Of Fireworks and Surfboards

Character Stats:

Tackling These Three Missions from here:

Missions:

Leaving the movie set behind, Akeno moved easily over the sands of the beach, allowing his feet now to get more comfortable with the idea of simply walking over it as if it were solid ground.  It wasn’t an easy path to walk but he was steadily getting more skilled at it and the constant need of chakra pulled to his feet was a nice little training addition that he could make.  It wasn’t as if it were an easy thing to constantly have it be active, and while ideally he knew that he shouldn’t need it to be, on the other hand, if it worked to constantly increase his ability to control and command his chakra, why not have it always going?

Still as he came along the beachline, the young man's attention was drawn by the sudden shouting of a pair of voices.  He glanced over toward the two who were yelling at one another, and he frowned, his hands slipping into his pockets as he began to move, his gaze even on the pair of them as he approached, able to tell even as he drew closer that their anger wasn't necessarily directed at one another, but instead at the situation they were in... it just happened to push both of them to get angry with one another as there was no changing the situation.

"You didn't move them even though you knew the tide was coming up!  You even commented on the tides changing.  How could you just NOT move the fireworks out of the way?" the man spoke up, looking at the woman opposite him.  He was garbed in what appeared to be comfortable dark clothes, although there was a distinct 'vacation' vibe that was coming off of him.  Akeno's gaze moved to the woman, curious to what her retort was going to be as he stood nearby, not directly in their line of sight at the moment.

The woman set her hands on her hips.  She was wearing a loose dress of pure white with a flower crown as she looked to the man.  "I didn't move them because you said that you had enough of the wall setup to keep them dry!  I trusted what you said and didn't think they needed to be moved at all!  This is your fault, not mine!"

Akeno merely listened for another few moments as they went back and forth, listening in without trying to eavesdrop too much, although it wasn't hard to overhear them from where he stood.  However, he did get the gist of the situation from the back-and-forth.  The pair had just gotten married here on the beach and were planning to celebrate their reception with a number of fireworks and all manner of other exciting pyrotechnics... but both of them had dropped the proverbial ball, and they'd gotten all wet and damp, leading their inability to work.  It was a sad story, but after he had come all this way, Akeno felt almost compelled to help them.  

He shifted forward, not really wanting to draw any ire or any sort of frustration from either of them, but the young man at least felt he could offer something for assistance.  He wasn't sure... yet, exactly what he could do, but all the same he figured that he had some extra spare ryo laying around after what he'd done and it wasn't going to do him a whole lot of good.  He might as well use it to help someone else.  "Good afternoon.  I hate to interrupt, but I had overheard the two of you talking and discussing the situation at hand."

The man looked over to him and gave the boy an appraising look, frowning.  "Okay?  So what?"

His wife gave him a small pat on the chest as if to try to get him to calm down a bit as she turned to look at Akeno.  "I'm sorry you had to hear all of that.  How can we help you?" she asked, mostly just trying to sweep the argument under the rug now that there was another party involved.

Akeno spread his hands.  "I was going to denote the reverse, actually.  I want to help you.  Or rather, I can, if you would be willing," he continued.  "With what I'd overheard, it seems like there is some issue with the fireworks that you'd gained for the celebration of your reception.  If you'd like, I can help you to procure more," the young man offered.

"No, we couldn't ask you to do that," the man began, before he paused slightly, peering a little closer at Akeno.  "Wait.  Aren't you the kid that won the race just a little bit ago?"

Akeno nodded.  "Yes.  I was able to come in first place, and so I have some prize money from that.  Beyond that, I have some other spare funds.  If you'd like, I can help you to get some more of the fireworks?  It's just an offer and if you'd like to take care of things on your own, I absolutely understand," the young man continued, not wanting to impose (too much) on this couple.  "But if there's a way that I could help, I would be willing to do so."

The couple glanced at one another for a moment as if deciding whether or not to actually go through with it before eventually the woman nodded, turning to face him.  "If you'd be so kind, we would truly be in your debt.  Paying to come all the way out here and the wedding, plus with all of the other costs, it's not as if we have all kinds of money available," the woman spoke, frowning a little.  "So if you would be willing to help us, we would be in your debt."

Shaking his head, Akeno lifted both hands, almost in a defensive gesture.  "I am in training to be a shinobi.  Our task is to assist the civilians with things and as such I don't mind at all going above and beyond.  I will see what I can find," he spoke, turning around a bit, about to leave.  However, he paused, glancing back at them.  "Will you be here, or in this area?"

The man nodded.  "Yeah.  We're having our reception just down the beach there," he spoke, pointing to where a pavilion had been setup.  "We'll be down there getting things ready if you can get your hands on some more."

Akeno nodded in response before he turned, beginning to head back up the beach, heading to where the sand itself began to even out and there were more natural formations of other things that allowed for more solid ground.  The main reason for this was the majority of the storefronts and other such things were back further away from the beach in more permanent dwellings and finding what he needed would be far easier here than it would be along it.

He'd felt fireworks should be rather common as celebrations happened often on the beach, but as he looked toward the options that were available from most of the storefronts, he began to realize quickly enough that this wasn't quite what he'd need.  The fireworks they'd been arguing over were actual fireworks, not simple toys used by children with some sparking here and there.  That complicated things quite a bit... and led him to an establishment that was less focused on a wide variety of items and only focused in on the fireworks themselves.

Coming inside, the scent of gunpowder greeted his nose and he glanced around at the various types of firework out on display before he made his way up to the counter.  The man behind it was a bit before middle aged, with a young enough face that still just seemed he wasn't quite to be the owner... likely an employee or related to the owner?  He had a sense of purpose here, and that meant at least he was tenured in this position.  "Hey kid, how can I help you?"

"Good afternoon," the young man spoke as he came closer to the man.  Akeno's emerald gaze flickered over him as he stood at the counter.  "I have a request, if possible.  I am assisting a couple that is looking to celebrate their marriage with a number of fireworks.  But...they managed to ruin them with water.  I was curious if you all carried actual fireworks, in addition to...these," he spoke, gesturing to the ones that were out and around on the floor for sale.  "For large-scale explosions."

The man behind the counter blinked, giving a small sound of thought as soon as he leaned back away from the counter.  "They the married couple you said?  They're the ones who stopped by here to begin with.  They got a bunch of stuff from us and they soaked it all?  Man," the man spoke, shaking his head.  "We can probably fill another order by tonight but there's gonna be an extra fee for a rush order.  Are they going to be able to handle it?"

Akeno stepped forward, pulling a pouch of the ryo from his belt, setting it on the table.  "I volunteered to handle the cost for them.  I'm an academy student at Kirigakure...and so I'm trying to do what I can to assist everyone."  The man gave a small nod in response as he saw the money being pushed across to him.  "So what would we need to get that done?" he asked, pushing it forward.

The man behind the counter nodded, pulling some of that money from the pouch, pulling out a stack of the coins before looking back to Akeno.  "You'd be looking at this much.  Is that good for you?"

Akeno gave a small nod in response to the man’s words.  ”I believe that would be acceptable, yes,” he spoke, shifting to retrieve the rest of the funds that hadn't been used, once more returning it to the pack on his waist.  "Since they are ones who had requested this before, would that mean you are aware of where it would need to be delivered or should I come back at a later point to handle the delivery?"

The man frowned, scratching behind his head.  "Honestly yeah, if you could come back to pick things up that would probably be for the best.  It isn't like we have any way to transport all of these fireworks.  You'll probably wanna bring some help too if you're looking at trying to carry everything back in one load.  Might be able to get some of that wedding party to come along for the ride too," the man spoke.  "Unless you think you can handle it on your own."

Akeno wasn't entirely sure on that.  Certainly, he had the training that was often the case for those wishing to become shinobi but that didn't make him completely infallible.  That just meant that he was able to do a bit more than the average individual could... but the idea of carrying an entire box, or more, of the fireworks just made his back give a twinge of pain and he hadn't even picked up anything yet.  "I'll likely return with assistance if that's fine," the young man murmured after a moment and the fellow shrugged, showing that he didn't particularly mind either way.

He supposed since it was for a couple that they already knew that it wasn't that big of a deal.  They'd already done so once and that meant they'd likely not have much trouble at all in repeating the order, but more than that, there was also nothing that he would need to prove as part of that.  They'd likely have no issue with him picking up the order being recognized by face whenever he arrived and heading off with the entire lot of all of the fireworks.  

And so without another reason or option not to, Akeno turned and left, beginning to head back toward the beach once more just to let them know the progress on them getting their fireworks, mostly because he wanted to be sure that they understood that it woudl still take some time before the answer would be achieved... and from that, he didn't want to keep them waiting until the fireworks were retrieved.  

As he made his way down, however, he became aware of a steadily growing crowd on the beach and someone down there who was talking loudly and to the young shinobi's trained ear, with a familiar voice.  "Ladies and gentlemen!  We're soon to start the surfing competition!  Anyone may enter in if you'd like to do so.  The victor will claim bragging rights as well as a purse of four thousand ryo!" the man called, and immediately Akeno recognized him as the fellow who had been in charge of announcing the race.  Apparently there was more than one event going on here today.  

He gave a small cursory glance at it, before he began to move past the group, heading toward the little pavillion where he saw the bride and groom setting things up on their own, and he felt a bit for them.  It was a bit unfortunate to have to do all of these things on their own, but he also imagined that they had understood that going into it, mostly given the fact that they had already mentioned they hadn't had a great deal of money available.  So they might have chosen to just save money where they could by doing some things themselves.  It was somewhat admirable, really.

As he drew closer to them, the pair looked at him with a mixture of relief that he hadn't just completely left them high and dry, but also somewhat apprehensive as he didn't have any fireworks with him.  "I went into a fireworks location and it seemed it was the same one that you and commissioned items from earlier.  They knew who you two were by description.  They agreed to do a rush order for today and would have them all ready in a few hours.  I fronted the cost," the boy spoke, lifting a hand as they looked at one another, as if they'd forgotten that they'd already agreed to this.  

"Did they give an exact time?  Sunset's in about six hours.  Do they know if it'll be ready by then?" the man asked, looking more than a little nervous to be putting his faith in a young man.  "Or are we going to have to go without and do something else?"

"The man indicated that he had your previous order specifications and they could complete it by the previously agreed-to time," Akeno agreed, his gaze sliding from one to the other.  "I'll be stopping in there later on in order to pick up the fireworks.  If you have anyone you trust to send along as there's likely to be a good few of them," he offered, and the man nodded.

"A few of my friends can come along with you when it's ready.  Just...stop on by when you think it is and we'll do so."

Akeno glanced to the side where the crowd had grown further.  "I'll be back after seeing what's happening here," he spoke quietly, and he began to step that way, following his own curiosity.  Although he was in training to be a shinobi... he was still a child and that came out in full force here, and that too was seen and the married couple passed an amused look at one another as their potential fireworks savior stepped aside to see what the crowd was looking at.

As he approached, the announcer seemed to catch sight of him, gesturing toward him.  "Well well, if it isn't our footrace star!  How you feeling?  You planning to enter this surfing competition as well?" the man bellowed out, and Akeno blinked, tilting his head to the side a little, not even really sure what this was about.  He hadn't ever surfed before, and so it was a totally different experience for him.  Still, there was no doubt that he was interested and curious both- and the man picked up on both of those immediately.  "C'mon, I think it's only right that you do!"

The crowd that had been around gave some cheering toward him and he couldn't help but to wonder if perhaps this wasn't a bad idea.  Still, with that many people looking at him, the shinobi in training had some struggles in being able to really tell everyone no.  It was like they were all counting on him for this.  Although exactly what that was, (victory, maybe?) he had no clue.  "I've never surfed before, but I wouldn't mind trying.  What's the point of it?" he asked, looking out toward the water.

"We have a few shinobi who have affinity for water who will cook up some big waves for us.  Whoever can stay on their board the longest will be crowned the winner of it all, allowing them to claim the grand prize of four thousand ryo.  If you think you got what it takes after showing everyone up at the race, then why not have a go?" he asked, and once more the crowd cheered around him.  Akeno nodded slowly.  He supposed it couldn't hurt to try, right?

--

The water was intense around him, and while the young man wasn't used to surfing in the slightest, there was genuinely something interesting about doing so.  It was a competition between himself and the element of water.  Admittedly, he wasn't exactly very good with water- his natural inclination was toward Fire, but he was managing to use his tree-walking technique to stay adhered to the board, and that was allowing him to keep his balance far better than he would otherwise in these tumultuous waters.  Every movement that he made brought him that much more experience and allowed him to stay on the board better without the use of Chakra.

He shifted, moving evenly with each and every wave and before long he realized that he was among the last few people still on their board.  He couldn't help but to feel a little excited at the prospect of it all, that he was somehow managing to nail this without any sort of prior training.  But as most shinobi were, learning on the fly was how they managed to do their best and figuring it out in the heat of the moment.  His body shifted around with his weight, allowing him to get closer to something a bit more comfortable on it, and actually began to hit some of the waves and using them to do some (admittedly small) tricks.

The waves suddenly came together around him and the last few boarders.  Rather than try to fight the waves as the others were doing, Akeno instead sought the one outlet and actually went to a wave, riding it vertically and getting up and out before the others realized they were trapped in the maelstrom of water.  He was airborne for several seconds before the board came back down and hit the water, gliding him gently toward shore.  

"Once again, the child prodigy!" the man called, despite the fact that Akeno knew there were those younger than him with more talent.  He just happened to have enough to actually apply himself in this world, and that was enough for him and his parents both.  "As promised, another four thousand ryo for you and your family," the announcer called, and Akeno gave a small bow of his head in thanks even as the crowd cheered, amused at this young one's ability to do so well.

"Thank you.  Unfortunately I have to depart.  I have a wedding reception to save," he announced simply and that caused a bit of confused silence from those onlooking as he moved back to where the couple had finished setting up and had admittedly been cheering him on while he'd been surfing.  But true to his word, the groom's friends had arrived and they traveled up under the boy's leadership, and at the fireworks shop, the order was ready to go.  There was no hesitation in carrying it all back and getting things setup.

Akeno took a well-deserved break at that point, letting them finish unpacking and setting things up for it.  He had been hungry but the couple had let him come to their reception and be able to eat some of the food along with the other guests, and he'd even been given a place to sit at the tables for saving everything for the day.  

But at long last, the day itself had come to an end and he sat on the beach, watching the fireworks ascend up into the sky before they exploded, sending cascading lights downward over the water.  He hadn't been so sure about coming out here at first, but the day had been a good one, on all counts.


WC: 3500 on the dot

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3500 = 35 Stat Points

Current Stat Points: 87 + 35 = 122
Current Health Bar: 100

Vigor: 22 + 9 = 31
Chakra: 22 + 9 = 31
Speed: 21 + 9 = 30
Strength: 22 + 8 = 30

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Genjutsu Release (E) - 250 Words
Mind Read (E) - 250 Words
Mist Servant Technique (D) - 500 Words

Feint (D) - 500 Words

Fire Stream (E) - 250 Words
Sticky Paper Adhesive Technique (D) - 500 Words
Spirit Gun (C) - 1250 Words

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Summer Days, Driftin' Away | +1000 Ryo, +5 AP

Summer Lovin', Had me a Blast | +2000 Ryo, +10 AP

Surf's Up | +4000 Ryo, +20 AP

Totals: 7000 Ryo, 35AP

Approved