From on High D-Rank:

Makoto knew from his mission with masked guy that he should not even bother asking what messages, teachings and information lays inside this Raikagean Hasturian scrolls as he experienced their lecturing first hand when he had done the C-rank mission that other time. For now he knew he needed to learn more jutsu, and in order to learn more jutsu he would need to train and in order to train more he would need to eat and drink healthily which cost ryo so in the circle of life he had to do missions to get what he wanted out of life as he would once again be partnering up for this mission as he found having partner's made missions a lot easier and were very helpful for allowing him more freedom to act as he wanted.

Makoto's experiences had taught him the importance of friendship as a way to obtain more techniques and jutsu, and to some degree even useful information and items as well. His ideas on friendship were not perfect, but to some degree they were honest as he soon realized that in life the greatest tools are not shinobi, but friends who would be willing to lay down their lives for you to survive and live on as you wanted. He was not too proud of himself as he encountered a few occasions when his jutsu simply were not good enough not counting his lack of ability as well as he wondered how things would turn out in the future.

Makoto felt like he was in a rush, but at the same time he knew that he could not simply coast along the edges either. He had to have patience while also being determined to push forward when the time came as he would now patiently wait for his partner for this mission so that they can get done what needs to be done.

Words = 320

The young blonde shinobi let out a heavy sigh, days like today he really hated. It was not the desert heat, in fact he actually liked the desert. It was like a breath of fresh air compared to the cool air that the land of lightning held, it was the tedious mission of which he was assigned. Delivering messages to the frontlines was more of an assignment for a low level shinobi or even a civilian, not something a seasoned shinobi such as his self should have to endure. However the Raikage thought himself a god and to deny a god was punishable by death, so when an order was given to the boy by the Raikage himself he dare not object to the God's command. The one good thing about the ordeal was that the boy would have the company of a young shinobi he had come to know by the name of Makoto. He was interested in getting to know the boy more and the low level mission might prove to be the perfect pretext for a conversation, as they did not spend much time talking during previous missions. Considering the fact that it was unlikely for them to run into much trouble just carrying a message down to the frontlines, still if trouble did arise the boy would be prepared for whatever might happen with his various weapons hidden amongst his person. From his Kaminari Steel set of weapons, and other various ninja tools, not to mention Ikari, the boy's Tanto that was strapped horizontally across the back of the boy's belt anything that would try to surprise him would get a surprise of their own. Despite the fact that he did not feel as though they would run into trouble the boy released chakra into the air around him, so that he would be alerted to any movement that occurred within his range and be prepared if things did go south.

The boy snapped back to reality from his thoughts as his eye's fell upon the young Iwa Genin waiting at the gates to the Kumogakure border camp, a smile forming on his face as he approached. "Well Makoto, looks like they suckered us both into this delivery. But the good news is that we could talk more as I doubt we will run into trouble with a simple delivery assignment." The male stated in a cheerful voice as he looked to get their journey underway. "Unless you are in a hurry to get the job done I figured we could just walk there as there is really no need to hurry." The boy continued with the same smile upon his face, so long as Makoto did not object the boy would begin walking towards the destination. "So what have you been up to since last we met?" The boy asked as they began their journey.

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484

Makoto waited for a while and to his surprise or delight was a boy he had not seen for a while now, it was that guy with the electrifying blue eyes as you could feel the electricity in the air as the shinobi made his appearance. You would think he was a super model, like a man made in the image of Hastur as he began to wonder if this is what it meant to follow the hastur religion as he snapped himself back to reality as he heard the words from his friend or partner as it was. He did not want to say it, but he knew at times even your closest friend might end up as your enemy like when you played checkers or shogi or igo.

The joke about them being suckered into this delivery seemed about half right as he did not have it in him to deny that fact. He nodded when they asked to walk there as he greeted him with a light raising of hand as a mini wave, he had witnessed something brutal some time back. He knew it was about saving the prisoners, but that guy in the mask was brutal with no mercy. From the dead body he found in the hay stack to how that guy dealt with the enemy as if they were nothing more then bugs. Though perhaps he did not really understand it, but he knew that there was a line he was a bit too afraid to cross. He could kill, he could maim and do all those things and he just felt this delivery mission might be something far more peaceful for a change.

The moment he was asked what he had been up to he turned a bit pale as he looked down before answering, "missions..." as his resolve was a bit wavering, he could not shake the image out of his head. He killed people before, but he had never actually gotten that close to a dead body having to hide with it for a while. He might get used to it, but for his first time it was a bit much as he looked to the side. He then tried to think of something to lighten the mood for himself. "... also been trying to make my own jutsu..." as he seemed to turn a little less pale after mentioning jutsu.

However as they walked it seemed that a shinobi had picked up on their trail along with around five soldiers or bandits. Makoto had not quite noticed them yet as he trusted in Raphael's abilities. He did not feel like any harm could come to him while he was with Radical Raphael as he made up that nickname inside his head. Though the group kept their distance while closing in slowly as they kept making sure that Makoto and Raphael did not look back to them and notice their presence.

Words = 320 + 491 = 811

Hearing that the boy was working on a jutsu of his own, sparked the male's interest however his interest was short lived as he felt movement on the edge of his wind sense. There were six of them in total, based on their movement the young male could only assume that they were trying to sneak up upon the pair. Exhaling slightly the male let out a sigh, "Makoto, we are being followed." He stated without turning around to look or slowing his pace of walking. His statement was as if it was just a normal occurrence, or at the very least not something that needed to be worried about. Pulling his arm in front of him so that those behind the pair would be unable to see what it was that he was doing, the male began molding his chakra into a glowing blue orb in the palm of his hand. Continuing to monitor the movement behind him, the male waited until the small group of ambushers were closer before he whispered to Makoto. "Close your eyes," with that he launched his orb of glowing chakra into the air above him. The orb travelled upwards until it hit its peak and exploded into a flash of blinding light that blinded anyone in the area near them. Whether they looked at the orb or not the flash would be enough to flood their retinas with light, those unfortunate souls that were looking upon the orb when it detonated would suffer more but all within a ten meter radius would be unable to see. A small cry could be heard from behind the pair as the men attempting to ambush them were blinded by the sudden flash of bright light from his jutsu. The male turned on a dime, doing a complete one eighty as he took in a breath. Facing the would be attackers the male unleashed his breath in the form of a single five meter diameter sphere of wind that soar across the gap of thirty meters between the two boy's and the would be attackers in less than a second. Ripping three of the six men to shreds while severely wounding the other three, the male was upon the remaining men almost as fast as his sphere was. Pulling Ikari from the sheath on his back, the male proceeded to stab the blade through the throats of his would be attackers ending their lives with little effort. Sheathing his blade the male turned back to Makoto, "well now what was that you were saying about a jutsu?" The male asked as they continued on their journey and delivered the letter to the front line. With the mission completed the male would bid Makoto farewell and return to his work among the hidden cloud.

{Exit Thread}

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952

Mission Completed: -750
Extra words: -200

Total gained: 200 Ryo

Makoto was about to engage in speaking about the new jutsu he wanted to create, but he was interrupted by Raphael-senpai as he was told to close his eyes and remain absolutely silent. He believed with how much stronger his senpai was that he could trust him to not hurt him as he closed his eyes when he was told as he began wondering if he could also do what his senpai did. As the men who seemed to have been tailing them was taken out by him, he was not sure if it was his lack of experience or whether he just felt safe while walking with Raphael-senpai.

So he was given no reason to feel wrong about how his mind would remember this event, as the delivery seemed to go on rather peaceful from that point on as it was clear that Raphael had reached a plateau that Makoto could only dream of reaching at his current strength. He noticed the blue orb that was created in Raphael's hand before he was told to close his eyes and began wondering if he could do similar things as he had many new ideas about jutsu as he began to discuss a few problems he was having with his new jutsu.

As they continued to walk he began to explain one of his ideas for a new jutsu. "You know, I was trying to mix the hidden mist technique and the water clone technique, but I keep struggling with it. The mist either fades away or the clone just explodes when i try to put enough chakra into it. I guess I still need to train more and how did you make that blue orb technique. Maybe I can try making a technique like that with my water element."

Makoto feeling a bit casual just focused some of his elemental chakra in his palm, but all he managed was a wobbly water blob that fell apart as creating new jutsu was not as simple as people understood. For the most part Makoto did not fully understand the concepts for it at the time, however he had some of the basics as he felt he should study even more to master new kinds of jutsu and create something more impressive. They would not chat about much else as Makoto would turn silent after calming down as they would walk on to deliver the message as they were finally free of this accursed cloud missions, for now.

Makoto would proceed with Raphael to the point and after completing the delivery they would part their separate ways for the time being. However it was clear that Raphael made Makoto feel a feeling he did not completely understand. In the end all that mattered was learning new jutsu and getting paid.

[exit]

Words = 811 + 470 = 1281
Mission = 750
Extra Pay = 500 (25*5=125ryo)
Total 1250