Throw it at the Wall and See What Sticks

Dracoso felt a bit awkward lately. With all the random kids and parents talking with him, alongside his old friends, Dracoso seemed to have become well known in the area. When he was younger, he had to pester his friends to chat about things and spend time together. It always felt like he was the one initiating the talks and putting in the effort to be social. Now, it felt like most people who saw him had something to share or say about what was going on. Some people asked for advice on topics he knew nothing about. Whether it was new ways to wash clothing or how to deal with teenagers. He offered what knowledge he could, such as how to handle pets or being straightforward when a situation was tough. 

He started to feel a bit overwhelmed from all the people wanting to talk and so he would travel from time to time along the rooftops. His silent steps mixed with Sutsui's camouflage gave him the peace he needed to process his own thoughts. He stopped in on his teacher after the first time it happened, and his teacher had just chuckled. "You always loved bothering people for more information. Now you understand what it is like to be on the receiving end," he had said. "Maybe try to keep busier in your own affairs as a good reason to choose when you have the time and energy to engage with so many people?" Dracoso shook his head and asked, "maybe I can just avoid people from time to time?"

His teacher shook his head in return and said, "They are not hounding you for your attention. Each of them just sees something good in you from the impressions you left. You aren't a celebrity, Dracoso. You are more like a neighborhood friend to many of the families that live here. It is good to be known in the area for your good work. Just do not let it go to your head and do not hurt anyone's feelings if you need to set boundaries." Dracoso let the word float around in his mind. He remembered many adults and professionals setting boundaries when he was a kid as to the times he could stop by and ask questions. Some had tried to teach him that certain questions were insensitive to ask while other questions made people uncomfortable. He wondered how he could set boundaries for some of the people who just wanted to talk with him.

His old mentor spoke up, "I can talk to some of the parents about it when they come to pick up their kids and see what their feelings are on it. For now, you should try to at least appear busy. If you set times for when you need to be in places, you can use that as a reason to limit how much interaction you have with people. It respects their desire to communication while respecting your need to continue on growing." Dracoso nodded softly and said, "That does sound reasonable. I was invited back to helping the Painter Guild whenever I wanted to assist them further." His teacher chuckled and asked, "That group of 'creators'? I heard their leader liked to refer to their area in town as a 'domain' of their own. What are they like?"

Dracoso smiled as he thought back, "you are referring to Sturko. He is an... interesting one. Very passionate, but very serious about his role. The rest are unique, but more so in their drive to create something. One was even grinding down bricks with a sander to use for paint to give a wood wall the appearance of a brick wall. They seem like a good lot, just a bit out of the normal from what one might see is all." His old teacher nodded and smiled, "so a bit like yourself then? Stands out from the rest. Persistence to drill a hole through a boulder with questions." Dracoso blushed and looked away. Maybe that is why he felt so comfortable with them.

He stopped off at the mission center and found that there were a few requests from the Painter Guild requiring a bit more skill and experience than just cleaning up. One mentioned picking up some supplies and handling a painting project in their own way. He figured being more physically active long enough might get his mind off all the earlier discussions. He confirmed taking on the request with the assistant at the desk and headed off for the guild. His memories of his last encounter came flooding back and he wondered who would win in a fight of wills, Sturko or Atira.

As he arrived at the gate of the Painter Guild, it felt like he was seeing the aftermath of that fight. One of the doors for their front gate appeared to be broken off two of its hinges and leaned heavily outwards, still sitting on its last hinge. Dracoso moved past the door and into the main area where the artwork had been made. It reminded him of the food fight he had with his friends back when they were in school. Several streaks of different colored paint could be seen sprayed along the wall of the Guild's main building. Chunks of marble and metal were spread all over the grass. Several of the painters lay in the grass unmoving. Dracoso started to make the hand seals for a healing jutsu, when Atila stepped out from the main building with a smile on her lips.

"Alright, alright. Everyone, get on up. Freedom of Art exercise has ended!" She exclaimed across the grounds. The painters all got up, stretching as if they had been there for some time. Several had splotches of paint and other materials strewn across their outfits. Some patted each other on the back and chuckled at how messy they each looked. They talked as if they had just finished up some kind of training regimen. Mentions of the aerodynamic nature of marble versus brick and the clear marking of water paint versus acrylic were discussed. Atila made her way from one person to another, giving them compliments or advise on what sounded like fighting styles. She noticed Dracoso with surprise and walked over to him. "Welcome back! It looks like you got here at an interesting time!" she said to him, offering a hug.

He looked her up and down and held his hands out towards her as he said, "not to be unappreciative, I just don't think I look good in a lot of colors. You already have plenty." Atila looked down and realized that the front of her outfit was still gleaming in reds and blues and greens of many different shades. She nodded and said, "True, it takes a true artist to pull off these kinds of colors." They walked over to a large washbasin nearby and started to wash herself down. "I am glad you came back to visit. Got another job we put up?" she asked him. "Yes, I figured I would pick up the one which mentioned 'freestyle painting' as someone put it," he said, holding out the mission request paper. Atila glanced at it and chuckled, "We always want to see what people come up with. If it is unique or interesting, we may end up asking them to join." 

Dracoso leaned against the wall nearby and looked out at the mess spread out over the Painter Guild's yard. "So, what exactly happened here? You all look like you had some kind of art war," he said. Atila looked over her shoulder to where he was looking, "ah, that. Well, a few years back people kept getting tired of hitting walls with their efforts. Kind of like having writer's block, but for painting. There was no inspiration, no passion. So, one person suggested that we try to just do whatever we wanted to not hold back. It started off simply as painting wherever you wanted. We painted the walls, the grass, each other, and it helped.

We then started to paint whatever we wanted. We started to put brick patterns on stone walls. We painted open pathways and holes just to see if people thought they were so real that they had to avoid them. That one got our neighbors pretty upset when they thought we had dug a giant hole in front of their homes. It was when we started to paint however we wanted is when things got very interesting," she had on a grin as she looked to Dracoso. He glanced from her to the yard and waited for her to continue. "One person made a bust of the kage and tried to use it as a large brush to paint a wall. Another person tried to destroy a chunk of marble covered in paint in the hopes it would plaster itself onto a wall he was painting. I, on the other hand, grabbed a handful of blue paint and whipped it at Sturko," she was laughing halfway through the sentence as she explained.

"He grabbed up some yellow paint and threw it right back. I ducked, but someone else got a full chunk of yellow paint to the back of their head. People picked up on this and began tossing powders and paints and all kinds of things at one another. It became such a fun and refreshing event that we planned to do one every couple of months. It lets us feel like kids again and we feel the freedom of our work through it." She finished with a smile to him and stood up, all the paint having been washed away. She wiped as much water off her hands as she could and turned back to him. "Anyways, that explains what we were up to. Now, what you will be up to is important. I will need you to go and pick up some paint and primer from one of our mixing mills. From there, you will need to paint the side of the old elementary schools in the village." She led him over to the side of the main building and pointed at a large map that was posted there. The map showed all of the village and had dozens of numbers and letters on it.

"You will need to head to R12 there and pick up the paint before shifting over to M9 towards the back. You can paint the wall however you so choose, just make sure you get every inch of it. The primer should help with the base layer, so you can put a layer over that if you want as well," she explained to him. Dracoso took in each of the directions and tried to memorize the map as best as he could. She patted him on the back as he headed out the front door. Some of the painters had begun to patch up the walls and the door and repaint the grass to a surprisingly convincing shade of green. Atila shouted after him, "next time, let's spend a bit more time together before you go!" He nodded back to her with a bit of a strained smile as he looked at the damage being returned to normal.

He headed out across the rooftops and made decent time. He got lost at one point but found his contact at what appeared to be a large steel building. His contact was an old woman who seemed to have a firm layer of blue paint sunken into most of her clothing and her hair. The old woman pulled out a small rolling cart which had two large cans of paint that read Base and Primer with several smaller cans that held an array of colors. She looked Dracoso over and gave a shrug, "if you know what you are getting yourself into, I don't need to warn you about being careful. Just make sure to return what you don't use." Dracoso agreed and pulled the cart carefully behind him. He noticed a small screwdriver sitting at the bottom of the cart which seemed to have been left there haphazardly.

The area he was traveling through was much farther off from the main streets or the shops, so he didn't see too much foot traffic. Many of the individuals here were crafters or builders who preferred to handle their work in their own shops and areas. Dracoso let his mind wander as he passed by leather workers and swordsmiths. He imagined shaping medicines and elixirs to help strengthen the body and mind against attack and aging. He wondered if it would be possible to create an ointment to help with chakra balance as well. Maybe he could craft something for kids who were learning how to use jutsu for the first time. It could help them to focus and concentrate their chakra more easily.

The school came into sight rather quickly and Dracoso pulled up alongside the building. Many of the walls still held a clear brick red color to them. A woman walked up to Dracoso as he was staring at the building with the cart beside him. "Do you have business with our school?" She asked. He turned to her and nodded with a smile, "yes, I was sent to handle a mission for the Painter Guild. They said that you had a wall which was beginning to chip and needed some paint?" She smiled and nodded, taking his hand softly in hers and leading him. He was taken aback by how forward she seemed, but quickly grabbed the cart handle and followed her lead.

The two of them made their way around the building to west side where a section of the wall had become pale and was cracking. "The sun and rain seem to beat the hardest on this wall, so it has lost quite a bit of its coat over time. We had wanted it simply repainted, but the Guild seemed very determined to add some creativity to it. They said it was for the sake of the children, but I think they just wanted more of their art on display around the town. Either way, we did agree that as long as they covered the extra materials, they can put up whatever they wanted, within reason," the woman explained. Dracoso nodded to her and thanked her for her help. "Ah yes, I almost forgot. My name is Chires, pronounced Chee-res, as in rest. I am one of the elementary teachers here. What is your name?" she asked. "Dracoso. I am one of the Genin shinobi of the village." She nodded and smiled, "I wish you all the best on your journey to become a fine shinobi."

With that, she headed back into the school, leaving Dracoso to face the wall. He lifted the large base can and found that it was sealed rather tightly. His fingers could not loosen the lid and no matter how hard he shook it; the can did not seem to give. He sat back against the cart and sighed as he started to think of some jutsu or another he could apply. As he leaned back, he heard the screwdriver roll along the bottom. The thumping of metal on wood made him glance back and imagined that he could drive the screwdriver right through the top of the lid. As he picked it up, he thought a bit more about how the tip of the head might actually work as a decent wedge for leverage. With one hand, he held down the can while he drove the screwdriver tip under the lid and levered it up. The lid slowly loosened as he repeated this around the edge. After a dozen or so levering attempts, the lid popped off.

He grabbed up a paint tray and the roller from the cart and started by applying a layer of the red base paint that he had been provided. With the help of his clones, and one transformed into the shape of a ladder, he was able to work quickly. Much of the cracking had to be peeled off carefully to leave a flat surface for the paint. He watched as the dull orangish red that had been there transformed into a full sheet of red. By the time he finished the wall, the parts he had begun on were already drying. He washed out the tray and filled it with the primer before repeating the process. It took an hour to make sure he had covered every part of the wall. By the time he finished, the wall was back in all its shining glory.

He used the handle of the screwdriver to pop the lid back on and reseal it. By hammering around the top of the lid, it sank fully back in and returned to its original state. The bigger issue came next. Dracoso looked over the newly reddened wall and tried to imagine what he thought would look good. The wall was large enough that any single object may come across as intimidating to children. He wanted to avoid faces, as he did not feel he had the skill or knowledge to make them look realistic, or good. He wanted it to be simple, yet thought-provoking. He thought over his lessons and all the things he had seen. From animals to images of jutsu in books, he could imagine hundreds of ideas, but none that he felt like he could paint.

He was starting to run in mental circles when his mind strayed and wandered back to the idea of the storm wall that protected Kirigakure. It was a mix of three of the main elements seen in the country: water, wind, and lightning. Dracoso looked back up at the wall and imagined the idea of those three elements, along with the other two main elements, slowly appearing. He could see lightning bolts coming from above while the earth rumbled softly at the bottom. Water traveling through the earth and wind traveling over it. Even fire from the sun would be softly spun in rays around the lightning. Dracoso could see the inspiration as he began to loosen the cans he would need.

He worked with his clones to slowly build from the top down. He split the sky between sun and rain and let little wisps of fire come down on one side while small lightning bolts trickled down the other. mountains of earth sat in the middle while wind flowed up one side and water flowed down the other. He even added a few points showing where fire would meet water to become steam and wind would carry lightning within it. His inspiration slowly grew until he realized that he had run out of wall to use. 

He took a step back and looked over the artwork he had created. It looked almost as if he had thrown every element in as close to where it might exist naturally in the world. "Wow," a soft voice said behind him. He turned to see Chires staring at the wall. She had approached while he had been working and simply watched the image unfold. He smiled to her, not sure where the inspiration for this wall had come from but feeling a sense of pride at what it expressed. This was how he imagined the world coming together and working when it came to the elements. It was one of his steps towards his main goal. She thanked him immensely for the hard work and for the art that he had given them. He told it was no problem with a blush on his face as he carefully headed off with the remaining supplies.

The woman at the paint mill took the materials back and told him to check back in at the Painter Guild tomorrow to hear about how the job had gone. He decided to head home for the night to rest after having run around and worked most of the day. The streets were fairly empty as he made his way back home and shared the story with his family. They asked him which elementary school he had painted in particular, and it turned out to be the one his mother had gone to when she was young. She mentioned possibly stopping by there to see just what kind of artwork he had made. When he mentioned Chires, his mother smiled warmly and said, "that was one of my old classmates there. She must have loved it so much that she came back to teach."

Dinner passed easily with restful talk of how each of their days went before heading off to bed. Dracoso was laid down in his bed. Sutsui had stayed silent for most of the day as she had wanted to recover from the teaching event the day before. He petted her softly, feeling her comfortable against his neck. It felt like a great end to a day of creativity and unusual circumstances. He felt himself drifting off, just as a tapping came at his window. He slid it open to let in a small messenger bird. He took the letter from its leg and unrolled it. He could feel an odd intensity in the writing before he even started to read it:

"Dracoso, I saw your work at the school! IT. WAS. AMAZING! We need your talent at the Painter Guild! I know you like being a shinobi, but if you join us, you could paint like that all the time! Just leave all that jutsu stuff behind and make sure you-" Dracoso rolled the letter back up. He pulled out a small message paper and wrote on it, "Thank you for the offer. I am glad you liked the artwork. I am set on being a shinobi, but I am happy to stop by again in the future. I hope the elementary school wall inspires you in the future." He attached the letter to the bird and sent it back the way it had come. With a chuckle and a shake of the head, he laid back down with Sutsui and snuggled in for rest.

{Exit}
D-Rank mission: Painter Guild's Plus One (Part.II)
Reward: 2500 Ryo + 12 AP
Event Reward: 10 Beachside Tickets

WC Total: 3708 (rounded to 3700)
Stats Maxed: AP Chosen: +74 AP

Jutsu Learned:
D Rank - Ninjutsu Amplifier - 500
D Rank - Debuff Bolt - 500
D Rank - Elemental Arrow - 500
D Rank - Temporary Paralysis - 500
D Rank - Ying-Yan Release: Recurve Bow - 500
D Rank - Genjutsu Amplifier - 500
E Rank - Emotions on your sleeve - 250
E Rank - Fear Pull - 250

Skill Learned:
Chakra Sensory - 200/2000

Approved