Patrol!

Patrol: Restricted Area

Mission Name: Patrol: Restricted Training Area
Mission Type: Guard/Patrol/Exorcism
Mission Rank: C
Mission Goal: Patrol the Restricted Training Area, Exercise Daemons, Oni, Horned Rebels
Description: A clean training facility will birth those whom are pure in spirit and void of taint. Patrol the the restricted training facility to make sure no hooligans are sneaking in and causing a ruckus with comrades and friends. Be diplomatic if possible, however if spar is initiated, sterilized the field with a round of meditation afterwards.
Payment: 15,000
Requirements: At least 2 Genin or Genin with Sensei

___________________________

"This is--" He stopped himself, and squashed the thought. No, there wasn't any getting around this situation, no excuse whatsoever. With his failure at the Chuunin Exams, Irui had returned home to the Land of Lightning with empty pockets as icing on the cake. It was menial work-- cleansing the training grounds and patrolling them-- but work meant income. This was his way of reprimanding himself for his failure.

He'd spent the last of his Ryo on a cheap room in the Hidden Cloud's entertainment district, a stained, moth-eaten Inn, nursing his wounds and ruminating over the repercussions. He'd spent the first night wide-awake, staring at the ceiling while someone dealt drugs-- connected to the drug lord Kodokai no doubt-- next door in the early hours. The second night only marginally improved, but now on the third day his stomach was rumbling. A mission had come his way via an advertisement, and once again Irui found himself at the Training Grounds but in a far off field.

The Restricted Zone as it was called was vast, thickly overgrown, and fenced with chainlink and barbed-wire. Numerous signs blared warnings.

".... Exercise.... Demons?" Irui read, raising an eyebrow. "Horned Rebels?" He muttered something under his breath and stuffed the scroll into his pouch, waiting for his Genin partner to arrive.

"A patrol, huh? And demons to boot. Well they asked the right person for the job, eh Id?"

Mort would be making his way over to the restricted grounds as he held the mission slip in his hand, rereading it again as he bit into a carrot. While it was his first C-ranker, doing a more spiritual type of mission seemed odd to do. I mean sure it said that there may be intruders, but so long as he didn't need to draw his blade there'd be no bloodshed. "Mmmph, Not responding today eh? Well I'm fine with that. Guess it'll just be whoever I'm working with then."

Finishing off the carrot he'd wondered why exactly anyone in Kumo would willing break into the restricted training zone. Sure outsiders breaking in made sense, but with Kumo's absurd security detail that wouldn't happen in a long while at least. but locals? Now that didn't make as much sense. Unless there was some Yokai clan tradition that involved them breaking into some dangerous place, it just...well even then it didn't make sense! It had to be some yin-based creatures that were causing a ruckus. While he didn't know much about them, there were some scrolls the clan had that mentioned the manifestation of Yin creatures.

Hopefully that info wouldn't be needed. Walking up the fence where he and his partner were supposed to enter, he'd spot who he assumed was said person. He'd yell out to the bleach-haired boy. "Heeyyyy! You my work partner today?"

"Eh?" Irui blinked and turned towards the voice. The sun was slowly dying into the horizon, casting the peaks with red and orange. There was still more than enough light to complete the mission before sundown. He half-turned towards the boy as he approached, looking him up and down.

"I see you're as equally confused as I am," Irui said bluntly, holding up the scroll. He quickly rewound the scroll and stuffed it into his back pocket. "I'm Irui... And you are?" Irui left the question out in the air, and motioned for the Genin to follow.

Not one to waste time, Irui slipped through the fence, passing through the translucent barrier that shielded the training grounds from stray fire. Part of him wanted the aforementioned hazards-- the horned rebels, and yin monsters-- to be the stuff of urban legend. However with the dying light, he wanted to complete their patrol of the grounds while the sun was still on their side. Fighting at night was never fun.

As he approached, the decriptor of 'bleach-hair boy' didn't quite feel right. if anything it was like looking at what he assumed the color of white sand would be for his hair, while his eyes had that sort of look that said he'd seen more then his fair share of bullshit. The combination of those two major features combined with the sun's light almost made Mort feel like he was talking to an old-timer but in a young body.

"Confused wouldn't be the word I'd use, but it's close enough." What word would he use? Baffled? Befuddled? Discombobulated? Well, better to be close and get part of it then miss entirely. "And nice to meet you Irui, name's Mort!" His cheerful reply followed by him too going through the fence, shuddering a bit as he went through the barrier. There was just something about them that didn't sit well with him, though not because of their use. If ever asked it would be similar to handling powdered sugar; not irritating, just unpleasant.

He'd look back at the dying light again. he didn't often go out at night, partially due to the clan wanting him to stick to a somewhat 'normal' schedule, but the other was just that there was something about the dark that just reminded him of himself. Attempting to sound brave, he'd speak up. "So you did make sure to bring a light source, right? Or at least have some way to navigate this place while in the dark, yes?" He wasn't nervous, how could he be? He was Mort! He had a demon inside his mind already! Of course he'd be fine! He had Irui as his partner, and whole he didn't know much about him, he was his partner and partners had each other's back...right?

Irui shook out his arms-- trying to rid himself of the sticky, clinging sensation left by the barrier, and turned back to the boy. "Mort?" He repeated, "Nice to meet you." He said a bit flatly as he ran his fingers over his arms once more. Irui craned his head, catching the wake of chakra caused by their entry to ripple through the barrier, widening as it vanished into the hemisphere.

"Honestly...." He muttered, glancing back, "No. I didn't anticipate this area being so large. Unless this barrier extends to other training zones and is partitioned...." Irui folded his arms over his chest, trying to get a feel for its distance. It didn't matter. They'd both chosen the mission, whether it was for money or entertainment's sake. Fortunately it was within the Hidden Cloud's borders.

".... I am a Sensor-type Shinobi." He offered blandly, and held up his fingers to the sun, gauging the distance between the fiery ball and horizon, "And we still have the sun on our side, at least for a while. We'll treat this as a night training exercise, just unsupervised!"

The Restricted Area was, like all other training grounds, designated for combat. Multiple barriers prevented stray ninjutsu from flying into onlookers. However there was a distinct emphasis on the word "restricted"-- a training ground for only the most proficient and dangerous shinobi, the kind the Raikage valued for their impressive feats. Here men and women could be the monsters of the battlefield, freely shaping it with their ninjutsu prowess. It gave Irui, strangely, a comfort knowing that in these woods could be Kumogakure ANBU and Jounin training.

"Hey Mort," He said suddenly as he started down the path. "A thought I just had: Why would they send Genin to patrol the barrier? Because tonight there are scheduled training sessions. We couldn't be in a safer place."

Right. A night exercise. And like Irui said the sun wasn't quite down yet, which meant that he wouldn't need to possibly waste chakra yet. Without thinking much on it he'd mutter aloud. "A sensor eh? I've been meaning to pick that sort of thing up somet-hm?" His thought would be interrupted by his partner trying to get his attention.

"A thought I just had: Why would they send Genin to patrol the barrier? Because tonight there are scheduled training sessions. We couldn't be in a safer place."

That was a good question. Why would they send two new genin out to patrol? The fact it was a C-rank mission already made it clear it wasn't for the faint of heart, but thinking back to the mission it mentioned Deamons and...what was it? A round of meditation for post-fight sterilization? Wouldn't you use medication instead? Tapping his left temple as he tried to see some sort of connection, a couple thoughts emerged.

"I'm...not sure, but a few ideas come to mind. I think the most likely one is that they're trying to spook us as some sort of...test? No that doesn't sound right. Hm, maybe...maybe its some sort of spiritual thing? I think it mentioned something like that on the mission. I know my clan has some sort of ritual where if you want to be clan leader they'd send you into a cave that caused one's inner self to manifest in a potent genjutsu, and you'd have to confront it." He'd look around the woods, his theory starting to concern him.

"Maybe it's like that? Kinda like a way to 'spook' the impurities of ourselves?" He'd miss his temple and poke his eye. "Gah, I think I may be overthinking this, but did you get a good look at what times the sessions were at?" He'd massage his eye as he spoke, more more paranoid of someone sneaking up on them. Sensor or not, he'd rather be safe then sorry.

Irui's face must have shifted from calm and stoic, to disturbed as Sora shifted gears immediately from the after-mentioned ritual. It was no secret that the Hidden Cloud's rich culture had also bred some of the strangest traditions in the Shinobi world. Sora however described something utterly mortifying: Locking your kinsman in a dark cave and psychological traumatizing their mind, body, and soul as a rite of passage.

"Wha--?" Irui had started. Sora must have sensed the atmosphere change between them, because the boy brushed it off as nonchalantly as one would a fly, and skipped ahead.

"Maybe it's like that?" he asked aloud, "to spook the impurities of ourselves? I think I may be overthinking this, but did you get a good look at what times the sessions were at?"

Irui shook his head. "No," He said, affirming it. "Its just a hunch. We're so close to the training fields, and its unusual for only Genin to be on a C-rank mission like this." He looked back towards the sun, and shivered as a cool evening breeze whispered through the trees. "But anyways, the longer we stay here, the more likely it is we'll be navigating in the dark...." He reached behind him checking for his equipment pouch and tensed.

"Fuck...." Irui swore under his breath. Where were his tools? All neatly organized and bound together, sitting right there on the table! Irui looked over his shoulder and glowered at the Residential district. With a growl he picked up the pace. "All we have to do is patrol the Restricted zone, make sure nothing is causing problems... "

Irui crouched for a moment, touching the ground with his hand, while weaving a sign with the other. Eyes closed, he reached out to the surrounding forest with his chakra, letting it pulse through the vegetation. Any other strong signatures would bounce back immediately.

"So...." He said after a moment, "You seem a bit uneasy. I guess I am too," Irui admitted as he got to his feet and continued walking. Their sandals crunched the gravel path underfoot as they treaded. His eyes passed to the tree line filled with pines; inevitably, they'd have to break for the trees, and traverse the canopy. "An elder from my clan said you can either fight it, or embrace it."

Well, that was a shame not being able to see whether or not his theory held water right now, but if it did, it'd be sooner then never. Looking back at the sun he'd nod. "Yeah, I'd rather not have to make a light right now." He wouldn't elaborate, feeling the point be clear enough.

He'd look back to Irui, raising an eyebrow when the blonde swore, curious about why. Yet whatever it was, it wasn't an enemy or trespasser, so it couldn't have been too big. Instead he'd just keep looking around, following Irui as they continued their patrol. He'd try his best to not make any noise, yet every so often he could hear the crunch-crunch of his shoes hitting the ground. It was somewhat annoying, and he'd have to rectify that somehow later, maybe he could make a jutsu that does that. No, figure that out later.

"Fight or embrace, eh? Sounds a lot like something my own elders would say." And something he'd object too, though he wouldn't voice that out loud. Binary choices were too boring and limiting. "And yeah, I'm a little unnerved, but don't worry about me." He'd give a big smile to Irui. "After all, a mighty warrior like myself can't be seen putting on a face like that in times like these. If I did that, then I'd insire only fear and worry." He'd give a thumbs up. "But that won't happen, or else I'm not Mōtimā Midori-Okō Kurama, the man who will defeat a god and smile."

"But that won't happen, or else I'm not Mōtimā Midori-Okō Kurama, the man who will defeat a god and smile." Mort had chirped.

Irui stretched his arms as they walked, and offered a blunt: "Who? Defeat a god and smile?" He echoed. It was a nice title, he'd give Mort that, and an even grander ambition. The Hidden Cloud had a long, long, tradition of mythology, superstitions, and the myriad of spirits said to inhabit its valleys. Irui supposed that maybe, somewhere out there in those deep, dark woods, someone might just find a god. Nothing here was out of the ordinary.

He paused as they reached the tree line. A path for larger transports wound its way through and around the training grounds. It was wide, open, and covered in slate and gravel, ideal for horses and oxen pulling carts. "I'd prefer to stay on the path, honestly...." Irui grumbled, looking down the broad road. "But I'd hate to be in the open like that," He continued, scratching his head.

"Plus..." He added, "The mission did say, and I quote, 'exercise daemons, oni, and horned rebels', like it's expected we'll run into them. When I last swept the area, I didn't detect anything. I'd rather have the option to ambush, than be the one ambushed." Irui dropped to his ground, and deployed the Sensing technique, scanning the area once again. He couldn't shake the feeling that this was more than a "walk-and-talk" mission, something was anticipated to happen. Human opponents were one thing, but something from another spiritual plane?

His thoughts shifted to the Church, and his summoning of the Baku-- a massive elephantine beast. Maybe this mission was an exercise in handling the supernatural, and managing rare beasts found only through rituals and space-time techniques.

Irui glanced up at Mort.

"Well, God-Slayer?"

He'd mutter under his breath, "I swear, it's like no one expects me to actually say my name." it wasn't that he didn't expect his partner to know his name, but it still hurt a little inside. Still, as they reach the tree line and he listened to Irui, it become clear that his goal was at least uplifting to hear. Heck, hearing the kid call him 'God-Slayer' was nice, though there was a small problem with that.

"As nice as that nickname is, I don't deserve that title quite yet. Someday perhaps, though I won't stop you from calling me as such." He'd look to the field. "How about I walk out into the open and you stay behind in case I get ambushed. if no one comes once I get a decent enough distance, you can follow or flicker to me. Wait, why don't you cloak, I'll walk out wit a bright light, and then if someone tries to bounce me, you flicker and bounce them back! Yeah, and heck if there is a trap, better to spring it now then later! Unless you got some pet I don't know about, I can't think of a better plan. He'd look to his partner expectantly.

He thought it was a good plan, though he had to wonder, could it be improved? Probably, but he didn't have any way to make a decoy yet. Once again he cursed himself at his lack of knowledge on how ninjutsu worked. Maybe he should look into summoning? He heard that there were some strange things those people could do, like summon animals and plants and all that weird stuff.

Irui drew himself upright and dusted off his hands. Mort's plan was decent in his eyes, a bait-and-switch, with one of them hiding in the shadows. He looked to the gently waving pines that covered much of the field-- they were prickly, needle filled things, that oozed sticky sap. Large granite boulders punctuated the field as well, dominating its landscape. He let out a sound and folded his arms over his chest. Mort was right, he was absolutely right, and it brought a grin to Irui's face.


A bait-and-switch strategy would work marvelously-- he knew it, because it had worked beautifully during the Exams. Tsuki had sent a clone ahead while he relayed sensory intel. Unfortunately, the Shadow Clone was a technique he had yet to master.

"Uhm Mort..." Irui said still smiling. "About that light source-- Weren't you the one asking for a light earlier?" He mused with a raised brow, "And its bold of you to assume I can move at the speed of lightning!"

The boy skipped a few steps forward, "C'mon Mort, we have a training field to patrol!", and sprang first to the nearest tree, then propelled himself with chakra to the boulders. He alighted on the closest mass of cool, abrasive granite. Mort could choose to follow along on the road if he wanted, or he could take the less-traveled path, and use the terrain of the field. There was a reason why ambush predators chose the underbrush and rocks of country's mountains--they could move silently. A wide open road was asking for a mugging.

He'd chuckle. Sure he asked about the light, but it was more of the 'general lightsource of the lamp or fire kind, not of the chakra kind. Still, he did have it for backup in case it was truly necessary.

Watching his partner start to move, he'd watch as he moved from place to place, and chuckled a bit louder, holding some of it in as a feeble attempt to nit give his location away. "Heh. Oh well. Guess it can't be helped then." He'd take a couple steps forward, then jump to follow his companion as best as he could. While he couldn't see (or sense) as well as his partner, he still was able to follow along decently. Sure his footing wasn't as great and he landed with a harder thud then he would've preferred, but for a genin it would probably be passable.

"So Irui, I've been meaning to ask, which clan are you from 'round here? While the hair gives me some idea on which one you might be, I'm shite when it comes to who's from where, heck it caused a bit of a storm one time." He'd smile from his simple joke. "Then again my clan isn't the easiest to pick out either from a lineup."

Together they moved, albeit haphazardly across the boulders dotted with shrubs and outlying trees. A cool breeze swept in over the mountains, hissing through the forest as the sun began to slip behind the peaks. He always hated this time of night-- the sun's light was visible, unobstructed throughout the sky as vibrant reds and pinks--the mountains cast frigid shadows  as the sun set behind them. Immediately he could feel the chill set in, crawling over his skin as goosebumps.

Irui alighted on top of the nearest rock, his muscles coiling beneath him.The Restricted Zone was proving to be eerily still, even for Shinobi. It was quiet, strangely quiet. "I'm from the Mikiri Clan," He said, breaking the silence."We're a fairly boring Clan though...." He added, as he slowly swept his gaze over the forest. "Not many of us are Shinobi. The last Jounin I met from my Clan retired." He trailed off.

Morikawa's career decision had lingered in the back of his mind for a while. Perhaps, he wondered, with all the tests administered by the Clan's Directors, did they even want kinsman to become Shinobi anymore? Were the tests so arduous that many failed, crippled by physical or psychological injury, never again to work in the field? What did it mean for his own career? Here he was, perched beside a peer from another clan, how starkly different their lives were!

"You mentioned your clan locks people in a cave for a leadership role, right?" Irui said looking to the 'God Slayer'. "Your family sounds far more entertaining, I mean you want to defeat a God, so I'm sure you've got some great talents."

They'd moved across the field, cutting a corner by moving through the rocky terrain instead of the main road. He wondered if Mort had sensed it too, the surprising stillness to the restricted zone. Then again, this was where skilled Shinobi cut loose and trained without handicaps. On some evenings the explosions from Ninjutsu resembled a fierce storm cloud across the field, a spectacle viewed from the terraces of the Hidden Cloud. Even the rock he'd settled on bore the marks of chakra.

As he pushed off, he noted the tallest tree as a landmark for them. They were nearing the halfway point around the restricted zone. Perhaps, he quietly hoped, the Jounin were practicing stealth this evening.

The Miriki, he'd hear of that clan before. To say that they were boring seemed odd, though it did explain why he looked so creepy. Out of all the major clans that didn't have their own districts, the Miriki had actually fascinated him, having heard rumors of their bloodline. It was a shame though hearing from a member of the clan that their ninja output was in retrograde. Thinking back to his own kin while many of them were raised to have some skills for ninja life, many didn't become shinobi either despite how desired they were in the history books he read.

When his partner brought up the Kurama clan though, a part of him was concerned by how he made his clan sound. "More like interesting then entertaining. The leadership role isn't taken lightly due to our bloodline combined with our history in preparation for fighting Bijuu if needed." He'd shake his head. "And even so, my goals aren't quite in alignment with the clan, though you aren't wrong when it comes to one talent...but Imma keep that a secret for now." He'd give a shit-eating grin to his partner.

Moving along, while he did pick up on the stillness, it was more of an instinctual thing ad he himself didn't know why he was on edge. Continuing to follow Irui, he'd pipe up. "So why did you decide to become a shinobi? You said yourself that not many of your kin become one, so what moved you to embark on the long path to power?"

Fighting Bijuu?

The legendary tailed beasts, the monsters of unfathomable size and strength? Irui watched as Mort flew through the air alongside him, and flicked his attention forward. This boy's clan was training for the day that myth became truth, and when apocalyptic devastation was knocking on the Hidden Cloud's doorstep. He knew the stories from the Cloud's wall; travelers from far and wide told stories of the fabled Nine Tailed Fox. In a land where the yokai and spirits roamed freely, Irui supposed he could suspend disbelief.

"So Mort, I can call you a Godslayer after all!" Irui crowed over the rushing wind.

He touched down on stone and propelled himself forward. Part of him had hoped the question would be blown away into the wind and both of them would forget it. He knew it wouldn't happen though as he reached the next foothold and sprang forward.

"You know how you mentioned that cave?" Irui returned, glancing over at Mort. "The Mikiri's leadership gives us small tests here and there-- like a scavenger hunt. The more you pass, the better your ranking. Eventually I think so many children are worn down they drop out of the Academy-- that's my hunch at least." Irui explained, and  glanced over at Mort. "I guess I just want to change the Clan from the inside out."

He'd gathered in his short career that every family and clan had its quirks, and certainly their own lurid history. The world of shinobi wasn't a light-hearted children's program, with a cast of blonde-haired positive characters and bright colors, choreographed to upbeat, poppy music, while the protagonists beat up the villain. No, that was what the Entertainment companies sold to Academy students. He didn't want to pry into Mort's family-- they all had their reasons for their traditions.

Irui magnetized himself to the nearest boulder, and folded his legs beneath him, coming to a full stop. The air had grown cold, and night had crept in across the mountains now, fully enveloping them in a purple and blue twilight. A few birds called out still from the pines but everything had become still. In the Land of Lightning, there was nothing more humbling than the complete and utter darkness of the mountains-- the only guiding light came from the Hidden Cloud in the distance.

"So I take it..." irui said suddenly, "That by 'secret talent', you mean I should really try to never get on your bad side, am I right?" He grinned. "We could have a friendly spar, but I understand if you want to wrap this up as fast as possible."

Geese Louise, as much as he liked the nickname, Mort was a little nervous from how many times it was said and the potential bad karma it could bring him. While he was a little paranoid, he lived in a world where the nonexistent could manifest, so no need to take chances when they're unnecessary.

"Change the clan from the inside...not a bad idea. I myself am trying to motivate my own clan to at least pay more attention to what's going on, but while we may be prepping for the worst, we haven't done much prepping for the now."

He wondered why Irui's clan had slowed their output of ninja. Sure there was the fact that technically it was a military and that they could be called upon at any time for war of which to be fair was not fun, but still, there was the sense of progress, to learn the ways of manipulating the world around you, to find people and challenge yourself to become stronger & better. Maybe it just was a thing he just wouldn't get.

As his eyes properly adjusted to the nocturnal side of life, he'd enjoy the different lighting. A memory started to form, but was washed away as his partner said...something? He'd take a bit to process what the bone blonde said before replying with a grin, the memory gone. "Hah! We can spar once we have downtime after this, but in a sense you aren't wrong." He'd nervously chuckle. "I don't like having people on my bad side though; takes the fun out of rivalries & other fun stuff. We probably should wrap up though. Mission or not i doubt the clan head will be happy if I stay out too late at our rank."

Irui nodded in agreement, and pushed forward.

Together the two of them moved through the rocks, flipping and rebounding their way through the obstacle course. The further they moved through the field, alighting on trees and wayward logs, it became apparent that this was a training field for truly powerful shinobi. Some would call them 'Monsters', possessing inordinate strength that scarred and sculpted the earth. In the distance, he could make out the faint rushing of water-- there were rivers here too--cascading from the adjacent slopes.

All of it made it more and more apparent just great the gap was between them and the strongest of the Hidden Cloud. Irui knew that there was more work to be done, more training to be completed if he were to ever reach this level. Despite all of Mort's eccentricities, if the stories he'd told were true, it meant his family was raising a bloodline of true "god slayers". In time, maybe Mort's nickname would hold true.

Finally, Irui's foot touched down on the gravel pathway, and he trotted to a stop outside the entrance of the grounds.

"Well Mort," He said with a smile, "We made it through the round of patrol. If we're not fast," He continued as he squeezed himself through the pylons. "They'll rope us into another lap!"

He dusted himself off, waiting for Mort to meet him. "I'll keep my information with the Mission board updated if you need another warm body ," He chirped. From here they'd say their goodbyes, and part ways until next time.

[Tentative exit]

"Hah! Same here! And hey, if you ever want to hang out, I'm sure you'll be able to find me!" He'd wave off his new friend as he made his way home. He liked Irui. Honest, fun, and even a bit of a calming presence. He was still fairly curious about the Mikiri clan and wanted to help out his new friend, but he couldn't think of a way to do just that. Maybe going home and having some rooibos tea could help jog his brain.

Once he had made it a decent bit away, a voice finally spoke up inside his head. 'Well that was a bit disappointing. I would've expected to have seen some sort of demon.' "Ah, and so you awaken, not that you missed much. Sorry, but not sorry Id. Either way, we're heading to bed, so you can have fun planning whatever it is you're trying to cook up this time. God he was ready for that tea now.

{Exit}