Night Time Shenanigans [Mission]

[Krethean]

Sounds simple enough. Escort some wealthy couple’s daughter, let her have her wild lifestyle but make sure no harm comes to her.

Ujiyasu took another look at the mission slip, his eyes rested on the word “Suji”. A slight grunt escaped his mouth as he shook his head. I guess I had to meet them sooner or later. Usio tended to mention how much he disliked the Suji, and from what he has told Ujiyasu, he’s not surprised. If he believed everything Usio had told him, the Suji were people who had money instead of brains, and lacked humility, while being complete dumbasses at times. It all added up to him believing that this mission would be more troublesome than he originally thought.

He was equipped with what he returned from the Land of Water with: Some Kunai, some exploding tags, smoke bombs, his bladed knuckle dusters, Kodachi, torso armour and his breath mask, which hung from his rope belt sash tightly. In the past he’d simply turn up with just a pouch of tools, but now he’s more likely to be outfitted with everything he felt he would use, and even carry some things that would help in even unlikely scenarios.

Today he also felt like letting out some pent up aggression too.

It was gradually becoming evening when Ujiyasu knocked on the front door of the Suji’s mansion, the obvious wealth of the family did nothing to change the Genin’s demeanour as the door opened. The young heiress herself opened the door wide and seemed rather shocked to see Ujiyasu. To her he must have looked like a rather tallish and imposing person, and if it weren’t for his headband, there was little doubt she’d have bolted and summoned the police.

“And you are?”

“Ujiyasu Nakamura. I believe your parents have hired me to make sure you’re safe tonight while you do whatever it is you do.”

“Another? Jeeze... MOTHER!”

A portly woman made her way to the door as the daughter moved away and got herself ready for her night on the town. The elder woman looked up and down Ujiyasu’s form and sniffed indignantly.

“You must be that rowdy thug Ujiyasu. Hmph... seems they let anyone into the Academy these days.”

Her insult notwithstanding, Ujiyasu showed her the mission slip, reminding her of what she requested the country’s armed forces to do for her.

“Perhaps, but I do have the mission request you made. I picked it because I have the time to do it, could do with a little exercise and some cash. Not only that I am doing it because Kusagakure itself gets a portion of the money you will pay for our services. Either you put up with me as your daughter’s guard, or she goes without someone watching her back tonight.”

He pocketed the slip and folded his arms, his eyes narrowed as he stared daggers into the woman’s own pair.

“And I do know how some people are when drunk. Pretty sure your precious child would be a ripe target in more than one way. I can assure you that she will not have a problem.”

He had to admit, he never used to push people like he did now, but Usio’s description of the Suji family was spot on. It was barely five minutes and already they left a poor impression on the boy.

[Krethean]

An hour or so later, whenever Masumi decided she was ready, the young heiress exited the building, a little annoyed at the Kusa Genin’s presence, but knew he won’t simply leave because he was paid to keep an eye on her. Noting her behaviour, Ujiyasu unfurled his arms and decided to talk.

“If tonight goes well enough, this will be the last you’ll see of me until we get you back home. I don’t plan on being there in your parties or what have you as some personal bouncer. Pretty sure that would cramp your style. I will however, watch for problems incognito.”

Satisfied that some wild-haired boy won’t keep her from spending time with the people she’d prefer to associate herself with, she gave him a nod and walked on ahead. With a sigh and a head shake, Ujiyasu performed some seals and formed some water clones from the fountain. Another string of seals, and an ice clone formed next to Ujiyasu. All four took off for the rooftops, the “VIP” he was escorting caught a glimpse of the Ujiyasus as they made their way across the rooftops.

The first trip was quite uneventful, but then the sun was beginning to set. Too early for most of the working class to go to a pub, and too early for any would be robber to actually try to mug his client. Each of the clones reported no problems, and Ujiyasu himself found nothing out of the ordinary. A few people walked close by to Masumi and some noticed her, but didn’t pay her much attention. She stopped at a house and knocked, greeted who Ujiyasu assumed was her friend, and was let in.

From here, Ujiyasu’s clones positioned themselves around the house and covered various vantage points. It seemed to be a house made for parties and gatherings: large backyard, pool (perfect in case he needed some water jutsu what anything that happened in the area) and a nice patio area. If he had to guess, this person threw some big parties.

Within the hour, Ujiyasu’s guess proved to be correct. More guests turned up and the party was soon underway. The sun was down, past the horizon, so it wouldn’t be too easy for anyone in there to spot Ujiyasu or his clones where they were. No reason to announce his presence yet after all.

[Krethean]

The party seemed to be going rather nicely. Folks seemed to be enjoying themselves, and his charge also enjoyed herself. He even went in using the Henge Jutsu to grab some food, disguised as one of the partygoers. Eh, no reason not to. If I have to keep an eye on some rich, uppity teen, then I may as well get something to keep me going.

He returned to his post and munched happily on some finger food, while all of the Ujiyasus kept a close eye on Masumi and the crowd. Some other sounds could be heard but those came from a nearby pub.

The village seemed quite peaceful despite the state of the land, everyone seemed to relax and have fun, which allowed Ujiyasu a small smile. That smile faded when he saw a male partygoer , who had been talking to Masumi, harass her with some suggestive moves. She didn’t approve, and Ujiyasu took a guess that the guy was drunk. He kept an eye on things as Masumi went around the side of the house to get some fresh air, when he saw the boy go around there with a look of determination.

Ujiyasu didn’t need a lot of guesswork to know what he was going to do.

Masumi turned and yelled but the boy didn’t stop. Quickly, Ujiyasu coated one of the dango sticks with wind chakra and threw it at boy. Suddenly he cried out in pain as the stick brushed along his right arm, the wood punched into the skin and left a doozy of a cut from the sheer speed the stick was thrown.

Masumi took that opening to ring the boy’s bell with a hard slap across the face and a swift kick to the groin. She then stormed off, leaving the boy writhing from both the pain in his bleeding arm, the slap to the face and the potentially sterilising punt. A few people went to check up on him after Masumi explained what had happened, and the party resumed.

Ujiyasu began to consider buying Senbon Needles as well as kunai and shiruken. Would come in very handy for situations like that.

[Krethean]

After a few more hours of watching, it looked as if the party was ending. A number of folks left a short while after Ujiyasu’s Dengo Stick Senbon attack, guys mostly who he suspected had similar ideas, but the party itself didn’t seem to have lost steam until now. It was pretty late, and Masumi seemed to be preparing to leave, though the look on her face told the boy that she probably needed to go home, rather than wanting to.

Taking that as his cue, all of the Ujiyasus moved from their places and moves along with their charge, keeping an eye out for trouble. About half way home, the clones spotted a very small group of people staggering ahead, and would likely cross paths with Masumi shortly. Preparing themselves, the Genin kept an eye on the group as well as the immediate surroundings... there was no telling what could be on the men’s minds other than being in what looked like being drunk.

A cat call and a whistle told Ujiyasu that things were going to be more bothersome, as the group of drunks made their way slowly to the heiress, who began to move back. Taking action, Ujiyasu quickly performed some handseals and then brought his palm to the ground.

The ground where the intoxicated blokes staggered across began to shroud in a chilling mist, before a sturdy, thick spike of ice rose quite rapidly from the ground. The materialisation of the ice formation gave it the appearance that it rose from the ground, when in fact the ice was simply being formed quickly due to Ujiyasu’s growing mastery of his Hyouton ability.

The sudden growth of the spike sent the men in the air, where Ujiyasu’s clones grabbed them, planted a back fist to the side of their heads, and laid them down, keeping their head to one side. One of the water clones flagged an officer, who quickly raced to the scene and dealt with the unconscious men. Ujiyasu told the officer that he would go to the station later to help with information regarding this incident, however he had to fulfil his mission and take his charge home. Understanding this, the Kusagakure officer made a few notes before he got the unconscious men onto the cart, where they would spend the night at the station.

Ujiyasu looked at Masumi and gave her a small smile.

“Guess tonight didn’t go as planned huh? Still, you’re safe, so feel free to continue.”

Quite surprised at what she just witnessed, Masumi didn’t say a word as she continued down to her house. Not only did she get approached by drunks, her escort used a kind of ninjutsu she had never seen before. It was the sort of attention Ujiyasu had long gotten used to, having done a number of missions for his village. Hyouton isn’t very common, and in fact people who have that ability tend to live around Mizu, or the Land of Snow. Least that’s what Ujiyasu’s father told him anyway. It was quite rare to see Hyouton users anywhere else, which lent to the reactions he would get from people who didn’t know him.

Back then, that sort of attention would make the boy grin with joy. Now though, he views it differently. He sees his abilities as something he could use to keep Kusagakure safe in ways that no-one else could. Much like with a few other shinobi he had seen around.

The Ujiyasus leaped back onto the rooftops and kept their eyes on their client and the surrounding area. She was almost home.

[Krethean]

They approached Masumi’s mansion with hardly any more trouble. Another group of guys tried to spring an ambush on Masumi, but Ujiyasu thwarted that with a Wind Bomb, scaring them off before they could even show themselves to the heiress. The boom startled her, but Ujiyasu assured her it wasn’t anything to worry about. Just him scaring off some would be thieves.

They made it to her house, where she turned to Ujiyasu and spoke a little quietly.

“Thanks. I don’t think my mother is awake, so I guess I’ll sign your mission slip. Your protection was adequate, so I don’t think there’ll be any issues with payment.”

Adequate? Lady, if I hadn’t been there you would have been mugged and raped several times. That was what he didn’t say as he gave her a nod and handed her the slip. The attitude of the Suji annoyed him more, given the fact that she would have been a lot worse off without his seemingly “adequate” service.

Masumi scribbled something on the note, then handed it back to Ujiyasu before she waved goodbye to Ujiyasu and turned to the house.

“Good to see that our shinobi aren’t useless after all.”

Not rising to the tactless remark, Ujiyasu dispersed his clones, then took off, leaving her to her own devices. All he had to do now was to hand in the slip and sleep. Not necessarily in that order. That made the boy smile wide, as he thought about a later discussion Usio and himself might have. Now that he had witnessed the Suji family firsthand as well, he can sympathise with his friend on how... careless they are.

Oh yes... a bath, then some sleep would do him good. The money would also do him a world of good too. He had some plans with the money he was saving, and it would go a long way towards establishing Kusagakure’s might in general.

[KEITH]

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