Border Patrol [M]

[Deleted]

Name: Border Control
Rank: C
IIC Length: 2 Days (48 Hours)
Difficulty: Easy-Medium
Objective: Guard one of the borders of Taki.
Description: For at least four posts you must guard one of the borders. Look for any weaknesses at the borders and stop any threats if they appear.
Reward: 3,000 Ryo (Takigakure Shinobi only).

[/i] a vague image of Isabella's pool-like eyes drifting into my mind, and instead of sneering all sorts of enraged expletives at him, my face became calmly neutral even as he gazed up somewhat fearfully at my taller form that blocked the sunlight.

Taking a deep breath, I reached a hand down to help him up, managing a somewhat forced half-smile and a, "Sorry bout that." Taking my hand, he rose to his feet and brushed himself off - the crowd naturally flowed about the stoppage for the minute. "My fault." He declared with an apologetic grin - the guy was probably younger than me. He paused in that state for a bit too long, then, and with a frown and a descending of hands into pockets I sidestepped him with a, "Welp. See you later." And off I went once again.

...That'd been a little weird.

But this small incident aside, I managed to reach the northern border of the village no problem. I stared up at the wall that guarder Takigakure's secrets with a grimace - 'twas fucking high, was what it was. The northern gate occasionally let a traveler out or in, to descend into the natural forests before properly exiting the village territory. Masked AnBu dotted the place in dutiful stations, and I approached one begrudgingly. "Uh, I was hired as an additional guard to the village bord-" I managed before he cut me off with a raised hand, which then extended to that point upward at one of the battlements on either side of the gate.

"Fuck." I said, following his indication before he could even get a word in.

"One of our guard members is unable to currently attend his post. You are to take his duties throughout the day." The masked figure informed me, and I lowered my gaze down at him, making sure it was clear I was thoroughly unimpressed with the proceedings. "Up there? For how long?" "The next three hours, roughly; I shall relieve you." "Fuck." "Make regular patrols of the wall roughly every half an hour." "FUCK."

I ascended the inner steps, the open-air windows displaying increasingly daunting visions of the ground below, the people growing smaller and smaller as I ascended in a box spiral, finally emerging some I-don't-even-want-to-know meters up; I didn't even look down to estimate, I just stubbornly stared at the skyline for a good few minutes, my heart pounding slightly, my mind cruelly playing to me all the scenarios in which I could end up plummeting to my death.

This was not, overall, going to be a pleasant experience, that was certain.[/ul][/justify]

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[/i] to be. Not really because I felt any duty towards Takigakure, but because such menial tasks were required to be completed if ever one wanted to reach the Chuunin rank, which I most certainly did - again, not really because I wanted to strengthen the ranks of Takigakure, but simply because after all my experience, all the training I'd undergone, all the shit I'd been through as a person and a shinobi, I didn't really want to be called a Genin any more; didn't seem fitting.

Still, as I stared out over the walls at the lush forests, which occasionally dipped away into beaten tracks and trails, it didn't really feel all that worth it. Still, after the first waves of anxiety wore off, I managed to glance around, notice a small table surrounded by three empty chairs, and slumped myself down upon one, the cool breeze slightly more evident above the great walls, blowing through my hair as it was. I turned my head to stare down the length of the wall; I could make out another AnBu patrolling down - and I presumed later up - it, walking quite the ways, which I knew I'd be expected to do at least a couple of times over the course of the day. I sighed again, knowing I would have to forsake even the small modicum of security sitting down lent me. For now, though, I saw no reason to go peering over the edge of the battlement, so I simply lost myself over to my thoughts.

Next time I talked to Isabella I would have to ask her if she, too, intended on attending the exams; I certainly hoped she did. Going anywhere without her these days felt pretty bad, like she held the strings to my life and the further I went the more taut and painful they became, which I immediately noted down in my mind as a pretty badass analogy, before letting my thoughts wander further, resting my temple upon my right fist, propping my elbow against the table and staring out over the wall's extent, though I didn't really see what I was looking at much.

I contemplated how quickly life seemed to be flashing by me; seemed like just the other day I'd been that raucous and stupid seventeen year old kid who drank alcohol more than water and wanted nothing more out of life than a good fight. So, one thing had changed. Wait a second... fuck. It had actually been ages since I'd had a drink. Actually it had been fucking ages. My brow furrowed at this revelation, and I leaned forward onto both my palms and gazed out onto the horizon as though examining it intensely. I hadn't drunk in forever. How the shit had that happened?

Strangest thing was, I didn't even want to, at least not much. It didn't feel like a compulsion, as it had before. Maybe it'd be fun, I suppose, but not at all mandatory... and then it struck me, what that yearning had been replaced by... it had been replaced by -

"You are the replacement." I heard, the low, monotonous voice snapping me out of my trance and forcing my head up towards its source, which was the patrolling dude, now suddenly standing only a couple of meters away. Damn, had I been under that long? "Yeah, that's me." I confirmed, sounding a little irritated. He nodded. "Your patrol." He told me, before he, too, took a seat, though he claimed it in a far more refined manner than the way I'd simply plopped down into it. Grumbling, I rose out of the chair, the world still returning to me and - oh, that's right, high up. I felt unsteady for a minute, before my balance decided it wasn't going to ditch me on the spot and I was able to properly stand. I knew the AnBu would be staring at my back, so I grudgingly walked off down the wall.

I really thought they could have done a better job of picking someone as a sentry; I didn't really give two fucks as I strolled down it probably a little too fast, prevented only from running down it in spite by the fact that my brain deemed that quite unsafe, even if the edge was about two or three meters from where I stood and there was, of course, raised stone to prevent one from simply toppling off... but one simple trip-up and... oh fuck you brain. Fuck you.

I reached the end with no deadly plummeting incident, however, and it was only then that I managed to pause and truly look out over the wall. Alright, you know what, fuck it; I was going to actually approach the edge, idiotic phobias be damned. When I did, I still had to firmly plant my hands on the rise as I stared over the edge. FUCK ME IT WAS HIGH UP. But, you know, I wasn't dead yet, so that was somewhat reassuring. After a moment I managed to scan up and down the green forests, seeing, of course, no sign of any - wait what the fuck was that. That was a brown shape, and that was moving. My eyes narrowed upon the somewhat bulky shadow, and I followed it for a moment. My body tensed, wondering what the fuck it could be and fearing the worst, but as it emerged into the light a few moments later I realized it was just a wild animal - a boar, to be precise, snuffling about the ground, and I sighed in a strange mixture of contempt and relief, before I returned, shaking my head, back to the battlement.

I reached the guy, who turned his hidden features on me like some sort of eerie puppet, and asked simply, "Did you see anything?" "Yup," I responded, eyes widened, "A boar." The derision was evident in my tone and face, but he simply nodded. "I shall inform those below, outside; boars have been known to cause disturbances along the roads." And with that, he got up, and phased out of existence in a buzz in a motion that was now familiar to me as a shunshin.

Pouting with just how fucking unimpressed I was, I slumped back down into the chair. I hated those AnBu dudes. Seriously.[/ul][/justify]

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[/i] tired of this jackshit as I was, that the original AnBu from below did, indeed, arrive to relieve me, warping suddenly into existence a few meters away from my seat. I was not exactly surprised, only annoyed at the disturbance of my equilibrium. "Well done." He said simply, without a hint of congratulation. "Yeah bullshit," I responded with a thoroughly unmoved frown. "Three hours, seven patrols, I spotted a single wild animal." "But you could have spotted far more." "But I didn't." "You are to take my post at the bottom of the wall for the next two hours." "Fuck."

And so it was that I descended from the lofty perch I had been forced to endure all morning to the now-empty spot where the dude had stood, and, still frowning, slouched against the wall, where I figured I'd be observing the comers and the goers for a good motherfucking while. I crossed my arms in dissatisfaction and figured I could probably use this time to catch a bit of a rest, and so I closed my eyes... but the noon sun pressed at my eyelids with a berating and hot red, and with a grimace I realized that I was just going to have to endure this shit.

I don't even know how to describe all the shite I saw, simply because it was so mundane; people in different coloured shirts, carts full of different kinds of crap, led by horses and shit mainly, I don't even know. It was really boring. Like, fuck. I found myself yawning, but my thoughts just... didn't seem to be able to wander into any more comfortable places. The sun beat down at my comparatively tiny little form and I soon grew to sweat a little under my black cloak - trust today of all days to be above average in temperature. Yup. Cheers you stupid glowing sky ball you.[/ul][/justify]

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[/i] know what the fuck they were searching for.

In the end, of course, though, the guy was given the all clear, and allowed to proceed into the streets; to my great surprise and delight I was then ordered to take a post at the other side of the wall, so I would have a slightly different angle on all the monotonous bullshit. Hurrah. Probably the most interesting part of the next two hours was the slight reddening of my skin and the sun passing lazily, steadily overhead. I would really have liked a little drama - some intruder I could have been sent after to beat the pulp out of - but, alas, nothing out of the ordinary occurred, and I was left simply to have my eyelids slowly droop over my optics till I fell into what was not so much sleep as just a complete lack of attention for the world outside.

So it was that I was a little startled and embarrassed when yet another AnBu was suddenly at my side, evidently having descended from the battlement that was now at my back, rousing me from my daze with his sudden, piercing voice. "Your shift here is over." He stated, my eyes fluttering as I attempted to catch a hold of him with my gaze, my arms flying into a defensive combat pose as I did so. I settled when I saw who - or what - it was and replied with a slightly tired, "Oh. Right." The masked figure's head tilted. "You were not asleep, were you?" He inquired. "No!" I responded, and even as I could not see his features, even as his voice did not change, I could tell he was unconvinced. "For the remainder of the day you are to man the outside posts." He stated then, and I sighed, relaxing my stance and brushing off my back, which had been leaning against the stone for quite a while.

"Fuck, alright then." I complained as I moved off to pass through the large exit. What a boring motherfuckin' day.[/ul][/justify]

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[/b] He informed me, which caused me to raise my eyebrow at the unexpected statement before I recovered myself. "I do indeed." I responded flatly, not particularly wanting to strike up a conversation... but at the same time this was the first time I had been addressed by one of the masked soldiers in any way that was not purely professional.

"Believe it or not, we have heard of you." Which was quite the revelation to me. I frowned; what the fuck were they hearing about me for? "The AnBu of a village see more than you might suspect." He said somewhat slyly then, and I grumbled in discontent, for I had already suspected they saw a lot. "Candidates apply, but we usually know who they will be." My frown deepened, in evidence that I wanted the point. "I hope you make it through the Chuunin exams." He stated simply, on an assumption, and at this I was a little shocked. My eyes would have narrowed if they had not compensated for it by widening; it seemed a little unprofessional for an AnBu to say such things. As I looked him up and down, and played his voice back in my mind, I drew the conclusion that he did sound quite young, probably younger than me.

Oh, you're fucking kidding me.

"Thanks." I said a little huffily, turning away, though his words did linger in my mind. Be an AnBu? Was that seriously a possibility? ... I supposed it sort of was... maybe. I was definitely leagues away from the rascals that flooded from the academy. Was I even close to AnBu level? I realize I'd never actually seen them fight, but I had just supposed that my combat style would be far too unrefined for such an elite ninja corps... but I suppose in the shinobi world, if it worked, it worked...

These thoughts buzzed around in my head for the remainder of the day. I was painfully aware, from that point on, that the Bear guy did glance towards me every so often, and I did my very best not to call him up on it, sufficing simply to sigh every time it happened with increasing volume, till he eventually got the point. It was only when the sky began to descend into orange that the dude looked towards me properly. "That's our shift." He declared, and marched in towards the gate. Slightly startled, I followed after him with a frown; four more AnBu guards were, of course, walking out with efficiency, an efficiency I grumbled at.

Apparently seeing fit to see me off as the other AnBu disappeared, the young one stopped at turned to me. "You can go back to the tower to collect your reward, now." He said in a businesslike tone that no longer seemed businesslike to me. "I'm aware." I said, unimpressed, but he simply bowed, turned, and warped away with a buzz... I was sick of those fuckers always doing that.[/ul][/justify]

[Exit]