Starring:
Date: September 5, 2012
Summary:
Keiji watches how Akina negates the endless bubbles.
"Endless Bubbles"
Hojenko Baths
Hokenjo Baths [Sunagakure]
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The Hokenjo baths are a natural hotspring, which have been developed by the people of Sunagakure to better serve them. Man made developments have divided the area into two sections, one for men, and one for women. The pools have been walled by large stones, and then wooden benches installed beneath the surface for seating purposes. The bottom of the pools have been cushioned by natural sand, which blows into the springs no matter how sturdy the canvas are. The baths are covered and walled by large sheets of heavy canvas, tied and bolted into place to avoid having them torn up by heavy winds. Their are many people on both sides of the hotspring, enjoying the relaxing waters.
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Contents:
So someone accidently made a mess with bubbles in the bath-house. For some reason it continues to duplicate no matter what the staff tries. It is still early in the morning yet and the owner has requested that Shinobi figure out the issue before the nightly rush. With few shinobi around that early in the morning, the mission has been given to team 2.
Knowing full well that Asao is busy with training and Kazeodori has other arrangements for the morning, Keiji sends for Akina to meet him there. He has arrived in fully shinobi gear. The boy waits outside the bath-house until she shows up. This will be as much of a test of her creative in problem solving as much as it will be a test of his own leadership… and he knows it.
"Yes Sir. We will begin looking into the issue in a few moments. I am just waiting on another member of my team. Please be patient with us. We will do our best to have your buisiness back up and running as soon as possible." he states the owner of the place.
A summons to meet Keiji at the bath house was… unexpected… It gave Akina enough of a pause to wonder if it was actually a mission or not. Considering the /exchange/ between them with their first meeting, she assumes that it must be a mission, Keiji being team leader and all. Still…
Akina keeps her narrowed gaze on the road ahead of her as she approaches the front of Hokenjo Baths, her dark eyes scanning carefully over the front of the building for a split moment longer before transversing to Keiji and another older gentleman. "I apologize if I am late." she murmurs lightly, lifting a hand to her forehead just beneath her hood in a loose salute. "Reporting in."
Keiji smiles behind his mask, though no one can actually see it. "Greetings Akina. It seems that we have a never ending bubble issue. The staff here have tried to dilute the water and have even drained it. No matter what they do, the bubbles continue. So we have been asked to investigate and solve the issue. We are working on a time frame here. They wish to be open for the nightly rush."
Then the Chuunin moves and opens a door leading to the problem area. The room is easily filled with suds. "I am going to let you solve this one. You have shown above average intelligence in our dealings." Now it was time to see how she responded to the issue.
Akina blinks her dark eyes blankly at Keiji with mild disbelief. "Never ending… bubbles…" she says slowly. The issue probably could get out of hand really quickly, though the concept itself sounded ridiculous. However when led inside and the door is opened, the full mammoth of the problem stares straight back at them. The mass of bubbles from the springs had overflowed and expanded so thoroughly that it rose well above the top edge of the fence that separates the sections between the genders, crawling steadily towards them.
Akina blinks again a the white mass once and gives Keiji a glance out of the corner of her eye, listening shortly to then give him a dissatisfied look. "Really? And you are here for what, moral support?" she murmurs, snorting lightly through her small nose as she turns her attention back towards the problem. Its no surprise that he left her to her own devices. Keiji was of no use after all.
"Hm. I do not have any jutsu that could take care of this, and even if we blow it away with wind or something it would just keep multiplying, so…" Turning around, Akina slips into the hallway and glances around for a hostess, trying to smile politely as she can as she approaches. In hushed tones she exchanges a short greetings with the older woman, murmuring lightly. The bun on top of the woman's head bobs lightly with a nod just before she turns to disappear into another room.
Keiji does not respond to the question of his purpose. He was here to act as a safe guard. She did not need to know this though. The boy's dark eyes scan over the area, but follow her as she moves. He ponders what she had whispered to the woman but does not voice this. Instead he seems intent to let her work without snooping over her shoulder.
Despite not asking her verbally, he asks himself mentally, 'How exactly do you plan to solve this? Will you look for the source of the bubbles or will you attempt to find something that can simply negate the bubbles? I wonder if this mission will test your patience?' There were many questions running through the boy's head. This was his first team. While they were first time Genin, he was a first time teacher.
Waiting a few moments, the hostess returns with a pot in her arms and allows Akina to glance inside quickly. "Yes, this looks good. I think we will need more than this, can you get more?" The older woman frowns with some hesitation for a brief moment but nods, murmuring something else to her. "That would be perfect." Her dark hood nods once and she turns around to return to the room, ignoring Keiji standing nearby as Akina steps outside. Facing the mass of bubbles the kunoichi reaches inside the pot and digs her fingers into its contents, gathering the white dust in her cupped palm to begin scattering the sand out in wide arcs. The salt instantly dissolves the bubbles as she moves, clearing several feet at a time.
There is some pride in watching his new student take charge and figure out a way to dissolve the bubbles. It indeed works but there is one issue. It fails to solve how the bubbles became endless. "Very good Shibata Akina. You seemed to have solved the first part. I am sure that with the bubbles negated the bath-house can be reopened. However, I wish to take this a step further. How did this happen? A buisiness like this goes through a lot of water. How did it get endless bubbles. Please continue onwards and show me how lucky I am to have such a member on my team." He had hoped a bit of flattery might encourage the girl to continue her good work.
Akina continues spreading the salt as she moves, dissolving quite a bit of the bubbles by the time her pot runs out. "I asked the hostess to get the salt they have in storage, so we should be able to clear out the rest soon enough." she murmurs lightly. Glancing over her shoulder at Keiji the girl lifts a brow at him, "'Lucky'?" she answers with some skepticism. Was he stupid or just lazy? Probably just the later. Pushing the thought to the side Akina returns her dark gaze to the pool of water, frowning as she ponders. "Hm. It would not be difficult to make a seal that endlessly creates bubbles using the springs as its source. Or it could be something simple as the Ph balance is off and affected whatever soap is commonly used here."
Keiji grits his teeth a bit under the mask. Finally a smile forms under that piece of iron. An evil smile. Then the smile fades as he gets an image of her chewing him out for pushing her into the pool and ruining her hair. She seemed like a devil of sorts. "Those who are promoted to Genin are given missions to test their ability. You had a physical test. Now your mind is being tested. I need to know where you excel and where you do not excel. I have reached my conclusion."
The Chuunin moves forward towards Akina. He continues to speak. He does not care that there is an ower and a staff member there. "You excel in herbal poisons and remedies. You knew salt would disinigrate the bubbles. You are very intelligent in a very unique field." He then pauses and turns his attention towards the downside. "However that strength is your weakness."
"Which is why you pair Genin of different specialities into one team, to work together towards a common goal. So that other's strengths make up for your weaknesses and vica versa." Akina murmurs, her dark eyes studying the edge of the hot springs pool as she continues to slowly pace along one side, searching for that possible tag that could have been hidden. She lifts a hand and loosely waves in Keiji's direction. "The salt was not difficult to figure out. Mothers and housewives commonly use salt to rid excess bubbles in the wash. I can not really take credit for a household product." She didn't really care for the credit anyways. It was just a mission. Kneeling at the edge of the pool Akina frowns gently to herself as she dips a hand into the water, feeling it drip through her fingers briefly. "Hm… the water looks fine. So it must be something else."
Right about now, Keiji was wishing to deal with Kazeodori. Things seemed so much easier. "I would not know what mothers or housewives use to do things in their household. That does not prevent me though from doing my job." The boy moves next to the water and walks out along it. His eyes scan down into the water. "My job as your Chuunin is to know how you act and respond. It is to find how you deal with things and where I need to step in. Had this been a battle against another shinobi that you could not handle, I would be fighting them for you. So, let us get one thing straight right here and right now." The boy turns around and looks Akina in the eyes. "I do not care if you do not approve on my methods or of me. I will do my job and you will quit fighting me on it. Understood? That means a decrease in attitude."
Akina shrugs a slender shoulder idly to herself. "I did not say that it did. I was merely explaining about the salt." Her eyes glance up at Keiji as he begins stepping out on the surface of the pool, lifting a brow at him while she listens. A long sigh eventually parts from her lips. "If this had been a battle against another shinobi I would have kept fighting regardless if you stepped in or not." Flicking the last of the water from her hand the young kunoichi rises to her feet, narrowing her gaze only slightly when he looks towards her. Listening. "Fighting you on this? I showed up and dealt with the issue just like you wanted me to. And I also know that your training me will only advance my skill and further protect the Land of Wind. Who cares what methods you use so long as it works." Something visibly changes in her dusky eyes for a split second. "We are both just trying to do our jobs here…"
"If you are doing your job, then accept my compliments when I give them. Follow my orders when I give them. Question them later in private if you disagree." Keiji moves to the side of the pool. "You have solved the mission and did so without issue. That part is acknowledged and commended. All I am asking is that you let me do my job as well. Now if you are sure there is a tag here. Find it. Otherwise we could check and see if they switched soap products."
Despite reprimanding her, Keiji was still fairly impressed. He was just uncertain how to get her to trust more in him. He then looks down once more and spots the tag. "There it is. It looks like someone was trying to play a prank…"
