MISSION The Fireworks Display

[Zetsumei]

Name: Fireworks for the Elders
Rank: C
IIC Length: 1 Day
Difficulty: Easy
Description: Word of the Chuunin exam's end has reached the ears of Iwagakure, and that an Iwa Shinobi was the overall champion. In celebration of the return of those that have survived the exams the Sankuchi Elders have decided to create a fireworks display, but require aid in the preparations. They have requested that the Kage send some shinobi to help with the preparations, Sankuchi Bloodline is preferred but not required. The Elders will be harsh and demand little short of perfection.
Objective: Create five clay fireworks of varying designs, as long as they are flight capable. (8 post minimum)
Reward: A Small Clay Pouch filled with a Clay of your choice, or 1400 Ryo

The Toujitakumi would walk through the streets, paying no attention to the directions he had been given, he knew exactly where he was going. He had lived in the place when he was a child and wasn’t too thrilled to be going back. The mission was his idea and not forced upon him, besides a mission for art was better then nothing. Walking through to the very edge of the village, close to the gates he would find himself outside the Sankuchi Elder’s workshop. Checking his supply of clay the would take a deep breath and head into the compound.

As he entered the compound a familiar female voice would all out to him, “So glad you could return to us, young Hisoka…” Grumbling Hisoka would reply, “I’m just here to help with the display, nothing more. So direct me to the clay, if you please.” He wanted to be done and gone, yet his eyes scanned the area, noting a few more familiar faces. With a gesture the female Elder would gesture for him to follow her, which he did. Sighing as she led him to a table surrounded by clay he would sit down and pull a small pile in front of himself, ready to work his magic.

[Zetsumei]

Shifting his neck from side to side several loud cracks would be heard resounding throughout the room. Quickly unsnapping his bracers he would place them in the inner pocket of his coat, where his headband resided. Interlacing his fingers he would push them out, black optics scanning the back of his hands then shifting down to the work space. "Tools," the one word will have barely left his mouth when a set of sculpting tool would be laid before him.

With a nod and another look around he saw a familiar face, one he loathed so very much. The man who had beaten him so many times in the past, he would get some measure of revenge for that today. Taking a chunk of the clay which he would make the core he placed it within his handmouth and chakra began flowing into the shapeless lump. As the handmouth silently chewed he would begin crafting the sculpture.

This one would be a quick job, he knew there standards and knew it would be rejected, it was a simple, poorly done pigeon. As the clay in his palm was finished he would have his handmouth spit out the clay and stealthily place it within the bird. As the man came by he would hand him the poor sculpture, and place another slab of clay in front of himself. When them man took the clay Hisoka knew what was about to happen, and was not at all surprised when it was placed on a table behind him and a hammer was removed from the shelf.

As the figure raised the hammer Hisoka would perform the Katsu handsign and apply his intention. As the handseal was formed the sculpture woudl explode in a furious burst of wind barraging the man with lumps of clay, leaving him breathless. With a hoot of laughter, the Concussion Bomb had been a success, the Sankuchi Gennin would say, "Consider that a small measure of revenge for all those years ago Harachi." With that done he would set back to work, the fireworks weren't going to mold themselves.

[Zetsumei]

Raising his right hand he would stop the blow he knew was coming, turn, and say, "Even after all these years did you think I would forget all that you have ruined or how you attack? Now if you mind, I must get back to work." Letting go of the switch he would turn back to the clay slab in front of him, what looked like a slab of clay to most was a masterpiece in the making to Hisoka.

Ripping off eight chunks from the slab he had taken four were of equal proportions, two had euqal proportaions, and the two that remained were of odd proportions. takign the two oddly proportioned pieces he would begin molding one, flattenign it with tosses against the hard, flat surface of the table. as it reached the appropriate dimension he would take up a bladed too and very carefully cut out a piece in the relative outline of a bat's wing. Laying down the tool he would take a kind of scraper in hand and spin it around before carvign into the wing with it, making sure it was thin, yet sturdy and leaving ridges that would be the spined bones keeping it steady.

As he finished the general shape and structure he would add details, giving the support spines a more realistic look and adding a great deal of fine lines to the back to give it a scaled look. As the first wing finished he would repeat the same process for the second wing, and as it finished he would add wire to the support of each wing to keep them steady. Gently laying the two wings out of the way he would take up the two of the four equally dimensioned slabs and prepared to work, he had the tools for detail now. Looking over at the larger formless lump he debated on wheter or not to finish the main body first. Deciding against that he would take the scraps from the wings and form the into part of the slab.

Taking one of the two pieces in his hand he rolled it between his palms, sizing up the main slab and deciding on the proportions needed. Rolling and folding, rolling and folding the Sankuchi would finally get the length he desired. Taking up another of the sculpting tools he would begin to carve out the the makings of the arms, melding the clay so it formed a torn sleeve covering a scaled arm. Using the tools he would form a scaled claw of a hand gripping a wakizashi. Repeating the process with the other arm he would instead make this hand drawn back and open, ready to strike down a foe. At this point the Toujitakumi would stop for a bit, wiping some sweat from his brow, it was time for a short break.

[Zetsumei]

Leaning back in his seat he would close his eyes and rest for five minutes, before sittign up straight again and getting ready to work. As he reached for the other equivilant slabs of clay he would formulate how the legs would look.Formulating the size he would begin molding the shape of the legs in the same manner that he had with the two arms. Forming the foot so it would remain sturdy on the ground he would add some wire and small sticks to prevent any sagging that might happen from the weight of the rest of the piece. Forming the foot to be remincient of a human reptiles, the sculpture would stand on the ball of that single foot.

Forming the other leg and foot in the same manner he would make this one so it was lifted back, to give the creature the look that it was about to charge. Pleased with how the legs had goone he would take their scraps and add them to one of the irregular lumps he was about to work with. Noticing that the clay had gotten dry he would place it within his handmouth, which would begin to chew the clay and make it more malleable and adding no chakra to it. Taking the parts he had finished he would dunk them in a bucket of water, to keep them moist, and pull them out a moment later.

Dunking the rest of the unused clay in the bucket for a moment and pulling it out so it too would remain moist he commanded his handmouth to regurgitate the clay, which it promptly did. Noting the malleability of the clay he smiled and began working it into a tail with his hands. Starting thick at the base it would gradually thin out to a point. Noting that the tail would be needed for added stability, he would run some of the special sculpting wire down the length of it's core.

Placing the tail with the rest of the completed limbs out of the way he would take up the lump that was meant for the beast's head. Allowing images to flow through his mind like the raging current of the sea, he would begin contemplating how the head would look. Plucking one image from the current he would allow it to die down and begin his work anew. Forming the head into a sort of reptilian muzzle he added a sort of fan shape which protruded from the back. To give it stability and a menacing look he would form clay spikes to go on the fan section of the muzzle.

Placing the head among the res of the pieces he turned to the main event, the body. Without puttign much tohught into the body he would form what seemed like a normal human's body, save for a few details. Seeing that it owuld be reptilian he built up the back so it arched slightly. Creating soem tears in the clothing which would reveal scaled skin and tears in the pack where the wings would protrude. With the body done it was finally time to put the whole thing together. Licking the socket of each piece that needed to be attached he would carefully attach the pieces. With all pieces attached and seamless, he had needed to use some chakra to get the wings to attach properly without ruining part of the body, he would stand the piece up, admiring his work before taking it to be placed within a special solution which would preserve it and infuse some chakra into it.

[Zetsumei]

Walking back to the worktable the toujitakumi would sit down, pulling more clay in front of his person. Running through his mind the boy would find nothing special to create for this latest piece. Sighing with regret he would be force to make something ordinary, his creative art drained by the last piece. Running through his list of options he decided a simple bee would suffice for the next piece.

Dunking the clay in the bucket of water to get it moist, the artisan would prepare to get started. tearing off a chunk of clay from the initial lump he would beging molding and shaping it with the tools he had been presented, forming it into the abdomen of a bee, stinger and all. Looking out the window at the sun the genning would leap in surprise and start working doubletime, the ceremony would begin soon. Tearing off another chunk he would hastily begin forming a thorax and legs for the bee, lining the legs with sturdy wire.

Applying his teaching in speed sculpting as a Sankuchi, clay would spring forth and coat the wire to form the legs. As the thorax finished he would fuse it to the abdomen with his chakra, wasting no time with the old fashioned way there. Again using his Sankuchi teachings he would form the head, mandables, and wings. Fusing those on with his chakra he would hastily hand the bee to the worker behind him.

[Zetsumei]

As the bee left his hand he would quickly turn back to the bench and grab another hunk of clay. Luckily for Hisoka this piece had been burried by others and was still quite malleable. Quickly running through his options a raven would come to mind and he would jump at the thought. This time he would be more careful, he knew the Bee had been just barely good enough.

Ripping off two equal pieces, a third lump, and a fourth piece aroudn half the size of the two equal slabs the Gennin would get to work. Running a hand along those of the equal slabs he would move the digits very slightly, causing clay to recede and feathers to form. Taking the fourth piece of clay he had torn off he would mold it using both his hands,clay again receding to form more feathers, this time in a kind of fan shape.

The tail finished he would move back ot the wings which were somewhat uneven. Looking them over he realized the problem, one had been given more feathers than the other. Sighing he owuld rectify the problem by adding a little clay to the wing that was short and mold that into the needed feathers. Judging the wings to be done properly now he would then turn to the next piece of business, the bird's head.

Taking the piece mean to be the head in hand he would concentrate, pulling up images of ravens he had seen in the past. Finding an image he deemed suitable he created the birds face, clay receding to form eyes and extending to form the slightly open beak. Breathing somewhat heavily now from the haste of his sculpting he would look out the window again. With the head done that left the body and chances were against him having time to get back home to change before he could do anything. Taking the main body of clay he would give it a Raven's form, shaping it so the legs were bent into the body and giving it a feathered look.

[Zetsumei]

There was one thing left to do for the Raven, put it together. Delicately taking the head and tail in hand he would utalize his chakra and stick them together, the built up chakra fusing the two pieces on perfectly. Grabbing the wings hastily, yet gently enough to not ruin the feathers he would build up chakra in the base of the wings and fuse them onto the body, spread as if for flight. Turning he owuld hand the Raven back and turn back to work on the next piece.

Taking another slab of clay he would dunk it in the now murky bucket and remove it only a moment after. Breathign deeply he would allow his creativity to flow again, he needed somethign better now. Running through the list of options he settles on a winged serpent of old and tore three chunks from the clay. Deciding to do the body first for once he would take the clay in hand and begin rolling it. As the clay rolled within his palms, scales seemed to sprout on it as if out of nothingness.Quickly finishing it off he would give the tail a slightly flaring bit, and lookign over it he realized soemthing was missing.

Smacking his forehead with his right hand and creating a clay stain there and set to work, giving the creature its miniscule legs. Taking the odd lump in his hand he would hastily form the dragon's muzzle, whiskers, fangs, and all. Taking up the other two slabs he would form them into slightly feathery wings. hasily fusing them onto the body with chakra he sighed with relief that they weren't off enough to ruin the entire effect, most people might not even notice. Takign the head in hand he would fuse that into it's proper place as well.

[Zetsumei]

Carefully handing the Winged Serpent to the laboror using both his hands he spun around to face the workbench again. Takign another clay slab he dunked it into the water, which splashed onto the ground and rapidly removed it to work on his next piece. Running through his list of options, he realized his creativity was drained by his hate and chose a mere barn owl.

Ripping two pieces of clay from the initial lump, the head would be formed with the bird's body. Taking it somewhat slowly he took one of the lumps in hand and began molding it into a deeply feathered wing. Laying it gently down he would take the other lump and perform the same process, molding the deeply feathered wing. Taking the main lump of clay in his hands he would begin molding that as quickly as possible, forming it into the shape of an owl's body and head.

Taking two thick pieces of wire he would form them into the rough shap of squat birds legs and stick them into the bottom of the owl. Using his teachings to mold the clay to cover the wire and form into the legs of the owl. Quickly he would take up the wings gently and fuse them onto the birds body with his chakra, spreading them wide to give a menacing effect. Turning he would again give the piece to a laborer.

[Zetsumei]

Quickly turning back to face the clay pile somethign dawned on him. Mentally counting the number of fireworks he had completed so far he realized he was finished. With a hoot of glee he would rub his hands together, handmouth licking both clean. Stabing up he would pull his bracers from his pockets and place them onto his wrists again. Fastening them he would rush out of the building and off to the Hokage Tower, hoping to complete the mission before he would run off the the Ceremony.

[Exit]