Boars on Parade [Alliance Mission]

[Okada Kaji]

The sun was already high overhead and barreling down on all who dared to stand beneath it. Kaji Okada had almost forgotten how hot summers could be in the Land of Fire compared to the endless wintry bite of the Land of Lightning, which had pleasant summers at best. Today, Kaji had completed the longest stretch of a journey beyond the limits of the Land of Bears and arrived in a humdrum town near the famous valley of the end. Despite the region’s ominous name, this valley was set to be the beginning point of the day’s mission; one with a heavy impact on the future of the Leaf/Cloud Alliance. Near the spearhead of this movement was Kaji, who had been spending much of his time working on the Leaf’s behalf in bringing the Hokage’s deal with the Raikage to fruition. There was way more talking in the job than Kaji preferred, but today he’d be taking a team along to finally get hands on with shaping the future.

Kaji was dressed in the traditional Hidden Leaf Uniform for this mission given the territory, with his silver pendant pinned to the collar of his flak jacket, and no tedious head protector to make his forehead sweat. His raven hair was free in the breeze and unkempt, and the same breeze made his sheathed blade swing softly at his hip. The rest of his uniform was a mixture of black and midnight blue shades, typical and unappealing— the shinobi standard. He seemed emotionally strained the sight before him as something large exhaled it's hot breath on him. It was a beast that perpetually smelled like bacon.

Her name was appropriately called Katsu, and she was a humongous, fire-red swine. Katsu was born from a rare breed of a beast known only as a Giant Blaze Boar, and for good reason, as a flaming coat of flames ran down her hide. The big pig towered over Kaji and stared down to him intently with a spark of intelligence in her eyes. All the meanwhile, a very small farmer stood between the shinobi and the boar and was speaking a very specific set of instructions. The farmer was an old man and the primary caretaker of Katsu, who agreed to lend her to the shinobi for their project. Kaji absorbed the particularly meticulous set of rules, which mostly included how to rub her belly just right, and the boar’s many likes and dislikes. Kaji took out his dossier and began jotting down notes in fear that the words might just go in one ear and out the other. He’d make sure to repeat the rules once his junior squadmates arrived since a bunch of genin were bound to make trouble for the boar if Kaji didn’t warn them.

Before the elder farmer finished transferring Katsu to Kaji’s control, Kaji was given a final chance to ask the oldie if there was anything he should know about the valley. The elder said that things had been calm as of late— the area seemed safe. However, he believed that if the mission called for such a squad assembly to escort the operation, there was a chance something might happen to make the trip worthwhile. Kaji hoped the old man was wrong but knew the wisdom would probably hold true. One can only dream.

- wc570
- Entering thread as Moderator, just using Kaji Okada as a plot device.
- Each player character has been selected for the mission IC by their superiors and provided the coordinates to meet at for the operation.
- Each character is aware that we are creating a path for the railroad through the Fire Country.
- Scenario will not include a modded combat encounter this time.
- Requesting Kaori, Hoshi, Kiri, and maybe one more leafie.

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

Prior to her Genin Exam and before being pursued....
Kaori had been given a mission in the wilds of Fire Country. The mission had something to do with laying down railroads, whatever those were, and that she'd meet with a group of people at the provided coordinates. She came with her pack fully prepared and her Gloves of Divine Dragon Flame attached to her side, ready for quick and easy retrieval in the event something needs to be destroyed. This was a strange mission to be assigned to an academy student, so the difficulty was probably that of a safe one, but things could change at the drop of a hat. She had been here before, to the Final Valley, for purification rituals for the Shrine. She wasn't aware of the beauty and splendor of the forest that surrounded it nor had a good look at the waterfall due to being carted here in a single-person palanquin with the escort of the Temple Knights. The Palanquin didn't have windows so she wasn't able to take in the sights; it was as if they tried to keep this location a secret from her.

She might have gotten a bit lost, which caused her to find herself in the Final Valley. She cleared her throat and pulled out the map she was given as well as the coordinates. She looked at the two for a moment, going back and forth between the two and pocketed the coordinates. A single hand brushed through her long lavender hair as she realized that the coordinates lead her to a small village near where she was standing right now. She pocketed the map and looked around the forest for a massive tree she could scale so she could get the proper bearings on where to go to get herself to the village. After one was spotted, she applied chakra to her hands and feet and began to climb the tree in a rather primitive manner; ascending up the tree like a spider. While other Ninja would have scaled it with a few jumps, her ability to jump and stay aloft were still quite limited. After ascending to the top of the tree, she held the tip of the tree in her left hand, swaying with the weight of the tree and looked out.

​

The look of awe filled Kaori, causing her jaw to drop. This was the first time she had seen something as beautiful as this before. The way the light tickled the canopy of the trees and the way the wind blew, causing the tips of the trees to dance was a spectacle that she hadn't witnessed before. She had seen similar scenes like this in Konoha, but not an entire eyefull of raw nature; a view unmolested by man-made structures. She paused for a moment to take in the surroundings and smiled out to the horizon. After her moment of awe,
realization struck that she was here for a reason. She looked around only to find a small village behind her. After confirming the direction she had to go, the tip of the tree snapped and caused her to take a tumble, smacking into every tree branch on the way down until she fell flat on the ground.

A little groan was heard from Kaori as she slowly pushed herself off of the ground. Her white and red hakama was now stained with dirt. Thankfully,
the red ribbons that kept the horns from being exposed were still in-tact and in good condition. Her hair, on the other hand, was a complete mess.
After standing up, she started to waddle her way towards the village, fixing her hair as she slowly trudged to the coordinates provided by the superiors of her village.

​

She approached the town, not looking like she fell out of a 20 meter tall tree, looking at least somewhat presentable. She had checked to make sure everything of hers was still on her person on the way here to have had to go back for a few pills that had fallen out of her bag and the right glove of her weapon. But for now, she was good. The village, however, was sprawling with life and people living a simple life. It seemed that a simple life in a small village was already favorable to one living near living weapons called shinobi. Everything was simple and life was easy. The most these people had to worry about on a day-to-day basis is whether or not Saya was going to accept Kudo's proposal for marriage. Life here was pleasant and she envied the way they live.

Kaori made her way to the assigned coordinates only to stop for a moment to find herself standing next to another man, staring at the fiery pig. She blinked a few times as her mouth started to water. She knew exactly the kind of animal this was; it was a type of boar. She ate boar quite often but the fact that it was on fire didn't really alarm her to anything akin to demons or a special breed. All she could think of was pork belly with red bean paste and rice all wrapped in some green lettuce. But there was a small farmer that stood between herself and the smell of quality bacon. The man's words went unnoticed for a moment as Kaori's eyes remained fixated on the animal.

Kaori knew she was in the right place because she was near another man wearing a traditional Leaf Ninja outfit. She turned her eyes towards Kaji and pointed towards the boar. When she spoke, it sounded wet due to her mouth watering from the smell of the animal. "What does this thing have," she said as she took a brief pause to swallow her spit so it wouldn't interfere with her ability to speak. "to do with this railroad thing? It's not our prize for completing the mission would it?" Even though money would probably be a better response for mission completion, a huge boar like that could feed her for months which is FAR more valuable than any money she could receive for a single mission.​

WC: 1024
[MFT]

 

[Kiri]

It was a strange request, that he knew well, but perhaps it was because of earlier unexpected circumstances that led him to be in that part of the world, that Kiri was now given a chance to redeem himself, at least in the eyes of his direct superior, Junko. At the moment, while having resolved the case of his unexpected arrival in Leaf, which brought a few uneasy encounters between shinobis, and perhaps marked his second strike in the redemption journey (of which a third would easily mean his execution), he simply waiting until Junko was done with all the bureaucracy before they left for Suna. But that didn’t happen fast enough and he was, instead, given a mission while at Leaf.

The mission was simple, to provide escort for the blazing boar Katsu who will be creating the path for the new railroad in Leaf. Of course, to think that there was such a creature who could do such a thing would mean that there was a need for great responsibility and action. Thus, when Kiri took the request, he had began to think of the ways he could contribute. With whatever details given to him by Junko, he began to list a mental note of things to look out for, such as the creature’s temperament and for wild fires. He had been to a rescue of a forest fire in one of the outer villages before so he knew the deadly consequence of it. But his newly found confidence with his water ability only made him more eager.

With the coordinates given, Kiri would set out almost immediately. He had just enough supplies for himself, and mostly were the regular things of his miniature first-aid kit. Not a proper mednin (even if in training) without it. Just a small pouch with the bandages and some herbal pills. But aside from that, he was well prepared for this mission, though one may have to question his attire. It was a kimono and hokum combination with a happi. Perhaps the cold climate of Kumogakure would make sense, but the average weather of Leaf would make one think if Kiri was pretending to be a civilian, rather than a combat specialist. Ah, but the hakama allowed him free movement, the upper kimono was light and cool, and the happi was dark enough to help him when he blends into the shadows or as a comfy blanket at night. But perhaps the one thing that would make him look at the very least ready were his twin swords, an uchigatana and a wakizashi, both properly placed on his left side as he sped along the way through the woods.

And no sooner, he would arrive at the said place, a bit surprised when he spotted a rather familiar looking person with a large boar in sight. Thus, coming to a stop just before the man, Kiri smiled and bowed with politeness before addressing him, “I heard that you are now part of Kumogakure. I’m glad. You did have that aura back then… a sense of security I suppose.” Then he paused and looked at Kaori, the little shrine maiden he had met in the forest not too long ago, a similar situation of hunting a beast for food, which made Kiri tease her for a bit, “And I hope you’re not thinking of trying to eat the boar, or else I’ll have to fight you to protect her.”

WC: 577

 

[Okada Kaji]

And so the associates of this rag-tag bunch had arrived. Three unlikely shinobi were gathered in front of Katsu, making the porker look down at them with a sense of hope and bit of trepidation. Kaji’s eyebrows made a curious curve when he observed the first of his two squadmates— Kaori was a pint-sized offering from the leaf, kind of underwhelming considering the importance of the operation. However, Kaji remained hopeful towards the child’s potential. He knew well enough that big things often came in the smallest packages. Kaji was hoping his old apprentice Tatsuo might have appeared, but he would accept Kaori all the same. “Hey there; nice to have you with us—” he stated before pausing abruptly. He aimed to greet Kaori, but her attention gravitated towards Katsu. The hefty boar took a step back, revealing a rising fear as she registered the hunger in Kaori’s eyes. She made a nervous squeal which rustled the girl’s bows with porky breath, which felt like a blow dryer on the warmest setting.

Kaji placed himself between Kaori and Katsu with his back to the boar. He uttered an awkward chuckle and a drop of sweat raced down his temple. The old farmer looked to Kaji with his cheeks flushed, and then to the girl, and back to Kaji, silently demanding that the squad leader set the girl straight, but then Kiri cut in eloquently. Kaji was almost surprised to have Kiri along for the adventure but welcomed his arrival and intervention. “That’s right Kiri, I have taken an extended residency with The Cloud to oversee much of this railroad project. Until now, the work has mostly been a bunch of diplomacy, trying to ensure the parties involved that we’ll be able to protect their investments. You could say this is the first real test, breaking ground on the project. So, I’m happy to have you both.” Kaji then ran a flat palm across the top of Katsu’s snout, giving her a gentle pet. “And I’m happy to have you as well, Katsu.” The boar oinked happily with her tail wagging, hidden behind her bulky form.

“Little leaf, you’ll have to tell me about how things have been at home,” Kaji told Kaori, eager to have an update more substantial than the occasional scroll he was sent. “It's a been a while… You probably don’t even know who I am, do ya? ‘Kaji Okada, at your service!”

Satisfied with the group of shinobi, the old farmer issued the trio safe travels and bade them to take good care of Katsu. He hobbled away, leaving the boar in what may have been the best, or worst care possible. As the farmer departed Katsu almost followed after, but placed a hand on her tusk gently, which was a guiding gesture that asked Katsu to stay and follow him. “Ah, so let’s get this show on the road. Most of our route through the edge of the town has been cleared already, but the farmer said that Katsu should be able to take us about seven miles before sunset. We’ll have to break camp for the night though; I was told that she is a bit afraid of the dark, and needs a moderate amount of rest.”

wc559

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

It seemed that these two shinobi were defending the potential meal. Her attention and hunger from the creature broke the moment Kaji stepped into frame and the witty little quip from the familiar shinobi named Kiri. She took a step back after the porker blew hot air into her face. While the heat was rather uncomfortable, the aroma of bacon still lingered, setting her into a lull for a brief moment. She didn't catch that part of the job description, the part that said they were to protect the pig to use for the mission. She tilted her head at Kiri for a moment with a confused look on her face. "So dinner is actually the objective?" she asked as she pointed at the boar.

It was then that she was asked a question about Leaf. She looked up for a moment in though, moving the hand she used to point at the boar and placed it upon the tip of her chin. "Well, Konoha is Konoha. I heard they are trying to set up a night club. Um. I don't really know, I don't really get out much," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. It's true that she doesn't really get out much. There was news that she wasn't privy to like the death of one of the Sennin, the retirement of another, or even the one that was building the night club eventually betrayed the village; something that hadn't crossed her mind during the current time-frame. A lot of things happened and asking a student what the state of affairs were in the village was kind of a silly question.

Something caught her attention, however, as Kiri mentioned that the one that introduced himself as Kaji was a Cloud nin. Questions started to develop in her head. The man was wearing a Leaf garb, but worked for Cloud. "Wait a second. If you two are from Cloud," she said as she just realized or discovered that Kiri came from Cloud Village, not being privy to that knowledge the first time they met as well. "Why would Konoha only send me? What the heck is wrong with Konoha? Are they stupid or something?" Youth did little to filter out Kaori's mouth; especially from a mouth that had their opinions suppressed for her entire life until very recently. Several answers may have circulated in her head from the fact that everyone else is on a mission to a conspiracy against Kaori. She didn't have her tin-foil hat prepared so it could've have been the latter. She also didn't consider the fact that the village leadership could -- maybe -- just maybe be incompetent.

A lot of information had passed through Kaori's head and all she did as a total response was smile and wave to the two of them. She didn't have many answers nor did she really know HOW to respond if she did. It was all thanks to her ignorance and lack of experience as a human being. Before long, she was interrupted by the elderly man who bade them farewell. Kaori responded with a little wave as she followed Katsu along with the two other Cloud Nin. "So you used to be a Leaf Shinobi? Hmm. I wonder why you left. Oh!" she said as her thoughts jumped around a little bit, still a bit confused about what to do with the mission. "I have a couple oil flasks if we need to use them during the mission," she said without the need to demonstrate it. If the boar was, indeed a fire breather, displaying the oil in such close proximity was just stupid.

"And what's this railroad thing you guys are talking about? And why didn't Konoha send another person? I know I'm strong for a student, but what if we encounter like, a horde of zombies or like," she said as she rattled on about relatively impractical or impossible things due to having the imagination of a 10 year old. "Oh yeah!" she said towards Kaji and even Kiri. She doesn't remember if she introduced herself to the ninja as she doesn't particularly remember his name. "My name is Kaori. Nice to meet you guys!" she said with sugar-filled enthusiasm. "7 miles? Gawsh, that's a long way to walk. But thankfully Coffee-Sensei made me run like 10 laps around the school every day and throw 1000 punches and," she rattled on more and more about her daily training regiment. She can be a precocious and obnoxious girl sometimes. This is mainly because of her lack of social life until very recently.​

WC: 766
WC Total: 1024 + 766 = 1790

 

[Okada Kaji]

With a shaking of the head, Kaji disproved the little leaf’s misunderstanding that protecting Katsu was in fact, the point of their mission. It was simple really, a bit too simple. There weren’t many foreseeable obstacles ahead of them: Kaji was uncertain whether the Scorpion League might cause more trouble, or any other entities who might be against the railroad, hence he came along to break ground on the project himself. For him to ask the child of recent affairs, it showed just how rare his messaging birds from The Leaf were becoming. The girl who’d introduce herself as Kaori in a moment mentioned a nightclub under construction. “A nightclub? ‘Were things really becoming so tame in the village, or was the trip to Crater City becoming too much of a bother?” He inquired but in truth, wasn’t that interested and it showed. His subtle surprised reaction showed just how much of a disconnect Kaji had from his previous home.

As the trio began along the trail to where their project would begin, Kaori revealed a bit of intrigue in both Kaji and Kiri, even confusing Kaji to be a Cloud shinobi as her interest in The Hidden Cloud took precedence. As she understood it, two Cloud shinobi were paired with just her representing The Leaf: Kaji shook his head again at the assertion and offered her a correction. “Actually, I am a Leaf Shinobi” Kaji explained patiently, “about a year ago, I took on a Diplomacy post stationed in The Cloud once we and The Leaf reached an Alliance Pact. ‘I have been at work with The Cloud shinobi organizing this Railway Project on behalf of the village. As for why they’d only send you, I’m sure they were confident that we could handle the job with who we have.” Kaori could be skeptical if she wanted, or believe in the alliance fully; either way, it was just the three of them set to handle the task laid out in front of them. “The railway will be an innovation to travel and trade in the Land of Fire, ushering in a new era of prosperity on the eastern coast of the continent… You should feel proud to take part in this project; your children and their children will have your story to tell one day.”

And so, the three shinobi and the hulking hog continued on their path, setting off to forge the start of a new era, one acre at a time. Fortunately for the shinobi, the journey came with little coincidence and they’d make it to their checkpoint in two day’s time. The jungle lands on the border of the Land of Fire were luscious but nothing Katsu couldn’t handle. The porker blazed a line of fire and devoured the remains, eating her way bit by bit. Once the shinobi reached their checkpoint, a second team came to substitute out for them and resumed the project. All in all, it was a job well done for the short-lived alliance squad.

wc513
Kaji has left the thread.
Sorry, but due to a burden of other threads and responsibilities I have to uphold, I need to prune this mission.
You may request failed rewards if applicable for your ranks, but we barely got started here, so I doubt it will qualify.
Feel free to edit your posts into an exit, or write another exit thread post.

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

It actually never occurred to her that with the disappears of Yuuto from the village that the Nightclub had been burnt down. Well, not that she had this knowledge anyway, though the fire from the other day was clearly visible even from the Shrine. She knew SOMETHING caught on fire but she didn't know WHAT. Kaji asked how things were so tame in the village, and due to being restricted to the Shrine for the majority of her time, she didn't know. She responded with a shrug of her shoulders. "I don't know. But I'm sure Yume-sensei would probably perform there," she said with eyes displaying her adoration for the pop icon.

As they continued down the path, Kaji clarified some confusion that Kaori had. "Oooooh!" she said, feeling a bit silly for making such an assertion. "I don't know, it sounds like incompetence or laziness in my opinion," she said dismissively. She didn't have any loyalty to the village, not having actually interacted with much of the village due to her desolation within the walls of the Shrine. The only people she found loyalty for was Yume and only Yume. If she were to disappear, then her loyalties would probably crumble or she'd have to find other places to place her loyalties. As far as it is now, she is only a student, a number for the shinobi village. She didn't particularly feel like a part of the village and the village did a crummy job making her feel like a valued part of the village as well. A land of barbarians aside from the goddess Yume.

Traveling and trade is interesting, apparently. Kaori was too young to particularly care about these kind of politics as it wasn't written in her mind-set at the moment. Perhaps when she gets a bit older and finds a village to call home, then perhaps she would care more. But at the current time, there is nothing that really interests her or motivates her to build this railroad aside from the delicious smell of bacon that continued to flood into her nose; that and the pay and experience being a ninja.

she continued with the group and continued the mission without a hitch. And everyone clapped!​

WC: 371
WC Total: 1790 + 371 = 2161

OOC: That's a bummer. Thanks anyway for the free smells ^^
[Topic Left]

 

[Kiri]

The purpose of the railroad was, no doubt, a good one, but Kiri only came along because it was a mission that he could prove himself useful. Upon reuniting with Kaji once more, and the strange maiden girl, he would find himself rather enjoying what would have been a drawl. To top it off, Katsu was being rather cute and he made to care for the giant boar throughout the travel. He had always been quite good with animals, after all. So it would be with a sad heart to part from Katsu once the mission ended sooner than expected. But he supposed it was just right since he and Junko would be leaving Leaf soon anyway.

[Topic Exit]