wind guide you ; missions with akemi

Minor Construction Help, Restaurant Rehab, A Rowdy Group

Mission Specs:

Whether due to bloodline, decades of training, or force of will, Ume was able to bear the weight of the heavy wooden beams with ease. She was hired to assist with the construction of a tavern, and as a Ninshu monk, she was sworn to assist when able- plus, non violent missions like this were to be savored while they lasted.

She didn’t know if anyone else was with her on the pay docket, but as long as they were willing to work with her, she’d accept help from just about anyone. A single bead of sweat ran down her back before being quickly dried up against her green robes. The tavern was in the Valley Capital outskirts, a few days’ journey away from her monastery. Worse came to worse, she could borrow some hands from there should the workload be too difficult.

Her organs- or, what replaced them(?)- squirmed beneath her skin, not noticeable by the others but intimately familiar to herself. It wasn’t in anticipation, nor was it in irritation or anger. The threads were like muscles; it felt good to use them. She just couldn’t bring them outside of her body. Coiling them tightly like muscles, however, provided them with an outlet of sorts. And it didn’t hurt anyone, so there was no real reason not to.

She was still embarassed, or at the very least, extremely secretive about her bloodline. Many infamous shinobi have come from similar lineage as her, and as such it was in her best interests to keep it quiet. Besides, a power gained from the pain of others was not one she wanted anything to do with.

Ume looked towards the sun, shifting the weight of the heavy beam to one arm as she shielded her eyes. It was roughly noon, if not a few minutes before. The monk blinked sunspots from her eyes and continued to carry the heavy objects back and forward.

She didn’t have the construction know how to do more skilled tasks, such as installing rebar or plumbing, but having use of her skills as a makeshift construction crane or cart was enough for most of the workers.

“Do you need any water?” one asked her, gesturing towards a table. She nodded gratefully and made her way over, looking at the unfamiliar faces she would be working with for the rest of the day.

After a moment’s consideration, she drank half a glass in one go and dumped the rest over her head. It felt good, but the liquid trailing down her throat felt odd. Did she even have a stomach for it to go to? She’d heard that her bloodline removed all organs entirely, but…

It was food for thought.

[WC: 453]
[Total WC: 453]

Akemi collapsed back into the chair, exhaustion clear from the sweat beading on his porcelain skin. He'd been travelling for a while and without any map or navigation ability, he had been hopelessly lost. He wasn't even sure where he was anymore, but he'd found himself in a very colorful country. The clothes, the buildings, the landscape; it all made Akemi feel really out of place in his simple black vest and trousers. At least the construction site had a very welcoming atmosphere, and it was helping tremendously with his feelings of displacement.

He accepted the glass of water from one of the workers and gulped it down before he had even begun to leave Akemi, only realising he had done so after he'd sighed in satisfaction and placed the glass on the floor. He noted the odd look the man was giving him with a small amount of embarrassment, pale skin reddening slightly as he angled his head away from the owner to hide his embarrassment. Akemi had come far from his days of being a stuttering mess, but some dredges of his past personality still surfaced. He coughed into his hand politely and rubbed the back of his beck, before looking back up.

"May I please have another glass of water?" He asked the guy again, somewhat sheepish. The worker's face, thankfully, broke out into a smile and he nodded as he left Akemi to grab another glass. Phew, Akemi let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. The last thing he wanted nowadays was to make a fool of himself or draw any unnecessary attention. He didn't know for certain, but he felt that Hoshigakure would be out hunting for him. He wasn't a very important ninja, but hidden villages hated loose ends. It was why he had changed his appearance.

Looking to his right, Akemi's grey eyes widened when he spotted a young woman carrying a large number of wooden planks in her arms. It kind of looked a little silly - someone so small carrying so much - but Akemi wasn't exactly one to talk: four years ago he'd been 4'8 and uprooting trees with his bare hands. She didn't look like she needed help, but Akemi was in desperate need of some allies. This person didn't look like a ninja but, then again, ninja were at their core all about being sneaky and operating undercover. Akemi could be walking into a trap, but, well, he was feeling pretty lonely and he fancied a chat with someone new.

So, Akemi got up off the chair and approached her somewhat cautiously but with a small smile on his face. "Heya, you need any help with those?" He asked, nodding his head towards the planks she was carrying. She looked to be doing fine, but it was supposed to be more of a way to break the ice.

WC: 481

In truth, Ume didn't particularly need assistance with the beams at all. Her threads more than made up for a lack of muscle or bone and were able to support vast quantities of weight. But some people liked having things to do- perhaps, for him, it was the best way he knew how to interact, or he was curious about the Valley capital. Either way, Ume nodded in response, glasses staying firmly on her nose. She eyed the stranger for a few moments, sizing him up as she mentally calculated the best way to proceed.

"See these planks with the tapered ends?" she spoke up, gesturing with a shoulder to the tips of the board she was carrying- they ended up forming a very roundabout trapezoid rather than a rectangle. "These are called hip rafters- they support the corners of roofs. There should be two in each pile of supplies if you're interested." should the stranger care to look, he'd find six 'stations', each with various tools, beams, and planks scattered about. Three of them had the requisite hip rafters, but the rest were empty.

She gently made her way past him, laying her planks down at a fourth station and exposing her back to him as she did so.

As Ume leaned back up, she dusted her hands off onto her greenish cloth leggings, green being a color of religious significance in the area's Ninshu temples due to the way the dyes were harvested.

After a few moments, she turned to face him, nodding towards the remaining piles of supplies that had yet to be distributed, some still being unloaded off of carts. If certain tools or materials were too heavy for him, the stranger would surely be able to find something else to help with.

[WC: 297]
[Total WC: 750]

There was a brief pause as the woman sized him up, and Akemi wondered if he'd done something wrong. Had he perhaps offended by her offering help for carrying stuff? He opened his mouth to apologize, but she spoke up before he got the chance. Thankfully, she seemed pretty open to the idea of him helping so he hadn't made a faux pas of some sort. That was good. Burning bridges moments after arriving in a new country did sound like a thing he'd do, but thankfully that hadn't happened yet. Here's hoping he managed to maintain that.

His dull gaze followed the direction her shoulder pointed to, settling on the planks she gestured to and then to the various 'stations' set up around the construction sight. He nodded to show he understood and settled into step beside her when she went past him,  still keeping at a somewhat irregular distance as he wasn't sure what kind of person she was yet. That question was quickly answered when, without much of a care, she turned her back to him. That... Wasn't the kind of thing a ninja would do, at least none of the one's Akemi had met before. Exposing your back to a stranger? Not doing that had been drilled into him from a young age at the Academy. Though, at least he now felt much safer.

Akemi walked over to one of the extra piles of planks, picking them up with almost the same ease that Ume had. He shuffled the collection of them under one of his arms before speaking up to his newest... Mission? Partner. "I'm Ak- Jiro, a pleasure to make your acquaintance," He spoke, the last part of his sentence speeding up because of his slip up. He was sure that this person wasn't a Hoshigakure ninja out to get him - as evidenced from her carelessness earlier - but he'd still rather not have his real name out there just in case.

WC: 328
TWC: 809

"Akihiro?" Ume parroted- she could've sworn she heard Akijiro or something, but she'd been working for long enough that any slip ups on her- or his- part could be written off as exhaustion. The monk nodded in response. "I'm Ume of Shimon-ji. I bow to you." the chances of the now dubbed Akihiro recognizing the name of the temple was roughly fifty fifty- the monastery was somewhat known within Valley country, but might not be recognizable to foreigners- especially when there were larger temples of note currently within the capital.

She slid a few more oddly cut planks- almost certainly intended to be interlocked for support- into a nearby pile. "If you're looking for food, the workers will provide tongba and thukpa in roughly forty five minutes." both were traditional foods in Valley- tongba being a type of millet based alcohol served warm, and thukpa simply being a catch all term for most warm noodle soups. Her bowl was to be prepared separately from other workers, in theory, due to having different dietary requirements.

Ume looked at him again, using her left hand to push her glasses up by the side. "If you're having trouble finding board, most monasteries are willing to provide lodging and food in exchange for labor." she wasn't sure what motivated her to add the last part, but Akihiro didn't look like he was doing to well. Part of her suspected he was homeless based off of looks alone, but somehow it didn't seem like a good idea to bring it up in present company.

[WC: 259]
[Total WC: 1,009]

Akemi's mouth clacked shut and he nodded nervously when Ume repeated the wrong name back to him, having misinterpreted his slip-up probably. He didn't trust himself to speak lest he accidentally reveal that 'Akihiro' wasn't actually his name, and it was probably better to not draw attention to it. Akihiro. That would be his name from now on. Similar enough to his previous name for any of his potential confusion to be stemmed quickly, but hopefully not too similar that any Hoshigakure shinobi recognized his name from their roster of Missing Ninja.

The girl, Ume, introduced herself and Akemi bowed down his head respectfully. He didn't know what this 'Shimon-ji' but he did feel like he'd heard of it somewhere throughout his short travels through the Eastern Continent. He'd only been in them for about a month or two - and had been in Valley Country for a lot less - so a lot of what was considered common knowledge around these parts was completely unknown to him still. He didn't even know if nodding his head was something people did around here; he'd never heard the greeting 'I bow to you' before either.

After mentioning some interesting meals that Akemi had never heard of, Ume went on to mention that monasteries were willing to provide him hospitality and shelter in return for labour. She hadn't said it, exactly, but Akemi felt like she was subtly implying that he didn't look like he had a home. It was true, if a little saddening for Akemi to hear it was that obvious. "Yeah, that'd be great, actually." He smiled, gently placing the planks he'd been holding into a pile, "I've only just arrived in Valley Country and I think I'd like to stay a while."

Just as he finished speaking, Akemi heard a loud thud to his right. A sound he immediately picked up on as being the impact of a fist hitting someone's face at high speeds. Akemi whirled around, his old instincts as a shinobi kicking in as he prepared to fight... It seemed that one of the workers had said something to another to initiate a fight, and the rest of the group were split into two factions: those who were cheering the two brawlers on, and those who were trying to stop it. Akemi sighed and looked to Ume for ideas on how they should deal with the developing situation.

WC: 404
TWC: 1213

She nodded in response to him, listening to Akihiro with rapt attention. “There are some monasteries surrounding the capital that house many refugees, but if you’re looking for a quiet place, you might want to look further west. Some temples in the mountains only have around a dozen people staying year round, but I am obligated to warn you that traveling downslope becomes next to impossible in colder months- you should stock up on supplies beforehand so as not to encroach upon existing rations.” Ume herself was from one such temple- she’d resided in Shimon-ji for many years, though she was loathe to keep track of the actual time that had passed.

The sounds of conflict arose sharply behind her. Ume’s face fell for a moment, less in sorrow and more in irritation, before being schooled back into a carefully manufactured serenity. Many things crossed her mind, but to express them before this stranger would be counterproductive.

She was a monk, not infallible. Sometimes it was just impolite to say the exact things that were on the tip of her tongue.

“Excuse me for a moment,” she spoke up, not waiting for a response. Ume made her way to the conflict, back facing Akemi once more as she took in the situation. Her robes had identified her as a monk, but it was her left hand raised in a seal of confrontation across her chest that marked her as an active Ninshu practitioner with an awakened chakra. “There seems to be an issue,” she said carefully, in an attempt to de-escalate the situation, “perhaps you gentlemen can walk me through it? Destruction of public property when we’ve all been hired to complete the same job will result in docked pay across the board, and winter is well on its way. It seems prudent to avoid unnecessary strife considering the circumstances.”

[WC: 310]
[Total WC: 1,319]

"Obligated?" Akemi parrotted Ume, curious and wanting to continue the conversation. He sensed that this was a profitable avenue of conversation for him to pursue; could Ume provide him with somewhere to stay whilst he was in Valley Country? , "Could you perhaps take me to one of these monasteries? I'm not... Flush with Ryo at the moment but I can pay if it'll be an inconvenience?" He offered, hope evident in his tone. It was true, he really didn't have much Ryo on him at the moment. It was worth spending some money to get passage to a place that would provide him with free food and shelter, however, in his opinion.

He noticed Ume's irritation at the conflict but didn't comment on it, figuring it'd be rude to do so. He wondered what that was about, though - was this something she had to deal with often? Akemi was a pretty passive person but even he'd get pretty wound up if people constantly acted like these workers. Not that he'd do anything about it, though. Despite coming a long way Akemi still wasn't the kind of person to step up in situations like this. Heck, here he was hiding behind someone who looked younger than him to deal with the problem instead.

He followed Ume to the group and did his best to appear intimidating, which for Akemi just amounted to sending a decidedly unintimidating glare at them. Not that it mattered, as all eyes were on Ume as she gently but firmly gave them all a verbal dressing down. Akemi noticed that the men seemed to recognize Ume - or, at least, recognize something about her: the robes, perhaps? - as they all quietened down when they spotted her approaching. The two who had started the whole kerfuffle were the last to disperse, sending each other death glares as they walked in opposite directions. Akemi nodded, impressed.

"Well, that was a nice bit of excitement for the day," He said, his tone jovial and mildly sarcastic. He looked back at all the things that still needed to be moved and rubbed the back of his neck, already somewhat tired.

"Let's get back to work,"

[Exit]

WC: 365
TWC: 1578

Claims:
6300 Ryo (3 D-Rank missions + MN pay)
30 AP
15 stats (All into Strength)
1000 words for Lightness Skill
500 words for Feint

“I cannot speak for other monasteries, but I could certainly bring you back to Shimon-ji. While there are enough supplies to support an emergency, it would be polite to buy what you can before coming.” Ume replied to Akihiro, tilting her head as if trying to put her ear closer to the sound. She went to disperse the following conflict as normal, and as an afterthought, grabbed two near boiling containers of tongba. She handed one to Akihiro, only speaking again to tell him about the beverage.

“The bamboo straw has a filter on one end so you don’t accidentally drink millet grains. Once the cup is dry, you can pour in more hot water from the kettle over there.”

Part of her was excited at the prospect of a new face- in a way, she was simultaneously the oldest and the youngest at the monastery. She may have a century’s worth of memories, but that didn’t make her more mature. For what it was worth, her brain had stopped aging at nineteen. Half of her wanted to socialize with people she instinctively recognized as her own age- the other half warned caution.

Only time would tell if this would end in another tragedy, but for now, she had hope.

[WC: 210]
[Total WC: 1,529]

(Exit)

Claiming:
+15 stats (10 into strength, 5 into speed)
+6,300 ryo from 3 d ranks plus rank bonus
+30 AP
All words into Crashing Thunder Charge, bringing me up to the B rank version of it.

Approved