Diligence [social]

[Nemui]

The night air in the village was warm and still, you could
taste the scent of pollen and fresh flowers on the tongue. Besides the hum of
insects and the rustle of leaves in what little wind passed through the trees
the only sound that could be heard in one small corner of the settlement were
the soft, swift strikes of a ninja and his sword. Spinning on his heel, Jin
Kagerochi let his sword root itself deeply in to the side of the tree, all of
the harmless practice dummies having been cut to ribbons in the short time he
was out honing his form. As little as his Taijutsu was important to his overall
strength compared to genjutsu or ninjutsu he always found it important to keep
every last little skill in check.

That was the life Jin aspired to lead. He aspired to diligence,
loyalty, hard work. The sweat of his brow belonged to Kusagakure and its
people. It was for this reason he had spent the last few years in (shudder)
administration. Paperwork and paperwork and boring paperwork whilst every one
of his honed skills was going to waste in an office. He hadn’t let his talents
slip though they hadn’t been put to use and all because of his reputation.

The young ninja sighed in to the stiflingly warm night
breeze and let go of his blade, leaving it embedded in the bark of the tree and
slumped against the tall trunk: allowing himself just this once to slouch and
reflect on his life. Long ago he had effectively doomed his squad to death for
the sake of a mission of effectively negligible importance. Two genin and one
jounin dead all because Young Jin Kagerochi thought the mission was more
important than the lives of his squad. To his credit he hadn’t done anything
wrong but he knew people looked at him.

He could feel the eyes bore in to the back of his head. The
eyes of friends and family who lost someone special thanks to him. Jin didn’t
care, though. He did his job and that’s what he had sworn to do and it was
because he was sworn to his job that he allowed himself to be ‘punished’ with
years of paperwork rather than be let out on the field again. He didn’t
complain, he didn’t whine. He just got things done. Holding his head back and
staring at the stars, Jin found himself inadvertently smiling at the simple
irony of loving a village so much that it failed to love him back.

[Kenji 忍]

It was a peaceful night in Kusagakure. Kenji sat upon a rooftop staring at the stars and the waning moon that were hoisted above him. He often marveled at their simple beauty and they now brought him calmness after the day's events. His last mission had left him with several bruises and even a black eye. However, these were not received in combat, but merely by a woman he had the displeasure of working for. The thought of which left him without rest no matter how much he desired it. As he relaxed, a small bug would fly towards him and land on his outstretched finger. They were small, fragile, and insignificant on their own. But the birthright he had long since forsook saw more potential for them in greater numbers. Personally, he found the use of them dishonorable and weak. What he accomplished would be by his own strength alone and not with the help of some parasitic creature.

A nearby thud would stir him from his wondering mind. 'What could someone be doing at this hour?' Kenji thought to himself as he leaped down from the rooftop and moved towards the source of the sound. He worried that it could be someone or something that he would not be able to handle in his current state, but it was his duty as a Kusa shinobi to investigate. Eventually he found the remnants of used training equipment, a tree that served as a holster of a sword, and a tired man that sat under it. “It is strange for someone to be out at this late hour. May I ask what it is your doing?” Kenji would say as he lowered his hood. It seemed that there was someone in Kusagakure that shared his current insomnia, but whether that meant a good or bad thing, he had yet to find out.  

[Nemui]

Jin’s smile was fleeting, the tranquillity of his post-exercise lacuna interrupted by a voice of curiosity. With his face darkened visibly by mistrust and vitriol he turned to the stranger and immediately began to think of numerous ways he’d kill the man if given the reason to. Within three seconds Jin reckoned there were at least four possible methods but that wasn’t an option currently on the table. As much as the ninja would have liked to pit his skills in actual combat he wasn’t sure if anyone would be up for sparring with someone of his reputation.

“Training.” Wasn’t it obvious? He was resting; his sword embedded in a tree and not in his scabbard and training equipment lay around the immediate area. If this interloper thought that Jin was some kind of midnight gardener with a very peculiar way of doing his job then he couldn’t be any more unintuitive and whilst Jin’s face remained firmly unamused this sentiment creeped across expression with that single word.

The young ninja stood up and turned away from the stranger, having no interest in conversing with the man. Pulling his sword from the tree and sheathing it he had to wonder: just who in their right mind would walk up to him and just ask such boring and obvious questions? Even if he was trying to be polite there was something decidedly ‘off’ about just walking up to people and asking them what they were doing however obvious it was. Unless…

“You don’t know who I am, do you?” He turned his head over his shoulder, eying the fellow ninja from under his curtain of black hair. However much Jin gave off the impression of a man who didn’t want to be disturbed he couldn’t help but feel there were still people in the village who hadn’t at least heard in passing the supposed ‘travesty’ that occurred on his last mission. In any case he’d like to reassess his level of infamy before finding his way to bed.