The Big Rebuild [M]

[syntaphar]

name; reconstructing the village
rank; c
description; Conflict brings carnage and carnage means buildings collapse. The Kumogakure no Sato inhabitants can only do so much. This is why the Kumogakure no Sato shinobi must offer aid in distressed times. Help our villagers rebuild their homes, thriving business and the like. We as Kumogakure are a family, citizens and shinobi alike.
reward; 40 experience, 500 ryo
minimum shinobi; one
mission status; interminable


It was a bit of a dreary day, by most's standards, but it was the very sort of day Kazuki Isamu found ideal for physical labor. It was a nearly unnoticeable temperature, there was a gentle breeze blowing consistently and the sky was overcast, ensuring the sun did not beat down upon the workers. The young man took this as a blessing for the first step down his great path, a first step he chose to commemorate with excessively formal clothing. Needless to say, said clothing turned a few heads in the street, particularly from those who knew him. Vaguely discomforted by the glances, he only made it a block or two out of the compound before taking to the rooftops.

He would already be a bit early to the site, a fact he wasn't particularly occupied with but which gave him opportunity to survey the landscape on the way there, as he leaped from roof to roof. He looked over the village and noted the areas of disarray with a bit of a frown. He was sure there was some greater reason to all of this, but still it wounded him to see it happening. Things would be better some day, but many of the people in the village would never get a chance to see it. With a shake of his head, he dismissed such thoughts. After all, he was doing his best to help out, wasn't he?

He finally made it to the site, tapping down lightly from an eight foot roof across the main road. He was still getting used to his new training weights, so it was a bit rougher of a landing than he would have liked, but at that point it was all the same to him. The young man passed over the street and quickly found the man who seemed the most in charge. He spoke briefly with the man, handing him a copy of his orders, and was swiftly informed that he would start out by carrying tools across the site. Not the most glamorous job, but Kazuki realized that his great path would necessarily start from humble beginnings. The foreman, apparently named Otonashi, pointed him towards the supply area. At least this would be good strength training, right?

[syntaphar]

After a walk that felt like it took forever (damn those leg weights), Kazuki finally made it to the tool area, keeping mental stock of the tool orders people shouted at him as he passed. It was as if he was wearing a sign that read 'I am the new guy, please take out all your frustrations on me". It didn't bother him too badly though. After all, they needed tools, they were mostly likely used to working with each other but not with Kazuki, and they were no doubt frustrated with the fact that they had this job at all. The young man in formal clothing wouldn't have been surprised if these people had rebuilt this same building once before. And said formal clothing likely wasn't helping him gain any respect either.

He picked up the tools he heard orders for on the way over (5 saws, 3 hammers, 2 boxes of nails, he repeated to himself) and put them into a nearby burlap bag. Quieting the thoughts in his mind, he focused on his task and the sounds of the surrounding area. The shouting of orders, the banging of hammers, the... creaking and breaking of wood? It was subtle, but Kazuki couldn't help but think it was going to end up a problem. Just as fast as he heard it though, it stopped, leaving him to carry the tools across the construction yard.

Distracted though he may have been, he still managed to get the tools where they needed to go. Most of them went to people working on ground level, but for two of them, he was forced (meaning he didn't feel like using the ladder) to sling the tools over his back and clamber up the side of the half finished building. As he was looking for somewhere to grab, he noticed something about one of the wooden beams going along the top of the structure. It was rotted nearly all the way through, and people were walking all over it. Kazuki cringed as he realized that was what was making the cracking noise. Hopping up onto a beam that was flush with it, he handed the remainder of the bag to the somewhat impressed workers upon it. With a simple nod, he said "Careful." They nodded back, which gave him hope that they'd be alright until he told the foreman about the rotted beam.

The young man clambered down again, a good deal faster without the tools to worry about, but still not nearly as fast as if he had no ankle weights. Landing on the ground with a small thud, he moved quickly towards Otonashi the foreman, intent on both getting a different job and informing him of the pillar, not necessarily in that order. The man spun around to meet him between ordering around the workers. "Well, what do you want? Speak up, Sonny!" Kazuki bowed quickly and replied: "Sir, I am here for another job, and to inform you of an issue. We may have a problem with--" At that very moment, from the section of building he just left, he heard a louder cracking than ever, and about five people expressing their dismay over it, maybe two of whom were actually in trouble. "That. I apologize sir, but I think I have another job to do. Would you mind holding these a second?"

With that, he pulled the weights from his legs in a matter of moments, and handed them to the confused foreman, who took them and peered up where Kazuki looked. His eyes widened as he saw the huge crack forming down the center of the beam. Kazuki's eyes on the other hand, narrowed as he wheeled around and prepared to jump into action.

[syntaphar]

Even with the weight of the tools and his training weights combine, Kazuki felt he had finished his first job on-site with admirable efficiency and speed. Sure, one or two of the workers asked him what took him so long, but it came off undeniably as a joke. They got their tools faster than if anyone else had brought them, and that was something the young man prided himself on. And now that neither the tools nor the weights were holding him down, he could practically hear all the eyes opening around him as he burst into a sprint towards the building. He wasn't certain if they were opening because of his theretofore unknown speed or the cracking beam that was his target, but he knew what he liked to believe.

He sized up the situation as he dashed, time slowing down for him. The building was about 15 meters tall, and the framework was still exposed, offering plenty of grappling points. However, the beam was in danger of breaking long before he got there. Still good to know, but as long as there were two people weighing down the crack, it wasn't hugely helpful. He was about halfway there as he shouted out "You two, top floor! get off that beam!" They seemed to register what he said, and both started running off in the same direction. However, as there was one on either side of the crack, only one made it off safely. With another loud snapping noise that echoed through the afternoon air, the remaining worker stumbled to a near halt on the beam. Left alone, the man (seemingly no less than fifty years of age) would tumble at least to the beams below him, likely all the way to the ground.

Kazuki felt a raindrop finally land on his head as he neared the building. He knew just what he needed to do, but was in no way looking forward to it. He needed to be faster than fast to get to the worker in time. He needed to be ninjutsu fast. And that was a fact he disliked more than most, as he was quite a bit rusty in that regard. If he could kick the man to safety, fine, but ninjutsu? Shaking off the frustration and a few raindrops, he began making handsigns, slower than most his age but fast enough to be in time. Suddenly, the building was upon him, and his speed didn't exactly halt, but rather changed direction. His stride took him up one of the exposed wooden studs, because after all, ninjutsu could only send him so far up. His handsigns continued, and when he felt his speed reduce, he kicked off into a backflip, as if diving into a pool behind him. Just as his flip oriented him in about the right direction, he finished his handsigns. Time seemed to freeze, and he mumbled "Please work... Shunshin no Jutsu!"

The next time Kazuki blinked, he was standing on the beam just below the broken one, which was where he needed to be all along, he figured. If he had landed on the dangerous one, it would have broken, no doubt about it. The wood above was just above him, and he couldn't climb it, so he did the only thing he knew to help. Like Atlas carrying the world on his shoulders, he shot his arms up and halted its cracking progress. His strength served him well, but he couldn't be sure how long. So, he shouted. "Move, move, get the hell off this thing!"

As far as he could tell, the worker complied.