Picture of a Million Words

Missions' Catalog:

As dawn breaks over the serene village of Konohagakure, the gentle rustle of leaves and the melodious chirping of birds signal the beginning of a new day. The vibrant hues of the morning sky cast a warm glow upon the treetops, as sunlight filters through the dense canopy, illuminating the hidden pathways of the village. In the heart of Konoha, the bustling sounds of daily life gradually awaken its inhabitants. shinobi and villagers alike embark on their respective journeys, their purposeful strides echoing through the narrow streets. The tantalizing aroma of breakfast wafts from open windows, enticing those passing by with the promise of a delicious start to the day.

As the village awakens, the spirit of Konohagakure thrives anew. Each day brings the promise of adventure, camaraderie, and the unwavering will of its people to overcome any challenges that may come their way. In this hidden leaf paradise, the dawn of a new day heralds the continuation of the ninja legacy, as Konoha stands resilient and ready for whatever the future may hold.

Amidst the lively atmosphere, a diminutive kunoichi named Hyūga Himari—possessing a lissome physique followed by short, black hair down to her nape with left-side parted fringes, a pair of featureless white eyes, a soft facial expression accompanied by a fair complexion with a small mole at the bottom corner of her left eye. Her attire typically consists of a long open-sleeved, lavender-colored qipao with purple and white accents, fishnet undergarments, mesh legwear, a thin violet choker, shorts, and black open-foot sandals with her other ninja tools holstered at her left rear hip. An engraving of her clan symbol displays itself on the back of her qipao's torso. Her village forehead protector wraps around her hips—finds herself standing inside the administration office.

The air's tense with a sense of urgency as one of the faculty members—a male Jōnin by the name of Hiroshi, with unkempt hair hidden beneath the bandana of his headband, and aware of Himari's growing reputation for her resilience and precision, entrusts her with a crucial mission. Six individuals, each of varying backgrounds and demographics, have mysteriously gone missing seemingly overnight.

Hiroshi hands over to the young Hyūga a scroll containing information about the missing villagers, their last known locations, and potential leads. Those affected by the recent disappearances are concerned about their well-being and the village authorities fear the involvement of unknown forces that may threaten the peace of Konohagakure.

"You'll be working alone on this one, Himari," Hiroshi informs her while scans through the scroll in hand. She knows she can't let her village down—and she certainly won't let herself down either. "But you've proven yourself more than capable in the past, so I have no doubt you'll succeed."

She rolls up the paper and performs a bow to her senior. "I'll do my besto, don't you worry!" Himari exclaims with a smile.

"Good," Hiroshi nods. He hands over the scroll to Himari who tucks it away into a small pouch at her side. "I'd advise exercising caution for assignments like these, as you'll never know who'll be around the next corner as you're looking for the folks we need," He smirks. "But, something tells me this isn't exactly your first rodeo doing something like this." Himari's face beams and nods affirmatively in response. "I'd expect nothing less. Before I let you go, there are also two other missions if you wouldn't mind. No? Great.

"After you've rescued the missing individuals on the scroll I gave you," He reaches behind his desk and pulls out two more scrolls—one red and one green—and hands them over to Himari who takes them with both hands. "The red one is a request from a village elder, so that's a priority mission, but not as urgent as the one we spoke of not too long ago. The green one is from a client of ours, but I'm sure it can wait until you're done with the red one, though. Long story short, the red scroll wants you to watch over the village elder who believes someone's stalking him throughout the day. Your objective is to confirm whether the suspicions are unfounded or not.

"The green scroll is... well, it's quite a mess, really. One of the academy teachers here thought it'd be a great idea to teach the students something as advanced as elemental clones and they've run amok across the village as if it's a game of hide 'n' seek." Hiroshi sighs, pinching the ridge of his nose before he rests his hand on his hip. "Doesn't help that I'm familiar with them, personally, but that's beside the point. Try to get the kids—the non-cloned ones—back to the academy safely. They're probably still within Konoha's vicinity."

Himari nods in understanding, tucking away both scrolls into her pouch. She'll make sure to do her best on these missions. "You can count on me, Hiroshi-san!" Himari salutes him.

"I know you can," He smiles warmly at her. "Now then, off you go. Daylight's burning."

Hiroshi dismisses Himari who bows once more before she turns on her heel and makes her way out of the administration office—and into the village proper. Henceforth, her first order of business is to retrieve the missing persons from the slums of Konohagakure and bring them back to the village facility where the officials will handle the escort aspect to make sure they arrive where they need to go. As for regards to the opposition she faces, whoever, or whatever group, has likely caught wind of the village's ire upon them and likely has booby traps and the like set up for her to impede upon her arrival. Nevertheless, Himari strives to minimize casualties on both sides, if able, but she won't hesitate should push come to shove.

Himari arrives in the slums and begins searching. Her first lead for the investigation is a civilian child by the name of Kaito—whose last recorded appearance here was in the early hours of the morning when he left his house with his mother, Chihara. The two were last seen walking towards a nearby park before disappearing from there. As Himari searches through the park, she finds a small note tucked away beneath a bench. Upon closer inspection, it seems that this is a clue left behind by Kaito and Chihara—and it leads her towards a nearby building that appears to be abandoned. Although the mission details specifically mentioned the quantity of those missing to be six, it's also possible for there to be an instance of collateral during the interim of these happenings.

Upon arriving at the aforementioned building, Himari notices that there are signs of recent activity inside. The scant rays of sunlight that illuminate the interior of the building help little with her vision to make out the objects and she would be remiss to assume entering blindly won't rouse an ill-fitted end. Performing the seal of confrontation, multiple veins bulge outward running along her temple to near the outer edges of her eyes. When she reopens them, the once featureless gaze now shows a semi-defined pupil at the center. With this activated, she is able to see through the walls and see the outlines of people within the building.

Himari sees four individuals in total—two of whom appear to be civilians by the ambiguous perception of her dōjutsu and two of which are shinobi. She can also make out what appears to be a large crate at the far end of the building's first floor, but it seems that something or someone is moving around inside. Given the circumstances, it's likely that Kaito and Chihara are being held hostage by these people, but Himari needs to confirm their well-being before she acts.

Before she does, she checks around the ground floor and then up toward the first floor for any traps laid out for unwelcome visitors. She doesn't find anything on the ground floor, but there is a trap rigged on the first floor. It's an explosive tag that's been placed in such a way that anyone who steps on the trigger will be blown to pieces upon detonation. Himari carefully makes her way around the trap and continues her search.

After confirming that there aren't any traps in the vicinity, Himari ascends to the first floor of the building and makes her way towards where the two civilians are located. As she does so, Himari notices that they seem to be bound by rope and gagged with cloth. The two shinobi who stand guard over them seem to be arguing about something in hushed tones, but Himari can't make out what it is. She sneaks up behind the shinobi and incapacitates him with a swift blow to his head. The other shinobi turns around in surprise and attempts to attack Himari, but she dodges his attack and counters with a kick to his chest, knocking him back against the wall.

Himari then proceeds to untie the two civilians and remove their gags. "Are you two okay? Are either of you injured in any way?" She asks them. They shake their heads in response.

"We're fine," Chihara says, rubbing her wrists where the ropes had been bound tightly before. "Thank you for saving us." Kaito nods in agreement.

"I'm glad to hear that," Himari smiles at them. "Now then, I'll escort you both back to the mission building, so please follow me." She leads the two civilians out of the mission building. Once they arrive, she sees them safely inside before heading back to the administration office to report her findings. While they finalize things with the mother and son, Himari embarks to find the remaining five still in need of saving.

Himari's second lead is an elderly man by the name of Yasuhiro—whose last recorded appearance here was spontaneously leaving his home after a strange figure appeared outside his window. He was last seen walking toward the village square before disappearing from there. Upon arriving at the village square, Himari finds another small note tucked away beneath a bench. It looks like another clue left behind by Yasuhiro and it leads her towards a nearby alleyway.

Once again performing the seal of confrontation, Himari activates her dōjutsu once more to scan the perimeter. Then, just after she finishes scanning the alleyway for anything suspicious before looking inside the buildings that stand parallel to each other, she spots a singular body of chakra from above arc its way downward above her head. Himari quickly dodges out of the way as something crashes into the ground where she was standing mere moments ago. She turns around to see what it is and is surprised to see a large suit of armor standing before her. The armor appears to be quite old and worn, with a deep shade of red with black accents, its design reminiscent of a samurai from an age passed, and in one hand, wields a rustic, Odachi katana with no scabbard present. The armor itself is quite large and intimidating, but Himari stands firm against it.

Himari assumes a relaxed and focused posture with her legs bent and slightly apart, and her arms held in a guard position, with the hands open and fingers extended. She awaits the suit of armor's approach as it slowly walks towards her, its heavy footsteps echoing through the alleyway along with the reverberating sounds of metal grating against the ground. Himari watches intently as the suit of armor approaches her, its movements slow and deliberate. When it finally reaches her, Himari quickly ducks under its arm as it swings at her, then spins around behind it and delivers a swift kick to its back, knocking it off balance.

The suit of armor falls forward onto its hands and knees, but quickly recovers and turns around to face Himari once more. It lunges at her again, this time swinging its sword in a wide arc, but Himari easily dodges out of the way and counterattacks with a series of rapid punches and kicks. The suit of armor blocks most of her attacks, but one manages to land on its chest, a metallic, hollow echoes as the blow sends it stumbling backward. Himari takes this opportunity to put some distance between herself and the suit of armor, giving her time to formulate a plan of attack. Oddly, someone wearing a suit of armor would give no pushback against the strikes she delivered prior and she thinks as to the reason why before she realizes it.

The suit of armor is empty.

This likely means whatever's possessing it is either a malevolent spirit, which will prove far more difficult for her to proceed going forward, or someone's puppeteering the suit to do its bidding. Himari quickly scans for any chakra threads belonging to her opposition, following the trail that eventually leads her up toward the rooftops of the buildings surrounding the alleyway. She finds one individual standing atop one of the roofs who appears to be shinobi—and is likely the one responsible for controlling the suit of armor. Himari knows that if she can defeat the shinobi, then she'll be able to stop the suit of armor from attacking her.

Seeing the young Genin stationary, the suit of armor rumbles and rustles, assuming a stance and charging directly at her with a thunderous clamor as it runs along the ground. Himari dodges out of its way and counterattacks with several swift blows to its back, but they seem to have little effect on it. The suit of armor turns around and swings its sword at her, but she easily dodges out of the way.

The shinobi controlling the suit of armor watch from above, seemingly uninterested in what's going on below. He seems more interested in observing how the suit of armor is performing rather than actively participating in the fight himself. Himari continues to dodge and counterattack the suit of armor, but she's unable to land any significant blows on it. Should she try to confront her adversary directly, the armor puppet will interject, but engaging the armored puppet will wear her down enough that she'll end up fatigued from the motions of the fight and put herself in a dangerous situation. With this in mind, Himari decides to try a different approach and begins focusing her attacks on the shinobi instead.

When the armored puppet goes for another swing Himari vaults over the blade and around the puppet, kneading and channeling her chakra toward her tenketsu to form a razor-sharp needle before she performs a downward strike on three of the five chakra threads connected to the puppet. The threads destabilize and the puppet stumbles forward before falling onto its hands and knees, seemingly immobilized by the loss of three of its chakra threads. Himari then turns her attention to the shinobi and begins running towards him. He seems surprised by this development but quickly recomposes himself and forms several hand seals. He then places his hands on the roof tiles beneath him and sends a wave of chakra through them which causes the roof tiles to break off and fly towards Himari.

Himari easily dodges out of the way, using her agility to weave between the incoming projectiles, but she's unable to avoid them all and one manages to hit her in the shoulder, causing her to wince in pain. The shinobi continues to send more projectiles at her, but she manages to dodge most of them and eventually reaches him. She delivers a swift kick to his chest, knocking him backward and causing him to lose his balance. He falls off the roof and lands on the ground with a loud thud, but he quickly gets back up and before he can get another set of hand seals off, Himari nosedives at him and delivers a single strike that the earth beneath them belches stone debris and dust into the air before it settles, revealing an unconscious assailant and the spry girl responsible for his total-knock-out.

Himari stands up and brushes herself off, then turns her attention back to the suit of armor. It's already collapsed into disarray and looks to be out of commission for the time being. Himari sighs in relief and, without further interruptions, she locates Yasuhiro and guides him back to the administration office for processing. While they finalize things with the elderly man, Himari embarks to retrieve the other four.

Her third lead is a woman by the name of Yui—whose last recorded appearance here was picking up groceries from the village market. She was last seen walking towards her house before disappearing from there. Upon arriving at Yui's residence, Himari finds no traces left behind during the abduction. Himari attempts to gather external intel on her whereabouts by asking the people nearby if they'd seen anyone by that name or a vague description of her physical attributes to pinpoint where she may have last been seen. After gathering some information from the locals, she decides to retrace Yui's general direction from where she'd likely traveled from the marketplace to her home in the hopes she can reverse-track her steps.

After an hour or so of searching, Himari finally locates Yui, who is held captive, in an abandoned warehouse near the edge of the village slums. She sneaks into the warehouse and quickly incapacitates the shinobi guarding Yui before untying her and leading her out of the warehouse. Once they're safely outside, Himari escorts Yui back to the mission facility to report her findings. Hopefully, she can sort out how to make up for the lost groceries along the way before her knapping. While they finalize things with Yui, Himari embarks once more in her search.

Three more to go.

Her fourth lead is a man by the name of Tetsuya—whose last recorded appearance here was purchasing alcohol at the local bar before disappearing from there. He was last seen walking towards his house before disappearing from there. Upon arriving at one of the local bars at the slums, to no one's surprise, she received a plethora of funny looks from everyone in the establishment. The interior design of the bar itself is quite simple and rustic, with wooden floors and walls, a few tables and chairs scattered about, and a small counter where drinks are served. Himari scans her surroundings for anyone who may know something about Tetsuya's disappearance but doesn't seem to find anything useful. Whether this is the result of each keeping to themselves about matters that do not concern them or because of her headband that gives them the impression that she's one of the village lackeys trying to catch one of them up to no good. Either way, after a while, she gives up and decides to head back outside to continue her search for more clues.

As she leaves the bar, she notices someone standing outside near the entrance. It's a young man who looks like he's in his early twenties, with short brown hair and dark brown eyes. He's wearing simple clothes—a white shirt and black pants—and seems to be smoking a cigarette. Himari approaches him and asks if he knows anything about Tetsuya's disappearance. The man shrugs nonchalantly and says that he doesn't know anything about it but that he heard rumors about people going missing from the slums recently. He also mentions that he saw someone matching Tetsuya's description walking towards his house before disappearing from there this morning. Himari thanks him for the information and heads off in the direction of Tetsuya's house to investigate further.

When she arrives at Tetsuya's house, she finds it empty and seemingly untouched since his disappearance. She searches through the house but doesn't find any clues as to where he might've gone or why he disappeared. Himari then decides to search the nearby area for more clues and finds him on the far edges of the desolate shanty town with a trash can bonfire with several bottles lying about their little corner of the world. Himari approaches him cautiously, not wanting to scare him away, and calls out to him. "Uh, Tetsuya?"

Tetsuya turns around to face her and seems startled by her presence. He quickly recomposes himself though, and asks who she is. Himari introduces herself as a Shinobi from Konoha sent to find him and return him home safely. Tetsuya seems skeptical at first but eventually agrees to go with her after some coaxing from Himari that she means no harm. She escorts Tetsuya back to the mission facility to report her findings, then sets off in search of the remaining two.

Her fifth lead is a woman by the name of Shiori—whose last recorded appearance here was going shopping at the local clothing store before disappearing from there. She was last seen walking towards her house before disappearing from there. Upon arriving at one of the local clothing stores in the village, Himari finds no traces left behind during the abduction. There aren't any witnesses either, so she decides to ask around for information about Shiori's disappearance instead. After asking several people if they know anything about Shiori or have seen anyone matching her description recently, Himari manages to get a few leads on where she might've gone.

Himari heads towards the first location—a small cafe near the clothing store—and asks around for more information. The owner of the cafe tells her that he saw someone matching Shiori's description enter the cafe earlier this morning and then leave shortly after without ordering anything. He also mentions that he saw her heading towards her house after leaving the cafe. After a good bit of snooping around the place, she eventually locates Shiori hiding in the alley behind the building  and crouched by one of the large dumpsters to conceal her visage. She approaches Shiori cautiously and asks if she's okay. Shiori seems startled by Himari's sudden appearance and quickly recomposes herself before answering her question. "I'm fine," she says, looking down at her lap. "Just...lost."

Himari sits down next to her and asks what happened. Shiori explains that she was shopping for clothes earlier this morning when someone approached her and asked if she wanted to go somewhere with them. She agreed, thinking it would be fun to hang out with a new friend, but instead, the person took her to an abandoned building and locked her inside. She managed to escape through a window but got lost trying to find her way back home. Himari nods sympathetically and tells her that she'll escort her home safely after she delivers her to the authorities for questioning to make sense of these strange kidnappings so that nothing bad happens to her or anyone else again. Shiori thanks her and follows Himari out of the cafe towards her house.

Upon arriving at the mission facility, Himari reports her findings about Shiori's disappearance and then sets off in search of her sixth and final lead.

Her sixth lead is a man by the name of Nobu—whose last recorded appearance here was fishing at the village lake toward the west side of Konoha before disappearing from there. He was last seen walking towards his house before disappearing from there. Upon arrival at Lake Kazahana, Himari finds no traces left behind after each abduction. After asking around for information about Nobu's disappearance, she manages to get a few leads on where he might've gone. One of the fishermen tells her that he saw someone matching Nobu's description enter the lake earlier this morning and then leave shortly after catching a fish or two. He also mentions that he saw him heading towards his house after leaving the lake. Later, she finds him in the custody of a vagrant and Himari resolves the situation with a bit of patience and understanding, returning Nobu home safe and sound.

After successfully completing her mission, Himari returns to the mission facility to report her latest findings and complete the remaining two missions before she resigns for the day.


WC: 4,010
TWC: 4,010/7,000

Sometime later in the afternoon...

After recuperating from her ordeals from hours past, Himari commences the second part of her series of mission assignments. As it turns out, a village elder alleges that he has been watched for several weeks and is beginning to suspect that something bad is at work here. Her mission is to secretly follow the noble about and check if there is anything potentially stalking him. She's not to interact with them and is merely to document what she sees. Himari understands the gravity of this mission and sets off to complete her tasks.

First things first, she needs to visit the elderly villager first and foremost before she begins her reconnaissance. She unravels the red scroll in her pouch and unfurls it, reading over its contents for his whereabouts first before she embarks on her search for him. He resides in one of the more modest homes in Konoha, nestled within the residential district of the village. It's a quaint little house with a small garden out front and a wooden gate surrounding it. Himari knocks on the door and waits patiently for someone to answer. After a few seconds, the door opens revealing an elderly man standing there looking at her curiously.

"Can I help you?" He asks politely.

"Heyya!" Himari gestures with a small wave. "I'm here for the mission you requested for me for 'supervision'?" She beams at him cheerily.

The elderly man smiles warmly and invites her inside. "Ah, yes. I remember. Please, come on in." He says, stepping aside to allow her entry. Himari steps inside and looks around curiously. The interior of the house is very simple yet elegant with wooden floors throughout the entire place and minimal decorations hanging on the walls. There is a large fireplace against one wall with two couches facing it, a bookshelf filled with various books, and a small kitchenette in one corner of the room. There are also several windows letting light into the room from outside which gives the house a warm and inviting feel to it.

"Please, have a seat," The elderly man says, gesturing towards one of the couches. "I'll get us some tea." Himari nods and sits down on one of the couches while he disappears into another room for a moment. A few minutes later, he returns carrying two cups of steaming hot tea. He hands one to Himari before sitting down across from her on the other couch.

Himari takes a sip of her tea and smiles appreciatively at him. "Thank you," She says politely. "This is very good."

The elderly man nods and smiles back at her. "You're welcome," He replies. "Now then, let me explain why I asked for your help today..." Himari leans forward slightly and listens intently as he begins telling her about his suspicions regarding being followed by someone recently. After listening to his story, she asks several questions to clarify some things before agreeing to help him out with this situation.

"So... you think someone may be following you?" Himari inquires curiously. "Why do you think that?"

"Well, I've noticed a few strange things happening around me recently," The elderly man explains, taking another sip of his tea. "Firstly, I started finding footprints outside my house every morning when I woke up. They were always gone by the time I got back from work though so I didn't think much of it at first. Then one day last week, I saw a shadow moving in the corner of my eye while I was reading a book in my living room. It disappeared before I could get a good look at it though."

Himari nods thoughtfully. "That does sound pretty suspicious," She agrees. "Have you seen anything else unusual?"

The elderly man shakes his head. "Nothing else really," He admits. "But that was enough for me to start getting concerned about what might be going on here."

"Well, if you want me to follow you around for a few days then we can see if we can figure out what's happening here," Himari offers. "I won't interfere unless it becomes necessary though so don't worry about that." The elderly man nods gratefully and thanks her again for helping him out with this matter.

Himari finishes her tea and stands up from the couch. "Alright then," She says cheerily. "Let's get started!"

The elderly man smiles and leads her out of the house towards the street outside where they'll begin their surveillance of his activities throughout the day.

Himari spends the next couple of days following the noble about, documenting his movements and interactions with others during this time. Nothing particularly suspicious occurs during this period though so she decides to continue observing him for another week or two in case something does happen eventually. After a few more days pass, Himari finally notices something unusual happening during one of their daily walks through town together. As they approach a small cafe near the center of town, she spots someone watching them from across the street.

They seem to be wearing dark clothing and have long black hair covering most of their face which makes it difficult to see what they look like exactly but Himari manages to catch a glimpse of their eyes as they quickly turn away after noticing her staring at them. She makes sure to keep an eye on them throughout their walk through town until they arrive at their destination whereupon they disappear into a nearby alleyway without anyone else noticing anything unusual about them whatsoever. Himari follows after them and finds herself in an empty alleyway with nobody else around except for herself and this mysterious figure standing in front of her now facing away from her still looking towards the end of the alleyway ahead of them both.

Himari takes a few steps closer towards them before stopping when she notices something strange happening before her very eyes...the person's body starts shaking violently and then suddenly disappears completely leaving behind only a faint outline where they once stood just moments ago. Himari stands there stunned for a few seconds unsure of what just happened before finally deciding to activate her Byakugan and track the movements of her invisible quarry. She quickly spots them running through town heading towards the outskirts of Konoha where she loses sight of them completely after a few minutes pass by without finding any trace of their presence anywhere nearby.

Himari returns to the village elder's house and informs him about this strange occurrence which causes him great concern as he fears that someone may be stalking him after all. He asks if she can continue following this person around until they reveal themselves again so that he can find out who exactly it is that's been following him around recently. Himari agrees to do so but warns that it might take some time before anything else happens again since whoever it has seemed to disappear completely after leaving her sight last time. The elderly villager thanks her for helping him with this matter and tells her that he'll keep an eye on things while waiting for her report back later tonight.

Himari spends the final, remaining days of the week following the noble about, this time, his supposed stalker has gotten bolder lately in their tailing of him and Himari has caught glimpses of them several times during this period. However, their attire and physique appear to be... different this time around. Instead of gloom-looking, black, long-haired in dark clothing that obscures their profile, she notices a different individual wearing lighter colors and a hooded cloak overtop their head which hides their face from view entirely.

The stalker is also much taller than before too, towering over Himari at least a foot or so above her own stature. She suspects that whoever it is maybe using some kind of Jutsu to disguise themselves as someone else entirely but doesn't know how exactly they've done so without her noticing anything unusual about them beforehand. Their chakra pathway system appears to be glowing somewhat brighter than usual, so this may be the instance of a Transformation or some other type of technique at work. That, or they're an entirely different person with a different level of chakra reserves.

Furthermore, considering that they're not wearing hooded clothing suggests they may be aware of her presence now. But what they don't know is that her bloodline allows her to bypass the physical barrier the noble will need to discern the type of person they're dealing with. Activating her kekkei genkai, she attempts to get a clearer visual of the stalker's countenance at a distance and notes the distinct features of their facial structure: high cheekbones, thin lips, and a sharp jawline with a strong chin. Their hair is long and wavy, reaching down past their waist in length which makes it difficult to see more than just their profile from where she stands now.

Himari follows the noble about for several hours before finally noticing something unusual happening during one of their daily walks through town together. As they approach a small cafe near the center of town, she spots someone familiar watching them from across the street. They seem to be wearing dark clothing and have long black hair covering most of his or her face which makes it difficult to see what he or she looks like exactly but Himari manages to catch a glimpse through her dōjutsu and make another detailed note of their countenance as follows: pale skin tone, dark eyes, and a thin nose with thin lips below them. They appear to be male judging by the shape of his jawline and broad shoulders underneath his cloak.

Strange that she finds not one, but two strangers following the noble now. This raises concerns for the young kunoichi who now has to adjust her following distance with her patron as she now has to be wary of being caught by another set of eyes with an unknowing array of Jutsu or other bloodline-related abilities that could easily give away her position. Although, they don't attempt to commit to anything that would otherwise give away their position. Likely thinking if they do, a swarm of Konoha shinobi will descend upon them. It's a peculiar predicament in that both parties are likely aware of one another's presence, but refuse to make the first move out of the possible concern of the direct confrontation ruining either person's chance of success.

As the week finally draws to a close, Himari rendezvous with the noble to detail her findings and shares her notes with him in detail to give him the full scoop of everything that's transpired as of recent. Even a subpar, detailed sketch of their facial features so the elder can identify them more easily, knowing her focus awkwardly divides itself between watching the two subjects in question while also monitoring their movements with her increased vision. The constant focusing and de-focusing take some time to get used to, but she eventually figures out a way to pace herself evenly to minimize the otherwise uncomfortable experience.

"I'll let the village officials know of what I've found so far. It's not exactly concrete proof, but it's enough to maybe warrant an investigation." Himari explains. "If anything else pops up, I'm sure they'll be able to help you however they can to give you peace of mind."

"Thank you, Himari," The elderly man replies gratefully. "I appreciate all your efforts. It frightens me a little now to know that such people exist outside of my knowledge. But I'm glad to have someone like you watching over me. I really do appreciate your company."

"No problem! I'm just doing my job!" Himari beams at him cheerily before bowing politely and leaving him alone in his house once more. She heads back toward the mission facility to report her latest findings and complete the remaining two missions before she resigns for the day. That leaves one more mission to complete out of the three listed she plans to fulfill by the coming morning.


WC: 2,027
TWC: 6,037/7,000

The next day during the following morning...

Himari's final task is the retrieval of a handful of academy students running amok around the village with identical clones of varying elements. The list of students includes:

► Ayumi Akimichi
► Iwao Akimichi
► Shouta Aburame
► Ayaka Nara
► Sora Yamanaka
► Kaito Inuzuka
► Daiki Sarutobi
► Hana Uzumaki

The mission itself is simple enough, but it's the possibility that these kids are still active that makes this assignment a little more difficult than it should be. The trick is going to be figuring out which of these clones are real and which ones aren't. If Himari can manage that, then she should be able to complete her task without much trouble. Otherwise, she'll have to rely on luck and hope for the best.

Himari begins her search by checking the most obvious locations where children might hide from adults looking for them: playgrounds, parks, and even their homes if they're smart enough to figure out how to get back there without being spotted by anyone else along the way. After finding nothing in those places, she moves on to other areas where kids tend to congregate together like stores or restaurants near the village center. She finds several groups of children playing around outside but none of them are who she's looking for.

Finally, after searching everywhere she could think of and asking around for help from other villagers who might know something about where these particular children could be hiding, Himari decides that it's time to use her Byakugan to track down the missing house instead. If she can find it then hopefully, she'll find at least one or two of the students nearby as well. With that in mind, she activates her dōjutsu and searches through the surrounding area until she spots about a half dozen chakra signatures within the bounds of her 100-meter vision. These are likely the children and their clones, but she'll have to engage with them directly to know for certain who's who.

Traveling toward the eastern side of the village, Himari locates and rounds up Nara Ayaka, Sarutobi Daiki, and Aburame Shouta, along with their subsequent clones that caused a considerable amount of mischief for her before pacifying them. Ayaka's clone was rather easy to spot due to its lack of hair, and Daiki and Shouta's clones were trickier to deal with since they kept changing their appearance every time Himari got close enough for her Byakugan to see through his disguise technique. However, after a few minutes of chasing after them, she managed to catch up with them and subdue them with no issue.

Next were Akimichi Ayumi, Akimichi Iwao, Yamanaka Sora, Inazuka Kaito, and Uzumaki Hana. These five proved more difficult to locate than the previous trio as they were constantly on the move and constantly switching places with one another. It took Himari nearly an hour before she finally found them all hiding inside a small cave near the outskirts of town where they'd been using their clones to cause trouble for the villagers nearby. Once again, it was easy enough to deal with them once she caught up but it still took some doing since they refused to stay put long enough for her to get close enough without having to chase after them first.

Himari returns the children to the academy where the teacher apologizes profusely for the trouble caused by his lesson. He promises that he'll never do anything like this again and thanks her for taking care of everything so quickly. She smiles politely at him before heading off back home feeling satisfied with her work today.

Later on, Himari enters the mission facility and hands in her report on the assignment to Hiroshi, who nods approvingly in her direction. "You did well today," He tells her. "I'm glad you were able to handle everything so smoothly without causing too much trouble for anyone else."

Himari beams proudly at him and thanks him for his praise before heading back outside into the warm afternoon sun once more. It's been a long day but she feels good about herself and what she accomplished today. Making her way back home with her arms outstretched at either side, she returns to the good ole outskirts of her little community and into her home where Nozomi is waiting patiently for her to return.

"How was your day?" She asks as Himari walks through the front door.

Himari smiles brightly at her mother and tells her about how well things went today before launching into a detailed description of everything that happened during her mission assignments, gesturing this way and that with theatrical abandon. Nozomi listens attentively while sipping on some tea, nodding occasionally when appropriate, and offering words of encouragement whenever necessary. When Himari finishes speaking, Nozomi follows up with another question: "So what do you plan on doing now?"

Himari pauses for a moment before answering, "I think... I'll take a nap."

Nozomi chuckles softly at this response but nods approvingly nonetheless. "Very well then," She says as she stands up from her seat at the kitchen table. "Enjoy your nap, dear. If you need anything from me, I'll be out here a little while longer before I retire for the day." With those parting words, she leaves the room leaving Himari alone to rest after such an eventful day.

"Will do, Mom. And thank you!" Himari calls back cheerfully before heading off towards her bedroom where she proceeds to flop down onto her bed with a sigh of contentment. It's been a long day but it's finally over now and she couldn't be happier about that fact. She reflects on her experiences and the moments that, thus far, shaped who she's become and what she may grow to become. The future is bright for the young kunoichi, but there are still many obstacles ahead that she'll have to overcome in order to achieve her goals. However, she's confident that if she continues to work hard and remain focused on her goals then nothing will stand in her way.


WC: 1,021
TWC: 7,058/7,000

Requesting approval for the following claims:

Claiming the following mission reward(s):

► Total Ryo Earned: +14,000 Ryo
► Total AP Earned: +70 AP

Investing the remaining 7,058 TWC into training Action Points:

► Training +70 AP (-7,000 WC) [58 TWC Left]

→Expunging the 58 remaining TWC Left.

Himari Hyuuga wrote:Requesting approval for the following claims:

Claiming the following mission reward(s):

► Total Ryo Earned: +14,000 Ryo
► Total AP Earned: +70 AP

Investing the remaining 7,058 TWC into training Action Points:

► Training +70 AP (-7,000 WC) [58 TWC Left]

→Expunging the 58 remaining TWC Left.

Approved