Motomori Mouko could not believe that his next assignment was something so mundane as cleaning up an old folks home. He had the feeling that this kind of work would wear on him eventually, especially since it was cutting into his meditation time. He seemed to have to be taking on more and more of these boring assignments every day since that fateful training day against Saemon. Before that he had no thoughts of becoming stronger or fighting anyone out in the world. That had all changed now, which was when Mouko began to seek out more and more assignments. He would do whatever it took to allow him to obtain the title of Shinobi. He had people in this village to show the life that the world had to offer, instead of the eerie lighting of the lanterns spread through the village. Maybe it actually was a good thing that he had to help out the old folks of Sunagakure. They had lived in this village long enough to remember all of the darkness and evil that the village had to suffer. They had also seen brighter days, and have gained the chance to live their lives out accordingly. There were not many ninja that became old in the world anymore, but the few that did were definitely strong and wise. As Mouko entered the government's orphanage for the old, dubbed "The Sand's Embrace", he noticed that most of the people inside seemed so somber. They shuffled around, some playing games in corners, and were fed a multitude of foods that were apparently healthy for them and cheap on the village. As the boy walked in, he noticed a young woman in the whites of the medical squad moving through the members of the home towards him, a large bright smile on her face. "Ah! You must be the student from the academy! I'm Haru! Welcome to the Sand's Embrace." The woman's voice was high pitched, and certainly more chipper then it needed to be in such a dark place. Mouko smiled to her and handed over his assignment card so that she could catalog it in the books, acknowledging that he had actually shown up for his assignment. "Hello Haru-chan! I'm Mouko. The academy said that you would need someone to help you out today, something about a scheduling conflict?" The young ninja had decided that it was best not to show the chipper Haru that he was actually wishing he was anywhere else besides in such a stuffy old folks home for the day. As he spoke, he extended his hand towards the woman, allowing her to shake it. As she had it in her own hand, she pulled the young man forwards, leading him by the hand towards the 'employees only' sign on one of the doors near the back of the main room. The two stepped through, and Haru led Mouko to a closet full of outfits, giving him one that was relatively the young man's size. "Yes, we had a few of our people take the same day off today. Hm... yes, this one should fit you quite nicely. Now, you'll be taking care of the Shinobi wing, since it's a part that needs the most care, and the lot of you should have something in common. Now, there are only three people in that wing at the moment, and they aren't the happiest of the bunch. Whatever you do, do not mention the Fields of Foxgloves. You may not survive the onslaught of the results. Now, I have a lot of work to do elsewhere, but if you need anything, please do not hesitate to come and find me!" With that Haru walked away, rushing back out to the main room to finish administering medication to the rest of her patients.
Mouko looked down a the white outfit, something completely uncharacteristic for him. He normally liked wearing loose clothing, and even going barefoot around the village. He enjoyed the feel of the open air on his skin, and the raging sands beneath his feet. It was almost as if the entire village had a power of its own, and Mouko was determined to one day figure out how to force that power to rise through the village's core. He wanted everyone around him to feel the tense feeling of Gaia that he could feel on a daily basis. He quickly changed his outfit, and headed towards the shinobi wards, to begin with his assignment. As he arrived, he noticed that two of the three ninja in the ward were fast asleep, or at least faking well enough that Mouko couldn't tell either way. He quickly cleaned up their rooms, and exchanged any personal items that he needed, before heading out once more. The third shinobi however was sitting at a table, playing a game of Shogi... with himself! There was two of the man, each one moving pieces at speeds that Mouko could barely manage to follow with his eyes. The boy did not know a lot of about the game, but he could tell that neither of the man were giving up any ground to the other. Maybe it's impossible to win against yourself, you always know what you're going to do after all. The man made no movement as to acknowledging that Mouko was standing there, so he instead watched the man play the game for a few minutes, marveling at the shear speed of the older gentleman. The young ninja knew better than to think that each move was not calculated or planned. It was too precise and too quick. They were moving their hands before the other person even finished picking up their piece. It was a game of anticipation and strategy at its very core. Could the shinobi ever dream of beating himself? Mouko knew enough about clones to know that they could think freely from one another, but were still the same person. If the person could do something before the technique, then so could the clone, but if the clone or the person learned something else while the jutsu was activated, then the process was changed. They did not share information while being separated, but instead their memories combined when the jutsu was released. The game went on at that pace for quite sometime, maybe even hours, while Mouko was unable to move his feet away from the spot that he was standing in. Finally, the man on the far side of the room manged to pull off a series of complicated moves, none of which the academy student could understand, and finally eradicated the clone of himself. So, it's a game of which one could learn the fastest? That's interesting. It means that the old man was learning from himself about his own weak points. Interesting. I'll have to try that sometime in the future. As the final move was preformed, the man on the other side dispersed in a puff of smoke, revealing that it was a clone all along. Mouko realized suddenly that he had been holding in his breath for the last dozen or so moves, and let it explode outwards. He let his bright smile shine towards the older shinobi, happy to have had the chance to watch such a marvelous turn of events. Maybe he would have to come back to the old folks home sometime soon and learn more from the old man. He would love to know more about the ninja world than he already did.
[WC: 1271; Mission complete]
Mouko looked down a the white outfit, something completely uncharacteristic for him. He normally liked wearing loose clothing, and even going barefoot around the village. He enjoyed the feel of the open air on his skin, and the raging sands beneath his feet. It was almost as if the entire village had a power of its own, and Mouko was determined to one day figure out how to force that power to rise through the village's core. He wanted everyone around him to feel the tense feeling of Gaia that he could feel on a daily basis. He quickly changed his outfit, and headed towards the shinobi wards, to begin with his assignment. As he arrived, he noticed that two of the three ninja in the ward were fast asleep, or at least faking well enough that Mouko couldn't tell either way. He quickly cleaned up their rooms, and exchanged any personal items that he needed, before heading out once more. The third shinobi however was sitting at a table, playing a game of Shogi... with himself! There was two of the man, each one moving pieces at speeds that Mouko could barely manage to follow with his eyes. The boy did not know a lot of about the game, but he could tell that neither of the man were giving up any ground to the other. Maybe it's impossible to win against yourself, you always know what you're going to do after all. The man made no movement as to acknowledging that Mouko was standing there, so he instead watched the man play the game for a few minutes, marveling at the shear speed of the older gentleman. The young ninja knew better than to think that each move was not calculated or planned. It was too precise and too quick. They were moving their hands before the other person even finished picking up their piece. It was a game of anticipation and strategy at its very core. Could the shinobi ever dream of beating himself? Mouko knew enough about clones to know that they could think freely from one another, but were still the same person. If the person could do something before the technique, then so could the clone, but if the clone or the person learned something else while the jutsu was activated, then the process was changed. They did not share information while being separated, but instead their memories combined when the jutsu was released. The game went on at that pace for quite sometime, maybe even hours, while Mouko was unable to move his feet away from the spot that he was standing in. Finally, the man on the far side of the room manged to pull off a series of complicated moves, none of which the academy student could understand, and finally eradicated the clone of himself. So, it's a game of which one could learn the fastest? That's interesting. It means that the old man was learning from himself about his own weak points. Interesting. I'll have to try that sometime in the future. As the final move was preformed, the man on the other side dispersed in a puff of smoke, revealing that it was a clone all along. Mouko realized suddenly that he had been holding in his breath for the last dozen or so moves, and let it explode outwards. He let his bright smile shine towards the older shinobi, happy to have had the chance to watch such a marvelous turn of events. Maybe he would have to come back to the old folks home sometime soon and learn more from the old man. He would love to know more about the ninja world than he already did.
[WC: 1271; Mission complete]