It was officially the first day of spring, and the sun was burning brightly today along the sightline of the hidden stone village. Villagers were out in the masses trying to enjoy an uncommon sort of weather; plus the abnormal warmth made staying in their insulated mortar homes a challenge. The masses were gathering at various nameless venues to support Ichirou, a somewhat legendary athlete who held the world record for distance running. Ichirou had embarked on his annual Peace Run several days ago, and today he was set to pass through the hidden stone on his route to the eastern border.
Perched on one of the highest accessible points in the village sat none other than Jomei, the eager academy student given the task of giving a single bottle of water to Ichirou the runner. Jomei was crouched on a phoenix gargoyle carved into the corner of a shrine, holding a bronze telescope that glimmered in the daylight. He spread the scope to its deepest focal length and scanned far and wide once a crowd the distance reached a ruckus. Cheering was the only signal Jomei needed to track down his target, and he sprung into action once Ichirou made an appearance through the village streets.
This mission presented a test of Jomei's memory, requiring him to navigate the village to his best abilities if he'd manage to find Ichirou in time. Taking to the streets somewhere near him, Jomei landed in a thick cloud of dust and took to a running spree in Ichirou's wake. Indeed, our story kicks off with a mid-day sprint. Jomei was challenged to chase after Ichirou if he intended on succeeding in his mission. The village was like a maze when it came to speeding through it on foot. Ichirou must have been taking a scenic route. In an attempt to keep up, Jomei used his talents to return to the rooftops and leaped from roof to roof greater than any parkour runner ever could. He was running up and down the stone, haplessly maneuvering around random bystanders and causing accidents in his wake.
Hours passed as Jomei continued to miss the running man. The sun that hung over him all day was beginning to set, and he had yet to catch a single man. The bottle at his side seemed to call out to him, acknowledging the salty sweat that drenched him from head to toe. "Drink me" it said, but Jomei was too diligent to give in. He wouldn't simply give in. Tired and alone in an alleyway somewhere within the village, Jomei finally broke down and took a breather atop an oil drum behind a cafe. "I can't do this anymore" he wept in an exhausted burst. The sweat from his temple traveled down his cheek like a tear.
It was then that the beat of sandals stroking the earth drew near, and Jomei glanced down that narrow alley path before him. It was an eldery man with a pencil thin frame, a sweat-drenched white t-shirt bearing a number 0001 on a runner's number, and unbearably short gym shorts that nearly resembled navy blue undies. The old man stopped in front of Jomei and bent forward, seemingly ready to fall over and shrivel up at any second.
"Mr. Ichirou!" Jomei snapped to attention, nearly falling over himself as he jumped forward and caught the collapsing old man. "Mr. Ichirou are you okay? I'm Jomei, the kid who's supposed to help you."
Old Ichirou collapsed in his arms before erupting into a cloud of smoke; Jomei's first interaction with a shadow clone.
The real Ichirou stepped out of the shadows like a ghost, and revealed himself to Jomei with a chuckle leaking from his mouth. He was still old and bony, but he wasn't quite dead. The truth was that old Ichirou was a ninja, just like Jomei. "You should take better care of your elders, boy!" he said with flaring eyebrows that formed a perfect "V" on his forehead. He was also bald, in case I forgot to tell you.
Enraged by the old man's game, Jomei heaved the water bottle at Ichirou and he caught it with a firm right hand. The scheme was unraveling, and Jomei instantly understood Ichirou's stamina game using the teachings about Shadow Clones he learned from the Academy. Ichirou merely stood there with a smile and laughed at Jomei's reaction to his trick. This explained just how he was managing to run those distances for days at a time each year: by spreading out Shadow Clones in advance to keep up appearances during races.
Still jovial and as much as a dick as before, the old man Ichirou turned tale and continued hobbling off for real. It seemed that shinobi truly came in all shapes and sizes.
Mission Complete
"A total waste of time."
WC810
Perched on one of the highest accessible points in the village sat none other than Jomei, the eager academy student given the task of giving a single bottle of water to Ichirou the runner. Jomei was crouched on a phoenix gargoyle carved into the corner of a shrine, holding a bronze telescope that glimmered in the daylight. He spread the scope to its deepest focal length and scanned far and wide once a crowd the distance reached a ruckus. Cheering was the only signal Jomei needed to track down his target, and he sprung into action once Ichirou made an appearance through the village streets.
This mission presented a test of Jomei's memory, requiring him to navigate the village to his best abilities if he'd manage to find Ichirou in time. Taking to the streets somewhere near him, Jomei landed in a thick cloud of dust and took to a running spree in Ichirou's wake. Indeed, our story kicks off with a mid-day sprint. Jomei was challenged to chase after Ichirou if he intended on succeeding in his mission. The village was like a maze when it came to speeding through it on foot. Ichirou must have been taking a scenic route. In an attempt to keep up, Jomei used his talents to return to the rooftops and leaped from roof to roof greater than any parkour runner ever could. He was running up and down the stone, haplessly maneuvering around random bystanders and causing accidents in his wake.
Hours passed as Jomei continued to miss the running man. The sun that hung over him all day was beginning to set, and he had yet to catch a single man. The bottle at his side seemed to call out to him, acknowledging the salty sweat that drenched him from head to toe. "Drink me" it said, but Jomei was too diligent to give in. He wouldn't simply give in. Tired and alone in an alleyway somewhere within the village, Jomei finally broke down and took a breather atop an oil drum behind a cafe. "I can't do this anymore" he wept in an exhausted burst. The sweat from his temple traveled down his cheek like a tear.
It was then that the beat of sandals stroking the earth drew near, and Jomei glanced down that narrow alley path before him. It was an eldery man with a pencil thin frame, a sweat-drenched white t-shirt bearing a number 0001 on a runner's number, and unbearably short gym shorts that nearly resembled navy blue undies. The old man stopped in front of Jomei and bent forward, seemingly ready to fall over and shrivel up at any second.
"Mr. Ichirou!" Jomei snapped to attention, nearly falling over himself as he jumped forward and caught the collapsing old man. "Mr. Ichirou are you okay? I'm Jomei, the kid who's supposed to help you."
Old Ichirou collapsed in his arms before erupting into a cloud of smoke; Jomei's first interaction with a shadow clone.
The real Ichirou stepped out of the shadows like a ghost, and revealed himself to Jomei with a chuckle leaking from his mouth. He was still old and bony, but he wasn't quite dead. The truth was that old Ichirou was a ninja, just like Jomei. "You should take better care of your elders, boy!" he said with flaring eyebrows that formed a perfect "V" on his forehead. He was also bald, in case I forgot to tell you.
Enraged by the old man's game, Jomei heaved the water bottle at Ichirou and he caught it with a firm right hand. The scheme was unraveling, and Jomei instantly understood Ichirou's stamina game using the teachings about Shadow Clones he learned from the Academy. Ichirou merely stood there with a smile and laughed at Jomei's reaction to his trick. This explained just how he was managing to run those distances for days at a time each year: by spreading out Shadow Clones in advance to keep up appearances during races.
Still jovial and as much as a dick as before, the old man Ichirou turned tale and continued hobbling off for real. It seemed that shinobi truly came in all shapes and sizes.
Mission Complete
"A total waste of time."
WC810