Tourists Attack! | Mission |

Assignment:

Shiro always hated tourists. Since they didn’t actually add anything to the population besides a few bits of Ryo here or there for some of the local vendors. They didn’t get what it meant to be a part of Kiri. Nevermind most of them had to be monitored by a shinobi just in case they were spies or intruders parading around in their dresses or outfits. Concealing weapons was a pretty bold move, especially when they knew that at one point or another a Hyuga was within the village at some point. Yet of course, Shiro loudly groaned at the sudden assignment of approaching a group of tourists and helping them as a guide throughout the village certainly irked him. In fact they wanted a tour of the entire ten islands of Kirigakure. The demand for the entire ten islands would certainly be an issue, especially given what he had found out regarding one of those islands was a host of experiments done underneath the nose of the previous Mizukage and even himself. While his tenure had been short, Shiro was still miffed that he wasn’t able to have complete freedom to manage most of the village. Yet would the people even want him at this point? They had to have, no one wanted a foreign leader inside of their own walls and telling them what to do. Most of the Shinobi largely went to him for orders and directions, some would also end up going to Akabayashi for clearance on certain issues. Yet Shiro did not mind this little balance of power. He was one of the most trusted people within the village. Which meant he needed an equally trusted person in his eyes for the job. Which made him shed his former equipment for the most part. Knowing fully well that Reizo would have been busy in a number of places. It was best to look for him himself when he was in casual clothing.

A simple loose fitting blue T-Shirt and black pants would do for now, he had to look at least somewhat presentable in Kiri’s mostly humid and rainy conditions. Most of the people got used to the water, yet tourists were an entirely different story. Constantly complaining for some kind of cover or umbrella to ward off Kiri’s natural elements, yet for most shinobi the land of water was built upon you interacting with it almost every single day. Even Reizo, someone who he had not seen in awhile was given positive remarks by fellow shinobi, sighted as a good, hard working man who was now a part of Kirigakure. Shiro couldn’t help but smile at the thought, as well that he was the one that had first invited Reizo to join the village, he knew almost all of his memories, sharing their histories together in that one fateful moment. It told Shiro that he could trust him, and that Reizo could trust him with these secrets that they both shared. It made it all the more hilarious that he would try and find Reizo, only doing so because of his eyes having come into effect.

“Yo Reizo! I might need your help with something?” Shiro asked, a bit embarrassed that Tourists of all things would make him call for help. Shiro’s face now holds a long scar where his normal eye now was. It seemed he had gotten it at least somewhat repaired, however his original eye was still in its socket. He didn’t do well with strangers. Reizo’s main job as the physical tutor as well for the school was from his knowledge, going quite well. Principal Mogu even considered making him a full time staff member because of the students calling for his courses. The people were beginning to warm up to the newest shinobi added to their own roster. The same could also be said for him, the people weren’t as upset as before regarding his devastating loss against Akabayashi. However Reizo and him could at least now work together without being considered the Boogeymen of the entire country. It also meant that now they could be seen as helpful guides for those crummy tourists. However, if anything, he just didn’t want to have to see Akabayashi about ignoring the call for that mission again. Shiro only wore the light bodysuit underneath his normal attire. Making sure that nothing would hit his vitals for the most part in case any of those tourists had some type of weaponry. They’d be checked immediately while Reizo would be busy chumming it up with them.

When the two of them had finally actually gone towards where the tourists had been stationed, they definitely seemed annoyed. It was a group of 3 that they were chaperoning. Two women, both black hair, one of them looking to be about 15, while another looked a bit older, perhaps sixteen? His hair was all over the place, tangled and spread out along his head. The mother and daughter looked pretty much the same, long black hair, yet the daughters was in a small pony tail as a result. The Son looked bored out of his mind, while the daughter and Mother mainly looked annoyed.

“Are you two of our tour guides? We were told you’d be here 15 minutes ago?!” The mother cried out, yet Shiro could only shrug.

“My apologies Miss, I had to get my friend here to make sure you all are completely safe, the wait will have been worth it, I promise.”

His eyes turned towards Reizo, allowing him to hopefully take the wheel and steer the group of tourists in the right direction. When they weren’t looking at Shiro, he’d activate his Byakugan to see if there was any kind of weaponry on them. There didn’t seem to be any that were too alarming. It just meant that there wouldn’t be much excitement for this day with this group. He was able to get a glimpse at their identification, noting that their last names were Fushigoro. A last name that seemed almost familiar to him when he was in the academy. Yet in the end he decided to ignore the idea, allowing the group of three to travel with him and Reizo at the helm. Making sure that the three of them didn’t do something completely stupid.

WC:1055

Reizo, having immigrated to Kirigakure a couple of months prior, was still discovering his new homeland. This humid, tropical morning he was wearing an indigo and cerulean Hawaiian floral patterned shirt and dark gray linen slacks. He still was not accustomed to the moist conditions of the Land of Water as they were starkly contrasted with the mostly dry but frigid Land of Lightning where he had grown up. He was hanging around the dango shop as was typical of his weekends off from the Academy. It reminded him of the dango shop his mother ran back in Kumo and the days when he would help his mother during the busy hours with his younger brother. Reizo was caught reminiscing when a familiar pretty boy snuck up on him standing in front of the dango shop with a skewer halfway in his mouth.Shiro would address Reizo, and then the immigrant would respond in turn.

”The former Mizukage is afraid of meeting some tourists? That’s rather ironic don’t you think? Sure you’re a bit scarier lookin now but how are you supposed to meet with foreign leaders if you’re struggling with a couple grannies and teenagers?” Reizo would tease upon hearing the request to help out as a tour guide. It was a bit of an unusual ask fo an immigrant such as himself, as he hardly even knew the lay of the land himself. ”Are you sure you should be asking me? I’m just as new to this place as those tourists! Still, I guess it could be a good opportunity to familiarize myself with the surrounding islands,” Reizo would ponder, pausing for a moment to reconsider. ”Ok. I’ll help out, but you’ll need to do at least some of the exposition and fact dropping. You can’t be anxious forever, especially not if you’re going to lead, Shiro,” Reizo would agree, finishing his dango before accompanying Shiro to where the family of 3 was waiting.

Upon their arrival, the 2 shinobi were immediately berated by their employer for their tardiness. At this point, Reizo was used to this. He showed up late to many affairs and get togethers, so it didn’t surprise him in the slightest that the woman was upset. He also knew that effectively he and Shiro had wasted some of their ryo in the process. ”Ma’am, I understand you’re upset, but please recognize that we are quite inundated with missions at the moment and we do our best to accommodate everyone. We promise this will be well worth the ryo you paid, it’s not every day you get a kage to give tours of the island,” Reizo would say, pacifying the woman. ”A Kage you say? I had no idea we’d get such special treatment!” she would exclaim, warming up to Reizo as though he were the Kage. While there was some clear misunderstanding, Reizo didn’t want to break the news as she had managed to calm down and even her disinterested son seemed to be a little intrigued before resuming to his indifference.

Reizo would then take the wheel of the small tour boat from Shiro and the crew would depart on their tour of the 10 islands. To be quite honest, Reizo didn’t know much of anything about the islands and he left that duty to Shiro for the most part. He relayed the knowledge he had absorbed in his studies, some of which would be somewhat unusual and esoteric that even Shiro might not know despite having grown up in these lands. Books could truly convey the rich history and lore of the village and country in a way that school could not.

The sea was mostly calm, though Reizo wasn’t exactly experienced at navigating a sea vessel. Being from the Land of Lightning, it wasn’t a skill in high demand. Despite that, it was fairly intuitive and with few other ships on the sea, it was quite easy to figure out along the way. As the tour group passed by each island, the mother would take pictures and try to gather her children for the photos. At the first couple of islands they begrudgingly obliged, but when they realized their mother intended to do this for every island they immediately stopped participating.

The two children appeared to be around Shiro’s age. Noticing this, Reizo would encourage some conversation between the daughter and Shiro. ”I know it’s not the most exciting tour, but you see my colleague over there? I think you two would get along well. Why don’t you say hi? He’s been eyeing you this whole trip, I think he likes you,” Reizo would instigate. He was absolutely bullshitting but thought it would lighten the mood and create some entertainment, at least for himself. The girl blushed and insisted she wasn’t interested, but then her brother out of nowhere chimed in. ”You’ve been looking at his eyes this whole trip, it’s no secret you like him!” he teased. Reizo wasn’t sure if this kid was bullshitting too. Either way, the girl turned beet red and sheepishly turned away from Reizo and Shiro and shoved her brother. ”Shut up! You’re so stupid!!” she screamed at her brother as she pushed him aside to go be alone on the other side of the boat.

Reizo and the boy made eye contact and their surprised looks immediately transfigured into laughter. The tour would soon be over as the group passed by the final island and returned to dock at the main island they had departed from. The mother and son thanked Reizo and Shiro as they got off, but the daughter still refused to make eye contact. It was only after some prodding from the mother that she finally thanked the two shinobi. The 5 would exit the boat and the shinobi would end their mission.

Putting his right hand on Shiro’s left shoulder, Reizo would apologize for all of the teasing, but also congratulate him on a job well done. Upon contact, his ninshu would activate and Shiro would bear witness to the memories of Reizo helping his mom in the dango shop back in Kumogakure when he was around 12 years old. With the mission complete, Reizo would head back home as the mission had taken up nearly the entire day. The sun was now descending past the horizon, decorating the sea with a pink and crimson tinge that danced among the waves. Reizo would then walk along his own path back home, departing from the mission with a sense of accomplishment.

—-------------------------------
[EXIT]

1114 total words

CLAIMS:
C-rank Mission Completion: +4000 ryo, + 20 AP
1000 words for Genjutsu Messenger (1000/1000) and +10 stats to max stats at 30/95/150/25
114 words to finish training Howling Thunder Soul (886 / 1000) -> 1000/1000 and +2 AP

These ten islands was something Shiro was indeed somewhat familiar with, but that was through exploration of them, not through simply reading books that held small photographs of those who were too afraid to take pictures from the inside. Yet Shiro wasn’t too worried about it, he had a feeling that Reizo would be able to take the wheel and show them around. . . At least until Shiro knew that his friend wasn’t doing well with navigating to the next island along the steady ocean. It being unusually calm was a good thing, it meant that the creatures lurking underneath weren’t rustling about under the serene waves. Yet while Shiro was standing around, his ears perked up at the apparent Bullshitting going on while they were on their way to the next island. His body shifted, holding with it a thousand different ways to convey certain emotions, yet now he was being used as the butt of a joke, or a way for him to feel some type of joy.

Yet he wouldn’t entertain either Reizo or the other child about how his sister was seemingly interested in him. Though, to entertain her, he did flash a small, smug grin her way. Letting her know that if she was actually looking at him, he’d be looking back with that same expression. Her face turned even redder than before, trying her best to squash away her brothers and Reizo’s accusations about how she was interested in the boy with white hair. Her cheeks are a rosey red, similar to that of a bright strawberry. She seemed to have relaxed only after they had made it all the way towards the final island. With Shiro explaining how it was currently going to be changed into a separate base, at least that’s what he wanted to do with it, tear down some of the trees and create a massive base of operations in case the Kage’s mansion was ever placed under threat of attack.

“Soon, there will be hundreds of ninja all around these islands, and we'll be able to spread our influence a bit more, maybe you all will see me again when that time comes.”

His small stare down at the main island where the tall gates into Kirigakure were, they were a dark blue, almost black in appearance, the wide wooden doors reinforced with stone and metal. Yet it had been rebuilt after the events of the fight between him and Akabayashi, Shiro’s small stare back at the village gates knew that finally the mission was over.

“You’re all welcome for the trip, come by again sometime, I’m sure there will be something new next time.”

Shiro gave a small smile towards the girl who had hesitated to say goodbye. His blue and Green eyes looking on with pride at how he was able to complete the mission without much trouble, perhaps he’d start getting his edge back soon. He’d stare down only for a little while longer, until he felt the presence of Reizo’s hand on his shoulder, allowing the younger shinobi to gaze into another memory of Reizo’s, showing him a small dango shop, the pearly white clouds of Kumogakure overhead, while Reizo was busy helping his mother with her tiny dango shop. It left Shiro feeling regretful that he could not share a good moment of his mother and him, as those memories overshadowed her always being late to come home, or her death at the hands of poison.

Yet he’d wave Reizo a small goodbye, his body turning back the way he came, black opened toed shinobi gear pressing against the slightly soggy sand and dirt. With Shiro’s mind clouded with what he should do next.

WC:619
TWC:1674

Silent Killing:1500/1500

14000 Ryo (+10000 Master Bonus)

Max AP already.