Starring:
Date: October 10, 2012
Summary:
The two are selected to deliver and urgent message to a monk living in the monestary. Things go smooth until the end.
"Delivering Bad News with Enthusiasm"
Kumogakure
Monastery [Kumogakure]
/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|
The road that is followed from the intersecting streets to the south is flanked on either side by well cultivated flowerbeds. There are men in light white robes walking barefoot on the grassy front lawn, tending to and manicuring it to look perfect. Some are pulling weeds, others have handheld shears and are keeping the plantlife neatly trimmed.
The front doors of the large building open into a guest hall, which is decorated extensively with paintings and murals depicting the history of Kumogakure as the monks believe it. A large staircase leads to the upper levels which is where the monks are housed. At one corner of the large entry room, an exit to the outside can be seen, leading into the most holy site in Kumogakure.
/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|/oo\|
Contents:
It is early morning in the land of Kumogakure. The village is quiet enough to hear a pin drop. That is until the sound of a falcon can be heard. To anyone looking up, it would be obvious that it was a messenger falcon sent from somewhere to the village. It was delivering news to someone in the village. Well that was only half true. It was delivering news to the Raikage's office and then the message would be delivered by shinobi.
Kanbei was up awefully early for a normal week day. He had some papers to drop off in the administration hall. Thats when he was grabbed and pulled into an office. At first the young teen feared he might actually be in trouble for messing up on his first mission. It really had not been his fault that cake got crushed. He had no idea he was suppose to protect it from the boneheaded team leader. As his thoughts return to the task at hand he looks forward at the man who pulled him into the office.
Eri would be heading to the office as well although at a later point than Kanbei had. She had been contacted earlier about leading a possible mission, and she was quite eager to get the details on it. She hummed a light and merry tune as she skipped along obviously quite happy with how the day was turning out. When she had arrived in the office however she would stop humming and get a more serious expression on her face. She glanced over at the young genin who was there and softly smiled at him. Bowing deeply she would speak in a gentle tone, "Greetings may I find out why I am here today?"
From behind the desk a balding, dark skinned man smiles at Eri as she arrives. "You have been reassigned. An urgent message has come in from a far away land. Normally I would trust this idiot over here to deliver it, but he seems to be trouble." The old man points at Kanbei as he mentions the idiot. "You are to lead this mission and take this scroll to the monestary. They will know what to do with it. You two are to leave at once. Also, make sure he does not crush the scroll or anything."
Kanbei raised an eyebrow and his temper started to show as he was called an idiot. "Hey!" the teen said loudly. His protest was met with harsh words that meant something like shut your mouth. To this Kanbei grumbled and turned to walk out of the office. He'd leave the scroll for the Chuunin since he was not trusted to get it there safely. Once outside the office. He mimiced the dark skinned man's words. "The idiot…"
Eri would look the Genin over grinning slightly at the mention of him being a trouble maker "Do not worry, I am good at dealing with trouble-makers..You just leave it to me and we will have that scroll delivered right away!" He seemed competent enough to Eri, if not a tad bit on the grumpy side. Taking the scroll she would tuck it a pouch she had brought for the mission and throw it other her shoulder. Skipping out of the office she would wave at Kanbei to get his attention. "Hm..I shall call you red pepper! Although you are free to tell me your real name it would make filling out the paperwork much easier. I am the beautiful Kiyotani Eri you best remember that!" Skipping along she would call over her shoulder "Now pick up the pace! We have a scroll to deliver to the monestary!"
Kanbei watched in disgust as the Chuunin skipped out of the office. "You have to be kidding me. Red pepper? I am Shikoku Kanbei. You can call me Kanbei." Though Kanbei did actually find the girl to be pretty cute, he was not going to admit it. He had no idea what she would do with that information. If anything she might tease him with it. The teen follows behind her as she skips. "Stop skipping already, your drawing attention." Kanbei grumbled.
Eri grinned at Kanbei and giggled bubbly "I shall call you Red peppper because -I- am the Chuunin here, as I recall I was the one put in charge of this mission and the scroll..-You- were the one he referred to as a trouble maker.." She slowed down to a walking pace to appease the poor Genin's request. "So it is going to be a little bit before we reach our destination..tell me about yourself!"
She was bubbly… That was something Kanbei was not use to. "Just because your in charge does not mean I will listen." Kanbei protests right off the bat. He follows behind her though. "Akechi got me into trouble. We were suppose to deliver a cake and the fool crushed it. Then he tells them I was the one put in charge of protecting it." He shakes his head before switching to his history. "My father use to run a weapon forge in the village. Then he up and vanished. Now I own a cold forge, a house and have no real family. You?" He figured it was polite to ask her in return.
She smirked slightly at that response that was precisely why she named him Red Pepper. He had some spice in him! "I suppose that is true, but if you do not behave then I will be forced to punish you! And not in the good way either…" She winked playfully hinting at a bit of innuendo. Eri tapped her chin in thought "Akechi..Akechi..oh you mean Lemon-drop! I met him earlier! He is a handsome one that is for sure..and sweet!" She quieted down and continued to listen to Kanbei pouting "That is no good..a cold forge is not much use..if you would like you are welcome into the Kiyotani household any time, my mother is a wonderful cook. As for me.." She trailed off trying to think of what to say. "Well! My mother is a medic-nin at the hospital, and my father is one of the academy teachers I hope to continue the Kiyotani's reign of success by becoming one of the greatest genjutsu users in history!"
"There is a good way to be punished?" Kanbei asks. He'd lived a sheltered life up until this point. "I appreciate the offer but eh… maybe." he states. He did not really want to hurt her feelings. He did ponder how she could find someone like Akechi handsome and sweet. The guy was a jerk. He had even gone so far as to stick Kanbei with his food bill. "I will restart my forge and take up where my father left off. There is a lot of money in weapons. He use to tell me that he could sell more kunai in a month than a fisherman could count fish in the sea." Of course to his horror, he thought he heard Eri say that she wanted to become one of the greatest genjutsu users…
That question made Eri stop for a moment and laugh "You will find out when you are a little older I'm sure…" She knew that Kanbei wasn't that far off from her age, but figured it would be the best explanation. She ruffled his hair and went back to walking at a brisk pace she was rather enjoying this mission thus far "I insist one day you have to visit! It will be my treat.." Smiling softly Eri would nod "It is always good to have a plan..there are plenty of people in Kumogakure who rely on weapons..I personally have never favored them..I would rather not get caught directly in the mess that is fighting..I am more than happy to help from the side lines though!"
"Yeah. The rules do not let me help from the side line. I am sure somewhere in the book of rules, it states if you have red hair, you absolutely must be near the center of the fight." Kanbei then looks up and spots the monestary at the top of the hill. "I wonder if they will let us in. They will probably make us stay at the door. Especially with you here." he states.
Eri pouted at Kanbei when he mentioned they wouldn't let them in with her here "Why wouldn't they let me in? I am just as official looking as you are if not more so because I am a Chuunin!" She huffed, but would pick up the pace jogging up the hill. She figured they could continue talking at some other point, they were getting close to completing the mission. When she reached the entrance she knocked on the entrance loudly attempting to get their attention "Hellooo! We have one scroll to deliver! Not smushed or anything thanks to me!"
"Because women cause impure… thoughts." Kanbei finishes his statement though its clear she did not hear him as she jogged up the hill. Kanbei shook his head and followed along. He quickened his pace only to be a few steps behind her when she knocked on the door. "Gee thanks. Like I would have crushed the scroll…" he states.
An old man opens the door and spots the two. "May I see the scroll?" Once the elderly monk was able to get a name off the scroll, he politely excused himself and closed the door behind him. The doors would open a few moments later and another old man would present himself. "The scroll is more. Please give it to me."
Eri pulled out the scroll and handed it to the elderly man bowing before him. "It was my pleasure! You may thank Kiyotani Eri and Red Pepper! Or in other words Shikoku Kanbei! If you are ever in need of any more assistance please feel free to contact either of us." She winked at the man and laughed playfully "Well I suppose if that is all sir we shall be on our way, I fear I have some paper work to fill out.."
The elderly monk opened the scroll and began to read it. It did read urgent. "Oh dear…" he states for a moment before wrapping the scroll up. It looks as though the man is about to cry. "Uh thank you miss Eri Pepper…Red." He then retreated behind the door. It was obvious that the news was not happy news.
"Smooth." Kanbei stated after the monk retreated to the wall of his sanctuary. "Oh well come on. We've done our part and I am sure he'll end up okay." Kanbei states trying to comfort Eri. It seemed to be a rare thing that urgent news happened to be good news. Especially for a monk who took an oath. Majority of them did not seem to wives or kids.
Eri frowned and peered at Kanbei when the smartelic remark was made "How was I supposed to know it was bad news?! Poor fella..perhaps I can leave them some of my mother's herbs to try and make it up to them…" With a sigh she turned around and walked down the steps stretching out her arms. It had been quite the day and she was quite tired. "You did rather well Red Pepper! I do not see why they said you would be trouble, you are one of the easiest Genin I've had to put up with. I will be sure to put in a good word for you in the report..and I will be sure to leave out the part where I helped crush a poor man's feelings.." She let out a small yawn "Now come along, I will walk you home! And I will be sure to treat you to a nice lunch at some point!"
