What I Wouldn't Give For Some Shade

Character Stats:

Tackling These Three Missions from here:

Missions:

The sun overhead gave its oppressive, almost aggressive stare down at the young man as he stood on the edge of the beach, staring out into the water.  He'd heard tell of a possible race out here in the sand, and while he wasn't exactly fond of coming out and getting this much sun, the chance to see where he was at in his training was something that he couldn't quite help but to want to do.  Anything that could give him a benchmark on where he was now as opposed to where he had been some weeks or even days ago he was willing to take.

Besides, an extra bit of time on the beach was never a bad thing, really.  While it wasn't his preferred choice, it was also something he was innately comfortable with, being from Kirigakure.  There were all manner of islands and beaches around the area, and that sense of familiarity in the water was something he supposed he couldn't quite dismiss.

"Hey!  Hey mister!" 

A voice broke through Akeno's tranquil thoughts and he blinked, turning his emerald gaze onto the young boy who was standing at his side with a shovel and pail at his side.  He didn't have much to show at the moment, with the two items.  "Can I help you?" Akeno asked evenly, not even sure what this kid wanted, but surely there was something.  He had some time to kill until the race started anyway.  He supposed if nothing else he could help the boy out.

"Yeah!  So okay.  My brother challenged me to a best sand castle in the world contest," he spoke, gesturing over to where a slightly older boy, probably two or three years by Akeno's guess, was seated near the shore, putting sand into buckets to build, presumably, a castle.  "But then he went and took all of the buckets and shovels and everything!  I was able to get these two but there's no way I'm going to be able to win!"

Akeno frowned slightly at that, his gaze flickering up to the other young man across the way, a certain edge now falling onto his gaze.  ""I see." The shinobi-in-training looked down at the tools the boy had to work with, before realizing that it might not be 'fair' if he were to help. "Do the rules you and your brother have decided on stop me from helping you in any way?" Akeno asked, arching a brow in response to his own question, seeking the answer.

"Nuh-uh.  Anything we can use to build it was the rules.  He just cheated to take all of the tools," the boy responded, frowning.  "So can you help?" he asked, looking up at him.

"We will build a sand castle greater than any before it," Akeno spoke, his eyes beginning to shine with a bit of perhaps too much fervor.  ”If all we have is this pail and shovel, then we can still succeed," he added, before nodding to the young boy, who seemed to be absolutely enamored with the idea of having committed to this idea.  

The two set about beginning to put things together, with first finding out just how well they could use and manipulate the sand with their tools that they had in-hand.  Before long, however, it was becoming rather clear that without some additional assistance, that this wasn't going to work out very well at all.  "Hold on," Akeno began, exhaling as he closed his eyes, feeling his chakra beginning to circulate inside of him for a few moments.  He wasn't exactly skilled at doing this and there would be some imperfections, but at the very least they would succeed.

The boy looked on in confusion, up until there was a cloud of smoke that appeared around Akeno and when it faded, he was now a far more impressive bucket with which to make the towers at each corner of their keep.  He couldn't talk, of course, given the fact that he was now inanimate, and the struggle to keep it going was not easy.  He was still rather...new at all of this, but he wouldn't let that stop him as he held the shape as long as he could, allowing the boy to create four large, rather impressive-looking towers.

As Akeno's concentration failed at last, he released it, coming back to his normal appearance.  "All right.  Give me a few minutes to rest and we can work on the walls," he spoke and the young man readily agreed.

---

Some time later, Akeno took a seat on the sand, a line of sweat going down the side of his face.  He hadn't expected that such a thing would be so draining... but all the same, they had managed to create a rather imposing sand castle. Not only was there the standard four tower configuration, but they had molds for walls, inner buildings, people and so forth, allowing the whole thing to come to life.  

"My brother said I cheated but we both know that we won!" the boy came back, calling to Akeno with a grin.  "Thanks mister!"

While Akeno was probably only a few years older than this kid, the fact that he'd been raised with all of the expectations of the shinobi on his shoulders made him feel far older.  Still, he gave a small smile as he stood.  "Not a problem.  For now though I do need to step away to run in the race," he explained, and the young man nodded agreeingly, even going so far as to point him in that direction.

Akeno exhaled, feeling the chakra slowly and steadily be filled back up by his body which was exactly what he needed.  The feeling of that energy returning to him was giving him the rush he needed to keep going, and with the upcoming race, he couldn't exactly just rest.  There was much more to do.  

Despite the exhaustion in his limbs, he made his way over toward where the boy had indicated him, and before too long he saw the flags of the starting area, flapping in the breeze.  With a small smile he began to make his way forward, readying himself for what was likely to be one hell of a race.  

As he approached, he overheard other participants discussing it as it seemed like it was going to be a five mile run across the sand, all the way down to the lighthouse on the other end.  Five miles wasn't a long distance for him, but he also hadn't ever run in sand, before.  That was going to make things all the more difficult, he was sure.  Still, he didn't shirk at the challenge, merely finding the one in charge of registration.  "I wish to enter this race."

The man looked up at him with an arched brow at the sudden (and honestly rather blunt) words that came from the young man.  "Sure.  You a ninja?"

Akeno frowned.  "Not technically.  I am still an academy student."

The man seemed to consider that for a moment before he shrugged.  "Probably fine to stick you with the civilians then.  Race starts in fifteen minutes.  Warm up if ya need to.  I'll be announcing the rules in a bit."

At the instructions, Akeno nodded as he stepped back away, moving to look out across the ocean once more.  His thoughts swam around within him, like the very fish in the ocean he was staring at.  This would be the measure of his ability to exceed the civilians, to prove to himself that he was actually someone that was worth going through all of this training.  His thoughts got away from him and before he realized it, the fellow he'd been speaking with before was announcing the race.  

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen to the Mikadzuki Beach Race!  Participants if you could start lining up behind this white line in the sand please!" he called, and Akeno moved with many others of all ages, lining up to get a chance to compete.  "Rules are simple!  When the gun is fired, the race will start.  Everyone will run the long five miles across the beach to the lighthouse down on the other end.  Climbing the lighthouse is the last hurdle and whoever can reach the top first wins!  A cash prize of 2000 ryo is at stake, so be sure to try your best!" the man called, and the people began to murmur a little among themselves.

Akeno exhaled, rolling out his neck once before he shifted downward.  Speed wasn't necessarily one of his major assets, but perseverance was.  Even if he was going to have to dig deep, he'd sure as hell find a way to win this.  "And...begin!" the man called, and a moment later, the gun fired.  

As soon as it did, Akeno was moving, sprinting his way through the sand, even as he found it difficult to run in.  Each step seemed to just lead his feet to sink deeper into it and not give him any recompense.  It was like climbing stairs, horizontally, and he soon realized that traditional sprinting wasn't going to be the way to go, here.  While he wasn't the most skilled at it yet, he recalled the training they had in academy about moving from branch to branch in the tree tops.  

He knew the basics of it, using chakra in his feet to adhere to the tree.  It was way easier than what he knew some higher-level shinobi could do, and walk vertically up trees or even on water, but it still required some effort.  He shifted, attempting the movement again with his feet, to try and use it to make the sand a little more solid for him to move.  Of course, the first attempt just led to him burying his foot into the sand nearly up to his calf, and he looked on as several people passed by him. 

Frustration set in, but that determination of his never wavered as he pulled his foot free and tried again, with less force than he had before.  His body shifted slightly with the change, and he pushed off of it, but still didn't quite make it far.  Still, he got further than he had previously, actually able to feel the ground beneath his feet hardening slightly in response to the use of chakra, as opposed to getting softer as it had the first time.

He didn't relent, fine-tuning the use of the chakra again and again, until he managed to find just that right, perfect amount to let him keep moving forward, and he couldn't help but to give a small breath of relief as he managed to push forward yet again.  He was still quite a bit behind, but now armed with this new tactic, he was starting to cross the distance quickly, overtaking several of the people that had passed him before and beginning to leave them behind.  

As he neared the front of the pack, he could see a few runners that were likely used to running on sand and had their own styles for doing so.  But all the same, with the slight, steady control that he was managing now, he was able to keep on moving forward through the sand, stepping onto it as if it were nothing more than solid ground.  That steadily pushed him forward, making his way past those who had been leading the run to begin with.

He realized, of course, as he did so, that he was only at about halfway through the length of the run- there was still quite a ways left to go.  But he figured too, that with all of the effort required by the rest of them to actually run in the sand, that he would be more-than-able to clear the distance as they would (probably) grow more exhausted the longer the run went on as they'd have to dig into the sand each step, whereas he was avoiding that entirely.  

With the technique in place, it was as easy for him as running on flat earth, and his footsteps carried him further and faster with each and very movement as he began to understand more about how the technique worked.  There was barely even a dust cloud behind him as he ran, as Akeno's feet compacted it before each step, leaving it without a need to rush outward behind him as he cleared the distance with relative ease, and before too much longer, he could see the lighthouse starting to draw steadily closer.

Used to running long distances, he was barely out of breath as he reached the steps,  beginning to take them two and three at a time as he steadily made his way higher up the tower, knowing full well that he'd left basically the entire rest of the group behind... but that was fine.  He didn't really mind being at the forefront- it just went to show how much of his training really was paying off, and he enjoyed that feeling.  Knowing full well that those who were behind him were ones that he would need to protect if it came down to it.  

"And it looks like we have our winner!" a voice called as he ascended the last step.  He blinked, seeing the same fellow who'd started the race here.  But he realized the man might be a ninja himself- it was hard to tell unless you knew who they were, and the man smirked.  "Maybe I was wrong to let an academy student in.  You did pretty well for yourself out there.  All the same, I let you in and I'll keep to my word.  Two thousand rye, just for you my friend.  Don't spend it all in one place, now."

Akeno nodded, taking the prize.  "Thank you.  I didn't really do this for the prize money.  I just wanted to see where I stood," the young man responded.  "I was just curious if my training was paying off and it seems as if it is."

The announcer gave a small nod.  "It's always a good fun time to see you new fresh faces wanting to prove yourselves.  Well then I'll have to keep an eye on how well you rise up the ranks.  Sure you've mastered the basics already, right?" the man asked, and Akeno hesitated but gave a small nod.  "Well, maybe not mastered but you at least got them figured out.  Next time you get a chance to go up the ranks you should be just fine."

"Thank you," Akeno spoke, nodding to the man, before he shifted, glancing back over his shoulder toward the steps.  "So now do I just...leave?" he asked, not entirely sure what hew as to do next.  "Now that the race is over, I mean."

"The others will be along but you'er free to go now," the man spoke, gesturing toward the stairs.  "There's plenty else to do if you'd like to.  There's all sorts of ways to train yourself up here at the beach.  It's a good environment to test your limits, if that's what you're looking to do."

Akeno paused, but nodded.  "I'll see what else draws my attention," he murmured as he began to descend the steps, making his way from the lighthouse as the rest of the runners started to catch up to him.  He didn't really pay them much mind- as in his eyes they were now below him on the proverbial pecking order and they were ones that he would need to protect.

"Hey you!" a voice called, and Akeno blinked, glancing toward the voice, pointing quizzically at himself.  "Yes you!  Hey, we need some help here.  You're a ninja, right?" the man asked, pointing toward the lighthouse.  "I mean you dusted all those guys."

"I'm still a student in training... but yes.  I don't know if I'd be able to help-"

"You're perfect!  Hey, come over here with me," the man spoke and Akeno, not really sure what he was about to get into...merely shrugged and began to follow along.  He wasn't really in any danger here, at least not that his senses could pick up, but he was still somewhat wary as he followed along with the fellow, merely watching him with a passive expression.  "So look.  We're filming a movie here, and our stunt double quit on us, for no reason!  I mean sure, some of the stunts we're doing are a little dangerous, but that's his job, right?  Anyway, we're in the last major scene and so I've got four thousand ryo, right now, if you can just stand in, do your ninja thing and then we'll be set."

Akeno frowned.  "Do my ninja thing?  Which...thing is that?" he asked.  It wasn't as if shinobi were singular- they were widely varied with all sorts of different talents and abilities, and with the number of clans and bloodlines out there, it wasn't like one shinobi could do some or even most of another, if they were far enough apart on their elemental specialty, clan and bloodline... but he figured that he'd just deal with the man for now.  "I am still learning so I don't entirely know which thing you're describing."

The man (presumably the director, although Akeno had no idea) turned back and grinned.  "Easy.  Just need you to do that disguising thing, make yourself look like our main actor, fight a few guys and kick their butts and call it a day.  It'll be pretty easy for you, really.  Nothing major that you need to do besides follow the stage directions."

"All right.  I don't mind helping out," he spoke, mostly just because he was a bit flabbergasted at being addressed so casually by a civilian, but he supposed he didn't really mind.  Besides, if it was just going to be one scene and he'd make four thousand ryo off of it, he could afford to get his parents something from this little vacation that he had taken.  "Who do I need to make myself look like?" he asked, glancing to the other crew as they came onto the set.

"This kid's my new stunt double?" a man called.  He was probably in his twenties, if Akeno had to guess.  Strong jawline, with defined nose, eyebrows and everything else that made an action star.  "You sure he can do the job, Hira?"

"C'mon, Tsun, he's fine.  Just let the kid take your spot in the fight against the guys with the spears, he'll make you look good and we'll finish this shoot on time.  For once," the director spoke, before turning to Akeno.  "So listen.  First see if you can't make yourself look like him."

Akeno nodded and studied the man, Tsun, for a few moments before letting his chakra pool in his stomach for a moment.  And then he allowed the Transformation Jutsu to change his shape as he made the seal to do so, and there was a small puff of smoke.  As it faded, two Tsun's stood, facing one another.  "How's this?" he asked, his voice somewhat also similar to the fellow, although not a perfect copy.  

"Not bad kid, not bad!  Just don't talk if you can help it.  Okay.  So here's the scene," Hira spoke, guiding the young man away from the others toward a small cave that was just off the shore.  "You're going to be starting inside the cave, and our props team will give you a fancy-looking cup.  When you come out, we'll have about four guys dressed like fish people with spears.  You gently take them out, doing whatever ninja stuff you want to do, but don't use the prop- it's fragile.  And then once they're all down, we'll call it and get you the paycheck."

Akeno nodded, rolling out his shoulders as he tried to get used to his new temporary body.  As they were going over the finer points, the props team did come over with what very much did look like a fancy cup.  He made his way into the cave then at Hira's order, and then there was a small delay as he saw the other stunt double actors show up outside, before the call came to start the scene.  "And...action!"

The young man- in the body of an action star- came from the cave, looking both confident and grim.  As the director had said, four individual stood opposite with him, equipped with tridents.  He didn't speak (but figured they'd probably refilm this with Tsun to say something snarky before he darted forward, moving toward the closest of them.  

The spear came forward, but he shifted low, like he had been taught, allowing the weapon to skim along his back before he stood up, throwing the weapon into the air.  A fist followed (which he opened into a palm just before striking) and with the chakra behind his blow, it sent the stuntman backward, crashing into a heap.  Two more approached, and he tossed the cup up into the air.  While he had no practice at this, the two stuntmen he was facing did and they both thrust forward perfectly timed to allow him to grab the hafts of both spears.  He pulled one forward, and as he did so, he shifted forward, using his knee to strike (gently) at his sternum, knocking him back and away before he stepped directly into the third, using his elbow as the point of contact to take him out as well.

The fourth, seeing this, began to turn tail and run, but Akeno picked up a spear and after a second of gauging its weight, he hurled it forward, catching it between the actor's legs and causing him to trip and faceplant before Akeno caught up with him, lifting a leg on high and driving the heel down into the man's back, before reaching out a hand and catching the cup he'd thrown earlier.

"CUT!  Kid!  That was great!  You ever want to become a stuntman?  Hell, you could probably be an actor.  I know people."

Akeno shook his head, handing the cup over as smoke erupted around him, returning him to his normal appearance.  "No thank you," he spoke simply.  "I hope the rest of the movie goes well," he added, nodding slightly as he began to make his way back toward the beach, without another word, leaving the rest of the cast looking after him in both confusion and appreciation.  Akeno had more training to do...even if he was four thousand ryo richer.

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3766 Words

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3700 = 37 Stat Points

Current Stat Points: 50 + 37 = 87
Current Health Bar: 100

Vigor: 15 + 7 = 22
Chakra: 15 + 7  = 22
Speed: 10 + 11 = 21
Strength: 10 + 12 = 22


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Surface Walking (E) - 250 Words
Vandalism by Fire (E) - 250 Words
Transformation (E) - 250 Words
Rope Escape (D) - 500 Words
Body Flicker (D) - 500 Words
Chakra Focused Fist (C) - 1000 Words
Blistering Web (C) - 1000 Words

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The Sun, The Sea, and Sand! | +1000 Ryo, +5 AP


Summer Lovin', Happened So Fast | +2000 Ryo, +10 AP



Teen Beach Movie | +4000 Ryo, +20 AP


Totals: 7000 Ryo, 35AP

Everything looks good! Approved