[Plotboard] Escort business

[Legacy]

After a painstakingly long deployment in Waterfall country Gene took great relief that his latest assignment kept him close to home. Unlike the treacherous terrain and poisonous - everything, Fire country was a completely different environment painted with incredibly tall trees that spanned further than the eye could see above ground; the air was fresh(something Gene never realized he cared about until spending an entire afternoon crossing through swampland and animal conclaves), most of the natural fruits and plants were safe to eat and so much more. Despite having grown up in these lands Gene believed that he would never grow tired of living within the country, there truly was no place like home.

As he walked briskly along the beaten path, his silk-black cloak ruffling with each forward step. Gene yawned, bringing his right hand up just an inch away from his lips and then with the same hand, dug into his rear Item pouch and pulled out a book. He knew the story, the twists and turns, the many character points...but he would read the book anyway. Cloud of Sparrows hadn't yet released a sequel available to Konoha but with any luck, Gene hoped that he might have been able to pick up a fresh copy of a newer book along the way. If he didn't wind up getting one on his way back to the village. Keeping up with reading these days was a chore but with the latest Genin troupe being assigned to him flunking out of the program he figured that a whole lot of time would open up down the line. In a way though...it was disheartening for the generation of graduates after him to be so unmotivated. Would the Hokage come around to making leaps in Konoha's academic program, or would things just be left as they were? Only time could really tell; for now, Gene cut his focus down to the fine points of his mission and reviewed the details even as he strolled along in his his head.

According to the Yellow colored scroll kept secure in the top right snap pocket of his Flak vest, Gene was supposed to be heading North through Fire country near the Great divide in order to meet up with a couple of merchants looking to trade their goods and then escort them safely to the southern hemisphere where another guard detail would handle the rest; all in all, it was a pretty simple mission and little interference between the rendezvous points had been expected but Gene was prepared all the same. In the event of conflict, he had already reasoned that it would be more than wise to split the guard detail between clones - securing the merchants first, their goods second and neutralizing the enemy - whoever that may have been, last. The fact that his rough strategy was interchangeable with potential problems to come gave the Cloud watcher wiggle room and ensured that in the event that a situation called for it, he could adjust on the drop of a dime. After all, damaged goods were no good at all and goods without a merchant to sell them were also useless if the country at large couldn't profit in some way, keeping the natural order of things.

"Turning to face the scantily clad woman Rikimaru couldn't believe himself. All of the emotions that he couldn't find the words for found themselves creeping toward the surface and in the end, he couldn't resist enveloping her within his firm grasp." While Gene read from a chapter in Cloud of Sparrows another traveler happened to be passing by and happened to overhear the boy reading. immediately, the travelers cheeks flushed a deep red and the thought had crossed their mind that perhaps books in today's day and age were just...more explicit than those of the olden days. Despite not even a sliver of a word being uttered, the interaction was interesting because Gene's own inability to recognize certain social norms had been brought to light. He was still just a young child after all. Still reading contently, Gene acknowledged the shift from lush deep green forestation to light snow covered grounds and trees. Making the trip from Konoha, a village quite literally established in the center of a labyrinth of a forest, to the Northern region of the countryside had not taken all that long and for a while Gene believed that he could wrap this mission up in the same day's time.

Sure, Gene would have liked to return home within the same twenty-four hours of his dispatchment but that hadn't exactly been up to him. The state of his employer was still a mystery after all and for all Gene knew, the merchant could have been one of those incredibly tragic cases of poor health which....wouldn't have helped the mission. Were they female, male? Young or old? Gene's curiosity ran amuck as he continued trekking through the snow-filled grasslands. There's no doubt about it - the combined efforts of Hidden Leaf Shinobi and the political social class of Fire country have kept the peace for many decades now, Hi no kuni is...really unlike any other country in the world. Thought with a measure of acceptance, Gene enjoyed this time that he had to himself. Even though he'd been a ways out from the village the feeling of safety hadn't faded from his nerves; just to think, not so long ago these routes weren't even safe regular Shinobi and now...."This peace is calming." Coming up on a small hill Gene hiked onwards alternating between spells of fascination with nature and intensive reading to pass the time as he continued on. Fortunately, his body and mind were disciplined to optimal levels allowing him to stave off the feeling of sore feet even now. As he cleared the hill the cloaked young man made out a sea of Torch lights in the distance - according to the reports his contact would be waiting at one of the vending locations on the edge of town and through an intricate network of underworld communications, the message would be passed that their escort had arrived.

For the most part, the towns folk were as Gene imagined they would be. Friendly and budding with life just like their neighboring villages - but everything wasn't smiles and rainbows. While Gene waited for his contact to arrive, he had the unfortunate pleasure of witnessing a domestic dispute between a young couple. They were much older than himself but Gene realized that they had not learned how to communicate with one another as the woman screamed and shouted while the man shouted just as loud in an attempt to get his point across. Eventually, after some deliberation Gene approached the two and quelled the situation simply by listening to both sides and offering feedback where necessary. In the end, he'd been able to resolve the problem.


Well, I'm here. I guess the only thing I can do now is wait it out. Thought Gene to himself, he had arrived in Northern Fire country in a little under two hours and there was an even longer journey ahead crossing back through the countryside into the Southern Hemisphere. He hadn't quite decided yet if it would have been more efficient to take a boat up the river through to Tea country's peninsula; the forests provided natural cover from potential hunters and he could navigate it easily enough but a trip by boat would mitigate the effects of fatigue induced from a long journey. Then again...suppose those were variable dependant on just how much cargo was being moved and how that move would be taking place. If the goods were sealed into a scroll then he'd carry the item himself in order to ensure that no thieves got the chance to steal it before they group reached their destination - otherwise, he already had an established perimeter system to go on. As luck would have it, Gene's training in formation building and tactical planning would serve him now in the best of ways. By planning before the mission officially got under way he believed that the success ratio had been increased substantially, this was one task that he had in the bag.

"Oh! That headband! You must be from the Hidden leaf." Gene fixed his eyes to the direction where the voice had come from but the sun beaming down at his right side imposed a glare that he couldn't get rid of. Still, the person continued. "As always, the Hidden Leaf village is very expedient in its assignment of Shinobi, I take it you are here on a mission?" Well well, apparently the wait was over. Slowly, Gene raised his hands up to the black hood covering everything about his head aside from the headband (and his eyes) and pulled it back only slightly. "Hm? Gene didn't recognize the person as the one contracted him and his eyes narrowed, "Something like that." For the sake of the assignment and the safety of the contractor Gene would indulge in no conversations pertaining to his mission just in case there was someone with motive enough to compromise the transport. Besides, he had never really been fan of small talk. After a round of questioning that went nowhere the stranger decided to take his show on the road leaving Gene to "read" Cloud of Sparrows while he waited for the contractor to show themselves. Admittedly, because he had read Cloud of sparrows so many times Gene had mainly been using it as a cover up to gather information on his surroundings, projecting the illusion of reading harmlessly while eavesdropping whenever something interesting caught his ear. From this alone, he'd gathered that there was some kind of small celebration taking place in honor of the Retired Samurai & Veteran Ronin who'd served the Feudal Lord in the past.

Naturally, Gene knew little of the inner workings of a caste system but nonetheless, he found the displays of swordsmanship and discipline just as entertaining as one of the locals. At some point during the commotion, he spoke with one of the lead coordinators for Konoha.Fire Country dealings which gave Gene an update on the status of his client. Apparently, troubles in paradise made for quite the delay but aside from that, everything should have progressed according to schedule. It wouldn't be long now; they'd be on their way and Gene would get the opportunity to make some easy money as well as help the economy overall by protecting its trade routes and traders. But would things remain tranquil as they have been during the journey? As he waited, Gene considered a list of worst case scenarios from Natural disasters and animal Attacks to bandit ambushes and the most troubling, Shinobi against Shinobi contact. In each scenario however, Gene always made sure to prioritize the safety of the people under his protection - if he could help it, no one would be hurt under his watch. But that was the thing...Could Gene really control such a thing?


Find out in the next chapter!