A lone ninja sits amongst the sands near the meeting cactus, staring lazily at the purple flower closest to them. Their left arm is covered, safely hidden from the sun, by an unnecessarily long sleeve, whilst the right arm holds a piece of paper. So, this mission would be with someone named Futoshi Matsunaga? The objective of this mission was a lot more serious than the previous as well. Kill some nomads who have been causing trouble. It was a big step to go from chasing pets to taking a life, but that is a part of the job. They resigned themselves to a sigh, tapping the side of their red tights, where a satchel full of weapons was. Oh, how they wished they could just have a bo-staff already. Life would be easier, and life being easier is always good.

It was unusual for Chiaki to be early anywhere, however they hadn’t been to the meeting cactus before, so left far earlier than needed to make sure they weren’t too late. If they were a little late, they would not care, but being a lot late looks bad, and it’d just be a hassle explaining to the clan elders this mistake; as it was, they already are debating to have their neck. They sighed, rubbing their eyes with a yawn. Hopefully this other person wasn’t one to be late, it’s too hot of a day to wait around.

Their gaze kept focus on the flower. It seemed like an almost poetic thing, in a pointless and unnecessary way. The purple contrasted nearly perfectly with the green of the cactus. Perhaps if it were a red flower, it would be more stunning, but as it was, it was pleasant nonetheless. The flower was an odd thing on a cactus, if you think of the location. What would pollinate it? Why was Chiaki asking this question? They let the thought drift off, staring lazily while they wait.

326

"This absolutely has to be a mistake, I really shouldn't be signed up for..." the woman over the counter gave him a look that spoke volumes. Someone above her head had taken an interest in Futoshi's case. She didn't want to send him out to kill, it was someone else. He had to. The choice was no longer his.

Futoshi took the information card between his fingers and turned, heading out of the door with bated breath. His destination was the meeting cactus. He has been there many more times than just this, especially as a student at the academy. He would be meeting a partner. Chiaki Fukitsuna was the name attached to it. No other details besides the order itself. Group of nomads causing problems, or would it be bandits at that point? 'Nomad' is just a term for traveling persons. These were savages. Mongrels. Not good people at all. Perhaps it wouldn't be so hard to kill them. Maybe Futoshi would be able to control that inner rage, just as his father had taught him.

As he left the village, it would seem he would arrive at the site of the cactus exactly on time. Even so, his partner was already slumped against it, having arrived a bit early. That wasn't problematic. That only meant a much more smooth start to the mission. The individual appeared from afar to be a more feminine male. The lack of any real breasts lead him to that assumption, and as with how things are done even in society today, he assumed it.

As he approached, he announced himself with plenty of distance between himself and the silver-haired fellow staring at a purple flower on the meeting cactus itself. He worried that his partner had been waiting for an extended amount of time.

"You are Chiaki, I assume! And if that's the case I'm sure you know that I am Futoshi. We have some undesirables to take care of, don't we?"

WC: 338
Perception: E to E-3 [338/450]

Chiaki would surely not have noticed the other ninja if they hadn’t leant backwards to lie down, seeing the upside down appearance of someone who seemed to be looking at them expectantly. Lazily lifting their piece of paper, they checked the photograph included, glancing from the page to the person, before nodding to themselves. Not bothering to get up, they wave, clueless to the others question. Instead, they posed a question themselves, turning the paper around and pointing at the picture on it. “This is you right? Fotoshi Matsunaga?” they asked, question barely audible above a whisper.

Without waiting for a reply, they sat up, then stood up, dusting the sand off their clothes rather basically. Their voice was just like their appearance, completely androgynous, although it might be a tad harder to tell at such a quiet tone. They turned the piece of paper back around, taking one more check before shoving it back into their pocket. After the one who seemed to be their partner would respond, Chiaki stated some facts to clear things up before the mission were to begin. “My name is Chiaki. If you weesh to get my attention, you’ll need to make sure I can see your lips before speaking. Anythin’ else, you’ll find out as we work.” They sighed, closing their eyes for a breather before looking back to the other person, watching his lips and awaiting a reply of some description.

Their feet shifted slightly in the sand, Chiaki now determining that the meeting cactus was to be somewhere they visited more often. That flower was rather pretty, and the shade provided by the large plant was a nice and cool relief that had a much more aesthetically pleasing look to it than the sandstone buildings of the village. Seeing constant beige was such a bore. Which might make someone wonder why they wear clothes that colour if they hate it. That’s just because going shopping for an entirely new wardrobe is also a bore.

333 + 326 = 659

Chiaki didn't reply to either of the things Futoshi had said at all as he approached. That was peculiar, as he'd only done so as a forewarning of his arrival. It was only when he was directly over top of his mission partner that they spoke to him. He asked if the photo provided by the administrative staff were him, to which Futoshi would nod with a gentle smile. It was only further in the dialogue with the silver-haired, young shinobi that Futoshi would catch on to a very important hint. They needed to see his lips move. Was his partner deaf? Futoshi decided it would be best to get that out of the way with haste, as the mission would go incredibly more smoothly if Futoshi wasn't having to play guessing games with the condition of his partner.

He made sure his lips were visible and spoke with a bit of definition and some hand gestures to make his words clear. If his partner was deaf, Futoshi had picked up this method of communication in the past and it was supposed to be idea for those with hearing disabilities.

"Just because we are going to be working together in a slightly dangerous situation, I wanted to ask you straightforwardly if you are deaf."

Futoshi just wanted to be crystal clear. There was no reason why he couldn't work with someone who had a disability, but it was incredibly necessary that he was aware of it. Otherwise Futoshi would find himself shouting to his partner to warn him of danger only to not know why he wasn't reacting. Death was a worry in these situations.

Regardless of the response he recieved from his mission partner, Futoshi would motion that they make way toward the last known location of the bandits and would begin walking in that direction.

Post WC: 313
Total WC: 651

Chiaki nodded, seeing the decisiveness of the other ninja and deciding to follow suit. While the duo walked towards the direction, Chiaki put a hand to the side of their head, the dark blue of their eyes turning black. Soon red began to glow among the black in a sharp, repeated scythe like pattern. Chiaki gritted their teeth as black and red orbs fell from their eyes, forming into an exact replication of their Onigan. They held out this hand to hold the third eye for a moment, making sure it was properly formed, before sending it out ahead of the two, to make sure the target was in the correct location. Chiaki was still new enough to the summons of the Onigan that it was a slight pain and inconvenience to use, but if these bandits were putting lives at risk, then that would be more important than a slight headache. Besides, the more the Onigan is used, the less it’ll be a bother… Hopefully. They weren’t too sure, not really paying attention in their clan’s lessons. After all, it was such a brutish clan history and just… Didn’t appeal to them. Power wasn’t as important as the Fukitsuna believed.

Continuing to walk forwards, currently the two of them ascending a sand hill, Chiaki held up a hand to signal for Futoshi to stop. By looking through the eye they sent forward, Chiaki saw the bandit trio in question. With a frown, they took out a kunai, writing in kanji carefully in the sands: We were too late. They wait for their partner to have read the message, not expecting him to understand until he saw what the Onigan witnessed. As soon as they thought he understood, they began walking around the sand hill, whispering “Go directly over… I will go around to cut them off… Three targets…” It wasn’t a long walk to get around behind the trio of bad guys, but that didn’t stop it being somewhat of a nuisance. They span their kunai in their hands, sending the third eye back to the realm of the Onigan with a thought as soon as they were in position. They had ganged up on a poor individual and got them killed. It was terrible. Chiaki truly felt sad about the loss of life, and felt they must avenge the poor stranger. However from an outside perspective, none of that was shown, as they yawned.

406 + 659 = 1065

Jutsu used:

Chakra: 140/150

Chiaki utilized what seemed to be a form of summoning that Futoshi had never heard of before in his life. An eye, a replica of what appeared to be a doujutsu that Chiaki was using, flew overhead as they continued their trek. It was only after a a handful of steps further that he signaled Futoshi to halt and and etched in the sand in kanji "We were too late." He then detailed what his extra eye had scouted for them. Three bandits total, evidently had killed someone before the two could arrive. Chiaki was going to go around to cut them off while Futoshi blitzed them from the front. That was perfect because he was feeing uneasy, and believed that retribution was in order. With a serious, slightly grim nod in agreement, Futoshi burst forward. He cared little for the element of surprise, his accomplice would provide plenty of that while Futoshi had his way with the murderous savages.

Futoshi wasted not a second of time when he entered line of sight. The strongest of the three bandits pulled out his Kunai and prepared to fight while the other two turned around and began to rush off. They had no idea what they'd find on the other side of that dune. Futoshi resolved at that moment, he was going to kill this man, as his Kunai was fresh with blood from the body he stood over. Futoshi was ready. His blood was boiling but he didn't let that show in his demeanor. While his rage levels hit all-time highs, he carried about him the calm elegance. His attack was ready to launch at any moment.

"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into, man. He was very in debt to a bad bad man. I'm only doing my jo..."

The man would be cut off at that point seeing Futoshi rise 25 meters into the air, and plummet down toward him with his foot extended, connecting with the bandits windpipe in only a second. Sand would burst in all directions to form a crater as the bandit met his end. With a crushed and singed windpipe, his life expired rather quickly.

Futoshi would dash up the dune to look on the other side, just to ensure his ally was all well.

Jutsu:

Post WC: 388
Total WC: 1039 [1000/1000 Mission Requirement]

Having gotten into position and hearing the sounds of the enemy being engaged, Chiaki took out their 3 shuriken, deciding to deal with one of the two the traditional way. The first of the nomads rose over the dune, only to find that wasn’t a good way to flee, a currently red eyed ninja seemingly ready for her. She didn’t have time to react however, as the instant she rose over the dune, the Fukitsuna released all three of the shuriken. It wasn’t perfectly timed or aimed, but that’s why they threw all three at once, to make up for it. The first shuriken missed, skimming directly past the bandit’s head, the third grazed over their shoulder, but the second hit the intended mark, penetrating into her throat.  The second bandit rose up the hill as well, only to find his fellow nomad collapse back where she came, clasping desperately at her neck as if it would stop her from bleeding out. It was a terrible way to die, but sadly Chiaki had no way to deliver a mercy killing. They sighed, making note that they would have to work on that; but not now.

The survivor turned tail to run to the side, something Chiaki expected, but not as quickly as it ended up occurring. They launched their kunai directly into his leg, causing his running to slow down, even if only a little. Perfect. The non-binary ninja rushed towards the now wounded target, intent on finishing this with one more blow. A stream of black and red began leaking out of their eyes, defying gravity as it seemed to snake towards the target with a mind of its own. From this stream, pitch black arms began to grow, a red glow appearing from what could be considered a face. Moans and screams emanated from the thing, almost like the summon itself was dying, and the stream separated itself from Chiaki’s eyes. They sank to their knees, panting slightly, this technique in particular giving her a massive headache. The demonic creature flew towards the man, very quickly catching up to him. He turned around, blood stained kunai raised in a pitiful attempt to protect himself, but it was too late. The left arm of the creature reached up, gently caressing the man for a moment, before violently exploding, flames engulfing the man, the wailing of the creature being replaced with the cries of terror and agony of the man, now severely burnt and curled on the ground in pain.

Chiaki walked up to him, a frown on their face, before leaning down and almost gracefully slitting his throat. They looked at the blood on their hands with a look of disgust, before walking over the hill to catch up with Futoshi. Their eyes returned to the normal shade of blue, they look up at their teammate before frowning. “I tried to make it hurt as little as possible. I will now be recollecting my weapons, and going to clean up… It was a pleasure to work with you, Futosh.” They bowed, before walking back towards where the dead bodies were. So, that was an experience. One they likely wouldn’t forget for a long time, as much as they surely would love to.

543 + 1065 = 1608 [MISSION COMPLETE]

Jutsu used:

Chakra: 125/150
[EXIT THREAD]

Stat Training:

Futoshi saw his ally had...taken care of the other two. They both lay dead. Such was the brutality of being a shinobi. One innocent lay dead, and so three vagrants would fall in his place. The world must always be balanced. There is good and evil. When the life of an innocent is taken, it's only right that those responsible should pay the price. Blood stained the sand. Most of that blood was Chiaki's doing, as Futoshi had killed his target with blunt trauma. No need for severing vital structures when your body itself is a deadly weapon.

Chiaki was at least a bit remorseful that his kills were less than quick and painless, though he needn't have shown any remorse at all. Futoshi stood, staring across that desert at the small scene of carnage, and he made a small journey back over to the body of the innocent man that had died, and carried the slashed up corpse across the desert with him. He was taking it back to the village, hopefully someone would be able to find a next of kin, and they could bury him properly. The vagrants could find a grave in the bloody desert, where they lie.

"What we did here was a service. Keep the books balanced. I hope to see you around. Safe journey back to the village, Chiaki."

It was a tedious and strained effort carrying that body back to Sunagakure. It was dead weight, which didn't make it any lighter. By the time Futoshi arrived, his body was on fire both in his muscles and externally on his skin. Sweat was pouring. It was all worth it though, as they found the wife and kids of the man, and he recieved the appropriate burial.

On top of all of that, Futoshi got the chance to give closure to the family and assured them that should trouble arise with whomever it was that their recently dead husband/father owed money, they wouldn't have any need to worry about being bothered in any way by those people. He assured them of this, and a security detail was posted.

Overall the experience of killing his first man ended in such a way that it was entirely justified in his mind, and in the mind of everyone else involved. He asked that Chiaki be acknowledged for his deeds by the administrative staff in some way, and he never left his partner out of the story when it was told. Futoshi owed Chiaki for the entire deed.

Post WC: 427
Thread WC: 1466
1000/1000 C-rank Mission
450/450 Perception: E to E-3
16 remaining
[Exit Thread]