Starring:
Date: July 8, 2015
Summary:
Shinobu and Isamu help Kumogakure repair their village.
"Village Cleanup!"
Kumogakure
Village Center Area [Kumogakure]
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The village center of Kumogakure is the heart of the city. This is where the people come to talk, to trade, to set up their own small shops, and to catch up on the gossip of the village. The area is built in a circle, with the focal point being a large spire rising 4 stories into the air. That spire is the administration hall of the Raikage.
There is actually a aesthetic moat around the Raikage Hall, a fountain that recirculates the water over and over again. The building itself is a massive contruction of stone, rising straight up into the air, and painted a pleasing beige color.
The village center is connected to every other corner of the village, with an exit south leading to the intersection of the Village entrance. There is an exit to the west, leading to the Kuraido-Tenrai intersection, and the apartment complexes. To the north lays the Raiko-Kuraido intersection, and the monastery. Finally, to the east lays the Arashi-Raiko intersection, with the ninja academy.
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Those in Konoha who are visiting have, as promised by Michiko, been allowed to assist in the village's missions. Today, Isamu and Shinobu are to help with the rebuilding of the Village Center. While there isn't much to actually rebuild, there's plenty of things that the two younger shinobi (in training) can do, and that includes helping decorate and keeping nosy animals/humans away from the construction!
Shinobu arrives in the village center, fortunately able to find the location due to the large number of people wearing safety gear. She looks at the group with wide eyes, not really wanting to go over there. Kame, who is walking on her own today, grabs Shinobu's pant-leg with her teeth to drag the girl over and is … partly successful.
While it wasn't the most glorious or adventurous job, Isamu was happy to help with any job he was tasked with. After all, he wanted to be a good shinobi in training! And that meant taking orders and completing his duties to the best of his ability. When he arrived in the village center, he noticed Shinobu and Kame, and couldn't help but laugh a little at the scene. "Come on, Shinobu, let's go together. That way you don't have to be scared!" The boy smiled warmly and patted Shinobu's shoulder. They were becoming pretty good friends, since they were the same age and on the same team and all. "So! We're here to help the guys not be disturbed while they're building! We'll be the best watch dogs ever," he says with a grin and a wink, making the pun on purpose for Shinobu's humor.
Shinobu couldn't help but step away from the shoulder pats. It's not that she didn't mind Isamu touching her, it's just that… it was unexpected… The girl follows after Isamu, though, nodding a bit and even managing a tiny smile at the pun. Kame yips excitedly. ~Yeah! We'll be super good at this job!~ Her voice is 'enhanced' by genjutsu so that Isamu could understand her while Shinobu says through the same genjutsu, 'Umm… Hai…'
When the two approach, the head builder peers a bit. "I know they said we'd be getting a few Leaf-nin, but I think these two area bit scrawny to be of much use," he says gruffly. Though he doesn't seem unkind, even reaching down to give Kame a pat on the head. "Alright, what can you all do. Speak up, now, so that I can hear you." The man straightens up and crosses his arms in front of his chest. "I'm Dorumaru, by the way. If you do a good job, you'll get paid well. If not, I'll cut your pay by what I feel is necessary." Meaning if they break something or force the team to redo something, that cost is gonna come out of their paycheck.
Isamu looked up at the builder man with wide eyes. He looked huge! And strong. Of course, most burly men would look huge to a 9-year-old. Still, he was eager to share his skills. "I have strong muscles!" he says with a grin and a flex of his arm. "I can help carry things! And Shinobu is really good at sniffing out nosy people, and Kame can chase them away!" He spoke for Shinobu, knowing that she probably wouldn't want to speak for herself. Even though she had that weird telepathy thing… Oh well! Isamu was just trying to be helpful.
The man hrms a bit at the reply, nodding slowly. He could work with that. "Alright. You, then, can help Hatori with moving some new furniture into these buildings." He gestures to a young man who is just as buff as Dorumaru, though a bit skinnier. It made him look a bit awkward, like he hasn't grown into his form all that much. "I'll show you to where we're gonna get the furniture," he says with a friendly smile. Dorumaru then looks to Shinobu, wondering what to do with the girl, who is now looking away from him. "Alright. You can go with Ameko, then. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious and make sure kids don't come close to this place. It can still get a bit dangerous,
Shinobu blinks a bit when she hears her assignment. She and Isamu weren't going to be working together? She nods quietly and shuffles over to the woman called Ameko while Kame bounds over excitedly. The two await their instructions to do some sort of patrol or something organized, one looking nervous and the other looking excited. Figures… Pretty typical.
"Osu!" Isamu says with a grin, trotting over to the man called Hatori and waving towards Shinobu as she goes in the other direction. "See you at lunch, Shinobu!" he calls out, before continuing over to where the furniture was being kept. There were long wooden tables and chairs, mostly, and a few larger items like cabinets and shelving. Some of it looked a little too big for Isamu to help with, but he was sure he could handle the chairs and some of the smaller tables! Maybe even some rolled up rugs!
Shinobu finds herself getting split up even more. She and Kame are to go around the village center and make sure people haven't messed with any of the buildings that are getting worked on. So she does, wandering off to follow any scents that might indicate someone sneaking around. Most of the scents she finds are a bit stale for the time being, though if she's paying close attention, there seems to be a scent that isn't quite … familiar. At least, it wasn't among the workers' scents. The girl frowns a bit, trying to pin down who this person might be by following its trail.
Isamu would be told to pick up the chairs. The two could get the tables together later (and likely get an extra hand for the larger things). "We have to take this stuff into the first floor, so just bring them to the large room and leave 'em. Don't leave them by the door, though. We still need to get in and out."
"Hai!" Isamu says when he receives his instructions. He ran over to where the chairs were and picked them up one at a time, hefting them over his head and trotting them through the open doors of the building, where he would set it down with a small 'oof'. They were heavier than they looked! This was sure to be a rigorous workout, but Kaido-sensei would have prescribed nothing less. Quickly, Isamu returned to continue moving the chairs, bringing in each one at a fast pace. He'd just have to be careful not to trip, or the chairs might break! This in mind, he makes the smart decision to slow down just a bit. If he moved too fast, he'd be more likely to stumble.
The chairs gradually became a large pile on the first floor, at least twenty of them having been moved inside. Isamu was breathing a little heavily, but looked at his work with pride, his hands resting on his hips and his face grinning. "Done! What's next?" he calls out to the workers, ready for his next task.
Shinobu continues to seek out this mystery scent, her travels taking her towards the edge of the village center area. Kame is right on her heels, the pup's nose to the ground as they try to figure out this scent. It didn't smell like anyone they knew.. Sorta like … a kid older than them. Probably causing mischief, too. The pair dutifully follow the scent, finding that it's getting fresher as they continue on.
Hatori finishes dragging over the larger chairs and a few of the smaller tables. He points to the different lamps on the ground, saying, "Put these on the smaller tables I took in. And then we can figure out a way to get this massive table inside." The man wipes his brow, looking at the very sad pile of furniture. They had done a good job!
"Hai!" Isamu says as he grabs the lamps and hurries them inside to the tables, placing them carefully down before returning outside to the big table. This… was going to ba a chore. "Maybe… I can stand underneath and lift from the bottom?" he suggests half-heartedly. He wasn't really sure how this was going to work.
Hatori rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Alright. Let's do that. I'll pick up one end, you get under the other. And don't hurt yourself." With that, he moves to grab the table edge closest to the doorframe. "Push it up on three. one. Two. Three!" Then he stands, picking up the table easily. It's just awkward to carry around, is the issue.
Shinobu continues on with her wild goose chase, eventually losing the trail. She frowns ab it, but doesn't know what to do except go back. She had strayed a bit from the Village center, but it was easy to find her and Kame's scent trails and follow them back to where everyone is. Ameko stood waiting for the two, saying, "I didn't find anything, so that's good. Anything to report on your end?" The pair use genjutsu to describe the scent, but really can't do anything else, so they make their way with Ameko back to the main part of the village rebuilding efforts for some lunch.
Isamu hurries under the other end of the table, pressing his arms under the base and hefting it over his head. He could do this! He only struggled a little when he was trying to keep it from wobbling and falling over. But he didn't let go, and was able to help Hatori carry it successfully inside, where they placed it down with a loud THUNK. Grinning, Isamu gave the worker a high-5. "Alright! All done!" he exclaimed. It was time for lunch! When he went back outside, he saw Shinobu and waved, running over to her with a big smile. "Come on!" he says. "Let's go eat with Kaido-sensei at the restaurant! We can tell him what we did today, and since we did good work, he can treat us!"
"Thanks for the hard work, you two," Dorumaru says as he waves the pair off. Shinobu would simply nod and give a tiny wave before going after Isamu to get a meal with her sensei. Kame would yip excitedly, reporting all that the two did (which really wasn't much, but the pup was happy!) and relying on the genjutsu to keep her understandable. Shinobu eventually picks up her partner and snuggles the pup, using Kame as a living plushie until they reach the restaurant. With everything said and done: Mission accomplished!
