The Grind Continues

Another day and another beautiful sunrise to enjoy for the young man of Sakuragakure. Though today is suppose to be different, how was it suppose to be different? Well today he was suppose to be meeting up with an old friend he had met back in his Vagabond days. They had known each other for quite some time and had both come to this settlement to find their place though Merlin wasn’t sure how long his friend would stay around but he was more then happy to have him here.
 
Now it was time to do his morning routine and braid up his almost to long hair so that he could undertake the requests they would be doing today without having to worry about it. Today’s requests were of higher rank then the ones that Merlin had undertaken by himself not to long ago so having the extra hands will make it easier and faster, also Merlin just generally happy to be able to see his friend once more. They hadn’t been able to hang out and chat much lately due to all the requests and going ons within the village so this was a great chance to get some ryo and catch up.
 
Once he was done with his routine and was all dressed in his many robes and garb, he grabbed his cherry blossom staff and went to the meeting place they had agreed on, as always wearing a smile.
 
WC: 242

Time waited for no one. The sun had not even made its daily commute into the sky and the Snake had been hard at work. Within the depths of his supposed new home set a lab of sorts, beakers and tools bubbled. Cascaded a variety of colors of odors as he sat on one of the gurneys that he had acquisitioned for himself, a few parchments of paper within his hands as he flipped through them with his right middle finger idly looking over some data that he had collected himself. On his left hand had been a few specks of blood from a cadaver he had idly been dissecting and going through, nothing too bad. He had spent most of his time in this part of his humble abode, underground and study though he was dragged out from time to time by his...friend i guess. He had mentioned something about going out to do missions for the missions presumably for money which Shitai could be down for. He needed new equipment, another sword and perhaps an opportunity to get more materials for his occupation. Such a small place that the doctors were less than optimal, but the difference had merely been his experience both on and off the field. The documents he would have been reading would be closed into their folder and with precision thrown on the desk not even five meters from his position, landing with a soft splat as he laid upon the Gurney and closed his eyes. Sleep would now have him for the moment.

How much time had passed was unknown to him, but he knew it was morning in some capacity. A small yawn would escape his lips as he scratched his head lightly, the tips of four of his five fingers on his left hand gingerly played upon his scalp. He was definitely hungry but food could be picked up on the way out to their proposed meeting spot. Hopping from the gurney he would begin to head up the creaky stairs of his out of the basement and into the main room. The house was mildly furnished with items and furniture of blacks or browns. He was simple in his taste in home décor as he mostly spent his time in his place down under. He was already dressed in his usual attire and as he walked out the house he wondered one thing.

"What should I eat then..."

In silence he would walk through the village looking around for food, though the normal thing for him was the stares. Was it the tight curves of his abs? The scruffy hair and decent clothes? No. It was every time he had opened his eyes fully they saw those emerald green snake eyes. They were off-putting to some, but most saw them as unique or interesting. As he walked he did find a stand that had sold hot buns, oh the luck he would have today. Five were purchased as he smiled and began to eat one and continue his journey. Of course Merlin would be here first. How could that scrawny smile wearing bastard not be eh? But for Shitai timely was a matter of opinion and when he arrived that would be when he was on time. Walking over to the male he would nudge him with his knee and look over to him," You going to come on bookworm or are we gonna sit here? Time is money and we ain't getting paid just sitting around," it was stern but the only way he could show some semblance of care.

601 WC

It was a peaceful day, even while waiting for Shitai to arrive Merlin was quite enjoying himself taking in the sights and sounds of the settlement around him. If he didn’t have these requests to do he would probably stay where he was for hours but here was his companion carrying what looked to be a few hot buns. The dark haired green eyed man was someone he had encountered while he was still a vagabond making his way through the world. They were pretty much polar opposites but still somehow got along past the differences, Merlin felt it was because there was a solid bit of trust and comradery between the two it almost felt like they were brothers in a past life or something to that effect. It was the most basic of ways that Merlin could explain their friendship.
 
“I don’t know Shitai, I am quite enjoying the day sitting here. Its quite comfortable and relaxing and would you look at that! You brought snacks for everyone to enjoy, it seems that you secretly wish to have a picnic with your old friend Merlin. I knew you were a softie deep down inside that hard shell of yours.” Merlin poked and joked with his friend as he got up out of his spot and gave a genuine smile to his friend. “But we will have to hold off on that picnic because you are quite right Time is money and we stand to gain a good chunk if we quickly finish these requests of ours.” He said as he produced the request forms that he had taken, handing them to Shitai so he could look them over as he wanted and he would take them back if Shitai didn’t want to look them over or didn’t want to hold onto them once he was done.
 
The first request was taking place over at the shrines so Merlin would lead the way in that direction, “It would seem that we will be doing some cleansing of the local shrines for the first request, then we will be helping out with the academy, moving onto helping some chef with taste testing some food which I know you will enjoy, after that we are to help out the local orphanage with something, and finally it looks like we get to do some escorting like old times of some VIP architect.” He explained as they made their way to their first destination.
 
WC: 411
TWC: 653

The smile was probably the most infuriating thing about his so called friend here. The way it could be so invasive yet pure caused the Orochi to mentally shudder. No one could truly be that happy without having some sort of ulterior or hidden motive beneath it all, but unfortunately for Shitai he could not see that in this one. Which made him curious as to what he had been made off all this time. Either Merlin was a riddle that Shitai could not solve and that alone would piss him off, or he was just always this happy. Either way a sigh would escape his lips as he finished his first steam bun and made a "whatever" motion with his now free hand," The only thing that is soft is the amount of money in my pockets and my patience. You will have time for a picnic with the little kids of this village later minus me. Can't stand kids...so small and frail. Anyways here," a bun would be thrown at the lavender haired male before he took the papers and looked through them. Each request would be leafed through with his left thumb as he idly hummed to himself, listening to Merlin but otherwise paying attention to the requests. Childish. Easy, but childish. Whoever wrote these did not have much in mind but who was he to complain, he was getting paid for this after all. It was something he had happened to notice about the settlement as a whole even if it was as fresh as a newborn baby there was money to be made out of it. That kept it useful to him in his eyes at least. While Merlin was content in living here, Shitai was on the fence but if his friend would stay so too would he...even if he had qualms about it. As the two walked towards their first request he would hand the papers back to Merlin and reach into the bag for his second helping of Bun as the two talked.

"Cleaning a shrine sounds just up your alley my friend. You must be riddled with excitement to see something so old and arcane hm? I could never stand shrines. People offering up their prayers to a deity that likely did not care whether you lived or died. Sounds like a cult to me. Though I can't disprove that there are some that do listen to their people, but who knows? I practice medicine not spirituality. Wait. They are entrusting US with some brats? Hehe this is going to be fun for sure. Might need to head to the morgue to get a body. Or a grave. Whichever works," whether or not he was serious about that would be a surprise though...if he were a betting man he would definitely go with Option A but he would definitely love to scar a child with Option B. Maybe even teach them some useful skills for the future. Either way he would finish the food he had brought with them before getting to the shrine. Once they had arrived however, he would replace the neutral look on his face with one of supreme or mild disdain as he looked around and more specifically at the shrine," Yeah I can see why they would ask us to come clean it. Whoever does maintenance out here should be fired. At the most lose a hand. This is unprofessional. Even my place doesn't look like this," making a mention more so to his meticulous cleaning of his tools, work area and so on. Let the work begin.

602 WC
TWC: 1,202

A smile could convey so much to another person though to some it could just be a mask that others hide behind without ulterior motives and thoughts but when it came to Merlin he did not hide behind a smile he was just a generally happy person who enjoyed the time and moments that life presented. This wasn’t to say that Merlin was purely someone who smiled no matter the situation that would be psychotic, he just happened to find the joy in things more easily with his teachings and life experiences having dealt with Nature and its natural flow of handling the good and bad things that happened in life.
 
After all when the parent dies in a wolves family the cubs either struggle and survive or they simply pass away to another predator or the elements, no one cries for them when it happens but it’s a sad thing but its natural. Merlin planned to enjoy the good while he could so that he had something to get him through the bad times that he was sure were to come, Nothing stayed golden in this world no matter how hard you tried.
 
Coming back to the present and out of his thoughts Merlin caught the meat bun that Shitai had tossed to him and was enjoying it as his friend went through the requests giving his commentary on each one, it didn’t surprise him that Shitai didn’t want to deal with children unless he could mess with them. Shitai had some cold viewpoints on the world and what people should experience in their lives to make them able to properly survive in this harsh place. Not exactly a bad thing to teach to those growing up but he had a habit of going a bit to far with his teachings which can cause an issue with others. Merlin was proven correct in his thoughts with Shitai’s mentions of getting a body to show the children. “Of course I’m interested in seeing these Shrines, learning something new is always a benefit as you know it to be true we just differ on what new thing is important in the long run.” He offered as they arrived at the shrines which were desolate and unkempt. “I agree with you on this one Shitai, how could they allow this to get so bad when its suppose to be their heritage?” Merlin said no longer with a smile on his face replaced with a stern expression, he disliked people disrespecting their heritage and history. There was a difference between not agreeing with past events but to completely disregard it as a whole only showed a disdain and uncaring people.
 
Rolling up his sleeves and finding the custodian’s workshop that was also in a misshapen state, Merlin gathered the things he would need to quickly clean up the area. “Shitai, I know you do not like cleaning these stones so could you take care of the workshop and get that in a better state? It has all kinds of stuff in there that might interest you more then these tombs.” Merlin offered as he knew his friend was more inclined towards the equipment and physical aspect of things then the historical portions.
 
WC: 539
TWC: 1192

"AT least you know the difference between the two of us. Why you care for the world so much is beyond me but I guess that alone is what makes you interesting and not a pain in the ass. I hate naïve behavior but more than anything naive behavior hidden behind a false lense...At least you have a general scope. Either way," another bun would disappear down his gullet as the two moved ever so slowly toward the shrine he would chuckle for a moment," Finding new ways to break the world and my limits will always be exciting though this...Yeah this is more in your alley my friend," though there were many things that bothered him, possibly the most irritating thing was not being able to pin Merlin as a person or an entity. Man was just weird. As they got to the shrine and saw the state it was in at least the two were in agreement that this was not good. For Shitai it was a matter of pride in the place where you worked. For Merlin it had simply been the historical and heritage aspects that bothered them. Whoever had been the groundskeeper deserved to be fired, but this wasn't village. What was the saying? Not his monkey not his circus. Shitai would wander around until the two arrived at the shed where even this was in a sorry state, worse for wear," Whoever was supposed to take care of this place needs to be either fired or killed. This is disappointing even to my eyes. Alright. Go ahead and get your cultural experience on with the shrine I will fix the abomination that is this...hellscape," A visible and audible sound of disgust would fill the air from him as he walked in leaving Merlin to get the tools he needed for the task.

As Shitai looked around he would be able to see that while at one point there was some semblance of order in here it had fallen to misuse and time, he honestly wondered who it was that had been tasked with managing this place. Getting to work he would begin to knock things over in a methodically sense putting certain tools with other tools, chemicals with the proper chemicals in accordance with their uses and anything he did not see a use for or was beyond saving he would put in a "Deal with it later" pile. He worked first with the bladed instruments, the very few that were in there. Shears, Scissors and a singular blade that was presumably for branches or other things. He would be quick to dismantle the scissors and shears with expert precision as he ran a finger along the dull sides of the blades letting an audible click leave his lips. He was disappointed in the upkeep of such fine tools, but they were in the hands of a doctor now. Time to operate. Instantly he was in his own world taking care of each blade to delicately remove any rust or grime that had remained on the blades, setting apart the screws from the springs that allowed them to open and close with precision allowing them to soak in a concentration he made from the chemicals available. As he continued to move through each stack he found a rhythm that began to create a melody within his mind which made him a capable doctor. Every movement gave credence to another and once he found his groove nothing would get him out of it.

He did not know how long Merlin had been out there taking care of the shrine but by his return the workshop would be in a better shape, to his own standards. Wiping some small amounts of sweat from his brow he would turn to face Merlin as he sensed his chakra coming closer," Don't you dare bring those dirty tools in here sit them outside and i'll get to them before we leave. I would hate to graft your hands to you back or something if you ruined my good, hard work," the serpent like teeth slowly appeared from beneath his lips as he chuckled and walked outside.

"Kidding...Slightly."

He would muse as he looked around at the shrine and whistled," Looks like you made a good job of that shrine. Now if we are done here can we get to our next destination? Before i get hungry and eat a child instead," was he joking or not no one would know...but one thing was true and it was that he was hungry.

762 WC
TWC: 1,964

“Me bring in dirty tool? What you think I’m someone who doesn’t care for his things?” Merlin teased as he produced wiped off and clean tools he had used to clean up the Shrines and tombs. He was someone that wasn’t as meticulous as Shitai when it came to weapons and such but he never half did a clean for the things he used. “After all if we don’t take care of the things we use then they might fail us in the most important times.” He said as he went ahead and placed the items outside anyways though he made sure it was under some kind of covering so that they didn’t get damaged if no one comes here for a while like he assumed what happened before they showed up. No reason to let things go to waste maybe he would make a routine of coming here to check on things in the future so that this doesn’t happen again.

“Yes we are to head to the academy and help out with the children there so lets get going before I have to hide the children from a hungry snake.” Merlin joked with Shitai as he brushed off his clothes from any stray clippings that might have stuck to him, Leading the way it wouldn’t take to long to get to the academy and once there he went to the receptionist to get the directions to where they needed to go, Merlin thanked the person behind the desk and continued on his way to the classroom. It looked like they were working on the Clone Technique which Merlin remembered helping out with in another class not to long ago.

“Thank you for showing up, there have been some mishaps this time around.” The instructor explained to the pair with a nervous smile, “Some of the kids have taken to pulling pranks on the citizens of the settlement, which we expected but they are starting to go to far with some of them for some reason having problems with their clones in appearance and actions like a weird mutation or something.” The man said as he rubbed his head unsure on how it was happening. “We don’t have enough staff to help stop these kids with the recent change from a basic farmer settlement into a shinobi one so we need help tracking down the kids that skipped out on class today and that’s where you two come in, so if you could please help us on that we would greatly appreciate it.” He said while producing the roster of kids who didn’t show up today and had been causing trouble.

Merlin looked over the list and had an annoyed look on his face, he didn’t like when people targeted those who couldn’t defend themselves or even knew what was going on, it was a damaging look for the Shinobi’s who were supposed to be looking out for the settlement and common person. “Well Shitai looks like we get to revisit our old Vagabond days and do some capturing, no harm or killing of course but a fright might be right up the right alley for these troublemakers.” He offered as he handed over the roster to the green eyed man. Merlin knew this would be something that Shitai would enjoy compared to being the “kind, friendly, helpful worker” as he was much more someone that wanted to impress the true nature of the Shinobi world onto those who were trying to enter it.

WC: 585

Good. At least his friend understood very well the meticulous nature of the snake even more so when it came to the tools of the trade. Each one would be placed in way that would allow them to be found easily and he even left a carefully written note describing how to care for them in the future as well as a warning to anyone that would allow this shrine to once again fall into a state of disrepair- he would eat them plain and simple. The duo would now be off to their second location where they would be teaching the “next” generation of shinobi that would be guiding this settlement to either glory or ruin. Whichever came first honestly. A small sigh escaped his lips as he meandered about behind Merlin simply dreading having to teach such young and uncultured minds about the shinobi way. They would never truly understand what it meant having to be on the battlefield. To see friend and family potentially die in front of them or hold their lives or someone else’s lives in their hands. The feel of fresh blood dripping down their person as they carved a veritable path through the opposition or perform life saving surgery. Yes, they were too young to know about life outside of these fragile walls, but maybe one such as he could instill the most basic life lesson to them. Never get caught. Not with your pants down or with your life in someone else’s hands. Always hold the cards and if you don’t? You better learn how to.

Their journey would finally grant them relief as they walked into the academy or what could be called one. He had seen better honestly, but it is what it is. As they walked through, he could see some of the younger shinobi looking over to them. Maybe they were fascinated with Merlin and who wouldn’t be the man oozed charisma. Some however looked toward Shitai but in the end chose to go their separate ways. Maybe it was because they couldn’t look into his eyes, but mainly and he knew this - his disposition said it all. Prey should never look up to a predator. Pushing past Merlin, Shitai would open the door of the classroom to see…. Well not a lot of students inside. Magical. Leaning against the wall he would let Merlin do the talking and merely listen as he counted the number of seats empty to being filled and figured they were delinquents. His hypothesis would prove to be correct as the teacher corrected themselves stating they were here to retrieve the delinquents not teach them. A lesson would be learned either way as he took the list from his partner gingerly and looked over the names. Luckily these names had pictures to go alongside them, and he would only smile,” No one must die but a lesson can be taught in exchange. Looks like class is indeed in session.”

Handing the list back to Merlin he would head on out and take in a deep breathe as he began to leak his chakra outward in a radius of 20 meters and thus his search would begin. They would not go too far, not delinquents tend to stick close but not too close. Since they were terrifying people that would mean they would be somewhere in the housing district. Looking over to Merlin he would making the “come here” beckoning motion as he looked to his friend. “A good lesson for you as well. Being able to sense chakra is a useful tool as a shinobi. Case in point I can sense about a good chunk of them in the surrounding area. All you must do is focus on yourself then expand outward. May take you a moment but you can get it. With that being said 3 lie to the east of the school, 4 North and one… Northwest. Take the 3 I’ll tend to the others, and we will meet back here,” and with that he would perform the seal of confrontation and disappear in a poof of smoke. It would not take him long to arrive 3 meters behind the biggest group of delinquents walking behind. Both of his arms would outstretch around two of them bringing them all closer as he leaned in and smiled,” Seems we have a few kids playing hooky and causing trouble. Now you know that isn’t a good look for your or the school so think of me as your little guardian angel telling you to go back,” of course they would try to shrug him off and try to run in which the eyes of the snake would open slowly and the emerald green eyes would appear. A smile formed as his chakra began to bubble and fester behind him, turning green as it formed into a snake,” I don’t think I made myself clear. Get back to school. Now. Or else you won’t live to see the end of this day,” the display of power would crumble them into the ground as he smiled and stood up, turning on his heels and looking in the direction of the school.

Three. Two. One.

As he finished his countdown, he would see that the four would scramble back toward the school, one leaving a visible puddle and trail behind him. Yes, fear always was a good lesson for the youth. Looking to his next direction he would begin to use his chakra sensory to see if they had felt that ominous feeling and they did because he could see them also running back to the academy. A smile was on his face as his eyes slowly closed and his display faded from existence before he started walking back to the academy himself to wait for Merlin to show back up. Sitting outside on one of the benches he would wait to see if Merlin would be walking back with his flock or would they be running back. His money was on them simply coming back altogether while Merlin lectured them on their behaviors more than likely causing them to have a change of heart. It wasn’t the most direct way of dealing with the issue, but I guess it worked. As the rest were brought back in, Shitai would look at Merlin and smile before getting up,” Took you long enough. C’mon we’re wasting daylight.” He’d muse though he was honestly having a little fun. Though the rest of the day would be a breeze, what he was looking forward to was spending his money wisely.


[Exit]

TWC: 3,066

Claims:
30,500 (+4,000 bonus per mission due to being B rank Vagabond)
52 AP
3,066 WC toward Strength of 100 Skill making total 3,060/3,750

Approved