Mission:

Raphael took in a deep breath of the fresh air it was good to be outside again, he had spent the last week in bed with stomach cramps and the occasional throwing up due to his own stupidity of not heeding the sign next to that stupid fruit tree. He would not make a mistake like that again, he was just glad that the ill effects the fruit brought on was finally past and he could get out of his apartement and get some fresh air in his lungs, he just hoped that the other boy had been luck and not had to suffer as long as Raphael had. He had thought about stopping by the hospital to see if the boy was there, but decided against it as he did not know if the boy would of gone to the hospital or just suffered through it as he had. Besides all that he had a lot more on his mind, after being cooped up for the past week he was eager to get back out and get some work done. During his sickness he had received a letter from the Raikage stating that his admission into the ranks of the Kumo Shinobi had been finalized and as soon as he was fit for duty he was to report to the administration office for some orders. He leapt down from his apartment balcony not wanting to take the time to walk down the three flights of stairs as he was in a hurry to both get away from his apartment for a while as well as getting back to work. Walking down the street he was glad that he did not have a crowd to deal with, I guess citizenship has its advantages he thought to himself as he walked. His apartment was in the part of the village where few if any visitors traveled, and with most of the village still preoccupied by the ongoing chuunin exams he had almost the whole street to himself. As he rounded the corner to the street where the administration building was, Raphael saw a familiar white haired boy speak of the devil the young Shinobi thought to himself, "Eishi is that you? How are you doing what brings you here?" Raphael would give an awkward smile still an unfamiliar and recently new expression for the young Shinobi, "sorry again about the whole fruit thing, if I had known I would not of even taken the first fruit, and I certainly would not have offered it to you."

---

425

After paying his debt to the hospital, Eishi decided that he needs to work more if he was to survive the harsh reality of economics that imposed on him the necessity to be productive and actually do something for other people in order to feed himself. The boy still hadn't got any real shelter and was using the nearby benches to sleep, having trouble with the annoying birds that considered him his playground. They were doing their best to annoy him and despite all the counter measures he had taken so far they still had to show a flicker of consideration for the poor shinobi who was desperately trying to find some peace and quiet in this otherwise lively village. It didn't take long – only a couple of nights – for him to realize how ridiculous that dream was. If not ridiculous, it was – at best – impossible. "I'll get you, birdy birds", Eishi threatened them and began working on a devious plan.


The boy was crouching nearby the Administration building, doing his best to wire up something that looked like a small net. For the last two days he was gathering materials to build himself a weapon of pigeon destruction... without much success. In the meantime he was running errands, getting to know the place better and eventually stock up on some ryo for bread and a way back home. It was a slow process, but nonetheless – better than doing nothing. At the time when Raphael came, Eishi had almost finished his tool, preparing himself to set off on the last obstacle course set-up the village probably needed. The trials – quick to execute – were over and with the battles approaching, one had to reset and recover the fields for whatever purpose they served before the exams.

"Just... a little... push... and... YIKES!" Raphael voice scared the white-haired genin as he instinctively threw everything he held in the air. "Raphael, is that... ouch!" The semicompleted net fell on Eishi's head and then tumbled on the ground. "Why, why, am I glad to see you alive, buddy! Tell you what, I've eaten all manners of stuff, but those things... those things were demonic, man! Demonic! Pure evil, I tell you."
Eishi stood up.
"What are you up to, bud? I am about to head out on a mission. Let me guess – you are here to be my partner, right? Heh-heh. They told me someone would come. Err, eventually. So. Are you ready to roll?"

In case Raphael didn't understand what was going on, Eishi would try to brief him on the details and avoid all questions regarding the net. He would simply try to talk his way around it. If they both head out on the mission, the Kiri genin will rekindle his own curiosity (about Raphael's past) although this time he wouldn't talk nearly as much, giving Raphael more space and making him feel more at ease.
---

WC: 496

Raphael could not help but to laugh as he watched the boy tumble to the ground covered in a net, "I am sorry Eishi I did not mean to spook you" he said as he offered Eishi his hand to help him stand. Eishi spoke of the fruit and how it was pure evil, "yeah again really sorry 'bout that" Raphael replied as he tried to help Eishi out of the net. "Well I did receive a letter this morning about a mission with someone, 'course I thought it was a squad assignment since my joining the hidden cloud just became official, but I was suppose to meet them here and since your the only one here you must be my partner," Raphael said with a grin, "why don't we head out and you can fill me in along the way."

As they walked Eishi would tell Raphael about their group assignment of taking down the traps and resetting and everything else that needed to be done by the pair. Once Eishi was done briefing Raphael the young Shinobi would look to Eishi, "so I dont mean to pry but what's the deal with the net back there," but Eishi quickly changed the subject giving Raphael the impression that he did not want to talk about it, so Raphael would drop his curiosity out of respect for the other boy as he knew what it was like to have questions asked that he did not want to answer. Instead he decided he would answer some questions that the boy had about him, hoping that maybe it would put the boy more at ease to answering his question about the net. "Well my clan is from wind country," but he would not give the name of his clan or that he was the son of the leader, "I went to the academy in Sunagakure before the massacre of course, after I graduated I returned to my clan where I furthered my training until I came here to pursue my dream of being the strongest Shinobi in the world." Raphael intentionally left out the part about him being in Suna when the destruction started mainly because he did not know who it was that pulled him out or why they did it. "Now I am a Shinobi of the hidden cloud village and so far I like it, it is not the same as my place in my clan compound but they gave me my own apartment so that's something." he added with a chuckle. After some time passed they got to the first marker that showed them where the trap was for them to disable, "looks easy enough to take care of," Raphael said looking over to the boy, "you wanna take care of this one and I can get the next one?" He would ask, if the boy accepted he would wait for the boy to disarm the trap and once he was done the two could move on to their next target. Should the boy decline he would take care of the first trap and let the boy take the second one down.

Once they were done they could continue on down the road to their next destination and continue their conversation, this time Raphael would ask Eishi some questions about himself to better get to know the boy such as where he was from and whatever else the boy was willing to share about himself but he did not ask about the net again, if the boy wanted him to know about the net Raphael figured the boy would tell him about it. If more questions came from the boy he would answer them in turn, however he still would not give his clan name nor anything about him being part of the sand village.

---

640/1065

"The massacre?", Eishi didn't know anything about it but quickly decided that it would probably be for the best if he avoided any touchy subjects on his part, therefore the boy felt content by not indulging in any further questioning (at least in that line of thought). However he took close notes and promised himself to check on the story later when he had the money to pull a small research on his own. "I'll probably go check the local library, see if there are some recent newspapers involving any kind of mass murder or bloodshed in the Wind country. My partner seems to be happy here, but changing villages is not something that occurs often in our line of work. In fact, I've never heard of such a case before. Raphael might be a precedent on his own which may explain a couple of things."

When they reached their first trap, Eishi was asked if he could take care of it. The white-haired genin just gave a short nod and crouched in front of the metal object, carefully pulling his instruments. It was of paramount importance not to break anything for both his tools and the deployed contraptions were the sole property of Kumogakure no Sato, thus they were a solid investment on the Raikage's part. If anything happened to them, the genin was supposed to pay the damage in full, and he couldn't really afford it. At least not if he were to return back home and reclaim his everyday life from the clutches of his terrible luck.

"Someone must've cut the snare, avoiding a small explosion. However, if I don't completely disarm the pressure mechanism, this baby is as deadly as it goes. Weird. The victim must've acted extremely quick, probably quicker than most. He knew what he was doing, but it's what you get when you rely on old school technology." "Hey, Raphael, can you look for a fuse somewhere? Think we need to bring that back too. Thanks, man. And be careful not to step on something – there might be more of those around. It can get messy..."

After their work was properly executed, the partners would foolproof the trap and would continue to move farther ahead. Raphael would then ask Eishi questions about the boy's past which would surprise the Kiri genin for he would have not expected such a turn of tides. However, the white-haired ninja would feel happy to answer for – by doing so, he would feel that he gets one step closer towards making a new friend.

"My father was part of the military which made him bitter and full of regret. My mother is soft and kind, but I think she struggles to be part of the family. It's mostly a ruined home by now if you ask me. And you should definitely ask me for I am its greatest disappointment. A stain wearing my parents' name. See, our clan is cool and all, but my dad... he... he doesn't really... anyway. I don't talk to my relatives and I rarely see them about. Ever since dad got injured. It's... when he turned. He was loving me before, I am certain. Guess I just... lacked the discipline to be a weapon of mass destruction. And he may no longer serve, so... it's over. He knows it. And he tries to push me, but... ugh... here I am, far from home. To be honest, the story I told you when we first met, it was real. All of it. I did came here just to chill. And I did try to abuse my clinical rights for a nice bed and a cup of supper. Heh-heh. Turned out it was a bit more... complicated than I anticipated. Watch out!"

An automated shuriken thrower shot edges at the boys who managed to dodge them and hide behind some nearby rocks. The machine was fully operational and its scanners were still running, detecting prey.

"Guess we have to take it out. Do you have a plan? I am ready to cope, just say the word. And remember – we shouldn't destroy or otherwise damage the gun – they'll probably take our heads for it!"
---

WC: 718
TWC: 1214

Raphael found the fuse the boy spoke of with relative ease, sticking it in his pocket for later. As they walked and raphael learned more about the boy he could not help but feel as if Eishi's family was the exact polar opposite of his own, and he felt sorry for him before when he had first met the boy he had thought the boy to be a liar yet now he felt truth in his words. Raphael quickly ducked behind the boulder with Eishi who asked if he had any ideas, he could only think of one quickly he blew into his hand and shaped the chakra infused wind into a ball in his hand. Raphael looked to the boy, "hope this works," he said before coming out from the rock and throwing the ball at the Shuriken Launcher. The wind ball hit it's mark not the machine itself but the power supply, the cord that ran from the automated launchers and its sensors ran along the top of the roof where it set before dropping down the wall to where Raphael could only assume the power supply came from. His wind ball hit the cord just hard enough to knock it loose from the launcher cutting of the launcher's power supply and forcing it to shut down. Raphael let out a sigh of relief, "I am so glad that worked," he said with a half smile to the boy as he walked up to the shuriken launcher to take it off it's stand. Once the shuriken launcher was taken care of the two boys would continue on their journey and continue their conversation now that they were out of trouble.

After all the traps and snares were dealt with and the boys headed back to the administration office to turn in their mission report and all the gear that was recovered, once that was done and the boy's were about to part ways a thought occured to Raphael. "Hey Eishi, I was wondering do you need a place to stay tonight? I don't have much but I do have a couch you could sleep on, and it comes with a warm room, some food and some conversation if you are interested." Raphael knew the boy was having a hard time and he couldn't help but feel sorry for the boy, but that was not why he was asking the boy to stay over. It was because he had grown to like the boy and consider him as a friend and he can not help but help a friend, and that is exactly what he would tell the boy if he should ask.

If the boy excepted Raphael's offer then he would lead the boy down the side street's to his apartment, if the boy declined he would understand and bid farewell to his new friend until they met again.

{Exit Thread}
~Mission Complete~

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490/1555

"Nice shot!", Eishi cheered as Raphael's technique severed the fuse and disabled the contraption without doing any significant damage to its main body. "A masterful approach", he also added before standing up. "Now we can finish our job here and move farther ahead. Jeez, I wonder what's in store for us – a flamethrower? Those things are dangerous. Then again, what is to be expected of the chuunin exams? Think the Raikage scored a bit of an overkill though. While doing all the planning I mean, yeah? Anyway. I bet that we won't encounter anything discouraging along the way. Well, not if we work together, that is. We make a great team." Eishi gave Raph a thumbs up and grinned.


A couple of hours later the boys had seen all kinds of discouraging stuff – machinery aimed to kill. From kunai rotaters to sealing bomb barrage guns; it was an impressive arsenal that could easily be used in an actual war effort. Luckily for the working genin though, the engineers had provided them both with a small manual that helped them navigate the threats and avoid significant harm, although (even then) it wasn't an easy job. There were plenty of moments in which Eishi just wanted to quit even though he didn't really admit it. Out loud, at least. But in those moments he gritted his teeth and preserved, seeking comfort in the conversations he led with Raphael while traversing the course route towards the next obstacle. It was a small detail that kept him sane and energetic – something the Kiri genin felt thankful for.


"They are not paying us enough for this crap!", Eishi whined. His foot got stuck in a small pit hole as he was trying to cover it with a special cloth just at the end of the track. The tar-like liquid was smelly and disgusting; it kept pulling the boy's leg downwards as if he had stepped into a deep swamp. "I can't believe I couldn't see that coming. Snap. According to this, we need some water. Water, water... oh, wait. I can do water. What else? Oil?! I can't do oil! Hey, Raph, where are you, man? I can really use a branch or something...".


"Thanks, buddy. Ewww. Why, look at this! Another pair of trousers completely ruined. At least I have my leg back, so... let's keep moving. Did you get that snare?"


At the end of the work day the boys were rather tired but confident that their task was completed. No trap had remained unchecked – everything was in perfect order.

As they waited for their payment at the Administration building, they were doing their best not to fall asleep. Raphael was much better at this than Eishi who could barely keep his eyelids open. Just the thought of the upcoming pigeon trashing was giving the boy the goosebumps for his bird enemies were awake. And patient. Thus the urge to compensate his rest in advance; to gather his strength now in order to fight back later. The Kiri genin was not going to surrender. He didn't intend to.

"Yuki Eishi! Raphael Kozai!", a voice boomed and its sheer strength almost sent the kids in a comma. "Come on in and report!"


It was a quiet night. And a beautiful one as well. Eishi and Raphael were walking down the street from the Raikage's office, hands in pockets. During their time together they got to know each other a lot so they already felt comfortable with the silence. Even Eishi who rarely kept his mouth shut was now just enjoying the stroll.

As they reached the village center, the Kirigakure shinobi let out a quiet sigh and extended his hand. "I guess that's that, eh? I had a blast, buddy. Hope we get to do that again sometime."
Raphael seemed... discontent.
"Hey, Eishi, I was wondering do you need a place to stay tonight? I don't have much but I do have a couch you could sleep on, and it comes with a warm room, some food and some conversation if you are interested."

"Ah, so you figured it out, huh? Didn't take you long." The white-haired genin smiled dryly. "Yeah. I mean... it's not like I've expected anything less, you strike me as someone observant, but... sure. I mean... the net back then? It was for the pigeons. I would gladly trade my ongoing war with them for the comfort of a friend's company. Besides...", he grinned. "We get to be roommates for a while! How cool is that, huh, huh? I always wanted to have a roommate!"

The boy's enthusiasm suddenly exploded in a burst of blabbering that continued all the way to Raph's apartment. No sign of weariness remained in him. And if nothing else, it was only a promise of a talkative evening.
---

WC: 825
TWC: 2039

C-rank mission – completed (2039 - 1500 = 539 words left)

[Exit]

Training:

1. Perception from D-1 to D-2 for 400 words and 50 ryo.
(539 - 400 words = 139 words left)