[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

Bright and early, just how Mairusu liked it. Well, was starting to like it anyway. Since his Sage training began he had found that it was a lot easier to concentrate on his meditation before most people were awake and the hustle and bustle of Konoha put a lot of noise in the air; even the forests in and around the village were teeming with enough sounds to disrupt his thinking but even the birds and the bees had to sleep so early mornings it was. Today was a little different however as the genin had been assigned a mission that would require a bit of travelling so an early start was needed.

He wasn't super well versed in village politics and all that but hearing that people were getting attacked while trying to cross the border from Kaze no Kuni on their way to Konoha was enough reason for him to know that stuff like that was bad for alliances and the such. A couple last minute checks of his gear while the boy waited for his mission partner at the village gates would help him pass the time but for all intents and purposes he was ready to get moving. He hoped that his mission partner had a softer personality than Yaki. He knew deep down that the girl cared, well maybe not cared but didn't want to actively see him die, but she sure had a hell of a way of showing it; so just maybe Mairusu would get to experience someone nicer.

▲

WORDS ● Hyūga Asuka ● NOTES

deltra of gangnam style

[Hyūga Asuka]

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[attr="class","puppycat"] Hiesin Mairusu

[attr="class","lemonsoda"]

[attr="class","puppycat"]your notes here

To say that she was excited was an understatement.

Ever since her father died, she had been granted a lot more freedom to do things without being bound to clan restrictions. Of course, having enrolled and graduated from the shinobi academy meant that she was already doing something that was not following the Hyuuga way of doing things. Asuka had loved every moment after graduation, learning more about her clan and even getting a little more training sessions in with her big brother, Shigure. He was a busy person, being of a high rank in the shinobi world and also the clan leader, so being able to train with him was almost a treat. But there was nothing that excited her more than going on missions. The only one she had ever taken was a Hyuuga-specific one where she had to deliver the news of the demolishing of the cursed seal with Azarea, a Kumo shinobi.

That had been pretty fun and ever since then, she had been hoping to do more. She understood that the lower level missions that most people took usually alone were quite mundane, almost like running errands around the village. Asuka had been dying for some excitement. And that was why when she was told by her teacher at the academy that there was a mission she could do with someone else that actually involved going out to the country again, she was more than ecstatic. The only problem was, she was slightly socially awkward and hoped her partner wouldn't think anything of it.

She got up bright and early, putting on her usual grey hoodie with the Hyuuga clan insignia etched on the back, and a pair of blue khaki pants. Asuka was sure that all Hyuuga dressed like this at some point when she was younger. She strapped her weapon pouch to her left thigh and her headband to her left upper arm before making her way to the village gates. The girl didn't really know the specifics of this mission, only that her teacher had told her that there was one other person that she would be going with. She assumed that she would be briefed on it before leaving the village though, so she wouldn't think too much of it. Making her way down the main road to the gates, she couldn't help but hum a little tune in happiness.

MADE BY MIZO

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[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

There wouldn't be much waiting around before Asuka made her appearance and from first glance she seemed cheerful, or at the very least not harboring a permanent scowl like a certain someone else. Why was he even thinking about that at a time like this? "Hey, Asuka right? I'm Mairusu, your mission partner for today. Nice to meet ya." He'd offer a smile with his introduction before fishing the mission missive from his pack. "Alright it looks like the place we need to head to is along the River Country and Fire Country border which is due west from the village. It looks like a good little trip so if you're ready I guess we can head out."

If there was any last minute stuff Asuka needed to take care of now was the time to do it, or if she had any questions about the mission the calm before the storm was the best time to ask. Granted, with how much traveling they had to due there would probably be plenty of time to ask questions as they made their way. This was the furthest Mairusu had traveled without a senior shinobi leading the way and while it was still technically in country the fact that they were still a couple of genin assigned to take out some bandits was kind of wild to him.

▲

WORDS ● Hyūga Asuka ● NOTES

deltra of gangnam style

[Hyūga Asuka]

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[attr="class","puppycat"] Hiesin Mairusu

[attr="class","lemonsoda"]

[attr="class","puppycat"]your notes here

A boy with tanned skin and perhaps the same height as her was seen waiting at the gate. Asuka smiled at him, a little shy to greet him beyond just a little bow while he introduced himself to be Mairusu. He had dark skin and was wearing an interesting jacket of green and red, something that not many people in the village wore, it seemed. She waited for a moment before responding, happy that she had assumed correctly that he would be her mission partner. "Yes, nice to meet you. I'm Hyuuga Asuka." If the insignia on the back of her hooded sweater didn't scream Hyuuga to the boy, her stating it certainly did. The girl excitedly reached out her hand to take the mission scroll, unrolling it and gave it a once over.

"River country and Fire country border? How long do you think we will be traveling?" She had missed her breakfast this morning, too excited for the mission to eat. But mow she regretted this, thinking that she should go grab a couple of snacks for the both of them before they set off, if the place they were going to was far. "Can you wait here a minute? I'm going to go grab something to snack on the road. Is there anything you like to eat?" If there was one good thing about Asuka, she was respectful and considerate, always caring about other people before herself. Depending on the boyo's answer, she would hurry to buy a couple of grilled dango for herself.

Sweets was always great for breakfast!

"Now, I'm ready, let's go!" Her cheerfulness returned, a big smile on her face. The two of them would exit the village with the scroll and their food in hand. "How are we getting there?" Mairusu would understand just from this question alone that Asuka had never traveled outside of Hi no Kuni, and thus never knew anything outside of the country beyond what she could learn from a textbook. Being held like a captive in her own compounds for the last half a year didn't do her much good either, and now that she was finally granted some freedom, she wanted to exploit to the most of her ability.

MADE BY MIZO

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[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

"Umm, well it's a couple days from here to Suna and this is about half the distance so about a day? I'd say we can cut southwest to avoid most of the mountains and have smooth terrain for most of the trip." Mairusu would reply with an inquisitive hand to his chin. He hadn't really spent too much time calculating how long it would take for them to reach their destination but he did remember some stuff about how far the countries and some villages were from each other that he learned in the academy, so he used that to make his best guess.

A brow raised upon hearing that Asuka needed to grab something to eat. He couldn't really blame her for not wanting to set out on a mission on an empty stomach but wasn't that what eating at home was for? Well no matter, they weren't on a tight schedule or anything like that so he supposed it was fine. "Yeah that's fine. A chocolate candy bar would be great, thank you." He wasn't hungry or anything at the moment but Mairusu wasn't one to pass up free food.

Once everything had been taken care of --for sure this time-- Asuka would hit him with a last question that might have been even more confusing than the last. "How are we getting there?" Mairusu would repeat as if he hadn't heard the Hyuga initially. "Walk I guess? Or run if you want, can even hop through the trees to look cool." He would add. It was an odd inquiry to say the least and while it would have been nice to not have to walk the entire time using a cart would have taken them a whole lot longer so using their own two feet was the best option.

▲

WORDS ● Hyūga Asuka ● NOTES

deltra of gangnam style

[Hyūga Asuka]

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[attr="class","puppycat"] Hiesin Mairusu

[attr="class","lemonsoda"]

[attr="class","puppycat"]your notes here

A day of traveling definitely required some nourishments, and so she was already thinking about what she wanted to eat. As the Hyuuga clan heir, she never really had much freedom of anything, and the thought of breathing outside of clan compounds itself seemed to be such a farfetched dream sometimes. "Chocolate bar only? Are you going to be hungry later? You should probably get something substantial for later too." The young girl would go ahead and order two grilled mitarashi dango skewers from one of the food vendors in the village, stopping by a candy store to pick up a chocolate bar for Mairusu. She would pick up a couple of rice balls for herself at one of her favorite shops. "Two rice balls with yakiniku please." She loved the yakiniku filling the most.

And depending on whether her partner would want anything else other than the chocolate bar, the duo would then head back towards the village gates, officially beginning their travels together. Asuka was quite a nice girl, shy and docile on the outside with a flare and passion for injustice on the inside. As they walked down the path on the way to Hi no Kuni, she thought it would be common sensical to start with getting to know her partner, especially since they were traveling for a whole day together. "So, can you tell me a little bit about yourself, Mairusu-san? We're going to be traveling for quite awhile together so I thought we should get to know each other."

The sun was just coming up now, shining bright overhead. A warm breeze was just the thing that Asuka needed. She looked up at the sky and admired the weather. Even the skies looked different now that she wasn't confined to her home. Despite her father's 'good' intentions, she still hated not being able to do things on her own and she was hoping now that Shigure was the clan head, that her future would be brighter.

MADE BY MIZO

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[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

"I packed a little bit of stuff from home so I should be good." Mairusu would reply wondering just how much stuff the girl planned on buying. They'd only be gone from the village a couple days if everything went smoothly so he didn't imagine they needed to stock up all that much. From what he remembered looking at a map of the country there was a city they'd travel close to that the pair could stop at if need be so it wasn't like they were going to be away from civilization or anything of the sort. But then again it was tough to fight crime on an empty stomach and the last thing either of them needed was to be distracted by a rumbling stomach.

The chirps of birds and skittering of various woodland creatures added to the beautiful scene sprawled before the duo as they began their travels. Mairusu had become accustomed to the sights and sounds during his meditation sessions, or more specifically had been learning to not let them distract him. Gathering natural chakra took extreme concentration and possibly being turned into a stone statue because of an obnoxiously loud bird or a squirrel having too much fun climbing a tree seemed like a terrible way to go. In time the boy hoped to be able to block out louder sounds such as battle because he knew there would be a time when he'd need to do so in his life as a shinobi.

Asuka's inquiry created a pit in the genin's stomach. He disliked talking about himself because of how plain his life sounded, especially compared to someone from one of the special clans, and was a driving force behind him wanting to train under a Sage so badly. Still, he couldn't just ignore the girls question and it would do well to get a better understanding of his mission partner. "Ummm, I guess the only things of note are that I can use some raiton techniques and I'm currently training under the Snake Sage Mitsuda. Still have a lot to learn with that second one so I can't really do all that much at the moment but yeah, that's all the interesting stuff." The boy would reply hoping that sufficiently answered Asuka's question.

"What about you? I can tell you're from the Hyuga clan but that's about it. Do you know Shigure?" Was it rude to assume that all of them knew each other? It'd be hard not to know Shigure but if that gave the two something in common then all the better.

▲

WORDS ● Hyūga Asuka ● NOTES

deltra of gangnam style

[Hyūga Asuka]

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[attr="class","NOSTALGIA"]

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[attr="class","puppycat"] Hiesin Mairusu

[attr="class","lemonsoda"]

[attr="class","puppycat"]your notes here

The girl would nod her head and leave the food subject to rest. If he ever got hungry during the trip, she guessed that he would just find something to eat, she supposed. The two would finish buying the snacks and food before venturing out to the country. Asuka took in a deep breath, even the air felt different out in the country. It was certainly liberating to not be confined within the Hyuuga Clan grounds. The girl would listen to all that Mairusu, caught up with the mention of snake sage training. Her eyes took on a confused look, as the words snake and sage were kind of new to her. "Snake sage training? That's interesting! W-What is that exactly?" She didn't want to sound like she didn't know anything but someone who'd done nothing but learn Hyuuga techniques and go to the academy for everything else was definitely lacking in knowledge.

"And yes, I'm from the Hyuuga Clan." At the mention of Shigure's name, she nodded her head yet again. "Shigure is my brother." That was all she had to offer. It seemed interesting to her that he knew him, but then again, she wasn't sure if he knew him or knew of him, which were entirely different things. "Do you know him personally?" The girl would ask in curiosity, wondering if Mairusu was somehow close to her brother and she just wasn't aware. Having an older brother like Shigure was both a blessing and a curse, and for the most part of her childhood years, it had created tension within her.

Deciding to change the subject, Asuka began to focus on the mission itself. "I saw from the scroll that we're supposed to be clearing out some bandits that have been terrifying tourists. Do you have any idea or any other information other than what's written on it?" Of course, she wouldn't tell him that she had never been on a mission like this, nor had she ever come face-to-face with a bandit. But she was somehow confident, that she would be able to fare reasonably well despite the lack of experience. The two would continue down the road, chatting casually.

MADE BY MIZO

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[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

Ah shit, she had just asked the hardest question ever and Mairusu still hadn't figured out a way to answer it without sounding weird; and he was talking to someone who had x-ray vision! "Umm, what's the best way to explain it? So it's kinda like becoming completely in tune with nature via some kind of animal and gaining the ability to manipulate the world around you. You're supposed to get a whole lot stronger and even take on characteristics of whichever animal you have a contract with or something like that. Like I said I'm still really early on in my training so I haven't gotten to all the cool stuff yet." The boy would reply hoping his response would at least make a tad bit of sense. Asking Yaki or Mitsuda-san how to explain what a Sage was to other people would probably get him yelled at so for the time being he just had to speak from what he had heard and what little he had experienced.

"He's your brother? No way!" Mairusu would exclaim with amazement. He figured they were all related loosely but to actually meet a sibling of Shigure was pretty cool. "We've been on a couple missions together. He's super strong and pretty cool, too." He'd add with excitement. Most of the older shinobi he knew were either boring old teachers or run of the mill ninja that didn't really stand out all that much so perhaps that was what made Shigure seem so much cooler.

The topic wouldn't be dawdled on for too long as Asuka would switch subjects back to their mission asking if Mairusu had any other information other than what was on the missive. "Not a whole lot other than that they've been targeting people around one of the bridges along the border. They either scare 'em back into the Land of Rivers or steal some stuff and then disappear into the hills around the area. I don't think it's a big group but they've caused enough trouble to get a response from the village." It was a tough look to be one of the great nations and not able to protect those who were traveling along your borders so from a reputation standpoint alone Konoha had to do something.

▲

WORDS ● Hyūga Asuka ● NOTES

deltra of gangnam style

[Hyūga Asuka]

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[attr="class","puppycat"] Hiesin Mairusu

[attr="class","lemonsoda"]

[attr="class","puppycat"]your notes here

To say that she understood perfectly what the boy was talking about when he went on a tangent about sage training was an overstatement. She still had the look of confusion on her face, despite not asking any more questions. Her mind was still trying to work out what he had told her, about becoming completely in tune with nature through an animal. She couldn't seem to grasp this concept. Did it mean they had out of body experiences through animals? But Asuka was not there to dwell on the matter, possibly preventing any more explanations to confuse her further. She wondered if her big brother would be able to tell her a little more, though from the brief description that Mairusu gave her, she doubted the possibility of her going to become a sage. "Training is difficult for you then, I'm guessing. It sounds really complicated, after all." She would say sheepishly, not trying to hide the fact that despite his best efforts, the girl was still confused.

"Oh, I see! Onii-chan is never really home nowadays so I just assume he's been going on missions or taking care of clan affairs. I haven't seen him for quite some time, actually." The last part of the sentence was one that held a hint of sadness, like what a younger sister who wanted to spend time with a big brother would sound like. Although there had been talk about the Hyuuga siblings being pitted against each other because of who would take the leader spot after their father died, Asuka was fine with having Shigure take the place -- he was both competent and the best candidate anyway. "You should tell me what kind of missions you two went on!" She would say, rather happily, and nodding her head to agree with the fact that her brother was cool. He was, as well as many other things, but she was always glad when someone other than people from her clan complimented him. He worked hard, and being appreciated was overrated in their clan nowadays.

"That sounds really awful...why would people do such a thing! I'm glad we were tasked with this mission then!" If there was one thing Asuka didn't like, it was bullies. She hated those who stole, lied or cheated others, taking advantage of mostly innocent people for personal gain. Dealing with the dramas of the main and branch family feud, most watching from the sidelines, had taught her a thing a two about people. They weren't always the nicest and purest, and she hated the idea that those who were malice would get away with it unpunished. Her expression dawned one of anger and agitation, primarily from what Mairusu had told her. "It's not right for people to do those things to other people..." Her voice trailed, realizing that she was letting emotions guide how she portrayed herself. But then again, she was just a kid, and a kid was allowed to lash out and show feelings, contrary to what her father seemed to think and preach.

MADE BY MIZO

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[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

"It's a lot of meditation and trying to get comfortable with what's going on around me, though there was that one time I had to fight a giant snake. That was pretty tough." The genin replied thinking back to that battle. It was literally a battle of survival and to this day he still hadn't figured out how neither he nor Yaki became snake food. If he didn't know any better one might have thought it was child abuse pitting a couple kids against large deadly creatures like that, but he had made it through so no harm no foul.

A license in therapy wasn't needed to pick up on Asuka's tone when she spoke of Shigure's recent absence. While Mairusu wasn't really in the know about clan stuff he had heard there had been some pretty big shake ups with the Hyuga which may have explained why the man wasn't around so much; though there was also the fact that the missions he was being assigned were probably keeping him busy, too. "I can imagine when you get that high a rank the village sends you all over the place doing stuff. Hopefully he can take some time off soon." Mairusu would reply trying to get the girls spirits back up. Asuka would then ask about the pair's various missions and what all they had done which the boy was all too happy to go into detail about.

"We blew up a pirate ship one time. They were stealing shipments from fisherman so me and Shigure stuck some explosive tags on their boat and watched it go up in smoke. Another time we stopped a group of people who were selling counterfeit radios. Scouted them out and then trailed them back to their hideout before we took 'em all out. It was so cool." The missions had been varied enough that Mairusu didn't mind to only be going up against small time crooks and it was loads better than picking up trash or finding someone's lost pet that most genin got assigned to do.

"Funnily enough I asked Shigure the same question." The genin would reply when Asuka pondered on why people bullied others. "He told me that some people think the reward of making a bunch of money quickly is better than earning it by good means and that's pretty much their driving force behind all the bad stuff they do. I don't like it, either, but that's why we're here." Mairusu would add with a nod. It didn't make sense to him why people would commit crimes and then be ok with having to hide out for weeks at a time in some dump instead of getting a real job, but their decisions were their own and now it was time to face the consequences of their actions.

▲

WORDS ● Hyūga Asuka ● NOTES

deltra of gangnam style

[Hyūga Asuka]

[attr="class","snailhouse"]

[attr="class","Chromeleft"]

[attr="class","Chromeleftoverlay"]

[attr="class","NOSTALGIA"]

[attr="class","Chromeright"]

[attr="class","Chromeoverlay"]

[attr="class","puppycat"] Hiesin Mairusu

[attr="class","lemonsoda"]

[attr="class","puppycat"]your notes here

"A giant snake? That sounds terrifying..." she shuddered at the thought of something that felt slimy and slithering around. The girl had problems with all reptiles in its usual size, so the thought of it being a giant one was quite incomprehensible to her. Asuka wondered if ever she would have to face off against a snake, or worse, things like giant spiders. "I haven't had the luxury, if you can call it that, to meet giants of anything yet." Her voice sounded sad, though no envious. She entertained the idea of giant animals on the strict basis of training. "I've always wanted to face something challenging."

Asuka smiled and nodded her head, knowing that her brother was always busy, which explained his long absences. The girl didn't hate Shigure for it, in fact she knew that his responsibilities required him to be gone. The more he was away, the more important it would seem that he was, and that was not necessarily a bad thing. "I just get kind of lonely sometimes..." she admitted to Mairusu, rather sheepishly. "Do you have any siblings, yourself?" Asuka wondered if he knew how it felt to have a sibling, despite the dynamic that she and Shigure had were not the usual sibling relationship. "I hope he gets a time off too..." Being the head of such a big clan came with so much responsibility that people sometimes forget that he too was human.

"Blowing up a pirate ship sounds epic!" The girl sounded jealous now, her eyes lit up as she heard about the adventures he had with Shigure. "I never get to do anything fun..." she whispered, thinking about the lack of adventure that had been her life for the last half year. "I hope I can to do something like that one day..." Her voice turned into a small whisper. She guessed she should be happy that she was going on this mission at least. "And yes, people seem so vain sometimes, it's disgusting..."

MADE BY MIZO

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[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

"Stay a shinobi long enough and I'm sure something tough will pop up. Hell, even these guys we're about to take care of might be a little difficult to deal with." Mairusu would reply trying to balance the prospect of a tough fight with not wishing for something dangerous. He felt similarly early in his days as a genin while being tasked with remedial missions and the such, but after having experienced some of the more truly terrifying stuff in this world the boy was ok with not every battle being giant snake level.

"Mm nope, I'm an only child. Both of my parents are merchants so it would have been tough managing multiple store fronts and a bunch of kids, or at least that's what they told me. It makes sense I guess, but like you said it can get a bit lonely when all your friends are off doing other stuff." Being an only child and having to help his parents around their shops was the reason Mairusu had developed a desire to travel after hearing stories from other merchants who were passing through the village. He could have just as easily taken up the family business and seen the world three times over but lugging around a cart full of stuff didn't seem all that fun.

The genin was glad to be able to tell the stories about his missions to someone who was genuinely interested for once. His parents cared, of course, but as soon as the words "blew up a boat" or "got kidnapped on purpose" left his mouth they were ready to lock him in the house for the rest of his life. He would appreciate his parents wanting him to be safe at some point down the road but a valuable lesson about a right time and place to say certain things had been learned that day; and he wasn't foolish enough to let anything slip about almost getting eaten by a giant snake. "You'll get your chance, trust me, there's a ton of cool stuff that we can start to do once we get some experience under our belts. Last thing anyone wants is to be underprepared for some dangerous situations." The boy would reply hoping to put things into perspective for Asuka.

---

After a days worth of traveling the pair would begin to near the border between the Land of Rivers and Fire Country. The mountain ranges had dwindled into rolling hills that were lush with grass as far as the eye could see and it was all quite beautiful, but just the place an unsuspecting traveler would be accosted out of the blue. A wide bridge overlooking a natural ravine 'dividing' the two countries was the one that had been marked on the map and it was the only crossing point for miles which made it a feasting point for bad guys. "Alright looks like we're here. I don't see any bandits or anything at the moment and I doubt they'll show up if a couple of ninja are posted up on the bridge so I think we should hide out and wait till they try and harass some civilians or something. What ya think?"

It was Mairusu's best Shigure impression at coming up with a plan and he figured that with Asuka's Byakugan she'd be able to keep an eye on the bridge and alert him when someone showed up, but teamwork made the dream work so if she had some suggestions the boy was all ears.

▲

WORDS ● Hyūga Asuka ● NOTES

deltra of gangnam style

[Hyūga Asuka]

[attr="class","snailhouse"]

[attr="class","Chromeleft"]

[attr="class","Chromeleftoverlay"]

[attr="class","NOSTALGIA"]

[attr="class","Chromeright"]

[attr="class","Chromeoverlay"]

[attr="class","puppycat"] Hiesin Mairusu

[attr="class","lemonsoda"]

[attr="class","puppycat"]your notes here

Although she couldn't necessarily understand the pains of being an only child, she certainly understood the feeling of loneliness. 

Asuka looked up to Shigure, but being quite a few years younger than him, there had always been some distance between them. This was amplified by the fact that her entire existence was defined by being a fail safe plan for her father in case Shigure didn't measure to be the person that could and would eventually take the Hyuuga clan leader position. She had been trained by Urashi to serve that specific purpose, and her life had been projected even before she was born. And so, it wasn't a surprise to anyone that the siblings kept to themselves, and rarely interacted. For Asuka, she never had the ability to really interact with her older brother, safe for a few occasions here and there where it was absoluitely necessary, like formal Hyuuga celebrations or something. She longed to get to know her brother better, to be able to understand more than the simple fact that he was strong. She knew that already, and had ample times to witness this strength when she was young.

"I understand." That was the only thing she could provide to Mairusu when he spoke of him being an only child. She wondered if his parents doted on him, something she learned from other only child students at the academy, a trait that seemed to be the norm for them. She hadn't received much love, as one would expect from a tool like her, but she didn't mind all that match. It would be weird if her parents weren't the way they had been, if they suddenly became warm and loving. The thought alone made her uncomfortable, slightly. And so, she would choose to remain silent as they continued on their journey, and she would take the time to think about all that was exchanged between the two.

It was always nice to meet new people, she thought to herself.

And then they would arrive at the border, having taken close to a day to get there. Mairusu had been correct; this place did take awhile to get to, but it was all worth it. As though she was a kid going to the zoo for the first time, her eyes sparkled at the sudden change of scenery. The mountains she didn't really care for were now replaced by a long patch of grass, so long in fact, that her naked eye couldn't see where the grass ended. "It's so pretty..." she muttered, a genuine smile forming on her face. It was great to go traveling, she now realized, even better than she had originally imagined. The bridge that the bandits were supposed to have been terrorizing unsuspecting tourists was a sight in and of itself, majestic as it stood between the two bordering countries.

"This looks like the only place that those bandits could find potential people so I'm sure they'll show up," she would exclaim, hopeful and hopelessly optimistic as she agreed that they would hide in wait.

MADE BY MIZO

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[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

With their plan agreed upon all they had to do was sit and wait. It kinda sucked having to put some unsuspecting passerby in harms way --if only for a moment-- for their ruse to work but it wasn't like the bandits would try their hand at taking on a couple of shinobi so this was the next best plan. "Alright let's go wait in that thicket of trees, should be far enough out. Think you'll still be able to see the bridge with your Byakugan from there?" Mairusu would ask hoping it wouldn't be too much of an ask. Shigure wouldn't have had a problem with it but comparing a Jounin to a genin wasn't fair and he didn't want to put undue pressure on the girl.

Assuming Asuka was ok with the idea the genin would take up a scouting position from the trees a bit away. There was enough foliage to hide them but not enough to obstruct their view, not that it might have mattered with his mission partners abilities.

---

Some time later a cart being pulled by a couple merchants would approach the bridge, none the wiser that they were being observed by multiple interested parties. As they neared a soft whistle from atop the hill would signal a group of armed people to race down and surround the travelers. "Well well, what do we have here? A couple of travelers, eh? Well ya might not know but crossing this bridge requires paying a toll and my lovely group here are the collectors. So how about you folks hand over the most valuable things you're carrying and we'll call it even, hmm?" A voice belonging to a slick haired man would call out to the travelers. There were six bandits in total carrying weapons in various states of rust but more than enough to intimidate a couple of scared civilians.

---

The distinct sound of a whistle in the air perked Mairusu's ears as he focused to the bridge. From what he could see there looked to be people near it but it was hard to tell. "Was that a whistle? Can you see anything Asuka?" The boy would ask wondering if this had been the moment they were waiting on.

▲

WORDS ● Hyūga Asuka ● NOTES

deltra of gangnam style