[Mission] Back to school supplies at macys!

[CDF]

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It was a regular day in iwa. The temperature was no different than normal, maintaining it’s not too hot but not too cold pattern. The sun hadn’t peaked just yet, so it was colder than it was warmer, but not by much.

Kids reluctantly rolled out of bed and went through the painstaking process of getting ready for school where they’d experience the same crap as the day before. An incredibly dull daily cycle that was enough to break the will power of any energy loaded student.

Today, there was something at least slightly intriguing. A new student,, something that didn’t happen often. He looked a little older than most of the students, but not by much. If the new student were to arrive on time, the teacher would ask him to stand at the front of the room so the whole class could see him.

“You see children? Just because you graduate does not mean you can slack off. Hurn-chan over here was a genin, but he was lazy and didn’t do any missions correctly, so now he has to come back to school. So remember that when you all graduate, unless you love staying in school that much.”

The teachers tone was aggravatingly condescending, but it was persuasive to the other students. Not even her way of selling it, but more just the very idea of having to come back to school was enough to frighten them silly.

The teacher had just explained the reason Tobi was switched into school, or at least the story she had been told and Tobi was expected to stick to. Now the whole class, including the target, awaited Tobi’s introduction with boredom. The target in question was least interested, keeping his head down in the very back corner of the room, only lifting It occasionally to glance at the front of the room.

[Mortalvis]

Within his cornucopia of emotional and social problems, Tobi had a very low tolerance to being picked out and ridiculed in front of people. His penalization, of course, was all an act on the teacher's part, but the rosiness of the genin's cheeks and the nervous sweat dotting his brow were all too real.

Nervously, Tobi bowed his head to his classmates-for-a-day, and put on a wavering smile.

"H-hello, I'm Tobika... Tobi for short. N-nice to meet you all, heh..." Giving the others a halfhearted wave, Tobi scanned the group for the child he was assigned to befriend. Behind the dark lenses of his goggles, Tobi's eyes settled on a boy at the back of the room, who clearly looked uninterested in the happenings around him.

'Why did they choose me for this...? I suck at making friends...' he whined inwardly. However, that was the least of his problems right now; his knees felt weak enough to give out on him at any second, and he looked to the teacher in desperation.

"May I sit down now, Sensei?" Tobi inquired, suspecting that he would be directed to a seat near the target.

[CDF]

The teacher nodded at the new student and pointed at the seat of a previous student who was mysteriously transferred to another class just yesterday. It was a seat that nobody volunteered to fill, seeing as it was right beside the student they all seemed to avoid.

With the formalities over, the teacher turned to her desk and began pulling out some papers as the class settled down. Nobody bothered to say hello to the new student, they were a rather depressed bunch. The monotony of their daily lives could be seen in their completely emotionless facial expressions.

The boy who the new student was placed beside was different. He was gloomy like the others, but he looked sad as well. His head was down the majority of the time, even when the teacher began the lessons. He would look up once in a while, write some notes, and then put his head back down.

He only glanced at the new student once, about 10 minutes into the class, finally giving the new student a good look at his face.

The boy had messy dark brown hair that matched his dark brown eyes. He had white skin that was littered with freckles on his face, thin lips, small nose and had a very immature appearance which is common in boys his age.

His clothes were rather beat up. They seemed to have stitches all over the place and they gave off a slight odor that wasn’t very pleasant. They were dull brown clothing that consisted of just a t-shirt and shorts.

[Mortalvis]

Swallowing heavily, Tobi knew that he had to make some sort of verbal contact with his target. It wasn't one of his strong points, but for the sake of things running smoothly, he would have to step outside of his comfort zone and talk to the boy.

The sadness that seemed to radiate from the child reminded Tobi too much of himself when he was still in school. As empathy gripped him, he couldn't help but gulp down his nervousness and say something.

"Hey, uh... I kind of missed the first lesson on what we're doing now... if it's not too much trouble, could you maybe fill me in?" Although it wouldn't matter in the end, he figured that being on an at-hand topic would help him break the ice. If he asked anything too personal, or even started by asking the boy's name, it knew that he would be coming on too strongly.

The child looked sullen enough as it was; Tobi didn't want to cause anymore unrest for him, and not even for the sake of the mission. He already felt a slight bond--be it through empathy or something else--to the other boy, and Tobi had a kindness in his heart that wanted to help him whether it got him through the mission or not.

Putting on a genuine smile, he waited to see the boy's reply, despite his sinking hopes that he might be ignored.

[CDF]

The boy ignored the voice at first, but when he realized it sounded like it was directed at him, he looked up with surprise. Despite knowing nobody was around him, just out of pure reflex, he looked around to see if the new kid was talking to somebody else. When he finally believed that he was the target of the boys question, he blushed a little and stammered as he replied nervously.

“Um… Yea… sure. We’re uh… learning the um… the basic jutsu.. We learned henge, but that’s all. It’s pretty easy. I’m actually really good at it, teacher said I was the best in the class. But I wish he hadn’t said that because it made some people angry. But yea. You haven’t missed much.” The boy started out very nervous at first, then began rambling and becoming more excited in his speech, but he caught himself in the end and ended the conversation, not wanting to freak out the only person who didn’t avoid him like the plague.

The boy seemed happier now. He paid more attention to the assignment and sat straight in his desk, a hint of a grin on his face. He had just realized that there was a new kid in school, somebody who hadn’t been tainted by the corrupt ideas his classmates had about him. How very interesting.

[Mortalvis]

It wasn't much, but it made Tobi smile a little wider too. In school, he was not unlike this other boy. When spoken to, he had to make sure that he was being talked to and not someone else before he would mutter a word. Most of the time, it wasn't someone talking to him; most of his classmates didn't even know his name.

Welling with something he didn't feel very often, Tobi turned back to his own notes. The feeling of brightening another person's mood was indescribable. Target? No, this boy wasn't a target anymore--he was a victim of the same abandonment that Tobi knew all too well. Believing that, Tobi could hardly wait until the class was over so that he could build upon the foundation he had just crafted.

'Who knew helping someone could feel so good,' he mused as he doodled aimlessly in his notes.

[CDF]

The boy remained quiet for the remainder of the class. He wanted to speak to his neighbor so badly, but he was afraid he’d scare the kid away, and he really didn’t want that. He couldn’t remember the last time he was this excited and nervous at the same time.

So he waited. He knew it would be lunch time soon, and if lunch was like it always was, there would be limited choices for where the new guy could sit. Maybe the boy could subtly bring him over to sit with him and his table.

His first assumption was spot on. Once the bell rang for lunch and all the students funneled into the cafeteria, immediately joining their social Niche and choosing a table as their habitat. They were all rather cheery and excited, all except one table. A small table in the back with just three kids and a lot of empty chairs. All three of them obviously had special condition. Two of them had Down syndrome and one looked a little off, maybe autistic. That was the boys table.

As they walked to the cafeteria, the boy finally built up the courage to speak up to the new potential friend. “Want to sit at our table?” His voice betrayed him, sounding hopeful instead of casual like he was attempting. Of course, he immediately brushed and put his head down a little, so his face wouldn’t be seen in case he was rejected.

[Mortalvis]

As he entered the cafeteria, Tobi was doing the same thing the other boy was doing: trying to gather the courage to say something.

Much to Tobi's luck, his potential friend spoke up first, and the genin actually felt excited to be asked to sit with someone. In his days at the academy, he sat alone more often than he'd like to admit; never once was he asked to join anyone. If he wanted to sit with someone else, he had to be the one to ask, and that never quite worked out for him. As such, having the troubled boy invite him to sit at a table with him was a simple, feel-good event that Tobi would not forget about anytime soon.

"Yeah, sure, Tobi replied, hoping to some higher power that he could withhold all of his nervous habits. He didn't want to ruin this.

"Uh... by the way, I'm Tobi... oh, wait, you probably already knew that from earlier..." Mentally slapping himself, he put on an uneasy smile. He was so going to screw this up one way or another.

[CDF]

The boy kept his head tilted downwards with embarrassment, not wanting his new friend to see his beaming smile. Oh god… his new friend? His smile grew tenfold as he repeated the words in his head. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a normal friend, no offense to his other friends, of course.

Speaking of, they had just arrived at the table when Tobi re-introduced himself. The reminder that he hadn’t said his name yet caused the boy to become a little flustered, embarrassed that he had completely forgotten. He wasn’t used to having to introduce himself, or at least, not to anybody that cared.

“I can’t believe I forgot! My name’s Akanto Waranabe.” The proper thing to do might have been to shake the boys hand, but he couldn’t raise the courage to do so. Instead, he turned to the friends sitting at the table, pointing at the boy with down syndrome. “This is Zaigo, that’s Zaiga” The boy now looked at the girl that was sitting there with down syndrome as he said her name before looking at the last boy. “And that’s…. nobody knows his name, but we call him Ranpu because he always looks at the light.”

Now that Akanto mentioned it, Ranpu was actually staring up into the light. As for Zaiga and Zaigo, upon hearing their names, they had very different reactions. Zaigo ignored it entirely, simply eating the sandwich in his lunchbox, paying it the full attention a delicious sandwich deserves. Zaiga, who seemed to have a stronger case of the mental illness, smiled wide and looked up with a slight awe. Her tongue was stuck out a little as she looked up or.. did anything for that matter, almost like she couldn’t control it all that well. She spoke just fine though, slurring only slightly. “HELLO! I’M ZAIGA, THAT’S MY BROTHER ZAIGO. WE’RE TWINS. I’M ZAIGA, AND HE’S ZAIGO. Haha, zaigo and zaiga.” She was obnoxiously loud, and apparently didn’t have much of an attention span. Once she finished her blurt, she returned to her lunch as well, giving it the same intensity as her brother gave his. They sure seemed to enjoy food. Ranpu looked down at the new comer with an uninterested look, opening his mouth but not saying anything. After thinking about it for a few minutes, he finally forced out, “Hi.”, before looking back up at the ceiling.

Akanto smiled at them, he didn’t seem to be embarrassed because of them as he sat down, pulling out his brown paper bag that had his lunch inside of it, definitely more cheery than usual.

[Mortalvis]

It was a good thing that Tobi was a saint, or this would be an incredibly awkward situation. The genin smiled and made himself at home at the table. He pulled out as his lunch as he began to address the others with a surprising lack of shyness.

"Nice to meet you all," Tobi mentioned, but it looked as though Zaigo and Zaiga had turned their attention to their lunch, and Ranpu was off in his own world again. It made his smile waver and he shrunk back in his seat as his social awkwardness gripped hold of him again.

Leaning closer to Akanto, Tobi inquired, "So... have you always lived in Iwa?" He knew the boy's situation from his mission briefing, but he wanted to hear it from Akanto himself. A piece of paper wasn't going to give him the reality of the situation. What he feared, however, was that he was going to strike a nerve and things were going to deteriorate from there.

It worried him more than failing the mission; helping Akanto meant everything to him right now. Then again, Tobi had this unexplainable desire to help someone after he's gotten to know them, which was rooted deep in his own emotional complexes. At the same time, those complexes were what allowed him to empathize with troubled spirits and those that just needed a smile and someone to talk to. Tobi reflected on the many times when that would have been more than enough for him on a rough day...

"I-I mean, I'm not really the most observant person, but normally I recognize faces at least..." he mumbled on afterward, trying to cushion the poor choice of small talk that he posed before.

[CDF]

Akanto blushed at the question, looking down with embarrassment as he tried to spit out a reply. He wasn’t used to being asked information about his personal life, people didn’t usually care. Not only that, bue he was just uncomfortable with dishing it out as well.

He took a while to bring the words out, and he seemed to think about them before actually saying it as well, as if being careful with what he said. “Yea, I uh… I just never got out much. My u-dad and I lived alone for majority of the time, I only started going out to go to school.”

Zaiga scoffed loudly and shouted out accusingly. “LIIIAAAAR! YOU’RE LYING ABOUT SOMETHING! LIAR LIAR LIAR LIAR LIAR LIAR LAIR LIAR LIAR. Hahahahaha.” She was surprisingly perceptive, but she dropped the topic quickly, returning to her food as it sadly disappeared into her stomach.

Akanto blushed even more at being accused of lying, he obviously didn’t like having to do it. He didn’t have the courage to admit that he had lied to his new friend though, so he remained quiet, allowing an awkward silence to fall over them, only the sound of the twins eating filled the air.

[Mortalvis]

The genin already knew Akanto was lying, although it didn't stop it from hurting his feelings a little. He understood that it was a touchy subject, and he hoped that the boy would be more willing to share after school when they could be alone.

Tobi eyed Zaiga for a moment. She was keen although her attention span was short. He wasn't sure if it was because of the way Akanto had stumbled over his words or if it was because she knew that truth that brought her to accuse him of lying. He'd keep it in mind.

"Huh, that so? I was kind of like that. Neither of my parents are ninjas... but my mom promised my grandfather that she'd enroll me. I probably wouldn't be a ninja if not for that... it kind of sucks being forced to do things, huh?" Although his words were truthful, his choice was purely to try and bring more about Akanto into the light. He knew he couldn't help the boy unless he understood what was going on.

[CDF]

Akanto blushed a deep crimson as he kept his eyes down with shame. He hated lying to his new friend, he hated that he had to lie to his new friend. … His new friend. Even the words brought hope to him, and when Tobi replied as if nothing was different, Akanto smiled even more.

Only after a second did he realize the sadness in the statement Tobi had made and fix his expression to have a concerned look. “I’m sorry you were forced into this, but I’m glad I got to meet you though, Tobi-san.” Akanto blurted out finally with a smile.

As Akanto’s cheeks burned with embarrassment at what he said, the hairs on his neck prickled as he smelled a familiar scent. Cheap cologne. “Hey, Newbie. Step away from that thing right now, you might have already been infected, but we can keep you in quarantine, maybe the symptoms won’t show. We sure hope not, last time we got a new kid that spoke to Akanto here, we had an outbreak of stupidity syndrome.” The snide voice belonged to a tall, blond and rather handsome boy. He had to be at least tobi’s age, probably kept back a few years. He looked pretty toned, unlike the smaller, younger group of followers that seemed to laugh at his every word.

Akanto frowned and turned, looking down with shame.

[Mortalvis]

Dread welled up in Tobi's chest. This is not what he had planned on happening. To each weak, insecure person there was a guy like this to make sure they stayed that way. In school, Tobi managed to avoid having a personal bully because he dodged just about everyone, good or bad. He saw it all the time though: kids getting desolated for the most superficial things. He had always wished he was strong enough to step up and tell them off, but he could never bring himself to get anywhere near those situations. Now he was about to be in the middle of one.

'What do I do, what do I do,' he panicked. It took but one, good look at Akanto's shamed withdrawl to answer that.

Swallowing back his own weakness, Tobi sharpened his tongue and took the dive.

"I have a better chance of catching it if you keep on talking to me," he replied with convincing firmness. He turned to look at the blond boy, showing little expression. It was so unlike him that, inside, he was scared of what he had just done.

[CDF]

Akanto’s jaw dropped as Tobi stood up to the bully for the both of them. Standing up to these guys was never even an option Akanto considered, it would surely result in a beating. Akanto really didn’t like being beaten, so even though he was impressed with his companions behavior, he was also very worried.

He attempted to tug at Tobi’s clothing, gesturing for him to sit down and ignore them, but he was so nervous he wouldn’t be surprised if his tugs were so weak that Tobi wouldn’t even notice. Either way, it wouldn’t be needed.

The bullies looked with wonder at the new kid, stopping their laughter abruptly with shock. Nobody ever really stood up to them before…. Ever. Being the largest kid in school, there wasn’t much opposition to his oppression, the boy had no idea how to respond.

Not wanting to look weak in front of his followers, but not wanting to fight in school either, the boy did what he thought would look the best. “Pfft. Look at this little punk, you think you’re witty? Just you wait. When you least expect it, I’ll show what you can really catch from me. A nice hard beating.” His followers were unsure of whether or not they were supposed to laugh or cheer or what, as the boy turned and began to walk away. They were all rather stunned by the whole event and seemed glad enough to have a reason to leave, so they did.

This left Akanto in awe, staring up at Tobi with admiration. “That was amazing! You’re so cool! I hate those guys. One day…. One day… they’ll pay. They’ll regret picking on the weak.” A dark look came over Akanto as he spoke the last part of his sentence, his tone growing grim and rather frightening and unlike him. It seemed like it really was possible that Akanto was a traitor.

[Mortalvis]

Tobi swelled with a pride that he hadn't felt before, and the smile that crept onto his face would be hard to remove. It helped that he had little worry of them coming back, and Akanto's praise soon afterward left Tobi glowing with confidence. If he had been anymore bloated with satisfaction, Akanto's remarks might have slipped under his radar, but he was paying enough attention to realize that there was something out of place suddenly.

"Heh, thanks. I just hope they don't come back to bug you anytime soon," he said, smiling at his young friend. Although he wished to bask in what had just occurred, Tobi knew it was time to deal with the real problem, and that wasn't the bullies.

"Uh... Akanto? Wanna take a walk?" the genin proposed, hoping that it would be enough to lure the other boy into private. Tobi would have a better chance at getting the facts if there weren't witnesses to what was to be said.

[CDF]

The look remained as Akanto absent mindedly nodded and followed after Tobi. All the while, he kept a sharp gaze on his bullies, watching sinisterly as they smiled. “They smile at embarrassing the weak, Tobi-san. You see? These damn bullies. One day, they’ll get what they deserve. All of them. Then people like me and you won’t have to suffer tobi-san, it’ll be a great day.”

The boy seemed out of it, speaking as if he had rehearsed this speech, or heard it many times before and was simply repeating it. It looked like he honestly believed it, however. The passion burning in his eyes was evident.

[Mortalvis]

Gently, Tobi grasped Akanto's arm to lead him along to somewhere private. Once he was sure that there wasn't anyone around to hear him, he stopped his friend and turned to face him.

"Akanto... is there anything, um... anything you want to tell me?" Tobi flinched. He knew he had approached the situation poorly. All he had was the hope that the boy trusted him enough to elaborate. So far, he had been rather openly communicating how he felt about the oppression of the weak. The truth couldn't be too much deeper.

"I want you to trust me. I'm your friend... and I'm worried about you. Please don't hide anything from me..." After cushioning his initial question, he stared intently at Akanto, hoping that he understood the situation.

[CDF]

Akanto was shocked to silence for a brief second. He wasn’t really shocked, but he was in such a confrontational and sadistic state of mind that hearing Tobi’s gentle voice was violently distracting. It seemed to be enough to get him to at least partially snap out of it, enough to realize the mistake he had made.

He looked nervous now, the fire gone from his eyes as quickly as it appeared. He looked down as Tobi spoke to him, not wanting to meet his eyes in fear of saying all that he was thinking. He felt horrible now. If he said it was nothing, Tobi would know he was lying, and Akanto would lose his only friend so quickly after meeting him.

But if he did tell… bad things could happen.

“It’s nothing Tobi-kun. I mean… I don’t want to lie to you, but, I just… I can’t.. I can’t say, ok? But don’t worry, I’m fine. Just uh.., stay with me and nothing bad will happen to you like it will to everyone else.” As the words left his mouth, he winced with regret. He just let something slip again. This was going to get bad, he could tell.

[Mortalvis]

Tobi pushed up his goggles and looked at Akanto without the distortion of their black lenses.

"No, Akanto. You're my friend, but Iwagakure is my village. My home. You're both important... but if one threatens the other, I can't stand by and let that happen. Akanto, please... this isn't a time to keep secrets."

Although Tobi hadn't meant to get so emotional, he had this strange feeling gripping him tightly. This was the first time he had ever felt total loyalty to his village. He was loyal before, of course, but he saw it as something that came with the ninja training. It was odd, but at that moment, he would have risked his friendship with the boy to protect Iwagakure.

[CDF]

Akanto looked both frightened and hurt. He was hurt at the implication that his new friend would choose his village over him, but he was mostly frightened at what was about to happen. Either akanto was done for, or his new, best friend would die.

“Don’t you understand? It’s this village that hurts me. Us. You saw that bully at school? Do you think he’s ever punished for being a bully? He isn’t, he’s ignored by teachers because they find it a good strengthening for the weaker students. My friends at lunch? Why do you think mentally disabled children would be at a shinobi academy. It’s not for self protection, I’ll tell you that, it’s for dumber, more obedient soldiers. This village is evil, Tobi-kun. People like you and me, we can’t be here when my uncle purges it. We, the good people, have to get out of here and let good triumph over evil. Please, Tobi-kun, just, stay out of the way and you won’t have to be hurt. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Akanto had become so engrossed in feeling during his speech that he didn’t even realize he had let slip the mention of his uncle. In fact, he didn’t even realize after he said it, he just looked very emotional and concerned for his new friend.

[Mortalvis]

Tobi had gotten the information that was necessary, but he was so lost in this hopeless mess that he didn't care. It scared the genin to think that his new friend was fully aware of what he was doing. There was no doubt that the boy's uncle likely had something to do with Akanto's thinking, but it was up to Tobi to at least try to talk him down.

"I..." Tobi began, desperately looking for the right words to say. "I-...H-Have you really been this far brainwashed? Do you really believe that Iwagakure is evil?"

His gaze dropped to his feet and he stood quietly for a moment. He couldn't quite grasp the situation. It made his heartbeat race and his head spin, and there was no way he could find the right words to turn this mess around. Only one thing came to his mind.

"I-If that's how it's going to be, you're going to have to kill me too, Akanto," Tobi uttered, his voice shaking. It frightened him to say it, because he knew that Akanto's passion for this calling was likely stronger than the friendship they had formed.

"But... that's not how it's going to be. Akanto... I'm going to turn you in. I-I just can't let you do this."

[CDF]

Akanto held his breath as Tobi spoke. It was all he could do to stop himself from crying, and even then, his eyes were beginning to swell. He knew he had just made a huge mistake in telling tobi, and now he had no idea what was going to happen.

What were his choices? Lie to tobi? Try to convince him to stay? Kill him? There was only one option Akanto could agree with. He might even be ok with lying, if he wasn’t so bad it, but he’d never kill Tobi. Or anyone for that matter.

“Please tobi-kun, I’m begging you. You’re my only friend, I wouldn’t have told you this if you weren’t. Please don’t say anything, think of it as a clean up of the village. Please tobi-kun, I don’t want you to get hurt. Don’t you see how evil the village is? I haven’t been brainwashed, I’ve been cleansed, like the village will be. Please tobi-kun. Just… please.”

[Mortalvis]

"No, Akanto. What you're doing is evil," Tobi replied softly, holding back tears of his own. He knew that his friend wouldn't see why, but Tobi couldn't take it anymore. He stepped forward and reached out to grasp Akanto's arm.

"If you want this so badly... if you want to cleanse the village so badly... why can't you bring yourself to kill me? I'm the only thing standing in your way right now. I'm the only one that knows about your plans... and I'm not leaving this village. So are you... are you going to leave me for your uncle to kill?" He kept his gaze firmly resting on Akanto's reddening eyes.

"D-Don't make me do this Akanto. I've got to turn you in. T-That's the only way this will end."

[CDF]

Akanto clenched his fists, pain shooting through as his nails dug into his palms. His neck bulged as he kept it constricted, attempting to control the lump he felt. His eyes were already swollen, as if full of tears ready to overflow. He was more conflicted than he ever had been before.

He understood that he'd only been friends with tobi for at most, three hours. Still, Tobi was his only friend, and even if he wasn't, he was geniuenly a good person. If tobi said it was evil, odds are, it was. If tobi left now, his uncle would kill him, and killing a good person is evil, so Akanto understood that as well.

But... his uncle. His uncle took care of him, trained him, gave him shelter when nobody else would. How could he betray him?

But... how could he kill tobi?

He couldn't. He couldn't do it. The only reason his uncles plan was working was because Akanto wouldn't have to do anything, he could never muster up the courage to actually kill somebody. Much less somebody he knew was a good person, a friend.

In his frustration, tears streamed down his face and he actually drew blood from his lip from biting down so hard. While still clenching his teeth, he spit out a muffled, "Leave. Hurry before you're too late."

[Mortalvis]

Although that had been his cue to leave and report Akanto to the village officials, Tobi's feet would not budge. With his gaze so firmly fixated on Akanto and his stomach seizing to the point of illness, he had to question whether or not he could go through with this. To turn in a heartless criminal was one thing... but Akanto was his friend. Had Tobi known that a simple quest to befriend a suspected traitor would turn into such a cataclysm of emotion, he would have wished he was heartless. But no, he was governed by his feelings, and moreover by right and wrong... and thus, he knew what had to be done.

A tear rolled down Tobi's cheek as he turned away from Akanto.

"If only things had been different, right...?" he said, wiping away his tears. "See you, Akanto..."