What Lies Beneath Iwa | C-Rank | 1500 wc(min.):

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Two weeks done passed since Kensaku, and his twin, first mission as genins of Iwagakure no Sato. The mission itself exposing them both of the horrors of what comes with their chosen occupation. There is one thing to talk about or hear the stories of shinobi doing what is needed to defend their home, but to exactly experience it for themselves? Now, that was something entirely different, and the romanized versions often told by some shinobi, or seen written about in books, did not do justice to what exactly occurs doing the missions, and the pair found out the hard way when they took the lives of another. The realization of what they did hit them soon afterward, but none dare to mention it to their parents, only the day after did they confided within one another, and a pact between them was formed. A promise to never lose themselves doing the missions. To never take lives without carelessly, and when it is required, always remember the reason why they were doing it was beside them and at home.

Sun rays snaked through the blinds one of the twins, licking their face laying on a desk with papers scattered about, urging them to get up, only to receive a groan in response. “Go away.”, Kensaku sleepily spoke at not in particular as he tried to go back to sleep with no success. Groaning again from not being able to fall asleep, his eyes fluttered open, only to stare at a piece of paper which was the blueprint for a puppet he had been thinking about making. Blinking once, twice, three times, he raised his head off of the desk, a piece of paper tagging alone for the ride. “What is this?”, He mused to himself, grabbing the piece of paper off his face and staring at what was written on it. Certain words stood out amongst the white sheet, ‘terrain altering,’ ‘enclosure,’ ‘earth chakra,’ ‘malleable’ that were all connected to one another by squiggly lines going in a chaotic manner. At the bottom of the paper was a series of small pictures of a dome rising from the earth. It was apparent, at least to any other shinobi, the sheet was detailing the creation of a doton jutsu of some kind. Other specifics about the technique could be taken from the picture, but those were not important. Taking another glance over the paper, Kensaku set it back down on the desk, away from the blueprint of his new puppet.

“I will complete that later.”He spoke, talking about the jutsu which he was creating, and nearing its final stages of completion. Stretches, he winced when his bones started popping, but groan in satisfaction after they were done. Pushing back the wooden chair, he stood up and looked at the clock, on a stand near his bed, which read 6:30 am. He frowned, realizing he only got just over four hours of sleep, in part due to his late night working. No matter, the amount of sleep would be sufficient for today, at least he hoped.

Walking towards his bed, where more books laid scattered about, opened to random pages that talked about a variety of different topics, Kensaku began gathering them as his mind wondered on what he was going to do today. Outside of working on his new puppet idea, jutsu creation, and spending time with his twin and family, he did not have many plans for today. “Maybe I can see if Niala is up for a mission.”, As if someone was listening to his words, there was a knock at his door. “Son, can I come in?”, Immediately he knew who the person was, his father, the man’s deep voice given it away entirely. Giving the man permission to come in, Kensaku went to put the books on their correct placement on his shelf as his father walked in, dressed in his shinobi attire and holding a scroll.


“Good morning, dad.”, Kensaku greeted, turning to give his father his undivided attention as he wonders why the man was here. While it was not uncommon for either of them to talk to one another in privacy, with Niala being the subject of interest, this visit was weird due to the man’s shinobi attire and scroll he was holding. “Catch.”, That was the only warning Kensaku was given as the brownish scroll were toss to him, and on closer inspection being a mission scroll, “What is this?”, He asked. “By the orders of the Tsuchikage, you and Niala have a mission to help with the reinforcement of old mine shafts that lead into Sunagakure no Sato to make them safe for passage. You have exactly one hour to get to the location and start helping with the efforts.” Kensaku’s eyes widen slightly at the assignment given. Why was Iwagakure no Sato wanted to make a passage into Suna? For all he knew, nothing was remaining there . . . unless. “Get dress and come downstairs when you are done for breakfast. Do not worry about getting Niala; my shadow clone is telling her as we speak.”, Kensaku thoughts were cut off by his father’s words as the man left the room, leaving him to get ready.

Kensaku quickly straightens up his bed, before moving on to take a shower.  Fifteen minutes later, he emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a towel. He did not have to worry being seen like this, both twins having their own bathrooms connected to their rooms. Shivering from the cool air in his room, Kensaku moved to get dress. Slipping on a long sleeve dark grey mesh shirt, that clung to his body like a second skin and covered it with a loose dark maroon shirt with the right sleeve being missing on purpose. After slipping on a pair of boxers, dark grey cargo pants, its many pockets being used to hold his scrolls and weapons, was slipped on followed by matching shinobi boots that reached past his ankle. These shoes being different due to the metal which aligns the toe area, and thicker material to prevent sharp objects, such as rocks, from puncturing them. Tying the headband around his head, after putting his hair into a low ponytail, Kensaku walked out of his room and headed downstairs.

The sounds of his mother humming a joyous tune greeted him, along with the delicious aroma of breakfast. “Good morning, Kensaku. Breakfast should be done soon.”, Hanae spoke without looking away from the food she was cooking. “Good morning mom.”, Kensaku replied, taking a seat at the table, waiting for breakfast and his sister. As he waited, he could not wonder what this mission would bring the two.

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1124

Something about the mission giving was bugging Kensaku greatly, and he could not figure out what it was. Why was Iwagakure no Sato seemingly invested in reinforcing some mining tunnels that apparently into Sunagakure no Sato? Would it not be more beneficial to do this while the village was still standing? If the tunnels had been in working order than more people could have escaped during the attack, so, why now of all times does Iwagakure no Sato want to invest resources in reinforcing mining tunnels that no one would use. What was the point in doing this? In his eyes, the maneuver seems to be a pointless one. There was, at least to his knowledge, nothing left within Sunagakure no Sato worth the trouble of reinforcing these walls. There couldn’t be . . . right?


“Thinking about the mission?”, Hanae’s voice snapped Kensaku out of his thoughts and turned his attention to her. “Yeah, something about it does not sit right with me.”, He began to explain, moving to help his mother with setting the table, “Why are we being ordered to reinforce these unused mining shafts? There is nothing left within Suna, right?” He patiently waited for his mother to answer the questions which have been bugging him since he got the scroll from his father. Surely there was nothing to gain from reinforcing these walls, right? “I can not say for sure, son. But, it is apparent there is something to this mission for never does a village meaningless missions, all of them serve a purpose in some way, shape, or form. As a shinobi we do not try to unravel the mysterious of these missions, just do them to the best of our ability, and if we somehow manage to find out some truths? Well . . .” Hanae allowed the rest of her statement to linger as she, with the help of Kensaku, set the table just in time for Niala to appear from upstairs.


“Good morning to you too.”, Kensaku spoke, taking a moment to look at his sister. A chuckle escaping his lips at the similarities her attire had with his. It was apparent she did not realize it until it was pointed out by their mother. “Guess it is a twin thing.”, He mused out loud, it not being weird for the two to unconscious dress similar to one another at times. There having been numerous of incidents were one of them dressed almost identical to the other, only realizing it upon seeing one another. The twin connection theory, some people believing twins were subconscious linked, being strong with the two.

A peaceful silence descended upon them as Kensaku ate, enjoying the food prepared by their mother. Their father, Genki, joined the family in the semi morning ritual of eating together, but, unlike Kensaku and Niala, their father ate quickly before standing up and getting ready to leave once again. After hugging his wife, Genki turned his attention to his children, “Just because this is a C-rank mission, still maintain some wits about you. The rank of the mission is meaningless for anything can happen on them, so be careful, okay? I will see you when I return home.” He said, giving them both a hug before leaving the house.

Finishing up his breakfast, Kensaku turned his attention to Niala, “You ready?”, He asked, wondering if she was ready to start this mission. Depending on if she was, Kensaku would stand up, putting his plate in the sink and hug his mother. “You two be careful okay? I want to hear about the mission when you return.”, Hanae spoke, moving to hug her daughter as well, “Do not worry about the clinic. I will be taking care of it.” Having said his goodbyes, Kensaku made his way towards the front door, waiting for his twin before stepping outside.

Once outside, the chill air greeted him, it not being something unwelcome. He knew once the sun had risen up some more, the pleasant temperature would be gone, only to be replaced by heat. Looking at his twin, “Let's not be late.”, Kensaku spoke, moving through the village, greeting those who greeted him. Knowing they needed to get there on time, he tilted his head towards the rooftops, indicating to Niala that is how they will travel, and jumped on the nearest one. Moving at a moderate pace across the rooftops, heading towards the northernmost gate.

Jumping off the rooftop, Kensaku bypass the gate guards, showing them his identification, and waited for Niala to do the same before continuing on the trek. “I do believe the mines are somewhere out here.”, Kensaku spoke, trying to recall any information regarding the location of said mines. Though he had never been there personally, he knew, through talking with some locates, that the mine shafts were located outside of the northern gates. Before they could continue with their trek, a blonde hair female, dressed in typical Iwa-nin attire appeared in front of them, “Going to assume you two are looking for the mining shafts?”, The female asked. Kensaku raised an eyebrow as he took a moment to study the woman before him, “Who are you?”, He asked in a guarded tone. If the woman seemed miffed about the question did she an amazing job of hiding it. Instead, she just smile, “Name Kobayashi Hikari. A Jounin of Iwa who is in charge of making sure those, who were assigned to helping to clear or reinforcing the mine shafts, find where they were going.”, She spoke, pulling out a similar scroll to their’s which had the Tsuchikage stamp of approval on it. Taking a look at the scroll, Kensaku glanced at his twin, asking her does she believed the woman.

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962 | 2086

Kensaku the words of Niala into consideration, and seeing how the lady, proclaiming to be a Jounin of Iwagakure no Sato, was someone who the twin had seen around helping their mother, his guard lowered. At first, he did not trust the woman’s claims, just felt to convient in the grand scheme of things, but, with his twin’s words, he knew the woman was who she said she was. If there was anyone who he trusted with telling him the truth it was Niala. She being someone who would never put him into unnecessary danger and would always have his back, even if the world turned against him. He felt the same way about her. He would never abandon her . . . never.

Arriving at the sight, Kensaku paid close attention to the Jounin’s words. From what he understood, the pair would just be extra hands, helping with lifting and holding in place beams that would be bolted in by others. The mission itself being relatively simple, and seemingly lacking any dangerous components. Looking around, he noticed others were arriving, and gathering the equipment which was laid out on a table. With as many people who entered the mine shaft, just as many were exiting. The beads of sweat rolling down their faces.

Watching as Hikari left, going back to probably look for other people who were heading to this place, Kennsaku turned his attention to Niala. “Good idea. This won’t be something Fuhyo would be good at, considering it’s height compared to yours.”, He spoke, somewhat wishing he had made a bigger puppet but knew nothing could be done about that now. Moving towards the table with the equipment, Kensaku gathered what was needed for protection, and followed Niala into the tunnels; the pair making small chat as they descended deeper within the shafts.

Coming to a group who were trying to lift a beam for it to be bolted, Kensaku moved to help with the process. Gripping the beam and lifting it with the other shinobi, and one puppet, on the count of three. As soon as the beam was in placed, a worker came up and quickly bolted it down. The process would be repeated over and over again, Kensaku doing his part in helping lifting the beams up to be bolted by another. Cross beams were added when necessary, strengthen the tunnel.

The work was long, hard, and grueling, but worth it. The thoughts of why these beams were being added it did not plague him doing the work. The combination of working and meeting new people kept his mind clear of such worries. It came as a surprise when the relieved team came to replace them. Finally Niala out of the tunnels, Kensaku returned the borrowed equipment and followed his twin to turn the mission in, and a well-deserved shower.

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Word Count: 479 | 2565