[C-Rank] Tears of the Rain (Mission Complete)

The clouds cried today. Rain poured down on the little village seemingly in a way that would continue on for eternity. The town at the borders of Konohagakure was small, a place of poverty and crushed dreams. It was a sad little place, and Itsuka felt bad for the poor people living here. Itsuka had been assigned here on a mission by the Mizukage. The mission itself though was upon the request of the Hokage. The description was that Konoha had been running low on stone and food supply, and to make things worse the fields and farms out near the borders kept getting rain which was over-saturating the soil, causing the crops to weep and die just as the sky did in this miserable place. Itsuka munched on a sandwich he had bought from a street vendor whom Itsuka, feeling bad, left a larger than usual tip, bringing a smile and tears of joy to his old face. Indeed, it was not a happy place and brought sorrow to the heart. But Itsuka didn't have time for things like this. He needed to get his mission over with and report back to the Mizukage quickly for his reward. He walked through the village along a path that led out of the village walls and headed out into the fields and plains that were scattered and placed around the town.

Birds did loops in the air, chirping, and a fox nearby slunk away at the site of Itsuka, not wanting to be around humans apparently. The world out here at the edge of Konohagakure was like a wasteland, the fields of dead grass scarred with lines of blackened trees. There were several scorch marks that could be seen, and Itsuka could conclude that the land had been invaded or attacked, and forest areas and fields burnt to the ground. The scorch marks around were small though, and it seemed that the rain was healing the land's wounds, just as time could heal pain. Although, not always could time heal the pain of some. There were those in this world who held onto their pain, never giving up when time threatened to release their grip, those who wanted to seek closure, sometimes even vengeance. This world indeed was a strange place filled with strange things and strange people. Itsuka couldn't seem to understand all the concepts, so instead decided to continue on to the site of his mission. In the mission description it was said that they believed a rogue ninja was causing the rain to kill the crops and Itsuka was to find why and assassinate the man if needed. Another mission with rogue ninja huh? Boy I just get all the dangerous sounding ones, Itsuka thought as he looked down at the sheet of paper in his hands. The sheet was a time table of the schedule thought to be of the rogue ninja causing this rain. Right now, he should be out in the town Itsuka just came from. In the tiny village, Itsuka thought he had actually caught a glimpse of who it might be, and was thankful he had left his headband at home that morning. After a minute or two of slow walking, the rain became heavier and Itsuka spotted a tall building over the hill he was on.

The building was large and ruined, what looked to be ruins of what might have once been a nice home but now looked like a burnt down and broken shack. The shack still stood though, even against all the damage it had suffered over time. In front of the shack were a few plotted fields for growing, with dead plants limp over the soil they were planted in. As Itsuka drew nearer to the shack, the rain became heavier and more forceful. He figured then that this was where the jutsu the rogue ninja had used was planted and based off of. It was a tricky jutsu, and Itsuka would likely end up having to force the ninja himself to stop. Taking a few quick glances between the time table and the shack, Itsuka ran up closer until the rain felt like cups of water being poured down all over and Itsuka was at the door of the shack. Seeing that the ninja was supposed to come back in a few minutes, he quickly opened the door quietly, closing it and ducking inside.

The inside made the place look even more like it had been a home at one point. The wood of the building was completely blackened and charred with time and fire as the culprits. On the first floor, there was what looked like a kitchen, "sink" now filled with dirty water and grime, and a living room with brown, old couches torn up and the stuffing pouring out on the floor like white blood. It was a sad site, and Itsuka was debating upon which was worse, the poor village or this run down house. He searched around and found nothing other than a large hole in the wall overlooking a giant boulder out in the grassy fields near Konoha, with a partial view of the actual village walls of Konohagakure. Seeing nothing left here, he stepped carefully and quietly up the stairs, worrying that if the rogue ninja was here soon he would hear the noise and be alert.

All there was on the second floor was what looked like a bedroom. Several sections of the roof above Itsuka's head were gone, leaving areas for the rain, now feeling rock hard to pour down. In the bedroom there was an old bed frame that had what actually looked like a fairly new mattress and a table beside it. On the table was a lamp that adorned a white lampshade now grayed with time like the hair of an elder, and on the actual table was a picture inside a frame next to a small stuffed bear, along with a kunai. The picture showed a happy site in black and white, a mother and father sitting on a large boulder while their assumed son sat on the grass below, playing with a stuffed bear much like the one beside the picture. Looking around the room for anything else, Itsuka found a whole in the side of the room, carved similar to the way the one downstairs had been. The view it overlooked was of a giant boulder out in a grassy field, with Konoha's walls visible through the corner of one's eye. The site seeming very familiar, Itsuka looked closer out the gap. And then it hit him. Itsuka dashed over and picked up the picture frame, holding it up beside the site of the boulder to compare them. The picture in the photo was of the same area in the field Itsuka was looking at in reality, and he realized that this old house must have belonged to the parents and child in the photo. Itsuka, saddened at the site, was caught by surprise when the door downstairs opened.

Quickly, he ducked down to the ground and crawled under the bed in the middle of the room. He heard steps upstairs and peeked out slightly from under the bed. The person standing there was a boy, around 13 or 14, and wore standard shinobi leggings, a black leather coat over a brown shirt, and on his head was a headband, with a scarred Konohagakure symbol in the middle. Itsuka gasped, but a bit too loud, and the ninja looked down, now seeing Itsuka. Thinking quick, Itsuka improvised and activated Kawarimi no Jutsu, switching with the rogue ninja himself. Now standing and looking down on the rogue, he had began to proceed with the main part of his mission. He crouched down, meeting the rogue's eyes with his own deep blue eyes, watching as the ninja struggled to attempt to break free of the heavy weight of the old bed, but to no avail.

"Are you the one who has been causing this rain that's been killing the crops?" Itsuka questioned, pointing his finger at the boy's brain with the tip extended and wooden now. "It would be best if you answer, I don't want to have blood on my hands for no reason," Itsuka suggested. The rogue ninja snarled, but then nodded his head to the best of his ability in the small space. "Ok, why?" he continued.

"Because we didn't forget!" the ninja answered, a single tear producing at the corner of his eye. "We didn't forget what Konoha did to these lands, the people they killed, the families they broke!" he continued. "And now, it is time that they payed up, for revenge is why we are doing this!" the ninja finished.

"We? What do you mean?" Itsuka asked, confused. Stick around and you'll find out, ally of Konoha, scum!" the rogue replied, obviously full of hate and rage. Getting annoyed and seeing no point in dealing with this further, Itsuka let loose the wooden stake of judgement at his fingertips. The boy's lips and eyes went lifeless and his head cocked back from the force of the wood sticking into his head. "Mission complete I guess," Itsuka said, standing up and smacking his hands together, satisfied at the end of another day's hard work.

The rain soon after lightened to a drizzle and eventually stopped, leaving the clouds to become white and happy again like before. The sky had stopped crying, and the rebellious rogue would to, as Itsuka had sent him off to see his parents again, unknown to Itsuka himself though. What was thought to be a happy ending came down and warmed the day, but there was no ending. It was far from the ending in fact. Itsuka Senju's story, and the tale of two villages and corruption and rebellion, were only just beginning.

Mission Complete at 1646 words out of 1000 words ^_^;

http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t7942-c-rank-tears-of-the-rain#70324

Approved, 1000 ryo