Starring:
Date: July 13, 2013
Summary:
Kayaru seeks to turn a mission into a training exercise and Hiroyasu decides to he will not participate. Can the others get him to conform?
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Herding Hiro"
Somewhere in Kumo
Goats. Why.. why oh why goats? Kayaru frowned at the evening sky, sent out with Hiro and Kanbei, they were out there to watch over.. of all things.. goats. Shaking his head slightly, he'd glance at the two genin a moment as they'd walk closer to where the goat herder normally resided. The man's tent was packed up and on his back, the older man waiting for the three shinobi to show up.
"Took ya'll long 'nough! Now.. ya'll watch over the goats, dun let em wander off, dun let no wolves in and I'll be 'round in the mornin!"
Kayaru would lift a hand, in start of protest when the old man suddenly took off, while not quite Reizei speed, he was a fast bugger! Sighing softly, Kayaru shakes his head and looks to Kanbei and Hiro. "Well. Guess we make the best of it. This is going to be an exercise in perception."
"For the glory of Kumo…" Kanbei mutters as the group approached the goat herder. He was not exactly impressed by this mission. He was certain this was one of those missions for those fresh out of the academy. The boy's eyes move across the pasture, scanning the herd. Though he would never state it out loud, there was an excellent chance two of the three members of the group could take a nap and one could complete the mission.
As the herder leaves, Kanbei turns towards Hiro. "Ok Goatman. We are going to need you to tell these goats to behave." Yep, he's already making fun of Hiro again. Then he hears Kayaru say that this mission was one of perception. "Perception of what? Our eyelids? This is going to be an exercise in boredom."
It was definitely not feeling this mission, they teamed him up with his antithesis. He watches as the Herder makes what is best described an expeditious retreat "He can really move." His attention is turned to Kanbei who makes a request of him "Right, sure.. no problem.." he takes a step forward takes in a long deep breath, exhales slowly, points a finger at the herd then softly bleats once.. "Done.." he says in a snide tone before looking back at Kayaru with nod.. "That's why my herd sits on a plateau inaccessible to wolves. " and he looks around for a nice place to put his boulder and sit on it to watch the tribe.
Kayaru shakes his head slightly. "I don't do goat hearding, so I don't have an input on that." He'd glance over the goats, before drawing out two kunai. One had a red ribbon tied to it, the other a blue. With one throw, he scattered the kunai into the ground, somewhere in among the heard, without hitting a goat or even bothering them. "It's simple. The one who finds the kunai first, doesn't have to shovel all the goat poo into a pile." Kayaru would point off to the side. "To right there. Kanbei? You're red. Hiroyasu? You're blue. Oh.. and if you touch a goat, you lose." Kayaru would cross his arms over his chest then, looking between them. "You better get going. The goats may eat the ribbon."
Kanbei thanks Hiro for talking to the goats. Once the kunai are tossed, he gives a small growl. He really did not feel like picking up goat turds. "Wait a sec, cleaning up goat crap was not in the mission details…" Now this mission seemed to turn into a game. He should have tried to crystallize the shuriken. "Oh well, here I thought we were going to be bored…" Kanbei states as he moves around the herd trying to get an idea of where he needs to go. He was not able to find his kunai yet.
Hiroyasu shrugs setting his boulder down, "It's not for everyone", he sits on top of it bringing his legs into the lotus position.. About then Kayaru produces two kunai and a ridiculous request, "I'll pass. You will have wished you saved your energy come night fall. A Shepherd rests during the day, he shepherds them through the night." he watches a Kanbei does as requested with some protest, "Goat pellets aren't useful for anything anyways, no one would want a pile of them" he must being cheeky today, his hands resting in the rakusu on his chest.
Kayaru would take a step closer and with that flash pull would go for the *SMACK* right across the chest of Hiroyasu and to potentially knock him off the rock with the bokken. Looking at him, Kayaru shook his head. "We're not going to rest tonight. We're going to be going all night. This is part of the mission and I'm it's leader. That means you're going to be doing the exercise while we work." He'd resheath that bokken. "You're also wasting time as Kanbei-san now has a head start on you."
Kanbei grins a little as Hiro gets smacked by the boku. It was not because he specifically was smacked, but because Kanbei had not been. He continues to look through the herd making sure not touch any of them. His eyes remain looking for any sign of red. Each time he thinks he sees something, it turns out to be a berry or something. "Almost like a needle in a haystack. Not sure but I think I might prefer that…"
Hiroyasu catches a bokken to the chest, sending him off the boulder.. from his new outlook on things aka the ground comes the words "Then your doing a poor job Teicho , because someone who is experienced in your task, just told you that you will want to save your energy because ~AT NIGHT IS WHEN A SHEPHERD WORKS~" he repeats what he just said a second time.. He stands up brushing off his Koromo "We can play games, or you can treat us with the respect for a change. I'm tired of being expected to do ridiculous tasks in front of people to have them feel superior then have to turn around when no one is watching and actually do the work of a Shinobi. Where have you been when the Yakuza are knocking on my front door with a death squad? Where is Sensei when I am staring down a Kamen Rai Dai Interrogation squad.. but no you can find the time to bark edicts and play ridiculous with your Genin Action figures.. Now hit me again, because you feel superior and in the charge." definitely cheeky and probably a little disturbed.
Kayaru shakes his head, frowning at Hiroyasu. "A shinobi is always at work, At night OR day. We're pulling a full shift. This means, you are working now, you are working at night for the hearding, and you'll most likely be working through tomorrow too, before you get any rest. This is more than a simple test of finding the kunai. This is a test of endurance, perception in less than perfect scenario, without it having to be a life or death thing for once." Kayaru steps closer to Hiro then, pitching his voice lower. "I've been tracking KRD. I've been busting up Yakuza gambling halls. I've been busy trying to figure out what the heck is going on with what is suppose to be our security force, to stop it. Where was I? Most likely involved in a mission too dangerous for a genin. I do that. A lot. Do I respect you? If I didn't respect you, I wouldn't try to push you. If I didn't respect you, we wouldn't be having this conversation." Kayaru shakes his head slowly, staring hard at Hiroyasu. "If I hear of them trying to come for you, I come as fast as I can. Or do you forget that Hare threw me into a wall? I was coming to try and help. I'm one person, but that one person is doing what he can. Now, get off your high friggin horse and quit the 'woe is me' beard. You're a Kumo shinobi. This is your task. You do it to the best of your ability. Got it?"
Wow, Hiro was on a tear today. He'd had Yakuza at his home? Dealing with the KRD? Had Kanbei known, he'd have tried to help out, but it seems like Kayaru has this handled. Kanbei continues trying to look for the kunai. He's having no real luck. He has a few ideas but he's not sure if they are against the rules or not. Being as the other two members of his squad are a bit occupied, he just continues to walk around and glance over between the herd.
Hiroyasu listens, he sighs and lowers his voice, "If you want me do something constructive to the mission I will.. You want me to carry water up the mountain side so we can have something to drink.. You want me to go chop down a tree so we can have a fire as a place to regroup and to keep out the winter cold. Those tasks I will happily do because they are important to our mission and our team. But am tired of playing games, and worse games for taijutsuists. I spend my waking time training with my team to enhance their abilities but not my own.. instead I have to find the time to learn ninjistu. If I have a question who do I ask? If I have a problem where do I turn? It's like everything is a checklist or script and none of it fits me. I can use a sword, but I'll never be a swordsman. I can throw a punch but I'll never be a Martial Artist." he pauses for a second.
"I can feel the pulse of your soul while you stand there and lecture me but no one around me can tell me what it means. You want perception, but you have been with me when I have been the one to alert my team of a threat which exceeded me with an ability that I can't comprehend. Why is it you want me to train something that you already know I can do.. If Kanbei needs it that's fine, and if you wanted me to assist in that, then you ask me to do that. I'm not feeling superior or on some kind of moral high horse. I'm feeling unappreciated, exploited, and forgotten.. the only combat medic in a squad of taijutsuists.." he frowns..
Kayaru shakes his head slowly. "Perception is not a taijutsuist thing. It's not a ninjutsuist thing. It's a thing everyone should have. Yes, I have been there when you've been the only one to sense something. That's part of *why* I picked a kunai." Kayaru would motion to the heard. "There is no special anything about it. Heck, even if there was a lingering.. anything.. from me touching it, the goats would of covered it. This is purely you looking around, being aware of your surroundings and where it is. Can you see it? Is this something you can do? Or does my point get across?" Kayaru would raise a brow, looking at Hiro for a moment. Glancing over his shoulder, he'd call out to Kanbei. "A bit to your left. You're getting close." Looking back to Hiroyasu then, Kayaru shakes his head once more with a frown. "Do I have the answers? No. Does that mean I'm going to make you learn a sword, when your specialty is elsewhere? Of course not. I will work with you, for you to learn what's best for you, to the best of my ability, Hiroyasu-san. However, here and now, I picked a neutral skill that everyone should learn and I am trying to teach it. That's the point behind this exercise." Kayaru motions towards the heard. "Find the kunai. We'll get to work on other activities later. This particular action is designed to make your physical senses as sharp as your spirtual."
"The world will not change because you tell it to. One day you will be able to lead your own squad however you want. If you are able to reach out to each of them and train them to their specific talents, great. I do not have anyone to teach me about my jutsu. I spar to learn more about it and how to use it. I am in a similar boat to yours. I have a different set of problems, but I work to fix them. Kayaru wants to help, but no matter how hard he tries, he's not going to be able to learn crystals just to help me learn. However he can teach me to persevere or even other skills that may one day play into what I am doing."
At this rate, Kanbei was not going to find the kunai. He was about ready to start trying to scare the goats off. "It's too bad I cannot make a giant crystal wall… yet." He then takes out a piece of paper and writes down a note before putting it back into his uniform.
Hiroyasu sighs "It's not as easy to explain, It probably does have a lingering aura which I could detect at short range.. but only because Shinobi are like raging fires in pitch black, those goats.. they are like dim fireflies. But I don't need to sense it to know it's general location, I watched you throw it, and I know the nature of kunai how they fly. Also intuitively you had to pick a spot where there was a hole capable of allowing the kunai to land without hitting a goat given the angle that we are, I can estimate it's direction and angle. And you didn't specify how we could spot it. Nothing stopping me from summoning a pillar of earth to just spotting the color blue which is not natural to this area or fauna.. but I am always punished for solving problems using my abilities rather then the ones expected.. or suggesting alternatives." He looks over at Kanbei "It isn't about that he can't train me or teach me. And I can see the parallel between us, as your nature is unique to you. but well..just.. nevermind" he says with a exasperated sigh.
Kayaru shakes his head slightly. "On the contrary. The stipulation I gave was do not distrub the goats. That means no pillars of earth, or any other manipulation of the animals." He'd motion again to the herd. "otherwise, go for it. I am encouraging you to do what you will. I am encouraging you to use your abilities to get it. The task is set, how you resolve it is part of who you are. Anyone who punishes you for that is completely foolish and not someone I would train with." Kayaru crosses his arms again, glancing over to Kanbei once more. "you're almost there. It's real close now." Looking back to Hiroyasu, a small nod was given. "There's enough parallel there that I think you and Kanbei should train together. The fact you push each other helps you get stronger. Steel against steel, both are forged better because of it."
"No man, I am not just going to nevermind. Sometimes you have to do stuff you do not want to do. Do you think I want to be out here with a herd of sheep? Maybe, just maybe I'd rather go make some money at my forge. I would really like to train for the Chuunin Exams. About the last thing on my list of things to do today is baby sit a bunch of sheep. Yet here I am. You know why? Cause thats what needs to be done. You know why I get along with Hiei? Because at the end of the day, he's going to do things he does not want to do. He will do them because he knows they need to be done. Kayaru says do it, maybe you should trust he's not just getting his jollies off. You may or may not think you are better than me, but find the fuckin kunai. Then maybe we can move onto something advanced." Kanbei at least trusted that Kayaru had a reason for this. He's still looking for his.
Hiroyasu clears his throat "You already don't train with ~him~ already" emphasis on the him.. He glances at the area of ingress for a moment. He makes a long array of handseals and a stone column raises beneath him lifting him up in the air "They are goats, and I said nevermind because you were right." he says from his perch on the column. "You just catch me at bad times.. mainly because we don't cross paths often. Your power requires you to train in combat.. mine requires spiritual contemplation. I was going to just extend my senses beyon the tribe.. you know because wolves scout hours before an attack.. but instead I wasn't even given a moment to share my experiences as Shepherd to the mission.. just dance genin dance.. then hit when I protest.. then scolded before being struck.. that is not how you motivate someone like me.. We all have lessons to learn." He glances down at the herd, using what he got from the position of the throw and narrowing it down.. It seems the tribe has shifted but not enough for him to figure about where it should be.. He leaps from the pillar landing on spot.. reaching down pulling it out "Still a waste of chakra and time, I would have preferred getting a fire started" he says.
Kanbei watched as Hiro raised himself up on a column, then jumped down to find the kunai. He's now confused as to what he should be feeling. Should he be angry the guy simply found it on his first try or should he be happy there was a morale victory here? Arguements could be made for both sides. Kanbei continues to glance around looking for the kunai but does not find it. He simply shakes his head.
