Quest:

---

The young Aburame stood in front of the administration building, like always his appearance was shrouded by his clothes. His mask covering his mouth and nose and his goggles covered his eyes the only visual thing that could be seen under his shroud of clothing was his all black hair that was spiked at the top of his head. The sun was high in the sky, something that the boy was not too happy about but it could not be helped. His services along with that of other shinobi of the hidden leaf village had been called upon, some terrible things have happened in the land of wind. An unknown force had destroyed the village hidden in the sand, now the citizens of that once great country now flooded to the different villages of the world seeking shelter as well as any other help that the other villages could offer. The Hokage was now calling the shinobi of the village hidden in the leaf to action, even low level shinobi such as the boy needed to do their part and find out what they can so that the village could better provide the help that the land of wind needed.

Though the young Aburame felt that their time would be better served by working to protect their own village from suffering the same fate of the hidden sand it was not his place to question an assignment no matter who the order came from, and especially not the orders of the Hokage. The boy would be working in a team with two other genin's which would be a new experience for the boy as he mostly worked missions alone or with only a single partner, Retsu did feel that it would be good for him to work with others as a team rather than alone. On the bright side he did know the name of the two he would be working with, and he recognized the name of one of them, Meiyo. He had ran into the girl just a few nights before on the anniversary of his parents murder at the Honored Shinobi Monument, they had shared a connection though the boy left it on a sour note the girl seemed to more optimistic about it and did not seem bothered by his attitude towards her. The young Aburame was glad that he would have a chance to get to know more about her, under better circumstances and hopefully with a better topic than they had shared that night. The boy's thoughts trailed to the other name that was going to be on this team, Reo, he knew nothing about this boy however that did not matter as with Meiyo he would have a chance to get to know him as they worked together to gather the information that the Hokage was looking for.

As the boy waited for his two teammates to arrive, the young shinobi began formulating a plan as to how best to go about completing their assignment.

---

~504

Meiyo had received word she was needed for an important mission. Though most missions were titled as such, this one was especially special. It held the weight of helping refugees as well it was priority that all available shinobi and kunoichi give their part. Her part today was to work in a team of three to track down the nearest refugees and learn as much as they can about the situation they have been through, so the village can see how best to help them. She raced through the village across the rooftops quickly as her mind raced with the limited but hopefully helpful knowledge she carried. She knew most in the village, she knew the inner workings and such. She also was from an outer village - though no longer standing - and knew some of the outskirts areas. She had always been the social butterfly and getting to know anything and anyone came with the talent. She hoped maybe this knowledge could help.

She also spun thoughts about how to and where to start. She knew only one teammate and very little about his abilities. Aburame, Retsu. They had met the other evening at the monument, great guy, really shielded though, and a dark past she could relate to. He was sour at the end but hey, sour candies are good too. Keeps the flavors fresh. Anyway, she knew that his clan was known and prided in sensory. If needed he could be very helpful in tracking. Now for the other, she knew nothing but a name. That made it difficult, other than they all had to know the same basic ninja skills having trained at the academy. Can’t be genin without graduation.

Now as for where, that was the next question. Recently the neighbors that commonly gathered on Mrs. Saito’s porch were gossiping briefly about strangers traveling towards Konoha. That could mean they had better luck just outside the gates of Konoha. Down the main road, she was sure. It was a common route at best. Considering there were rest stops along this road it would be the route she would take.

Swiftly she approached the Administration building. She was dressed for success. She wore a purple dress that met her knees but was sleeveless as it was really a strip of fabric dress embroidered on the hems with black flowers. It crossed in the back and tied in a big bow on her left hip. On her right hip it was hemmed and cut up to her hip allowing easier access to her weapons pouch. Her arms  from the elbows down her hands and her legs from her hips to her thighs were wrapped with black wrap - modesty key for survival she often joked. Though the back was revealing, practically showing off the long length of brutal scars from fires passed that traveled from her hairline down to her hips. She tied her rainbow hair up into two low buns with only her bangs hanging long around her face. Her Leaf Village headband stood shining atop her head just behind the bangs - practically her tiara of honor. With black sandals on her feet, she was ready for anything.

She jogged up to the building with a smile and gold eyes shining bright towards the shadowed shinobi that stood like a sore thumb in all the sunshine. Per his normal it seemed, he was covered head to toe, literally with dark clothing. He also stood confidentally though so stiffly he could be mistaken for a statue.

She waved happily, excited she would be teamed up with someone she knew - even if briefly. They’d bonded of the shadows of their pasts, it was a heavy enough branding of friendship. “Hey, friend! I’m so glad I have you on my team! How are you doing today?” She spoke bright and shiny, though her question did have a double meaning she hoped he’d catch. “Our teammate hasn’t arrived yet? I wonder what they’re like.” she hummed thoughtfully. She leaned against the building with one foot propped up and her arms folded behind her head. The building was warm against her cool skin, it was quite soothing. Though she was already at ease and reaving to go.

WC 711

A young man clad in a green tank top strode down the road. His legs passed each other at a moderate pace, the swish of his black pants and click of his black sandals accompanied him, his freshly acquired Konoha forehead protector rest loosely around his neck. To say that Reo was nervous was to understate his feelings about this whole ordeal by a great margin. Reo Murata had only just graduated from the Ninja Academy abut a week or so before he got the call to come together with two other Genin. It seemed as though something disastrous had happened in Sunogakure, and Konohagakure, being a village who seemed to greatly value positive interactions, was trying to aid the refugees as best possible. No one who Reo talked to seemed to know anything about what happened, but then again, he did not talk to any refugees directly. Perhaps there was information to be gathered from primary sources.The Hokage apparently had the same idea, and was sending out ninja as young as freshly trained Genin to talk to Sunogakure refugees about their experience, while trying to gather some information for their own village. It seemed as though all of Konohagkure's forces that could be spared were going towards Sunogakure aid. Though Reo had questions about whether they shouldn't be focused on protecting themselves from whatever it was that destroyed the Sand Village, he figured that the Hokage had some knowledge concerning strategy that eluded the burgeoning shinobi, and figured nothing ill could come of following orders. This is to say that he was not concerned with his mission. The factors which had Reo's mind racing were in fact, Aburame Retsu and Ren Meiyo.

The fact of the mater was that Reo knew absolutely nothing about the other two shinobi who he would be working with, and for someone as analytical as he, all that caused was a storm of negative thoughts as to how he would come across to his fellow ninja of the Hidden Leaf. He'd had not time to train his technique in any sort of way, and had, quite literally, no experience or mentors to speak of. Even though this particular job didn't seem as though it would require much other than a strong set of people skills and data collection, he was still afraid of speaking out of turn. Despite the fact that he was quite an intelligent individual, he simply didn't understand how the would of ninja functioned in a practical sense. Going over his options he thought about what sort of people he would be working with. Largely his judgements would have to wait until he got to the meeting place, as he had never met either of them. Thinking to himself, he considered that he should be looking out for. Firstly, he should examine what their stance was. If they seemed to be reclusive and closed off, he should follow suit, but if they were acting friendly with each other, he figured he should probably do the same. The next thing for him to examine would be their tone of voice, for similar reasons. In any case, he was approaching the building now, and figured his opportunity would come soon enough. In front of him was the rendezvous, and two figures.

First off was the Aburame. From what little he revealed, Retsu seemed a tad younger than Reo and a few inches shorter as well. Looking at him now, he recalled what he had learned about the Aburame clan during his academic years in Konoha. From what he had studied, they were an odd bunch, and tended to cover up in public. It seemed Retsu was the same, as the young man was covered from head to toe in black coverings, even opting to wear goggles over his eyes. Looking closely, the green clad shinobi occaisionally caught a glimpse of some kind of bug scurrying around the body of his shady looking comrade, which he concluded must have be the signature Kikaichu the Aburame clan used for their special Kekkai Genkai. He seemed to be a rather reserved individual, as one would expect from Konoha's bug wielding clan.

The second was Meiyo. She seemed to be significantly younger than either Retsu or Reo, maybe by four or even five years. In accordance with both her feminine form and her age, she was about a foot shorter than Reo. Without a doubt, however, she was a more experienced shinobi than Reo, based on her confident carriage, and also judging on the fact that she and Retsu seemed to be conversing as if they knew each other from sometime prior. The rainbow-haired girl seemed to have a more chipper demeanor than their black-clad friend, speaking with noticeably more energy than the Aburame who they were to engage in the mission with.

Knowing he was essentially a beginner compared to these two who were a number of years younger than him was somewhat discouraging. It was true that his ninja career had begun late. Despite this, however, he figured that it wouldn't do anyone any good to know how inexperienced Reo was, and opted to take a somewhat confident approach to introducing himself. Walking up to his teammates, "Hello, Aburame Retsu and Ren Meiyo," he dipped his head, "Murata Reo, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, though you likely received my name in the same message that called us all to action." He smiled at the both of them, aiming to give off a friendly aura, "I look forward to working with the both of you."

Post WC: 931
Personal WC: 931
Thread WC: 2146

The young Aburame's thoughts raced with what to do, he did not know much about the situation, however he did know that at least some refugees had alreasy made it to Konohagakure. There was a refugee camp that had been set up near the village gates, he had passed by when they were setting it up a few days before so reason would dictate that would be the first place to stop by and see what information they could gain from those already here. If they were not able to gather the information they needed from there the question became where to go next, the young boy had never travelled away from the village any further than the Dense Forest that surrounded it however the layout of the land of Fire was something that they had covered in the academy. The boy knew the main road that lead to the village eventually branched off to another road that lead to the border between the land of Wind and the land of Fire but the main question was would refugees be on the road? He had never been in a position where he was forced to flee from his home and travel to a distant country to seek Refuge, so he could not speak to the state of mind of those who had. He only hoped that they would find the answers that they sought at the refugee camp and not have to travel out and guess where refugees might be, however if it did come to that he could only hope that one of his teammates might know their way around.

The boy's thoughts were interrupted by one of his Kikaichu, a familiar presence was approaching. No sooner than the alert came from his Kikaichu the boy caught sight of the girl, she waved her arm with excitement as she approached wearing a purple dress that seemed to compliment the girls bubbly personality. Her hair was up in two buns rather than flowing behind her like it was when they had first met, but there was no mistaking the rainbow hair of the girl. A smile formed beneath the mask on the boy's face as he waited for her to join him, at least he was going to be working with someone he kind of knew so it would save a little time on the formalities of the situation. The girl's greeting was in the same tone that Retsu remembered from the night they had met, but her question seemed to have a different meaning then the rest of her words more than likely a concern for how he was holding up considering what transpired on the night they had met. "I am doing better thank you for asking," the boy replied with a smile though the girl would not be able to see it beneath his mask, his tone not cheerful as the girl's was however it held kindness within them. "And You?" He asked remembering her own bad day, he had meant to go visit her like he had promised but he had been so busy it had slipped his mind. "I have not seen them yet," the young Aburame would reply to the girl's question of their third teammate, he had hoped that Meiyo may have known who their third would be however judging by her statement of wondering what they were like it was clear that she did not.

Silence filled the air as the boy debated whether or not he should apologize to the girl, however it did not last long as a voice rang through the air drawing the boy's attention to its source. His goggles eyes met with the sight of a man in a green shirt and black pants, it would seem that of the three Retsu himself was the only one not dressed for the warm air of the summer. However his apparel was not a concern, at least not to himself, he had never worried about the weather of any kind. The man was polite with a dip in his head during him introducing himself, is tone was similar to that of Meiyo causing the boy to frown slightly beneath his mask. 'Just my luck two cheerful teammates' he thought to himself as he began sizing up the man who was to be their teammate, he was ok with Meiyo's cheerfulness in fact he had prepared for it however he had not accounted for too cheerful teammates. The boy silenced his own thoughts and turned his attention back to that of the man. "It is nice to meet you, Reo" the young Aburame would state as he returned his own dip of his head in return to the man. "Now that we are all here why don't we get started, there is a refugee camp near the main gates I thought it would be the best place to start. Unless one of you might know somewhere else that might provide us with the information we are tasked with gathering." The boy's tone was soft and calm, giving no indication that he was attempting to be the shot caller of the group especially consider he was still new having just returned to service with the village and not knowing the other two's background when it came to a situation such as this. As long as the other two were ok with his idea the boy would begin walking down the main road of the village towards the gates, he would walk at a pace so that the others could walk next to him. A miniscule amount of the boys Kikaichu would spread throughout the area around them, this small amount would not be enough to draw any attention to them with them spread so far away from each other but it allowed the boy to have a web of awareness around him in his comrades. This was a common habit that the young Aburame did, even though it was highly unlikely that they would encounter any trouble it was better to be safe than sorry in the boy's mind.

---

~1030

Retsu responded easily. Though bland, she thought as a curious, almost coy smile curled on her lips. Oh well, can’t ask too much of him in a public setting like this. Her gaze shifted to look at him from her peripherals, considering his response. She had only met him once, but she was interested if she could catch the quirks in his body language. She had read a few books on the subject recently and learned that these cues could be subtle, however, they are there in even the most shut off personalities. Retsu however, he was a brick wall. But his tone was kind. Polite.

And the politeness turned the tables back to her. The anniversary of the death that haunted her the most had come and passed. So far, it had been the most consuming and bothersome yet. Almost as if the demons that lurked in the depths of her mind were gnawing through the chains that held them. They had been particularly greedy to steal away the happiness in her soul. It wasn’t necessarily something she wanted to relive or retell in a public setting, similar to her shadowed friend. From it, she hadn’t slept the past few nights. She’d been left to meditation and recreation to keep them at bay; fearful her heart would implode. But with the right concealer, any girl could hide away the shadows.

She turned her head from him, realizing she had hesitated a second too long. Her smile had even twitched in the corner of her mouth, betraying the positivity she worked so hard to maintain. Meiyo was never a liar, mostly because she sucked at it, but honesty was the policy at the top of her list. To her luck, she had set him and herself up with an escape to the question. Awkwardly she looked up at a bird crossing the sky just beside a tuft of a cloud. “Great, I’m doing great.” She nodded as she spoke lightly, pressing her lips, a bit of her raspberry chapstick sweetening her mood.

Then, as if by great luck, their third member joined them. The mood shifted greatly upon his approach. He was tall, like Retsu, Crap, I’m the shortie again... she mused in her head. He was also dressed casually in green and black with sandals. As he spoke he was polite, bowing his head slightly. She responded with the same as Retsu greeted him first. Her smile brightened at this new opportunity. She loved getting to know new people, and he seemed light and fun. Stepping forward away from the wall she stood with her hands on her hips and feet wide, confident and buzzing with excitement. Another day, another mission. She lived for these times. “Great to meet you, Reo! Welcome to the team!” She welcomed him brightly.

Retsu offered a starting point. Refugee camp, nice. Something I didn’t know. She loved her mission team already. They were smart, balanced and geared towards the same goal. This would be an excellent adventure!

She bent and picked a dandelion bursting bright like the yellow sun above. “That sounds like a great place to start,” she spoke, moving to walk with the group. Though she was antsy, shivers traveling down her legs. Retsu led a walk and she was used to a run. She picked up the pace enough to turn and walk backward in front of them, twirling the flower between her fingers and picking a petal at a time off, letting them flow in the wind around them. “And if we can’t get enough information there, we can always move down the main road. I know a few rest spots along the way that serve a variety of… well, people.” Her thoughts twisted to ruffians that visited the particular tea shops she considered. Images of crushed benches and drunken men being tossed through windows. She bit her lip slightly, trying to speak kindly of their more aggressive personality. “Some, rougher than others but they are bound to have some leads if we absolutely needed it. Many of them travel the world for a living.” Meiyo smiled encouragingly, glancing at the two boys, hoping the two were braver than most if it came down to it. She’d traveled there with Mrs. Saito and she about had a heart attack. A repeat of that wouldn’t be grand, but they were shinobi of the Leaf. Maybe they’d find it thrilling like she did. But the refugee camp did seem promising enough their mission would end there.

Her gaze shifted to the small count of insects that left Retsu and spanned out thinly around them. At first, she thought they were average insects, but something about them, their shape reminded her of the other evening. They were the same bugs creating words in the air. She was curious what they were doing. “Sensory?” She asked slowly. The flames of interest burned behind her gold eyes. “Are they creating a perimeter? Is that like a way you can sense things around you?”


WC 848/1559

It was quite a relief to Reo that his new team seemed quite receptive to him. He could sense a certain kindness in Retsu's tone, which betrayed, somewhat, his first impression based on his garb. Certainly building a relationship with the Aburame was no longer as daunting of a task that he had at first feared. Ideally, he could form a good relationship with the two young shinobi he had been paired up with so that he could build the list of his allies as early as possible. With this idea in his mind, he began to address both Retsu and Meiyo. "Yes, I do think that your idea would be the best, considering the most number of refugees should be there, given that it hasn't been that long since they started coming here, and Meiyo, your idea could also work," he paused for a moment, thinking about the potential struggles even such an easy mission would give the youthful team, "However, at the same time, we have to remember we're dealing with individuals who have recently been through intense trauma. We need to be careful about the buttons we're pushing. It's entirely possible that pushing for information too hard from individuals who aren't in a mental state where they'd want to give it to us would be as much of a setback as we want it to be a benefit." He paused and scratched his chin.

Nodding, and going into his own babbling mental zone, he continued, "We'll have to take extra note of their body cues. We need to make sure they remain comfortable, and as such we need to remain relaxed ourselves, and therefor..." he continued, his thoughts getting so mumbled and quick that no one could have possible made out what it was he was saying. Suddenly, he snapped back to reality, "Ah! Sorry, I was rambling. In my opinion, we should tackle the refugee camp first, and then whatever area's Meiyo is talking about. Unfortunately I spend a lot of my time shut in my study, so I can't say I've heard of any other locations for us to look, but hopefully I will be able to assist this mission using my skillsets in dealing with people I've picked up from running my book renting service." He realized that he might have been oversharing at that point, and laughed lightly while scratching his head in an attempt to lighten the blow of his word vomiting. The tone he took was also one of deference, as he didn't want to seem like he was taking charge of the group, nor did he actually want to lead them, despite his status as their senior in age. Though his outward appearance was an amicable one, internally he was worried what sort of reaction they would have everything he just spouted. With all this talk of being cautious with how they interacted with the refugees, he realized that he needed to be more cautious with how he interacted with his team.

He noted the bugs that Retsu had let surround the area, in particular noting that he didn't try to hide them, implying some level of trust between him and his teammates. It was quite a relief to Reo that he had a competent teammate who knew how to use his abilities, as well as one who was cautious enough to monitor their perimeter even on such an easy mission as this. He was interested in the other abilities Retsu and the young Meiyo possessed, but figured now wasn't the time to ask, given that this mission probably wouldn't have much to do with their combat prowess. Embarrassingly, Reo had left his trident at home, figuring there wouldn't be any need to have it with him on a mission like this. Such was life however, if it came down to it there was still quite a bit Reo was capable of without a weapon in his hands.

As they walked along the path to the camp, he started up a conversation with the others, "Ah, so, I feel awkward about speaking so oddly earlier. As you already know my name is Murata Reo. My father's name was Murata Kenji, but since his passing I've lived alone in the residence I inherited. I'm not sure if either of you have loaned any books from the study, but I'm the sole proprietor of the Murata library now. I recently decided to go into service of Konoha in a more dedicated way, and so I enrolled and have since graduated the Ninja Academy, though I'm sure you could have guessed that," he shot them another simple smile, "Don't feel any need to share much about yourselves, but I wanted to lay out there that I don't have anything to hide, just to ease any worries you had about me."

Post WC: 807
Personal WC: 1738
Thread WC: 4831

Retsu would never admit aloud be he was happy to be on this assignment with the two of them Reo seemed to be very talkative and seemed to know a lot about how to talk with people, which in the Aburame's case was good because the boy absolutely hated talking to people so having two that did like to talk on his team the boy considered to be a bonus. He would let them do the talking and he would help by taking down the information, sure it did not seem like much but Reo had a good point the people had been through a lot already and there was no sense in making it worst with poor people skills.

Though covered by his mask a smile formed on his face at Meiyo's question about his kikaichu, at least his teammates were observant. Meiyo's voice was slow but Retsu could see the interest in her eye,  "Yes they are Meiyo, I do not like surprises with the help of my Kikaichu I have a small but helpful forewarning should something happen. Not that it would of course I doubt we will have any trouble." He said in a low voice as he looked to her not wanting to interrupt what Reo was saying but still loud enough that the male would be able to hear the response and not think they were whispering secrets about him while he talked. Even though most of it at this point was mumbled and gibberish that the young Aburame could not make out, though that only lasted a second as the other male quickly regained control of his mouth and apologized for rambling. When Reo stated he would be able to assist using his skill set in dealing with people, Retsu used the silence as an opportunity to confirm the males offer. "I think that will be a good idea, honestly I'm not that great with talking to people so I will let the two of you handle the questioning and I can take notes or whatever else needs to be done."

After Reo spoke about feelling awkward with speaking weird and then when on to talk about himself and everything else, the young Aburame could not help but feel as if this boy might actually talk too much. It was obvious by the fact of his age as well as his sharing that he did not grow up in the life style of a shinobi, he was too trusting. Of course it could be that the male's believed that them being from the same village meant that there is no reason not to trust them, Retsu could not know nor would he ask and yet still the young Aburame felt the need to say something. "There is no need to feel awkward Reo, we are all new to this in some way. I may have graduated five years ago but it was not until recently that I came back and began working for the village, in fact this is my first mission with a team mostly due to the fact that as I said before I have poor people skills." The boy's voice was very soft and monotone having no emotion or upbeat that either of the boy's partners voices possessed. "But I will say this Reo, you should never lay all your cards on the table even among friends." His voice paused as if he was not sure if he should say the rest of what he was thinking, but after a few seconds he continued. "Not everyone within the village is always an ally, I am sure there are spies from other villages spread throughout the village gathering information." Though his voice was the same that it had been, it did show a side of the boy that he did not often show and that was his belief in conspiracies. "You can never be too careful in this world, even when you think you are safe within your own village." Something the boy learned from his parents death and the main reason he used his Kikaichu as a warning system if someone is acting strange near him.

---

~703

The young kunoichi could often be described as fueled by the stigma she was always right, even when she was wrong, she was always right - as often most women are cursed. Without losing a beat, the small smile of satisfaction touched her lips. The dark knight would be a great asset if forewarning was needed. Today's mission was that of information but nothing more than casual encounters. However, he was right to not enjoy surprises. Especially in the dangerous world, they lived. The new kid on the block provided common but important insight as well. With the mention of sensitivity, the fire in her eyes smoldered softly. Her heart knew the loss they could be feeling. Though maybe not to the extent of having lost their entire country, government, livelihoods, but from one terrible day she too lost considerably.

She heard her team, however, their voices were almost afar. Flashes of flames and ash and a blue scarf suffocated her attention just till the last petal fell from her fingertips. Instead of dancing in the wind with the rest, it fell to the dirt like a stone. She pulled in a soft breath and smiled up at the boys. Her bright laugh filled the air. "Oh Retsu, you're so protective!" She giggled and teased, "but it's not like he's sharing his fantasies or secret code to a safe. Unless" She looked to Reo with peaked curiosity all over her face. "Are you?" She asked coyly. That indeed would make the situation all the more funny to her.

Laughing lightly she turned on her heel. Just up the road could be seen tents and crates of supplies. People in all sorts of uniforms from Konoha medics to Konoha servicemen. A variety of outsiders as well were in small clusters or walking in out the variety of shelters. Children in rags played about tossing mud clods and laughing at each other, while the adults stood about with the suffocating air of defeat weighing on their minds. Even here, a handful of yards away she felt like she had walked straight into a brick wall of anger and despair. It stopped her in her tracks.

She observed the tents and groupings, folding her arms with one finger tapping her lips as she thought. Their point of the mission was to gain information. That was going to require careful attention to who and how they ask. Not everyone would be ready to talk, though she wasn't against asking every single one of them, making a whole day of it, she knew just from the personalities around her efficiency would be the better option. Luckily, she was attentive - or well, tried to be.

There was one group three tents in of two men, a woman and a small child napping on a rug. The group was huddled around a fire, sitting upon rocks as their lunch cooked in a small tin. She'd seen a medic cross this group, speak a moment and leave. The woman and a man responded lightly. Good sign for a good start.

"Follow me, boys," she hummed walking towards the tents. "We've got work to do. Retsu, still good for notes? Reo, you on for comforting the disheartened?" She glanced between them as she led on, mostly to talk to fill the hole. She wasn't sure if they could feel the heaviness in the air too, but it sure put a weight on her heart. Talking helped distract her and helped her push on. "Yes? Good. Great. " she hummed lightly, assuming they agreed to what they had previously set for themselves.

Approaching the group was easy, getting them to open up would be another task. One of the men saw them and sat up straighter. He eyed them carefully, probably still sensitive to newcomers. The others slowly looked up at them, sullen, one after the other. Meiyo relaxed her body and smiled softly, not too bright, not too bold. Gentle was the key here. She bowed her head before speaking with respect. "Hello, we're genin of the Leaf here. We're hoping to be of help. From what we know there are still those of Suna out there that need aid. Do you happen to know where anyone would be now or would be headed to?"


WC:724/2283

Reo was caught off guard by the taunting of his two teammates. While on the one hand it was clear they only meant well, and it was all fun and in jest, on the other hand, it was rather embarrassing to have made such open mistakes in front of those who were several years younger than himself. It put him back in a place of deference, and reawakened him to the reality that he was less than a year old in terms of being a ninja, and needed to tread lightly until he truly learned how to operate in the world and systems of the shinobi. Regardless, he had to put his self doubt aside, and simply nodded, taking both of his teammates advice and vowing to improve his secrecy, wanting to slap himself on the forehead for forgoing such a basic factor of ninjahood.

When they arrived on the scene it was one of complete misery. Simply being there brough down Reo's internal mood considerably, but he was strong willed enough to remain composed on the outside. All of the dirt poor refugees, having lost everything, trying to make a life out of what little they had salvaged or were given... it was simply depressing. Not only that, Reo felt deep within himself that it was completely unfair. He did not want to see people like this, wether they were from his village or not, and in his psyche he not only felt depression, but an intense passion to help these people. As when he entered however, he toned down how he presented it, and remained as cool as he had been originally.

As Meiyo began to instruct the two boys, Reo nodded. It seemed despite her age she was taking a leading role in this mission, which Reo was completely fine with, as she seemed both experienced and confident in her skills as a junior ninja. The place where she was leading them was a tent with what could have been a family, with two men--- perhaps a father and an uncle, a woman--- the mother, and a child. While Meiyo was walking straight towards the group, Reo was stopped as a young boy, maybe 3 or 4 years old, dressed in rags walked up to him.

"Mister, do you want to play ball?" He asked, holding up a muddy sphere. Reo smiled, "Ah well, I'm on an important mission," he said, raising his finger to his lips in a shushing motion, "I have to make sure I complete it."

The child looked at the ground, disappointed at being turned down.

"Ah but... A good ninja always has time to play ball," He said trying to put his whole heart into cheering up the poor refugee child, as a glowing smile spread across the kids face. He backed up a few steps and tossed the ball, with Reo catching it and returning the favor. He looked towards his teammates, and nodded encouraging them to go on while he cheered up the boy. His intention was to improve the group's appearance among the refugees, as when they originally walked in there was a generally cold disposition from the refugees towards the young genin, which such a lighthearted action should clear up in his opinion.

Post WC: 545
Personal WC: 2283
Thread WC: 6258