Those that Work in Shadow

The day had started off slowly for Dracoso. Sutsui had been rather distant lately as fall was beginning to settle in and seemed to be growing calmer with the passing days. She became more easily irritated with random individuals, but still showed affection towards Dracoso. He had wanted to spend more time bonding with her in the near future as it had been some time since they could sit down and really just talk. More often than not, he was running around either in combat or handling missions. He would need to have a heart to heart with her in the near future to become even more in sync for their goals and desires. Sutsui seemed mostly content with simply cradling around some part of Dracoso or another simply to keep close. He wondered if he was just a secure location for her or if they were still truly as close as the first time they had met. 

Dracoso shook his head and realized that his emotions were still a bit frayed from the past hunting mission. Another mission might take his mind off things, but he wondered if it could be a task which would break the repetitive nature of the ones he had handled in the past. The sun had risen and was beginning to fill his room with light by the time he stepped out of the shower that morning. It was rather early, but Dracoso headed downstairs to see if his family was up. His mother was quietly reading in the kitchen as he came through the living room, and she gave him a smile. "Up early today. Was your night at the bank a good one?" she asked as she placed a bookmarker and closed her book. Dracoso nodded and took a seat across from her at the kitchen table before saying, "it was. It was very peaceful, and the tasks were rather simple. It helped me to slow down and see that even the small things help people."

His mother nodded, still smiling, before asking, "do you feel at peace with what you had to deal with?" Dracoso softly tilted his head from side to side as if weighing his thoughts. "I feel like I still need to get out some of my feelings, but I am not sure how. Walking around and processing things helps. I just want to get my head back into some kind of a good space before I try to do too much more." His mother stood and began to prepare a pot a tea as he spoke. She nodded as he finished and responded, "that does sound like someone from our family." Dracoso gave her a curious look as she glanced back at him, a smirk playing across her lips. "When I was younger, I too had my own challenges to face and lessons to learn. Before I met your father, I was also involved in a bit of ninja work." 

Dracoso looked at her wide-eyed. His mother, the person who he had always thought of as gentle and needing care, had been a ninja. He was in disbelief as he struggled to find the right words, "but... you do not seem... I mean you don't look like..." His mother chuckled, "like a killer? Or some kind of expert shadow hunter?" Dracoso just nodded, his jaw partially open. His mother chuckled again and continued, "I was more of a support ninja. I kept an eye on the guards and I would go as a bit of a medic on some of the less dangerous missions. I never really sought to gain much power, but I did make my place amongst those who handled the protection within the village. Three such individuals include the Head of the guard, and those two guard friends of yours, Pert and Kalen. I saved the life of the first once and helped to looked after the parents of the other two back when they were little. They probably remember me when I used to keep them out of trouble." 

Dracoso was shocked to learn this and asked, "why did you never mention this before?" His mother paused and turned back to face him with an eyebrow raised. "I have told you. You were just too busy chasing all of my medical colleagues to listen. The only lessons I think that really stuck with you were what you formed in your own head and what your father taught you about when you did your weapons and taijutsu training." Dracoso thought back as hard as he could and only a few spare memories of what his mother would look like in a flak jacket came to mind. He rubbed the back of his neck as he felt like that was something he should have remembered as a child. His mother gave a soft shrug and said, "it is to be expected. You take after me in many ways, honey. Your looks, your caring nature, your consistently active mind..." she said as he focused back on her with an awkward smile.

"Most of all though, you take after me, and our whole side of the family, in how passionate you are to achieve your goals. I was sure you were already past your phase, but when you took up the idea of becoming a ninja, I knew the day would eventually come. The day where you would either pass or fail some goal you had set yourself and deal with the outcome." The tea was heating up as his mother took her seat across from him again and she leaned back against the wall behind her. Her cool blue eyes looked into his as she spoke, "things may get easier, or harder, in time for you with these feelings. Just remember that no matter what, there will be more choices to make in the future. Whether or not I or someone else who cares for you is there to help you, you need to still care for yourself." She reached across the table and rested a hand on top of his. He gave her a soft smile and nodded, the thoughts swirling in his mind as they slowly fit into place.

"Thanks again, mom. I do feel a bit better. Maybe I just need something a bit more challenging for now than bank maintenance to help ease my thoughts." His mother nodded to him as she responded, "send a message to your old teacher. He may know of something a bit more challenging for you to work on. After all, he used to be a strike leader for his squad." Dracoso's eyes widened again at this second revelation. "A str-strike leader?!" Dracoso stuttered over the words. His mother's smile widened further as she nodded and stood to get the tea just before it began to whistle. Dracoso felt like the world around him was slowly beginning to shift as he turned to her as she picked up the kettle. "So, you were a medical ninja, and my teacher was a strike leader. was dad...?" His mother shook her head and smiled.

"No, his family was always in the role of either crafting weapons or clothing. The men took on crafting weapons and tools while the women took on making outfits for dancing. Only your great uncle became a ninja and he used to love taking weapons his father made and using them for long range throwing in combat. Poor man had to stop when he took out his eye and the eye of his opponent in the same motion." She shook her head softly and poured tea for herself. A soft shuffling noise came from the doorway as the three bleary-eyed boarlings made their way in and softly whined at his mother's feet. She nodded and hushed them softly as she began to pull out food for their breakfast. She also began to toss together a plate of food and grabbed the cup of tea to hand off to Dracoso.

Dracoso took that as his sign to head out but stopped at the door with a thought. "So, if everyone in the family on your side has gone through a phase like this, what was yours, Mom?" His mother paused and stood up straight before turning to face him with a disarming smirk. "Oh, it wasn't much of anything. I was very passionate about how women in the village were not given as much support as they needed with how difficult it could be. I just ended up teaching the entire Kiri guard how painful childbirth might feel if a man experienced it." She waved her hand in a shooing motion at Dracoso and said, "now eat your breakfast and head off to see your teacher, just in case the mission starts earlier than you think."

Dracoso just nodded quickly and slipped out of the kitchen, closing the door behind him. He quickly dissolved any images which came to mind from her comments and sat in the living room to eat. He did not know much about his family, or their history, as most of his interactions in that regards was with his mother. He knew that others from his clan existed all over, but he had not interacted with any of them since he was born. His mother did not speak of them often and seemed somewhat put off whenever he mentioned them as a child. His father had responded to questions about the Yuki clan in a stoic demeanor. He had always said that they were 'people with their own goals', yet that barely seemed to provide much for him to go on. Perhaps another goal for the future would be to look a bit deeper into his own family and clan history to learn more about the genetics that led to his existence.

He had been eating in such a deep thought that when he looked up, his father was already sitting across from him eating his own breakfast. Dracoso was surprised for a moment, before letting himself relax again. Sutsui had fallen asleep on his shoulder, which explained why his father had slipped in without him noticing. His father returned his gaze and nodded to him before saying, "your mother mentioned that you were dealing with the Yuki passion... thing." Dracoso gave him a nod and continued eating. "Well, before we moved here, I met your mother's family. They were a bit odd, each of them. Some were passionate about their crafts and others seemed passionate about killing. Maybe if I had been born one of them, I could say more as to why, but then I would not of married your mother."

Dracoso nodded and listened, glancing up from his food as his father would talk. His dad rubbed the back of his neck, trying to find the words and just sighed before saying, "I am not the best person to tell you about all this and your mother probably won't share much more." He pointed a finger down at the table and tapped it softly as if to get Dracoso's attention. "Each person is different. Whether they are a Yuki or an Uchiha or an Akatsuki. The Yuki are just more distant from people and most things they engage in, so when they find something they are passionate about, it is like setting fire to old dry wood. They dive headfirst into it and let the passion take them." A touch of worry appeared in his eyes as he looked at Dracoso.

"When you were young, we thought that passion had shown up for you in your desire to learn everything. As we watched that desire continue for years and years, we were worried it would never come to an end." Dracoso finished his mouthful and stopped eating to look at his father. A mixture of fondness and concerned showed on the older man's face. "When Fuku ran from the village and you came back wanting to become a ninja, we thought that maybe your passion was finally taking form." He deflated slightly in front of Dracoso, a faint light of what seemed like sorrow appeared in his father's eyes. "You were always a passionate child. We began to wonder if it was the same passion or if this was your phase finally coming to light." A question hung in the air for Dracoso that he felt was just out of reach as his father continued.

"Your mother may not have said it herself, but we worry that..." he hesitated and seemed to steel himself, "this is the passion phase of the family amplified on top of your own passion for learning." Dracoso was confused as to how that seemed to be such a stressful fact. His father looked back to him and continued, "when an individual has a phase which leads to a failure, it can break that person, in different ways. In most cases, the person can recover and continue on as they had been. With how strong your desires to learn were at a young age, combined with this phase we think you are going through; we are just afraid that you may..." the unspoken words seemed to hang in the air. His father was afraid that if Dracoso failed, he may just break.

Dracoso felt a new weight settle on him before shaking his head, realizing that if he kept adding on burden after burden, that is what would break him. He looked his father firmly in the eye and said, "I did not know about how our family went through this phase before today or just how destructive it could be. I wondered why I was struggling so much with how my last battle ended and why it felt so integral to what I was doing. But Dad, don't worry." He gave a warm smile to his father as he continued, "I have you and mom. My teacher and my friends. The guards and the other ninja. You all give me strength and direction to help shape my passion. Maybe a bit of your blood is helping me to craft my choices in the right ways and I feel far more ready now for the world than I ever had before. Even if I do end up failing, I know there is another opportunity just around the corner."

The concern and worry in his father's face seemed to lessen as he let out a relieved sigh. "I guess I can only take your word at it and hope for the best. You just make sure to let us know if you are having any problems, ok?" Dracoso gave a nod as he finished the last few bites of his food. His father smiled, glad to see his son's appetite had not lessened, and told him that he would handle the dishes. Dracoso thanked him and gave him a hug before heading out the door and making his way down to the academy.

His neighbors seemed a bit more relaxed, seeing Dracoso walking and traveling about as he had before the mission. He had to reassure a few of his friends that he ran into that nothing was wrong and that it had gone well. He received a note from a messenger heading towards his home that the adoption center was up and running and that several pets had already been adopted. It mentioned that an odd cat had come by at one point, trying to hide along the rooftop of the building, until a well-dressed butler had scaled the building and taken it home by force. Flashbacks of missions tracking dogs and cats came to him and he quickly cleared it from his mind. A small note was attached that one of the investors for the center was looking for some assistance in the near future helping with some tasks and wanted to know if he could assist. Dracoso smiled and figured he could pick this mission up at the next chance he got.

The rest of the walk was rather peaceful. The only other situations was when a few kids that he ran into tried to challenge him to a fight, but Dracoso simply showed them a few of his newly learned techniques. One was the child who had tried to use a lightning bolt back during their training days and Dracoso was far more ready this time. With a seal placed on Dracoso's chest, the boy shot off the strongest shot of lightning he could. Dracoso activated the seal and silently absorbed the lightning into the seal before shrugging at the boy. The kids stared at him like he was something out of a fairytale and demanded to know how he did it. He just gave them a wink and said, "ask your teacher. He might know" before jumping to a rooftop and making the rest of his trip to the school undisturbed.

He dropped down just as the students were moving from one class to another for exercise and practicing jutsu. Dracoso hurried in and caught his teacher in the hallway and explained the situation to him. His teacher wiped his hand over his forehead as he replied, "so she told you I was a strike leader, did she? It does not help me keep kids from asking to show them dangerous techniques if they know that I know them." He glanced at Dracoso and raised an eyebrow. Dracoso put his hands up in defense and said, "I won't spread the word." His old teacher nodded and looked to him.

"So, you are looking for a more challenging mission to get your mind more focused? I could offer you something more dangerous, but it sounds like you would be better off starting a bit smaller for now." He scratched his chin with a finger as he continued, "I did get word of one mission that you may find helpful. It is a quieter kind of mission that you will need to take your time with." His teacher moved in a bit closer to him and spoke in a hushed tone. "Even with the new Mizukage in place after what happened with Gonk, there are still a few nobles who are trying to prepare for some kind of return. They are hording supplies and trying to keep good business from other local groups to have a strong front if anything should happen."

Dracoso listened and gave small nods as this was described to him. "Head to the mission center and tell them that you are looking to 'handle a supply route mission' and that I sent you. They will give you a form which will outline the need to handle certain supplies. Anything else you may need will appear with moonlight." Dracoso was confused for a moment before the meaning became clear to him. He nodded and thanked his teacher before turning to leave. His teacher caught him by the wrist and said softly, "do not leave evidence and do not take long. This will be a covert assignment." His teacher let him go and then smiled and waved softly, saying, "and make sure not to worry your mother. She already has quite the history of getting involved in things."

Dracoso gave him a knowing smile and nodded before heading off to the mission center. The details on the mission form he was given described a pretty routine task where he would stop by at a guard post where supplies would travel by caravan through the country. He was posted up on one of the bridges leading off from the main village and headed off towards some of the privately owned lands where nobles handled most of their affairs. Once dressed up as a guard, he was set to checking over supplies for each convoy and passing group to record and track upon entry. As one of the larger caravans came up to the post, one of the guards pulled Dracoso aside and told him to keep a careful eye on the goods in this caravan. He noted several heavily reinforced containers and crates which, once opened, appeared to be filled with a dark powder. Several other containers simply held foodstuffs and different objects for entertainment. He mentally noted the numbering on each container and let a small mark on the corner before writing down details on where each container was expected to arrive and be stored.

Once the inspection was complete and the caravan sent through, the same guard relieved Dracoso and told him to get some rest in the post station. He grabbed a seat on one of the couches inside, away from the sun, and let himself nod off. It was several hours later when another guard shook Dracoso awake and told him to head out after checking the details on his mission. Dracoso was a bit confused and pulled out his mission form as he stepped out through the backdoor to the building. Silver lettering appeared across the document along the outer lining of the sheet. It described a second mission where Dracoso would be required to track down the containers he had marked and either steal the supplies or destroy them. Either way, they needed to be removed from the possession of the nobles. No clues could be left as to who was involved or how it was accomplished.

Dracoso sighed as he felt like this was a step towards the more challenging side, but that he was already so familiar with doing things stealthy that he felt a bit disappointed. Next time, I take on something a bit higher grade... he thought to himself as he changed back into his R&D armor. He quietly made his way alongside the road towards the nobles' lands and kept a careful eye out for any patrols along the way. As he approached the first bridge leading off, he redirected his path and headed into a tree cover that allowed him to cross unnoticed by the patrolling mercenaries who the nobles had hired. He had Sutsui coat them both in a layer of chakra that made them disappear from sight and most minor sensors and allowed him to move across a mile of land undisturbed. A tall fence wall stood around the warehouse which he had marked as the main location for the supplies.

Dracoso launched himself up and used a couple of hand seals to give himself a second leap in midair to clear the fence. He came down on a sheer water wall he formed under himself and silently ran the rest of the path with the wind covering the sounds of his steps. The patrols were not light, but gaps in their awareness allowed him to silently enter the warehouse through a side door. With another jutsu to allow his eyes to see clear in the dark, the warehouse became a clear sight for him to stalk through. With another jutsu, he was able to find each mark he had left to lead him directly to the containers. He checked for any kind of seal or protection on each by having Sutsui scan for chakra or jutsu use, but they appeared to be left untouched. Only one large container in the middle had a seal placed on it for protection.

Dracoso opened the first box to find it full of the black powder he had seen earlier that day. He pulled out his large weapon pouch and carefully siphoned the powder into his pouch until he realized that he would only be able to move one container of the powder this way. He sighed softly before dumping the powder back in and simply placed his hand on the container and moved it into his storage displacement space. With steady movement, he was able to move the remaining 11 containers into this space and leave no trace of tampering behind. He made sure to sweep away any evidence of footprints he had left as he gently used surface walking to create a small layer of chakra between his feet and the surface. he glanced back at the larger container and wondered what might be in it but decided to be cautious this time around and report it back to the guard.

He made his way back towards the fence and was preparing to repeat his wind rise, when the alarm went up. It was possible that someone had gone in to check the building and found the place rather empty. A sudden wave of chakra made Dracoso realize that the guards were on high alert and were trying to scan for the one responsible. Dracoso quickly threw up a transparent layer of starch liquid over the wall and applied the surface walking to his hands so he could quickly grapple up the wall and over. He let the liquid disperse and fall down into the grass behind him so it would be absorbed before anyone came looking. With a quick set of a seals, he summoned Sakai to his aid and climbed on her back as she moved her head and tail to form the seals she needed.

The two became wrapped in another layer of invisibility chakra and Sakai launched herself forward, using her senses and her mind's eye to leave no trace of her movement while avoiding any guards or patrolling mercenaries. As they cleared the final river, she took off down the main road at a sprint and only slowed as they came within sight of the main village. Dracoso thanked her for her help and let her know that it would be helping to avoid harm to the village. Sakai nodded and dispersed as she turned back towards the forests nearby. Dracoso stretched, feeling a good work out from this mission and wanting to prepare for more next time.

He arrived back at the mission center just as the night sky was beginning to fade and sunlight was peaking up over the horizon. In the building, he found the early morning crew pouring some coffee and fixing up the mission board. A few sheets were taken down with new ones replacing them and one caught his eye. He pulled it down and took it over to the reception desk towards the back. He placed his completed mission document on the desk as he read over the one he had grabbed. The woman at the desk looked over the completed form and gestured him to follow her into the backroom of the building. Once the door was closed, she held up the document and asked, "So... did you destroy the supplies or where are they?" Dracoso chuckled and said, "sorry, forgot I still needed to deliver them" as he opened his storage displacement. He carefully stacked them along the back wall before closing the space back up.

"All twelve, intact and full of some pretty important material. I think they have some kind of explosive powder and a couple of metal shipments for weapon crafting. It also looks like they might have a couple of chakra storage items in there that could provide an individual with far more than enough power to fight a small army of guards." The woman simply nodded and signed off on the form. She turned to leave and Dracoso called out to her, "while I am here, would it be possible to pick up this mission for tomorrow?" The woman would stop and look back to him before taking the form from his hand. She looked from the document to him, then back to the document. "You want to deal with this hot mess?" she asked curiously. Dracoso smiled and gave a shrug before saying, "I seem to have too much practice handling quiet work. I figured I would branch out." 

She gave him a shrug back and said, "sure. Why not? We put that up there as a request from the nearby science facility, but we did not think anyone would seriously take it on. For now, let me get your pay." She led him back out front to where she passed off the ryo he was due and thanked him for his hard work. He gave her a nod as he stepped outside into the beginning rays of the rising sun. With a deep breath, he felt like his next mission would be a far more interesting one, if not a unique one. Little did he know, the mission he had taken would make him question just how far people could go to before it went too far. Because after all, once you cross a line, you cannot easily go back.

{Exit}
Mission: Supply Sabotage
Reward: 1000 Ryo + 5 AP (Given to Sutsui)
WC: 4771 (rounded to 4762.5)
Stats Maxed, AP Maxed - 25% learning discount:

Jutsu Learned:
A Rank - Frozen Sky Dragon - 2062.5 (originally 2750) (3 ice techniques known: Ice Release: Token Creation, Chilling Advance, Boreas Winter)
C Rank - Wind Release: Great Breakthrough - 750/750 (originally 1000) (Adding 680 to the 70/750 from The World Moves Forward)
C Rank - Lightning Release: Lightning Bolt - 750 (originally 1000)
C Rank - Water Release: Wild Water Wave - 590/750 (originally 1000)

Approved