The mission:

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Dinner at the household of Nousagi’s family wasn’t really an eventful affair, either members of the family were present for it or they weren’t. But that didn’t mean that they didn’t attempt to eat together when they had the chance to. His mother was always persistent about family values and wanted everyone to eat dinner together when they had the chance too, even if the family values had become skewed a bit with her two elder children when Usagi had kidnapped them. For two years they hadn’t lived with their parents, out in what their mother called the ‘wild.’

Admittedly, Nousagi and Rini both liked that their mother called it that. It reminded them of the good memories that they had had and the nickname that they had developed for themselves while they had been way. They were the wild rabbits of the family, and the village. Really it had been the trio of them when Usagi had been alive, and it was still a little sad that it was only two of them now, but it was still their nickname. Usagi, Nousagi and Rini, the trio of wild rabbits who survived simply because they had the ability to survive and raining together when their brother had taken them away for unknown reasons.  They had simply lived day to day, under the radar so that their brother wouldn’t be caught. It had been a wonderful time for the three of them until the ANBU had caught up to their brother at the end of the two years.

That had been a horrible day. All of them had fought for each other, but Nousagi and Rini were both young and inexperienced, and outnumbered and out matched they had watched their brother fall. They were easily stopped by the prestigious ANBU and other shinobi there.  When he closed his eyes, Nousagi could still see Usagi taking his last breath and apologizing to the two of them before they were dragged away from him and taken back to the village. The blood had been a disturbing thing, but something that was spilled on a day to day basis and Nousagi was now used to it. It was just… hard, seeing someone you loved fall in a real-world situation.

But that had been four years ago, and Nousagi’s life was still taking place within the village and that called for him to do his duty as a Kirigakure shinobi. He and his sister had been too young to be deemed as traitors, and that was lucky for them. But the experience had jilted his view points. For him, there was no good or evil. It was simply just the current side that you were on. People are people and they fight for what they believe in even if someone else sees it as wrong. Still, they lived with their family, the twins, and their parents in a small home by the coast of the village and attempted to maintain a good family, even when they refused to talk about Usagi. It was like their older brother had never existed, like the two years they had been gone had never happened, and that was something that both Nousagi and Rini both resented, but they didn’t press it.

Still, dinner was always a meal that they had together unless there was a reason for skipping it such as a mission. It had always been like that, even when they were children. The only reason to skip the evening meal was a mission. So, that was why Nousagi was sitting at the dinner table with his family, eating his meal a little faster than normal. The twins were chattering away about something or other with their mother, trying to get out of a punishment, no doubt. The little devils were always getting into trouble in some way or another. That’s what their parents got for naming them after birds.  His father and sister were both eating silently as well. Their father looked ill now, and admittedly, Nousagi was worried about him. It was clear that the curse of the Kaguya clan was catching up to him, and he knew that their father’s time was coming to a close. It wasn’t going to be easy for any of them to see their father fall ill and have a slow death…

If that even was the case. He doubted that the older man would want a death like that. He’d probably jump at the chance to die in battle with honor. That would probably be what would happen if he was given a mission when he was ill. It would be better that way. Their father wouldn’t want to see him weak after all, he’d always been the backbone of the family when they had been disowned by the main family of the Kaguya. But, then it would fall to Nousagi to be the head of the family. That would be an interesting time. Him, leading the family that wouldn’t even speak about the brother who had protected them.  

Taking another bite of rice, Nousagi and glanced at Rini who was finishing her meal along with him. They both had missions tonight that they had to complete as genin of Kirigakure. Rini was younger than him by two years, yes, but they’d graduated from the academy at the same time. Nousagi had had to take more time off from the academy than she had because he’d fallen ill for one year after they had returned. However, that didn’t make him any less talented than his sister. It had simply been a silly requirement that students spend enough time at the academy that had cost him another year that he could have advanced himself, simply because  he had fallen ill.

But, look at them now. They were still talented, and Nousagi didn’t resent his sister at all for becoming his equal even though she was two years younger than he was. He was proud of her, and loved her as much as he could a sister. They were practically inseparable when they actually had the time to be together. Actually, he wanted to protect her from harm, just as Usagi had when there were children but they were both shinobi now. They had their jobs and needed to complete them despite the day to day costs. They needed to watch out for themselves and their teams. They couldn’t let emotions get in the way of what they did, particularly where family fell into the balance. For a shinobi, family could be a considerable weakness, and honestly,  Nousagi was convinced that that was part of the reason why Usagi was dead now.

Silently, Nousagi turned his head away from his sister focusing on the food that remained on the plate before him and the bowl that held his portion of rice just off to to the side of it. His mother wouldn’t be pleased if he left before finishing his food. She never was happy when any of her children ran off without properly enjoying her food. He pursed his lips a little before shoveling the last few bites of rice into his lips and standing. “Mother, Father, excuse me, I have to patrol tonight.” He said clearly before moving towards the kitchen, wiping down his plates and setting them in the sink. It would probably be the twins job to do the finish doing the dishes since he and Rini couldn't  them because of their individual missions. Rini had been telling him about what she was going to have to do, and it sounded rather boring, going to hunt down some cats that owners had lost. Then again, his wasn’t the most eventful mission in the world either, simply patrolling the village to make sure that nothing had gone askew.

Still, missions such as the ones that they were given helped to maintain the village, making low rank missions just as important as lower rank missions. Thought he knew that, being limited was something he wasn't particularly fond of. He wanted to improve and grow and he couldn't do that simply limited to D  and C rank missions. He couldn't wait until he was allowed to progress farther than he currently was. Light on his feet, Nousagi moved from the kitchen and to his room to gather his things that he would need for the patrol, not that he actually expected to have to fight in the village itself, but it was still better to be more safe than sorry. He placed his items in the respectful pouches before making his way into the slowly darkening world as night took after day. It was just after seven o’clock now.