Starring:
Date: April 3, 2012
Summary:
Keiji leads two Genin on a mission to deliver low level documents to citizens of Sunagakure for the Jounin Council.
"Subsitute Delivery Service"
Village Hidden in the Sand
Village Center Area [Sunagakure]
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The very center hub of Sunagakure, the Village Center is a bustling area. Crowds gather in huge groups, all across the very wide square. It is completely protected by the large buildings surrounding it on all sides, and the four desert winds do not seem to intrude into this area.
People can be found doing all manner of things, from hocking wares, to trading for certain fabrics and materials, selling their products, or any other activity from sleeping quietly, to getting into explosive arguments with people. Fights are not unknown here, so there is regularily guards overseeing the circle. The entire circle itself is built to face the largest structure in all of Sunagakure. It is a massive domed building, easily 5 stories high, that seems to be constructed out of seamless and flawless sand. No stones, no mud, just pure sand, caked hard and formed into a building. This is the Kazekage Administration Dome, the head of bureaucracy for the mighty city of Sunagakure.
Their are entrances in all directions into the square, except the south, which is where the Administration dome is located. People are always flowing into the circle from all directions, and leaving as well. Even during the night, it is a sure bet that a large crowd will be in the circle, talking about all manner of subjects.
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Contents:
Kazuhito
Kitahoshi
Another day in Sunagakure. The sun is up in the sky and the weather is fairly clear. There are a few clouds but nothing major. No rain and no sand storms. It seems like all of the bad weather had finally passed. Now the village was back to buisiness as usual. The village center is probably as busy as it has been since the Chuunin Exams ended. People are bustling around everywhere.
Wearing his new attire, Keiji walks out of the Kazekage Administration Dome. He seems to be carrying a bag filled with scrolls. "A Chuunin now and they give me… delivery work… I wish the normal errand boy had not twisted his ankle." he states in a depressed tone. From behind his mask his black eyes glance around looking for any Genin he can find.
Kazuhito is wandering out of the adminstration dome, scratching his head as he examines a piece of paper that he holds with a single hand. That is, until a near collision with a passerby brings his eyes up. "Oh- I- So-sorry!" Kazuhito exclaims. He then blinks, shielding his eyes against the sun with one hand. He looks almost as if he is surprised to find himself outside.
Dazzling in her own wonder world Kitahoshi sat along a bench with her legs crossed along one another and a flower twirling between her fingers as she spun it round and around with the tips. Her caramel locks of brown hair fell infront of her face but it didn't cover the forehead protector slung around her neck. The girl was merely minding own business, it was probably a little interesting to see a flower of the type abotu Sunagakure but there was an itneresting aspect about it, it was much harder than usual and seemed a little stiff, the petals definitely didn't move with the air around it. "La la la~," The girl quietly mused to herself, watching as the petals began to glisten from the light above, her hands pressing into it as if she was focusing her chakra. " Just a little more…"
The dark pupils of Keiji's eyes spot Kazuhito first. He seemed a bit shocked to see Kazu react to the sun that way. So long as Keiji did not look directly at it, his eyes seemed fine. "Kazuhito! Come here."
The Shippodoku then glances around some more and finally spots a girl he has never met before. He walks a few feet until he is near her. "Hello. I am Shippodoku Keiji. The boy approaching is Kazuhito. May I ask your name?" the boy's voice is fairly calm. His eyes look the flower over once before they return to meet the girl's eyes. He was unsure how she would respond to his masked face and hooded attire.
"I- eh?" Kazuhito folds the piece of paper and slips it into a pocket in the folds of the loose clothing, then wanders over. "Are you- is everything alright?" He merely watches as he approaches the girl, and offers a bow in greeting as he is introduced. "Good to- meet you."
Kitahoshi certainly wasn't paying any attention to the lot of them, even after Keiji had come up to introduce himself along with Kazuhito, instead she lets out a tired yawn, gives her flower a few more spins before placing it neatly behind her ear causing her to look up at the duo before her. " Ohh? Hum?" She voiced out with a slight curiosity, suddenly her brain began to replay what just happened and conformed to it rather smoothly. " Hello there Shippodoku-san, I remember you… You are the one that single handedly won the tournament right?" Kita asked curiously before finally introducing herself. " My name is Kitahoshi, but you can just call me Hoshi, I'm a recently recruited genin here, its really nice to meet the both of you," She replies with a bow of her head, shyly thoug h she rubs her cheek, her eyes glancing off in the other direction. " Umm…did you need something?"
The girl certainly was pretty. That much was not beyond Keiji. He nods his head when asked about the exams. "Yes, I am one in the same." If he had not been wearing the mask, she would have seen a smile on his face. He was obviously impressed that she remembered. Most of the people who did not know him only recognized him by his face.
Keiji looks towards Kazuhito and then back at Hoshi. "Yes, see I was given a mission and told that I can select two Genin. You both will be paid for the mission." The boy then shows the bag filled with scrolls on his back. "The messenger for the Jounin Council twisted his ankle. Unfortunately they need someone to deliver all of these scrolls. Most are not that important. They range from fines to verdicts passed down. I promise it will not take more than an hour. If you want, I will even buy both of you dinner. So are you both in?" he asks.
"Oh! Of course! That- I would be honored to help!" Kazuhito sounds rather sincere in his eagerness to assist. He nods to Kitahoshi. "And that's him. But he's a good guy too. Don't be put off by the fact that he's a trained killer." Immediately, he glances down in embarrasment. "I mean- uh- that- I think my choice of words made that sound- worse than I meant to. But- It's good to meet you, Hoshi-san." He reaches out a hand to accept the scrolls. "Are they- do they have- destinations listed on them?"
"Well technically… Aren't we all trained killers?" Hoshi couldn't help but to ask it was almost a mild joke ,she was actually quite excited with Kazuhito's enthusiasm causing her to stir and rise to a stand, standing on the bench and then jumping off hitting the dusty floor, she brushes off her uniform, which seems to be a traditional sungakure garb, a cloth along her neck which lengths down to her knees ( Kinda like temari's clothes…) " We just have to do a delivery basically right? That sounds easy enough… But I don't really know Sunagakure that well yet… "
Keiji laughed under his mask as he heard Kazuhito speak and Hoshi respond. "In general we are. My clan however is known above the others to specialize in death. I think that is what he means." The boy then pulls a scroll out and tosses it to Kazuhito. He tosses another one to Hoshi. "There is an address on to top portion. It's that white sticker. We do not have to deliver them to the person directly. Instead we can tack them to their door." He then points towards Kazuhito. "I am not sure if Kazu has done this before but he knows a lot of Suna. It will be a learning experience."
Keiji then turned around and waved for them to follow him. "Luckily most of these are down in the valley. But it would be nice to pass the time if maybe you told us a bit about yourself Hoshi. You do not have to, but since your one of us, it would be good if we knew more about you. Then each of us can go if you want."
"Oh. Yes. I mean, most parts of the- I've been around, anyway." Kazuhito scans the address on the scroll. "Hm. This one seems to be…" He glances to the south, off to where the highest cluster of spires rises, but then nods as Keiji leads off in that direction, following close behind and looking over to Hoshi, waiting for her response.
Hoshi catches the scroll fairly easily, and moves along with them, specifically traveling behind Keiji as she held the scroll, very curious of its contents. " What? There really isn't anything special about me quite hoenstly.." Hoshi spoke up, though began to think on the matter, the best she could do was introduce herself. " I guess the only real thing I can say is i'm from the Seishukuni clan, and every year two members of our clan is selected to become shinobi for Sunagakure… I guess you can say I finally got picked which is why i don't know where everything is," She informed, holding the scroll with one hand while her other hand twirled along the caramel locks of hair of hers. " Oh… my clan is also known for the manipulation of crystals…"
The Shippodoku boy continues to walk forward. Finally he stops as he reaches a street of homes. "Seishukuni… I met another from your clan earlier today. A young boy. He seemed deeply upset by the concept of using sharp weapons. I am also sorry for the death of Tsubasa. I heard he was a good shinobi. Hopefully the village can determine the cause of his death."
"Now, most of these should be along this street. Your looking for a number and Third street. After that we will run the others over. Go ahead and take one from my bag when you need one. There are also some tacks in the pocket of the bag. You would think they could find a better place for them. Every now and again I can feel one jab me."
Keiji then pointed towards Kazuhito. "Your turn bud. She shared her story. You can at least tell her a bit about yourself. I will go last."
"Crystals?" Kazuhito repeats, curiously. "What sort of crystals? And what do you do with them, exactly?" Kazuhito looks up, in surprise, and shakes his head as he is put in the spotlight. "Well- I don't- I'm not- from a shinobi clan or anything, I uh- I've been in the village for a couple years and- um, well, I like to…" He shrugs helplessly, noticably with only one shoulder. His right arm, bandaged from fingertip to shoulder, remains limp. "Study. Things."
He clears his throat, then glances back down at his scroll and takes the opportunity to start to head down the street.
Kazuhito seemed to be just a little bland, Hoshi thought about him for a moment, trying to tie up the story a little abit, she didnt mind talkign whats so ever however, so after she asked her question she would just continue with herself. " Hmmm and what do you like to study? Crystals are absoutlely everywhere… Down to a molelecular level… Even water makes crystals to make water, sand makes sand crystals… They are all packed together to form whatever matter they are… my Clan… manipulates these crystals and enfuse them with out own chakra so we can make whatever we want out of them! I'm sure you seen our stuff somewhere in the store, my clan sales many things from weapons to just plain jewelry. She yawned softly and began to deliver her one of the scrolls, coming back to Keiji's bag for another. " Most of our weaposn are kind of sharp actually, well if you want to make them that way… Tsubasa was great… I really do we figure out what happened to him… Everything is pretty mysterious…Hmm what happened to your arm Kazhito?"
Keiji watched over the Genin as they ran back and forth up the street. While he was not actually making deliveries, the boy was standing in a position close enough to make a dash for either of them should they run into trouble. He leaned more towards Hoshi being as he knew little of her skills. Sure she could form crystals, but he did not know to what level she could do so. He had seen Kazuhito in battle. He knew of the boy's genjutsu.
As Hoshi asks about Kazu's arm, Keiji grimaces a bit. Had she remembered his match, she would know he took on the partial form of a scorpion. The same creature which was responsible for taking the use of the boy's arm.
After each had spoken their part, Keiji verbally responded. "That is pretty neat. I did not know things were crystallized at the molecular level." He took a deep breath and then began to explain a bit about himself. "I guess it is my turn. I come from the Shippodoku Clan. A clan of assassins that holds some heritage with scorpions. I know a little earth style ninjutsu and rely a lot on my Taijutsu. Like your clan Hoshi, I was sent here as part of an agreement. Unlike your clan, I likely will not return home unless forced to. I also have a brother here. Konsatsu…"
"Fascinating! That does sound quite adaptable," Kazuhito replies brightly to Hoshi's description of crystal manipulation. He lays a scroll at the doorstep of one individual. He then glances down at his arm, his smile flickering. "It was- well. A scorpion." He glances over at Keiji, then shakes his head firmly. "It's not- it isn't important. It happened a long time ago. As for what I'm studying I- I've spent a lot of time on genjutsu, but lately I've been interested in learning more about fuuinjutsu."
"Studying is always good, its how I learned most of my stuff too… Hmm but you said your clan are assassins? Thats a different breed than traditional shinobi," Hoshi replies back to Keiji, she knew about his abilities but at the same time she wasn't aware about the extent of it either, hearing about them being specialized assassin's made things interesting. " Well.. Really its nice to meet the both of you… I guess we do have quite a bit of variety here don't we?" She speaks rhetorical, though her mind seems to be set on finishing the missions, picking up scrolls and placing them where they belonged.
So as the next couple of hours continue on the sun starts to set and the sky begins to turn different colors. The bag on Keiji's back is soon empty except for one scroll. It has obviously been more than the hour that Keiji promised. He grabs the last one from the bag and tosses it to Hoshi. "There you go. Last one." He then points up to the last door. Despite having a kind of lame mission, it was not so bad. He got to go on a mission with Kazuhito and met new Genin.
"Well, I am sorry it took longer than promised. I have enjoyed the time talking to both of you. As promised though, dinner tonight is on me. Anything you two want. That is unless you really need to be somewhere." He then glances between the two of them waiting for an answer.
"Oh! Well, I-" Kazuhito glances up at the sky as he places his last scroll. He shakes his head. "I did tell- well I- I am supposed to be home. To help with some chores. But we, um- sometime, soon, maybe?" He sighs, then bows apologetically to the other two. "I am sorry to run. But it was- good to meet you, Hoshi-san. Hopefully we'll speak again soon."
"I have a few things i need to do as well," Hoshi replies back and gives them both an innocent wave. " I really appreciate the mission Keiji-san, and it was nice meeting you both!" With that she bows out and begins to depart, more than likely to return to the crystal cave for the night, after all the girl was a little exhausted, the day was longer than she realized…
Keiji stands there with the empty bag. He looks at both of them as they walk off. "Bu..but.. awe.." he states as he puts his head down. Things had been going so well and now they all had to go home. It was a bit different for Keiji. The boy did not exactly have a real home to go to. Just sort of a hole. "Oh well, another time then…" The boy then sinks into the ground taking the bag with him.
