Silent but Planty [A Rank]

[Shimatsu Shigeru]

A mysterious hooded figure stood at the domineering entrance to the Village Hidden in the Clouds. Though the entrance wasn’t the most trafficked of all the places, this particular figure would stand out completely. His long black hooded robe encompassed his whole body, and the hood fell so far forward that not a single facial feature could be made out. One would be able to see that it was a, hopefully, man with a lot of muscle mass who stood tall, around 6’0”. In fact, the only defining factor on his whole person was a long stemmed red rose design on the back of his robe. On a single petal there was a drop of blood running off the flower. A strange ensemble indeed. The figure would not move when approached by any passerby or even the gate guards, because he was here for only one reason: to see off the shinobi who accepted the Guilds request for aide.

~

The previous day, both Oshiro Saki and Shita Rirakkusu were delivered a single letter with a summons to the gates for a village-appointed mission; Rirakkusu’s summons had a posted note for him to definitely not show up drunk lest he be attached to a oxen-drawn cart by his balls and be paraded about the village proper. The summons said little of what they were going to be embarked on, briefing would happen directly at the gates. Though, there was a clear indication they would be retrieving something. Both shinobi would have to be ultra-prepared for whatever this A Ranked mission had in store for them.

~

Once the men arrived at the gates, the hooded figure would cut a path through the crowd and indicate for the two to stand close to him. Once the men were directly in front of him, the mysterious stranger would snap his fingers and the air around the three would instantly become hard, muffling all outside noises. “Sorry for the silence and secrecy up to this point.” The man’s voice was gruff; he probably wasn’t that sorry. “We are now in a soundproof dome, so any prying ears will now be left out dry. However I’m going to make this quick for all of us.” The man’s hand reached inside his robe and exited with a single picture of a purple flower. The man, his eyes shifting left and right, quickly handed the picture to Saki.

“On the seventh peak of The Spine of the World there stands a singular castle against the mountainside. This is the castle of our enemy, the Iron Orchids. You don’t need to know who they are, just that they are a powerful group with many connection. Within their castle they have hidden away our priceless gem, this flower. Even now, they are attempting to extract its secrets. You must go there and steal it back, by any means. However, you cannot be caught, for the war it will bring about will shake this village if so. Any questions?” For just a moment, they could see the man’s eyes, a deep shade of malevolent mauve. Would they dare question him?

 

[Oshiro Saki]

Saki rummaged through the typical boringness of the daily post: an advertisement for a new ramen stand in the area, an advertisement for the hot springs, an advertisement for the Academy (seriously, why was he getting that?), a weight loss advertisement... and a note from the Legation of the Torre Celestas. He tossed the rest of his mail in the trash and took the envelope to his dining room table, where he had a cup of chamomile freshly brewed. Taking his seat and a first sip from his cup, he slid his finger under the seal, broke it, unfolded the letter, and began reading.

There was nothing particularly special about it. The top left corner had been stamped with a large red letter A, indicating that this wasn't going to be an everyday weapon delivery mission, to say the least. No, this would be serious.

Wonderful!

The letter stated only that he was to be prepared for several days of traveling, and that Saki himself was specifically needed for the mission. That explained why it had been mailed to him; typically, shinobi picked and chose what missions they wanted to do. He thought it was mildly strange, but, then again, it is nice to feel needed. Saki gathered that it may have something to do with his field of study, but as to why his letter did not include more mission details, he could only guess. It must have been of the utmost security.

Leaning back in his chair, Saki sipped his chamomile and stared into nothing, thinking for a good amount of time what exactly he might need to bring with him to prepare for the mission the next day...

---

Saki arrived at the gates to the village about ten minutes earlier than the mission briefing required. As he approached, one ANBU guard met him. Or, at least, he'd assumed it was ANBU, until he realized that ANBU don't act like this figure had, nor do they wear black robes on duty. Saki noted that his assigned partner was also here, and gave a brief introduction to him. Soon, the hooded figure blanketed the three of them in a soundproof dome, and gave a an explanation of the task before them. Saki took the picture of the flower they were to rescue. Examining it, he could help but wonder at where in the world it must have originated. He had never seen such a rose, and was infinitely more curious to its origins than its current location. But alas, that was not his job today. When asked for questions, Saki responded.

"I assume we are to meet a representative of your organization at this location for the return of your lost flower? Or shall we bring it somewhere else?"

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

Ri awoke in his new room at the Nara Complex, blonde hair filling his vision as he opened his eyes. This is something you might call a "rude awakening," as the grown woman was jumping up an down on her new clan member. "There's an important message for you!" Yukimi yelled, "I'll leave it here, Kotaza wont be happy if you take your time getting up like this!" Soon after this was said, she left the room. The boy sighed as he sat up in his bed, only to get out of it and get dressed. He opened the letter which was left on his night stand, and immediately noticed the "A" in the upper corner of it. It seemed the village had finally recognized his skill, and decided it was time to send him on a mission as important as an A-Rank. It wasn't as good as an S-Rank of course, but he would have to deal with it until he was a little stronger or well known. Wasn't like he'd done anything to get noticed by the higher ups. Sadly, he wouldn't know what the mission was about until he went to the village gates, and apparently he wasn't allowed to drink or he would be dragged through the village by his balls... Great, just what he wanted. He was well known for his drinking, but not his skill.

The shinobi was unsure of what time it was, and didn't bother looking at the sun to try and guess while he walked through the village. But it didn't take him too long to reach the village gates, and it was very obvious who he was supposed to be meeting when he did arrive. There was already a man waiting beside a fairly short man in robes, which only told him that he was late. As usual. The boy adjusted his hat and approached the two, receiving a greeting from the one with glasses, and being told to reposition himself before the air around them became dense. It was a sight to see, but not one to admire for long as the cloaked man explained the mission to the two. So they were supposed to retrieve a flower? What kind of A-Rank mission was this again? When the man asked if they had questions, he was quick to reply.

"Why is this flower so damn important? It's already hard for me to believe this mission is A-Rank now that I know what we're being sent to retrieve." Ri didn't care if his question somehow offended the muscular man, but it was something he needed to know before risking his life for some weird looking flower. It wasn't like he was going to quit the mission if the flower wasn't as important as it was being made, after all, that would mean he would probably be killed or arrested for treason. Which, is too much of a pain to deal with.

 

[Shimatsu Shigeru]

The first man to arrive, Oshiro Saki was very pleasant, and the man knew that the guild had chosen wisely with this man. After all, Saki was the number one botanist in all of Kumogakure no Sato, or so he was led to believe. Cloak-kun decided to place all of his trust in Saki, and instead turned his attention to the very young Shita Rirakkusu that had barely shown up on time. He had no idea why the village had cherry-picked this fine specimen to accompany a botanist on such a high-ranking mission. Either Kumogakure had go Kumogacrazy, or this boy held power that he himself had no respect for. Cloak-kun, however, cared less than one donkey-turd about any of that garbage, for the boy had just insulted the very thing he was getting begrudgingly paid handsomely for.

With a flick of his wrist, the man flipped his hood backwards and revealed his face. The two men would probably not have been prepared for the sight before them, The man’s face was green in pallor, his hair no longer normal but instead looked like grass and small vines growing from the skull, and most of the exposed skin looked like bark. Clearly, he was no longer just a man. The man kept his hood off for only a minute, but he let the sight sink in thoroughly, and then he replaced his hood; however the mauve had been replaced by a harsh Byzantium. “You want to know what is so important, this flower can save my people, and if you choose that you would rather mouth off than retrieve it, I, Yata Gonjirou, will personally see that your remains fertilize my garden.” For a moment, around the trio, the ground started to swell as plants and vines of all sorts rose up around them, but they quickly retreated back down into the earth, Gonjirou knew his point had been made.

Turning to Saki, Gonjirou shrugged his shoulders in apology. “I will be waiting here every day until your arrival. It is of utmost importance this flower be returned in pristine condition and to my people as soon as possible.” After that short statement, Gonjirou dropped the sound barrier from around them and returned to his position near the gate, for all intents and purposes, he was a statue merely weathering the elements.

 

[Oshiro Saki]

Not two seconds after Saki had finished his sentence had Rirakkusu blurted his out. The sudden outburst made the poor botanist flinch slightly,, though he quickly regained his composure, just in time for the hooded man to provide and outburst of his own. Well, that is, if he could be considered a man at all. His lowered hood revealed a skin like bark and hair like grass. Saki was surprised that the man hadn't stoically said "I am Groot" before putting his hood back on.

In any case, he assured Saki that he would remain at the gates, unmoving, until they returned. Since Saki wasn't particularly the kind of man to ask questions when a tree-man had just threatened to use his partner as fertilizer for his family, he promptly bowed to the tree-man, then skedaddled away from the gates (after being cleared by ANBU, of course).

"Might I suggest a slightly more subtle technique next time? Actually, nevermind. I think it's best if I do the talking." he said, once far enough away that the hooded figure wouldn't hear. "Let's get this over with, hm?"

[Topic Left with Ri]

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

"That makes more sense then.." Ri sighed, why was he the only one being threatened today? The plant man's face was a little unsettling at first, but he surprisingly got used to it the more he looked, not that he wanted to look much at all, it was still a little freakish. Before he could suggest that this.. Gojirou, should join the Mochizuki troupe, his leader for the mission was already walking toward the gate. He wasn't about to hang around the man that just threatened his life for too long, so he was quick to follow.

Just as he reached his soon-to-be sensei, he heard the comment about choosing a "slightly more subtle technique." "Don't tell me you didn't have the same question, we're going to the mountains to save a plant." The boy paused for a moment while they were being cleared by anbu, then continued as they kept walking. "Yeah, let's get it over with I guess. These bastards better be worth our time though.." The last part was mumbled under his breath, to try and avoid any more threats he may receive, then he continued following his fellow shinobi.

{Topic Left with Saki}