[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

- t h e  t a l e  o f -

LOST AND FOUND

---

”Ashi. Psst! That’s the Mizukage!” Shun whispered sharply and tugged on Ashi’s hand as the pair of Konoha shinobi watched the young man approach. Was he their age? Shun had been in a different mission the day prior and afterwards had ran into a party escorting him. It wasn’t like "Mizukage” was written on Kaguya Toru’s face or anything... it just so happened Shun saw and heard confirmation a day forwards. This, however, opened the door for many other questions. Why did he not have an entourage? Was he actually nice to help find the belongings of citizens who suffered because of the wind zone? Shun hadn’t lost anyone in wars so she didn’t full-heartedly dislike anyone from Kiri but a lot of her village did and there was general animosity between the two villages. The Nara had worked with two shinobi from Takigakure the day before and it was interesting, to say the least... one of them – a short genin – pretty much told her that Konoha sucks and he hates everyone from there. It would be hurtful if it wasn’t kind of funny coming from such a short and adorable looking person.

Upon Toru’s approach Shun would give a bow and introduce herself. It was polite and perhaps a little stiff: ”I’m Nara Shun, sir. It’s a honour to work with you.” What was the ettiquete when it came to leaders of villages famed for hating your own? She had no clue but she knew she didn’t want to do anything to offend the young man.

Introductions aside, the group of six (three people and three ninja puppies) would find themselves in the crash zone of the nearby tornado zone. It was right after Shun introduced herself that a relatively bigger darker object was spewed from one of the tornados closes to them and was about to land on them if not nearby. Luckily, it landed a few meters away. It was a couch...

---

Words: 325
Tag: Inuzuka Ashi Kaguya Toru
Shun: 395828

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Nara Shun Inuzuka Ashi

Toru approached alone, though he had a feeling that there were eyes on him regardless he did not wander around with an entourage. To this very day, even after years of holding onto the leadership position, he still felt that having a huge entourage was often bordering on obnoxious if not outright pompous looking. When it was absolutely necessary he would have Daichi around, but in those moments Daichi and Toru were friends. Not bodyguard and leader. It was not unlikely that Daichi was around, but he was not in sight and it was better that way as he approached the two young individuals - a young girl and a young man. About Toru's age.

The Mizukage did not wear anything that would denote him as the leader, just a young man in very humble and practical clothes. A grey set of trousers, black armor to protect his torso, and a white haori tied closed. On the back of the haori was two red dots to represent the Kaguya clan. Peeking out from around his chest was the Kirigakure symbol. Nothing was ostentatious, it was not poorly kept, but it was definitely closer to drab than interesting to look at. Next to him was a white wolf, obediently at his side but suspicious of the dogs.

He stopped nearby the duo of Konohagakure, he did not offer a low bow like the girl did just a small nod of his head.

"Kaguya Toru."

Nara... He knew of the clan enough.

"We should not delay the mission."

If his things had been thrown around by some rogue wind, he would have preferred to have those things returned as soon as possible. Such as the nature of their duty, in spite of clear animosity between villages. Toru did not have the time or desire to participate in sharing his distaste for Konoha shinobi - though he had plenty of it. This was a mission after all and they were meant to work together to finish this small but favorable task.

OWL

[Inuzuka Ashi]

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Nara Shun • Lost and Found

"The Mizu-” Ashi looked down at Shun, wrinkling his nose in disbelief. There was no way they’d be teamed up with someone as important as the Mizukage. Besides, how would Shun even know what that guy looked like? He let out a hearty chuckle as the other guy approached alone and without any fanfare. He understood. She was pranking him. "Ahh- You almost got me. You’re gonna have to do better than that.”

Correction- He realized that the guy was almost alone. No bodyguards or anything. He was accompanied by a single, majestic white wolf. It was a beautiful, noble creature and Ashi couldn’t help but feel respect, dare he even say kinship, towards anyone who could tame such a beast. The ninken seemed to recognize another of their kind and stood almost at attention, all except his golden retriever Shuga who crept forward cautiously trying to sniff the wolf’s mouth.

"Shuga.” Ashi chastised and she stepped back to stand at his side. He grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry about that. At least she didn’t go for the other end, ya know?”

Shun exchanged introductions with the newcomer, Toru. She was still keeping up the gag like this guy was someone important. What’s so great about him? Ashi thought, suddenly feeling a little jealous. He’s only got one dog… Probably just a chunin like me or maybe even a genin. "I’m Inuzuka Ashi. I can track and heal.” A couch flew past them as though it had been flung by a giant. "I agree, we better get started.”

He pulled a baggy out of his flak jacket. Inside was a bandana he’d borrowed from one of the clients that had hired them. "The first thing we’re looking for is a gold and ruby necklace.” He dropped down to one knee next to his Shiba Inu Bonzai and opened the bag. The ninken sniffed the contents and then started sniffing all around on the ground and leading the group deeper into the rubble.

You keep telling me to live right, To go to bed before the daylight. Don't you just wanna wake up, dark as a lake? Smelling like a bonfire, lost in a haze?

dandy ♫

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[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

- t h e  t a l e  o f -

LOST AND FOUND

---

Mortified. Absolutely mortified. Her face grew pale when Ashi clearly did not believe her. She watched in light horror as he talked about dog butts with the Mizukage. There was no doubt, she had seen people refer to the white-haired teenager as the Mizukage and here he was. No doubt in her mind about it. Ashi and herself were in two completely different missions.

*Does talking about butts to a world leader mean punishment?* the Nara teen thought worriedly while biting her lip and pleadingly watching Ashi to perhaps understand she wasn’t joking. Alas, there was no way of saying it out loud now without possibly offending Kaguya-dono.

*Oh my god, Kirigakure already hates us in general – now we’ll cause some international incident because we offended their lord...* it felt doomed and Shun could feel blood rushing to her cheeks as she became just a little embarrassed. In her head, she had already climbed on Pokupan’s back and rode away or dug a hole to disappear into.

The group started moving and Shun would pace her breathing to get rid of her nerves and came to the same thought that Ashi had before – Toru's familiar was beautiful. *Figures the super powerful teenager would have an incredibly cool companion. I bet he has some super special talent or power, too, like main characters in fantasy novels...* she pondered as they followed Bonsai. How rare was it to become a leader as a child, anyway? She thought Kages were usually middle-aged people. Granted, the Hokage wasn’t that old, either.

”Oh! Look!” Shun pointed to an incoming briefcase from the tornado zone. It looked intact and the girl ran a bit forward to catch it. After further inspection, she came to conclude: ”Someone’s identification papers are in this. I’ll bring it.” They might be able to add other paperwork in it if there was anything salvageable.

Bonsai would eventually stop in front of a pile of debris and scratch at the side of it. Shun crouched down to look through the small gaps of rocks and broken furniture to see something reflective. ”I think I see it... hold up.” The girl formed a hand seal (the rat sign) and multiple shadow tendrils extended from her shadow into the rubble. Her clan were able to create shadows in shadows so, as long as there was light around, she could manipulate the shadow through seemingly dark places. Soon enough a tendril retracted with a necklace at the end of it. ”This one?” Shun asked holding it up, just to be safe.

They would carry on to the next items and she’d do her best to collect anything that looked like medical supplies, too. Some of the people probably had specific prescriptions that they needed so she saw it as priority.

Also, she still needed to figure out how to tell Ashi that she didn’t joke about who Kaguya Toru was. However, the Mizukage was with them so, now and then, she would stare at Ashi without saying anything until he looked at her and then she would just... look at him harder hoping he could understand just from that...

---

Words: 524
Tag: Inuzuka Ashi Kaguya Toru
Shun: 395828

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Inuzuka Ashi Nara Shun

The wolf bristled slightly at the golden approaching, showing his teeth and gums as a bit of a warning. This was a wolf after all and not a domestic pup. It hung around Toru out of mutual respect, not because Toru somehow 'owned' the beast. Though in the same breath, Toru did not perform jutsu with the animal, Toru only brought him along when he felt there was little to no danger - indeed, a mission such as this one did not pose great danger so he thought to allow the ivory thing to stretch its legs in unknown territory.

"Mm," Toru acknowledged Ashi briefly, committing to memory what the shinobi was capable of doing, though Toru did not offer his own abilities.

All the while, Shun was having a bit of a meltdown and Toru did not seem to notice at all. There was a simultaneous casualness and sterility to how Toru operated. The girl was treating him differently from the boy, it was an interesting dynamic as Toru himself broke away from the duo to start picking up the obviously thrown about objects.

On occasion he would give them a sniff and track one object to the next in this manner.

Though, in truth, the Mizukage was considering if it would be possible to put down the tornado and high winds to avoid anymore things being thrown around.

OWL

[Inuzuka Ashi]

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Nara Shun & Kaguya Toru • Lost and Found

Ashi followed Bonzai through the rubble, his eyes darting from side to side as he searched for anything of value. The St. Bernard trotted behind them, its tail wagging excitedly. Whenever Ashi bent down to pick up an artifact, the dog would catch up and place it in the saddle bags attached to its back.

Finally, the Shiba Inu seemed to find something of interest. It stopped and barked, its ears perked up. Ashi peeked into the hole but it was too far back for him to reach. He was impressed when Shun manipulated the shadows to scoop up the object.

"That's the one!" Shun confirmed as he looked over the necklace. The owner had shown him a picture of his wife wearing it. It seemed likely that some of the other junk that landed here might belong to the same guy, so Ashi started picking through the rubble for anything that looked important.

As he worked, Ashi couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. He turned around and noticed Shun staring at him with an intense gaze. He cocked his head to the side, but she didn't offer any explanation. He shrugged and continued working. Maybe she was feeling gassy.

It wasn't long before he caught up with Toru and started walking alongside him.

"Not much of a talker, are you?" Ashi grinned. "I understand. You don't know us. It's kind of surreal that we're even talking like this. I've heard people say, 'Maybe in another life.' This is that weird reality where somehow a leaf ninja and a mist ninja can work together."


"I don't hold any ill will towards you personally," Ashi continued. "We're just little guys in the grand scheme of things. I don't know what I'm talking about... I guess I just mean that you don't have to worry. I've got your back."

You keep telling me to live right, To go to bed before the daylight. Don't you just wanna wake up, dark as a lake? Smelling like a bonfire, lost in a haze?

dandy ♫

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[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

- t h e  t a l e  o f -

LOST AND FOUND

---

Shun had separated from the other two a little to go search for anything that was on the list or could be used by the previous inhabitants of the area up ahead. Luckily, the area where most things landed was the same which made the girl wonder about how and why the throw zone did not extend into the other ‘zones’. Also, the tornadoes stayed in the same vicinity which was rare. They would have moved more, she expected, so why didn’t they?

After filling a briefcase with different types of precious metal, in-tact medicine bottles, any notable paperwork and finding some other valuables, the girl returned to the group and walked up to Pokūpan for his aid in carrying the things she found. ”Hey, I was thinking... she was about to share her thoughts about the zones but then noticed Ashi had started talking to Toru.

The girl’s ears would have perked if she was a fox and she got closer to hear what her best friend was saying – and praying on the inside that he doesn’t say something rude or whatever might be considered Kage-unworthy. It would be bad if the Inuzuka teenager got punished by foreign Kage magic and Shun was hoping she could protect him from accidentally starting a diplomatic incident with a joke. What if the Mizukage didn’t take jokes? The two Konoha ninja didn’t know the boy that well.

She made a single hand sign and her shadow began extending again in the form of Kage Nui but this time the shadow tendrils would form words on a big piece of rubble in Ashi’s eye-line:

He...

Really...

Is...

The...

Water...

Shadow...

The light surface wasn’t big enough to clearly write out ‘mizukage’ so she divided it. This happened behind Toru and Shun hoped it would help convince her friend.

She heard him say that Ashi would protect Kaguya Toru and paused a little. He truly did have a big heart. She knew it already but this situation just proved it and, somehow, her own heart fluttered and she felt a sense of warmth. The girl walked up and stood next to Ashi while holding back a couple tears trying to come up. ”Ashi’s right, I feel the same way.” It was true. Being a pacifist, Shun didn’t hold a personal grudge against any one village or nation. In her mind the actions of some should not color her opinion of the many. Regardless, she had no idea what sentiment the Mizukage held and she would do anything she could to protect her friend. Shun was selfish in her own ways...

”Mizukage-dod, Ashi,” she started after a moment and turned to gesture in the direction of the tornadoes, ”I was thinking how strange it is that they don’t move out of the zone. This entire setting is already bizarre and, it looks like the zones are divided by element, right?” She just reiterated what they already knew but then followed up: ”Maybe then the tornadoes do not function like normal ones. These disasters form because of the pressure difference between cold currents coming from above and hot from below. Heat makes air rise so I thought maybe overheating an area could negate them but that would just fuel the tornadoes. They run on energy until there is no more...” she pointed to the same amount of tornadoes that had been there since they arrived. ”But these haven’t died and reformed – they are the same ones. Where do they take the unlimited supply of energy from? Would cooling down the air below nullify them as they should – in theory- nullify a natural tornado? Or are those calamities purely chakra based and would, in fact, be damaged by different chakra like Katon because of its dominance over it? What do you think?” it looked like Shun had been working on how to possibly solve the tornado issue. There was only so much earth and housing to rip off the ground by the tornadoes before the area was completely destroyed.

Something was being thrown their way again and Shun’s eyes grew wide when she realised what it was. A horse. It was still moving so it must have been alive. The tornado threw a live horse their direction.

---

Words: 710
Tag: Inuzuka Ashi Kaguya Toru
Shun: 395828

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Nara Shun Inuzuka Ashi

This experience was making Toru wonder, just how sheltered were Konohagakure shinobi? They were working, why was he bing approached and spoken to in this manner, as if they were friends? Lifelong companions that had no ill-will towards each other. It was not lost on the Mizukage the many things that Konohagakure had done against Kirigakure and no less on international stages multiple times now. They could hardly keep their hands to themselves, and they hid it all behind those smiling faces. There was something vile about it.

Perhaps these two did not know their countries trespasses, or their countries history... But that only spoken to their villages education and the countries means by which they can give education to their soldiers.

Toru picked an item up, he did not inspect it, he could just tell it carried the right kind of scent.

It had occurred to Toru that it was strange to say that there was no ill-will when they had never met before, and they were most certainly from enemy villages. Toru was not going to hurt these two, he had a job to do here - no matter who his teammates were in this particular situation - but to imply that he somehow cared for them, or had their back beyond the mission would be ignorant.

"You do not know me beyond this mission, it is unwise to say such things." Toru spoke clearly and honestly.

Shun provided an idea, the very thing Toru had been considering.

Then something strange happened - a horse was flung in their direction. Toru took action immediately launching himself like a blurry missile and grabbing the equine in mid-air. It was not particularly happy, in fact it was highly freaked out, but the Mizukage was able to provide it a safe landing before it promptly galloped off.

The Mizukage turned to Shun.

"I have something that can cool a tornado off, unless one of you two have something worthy of a tornado..."

If Ashi was still under the impression that Toru was a genin or a chunin, Toru might have been proving himself as a truly extraordinary genin... or chunin.

OWL

[Inuzuka Ashi]

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[attr="class","gentand1"]

Nara Shun & Kaguya Toru • Lost & Found

"Unwise…?” Ashi muttered and for a few heartbeats he seemed to be lost in thought. Then his face brightened back up as he came back with a response, "Haha. Most people are a little less kind in their descriptions of me. You’re right, of course, we don’t know each other.”

Ashi’s attention wandered to something moving behind the Mist Shinobi. The shadows were stretching and shaping, forming the words water shadow. It was clearly a message from Shun but the words meant nothing to him. Fortunately, she started talking not long after that. Ashi grinned awkwardly as she called their temporary teammate Mizukage. He really loved Shun but he couldn’t help but be a little annoyed at this point; she was taking the joke too far in his opinion. Toru didn’t seem offended by her teasing. He didn’t even seem surprised.

"Shun-” He was about to tell her off for teasing the Mist Ninja when a large object- a horse- came rocketing through the air nearby. Ashi sprung into action but Toru was quicker. He got to the horse first. The other guy caught the creature and landed safely, allowing the horse to gallop away unharmed. The medic had intended to provide veterinary care but his skills were no longer needed. Ashi slowed to a halt and stared blinking at Toru. That had to be the coolest thing he’d ever seen.

"You really are the Mizukage?” The words emerged from his mouth as the thought was forming in his head. It was worded like a statement but the intonation was that of a rhetorical question. He didn’t need any sort of response from Toru, it was more just an expression of his realization and surprise. He understood now that he’d probably offended his new buddy but he wasn’t asking for an apology and Ashi wasn’t going to offer one. Nobody would expect to meet a kage digging through trash on a d-rank mission. Besides, he hadn’t said anything that hadn’t been true to him at the time.

"I don't have anything that can unmake a tornado.” Ashi responded, his voice more monotone than expected. Perhaps if he’d have had more prowess with elemental jutsu his father wouldn’t have shipped him off to live with his mother’s clan. He was grateful in a way; he loved his mother and the lifestyle that the Inuzuka lived. It was the only kindness his father had ever shown him. He hated that man more than anything. So why did it still hurt? Ashi craved his dad’s approval even now. "Look, if you want to try something crazy go ahead. I doubt I’ll be much help unless something goes wrong.”

You keep telling me to live right, To go to bed before the daylight. Don't you just wanna wake up, dark as a lake? Smelling like a bonfire, lost in a haze?

dandy ♫

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[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

- t h e  t a l e  o f -

LOST AND FOUND

---

Shun watched the interaction between both of the teenage boys. Observing people was something she was good at and it was clear to her that both shinobi had come at the subject from different angles. Ashi had a deep want to create a family around him and he had a kind heart. Toru, to Shun’s mind, was in a situation with two foreign people who came from a place that might have directly impacted some tragedy in his life. Just because Shun hadn’t lost anyone and did not hold a burning desire to eradicate Kirigakure shinobi did not mean others hadn’t and vice versa with Kirigakure.

The girl didn’t interfere nor physically comfort Ashi through the exchange. They could talk about it later but, at the time, they had a job to do and he was strong. Shun’s best friend was mentally stronger than her tenfold, if not more.

The horse flew their direction and the Nara teen started forming signs but to no need. Kaguya Toru shot into the air too fast for her to see and the next thing she knew he was holding the horse and gently setting it down. Shun rubbed her eyes to see she hadn’t hallucinated out of wishful thinking for the animal to be safe but no – the steed left the scene in a healthy step. ”He just... caught a horse mid-air.” the girl repeated just to confirm she saw it. It needed to be said out loud to be true. Shinobi were capable of great things but Shun hadn’t seen many of these great things in her life yet.

”No, sir.” the genin responded to the assumption they might have something worthy of a tornado. Out of the three she was the youngest and the greenest when it came to shinobi-ing. The girl could maybe create a tornado in these conditions but that would not be controlled and why risk damaging the things they were trying to salvage? Shun still had too many questions. While providing the most information was good for teamwork, she did not know if the natural disaster was chakra based alone or not. Fire might damage it if it was chakra driven and cancel out the jutsu where the wind would fan some flames but die based on the user’s chakra. Or – if it was natural – tornadoes used heat as fuel so using a fire jutsu on one would just maintain a difference in pressure and maybe even set the tornado ablaze. What a risky situation indeed.

The girl had been watching the scenery for a moment before looking over to the Mizukage to see what he would do. Were these sorts of considerations common for world leaders? This would be a learning experience.

---

Words: 456
Tag: Inuzuka Ashi Kaguya Toru
Shun: 395828

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Inuzuka Ashi Nara Shun

The Mizukage stood silently there in consideration, it was a difficult thing to determine. But ultimately, he knew that trying to undo a tornado while there might still be civilians around, would likely be foolish and furthermore dangerous. It was not part of their mission orders and the mission in itself was completed as they had done what was asked of them. So, without another hint of consideration for performing something quite grand he detracted and glanced to the two Konoha shinobi.

"We are done, we should report back. Normally I would continue, but this is not the nature of the mission and I fear if I were to do more it may hurt someone and create more casualties."

If horses were still being thrown around, there was no telling what else was going on further in the center of the crater where all of the people had been.

As Mizukage, in truth, Toru worried that this would have a cataclysmic effects on the rest of the world. Mizu no Kuni was an island and thus surrounded by great bodies of water. An object of this size could spell disaster for an island, burying it entirely with waves or causing unprecedented earthquakes.

The young man turned then without much of a word and started to head in the direction of where they could go and report their mission findings.

[exit]

OWL

[Inuzuka Ashi]

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Nara Shun Kaguya Toru • Lost & Found

"I agree, we should head back," Ashi nodded in agreement with Toru's suggestion. It could be dangerous to mess with the tornados without knowing more about where they came from. Besides, a team with a different skill set and well… more ability was probably needed to complete a task like that.

With that, Toru turned and began leading the way back towards their camp, where the lost items could be returned to their rightful owners. It appeared as though the Leaf Shinobi were free to follow him if they wished, but Toru didn't seem particularly concerned about whether they did or not. "It was great working with you, Toru-sama! I hope-” we meet again? That guy would have crushed them both under any other circumstances. Still, he didn’t seem too bad. "Take care of yourself.”

Ashi chose to follow the Mizukage at a slight distance, seeing an opportunity to engage in conversation with Shun. "What a bizarre mission this has been," Ashi remarked with a hint of whispered amusement. "I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble. I'm not sure if you noticed, but I thought you were teasing about the whole Mizukage thing. Did you see his wolf? I wanted to pet him so bad."

[exit]

You keep telling me to live right, To go to bed before the daylight. Don't you just wanna wake up, dark as a lake? Smelling like a bonfire, lost in a haze?

dandy ♫

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