"Babe, I'm tired...":

Arthir, as per usual these days, was seated on the same bench near the residential area of Iwagakure. He was waiting for a ninja to show up, guiding him to where he had volunteered to go. Apparently, some farmer lost their mountain goat, and was willing to pay anyone to get it back. He had agreed mainly because he was a bit short on cash.

As he was waiting, someone had walked by him. They were speaking to themselves with sunken eyes.

“Genjutsu, genjutsu, genjutsu…” they kept repeating as they walked.

Arthir was curious for a moment, but decided to let them go. His mind though wandered, wondering what this ‘genjutsu’ was.

“Hey, hold on,” Arthir lifted his head a bit, realizing something, “wasn’t that the name of the…mental thing? The stuff that messes with your mind?” His pink eyes looked over to the man walking further away. “Ninjas use genjutsu,” he commented.

Arthir, with a loud gasp, stood up suddenly. He then charged for the man, his red hair flopping around as he did. When he got close to them, he tried to introduce himself.

“H-hey! I’m Arthir!” he said. Usually, he’d create a façade just to play around with strangers, but this was actual money on the line. He needed it to go to him, instead of some…weirdo. “I’m the volunteer for…the…goat-…”

The man stopped walking, looking over at Arthir with a plan face. Their brown eyes were unblinking, unlike Arthir’s pink eyes.

“Genjutsu,” was all he said as he kept walking away.

Arthir watched them walk towards the door of an apartment near his own. He casually opened it, and then walked inside, closing it behind him. Arthir shook his head, shrugging.

“What in the-…?” he said. Then, he turned hearing his name called from a person dressed in typical Iwagakure ninja garb.


The two, Arthir and the Iwagakure ninja, walked up the dirt road into the mountains. Naturally, the mountain goat was there, relaxing on a perch surrounded by people. One of the people was the farmer. As Arthir approached, the farmer called to him. When he and the Iwa ninja came closer to the farmer, he started to speak.

“That damned goat. Look at him!” The elderly farmer stared up at the animal.

Arthir and the Iwaninja looked as well. Normally, the goat would have been gotten down by now, even without the help of Arthir. However, there was a part of the mountain that the goat was laying on. It casually chewed some herbal bushes, resting on a perch that was unreachable by human standards. No one possessed arms long enough to reach. Thus, the villagers were forced to stand around and watch the goat chew on its snack. Then, hope came in the form of a little boy with a bandage on the side of his cheek. Arthir couldn’t help but wonder what happened to their face, but kept that comment inside. The farmer, feeling his sleeve being tugged, looked over to see the boy carrying the item he had asked for.

“Ah, good, you’ve got the grappling hook.” The farmer’s attention shifted to Arthir. “You will use this to climb and retrieve my goat. But don’t yank it down. Goat bones are pretty frail.”

Arthir pointed at himself. “Me? But-?”

“If you don’t want your money, I could just-…”

Arthir’s head fell. It was true that he needed money, and that he agreed to fetch a goat for someone. But climbing a side of the mountain to do it? He-… He wasn’t quite sure. Though, when he thought about it, he didn’t really have much choice. It was either this or no food.

It was slow, but eventually, Arthir got to the goat. Surprisingly, he didn’t have to do a lot of whistling and clapping to get the animal to come over. They…naturally did, Arthir handing the goat to the Iwa ninja below him who had climbed the rope with him. With that being settled, Arthir held out his hand towards the old farmer, who simply laughed in his face.

“Well, you see, I just so happen to have two goats missing. So, if you’re willing, could you-…?” he said, staring at Arthir.

Arthir…sighed.

725

[exit]