Hemlock

Mission


Each delicate finger tugged the leather glove over the female’s small wrists. She was taking the time to be well prepared for her current mission. One that could result to be dangerous, and fatal if done poorly. Her gloved hands pushed back some of the brilliant threads of rose pink hair, as she then tied some sort of handkerchief around her neck. The girl completed the rest of her attire in a very simple kimono that properly fell down to her ankles.

She went over the details of the mission once more, and the precautions that needed to be taken. Today Rem was going to be gathering a very poisonous plant.

Why would such an innocent appeal of a girl need anything to do with poison? Perhaps her gentle, warm features did cause most to assume she was of the least bit of deadly. Even the way she softly spoke and blossomed into a smile made it hard to believe that the girl could carry out anything cruel, if it was asked of her.

But deep down, Rem was a little different from that. Her odd interests would reveal her obsession to death. Though the kunoichi made sure to never discuss that about her. It was fine if they didn’t know.

Her fuschia eyes glanced over the surroundings of her residence one last time. Making sure that she wasn't forgetting anything of importance, before she left out the door. Once she was satisfied, Rem left for the outdoors. She needed to make her way to one of Hoshigakure’s pastures. This one being located quite a safe distance from passing civilians, due to the plants being dangerous to handle.

Her walk was relaxing, she took a brief moment to adjust the handkerchief. If she was able to walk away with some of this deadly herb, then it would help greatly in the experiment of her puppet.
{TWC: 315}

Masashi's stats at the time of the mission:

There seemed to be an unusually large number of nice days this year so far. Not that Masashi was complaining or anything, he enjoyed nice weather as much as the next person. Unfortunately though it would likely make this next mission slightly more difficult. The mission in question he’d received last night shortly before bed. He was also not surprised that it had been assigned to him in the first place. The mission would be to travel to a very specific area a little ways away from Hoshigakure and assist with cultivating of a very specific plant. The plant in question was hemlock, one that the Uzumaki Jounin was all too familiar with. Hemlock is a very deadly plant, not only because the toxin it produces is incredibly potent, but because the plant itself can delivery its toxin in multiple ways. Touch, inhalation, ingestion, Masashi wouldn’t be surprised if it could poison you if you looked at it the wrong way. It was best not to leave anything to chance. He would be overseeing a team for this mission, so he would need to insure that everyone under his command would be following his every word on proper protection procedures. On the positive side, should something go wrong he had the skills necessary to render first aid.

He climbed out of bed immediately upon waking up rather than enjoying a brief lounge watching the sunrise. His prep wasn’t much different, but he had his own rituals and superstitions about dealing with things he knew well in advance were going to be extremely hazardous to his health. His butler provided him with the necessary items he needed, his staff knew exactly what would be required as this wasn’t the first time he’d dealt with this plant. After getting cleaned up, Masashi used his Manipulated Fabric to create his normal attire, which he could modify in the field when they got closer to the farm. With his prep work done, he would meet up with his team. Rather than meeting up at the village gates, they would meet at the farm in question. When he got there, there was only one person there, a kunoichi that he’d never met before. She was fairly short, not even five and a half feet tall. Pale skin, long pink hair, and magenta eyes. She wore an ankle-length kimono, gloves, and a piece of cloth around her neck, likely to use as protection for her mouth and nose. Masashi would walk over to her and wave. “Hello there, I’m Masashi Uzumaki-Akari, it’s nice to meet you. I’ll be leading this mission today.” After he says this he’ll bend down and pick up some dirt, infusing chakra into it to make explosive clay, and placing it into his large weapon pouch before turning back to the girl. “Have you ever collected this plant before?” he asked her, before infusing his manipulated fabric with more chakra, and causing the outfit to change slightly. His bodysuit extended upwards so that his face and neck were covered by a rebreather mask with translucent eyepieces, and his gloves changed from fingerless to full gloves.

WC: 523

-15 AP (+3 explosive clay, 3/6 collected)
-40 AP (changing Manipulated Fabric's appearance)

The puppet in question for her experiment was different from her first idea. Due to her lacking the proper skill to craft her first puppet, or more so prevent it from decaying, Reminisce made the decision to make a weaker puppet but with the material of metal and leather. The puppet she was hoping to craft, would possibly have a compartment to use some sort of poisonous gas.

With proper care and perfect preparation, no doubt Rem could use the hemlock to fuel that compartment. Though it would be dangerous.

Rem was met with her companion for the gathering mission, well more of a teacher than just some ordinary companion. The man was much taller than her, standing a little over six feet in height. Her fuschia eyes brightly took in his appearance. This was her first time interacting with any other shinobi within her village, that wasn’t Akaboshi. Deep down she missed him.

The kunoichi couldn't help but feel lucky to have someone of a higher status here to aid her in today’s mission. Despite it being just a high ranking mission, it also was fatal if any slight mistake was to occur. Rem held a love for plants, especially the deadly kind, but there were still many she did not know. She knew that the hemlock leaves resembled the appearance of parsley, an herb used for many things and cooking. Any ingestion of any part of the plant is fatal.

The bitter odor of the plant is what kept most of the wildlife away from the growing pasture. Though the odor was nowhere near as deadly as ingesting it, it was still safe to take precautions.

The man accompanying her introduced himself, before turning his attention to some of the dirt. She wondered what interests brought him to collect some of the earthy substance, but she figured that he had good reasoning. With a respectful bow of her head, Rem returned the favor and introduced herself as well. “I’m Rem U - uchiha.” she slightly stuttered, not accustomed to announcing her clan to anyone she wasn’t familiar with. “I very much appreciate working at your side today, sensei.”

She waited as Masashi questioned her familiarity of the specific plant. “No sir, I have never collected this sort of plant before. I’ve done some research, but even still I know there is much I don’t know about it’s dangers.” She spoke with honesty about the situation. Being too overly confident can result in disaster. More knowledge meant the possibility of more reassurance of the situation at hand.  

As his suit started to change before her eyes, Rem couldn’t help but feel very impressed. She never saw anything like it. A mask formed upon his face, thus encouraging Rem to tug up the handkerchief till it rested upon the bridge of her nose. It was difficult to breathe through, but that was the point. At the moment this was all she had on hand.
{WC: 493, TWC: 808}

‘An Uchiha eh?’ Masashi thought to himself. He’d read about the Uchiha in the Archives; their capabilities and the basics of their bloodline and doujutsu. They were a very capable clan and he would love to know more about exactly what makes them so capable. She seemed to be an eager one, which the Uzumaki Jounin liked. The title itself wasn’t necessary in this capacity. He was simply the squad leader for this mission. “Just Masashi is fine, Rem,” he would say to her. “I’m looking forward to working with you as well. I always enjoy getting the chance to work with plants and herbs of any kind.” In regards to her working knowledge of Hemlock, she had done some research which was better than most, and at least she was wearing a good deal of protective clothing which will definitely serve her well. Before getting started, he would bend down again, collect some more dirt, and convert it into explosive clay, placing the clay into his large weapon pouch. “It’s smart to have done some research in advance,” he would say to her, “the plant itself is extremely toxic, not just from ingesting it, but also from skin contact and even inhaling the air around it. It’s why I don’t maintain any in my own greenhouse, it’s easier to simply acquire it when I need it rather than growing it myself.” He would pause for a second before saying “besides, there are other substances that are more fun to work with, and less hazardous to the herbalist.” He’d finish that off with a light chuckle. “It seems you’ve taken precautions needed to protect yourself, and should they not be sufficient for some reason, I am more than capable of healing an accidental poisoning.” With that, the Uzumaki Jounin would beckon Rem to follow him into field. “Let’s get to harvesting. There aren’t really any special techniques for harvesting hemlock, we dig up the plants, making special care to try and recover as much of the roots as possible. The entire plant is usable to make poisons, but the roots especially so.” He would pause to think for a moment before adding, “also, make sure to collect any seeds you find, as they can also be used.”

The process of collecting hemlock is somewhat time consuming because of the time needed to clear the roots without losing too much of the valuable plant parts. Masashi would also make sure to keep an eye on Rem as she got to work, not wanting her to be harmed in the gathering process. He would make sure to give pointers and constructive feedback to make sure that she was not only salvaging as much of the plant as possible, but so that should she need to do this again herself, she could do so without worry of accidentally getting poisoned.


WC: 477
TWC: 1000

-15 AP (+3 explosive clay, 6/6 collected)

Reminisce listened to the Jounin’s advice. He helped reassure her about the gathering of the poisonous hemlock. It seemed that she was right to wear gloves and the handkerchief, even if the handkerchief wasn’t as seemingly the best choice compared to the man’s mask. “An herbalist huh? Do you have any particular favorite when it comes to working with plants and herbs?” She asked gently, with her eyes beaming with curiosity.

Masashi mentioned the extra equipment that Rem brought along with her in hope to protect herself from the harmful plant. Letting her know that if anything was to go wrong, that he had the training to heal her. “Let’s both hope it doesn’t come to that.” She spoke with a giggle. It would be kinda embarrassing if someone had to come to her rescue.

She was determined to do it right, without any complications or accidents. Making a mental note to also watch out for any seeds during her gathering.

After following the Jounin, the two of them would come to the pasture that grew the deadly parsley. Her eyes wandered over the growing greens and plants. Identifying the hemlock as the plants with the little white blossoms. She knew that Masashi was taking the caution to watch over her, just in case a mistake was made or if her handkerchief was a failure.

Rem knelt down along the field, hovering over one of the first plants nearest within her reach. Taking the time to tuck some of her behind her ears to keep it out of her way, before reaching towards the dirt. She carefully dug around the plant, aiming to find the roots and loosen the earth around it, without any of the plant touching any of her bare arm. To the best of her ability, Rem avoided touching the plant all together in hopes of not causing any excess odor to release.

Her fingered gloves found the woody threads of the hemlock roots Being gentle not to tear any of the roots and continuing to loosen the dirt until she was able to easily lift the plant free from the ground. Roots and all.

The kunoichi continued her method with care. The process of the gathering was long indeed and the outcome was very small. But one little plant could do so much. So the tedious work would be worth it in the end. She worked in peace, slightly humming to herself to make the time go by smoother. Working her way further down the pasture and cupping the dirt from around the plants. So far so good. Rem felt confident as she didn’t seem to feel any changes or sudden effects that could be due to poisoning. Despite the discomfort of the handkerchief, Rem would rather deal with that than being reckless and poisoned.
{WC: 469, TWC: 1,277}

It would seem that the Uchiha Genin had an interest in herbs and plants beyond the one they were cultivating in this mission. ‘Perhaps I’ve found someone who would be interested in learning more about some of my research…’ he thought to himself as they worked. “To answer your earlier question, there isn’t one plant or herb in particular that is my favourite at least in terms of efficacy,” he’d say to Rem, “but I’ve found that a combination of several herbs and plants has produced one of my favourite compounds to date. That being said, I’m always experimenting with new combinations to see if I can upstage my last ‘concoction’ as it were.”

The work in the fields went very well. It was a difficult task as always, cultivating hemlock was not something to be attempted by the foolish or unprepared. They were able to accomplish all of the required work in less time than Masashi had thought. It was very likely due to the fact that Rem had been extremely receptive to his instructions in regards to cultivating the plants properly. It was nice to go through this process without needing to stop and heal a helper because they accidentally poisoned themselves. The plants themselves would be dropped off in a secure storage bin at the side of one of the farm’s buildings, fairly close to the pasture that held the hemlock. The Uzumaki Jounin would help transport the plants over to the bin for processing, and collect some hemlock from one of the farmhands who had prepared some as a thank you for the assistance.

Once that was all done, Masashi would turn to Rem. “You did a great job out there for someone that’s never done this before,” he said to her. “I don’t offer this lightly, but if you’re interested, I could use some assistance with maintaining the greenhouses at my manor in Hoshi. Of course you would have access to the manor and the grounds, as well as access to any plants and herbs, both helpful and harmful, that I keep there.” This was something he’d never done for anyone in the village. This was the first shinobi he’d come across that seemed even remotely interested in this area of knowledge, and if he could nurture that interest, perhaps there would be another skilled herbalist in Hoshi’s future.

WC: 394
TWC: 1394

After the tedious and careful harvesting of the hemlock, everything else seemed to flow by easily and quick. The deadly herbs was delivered in completion of their mission, and their reward collected. Not only did she feel accomplished with today's mission, but Rem also felt a little more confident as the Shinobi lightly praised her.

A light rose color tickled the paleness of her cheeks. She bowed her head as she genuinely thanked the man who aided her with the mission. "I very much appreciate your compliments, Masashi. Although I don't feel as if I'm deserving of such an opportunity, I'd still love to take you on that offer."

She couldn't deny the fact that it would be amazing to have such a privilege to assist someone with an important task and become reliable. She took everything she learned today to heart. His discussion about using many different properties of different plants in his experiments made so much sense. There was no need to only settle for one main source of effect. "I've learned so much today in thanks to you, Masashi. I hope to accompany you to your greenhouse soon."

Her words radiated nothing less of warmth and gratitude. This day would surely end right. For everything was definitely a success. The mission rewards was received within a pouch tied to her waist, and her gloves was properly wrapped away in the handkerchief to be washed from any harmful residue from the hemlock gathering. {WC: 245, TWC: 1,522}

It would seem that his leap of faith had not been misplaced. Rem accepted his offer, albeit in a self-deprecating manner. Masashi smiled at his new assistant, “I don’t see why you wouldn’t,” he would say to her. “You’re a natural. Any shinobi with the slightest talent can see that you have a gift for harvesting plants and herbs.” He paused to let that sink in for a minute before saying, “if I didn’t think you had what it took to help me, the offer would never have been made in the first place.” The tone he’d taken there was still kind but had adopted a slightly serious edge. There was very little in this world that he cared more about than the research projects that he’d been planning and building up towards. And he knew that because of the amount of work involved, he would need someone with the skills to assist him with whatever it was he would need to do. Of course he had the assistance of Lady Rin and Mana, both skilled in the arts of medical techniques and poisons, but being serpents, they lacked the ability to help him in a physical capacity. There were only two other people in the village that he’d even considered to offer the position to; Akaboshi Uzumaki and Tsubaki Senju. Both people that he’d built a bond with and were skilled in medical techniques. However, he was not sure about their aptitude with herbology, hence why he’d decided on Rem, who’d definitely shown she was capable of handling what he could send her way.

Upon mentioning her desire to see the greenhouse soon, Masashi would make the following offer. “I have nothing going on once we’ve returned to the village. If you would be interested, I would be more than happy to show you around today.” It would be nice to have something else to do after the mission. He would otherwise be returning home and continuing to work on his research. Plus the sooner he could show her around, the sooner she would be able to make use of the facilities that were made available to her.

WC: 359
TWC: 1753

Masashi didn't hesitate to reassure her of his decision to make Rem his new assistant. She once again thanked him for this new opportunity to learn even more then what she did now, and for allowing her to be of use.

The hint of seriousness to his tone let her know that he wasn't just doing this to be nice, but for he truly meant what he said.

The kunoichi caught a thread of her hair between two fingers, before placing it back behind her ear. Playing with her hair was a slight habit of her's, and it often got in her way of sight despite it's short length. There was the mention of exploring the greenhouse at that very day, and Rem could hardly contain her excitement.

"That would be a splendid way to exhaust the remaining of this day. Truly, I would love to." She chirped softly yet obviously happy with the offer. {WC: 155, TWC: 1,677}

Mid-Topic Claim (900 WC):
9 AP
350 WC towards Ghost Lake Breaking Seal (A-Rank, 2750/2750, proof of progress here
550 WC towards Dark River Breaking Seal (A-Rank, 2750/2750, proof of progress here