Re: Shinji's Mission Thread (Private)

[Yasahiro YagamiCitizen]

Spoiler:

The headline was flashed all over the village: on the mission boards, the side of buildings, and even a few here and there in the public restrooms-there was a murder spree in Tengakure. And naturally Shinji had no clue what was going on. He had spent three last three days sequestered in his room making a new creation-he had grown to love tinkering and all its facets, but alas it was becoming an unhealthy obsession. But, now after three days Shinji came out of his room after being urged to by Gorro who had grown worried about him-that was one thing Shinji could depend on the caring of his surrogate parents.

Shinji’s first stop after emerging from his room was the bathroom. He splashed some water on his face and looked up into the mirror. His normally tidy hair had grown out into a gilded brown mane and he was growing the beginnings of some sort of facial hair. Some would say he looked like a bum, but Shinji liked the transformation his appearance had taken. Taking one last glance in the mirror Shinji went down for breakfast, despite the fact that it was almost lunch time.

Arriving in the kitchen Shinji was greeted with a few words from Gorro who promptly left to go work at the forge-he had been on lunch break himself. This left Shinji alone in the kitchen to make his breakfast. Putting some water on for tea Shinji grabbed what remained of dinner from two nights ago: a delicious salad. While munching on the salad Shinji grabbed the morning’s paper and started reading. He was originally going to browse the paper for a new home, but he did not get past the first page as he read the horrific headline of “Multiple Homicides: no links.” Intrigued Shinji read the small blurb written by one of the most prominent news reporters:

“People are advised to have a weapon on hand. Parents are urged to keep their children on a short leash-there is a murder or murders on the loose. Three as of people have been found dead in their very homes. It is advised that one locks his or her doors. Furthermore be sure to on the look out for an suspicious activity. And remember if you see something then say something…”Rap, Rap, Rap

The article went on in detail, but Shinji was stopped by a sharp raping on his chamber door. Throwing the paper back down on the table Shinji Walked over to the door and pulled it open. A bald man with a rather nasty scar across his left eye and a jounin flak jacket on with the official insignia of the Sky Nation greeted him with a curt nod. Shinji was slightly confused as the man pushed past Shinji and let himself into the house. The man quickly made himself at home and took the seat Shinji had formerly occupied. He then put his feet on the table and grabbed the newspaper Shinji had been reading.

Before Shinji could protest the man spoke up in a deep scratchy voice: “So, I see you must have read about this mess we are in.” The man gestured with the newspaper and continued on in a more casual tone: “Also, this stuff we have been feeding the public is no where near the truth. If they were to know then we would have mass hysteria on our hands.” It was at this point that Shinji cut in: “Excuse me, but who the hell are you?! And what the Hell are you doing in my house?” The bald man looked indignant for a second until his face softened and he responded to Shinji: “Sorry, I assumed you knew, my name is Yuki Masamoto. I am the lead investigator on the case of these murders and I am here to ask for your help.” Shinji spoke up again with a rather quizzical tone: “Wait what now how can I he—“ The bald man cut him off: “Shut up and listen. I would much rather have done this on my own, but as it turns out we need someone of your particular skill and position-I will explain that later on.” The man paused as the water for the tea boiled.

Taking his chance Shinji made two cups of tea while the man continued talking: “Now, as I said before I am part of the task force investigating these murders. Though we have purposefully kept a tight hold of information. So, here is the truth: We have an idea of who is doing this or rather what group is doing this. Just a month ago it came to our attention that a cult had taken root in Tengakure. Naturally at the time we paid it no mind as cults are usually a passing fad and are never really too bad. Unfortunately we were woefully incorrect. This cult seems to have a fixation on killing, which as you can see has manifested itself in the worst way imaginable. The only problem that we have run into now is that they have been targeting the very people investigating them-my team. Therefore we need a person of skill who is already not part of my taskforce to take them down, because I will not risk my own team anymore-it has already resulted in two deaths on my taskforce. Now I order you, Shinji Uzumaki to finish what my taskforce has started.”

The man paused and took the cup of tea Shinji offered him. Shinji decided to take this chance to get a word in edgewise: “So you want me to go in there without any intel? Isnt that a slight bit dange-” The bald man cut him off again: “Hey, Punk, calm down. I was getting to that. Now we have identified a few members of the cult, but by no means all of them. So we cannot make a move on any of them as we fear that some will slip through our net. Luckily we have figured out that the cult has a meeting once every week.” It was now that the man’s voice became a bit dismayed: “Alas we do not know when or where these meetings take place. And now, as I said before, I am unwilling to risk my men anymore. As such you must discover the particulars of this meeting and eliminate the entirely of the cult then and there. Be careful as anyone could be a member of the cult. This will be considered an S rank mission and you will be rewarded handsomely for it. Now what say you?”

The man had said it with just force and vigor that his question had turned into a command leaving Shinji only one option: “Ok fine I will do it. Just make sure you taskforce keep the village safe while I figure this mess out.” The bald man nodded and took his leave. Yet again Shinji was left alone in the kitchen, but this time his mind was full of more than his recent tinkerings. The main thought that had a hold on his mind currently was how he was going to get to figure out where the cult was having its meetings. The rest would easy. Killing was always easy.

The clockwork of Shinji’s mind was hard at work. Taking intermittent sips from his tea Shinji formulated a plan. It was going to be a plan worthy of a grandmaster. First he would gather some intel, then spruce it up a pinch deception, and finally he would go in for the kill. After an hour of planning Shinji had an entire plan worked out in his head-once all the cogs fell into place it would indeed be a perfect plan. Fully prepared mentally Shinji ran back up to his room to get himself fully equipped for the mission ahead of him. He grabbed his shuriken, grieve edges and finally his gift from Gorro the great blade Makaze. Now ready in every way possible Shinji Stepped out into the streets of Tengkure.

The normally bustling streets were devoid of people save for a few jounin going from house to house checking on the inhabitants. It was downright odd-an entire cult had shut down this part of town. It was clear to Shinji that fear infected people in the most dire way and now it was his job to dispel this fear. Taking the first couple of steps Shinji enacted his plan. The first phase involved him walking around the streets looking for anything out of place. Granted this part of the plan was a bit like grabbing for straws, but it was the best he could do right now.

Walking up and down the streets Shinji had the vague sense that someone was watching him, but he shrugged it off and continued walking. A few times Shinji jumped at his own shadow or a stray animal that ran by. He was slowly working himself up into a paranoia. So, when at last he heard an old rickety cart go by Shinji just about jumped out of his skin. In an instant Shinji whipped his head around and squared off against the source of the rolling cart noise. And sure enough there stood an old merchant woman. The cart she was pushing had rusty spokes and wide rimmed wheels. On the cart was what looked like fish. But upon closer inspection Shinji saw that the “fish” were actually scaled bats-a common pest in the underground realm of Tengakure.

The woman pushed her cart over towards Shinji and let out a loud screechy greeting: “Hello my pretty…can I interest you in some bats…they are incredibly juicy this time of year.” Shinji gave her a major what the fuck look and then composed himself by responding: “I’m sorry but I am all out of ryo. You do know its dangerous to be on the streets with a killer on the loose.” Shinji said it in all earnestness, but it still came off as rather odd, but the woman’s response made it all the odder: “Oh well I have nothing to fear from a myth.” With that the lady gave a creepy smile and bid Shinji farewell taking her cart with her. Shinji returned her smile with a rather awkward one of his own. Turning to go Shinji’s head snapped around again to do a double take: there was blood one of the wheels of the ladies cart, which struck Shinji as odd. The bat that she had been selling looked to be salted and thus did not have nearly as much blood spilling out of them.

Blood on the ladies wheels could probably be easily explained especially considering her…unique….occupation, but it had aroused Shinji’s shady business detector, so he deiced it warranted at least a bit of an investigation. After all he was not getting anywhere else at the moment. Attempting not to let on that he noticed a thing Shinji turned into an alleyway and then took to the roof of the closest building. He then positioned himself so that he could keep the old lady in sight. As her rusty cart’s wheels creaked along the cobblestone road Shinji moved with almost absolute silence on the rooftops. The lady seemed to never tire. Also Shinji could just make out the vague melody of a creepy song that involved killing scaled bats the lady was singing-there was definitely something more to this old lady than met the eye. Then again it could very well have been Shinji stereotyping the woman-one way or another he would find out the truth.

Shinji tailed the lady into the warehouse district. Predictably Shinji followed her right to warehouse thirteen. Upon seeing the red numerals above the door Shinji felt a slight chill run down his spine. Normally he was not in the least superstitious, but this episode was changing that quickly. Now fully intrigued Shinji came down from the roofs and found a hiding spot behind a few creates. From his position he could just make out the lady opening the door, shoving her cart through the door and then slamming it shut with a thud the resonated through the empty streets. Unfortunately it seemed Shinji would have to do a bit more leg work to figure out what was really going on the warehouse-if anything was happening at all.

Thinking quickly Shinji mantled the crates he was hiding behind and ran straight at warehouse thirteen’s wall. He had already prepared the tree walking technique, so when he jumped soundlessly at the vertical wall of the warehouse he stayed there. Not wasting anytime Shinji quietly traversed the wall until he stood on the rooftop. Luckily the warehouse had a long row of skylights that would allow Shinji to look down into the innards of the warehouse. Approaching the closest window Shinji cautiously peered into the shadows of the warehouse, which to his surprise were not very shadowy. There was a circle of what looked like lit candles. At first sight the scene below looked very…cultish, but what happened next confirmed Shinji’s thoughts. Three figures, one of which Shinji noticed was the old lady he had talked to earlier, walked into the circle and started talking about something. Of course Shinji could not hear a word they were saying, but it seemed they were waiting for something or someone.

Despite the lack of concrete proof Shinji felt that this was indeed the cult he had been tasked with hunting down and killing. Almost as if on cue Shinji heard some the screech of the warehouse door opening again. For a brief moment he thought that he had been discovered, but in another second it became clear: another pair of people walked into the circle of candles below in the circle of candles. A single question entered Shinji’s mind: Was the meeting tonight? After another five minutes of observation Shinji deiced that it was-what luck. All that remained now was to wait for all the members of this crazy cult to arrive. In the mean time Shinji moved away from the window and took up a Buddha like position with his legs crossed and hands held out with their palms facing the sky-Shinji needed to calm himself and prepare for what he was about to do.

As Shinji waited seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours-darkness fell on the grand city of Tengakure. All the while Shinji had been going over the various ways of entering the warehouse. He had narrowed it down to two viable ways: come in through the skylight or, a little more audacious than the latter, just walk in the front door. His inner showman coming into its own forced him to go with just walking in the front door and taking them all out- after all from where Shinji stood the cult members did not seem to be packing any major weapons. Casting his gaze back down the skylight Shinji saw that there was now a group of about thirty people-no easy challenge by any stretch of the imagination, but Shinji felt up to it. Furthermore the group of people seemed to have started their ceremony, which Shinji took as his cue to move in for the kill- after all why start a ceremony without all the members?

It was now pitch black in the warehouse district, because supposedly no one went or needed to go down here in the middle of the night, thus a lack of lighting. Fortunately this absolute darkness was going to play a vital role in Shinji’s plan of action, which started as he left his post on the roof and made his way to the front door. Alas his perfect plan was bound to go awry, because as Shinji placed his hands on the warehouse’s large sliding door someone placed a hand on his left shoulder. Had Shinji not been so focused on his plan he would have noticed the lagging cult member; who for whatever reason had been late to this meeting. Naturally Shinji knew he had to play it cool. The owner of the hand on his shoulder spoke up in a soft feminine voice: “Who are you? A new member?” The soft voice saddened Shinji as he was going to have to kill her. Without a word Shinji whipped his body around with speed enough to grab the hand that formerly sat on his shoulder.

His right hand now holding the ladies hand Shinji allowed his left fist to impact the small pale face in front of him. Then releasing the ladies hand his own right hand shoot to Makaze. In the next instant he had impaled the black blade into the chest of the woman. Slightly shocked that the blade went through flesh so easily he almost let out a yelp of surprise, but managed to suppress it. The whole confrontation took only thirty seconds and was a done in silence. Though the air did not remain silent for long as from inside the warehouse Shinji could hear ominous chanting-now was the perfect time to act.

And act he did turning around Shinji flung the sliding door open with a nasty sound of grinding metal. The chanting stopped almost instantly and Shinji heard hushed voices speaking. No doubt the cult members could now see the silhouette of a Shinji with the blade of foul in wind in his right hand. Not wasting any time Shinji took advantage of the cult’s confusion. The cult members were all rushing towards the open door and there was no chance Shinji was going to allow them to get out. Reaching into his shuriken pouch Shinji pulled out five shuriken and chucked them into the mass of thirty people running at him. Two of the cult members dropped dead instantly. While the rest of the members completed a complete volte face and started running deeper into the warehouse, which would ultimately spell their doom. Shinji took this confusion in stride and walked into the warehouse closing the door behind him.

Making a few quick hand signs the door would disappear-he used the false surrounding technique. Anyone with any skill would be able to discern that there was a genjutsu active, but those who were inept would end up being confused by the fact that the door had disappeared into nothingness. Where it once was there would be a “solid” wall. Now the true hunt could begin.

Shinji took his first steps into the warehouse. He could hear footsteps going down various corridors of crates that made artificial walls up and won the warehouse. The first group he came up against was in which one man was wounded by the initial shuriken barrage Shinji had unleashed while the other one was already out of breath. Naturally Shinji dispatched them with a certain amount of finesse. Though blood was splattered all over him due to his use of Makaze. Over the course of the next hour Shinji hunted down and killed twenty nine of the cult members. The last one had been a smart one, but Shinji had finally cornered him so this is where he stood now.

The last man was about the same size as Shinji, but with red hair and piercing red eyes. He also seemed to be the leader of this cult as he wore a decorative mantel on his shoulders. But, the most distinctive feature by far of this man was that he held what looked, to Shinji anyway, a golden dagger in his left hand. Even more surprising was that the man spoke up when cornered as if to plead for his life: “Please don’t kill me. Not yet anyway. I know I am going to die. Just allow me the time to bless my brethren’s deaths. Then do with me as you will.” Shinji was torn. Should he allow this man to bless his fallen friends? Or should he just kill the man right then and there?

The response to the man’s entreaty was evident when Shinji dropped his arms to his side and gave the man a nod: “Do it then come back.” Shinji doubted the man would be able to escape as over the course of the last hour he had cut off all the exits with genjutsu. It had been a sheer streak of luck that none of the cult members noticed the genjutsu-they were probably too whipped up in a frenzy to take notice. Though what disturbed Shinji more was the idea that all the cult members had been everyday people-not shinobi. Why people would ever do such a thing was beyond Shinji. The nature of humans would never be clear to him. Though it was also at this time that he realized what separated him from these common murders was that he killed with purpose, then again he could not really pass judgment on a cult he knew little about. A loud crooning broke Shinji from his introspection: the leader of the cult had gather all the dead bodies of his comrades and was crying over them.

Had Shinji not taken his emotional training in the academy then he probably would have been there crying behind the man. Instead he watched on with an internal sorrow. On the surface Shinji knew he had to eliminate this cult, but deep down it felt wrong. This same internal conflict persisted within Shinji as he watched the man perform an odd last rites. Finally after another half an hour of the cult leader’s crooning was over and he stood before Shinji yet again. Shinji noted that the man’s gold dagger was glistening with blood. Not wanting to associate with the man any longer Shinji stepped forward with Makaze glistening with the same blood on the man’s gold dagger. Though once Shinji came within five feet of the man. He stopped as the man with the mantle pulled the dagger he had in his hand and charged at Shinji with a triumphant battle cry. The man was very ill practiced with a knife, because he practically ran into Shinji’s blade.

As the man lay dying on Shinji’s blade he had a content smile on his face-he had died an honorable death by going down with a fight. The cult was now completely dead. Overall the cult had been a fairly easy foe. Of course had any of them been a shinobi Shinji would have a lot harder time. Now came the rather gruesome part of the job: laying out the bodies. The leader of the cult had left the bodies in a mishmoshed pile, which Shinji had to disentangle, so that each body could be identified. Sheathing his blade he walked to the bodies and began the bloody work worthy of an undertaker.

For the next half an hour Shinji laid out the bodies. It was a hard nasty job that left Shinji covered in blood. Wiping his brow Shinji looked down at his work: thirty people gone like that-he needed a shower or something. He just noticed how drained he truly was. For the entirety of the night he had been killing and the sustained use of the genjutsu had taken its toll chakra wise. Done with his business in the warehouse Shinji took his leave and walked out into the warehouse district. The lights had just come back-signifying the coming of a new day. The first step Shinji took though he noticed that a squad of jounin had already entered the warehouse-must be the taskforce finally doing its job. The thought of the task force that was supposedly assigned to get rid of the cult kinda pissed Shinji off-where the hell were they when he was left to take down an entire cult. Despite the fact that they were being monitored by the cult at the time Shinji was sure a group of jounin could have taken them with ease, so why didn’t they? Had the mission been a test? He would probably never know.

Seeing no reason to stick around Shinji left the jounin squad to take stock of the death toll. He quickly made his way home. Entering his own home Shinji just about gave Gorro a heart attack. According to Gorro he looked like a walking corpse plastered with dry blood. Apologizing for his appearance Shinji clamored into the shower and turned it on as hot as it would go. Water cascaded over his body and in an instant the water turned red as it went down the drain from the blood that had been on Shinji’s body. He took note that the overuse of Makaze made for a large mess. This train of thought brought him to the brought Shinji to the blade Gorro had made for him: Makaze. It had performed perfectly and did not seem to lose its sharpness as the night had gone on. Of course he would have preferred a sword-maybe it was time to create a weapon of his very own to his own specifications.

Shinji was interrupted from thought in medias res for what felt like the third of fourth time that day when a loud knocking came at the bathroom door. Slightly annoyed, this was getting old, Shinji responded by turning off the shower, which seemed to be enough of a signal as the knocking ceased. Stepping out of the shower Shinji clothed himself and walked out of the steam filled bathroom. Shinji had a major sense of déjà vu as he walked into the kitchen.

At the kitchen table was Yuki Masamoto with a smug look on his face. Deciding to be agreeable Shinji called out a greeting: “Hey, you’re job is done. What now?” Yuki’s smugness carried over in his voice as well: “Ya did ok kid. I gotta admit though you did kind of ravage some of those people. I would hate to be one of them. I would have to say that you have a future as a Shinobi to say the least. Now as for your continued assistance with our missions in the future…” At this point Shinji was getting kind of strung out: wasn’t this supposed to be a one time deal? Feeling strong in his conviction he cut Yuki off in a rather harsh tone: “Wait I thought that we were only working together one time. I know it is my duty as a shinobi to protect my village, but I am not too keen on killing being the only thing I do.” Even as Shinji finished speaking Yuki rose up in a riotous laughter.

Shinji looked at him with a rather confused look and Yuki seemed to understand. The smugness still in his voice Yuki continued: “Sorry I did not mention that before, but now that you have helped us once then you will no doubt be helping us again. That is the nature of the game my dear Uzumaki. Now as I was saying before we will have some more jobs coming up in the future so we will keep in contact. So until then Shinji my boy.” With that the man Yuki left, but before going he threw down a hefty amount of ryo in it. On the bright side the job had paid well. Still feeling rather ambivalent about the whole idea of working these kind of missions Shinji returned to his room-he had some plans to work on. After all with his new found ryo he would be able to fund his projects.

Once in his room he shut the door and sat down at his desk. He pulled out some drafting paper and grabbed a pencil. What he needed was a new weapon. The first questions was: what kind of weapon should it be? Pondering on the point for only a few seconds Shinji came up with something that by some may be borderline insane: a modified kunai knife. He remembered that only just a few minutes ago he had wanted to create a sword, but when a new idea dawned on him he just had to jump on the idea or it would be lost in the abyss that is his consciousness. The kunai would indeed be different, because it would look like any other on, but have a nasty surprise if anyone were clash with it thinking it were a regular kunai. This kunai would be specialized for Shinji’s wind element and would quite literally blow the enemy away. All that remained was to design it. Of course the question of what kind of metal should be used will come into question and of course Shinji had a taste for the expensive so it would be rather extravagant. After another hour of drawing up plans and stretching his brain Shinji had finalized his plans. All that remained now was to pound out the metal himself and perfect the design. Naturally he would have to through various prototypes and versions. Though in the end he knew he would get it right-he always did somehow. In the mean time though he would have to continue taking missions or his funding would dry up, which would be…disastrous-without money nothing moved forward, without money Shinji was nowhere and if he were going no where he was bored. When Shinji got bored he got moody, so for the good of those around him he kept to his tinkering. So, for now he would have to comply with the demands of Yuki and kill for him, but more importantly for the safety of Tengakure and help the people who really mattered to him. It was then and there that Shinji adopted this mantra: “For Kage and kin.” Despite the fact that Shinji lacked any blood family ties he still felt that both his surrogate parents were truly his kin. Though before he could let these grandiose thoughts Shinji went to bed and fell into a deep sleep in which dreams of the doomed cult danced through his head.

{Shmeh...5038/5000, +12 JP & +6000 ryo}

[NaviCitizen]

Approved for Appropriate Rewards

[Yasahiro YagamiCitizen]

Spoiler:

Shinji stood in the elevator that led to the surface with a gaggle of academy students and an annoyed jounin teacher. The students were apparently off on some aboveground field trip. Shinji mean while was off on another mission. This mission was a run of the mill drop off mission. He was tasked with dropping off a package to some workmen who had forgotten it after purchasing it-the forgetfulness of humans truly astounded Shinji. Then again he had forgotten his shuriken at home as a chance of happen stance. The elevator came to halt and Shinji stepped out into the world.

Making doubly sure that he checked out with the guards Shinji started walking at a brisk pace. The workmen were supposedly still on the main road so the mission was straight forward: just catch up with the slow moving caravan of the construction workers. The bag Shinji had to carry to them seemed to be filled with large metal spikes-probably for some kind bridge or track of sorts. Shinji honestly had no idea what they were for, but they were really heavy. As he walked a loud clinking noise could be heard in all directions, which was rather disconcerting for Shinji as anybody could hear him and easily mistake the clanging for something more valuable than metal spikes. To pass the time Shinji whistled himself a lively tune while keeping his eyes open and his senses attuned to the world around him.

An hour passed and Shinji came upon no confrontations. Though it had been hit or miss as he passed a group of shady figures. They had given him a few sidelong glances in which Shinji could almost read greed. Shinji at that juncture had chosen to trip and fall and in doing so drop all his metal spikes on the ground. Upon seeing that the bag was full of mere metal spikes the creeps cleared off leaving Shinji to gather them up and go on his way.

Finally after another hour of walking Shinji caught up with the caravan. He handed the package over to the leader. He then turned back for home. With another mission complete Shinji felt that he was getting somewhere. Though he had yet to reach his final goal he was on the path. His mind would be whizzing with thoughts of the future until he finally arrived home. At that point his thoughts shifted to a slightly more urgent matter: what was for dinner?

{412/400}

Spoiler:

Shinji was indeed irked beyond belief. He, as a chuunin, had been reduced to a menial mission: helping an old lady. It was not that Shinji did not want to help, in fact he was more than happy, but he felt as if were above the job. Nonetheless he was on his way to the woman’s house. Apparently the woman had fallen whilst in the shower and had been unable to get up. Of course it was Shinji’s job to get the lady to the hospital. It was by no means on the same caliber as the other missions Shinji had been doing, but he had been tasked with it and now he was going to see it through to the end.

Arriving at the house of the woman he knocked on the door and announced himself. After hearing a weak reply from within Shinji entered. Finding the woman propped up in a big chair Shinji helped her to her feet-she must have had someone help her get clothed after taking the spill in the shower. Promptly leaving Shinji helped her through the busy streets. The entire time the lady was gushing with thanks and praise, so much so that it felt rather disingenuous to Shinji anyway. A few times Shinji was forced to stop and allow the lady to catch her breath. Furthermore there were a few people that almost bumped into the injured lady, but Shinji shoved them off before they could accidentally hit the lady too hard. All in all the escort was uneventful and boring. Upon arriving at the hospital Shinji checked the old lady into a ward and went on his way. It was just another day in the life of a shinobi-another day another dollar. Then again most days were not like this one, so maybe it was an off day. Overall Shinji did not really care: the mission was done and through.

{321/300}

Spoiler:

Silver and gold were the only things on Shinji’s as he walked down the streets of Tengakure. In his pocket right next to his chakra resonator was a gold pocket watch. Around it was a case of silver. Shinji fervently wished that he owned the watch, but alas he was on a delivery mission. It had been early that morning that when he got the order to deliver the watch to an old man who was unable to pick it up himself without fear of attackers. So, the job fell to Shinji and here he was about halfway to his destination walking through a rather shady part of town. Supposedly some people may be looking to steal the watch. Naturally Shinji was in charge of making sure that they did not get it. So, far he had not had any trouble, but just as that thought crossed his mind he found himself encircled by a mob of sorts.

The mob was really about ten people that looked to be civilians. One civilian stepped up. He was fairly short in stature and had blazing red hair, and predictably spoke in a deep gruff voice befitting his appearance: “You there Shinobi..Whats your name?” Shinji could hear the venom in the man’s voice as he said Shinobi-he was one of those people. Trying not to aggravate the man Shinji replied in a kind friendly tone: “My name is Shinji Uzumaki. Now, may I ask why you lot have decided to surrounded me as you have?” The red haired man laughed a deep throaty laugh that the group around him echoed-he was clearly their leader. After about thirty seconds the red haired man motioned to the group to quiet down as he spoke: “Well I am pretty sure it is a coincidence. Wouldn’t you agree friends?” A general impression of agreeance went around the group. In the back of Shinji’s mind he knew that was not the truth and that this could get very ugly very fast. Talking quickly Shinji responded: “Well in that case can I get through as I seem to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.” This resulted in a few more scattered laughs that worried Shinji. The red haired man spoke up again: “See we cant let you do that. We hear that you are carrying something rather valuable and we will need to have it before you leave.” At this point the circle closed in around Shinji. Desperate to avoid a fight Shinji Yelled out: “Stop!” To accent his haste Shinji allowed seven chakra chains to fall from his body at various points around his body so they could be seen by all. The horde around him stopped closing in as a wave of disillusionment ent through the crowd. Taking his chance Shinji spoke up again: “Now let me pass or I shall be forced to resort to violence and I assure you all that each one of you will pay. No one will escape my retribution.” In a heartbeat Shinji was alone on the street-he must have been pretty scary.

Going on his way Shinji felt that he would not be bothered by anyone for a while. His feeling proved to be true. As he walked the rest of the way at a leisurely pace without anyone stopping him. When at last he arrived at the old man’s house Shinji knocked on the door and presented him with the golden watch. Naturally the man was thrilled and thanked Shinji profusely. And when he inquired if Shinji had had any trouble all Shinji did was shake his head and smile. He then turned his head for the mission command. He had a bone to pick. He had a promotion that was long overdue and he would get them to give it to him one way or another. However halfway to mission command Shinji was lured into an inviting bathhouse where he remained till it was time to go home. On the way home he walked through arches and arches of lanterns as the lantern festival was being thrown in a few nights. As he walked his mind was at ease: he did not think of battle, missions, or even the next day. It was a nice feeling. It was a feeling of peace. Finally making it home Shinji went straight for his room where he slouched down onto his bed. That night he would actually sleep. He felt that he deserved a night of no work. After all if he worked too much he would get overloaded and then the work he loved to do would become hum drum and boring. The trick was to always make it interesting. The last thing he saw before slipping into a dream state was the Uzumaki clan symbol spinning like the whirlpool it was. That night he would dream of something he had not dreamed of in a long time: his real parents. This dream would be Shinji’s resolved to find his parents. The parents he never knew the parents that left him and hopefully the parents that still loved him.

{860/850}

Spoiler:

Drugs and money…money and drugs the whole world seemed to run on it as Shinji was about to discover. Awaking from his slumber Shinji was surprised to find a man in his room. The man had night black hair and a pale complexion. For a minute Shinji and the man just started each other down. Breaking the silence Shinji inquired who the man was: “OK who the HELL are you?! And why the HELL are you in my room?” Aggravated Shinji had already slipped out of bed, luckily he had worn his clothes to bed. The black haired man wore a smile on his face as he replied: “There is no need to worry we have a mutual friend.” The man paused to allow Shinji time to jog his memory. For a few seconds Shinji had no idea who the man was talking about. Until it all clicked: this man must be employed by that man Shinji had done that S-ranked mission for. Once Shinji nodded the black haired man continued: “Well we have a job for you. This is a simple job, but it needs to be done and quickly as in right after our conversation is concluded. Now, there is a large crime syndicate that seems it is prudent to traffic drugs of all kinds through Tengakure. We require you to take down a small transaction to show the people in higher places than ourselves the danger of this syndicate. The transaction will be taking place in an hour in the warehouse district. I’m sure you are familiar with the place. Well I must be going. Complete this mission and you will be compensated. Don’t and well…just get it done.” With that the black haired man disappeared into the blackness, which struck Shinji as creepy.

Having gotten out of bed Shinji was now on the streets. Though it was a bit inconvenient to him Shinji did not want to cross the organization he had gotten himself tangled with at least not yet-maybe someday he would investigate it as they seemed off, but not today. Entering the warehouse district Shinji was flooded with a memory. He had been this way before. Last time it had been to kill a crazy cult bent on killing neighbors and innocent townspeople. It had been a dark bloodstained night that Shinji found better to forget, but walking these streets forced him to dwell on it. Supposedly this drug deal would be going down very soon and he needed to catch the miscreants in the act or it would not be worth a thing. Hearing voiced around the corner Shinji ducked for cover as two tall men walked past in brown overcoats and glasses. These were definitely the people he was looking for. Allowing them to round the corner before Shinji came out of the shadow of the box he had been hiding in. He then took to the roof to catch the men unawares and hopefully get a better view of the transaction.

Sure enough after ten minutes of stealthfully stalking the two men from the rooftops Shinji watched as they walked into alley. The dark shadows below hid the men from Shinji’s view, but he could hear the voices that drifted up to his ears. What he heard was four men’s voices-now was the time to strike. And strike he did. Like a bat from above Shinji swooped down directly on top one of the men and captured the three other men in fairly short order. They truly had just a bunch of thugs-too bad really Shinji had wanted a challenge.

Not really knowing what to do with the bodies of the men Shinji tied them up with some rope that conveniently was in the alley. He then led the four men, all tied up, through the streets of Tengakure. They would serve as an example for the rest of the drug traffickers. Once Shinji arrived at the mission command center Shinji left them at the front door along with the drugs they had been selling. The mission was done and Shinji would not have to face any unwanted consequences. Not that Shinji really knew the they would do to him, but he did not want to find out.

Having busted a drug deal. Shinji felt that he had done his good for the day and went on down to a casino to gamble away a large amount of ryo-after all what good was making money if one did not make good use of it. Shinji was not really any good at gambling. In fact he was shit, but the thrill was what fueled him. So, off he went with a light heart and clear mind. For the rest of the day he would not be a shinobi. Maybe he would play the slots for a while, but in the end he would cave to the lure of poker and possibly even bet on his own game of chess-the only game he was really any good at, because it required wit. He would be just a gambler a man of luck and fate-two things that seemed contradictory, but were eternally intertwined.

{865/850}

Spoiler:

Despite Tengakure being situated underground there are still cliffs that were created when the Tenkage made the elaborate city. Unfortunately the cliffs were hard to get to and naturally that was exactly where Shinji was headed to. He had been dispatched on yet another mission. However this one did not involve any violence or at least Shinji hoped it would not. He was supposed to be stopping someone from committing suicide. As Shinji was in a race against the clock he moved as fast as his legs could take him.

The path up to the cliff was long and treacherous. Jumping from where Shinji was now would probably kill someone, but apparently the person committing suicide had a sense for the grand and wanted to climb to the highest point in jump. Maybe it was insurance maybe madness. At this point Shinji did not care as he had to catch up with the person. He could just make out a figure up ahead. Doubling his efforts Shinji kicked it into overdrive as he neared the fleeing person. As Shinji started to make some progress it came to his attention that the fleeing person was an old man. Swearing under his breath he ran faster than he thought his legs could carry him-he did not want to have to peel the man off the bottom of the cliff. That would make for a rather unpleasant experience to say the least.

The old man had reached the apex of the cliff as Shinji closed the ground between such that he was three meters behind him. Now came the hard part. The man seemed to be talking to himself about some failed business and how his whole life was falling apart that he did not seem to notice. Shinji took this time to approach the man silently. In another instant he was behind the man. Taking his right hand he reached around the man’s chest from behind and grabbed him. Next his left hand came up with each finger cloaked in a purple flame. Normally Shinji was against attacking old people, but it seemed preferable to having to drag an old man kicking and screaming down the cliff.

Slinging the old man over his shoulder Shinji made his way down the cliff. This did not seem like much of a B-rank mission, but it paid good and Shinji felt like he had saved a life, because well he had. After another ten minutes he was back down the sheer cliff and on relatively safe ground. In an instant he saw the old man’s family gathered around in a huddle and when they saw Shinji they broke out in cheers. At that noise Shinji’s hear flooded with an emotion he did not feel very often: elated joy. Passing the unconscious man to the hoard of family members Shinji instructed them what they should do to remove the seal Shinji had incapacitated the man with. All it required was some hospital time, which was a lot better than permanent death.

Heading home to the thanks and cheers of the family Shinji could not help smiling to himself. It was another mission down. Sooner or later he would no doubt be prompted to jounin, but not this day at another time perhaps. He knew that he still had a ways to go on becoming a real ninja. Being a jounin would not be everything, but it was a stepping stone on his path. Regardless Shinji had achieved his mission and as a reward for himself he stopped by the baths to soak there for a while.

{603/600}

Spoiler:

Laying down in his bed for the first time all night Shinji lay there for about three minutes before his alarm went off with an irksome ringing-he had stayed up all night without a wink of sleep. Quite literally forcing himself to stand up Shinji got out of bed. Today was not a day that he could afford to sleep through. A few weeks back he had been given advanced warning that a businessman needed protecting and with Shinji’s luck he had forgotten until it was too late-when going to sleep would only make him all the more tired. Moving like the walking dead Shinji left his room and made his way to bathroom. As he walked he felt as though the whole world was spinning-he really needed to get more sleep. Closing the bathroom door behind him Shinji made a beeline for the shower and, after stripping off all his clothes, stepped into the shower and turned it on as hot as it would go, which was not very hot.

Usually Shinji took a shower after his missions, but today was different and its purpose was twofold: one to wake himself up out of the current stupor he was in and two to make himself look nice. The client he was supposed to guarding was a high class businessman who needed a guard as he went from casino to casino-these rich types were apparently quite paranoid. Furthermore the fact that Shinji would be appearing with the businessman in public it necessitated that he have some semblance of class. Thus Shinji mad sure that he was squeaky clean before stepping out of his fifteen minute long shower.

Taking a comb to his unruly hair Shinji made himself look presentable. He then slid into his most fancy kimono and gave himself a once over in the mirror. Shinji had to be honest with himself-he still looked a bit lackluster. The comb had done little good for his hair and the kimono was a wee bit large on him-it was Gorro’s after all. Unfortunately it was the best he had and he was running short on time. Dashing out of the bathroom Shinji said his farewells to his surrogate parents.

Stepping onto the streets Shinji was caught up in the hustle and bustle of Tengakure. Furthermore everyone seemed to be shouting. Maybe it was an effect of the lack of sleep, maybe not. Either way it was making Shinji rather irritable. In fact on the way to the house he was supposed to meet his employer one man shoved into Shinji entirely by accident. But, Shinji took it as a personal offense and almost blew up in the face of the innocent passerby. Luckily he had contained himself and went on his way.

As he neared the man’s house Shinji arrived at what seemed to be a gated community-an odd thing to have underground, but Shinji wasn’t thinking about that at the moment. Despite his fatigue he was still able to marvel at the wonders of wealth. The houses within the community were huge and extravagant-nothing like the seemingly endless rows of houses Shinji was used to seeing. Fidgeting near the front gate Shinji spied a guard patrolling the streets within the gated community. Pushing past his shyness he yelled out to the guard: “Hey could you let me in I have business within.” The guard gave him an odd look and walked to the front gate opening. Figuring that that was all he needed Shinji made his way through the gates, but was stopped by the guard who spoke up in a gruff stern voice that seemed a lot older than it should: “Whats your business here? And please let me see your ninja identification card-there has been quite a few attempts at thievery lately.” Rather startled Shinji pulled out his ID and handed it to the man: “The name is Shinji Uzumaki and I am here to serve as a bodyguard.” The guard handed Shinji his ID back and nodded. He then stepped aside as Shinji brushed briskly past him and into what seemed like paradise beneath the earth itself.

Walking down the main boulevard Shinji arrived at the end and walked up to the grandest house that had the proper address. Walking up the front path to the house Shinji was still in awe: the front yard of the house featured three fountains of varying design. Approaching the large oaken door he gave the door three sharp raps and waited. He sat there for a good minute or so until a tall spindly man came to the door. The man wore what looked like a silk kimono that far outshone Shinji’s. Taking on his most serious demeanor Shinji introducted himself: “Good morning, sir. My name is Shinji Uzumaki. I will be your bodyguard for the day.” The spindly man gave Shinji a once over and responded in a slow drawl that had a certain touch of eloquence in it: “Very well. My name is Mr. Mogo. There is no need for you to know my first name. For now please come in as I will have to get you fit with a new kimono. That one looks a wee bit big for you.” Abruptly ending his speech he turned around leaving the front door wide open.

Taking this as his cue Shinji walked into the house and followed Mr.Mogo up a long flight of stairs and into a dressing room where Mr.Mogo was already sorting through a large wardrobe that was full of fine kimonos. Shinji watched him for a while until Mogo, as Shinji decided to call him, brought out a kimono that looked had decorative cherry blossoms printed on it. Mogo looked pensive for a bit and then spoke his mind: “ I think this one will fit you nicely. When I was younger I was about your size. Feel free to keep it I have no need for it. Now change and meet me downstairs in five minutes.” To accent his speech he handed Shinji the kimono and walked out and down the stairs. Rather shocked Shinji slipped out of his current clothes and slipped into the new kimono-this guy sure was a generous man.

Glancing in the mirror for the second time today Shinji found that kimono fit perfectly-go figure. Sliding the door shut as he left the dressing room Shinji went down the stairs where he saw Mogo waiting with a long black cane in hand and a monocle. The whole outfit made Mogo look like something out of a story book Shinji read as a child. The old businessman was out the door in a flash leaving Shinji to run down the stairwell and out the door right hot on his heels. Once outside Mogo moderated his walking pace. With him Mogo was carrying a large briefcase. Rather interested in what the businessman was carrying Shinji inquired: “So, whats in the briefcase anyway?” Mogo let out a deep laugh that seemed out of place on such a skinny man. Calming himself down he was finally able to talk: “Well see, as you know, you are to escort me around while I visit a few casinos. Well the places we are going to do not do anything on credit. So, this briefcase is full of ryo my dear boy. Naturally it is an arbitrary amount of my real fortune, but I suppose for anyone else besides me it is rather large…” Shinji was shocked: that entire briefcase was filled with ryo-that was certainly a large sum of cash yet Mr. Mogo said that it was only a small fortune. Interested now Shinji could not help asking where he amassed such a large fortune from: “Wow…Where did you make all your money anyway?” Mogo answered in an offhanded manner that gave Shinji the impression that he had already told the story plenty of times before: “Well, as I am sure you know, Tengakure used to be above ground. Back then I was, but a mere furniture salesman. I was by no means the grand businessman of today. However when the village moved below ground many hundreds of people left their furniture at home. That was where I came in. I was able to sell many hundreds of pieces of furniture before the move was even official. Thus, being the insightful individual I am I purchased a construction firm. And well the rest is quite literally history. When the Tenkage made this underground village he needed someone to install all the fixtures in the houses, which brought more and more money into my purse. From there my portfolio snowballed bringing me to where I am today. To be completely honest all I originally wanted was to do well in the furniture business, but here I am now. I guess that is life….Oh I see we have arrived at our first stop. Do not worry this place is not that sketchy so please relax. The next few places though I will ask you to watch my briefcase while a gamble.”

They had indeed arrived at the first casino. Upon entering Shinji could tell why he would not really be needed at this one. There were a few large guards patrolling the casino’s floor-it would be foolish for one to attempt a heist in here. Shinji watched as Mogo left to what looked like a poker table. Shinji was left to wander the casino for a while in daze. The lack of sleep was catching up with him now he could feel it in his bones. To keep himself awake Shinji meandered towards the bar the casino had. Taking a seat on a high barstool he squinted at the bartender there and made a simple request: “Get me something to keep me the hell up…” The bartender, a kindly old man, merely smiled and grabbed a few odd colored liquids and mixed them up. At one point Shinji could have sworn he saw a glowing green liquid, but he paid it no mind. After about a two minutes of mixing the bartender passed Shinji a martini glass filled to the brim with a bluish liquid that seemed to glow. A bit apprehensive Shinji thanked the bartender and paid him a healthy amount of ryo. Bringing the drink up to his Shinji gave it a sniff. He recoiled a bit as the smell of alcohol and something else stung his nose. Sighing a bit he half considered just leaving it, but recalled its cost and thought better of it. Taking the dive Shinji took a tentative sip. It felt like an electric shock went through his body and he felt surprisingly awake. In fact, he could feel his finger tips tingle-either this was the alcohol quickly taking effect, which seemed implausible after the first sip or Shinji was waking up. Tilting the rest of the glass into his mouth Shinji downed the entire glass in short order. He then, without any qualms about the price, bought another one and promptly pushed it down his throat. Feeling full awake Shinji thanked the bartender and went on his way to check on Mr. Mogo.

Feeling fully awake now Shinji stopped by a slot machine on his way to go see Mr. Mogo. Putting in few coins Shinji watched as the various images spun around before his eyes. Keeping his fingers crossed he watched as the images fell into place to show that he had won nothing. Not really surprised Shinji shrugged and went on his way. Approaching the poker table Mogo was at Shinji noticed that the game was nearing its end-it was down to two players an old woman and Mr. Mogo himself. Shinji did not know too much about poker. All he knew was that it was a game that a bunch of old people always seemed to be playing. Yet still even Shinji could feel the tension in the air as both remaining players went all in. He watched as the dealer dealt out the cards and the round progressed rather quickly from there. When at last it came time for the players to reveal their hands Shinji noted Mr. Mogo’s cool exterior-he wasn’t even breaking a sweat. The cards were shown and it was revealed that Mr. Mogo had won. Not even betraying a smile on his face Mr. Mogo got up and gathered his money and walked over to Shinji handing him two briefcases and a few words: “Meet me outside. I have to settle a debt with a friend.” Shinji nodded and went outside with two briefcases full of ryo.

Waiting outside Shinji could feel people’s eyes drilling into him or rather the briefcases of ryo. Feeling a bit uneasy he was relieved when Mr. Mogo came out with a large smile plastered on his face. Mogo started talking again in rather jovial tone: “Shinji my boy! You must understand that a game of poker is much like a battle…Don’t get me wrong I know it is not as physical or life threatening, but it involves knowing what your opponent is going to do. In that sense it is like a battle. But, I digress, did you have a good time?” Shinji was getting the feeling that Mogo just liked to hear himself talk, which Shinji did not really mind so answered: “Oh it was good I got this odd blue drink and dam it wakes you up….so where are we off to next?” Mr. Mogo smiled a bit and responded: “You must have drank one of Ivan’s concoctions they are liable to knock ones socks off. Now as to where we are off to next…it will be a casino just down the road. Please keep a firm grip on that money as this next place is a bit shady and I do not trust the owner, but the players there are loaded so it is a good place to play.” Shinji merely nodded and followed Mr. Mogo as he entered the next casino.

This casino was comprised of one room and filled with a heavy smoke that made Shinji gag a bit. He lay the cash down on the table Mr. Mogo indicated and sat back and watched him play his way to victory once again. This cycle went on and on for the rest of the day. The pair went from casino to casino where Mr. Mogo continued to mop the floor with his opponents. He was indeed a sight to behold Shinji was impressed with him. Luckily Shinji’s job had been fairly easy as no one messed with Mr. Mogo or his money, but Shinji did have to get him out of one casino where Shinji was worried he would be stoned after cleaning house. At the end of the day Shinji walked Mr. Mogo back to his house and made sure he got home safely. When Shinji tried to give the kimono back Mr. Mogo refused it and told Shinji to go on his way-he had earned it according to Mogo. Under protest Shinji went home. He had completed another mission-they just kept getting easier and easier.

{2544/2500}


{Overall Reward: 2 D-rank, 2 C-rank, and 2 B-rank complete. +30 JP, +5850 ryo. And requesting Jounin rank for completing all needed missions (note all missions are in this thread).}

[Yasahiro YagamiCitizen]

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[NaviCitizen]

These are all approved, and if these are the last of your missions, then you are approved for Jounin rank.