[Deleted]

While he had yet to properly inhabit the body he had learned of the various ways that Sozin had applied himself. Today, Sozin was armed with nothing but a few Kunai and a single one handed axe that was slotted in his waist; it was... extremely generic. Sozin was... poor. Despite being a Council Member, the man for some reason had so little funds for Akira to access, that it made it difficult for him to procure weapons.

In the mean time, generic steel would have to do. He stood at the gates of Kusagakure paying a bit too much attention to the are around him - absolutely engrossed to dedicating it to memory. He needed to find his way back, of course! He had mission scroll in hand, heading on a relatively simple and straightforward journey (that would make it easy to get back too he hoped) since the land of Kusagakure was pretty much plains and fields. It would take them over the main river that Kusagakure was surrounded by to the northeast, north and northwest. Then someway further that split off into different places depending on where your travels took you.

It had been easy to assign himself on a simple mission; one that involved bloodshed and one that involved sacrifice, to satisfy his God. But it gave him an opportunity to put his body to battle; it had not been yet since Akira had taken over. Well. Not quite a fight, as opposed to ... well. Moving on to other things.

It was also what one might've called "espionage" - he held no loyalty to another village but his God, but the nature of picking a Genin was to test them. To ask questions and not have them questioned back, it did mean he would need to take an interest in the academy and in academia in general; which he had to some level. But, it would need to be about upkeeping appearances and opinions.

There was reason for everything.

So he waited, as known for his extreme punctuality to turn up to an event had arrived ten minutes before.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}Add any jutsu, relevant information here

[kuishinbou kashiwa]

While the young Kusa genin hadn’t exactly established much of a reputation for anything, let alone timeliness, he maintained a first-class professionalism whenever he was assigned a mission. The boy was kind enough in social settings and a bit of an awkward goofball around those he felt comfortable with, but a mission was a job; a job that demanded focus and dedication.

In that way, Kashiwa was something of a sought after operative when someone needed to fill a team’s ranks with a genin. Doubly so after he’d demonstrated his acumen at the Kirigakure chuunin exams, though he’d yet to put on the new rank in the chaos of the unstable Kusagakure. All that to say, he was no slouch either and arrived only shortly after his mission partner.

It was… odd. The mission was a C-rank which ensured danger would be high, especially for someone of limited experience like Kashiwa. But pairing him with a jounin seemed like an overadjustment. Even a tokubetsu jounin would probably have been too much. He didn’t let it worry him, however, as the prospect of getting this mission taken care of quickly and efficiently was no great dilemma.

Sozin himself was almost a complete mystery to Kashiwa. He’d maybe seen the man once or twice but in no meaningful capacity and they’d certainly never exchanged words. What the kid did know was that the man was a respected member of the council so he didn’t dare approach too casually. Instead, he opted for a healthy mix of that aforementioned professionalism with an underlying flavor of measured respect.

"Good morning.” He spoke curtly, nodding at the elder gentlemen before turning his attention to the road ahead. The patrol they’d been assigned almost guaranteed conflict, given the tumultuous state of Nohara no Kuni’s political and economic landscape. Kashiwa would have to assume that bandits would be hiding behind every tree and within every bush; that is to say, he’d not let his guard down.

He didn’t bother heading out beyond the gate without the jounin’s granted leave; doing so had seen him reprimanded in the past. Instead he would wait for the other shinobi to ready himself fully and give the command to begin.

369 words | @akira

[Deleted]

"Good morning, Kashiwa-san. Ready for the road?" Akira asked politely, simply- and had already done the checking out for the two of them and just hadn't left yet. This would be a good day, he hoped. He didn't need particularly strong weapons for the day, but had definitely needed the new combat experience. "The mission should be hopefully quite simple. Have you read the preliminary documents?" Sozin asked the boy. Of course he had, what ninja didn't? And Kashiwa in his initial response gave Akira a little insight into the personality; unless this was just the shinobi 'face'.

In any case, Akira wouldn't wait any longer and would certainly get moving. It would be some time before they found anything, not so close to Kusagakure no sato. A bit further out, they could pick up the pace and then they'd catch out on someone. Anybody. But, Akira fiddled with the kunai and very simple knife in his pocket, making sure he had count of those items as well. "Today has a sub-mission, if you will - a creature of irk to me as of late. But we'll get to that in due course." He wanted to make it clear there was another reason Akira had chosen this C-rank as of late. He would be repeating the same exercise over the course of several C-ranks, this being one of the first, but with many different Genin.

That way, he could get that basic level information without being questioned and get paid for it - getting out of Soin's proverbial minimalism which Akira couldn't stand. The higher level stuff he had access to as a council member... but it was difficult to find the time to get a grasp on things, with being a Council Member there were a lot of meetings - which he was taking a lot of notes for. Hard to remember promises in a body that wasn't his.

But, back to the mission. "So, I met another one of your clan, Kuebiko-san. I'm pleased to hear and see such great shinobi from a noble clan. I don't come from a clan, myself." he made conversation, as they passed through the numerous emigrants and caravans going in and out; it was a busy morning all the same.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}Add any jutsu, relevant information here

[kuishinbou kashiwa]

The boy was more than ready for the duo to take their leave and, once the higher ranking shinobi had given his leave, Kashiwa would set off. To the few questions that preceded the start of their mission, he’d offer polite enough one word affirmations and nods. The formality of every mission, with very rare divergence, necessitated these kinds of initial check ups. Though he begrudged them, he understood them all the same.

After all, a mission was life or death. You couldn’t take the chance that your partner might not understand the task’s goals or what means were to be taken to achieve them. Counting on your partner to be as thorough as you were in a briefing or in preparation was a surefire way to get yourself killed.

But despite that formality, Sozin himself was a bit of a divergence. If not only for his standing but for the way he was equipped. But then, at the end of the day, to him this was a routine C-rank. To Kashiwa this was still tremendously dangerous. In that way, their respective loadouts made a good deal of sense.

Even the idea of a ‘sub-mission’ wasn’t altogether too strange. This wouldn’t be the first time something like this would happen during one of Kashiwa’s missions, though typically it was the opposition that presented new and unexpected tasks. The younger Kusa nin was just a genin though, and he was rarely privy to the more subtle aspects of each and every mission; what its purpose was and why he was being sent to handle it. That stuff was for politicians to worry over, which Sozin could definitely count himself as, as a member of the council.

The boy nodded at the new information. A creature of irk was foreboding wording but Kashiwa was eager all the same to encounter this beast, be it a wild boar or something grander. "Understood.” Ever professional.

At the mention of his uncle, Kashiwa perked up. He’d only had a few interactions with the man but Kuebiko was kind of similar to Kashiwa in some ways. He was of a much calmer disposition than the bulk of the Kuishinbou clan and, like Kashiwa, yearned for more peaceful and safer days ahead. Not just for Kusagakure, but for the shinobi world as a whole.

"Kuebiko is a good guy, though I can’t say I’m too familiar with him.” Kashiwa began, starting to open up about a topic he was at least somewhat familiar with. "Every interaction we’ve shared has been pretty brief, save for when he tended to an injury I received a couple months back.” He paused, not wanting to bore the man with too much information, instead focusing on the road ahead and their assigned task. "Things have been pretty peaceful thus far, though I guess we’re still pretty close to the village.”

478 words | @akira

[Deleted]

There was consistency in the story between the two, not that it mattered for anything (in how he could use it) just that his knowledge was growing of Kusagakure albeit arbitrarily. But, the web of people expanded somewhat.

Still! They continued walking. The sun was starting to come out.

He realised, it would be a good day to be outside as well: as the sun came out, he distinctly felt a shine and warmth on his face (and a squint; because the weather was not in their favour right now; if the enemies were coming from... well. The direction of the sun.) Sozin nodded at Kashiwa. "Right."

Being alive was so good. He remembered a moment of his recent rebirth and the cold, dark, damp that he fell to the ground in - it was chilling. Satori Akira had been reborn and into the arms of another God, a revelation that kept him quiet. Yoko was there too, but she had been desperate to try anything. He looked down at his own hand, there was just so little of it that made sense to him. Hands and fingers different; down to the muscles he was barely a thin frame of. And being so much shorter as well! Kashiwa was barely shorter than himself, by an inch - give or take. His exceedingly average body in comparison to before.

"Uh, sorry. I was just caught in an internal conundrum." Sozin broke the silence between the two of them again. "How did you find the Chunin Exams? I read that you did well. The mist is a... poor place. Economically, and literally. Cold." Not that he didn't mind the cold himself - it was just not the kind of weather he himself was so inclined to. But, it had been a part of his own learning about Kashiwa, when given the opportunity to expand his knowledge base.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}Add any jutsu, relevant information here

[kuishinbou kashiwa]

While the exams in the Land of Water had indeed gone well for the boy, the topic of Kashiwa's stagnation following them was a particularly bitter one. Most of those he’d competed against were chuunin, whether they’d passed or not, and some had even climbed higher. Meanwhile, Kashiwa was still a genin.

He chose not to speak too much on the matter. After all, part of the reason he was here was to justify his performance and make a case for promotion; he couldn’t allow himself to get stuck in the past.

Mention of the Land of Water, however, brought back some favorable memories all the same. The grim filter with which Sozin viewed the foreign land through mustered, what Kashiwa felt was, an inappropriately negative depiction of Mizu no Kuni. "I found it quite nice. The food there was amazing.”

Of course, the boy could have very easily been fed a fabrication, constrained in his experience, not only to the small town of Kuwana, but to that area that was staged in preparation for his, and many a foreigner's, eyes. Any land would make sure to put their best foot forward; Mizu no Kuni would be no different. But, despite potential and conspiracy abound, Kashiwa had yet to allow such a cynicism to fester within him.

While It may have been a land of circumstantial enemies and economic struggle, Kashiwa had only delicious food, gorgeous lands and a gaggle of newfound friends to color his judgment. Besides, Nohara no Kuni was hardly a paradise to compare others to.

The ongoing light conversation and momentary glimpses into the past they exchanged continued before Kashiwa realized the duo had made good distance from the village. The roads were getting more untamed as they branched, the soil beneath their feet saved the weight of a thousand hooves each day.

The young Kusa nin tensed only slightly as they proceeded further. He maintained a poised demeanor that would put a civilian at ease but his guard was up, his hands at his side and ready.

200+ words | @akira

[Deleted]

There were things for all types of people to enjoy, and Kashiwa enjoyed the food. Good... They had a mission to attend but his main idea for their sub mission was on the way back, 'Sozin' would be asking about the state of learning - he would ask about their knowledge, about what they learned, how it could be best fit for the future generations of Shinobi and Kunoichi to don the Kusagakure headband. He had to learn the lay of the land as it were.

Speaking of their land, it had become more unpaved and wild, in the way that someone took the path most travelled where the difference between grass and path were sharp, but not incongruent with one another.

Their path had already been determined and they didn't need to stray from the path to encounter danger. It was almost comical the way that a drab festering boil of people to emerge from the places in the sides of the roads when Sozin and Kashiwa walked by them, without so much as a care in the world. "Well. Looks like we found what we were looking for." Sozin muttered under his breath to Kashiwa. Sozin appeared to be languid: his thin and lithe frame betrayed his danger. Well - danger to what were reported as civilians. There was still a lot he needed to remember. Reaching inside his scratchy cotton clothing, he firmly grasped at a kunai. Still - threats were threats and they needed to be dispersed.

He was not without danger to others - though. "Your things, or your life." Just one of them spoke behind their.. cloth covering the underside of their face. They went right into it, surrounding them in spite of Akira's strong words. "Turn yourself in to Kusagakure no Sato or I'll kill you." He wanted to let them know they had options, after all.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}Add any jutsu, relevant information here

[kuishinbou kashiwa]

It seemed like things were finally starting to kick off. After their long trek along the trail and deep into rougher terrain more inclined to hold a great number of bandits within, they'd been confronted. Several men made to surround them as Sozin gave them a warning.

They didn't look altogether too tough but the pair's charge was ensuring security along the roads, not necessarily uprooting whatever nefarious organization had birthed these ruffians. Kashiwa stepped forward, drawing an arrow and pulling it back, leveling it at the nearest opponent's throat. But not before a third shinobi arrived, another from Kusagakure.

The sudden arrival quickly dispatched a bandit on their own to enter the ring and gave a quick introduction and explanation. They'd been sent from the village to replace Kashiwa on the mission as there had been a death in his family. Initially Kashiwa looked bewildered but this wasn't the time for lengthy explanations and he nodded, taking his leave via the path that the third shinobi had made for them.

All manner of apology was made to Sozin and Kashiwa's replacement but, if the matter was so urgent they'd sent a runner to bring him back, it was likely someone very close to the boy that had passed. Further, it was probably an unexpected end. The boy's mind raced nearly as fast as his footfalls, as he made his way back to the village, with confusion, anxiety and fear.

[Exit Thread.]

(For personal reasons I won't be able to continue this thread. I've intentionally left the new arrival's identity vague so this can be continued by either an NPC mod or another member.)

200+ words | @akira