Spoiler:

The unfamiliar noise of knocking echoed through Zetsume's small house shortly after the sun set. Repede was much quicker to respond to the knocks than Zetsume was and sat silently near the door. Zetsume had just finished eating and had to clean up. Living alone with just Repede meant his house was usually well kept. It was unusual he had visitors this far away from the village, as his house resided on the outskirts far away from the main city. While his house did not provide basic protection of having multiple nearby shinobi, it did provide him with a quiet morning. Zetsume hesitantly approached the door, speaking aloud towards his unwanted guest, "Who is it?" A child like voice replied quickly, but it was obvious this one was nervous or scared. "T-this is Zix-san's house correct? I have a letter I must deliver."

Zetsume opened the door slowly to see a young kunoichi standing there, slightly shaking with the note in hand. Despite her fear, it seems she was determined. He wondered why she was so terrified.  Must be her first time this far away from home. I wonder if they assign these kids to give me mail on purpose to get them prepared. Surely her sensei is watching nearby. Zetsume looked around slightly to see if he could notice anything. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Repede was quick to greet her by walking up to her and sitting down while softly nudging his head on her hand. With an outstretched arm, he received the letter and she quickly started to pet Repede. Her fear seemed to vanish as Repede was enjoying the petting. Zetsume opened the note reading of an urgent escort mission that would take place in the following morning. As he kept reading the details his eyes read something he always dreads,"Nakir, Tomohiro, eh?", he said softly. In the details he was surprised to see he was not alone. Normally missions like this they send him on his own. He let out a small sigh as his attention then averted towards his mail deliverer. He spoke in a calm and friendly voice, "Repede, follow her until her route is complete. After that find Nakir, Tomohiro and give him this." Zetsume did not want to keep her here too long as she surely had more people to give mail to deliver. Reaching for a pen in his pocket, he quickly jotted down a small extra note to the mission summary; Repede will be staying with you for the night. He will find me in the morning, follow him. Z. Zetsume was not one to waste words on anything but importance. Even his signature was just one initial. He stuffed the note in a pocket on his harness. Zetsume spoke quickly after doing so, "Make sure to keep her safe boy. After that find Tomorhiro...". The girls attention was diverted from a Repede to Zetsume. It was obvious her fear was gone by this point as her eyes shined in moonlight. In an excited voice, she spoke to him, "I know where he lives Zix-San, i can make it my last stop. Do I just give you his mission summary." Zetsume nodded with approval. She then handed him the note, which he burned almost instantly. To him, information should never be lose. Zetsume gave a small pat on the head of his trusted dog before speaking again, "Now hurry along, you should not be out here this late." The girl went to walk but stopped and turned around to speak to Zetsume, "Ya know, you're not as bad as they say." Zetsume said nothing but gave a small wave as they vanished in the distance. No... I am so much worse he thought before turning in for the night.

Zetsume awoke before the sun was coming up only by a few hours. . It did not take him long to prepare for the day as he wanted the mission to be over. With him he just grabbed his basic ninja gear, and his clothes of course. Black jeans, with a white T shirt covered by a jacket. His normal attire. Zetsume knew that the quickest way towards the escorts final destination was to take the main road south. If anything, would be much shorter than going around and through thickets. He was to protect the cargo and merchant, which means he paid a pretty decent amount for this. Zetsume laid with his back against the South Gate and waited. From there Repede should help Tomohiro find him. With any luck, he would arrive before the client and they could discuss plans. Zetsume had one in mind, but figured he should run it by his mission partner. Now he rested against the wall, thinking of all possible scenarios until either the client arrives or he does. Zetsume just hoped he was alright with Repede.

WC:821

There was a strange tapping on Tomohiro’s window. The young Nakir was sitting on his bed meditating as another round of tapping started up. He then heard the sound of a pestering crow that started cawing violently. Tomohiro opened an eye and stood up to open his window. The crow came into his room and started flying about. This was starting to annoy him, but the crow decided to come down and land on his head. He reached up and started to feel the crows legs and found a piece of parchment. He tried to run the crow off, but the crow lifted up its feet and sat down on his head like it was a nest. Tomohiro grimaced as he opened the letter.

Reading through the letter, his heart seemed to jump a little bit. It was from his brother. He couldn’t see why his brother couldn’t just be normal. This crow was utterly annoying. Originally, he thought that it was something more serious. It was just a request to meet him for some one on one training. He sighed as the crow didn’t move from his head. He shut the window and grabbed his blade. Tomohiro put on his boots and started to make his way to the kitchen. He opened up the fridge before opening a bottle of water. The cold water felt good going down his throat as the crow cawed again. Tomohiro glanced his eyes upward before the crow cawed again. He withdrew a kunai and cut the bottle to about the level of what was left of his bottle. The crow cawed and dipped it’s beak into the bottle. He placed it on the table. The crow flew off his head and continued to dunk it’s beak inside of the cut bottle.

A knock then sounded on his door, as he started to write to his brother that he was on his way. Tomohiro went to the door and opened it. The crow then flew off the table and landed on his head to then sit down again. Tomohiro’s face turned into a look of annoyance before nodding his head toward the genin.

“Hi Hi, Tomohiro-san,” the genin stated.

“Oh hey, good to see you aga…,” he started as he saw the dog.

Tomohiro jumped back a little bit uneasy. He slowly moved forward again while keeping his eyes on the dog. The one thing he didn’t care for were pet dogs. The dog wasn’t frightening in any way, but he had a bad experience with dogs as a kid. Tomohiro sighed while staying vigilant as he reached for the letter. The letter made his heart slightly skip a beat. It was his first B-Rank mission. His first team mission as a chuunin. Tomohiro smiled until he read an additional note on the mission letter saying, “Repede will be staying with you for the night. He will find me in the morning, follow him. Z.” Tomohiro looked at Repede as the dog just casually strolled into his apartment. There was a brief moment of silence as he wasn’t sure what was worse his brother’s messenger crow or Repede staying overnight.

The young Nakir bowed to the genin as he motioned for the bird to leave. The crow cawed and wiggled around a little on his scalp getting comfortable. Tomohiro maintained a look of disdain as he started to write a note to his brother stating about a change of plans. He would have just left and had Repede come with him, but he didn’t want Repede to deal with the heat of the Nakir training rooms. The letter was brief as he signed it and tried to reach for the crow. The crow stood up and hopped down onto his glove before cawing. He tied the parchment to the bird and sent it out of the front door. He looked to Repede as he wasn’t sure what to quite do about the dog.

“Well...Repede-senpai, you can sleep in my bed. Doggo or no doggo you are a guest in my house. I’ll prepare dinner later.”

The morning arrived as he fed some of the leftover boar he had to Repede and readied himself to leave. He waited until the dog was ready before following it to its master. Tomohiro donned his fully black bodysuit with his traditional hooded sweatshirt. His katana at his side and his kasa sat on his head. He followed Repede at a distance still a bit bothered by the dog. Tomohiro arrived at the South Gate as he met up with his partner. He was sort of glad he wasn’t alone with Repede, but he wasn’t sure what else there was to do before the mission.

“Zix-sama? Take good care of me,” he said as he bowed.

818

Being at a somewhat medative state, Zetsume almost did not hear the sound of a dog and another person walking in his direction. After peeking an eye open to make sure it was Repede, Zetsume stopped leaning on the wall to greet them. Seeing as Repede was happily walking it would seem the night went his way. He gave quick thought of how much did the pooch try to get out of him, however, his thought was broken when the person walking next to Repede spoke aloud to him. Adorned in a black outfit with a katana on his side, he seemed like the classic swordsman. Zetsume had often pondered about learning kenjutsu, but it would only be to give the illusion. Considering his kekegenki, Zetsume is always armed. Many of his previous students trained in kenjutsu, it is just lost on Zetsume as he prefers his distance. Zetsume gave a small thought about the situation, trying not to feel indifferent towards his comment, This should be interesting. I suppose I can help him the best I can, but if he expects me to be a hero, he is mistaken. Regardless of how he currently felt about his mission partner, he smiled at him and replied promptly as Repede walked up to Zetsume's side and sat down, "Nakir, Tomohiro, pleasure to meet you. Just call me Zix if you would. Such formalities are wasted on me." He gave a wave but did not particularly like hand shakes as some do. That feeling of distance might be something about his fighting style carrying over into life. "I hope my dog was not much of a bother. He can be... quite a spoiled pooch." The dog of course took offense and nipped at Zetsume's dangling hand, but was quickly rejected as Zetsume knew he would retaliate for that comment. Zetsume did not miss a beat on talking, as the action happened while he was speaking. "Tell me about your fighting style briefly. Being allies, it is best we know what the other is capable of should time arise. We have a few minutes before our client shows up, so keep it brief if you would. Alright, so I should go first, I'm a Kyujutsu user, so if possible I would like to keep my distance from the group. I know a few genjutsu, but I have not trained hard in that area. Repede here can hold his own against average bandits but cannot fight a trained shinobi." Zetsume kept his black Raiton a secret. It is never in his best interest to be totally open and honest.

Zetsume gave a pat on the head of Repede. The dogs current happiness only reaffirmed that Repede got his way. Zetsume listened to Tomohiro, while thinking of possible outcomes he should take. Should he take the helm of the expedition group, he is more likely to be seen by those laying in wait. If he were to do that, he at least would serve as the first line of defense. Even though that route would ensure total safety, he could not help but to wonder what he was actually capable of. Repede of course knows already what the drill is. The dog has been on numerous missions with other Kumogakure shinobi. To him the up most important job is to keep Zetsume's mission partner safe. Without even speaking no matter what choices the two shinobi should come to, the dog would stay near Tomohiro until this job was complete. Zetsume was better off alone, even away from Repede. It gave him the best options for attacks and counter attacks. Zetsume just hoped that Tomohiro was capable of holding his own. As much as Zetsume wanted to make sure he was safe, deep down he wondered just how cut out for this kind of work is he. Will he betray Kumogakure one day and become a traitor like so many others have in all villages. Zetsume hears things from travelers about other villages, and it was shocking to him how many abandon it all. Such traitors do not even deserve an honorable in Zetsume's eyes.

WC:694
Total: 1515

He stood straight up and relaxed himself. Tomohiro had mostly given up on formalities, but he just didn’t want to seem rude to others. The man before him seemed really laid back and distant. Keeping distant was no stranger to him. He hated being around large groups of people and found it easier to deal with situations alone than in a group. He spent most of his genin life doing solo missions with few of them in groups. It wasn’t until he got older that he was put into a squad. Maybe Lord Hastur was the one who saw the potential between him and Zeref, but then there was also Kiyoshi-sensei. Kiyoshi did choose him and Zeref as his students regardless of their flaws. There were a lot of his speculations that concerned his early life, but they had no place in the current setting.

“Repede-sama was a fine guest,” he said as he quickly glimpsed over to the dog.

Tomohiro didn’t really have a good history with pets. Most of his negative experiences were with dogs. Between a dog scratching him on the hand and him killing one to protect a comrade, those were definitely negative experiences that lived on within him. Repede didn’t give him any visible reason to be afraid, but Tomohiro wasn’t going to take any chances. He was a bit tense about being around Repede, but not too tense after having spent time with him. The dog was likeable and he considered spoiled an understatement. The dog was adorable to an extent. He winced at the thought calling the dog adorable. The fact that Repede was able to hold his own brought a sense of calm over him. It brought some reassurance that he was in good hands.


“Well, I prefer close combat supplemented with bukijutsu style techniques. I’m a close to mid-range fighter. The only element I know is what my clan specializes, katon,” he responded.

There was no other way to put it. He didn’t really train with anyone else that were long range fighters. Zix was probably the first individual person that fought primarily at a distance. Kyujutsu was something that he wanted to learn, but he had never gotten the chance to or anyone who could efficiently train in it. Though, he still had a lot to learn concerning his bukijutsu techniques. He still lacked in kenjutsu, but it was sort of his own fault for not training more with his blade. Tomohiro was so concentrated on ninjutsu that his sword techniques had been kind of put to the side. It wasn’t anything that he was proud of, but that was the truth. He wondered what he could learn on this mission and what Zix possibly had to offer as far as strategy. The only missions where he killed people had been with Zeref and he hadn’t seen Zeref in awhile or on a mission with him. Escort missions seemed to never go the way one would think, but that was what he had been told. It would be his first experience on an escort mission and he hoped that he would survive to see the end of it.

“Zix, what would you suggest on our course of action?" he asked as he rested his wrist on the hilt of his sword.

536/1354

It was as Zetsume had thought, a mid-close range attacker. Tomohiro gave no hint towards anything defensive. This would prove to be quite...troublesome should he be in the fray. Giving only a few moments of thought before speaking, he deeply inhaled and chose a decent way of going about this, "I want you to take point in this escort, Repede will follow you. I assume that should not be a problem considering your style. Your only goal is to keep the client and cargo safe. Let me make myself very clear, do not attempt to be a hero for Repede or myself. The client, cargo, and your own safety is what matters."

Zetsume stopped talking towards Tomohiro and started to address Repede, "Plan echo sheep, you know what to do." The dog nodded slightly to show approval. This plan consisted of Repede laying low and to look as harmless as possible. Even should an attack happen, he is to tuck away and give signals. Once a signal is given, he is to protect Tomohiro. Zetsume, would have to take the outside. He wondered how well he could put faith into Tomohiro. Zetsume turned his attention towards the chuunin and spoke, "This might sound crazy, but hear me out. I want you to walk around unarmed. Put your blade somewhere on the wagon incase of emergency. Your headband, same thing. I do not want to give them any reason to prompt an ambush attack. If they say a shinobi from Kumogakure escorting while armed, if we are spotted along the way, I would prefer them to be over confident. Really I am betting on them not being cold blooded killers. Oh right, I will not be too far off. My eyesight is good, and should I see something before you two, I will notify. Should that happen Repede will relay to you Tomohiro. Honestly, I cannot promise your safety, that is not my specialty. Mine is just in killing, so try not to get hurt out there."

It was a genuine concern for Zetsume when it came to people from his village. He wanted them to be well, while at the same time needed them to get stronger. Should Tomohiro die on this mission, Zetsume will blame himself but he will end up concluding it was Tomohiro's lack of strength. Zetsume would hear any suggestions from Tomohiro before deciding that is the best route to pick. Regardless the client will be here soon, so they need to decide now before it is too late. Last thing Zetsume wanted was a paranoid client. They are irrational and often dangerous to themselves and others.

WC:444
Total:1959

Tomohiro had no problem with what was demanded of him. Though, he still didn’t care too much about having Repede with him. He sighed slightly as he began. The young Nakir rather be alive if something came up than die from his arrogance. He wasn’t sure of what Repede’s abilities were. It wasn’t like it truly mattered if he knew or not. Ninja pets were beyond his understanding. Repede was the first one he actually had interacted with and it showed. His skills went beyond using a weapon at least. Whatever they encountered he hoped he would be ready for it. It would be his luck that this mission didn’t go as smooth as possible.

“I understand. I’ll just need you to hold on to my weapons. I’ll do my best to not be a hindrance.”

He reached for his waist and removed his sheath with his sword. Tomohiro’s belt, pouches, and headband then came next. He placed them on the ground in front of him. This was something that he kind of wish he looked more into fuinjutsu, but none of his clansmen were skilled in such techniques that he knew of. There wouldn’t be much for him to do unless he wanted him to remove his poncho as well. Tomohiro wouldn’t dare suggest that. That was where he would draw the line. Giving up an article of clothing for an unknown amount of time wasn’t going to fly with him.

“I don’t have anything else as far as weapons go. Everything is here. If anything else is required, I would like to know. Going unarmed isn’t a problem. I’ll try and look relaxed. Though, I can’t promise that I won’t make any sudden moves. I don’t have any else that I can spare as far as physical items.”

317/1671

Zetsume peered at the chuunin as he replied to his idea with an underlying cold state. Repede looked at his owner and the tail that was previously wagging stooped as Tomohiro agreed to being bait. Zetsume does not know if this is foolish, obident, or ignorant to agree to being used as bait. Earlier in his life, Zetsume would have never agreed to such a tactic. After Tomohiro had finished making himself seem more like a civilian, Zetsume walked toward his belongings. At this moment their client came along on a wagon being pulled by four rather well taken care of horses. Thankfully, the client was not one to be adorned in lavished and extravagant nature. The wagon, himself, and the horses looked rather common as if he was not carrying merchandise that is worth dying for. Zetsume smiled a little at that thought as his attention turned from the client and towards Tomohrio's sword. He stared at the sword for a second as conflicting ideas ran in his head. At first he was going to pick it up and instruct someone to safeguard them, but a sense of pride of looking at someone's weapon choice  over took him. He looked back up and spoke to the client as to not be rude towards him, "Sir, if it is not too much of a trouble could we hide his sword on the underside of this wagon? It is imperitive on our mission that he remains civilian looking and that he is your kin. As I'm sure you understand, being weaponless could impact our success should something go awry.""

The client who was almost in his fifties as his grey hair was already showing. His smile seemed genuine as he nodded in agreement as Zetsume nodded in response and turned towards his mission partner. "Alright Tomohiro, just hide the blade under there. With your smaller stature, it shouldn't be too much of a trouble to obtain it. Plus it might act as a shield, but I hope not to use that jutsu. Anyways, we should be off, time is wasting. Alright, enjoy the trip, I will catch up once I place his belongings to someone trustworthy. Remember, be friendly and speak in a normal manner. No need for whispers. Should others be waiting to ambush, it will make them over confident and make it easier to locate and assess the issue. Don't worry guys, my eyes are good and my shot is even better."

Zetsume's somewhat cold eyes seemed happy as he smiled and waved them along. He picked up Tomohiro's benlongings and entrusted it to the ramen shop owner after paying him well enough to make it worth watching it intently. He sighed a little and set off. It was not hard for him to catch up to them, but kept them just barely in his eye sight. He knew this would be a long walk and hoped everything goes smooth. Repede followed Tomohiro closely watching all the sides during the voyage.

(Sorry for the late reply.)

WC:515

Total:2474

The feeling of anxiety started to sweep through him. He slowly looked down at his left hand as the realization hit him. Tomohiro started to have second thoughts about what was going on. Though, he knew there was no turning back now. His clan weren’t only swordsman, but were also quite skilled with ninjutsu. If push came to shove, he knew that he would resort in trying to cover himself and the client using the shinobi arts. He also had some defensive strategies that he had mentally gone through could also come in handy. Taking a deep breath, he reassured himself that he could handle it. It was just another mission that he would hope to overcome.

Looking up as the client had arrived, he closely observed the man. The man would have been an easy target for thieves or bandits if he were to be out in the open. A man who wanted to openly present his wealth could easily find himself on the wrong end of an arrow or blade. It was probably the reason he had to hire shinobi to protect him. He wouldn’t admit it, but he kind wished that Zeref could tag along with him. At least he was certain of his fighting style. Tomohiro knew that once he made his way into higher ranks, there would be a number of shinobi he would have to work with. This was only the tip of the iceberg. It would be good get adjust himself to working with others. He spent most of his training learning how to fight against others with abilities he was ignorant to, but he didn’t really train on fighting with others assistance.

Tomohiro listened as Zix talked to the man. Tomohiro simply bowed slightly to greet him. He took his blade and placed it in one of the crevices between the wheels of the client’s cart. After making sure his stuff would hold still, he walked over to Repede and kind of looked at him. “Take care of me Repede,” he whispered. He then approached the client and made sure to make eye contact before he would begin talking.

“Sir, I assure you that your safety will proceed or own lives. This isn’t our first rodeo. We’ll get you to your destination promptly.”

Tomohiro wasn’t sure how much of it was true, but he knew that his life wasn’t worth this shipment of whatever it was. He then thought back to when his older brother went on his first escort mission. The explanation his brother gave to him was quite drastic. The client had died during the mission and his brother had almost gotten killed. The whole shipment was lost. His brother had to travel home on a half dead horse. There was some hope that they all would make it out alive, but Tomohiro wouldn’t give up in a fight. That’s what made him different from his brother. He wouldn’t stop fighting even if his life depended on it.

“I’ll go ahead and take point,” he said mostly toward Zix.

As they moved along, he thought to himself what he would do when he arrived back at the village. He also tried to be conspicuous as possible.  Most of his thinking was just him trying to stay positive. He sort of tried to look like a young adult that wasn’t scarred by the bloodshed he seen and caused. Acting freely like he didn’t have a care in the world, but while also remaining cautious. Occasionally, he would smile and stretch his torso. He tried to make casual conversation as he roleplayed the part of a spoiled son. The client happily played along. In all honesty, he actually enjoyed playing the part from riding one of the horse’s back that had been pulling the cart to doing handstands as they walked. Maybe, he was acting a too conspicuous than what was actually needed.

Repede had been plenty of decent company as well. Not much for his liking of pet animals. The pup really started to latch onto him a bit. Repede actually made it a bit easier for him to cope with the mission. Most of his anxiety had diminished from earlier. He was pleased that he was no longer worried about the success of the mission. It just hit him that he had a lot of pent up stress that he needed to let go. This wasn’t the perfect time for it, but he was definitely liking the idea of killing time. He never really had the time to be a kid and it showed.

780/2451

[Exit thread/Inactivity]

WC: 2451

Stat Training:

Speed: 600/600 [C-1 -> C-2]
Reaction Time: 575/575 + 600/600 [C-0 -> C-2]
Perception: 575/575 [C-0 -> C-1]

2350 words used for training stats

101 words unused