming below him, but he was having a blast riding it and he wasn’t fighting his board, but tragedy struck in the form of another person riding into Heroshi. Heroshi would try to avoid the other surfer, but they were headed toward each other and the more experienced surfer tried to turn his board to drop down into the tunnel, but Heroshi ran into him. Heroshi would grab the surfer and bring him to the top of the water and drag him to the shore on his board. The man would reveal to Heroshi that he had been injured in the collision. Heroshi would take him to the lifeguard and they would try to treat his injury. Heroshi would call to Dracoso to aide the man. After he was patched up the man would reveal he was a world-renown surfer and he thought Heroshi could be a skilled surfer if he just had a coach. Heroshi would accept.
 
The man would tell Heroshi to start facing away but to face the direction of the tunnel, he also told Heroshi he shouldn’t be using a ten-foot board, and gifted him a smaller seven-and-a-half-foot board, this he’d be able to do tricks on. Heroshi would ride out with his coach and there he’d be taught how to find tunnel waves and how to approach them, and he’d be taught how to do flips and jumps with his board. Heroshi would use more shadow clones to put this information into practice and would try to learn these cool tricks under the supervision of his coach. After a few hours of clones and Heroshi practicing Heroshi became decent enough to try out for the amateur surfing competition.
 
His new coach would approach the sign-in table and explain he couldn’t participate today because some newbie had smashed into him. Heroshi would introduce himself as some newbie, and the guys in the booth would all get a laugh and would sign him up for the amateur league in the five to ten-year-old range. From there he would sit and watch as the other competitors would surf it up, he watched a fifty-something-year-old man absolutely shred the waves he was catching back-to-back to back, it was like a continuous wave, but Heroshi was able to see the breaks in the waves. He saw a kid not much older than him, probably in the same age bracket, shred a wave and then wipe out in the reef and tear himself up. Heroshi would have to be careful out there if he didn’t want to get all torn up. Then it was Heroshi’s surf group’s turn to catch some tubes. Heroshi would paddle out and would sit and wait for his time to shine.
 
After a few minutes of letting the waves pass and watching people fall for the waves he was letting pass, he found a wave that suited him. He would paddle away from the wave and as the wave was about to pass under him and his board, let the wave pick him up and push him to the bottom. Heroshi would use the downward motion to pick up speed and then he would turn into the wave headed in the opposite direction of where the wave was falling on itself. He would then angle the board so he would hit the top of the wave and hold onto the bottom of the board changing the weight distribution and causing his board to do a front flip. He would land the flip and then enter a tube. When he felt the power of the ocean pushing and pulling the water moving his board, he reached out a hand to feel the water going up it was surreal he couldn’t believe it was happening to him. When he reached the point, the wave was about to crash down on him he exited the tunnel and rode his board to the shore.
 
At the shoreline, Heroshi saw Dracoso talking to someone that he didn’t recognize. The guy was dressed too formally for a day relaxing at the beach. Heroshi would approach and hear the two discussing a movie. Heroshi had wanted to try it out, but he was nervous there wouldn’t be a spot for him, as it had turned out there was a small child in the movie that would need a stunt double, the production team had tried to find a stunt double for the child, but decided they might just CGI the scenes that would need the child to perform stunts, but this worked better. Heroshi would be ecstatic to be a stunt double. He would need to wear a wig which was a process, but he thought of how much fun it would be to do stunts for a movie. He found out Dracoso would be using his clones to perform for the director, and Heroshi wanted to try it himself.
 
Before shooting even started Heroshi would have to do a wardrobe change, and hair and makeup. It had been Heroshi’s first time in makeup and he didn’t like it. He thought to himself how did people like this stuff? He would be happy as soon as they removed this stuff, but he would have a whole day of dealing with it. Then there was the wardrobe, it was heavy and warm and he couldn’t stand this either, and they had to take pictures before they started shooting. Heroshi was miserable at the beginning of the filming day, but he knew the fun would come soon.
 
Heroshi would be doing multiple stunts throughout the day it started with him having to run and jump off of a large rock that protruded from the ground at about fifty meters high, he would run and jump off and land on a huge inflated cushion that would break the fall and would be fun for the young shinobi. He did this stunt six times for the camera and five more times between takes just for fun. There was a scene where he had to jump through a window and fight, well, play fight several men. He would have a lot of fun doing this scene and was sad when it was over. He was only sad for a moment because he still had many more scenes to do the stunt double thing for. He had one where he had to jump off a roof, and there was one he had to walk in front of an explosion, on the last take of the explosion tragedy struck, Heroshi had gotten too close to the explosion and had gotten launched and broken his arm. He tried to stick it out for the rest of the shooting, but when news of his injury reached the producer, he told Heroshi to leave.
 
Heroshi left the filming area defeated, with a broken arm, how was he going to enjoy himself now? He realized it was starting to get dark and he would be getting to see some awesome fireworks in a few hours, that would help him keep his mind off of the obvious pain he was feeling. He didn’t know where his friends were, but he remembered he had set up an umbrella, maybe he could take a nap and wait for the fireworks there. When he approached his umbrella, he noticed a familiar person sitting in his chair. “Hey, there you are, I’m glad you’re here, any news on Karma?” Heroshi would ask waving with his good arm and letting his broken one dangle freely. “Oh, my arm, I broke it because I didn’t use shadow clones. I’m sorry.” Heroshi would finish as he approached his friend Dracoso.


WC: 2484
TWC: 3805

Dracoso had spent a good half hour recovering his stamina and chakra reserves where he had gone to rest. The sounds of the waves mixed with the cheers and shouts of the other beachgoers created a peaceful white noise around him to relax in. He had spotted Heroshi and his clones taking on the stunt double role of one of the child actors. The leap he was required to make was a bit intimidating, but he seemed to enjoy the challenge and the thrill of a new experience. It was a lot of fun to watch the young ninja becoming so immersed in the show. After a short time, Dracoso nodded off by the umbrella.

He awoke to the sound of shifting sand nearby. Heroshi came up holding his arm oddly and asked about Karma. "I thought I saw her at the surfing competition, but I was so focused on keeping my footing that I may have seen someone else. With all the running around we are doing, it is getting tough to keep track of exactly where we all are." He leaned towards Heroshi and asked, "What exactly happened to your arm?" When he learned that his arm was broken, Dracoso softly shook his head and drew out his mystical palm jutsu. "I understand the desire to be a part of the activities. Just make sure not to push yourself too hard. There are still plenty of things to do and so it is better to pace yourself in some ways." He gave a smile as the bones began to reconnect and reform, slowly returning to their previous shape. "You did look pretty good though running around as that kid's stunt double. I am pretty sure my knees would be shaking to make a jump of that size."

Once the patching up was done, he would pat Heroshi on the shoulder and say, "give it a few minutes to fully settle back in before you do anything with it. I should be good as new in about a half hour. Maybe we kind find-" A voice rang out from a megaphone nearby, cutting off his words, "Come join the Marathon! With all the fun of surfing in the waves and fireworks tonight, we want to see you sprint your spirit out! Come join the Mikadzuki Marathon! We even have a prize for those who comes in the top 5 slots!" The individual was making their way down the beach repeating this announcement. Once enough people were paying attention, the person announced that the event would begin at the far East end of the beach and go five miles along the beach to the lighthouse. Once the person had passed to announce the event a bit further down, Dracoso would turn back to Heroshi, "well, that sounds like a good way to spend the time. It would require more legwork than arm energy, so you should be good to go for it."

The beach was rather busy, but two long bright orange lines of cloth were being rolled down the beach from the direction of the lighthouse. He figured this was to avoid the hazards when running through populated areas and to create a specific lane for those racing. Dracoso stood and stretched his arms and neck as he gestured to Heroshi to follow as they headed down the beach. They came across Karma as she seemed to have dealt with her own surfing experience and assisting on set. He let her know that they would be in the upcoming marathon and the details on where they would be starting and heading to.

By the time he arrived at the starting point, several dozen participants were lined up. They were told that the marathon would begin in roughly half an hour from now and to prepare. There were several stations set up with water and medical aid in case anyone needed hydration or was experiencing heat exhaustion. Dracoso stretched in the shade of the trees nearby and made sure his arms and legs were limber for the race and considered if he could use any advantages to help. He figured this could just be a fun test to see how all his training had affected his physical health as well as his mental health.

Once he was loosened up and had a small snack from a stand that was close by, he lined up at the start. He could barely see across the wave of people who had gathered and figured that most of them were there for the fun. Many seemed prepared to compete and had a determined look in their eye. The announcer walked out in front of the group and spoke through her megaphone, "Welcome to all participants! Before we begin, let's go over the ground rules! Number one, no attacking other participants! Bumping or jostling is normal, but no intentional influence from others! Number two, no assistance with running! If someone picks you up or you use any means of transportation other than your own feet, then you are disqualified! Number three, no teleportation or any means of skipping parts of the course! You must run the entire course! Finally, Number four, if you leave the course lines other than to get water or medical aid, you are disqualified! Now, to all those who are running, line up at the start of the course lines and you will begin once the signal is given." As she walked off to one side, she pulled out what looked like a colorful firework with a trigger on the end. The crowd followed her with their eyes, few daring to blink.

She put her hand high above her head and shouted through the megaphone, "Three!" The crowd tensed as one, "Two!" several individuals leaned forward as if halfway into a charge. "One!" Dracoso felt the air shift as the crowd took in a collective breath. Bang. The crowd took off as if one, pushing through the sand and kicking up a small storm of yellow and white that blinded those further back. The sound of crashing waves was overtaken by the sound of crashing feet as many individuals raced forward. Several seemed to take the lead, Dracoso keeping towards the front half, but losing traction on some of the more well-built participants. He glanced back to see individuals who had either tripped or fallen back in the race due to the wave of sand that had pelted them at the beginning. He figured that anyone with too bad of injuries could be dealt with by the medical individuals on station and decided to put his all into the race.

The crowd had spread out across the pathway with gaps between. Some were just jogging and walking at this point, using different strategies to last as long as possible. Dracoso was a bit surprised from how well he was keeping up with the rest of the racers. He had put some effort into training his body for quick responses in combat, but he did not realize just how light he could be on his feet. He pushed himself forward and gained more speed with each step. It felt like he was gliding across the sand. Yet the rest of the competition kept pace and made him realize that being in good shape did not put him in the lead. He decided to push hard and use an ability he had gained just before arriving at the beach.

Ice began to form in a mist around his body and slowly hung around where he passed. It slowly thickened as he felt it smoothing the ground under each step and clearing a path for him as he went. People shifted away from the sudden drop in temperature around him and allowed him to pass. The mist seemed to form a pressure behind him, speeding him forward as his body took strength. He felt himself speeding up beyond his normal limits and let the cold take him forward. The pressure of the sun seemed a faint memory and those around him became blurs. He focused forward and let time itself slip from his mind.

The tranquility that spread over him became an escape from the tension he had just felt moments before. Time and distance seemed to pass by as easily as water falling from the sky. It made the minutes seem like moments and the hours pass like seconds. Before he knew it, the orange lines came to an end and Dracoso slid to a stop. He stood, feeling the energy coursing through him as he calmed. His mind silent as the sounds of the beach returned to his ears. He wasn't sure what place he had come in, but it appeared as if a majority of the racers were still making their way towards him. He stepped off the path and watched as racers slowly came to the finish. He collected himself and made his way off to one side and took a seat beside the medical stand. 

The voices inside the small building seemed to be arguing over something for a time before they came to check on Dracoso. He was physically ok, though colder than they expected. He chuckled and explained his physiology and they gave him the ok on his health. Before they walked away, he asked them what they had been arguing over. "It turns out that someone-" The woman turned towards the man working the stand with her, "-put the fireworks too close to the water. The tide came in and now all the fireworks are ruined. We cannot even light the most basic of firecrackers. We tried to leave them out in the sun, but the water has crept up into the gunpowder itself. Unless we want to take them apart and pray that they still work when we put them together again, we are going to need new ones." The man refused to make eye contact with the woman.

Dracoso rubbed the back of his neck and figured this would be a good challenge to engage in. He asked them where the original fireworks had come from. It turned out that they had a fireworks expert on hand to monitor the event to avoid accidents or unnecessary danger. The expert had made many of the fireworks for the show but had brought nothing beyond the fireworks they had purchased. If they had the right supplies, the expert could assist with directing them on the steps to make new ones to replace the old ones, but it would probably take the rest of the night for those making it. Dracoso thought back to his reading on chemicals and materials and decided to speak with the expert himself. 

The man was rather odd, dressed in an outfit that seemed to be exploding as if it were a firework itself, and did not take Dracoso seriously at first. Dracoso tried to engage him in discussion as to what materials were needed, but the man simply waved him off. Finally, at the mentions of sulfur and hemlock, the man turned to face Dracoso with a stern eye. "So, you want to make working fires, do you? then you will do as I say and make sure none of these ninnies ruin my show again." Dracoso gave him a nod and the two began to discuss different materials and combinations that could be procured. The gunpowder would take several pieces and new fuses needed to be woven. By the time they had put together a plan, the majority of the staff from the marathon had gotten word and gathered.

Dracoso checked in with them and found two to be ninjas with a specialty in earth and one who specialized in fire. The plan was to have the two earth wielders head over to the nearby hot springs and separate sulfur from the water while the majority of the staff gathered the old fireworks and emptied out the previous supplies. Several were set to gather cloth and thin paper to help stuff or section the fireworks for their unique effects, at the strict supervision of the expert. The fire user would drive off any of the still damp containers, inside and out, and try to salvage what he could. From there, staff would be sent off to purchase fertilizers or stump killing materials and extract as much saltpeter out as possible. The last step for the gunpowder was to either purchase charcoal or burn down some of the branches and logs they had stored for the bonfire and to grind the charcoal from either source into a powder. As for the fireworks, the final piece would be to weave twine or string together and layer it with a quick burning solution to make the fuse.

The teams split up as Dracoso followed the expert from group to group. He directed the teams on handling the containers and how fine the paper should be for each compartment in the firework body. Dracoso took mental notes and memorized as much of the creation process as he could over the hour that he listened in. As the fire user collapsed nearby with a full stack of dried firework husks, the earth users returned with a sack full of sulfur. The bag was airtight, just to make sure it did not create mess or get anyone sick along the way. Several staff came forward with stacks of fine paper, twine fuses, and sore hands from all the work they had done. The expert nodded at their work before turning to find the purchasing group returning with a large bag of stump remover and smaller bag of charcoal.

With all the materials coming together, the handy team on the beach took a break while the purchasing team was set to work grinding down the charcoal. No burning had been required, so the fire user was allowed to rest for the time being. Both earth users on the other hand were immediately set to separating the saltpeter from the stump remover materials to make sure it was as pure as possible. Dracoso and the expert looked over the dried containers and fuses to make sure they would work well together and set them out carefully to be dealt with one by one once the gunpowder was ready. 

After another hour, the saltpeter, charcoal powder, and sulfur was placed together. The expert shooed away the majority of the staff and had the fire user sit nearby. The expert began to measure and mix different amounts of the materials and had the fire user light them to test their potency. Once he had a balance that he preferred, the expert began to set them aside and had Dracoso fill each container under careful instructions to make sure they were weighed out. As each container was filled, the expert would pull out pieces of fine paper and begin to shape or separate the black powder into sections which would become their design. By the end of it, Dracoso's hands and wrists were coated in black ash along with the majority of his body from the waist down. The expert simply nodded, his own hands and forehead coated in ash from wiping his sweat away. The fire user seemed a bit excited, as if he wanted to light the fireworks now, but was pulled aside by the expert to discuss assisting him with the show that night.

Dracoso stood up on wobbling legs. He had built sandcastles, handled a marital fight, surfed for the first time, acted for the first time, run in a marathon, and even learned how to make fireworks. He felt tired and just wanted to rest for the night and enjoy the show. He had lost track of his team by now but figured he could make his way back to the umbrella he had set up and recollect there for tomorrow's plans. With a sigh, he slowly made his way across the beach. The sun was starting to set, and the cold felt welcome on his tired body. Another stretch and a yawn made him realize just how tired he was from the day and hoped his team had enjoyed it as much as he had.

{WC = 2710, Total = 7899)

Heroshi would hate to wake up his friend, but he was in excruciating pain and didn’t know who else to go to. So, he would be inconsiderate and wake up his sleeping friend. As the older shinobi inquired about what had happened Heroshi would explain that he had attempted a stunt and Dracoso would admire the bravery of the young shinobi. It would seem the older shinobi had a slight aversion to heights, that was okay, Heroshi didn’t like broccoli so he put the two into the same category. But hearing the praise from his friend would cheer him up a lot. The two were vastly different, but they had a lot of similar interests. They were from two different villages but they were able to put that aside and just live in the moment and be merry.
 
Heroshi doesn’t really understand what Dracoso is doing, if he had approached or waken up his dad with a broken arm his dad would have belittled him for not being stronger. Heroshi is slightly confused about just being accepted even if he messed up. His dad would have been embarrassed and rule number one under his dad is you never embarrass your dad. Heroshi wasn’t to bring shame to the family name or he’d be disowned. So, to have someone just heal the broken arm and not react by yelling was taking Heroshi through some loops. It was a weird feeling to be accepted for Heroshi and he wished that he could have that feeling in his home as well.
 
Heroshi would sit and wince when the older shinobi would heal his arm. Heroshi didn’t understand how it worked, but he was glad for his friend’s ability. Heroshi had asked about the kunoichi because he hadn’t seen her since surfing and that was a while ago. If Dracoso wasn’t worried about it, neither was Heroshi. He would take the pep talk from his senior because he knew he cared. Heroshi wouldn’t be as senseless next time. He was still curious where the kunoichi could have gone, but he wouldn’t put much stock in it. As he got patched up his arm was still a little sore and stiff, so Heroshi would wrap his arm into a sling with his shirt. “There, perfect, I think this will hold it in place.” He said showing his arm sling to his older friend. “I may not know medical jutsu, but I do know some basic first-aid.” He would say with a little smile.
 
"Come join the Marathon! With all the fun of surfing in the waves and fireworks tonight, we want to see you sprint your spirit out! Come join the Mikadzuki Marathon! We even have a prize for those who comes in the top 5 slots!" A voice would boom making its way down the beach towards the duo. As the person shouting collected enough of the beach’s attention and they would explain that the race would start at the east end on the rocks and then would have each contestant run through the sand and beach grass, next to the water, and then have the race conclude five miles away from the start at the lighthouse. "Well, that sounds like a good way to spend the time. It would require more legwork than arm energy, so you should be good to go for it." Dracoso would say turning his attention away from the announcer and towards Heroshi. “I think that would be a lot of fun, maybe we should make a wager, the last one to the lighthouse has to take all the surfboards back to the shack.” Heroshi would say with a smile, that he had a plan, he had been working on something that would increase his speed.
 
               Heroshi would realize the beach was buzzing with people talking and yelling in excitement about the news of the race, it seemed like everyone was going to participate. Heroshi would try to figure out why they were calling it a marathon when it was only a five-mile run. He wouldn’t think too much about it too much as he didn’t want to dwell. Heroshi would notice the event staff rolling out two rolls of bright orange cloth to indicate where the race boundaries were. Someone would be making sure no one passed in or out that wasn’t supposed to. Heroshi also noticed that it wasn’t one big roll of cloth, but several, five miles worth of bright orange cloth. Dracoso would stand up fully erect and would stretch his arms and his neck at the same time, and then would take a few steps and then make a motion to the young shinobi that would indicate his intention for both of them to start heading down the beach to the start of the race.
 
The duo would make their way to the start of the race talking about random things that two friends would talk about, Heroshi was interested in learning a few water jutsu, but he didn’t want to turn the vacation into a training day. As the pair were walking, they would realize a friend was only a few people over in the crowd. “Dracoso, is that Karma over there? She looks like she’s been on the water all day.” Heroshi would notice. “Karma, we’re over here.” He would say getting the kunoichi’s attention. The three of them would pull off to the side of the crowd so they could have a quick discussion. Karma would have indeed just gotten done with the surf event and dealt with the movie people just like the Shinobi did a little while earlier, they would all explain their different stories, and Dracoso would inform the kunoichi and the young shinobi of his experience in the tube. Heroshi had missed it because he had gotten distracted by an event organizer informing him, that he was in the next heat. Heroshi would weave the story of how he was able to land a front flip and dive into a tube and how surreal it felt. He was enjoying listening to Karma’s story as well, the way all of their stories were different, but they wound up back together was a wild concept for Heroshi. It was like they were meant to experience the beach together.
 
Dracoso, Karma, and Heroshi would all make their way to the start of the race together, but they would get split into different tiers. Dracoso got put in the first tier and then Karma would be placed in the second, while Heroshi would be placed in the fourth tier with the rest of the children even though the children wouldn’t be a challenge for Heroshi, he was becoming a seasoned shinobi and these were literal kids. Just because Heroshi couldn’t use teleportation jutsu or have someone push him didn’t mean he didn’t have jutsu he could use, no one would even notice unless they were using sensory. Heroshi at least had the wherewithal to watch as Dracoso would start the race.
 
As Dracoso arrived at the starting line it appeared that the participants in his tier were already stretching and getting ready to race. There were a few people using big rocks to lean and stretch against while others were sitting on the softer sand or grassy areas to work out their leg muscles. Heroshi was keeping an eye on this tier because he wanted to see how well his friend would do. It had appeared to Heroshi that they were all ready to launch themselves forwards at the sound of the start of the race.
 
Heroshi didn’t expect what happened next, the contestants were told that their heat wouldn’t start for another half hour, and they should use that time to prepare for the five-mile run. They were told that the marathon would begin roughly half an hour from now and to prepare for it. Heroshi would take this time to approach his friend and use this as an opportunity to see how his friend would get ready for the race. On his way over he would notice that the people who were once at the starting line had moved to different positions on the rocky side of Mikadzuki beach to stretch or drink water and chat with their friends.
 
On his way over to his friend’s position, he would also notice there were several stations set up with water and medical aid in case anyone needed hydration or was experiencing heat exhaustion. He would pass by a station where someone had fallen ill to heat exhaustion thinking being in the water the whole time and not drinking water was going to keep them hydrated. Heroshi would grab a couple of cups for him and his friends to drink out of while they all stretched and got ready for the race. Heroshi had lost sight of his friend while he was grabbing water for the trio and had wondered if Karma would be coming to meet up with them.
 
 Heroshi would find Dracoso stretching in the shade of the trees nearby, and he would make sure his arms and legs were limber for the race. While he considered if he could use any advantages to help Heroshi would approach with a bottle of water, “What are you thinking about?” Heroshi would ask handing over a bottle of water to his friend. Dracoso and Heroshi would bounce ideas off each other. Heroshi would explain to Dracoso that he planned on reinforcing his muscles with lightning chakra and that should help him be faster which would put him easily in an adult league, but the organizers had placed him in the youth group because of his age. Dracoso would be sympathetic to the young shinobi and would try to cheer him up by informing him that they would get to watch fireworks a few hours after the race had concluded. At this new Heroshi would be ecstatic and wouldn’t mind as much being cast to the children’s area again.
 
Dracoso had figured this could just be a fun test to see how all his training had affected his physical health as well as his mental health and Heroshi would wonder the same thing. Heroshi had also wondered about that but didn’t put too much stock into it because he could already see the difference vastly from when he first started training versus now, but he would humor Dracoso’s thoughts about it.
 
The pair would find a small snack shack near the start line for the race and would purchase a few light snacks to munch on before the race would begin. Instantly Dracoso would begin to loosen up and would get into the mindset of the race, Heroshi could see it in his eyes. It was the look of pure determination, Heroshi was sure he got that look all the time. It was weird to see someone else wear it because it looked exactly as it felt on his face. Heroshi would have to look away sometimes the look was so intense. “Are you ready?” Heroshi would ask his friend and he would receive a nod from Dracoso. Heroshi really didn’t have to ask that question, he just wanted to help fire up his friend.
 
 They could barely see across the wave of people who had gathered at the start line. The number of people at the beach was much higher than Heroshi had ever expected. That was a testament to how big the beach was, to make hundreds of people seem not as big made Heroshi feel really small. Heroshi and Dracoso would look at each other and shrug they figured that most of the contestants were there for the fun which is also why the pair were there and their lost friend was there, but Heroshi had in the back of his mind that he had to win, failure wasn’t an option.
 
 Many of the participants seemed prepared to compete in the race and had a determined look in their eyes, but it was no match to the one Dracoso wore, or the one Heroshi would be wearing when it was time for him to start the race. Heroshi would walk around the sea of people and ask them about their day and what brought them to Mikadzuki Beach they still had about ten minutes before the race would start and Heroshi wanted to meet a few people. He realized almost none of these people were shinobi and felt bad he was going to be using jutsu, but it wasn’t his fault he had been training.
 
As time drew to the beginning of the race Heroshi would work his way to the spectator area because he would have about an hour or so to wait before it got to his heat. He found a good spot where he could almost see the lighthouse and thus, he’d be able to see how his friend ran. The excitement was insurmountable to gauge and part of that was because Heroshi loved championships and competitions because he was competitive and he had the desire to be better than everyone and the drive to become the best because he was pushed by his father to.
 
The announcer walked out in front of the group and spoke through her megaphone, "Welcome to all participants! Before we begin, let's go over the ground rules! Number one, no attacking other participants! Bumping or jostling is normal, but no intentional influence from others! Number two, no assistance with running! If someone picks you up or you use any means of transportation other than your own feet, then you are disqualified! Number three, no teleportation or any means of skipping parts of the course! You must run the entire course! Finally, Number four, if you leave the course lines other than to get water or medical aid, you are disqualified! Now, to all those who are running, line up at the start of the course lines and you will begin once the signal is given." She would say and her voice would carry over the crowd. She was a young petit woman who didn’t look like a kunoichi, but looks could be deceiving in Mikadzuki Beach. Either she or the race organizer was shinobi though or spent a lot of time around shinobi to make a list like that. Heroshi would chuckle to himself, usually, rules are made because someone tried to do the thing the rule was made about.
 
As she walked off to one side with a little strut knowing all eyes were on her. She pulled out what looked like a colorful firework with a trigger on the end. Everyone knew this would be the tool she used to commence the race. This little item would be the one thing that would tell if you were going to have a good start or be left behind in the dust. Heroshi was worried it was going to be hard to tell when it went off, what if it didn’t carry enough noise? With one hand holding the megaphone to her mouth and the other holding the race commencement tool, she would lift the latter in the air and count down from “three”. When she said “Three” Heroshi could see everyone in the race tense up their muscles in unison, "Two!" About half the racers would shift their weight forward onto their lead foot so they could easily get off to a good start. Heroshi could see the shift as half of the crowd would lean forwards. "One!" Heroshi even though he was quite a distance away from the start line could swear he heard the entire first heat takes a breath of fresh seawater air collectively before the “Bang” of the commencement tool was fired into the air. Heroshi didn’t have to worry if it would be loud enough. He had heard it from halfway across the beach. The contestants took off as if one, their feet pushing off of the rocks of the first part of the race, and their legs pushing their bodies forward. Once they got to the sandy part of the beach their feet would kick up a small storm of yellow and white that blinded those in the back of the race. It was hard for Heroshi to see the race at this point so he would go look for Karma.
 
Heroshi looked around for a few minutes in the mess that was competitors and spectators alike bundled up together. He couldn’t find Karma anywhere, and soon it was too late to look for her as her heat had been called up to start racing. Heroshi would find his spot before the announcer got ready and performed the same routine, she did with Dracoso’s heat, and then counted down from three and fired to indicate the start of the race. Heroshi would watch carefully for his friend and then notice her right before she entered the sandy part of the beach and kicked up sand so Heroshi couldn’t see how she finished, but he was glad to see his friend doing well in the race. He would root for her to finish first in her heat and then would go find something to occupy his time before the race started.
 
Heroshi was in the last heat to go for a race, it was with the children and he hated being grouped with the children. He was different than them, and he and whoever knew him would understand that not many six or seven years old were creating shadow clones or were doing A-ranked missions fighting and killing people. He was a cog in the Hoshigakure war machine and he felt like no one appreciated that about him. So, when it would be his turn to race, he wouldn’t be nice about it, he would just run the five miles and collect his winnings because he shouldn’t be in the children league. He would wander around the different booths with different vendors. He found a vendor selling shirts he found a shirt that said in big letters on the front of it, “I raced to the lighthouse at Mikadzuki Beach!” Heroshi had to get it. He would spend a few Ryo on it and would put it on. He almost forgot he had broken his arm a few hours ago and would feel a slight discomfort while putting on his new shirt.
After waiting around for the thirty minutes between heats Heroshi would finally line up to start the race. He was surrounded by little kids, the oldest was probably seven, but Heroshi didn’t care, he wanted to get this race over with, it had been ruined for him since he got placed in the child league. He would see the woman come out with the megaphone and screech over the noise of the children playing and fighting between themselves. Heroshi would sigh loudly and roll his eyes. The woman would proceed to count down from three and then fire the signal to start the race. When Heroshi looked back at the crowd of kids and half of them hadn’t even started they were too busy playing at the start line.
 
Heroshi wouldn’t look back and he would just run. He didn’t think about who he was racing or how they were doing. He did get lost in thought though, he would think about how vastly different everyone treated him versus his older counterparts. Even on missions whenever information would be handed out it was the older shinobi who were informed of key points and then Heroshi would be informed as an afterthought. He was ready to not be viewed as just a kid anymore. He would have his birthday coming up soon, but he still wasn’t even ten years old yet. Not that that would be any better. He had a lot to prove to everyone around him that he’d be able to carry the weight of battle and do what was required of him. He couldn’t shake the feeling he was being overlooked for a lot of things because of his age, this race was proof of that. No one was even near him, some of the children gave up before they hit the first mile, but Heroshi didn’t care.
 
Dracoso had finished the race, but he wasn't sure what place he had come in. He waited at the finish line for Heroshi and Karma and realized a majority of the racers were still making their way toward the finish line from all the other heats. He stepped off the path and watched as racers slowly made their way to the finish. Heat after heat until he had collected both of his friends. He collected himself and his two friends as they made their way off to one side of the race track and took a seat outside a medical building. It was more of a makeshift temporary shack than a long-standing building, but Heroshi wouldn’t care about those things. He looked at Dracoso and Karma and realized he was amongst friends and didn’t care about how he was put in with the kids to race anymore.
 
Heroshi could hear loud talking coming from the shack. The loud talking inside the small building seemed to be arguing over something, and it would postpone the crew from being seen by any medical staff for some time. The loud voices seemed to realize they had patrons outside waiting for them to check them out so they quickly talked in hushed tones and then exited the building to examine Dracoso, Karma, and Heroshi after their hard races. Dracoso would be the first to be inspected. He was physically okay, though colder than the average male who just ran five miles. He chuckled and explained his physiology and then informed them there was a way to inspect him and those born with his physiology for their temperature in case they ever needed to help someone like him in the future. After that, they gave him the okay on his health overall, Dracoso was the perfect specimen of perfect health. They would look Karma over and give her the all-clear. Heroshi would go last and besides his healed arm, Heroshi was also in perfect health. Before the medical staff had the chance to walk away, Dracoso would ask them what they had been arguing over. He wasn’t trying to intrude, at least that’s how Heroshi had seen it, but the entire beach heard them arguing before they came out to help the shinobi with their check-ups. They would be very slow to answer. "It turns out that someone," The woman would turn towards the man working in the shack with her, "Put the fireworks too close to the water. The tide came in and now all the fireworks are ruined. We cannot even light the most basic of firecrackers. We tried to leave them out in the sun, but the water has crept up into the gunpowder itself. Unless we want to take them apart and pray that they still work when we put them together again, we are going to need new ones." Heroshi would notice the shame in the man’s face as she said this. The man would refuse to make eye contact with her during and after she relayed the information to the trio.
 
Heroshi watched Dracoso as he rubbed the back of his neck and figured if the crew should engage in this task. They had already done so much that day that he seemed a little hesitant to accept the next task. He asked them where the original fireworks had come from. This would be the cue that Heroshi was looking for, it seemed Dracoso would want to help the beach goers have a fun night with fireworks. As the Female informed the crew of all the information, she would reveal that they had a pyrotechnic master presently available to monitor the event to avoid accidents or unnecessary danger and to give experience to others on site. He had been a pyrotechnic master for twenty years. The master had made most of the fireworks. He had brought nothing beyond the fireworks they had purchased, so there were no extra fireworks for them to work with. If they were able to acquire the right supplies, the master could teach the crew how to make new ones to replace the old fireworks by directing them on the steps to make new ones, but it would probably take the rest of the night for those making it. They underestimated the tenacity of this group. Heroshi could see Dracoso in deep thought he didn’t know, but Heroshi thought maybe Dracoso was trying to figure out what components they would need to acquire for this to be successful. Dracoso would ask to see the pyrotechnic master himself, but he would gladly bring his crew with him.
 
If first impressions meant anything this guy would be screwed. The pyrotechnic master was an odd man, he dressed himself in an outfit that seemed to be exploding as if it were a firework. He would not take Dracoso seriously at first. This would upset the young shinobi because that was a shinobi Heroshi looked up to and admired. Dracoso would try to engage him in a discussion to figure out what materials were needed to make new fireworks, but the man would simply wave him off as if he were simply an annoying bug trying to fly on his face. Finally, after Dracoso would mention sulfur and hemlock, the ingredients needed to craft fireworks. The man would finally turn to face Dracoso with a stern look in his eyes. It would take Heroshi everything in his power to not hit this guy. "So, you want to make working fires, do you? then you will do as I say and make sure none of these ninnies ruin my show again." Heroshi would watch Dracoso give the odd man a curt nod and the two would begin to discuss the different materials and combinations that would need to be procured to build the fireworks. The gunpowder would take multiple components and as for new fuses, they would have to be woven by hand. By the time the two had built a plan together, the majority of the staff from the marathon and the surf competition had gathered around the shack so they could be helpful.
 
Dracoso would check in with the staff and would discover three of the staff members were shinobi, two with a specialty in earth and the other who specialized in fire-type chakra. The plan Dracoso and the staff built was to have the two earth wielders would make their way over to the nearby hot springs and use earth-based jutsu separate sulfur from the water. while the majority of the staff gathered the old fireworks and emptied out the waterlogged shells. The rest of the staff were sent to gather cloth and thin packing paper to help stuff the fireworks for unique effects. Under the strict supervision of the master, the fire element jutsu user would dry off any of the waterlogged containers, inside and out, and try to save what he could as it went for the fireworks. After some of the work got done some of the staff would be sent off to purchase fertilizers to extract as much saltpeter from it as possible Heroshi would go the extra mile and buy some saltpeter from Hoshigakure. The last step for the fireworks was gunpowder, and they either had to purchase charcoal or burn down some of the logs they had kept in reserves for the bonfire that would take place after the fireworks show and grind the charcoal into a powder. The final piece of the fireworks would be to weave string or twine or both together and then to layer it with something that would burn quickly as a solution to make the fuse. Heroshi was proud of the work everyone was getting done to save the fireworks display. He was proud of his friend’s quick thinking, Heroshi knew that not every solution to every problem was to beat it up, sometimes you had to think.
 
 Dracoso and the pyrotechnics master would be away working on the fireworks. Heroshi didn’t understand it so he would join the crews in getting supplies to build them. When he finished with his tasks, he would get the group spot on the beach reserved for the maximum view of the fireworks display. Heroshi wanted to surprise his friends with something nice for all of their hard work. He grabbed an ice chest and put some juices and sodas in there with a bunch of bottles of water, he found a cart that sold food and bought the works for his friends. When all was said and done Heroshi had the spot he and his friends could sit and watch the show together looking really nice.
Heroshi would miss Dracoso standing up on fatigued legs if he would have seen it he would have offered a shoulder to lean on. The team had built sandcastles with those little kids, handled a fight between couples and their friends, surfed and competed in a surfing contest, performed some fun stunts for a movie, ran a race across the beach, and finally fixed the fireworks display. Heroshi felt tired and was ready to watch the show with his friends. Heroshi saw Dracoso leave the shack and start heading toward the spot that had his rental chair. He would call out to him because his new spot was much better than the chair would be. They could worry about tomorrow’s plans later, the show was about to start. With a sigh, he slowly made his way across the beach to the spot Heroshi currently occupied. The sun was starting to set, and the colors in the in the sky were beautiful pinks and orange, and the sky to the east was already turning dark blue. The cold was a welcome feeling against the hot body of the young shinobi. Heroshi would see another stretch and a yawn made by Dracoso and that would make him feel even more tired. Heroshi really enjoyed his day with his new friends. He really hoped he had made a good impression on them.
 
As the firework show started Heroshi would be supplying his friends with food and drinks. Heroshi really liked the hotdogs with ketchup on it. He had never heard of this stuff, but at Mikadzuki Beach they had this stuff everywhere. Hotdogs and hamburgers, barbecue ribs, Heroshi wondered what those were so he bought five ribs. He was in an adventurous mood so he bought this stuff called Pepsi, it was in a cylinder can and there was a weird way to open it. He would sit and talk to the older shinobi about their hopes and dreams and how much fun they all had, and how much fun tomorrow would be. Dracoso was such a kind person it naturally drew Heroshi to him. Karma was different, Heroshi didn’t know her well enough, but he would like to get to know her. After a little while of this Heroshi would fall asleep.

WC: 5206
TWC: 9012

Soft noises nearby awoke Dracoso to the morning. The palm trees outside the windows shook softly in the breeze and the sunlight fell in through the windows, bathing the room in a soft glow. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up and yawned to himself. He had gotten rooms in the nearby inn for his party since so much was going on. As the portal was open for several days, it gave them an opportunity to relax and take some vacation before they needed to return home. He patted his cheeks to wake himself up and headed down for the breakfast spread he had heard so much about.

The long table was set up with a spread of all kinds of fruits and meats. From pineapples and papaya to soursop and strawberries. A rainbow of colors and flavors were placed out for visitors to enjoy and presented a lovely presentation for the meal. Dracoso grabbed up a plate and scooped up some of the ham, lychee, and papaya to start. Eggs and strawberries made a well-rounded meal for the start of the day. He sat on a bench near the edge of the sitting area so he could look out at the ocean while he ate. 

Quick footsteps sounded back at the foot table and Dracoso glanced over to see Heroshi grabbing up a plate of food as well. He seemed to have a preference towards the protein foods but had a good array of choices. Soon, more individuals slowly came down to gather up food and take seats nearby. The soft crashing of the waves in the distance was slowly replaced with the ambiance of conversation and discussion. Heroshi took a seat beside Dracoso and they discussed what had happened yesterday and wondered what kind of adventures they would be dealing with today. 

They enjoyed their food and Dracoso went back for seconds. He wanted to make sure he was well-fed in case more people came asking for some kind of help. Partway through the meal, a small ruckus was heard in the front of the building. Dracoso reached back to softly pet Sutsui, who reached out with her mind's eye and communicated to Dracoso images of individuals laying with snakes inside them. He realized Sutsui was still sleepy and sending simplistic images, so he stood and said to Heroshi, "I think there are some people up front dealing with a problem. Finish up breakfast and I will go check in with them. Then, let's see what we can do." 

Dracoso wished this problem could have started a bit later in the day. Vacations were usually more peaceful and allowed people to rest and try out new hobbies. For a ninja, it seemed like even vacation required some kind of responsibility to deal with it. As he worked his way down the rows of benches, he could already see a panicked individual walking alongside several people being carried. All of them were wearing similar outfits and some were even holding onto flotation devices along with whistles around their necks. One woman in the group seemed to have hair that defied gravity and a shapely figure that seemed out of place among the rest of the group. Dracoso caught up with the man walking alongside the human convoy and asked the woman, "what happened here? Is everyone ok?"

As they jogged softly alongside those being carried, she replied, "I'm not sure! We were just starting our shifts as lifeguards for the day and one of them started coughing! Thank goodness for the staff being nearby. I think they got sick off something!" Dracoso was taken aback by how bouncy her voice was and how expressive she was with her words. It felt almost like he was back on that film set from the day before. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and asked her, "what exactly did they eat?" The woman tilted her head and pressed a finger to her lips in thought. She took a minute to think and said, "well, most of them ate the fish we had been given as a gift. I'm not a fan of fish, as it can ruin one's figure, so I just had the rice and some veggies that came with it."

Dracoso looked at those being carried and realized that they were starting to turn a bit blue and purple. "What fish did you receive?" he asked, a bit concerned. "Oh, some kind of delicacy. Apparently, it is some kind of balloon fish that puffs itself up before blowing itself away. I think they called it a goofoo fish." Dracoso looked to the woman, even more confused and then realized what she was talking about. The concern in his voice built as he asked, "and how was the fish prepared?" The woman gave a small shrug and said, "we just pulled out all the little spines and cooked it up. We did chop it up a bit and put it into these little rice rolls before the rest of the crew ate it." A pained sigh escaped from his gritted teeth as he looked back to the people. 

He shook his head and immediately applied his hands to the first individual, letting a powerful aura rush off of him. It enveloped the person and the coloration in their skin slowly stopped its progress into purple and began to return to normal. After a few seconds, Dracoso gave out a deep sigh and sprinted up to the next person to repeat the process. Each time, the next person was a bit deeper into the process and seemed to be a step closer to letting go. It wasn't until the last person, who had stopped breathing and started to spasm, that it became obvious just how badly these people had cut up those poisonous fish. It took three staff to pin the man's limbs down for Dracoso to apply the healing effect, and by then the person had expended all their stamina. As their skin returning to a semi-regular pale shade, they passed out on the ground.

Already sweating from all the exertion, he looked back over those he had treated. Most seemed on the edge of passing out, with only the original woman still standing. Dracoso wiped the sweat away and made his way back down to her, "they should survive, but I doubt they are in any shape to be lifeguards." The woman gave a soft pout and looked at her companions. "I will need to keep an eye on them, but someone needs to keep an eye on the beach!" She looked to Dracoso imploringly for his help. He figured this was coming either way. He gave her a shrug and said, "my team and I can handle the beach. From what we saw yesterday, it seems like a lot is happening, but we can at least handle it." The woman immediately smiled, almost as if forgetting her sadness from a moment ago and nodded to him. "Well, the shift is eight hours long and you have to cover one mile of the beach in both directions from this resort." Dracoso was floored by this and asked, "eight hours? How did you and your team cover two miles of beach with only so many people?"

The woman shrugged and waved a hand towards the beach, "we have a tall tower looking building that helps us to scan around. Oh! and you should take these." She reached over to slip some binoculars and a whistle off one of the unconscious individuals. She quickly handed them to Dracoso and said, "use those to keep an eye out and use the whistle in case there is any danger, or you need someone's attention." The staff were beginning to carry the individuals into the resort and heading towards the medical wing. "Ah, I need to stay with my friends, so if you need anything else at all, you are in charge. Do a good job!" she said over her shoulder as she jogged away. 

Eight hours. A lot can happen in that time. By this point, Heroshi had caught up and had overheard a good portion of the discussion. "Fugu fish," Dracoso said. "Unless cut up carefully by a professional, the poison can paralyze and kill a full-grown adult. I can't believe lifeguards would try to cut up and eat a fish they were not familiar with." He shook his head and chatted with Heroshi on how to handle covering the beach. The best way to set up would be to have at least one person handling the lifeguard station, the building that sat at the middle of the beach, and at least one person patrolling along the water. This would allow for better response time for people who came to the station with issues as well as having someone nearby for problems in the ocean. 

Dracoso decided that it made the most sense of them to take turns in each role and swap out after a couple of hours so that they could rotate one position to another. This would allow them to stay vigilant in each role while giving a bit more variety in their work. He picked up the whistle and binoculars and told Heroshi that he would take the first watch on the staff station and handle anything that came up further up the beach from the water. One of the staff returned from the carried group and directed the party to a changing station on the side of the resort. Once inside, Dracoso changed into a lifeguard outfit. This included some bright red shorts, sunglasses, a thick layer of sunscreen, some beach sandals, and a towel. 

He made his way out to the lifeguard station and took a bit of time reviewing the tools and items available. Inside the station were several things he might need, including a defibrillator, a megaphone, a cooler with some ice packs and water bottles, and a few additional sets of lifeguard outfits. He grabbed up a water bottle and took one out to give Heroshi to make sure they stayed hydrated. He let the younger ninja head off to keep an eye on the beach while Dracoso grabbed up the binoculars to become accustomed with the areas of the beach and possible areas of issue. The jetty towards the far end of the beach seemed a bit beyond their reach, while a few reefs in the water were quite visible and could cause injury for unsuspecting swimmers. He quickly shook his head, trying not to catastrophize the possibilities, and turned his attention back towards the water.

No sooner had he put his binoculars up to his eyes that a small voice called out to him. "Excuse me! My brother got a cut while he was swimming! Do you have any bandaids we can use?!" Dracoso looked down to see a little girl and boy standing by the foot of the walkway that led up to the station. He walked down to them and saw the boy was standing on one foot, trying to keep one foot lifted. The boy was wincing softly as Dracoso saw the cut along the boy's calf. "I think I can do something a bit better than a bandage," Dracoso said as he motioned for the boy to sit. Once the boy was sitting on the wood walkway, Dracoso pulled out his water bottle and carefully poured it over the wound. 

"First, we get the salt from the saltwater out of the wound," he explained, "then, we heal it with a touch of chakra." Dracoso placed one hand over the cut and let his chakra flow freely, causing the cut to slowly close. The boy had shivered from the cold water but seemed to calm down as the wound closed. The little girl clapped happily to see the cut was gone and both of the children thanked Dracoso. They asked him what he did, and he told them it was a bit of 'ninja magic' that they could learn too someday. The kids gave a big "oh!" and looked at each other excited. He explained that they just needed to join up at a ninja academy and follow what their teachers told them. The children thanked him again and headed back off towards what appeared to be their parents.

The hours seemed to slip by rather quickly. In his first two-hour shift at the station, he mainly gave directions or answered questions about the rules of the beach. Luckily, they were printed on the side of the station building, so he pointed them out to the first few individuals who asked. After a while, he just memorized them and let people know in a friendly tone of voice. Right before his switch with Heroshi, a man was dragged up to the edge of the station with someone who was flailing their arms to get Dracoso's attention. A young woman shouted up to him, "this man looks like he swallowed a lot of salt water. I think he might be choking!" 

Dracoso felt the instinct to grab up a nearby life preserver and jump the railing but decided to sprint down to where the man rested instead. His skin was almost the same shade of blue as Dracoso and the man was struggling to breathe. Dracoso had not been trained on how to handle suffocating individuals and decided to simply start by pumping the man's stomach to try to force the water out. The man was able to cough up some of the water, but his skin remained a slowly deepening shade of blue. Feeling that time was a factor, Dracoso attempted to use his jutsu to gather the water and instead turn it into mist. The man coughed before the mist began to flow out of him into the air around them, blocking sight for a moment before it cleared. The man was unconscious but breathing easy.

Heroshi had run up by that point and asked Dracoso what was going on. Dracoso explained the situation with the almost drowned man and then gave him a quick run-down on the last two hours. He pointed out the board on the side of the stand and explained how some people may just ask for directions or the rules printed on there. As Dracoso was explaining, the man was helped back up towards the resort. Once Heroshi had updated Dracoso on his side of things, they both applied another layer of sunscreen and had some extra hydration before switching posts.

The edge of the water was far more active than the station and provided a fair bit of mist and cool wind to enjoy. Dracoso jogged up and down the beach, keeping an eye out for any individuals who might need assistance. Most people gave Dracoso a concerned look before realizing that his complexion and skin tone were natural. He felt a bit embarrassed after someone asked if he was ok and had to explain that he just ran cold normally. They understood and told him that he may still want to take a break from the water, just in case he swallowed any more. Dracoso shook his head and simply jogged down the beach away from them.

Sutsui had decided to stay back in the lifeguard station. With his current outfit, there was no way for her to remain hidden as she wanted. It felt odd, being without his familiar on the beach. It was a good thing to spend some time apart, but he felt like he was missing a part of himself by them being separated. He felt lighter on his feet and a bit more anxious without her presence. Taking it slow, he let the feeling settle over him as he made his way along the shoreline. People here and there gave him a wave and smiled, recognizing him as an on-duty lifeguard, and took him as another natural part of the beach. It felt like he had plenty of eyes on him, yet he also felt like he slipped under their attention as lifeguards are naturally expected to be around protecting people at the beach. Maybe disguising himself in a specific role would give him a greater advantage when it came to stealth in combat.

As Dracoso considered these thoughts, he saw a group of people gathered further down the beach. They seemed to be raising a bit of a ruckus over something that happened. He made his way closer and one of the people spotted him from a distance. They started waving at him to come over quickly, so he picked up his pace. By the time he arrived, a crowd had gathered. He spotted what appeared to be a torn-up sail hanging over the crowd and the back end of some tied together driftwood. He made his way through the people, and he saw it slowly revealed into a makeshift raft that the crowd surrounded. An unconscious man laid at the front of the group. The man was scrawny, unkept, and had long hair with a full beard.

Dracoso checked the man and found that his body was weak and worn, but he still had a strong pulse. He looked to the crowd around him and decided that they needed more space. He asked most of the crowd to disperse while a few people were asked to volunteer to stay behind and to assist. The man seemed dehydrated, anorexic, deeply tanned, with torn up clothing. He created a pair of clones, one transformed into a stretcher, to help carry the man up to the resort. The volunteers were sent off to gather food, water, clothing, and a medical kit so Dracoso could treat him. Dracoso saw Heroshi on the station up the beach. He summoned up his water beast to carry the stretcher for him before giving Heroshi a quick update. He let him know that Dracoso would switch with him shortly.

They placed him in one of the medical beds near the lifeguards from earlier. Once the supplies were brought over, Dracoso applied burn ointment to the man's skin and carefully tilted him up to drink water. The man coughed up some of the water, waking suddenly and flailing in a panicked state. "Woah, woah. Take a breath! You are safe!" Dracoso tried to soothe the man, but he fought until Dracoso took a step back. He looked around frantically and searched the bed with his hands. "Where's Wilson?" the man asked in a concerned voice. He scanned the room from one person to another with a wild look in his eye. "Where is Wilson!?" he shouted at them. Dracoso held his hands up and said, "you were the only person found on the raft. We brought you up the beach to a medical wing. If there was someone else with you, we can send people to look for him." The man stared at Dracoso, drilling a hole through him as if his life depended on it. 

Dracoso clapped his hands together and gave a soft bow, trying to disrupt the man's focus as Dracoso asked, "what did Wilson look like? We can try to find him as soon as possible. If he does not show up by the time you are better, we can look for him together." The man was thrown off by the sound. He seemed to prepare for danger, then relaxed to Dracoso's words. "Well, Wilson is small, and white. He has a brown face and the word Juit on his forehead," the man described. Dracoso began to imagine a white boy with a muddy complexion, right up until the mention of the word on his forehead. "Do you mean he wrote it there?" Dracoso asked. The man shook his head, "no, it was always there. Imprinted on his face!" Dracoso nodded, taking out a notepad to appear to be writing notes. He tried to memorize the appearance as best as possible before asking, "what else can you tell us about him?"

"Well, he was really light and good at floating. He used to sit on the top of this branch I found and balanced there all the time," the man said, moving his hands to emphasize his words. "And...and he was a really good listener! He would sometimes sit up all night listening to me and by the time I woke up in the morning, he was still there waiting!" Dracoso simply nodded, imagining a very, very lightweight boy who could sit on top of a branch that was stuck in the sand. "Ok. We will send out several staff and volunteers to look for Wilson. If we find him, we will let you know as soon as possible and try to make sure you two are reunited," he assured the man. The man responded by collapsing back onto the bed in relief. At first, Dracoso thought he had passed out again, but the man opened his eyes tiredly a few moments later and stared at the ceiling.

One of the volunteers tapped Dracoso on the shoulder and they stepped away. The woman looked a bit nervous and said softly, so as not to be heard, "we may have already found Wilson." Dracoso felt relieved himself, before wondering why she had not spoken up sooner. He raised an eyebrow as he asked, "is that a bad thing?" The woman gave a shrug and said, "when we found the man, he was originally clinging to something other than the raft. He had an odd white object in his arms. It looked like a deflated balloon, and we were not sure if it had any edges as it appeared to have been popped. While you were picking him up, it dropped to the sand nearby, so one of us brought it up here. We did not know what to do with it, so it is sitting over with the new clothing and food." Dracoso nodded and took a quick glance around the corner to see a flat ball with the word Juit over the front of it and what appeared to be mud in the shape of a face drawn on it. Things seemed a bit clearer, and more confusing, with this information.

Taking a seat in the chair beside the bed, Dracoso asked the man, "now that we have that settled, what is your name and how exactly did you get here?" The man took his time, breathing slowly before giving a chuckle. "I was traveling by boat several months ago, on my way to document some of the new waterways that were forming with the shifting of the sands. In the middle of the night, our ship hit something. Apparently there had been a shallow reef with a reflective property to it, so our boat hit a rough spot and it tore through the bottom. Because of this, many of the life rafts were also punctured. My life preserver kept me afloat and I ended up on a remote island that had just enough resources for me to survive. I built a little shelter for myself and set up a message on the shore for anyone who might help."

The man took a breath and a swig of water. Taking the opportunity, Dracoso asked, "were you the only one there?" The man struggled between nodding and shaking his head as he spoke, "at first I was alone. It was very quiet for a few months, then I ran into Wilson. He came floating up, just as I had, and he was so weak that I had to help him out of the water. He and I were inseparable from then on. He was great at planning things and making sure we stuck to schedule. He even suggested building the raft that got us off the island." With a soft sigh, Dracoso nodded as he thought to himself. So, the man was shipwrecked and left without any social interaction for months. A ball with mud in the shape of a face on it appears, it would make sense that he would attach to it for his own sake. I just hope he is not too deep in his own delusion.

The man was smiling as Dracoso focused back on him. it seemed like sharing his story had given him some sense of peace. "I think I understand then what has happened. Hopefully the rest of the passengers were ok as well. For the time being, let's focus on you," Dracoso started. "What is your name and where do you live?" The man's smile slowly faded as he tried to think. "My name?" he asked, "I go by... Tom? No, no. Chuck? No..." The man shook his head as he tried to remember. "I remember living on the island and the boat before that. Otherwise, I am not sure." 

Dracoso considered what the man had remembered and tried to trigger his memories. "You said that you were tracking new waterways that had formed. Why would that even matter?" The man paused and turned to him, "to make sure we map things correctly! If we do not have accurate maps, people might get lost or hurt or..." He paused, seemingly lost in thought. Wanting to go further, Dracoso asked, "what job were you doing when you went there? What was your responsibility?" The man's eyes seemed to slowly take on light and lose their dullness, "I am a cartographer. My job there was to track the southern waterways and how they had been reshaped in the last three months." Dracoso softly tapped the side of his head as the man glanced at him, "and who was in charge of that job? Who was the cartographer on that trip?" 

The man seemed to wince, as if pushing aside something painful in his mind and spoke slowly, "the woman in charge was Jennifer Walst, and she had hired me as the cartographer..." The man's eyes seemed to open as if recalling the events. it seemed as if his memory was slowly starting to reform. "My name is Clark, Clark Spanner. I agreed to go on the trip and left my family at home." He winced again, struggling to find more. Dracoso patted his shoulder and simply said, "take your time with it. It sounds like it has been quite a trip. Knowing your name will do plenty, but I will have one of my companions give you some help further. For now-" Dracoso stepped over and picked up the food, drink, and clothing, leaving Wilson back behind the curtain, and placed them in reach of the man. "Let's get you fed and dressed. I am going to get one of my companions to continue talking with you."

Dracoso said his goodbyes, letting the staff nearby know to keep an eye on the man and to leave the ball where it was. Shaking his head, Dracoso made his way back to the lifeguard station and filled Heroshi in. "It looks like the man we carried up was stranded on an island for several months and may need some more time and help recovering mentally. I got him to remember his name and that he has a family, but he may need a bit more help. Would you be up for helping him out?" After their discussion, Dracoso grabbed up the binoculars and took a seat nearby. All the excitement made him realize that he had left his post for a while. He was glancing down the beach when he heard a scream. People had begun to run away from the water.

{WC = 4607, TWC = 12506}

Heroshi awoke to the warm embrace of the morning sun on his face and neck. The cool island breeze from the ocean shore kissed him like a mother to a newborn baby. Heroshi would stretch and rub the crustiest out of his eyes and wipe the drool off of his chin. A stark realization hit the six-year-old in the head, how did he get here? He remembered the long day that he had yesterday, helping a couple with their marriage problems, learning how to surf, breaking his arm, owww, which still hurt, and then he ran a marathon, and then helped fix fireworks, and then he fell asleep with his friends watching them. He felt like such a little kid, Dracoso must have bought this room for him, he’s such a nice guy. Heroshi would think to himself. He would climb out of the bed in the room that Dracoso had paid for. Heroshi must have gotten really comfortable in the night, he had taken off his shirt and was only wearing his shorts from the day before. He decided he would take a shower and wash the sand and salt off his body that was already starting to tan where his clothes didn’t protect his skin. As he stood in the shower, he realized his arm was healed, but it was still uncomfortable he would sling it when he got dressed, he would think to himself. He didn’t know how long this beach thing would last, but he hoped he had some time to sit back and relax. When he left the shower, he threw on some new swim trunks and a nice loose-fitting shirt. He would take care to put his arm back in a sling. He wasn’t a fan of the sling, but it felt good.
 
He would make his way downstairs and he would see his best buddy Dracoso sitting at the long table, scooping up his portion of ham lychee and papaya. Heroshi would look at the long table with his mouth wide open. It had everything. He was beginning to drool again, he did everything he could to contain himself. “Thank you for bringing me here!” He would say to Dracoso with enthusiasm only a six-year-old would have. The table consisted of fruits and meats the boy had never seen or heard about, he would pile meat after meat onto his plate, but he would steal bites from the fruit on the table. He couldn’t believe the assortment of colors, blues, greens, yellow, and orange. It was like the rainbow had a baby on the table of delicious fruits. After they gathered their food, they would move to the patio to get a good look at the calm and peaceful ocean while they ate. Heroshi would scoop piles of food into his mouth and chew quickly with how things seemed to go here it was crazier than in the village. It felt like he had no time to chill here.
 
Heroshi would take a seat next to his newfound friend, and they both sat there watching the ocean for what felt like a few moments, but before he knew it, Heroshi had run out of food on his plate. He would decide against getting up because the ocean was so serene. Dracoso would break the silence first by asking Heroshi how he had felt about yesterday. “To be honest, I thought there would be a lot more relaxing than there’s been. It started out alright helping those kids build sandcastles and then those stupid adults going off, like jeez you guys we’re at the beach…” He would realize he had been rambling, but it didn’t seem to affect Dracoso, he would keep listening as Heroshi would go on about his day yesterday. “I wish those adults hadn’t been fighting, like isn’t there enough of that in this world? Just relax and let the kids have fun, ya know?” Hiroshi would continue because his friend made this a safe place. “But after that, those surfing lessons I got were awesome, some guy just yanks me out of the water and tells me he liked my style and he wanted to teach me better. I had such a fun time, maybe we’ll hit the waves again today, that would be nice.” Heroshi would tell his friend smiling and agreeing with Heroshi while he ate. “I thought the fireworks were great too, it was just upsetting that I fell asleep at the beginning, thanks again for bringing me here.” He would start to lose focus, and then, “Did we ever get results from the race? I was so involved with the fireworks I forgot to check.” He would say to his friend. Heroshi would ask his friend how he liked his day the prior day and Dracoso would explain and Heroshi would hang onto every word.
 
As they enjoyed their food and Dracoso would return to the big table for seconds, this was Heroshi’s cue to do the same, he didn’t want to be rude and leave before his friend. So, when his friend left the seat that overlooked the ocean, Heroshi was quick to follow. Heroshi didn’t know Dracoso’s motives for eating so much, but Heroshi’s was simple, this food was divine. After a few bites of their seconds, a loud altercation could be heard in the foyer of the hotel. Heroshi would watch Dracoso reach back to softly pet Sutsui his pet snake. Heroshi knew there was more at play other than it was his pet, but for now, that’s all he really knew about their relationship. Dracoso would realize Sutsui wasn’t making any sense because she was still sleepy, so Dracoso would stand and declare to Heroshi, "I think there are some people up front dealing with a problem. Finish up breakfast and I will go check in with them. Then, let's see what we can do." To which Heroshi would nod agreeing as he himself would stand up grab the last few bites of his delicious food and say, “Well, that didn’t take long.” Chewing and talking at the same time. He wasn’t ready for what today had in store for him.
 
Heroshi could tell from the look on Dracoso’s face he too had wished this problem would have started later in the day so they could at least enjoy breakfast. Heroshi would think about those just lounging on the beach and enjoying their time on vacation. He was jealous of the fact that they got to enjoy their time away. Did he begin to wonder when would be his time to relax in the sun with his friends? It seemed for his motley crew they would get rest when the beach was closing. It felt like more work than rest for the young shinobi. It was like since they were shinobi, they were the ones that had to deal with everything and everyone’s bullshit. He would think to himself still wearing the fake smile only one who’s gone through real shit could wear while inside they just want everyone to leave them alone. The pair walked their way down the rows of benches, they could see a stricken person freaking out over and next to a bunch of gurneys being moved away from the building. All of them were wearing the outfit of a lifeguard Heroshi had recognized one of them from the day before, she was beautiful, and he felt really bad about his assessment earlier, he would try to help Dracoso in any fashion that he could. There was also a woman that he hadn’t seen the day before that he knew if he was older, he’d be sexually attracted to her, but he was young and ignorant to the hormones that rampaged through the adult male’s body, and for that he was lucky. Heroshi and Dracoso would slowly catch up to the woman walking along with the human convoy and Dracoso would ask the woman, "what happened here? Is everyone ok?" As the group jogged alongside those being carried away, she replied, "I'm not sure! We were just starting our shifts as lifeguards for the day and one of them started coughing! Thank goodness for the staff being nearby. I think they got sick off something!" Heroshi would soon become very confused, there were going to be a bunch of words that he wouldn’t quite understand, but he would get the six-year-old version after they left the side of the sick lifeguards. Heroshi could tell Dracoso was deep in thought because he got really quiet. And then Heroshi would watch as he shook his head and asked the woman, "what exactly did they eat?" The woman would slant her head upward and press a finger to her bottom lip as she thought about the question Dracoso asked her. She would take a few moments to carefully consider her answer before she said, "well, most of them ate the fish we had been given as a gift. I'm not a fan of fish, as it can ruin one's figure, so I just had the rice and some veggies that came with it."
 
               When Heroshi looked at the bodies of those being carted off, he noticed that they were turning a shade of purple and blue, this made Heroshi uncomfortable. He would look to Dracoso for guidance because he was medically trained and Heroshi hoped he knew what to do. "What fish did you receive?" Dracoso would ask, Heroshi could hear the concern in his partner’s voice, this was obviously a bad situation, and these people were in for a ride of their lives. "Oh, some kind of delicacy. Apparently, it is some kind of balloon fish that puffs itself up before blowing itself away. I think they called it a goofoo fish." The woman would shrug as Dracoso looked at the woman. At first, he seemed confused about what she was saying, but then the gears started turning in his head. Heroshi could feel the air around him get cooler as Dracoso took a few breaths, it sent chills down his spine. Apprehension was palpably rutted in his speech as he asked his next question. "And how was the fish prepared?" The woman could only offer a small shrug to his accomplice while she spoke. Heroshi was so anxious he had to draw breaths in and would have to force himself to breathe, it was like this situation was causing him to forget the basics of living. "We just pulled out all the little spines and cooked it up. We did chop it up a bit and put it into these little rice rolls before the rest of the crew ate it." As she finished relaying how the fish was prepared Dracoso would let out a pained sigh from behind gritted teeth as he looked back to the people on gurneys. Heroshi would stand next to his friend and remind him he wasn’t alone. “I got your back buddy; we can tackle this together. Are you going to have to perform surgery?” He would ask foolishly.
 
Dracoso shook his head and Heroshi would watch as he placed his hands on the individual closest to him, Heroshi witnessed a powerful aura rush over him. Heroshi’s admiration grew for his friend. If he can do something like that. I’m thoroughly impressed by his abilities. Makes me wonder what I could have done if I would have chosen medical jutsu over my others. Heroshi would think to himself. The arura would swathe the person and immediately the discoloration in their skin would gradually stop its growth to purple and would start to return to its normal state of pale pink. Heroshi would cheer his friend on, he at this point was useless, he didn’t know what else to do, so he would run back to the dining room and grab a few hand towels and he would soak them in warm water. I don’t know what this will do, but maybe it’ll help in some fashion. He would soak them and then race downstairs back to where his friend was in the process of washing the poison out with his aura. Heroshi would dab the first person who got healed face with a warm cloth. Hew would tend to their comfort needs after Dracoso would heal them Heroshi decided. It wasn't until the last person Dracoso was about to work on, had stopped breathing and started to convulse on the gurney, that made it clear that if Dracoso wasn’t in this hotel eating breakfast with his friend and watching the waves these poor people would have succumbed to the poison. It took three staff members and Heroshi to pin the man's limbs down so that Dracoso could apply his healing aura. After all that the man fell off the gurney and onto the floor. Heroshi would slap a chakra storage seal on the man and then activate it for him, he read somewhere that chakra could help when someone is exhausted like that. Heroshi was so proud of his friend that he couldn’t help but give him a thumbs up and flash a smile at him. “Dracoso, you saved all of them, you’re the best!”
 
Heroshi would notice Dracoso sweating profusely from all the jutsu he was using. Heroshi would notice all of the poor people were all exhausted and he would give each one a chakra storage seal, even one for his buddy, Heroshi would activate it for them so they could regain a little bit of stamina, enough to not feel like death incarnate, but not enough to get them out of bed. Heroshi would hand Dracoso a damp towel to wipe the sweat away, and after he would head back to the woman who was still standing. "They should survive, but I doubt they are in any shape to be lifeguards," Dracoso told her, she would respond by looking at her friends with sadness in her eyes. "I will need to keep an eye on them, but someone needs to keep an eye on the beach!" She looked to Dracoso and Heroshi pleadingly for their help. Heroshi really didn’t want the responsibilities of being a shinobi at this moment, but he knew how to look willing and happy to be gainfully employed, Heroshi would be the first to accept the mission of being a lifeguard. “I accept.” He would say as Dracoso would inform the lady, "my team and I can handle the beach. From what we saw yesterday, it seems like a lot is happening, but we can at least handle it." He would say and then look at Heroshi with a smile. "Well, the shift is eight hours long and you have to cover one mile of the beach in both directions from this resort." Dracoso didn’t seem to like the news about an eight-hour shift by his tone of voice and his body language. He would quickly recover and ask, "eight hours? How did you and your team cover two miles of beach with only so many people?"
 
Heroshi, Dracoso, and the lady were standing around talking about the lifeguard duty that would have to take place, and Heroshi and Dracoso would be the ones to do it. Dracoso was worried that they might have bitten off more than they could chew, with an eight-hour shift to watch over the beachgoers and make sure people were adhering to the rules. Dracoso had just asked about how the lady’s team was able to watch over two miles of beach She would just shrug and motion towards the beach, "we have a tall tower looking building that helps us to scan around. Oh! and you should take these." Heroshi was confused as to what a tower looking building was, was it like a tower in the village that watches over the village and the gates? Or was it something like a wizard’s tower? And he was unsure of what she was about to hand over to the pair, but he was sure it wasn’t anything bad. Heroshi would close his eyes and hold out his hands, maybe it was candy or something. She quickly handed them binoculars and a whistle she had taken off an unconscious friend. While Dracoso and Heroshi were equipping themselves with them she would say, "use those to keep an eye out and use the whistle in case there is any danger, or you need someone's attention." Heroshi watched as the staff picked up the recently cured individuals and carried them to the medical wing. He would wish them all luck and quick healing as they all left. "Ah, I need to stay with my friends, so if you need anything else at all, you are in charge. Do a good job!"  The lady said to Dracoso as she ran after her friends. “How come you’re always in charge? I think it’s because she wants to kiss you.” Heroshi would say teasingly it made sense, she just watched this shinobi heal all of her friends, he was definitely capable. “When are we going to get to do something I’m good at so I get to lead?” Heroshi would ask in a joking voice. “Once we get to finally relax, that’s when I’ll get to lead!” Heroshi would say fidgeting with his new whistle. “Dracoso, are you as ready as I am to patrol this beach?” He would ask trying to cheer up his friend who didn’t look as enthused to be working for eight hours on the beach.
 
Heroshi would run back to the room to grab a few items he needed for the day, he would need his sunblock, sunglasses, and his beach hat. He would race out and meet up with Dracoso after he grabbed his items. "Fugu fish," Dracoso said to Heroshi. "Unless cut up carefully by a professional, the poison can paralyze and kill a full-grown adult. I can't believe lifeguards would try to cut up and eat a fish they were not familiar with." Dracoso shook his head in disbelief that people could be so careless.  They would chat about how to tackle the eight-hour shift they were about to embark on. Dracoso would believe the best way to handle their eight-hour shift would be to split up and have each shinobi at different points so they could have faster response times. A person wandering the beach and then a person in the lifeguard shack, Heroshi didn’t really want to split up, but Dracoso was going to be efficient. Who knew, maybe this eight-hour shift would pass quickly, it was still a bummer that of eight of the sixteen hours they’d be awake and could spend some time together, they’d have to be watching the beach to make sure nothing bad would happen. “Dracoso, we have clones that can report to us.” Heroshi would claim, but Dracoso wasn’t having it, he wanted to do this right so nothing bad would happen on his watch. Heroshi would understand and would listen when Dracoso would send Heroshi to patrol the beach for two hours.
 
Heroshi started his shift by creating and then sending out three shadow clones all over the beach. He wanted to make sure that he was a success and he didn’t let his friend down. As he wandered the beach, he saw a lot of people just relaxing and enjoying the carefree air around them, he would make sure to hand out sunblock to those standing in the sun for a little while. He saw some kids playing volleyball and he thought he would want to join in, but he had to make sure the beach was safe. He would make sure they would promise to stay hydrated, and when they did, he would walk around some more, there were more kids building sandcastles today, and he would smile, maybe he’d come across the one he helped build. That was unless the beach reclaimed the sand castle. He ended up running into the kids from yesterday. “Hey, it’s Heroshi, how are you doing? Our parents are actually enjoying their time with their friends. Do you want to come to swim with us today?” They would bombard Heroshi with questions as he made his way through the warm sand towards the water’s edge. “I can’t today guys, I’m a lifeguard today, I have to make sure you all stay safe, as well as everyone else here.” He would say watching the water to make sure nothing was happening that shouldn’t be. The kids would follow him around for a while and keep him entertained while he would constantly watch the beach for any trouble. Time would drag on for Heroshi, but finally, his two hours would end and he would get to hang out with Dracoso for a few minutes. He would dispel his clones and then head back to the lifeguard shack. “This is where all the fun is, right?” He would ask jokingly to his comrade. Heroshi would spend the next few minutes explaining what had happened on the beach, what he and his clones had seen, and how he ran into the kids from the day before.  
 
Dracoso explained the situation to Heroshi about the almost drowned man and then he followed up by giving Heroshi a quick rundown of his first few hours on shift. Dracoso made sure Heroshi knew where the rules were, apparently, people can’t find the signs posted every thirty meters or so, Heroshi would shake his head. “I get to be on babysitting duty he would think to himself. If there would have been missions in the village Heroshi would have jumped to do them, but right now he felt defeated. He just wanted to hang out with his friends and eat ice cream and make friends. As Dracoso was explaining everything to Heroshi, the man he saved from drowning was helped back up towards the resort where he would get to spend his day relaxing and not being a lifeguard. They both applied another layer of sunblock and drank an extra bottle of water before switching posts. Heroshi would have preferred to have a bit longer of a conversation about something other than work-related things, but he understood it was mission time and they just had to figure out six more hours of work.
 
               Heroshi would summon three more shadow clones to watch the three corners of the shack facing the beach and not the resort, and one more to be posted outside in case someone ever needed him to respond quicker than he could get out of the building. This spot was even more boring than the beach. This is no place to have responsibilities he would laugh and his clones would laugh with him when he said it out loud, but it wasn’t funny in a comedic sense, it was funny because they were the living proof of how real that statement was. After a while, Heroshi would see a huge commotion pretty far away from the shack and he would see Dracoso hop into action. Heroshi wasn’t sure if it was dangerous or what, so he would send a clone to investigate, but not get in the way. The clone would run while the others would stand and watch the beach in Dracoso’s absence.
 
When his clone got to the site where the commotion was happening, he heard a man yelling for a man named Wilson, and Dracoso trying to calm him down. The clone would make sure this man wouldn’t turn on his friend and he would stay back and just make sure everything was on the up and up, he would also keep an eye on the water in case something fishy was happening. At that moment he saw a huge mass just under the water get too close to a couple of swimmers and then right as it seemed all hope was lost for them it would switch directions. Heroshi or Heroshi’s clone would try to watch it, but as he did, he realized it was lost to the ocean. He would turn around and inspect the area once more it had seemed Dracoso was able to lull the man into a calm, at that point he would disappear in a puff of smoke.
 
Heroshi would see the mass underwater in his memory from the clone and he would send a clone to look at the notice board. The clone would oblige and head down the beach to where the notice board was, Heroshi had remembered seeing an ad or something about a shark, but couldn’t recall the entire ad so when the clone reappeared with the ad it showed pictures of sharks and showed that this was a thirty-five-foot shark, and this was none other than a great white shark, they eat boats for breakfast, Heroshi would have to let Dracoso know about it. He would wait until he returned from dealing with the man screaming about Wilson. In the meantime, Heroshi would read up on the great white shark and have his clones scan for more trouble. “Why can’t this just be a normal vacation?” He would ask the clones and they would just shrug at him. He wanted to be armed with knowledge before he took this thing on, it was okay, he did have Chidori, and he could hold the shark down with singularity, but he wanted to make sure it didn’t harm anyone else. Apparently, this shark had taken out several hunting parties and guests alike. He wondered why it didn’t attack the last time. Maybe it didn’t like the taste of humans, oh well, maybe Dracoso will have an idea as to how to handle it. He would think to himself as time drew near for them to switch
 
Dracoso made his way back to the lifeguard station to fill Heroshi in. "It looks like the man we carried up was stranded on an island for several months and may need some more time and help recovering mentally. I got him to remember his name and that he has a family, but he may need a bit more help. Would you be up for helping him out?" Dracoso would ask as grabbed up the binoculars and took a seat nearby. He was glancing down the beach when he heard a scream. People had begun to run away from the water. “I think it’s the shark, there’s a thirty-five-foot shark in the water, and it’s eaten or killed groups already, I was hoping to talk to you about it before the beach erupted, but it looks like I’m too late.” Heroshi would say coolly as he pulled his shirt on. “I don’t know if you know much about Great White sharks, but I’ll tell you what I know on the way. Heroshi said as he headed out of the shack with Dracoso behind him. They would make their way to where the people were fleeing from all the while Heroshi relaying the information to his friend clones with them. “I have my shadow clones, Chidori, singularity, and a few other jutsu I can bust out unless you have a different idea?” Heroshi would ask as they raced to the shark’s location. Heroshi would look back at the beach and realize no one there would ever know a six-year-old helped take down a thirty-five-foot shark. They were still going to treat him like a little kid. It didn’t matter to him, respect would come with age, now was the time to prove why he deserved respect.


WC:4595
TWC: 13607

The mention of a 35-foot shark and how to deal with it from Heroshi put Dracoso's mind in motion. He was a bit surprised that no one else had chosen to go out and deal with it, especially with all the combat focused ninja he had known. "I am not as familiar with chidori or singularity, but I think we need to make a plan to deal with the beast," he said as they made their way towards the waves. "First thing, we need to find a good way to fight the creature. If we go into the water, we will be at a big disadvantage as it is its native territory. We can use the water as a surface to keep ourselves above the waves-" he cut off as they reached the edge of the sand. Screams sounded around them as people fled from the water. A mass panic had spread through the crowd as blood was slowly spreading out from the bodies of those already attacked. Dracoso looked around quickly and found some abandoned surfboards nearby and picked one up in each arm.

"Actually, we may need to be a bit more tactical than that. If we use these boards, we can put thin barrier between us and the shark, in case we need to get clear of it. Good thing we tried our surfing earlier today, huh?" He asked with a grin, thinking back to the young ninja's suggestion. Skills seemed to offer their potential at the most unexpected of times sometimes. He tossed the board down at the edge of the water and looked out into the waves as he spoke, "the second thing is that we need to make sure we clear any other people out from the waters. The shark could try to drag them into the fight and again, we would be at a disadvantage." Dracoso pointed out into the waves where several individuals were floating on broken pieces of surfboards and driftwood, trying to stay out of the water as much as possible. A fin suddenly appeared in the waters nearby and rapidly took down one of the beachgoers along with the log they had been holding onto.

Dracoso felt a wave of anger run over him that he suppressed and focused back on where he was now. "Third, we need to make sure we handle this fight carefully. The creature is rather large and powerful, but if we simply go at it gungho, we may end up hurting ourselves or each other. Lightning would be rather dangerous closer to shore, and I do not think water ninjutsu will do enough to put the creature down, same with fire." He put one foot on the board in front of him and pushed off, making sure to keep close to Heroshi as the board slid into the waves. He quickly sealed into existence his water beast, a full ten meters long and wide enough to propel both their boards. He spoke loudly over the rushing of wind and water. "Thanks to my bloodline, I have control over ice and I can freeze the beast in place, but the best I can do when it comes to harming it would be to stun it. Most of my poisons and combat abilities will not work well underwater, where the creature lives."

Dracoso pointed a thumb at Sutsui and said, "here is my plan. Sutsui can track chakra up to fifty meters out and instantly inform me of their location and situation. I will track the shark and try to keep it away from the people in the water." He pointed towards those still floating just as another person was pulled under. "I need you to get as many of them safely back with your clones as possible. I can supply a couple of my own clones for you while I distract the shark. Once they are out safely, I will try to catch it and keep it in place for you to finish it off." He gave a strained grin as they came near the floating individuals. He looked to Heroshi and said softly for just him to hear, "I noticed how you seemed to want to really shine out here. I don't know if it's for friends, or family, or for yourself, but the biggest role one can play is making a difference in someone else's life. Right now, each and every one of those people is looking for someone to play that role." Dracoso let out another slow breath and then gave him a grin before saying, "do a great job out there," before giving him a wink and splitting off towards the shark, his water beast carrying him at full speed.

Sutsui reached out with her mind's eye and picked up the shark within moments. All living beings give off some form of chakra energy and this shark's energy was rather strong. It moved quickly through the water as it circled the people still floating amongst the debris and trying to make it back towards the shore. I should try to take it further out in the water to avoid getting mixed up with Heroshi's efforts, but how to get its attention... he thought to himself. He had the water beast train itself on the shark as he slid along the surface towards it. Let's start here were his thoughts as he approached the next person the shark was circling. A bow formed in one hand while he crouched. A second jutsu finishing in his other hand as the shark rapidly closed in. The waves seemed to shudder at its passing as it headed right for the person. Dracoso sent the water beast forward to catch the person, his ice jutsu chasing a moment behind it. All at once, the person was yanked off of the driftwood they clung to and were pulled into the air on the board being carried by the water beast. The shark erupted from the waves, barreling towards the two. A moment later, a sheet of ice formed over the shark's lower jaw and it crashed through the thin layer, being forced to bite down early to free its jaw. 

Dracoso advanced across the ice, skating at full speed as he released an arrow of pure ice into the shark's eye. It roared in anger, the eye showing no more than a scratch from the arrow. It spotted Dracoso and rapidly submerged into the water and barreled towards him. Sutsui sent a quick sensation that the water beast had crossed the twenty-meter mark back towards the shore and had dispersed with the surfboard carrying the individual away. She began to feed him ongoing information on the location of the shark and the individuals around him in the form of a rough map. The ten meters of ice he had created floated easily as a large platform to move along. The shark was beginning to circle the sheet, trying to find where he was. Heroshi was also working quickly nearby, moving people out of the combat area and helping to create a safe area that Dracoso could drive the shark.

A loud cracking noise signaled the shark breaking through the center of the platform, severing it in half. The shark's speed and power were the two main issues to deal with. The first, Dracoso began by forming his minus field and waiting like a fisherman to catch his oncoming target. He began to draw more arrows of ice into his bow and aimed for the fin whenever it appeared above the waves. His range allowed him to harass the beast and keep it agitated with him until it approached. As it charged towards him, he focused in and allowed the field to settle over the shark. Its movements slowed and its impact with the ice was far less powerful than before. The ice still fell apart easily from the hit, but Dracoso was able to avoid any issue. He felt like he was fishing with his own life to keep this shark at bay from the civilians. 

The ice sheet was now only a few feet long in each direction. The shark was circling closer and closer to his platform. Dracoso rapidly formed a pair of shadow clones to charge out from the platform and try to lead the shark off towards the ocean. The beast quickly caught one of the clones as soon as it stepped off the platform, redirecting towards the second a moment later. The clone was able to get a hundred feet out before succumbing to the same fate and disappearing in a poof of smoke. The water slowly rumbled under Dracoso, feeling the repeated passing of the shark. Sutsui gave him a slowly moving sonar reading of the shark and tried to determine when it would take its chance.

A quick glance around showed that all of the survivors had been moved to the shore. The area had been cleared rapidly by Heroshi and now it was just Dracoso and the shark out amongst the waves. He could feel the adrenaline of combat beginning to weaken within him and he knew that he needed to bring this to a close. He knew that Heroshi would probably be towards the shore, and he hoped that the rest of the civilians would have gotten to safety. With a familiar grin on his lips, Dracoso thought to himself I guess we should see whose determination lasts out as he began to make the handseals he needed. A layer of medical chakra coated Dracoso's body as his bow melted away from his hand. Ice began to form in the air around him as he felt his body become lighter. Water clones formed nearby from the water along the edge of the ice platform and turned towards the shore. Dracoso stood between them, facing towards where he thought he saw Heroshi making his way back out towards him. 

Alarmed sensations came from Sutsui a moment later as Dracoso instinctively threw himself forward onto the water. The platform erupted behind him, ice tearing into Dracoso and one of the clones, causing it to deform and disappear. His medical barrier shimmered, taking a heavy amount of the damage as Dracoso caught his footing on top of the waves. The shark had thrown itself through the platform and was heading straight for him. He and his clone took off at full speed towards the shore, sliding over the backs of waves and recovering with each step. His clone fell behind, attempting to throw a starch field followed by a water prison over the shark, only to be overrun. The starch syrup clung to the shark, making it shimmer with an orange sheen while the prison had melted upon impact with the beast. The clone disappeared within its maw a moment later and was heading straight for Dracoso. He focused back on the shore and felt his body shimmer slightly before becoming invisible as Sutsui threw a layer of camouflage over them both. The shark was confused for only a moment before it rapidly headed towards the ripples his footsteps caused along the waves.

The moments stretched out, feeling like hours as they raced towards the sands. Time seemed to slow as he watched the both the shore in his eyes and the shark in Sutsui's sensations. Each breath felt labored as he pushed with all the speed he could muster. Waiting for just the right moment. The shark drew closer, outpacing him by mere feet every second. His thoughts ran through all the jutsu he had learned, and he realized that only one might help, but not until after the shark had arrived. At that moment, Sutsui alerted Dracoso to Heroshi coming up from fifty meters off. The shark was only moments away from reaching them. Dracoso grinned to himself, knowing he would need to choose which direction to turn. He formed the handseals with his left hand just as Heroshi appeared in his own eyes, a mere thirty meters away. Now he thought to himself, turning with his right side, throwing his arm up just as the shark breached the surface. He forced his arm into the upper part of its jaw, wedging his arm between its teeth and foot against the lower jaw. The teeth closed and shattered the last of his medical chakra, taking a chunk out of the outer part of his arm as he finished the jutsu. A shockwave of frost flew out in all directions, freezing the water and wood nearby, along with the layer of starch still resting on top of the shark. "Now!" Dracoso yelled as he threw himself from the shark, now frozen sticking up out of the waves. Twenty water senbon appeared in the air and struck in a circular pattern in the center of the shark's exposed chest, drilling an open target. Dracoso flew backwards as Heroshi flowed past him. 

Dracoso seemed to float over the waves before colliding with the water's surface and the world was deafened. His arm throbbed in pain as he slowly made the handseals and started healing his wound. He was able to make two more shadow clones who carefully raised him up to the surface and carried him off towards the shore. As he came up into the open air again, he could see Heroshi standing on the frozen water, the shark dead. He let out a breath of relief and let himself be settled back on the shore. He raised his arm to see a large portion missing from his forearm and elbow and winced at the pain. He was glad he spent so much time reading medical book. A few handseals later, and his limb was back to normal. "Thank goodness for body part replications. I don't know how much of a ninja I would be if I lost pieces of me from each tough mission," he said softly to himself. 

People on the sands were cheering at the defeat of the shark and were gathering around him just as Heroshi arrived. The young ninja showed concern over just how much blood covered Dracoso and he gently patted the young ninja on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I still have plenty of tricks up my sleeve to make sure we got out of that one," he said with a soft chuckle. "Besides, it looks like we made a big difference in a lot of people's lives today." The crowd was congratulating them on the impressive combat many had watched and asked about where they had learned their skills and abilities. Some were impressed with how Heroshi was able to defeat the shark so soundly and wondered how he learned so much by his age. Dracoso just answered their questions and thanked them for their words as he stood and said that he needed to return to finish his lifeguard watch. He made his way through the crowd right up until another scream rang out.

People began to point at the waves and Dracoso quickly turned to see what looked like large water spirits in the shape of sharks floating over the waves. The longer he watched, the more figures appeared before them and began to make their way towards the crowd. Dracoso was already halfway through the seals by the time he felt a firm bite on the back of his neck from Sutsui. She sent sensations to him of a blindfold over his eyes and he realized that what he was seeing wasn't really there. He released himself from the Genjutsu and saw only the dead shark laying out on the frozen water. The intensity and drain from the loss of adrenaline has made it easy for his mind to be influenced. He saw Heroshi preparing to react to the illusory clones. Dracoso reached over and carefully put a hand on the top of his head, breaking the illusion before sighing deeply. "It looks like someone is up to a bit of mayhem," he said to Heroshi. "A powerful someone. Sutsui broke me out of their hold, so I am lucky we were not dragged into it too."

With those words, he glanced around at the people now running in all directions. The crowd had returned to a panic. They were acting as if being attacked by unseen flying assailants and he knew that chasing each person down to free them would take too long. Many would get hurt in the meantime and needed an answer soon. He reached out to Sutsui and she began to search for any signs of jutsu being cast in the area, but the number of people to check was making it difficult. Dracoso turned to Heroshi, "I think the only reason Sutsui was unaffected was because the caster needed to have sight on the people he was casting on. She is trying to locate the individual now, but it may take too long. They would need to be someplace where they could see the majority of the people here..." He trailed off as he tried to imagine where the best places would be for exactly that.

Heroshi seemed a step ahead of him and suggested the lifeguard station. It had seemed like a tower to him earlier and that would be the best place to have a full view of the beach. Dracoso smiled and said, "true, I think that is where we will find our troublemaker." The two quickly headed off for the station, carefully avoiding the panicking people, and freeing those within arm's reach as they passed. This created a ripple effect where people would try to awaken others and let the two ninjas continue up the beach. It took only a few minutes before they were standing in front of the station. The empty station.

Dracoso scratched his head, confused as this seemed the best place to engage in such an attack, when Sutsui sent him a sudden sensation. The individual was hiding with camouflage on top of the building, using the reflective surface with the sun hitting it made it even harder to detect him. Dracoso quietly made the handseals before spraying starch syrup on top of the building. A sudden thump came from the top of the station, followed by a small spray of sand kicking up nearby. "Looks like we have a mirage to deal with," Dracoso said as Heroshi was already on guard to the motion nearby. The individual began making handseals at the same time as the two-person team and several clones appeared around them. The clones tackled into one another with a mix of techniques and jutsu which caused sand and objects from the station to get thrown up in all directions.

Dracoso needed to end this quickly for the sake of the other beachgoers. The moisture in the air began to thicken rapidly as he and Sutsui sealed in unison. A thick mist appeared, blocking sight more than ten feet out in all directions. At the same time, two transparent mists formed and overlapped amidst the original. he breathed slowly as his cleansing aura undid the effects of the hakudatsu Sutsui had released, and she naturally secreted the poisons from the paralytic poison mist he had breathed. Dracoso slowly made his way towards where he last saw Heroshi and saw the effects of the poison and the hakudatsu setting in. He rested one hand on the boy's shoulder and cleansed him of the two effects and returned him to full strength. Dracoso gestured with his head towards where Sutsui was saying the man was located now. "This is one of my main methods for dealing with people in combat," he said as he gestured around at the mist. "It dulls the senses so that you are more likely to trip into either Sutsui's mist or mine. You may have felt my mist at one point if you breathed in. It paralyzes the body for a time, long enough to deal with problematic people."

As they approached, the man lay stiff in the sand, one of Heroshi's clones lying beside him. Dracoso patted the clone and cleansed it as well before dispersing the mists. He raised his arm and gave a swift chop to the man's neck, causing his eyes to roll back in his head as he went unconscious. "This should keep him out of trouble while we figure out how to deal with him," he said to Heroshi as he stood. As sight returned, many people were strewn across the beach. Many were gasping for breath and others seemed to have gone unconscious from the exertion. Several staff members came running down the beach, seeing that the worst of the problem was handled. "What happened here?!" a female staff member asked Dracoso and Heroshi as she looked at the unconscious man. Dracoso raised a hand and pointed out at the water where the ice was finally melting, and the shark was slipping into the waters. "A shark attack started this whole mess with several casualties. We will need to retrieve what we can of any limbs or missing body parts, and I can see about what medical work I can do to heal them," He explained. 

He continued as he gestured to the rest of the people laying on the beach, "a rogue ninja using genjutsu openly caused these individuals to hallucinate an even worse attack. We will need the staff to move those people up into the resort and be treated for possible heatstroke, heat exhaustion, and overexertion. Make sure to bring out plenty of ice packs, cold water, sunburn ointment, and let them lay down out of the sun. Use ice baths for those in the worst shape and dark rooms for those who have taken in too much sun." He advised the staff member as several more came up and started to get their directions. He realized that he was not really the on in charge here, but the emergency required someone who was already aware of what was going on. He turned back to Heroshi and gave him a tired smile before saying, "at least we got through the worst of it. Now, we just recover where we can."

{WC = 3708, TWC = 16214}