[Hoshino Kohaku]

[nospaces]

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I won't give up 'cause there will be a day...

I'll be worth it

[attr="class","rloverTag"]Taking Back the Crown

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❛❛

Kohaku wasn't sure how it happened, but she guessed from her last mission with the blacksmith she made a good impression on him. He had asked her specifically for help with transporting weapons to the market and help protect him from bandits. Honestly, the news of this lifted Kohaku's spirit a lot more than more recent events had before so she was glad to accept the mission, but her sensei wasn't allowed to join in on this mission. Guess he didn't make a good impression on the blacksmith as another shinobi would be her partner for this particular mission. She wasn't given much of a briefing on her partner, but they would be meeting up with them at the blacksmith's forge.[break][break]

It was an early mourning route much like it had been last time which made sense especially if he was going to market with them. Kohaku knew how early market sellers had to get up to set up shop especially since she had parents who did just that. So the fact it wasn't even light out when they would head out made total sense to the young shinobi. Grabbing three thermoses full of hot chocolate she would head out to the forge to meet up with her mission partner and the blacksmith. After some time she would arrive and be the first to arrive so she would take a seat at a nearby bench and await those she would be working with.

ZYTL

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[nashida]

Nashida herself feels a bit odd about helping out a potential rival blacksmith, as she felt her own smithy on the outskirts of Yukigakure was superior, but then perhaps it was all the more reason to assist the blacksmith with his own work outside of smithing his goods. After all, she was aware of how hard the job was, having needed to do the work herself for some time, and perhaps blacksmiths needed to stick together. She didn't really know about all that, but then if she were the only blacksmith in Yukigakure, she might never have enough time for her actual job as a shinobi. The thought makes her sigh, but she puts these thoughts out of her head. After all, shinobi work does actually pay better than smithing does, and she was actually being paid, indirectly, by the blacksmith to do this work.

So when the blonde giantess meets the much shorter blacksmith on her way towards the meeting point where the transport job would start, she gives him a polite, if curt, nod before she turns to see the other kunoichi that would be accompanying them and whom had taken the mission in the first place. Nashida, as always, was wearing her blonde hair down, framing most of her face and cascading over her shoulders, which are already hidden underneath a huge black fur coat, made from the hide of a bear. With such a thick cloak over her body, much of the rest of her clothing isn't entirely visible until a white-gloved hand reaches out from within the cloak, raised in a greeting and exposing the blue militaristic garb underneath the cloak. It didn't really look like it was enough clothing to avoid the freezing temperatures, but if Nashida was bothered by the icy temperatures, she didn't show it. Her pouty pink lips and blue eyes showed little discomfort.

The wave wasn't really all that necessary, either; at 7'1", she would be extremely hard to miss anyways. Her greeting is short, punctuated by the puffing of her breath from between her lips.

"Ah, and you must be Kohaku. I'm Nashida Tantetsu."

[Sprinkles]

    The building where the three would meet was surprisingly quiet this morning, as usually anyone walking near it could hear the hammering and other similar sounds before the building even came into view. What the two would have been greeted by was the blacksmith standing right inside the building just a few feet from the front door, staring and waiting, sipping his morning coffee. The way his free hand curled into a near permanent open fist showed the years he was used to having a hammer in it, and it was equally clear by the way he stood he was impatient to get back to work.

    The "front door" was a polite way of saying the open hole in the front of his building where a door should have been, but a disgruntled customer some weeks ago had pulled it off its hinges, leaving a permanent opening that the blacksmith had oddly come to like. Just inside the door was a single long bench, likely where Kohaku had sat, and the blacksmith gave little more than a grunt to her as he stared out the opening waiting for whoever the second person that was showing up was. As the large woman entered, she got an equally coffee fueled grunt, and almost immediately he turned around and started walking to a back door that at least had a proper door attached. The room was cold, near uncomfortable, but the stubborn old man didn't seem bothered, at least not while he had his coffee. "So, they sent me the skinny one again."

    Pushing the back door open he motioned for them to follow, not seeming to wait for their greetings or any further talking. Leading them through his smithy proper and into a back room where he stored the stock that usually would have been picked up by now. "You-", Pointing his coffee towards Nashida, he stopped in place and turned around. "Keep yer eyes to yer self. No steal'n my secrets, ya hear?" Narrowing his eyes, he turned back around and motioned for them to follow him again, until they reached a back room that was clearly where he stored his stock for pickup. To say it was disorganized might have been a complement to disorganized roomed, making the packages set by the door stand out all that more for what they were here to take to the market.

    Pointing towards the packages he moved out of the way, taking a long drink of his coffee, still hot enough that the steam could be seen coming off of it. "All this pile here, help me carry it out. Yer help'n me take it to the market. Delivery boy went and got himself sick." It was clear he was annoyed at the idea of him getting sick as if he was himself immune to getting sick, and was a few seconds away from going on a tangent about something back in his day and the lazy youth today. His grumbling disappeared into his coffee as he took another drink and headed for a side door attached from this room to the outside. There was a cart outside, but it didn't look like it was meant for an animal to pull, but a person, and given the snow pilled up around the wheels and in the back, it hadn't been used in quite some time.

    "Just knock the snow out the back a'the cart and pile the stuff back there." It was clear he was directing them to do the work and less asking for help with any of the above, as he walked out of sight for a few moments and came back with a fresh cup of coffee, watching and waiting as he stood by quietly judging.

[Hoshino Kohaku]

[nospaces]

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I won't give up 'cause there will be a day...

I'll be worth it

[attr="class","rloverTag"]Taking Back the Crown

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❛❛

It wouldn't be long before both the blacksmith and Kohaku's mission partner would appear. The blacksmith was just as gruff and irritable as usual, but she could sense there was good in him he just seemed to prefer action over conversation. Besides he was a merchant so she understood his mentality thanks to her parent's attitudes at the time too. So his comment about the village sending her and calling her skinny didn't phase her. She could probably put on a bit more muscle as he said especially when compared to her mission partner. A giant of a woman she towered over Kohaku even more so cause she was sitting. "Wow," Kohaku would say in amazement at the sheer size of the other girl. A genuine smile would plaster her face when she was greeted and she was about to introduce herself in return but the blacksmith intejected before she could.[break][break]

Giving them instructions to help him carry out a pile of packages and put them in the cart outside for the first portion of their mission which seemed fairly easy. Pulling up her sleeves Kohaku went straight to work picking up each heavy package she could carry, some were quite a bit heavier than she could pick up, and putting them in the cart. Being polite she would answer the girl's original with, "Yes I am Kohaku nice to meet you Tantetsu-san." Keeping her comment short she would rush ahead to the blacksmith and comment to him, "I do hope that I can work together with you again on the forge someday I quite enjoyed making the kunai we did last time." A bit of buttering up to the client she will admit, but she did enjoy it and wouldn't mind doing it more often as it gave her a sense of place working in the forge.

ZYTL

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[nashida]

Nashida certainly notices the smile she gets from the shorter woman, and she feels a bit proud of herself for her own impressive height as she hears Kohaku voice her surprise. Before introductions can be completed, they're interrupted by the blacksmith himself calling out to them through the open hole that acted as an entrance to his home. Nashida somewhat reluctantly follows her fellow smith into his own smithy, and she gives the older man a withering glare as he suggests that she might steal his "secrets", and she bites back a comment that if she needed secrets about making inferior steel, she'd still have talked to someone more skilled than him. It takes a lot of effort to do so, but she manages to bite her tongue for the time being.

It helps that this Kohaku woman at least introduces herself to her, helping to distract her at least momentarily from this gruff old man that reminded her of Kazeo in some ways, but also disappointed her in some ways as well. At least Kohaku seems quite skilled as a negotiator and conciliator, managing to both distract Nashida from the insult insinuation levied against her as well as reminding the blacksmith of some time they must have worked together at making kunai. Nashida herself says nothing to the blacksmith directly, and instead begins lifting the crates quite easily, though she has to duck quite low in order to avoid bumping her head directly into the blacksmith's home. She finds the job rather easy; her time working at her own forge apparently didn't always involve using her clan's kekkei tota, but also made use of actual hard work and muscle that she also had quite a showing of. At the very least, the tall and muscular blonde was unbothered by the weight of the crates, lifting two at a time and carrying them to the back of the cart, where she gets to work pushing the wooden boxes about in order to maximize the amount of crates that can fit inside without going over the top.

Despite how light the crates apparently were, it wasn't exactly easy work; the crates were still subject to inertial forces, which makes them difficult to move about with any level of effectiveness. Nashida wipes her forehead as soon as she feels any moisture; the last thing she needed was any of her sweat flash-freezing on her face.

[Sprinkles]

    The steam from the coffee was fogging up the man's blacksmithing glasses that were pushed up to his forehead, more so as he brought the cup back up to his lips and took a long, near exaggerated slurp as he watched the two. The help he had asked for was immediately apparent just the most polite way he could think to tell them to do the work while he finished his coffee, and he made no attempts at hiding the fact. Each time they walked past he watched, narrowed eyes almost judging them as if waiting for someone to drop something, stack it a way he didn't like, looking for any reasons to correct something. The scowl on his face was apparent but he was silent all the same, more annoyed now that they had done a decent job that he had no intentions of giving any credit for as he sat his now empty cup down with a bit of a grumbling groan and started moving around again.

    There was no immediate comment to her statement about working again, but after clearing his throat and stretching, he gave a single heavy nod. "Coulda been a worse job. Yer surely a lot less lazy than most that come'round here." Pulling off his glasses he sit them next to his cup and walks past them both to look over the cart, inspecting how they had packed everything in detail, making a few grunts that were hard to tell the point of or even what he was thinking. His attention kept falling back to Nashida however, having trouble hiding how impressed he was with her strength as he walked back over to Kohaku and leaned in, though he didn't speak any quieter than normal.

    "This one here is strong, reminds me of an ox, maybe a bear. Bear ox? Could use a few more'a her around here." That was likely the closest thing to a compliment any of them were going to get for the rest of the day, as far as it could be considered one. Walking by and grabbing his glasses again he sighed as he stared at the cart, looking between the two and then the cart again, a look on his face as if someone had just poured poison in his coffee and told him to have a swig. "Finish up, we gotta get going." The look was slowly becoming more clear as he reached into his trouser pockets and pulled out a pair of fingerless gloves, slipping them on along with his glasses, and walking to the front of the cart. Bending down, grabbing at the front of the cart, and giving a grunt as he stood back up, it was clear now he intended to pull the cart all the way to their destination himself.

[Hoshino Kohaku]

[nospaces]

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I won't give up 'cause there will be a day...

I'll be worth it

[attr="class","rloverTag"]Taking Back the Crown

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❛❛

Kohaku couldn't help but smile at the man's comment even if it could have been interpreted as an insult to some people she figured it was at least somewhat a compliment. She had met these types of people before when working at her family's market when she was younger so some people just didn't like having help and would prefer doing things on their own so this was probably just them trying to keep control of the situation as best as they could.[break][break]

Giving the man a small chuckle she continued with the packing alongside Nashida whom she noticed was picking up rather heavy boxes that Kohaku couldn't even dream of lifting. This was even noticed by the blacksmith who commented on needing more like her around which hurt Kohaku a tad she admitted thinking maybe she should try and increase her strength more to match Nashida's one day, but for now, she had to do what she could. She wouldn't let this stop her from speaking with her partner and asking, "You must work out quite a bit to get so strong I might need to join you for training one day." She would give the giant of a woman a goofy smile as they finished packing the cart.

ZYTL

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[nashida]

Nashida's mood is rapidly improving when it seems the other blacksmith has decided to at least give her some level of compliment, although it's tempered somewhat by the fact that the blacksmith himself was doing none of the hard work himself. Still, she assumes it's the most flattery she should expect from her fellow blacksmith. He then discusses with Kohaku her strength in both more adulatory and also far more insulting terms by comparing her to an ox or a bear, and then perhaps both. It would somewhat make sense that she'd be compared to a bear, with her nickname back when she'd been in the Academy being similar, but her furrowed brow imperceptibly deepens in a show of anger. She chooses not to both compliment and insult him in return by comparing him to an industrious dwarf. After all, he was the one paying them for this mission, and it wouldn't do to have him complain about their unprofessionalism.

So when the other blacksmith takes up the mantle to start dragging the cart, she raises an eyebrow, but doesn't move to take his place, despite the fact that her height would mean that the dragging job would have been far easier for her; she had further to lean, and therefore more weight to pull the cart with. The compliments she receives from Kohaku are rather more sincere, she feels, and her normally very stoic expression loosens somewhat, giving her fellow kunoichi a rare, but very small smile in return before she moves behind the cart and helps to ensure the crates and supplies are firmly tied down so that even in the event of a tipping, the goods won't be spilling off and will stay in place as they're meant to.

"It's really less actual physical training and more the necessity to move around molten steel without tiring... And the Tantetsu are naturally physically imposing. I'm sure if one were to compare me to a ninja that specializes in physical combat, you'd find I'm not quite as strong and not nearly so skillful in that regard."

Compared to how little Nashida had spoken before this, it was practically a speech for the blonde giant. She lets out a little sigh as the cart finally starts moving, though it's at least moving smoothly and isn't being jostled.

"But yes, I suppose some training would be good for both of us."

[Sprinkles]

     For all his grumbling, verbal poking, odd comments, and what seemed like a borderline sour attitude, he said nothing more as they were finishing and securing the cargo. He trusted them well enough now to get things finished, as he had worked with one of them before, and though he was wary of competition, the fact Nashida was a blacksmith made him trust her in a way he was definitely not going to ever admit out loud to her. He could feel the cart moving, shifting, and shaking, but said nothing, staring forward almost as if he was the ox, simply ready to leave when it was time.

    Giving a loud whistle to grab their attention, he looked back at the cargo and nodded.

"Time to move. Keep up."

    The man was certainly a bit older than them, not nearly in the same shape as a shinobi, and for all the muscles he had in his arms he had a bit of a tire forming around his gut and waist. Once he had a grip on that cart however and his legs started moving, you wouldn't have known the difference between him and a pack animal, as he had impressive speed not just walking, but jogging, and didn't look to even have a slight problem pulling the weight. Clearly he had been saving up every bit of energy he had for this trip, and no doubt all that coffee was helping things in their own way.
    
    There were a few paths to and from him, otherwise he'd have no business to speak of most likely, but they weren't any that would help with this trip. Given the distance and the little to nothing in between, it was far from an interesting trek to boot. He kept quiet, looking only straight ahead to make sure there was nothing to trip him up over slow him down, plowing ahead not at a fast pace by any means, but a pace that seemed to almost never slow or quicken. 

    Now and then when they passed a tree, or a bit of a hill even, there was movement, subtle, but movement all the same. Nothing was visible, of course some animals dotted around, but the sound was from either side of them, and the constant feeling as if they were being watched.
    

[Hoshino Kohaku]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","rlover"]

[attr="class","rloverFlowers"]

I won't give up 'cause there will be a day...

I'll be worth it

[attr="class","rloverTag"]Taking Back the Crown

[attr="class","rloverImg"]

[attr="class","rloverText"]

❛❛

Kohaku was enjoying this mission overall she had fairly good company and it seemed to be going decently way so far. All in all, it is a good mission to undertake when one isn't the most confident in oneself anymore. However, she had to disagree with her mission partner about her strength not being as useful in combat. "I would have to disagree with you on that as it seems those who can hit harder tend to do better in combat. Well so long as they have the stamina behind it to keep up with someone who is more agile." Kohaku would give the taller girl a small wink to signify she was one of those people who were a bit more on the agile side. "We could probably learn a lot from each other so a training session might not be a bad idea between the two of us later down the line," she would say cheerfully in agreement.[break][break]

As they continued down the path to the market things were fairly quiet which was both a good thing and a bad thing. It was good cause it meant things were peaceful, but it prayed on Kohaku's mind a bit making her feel wary of her surroundings. Quiet also meant there could be an ambush waiting to happen as someone was waiting for an opening. Giving Nashia a slight nudge she would look up at the girl and have her eyes try to point all around them hopefully giving a silent clue to watch their surroundings. While she had no basis for them being surrounded she just couldn't shake the feeling of something being wrong.

ZYTL

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[nashida]

Nashida gives Kohaku another one of her rare smiles when she suggests that they should train together sometime, giving her a wordless assent to the idea of training together before her attention seems drawn to something she sees just out of the corner of her eye, causing the blonde to turn her head, though there's nothing there that she can see now. The fact that whatever had caused that sensation of movement in the first place was no longer visible meant, to the Genin, that whatever it was didn't want to be seen, and was actively hiding from them. The thought puts Nashida on edge right away, preparing herself for combat almost immediately as she deftly ensures that both of her hands are empty, ready for handseals rather than physical combat.

The silence is oppressive around them, and when she's given a little nudge, the sensation nearly causes the woman to jump, but she turns to see Kohaku giving her a look that told her to watch their surroundings. The blonde responds with a quick and almost imperceptible nod. She decides against warning the other blacksmith; at least if he was caught in surprise, he might not be able to interfere in their work to defend him and his cart, and that would make him far more safe than if he's aware of the danger and preparing something of his own to engage in defense. With the two shinobi aware that there might be danger in waiting, he was far safer than if he'd been on his own, and that was sure to be enough for most situations. Considering Nashida was a member of a highly advanced clan from Iwagakure, and her kekkei tota was therefore a rarity in the Land of Snow, she was likely to be quite a surprise for any enemies that they might encounter as well. Her face scrunches in consternation, a frown that would have likely made Academy Students make a mess.

[Sprinkles]

    The cart kept moving and the blacksmith's legs kept moving, though he hadn't said a word since they took off. He didn't want to show it, but he was feeling the trek in his legs, even if in good shape this was the first time in a long time he had drug the cart himself this distance. The other two had more keen senses for potential danger around them, and while his focus was on moving forward it was on little else. He was used to focusing on his work and tuning out the world, so in a way this was similar. Off to their left their was a heavy rustling in an area where the foliage had become more dense, hard to see into, again a bit further up, but if someone was going to do something they were sure taking their sweet timing getting to the point.

    Out of the brush something large darted out with a surprising quickness right towards the cart, but it didn't take long to realize it was some time of stag just trying to find some food. It was however just as clear after a moment that it was spooked as much as it likely spooked the three with how it jumped out, ramming right into the side of the cart in an effort to run in a straight line, knocking it over in the process before jumping around and running past them and away.

"These damned animals I swear."

    The blacksmith himself had almost went to the ground with the cart, as he was now grumbling under his breath that could only be heard maybe every other word, as he was already trying to push the cart back upright.

    Out from that same bush however, something else moved, not nearly as quick, and in truth barely as big. A man with a knife, and in truth not a very impressive or sharp one had gotten only about half way towards them. Pointing it at them, he looked more scared of them than he intended to make them of him, as he pointed the weapon at them with a shakey hand.

"Give-give me your stuff and leave!"

[nashida]

Nashida jumps hard when the stag leaps from the bush to run directly into the side of the cart, causing it to fall over, but there's not much she can do to stop it from doing so. Still, she knows that stags generally avoid the roads, particularly when people are on them, and the blacksmith was loud enough that the stag should have known that humans were already traveling here. She hopes Kohaku hadn't been trampled underneath by the stag, as the beast had caused a kick-up of dusted snow as it charged directly into the cart and then another when the heavy cart was knocked over. But she figures the other woman can handle it herself, and was probably just fine.

The blonde's focus rapidly returns to where the elk had leapt from initially, her frown deepening as her hands come together, the white gloves covering her hands matching the snow on the ground as she prepares for either another charging animal, or whatever spooked the animal to come from that direction, standing now between the brush and the toppled cart. She doesn't have to wait long for some burly man with a fairly cheap knife to come out and threaten them rather meekly with a demand that the Tantetsu woman was entirely unwilling to acquiesce to.

"Not happening. What's your plan b?"

Even as she speaks, she's already forming the handseals before drawing out a kunai and pooling its steel into what look like thimbles over her fingertips, three on each hand, and then she points both hands at the bandit, launching the steel projectiles aimed directly at his chest and waist in order to make avoiding the attacks that much harder for him; unless he moves away, he's going to end up with at least six holes inside of him.

[Hoshino Kohaku]

[nospaces]

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I won't give up 'cause there will be a day...

I'll be worth it

[attr="class","rloverTag"]Taking Back the Crown

[attr="class","rloverImg"]

[attr="class","rloverText"]

❛❛

"****," Kohaku would say as the appearance of an elk came from the bush scaring the bejabbers out of her. She slightly jumped away from her standing position which turned into a blessing in disguise as her original position would have had her trampled by the elk. Who knows if she could have continued with the mission if so. Though now with the cart knocked over it meant they would need to put it right side up to continue their expedition which was an annoyance, but whatever it happened.[break][break]

Despite her wariness about how quiet the area was around them, she didn't expect bandits to appear. Well somewhat. She just didn't think it would be a single bandit and one who didn't look as threatening as a bandit normally was. Was it his first time trying to rob something? How cute. Kohaku had been used to bandits before trying to steal stuff from their family's stall in the market so this wasn't too new to her. Still, his rather nervous demeanor was different for sure.[break][break]

Nashida was quick to react though giving the man a rather snarky response and testing their mettle which made Kohaku giggle a bit. "So scary," Kohaku would add as she decided to let Nashida handle this while she helped out the blacksmith. "Here let me help you out," she would say helping him put the cart back upright though she would keep her eyes darting back and forth between the cart and the battle between Nashida and the bandit just in case she needed to help out.

ZYTL

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[Sprinkles]

    When the man jumped out, trying to spook the three of them with his weapon, the blacksmith didn't even bother looking in his direction, as he sighed.

"Rob me some other time, can't you see I'm busy."

    His logic didn't quite work as well as he had hoped, as he was cursing and grumbling as they finally got the cart back to a normal state again. The man spit on the ground and at least for a moment seemed to gather his courage as he took a second step forward and pointed his weapon.

"I'm serious, give me your stuff."

    Still the blacksmith ignored him as he started picking his stuff up and putting it in the cart, only stopping to look at Nashida as she looked ready to fight, and then over at the man he stepped closer. Looking up and rolling his eyes he looked to the sky, before yanking a pan from the cart that was tied to the side and tossed it at him with surprising accuracy, hitting him right between the eyes with a loud echoing thwack.

"Someone, be a dear and grab that for me?"

    Making a dismissive motion towards the pan, as the man fell backwards on his ass dropping his weapon. The metal had torn through him and he was on his back not moving. He wasn't a terribly dangerous thread standing up, but he definitely wasn't one filled with holes.