Spoiler:

Tomohiro had already started packing a back. Today he had stepped forth into “real” shinobi work. It was his first C-Rank mission alone. He had worked long and hard to get here. Lord Hastur had approved his promotion. There was something about getting acknowledge by your village’s kage. The feeling was amazing, but he was nervous at the same time. The road before and behind him were long ones. Tomohiro had spent years dreaming of becoming a chuunin. Now that he was one, he didn’t know where he was to begin. He figured that his next step would probably be Anbu. The obligation to do more for his clan and village drew hard upon him. It wasn’t that it had been drilled into him at birth, it was the fact that he started to feel a sense of duty.

There wasn’t much getting in his way outside of himself. His blood lust had calmed down to a significant amount due to the daily meditation. His mind was at ease. Tomohiro was able to find balance within himself that he hadn’t been able to in years. The balance between mind, body, and spirit seemed to be almost incorruptible. Though there were other things that he struggled with, nothing else had gotten to him more than the old desire to shed blood. The balance he found had been that of a cold internal state. He finally found a way to handle himself that didn’t require him to get lost in his emotions. Even taught from a young age to throw away his emotions, some just didn’t part like others. Time would that would require to remove all emotions would be years. Sometimes even the greatest of assassin’s had trouble hiding their emotions.

Tomohiro finished packing his things. He packed dried food which contained boar jerky, nuts, and some dried berries. The weapons he carried had already been on his person. His cache of weapons had been lacking. He definitely would need to upgrade his arsenal. It was too late for that. He would need to make his way to the outskirts of the village. He already lived far enough away from the main gate. The fact that he thought about his weapon cache was a drag, but he needed to make more ryo before he could buy a new sword. It took him a minute, but he realize that his rusty sword had to go. The blade was for sure dishonorable to him as a swordsman.

The mission he had was a pretty simple one. He was to guard the one of the crossroads that led to the village. Tomohiro would also pack a notepad to write down the ongoings of what was happening. It seemed like a more advanced version of the night patrols he used to go on. This mission could easily be escalated depending on how he handled it. Tomohiro sighed as he began to walk out of his apartment. He made sure all of the windows were sealed and everything was in place. The look on his face was neutral as he looked back before locking his door. The walk to village gate was a shorter one than usual. He was eager to hurry up and start the mission even if it took three days to complete.

Once he arrived at the crossroads, it was pretty clear. The sun shined through the trees as the cool wind blew. He made his way into a tree about 30 meters off where he could directly see the crossroads without anything blocking his view. The pack he brought had been strapped to a tree branch as he now stood about 20 meters off of the ground. The crossroads went in three different directions. One road led to Kumogakure, one led to the far north toward the capital and the other led to a bunch of smaller roads that lead into most of the farming and hunting villages. The crossroads had been covered heavily in snow and ice. His body suit was all white to blend in. The usual straw kasa that he adorned was replaced by one bound with steel and leather. Tomohiro sat off of the thick branch he had made his temporary home. He pulled out his notebook every couple of hours and wrote down what he saw.

Day 1:

Day 2:
Tomohiro bounced from tree to tree as he tried to get a different view. He formed hand seals and summoned three fire clones of himself. One clone was handed a kunai and as the others formed around the crossroads while remaining in the tree line. The chuunin converted chakra into fire chakra within his maws and moved closer before releasing it into a large flaming projectile. The flaming projectile melted snow as it raced toward the “leader” and the bandits that remained visible . The unexpected bandits didn’t have enough time to react and fell to the ground in pain. One bandit went into shock from the leader being engulfed in flames. The bandit was then colored the snow red as their neck had been slashed by one of the soldiers.

Tomohiro sent his clones into the fray. The clones begun fighting hand to hand with the bandits as the soldiers maintained closer to the caravan of supplies. One of the soldiers changed his mind and charged in. One of his clones had been dispersed as the bandit caught a kunai twice in its neck. Tomohiro stood in the trees and watched. It was the first time, he utilized the fire clone technique in live combat. He was pleased for the most part. He drew his blade from its sheath and plowed his way through the air. Tomohiro made his way to the ground and impaled the two targets that twisted and turned on the ground to cease their movements.

Tomohiro assisted one of his other clones that seemed to begin getting pushed back the attacks of one of the bandits. Tomohiro took on the distracted bandit with a kick their knee. The bandits knee cracked as it inverted. His sword graced the bandits neck giving death to her. Only one bandit remained and started to retreat. Tomohiro dispersed two of his clones leaving the one with the kunai presence. The clone and him nodded toward each other as they gave chase. The clone’s kunai was coated in katon chakra at a low rank. Tomohiro’s katana also took on katon chakra as they started to gain ground on the last bandit. His katana burned with grey flames that consumed the weapon. The fire clone rushed ahead slashing at the bandits neck, but catching him on his cheek.

The bandit lost balance his bandits having now donned a burn mark on their cheek. Tomohiro approached him sending his white leather boot into the bandits chest. Placing his blade gently against the bandit’s ear. The bandit screamed in pain as he squirmed finding no release from the pain. Tomohiro’s heart started to get taken over as his bloodlust started to increase. The feeling in his own chest gripping at him in excitement. The clone even felt the change giving a side eye to the original.

“Who do you work for? Tell me, now!”

“It was just the five of us. You killed the boss first. We haven’t even been bandits that long. The only thing we did was rob from small villages at night. Please, don’t kill me!” the bandit pleaded.

Tomohiro took his blade and plunged it into the man’s mouth a few seconds before removing it. There was no need to show too much mercy. He figured that the bandit would learn from the event. The man would probably never be ever to talk again, but he didn’t care. It was the punishment that he brought upon himself. Now he would have to live with the scars for the rest of his days. It would take a highly skilled professional to repair the man’s ability to eat or drink. He sighed as he released the bandit. They seemed to have passed out. The clone passed Tomohiro his kunai back to him and dispersed.He approached the soldiers and bowed slightly. The soldier’s bowed back before responding.

“Thanks shinobi! We weren’t aware that Lord Hastur had a shinobi guarding the crossroads. Could you come with us the rest of the way. We’re headed to one of the daimyo's compounds further south.”

“Sorry, my duties lie elsewhere. Godspeed to you.”

“Godspeed, shinobi. We’ll go ahead and burn the bodies.”

Tomohiro watched as the guards picked up the bodies and put them into one of the empty carts. His bloodlust started to come to a calm. It was good for him to have control unlike the last mission he performed. He took a deep breath as the soldiers passed on. The crossroads had been stained with blood and charred earth that had started to get covered in snow. The soldier that he scarred for life had placed out of sight in the brush below his tree. He still had one more day left. It was a good time to go back to his branch and take notes. Once he got to the branch, he continued to keep his eyes on the road and the last bandit. He then returned to take his notes.

Day 2 continued..

He quickly looked up to see the sight of a man in a mask. The uniform was unmistaken...ANBU. The dark hooded figure stood on his branch and didn’t move. Tomohiro didn’t move he just looked up the figure. The figure just looked and moved on from his branch. He didn’t know why the figure was standing there or how long they’ve been watching. ANBU did report to Lord Hastur, but he didn’t know their purpose. He didn’t worry about it. What he wrote down was marked out as he reported “Nothing to report.”

At the end of his mission, he packed up his things. It was time to turn in his mission. Today had been eventful and his mission seemed to be a success. The things he experienced would not be forgotten. Each detail that he saw had been taken note of. The cold air around him seemed to be ignored as he made his way toward the village. He still pondered about why the elite shinobi showed himself. Though, he would put it out of his mind. As long as he wasn’t a target for assassination, he didn’t care too much. He sighed as he continued through the tree line toward the village. What an eventful, mission.

[Thread Exit/Mission Complete]

Chakra:

2617/1500
1117 remaining after mission

1100/1100 [+275 additional ryo]

17 words unused