[Ishikawa Ren]

     The evening sun shone through the trees that bounded this dirt road, flitting into Ren's eye and causing him to block it with his hand. The mission had lasted longer than intended: there'd been quite a few delays at the pick-up point. He glanced back at the cart driver hauling the materials, an equally young village boy such as as himself. They'd struck up quite a few conversations up to this point.

     "Tell me about some of your other trips." Ren had asked. The journey so far had been filled with the man's stories. The roads he'd seen, the people he'd met, the obstacles he'd surmounted. The roads in the Land of Storms were generally decently safe, but of course bandits weren't an unheard of sight - nor were animals.

     The journey thus far had been quiet. Only a few passerby here and there, farmers on their way to market, hunters heading into the deeper forest.

     Dust kicked up as they went. The two turned down a winding side path, a 'quicker shortcut' through the forest, the driver had said. The sun retreated from sight, blocked by the thick canopy above. The sounds of the forest creatures became louder and louder.

C-Rank Mission: "Material Gathering"
1/2 Solo Mission posts for 9/21/23 - 200 words

1/15

[Ishikawa Ren]

     A creature stalked through the bushes alongside the smaller path. Leaves bristled in the shadow, but neither Ren nor the driver saw it or heard it. It eyed Ren in particular.

     The driver was still going on about another of his stories, though now he had switched to telling Ren about the different villages he'd visited. Many of them, he figured, were actually stories that his father had told him and co-opted as his own - the driver was still quite young. But Ren enjoyed these the most. He hoped to visit all of those places one day.

     In the midst of listening to a story about a far western land, Ren was suddenly launched to his left. He scrambled to his feet, drawing his sword instinctually. A small wolf stood glaring and growling at him, pawing the dirt.

     It made another leap at him, but Ren dodged to the side at the last moment. Lunging forward, he swung his katana but the animal was gone. Spinning, he saw it had switched attention to the driver. The man was panicking, struggling to remove himself from the harness.

     Ren took a massive step forward and held his sword to the side. In one fluid movement, he unleased a blisteringly fast slash directed at the small animal - it stood no chance.

Used Cloud-Style Front Beheading, low cost.
2/2 Solo Mission posts for 9/21/23 - 213 words

2/15

[Ishikawa Ren]

     Ren clapped his hands together over the small mound of dirt by the side of the road. The driver impatiently tapped his foot, worried that the sun was getting even lower. At this rate, they wouldn't arrive at Amegakure until it was well dark.

     For his part, Ren wasn't all that worried about the time. Not as worried as he was about honoring life, at least. It was something he'd picked up when he was learning to hunt with his hometown's resident hunter.

     When he'd finished, he stood up and motioned for them to continue. The cart slowly picked up speed as it rolled along. They were both quiet for a while, before the man reluctantly resumed his story at Ren's behest.

     "Land of Vegetables," he scoffed. "Though I don't know exactly what they grow there." The driver continued his story, telling Ren of the sights that he (or more likely, his father or even grandfather) had seen. The descriptions were mostly of roads and towns, but the rest of it was sorely lacking.

     Ren's memories of maps and scrolls and books painted the rest of the picture. He could see in his mind's eye a set of terraced steps, covered in crops, overlooking a pink sunset over the western ocean. It smelled like home.

1/2 Solo Mission posts for 9/22/23 - 215 words

3/15

[Ishikawa Ren]

     Ren was lost with his daydreams about traveling for a while. In his mind he was an explorer, a traveler, a sailor. He saw new peoples, places, monuments. Great cliffs and deep valleys arose in his mind and he went into the dark places therein.

     When he came to again, the sky was already black. The cart driver held a torch aloft, which illuminated the path in dark oranges, browns, and greens. He'd said they were nearing the exit to the forest now, and that after that there was some fields, a creek, and then Amegakure.

     The sword on his back seemed heavier than usual. Ren glanced around, but couldn't see much past the thick tree trunks and shrubs that lined their path. Occasionally he spotted gaps which gave way to the dark greyness of the deep forest.

     Almost there, he thought - but his inner dialogue was interrupted by a deep guttural growl from ahead. Straight before them along their road was another wolf. It was bigger than any other he had ever seen, much bigger than the prior one. In comparison, the previous one had almost seemed more like a pup. Yet it was worse than that. She'd been his mate.

2/2 Solo Mission posts for 9/22/23 - 202 words

4/15

[Ishikawa Ren]

     Sweat rolled down Ren's neck as he gripped his katana tightly. The driver had already been prepared from last time: he'd quickly slipped out of the harness and retreated behind the cart. The wolf and Ren slowly trod a circle, staring each other down.

     Options raced through his head, though he desperately wish he had more. The wolf rippled with muscle and would be deadly fast, he imagined. It snarled at him. Taijutsu? He'd been supremely lucky to get away from the first wolf unhurt. No. Ninjutsu? Maybe, but all he had in his arsenal was a weak Doton technique: even if it hit it might not even damage it.

     Ren recalled a memory. He'd been in his Genjutsu mentor's home, sat in seiza as the very elderly man explained the intricacies of the jutsu school. "Did you know, Ishikawa, that any living creature - with a sufficiently complex brain - can be affected?" the old man had said, tapping his cane to the wooden floor for emphasis.

     Dirt plumed into the air as Ren slapped the ground. False summoning! The wolf jumped back in surprise, buying Ren a moment before it landed and leaped forward at him. Sidestepping, he got out of the way of its lunge. When it turned around, it saw the small cloud had vanished and a bloodhound had appeared in its place. The dog's skin hung loose and flapped as it barked aggressively.

     It'd been the first thing Ren had thought of, having seen shepherds at work. "They fear dogs. Dogs mean more humans."

Used False Summoning technique, low cost.
1/2 Solo Mission posts for 9/23/23 - 256 words

5/15

[Ishikawa Ren]

     The wolf glared at the imagined bloodhound. It pawed the ground, scratching ditches into the dirt with its long claws. Suddenly it leaped, jaw opened wide in an attempt to bite the hound's neck. Ren had already prepared to use the interruption though. Using the momentum from a jump, he sank a heavy kick into the wolf's ribs.

     The blow hadn't been even remotely enough. As suspected, his taijutsu just wasn't strong enough to sufficiently hurt the animal. It lunged at him and he did his best to block its bite with his katana. As it bit down on the blade, Ren attempted not to grimace. Gnashing and the high pitched screeching of metal filled the air. Blood dripped from the wolf's mouth as the blade cut into its flesh.

     It let go and retreated a few steps, turning its attention to the cart driver who was doing something behind his vehicle. Shaking its head, it attempted to run behind the cart. Ren fished out a kunai in one quick moment and launched it at the beast, but it only made a light gash on his leg.

     With a heavy vertical swing, Ren cut off the beast from approaching the cart. It used the opportunity of the miss to claw at his leg. Ishikawa grunted and gritted his teeth, seeing that it had left 3 long horizontal cuts on his right leg. Lashing out in pain, Ren let out a swing alongside the exposed side of the animal.

Used Dynamic Entry, very low cost.
2/2 Solo Mission posts for 9/23/23 - 248 words

6/15

[Ishikawa Ren]

     His adversary yelped, the cut having created a slice across its ribs, then bounded away towards the tree line and turned to face him. It shook its head, looking only at Ren - the genjutsu had been dispelled. The predator's eyes stared directly at Ren through the half-lit tree line. It wasn't running, at least not yet.

     Ren bit his lip. In the middle of thinking of a plan, he was interrupted by a yell from the cart driver. "Take this!" he called, lobbing a lit torch at Ren, who was barely able to catch it just before it might've hit him and caught his shirt on fire.

     The heat flushed his face. Waving the torch about, Ren took a cautious step towards the animal. Another, another. He held the torch as close to its face as he could, and though it didn't react at first, he saw that it was afraid. It growled, then was silent, then whimpered.

     The creature turned and fled, bounding off into the distance. Ren saw though, that for a moment, it stopped in between the trees and turned its head to look at him with sad, sad eyes. The beast looked back to where they'd been on the road earlier, fixated on something it could no longer see. It limped away.

1/2 Solo Mission posts for 9/24/23 - 216 words

7/15

[Ishikawa Ren]

     Ren sat in the back of the cart as they bounced along the road. He'd wrapped up his leg, but the cuts had been deep. The bandage job he'd done was as good as any other non-medic shinobi could hope for: he'd had good teachers. Still, he'd make sure to get it checked out.

     At long last, they exited the forest. Ren turned around and looked out across the plains and fields. Rising into the sky, he could see Amegakure. Home, he thought. Finally. He circled back and looked down the road they'd come from that led into the heart of the forest.

     For a moment, he could've sworn he saw something far, far off by the side of the road - but his eyes weren't good enough to make out what it was. For some odd reason, he was reminded of the people he'd left behind at his real home.

     His reminiscings were interrupted by a dissatisfied grunt from the driver. The man clearly wasn't all too pleased with having to lug Ren around along with the building materials. But he was burly and strong for his age and it didn't seem to slow him down one bit.

     Thankfully, they'd spoken already and the man seemed to - begrudgingly - like him well enough to not lodge a complaint about his performance when they'd arrived, so long as Ren hopped out and walked the last mile. With that affirmed, Ren laid on his back and stared up at the stars.

2/2 Solo Mission posts for 9/24/23 - 247 words

8/15

[Ishikawa Ren]

     Ren laid there, staring up at the night sky. All those little white lights were unmoving, despite the cart's steady progress and constant swaying. How far away they must all be... How small we are. What kind of peoples and places revolved around all those little stars?

     He wished he could see those sights. In a similar way though, he comforted himself, the world they lived on was just as infinite. Even if he lived 100 lives, he'd never see it all - and it was changing all the time too. He decided cheerfully that he could settle for that much.

     The names of the constellations came easily to him. He'd learned them all a long time ago, his learning reinforced by many nights atop his family's home's roof. Memories of naming them to his younger siblings came on their own. Ren'd always been laying in the same spot, one of his many siblings beside him.

     Which it was at the moment seemed to change in his mind with every star he looked at, but they were all there with him. He'd always pointed at the constellation for them, his brothers and sisters following the arc of his arm like an arrow shooting off into the sky.

     It almost instinctually raised on its own, he had to remind himself those days were gone - for now. They'd always be there waiting for him. Some would move out someday, but his mother and father would remain. Besides, they were all there now and Ren wasn't one for thinking all that much of the future. He lived in the now.

1/2 Solo Mission posts for 9/25/23 - 266 words

9/15

[Ishikawa Ren]

     Ren rolled over, wincing a bit as his injuries touched the bed of the cart. The driver's head bobbed up and down with his steps, his long blonde hair blowing gently in the wind. "Where do you live?" Ren asked.

     The man tilted his head a little. "What? Oh, just up ahead actually." His stomach growled loudly. It hadn't been the first time, Ren recalled. "You haven't eaten?" he asked. "No," said the driver. "I was going to have dinner there once I'd dropped off the cart, but, well..." he trailed off as he looked up at the moon, hanging large overhead.

     "I'm sorry." Ren said, head rested on his arm. The cart jumped and struck his elbow. Ow. He thought for a moment. "Y'know, I don't think Lord Sanosuke would be that mad if you stopped for food, if he even found out. Could be our secret?" he said with a grin, which the driver turned to see and returned it. "Your head on the line!" he joked with a thumb-jab back at Ren.

     Before long, they'd pulled off the main road and down a dirt path that split through some wheat fields. After a decent walk, they came to a stop before a modest but clearly well-loved home. Ren looked about and saw mementos of generations past - travel souvenirs hanging from the roof's lip like wind chimes, old pieces of metal stuck into the dirt that'd turned to rust before the driver had even been born.

     The door flew open.

2/2 Solo Mission posts for 9/25/23 - 252 words

10/15

[Ishikawa Ren]

     A stream of people flooded out from the door, an orange glow framing them. All had the driver's same blonde hair, except for the elder man, whose hair was red. The children that came out called his name, the youngest wrapping itself around his leg. The driver laughed and pat their head. Ren watched with a smile from the back of the cart. "Who is that?” the youngest asked.

     "He’s a ‘shinobi’, from the big city!” the driver told his younger sibling, pointing towards the glowing mass on the horizon. He looked at his mother. "Just stopping in for some food. Is there any of the dinner left?” She said there was, that they’d been keeping it on the fire, just for him. His father gestured for him to come inside, said he was letting the heat out.

     "I’ll watch the cart.” Ren said with a genuine smile. The driver started to walk away, but looked back and - after a moment - gave his own. The door shut after him and Ren was in the dark once again. He slowly turned and watched the stalks of wheat blowing in the wind, each individual piece seeming to move of its own accord…

     Lost in thought, he nearly jolted when he saw a steaming hot bowl of soup pass into his peripheral vision. The driver said nothing, only beamed a smile at him. Ren took it gratefully with a nod.

1/2 Solo Mission posts for 9/26/23 - 239 words

11/15

[Ishikawa Ren]

     Ren closed his eyes and savored the taste, the food warming his mouth. It reminded him of home. He knew at once that it was made with that same, most important ingredient that his mother had included in every meal.

     "Are you originally from the city?" the man said, nodding his head in the direction of Amegakure. "No," Ren said. "I'm from a tiny little village a way off. Me and my family." The driver raised an eyebrow. "C'mon, try me." Ren smiled a little wistfully. "It's called Komine." The man opened his arms wide in response, nearly spilling his bowl.

     "Of course I've swung by there! Who do you take me for!" he said while chewing a chunk of meat. "What did you say your last name was?" Ren got the name out through a mouthful of soup. "Ishikawa."

     The man laughed heartily. "I knew your father, then! Carried plenty of his grain as a teenager. How did we not meet?" "Oh, I was always out of there the moment the work was done, long before it was carted off." Ren said with a chuckle. "'That Ren, always running off to learn something new,' my mom used to say."

     "She still say that?" he asked cautiously. He'd heard plenty about shinobi and what they tended to be like.

     "Yeah, she does." Ren said with a grin.

2/2 Solo Mission posts for 9/26/23 - 227 words

12/15

[Ishikawa Ren]

     Ren had finished his bowl and handed it off to the driver, who'd gone back inside to eat with his family. Ren sat in the cart, legs dangling off the back. A light breeze blew his black hair to the side. All was quiet and calm, until he heard footsteps.

     A short, rotund man who was hiding his face with a mask had approached the cart. He was looking back and forth between the house and the road, nervously doing his best to be quiet. It wasn't a very good attempt. The would-be thief hadn't even noticed Ren sitting upon his target.

     "Ahem." Ren said, clearing his throat. The fat man froze up. "Erm," he stammered out. "What?" the thief whispered. His beady eyes locked with Ren's, saw the katana on his back, knew him for a shinobi, but didn't see his bandaged leg. "Who, me?" he muttered.

     "I didn't ask you anything." Ren noted. "But I will now: what're you doing?" The man gulped. "I'm just out for a walk."

     "With a mask on?" Ren said while pointing to his face. "On someone else's land?" he remarked while gesturing around them. "At this hour?"

     The man stated there wasn't anything wrong about wearing a mask, to which Ren responded that there was. If nothing was wrong, why not take the mask off? The man stammered off a list of excuses while he slowly backed away, fully aware he couldn't beat Ren in a fight - and that the noise from a such a tussle would alert the people inside.

     "If I see you here again, I'll kill you." Ren stated uncharacteristically coldly. The thief took off running as fast as his tiny feet could carry his mass, nearly stumbling as he made for the trees whence he'd come.

1/2 Solo Mission posts for 9/27/23 - 298 words

13/15

[Ishikawa Ren]

     Ren never told the driver about the would-be thief. It seemed to be common sense to him that you didn't burden your fellows with unneeded worries. He'd already ensured the man would never come back to their farm, would never intrude on his family or his life or bring harm to either.

     The cuts on his leg had begun to throb. He wished he'd learned medical ninjutsu, but the sheer man-hours required to become proficient would've blocked him from learning all the other things he wanted to. It'd mend with time, even if it left a nasty scar.

     Their cart tipped down into the bed of a stream, the water rushing around the spokes of the wheels. Ren would've thought the driver would be struggling, but he appeared calm and strong as he trudged through the mud and silt of the riverbed. Must've been the food that filled him with such drive and strength.

     The bowl Ren had had hadn't filled him all the way, despite how good it had been. He watched the water part where their wheels had gone, then turned to look at the city's glow. A heaping bowl of ramen from the stand outside his apartment sounded divine right about now.

2/2 Solo Mission posts for 9/27/23 - 205 words

14/15

[Ishikawa Ren]

     At long last, they passed the gate guards. Ren had, by this point, already hopped off and been walking for about a mile. The pain from his leg wasn't unbearable. He smiled through it and waved at one of the guards.

     The streets were mostly empty by this hour, so their walk to the construction site was fairly quiet. Ren greeted a few Shinobi who were still out and about as they went.

     A security guard sat sleeping in his chair within a small wooden shack. Ren rapped on the window with his knuckles, which caused the man to wake with a start and wipe his drool with the back of his hand.

     The three of them unloaded the cart's contents onto a pallet. Afterwards, Ren walked the driver back towards the gate. They parted ways in front of the building that housed Ren's apartment, where they bowed to each other and Ren wrestled a - joking - promise out of the man to take him out next time he headed to the western shore of the continent.

     Ren sat down on a stool under an orange awning, relieving the weight from his leg. The ramen chef approached and took his order. Before long, a large bowl of udon noodles arrived. Ren leaned forward, the steam warming his face. With a clap, he scooped up a mass of noodles with his chopsticks and dug in. A smile lit his face.

Thread End
1/2 Solo Mission posts for 9/28/23 - 233 words

15/15