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Kawarimi no Jutsu
Rank: E, E [10]
Type: Supplementary / Ninjutsu
Range: 0 - 5 meters
Handseals: No
Chakra: Low
Special: Switch is near-instantaneous. Kawarimi can only be used once per thread, plus one more each time retrained. However, the technique itself can only be used once per turn, regardless of retraining. Requires the user to switch with objects that range from equal in size to as small as half their size. Cannot switch with other living people or animals.
Description: This jutsu lets the user quickly switch places with another nearby object, such as a plant (normally a section of a log) the moment an attack hits. This creates an optical illusion, making the enemy think the attack was successful. The user can then use this confusion to escape or launch a counter-attack - i.e. exploding tags can be attached to the replacement for an added surprise.
Domain: Academy Ninjutsu.

Purchasing 2 more uses of Kawarimi.

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Henge no Jutsu
Rank: E, E, E [15]
Type: Supplementary / Ninjutsu
Range: 0 - 5 meters
Handseals: 1
Chakra: Low
Special: Allows the user to transform into any person, object or animal of normal/small/miniature size. Transformation can be held for one turn, plus one more each time retrained.
Description: Henge no Jutsu is a very basic ninjutsu technique which every ninja learns at their respective village's Shinobi Academy. Henge allows the user to transform themselves into any person or object. This allows the ninja to move with stealth or to trick their opponents.
Domain: Academy Ninjutsu.

Purchasing 3 more uses of Henge.

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Total: 10 + 15 = 25 EXP to be removed from sidebar

Rael breathed out in mild relief as he caught sight of the last figure through the doorway, towering a good two feet above the rest of them. The face was unfamiliar to him, and although that applied nearly everyone above Chuunin, he could not recall crossing paths with the other party even once; someone with this man's body structure would have left an impression on him. Sidestepping two paces and one backward, allowing the older male to take center stage, he mimicked the majority of their temporary charges as they listened, filing away the man's name and inclining his head once as they were both introduced. So far, so good; none of them were being particularly disobedient, though he suspected him kicking one of their classmates off the Academy rooftops just last week had some small part in it. No doubt tempted as they were to call him out, it was just a matter of time. As the newly named "Fūma Yokumaru" finished his piece, Rael picked up in stride.

"Should you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask; Yokumaru-sensei and I will answer your inquiries to the best of our abilities. Anything you feel is pertinent to your growth as a shinobi, or questions about your future beyond the Academy, let us know about your concerns, even if you have the slightest doubt. Remember, question everything, assume nothing."

A quick roll call followed suite, Rael firing out each individual's name while giving his assignment leader a moment to make any last-minute adjustments he might need. At the same time, he made note of those who were missing, reminding himself to compile a list for the regular instructors once they were done. The heavily-abridged curriculum they would be covering was in Yokumaru's hands; his job would be accommodate him to the best of his ability. As the last shout of "here" rang out from one "Yakushi Matsuda", the young Genin placed the attendance record back onto the stands next to him, then eyed the group as whole before preparing to continue on, when one of the students near the back, an ebony-haired female raised their hand.

"Yes?"

"Um, Rael-san," he noticed the lack of a proper honorific suffix, but left it alone, "could Fūma-sensei tell us a little about himself first? We know you graduated only a little while ago, so he's definitely got to have a lot more stories to share. Plus he's not wearing the jacket Tanaka-sensei usually has, so we can't tell what he normally does."

Blinking once, Rael considered her request for the briefest second before slightly turning his head to look at the older shinobi, throwing the ball back into his court.

The boy's satisfying screams echoed up over the ledge for all of about a second before ending with a loud thud, prompting the Genin to lean forward and get a good look at his handiwork. Though potentially hazardous to an untrained civilian child, Jinmei was obviously made of sterner stuff, as the would-be ninja lay groaning on the grass for several seconds before haphazardly scuttling to his feet, glaring up at the Academy graduate and pointing not one, but two fingers this time. Had it not gone against his nature, Rael would have chuckled at the amusing sight.

"Hey! What gives, you assh-"

"Ahem." It was amazing how quickly the color could drain out of the boy's face, turning stark-white as a heavy palm dropped onto his shoulder and literally forced him to turn around. Knowing what he was about to see didn't make things any easier, as the red-haired boy looked up to see Tanaka-sensei grinning down at him, a murderous glint in his eyes belying the chummy expression he wore. Turning to run away as fast as his legs could carry him, Jinmei knew he was doomed as he felt himself hoisted by the scruff of his neck and dangling off the ground, spinning around by the fabric of his clothes to peer into oblivion yet again.

"I was wondering where could've gone without anyone seeing you outside; hiding here the whole time were you?" With all the inexperience of a newborn lamb walking into the lion's den, the boy's eyes automatically slid to the other white-haired youth as he casually dropped down to join them. Rael could literally read the youth's thoughts like an open book, pleading for him not to say anything contradicting what his teacher already believed. It was fairly obvious both of them knew he'd been off the Academy premises, and would be subject to even greater punishment if found out. Though he was well-tempted to clue in Tanaka on the truth, and well within his rights to do so, he'd cut the redhead some slack this time.

"At least he's back and unharmed," he snickered inwardly as the boy in mention glared at him, "let him get back to practice with the others, sensei." Giving his student a sound cuffing around the ears as he nodded in assent, the Academy instructor dismissed Rael with an earnest thanks, stating the next time any of his unruly pupils vanished, he'd ask for him again.

Shaking his head once, the snowy-haired youth disappeared out the front, happily oblivious to the sound of a boy being dragged off by the ear.

---

la fin

This was certainly turning out to be a productive morning; the amount of cardio he did while running around town was nearly enough to compensate for three days' workout sessions. Hitting the village's archival library on his way to the marketplace, Rael's inquiries about Jinmei Ko's whereabouts started to bear fruit when the head librarian responded positively to having seen the boy just hours ago. He hadn't stayed long, merely enough time to borrow two scrolls on basic taijutsu before leaving, saying his instructors only gave him a limited amount of time before he had to return to the Academy. Frowning at this bit of information but saying nothing to reveal his displeasure, he merely thanked the elderly gentleman and exited the building, mind plotting a course to his new destination.

Classes were still in session, and Rael was careful not to disturb any of them as he passed through the familiar hallways, paying attention not to linger next to any open doors. The sound of familiar lectures drilled into his head as he navigated his way around, recalling the faces of his teachers and former classmates as they sprang unbidden to mind. Pushing such thoughts aside, he allowed his feet to carry him to the field outside, tiny in comparison to the formal training grounds used by Genin and above. A small group of children (he ignored the fact they were his age) was currently in midst of sparring practice, and the brown-haired instructor he spoke with earlier registered surprise upon seeing him. Shaking his head and silently gesturing for the man to continue, he received an hesitant nod in response and turned back to his students, clearly wondering what the white-haired youth was up to.

Keeping the desire to spike his irate chakra down, Rael maneuvered his way across the grassy field over to the furthest wall, one of four which enclosed the small meadow that the Academy used as their training area. One foot after the other, he began walking up along the side of the stone mural with ease, climbing nearly two stories before silently dropping onto the rooftops. Moving forward with nary a sound, he waited until he was less than a foot behind his quarry before speaking.

"And just what do you think you're doing."

Rank: D
Minimum Participants: 1
Mission Info: The aged Mrs. Godo can no longer manage the walk to the local grocer, let alone the task of shopping. She has commissioned the village to do her weekly shopping. Go to her home in the Eastern Zone, collect her money and grocery list, and buy her groceries.
Special: This mission can be repeated indefinitely.

Rewards: 100 EXP & 500 ryō

Mission thread located here.

White tufts of hair poked over the top of the groceries, and the Genin beneath slowly pushed along his near-empty trolley, teal eyes scanning the overhead signs while occasionally flicking back to the slip of paper in his hand. Passersby either hid their smiles and carried along their business, or stopped momentarily to look around, no doubt searching for the boy's guardians. He managed to ignore them for the most part, aside from wearing a rather grumpy expression on his face while scanning the aisles for what he needed. Thankfully, the overhead signs made it simple to locate just about everything he needed thus far.

Next to him, the refrigerated goods were on display, cold air wafting over and creating a pleasant contrast against his skin. The person next to him had to squat down as they picked up a carton of tofu, checking for an expiry date. Rael followed suite, though he merely had to bend a bit at the waist to reach down; the height discrepancy was a little obvious. Instead of just looking for numbers that would indicate when consuming said contents might lead to undesirable health effects, he popped the circular plastic lid off the container, eyeing the water-saturated cube before taking a cautious whiff, then resisting the urge to sputter as he hurriedly slipped the cover back on and placed the container back to its original spot. Grumbling to himself, the Genin reached towards the very back of the open fridge, plucking out a different one and repeating the previous steps, nodding after two seconds and covering the white container with plastic wrap before placing it in the trolley.

Employees still being lazy and putting new products right at the front; whoever is in charge of stocking should be fired.

Mentally checking another item off, Rael idly rubbed his chin and examined the list once more.

• 1 bag of milk
  
• 1 carton of a dozen eggs
  
• 1 asparagus bundle
  
• 2 leeks
  
• 5 peaches
  
• 2 cartons of chicken broth
  
• 1 block of soft tofu
  
• 1 bag of rice

The only thing left to grab was a large bag of rice, and he remembered seeing that near the checkout line on his way in; convenient, especially since they weren't exactly light for him. The shopping cart rattled in protest as he neared the checkout line, pausing once to grab the final item on Mrs. Godo's list. Though barely thirty pounds, it weighed nearly half as much as him, and took both arms to lift from the pile before dropping it near the front of the trolley. Waiting patiently in line for his turn, as the customer ahead of him finished packing away her own things and left, he gave the cashier a forced smile as she totaled up his purchases.

"That'll come to 390 ryō please." Unzipping the coin purse his employer gave him earlier, the boy deftly counted out the appropriate number of bills and passed them over, inwardly grateful that Mrs. Godo had given him sufficient funds; another 110 ryō more and he would've had to dig out his own share. Muttering his thanks as she reimbursed him the correct change, he grunted once in exertion as he transferred his heaviest burden onto one shoulder, before Rael quickly grabbed the other plastic bags and hurried out.

What took him barely ten minutes to travel earlier, he now spent at least four times longer while lugging the groceries back to his employer's apartment complex. Along the way, he began tallying the number of times someone nearly ran him over, shouting for the white-haired youth to get out of their way or watch where he was going. Several acquaintances he passed along the way grinned at his obvious distress, but simply nodded in assent when he promised to rendezvous with them at a later time.

Groceries
Rank: D
Minimum Participants: 1
Mission Info: The aged Mrs. Godo can no longer manage the walk to the local grocer, let alone the task of shopping. She has commissioned the village to do her weekly shopping. Go to her home in the Eastern Zone, collect her money and grocery list, and buy her groceries.
Special: This mission can be repeated indefinitely.

---

There was something to be said about anyone who enjoyed performing D-rank missions without being threatened under pain or death. Either they were a closet masochist of the highest order, or so unbelievably inept that the reigning Mizukage deemed them a potential hazard to their would-be comrades, thus relegating them to wrapping up odd jobs around the village. While neither of the above could be applied to him without a hint of injustice, Rael would be the first to admit that he had no qualms about being assigned the so-called 'leftovers', seeing them as opportunities to establish his credit with the civilian half of Kirigakure, whilst earning some spare pocket ryō. While he could've gathered the other cell members to complete this task, he doubted buying groceries for a senior citizen needed the entire team plus their sensei to be present.

6C...6D...here we go.

As he rapped thrice in quick succession against the closed door, loudly in case the According the mission printout, his first employer would be one 'Mrs. Godo', a retiree whose only real hobby nowadays seemed to be teaching the koto to aspiring musicians. He wasn't going to delve too deeply into her family history, nor that of her spouse, simply on the basis they weren't mentioned in the mission parameters, more or less summarized in one sentence: "Buy her groceries, and don't tick her off". Of course, Rael had no intention of souring a relationship with the first of his clientele. Intent on creating a positive first impression, he managed to produce a rare half-smile as the door slowly wung open, revealing an elderly woman presumably in her late 70s as she leaned upon her cane while glancing down at him and tutting.

"Oh my! Are you lost, dear child?"

Reining in the sudden desire to squash something in near vicinity, the "dear child" nodded and bowed low, hoping it would give his facial muscles time to rearrange themselves from what was no doubt a scowl. Straightening just a second or two later, he checked his voice to make sure it was void of distinct ire.

"Ah, that's not it, ma'am. My name is Rael. You requested for someone at the mission's office to help with buying your groceries?" The woman in question stared blankly, and there was an uncomfortable silence between the two before her eyes widened in obvious surprise and abrupt revelation.

"Silly me! I wasn't expecting someone so young," an eye twitched, "or small for that matter! One moment child." Completely missing the look of thinly-veiled disbelief as she hobbled out of sight behind the door, presumably fetching something in her purse from the sound of it, Mrs. Godo reappeared after a moment, clutching a folded note and a small coin purse that she held out to him. "Here you are my boy. Everything I will be needing is on the list." Taking the proffered items and perusing the former with a quick scan for any possible irregularities, he saw nothing warranting verification and tucked them away in his pouch, lifting his eyes back up to his employer with a smile and a slight nod.

"I'll be back right away with the items you need, Mrs. Godo." Offering another quick bow, the white-haired youth hurried off to the stairwell, hurtling down steps as he reached the first floor and made his way in the direction towards the village marketplace.