A Series of Events, Fortunate or Otherwise

Sun Oct 30, 2022 6:33 pm

Mission Lineup:

E - An Extension of Yourself

Fumitake was glad to finally wake up at his own pace for a mission for once. He rose well rested and prepared to pursue the best Steel Fabrications had to offer. He was sent to test out weaponry and take a log of what may become useful to him. To revisit at a later date, or maybe even acquire something. He had known many ninja who used weapons but to Fumitake, weapons were largely unknown to him. Sure he had thrown around shuriken and used kunai, but swords and other melee weapons were another story all together. But regardless. It was a good time for something new.

“Hello!” Someone shouted kindly to the front of the shop as the young ninja walked in.

“Good afternoon!” he replied “I’m Fumitake, I’m here to see your wares and maybe see if anything is to my liking?”

A young man, not more than a few years older than Fumitake, came around the corner.

“Oh! Right, you’re the Shinobi we were supposed to have come in. Right this way, then.” The employee directed Fumitake to a backroom of sorts with enough space to take some of these weapons for a spin. So to speak…

The shop-hand started by introducing Fumitake to armor, something he quite clearly did not wear. First a Flak Jacket was recommended as it was popular, but Fumitake preferred more loose clothing, asked if he could have a look at what he could maybe wear under stuff like his current clothing. He was told about body suits that can be worn under clothing and vary in effectiveness but the most readily available kind was at the shop and could be purchased if he wanted. He tried one on, testing it under his clothes. It didn’t seem to limit his movement at all. He liked that.

Next was a litany of weapons ranged and melee.

“I don’t care for the polearms, they feel unwieldy to me, maybe that comes with practice but they just don’t feel right in my hands…” Fumi looked down at the naginata he was given to test. Maybe he should be looking for lighter weaponry.

“That’s perfectly fine. We have some lighter swords and I think you may enjoy a shortbow.” the man gathered the weapons he mentioned for Fumitake to test out.

As the young ninja picked up different lengths of swords he felt like he was in the right range. These fit his hand better, were more agile, more intuitive for him. He liked them, especially the shorter blades. He wondered what kind of jutsu he could use with blades like that. He already had a few ideas for his shuriken. But next he reached for the shortbow. He was directed in how to knock the arrow and how to draw back while aiming so you don’t cause the snap to clip his wrist or anything else. Fumitake let the arrow loose into a target across the way, bales of straw and boards stacked behind it.

“Oh.” Fumitake was slightly stunned. “Oh I like that. I might have to get one of those.”

“Haha! I’m glad to hear it! Shortbows are great for ranged attacks in a crowded space, they’re good for hunting for one, but pretty much anywhere size is a factor that matters, a shortbow is your friend.” The man was glad he was able to guide Fumitake to some weapons he actually enjoyed.

The genin helped the shop-keep clean up after his test run of these weapons before leaving and made a mental note. In addition to the basics like ration pills, more shuriken, wires, and kunai. He would definitely need to pick up one of those body suits, a wakizashi, and a shortbow. Maybe have a look around and ask friends about custom arrows or jutsu that utilize all of that better. He made sure to thank the man again and say that he’d be back to get some weapons soon.

(Word Count: 659)

E - Shadow a Queensman

The young Ninja Fumitake Muto walked through elegant yet humble halls, his head turning periodically to better take in the decoration of this place. The room should be close, where he was told to go so he could meet with the Queensman he was supposed to shadow for the day. He turned a corner, through a doorway, into a room that resembled some kind of waiting room. It would make sense as Fumitaken entered through a side door rather than from the front. He should have been closer to the front now. He stopped in the middle of the room and half-spun around looking for whoever he was supposed to meet.

“Ahem. Are you Fumitake Muto?” A kind but firm voice spoke, coming from nearly a foot and a half above Fumitake.

He immediately straightened up and met the Queensman’s eyes.

“Yes! That’s me. I’m Fumitake Muto but you can just call me Fumi”

“Then it’s nice to meet you. Though that might be confusing. My name is Fumi too.” He gave a bow “Wakabayashi Fumi”

The two finished their introductions and Fumitake followed Wakabayashi as he walked about the village. The first stop they made was on a bridge that overlooked the village square. People milled about getting food and other supplies for their daily lives. A select few in the crowd, the pair could tell, were ninja. Going about gathering more specialized equipment or ingredients from these still very pedestrian shops.

“Do you see it, Fumitake? How in this village, it is made of the people and filtering through them are the people like you and the people like me. Ninja and Queensmen. Both serve very different purposes but this still illustrates that while they tend to be different, we’re all part of the same people.” Wakabayashi smiled as he spoke, his eyes nearly closed from the grin

“I do… For as long as I can remember, I’ve considered the village kind of like my family so I may have a different perspective than most.” Fumitake spoke with a forlorn tone as if remembering something from long ago.

“Right. I see. Well, then you’re already well on your way.” He stood there, paused on the bridge for a bit longer still smiling “Alright, we have a few more places to go today. We’ll be leaving now.”

The two began walking to the next destination. This time stopping near the edge of the village, looking out across open land.

“And here I wanted to show you. We aim to protect from dangers outside the village.” He looked down at Fumitake.

“It looks so peaceful…” He looked out, eyes wide.

“Exactly, we must remain vigilant despite things looking like there’s no trouble at all. Looks are deceiving. And just as the village square, despite its business, looked peaceful. We must be wary of that as well.” He was still smiling brightly despite discussing such dark implications.

“I see… Looking within and not just beyond. That’s a good lesson for life too, not just being a protector of a village.” Fumitake smiled, trying to mimic the good nature of Wakabayashi.

“You know, Fumitake, you’re pretty wise for someone your age…”

The two continued their patrol around town, stopping once again, but this time, at the foot of the building where they started.

“We’re back here? Does that mean we’re done?” Fumitake didn’t sound disappointed exactly, it had been a long day. But he was confused.

“Not quite. There’s one more thing I wanted to tell you.” Wakabayashi paused and knelt to meet Fumitake eye to eye. “Keep doing your best and I know you’ll make your “family” proud. Anyway, that’s all. This is where we part ways, take care of yourself.”

They finished their goodbyes and Fumitake returned home to think about what he had been told to day and to get some much wanted rest.

(Word Count: 645)

(Total: 1,304)

E - Food Shopping

It was early morning and Fumitake, as always, lamented his early rise. One would think he would be used to this by now having been a ninja for some time now. Today Fumi had to meet an older lady and help her make her way through the markets and return home. She’s apparently old enough that she felt uneasy going it alone. No matter, he’s gotten up early for less.

It took a few minutes but he did eventually find her among the crowd.

“Pardon me, me are you Miss Kinuta?” Fumitake bowed slightly “I’m Fumitake, I’ll be helping you wi–”

“You’re late. Come on, we have a lot of ground to cover.” Her demeanor surprised Fumi, he recoiled, color leaving his face. “And you better hope we didn’t miss any of the sales today!”

What’s more is Miss Kinuta was younger than Fumitake expected. She was still a number of decades older than Fumi was, but he was expecting a feeble old lady, not a fiery passionate still relatively young looking woman. She didn’t look any older than some of his old academy classmates’ mothers. As Kinuta began walking toward their first destination, she grabbed Fumi’s arm and began almost dragging him into the store.

“Oh… This could get dangerous.” the genin was suddenly filled with a sense of dread “This lady’s gonna work me half to death isn’t she?”

It was almost a blur to Fumitake. The first shop they entered, Kinuta tore through it people and produce alike. Best the young ninja could gather, a farmer had a massive crop of just about everything they grew. Tons of fruits and vegetables that all have to go much faster than they would have otherwise. Kunita grabbed arm-fulls before practically fighting her way back outside the shop, Fumitake carrying the bags.

“Don’t fall behind now!” She raced forward to the next shop, this time a butcher.

“Alright, man, I need a side of beef, 4 pork shoulders and 2 bellies, and 4 chickens!”

She commanded a kind of authority Fumitake could quite understand. But as his eyes met the Butcher’s he could tell he understood as well. The Butcher didn’t hesitate. He just said “Yes Ma’am” and got to cutting. More bags for Fumi to carry. Things started to get quite heavy for the boy with the added few dozens of pounds of meat.

One by one she blazed through the shops. Dried goods, specialty stores, canned goods, bags of rice, the woman didn’t slow down. Eventually Fumitake was struggling to keep pace with her but at long last, after a hellish day of carting around groceries for this woman, the end was in sight.

“Alright, Fumitake! All that’s left is the walk home.” She was as energetic as ever “Now stop dragging your feet will ya? I gotta get to work on the dinner tonight”

The woman immediately began running, laughing maniacally, shouting after Fumitake to keep up. Fumi did his best to follow along behind Kinuta. Bound and determined to finish his mission he trucked onward, remembering that this is but another stepping stone on his way to becoming a great ninja. This was nothing.

All in all, Fumitake got a plate of food before he left and was thanked profusely by Kinuta. By the time he returned home, he could feel his knees shaking. He was going to get something extravagant for dinner tonight for sure. “No,” he thought. “Something fancy for breakfast tomorrow. I need to sleep”

(Word Count: 582)

(Total: 1886)

(WIP)