Guard Duty <^>Mission<^>

[GunStar]

Name: Guard duty
Rank: "D"
IIC Length: ---
Difficulty: Easy
Objective: Spend some time at the Gates, patrolling in the cold, and making sure no enemies enter the village without permission.
Description: My cousin is out fighting dragons, and what do I get? Guard duty. The person who takes this mission is the lowest level guard at the village gates. It is not their job to confront an enemy who arrives, but to head back to the Kage Tower, where they will inform the guards there, so the village can mobilize its forces, and drive out the enemy. With the Leaf village being so hostile, this duty is more important than ever. This task is not being funded by the village; several wealthy businessman within the city have decided that they are not happy with the existing guard detail, and so will pay a handsome fee to increase that.
Reward: 5,000 Ryo.

Kira slept peacefully, his light snoring a personal annoyance to his sister who was sitting directly next to him. They were both at the entrance to the village gates, doing their best to stay warm. Kira had fallen asleep shortly after they he had sat down in the station, resting his head on the old wooden table in front of them. He had been sleeping ever since. Harumi glanced over at her brother, wondering what it was exactly that made him so tired. It was almost as if he didn't sleep during the night. His exhaustion was so palpable that he even decided to let Harumi be in control as they made their way to the gates. For Harumi to allow her brother to be a guest in her body was rare, especially since he always wanted to carry her around like a backpack instead of the other way around.

Kira's snoring grew louder, until Harumi reached out and slapped him stiffly on the back of the head. Kira immediately sprang up, knocking his seat down behind him.
"What the hell?" He asked Harumi, rubbing the back of his head. Harumi cocked an eyebrow towards her brother, her face serious.
"What happened?" She asked her brother. He stared at his sister for a moment before picking up his chair and siting back down in it.
"You know, they execute you on the spot for sleeping during guard duty." Kira didn't even acknowledge his sister's comment.
"Is there anything to eat?" Kira asked, his stomach growling.

"Nope." Harumi responded as she inspected the ID of a civilian entering the village. She stamped an approval seal on a small paper and handed it to the man. "You're clear to go." She told the older gentleman.
"Thank you.." He responded in a light, wispy voice. Kira's head snapped up towards the gentleman when he heard the voice, but the man was already walking away at a brisk pace and the only thing visible of him through the crowd was the back of his head.
"You should've ate before we left, or packed something to eat like I told you." Harumi said to her brother, bringing his attention back to the gate duty.
"Yeah, but I wasn't hungry...." His stomach growled loudly in response to the revelation.

Harumi dug into a small plastic bag by her feet and pulled out a large sandwich.
"It's alright Kira, I made something for you." Kira looked at the sandwich with watery eyes and a wide smile.
"Thanks Umi!" He grabbed his sister and planted a big wet kiss on her forehead that she quickly wiped away with her sleeve.
"Ew, and your welcome." Harumi pulled a bottle of lemonade from the plastic bag and tossed it lightly to her brother. "Please. No more kisses." Kira smiled brightly, his mouth full of sandwich. He said something with a mouth full of sandwich that sounded remotely like a thank you but Harumi couldnt be sure.

A group of three women approached the gates, ID already in hand. All three wore hooded cloaks as was the norm for the Yuki weather. They handed their ID to Harumi one by one.
"Please remove your hoods for a moment, so i can verify your ID." Harumi used her best professional tone. The women did as they were told.
"How old are you honey?" One of the women asked Harumi.
"I'm eight and a half. But don't be worried. They wouldn't station me here if i wasn't capable of defending this position." Harumi winked at the woman and smiled as she stamped the approval sheets and handed them to the three ladies.
"Welcome to Yukigakure."

[GunStar]

Kira polished off the sandwich quickly, leaving his sister to wonder if he had even chewed it or if the sandwich in it's entirety had made it's way to his now full stomach. He let out a loud burp, so loud in fact, that several people waiting to have their visitor passes stamped cringed in disgust. Harumi nudged her brother sharply in his ribs with her elbow.
"What?" Kira asked with an annoyed tone.
"Manners...." Her voice trailed off as she gestured almost imperceptibly with her right hand to the wrinkled faces of the people on line.
"Oh." Kira replied sheepishly, a huge grin plastered on his face "Um, excuse me."

Several people shook their heads in amusement, while yet others still seemed disgusted by the boy's gaseous outburst. Harumi stamped a few more passes, all the while wondering why it was that her brother could take nothing seriously. They were on guard duty now, but just a few weeks ago they were taking missions that they would never like to repeat. Harumi thought this would be the perfect time to remind her brother, as he was the one who had taken the worst of those crappy missions.

"Do you remember a few weeks ago? When we were busy chasing cats that were stuck up trees, or when we were helping old ladies carry bags of groceries?" She continued stamping passes as she spoke.
"You mean when I was chasing cats up trees, or when I was carrying those huge jugs up all of those stairs?" Kira responded, sarcasm dripping from his words.
"Exactly." Harumi answered in her classic monotone voice. "Do you want to go back to doing that kind of 'Soul Crushing Work' as you so aptly called it?" Kira rubbed the fading scars that adorned both of his forearms, battle scars he had gained from grabbing cats that most definitely hated to be touched.
"Where are you going with this Umi?" He asked his sister, not following what she was trying to tell him.

Harumi sighed deeply, stamping a few more passes.
"What I'm trying to say, is that if you don't start to take this seriously, those are the type of missions they're going to give us the next time around." She gave her words a moment to sink in before she continued. "Look around you at all these people. We are an example of our village's power, and each person is a pair of eyes that are watching our every move, judging our competence. Every time you do something that allows them to pass judgement on us in a negative light, they are simultaneously passing negative judgement on our village as well."

Certain that she had made her point and driven it home, she stamped two more passes, eliminating the line that had formed during her brother's lunch break. Kira began to chuckle lightly.
"You are right of course," He agreed with his sister. "but when did you get so talkative? You're always so quiet." He chuckled again. Even though he was acting like her words hadn't fazed him, Kira seemed to be sitting up straighter, his eyes focused on the various crowds of people both entering and exiting through the tall village gates. Good. Harumi thought quietly to herself. It's about time he's starting to think like an adult. 

[GunStar]

Kira glanced over at his sister as he tried to figure out what was going on in her head. He brought his gaze back to the gates and his duty, but his mind wandered. He just couldn't figure out how Harumi had changed so much in such a short period of time. A few weeks ago she would never have spoken up in such a way, as she was barely capable of speaking in the presence of anyone but himself. She was changing, growing into being her own person and he wasn't sure if he liked what she was becoming.

On the flip side, he would be very happy to see her emerge from her shell more often. it would make things around this drab village all the more exciting. The sun began to set, bringing a crimson tint to the sky that Harumi loved to gaze at for the few fleeting minutes that it lasted. The traffic moving in and out of the gate seemed to be dwindling down, the cold night air of Yuki no Kuni settled in, bringing cold gusts of wind and light pure white flurries of snow that floated down on the wind.

Harumi stamped only one more pass, everyone seemed to either be indoors already or heading there. Kira continued keeping his eyes locked on the gates and all of the stragglers going in and out. The twins slid their chairs together, using each others body heat to stay warm. There wasn't much time left before they were relieved of duty, and then they could rejoin their bodies in secret as they always did. Even now they could both feel the tug of their bodies, a tingle under the skin that meant their bodies craved to combine, to rest and recover.

"Hey Umi?" Kira asked while keeping his eyes focused on the gates.
"Yes?"
"You gave me your lunch, and I noticed you haven't eaten anything so...... After we get home and clean up, we'll go out and eat something. My treat." He turned and smiled at his sister. The sun had fully set now, the cold wrath of Yuki on full display.
"Thank you Kira, but you know we cant afford that..." She gave a hollow grin back to her brother. Even though she was as hungry as she'd ever felt, they were two kids trying to make it in the world, and she knew if they didn't budget themselves properly that they would end up in that unforgiving cold.

"No. You're always so responsible. We're going to eat today, no matter what you say." Kira nodded his head, confident in his words.
"If you insist." Harumi replied, both happy and worried at the same time. It would be nice not to worry about things for once. Just then, their relief came two adults, one male, one female. Kira started sensing a trend. Silently the two children got up and bowed their heads politely, before taking off into the falling snow, leaving the two older ninja to wonder why two children had been left in charge of the gates.

[GunStar]

(Exit)