Rippa had finally arrived back in town and was now in need of some spending money. After all his expensive tastes where bound to dig into his pocket and he needed a bath and a place to change into some clean clothes before he went to visit his families estate. So he hopped off the hay cart he rode in on and landed booted feet onto the dirt path. reaching down with his gloved hands with the fabric cut or torn away from the fingers reached down to brush off blood stained blue jeans with a tear in the right knee. Then he straightened and looked down at the grey tank top he had been given by the kid in the cart. Something about proper decency in the village. He shrugged it off and pulled his red leather coat forward and flapped it to rid himself of any clinging hay. Lastly he shook his head letting hay fall from thin white hair. There, now he was less itchy. It was time for him to head a little further in on his own to find some labor work. His head band stitch into the shoulder of his coat since most of the fabric was torn away and the edges where blood soaked. Not enough left to tie it around any of him.

Still he stuck his hands in his coat pockets and set off at a walk into town. Stopping only briefly to put a piece of bubble gum flavored chewing gum in his mouth. Before continuing on. After all he needed to find work before noon if he wanted to make any kind of money that day. So he asked around and began to consider his options. Eventually he was able to make his way over towards the construction area. He had a ready smile and when he walked over to the foreman the man looked him up and down before speaking. A real heavy set man with a belly and a beard. Black with a grey stripe in the middle wearing a red and black flannel jacket It kind of reminded him of checkers. But the man spoke and he snapped back to eye contact and full attention. Looking into the mans brown eyes with his own blue.

"You know how to use a hammer boy?" The foreman said gruffly.

"Aye Sir. I can do that." Rippa replied.

"You gonna be any trouble? You seem to have some blood on ye." The old man retorted.

"Nope. Not a bit."

And with that he was directed towards a burnt down house on the edge. Some sort of electrical issues had occurred. And the building had burnt down. Now the foundation had to be torn apart The told him to go to the locker trailer and get geared up. So he headed up that way and slipped into the door. Finding an open locker he slipped out of his coat and stood there in torn up blue jeans and a grey tank top and steel toe boots with the steel on the outside. He took an orange hard hat from the available gear and goggles. Before grabbing a crow bar and heading back outside. It was still about nine in the morning so he let out a breath steeling himself for the long day. Before heading over to the burn remains of the building. Starting on the outside He jammed his crow bar into the wooden doors hing and pried it free. Moving to the one above and then grabbing the burnt wood and hauling it into the Dumpster for it. Then he shook his head looking at his dirty fingers. Heading back into the trailer he grabbed some proper gloves and then returned to the other building to head back to work. Next was the door frame. He reached above himself and began to pry at the top of the door frame with the crow bar. Sticking the tip in and working it up and down as the wood made cracking and splintering noises. Before finally coming loose. He then took the crow bar to the sides and did ths same shoving his weight into it. Before lastly sticking it under the bottom and slamming his boot into it steel to first. With the entire door frame loose he took it to the dumpster as well.

Mission word count :

Reag fidgeted behind his mask, obviously uncomfortable. He stood at attention in front of the mission assignment desk clad in his shinobi gear. The timing of the new Hokage's appointment had messed up his Genin team assignment, and now he was stuck in limbo. Technically, he was a ninja; Yet he had no team. As such, he was encouraged to take simple D ranked missions in order to help around the village. He sighed. It was way too early for him to be up and about. After all, it was only two in the afternoon. If Reag had his way, he would have slept till the sun set, and taken some of the minor night patrol missions. He liked those.


The Chuunin behind the desk frowned at him, and handed the young Genin a piece of paper. It was his mission report. The objective was simple. Help the construction team rebuild a fire damaged house. The pay was low, but then again, so was the risk. Worst he could face would be a splinter or two. Reag nodded and accepted his mission. While the young leaf ninja wanted to do nothing more than throw a small tantrum over the stupid activity, he was wearing his mask. The mask meant on duty. On duty meant being professional. Professionals did not throw tantrums, even if they where fourteen. While one hand tightened the mask to his face, he used the other to carefully place the mission report into his jacket pocket. With a small bow to show respect, he left the office.

Keeping his aura completely neutral, Reag hid his killing intent as he walked through the village, as not to break his professional mask. Desperately, he wished he was out of the evil sun, and sleeping under a tree. Or reading a good book. Under his gray mask, Reag smiled. He knew that a good long read would calm his stress down to a manageable level. Perhaps he could even get his hands on a lemon-mint drink. Continuing to dream about books and drinks, the young shinobi eventually made his way to the construction site. Before making his presence known to the foreman, he glanced around the assorted workers. After all, it always paid to be on guard.


After a brief moment, Reag determined that there was no one of interest on the site. As such, he made his way to the foreman of the operation. Handing over his mission report, he took off his jacket, and began to work with the others to help deconstruct the house. Unfortunately, due to his Genjutsu focus, he couldn’t use some of his crazier ninja tricks to help out with the deconstruction. Still, he was able to employ Supernatural Walking Practice (Fushizen Aruk'kata) to a good degree, as it allowed him to reach some of the odder placed support beams. Quickly, he employed a crowbar to help take down the burned beam, so the rest of the construction party could continue to work on collapsing the second floor.


However, as he was doing this, he noticed something odd. One of the workers was standing out. The white haired man was quiet. Hell, he was more than quiet, he was silent. The boots he was wearing where definitely steel toe capped, yet the man moved without a sound. All this screamed one thing to the leaf Genin: 'Shinobi'. Quickly, he jumped down from his perch on the burned out support beam, and landed next to his fellow ninja. “Shinobi, I take it? Genin? Chuunin? Combat Specialty? Need a hand with disassembling this house?” Reag said with considerable enthusiasm in his voice. The man in front of him was fully grown, meaning he was experienced. That meant he'd been a ninja for a long time. That meant he might have some tips for the young one.


WC: 641

Rippa had worked the better part of the morning just tearing into the place with the others. He was quickly gaining a reputation for a good work ethic and a friendly smile. In fact the men liked to talk while they worked and tore up the place. A little bit of broken conversation between sludge hammer hits. All in all the mood was good in the construction site. No one was getting hurt and in general everyone got along. But with the raised moral the work pace seemed to be speeding up. And under the watchful eye of the foreman he was pushing himself to keep up. After all he was fairly new to this and he couldn't exactly cleave through a wall or punch through a door. Still he went to town with his crowbar jamming it into floor boards and ripping them out. Making a stack for the big man Jack to take 7 or 8 at a time. Now jack was impressive to him. The man was a walking wall of muscle. And his clothes seemed to tight for such muscles like his body might rip through his shirt at any moment. But the guy hardly seemed to mind.

Still Jack was quiet and often the butt of others jokes when he wasn't around. And whenever he was around the air seemed uneasy around him. Mostly because people where to afraid of making any jokes to his face. In truth the seperation was getting on Rippa's nerves. So on their first break he went to the fridge and got two waters. Before walking out to catch Jack still working alone while the others laughed and joked. Rippa made a show of ignoring them as they called him over and walked straight over to Jack and reached out to hand him a water. The huge man turned and looked at him in silence and there they stood. Giant looking down at the average man. Before Jack smiled and took the water. This was the first time that Rippa noticed the man wasn't wearing gloves. After all what would fit him? He had a fat splinter just dug into his palm. With a quiet movement Rippa grabbed Jacks hand. Turning it palm up he held out his hand. With a green glow between the two hands he used something to numb the flesh. The whole hand likely numb for a few moments before he took the splinter with a practiced pinch and pushed it out. Then he released jacks hand with a smile. Jack looked at his hand with surprise and then grinned before laughing and patting Rippa on the back.

Now that the others saw Jack had a good laugh to him they began to include him in the jokes. And to their surprise he could throw the shit just as well. However now they took into account the man had no gloves. So they went and found the biggest sludge hammer they could lay eyes on and handed it to the guy. With the work load shifted now to the other carrying the wood scraps and only Rippa and the big man and two others tearing into the place until about lunch. They ate an laughed and Jack shared half his sandwich that his wife Julie had made. Some honey ham and cheese. They where all an efficient work force now and the building was quickly getting done. When they came back out they worked for about an hour before a younger kid showed up to help. Dressed up as a local shinobi the kid was obviously there to help for some mission or another. However Rippa paid him no mind at first as he noted the boy was helpful indeed. Using supernatural walking practice to help knock out the beams. He sure was clever. Still when he suddenly popped out of no where and spoke really enthusiastically it caught Rippa off guard. He smiled and held up his hands as a slow down motion. Even his blue eyes seemed to be smiling.

"Woah now Mate. That isn't a very proper greeting now is it? You gotta introduce yourself ya know? Like this. Hello, Im Dr. Chi Rippa. Medical genin. As for the house. Yer already doing a great job helping us lad."

Mission Word Count:

Reag paused for a moment and reflected back at the words he had just said. It was a bit of a word salad. He internally cringed as his mental mask had slipped. He had told himself that as long as he kept the real mask on his face, he would act every inch the professional ninja he was expected to be. To any outside observer, who was aware of the young leaf ninja's goals, wouldn't blame the kid for his slip up. But Reag was not an outside observer, and thus internally berated himself for his screw up. Unconsciously, the Konoha Genin reached up to mess with his mask. It would seem he was already starting to develop a nervous tick.


Unwillingly, he thought back to the fiasco of a meeting he had the other day. Due to a combination of extreme fatigue, brought on by a mid day meeting, and irritation with his favorite reading spot being taken, Reag had nearly caused a full on fight between himself and peer on the Hokage mountain. Reag had learned much from the confrontation, mostly to avoid using laconic speech when dealing with his peers on the off hours. He mentally signed. The social stuff was never his specialty. First he was too cold, now it seemed he was too warm. Perhaps he would eventually find a good middle ground.


Still, the man he was talking at didn't seem to be annoyed by his sudden outburst of questions. The corners of the tall man's mouth curled upward, slowly forming into a reassuring smile. Even the giant's eyes seemed to be giving off an aura of positive and calming energy. Finally, the figure slowly raised his hands up, forming the universal 'calm down' gesture. While this gesture by itself would have put Reag on edge, the man's general attitude showed that he had caused no offense. Mentally, he signed, and relaxed. It would seem that he had given off a positive first impression, something vital for this field of work. It was at this point that the giant before the young ninja kid spoke.


"Woah now Mate. That isn't a very proper greeting now is it? You gotta introduce yourself ya know? Like this. Hello, Im Dr. Chi Rippa. Medical genin. As for the house. Yer already doing a great job helping us lad." So, the man was a Genin like him? Reag reasoned that given his age, he probably had a considerable amount of experience over himself, and was probably very close to a field promotion to Chuunin. Plus, the older Genin was a doctor and field medic! Good field medics where rare and valuable, and having one for a friend would definitely be useful when he ended up in the hospital from a botched assignment. It was inevitable that he would get injured in this line of work, and having a trust worthy face to request for his treatment would be a noticeable asset.

The older Genin had prompted him to introduce himself properly, so after a brief pause, he proceeded to do so. “Ah, right. Sorry about that. My name is Taira Reag, recent graduate of the Konoha Shinobi Academy. I specialize in stealth and non lethal capture. Due to the change Hokage, I have not been assigned to a Genin team, and thus am working here in the interim period. I look forward to working with you.” He finished with a small and formal bow. Hopefully, that would put his second impression right. Carefully, he adjusted his face mask to fit better on his face. As he did this, he looked at the older Genin before him, awaiting his reply.


WC: 612 (1253)

Rippa smiled warmly and nodded in approval. Before reaching out and patting Reag on the shoulder. His hand felt warm. Though this close it was obvious that he had scars up and down his toned arms. He wasn't new to pain. And likely there where more scars under the clothing. Still he had a ready smile and a cheerful face. No killing intent of any kind was coming off of him. It felt like he was more or less harmless then a bunny. But his presence was warm and comforting. Like some one who loved to be around other people. His teeth where white when he smiled and there seemed to be something reassuring in that smile. His Eyes where as blue as the sky and seemed to hold no lies as if he would never betray a persons trust. And his voice had a calming hum to it like it was full of life and promised no worries. Still the work was continuing around them and the Foreman was turning his gaze on them. Something about two shinobi had caught his interest and he was determined that they not clack off in the slightest. So as Rippa talked he let his hand remove itself from Reags shoulder. Before speaking.

"Now thats a right proper greeting Reag-San. But we don't want the old grumpy foreman to think we are slacking do we? I'll buy you dinner when we are done. In the mean time grab a crow bar and help me pry the pipes. The water is finally drained out of them so we won't get soaked in dirty water. Alright?" He said with that same humming voice and smile that just begged to be trusted.

But before a reply could be made he picked up his own crowbar and headed over to the most knocked out wall. The piping he mentioned was scewed into the wall every couple of feet for stability. Plumbing was indeed a pain to put in but it was much easier to remove. Rippa stuck his flat end of the crow bar behind the screw and began to pry at it while he talked. The screws popping out one after another with a loud grinding noise. But not loud enough to cut off any of his words. He was actually a fairly cheerful person.

"The Academy aye? Man it's been years since I been there. I took off to go do some private studies *Screech!* for a time. Just got back actually. All the research I did on *Screech* modern medicine has gotten me pretty far over the last couple of years. *Screech!* But now I am back and ready to join a squad and learn a few new things.. Ya know?*screech!* Alright. Now grab that pipe and pull."

Setting aside his crow bar he wrapped both gloved hands around the pipe and gripped it. His muscles straining as he pulled at it. The pipe made a loud metal scraping noise as it came loose. Before finnaly snapping free of the wall. And with that he turned around and with a heave chucked it to the trash pile. Before letting out a breath. After so many hours sweat was starting to soak the neck of his shirt. Still he turned to Reag and smiled warmly before speaking again.

"Nicely done Reag-San. Real good work.. But next we gotta break down the walls and then shovel it all up."

Mission word count:

It took a moment before the older medi-nin responded to his statement. Reag smiled internally, as the Genin's body language seemed to indicate that he had improved his first impression. Hell, Doctor Rippa even nodded in approval of his actions. The younger Genin noted the scars that ran all over the older Genin's hands. Unusual that, for a medi-nin. Judging by the man's age and stated profession, he would not have expected so many cuts and scars for a non combatant. There was obviously a story here that the younger leaf ninja was missing. Still, he decided against pursuing it further, as he had managed to get on Rippa's good side, and did not want to dredge up any painful topics.


Then Rippa began to speak. “Now thats a right proper greeting Reag-San.” Well, at least his proper introduction had made a good impression. “But we don't want the old grumpy foreman to think we are slacking do we? I'll buy you dinner when we are done. In the mean time grab a crow bar and help me pry the pipes. The water is finally drained out of them so we won't get soaked in dirty water. Alright?” He nodded. It would not due to for a professional ninja like himself to be seen slacking off, even if his assignment was D ranked. The last thing the Genin wanted was a black mark on his already less than stellar record.


The older medi-nin reached down and picked up a crowbar. Giving it a small twirl, the man headed towards a collapsed wall, preparing to continue his job working on disassembling the burnt out house. Reag reached down and picked up a crowbar of his own, lost in thought. Vaguely, he wondered if he had any ninja techniques that would speed up the process. After a quick mental inventory, he came to the conclusion that nothing he had would be particularly useful against a solid wall. Following in Rippa's footsteps, he made his way towards the partially collapsed brick wall. With a sigh, he looked at the various pipes screwed into place. It would be a pain to get them all out.


Carefully, he wrenched his crowbar between a section of wall and an outstretched pipe, and began to force his weight on it in an attempt to pry it loose. As he was doing this, his older medi-nin friend continued their conversation. “The Academy aye? Man it's been years since I been there. I took off to go do some private studies *Screech!* for a time. Just got back actually.” Reag nodded at this. It made sense that a medi-nin was a highly specialized profession, and thus went through a different academic progression. “All the research I did on *Screech* modern medicine has gotten me pretty far over the last couple of years. *Screech!* But now I am back and ready to join a squad and learn a few new things.. Ya know?” Reag nodded at that, and interjected his own thoughts on that. “I'm to be assigned a team soon as well. Who knows, we might end up working together again in the future...” Reag smiled behind his mask as the older Genin chuckled.


“*screech!* Alright. Now grab that pipe and pull.” Reag grabbed the pipe and gave Rippa a hand removing it from the wall. The older Genin then tossed it in the pile with the rest of the construction refuse. So far, they where making excellent progress. In only a few minutes, they had removed the wall of all its excess metallic objects. With the first phase of their task complete, Rippa spoke once more.


"Nicely done Reag-San. Real good work.. But next we gotta break down the walls and then shovel it all up."

WC: 634 (1887)

Rippa smiled and nodded at the young man. After all he was more then happy to do the work presented to him and he wouldn't mind being put into a squad with a rather up beat individual. Even if people who hid behind masks had a tendency to bother him. But that was a personal issue he reminded himself. He had no need to judge the boy for simply hiding his face. Just because Rippa was an up front kind of guy didn't mean everyone else had to be. He moved over to the tool shed and put away the crowbar to pick up a shovel and toss it into a wheelbarrow. He knew the big man jack would annihilate the wall with a few swings of his huge sludge hammer and sure enough by the time he got back the Giant of a man was swinging the hammer with a full forced baseball swing and the whole wall was crumbling chunk by chunk. The bricks he hit directly turning to gravel. Boy he sure was glad Jack was just a happy construction worker. As a soldier Jack would of been terrifying to behold. Still he smiled and took the shovel out of the wheel barrow and began to load with debree. Talking as he loaded shovels full into the wheel barrow. the others around him where starting to do the same.

"Hmm I don't know. I am not to specialized in combat and I keep wondering if a group will have a use for a support type that isn't much use in a fast paced fight. I can't help but wonder if with me just being a medic if I might be left out of the roster. The world out there is burning after all. Typically they send the strong to fight and the medics to clean up whats left. Meant to handle the fall out from the cross fire I guess."

He frowned as he contemplated his own words. But the clean up was quick. Within a couple of more hours and just before sunset the whole burnt building was torn down and cleaned up. They had even hosed it down and now it was ready to be rebuilt. But the whistle blew and the work day was done. With a grin Rippa went to the lockers and changed into his red leather jacket with the Konoha head band stitched into the shoulder and his biker gloves. Before he went to collect his pay and turned to the kid.

"Come on. Show me a good place to eat."

~Exit Thread!~

Mission word count complete 4X!: