[Netsu Souran]

Another day, another mission. Souran couldn't get the small relief of being able to do this by himself and was instead saddled with his 'cousin' and some apparently fresh out of the academy genin which was just great. The only silver lining was that they'd be able to get out of the confines of the village as their mission was taking them to one of the military outposts that dotted the landscape around Bonchi, in specific Area 16 which from the stories he heard was a walled fortress. Of course given their rank just waltzing about the country wasn't allowed leading to a guide being assigned to take them to and from the city though the look on their face made it clear that they were not too happy about having to babysit a bunch of kids.

Once all had arrived their leading shinobi would lead the group through the various caves and routes that led from the true Taki to the false village and then from there due southwest on towards Area 16. While the sights and sounds of the lush jungle country always brought about something new to see and hear there wasn't much of note to write home about during their trek. Souran spent most of the journey in a quiet simmer, his angst almost visible to the naked eye.

Upon cresting a hill and getting through the tree line the visage of Area 16 would come into view and at once it had exceeded every expectation the Netsu had for this place. A sprawling city circled by a large wall riddled with various defenses and an even larger draw bridge that was currently pulled up. "Once we reach the bridge the senior staff will hand out your assignments. It's a big city so be prepared to do anything. Any questions?"


Netsu Midori  Saigo Shigeo

[Saigo Shigeo]

Stories of the world beyond the village fell short of the reality. Shigeo's fingers traced the walls of the serpentine tunnel that led out into Bonchi-no-kuni, taking in the sensations. Damp, cold, and hard, the stone left a gritty residue as he went that the Genin paid no heed. The distinct smell of fast running water as it cascaded down flooded his senses, earthy and humid. This was the namesake of Takigakure, the reason it was said that they 'hid in Waterfalls.' Before he began his training to become a Ninja, before he graduated the Academy, he had only heard about this from his father.

He had the chance to offer only mute praises as they passed along the path, a grand view of the falls denied. From one set of tunnels to another, they made their way away from the safety of their home. Beyond the false village, they finally got a view of the land itself. Massive foliage littered the landscape, trees that dwarfed some of the tallest buildings Shigeo had ever seen. The air was thick to the point of choking. If he weren't native to it, breathing might have been a chore. Sheltered in the village, he'd never noticed how harsh the land where they lived really was.

As they adjusted their track southwest and followed the path along a hill, their destination finally came into view. Then, one of the other two Genin spoke up. Both of the other two came from the Netsu clan, something Shigeo only knew about secondhand. Something akin to Shinobi royalty, bourgeoise, people born with the right name. It didn't really matter to him. Their actions could speak to their worth.

"No," Shigeo answered. "Sounds simple enough."

Shinobi were expected to follow orders and respond quickly to new information. He had learned enough in the Academy to know that, and everything he needed to know was outlined in the mission briefing. More questions could come if something deviated from those expectations. None of that stopped Shigeo from once more being overwhelmed by the sheer immensity of Area 16.

"...don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this."

Netsu Midori Netsu Souran

[Netsu Midori]

Midori herself was actually a bit excited to be going on another mission; she was getting more money now, and this mission had been a breeze the last time she'd gone on it. Now there were more shinobi with her, she'd barely have to put in any effort at all to complete it, and the faster and less effort she had to put in, the better the pay was for her. Although it was a bit annoying to have to have an escort lead them to the walled fortress of Area 16, it was no different than last time. She began filing her nails as they were led out to the outpost, mostly ignoring the other three shinobi she was traveling with. Souran she was already quite aware of, since he was her teammate and a fellow Netsu clan member, even though he couldn't use the clan's own advanced chakra the way Midori could. Souran was beneath her, she felt.

This stranger, though, was exceedingly odd. He was completely covered in bandages, making her think that he might be some kind of hospital patient that had managed to escape from some terminal illness ward, except that he also had a katana and a weapon pouch for storing all of his equipment. So he wasn't an escapee, just a shinobi like herself and Souran. Granted, he was nothing like herself and Souran, since he used an actual weapon, but he at least wasn't just someone with bone made of glass and skin made of paper. So far.

Regardless, she once more finds herself outside of Area 16, and judging by the reactions from her two other shinobi, she was the only one of the trio that had been there before. She responds to Shigeo first, a bored expression on her face.

"You should have seen it last week, hole in the wall bigger than me."

Midori lets out a yawn that she barely covers up with one of her gloved hands, then flips the long black hair over her shoulder before her neon green eyes focus on the drawbridge, her black and green asymmetrical catsuit matching a green and black aesthetic that seems to encompass her entire body.

"Let's get this job over with and get ourselves paid. We might even see some action if we're lucky this time around. Ya think they've got a lot of bandits that might try to pass themselves off as merchants? Knocking some heads could be fun..."

[Netsu Souran]

The wonder, ambivalence and desire to see some 'action' were all noted by the young trio's guide eliciting a slight chuckle from the man. "I had the same expression the first time I saw this place, too. While I can't guarantee you'll be doing any fighting there's always something going on in Area 16 so I doubt you'll be bored for too much longer. Now, let's get a move on..." The man spoke as he began heading towards the drawbridge. Once there, a small station of shinobi would check credentials and compare them to a thick list of documents of expected visitors before giving a signal to have the bridge lowered allowing the group egress.

Once inside the walled outpost their guide would lead them on a small impromptu tour of the city as they made their way deeper into the heart of city until they reached an imposing structure that dwarfed every building around it. "Here we have one of our command outposts. Everything regarding stratagem can be handled here so there are a bunch of moving parts, and is no surprise it takes a lot to keep things running smoothly." With a wave the man would beckon the genin to follow him into the building where their senses would be immediately assaulted by the sights of dozens of people having overlapping conversations while also moving about from room to room, floor to floor like some kind of chaotic living puzzle game; but even in all the hub bub there was order as none looked confused or lost. Everyone in the building had a purpose and they were tending to it.

Souran's hands twitched slightly at the mass of people and noise and he did well to focus solely on his guide as trying to keep track of all the moving people would have easily made the boy dizzy. Their guide would lead the group to a room further back that was oddly devoid of people but hardly empty. In the middle of the room sat three tables and on them detailed maps of Basin Country, Northwestern Fire Country and Northeastern Field Country, the latter two the genin would recognize as being home to Konoha and Kusa and next to each table was a large wooden crate.

"This is where you'll be stationed today. As you may have guessed from the maps this is a staging room for our top command to determine where to best place troops and carry out various operations. Each of you will grab a table and inside the box next to it you'll find small flags and tiny wooden soldiers along with instructions on where to place them. It's important you place the designated number of pieces where the sheet tells you as to not misrepresent the number of forces we have in any given area. I'll let you pick your own tables and come back to check on you in a bit."

If the trio did not have any questions the guide would depart the room closing the doors behind them leaving the genin to get to work. It was not a particularly difficult task but precision was required. The commanders would no doubt shift around people once the meetings were underway but they could only do so if the intel they were looking at was correct.


Saigo Shigeo  Netsu Midori

[Saigo Shigeo]

"..."

There were times for questions, and times where it was best to sit back, watch, and listen. This was one of the latter. Shigeo produced his identification and the necessary licenses and registration required to enter the facility. After handing them over, he lifted his hakama just enough that his hitae-ate was plainly visible to onlookers, identifying him as a Shinobi of the Waterfall. After the review process, he let the fabric of his top fall back into place, hiding the bloodied bandages that had previously been made visible if only briefly.

He kept close to the guide as they were led strictly and quickly through the outpost, careful to watch his footing as they moved past the many fast moving pieces. Each individual was tasked with something, whether small or not, equally important to the continued operations of Area 61. That inferred a tight timeline with little room for error. Shigeo was beginning to get a mental image of what they were getting involved in.

Rather than trying to keep tabs on them, he determined that it was better to remain task oriented, taking on the portion of whatever was handed to him in order to operate within efficient parameters. There was no need to take on the job of leadership, especially when he was woefully underqualified to do so. Indeed- understanding his role and playing the part to perfection was the lesson to be learned here.

"Even the pawn has a valuable contribution to make," he mused quietly as they were finally led into the staging room and the mission was revealed to them. Shigeo quickly made his way to one of the tables, one situated a bit further apart from others, and began to look over the map, identifying their homeland- the Basin Country- and two of the other major Ninja countries- the land of Fire, where Konohagakure sat, and the land of Fields, with Kusagakure. Two historically unfriendly Ninja villages.

That implication was not lost on him, either.

It wasn't for Shigeo to question, ultimately. The mission involved placing pieces and flags on a board. He lifted the missive with the placements and glanced over it, matching the positions written out to the coordinates, taking pains to ensure that they were correct down to the smallest margin of error before placing even the first piece. He wasn't a skilled master of thousands of Jutsus, but he was diligent and paid great attention to detail. Those qualities were going to serve him well in this situation.

Netsu Souran Netsu Midori

[Netsu Midori]

If Midori noticed the bloody bandages underneath Shigeo's top, she didn't react to it. Not that she might think much of it even if she had seen that his bandages were bloody, except to tell him that he should probably have that looked at. She, like her two other Genin, follows closely behind their chaperone, though less because she worries about being distracted by the hustle and bustle of the workers, but because she might snap-punch one of them for getting too close to her, and the last thing she needed was to be chastised for breaking someone's nose. She sighs when they're all led to the back room, apparently a sand table for troop emplacements and strategem, and she slowly unlocks the Hung Gar rings from around her wrists and her ankles, setting both sets back inside her weapon pouch when it's clear that their job will not, in fact, involve busting open anybody's skulls.

She scoffs a little at Shigeo's statement involving pawns and a valuable contribution, and she shakes her head as she approaches one of the other tables, staring down at the troop flags and the map as she considers asking for a different job, but that might be considered a failure of the mission, and this was at least simple and easy to do, even if it requires careful focus and following precise directions.

"Don't pawns get to take pieces, sometimes? En passant 'n shit?"

Midori somewhat proves that she's not really a player of chess, but she's certain her point at least is likely to be understood, even if she doesn't really know what en passant actually means. She carefully reviews the troop orders and placements, studying between the map and its compass and the troop flags, discerning with some consternation the numerical values of the troops and then starts placing the Takigakure placements first; knowing one self was at least as important as knowing thine enemy, after all. And this is likely to be mostly war games and strategy, not active tactics but possible defensive war games to study where they might be vulnerable, and how the enemy might try to exploit those vulnerabilities, if they see them. It's far above her pay grade, she figures she's just there at the moment to place the pieces and let the generals argue amongst themselves on how to best defend this bustling outpost in the wild.

[Netsu Souran]

Their assignments given it would not take long for the trio to pick their tables and get to work, Souran taking the table nearest the door as he began to rummage through the wooden crate for the intel sheet. It was interesting seeing how rudimentary shinobi placements were made and altered and the boy wondered just how long the table would look like this once word of how the other villages had their forces placed about came to light? Would they shift personnel because of credible threat or could it have been a bluff to draw forces away from a certain point? The genin wasn't huge into village politics but he knew enough to recognize that two of the three countries on these maps weren't on friendly terms with Taki. Did the other rooms contain similar maps of other countries?

Carefully the boy would place the flags and tiny replica shinobi in their designated spots as he overheard the bandaged man murmur something about chess and Midori chime in with a question of her own. He had little knowledge of that game and as such would stay silent to continue on his work.

--

After about thirty minutes or so their guide would return to the room no doubt to check on the group's progress yet there was a secondary reason that he'd only divulge if things were going smoothly. "Alright alright, let's see how you've done. Hopefully well, these old guys get cranky if a flag is one inch out of position or a piece is knocked over. Trust me, the last thing you ever want to do is sit through a long winded spiel about how things were done 'the right way' back in their day." The man spoke with a laugh. He'd start first with Shigeo's table, looking over it carefully compared to the intel on the sheet. "Well done, well done." Next to Midori and within an instant the man shifted a handful of pieces from one side to the other, staring at the woman for a bit before reverting his actions. "Nah, just kidding. Great work."

Finally, he'd head to Souran's table and notice an ever so perceptible grin on the genin's face, no doubt a result of the guide's actions but specifically because of who had been the butt of his joke. "Excellent work, all three of you. I'd say this is where we could call it for the day buuuut there's one more task for you to handle. Follow along then." The guide would lead the trio of genin out of the room back into the hustle and bustle of the main floor, this time taking them up a winding staircase going past multiple floors of who-knew-what until they reached a large pair of wooden doors.

Upon opening them the three would enter a large circular room with multiple pairs of large binoculars stationed to a tripod, an attached desk on the wall with paper and writing utensils of choice next to it. There would be a couple shinobi diligently peering through them but otherwise it was suspiciously empty. "You guys finished right in time to help cover lunches. Pick a station and get to looking, write down anything you see of note, and even things that may seem mostly normal but just a bit off; can't be too careful. We've got teams who will parse through the info and we'll act on what we think is necessary. Hell, depending on what it is we may even send a request to the village for you guys to take care of it, so you may be acting on your intel one day. Alright let's get to it."

Their guide would beget the genin to get to work, remaining in the room this time but tending to other matters yet readily available should any of them have questions or spot something of immediate importance. Most weren't stupid enough to attack a military outpost but in this world of war and strife the possibility was always present.

Saigo Shigeo Netsu Midori

[Saigo Shigeo]

"Yeah," he replied, "but their real value is the ability to advance and become stronger."

Realistically, none of them was there to learn about chess. It didn't matter exactly how or why it happened, but the metaphor was a perfect one for the three Genin. The Crux was all they needed to understand. "But while they're still pawns, they have to move forward to get to that point. So, for now..."

Shigeo shrugged. He didn't mind being unimportant or not stealing the show. The others were more skilled than he was and more advanced, in all likelihood. They were all on the same mission. The same expectations were placed on all of them. And as long as they followed the rules and instructions...

The guide returned and checked over all their work, praising them each in turn. Of course, they weren't done just yet. It would have been too easy and convenient for them to simply set up tables for a strategy meeting and then be done with a mission, especially one that wasn't the lowest rank possible. The guide told them it was the perfect time for them to cover lunch breaks, and they were led to an observatory. Each of them were instructed to take a different vantage, and Shigeo quickly took up a position that gave him a view southeast of their location. He lifted the binoculars, squinted, and glanced out toward the jungle, skimming the horizon for anything that might constitute "worthwhile."

Netsu Souran Netsu Midori

[Netsu Midori]

Midori frowns when her own statement is so easily swatted down by the clearly more knowledgeable Shigeo, and she's about to call him a nerd for knowing how chess is played, but thinks better of it. She's likely to end up doing missions or training with him, since he's also a Genin in their village, and he and Souran seem to get along well enough, where Souran rarely gets along with anyone, at least from the Netsu clan like her. She bites back on her own insult before she makes it, then keeps herself busy where she is with her own table.

She bites back another scathing remark when their too-cheery chaperone comes in to check on their progress, but takes a moment to screw around with Midori's own work as a joke. She doesn't, once more holding back on a statement she'd like to make about him, but at least it sounds like they're being pulled for a completely different job, which the Genin is more than happy to accept. Perhaps this one will be far more exciting...

But no, they're going to be moved to lookout duty, at least as long as the lookouts that are normally stationed there take to get their lunches. She sighs and takes up the position at her own lookout spot, peering through the binoculars and annoyingly marks down at least one horned tiger spotting she manages to catch, though she's not certain what exactly "worthwhile" means.

[Netsu Souran]

Souran was nearly impressed enough at the transparency of their guide to not be upset that he was being used as a fill in so people could go eat, but this was work that shinobi would be doing anyway so he supposed it could have been worse. Taking up station at a pair of binoculars facing due north the genin would peer through them out into the dense jungle that composed most of the country. It wouldn't take much for someone to be able to sneak up pretty close to the place though why'd they would want to bother given the draw bridge and other crazy defenses was a good question. He wondered how anyone was supposed to see anything through all the thick foliage but figured that was what the people whose station this was originally were trained for.

Listing from left to right the genin spotted what may have been a couple sets of footprints near the brush though from this distance he couldn't tell if they were heading into or away from it but he'd write it down none the less. All things considered there wasn't a whole lot going on from his vantage point and most would call that a good thing considered all the other hustle and bustle that they were dealing with downstairs.

The wheel of time would continue to spin and soon enough their guide would pull himself from the task that had kept him occupied for the last half hour or so. "Alright folks, the crew should be getting back from work here any minute. See anything of note out there?" He'd ask. Protocol would have him check their notepads after all was said and done anyway but this would be a good opportunity for the genin to get in practice giving situational reports, an invaluable skill that would no doubt come in handy during their careers.


Saigo Shigeo  Netsu Midori

[Saigo Shigeo]

He strained his eyes a moment and adjusted the binoculars to get as close a look as he could at the unassuming set of prints. Whether into or out of the brush, they were only somewhat visible, and from his distance, the size of them was indeterminate. A child, or an adult? He couldn't know unless he made note of it- which he did, in the given journal that would be reviewed anyway. There was no reason to call immediate attention to something that might be nothing.

At the very least, if they deemed it important enough while parsing information, someone would be assigned to follow up on it. Like he had initially determined- everyone had their role to play, and for now, his role was that of observer and informant. What did catch his attention, however, was the faintest trace of smoke somewhere not so far away. It was nothing massive, not like a wildfire or a large scale burn, but it was indicative of someone or something setting a fire, and presumably, attempting to keep it contained. A campsite, perhaps?

"Faint trace of smoke, south southwest, bearing a small margin to the left," he told the man as he held his binoculars more or less in the indicated direction and offered them for the guide to confirm. "Can't say it's anything in particular, the coverage is pretty complete by foliage."

[Netsu Midori]

Midori's own work is rather boring, but she eventually learns how to watch through the binoculars with one hand while the other might start writing a description of what she sees, though she invariably has to look away from her vigil in order to make sure that she's not writing off the page or that the utensil is actually writing straight. She misses very little, but most of it would likely be unhelpful; so be it, at least they wouldn't complain that she was being inattentive or ignoring anything that might be of note. Unlike the other two, there seemed to be no footprints on her end; perhaps they had moved into the jungle, or had only traveled nearer the village towards her two compatriots. She didn't know, and didn't much care, because she would have rather gone after them if she had known about the footprints.

As it was, she focused intently on marking down movements, sounds, and wildlife movements outside of the ordinary or involving particular danger that the outpost might be interested in. As it happens, not much of interest happens as far as Midori's outpost watch is concerned, although she perks up as soon as their guide appears, letting them know that they'll be done soon. She also takes particular interest in hearing about the faint trace of smoke to their south-southwest, but she keeps her binoculars in place while she waits for Shigeo to finish before giving her own situation report.

"A duo of spiked tigers walking about... They're not usually seen this close to human populations, and almost never in groups of more than one, heading northwest. They've made no movements towards our station, but their movements are strange. It could be that they're moving away from whatever is making the smoke, in order to avoid unneeded interest."

She puts the binoculars down and sighs with annoyance as she turns to look at their leader again.

"Any chance we can call this mission complete soon?"

[Netsu Souran]

"Footprints to the north, can't tell how many or if they are heading into or away from the brush." Souran spoke as he turned his attention to the older man. He doubted the trio would actually be allowed to go and check things out on the off chance that there was someone up to no good out there which to him seemed like a huge waste of having three people travel all the way out here if they weren't going to let them use what training they had to truly help out; not that Souran needed any of their aid as he was plenty strong on his own. He had to be.

Footprints, a faint trail of smoke and a group of normally solitary animals moving together, if that wasn't the trifecta for something being up then nothing was! Their guide would hum indeterminately as he tried to put the pieces together of all the genin had observed. There was a chance it was just someone stopping off the trail to relax by a small fire as any larger movements would have definitely been picked up as the jungle was dense but an effort still had to be made to try and hide the transport of a big group of people and supplies. The outpost had been tested on more than one occasion in the past and often times request were sent to the village for help with repairs to the main wall or bolstering their man power if intel pointed to an imminent threat, and though nothing of the sort had come down the pipeline there was enough evidence to warrant the scene being checked out.

"Astute observations and a decent hypothesis to go on as well. We'll get this to the team once they return and they'll a squad to check it out. You've done great work today." The man would speak before listening to Midori ask if they were close to wrapping things up. The group of genin had been amicable if not a little awkwardly quiet which was interesting considering two of them seemed to be from the same clan, though that didn't always mean a decent relationship was there, but all things considered things had gone smoothly. "Mmm, I suppose it is about that time to get you all back to the village. Once the team is back we'll head out but for now just make sure your notes are as legible and detailed as possible."

A last bit of busy work to buy the observation unit a few more minutes on their lunch break but also a valuable lesson on the thoroughness one needed when reporting. After all, most intel was actioned off of what others had provided in their reports so it was paramount that what they wrote could be understood with ease.

---

In time the regular group would return to the observation post where they thanked the genin for their work and began to look over what they had written on their notepads. The murmurs of work pulled them into their own little word as they hit the ground running and more or less began to ignore the outside world. With their tasks now complete the guide would lead the group from the main building and back in the direction of the large bridge to start their trek back to Taki.


Saigo Shigeo Netsu Midori

[Saigo Shigeo]

After giving their reports, the Genin continued to complete small, menial tasks for a time until the Shinobi who they were covering for returned to take their posts. Shigeo watched for a moment to get a feel for the process. They seemed to transition quickly and without much struggle, which meant that their notes were legible and easy to understand. That, at least, was a good sign.

The next few minutes were quiet. They made their way back out without any real commentary from the guide, and he recalled that the other Genin hadn't spoken much, either. If they knew each other- they did have the same surname, so it was likely- then they likely did not like each other. He had tried to add something to conversation earlier, but very little was given in response. These other Shinobi from Takigakure... were they all just business oriented? No small talk, no camaraderie? If that was the case, he could get used to it; at least it was more comfortable than being the brunt of everyone's jokes in the Academy when he was eeking by, struggling with learning how to effectively control his chakra.

Shigeo could see the bridge coming into view, which meant the Village was not too far ahead. That mission had not been difficult, at least, not so much as he had expected. He'd anticipated danger, fighting, perhaps some adrenaline. The fact that missions could be mundane and lack danger too was a potent lesson in itself. Not everything about being a Ninja meant mortal threats and weaving chakras. Sometimes, it was just about information. Knowledge was power, too.

He would have to incorporate that crucial element into his mindset in the future.

Netsu Souran Netsu Midori

[Netsu Midori]

Midori sighs with relief when their original surveyors finally make their return, not even trying to hide her boredom with this particular mission. As they leave the outpost, she pulls off the black glove that covers her left hand so she can use a file on her nails, carefully manicuring them instead of waving goodbye to the people of the outpost. It wasn't exactly something that had been as exciting as her previous mission for Area 16, and she at least seemed to be happy to be on the return journey home. After a few minutes of careful grooming, she puts her glove back on, putting away her nail file for now as she looks once more at the more strange member of their mission group. She at least knew of Souran, but he wasn't really considered all that impressive, since he had gone through a bit of experimentation instead of focusing on the clan's much more powerful advanced elemental nature.

Shigeo was... different in some way, although she couldn't put her finger on it. He'd been somewhat quiet, but at least he'd put in some effort to talk with the other two, which wasn't really common among other Takigakure shinobi, who were generally more ruthless, like herself. It was additionally unexpected because almost his entire body was bandaged, and she doesn't know if he'd take kindly to her asking about it, since it also seemed to be recent if he was still having trouble keeping his blood inside his body. Finally, she seems to have become too bored to spend the entire walk back in complete silence, so she lets out a little groan of exasperation.

"I guess we can get some food once we return to Takigakure. But you two gotta pitch in, too. We'll split it three ways, since we're all getting paid for this mission anyways... Even you, Windchime."

She seems to have no problem with calling her cousin by a nickname she knows is meant to be a mark of shame. After all, she knows he could always hit back with a remark about her age, and she wouldn't really have much recourse, so it made sense to hit him with the initial verbal assault. And she'd just invited him to eat a meal with herself and the other two shinobi, this Shigeo and of course their guide, so it was still a more sociable offer than he might expect from other Netsu clan members. She's also admittedly a bit curious about the wind tubes, but her questions could wait as they finally reached the fake village that was used as a front in order to hide the existence of the real village of Takigakure.