”Mission Details”:

“Please, you have to find him. I’ve looked everywhere and I just don’t know where else to look.” Sayuri looked from the man to the woman, both of which were in obvious distress, their cheeks ruddy and irritated and their eyes bloodshot from too many hours spent crying. The man stood slightly behind the woman, holding her shoulders as they shook through her gasping pleas, and he sighed quietly. “Please find Toshi, he really is a good boy. We just want him back safe.” Sayuri struggled to hold back her own tears in the face of these weeping parents, it wouldn’t do them any favours if the person responsible for easing their pain only added to it. “I’ll find him, I will. But I need to know some things. What does he look like, um. . . who are his friends. Oh, and are there any places he usually goes to play?” The mother pulled a small photograph out of her pocket and handed it to Sayuri. He was a young smiling dark haired boy, looked healthy and energetic in the picture. Which as far as she was concerned was not a great sign. That probably meant he’d be harder to find, capable of climbing trees and the like. “He usually wears a tunic and shorts,  I couldn’t even begin to think what colour though. As for friends, well I’m assuming he has some but if he does he doesn’t bring them to the house because we’ve never seen them. And playing, he usually enjoys being around the aviary, or the hot springs. . .” the mother’s voice was cut off abruptly by the father’s, “. . .or sometimes the cemetery, as children are often wont to go places they shouldn’t” It wasn’t a lot to go on but it was a start. Taking the picture from the mother she gave them both a reassuring smile and headed off towards the marketplace.


She purchased a small bag of red bean buns, if there was one thing she knew, it was what it was like to be frightened and alone. She also knew that if this boy was trying to stay hidden he wasn’t likely to go someplace where there was going to be a lot of people. So that meant that the Hot Springs and the Aviary were out, too many people walking around, that only left the Cemetery. It’s where she would go if she was trying to avoid people inside a village. Walking down towards the cemetery she kept an open eye out for any small children, she saw groups along the way but no one that looked like the picture she held in her hand. Once inside she felt a sense of peace settle over her, it was probably her imagination but then again, it was just as likely that some sort of jutsu was at play. The place was empty, as one would expect in the middle of the day, it was cloudy out but still warm so she wandered about the grounds casually trying to look like she wasn’t looking. Something she had some practice at, playing with children when she was still in hiding herself.

Looking around she found a large tree with a large knot of roots that looked just big enough for someone about the age of ten to crawl inside. She made the assumption that this was where the boy was hiding having looked everywhere else in the cemetery and sat herself down just outside the opening, leaning back against the tree trunk and put the bag of sweet buns on the ground beside her where he hoped he would be able to see. As soon as she had settled she could hear scuffling noises from within the tree roots and she smiled, Well at least I know there’s something in there. Hopefully it’s Toshi and not a lonely badger or some other animal. She would giggle quietly at the thought of having to deal with a badger at a time like this, and then clear her throat as she remembered the seriousness of her mission. She would sit there quietly for a few minutes to let the boy adjust to her presence before speaking in a calm voice.

“Toshi? My name is Sayuri. I know you don’t know who I am, I’m not here to hurt you. I was sent to find you and help you. I brought you some sweet buns if you’d like them. They’re fresh, just picked them up at the market before I came here.”

She heard a small gasp as she spoke his name, and she felt relief that it seemed to be him after all and not a badger. He didn’t speak for some time after she finished saying her piece, which was fine. She completely understood what it was like to feel cornered and so she just sat and waited patiently until he spoke.

“I don’t need your help. I don’t need anyone’s help! Did my parents send you? Tell them I’m never coming back!” His voice was distressed and he sounded on the verge of tears, it was enough to nearly break her heart. But despite his upset a small pale hand reached out and grabbed the bundle of sweets and pulled it back into the darkness. She grinned at the less than stealthy move, while he was very agitated he was not so far gone to ignore hunger. She hummed a few bars of the Rice Song while she waited for him to eat and then tried speaking to him again.

“Toshi, your parents did send me. They’re worried about you. But what I don’t know, is why you’re out here, do you want to tell me about that?”

She heard shuffling from underneath the tree roots and a tiny and very dirty face poked itself into view, tear streaked and now sticky with the remnants of his breakfast.  Sayuri smiled gently down at the boy, being careful not to make any sudden movements lest she scare him back into hiding.

“They don’t want me to go to the Academy. I just want to be a Shinobi, like everyone else, and they don’t want me to. It’s not fair.” He spoke sullenly as he tried to wipe the sticky mess off his face with the edge of his blue tunic. Sayuri sighed inwardly, she knew now that the Academy was where children went to train to become Shinobi, and honestly she could understand why this boy’s parents didn’t want him to go. If it were up to her training like that wouldn’t be necessary, and certainly not for children. But that was not her choice, since this was not her life, it was his.

With an outstretched hand she tried her best to comfort Toshi, “It certainly doesn’t seem fair. You know, I didn’t go to the Academy? And it’s maybe not what you want to hear, but now I get to train and fight and do all sorts of things. We don’t get to pick everything Toshi, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get more chances. You’ll still get to be a Shinobi if that’s what you really want. Now what do you say we take you home? We can get more breakfast on the way if you like.” The boy perked up as she explained that she’d not been to the Academy, and as she offered to take him scurried out of the hole in the roots using her hand for leverage. She helped haul him to his feet with a laugh and they walked back to the boy’s home, stopping to get two bags of sweet buns on the way.

1322