[attr="class","APP3"]They had received word abruptly on a cool afternoon. There was no opportunity to meet the man that the raven's delivered a letter for, but a small mention was made that he would be the jounin which had been tasked with overseeing their development. As soon as they unbound the small scroll affixed to the twiggy leg of the raven, they were left to their devices with the note as the birds quickly flew off. It was short and to the point, much akin to the man himself as they'd soon learn. With clear instructions, the two were directed to gather together at the old dango stall after twilight turned to complete darkness--roughly around eight that night--and move together until they were on the library grounds. No further explanation was given to them and there was little to glean from the delivered scroll. There hadn't been much going on that night, save for wayward nightowls that kept to themselves as they routed through lonely streets with their unassuming appearances and the tendency to withdraw from eye contact in if they happened to draw near the pair; perhaps a group of parties of two or three could be spotted, but no especially murderous auroras could be felt.
When the pair of genin arrived, should they have followed the instructions delivered to them, a small side door besides a far larger, ornate door would creak open. "Paa-ssst-ssst-ssst," sounded a healthily rotund man, several inches shorter than the frame of the door and sporting a low mustache that did little more than thicken his upper lip-- not that it was to his benefit. "Are you them? The genin?" He called, peeking a short neck out from further from the door way and looking--the best he could with that stubby neck--both ways. "Ah, there's no one else here. You must be them!" The relief in his voice was notable. "Come inside, please do. You've two other men waiting for you!" There was little reason to not trust the man as few could have had such intimate knowledge of who they possibly were and why they were there, together at night and the designated time, at library. The door opened further and he would stand to the side, clearing the path for them.
"Please, do hurry. You won't have much time if you dally." He urged them on, but he did well to hide urgency in his voice. "Once you go through the door, follow the stairs until your first right and you'll find them waiting for you through the threshold," he mentioned as they approached closer. The door opened up to a short flight of stairs and, indeed, the shape of two men could be made out when they looked to the right: one form was significantly larger than the other and, briefly, the dim light made it seem as if he had ears sprouting from his hair. Besides him was a man smaller in stature, but closer inspection as they approached revealed a well tailored suit and well-groomed hair, he had tact and eyes that were deeply sunken.
"Glad you could make it. An old friend of mine saw my petition to the Raikage for assistance and figured you two were up to the task," he turned his head and looked to Seiichi. He was even larger up close: shoulders as spanning and built as mountain's base, a large and broad chest and arms akin to barrels threatening to burst; given how tall he sat, he must have been a giant standing. On his head he wore a bear's pelt that draped over his shoulder as if he were still living and he carried it, the arms on his gi were crudely torn. "Seiichi Koji. We're platoon two. I'll be watching you from a distance." Rumbled a gravelly voice, saying no more.
"Do you have any questions or should I get to explaining?" Asked the other man sitting besides their Jounin.
The cascading echo of power ramming into wood glided across the rocky floor of the area. Fix legs spread apart, knees slightly bent, one arm thrusting with the snap of the shoulder and rotation of the wrist, the other arm snapping back at the ready, parallel to the ground ready to release upon the withdrawal of its counterpart. Jai Huángjīnjiâ was at his family’s estate on his training hill, actively punching the tree which stood in solidarity over residence. The side of the tree, which Jai stood before, was parted with all its bark at the punch site, slightly bending inward from the force of his blows but still unmoved by even his force. He punched the same area time and time again, in quick succession, drawing back one punch as he thrusted the next one forward. If someone got close him, they’d hear him mouthing his cadence.
“87”
“88”
“89”
“90”
“91”
In the midst of this training, Jai would be met with an uninvited guest. A courier raven would drop down to one of the lower branches of the large tree just as Jai releases his “92!”, though subtle, the bird would feel the same quake of the tree, prompting to flutter upward & hover down towards Jai. Snapping back, the young shinobi would pause just in time to see the crow before gesturing his hand out for its leg, without a word. Taking the parchment, his eyes would scroll intently at the information written inside, after opening it, slightly wiping the sweat from his brow. “It seems as if my new platoon commander has ruined my training session for the day!”, exclaimed Jai with a sigh. He hoped that it wasn’t anything too formal, since Jai didn’t intend on changing clothing before heading towards the area specified on the letter. Jai enters his house to places his kunai pouches, explosive tags, medical supplies, rations and hidden shuriken & bombs on his person. Placing his white light-weight, padded leather trench coat over his black attire before returning back out the door and head towards this location.
It wasn’t a far journey to the dango stand. Jai would sit down, ordering a few skewers of sweet, strawberry hanami dango with chocolate sauce. He had a little while before twilight. Enjoying his sweet, he wait on his teammate whoever they may be. Picking the sticky dough from the wooden stick, Jai thoughts would be on the mission rather than the people involved. If his teammate did show up, he wouldn’t share words with them or even pay them much attention and if they didn’t make it before twilight, he’d leave & head directly to the second location. As the sun begins to set, Jai would get up from his evening snack, putting some ryō down at the stand, for his payment. He would begin towards the library hoping that his teammate had made it and was with him but not necessarily looking for or communicating with them, as that had little importance. As he threaded up the path, he’d notice the owls and the few people passing by.
Making his way to the ornate doorway, Jai would wait, patiently and quietly, arms folded and eyes determined. He’d notice as the side door opened and the fat man walked out, guiding them up to whatever challenges lay ahead. He was unimpressed by this man and knew based on his question that he wasn’t the Jōnin they were assigned to. As Jai walked into this new setting he’d notice the two figures standing before him: A mammoth of a man and a well-dressed, well mannered, smaller guy. He could instantly tell that this man with the bear head dress was their Jōnin & that the other was their client. Jai would bow respectfully to both of them politely. “Sensei”, Jai would speak as he rose from his bow. “I’d say we get down to business! What is the nature of our mission?”, asked Jai ready to get on with the show.
THERE IS NOTHING IN THIS WORLD TO KEEP YOU FROM ME ―
The sky was clear. It brushed against the shades of bluish gold that stretched into the beyond, and kissed the floating clouds that brought a taste of fluffy sugar across the vast expense. The feathered whites of the clouds drew across the sky in many shapes; a discovery of a bunnies, and boats, and boys. The cumulus fluffed and rose, leaning into the cool breath of stratosphere. She was leaning out the window with a smile at the sight, head empty, mouth open, inhaling the sweet fresh smell of toasted bread into her lungs like smoldering fire. A beautiful day.
It was then that a crow descending upon the bright colored evening, casting its black shadow upon the sill. With it came a scroll of fresh instruction. Kanna’s brows lifted as leaned onto her elbow to read the parchment. “Ohh an order?” She hummed through flush lips, “Then I must be going!” She leaped into the warm air of her kitchen, putting out the oven’s warm baked fire and wrapping her last orders in crisp onion-colored parchment.
“Mmmm perfect,” Kanna sung thoughtlessly, placing the last of her bread into the warm display for her customers to admire. The creations rested and began to rise to mimic the organic shapes of the clouds above. “Time to go, then!” She pulled her cooking mits loose of her slim fingers, and rushed out the door without a look back.
Shadows chased Kanna through the Hidden Cloud village. “Kanna-chan!” They called, shouting and waving with beaming faces. “Fresh bread tomorrow!” Kanna would respond with her soft-eyed grin, her tight, lotus-stained dress trailing behind her figure like silk in a river. Giggling and holding a pleasant air, she moved quickly through the dirt streets of her home, until she reached the dango stand. “Uh-oh, am I running late?” Kanna asked, slowing her stride. “Kanna! Grab a bite of our soft and sweet dough!” The cook countered, shoving a kebob of sweetly circular dango in her direction. “Haha oh Jigo-san, maybe another time! Have you seen another ninja pass through here?” It wasn’t long before the bakers parted ways, Kanna now hot on Jai’s trail as it pulled toward the library.
“Helloooo!” She called happily, waving and bouncing toward a young man with youthful eyes and curly tufts of dark brown hair. Whether he ignored her or didn’t hear her, the boy ducked into the ornate doorway and disappear quickly up the stair case. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she breathed at the threshold, “I’m here on behalf of the Raikage, this way yes?” Kanna huffed a new tune with a pointed finger, addressing the much shorter man standing at the doorway before brushing past him with a subtly brazen shove. Up the treated stairs she went.
Kanna came to a decorated room with three men; a rather typical looking official dressed in fine cloth, and smelling like an air of bore, a stout and stoic man with hair like a boar, and a younger gentleman that was build like a man with the face painted like a portrait.
“Kanna Kyo reporting for duty, sir!” She saluted enthusiastically in the doorway. “You look official,” she pondered in a quizzical tone, dismissing the space between herself and the well-dress librarian. The remnants of her tucked hair slid lazily off her shoulders as she scooped the man’s hand into her own. “Are you the Jonin, Seiichi?” Kanna asked, shaking the man’s hand aggressively, flour caking off her skin and spurring a cloud into the air. “I’m excited to be of use to you!”
[attr="class","APP3"]"Ahah, yes, and the business your here on is also official," the well-dress man returned to the bubbly baker, the smell of sweet breads to briefly take command of the space as it announced her arrival.
It was to be the pairs first mission together under the eyes of their Jounin who would observe them from a distance and grade their teamwork. Their meeting in any other scenario would have been unlikely, seeing the stark contrasts in their personalities. However, it was in pitting these opposing pieces that Seiichi could better observe their adaption and critical thinking. To Kanna Kyo's question, her Jounin would nod and find his own hand unexpectedly accosted by two tiny mitts, a cloud to blush over their brief--albeit lively--meeting as she shook free mystery-flour that had settled on her skin some time ago. There was seldom a moment of inactivity for the Jounin, regardless of how often he referred himself to silence or to solitude. It was now, especially, that for their sake he prepare.
"Go on, take seats and I'll begin," mentioned the finely-dressed man who smelled of pine as he gestured the two over to a pair of chairs that had already been postured for them. The more lively of the two stood up, his hands to clasp behind his back as he cleared his throat. "My name is Jyefurii, I am the owner of a ninja tool toy company... and I have been robbed." There was a particular disgust to the end of his sentence, so strong was its presence, in fact, it managed to briefly cut through that pleasant scent of baked bread that still lingered on Kanna. "You see, after paying a shinobi research firm a costly fee, we learned of a niche popularity that was rising," the man stopped for a breath, having turned to face them with a fire in his eyes. "We planned to call it our 'Your Path -- Your Toys' line, at least..." his voice was sodden with an onset misery. "We learned that our storage had been raided and the blueprints kept in our personal vault missing. We have every reason to believe it was our competitor." He concluded. Jyefurii push his hair back, dragging his hand down his face before speaking. "I've not slept. I feel miserable. Please, fix this for me and get them back."
He made his plea, his eyes to move between the two of them. He was earnest enough in his explanation and made no mention of half-truths that Seiichi would have called out. "All you'll have to do is slip in and out. I have word on the inside that their guard detail is purposefully light and that tonight is the better night to swipe it back. If we wait any longer, you'll be at far greater risk." He explained, words from the Raikage's assistant himself. There was a look of desperation, one of a man prepared to crumble to his knees or prostrate himself humbly before them if it were enough to convince them for their aid.
