Fishing Trip [Private]

Link to Missions: Raw Rowdy Rocktails

Mission Name: Raw Rowdy Rocktails
Mission Type: Chore
Mission Rank: C
Mission Goal: Help some fisherman to catch a bunch of Rocktails.
Description: One of the strongest and hardest to catch fish is the Rocktail, which earned its name due to its sturdy tail with which it can deliver some powerful slaps that could hurt people very badly and is rumoured to even break rocks and the shells of crustaceans with it. It also has a pair of powerful boney jaws that can bite through the hardest leather with a single bite. No matter how tough they are though, their meat's a delicacy...
Payment: 15,000 ryo
Requirements: Chuunin or genin team

Satori had been looking for a mission that he and Tin could do to get the teen some experience in proper socializing and basic job performances. He'd been looking for C-ranks, but most required you to be of chunin ranking, unfortunately. However, one that he'd spotted had instead simply required that you be on a team with other Genin.

The job was a fairly simple one: fishing. Granted, the fish were on the vicious side, naturally armored and holding powerful jaws. They were nasty little things, though they tended to live alone at least. No pack-hunting fish. They were considered prized ingredients and due the risk associated with catching them were worth quite a bit. It was a perfect way to test out Tin's new bow and ability to track mobile targets.

The fish would be fast and hidden under waves of the water. It would give him plenty of training while also helping him "earn his keep" to keep that idiotic idea that he owed Satori under control just a bit. The tall man was currently waiting outside the house while Tin got ready. They'd integrated weapon practice into their daily routine for him now. But live testing was always better anyway.

So. Today was the day he might die.

Satori had decided to take Tin along on an adventure. A mission, so to speak. He was already a genin so he couldn’t say that he wasn’t qualified to do so. He did feel as though he could run a fair bit more than before after all that training. At least he didn’t have to worry about getting into close range. At least, he HOPED he didn’t have to worry. So when he heard the nature of their mission, he was somewhat relived.

They had to go fishing. Fish can’t really hurt you back when you’re on dry land, or else they’ll practically kill themselves doing so. Not to mention, it was his time to shine, so to speak. They weren’t using fishing rods, at least, HE wasn’t using a fishing rod, he had to use his bow. He was a little nervous about losing the arrows that he missed, since it’d be hard to retrieve them in angry fish infested waters.

So, with a sigh, and decked out in his gear with his bow slung over his shoulder, he walked out of his bone traps and walked over to Satori, giving him a light frown as he found him waiting outside. “Okay. I’m ready.” he said. No doubt he was going to have to buy more arrows after this. “Where are we going?”

Glancing over as Tin exited the little lean-to he used, Satori examined him once before nodding and moving toward the paths that led out of the outer compound and toward the border of the villages land instead.

"The Hozuki fisheries, specifically the rivers surrounding them, but first we need to talk to the individuals that provided the mission," he explained simply as his hands tucked into his pockets. Glancing to the side at the teen his brow arched slightly while they walked.

"Have you ever been on a mission before this?" The question was simple enough, but he'd never inquired on Tin's past much. It still confused him how he'd even managed to graduate really, but he had. The headband was proof of it. One had to wonder if something happened in his home-life during his Academy years and that's how he fell so far, so quickly. He didn't know Tin well enough to ask, and it wasn't his business either.

One's past was their own unless they wished to share it, in his opinion. It was the same with Riku and the others, he'd known them a long time, but when it came to actually understand them and their pasts, he'd left the subjects be unless they'd wished to speak of them. No reason to pry when the future is what one should always look toward.

Tin huffed with some impatience as Satori looked him over, then moved to follow him. He glanced about as they exited a part of the compound and entered the village border. He idly listened to Satori as they walked. Had he been able to figure it out, he probably would’ve tried fishing for a living, if he could find a place where he could safely do it. It WAS the land of water, he should find some fish there. Away from the fisheries. He didn’t know how to remove the nasty bits, though. And fish kind of creeped him out. Not to mention the smell.

He shook his head to Satori’s question. “No. I haven’t,” he said. “Everything looked like a waste of energy at the time.” he said. Thinking of the headband, he’d even put it around his right arm. He didn’t want it on his head. He didn’t even know the point of it. Showing off where your village was. It’d be especially stupid if they were doing something clandestine. “I only joined the Academy for the shelter and food they sometimes gave. No more, no less.” he shrugged.

He guessed it only made sense that Satori would ask the question now since missions hadn’t really come up very much. “How many missions have you done?” he asked, semi-curiously. He did kind of want to know, so he’d see if Satori was or wasn’t a kind-of beginner as well. On the other, he just felt it was right to ask a question back.

Satori gave a low hum at the response. Joining the Academy for food seemed logical enough, but it lacked the foresight of realizing it could have provided for him his entire life. Odd. Shaking his head he let the subject drop and instead glanced back down to him as he inquired about how many missions he himself had completed. He contemplated that, lifting a hand up in thought and counting his fingertips quietly.

"Two C-Ranks and five D-Ranks for the village. I have no idea how many for my clan, quite a few." Technically, the ones for his clan didn't count as they paid nothing and weren't registered. So he considered them separate even if all of them had been C to B-rank in question. It had been standard patrols and guard duty, a few hunts along with his fellow Ryuutei, things like that. Nothing too extreme but certainly more of a threat than anything he'd done for Kirigakure thus far.

"This one should be a pretty simple job. Neither of us have the water element, but Genjutsu works on animals, and honestly, my claws and teeth can tear through their armor. As long as you focus on using your bow, this will be more practice for you than anything. While making money." As he stated this he realized, if this was his first mission, he had no idea how much he'd be paid.

"You're paid about one-third of the total payment. The rest goes to the village for finding the job and maintaining the connections. You'll make about fifteen-thousand ryo from this," as he explained such he would curiously eye him. He'd loaned him less than twice that for what he currently was wearing and using. It should give him an idea of how much he could earn if he continued doing the missions with him. He could use a partner for them anyway.

He said he had done a fair few, though didn’t remember how many for his clan. So he guessed the only ones that actually mattered with the two C-ranks and five D-ranks. So this’d be his third C-rank. Interesting. So he was a bit more experienced than him. Maybe he’d be able to skip D ranks entirely, but apparently this was the only one that he could join of higher level. Oh well.

He listened to Satori as he gave his assurance. Which was good. He’d hate to have been killed by a bunch of angry fish. He didn’t like the notion of them having armour. He imagined a fish in plate and thought it ridiculous. The only place where they belonged was ON a plate. Though fish with teeth was also a strange and frightening notion. But he could just climb up a tree and shoot at things from there. Hopefully he wouldn’t waste too many arrows.

His eyebrows shot up at the amount he’d be paid. “That’s a few ryo.” he stated. Maybe he’d be able to even replace the arrows he lost with some left over. Maybe he’d be able to make some additions to his area. Add some wooden walls to keep the air out, do some other stuff to make it more comfortable to him. After that maybe he’d even afford a bed. He wasn’t sure how much a bed cost. Knowing Satori he’d probably make him make his own. “Okay. I guess we can try more after this one.”

Satori chuckled at the sudden expression on Tin's face. It was rare for his face to move so much. Amused by this fact, he didn't comment on it despite this and instead nodded once in agreement on the teen coming with him on more. He'd figured that was the response he would get, all things considered. It was good money for someone that was used to nothing, especially if he started to wrack up on more of them.

"Don't worry about the arrows, either," he commented idly, "They have a thin net that they throw downstream while they fish, to help make sure it can't escape and to gather other smaller fish and shrimp as well, It'll catch any arrows that miss or bounce off its shell," as he explained this, Satori stepped over a log and broke into the primary road heading away from Kirigakure. Following it along as he would head toward the fishery, glancing down at Tin with a tilt of his head and an arched brow.

"How confident are you in the bow now? Feeling a bit better at it after the practice you've been doing with it?"

Tin’s face quickly became a frown again as he heard Satori chuckling for some reason. He didn’t inquire, he didn’t particularly care about the answer. Then Satori laid his worries about his arrows to rest, so he wouldn’t be losing any of them after all. That was good. He’d have hated to waste money on things that could be helped. “Right.” was his response, before he looking around the edge of the village.

Then he almost tripped on the log. He managed to catch himself, and gave Satori a frown as if daring him to laugh again. Then he huffed and continued onward. They were on the primary road now, away from the big village. Apparently, that was where they needed to go. Which was good, he couldn’t imagine a river in a metropolis with angry fish being any sort of good news for drunk residents.

“I think I can handle this so long as the fish can’t reach me,” he said. This was almost a literal shooting a fish in a barrel mission for him. The barrel was pretty big, though. “Are you just going to leave it to me, or are you going to… Swipe at the water?” he asked.

Satori glanced back at him as he nearly tripped, and arched a brow at the glare. As if he would laugh over something so petty, he was still getting used to using his body properly after all. Still growing as well. Unlike Satori he was still in the awkward in-between stages. Being a bit clumsy was natural, especially if you didn't train for years to steadily get used to your body every day.

Instead as Tin commented he could do it, Satori grinned. It wasn't one of amusement, but of pride. Tin was actually confidently saying he could handle a proper job using his bow, and that was a hell of a big step compared to the tired, annoyed teen that hadn't thought to do anything but run before. The second question did cause him to arch a brow, however.

"I'll let you go until you can't anymore. I'll finish up after that," he replied simply, glancing toward the road briefly to make sure they were on track. They were, the branch-off wasn't for a bit longer.

"I won't be swiping at the water either, I'll be in the water," he corrected with a soft chuckle.

Sounds like he’d be swiping in the water then. He guess it didn’t matter in the end, since Satori’d start after he was finished. Satori being in the water would’ve been a bit of an annoyance, since he’d be going after the fish, and Tin might accidentally hit him or something. He didn’t want to do that. He continued to walk along, thinking.

He wondered how far he should stay away from the river. Maybe he should find a perch on a tree or something. That’d mean he’d be in a relatively safe location, while shooting far away at a mobile target. That’d increase his proficiency a bit more, and give him a little bit more experience. The only problem of course was that the fish were armoured. Would his arrows be able to handle that? He took an arrowhead an inspected it. “Do you think these’ll pierce the fish?” he asked. “They’ve got strong hides, don’t they?” he asked, flicking the arrow between his fingers.

They were called ‘broadhead’ arrows. But he wondered whether they were the best design for it. They were the most circulated design, but maybe one day he could find a better one. Or at least something different. He would’ve liked that, to be a little bit more strange to people. Give him an M.O. These ones made it so that when you yanked it out, it hurt more. He’d have to think on it someday.

As Tin began to make some actual decent questions, Satori blinked once in surprise and glanced down at him. A smile formed on his lips in surprise, he was thinking on long-term strategy now. Good. Focusing on the actual question afterward, his gaze lifted up in thought as he contemplated the answer.

"The armor is only decorating their spine and upper back, so if you hit them right it won't matter. But that aside, the armor is also in plates, so even then if you target in-between the plates you'll be able to hit them as well," As he explained this, Satori put his hands behind his head and glanced down at Tin with a bemused smile as he examined the arrowhead quietly. He was no longer even just focused on being able to hit the fish.

Now he was planning several steps down the line to wanting to kill them, complete the job, go on more and from the way he was inspecting the arrow so closely: also thinking of ways to improve his arsenal. Proud of him, Satori looked toward the horizon once more with a bemused expression.

"Maybe you should consider looking into making your own arrows? I have a few books on it, and if you dedicate yourself you'll be able to make your own arrows in bulk for far cheaper, as well as better equipment for you to use, and others. You'll be able to sell what you make eventually." Money was a big motivator for Tin, he knew that. But so was being independent, despite all his glares, he had pride.

So. Apparently he only had to worry about their upper back. Or the back in general. Tin could already see a problem with that. That being, fish usually swim with their backs toward the surface. Well, he guessed he could just stay such that he was facing their sides instead. That should work. He poked his finger against the edge of the arrow. Not so much that he’d cut himself, he just wanted to make sure they were sharp enough. Seemed to be.

He realised that things never seemed as though they could pierce something. He felt the edge of his arrows, and wondered how they could. Of course, them being fast enough meant they could lodge into something. It just was weird. He shrugged, and put the arrow back into his quiver.

He rose an eyebrow at Satori’s question. “I don’t think that’d be a good…” he began, only to pause. Selling good arrows. Right now the market was all about this broadheads, they were the only ones he could find. But what if he could make better ones, that might be more experience? “…I’ll think about it.” he muttered. “Are we almost there?” he asked.

Satori grinned as Tin started out about to refuse him entirely, before abruptly switching over to instead stating that he would "Think about it". Nodding once in agreement before he'd glance up a the surroundings once and nod in affirmation.

"Yeah, the tree's are thinning out. Around that bend and we should break through into the coastline," Satori explained, lifting a hand to point at the bend in the road. Sure enough, as they rounded the corner a few minutes later, the tree's began to rapidly disperse revealing plains, ponds, farms and at the beach a massive fishery.

Heading toward it, Satori glanced down at him and arched a brow.

"Is this your first time being out of the village?" He inquired curiously, a bemused expression decorating his face. The fact he didn't know where even the fishery was, kind of hinted at that. Perhaps he'd only exited the village to explore the general vacinity and nothing more? It was hard to say.

It appeared that they were getting close to their quarries. He squinted out to the trees. So, they were to catch some fish, but a question still remained. “Uh… How many are we supposed to catch again?” he hoped he had more arrows than the number they had to get. “Though he guessed he’d have to set his bow down when Satori got bored, or if he ran out of arrows.”

The trees were beginning to thin, and they reached the fishery. They moved toward it, then Satori asked him a question. He frowned for a moment. “No. I wasn’t born in Kirigakure.” he said. “I came here about five or so years ago.” he shrugged. Then he said no more. He inspected the fisheries as he they arrived, coming closer. They were quite large, though they had to be really. There were a lot of mouths to feed. And a lot of fish to get.

“It’s large.” he stated to obvious, nodding to the fishery. They were heading over there now. If he got of the angry fish, maybe Satori wouldn’t even have to do anything. That would be pretty good, it’d show how far he came. He’d try for that. He did have fifty arrows, after all.

"Unknown, it's why we need to talk to the fishery head first," Satori explained simply.

He let out a low hum as Tin explained that he had come here late. Bemused, he would idly straighten before focusing ahead of them once more. It was clear Tin didn't want to reveal more than that, so he left it be. But it did answer a few questions if nothing else in regards to his current state. As he commented on the fisheries size, he nodded once with a chuckle.

"That is our main product as a nation, after all," he replied idly while they walked toward it. The walk was quicker by comparison to the last, and once they arrived Satori moved toward the nearest fisherman that was currently going over a large net. The man blinked and glanced up, eying Satori's feral appearance warily a moment before spotting the headband and offering a polite smile.

"Can I help ya'?" The man inquired simply, causing Satori to nod once.

"We're looking for the head of this establishment. We have a mission that we need details from them on," Satori explained, causing the man to grunt.

"That time of the month already, huh? Yeah, s'pose we didn't get that many of 'em actually, makes sense," the man pondered mostly to himself, rubbing his chin before jerking a thumb toward the large building.

"Top floor on the right, you'll see a big 'ol walkway that circles the upper-half of tha' building over everything. Third door leads into an office, that's his," he explained shortly. Satori smiled and bowed his head in thanks before moving toward the fishery once more. The doors were wide open as fishermen came in and out, Satori stepped in without issue and began walking up the steps toward the upper-floor as instrinctured.

Well, that made sense. The Land of Water should probably make there were nice things to find under the water. That should be their main focus. They walked toward a man, who eyed them wearily. Or rather, eyed Satori. Next to him, Tin looked inconsequential. Of course, for Tin, that was a good thing. He didn’t particularly want to look dangerous. Being overlooked was better. He was glad he wasn’t born like Satori, that’d have been a pain.

Satori spoke with the man, apparently there was a specific time of the month when people came to get missions from them. Or maybe it was just the season of the Angry Fish. He listened to them idly, glancing around. The air was pungent with the smell of fish. It was probably thanks to the net, which held a lot of them. Or maybe they were just pulling them in so much it was just its natural aroma from now on. He didn’t really like the smell, so he kept his breathing to a minimum.

The man gave some instructions, and Tin nodded while Satori bowed his head. He followed him as they moved to the open doors. He frowned. He paused, looking around. He didn’t like it. He waited for a few moments, before taking in a deep breath, hunching his shoulders and lowering his head as he walked through rather deliberately, feeling a stab of panic as he noticed the close walls. He closed one eye and kept the other on the floor, trying not to think about it as he hurried up the steps.

Satori didn't force Tin. If he wanted to become a ninja he most assuredly needed to get over his claustrophobia. So, in a merciless way almost, Satori let the teen be and continued on his way into the building and up the stairs. Eventually, he followed. The soft sounds of his small feet tapping against the wooden stairs, Satori suppressed a smile. His progress really was quite impressive, all things considered. 

Once they reached the upper floor, Satori followed the walkway until they faced the door that had been specified to them. Knocking three times, there was a gruff response inside of an affirmative and Satori slid the door open and entered.

"Satori Ryuutei and Tin, Genin of Kirigakure, sir," he stated simply as he looked toward the bearded middle-aged man behind the desk. One beady blue-eyed examined them briefly before he grunted and leaned back in his chair.

"I'm glad someone finally accepted it, for some reason, it's a struggle despite the pay. Ninja should be able to handle some damn fish but alot of the Genin get intimidated," he stated with a sigh before crossing his arms over his chest. Glancing both of them over, eyes lingering on Tin's bow and Satori's claws, before seeming content.

"You'll manage," he stated simply, before motioning them closer. Satori led the way as normal while the man pulled out a map of the local area for them to view. Going over it a moment in silent to plot out what he was about to tell them.

He hurried along until he could see Satori’s legs and feet. He flipped his hood over, allowing his head to fall deep into it so he didn’t have to look around. He hated it. He didn’t like the wooden walls, nor the roof. He wanted to be able to see as far as possible. It felt as though they were closing in, suffocating him. It would’ve been even worse, had he not had his hood down.

He waited until Satori knocked and opened the door, then followed him in. He stood awkwardly next to Satori as the fisherman complained about the fish. If he didn’t have a bow, he wouldn’t want this job either. Going into a river with Angry Fish inside it wasn’t on his list of things to do. It wasn’t at all. He glanced at Satori through the hood, then looked down again.

The Fisherman seemed satisfied with something, probably them, then Satori walked closer. He didn’t b other looking at it, since Satori would do so anyway. There may come a time when he’d be able to do missions by his lonesome. Today wasn’t the day. He just waited for Satori to finish for now. Though after a moment he changed his mind. He walked slowly toward the table, then looked at whatever he had on it. There was a map, he glanced at it, trying to discern where they were supposed to go. Though he didn’t really use them, he guessed the big bunch of shapes was the fishery. “So… Where do we go?” he asks.

Satori glanced back as Tin hesitated to come forward, and prepared to just speak with the man on his own. But to his pleasant surprise instead, Tin came forward and inquired where they were going for him. A smile formed on Satori's lips as the man glanced at the smaller Genin, before pointing a finger toward a center building.

"We're here, you need to follow this river--" his finger shifted to place at the head of a river that was about a hundred meters from the fishery up the coast, "--up about five hundred meters," he traced his finger up along the river before tapping the spot. Satori examined it, his near-photographic memory burning it into the back of his mind before straightening as the man did. He looked between them with an arched brow.

"The fish are solo hunters, they live in areas of the river where the water slows down. Generally, they have a territory of about twenty-five meters in radius, and prefer to live in large rock coves, rotten logs, mud hills underwater. Things like that to provide them additional cover. Their smart bastards for fish too, so don't underestimate them unless you want to lose fingers big guy," Satori smiled slightly at this and nodded his head once.

"Do you mind if we borrow a tight-thread net to catch any of their corpses that float downstream, as well as his arrows?" he jerked a thumb at Tin, and the man nodded once.

"Figured you would ask. That's fine, long as you bring in the catch. We need at least ten, preferably more," Satori nodded once and glanced down at Tin. Making sure he didn't have any addiitonal questions.

Tin followed the fingers. So they were supposed to go a fair few meters up the coast, then following the river over around five times a fair few meters up the river. That sounded easy enough, it didn’t take much effort to just know where to go. He tilted his head, then nodded to himself. Follow the coast, then the river up five hundred meters. No, wait, he said follow the river up to there, THEN follow the other river up five hundred meters. There. He resisted the urge to scratch his head.

He gave some information about the fish, there wouldn’t be a pack of them at least, they could just follow them one by one. They were apparently smart, but he doubted that’d matter since he didn’t really want to go into the river anyway. Unless they were smart enough to be able to fly up and smack him or something. Satori asked a question for a net, and he was given the okay sign.

He heard an oppressive silence, and he guessed that was for any questions he had. He thought for a moment, then shook his head, signifying that he didn’t have any questions. So they needed at least ten, maybe some more. They’ll see.

Satori nodded when Tin make it clear he was satisfied.

"We'll begin now, then. Thank you for your time, sir," Satori stated politely causing a chuckle from the man and a nod.

"Both of you be safe," he stated simply before returning to his paperwork. Satori leading the way out of the building, once more down the steps and out the door. Crossing his arms under his chest he glanced along the beach and squinted against the sudden light until he spotted the rapids where the river shifted into the sea. Grunting he nodded before stopping by the man from before.

A short discussion later, and Satori had a large tightly woven net strapped to the side of his backpack. Moving toward the river afterward, Satori glanced down at Tin with an arched brow.

"Good job," he stated simply. A compliment due to him managing to deal with being indoors, staying civil, and even being proactive and paying attention during the mission briefing. It was several great strides in the right direction and the young man was proud of the teen's social progress.

Tin nodded as Satori said they’d begin now. Daylight’s burning, after all. He didn’t want to waste time getting that much ryo. Maybe he’d be able to learn some things with books or such. Maybe he’d be able to buy them. Maybe it’s just a waste of time. He’d see. He followed Satori out of the building, letting out a sigh of relief as they left the room. They moved toward the beach, Tin pulled back his hood to look around. Satori was looking at the bridge.

They walked toward the guy form before, and they got the net. He followed Satori as they moved down the river. He arched a brow right back at Satori as he told him he did a good job. What for? Getting into the house? Anyone could do that. He grumbled to himself as they moved on. While they moved, he moved his bow from his shoulders and inspected it.

“Maybe some blades on their ends would be good.” he muttered. “Then it can be used to stab as well.” he shrugged. Maybe he’d just put his kunai knife on the end with some rope. That way he has more reach. He wasn’t very good at knife fighting, so what he needed to do was just… Poke people away, maybe.

Satori glanced down at him as Tin commented on his bow as they walked, and shook his head at the idea of what he was offering to do.

"Not at the ends. Putting spikes above and below the grip is a decent idea, though, or a hand-guard. But you never want to try and hit someone with a bow in melee combat. They're built to flex, which mitigates the force of the attack immensely. If someone gets close you need to have a weapon that's easy to draw in an emergency, so a shorter blade. One you can use effectively at your current physique, so light. It's why I got you the kunai blade." He glanced down at him before looking back up.

"Once you get a stronger physique it may be a good idea to learn how to use a kama and chain, or something similar though. That way you have a mid to short range option if you get ambushed or are forced to enter melee range," rubbing his chin in thought he shrugged as they walked. There were options, but at the moment focusing on one weapon at a time was a good idea. The blade was purely for emergencies, at least for now.

Tin stayed silent, huffing as Satori gave his explanation. Maybe if he gets rich enough to buy a house, he’d just get a neat bow instead. That’s assuming he survives any of his missions, this one included. Maybe the fish can just… Jump out of the water to kill him or something like that. “Well. I’d like to shoot and defend myself at the same time.” He shrugged. “Stab, then jump back and loose.”

He shrugged. He’s still got the Kunai blade. He glanced at Satori as he told him of a weapon he could use. Maybe. He didn’t feel as though he could learn more than a couple of things at a time. There’s no way he could learn more than a few things, or one thing, at a time at the moment.

He glanced around, they continued to follow the river. “Where should we put the net?” he asked. “Some hundred meters down the river?” he asked.

Satori nodded once as Tin clarified he'd rather just having something he could use on the bow itself. It was the better of the ideas, after all so Satori had no issue with it.

"Spikes around the handle with a finger-guard would probably be a good idea then. I'll try to draw something up for you and if you like the idea I'll see if Minami would be able to make you something. Assuming you don't want to try on your own." A grin formed on his lips, before his gaze flicked toward the river at the second question as they began to walk along its edge further inland.

"Mm. Let's find a spot that's as rapid as possible close to the first area we'll be fishing. That way the current will catch it more effectively and the arrows will stay at the top," as he clarified this he then glanced over at him.

"You brought the wire I got for you, right? We'll attach that to your arrows as well. If things go the way we'd like them to, the arrow will hit the fish and I'll just drag it onto shore since they're broad heads. The net is a fallback plan, just in case though."