The World Moves Forward

Dracoso woke up to a searing headache and found his eyes burning from the light. Everything was a bit too bright and sensitive for him this morning as he pulled his blanket back over him. Soft sensations came from Sutsui of calming and soothing waves to help him relax. Flashes from the night before came to him suddenly. His clones engaging the child. Summoning the wolves. The top floor of a building falling in the aftermath of an explosion. Crying heavily over the unconscious body of the boy he had taken into custody. The feelings of tightness he had held onto for so long loosening slowly. 

Katok had dispelled his clones as they had carried both Dracoso and Saito to the guard post. A pair of familiar faces were having a quiet argument over whether or not the stairs still needed to be replaced when they went silent at the sight of the pair of large wolves. Sakai stepped forward towards them, keeping a comfortable distance to not startle the guards, and stated, "we have a thief caught here from a hunter mission which was taken on by Dracoso here." Sakai gestured her head back towards the semi-conscious ninja sitting on Katok's back. Pert and Chap perked up at the mention of Dracoso's name and hustled over towards them. "Well bloody hell lad! It wasn't even three months ago we were teaching you how to keep an eye out for these wolves and now you come back riding them?!" Pert asked, a bit confused and astounded by the turn of events. Dracoso gave him a tired smile and just responded, "They seemed like good allies?"

Chap started to chuckle and shook his head, "You always seem to enjoy surprising people, Dracoso." He walked over to Sakai's back and looked over the unconscious boy before brushing some of Saito's hair back. "hmm... he seems familiar..." Chap would say as Pert looked over, interested in what he was doing. A moment later, both guards were looking over the boy before Pert remembered something as he said, "hold on...!" and rushed off into the guard post. Katok lowered himself, letting Dracoso slip off and said softly to him, "save your strength, young one. You seem worn out already, in more ways than one." Dracoso gave him a nod before Katok slipped off into the shadows, disappearing as he dispersed back to his pack.

Moments later, Pert came running back out with a missing poster which he held up beside Saito. The guards compared quietly then nodded in unison. "Hah! I knew I would remember first!" Pert declared as he ribbed Chap softly. The younger guard just smirked and shook his head as he said softly, "that is not what matters right now." Dracoso would approach the two slowly and asked, "what is going on?" Chap would look to Dracoso and answer, "The boy you brought to us, the thief for your mission, is Saito Goka. He went missing a few weeks back and had not turned up. His father has been..." Chap seemed to be uncomfortable with continuing."

"His father went a bit overboard and attacked one of his workers" Pert cut in. "When the report got in, a couple of medical Jonin were dispatched to investigate and it turns out that the father was a bit more... physical with his wife than the public knew. The Jonin looked a bit deeper into it and... well one thing led to another, and the father ended up letting his rage out at one of the Jonin. Discussions with the wife showed that she was not the only one he targeted his rage on at home..." Sakai seemed unphased by this, already having touched upon the boy's emotions during their fight. Dracoso would feel his legs shaking as he thought back to the explosion that had been released and the burns he had found in the aftermath. He felt sick for a moment before swallowing it down and looking back to the guards. "So, what happened after?"

Chap picked up the story after a soft sigh, "the investigation is still going on, but the father has been taken into custody. The mother is helping us to understand a bit more about exactly what happened, but it helps us to understand a bit more about why Saito here was on the run." The three turned to look over the sleeping boy on Sakai's back. The wolf would look to the three and lower herself softly to the ground to easily lift the boy off. Dracoso took a step forward, but Chap stopped him with an arm as Pert moved to pick up the boy. "You look like you have been through the wringer, Drac. You might want to take it easy" Dracoso nodded softly as he looked back over to Sakai, noticed odd shadows moving in. He thought he heard Sakai say something just as the distant feeling of an arm catching his chest flashed past his awareness.

Dracoso awoke suddenly on a bench inside and odd building. He looked around to see that it was still quite dark out. "Almost hit the ground with that fall" Dracoso heard coming from behind the bench. He glanced over it to see Pert sitting just outside the doorway looking in at him. "You passed out on your feet back there. From the looks of you, I imagine you had been fighting and crying at the same time. I don't know if it was due to fear or some kind of struggle, but you may want to sit down and address that before you go back out there, lad." Dracoso settled back onto the bench and said, "I feel like I made progress tonight. So many people go out into battle planning on how to kill another person. I just want to teach people and help them to grow stronger." He would close his eyes for a moment before leaning over to look back to the guard. "What happened after I passed out?"

Pert scratched his chin softly as he thought back and responded, "Well, that wolf of yours, Sakai, helped to carry you in and explained pretty much what had occurred. Mr. Heksun is not going to be happy that you removed his textile shop from the face of existence. Might need a new mission put up for someone to rebuild it. The store on the left of it was unused, so that should be easier to handle, and you barely missed taking out Ms. Astile's jewelry stand out front. Anyway. Chap and I sent out a messenger bird to the Head and a couple of ANBU with a specialty for handling sensitive cases arrived a short while after. They are taking Saito to someplace comfortable for the time being to talk with him about what he wants to do next. I am sure with the investigation into his father, the boy will be given a lot of support and freedom, and hopefully he is willing to apologize to the people he stole from." 

Dracoso would feel relief flood his mind and body as he slumped back onto the bench. He wasn't sure exactly how it would all play out, but this felt like the best-case scenario for the time being. If it could have not happened at all, that would have been far better, but time cannot be undone. Like buildings having exploded. Dracoso shook his head with a tired chuckle and yawned at just how exhausted he felt. Pert stood up and made his way into the building before saying, "once Chap returns, our shift should be ending soon. One of us can escort you to make sure you get home safe. From there..." the guard took on a concerned look as he examined Dracoso. "Just take care of yourself lad. You seem to be pushing hard for something, and it isn't my place to tell you how to do it, but just don't let it consume you. Ok?" Dracoso would think for a moment before slowly nodding. "I'll do what I can" is all he said.

Chap had returned not too long after with the guards for the next shift. Dracoso was a bit unsteady on his feet as they stepped out, but Pert helped keep him standing and the three made their way through the town. Both seemed determined to keep an eye on Dracoso, so he quietly accepted them both escorting him back home. As they arrived at his house, his mother was standing in the doorway. She rushed up to them and began looking over Dracoso for any wounds and markings before turning on the guards and saying firmly in a hushed tone, "What happened?! Why is he so run down?!" The guards threw up their hands in defense, letting Dracoso tilt slightly before he caught himself. "Ma'am, we were just there as he brought back to thief-" Pert started, Chap saying at the same time, "You see Miss, we were just helping him home and-" 

Dracoso's mother threw up a hand for silence and then turned her gaze back at Dracoso with a raised eyebrow. She simply asked softly, "Did the mission go well?" He looked at her for a moment before silently nodding. "Are you ok?" He hesitated and slowly nodded, a barely visible shiver running down his neck. His mother seemed to tense slightly, and she asked the guards while keeping her eyes on Dracoso, "This thief he brought back, what was his condition?" The two guards stiffened as Chap said quickly, "A little worn, but unconscious Ma'am. He was still alive when we handed him off." Dracoso took a confused glance between the guards and his mother before she nodded to them. She said softly to them, "thank you boys. I will take over from here." The two gave a relieved nod and then looked to Dracoso and gave him a smile and a quick wave before heading out a bit quicker than usual.

His mother took Dracoso's hand in hers and led him inside carefully. "Do those two know you, Mom?" He asked once they were inside. His mother responded softly as she led him upstairs to his bedroom, "I used to work with the Head of the guard when I was younger." As they walked in, Dracoso felt himself begin to lose the last of his strength as his mother gently sat down in his bed and half caught him. She shifted him to resting against her and he looked at her a little confused. A soft pain sat behind his mother's eyes as she softly brushed the hair out of his face and said, "You have been crying, haven't you?" Dracoso looked away, trying to turn his face as his mother held him. She sighed softly as she held him and just asked softly, "did it end how you needed it to?" Dracoso just nodded as he hid his face against her chest. "You did a good job" was all she said as a fresh wave of tears flowed forth for Dracoso.

His headache throbbed again as the last of the memories played out in his mind. With a soft groan, Dracoso rolled back over in his bed and slid out of bed to his feet. Most of the fight last night had been handled by Sutsui, his clones, and his summons. He was not sure why he was so sore after all that, other than how intense his emotions had been both during and after the battle. Posting up half a day before the confrontation did require his attention and some of his energy, but he had gone on long travels and handled watch duty before. Perhaps he just needed to pick up more missions which required patience and focus to help him train his mind and body for future hunting missions. 

He stepped into the shower with Sutsui softly wrapped around his calf and the warm water helped to soothe away the stress and tension slowly. A good hour was put into loosening the muscles through stretching in the hot water before dressing and heading downstairs. He could hear that his father was already out back working on different weapons and tools for his clients in the shed and his mother was sitting by the window with the 'children' wrapped around her feet. The three seemed to be oddly subdued today and, after glancing at Dracoso, became silent on his entry. She had left a plate of food on the table in the middle of the living room for him. His mother watched him drag himself to the food and sit with a steady sigh before digging into his meal. Her eyes seemed to analyze him as he slowly recovered his energy through the meal.

"Did you sleep well?" She asked as he was finishing up his last bites. He nodded quietly to her, feeling a bit odd in the silence of the usually active house. "Do you remember last night?" she asked before he gave another nod. She nodded to herself in soft confirmation to this before saying, "I looked into it a bit myself and it looks like there was a bit of damage done during your hunt last night." Dracoso stiffened a bit, happy that he was not directly facing her before she continued. "Almost an entire building seems to have disappeared and the three buildings which bordered it have lost a portion of their standing, it would seem." She gently tapped her fingers on the windowsill as she seemed lost in thought as she spoke. "I reached out to those in charge of the financial district, and they agreed that it might help to have you spend some time down there to show good intent and that you are not a... destructive individual as they put it."

Dracoso felt his anxiety floating, somewhat unsure whether to solidify or disappear. "...and that means?" he asked her, somewhat hopeful. She gave a soft smile and looked to him before saying, "that means that you will handle a mission or two in the financial district today. A new mission will be put up to reconstruct the building, and those around it, to help address the crater you left there." She said the words somewhat more as a question than a statement and Dracoso began to explain to her about what Katok had done. "Katok?" She asked and paused, "Who is Katok?" Dracoso realized he had not told his mother about his summoning contract and broke into a cold sweat.

"well... you see Mom," he started. 

By the end of the hour, his mother was aware that her son was not only carrying a snake on his shoulders under full armor during combat, but that he was running with a pack of trained jutsu-capable wolves. As Dracoso's story came to a close, he carefully looked to his mother to see her reaction. She seemed oddly calm, still analyzing him with eyes that matched his own. "Wolves seem a bit odd to have in the island nation, but at least they are looking after you. Make sure to rein them in a bit next time and try to fight where there are not so many buildings?" She would ask him with a soft smile. He gave her a nod before walking over and giving her a hug. They shared in a moment of love before she handed him the mission slip and he headed off. As he opened the front door, she said after him, "one more thing. I did tell your father and he said that he reached out to some of his clients in the ANBU. Saito seems to have been a bit resistant at first but, after a bit of a struggle, he headed home and they seem to be trying to work things out." Dracoso nodded to her with a smile at the thought and said, "thanks mom. One step at a time for all of us."

The trip to the financial district seemed to fly by. He chatted with a couple of his neighbors who had been concerned. It turns out that, since the first moment he told his parents about the mission, his mother had been tracking him in any way she could and mentioning her worries to those close around her. Dracoso reassured them that it had gone smoothly, and that the situation had ended relatively peacefully. Some asked him about the fight and whether he or the person he was hunting had taken down the building, to which Dracoso politely excused himself before heading on.

By the time he reached the financial district, most who didn't already know the story had some idea as to what had happened. A few store owners watched Dracoso as he passed, as if expected him act up at any time. He kept his head down for the most part, until he came to the main street leading towards the bank. His mother had been accurate by stating that he had left a crater where the building had stood before, along with the damage that had been done to the adjacent buildings. Reinforcements had been put up to keep the buildings on either side from collapsing and construction sides had been put up to keep foot traffic at a safe distance. No matter how you looked at it, it seemed as if someone had carved a hole in the shape of a ball out of the line of buildings on one side of the street.

A few of the ninja Dracoso had met chuckled as they waved and gestured towards the gap, silently asking him if it was his work. Dracoso exhaled in defeat and simply nodded back to them. One or two of the kids he had taught during his missions to help at the academy ran up to him and told him how awesome it was and if he could teach them how to do it. He explained that it was simply an accident and that some missions get very dangerous. He directed them back to their parents before a small group of well-dressed individuals approached him as he was coming up to the bank. They moved him close and seemed to surround him from the front.

"Dracoso, correct?" said the woman in front. Dracoso nodded and looked from one to the next curiously, a bit worried as to what this might imply. "We are some of the main investors in the future for the village of Kirikagure and we wanted to personally introduce ourselves for the efforts you have put in. With this opportunity you have presented to us, we now have a chance at a true change towards the future!" The woman gave a gleaming grin at Dracoso, to which he responded with a look of confusion. "An opportunity? What do you mean?" The woman seemed to lose a bit of her luster as she pushed on, "well yes! By removing one of our older buildings from this district, we have the opportunity to build something new. Something unique, which can stand as an example for others to see and consider changing their own stores towards. Missions can be quite treacherous, so your need to defend yourself was understandable and the loss of a building is truly upsetting," The woman said, feigning a frown.

"But from every hardship, we prevail! We have already put up a mission request for someone to come along and design a brand-new building in its place! With the youth of this village taking hold of the future, we will see sights which could not have been achieved without your... efforts to keep the peace!" She ended with a small flourish of the hand before looking back to him. While the confusion was gone, a touch of disbelief was plain on Dracoso's face. "Right... I can say that it was not intentional, it was not in defense, and it was not even really me who did it-" The woman waved a hand and shook her head in unison at him as she cut in, "the details do not matter. What does matter is that we seize this opportunity. As such, you will not be held responsible for paying for a replacement, we will handle all of that. What we will need is simply for you to sign off on the rights to the claims of how the story went and the motives behind what happened. Along with-" 

Sutsui was sending waves of irritation and began to shift oddly along Dracoso's back. A few moments later, an image of the burning tail of a hawk fluttered through Dracoso's mind, making him realize Sutsui was getting tired of these people quickly. Dracoso started to step away, when suddenly a wave of chakra flowed over him and the woman talking to him appeared shocked. He looked down and realized that he was no longer visible. Sutsui had hidden them both in a sensory jutsu and was softly prodding him to get on with the mission as she was hating having this small gathering of people pressing so close to Dracoso. He quickly stepped back and moved around the group, leaving them clueless as if Dracoso had vanished from life.

He had not realized just how late it was as he stepped up to the door of the bank and slipped inside. The sun was already only a few minutes from touching the horizon and many of the stores were closing up. Dracoso had slept in, that much he was aware of, but he must have gotten turned around to think the sun was rising towards noon when it had actually been falling towards night. With a shrug and running his fingers softly down Sutsui's scales, she dropped the camouflage and the two reappeared on the bank floor. The building was mostly empty as he made his way to one of the remaining teller's stands and spoke with the woman working there.

"Hi, I picked up a mission to help with a bit of bank maintenance? My name is Dracoso" he said as he introduced himself. The woman looked up to him and gave a curt nod before turned back to a small notepad to one side. She wrote a few things on the pad and slipped it into the opening in a tube before it was rapidly jettisoned off to another part of the building. "The night manager will explain further what you will need to do for your responsibilities. Please make sure to stay close to the building and handle any kind of issues or tasks which you are assigned." Dracoso agreed to her words just as a rather large, round man made his way down a set of stairs nearby. He walked up to Dracoso and held out a hand, to which Dracoso grasped and shook awkwardly.

"Thank you for coming. I understand this is partially to help us and to partially help you from your recent... endeavors." The man started. Dracoso nodded as the man began to lead him through the building, pointing out stations and different areas based on their needs. "The building itself is a large square with only three entrances. The front door, the back door, and a side door leading into the second floor. We will need you to make sure the doors are locked and that there are no misgivings to whether the building is secure. From there, I will need you to patrol the stations within the buildings over here, here, and here for any kind of debris, left out notes, or unlocked cabinets to make sure confidentiality is maintained. Finally, I will need you to make sure that all forms of machinery and lighting are still operational. Checking any and all electrical appliances, the lighting for both lamps of the electrical and oil kinds and making note of anything which needs to be replaced. Do you understand all this?" the man turned back to Dracoso and looked him firmly in the eye as he handed Dracoso the keys.

"I understand. You want me to make sure that the building is secure, clean up anything in the building that may cause issue, and to check all of the tools around the building for problems. Does that cover it?" He asked. The man would confirm before scurrying back up the stairs towards whatever work he was previously engaged with. While the night was rather peaceful, Dracoso felt a bit on edge. It was odd to shift from doing missions against more predictable challenges into a live confrontation, only to shift back to basic tasks. They were necessary and they did help both him and the village grow through those efforts. He released a tense breath that he had been holding and began his tasks.

He checked each of the entrances and found only the front door to be unlocked, for good reason. A small seal was placed over the edge of the front door which would glow anytime the door was opened during the night. The light it gave off flickered and made it apparent to anyone on the first floor that someone had either entered or left. Dracoso locked the door as the woman from the last teller stand left the building and he went about patrolling the desks and stations. A good bit of refuse had built up in the baskets with only a few stray pieces laying out on the floor. One or two of the cabinets had been left unlocked before Dracoso made sure to secure them. An odd statue of a squirrel was sitting on its side as Dracoso made his way towards the back. He righted the small statue and shrugged to himself, wondering what kind of person would enjoy having a squirrel so close at all times.

The real issue came from examining the tools and appliances around the building. The cash registers seemed to all be in order, as most bankers would need, but many of the light fixtures seemed to have minor issues. Either the glass of the lamp holder was coated in dust or tiny cracks, or they were tilted in an awkward position. They did not seem to be used often, but Dracoso took note of this anyways. The electrical lighting had a few exposed wires in the corners of the building, most likely due to a lack of attention or care. Many of the keyboards and interfaces were still in good shape. Ther were two exceptions, one screen was faded so heavily that even the backlight barely changed what it looked like between being on and off. The second had a keyboard with several missing keys and small pieces of notepad stuck in place to replace them.

Dracoso simply wrote down several pieces of information and tore off the paper from the pad before placing it in the same tube the woman had used earlier. The document slid silently up with a woosh of air and was carried off to the night manager. The man came back down a few minutes later and examined the floor for himself. After a walk around the building, and Dracoso pointing out each of the issues he had found, the man thanked him/ He retrieved the keys from Dracoso before letting him out the front door and locking it from the inside.

The walk back in the cool air of the night was peaceful and gave Dracoso a chance to reflect. It had been a simple mission, especially compared to some of the ones he had dealt with leading up to the hunter mission. It really only helped a small group of people, but their work was important to the village. Fixing things that may help one person or another seemed so small at first, yet it could make all the difference for that person. Kind of like how he hoped things turned out for Saito.

He paused in his walk as his mind floated back to the boy. He had seemed so determined to do things for himself and to not let others help them. The approach Dracoso had taken was a bit cockier than he might have intended and the wolves he had summoned ended up making it a rather one-sided combat. Perhaps for the next fight, he would need to be more tactical and coordinate with his summons ahead of time. They worked well with one another, but Dracoso was not really able to engage in the fight himself. If he practiced with them in the future, it might be easier to maneuver alongside them in combat.

With this new goal in mind, Dracoso headed for home. He was ready for a real night's sleep and more days of training to come. With a lighter heart and a clearer mind, his pathway was beginning to form.

{Exit}
Mission: E-Rank: Bank Maintenance
Rewards: 1000 Ryo + 5 AP (Given to Sutsui, total now 455)

WC: 4809 (rounded to 4800)
Stats Maxed, AP Maxed - 25% discount on learning

S Rank - Chakra Devastation Agent - 3750 (originally 5000)
B Rank - False Darkness - 1312.5/1312.5 (Originally 1750) (adding 980 to the 337.5/1312.5 from the WC Bank claim here)
C Rank - Wind Release: Great Breakthrough - 70/750 (originally 1000)

Approved