The Voices Inside my head [Open]

The missions:

''BZZZZZZZ BZZZZZ'' 

The alarm clock buzzed, unheard by the sleeping young man beside it. 

''BZZZZZZ BZ-'' interupted the gesture of the man's limp arm, dropping like a heavy rock onto the alarm to make it stop.

groaning a bit while waking up, Mubu remembered that this day was the day he needed to stay silent, to not say a thing. It was a sort of test from the higher ups of Otogakure, a test of commitment to sound itself, and of dedication to the village. It was the first thing in his mind this morning. He dreaded it. Not talking was gonna be a challenge for him.

''oh well, i guess i'll put something in front of my mouth to help me shut the hell up for once.''  Tought to himself Mubu.

As he got out of bed, he pushed out a big yawn and stretched, still undressed from his previous night escapade.

''ah shit.'' said Mubu to himself in his head, turning around to see the young woman laying down in his bed, still sleeping, that he clearly forgot was there. '' This will be more complicated than i tought'' Laughed in his head the young genin. 

''This will do.. at least until she leave'' tought to himself Mubu, while doing the ram sign and summoning a clone in his stead.

While the clone was in the bed, Mubu got dressed stealthily, trying as much as possible to not do sound, even tho he was supposed to concentrate on it all day, the sound of his actions could easily wake up the young lady, and he would have for sure to explain how there was 2 of him and why he was getting away without talking. While thinking about sound and dressing up in a true ninja way, he analyzed the sound of the girl breathing slowly, with the birds chirping outside in the late morning. The sounds were calming and warm, making him remember the embrace of a sunny day and of the hot and soft skin of her one time lover and how it all felt confortable, already a good memory in his mind. He quicky got out of the room, closing with care the bamboo sliding door, leading to the stairs that droped lower into his familly home.

''Shit.''

''Right, this is my family home... how drunk was i to bring a girl back to my parents place...'' tought to himself Mubu, hiting his head with hid hands in a gesture of stupidity and self-punishment.

He went slowly down the stairs, hoping to not encounter anyone from his familly downstairs. The chances were in his favor, as the day was almost at noon already, and he was known to not follow the normal sleep schedule. As he arrived at the end of the staircase, he sneaked his way on the wall corner, and peared into the kitchen, his head tilted as to barely see.

empty. It was his lucky day. He opened the fridge and took a green apple, and got out. 

The day was sunny, kids were running outside and birds were chirping. The wind could be heard, gusts of it whistling around in the streets, twirling lanterns and suspended clothings drying, as well as leaves of the trees, making a sound similar to waves hitting the sandbanks of a far off beach. All of it gave mubu a relaxing feeling, and he closed his eyes to enjoy the sounds and let them sink in.

His plans for the day was to go to the Advanced training facility and work on his skills and techniques, while concentrating on the sounds of said things. The walk was a good 2 hours of walkings, as he lived almost on an opposite side of the village to the training grounds. As he started to walk, he noticed quite a lot of people in the streets. The weather was perfect for a sunny and outdoor escapade, so a lot of couples and familly wandered the streets and alley of otogakure. As mubu walked slowly, he closed his eyes once again to concentrate on the sounds of his surroundings. He could hear a lot; the walking of a lot of people, their sandals across the bare pavement and the gritty sound of sand and dust underneath their feets. The sizzling of meats and vegetables being thrown in pans and on grills, yakitori being freshly seared with a warm sound of pshhh and the roasting everdancing sound of the flames accompanied the burning coals cooking in the few shops in the streets. But also childrens, laughing and running around, their young and small footsteps in the grass, and bell noices of their toys. The city was trully alive, and Mubu felt every ounce of life into it. It made him, in its turn, feel alive too. He was enjoying every aspect of his senses of hearing being stimulated, and the pure sounds of liveliness was a thing he enjoyed most. 

''Damn. I really missed good ol' Oto didnt I ? never realized how much that place was perfect for me.'' said to himself in his toughts the young man, smiling to himself while looking back down the road.

AP remaining : 295/300

-5 for Clone technique (1 clone)

---

"STUPID FOOL!" Raikur cried out as the looming shape over him yelled and struck him across the face. He fell to the ground for the umpteenth time as he his face began to burn with pain. Tears began to well up in the young boys eyes, as he began to cry.


"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT YOUR MOUTH! NO NOISE, ARE YOU DEAF AS WELL AS STUPID? Raikur suppressed a sniffle and kept his mouth shut. His father had been extremely cruel today, more so than usual, he had been forced to train in silence, receiving a physical strike each time he failed to do so. As the young boy stood up and prepared to attack, he gasped out loud as the shape dashed at him again, a furious fist coming for his face.

---

Raikur jumped awake earlier than usual, his alarm clock with another half an hour before it was set to go off. Breathing deeply as he tried to shake off the adrenaline, he softly smacked himself in the face before getting out of bed, ensuring that he did not cause any noise. His training as a child had been cruel, but even Raikur had to admit that he was perfectly suited for today's mission because of it. He had received a scroll from a hawk the day prior, stating that he was to continue his usual daily activities, however, he was not to utter a single word.

Raikur wasted no time in getting out of bed and dressing himself. He wore his usual black on black attire, with his (not so) famous purple shades running through them. He had intended on training today anyway, so this was the perfect situation for him. Quickly fixing his hair, Raikur made his way out of his humble little cottage in the corner of the Shokku clan district. Before he could go to the training facility, Raikur felt a loud grumble coming from his stomach, training could wait, food came first.

Heading towards the nearby market, Raikur smiled slightly as he began to smell the incredible aroma of fried meats and vegetables. Wasting no time, he made his way to a nearby ramen stall, pointing at a spicy pork ramen before sitting down and quietly waiting. As he did so, he decided to open his ears a bit, taking in the sounds as he was instructed to for this mission.

He heard old men grumbling to each other as they went on their morning walks. He heard the young lady behind the counter calling to the cook in the back, instructing him to make a "Large spicy pork ramen bowl, add in some extra ramen for this one, the boy is a cutie." Raikur suppressed a chuckle as she said this, clearly thinking the young Shokku could not hear her. He continued to listen to the sound of the cook grumbling in response and beginning to cook up his delicious food.

---

TWC: 493

Quinn's approach when finding the opportunity for a series of missions that could be taken over the course of a few days was that they saw that a single line had been left open at the bottom and swiftly signed their name up. It was perfect as the first time Genin to just sign up to undertake the task. There was not an inherent giddiness or excited angle that Quinn had when they signed their name but simply a smile, happy to have the chance to help with the village's growth. However, when they read the description of tasks to complete, it was actually self-actualization and understanding of the surroundings they had within the village. The first of the trio was to simply, stay quiet. Go about your average day with training but focus on the sounds. The sounds of the water in the streets, the critters scurrying, the steps of the villagers, and the voice of the wind. As someone who spoke little and direct, it was a welcoming task.

Making preparations for the following day, the Forgemaster made arrangements within their business to take care of orders and other tasks needing to be taken care of that day, making it more specifically known. Writing down tasks for their nephew, Quinn made a comprehensive list for him to take care of. To process the daily adjustments that would likely be undertaken by Quinn as the head blacksmith of the forge, the nephew would understand the importance that he is typically the front staff of the store so bookkeeping, orders to deliver, orders to complete, and managing orders to be completed for the day in case other items required specific attention. Leaving some notes for the other two, and even one for Zidane if he were to work that day that Quinn stepped away for. With all in order and prepared, Quinn found that once the clock rang midnight, silence echoed as the chirps of night began to live in their mind.

---

The following day, Quinn rose as they typically did and remained silent, ever aware of the task at hand. Listening to the birds in the wind, the ignition of the forges, and the clanking of the tools and materials being hauled in from the overnight shipments by the two cousins of the Forgemaster. Waving a hand goodbye for the day, Quinn's day started early, with exercising and routine never waning from their typical actions. By the time Quinn adjusted to listening to the morning noises, surrounding the shop. Every motion was accompanied by the idea of listening, a skill that Quinn appreciated in others but did not consider their own ability to listen often. They know they had injured their eye while forging but the ability to listen was usually accompanied by the idea of hearing comments from the other smiths. They listened to the words that began the proceedings of the busy day ahead of the forge but let the world around them drown the barks of orders. Their focus went elsewhere to the idea of food. It was at that point Quinn realized if they stuck around the forge, they would be encouraged to actually go back against the idea of this mission.

Making their way through the village, Quinn bee-lined towards the best option for a quick and easy meal. Certain that others would likely be interactive at such a place, Quinn knew that there were easy ways to manage that. Putting on a stern look to avoid people looking to start up a conversation, Quinn had decided officially on where their headband would be as they did not like it on their forehead. Adjusting the band on their upper left arm, the village symbol is proudly presented upon their arm, outward and firm in its presence. The ability to not speak but listen to the motion of the world was a blessing to Quinn. Peace in mind and body at the time they entered the food establishment, their observation of the world seemed to be more acute than on normal days. The focus is on listening to the atmosphere around them. Words blurred in their mind as the focus was on the creaking of wood, the shifting of feet against the tiles, the clacking of utensils against bowls, and then a handful of others who they were able to observe, also taking a stance of silence for the day. Nodding to themselves, their thoughts remained unfocused on the words they would use but on the sounds that they could hear, and with the others... not hearing a word.

WC: 765, TWC: 765

Mubu was walking trought the city, the sound of birds, the wind, and kids still in his ears, as he focused on it. 

''GROWWWWWLLLL'' 

His belly was yelling out of starvation. He had forgotten to eat when waking up, and breakfast was usually something he enjoyed. His empty stomach reminded him of how difficult it was to not speak, as he looked around him and saw a lot of people in the market district ordering food at differents stalls, filled with yakitori, takoyaki with grilled octopus, or other street foods. The sound of people ordering, agremented with cooks yelling their orders in the far off kitchen, as well as people telling to their eating partners how good the food was. The sizzle of the meat, the boiling of broths, the munching noises of food being gulped down the mouths of hungry patrons, the gargling sound of sake, beer and beverage being ingested. All of those reminded Mubu stomach and mind of how hungry he suddently felt. As if stricken by luck, he saw a ramen shop, with a few backs he seemed to know behind the curtains, as well as some he didnt. As he tought those were his fellows shinobi, and maybe even some of his future team mates, he wanted to see if they too had received the same ''stay silent, appreciate the sound'' mission and assessment. 

He then remembered a thing. Alas. His brain had worked enough to find a workaround to the no-talk day. He couldnt talk. But he could hum his way around ! Since singing was one of Mubu most proeminent passion, he started to hum his way to the ramen shop, singing happily to himself, proud to have found a way to still entertain himself, and to finally satisfy his craving of constantly expressing himself. As he made his way behind the curtains, the little ramen shop got way louder, the clanking of bowls and chopsticks, of noodle slurping and of patrons talking was conforting. The smell was wonderfull too, but Mubu focused on sound alone, taking seriously his mission and being also more aware of sound in general. He noticed 3 other people wearing the Otogakure headband on them, with the distinctive deep purple bandana and the note of the shinny metal plaque. His answer was immediately provided to his question of the fellow genin having the same missions, as all of the other ninjas were silent, while the other customers talked between themselves. Mubu smiled, knowing that they had to keep their mouth shut, so he decided he wanted to test them and have a bit of fun. He hummed songs in their ears loudly, before noticing who was sitting. It was Quinn, Raikur, and another young kid, the one he didnt knew yet who was supposed to be his future team member. when Mubu saw that, he smiled even more while looking at his fellow shinobi. He hummed a few songs, and got to the point where he was basically trying to annoy the others and prank them. After a while tho, he stoped and ordered food. The smell and sound of the grill made him want to eat a lot of it, even tho it was a ramen shop. After doing a few winks to his seat neihboors, he sat down and pointed the beef skewers and shoyu-garlic flavored chicken wings on the menu. As he was waiting, he noticed that the others were using pen and paper to write down and communicate, a clever way also of getting around the rules. He took out of his pocket some paper too, and borrowed the pen of the kid beside him. 

''Hey, what did you order?'' Wrote Mubu on the paper, passing it along to his fellow ninja of the sound, trying to have a conversation without talking.

Raikur sat in total silence as he began to eat his food, barely taking any notice to the food itself as he listened intently to everything that was happening around him. He was completely surrounded by noise, he had hardly ever noticed this before. No matter how distant, or how quiet, there was always something making some noise. Raikur had never truly been one to care for Otogakure's famed Sound Release, he was more of a practitioner of more physical elements and techniques. The only sound he had cared about was the sound of his Lightning Release, usually because it meant he had successfully performed a Jutsu. As he continued to eat, he took note of the sounds happening within the ramen stall itself. It had appeared that it was getting a lot more crowded over time. He counted three newcomers walking in at short intervals.

This seemed normal enough to him, it was a ramen stall and everybody in their right mind loved ramen. But something did stand out to him, not one of these newcomers said a word. Not to the pretty lady that was taking the orders, not to each other as they sat down, not even to themselves. It piqued his interest, surely this was out of the ordinary? Although he may have simply never noticed this due to the lack of awareness he would normally have held while eating in the past. It was not until one of these newcomers finally began making some noise, he heard the sound of scribbling on paper, before the paper was slid along the benchtop, to one of the other patrons of the establishment.

This warranted Raikur looking up from his bowl, which he had only just finished eating. Of the three newcomers in the stall, two of them were familiar faces, for better or for worse. He spotted the ever odd Quinn Foster sitting in silence, their head facing forwards, apparently not taking any note of him. He saw the scribbling culprit, Mubu, who had passed a note over to one of the other guests. Barely making out the words of the note, Raikur believed it said something along the lines of making an order. The third person was a young boy that the Shokku had never seen before, although there was a familiarity about him that he could not quite put his finger on.

After a short moment, it was quite apparent that all three of these Shinobi were here for the same reason as him, or at least something similar. If any of them made eye contact with him in this moment, he would share an understanding glance with them, before standing up and paying the lady for her service. He would bow respectfully to her and walk out the front. The remainder of Raikur's day included training and doing household chores, all of which he did in complete silence.

Day One Over for Raikur

---

WC: 489
TWC: 982

As Mubu read the notes passed by the others, he couldnt help but see the facial expression on Raikur, the young shinobi he had trained with the other day, and who injured the hand of Mubu while sparing. He smiled to him, giving him a provocative wink, while showing his bandaged hand, like some kind of taunt to make him feel bad for injuring the young ninja. But Mubu wasnt mad at all; quite the contrary. In fact, Mubu liked the pain he felt that day, it made him feel alive, and aware of all his senses. It also gave him a rather good and suprising impression of the younger shinobi Raikur, whom he thought was a very fast ninja and a good asset to the village... And maybe to him if one day he needed a ninja of that kind for his more personnals endeavours. 

With the sound of the waitress saying ''itadakimasu'' as she gave him his plate of skewers and wings, Mubu got back to reality and to his food. As he ate all of it, he tried to concentrate on the sounds of his surroundings, and continued to listen to sounds of the kitchen. As food was also art, he loved to indulge into it, as much as other wordly things like woman company, alcohol, and the likes. He had respect for the arts, and as such a lot of respect for cooking. With his eyes closed while eating, he could hear the cooks rumble utensils, clean pans and pots, shout orders, as well as the sounds of food cooking in various ways, but also being prepared, with knives slicing vegetables onto a wooden planks, meats being butchered with heavy thuds sounds made by cleavers, and the slow burning sound of low flames over hot coals. All of it was a symphony to Mubu, as the sounds were trully dancing together to create a melody of life, of flavor, and of passion. As soon as Mubu finished his food, he left a more than enough pile of ryo, winking to the cooks, and started humming a melody once again, as to control the melody of life itself around him. Anoying mosts, he didnt care, as he tought his music was a way of expressing himself, something vital for Mubu. As he left, Tatsuya made a funny gesture towards Mubu, immitating with his fingers crude firearms, and doing a face as if he said 'bang bang!'. Mubu liked this kid, even tho he was very young and seemingly immature. He saw a bit of himself into it, not taking life too seriously and always a bit rebel and mischievous. 

Mubu then walked to the training facility as he wanted to work on some of his techniques, and trained the rest of the day while still humming, whistling and creating as well as noticing every sound and melody the world provided to him. Overhall, as he got back to his familly home later in the evening, he tought to himself that a day in silence was not that bad after all, and that he really loved sound and the experience of focusing on his senses. As he went back into his bed, finally ready to sleep after a day of containing himself, he ushered, after a long and loud sigh: ''Finally fucking done.''

Day one end of Mubu

TWC : 2057

Quinn found themselves last to leave and depart from the Ramen stand. Through general observations, they discovered and noted all that came and went. The hostess taking orders was off put by the sheer volume of unique individuals who had entered the establishment's seating and filled the place with silence. The slurp of noodles and enjoyment that usually is brought by merry customers was filled with the sound of silence. Quinn understood the assignment and though their attention was on the task, they did smile at the others who accompanied them on their journey to understanding the sound of silence in the world around them. Raikur and Mubu were individuals that Quinn had familiarized themselves with and actually felt their presence well aware of what was to possibly come when Mubu first appeared.

Silence echoed even with the youngest present and seemingly enjoying a quiet meal though seeing the recognition of Mubu made Quinn presume it was likely the third member of the team that Mubu was referencing the other day. Giving it no mind and no business the shifts of finishing foods and leaving chairs clued the Forgemaster that their time was also coming to a close for the day of silence. Unphased by the acute awareness they enjoyed for the day, Quinn mentally vowed to take more moments and times of silence. It was better this way in the eyes of Quinn as they arrived back at their forge at the end of the day. The lingering warmth of the forges remained and the darkness of cover, Quinn let the silence of sleep take them into the next day. Knowing that tomorrow came with a specific task in mind, they were to report to the Chamber of Silence and meditate there for half an hour.

End of the First Day for Quinn Foster.

---

Quinn arrived the following day outside of the Chamber. Awaiting for others to arrive, Quinn would assume the three that they incidentally sat within the same Ramen shop would also be present here at some point. In the likeliness of their arrivals to be as timely as Quinn, they would remain briefly in case any did show up early in the day. Quinn would greet whoever had arisen early in the morning to get this portion of the mission to be finished. Offering to let the others go first before them, Quinn remained silent relatively well minus some small greetings should others press for 'Hello's' or 'How are you's. Given the opportunity to witness as the others came in and out, Quinn would enter when they were either instructed to by the others given their own individual departure or otherwise.

Quinn's time within the Chamber of Silence made Quinn think of the Forest surrounding the village. As many sounds were hearable, many found themselves covered by other sounds. Thoughts echoed as loud as their own heartbeat. Their breaths filled the room's chambers and left vibrations to bounce around within. A half-hour of this would be maddening to many though Quinn knew these sensations from their time in the forge. Feeling and hearing the creeks of bones, the shifts in weight on the ground, Quinn found themselves best with their eyes closed, their legs crisscrossed on the ground, and their hands resting lightly across their lap grasped. Alone and aware were two dangerous things for some more active minds but Quinn was different than the usual genin or even the usually shinobi. They were not shinobi first and something else second, they were who they were from the beginning and nothing had deviated from Quinn. That was when Quinn realized the sound they heard the loudest was their own sound. Not their heart, not their lungs, not their body but their own thoughts. They heard themselves the loudest and clearest in a room filled with silence around them.

Exiting after their half-hour allotment, Quinn wound up sitting in the room much longer than anticipated and lingered inside for an hour. Apologizing to any who remained after they took their turn within the chamber, the Forgemaster offered the group maybe another round of ramen should they choose to enjoy such activities with the oddest genin within the village. Quinn's voice was seldom used from their time in the chamber and then outside. Taking the concepts and teachings to heart, Quinn felt their time to understand the sounds that the world and themselves produced allowed for a better appreciation of hearing others over themselves. Ramen was better with others and Quinn was growing a fondness for the group they began to interact with more regularly post their graduation. Many things had come and gone and Quinn's development continued forward through their journey.

Eventually finding themselves home, they began to work on an instrument for themselves once they were given the task for the following day. Sure that the others likely had instruments or knew the option of using their own voices for understanding the key features of learning Sound Release, Quinn would know to offer for any custom work they could be of assistance in the future. That was a conversation for tomorrow however and the Forgemaster made sure that what they brought would be the best they could provide and create for themselves as much as was representative of who they were and who they discovered themselves to be within the chamber. "The others. Hopefully will appreciate." They remarked looking at their instrument to bring the following day excited to showcase their flexibility in metalworking.

End of the Second Day for Quinn Foster.

WC: 913, TWC: 1,678

---

His father had been exceptionally cruel during their training session, to the point that the young boy's body had been covered by bruises and gashes. Even his face, which his father would usually avoid so that neighbours would not raise any eyebrows, had been beaten black and blue.

He had been crying when he saw his mother, but she would not hear any of it. When the young boy would not let up, his mother had struck him across the face for the first time, screaming at him about how all he did was cry and moan, never giving her a moment of rest. How he should have been more like his sister and that she wished she only given birth to one child on that fateful day, the world would have been better without him. She had wished every day that he would change, so that she and the rest of the family could just get a moment of silence without the plague of Raikur making noise around the house, disrupting their days.

His mother had taken him by the ear and dragged him down to their cold, dark basement. Without letting him turn on the light, she had tied him to a thick drain in the far corner and walked off, leaving him to cry on the ground alone. No noise entered or exited the basement in their old home, the stone walls were thick and cold, even rats dared not venture down there. Raikur had no idea how long he had been left on his own down there, after a short while, the crying stopped. He simply lay there in silence, his heart beat the only thing keeping him any company. It was maddening for the poor boy.

Before long, the hunger pangs began to strike his stomach, he would groan in pain a while after that, but nobody would come down, prompting the young Shokku to stop complaining once more. It occurred to him that nobody would ever come to save him. Not just down here in the basement, but for the remainder of his life. His sister cared about him, but in the end, he was truly on his own. This solitude accompanied Raikur for what may have been an entire day, with no food or water. He did not make a peep of sound, letting himself lay there in silence and agony, until he no longer felt the pain. He embraced it and allowed himself to become one with it.

The young boy had no idea how long it had been when his silence was interrupted by a loud creaking, light flew into the pitch black room as somebody opened the door at the top of the stairs...

---

Raikur jolted awake that morning, his sleep disturbed once more by the terrible images of his past. No light shone through his bedroom window, signalling that it was extremely early still. He lay in bed sweating for some time, before finally forcing himself up and to shower off the feelings from his dream. Eventually, the young Shokku found himself dressed and ready, before walking out of his humble little cottage. Even the birds were not yet singing as he walked in the dark, early morning air. He made his way to the location of his mission today, a follow up of the previous day's events.

Raikur arrived at the Chamber very early, he wanted to get it done as quickly as he possible could. The young Shokku did not often find himself fearing anything at all, but the thought of being in maddening silence brought up an anxiety forced upon by his early childhood. He chose not to wait for the others that were supposed to be on the mission with him, as he felt like socialising would not be in his best interests today. Entering the dark and quiet Chamber of Silence, the Genin found himself a corner and simply sat, crossed his legs and closed his eyes, embracing his surroundings through his ears.

Raikur's next half an hour were tranquil, the boy found his earlier anxiety to be unfounded, he had grown strong in his recent years. The silence felt like home to him, not his home with the rest of his family, but the home he had made for himself alone. He even managed a smile as he simply sat there, meditating and thinking about how his last few weeks had gone. The young Shokku had made incredible progress as a Shinobi, he had learnt so much and met so many people. He had been introduced to his new Shinobi team, he had been taught by many others, he was on his way to becoming a new man. The future was looking bright for Raikur, he almost chuckled at the irony considering how dark it was around him at that very moment.

Before he even knew it, his half an hour time was up and it was time for Raikur to leave the Chamber of Silence, which he did so in a calm and silent manner. He exited and re-joined the normal world, the sounds of nature were almost deafening at first. When he readjusted, he began to make his way back home. He spotted Quinn near the entrance of the Chamber, giving them a respectful nod as their paths crossed.

When he returned to his cottage, Raikur sat at his humble desk, thinking about the next mission he had in store. He would need to figure out an instrument to play, as his voice was not exactly one made for singing. Perhaps a guitar or something similar would suit him best? Raikur spent the rest of the day practicing with one that he had bought out of impulse several months earlier. His skills were rusty, but it was worth a shot for him to try and relearn what he could in the time he had left.

Day Two Over for Raikur

---

WC: 991
TWC: 1,973