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To Kirigakure? There was an excited spark in his eye, the joke nearly flying over his head. He was half tempted to ask if he meant it, but even that was a bit much for him right now. Travelling investments needed to be balanced with food, until they got to the next town. Family there would help him acquire the funds for another part of his journey, but for now, two people was easy enough to finance for. He beamed at the development. [break][break]
“I’m traveling, yes! I wanted to see what was beyond Iwagakure, because I’ve been here basically all my life” he eagerly explained, making a little skip to smoothly keep up with the taller man’s longer stride back to the wagon. The horse doesn’t seem to bat an eye at the two.[break][break]
“But, I’m Hiraku Watanabe! I guess I should ask for your name, since we’re traveling together, yeah?” he quipped, eagerly shuffling around the wagon to open the back for easier access to what was inside.
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The wagon itself is by no means carrying a merchant's stock. However, it definitely isn’t empty. Some crates line the insides, labeled vaguely with what they contain. Food, camping gear, archives, personal items… It seems he was basically bringing the equivalent of a medieval RV with him. As Nichiren eyes the material, Hiraku leaned a little as if to try and regain the taller man’s eye contact.[break][break]
“Well, no. My parents are um… Archivers for Iwagakure” he explained, unsure if he needed to detail that job or not. It didn’t seem like it mattered too much, though.[break][break]
“But, uh, I can pay…!” he trailed off, digging into his pocket to pull out a loose sheet of paper. Then from his coat’s inner pocket, he pulled out a quill and scribbled down a number. The number was then showed to Nichiren and it was at least an upper class man’s monthly paycheck to say the least. “How’s this look? This is for getting me all the way out of the country, though. It’ll be smaller - maybe half - if you can at least get me to the next town. I have free food and you can ride in the wagon, as well!”
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A crook? Hiraku looked genuinely confused by the accusation. Then a little startled when the other man approached, standing up a bit straighter. Though, no matter how straight he stood, there was no hiding how much shorter he was compared to this person. This was starting to feel like a mistake, oh no.[break][break]
Then came the accusation of being some kind of shinobi and Hiraku could only stare at the taller man for a moment. Him? A ninja? He glanced back towards his simple covered wagon, then around the area as if to see if the other man were talking about someone else. Then those icy blue eyes flicked back to Nichiren. The redhead looked completely dumbfounded.[break][break]
“Wait, huh? Are you serious? N-No, I’m just a traveler” he explained, before gesturing back to the wagon. “I-I bought that. Besides, I’m not a shinobi by any means. Like…” He paused, before pulling back his sleeve to show a moderately muscular pale arm without a scar to be seen. The flesh of an untouched noble. “Look at me, I’m basically sticky rice. White and squishy” he explained, wiggling his arm to emphasize the point. “Which is why I need someone to come with me to the next town.”
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Once Tsubaki followed him to the scene of danger, Hiraku promptly shuffled to be more behind her. He waited for the attack, the fight, the discovery of what that noise had been. Instead of all that, she resheathed her blade with a declaration of doubt. Had he imagined it? He couldn't tell. “I-I thought there was?” he quietly countered, without the confidence to really double down on it. She did though, and his embarrassment wasn't too hard to miss. He became clearly flustered, his eyes glancing down to his shield.[break][break]
The papers that constructed it slowly began to separate and reconfigure into a stack of single leaf sheets. All of which slid into his bag as he anxiously glanced towards the dark foreboding forest once more. His heart was still racing, doubt ever present. Surely he had heard something, it was going to eat him up if he didn’t figure out what it was though. A part of him felt a need to keep the shield out, but it felt silly, now. [break][break]
That paranoid discomfort didn’t go unnoticed thankfully, and his guard made a kind offer to stay up a bit longer for him. He turned his attention to her as she settled down once more. To which he realized he had yet to move from his spooky spot. He awkwardly shuffled from the edge of their small camp and to drop down across from her, almost too quickly. A rattled mind, adrenaline rush, and more all left him ruffled with nervous energy. In a bid to just do something, he grabbed a stick from the ground to poke at their small fire. He was practically pouting, put off by the whole situation leading to this campfire talk.[break][break]
“It’s a family thing” he answered, shifting his weight awkwardly. “Not like a kekkei genkei, or hijutsu, but just something my family specialized in specifically. We work a lot with paper, so it’s usually meant more for easier organization, but… After seeing all the ninja and what they do with their crafts, I decided to push it a step further. Curiosity, I guess?” He began rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. [break][break]
“It’s kind of second nature for me now, but uh… Well, there’s a reason I’ve hired you!”
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Had the person not heard him? Hiraku grimaces a little, sparing a glance back towards his wagon and horse as if to make sure it’s there. By the time he looks back at the man he’d been calling out to, the redhead was relieved to see the guy was now acknowledging him.[break][break]
“Yes, you!” he chirped, starting over with a nervous grin. “It’s the next village along this trail in that direction you were heading. Though, I guess if you’re not heading to that one, it’s still fine. I’m just-- I just need someone who can escort me closer to the border, basically” he explained, eyeing the person a bit more properly now that he was closer. It was only then that he noticed this person’s punk aesthetic began to dawn on him. Hopefully he wasn't trying to hire exactly what he needed protection from?[break][break]
Hiraku’s observation skills were certainly not his strong suit, and he looked like the other young man’s exact opposite. Vibrantly colored clothes, clearly from some sort of noble family in his own way, he didn’t have weapons or anything that made a threat. If anything, he was like a lost little prince.
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Could… Could ninja just do that? Quit a contract? He stood there, blinking owlishly as the group of genin walked off after telling him the news. This was as far as the contract said they’d go? Huh? Was that really it? Hadn’t his parents helped him set it up to at least get him to the next country? Why was he hard pressed to believe that? It wasn’t because he’d been nervously rambling since they left was it?[break][break]
He took a small step after them, but the group was already heading along the path back towards the village. It was the exact opposite direction he wanted to go. If he followed them, he would basically be doomed to crawl back home, and that wasn’t even an option![break][break]
If he could just find one person to come with him, just to get to the next village, that’d be enough for sure. Maybe if there were a group of miners, or maybe some other ninja heading off to their next town…?[break][break]
His icy blue eyes urgently flicked across the people meandering around the edge of the town, getting ready for their own journeys. The area was rather vacant of people though, as many had either already left much earlier in the morning, or the groups were those who had arrived, rather than leaving. It didn’t seem many were heading in the direction he wanted to go, and it almost felt as if all hope was lost.[break][break]
Then he spotted a person heading the way he wanted to go. A lone man, around his age, who was confident enough to go by himself down the path… Which meant he was capable enough in Hiraku’s eyes! With a hop skip and a jump, Hiraku left his horse and wagon a few feet behind to call out.[break][break]
“Hey! Excuse me! Are you heading to the next village?! I got a job for ya if you are!” He shouted with just a bit too much desperation though, but the idea of traveling these trails alone was too much for his cowardly heart.
O finally leaving the land of stone for the first time in his life, and his escorts bail on him. hopefully he can find at least one person willing to go on this life changing trip out of the country with him?
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“I’m telling you, I think there was someone over there!” the young Hiraku harshly whispers, cowering behind a shield that looks as if it were made of paper mache. It was late at night, and he said he was going to bed like a hour ago… But he then he got the impulse to go look at the stars, and it was hard to do so from next to the small crackling fire of their makeshift campsite. However, when he stepped away from the camp, there had been a loud snap of a twig that sent him scurrying back. It was undoubtedly a ninja coming for his head or something. Totally. He was certain of it, thus why he was bothering the poor woman he had hired to protect him for this excursion.[break][break]
The sight of them must be fairly hilarious from an onlooker though. A young man and his arts and crafts shield, hiding behind a woman he had just roused from her slumber in a panic. Like a child afraid of a monster in his closet, he peeked around anxiously, waiting for his guard’s assurance that the monster was just his imagination or something. He was too panicked to be embarrassed at the moment.[break][break]
He’d never been this close to the frontline of the Taiyou Empire and the shinobi nations, so perhaps he was a bit too on edge. Or just on edge enough? He wasn’t sure, but Hiraku Watanabe was certainly trying his best.
The history of the ninja world is a complex web of lies, secrets, betrayals, and oaths. Shinobi are both brutally honest, and beautiful liars. Fascinating creatures that make his heart race, truly. From their loyalty to a nation that made them monsters, to their deceptive nature to those who trust them without question; they’re truly terrifying, and he wants to understand them. He wants the world to understand them. Not in the way of a cautionary tale, though. No, he wants those who do not engage with the front-line to better understand those fighting for them day in and out.
Fleeting lives, flickering hopes and dreams, dashed out in the dead of night. It’s poetic, it’s the most horrifying yet magnificent facet of this political climate that he craves to comprehend. What does it take to dedicate your life to killing for your nation? What does it feel like to kill someone just because you were paid to? How easy is it to accept the nature of this work?
His nosy nature often has him being a target of the very creatures he admires. It's an unfortunate side effect he has learned to accept. From bloodthirsty shinobi, to indifferent criminals, Hiraku finds himself often on the wrong end of a blade, incapable of fighting back. A great thing about these monstrous ninjas, though?
They're quick to guard the source of a good paycheck.
Now, how did Hiraku even get to this point, you may wander?
Hiraku grew up within the archives of Iwagakure. A humble house within the Hidden Village, a privilege not for just anyone. However, his family was closely intertwined with the history of his nation - as were most branches of the Watanabe. They were the writers of history, noting down the victories, the losses, and the settlements in the archives of time to ensure future generations would know what led to their moment in life. A family that maintained an unbiased view of the world. Hiraku's fascination with the world and ninja was inevitable in such an environment. Enough to the point Hiraku briefly entertained the idea of asking to become a shinobi himself, but it didn't take long for Hiraku to find the idea frightening.
Fighting these monsters? He knew he couldn't stand a chance.
Even as he would learn his parents’ trademark skills of paper jutsu for the sake of family business, he knew it wouldn't be enough to face the kind of monsters he idolized. So, rather, than become a monster, he settled for his comfortable place in the background. At first, acting as his family's assistant in maintain the archives or recording important data from meetings and testimonies. It was simple work, but being stuck in meetings all day grew dull for the starry eyed youth.
He found the world too big and fascinating to be tied down any longer. There were thousands of stories beyond this mountainous village, and he wanted to hear them all. Though ninjas terrified him, he found himself drawn to their lives, eager to see the world more from their point of view.
So his journey begins.
Proficiencies
Kami Ninjutsu (Paper Justu) [JOURNEYMAN] There is nothing Hiraku understands more than paper. The way it folds, feels, and works. He always has it with him, for both his work, and his protection. Unfortunately, he has yet to master the art of converting his chakra into the material.
Channeling his chakra into available sheets, Hiraku can move numerous pages with ease - folding them into all sorts of shapes depending on how much he has. Larger constructs require a lot of paper, and chakra, so he tends to lean towards smaller creations. The papers can be made sharp enough, or thrown fast enough, to be considered dangerous weapons. Hiraku's confident enough in his ability to be able to use the paper mostly as shields and structures to stand upon or support him one way or another.
Water and fire are his greatest banes, if he isn't quick enough. With his chakra, his paper is more resistant to the elements - more so water than fire. However, if he's not fast enough, his paper can quickly crumble to either force. Dissolving when soaked, or turning to ash when burnt.
He tends to be more inclined to using his abilities to throw around tags, though. You see, while Hiraku can easily manipulate paper, fighting is not his scene. While all the above may sound impressive, there is a reason the coward is more inclined to hire shinobi to escort him, than fight his own battles.
