Spoiler:

In front of him was darkness. Behind there would be civilization. Shining lights and flashing neon, the racket of life and liveliness even as the now setting sun had completely disappeared beyond the line of horizon. The sounds of late night activity were barely audible if one would strain their ears hard enough. Perhaps the sounds of a laughing man, emboldened by his intoxication could be heard. Perhaps the sounds of a crying child, unable to sleep or be soothed by its parents. These errant sounds were remnants of civilization, a shining beacon. Even now, surrounded by darkness, it served as a reminder of what was being protected. Standing at the edge between light and darkness only made the contrast become more apparent.

Patrolling the northern section of the gates brought these thoughts to his mind. Being assigned guard duty was an important experience, after all. While maybe not the most exciting mission he could have taken, being cleared for the responsibility in itself was nearly overwhelming. Having to resign himself previously to the sorts of menial manual labor that D-Ranked missions consisted of felt as if it were an eternal fate that he would be stuck within forever. Spending such a long time down, convinced of how impossible it was to climb made the eventual rise all the sweeter though. And it was sweet. A swift promotion, relatively speaking, granted Chigetsu new privileges and responsibilities. This, in all its tediousness, was one of them. But even as tedious as it was it could not be denied to have importance. While collecting minerals and finding lost cats likely were important in some respect, guarding the gates had an aura of grandiosity that could not be denied. He had been put in charge of a section of Kirigakure's walls, the only thing keeping the darkness from penetrating into civilization. There were others, of course, but here at his post Chigetsu would be the first line of defense should any horrors of the night come near.  

In front of him, out into the darkness, the gentle songs of crickets occasionally broke the silence. The strong scents of moist grass and fresh mist broke through, intermingling with the scent of sea salt and sands. Freshness. New dew, being laid as the night began. All of them pleasant smells. It was rare that that winds blew in so strongly that they could carry these scents through the city, with the exception of the scents of mist and sea salt that consumed all. Beyond him through the darkness he could see the silhouettes of forestry. What lurked in it, using the shadows as coating to hide their ill intents, were the enemy that Chigetsu would be facing. That was assuming that he even would be coming near any sort of enemies in the first place. Even though this was his first time, Chigetsu was pretty sure that while guarding the gates that most threats would come from the outside.  

So, he would sit and watch. The night was still young, and there was plenty of time left in his shift. What else could he do other than wait, after all? It was his job. As boring as it might have been it was important, truly important. There was nothing else that he could have asked for.  

[553]

The continuation of the night brought little for him. While he knew that this wasn't going to be one of those exciting missions that had action at every turn, at the same time he didn't realize exactly how long the entire night was. Foolishly, Chigetsu hadn't prepared for this mission in advance by getting some sleep either. If he had known better he would have slept all day the day before to make it easier to stay up. Even something like a little nap would have been okay too, honestly. Just a few hours of sleep would have made everything much smoother, but as Chigetsu was right now there was nothing he could do but try to divert his mind from that. The perfection conditions of intense boredom and already present drowsiness came together like a wrecking ball, and very soon Chigetsu was having difficulty keeping his eyes open. Sleeping would be a failure of this mission and everything Chigetsu set out to be though. It would mean that Fuyuko and that man were right in what they had said to him. That he should be satisfied with mediocrity and doing simple missions of no real importance. While he was sure that D-Rank missions did have quite a bit of importance on a grand scale, individually they were meaningless manual labor and busy work. Chigetsu aimed higher. There had to be more to being a ninja than that. There had to be more. If this was the only thing waiting for him, and D-Rank missions were the only thing he had looking forwards to for the rest of his life...? If Chigetsu knew that was how the future would be he would take out his kunai and gut himself on the spot.

"Don't be so hasty." Almost as if on cue his kunai would speak up. At this point perhaps Chigetsu should be used to it, that every time he would think of his kunai that it would have something to say. The boy's sleepy eyes would turn down, hazily staring towards his belt. While he could hear the knife's voice easily while it was still covered in his belt pocket, it somehow felt rude to leave it covered down in there while he was trying to have a conversation. Slowly he would reach down, unbuttoning the little flap and pulling the matte black knife out into the open air. Apparently, it had been waiting too, because it would begin to speak again as soon as he held it in his hand. "You can't expect to propel yourself forward so quickly. Be patient. Being at your skill level at your age is impressive in itself."

"I want more though..." Chigetsu would whisper out with a hoarse voice. It had been hours since he had spoken, and so it took a moment for his throat to readjust. Quickly he would reach down for the water bottle attached to his belt, unhooking it and taking a quick sip of the fluid. The water would be sloshed around in his cheeks for a moment before he swallowed. It felt good against his throat, and almost immediately it would all be absorbed through his throat. None of it would even reach his stomach. Chigetsu would sigh as soon as his throat was clear. "I don't want to be just good enough for where I am. Even if I am young for a Chunin, I see so many other people rising up and I'm afraid I'll be left in the dirt. "Look at the Chunin Exams, for instance..." He would take another small sip of his water bottle in between breaths. This time there would actually be a bit of liquid to hit his stomach. "There were so many people there that weren't too much older than I am, and they're so high above me." The cap would be screwed back on slowly. "Fuyuko showed me how below her in skill I was when we went on that mission together. She was in the Chunin Exams too, and she didn't even win. She only made it up to the semi-finals. Just in Kirigakure there's Nova and Izumi too..."  

"Comparing yourself against others can be helpful at times, but there isn't any reason to fret about it. Those who are more skilled than you now have no guarantee to stay that way. Any distance can be climbed, and it isn't that far between you and them." Even if what his kunai was saying was supposed to sound encouraging, Chigetsu couldn't help but feel a slight sting. It was true that there was a distance between them but was it really something that Chigetsu could so easily climb? While he was trying to advance it was sure they were too, and they had a good head start. Honestly, given how lax Chigetsu was with his missions sometimes it wasn't so likely that he really could advance and close that gap so easily. Like right now, he was babbling nonsense to his kunai half-asleep instead of keeping watch like he should have been.

He would go silent just as he was about to respond. Ironically, just as he was thinking about how he shouldn't have been distracting himself with his kunai at a moment like this he would pick up on idle sounds coming out from the woods. Immediately Chigetsu would stand at attention, using every ounce of his focus to turn out and scan into the distance for any threats. In the distance the subtle sounds of foliage being trodden upon were picked up by his ears, and to match with these sounds soon two wolves would reveal themselves. They would prowl out from the darkness slowly, each making irregular movements. It wasn't hard to notice the white foam that seemed to mark their fur in several places around their maws. "Rabid." Chigetsu would whisper to himself, holding his kunai a bit tighter. It was clear that the wolves had noticed him and were slowly approaching now. Normally he wouldn't concern himself with wildlife like this, but if these wolves were rabid it would be good to put them down just for the sake of preventing them from doing any harm to anyone.

Shaking out all the sleepiness that he had in his head, Chigetsu would mentally prepare himself for the fight that was quickly approaching. His kunai would be pointed in the direction of the two wolves, in a somewhat dramatic fashion that was probably unnecessary. "Alright... I'm ready. This shouldn't be hard."

---

[1114/1667]

The wolves charged together. This wasn't the best scenario for Chigetsu. Not really in the slightest. Two on one, even if they were both just wolves, was almost unfair. Not just almost unfair, it was extremely unfair. With his vision split between the two it would be hard for him to focus on either one specifically. Multitasking wasn't exactly a strong suit of his, and so he would have to choose one in specific to attack rather than doing anything against the both of them. With one on the right and one on the left, Chigetsu would go for the one on the right. It aligned with the kunai clutched tightly in his right arm, and so it would be an easier target. He should be able to get an honest stab out towards it before it hit him.

He would have, if he hadn't spent that time thinking about what he should do. While Chigetsu was still planning out his actions the wolves would tear into him. Two sets of jaws would sink into his body, teeth stabbing in like a hundred knives. He felt no pain. Perhaps that was the cause of his carelessness. Even if they rushed forward and tore into him a thousand times with their teeth, Chigetsu couldn't be afraid. His liquefication granted him this suicidal lack of fear. The wolves drug him down, and he would collapse into the ground. Despite his resistance they would overpower him. With two against one, it was hardly fair. He hadn't been completely prepared for the attack either, despite them charging right at him. Time to think was a luxury he should have expected not to have.  

The wounds that the wolves tore into him though would be harmless to him. Their teeth would sink in just fine through his flesh. But replacing flesh would be water. Replacing blood would be water. Replacing veins and sweat and bone and muscle would be water. A thick gelatin mass that absorbed the shock and clamp of their teeth perfectly. It would squeeze between their teeth, against their tongues, and down their throats. While Chigetsu had never tasted himself he was sure that it couldn't be pleasant, especially with how thick the liquid was.  

These injuries weren't debilitating at all, like he was sure the wolves intended them to be. There was no pain. Luckily as they hadn't gotten anywhere near his actual blood there would be no risk of him contracting rabies from these bites either. Down on the ground like this would be the perfect chance to take them both out with one fell swoop as well. The kunai in his hand would be gripped tightly. The wolves continued to tear at him down on the ground, searching for some artery to tear open and deal a fatal wound. His liquefication seemed to confuse them somewhat. Without the familiar taste and smell of blood to ensure they had done their jobs the wolves would continue, biting into what was obviously flesh and blood until they found some.

The kunai would be plunged into the throat of the right wolf. From his hand it would be grasped by a small tentacle that extended out of his mid-section and shoved in harshly. It fit in perfectly under the wolf's jaw. The blood that the two had been searching for would spill out over Chigetsu, dripping freely from the now dying wolf. Its grip on his arm would collapse, and it would fall to the side dead shortly afterwards. The small tentacle would pass the kunai to his right hand then, and then retract back to his body. With his now freed right arm the weapon would be plunged into the skull of the one attacking his left side. It didn't slide in as easily as it had into the other wolf's throat. This was reasonable, as there was a skull in the way. His first thrust downward couldn't penetrate through the wolf's skull, just leaving a bloody mark where the knife had bounced away. He would thrust again, this time going through the animal's eye. Without any skull to block the way it would piece in directly. The beast would howl, although these cries would go quiet as Chigetsu twisted it in further.

With both of them dead now Chigetsu would throw their corpses off him and stand. He was completely and utterly covered in their blood now. Very unpleasant, but it was better than being injured himself. He would have to do a great deal of laundry after this, or possibly just discard this outfit all together. There was also the rest of the night he would have to stay on watch while wearing it. He would grimace.  

Oh well.

[805/2472]
[-1500 Mission Complete]
[-900 Extra Word Count] (+225 Ryo)
[EXIT]