Boring Escorts

[Texas]

A Mission Assignment! The Red eyed Kisama was given a mission to help escort a caravan of traders to the gold country. Due to the way the contract was written and explained, Jiro and someone named Shiun would be following the caravan to the edge of Tea Country. Once they cross the border, they would only travel a little bit into Gold in order to meet up with another group of people. That group would be other contracted samurai. At the meetup there would be a group going deeper into gold and a group coming back to Heart. It would be borderline an exchange of traders.

The mission was rather low for Jiro, in his opinion. But getting what he deemed as an easy mission, would actually be delightful! This could be an opportunity to relax, enjoy some sake, and really take in the nature around them! However, the name Kinoko, Shiun was an interesting one. Although he has been with the Heart Empire for a little bit now, he hasn't actually met someone from the Kinoko Clan. What a great opportunity!

As Jiro was getting ready, he was sure to pack all the essentials. His combat weapons, his shiny white sword (of which he still had no clue how to truly use it), and his large gourd of Sake. It was going to be large trip... so maybe he would have to pack two. As he packed two Sake gourds, the man would go into his stock of sake and take out a small vial. It was an emergency vial in case he had to use his technique and was out of Sake. That vial wasn't made of glass either. It was made from animal skin. So although it was not a hard case, it essentially wouldn't break. This emergency Sake was placed in his samurai pouch. You never quite know!

After being fully packed and ready to roll, the large muscular man left his little hut. As he exited, Jiro noticed that his packing got out of control and he had lost track of time. Based on how the sun was placed, it was clear he was late! Not a good look for a man trying to bring honor to his clan. Once he had taken notice of his tardiness, the man sprinted outward and forward. He would rush between the public civilians and contracted samurai alike until he got to the gates. A little out of breath, but not too much! The caravan consisted of a large carriage, 4 different traders, a driver who was sitting on top with reigns to two horses, and a purple capped samurai (if she was there before him). What Jiro knew, was that he had to bounce back.

He gazed upon the traders and possibly Shiun. With a smile and a charming laugh, Jiro simply noted "Hello! I'm sorry I am late.. My name is Ginjiro, but you can call me Jiro. Are you guys ready to go? Any questions before we head out?"

[Golnax]

Shiun had indeed arrived before Ginjiro but she hadn't been the first to arrive. Much the same as how her older peer had lost track of time by packing things, she had left her apartment late because of her anxiety. This wasn't her first mission, technically, but it was going to be her first that took her out of the country... technically. Did the Pilot Program count as a mission? This was going to be the first mission she went on with a complete stranger. Without Suzuko at her side. Yeah. That was accurate. And the anxiety from this realization had seen her pacing inside of her apartment until she realized she was running late and had sprinted to where she was meant to be!

The caravan and two other samurai, making it one to personally guard each of the merchants, were waiting for her, the other samurai both older than she was and much more traditionally dressed. In comparison her purple dressed, butt bag and gold ring on her finger made her look practically like a civilian! "Sorry! Sorry! Am I late?" he asked nervously, already mentally fretting over screwing this up already (even if she hadn't) before it even started (it hadn't yet)!

"No, we're waiting on one more," one of the samurai said but was cut off by one of the merchants speaking up.

"What's this exactly? Who is this?" they asked, gesturing towards Shiun up opened her mouth to introduce herself but was, herself, cut off by the same samurai who had answered her.

"This is Kinoko, Shiun, an Akibushi samurai who has been assigned on this mission with us. She will be insuring your safe travel along with us, sir."

This did not seem to sit well with the merchants who looked at each other and her in turn. "An akibushi? That's the lowest rank of samurai, isn't it?" one of them asked. "That's a bit insulting, no?"

Shiun felt her face growing flush as the merchant's open doubt was made clear to her. Thankfully her senior was there to speak for her in this instance. "She may be an Akibushi but she is one of the most capable of her rank, vetted by many higher ranking samurai. Her capabilities are not in question."

"But look at her!" the first merchant said, pointing an accusatory finger at the dark skinned samurai. "She's not even armed!"

"That's not true!" Shiun interjected, reaching down and patting the bag on her hip. "I have plenty of weapons in this bag! And!" she paused, raising her hand up and manifesting Musu from a ring to a spear in her hand. "I have Musu on me always!"

Despite this, the clients did not look none too impressed and once again her older peer came to her rescue. "Forgive her, please, sirs. Shiun specializes in unusual weaponry for a samurai but is by no means less capable. Rest assured, she may be young but she will see this mission through. You have my word."

The realization hit her then as she lowered her spear arm and called Musu back into the form of a ring. The merchants were still murmuring to themselves but her fellow samurai were looking at her. She realized that she had jumped the gun and tried to validate her own existence to the clients, which in the process had made her look like (an immature) fool. Cheeks burning in embarrassment, she quietly walked over towards her fellow body guards and stood still. She imagined that they resented her already for having to pick up the slack for her lack of manners and decorum. Being a samurai in an official capacity was difficult. She missed Suzuko.

At least she wasn't the last one to arrive, though. That went to Ginjiro who showed up, out of breath, and quickly introduced himself. It was difficult for Shiun to get an initial impression of the man from just that but she did notice that he was much taller than she was and had dark skin, same as her. She wondered briefly if they were related but, no. No signs of any mushrooms growing out of his body and he didn't have the signature pale eyes like she did. Still, there weren't many samurai running around with dark brown skin like theirs. She wondered where he was from?

"Hmph. A child and a tardy samurai. Heart truly has sent their best to escort us," the grouchy merchant said, rolling his eyes and making his way towards the carriage to get inside.

"No, we're ready to depart. We will walk ahead and behind the carriage to guard it on all sides. We'll take the front. You two take the rear," the other samurai said, gesturing towards Shiun and Ginjiro before he and the other made their way in front of the carriage, leaving Shiun to stand by herself as the merchants climbed inside.

[Texas]

Upon arriving there definitely was tension in the air. Rightfully so, Jiro was late and it had appeared that this tension was present even before the red eyed warrior had arrived. Jiro couldn't help but laugh with his right arm bent scratching the back of his head. "Very well! Rear Guard it is! Let's do it Shiun." He said with kindness and sincerity radiating from his voice. The Brass Blooded man watched as the merchants went into their carriage. When all of the "pleasantries" and setting up was done, Jiro went to the rear to follow the carriage. He crossed his arms, but placed them in the opposite sleeves to keep himself comfortable. What the man really wanted to do was start drinking... however based on the previous interactions, maybe he would dive in when they got closer to the swapping point. Alas, for the sake of the mission and everyone's peace of mind... he would refrain... painfully.

As the man walked over to the rear, he watched as Shiun also took the rear. She had similar skin to him, but a very distinct different.... she had mushrooms! At least they were purple, a color Jiro very much loved. Would it be appropriate to comment on it? As they began to walk, Jiro figured it would be a good time to get to know each other. They both were Heart Samurai, there was a very high possibility that the two would engage in combat in the future. Especially when she became a little bit stronger. With a large smile and leisurely attitude, Jiro looked over to Shiun. "I don't know if this is appropriate, but I love your mushrooms." With a moment to mentally process if he said the right thing, the man continued. "I know ya heard earlier, but my name is Kisama, Jiro. Your name is Shiun right?"

The man was larger in build, however he knew very well that the next gen of Samurai were fierce. Each of them had more to offer and greater potential than the generation before. Now Jiro was not an old man, but he probably fit more stylistically and skill wise in the older generation. Although Jiro has yet to meet them, he was genuinely excited to meet one of them. After she answered his question, Jiro figured he would ask a couple more to keep the small talk going before actually asking her deep questions. He would nod and answer any questions she had before continuing. "By da way, how was it before I got here?" An interested question especially considering the merchants were an extra version of grumpy. "Are ya excited for this kind of mission? Have ya done anyting like dis before?" All valid questions, Jiro wanted to just get a little bit of info regarding what was going on. Also, the experience level of his partner was important to. Who knows, maybe she had enough experience to be the leader of their partnered team up!

[Golnax]

At least Ginjiro was kind. That helped to put Shiun at ease though she was still abuzz with thoughts about how much of a terrible samurai she was! The group got on the road and in no time at all the town they were departing from was behind them. Shiun and Ginjiro lagged behind the carriage while the other samurai took the front, leaving the carriage between them that was travelling at a reasonable pace that was likely dictated by the leading samurai so the two in the rear were never too far behind. As they walked Shiun's mind began to quiet down somewhat. After all she couldn't fail at walking at the very least! Her head was slightly hung but her eyes looked to either side of the road occasionally to be vigilant. Sure they weren't that far out of town but it was good to be watchful, right?

Subsequently she didn't notice that her walking companion and fellow samurai was looking at her and only looked his way when he spoke up. She turned her head to look up at him and her eyebrows raised upwards at his compliment! "O-oh! Uh, thank you," she said, blushing and smiling weakly. She wasn't used to getting compliments about the giant mushroom cap on her head from samurai. In fact the last time she'd been complimented on it was from her fellow Kinoko. Everyone else usually thought that her head was weird or gross or the best she'd come to hope for was that no one mentioned it at all. It'd been three years since she arrived in Xincha and aside from Suzuko, who hadn't even complimented her initially, this was the first bit of positive reinforcement about her body she'd received. Naturally, Shiun had no idea what to do with it and was very flummoxed!

Realizing that she'd been silent for about three seconds, Shiun jolted her head up and answered his question. "Uh, YES! Yes, my name is Shiun Kinoko," she said just a little too fast, which only made her feel more foolish! She dipped her head down as though trying to push her neck in between her shoulders and into her body, hating every second of this conversation (for her part in it anyway) so far!

Hearing his other questions, Shiun turned her face upwards to look at him and the expression she wore was positively ghoulish! "Not good," she said glumly, reminded now about her feelings of inadequacy as a samurai. She raised her hands up in front of her and pressed her index fingers together nervously as she spoke. "The clients weren't happy about me being so young and me not carrying a sword. I think they felt disrespected by my being assigned to protect them... but that just means I need to prove them wrong and show them what a good samurai I can be!" she declared, balling her right hand into a fist and pumping it up in the air! Musu glinted brilliantly on her ring finger in the sunlight and for a moment her image matched the bravado of her words.

Too bad it all ended quickly as she lowered her fist back down to her side and gave a weak smile to Ginjiro. "Uh... no. I've never done any escorting before. Mostly I've been the one being escorted. It shouldn't be too much trouble though, right? We just have to walk behind the carriage and keep an eye out for enemies, right?" she asked, looking to either side of the road again for any sign of ne'er-do-wells hiding in the grass or in the bush. Unfortunately for Shiun she was wearing her inexperience on her sleeve in basically every aspect. She didn't know how to take a compliment now that she was a young woman, she had a naïvely simplistic view on what their mission was, and she'd flat out admitted she'd never done anything like this before. If the merchants had heard her the grouchy one would likely feel very justified in his doubts!

[Texas]

The path they were walking was boring indeed. However, it was always those moments that they would least expect something to happen. The Samurai reached down to one of his gourds, popped off the cork, and took a sip. Due to the blood flowing through his veins, all he really needed was a drop of alcohol. That was the amount he took, he couldn't look too bad in front of his potential compadre! After he took a sip, Jiro placed the cork back on and let it hang from his bag.

Jiro was caught off guard by the sword comment. As he listened to Shiun talk about her not carrying a sword, the man couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Oh Shiun, never let dat bother ya." He would uncross his arms and use his right arm to tap on his shiny white sword inside its shiny white sheath. "Ya see dis? Dis is a family heirloom that I just got as of recent. It is nothing but an ornament right now. Your shoes are more useful to you dan dis is of use to me." Jiro was trying to make light of a situation that was rather tense... Clearly someone struck a cord with the mushroom girl, but Jiro's lighthearted temperament would attempt to diffuse those emotions. Or at the very least, shine a light on how to address it in the future.

Shiun then went on to express her inexperience. This wasn't the worst thing. It's not like Jiro had much, but he had enough to know what to do. Truth be told, Jiro wasn't all that skilled, he was just strong and powerful for his age. It was 70% of the reason why he got the position he did within the Heart Empire. Jiro wanted to express that this kind of mission was important. So he lifted his finger up in the air from his right hand and began to converse his opinion. "Escorting is both the safest and most dangerous mission. On your best day you get some steps in and converse with a potential new friend. On the worst day it is an ambush and you get attacked by many different potential people." The man would fold his arms and put his hands back into his sleeves.

Jiro was calm, cool, collected, but really didn't want to spend the entire time being alert. So he had decided to continue the conversation to kill some time. He was interested in the Mushroom Capped Girl, but didn't want to ask specifics about her qualifications or abilities. On the very very off chance someone was listening, it was important that everything would be left to utilizing the element of surprise. "So Shiun, have you traveled anywhere of note outside of the village?" Then after she answered he would rip out another question; "You said you don't use a sword? What kind of weapon do you prefer?" Minor and general questions to get the ball rolling. Maybe it was the nice morning air or just the amount of time they have, but Jiro was feeling his prime self at the moment.

[Golnax]

Shiun didn't really know what to make of Ginjiro's threat assessment of the mission. He was, however, older than she was, probably higher ranked, had a fancy heirloom sword and spoke in such a way that it seemed like he knew exactly what he was talking about. The Kinoko, young as she was, believed him emphatically, thinking to herself, 'That makes sense,' and giving it no more consideration than that. Either this was going to be one of the easiest missions She'd ever do, or they were going to get ambushed from all sides. At least the possibilities were easy to comprehend!

Hearing Ginjiro's question about if she'd been outside of Xancha she perked up, looking up to the man and smiling as she immediately recalled fond memories of the recent past. "Oh, yeah! I've been all over the place! Fire country, the Lightning Empire, Kumogakure, Konohagakure, Wind Country, Sunagakure, Earth Country, Water Country, Kirigakure," she listed off, holding up a finger for each major location she name dropped almost as casually as Ginjiro had declared this mission to be a cakewalk and/or a life threatening excursion! "Oh, and a lot of the countries in between I guess, but we didn't really stop at those. We took the train to most places!" she gasped excitedly, looking over at her older samurai companion. "Have you ever been on the train? It's amazing! And it's so scary! But it's great it goes so fast!"

Realizing that she skipped an important detail or two, Shiun backpaddled a bit and gathered her thoughts, clearing her throat first and, of course, mentally berating herself for being annoying. "I was part of this thing called the Pilot Program, you see. The academy in Xancha selected a handful of Akibushi samurai to do a tour to the five Great Nations as a... dip... diplomatic? Mission of good will," she explained, forgetting the word 'diplomatic' for a moment there. "We got to see lots of things and meet lots of people. I made a couple of friends along the way! It was great, for the most part..." She trailed off into silence as memories of some of the not-so-great things came rushing to her mind.

After a few moments of silence, the older samurai asked her another question and she once again perked up a bit. "Oh, I use Musu," she declared, holding up her right hand with the golden ring on it. She failed to mention that it could transform into a spear before reaching down to the butt bag on her waist and lifting the flap, rooting around in there for other examples of weaponry she used. "I've also gooooooooot, shuriken, kunai, some explosive tags, a couple of grenades, and some wire," the young Akibushi listed off, pulling half way out of the bag one of each item she listed off as she listed them to show off to her older samurai companion before closing the flap. "I'm also good at using ninjutsu and genjutsu! They taught it to us at the academy and I'm really good at genjutsu in particular! Just call me..."

Shiun stopped walking for a moment, instead jumping back, landing in a crouched horse stance and holding her hands up high, fingers splayed, one extended out in front of her while the other reached up over her head and off to the side (so it could still be seen past her mushroom cap!), a deep frown on her face and a serious look in her eye as she rolled her head around and whipped her long dreadlocks, declaring, "The Amethyst Deceiver!!"

Someone had seen a Kabuki performance recently! Once her little self-imposed title was dropped she stood up straight and jogged back to her position beside Ginjiro, feeling pretty good about herself in that particular moment. She felt like she really nailed the delivery of her cool title that she was definitely going to make stick, just wait and see!

[Texas]

Jiro watched over the purple capped warrior as she explained her entire experience so far. For a child, she really has been all over the world. This was an experience that not a lot of people got to do. It also was an experience he had hoped she realized would be incredible for her future. The man couldn't help but smile lightly as she excitedly explained everything. "Wow, the pilot program sounds like it was a one of dos good opportunity. Im glad ya took advantage of dat, you may nevah get an opportunity like dat again. I can't even tink of what kind of sights you saw!" Jiro was happy and excited he got paired up with the eager warrior next to him. The next generation looked promising, although he hadn't seen Shiun in action, her demeanor alone was great.

Jiro was confused by her weapon of choice. He had never seen a ring as a weapon. He listened to her and let her finish before asking a question. "Ahh you seem well rounded then, nice to have you on the team. At da moment I just can use my bloodline technique." The man looked at the carriage and then around the area. He would look over to Shiun again and continue talking. "What I don't understand... is that ring. Do ya throw it at people?" The confusion was valid, what did this ring do?!? Maybe he would see it operate in the future.

The man kept his hands crossed, hidden within his robes as they continued walking. However, Shiun stopped which caused Jiro to slow down his pace. "Hmmm The Amethyst Deceiver huh?" Jiro looked her dead in the eyes. His face was still, but quickly turned to a smile with an excited expression behind it. "I love dat, I am going to have to call you dat if we ever get into a situation dat dictates it."

As their chat continued, the carriage got to a check point. This checkpoint was a little odd, especially since it hit a fork in the road. For them to continue they had to interact with the two people standing there. Jiro motioned to Shiun with his head to follow him. If she did, they would both move around the carriage to the right to listen to what they were saying. He would bend his back a little and bend his knees to get to Shiun's level before whispering to her. "Lets listen in, stay alert. Ya can't trust anyone but da people ya know." An unfortunate lesson that his parents had taught him before they died. Even if the checkpoint was fine, it was important for the two to be on guard. Jiro would stiffen up his body and stand close to the carriage at an angle so he couldn't be seen, but he could hear.

[Golnax]

If the excitement from the young girl hadn't been palpable before, it was the moment that Ginjiro said he'd use her title at some point in the future! She beamed, grinning from ear to ear and pulling her fists up to her mouth to cover it as she let out an excited little squeal and turned back and forth on the spot! Hearing someone else commit to her chosen epitaph made her very happy. It felt validating, proof positive that not only did her nickname sound good in her head but it sounded good to other people as well. As they walked along Shiun impulsively held up her ringed right hand and opened her mouth to explain but caught herself, an instant and important realization coming over her. She couldn't exactly be called a deceiver if she willingly told the truth about stuff like Musu, right? Even if Ginjiro was an ally, where was all the fun if he just knew everything secret about her?

So Shiun curled her left hand up over her ring and held her hands down in front of her, pouting her lips and replying simply, "Maybe I do. A lady doesn't tell her secrets to just anyone!" The pair of them continued to talk and get to know one another, the young Kinoko growing more comfortable by the second, until the carriage came to a stop. "What's going on?" she asked, following Ginjiro's lead when he motioned for her to move around the side of the carriage. As he whispered to her she she looked at him with a puzzled expression, unsure about his words... but as she thought about them, she did feel that they made sense.

"Stay here, I've got an idea!" she said, turning and making her way to the back of the carriage and standing there as though to keep guard. In reality, though, Shiun began to channel chakra and caused a small bloom of tiny white mushrooms to emerge out of the ground underneath the coach seat of the carriage before bringing her hands together to form a quick string of seals and attach her sense of hearing to the mushrooms. Now she could spy in on what was being said while still being diligent from the rear! Her eyes moved back and forth, looking for any sign of trouble, while her ears eavesdropped on the conversation at the front of the carriage...

"... merchants and four samurai who are guarding them. We're headed north to Gold Country."

"You'll have to pass through an expanse of Wind Country to get there. Hope you're prepared for that. Bandits and rogue ninja are always looking for easy marks."

"We're quite sufficiently prepared to deal with anything nefarious. We don't expect any trouble along the way but are ready for it if it comes."

"I should hope so. We'll just need to quickly inspect the carriage and then you'll be on your way."

To herself Shiun let out a small sigh of relief. Looks like things were going smooth for the moment, but the mention of bandits and rogue shinobi had her a little bit unsettled. In her excitement, she hadn't really considered the possibility of running into such rogues until just now when it was pointed out to her. Ninja were cool and a point of fascination in her eyes... but she certainly hadn't forgotten all of the lessons at the academy going over how ruthless and deadly they were. Gulping down her anxiety, Shiun's fists clutched tighter into her palms as the two escorting samurai in the front and the checkpoint guards moved around to open up the carriage, look inside, peek underneath and in all other ways do their due diligence to make sure that nothing untoward was being shuttled.

Jutsu UsedShow

~Mushroom Genesis
D-ranked Ninjutsu
The user gathers chakra and sends it to a point within a number of meters equal to their Control stat in meters at a Speed of [Control]. From this point mushrooms grow at a Speed of [Control], covering an area of 1 meter in diameter. These mushrooms have a Strength of [Control] and are constantly creating spores. These mushrooms and spores can be used for other jutsu. The user cannot make these mushrooms grow on metal, stone, concrete or similar materials.

~Fungal Eavesdropping
D-ranked Ninjutsu
The user gathers chakra and sends it to an existing fungus within a number of meters equal to their Control stat in meters from them. From then on, up to 3 posts, the user can hear through this fungus as if it were their own ears allowing them to hear whatever is within the immediate area, able to hear as far as 5 meters away from the fungus.

[Texas]

It really seemed to be a checkpoint. After the guards looked inside, they came out and gave us the okay to continue forward. Jiro was cheery and happy as he smiled and waved at the checkpoint guards. The man turned over to Shiun who seemed a bit tense. Rightfully so. Like the drunk man had said, these missions could either be incredibly boring/simple, or they could be intense. Maybe he got carried away with informing the purple capped warrior, but if anything it was a good lesson to always be on your toes. In time, she would develop a way of keeping tense on the inside while eluding your normal personality on the outside. Overall the man was happy when they started moving and hoped that Shiun would relax a bit.

"Ahhh do ya see Shiun, da first checkpoint is down. Now we just have to bring dem to the other side of the country lines so the secondary team can take over. You ar doin a great job. Do ya have experience in combat or missions that require attention?"

The man was impressed by her reactions. Granted some might think it would be a little over done. But better to be overprepared than prepared on... some saying like that. The man smiled while leaving his arms, yet again, crossed in his sleeves. To Shiun and maybe outside people, he seemed incredibly relaxed and almost enjoying what they were doing. Yet, behind the red devilish eyes, Jiro was trying to keep tabs of their surroundings constantly. He was looking for the slightest obscurity that wouldn't be normal.

Since they had a little bit of time between the two, Jiro figured that he would ask another question once when she finished. He wanted to learn more about her and try to keep her slightly distracted so she didn't get too stressed about the mission.

"Ya see dis ting?" Jiro would use his eyes to point to the sword on his belt as he slightly lifted up his folded arms. He would then look at her and put his arms back in their resting place while he continued. "Maybe after dis mission, you could help me learn how to use it properly. I am used to using my body instead of outside weapons." The man was interested if she would be keen enough to pick up on his subtle hint about his technique. However, if she had no clue who the Kisama were, then it wouldn't be too outlandish for her to have no idea. "What do ya tink Shiun, would you help?"

[Golnax]

The carriage got rolling again once they were past the checkpoint and both Shiun and Jiro were walking beside each other. With the older samurai beside her and the knowledge that the first checkpoint had gone smoothly, she did relax a little bit since she didn't feel the need to be as diligent. The young Kinoko looked over to the taller man and smiled warmly. She felt her confidence bolstered a little by his compliment! "Thanks, Jiro-san! And, uh, no, not really. I've never been in an actual combat situation yet... well, I mean, at least not alone. Does sparring count? I've sparred before," she clarified, thinking back to the time that she and Suzuko had sparred with Gojo watching over them. It had ended in a tie from what she remembered! Real combat wouldn't be like that though...

She trailed off again and turned away from her fellow samurai, feeling a bit dejected about this being her first mission. Maybe the merchants were right! Maybe it wasn't a good idea to have someone as young and inexperienced as her on a mission that could devolve into a fight...! What if she had to defend herself? Or the merchants? What if she had to kill someone? The dark skinned young woman was saved from spiraling any further into crippling doubt when Jiro drew her attention back over to her and his sword.

"Oh! Uh, well, I'd love to help you train! Except, well, I'm not really any good with a sword. I use a spear," she explained, possibly confusing the man since, by all appearances, she didn't have a spear on her, and she neglected to mention that she was wearing it on her finger. "But I know what you mean about close quarters combat! I use Kugapou taijutsu and Drunken Fist, what about you, Jiro-san?" she asked, wondering what kind of fighting style her senior would be into. Probably something manly like Bonebreaker or Strong Fist, she assumed...