Civil War Cleanup[Shimiko]

Menza the Cursed One wrote:
Mission Name: Civil War Clean Up
Mission Type: Clean Up
Mission Rank: C-Rank
Mission Goal: Clean up the Administrative Districts
Description: Clean up the area around the Administrative District where the fighting between Jashinists and Loyalists occurred. If there are any stragglers or residual protesters tell them to leave the area and if they refuse, prepare to arrest them.
Payment: 15,000
Requirements: Genin+

The fighting between the Jashinists and Non-Jashinists that had rocked the social and economic climate of Kirigakure had for the majority of its duration existed as a mere annoyance within the world of Barlow. He cared little about religion or what those around him believed, and as long as no one bothered him Barlow was ok with whatever went on in the village. Now though, since the conflict had directly lead to Barlow being inconvenienced by having to assist in the cleanup, he possessed a sort of lazy hatred of all those who had been involved with the conflict. "Why couldn't these people have just cleaned up their own mess? Everyone knows that if you mess something up you should be responsible for cleaning it." The exact details and outcome of the fighting were none of Barlow's business so he had no clue of who had actually caused the damage and where they currently were, but in his mind what he had said made perfect sense.

"It's like these people grew up without mothers to teach them manners." Gripping tightly onto the broom that he had somehow picked up since receiving his task of cleaning up, Barlow's head would drop as he'd sigh, completely devoid of energy despite not even having begun to work on his mission. "I really don't feel like doing this right now, it's stupid that I'm even responsible." Taking a look at his surroundings and not seeing anyone that appeared to even notice his existence, Barlow decided to lean onto his broom for support and relax for the moment. Eventually, someone would come along to ensure that he was working as he was supposed to, but until then the young shinobi would relax.

WC: 287

Normally a mission to clean up a district was far beneath the Captain of Kumo ANBU, but not this one. Shimiko felt partially responsible for the clash between factions in the village. She had not been around to de-escalate the situation and as far as she was concerned that was as if she caused the incident herself. The fact that this had all happened under her watch after she swore on Hagoromo's Comet that it wouldn't, was enough to get her to sign up for a lousy C-Rank mission. There was another reason for her decision to sign up though. The two groups were still at each other's throats. They had ceased fighting but there were still incidents of minor altercations. If any of them came to the site of the battle to jeer or provoke she'd be there to stop them before things got serious. Nariko had made it clear that if the riot was not resolved when she returned, she'd handle it her own way. The end result would put her io a collisions course with those Shimiko cared most about. This couldn't be allowed to happen. And so, Shimiko found herself picking up debris and tossing it into a garbage bin.

The mission also gave her a chance to make some contact with the local genin. Shimiko hardly remembered what it was like to be a genin in Kumo. It was only a few years ago but so much had happened since then. She remembered loving her squadmates, she remembered falling for a certain blonde charmer, and she remembered sacrificing the homeless in the gutters of the city. The day to day mundane tasks of the job however were lost on her until now. There was another genin picking up trash around where she was and she finally empathize with the boredom and frustration he was feeling. No genin joined the military to pick up trash. They joined to do the sort of thing Shimiko did on a daily basis. Perhaps she might find a genin with some pzazz that she could nurture into something greater. Outside of the twins and Miyu she didn't really have students of her own. She had tried to make something of Notte but that had totally failed. Whatever happened to that kid anyways? Last she heard, he was battling the plague but no one seemed to be dying from that illness any more. He was wasting away like Ryuko. A true tragedy.

Shimiko eyed Barlow as he noisly complained. The woman rolled her eyes. There was a large list of reasons not to get attached to genin. He was adding to that list.

Barlow observed his surroundings as he rested, leaning onto the broom and using it for support. He watched as the people around him assisted in the cleanup. Surely they weren't all doing the same mission he was, and he could only assume that some people were doing it for reasons other than money. People were genuinely affected by the conflict going on within the village, and even though he believed that their patriotism was idiotic, he understood that it sucked for them how their passion was blowing up in their faces. That was how people were though, they put all their heart and soul into something, and it was ripped away by someone who didn't care. There was always a person who thought that what they cared about was important enough to disregard how they affected others. Barlow used to wish that he could change things, but as he became a shinobi he began to understand that he would never be able to do enough to save everyone. So, he decided that at the very least he would support himself. He would do whatever he needed to do in order to take care of himself and stop his own suffering, and he would perform missions for his village for as long as it required of him. The moment he was in a position where he no longer needed to stay within his village, there wouldn't be any real reason for him to stay.

Despite his belief that he needed to do whatever was needed to support himself, Barlow wasn't the best at execution, and would often find himself slacking off on his missions. He got bored easily and had a hard time getting interested and caring about what he was doing. This was exactly what was happening in the administrative district, as everyone who had heard his complaints would be aware. Barlow lazed about for a short time, becoming aware of the gaze of Shimiko early on, and perhaps even extending his rest period after noticing how he was being judged by the more mature shinobi. Barlow knew it probably wouldn't be in his best interest to annoy her, as she looked important, be he couldn't help himself.

Shimiko noticed Barlow slacking and her jaw tightened. Who the hell does this kid think he is? It seemed that genin these days were always looking for shortcuts, excuses, and escape hatches. The ANBU wasn't having it. She shouted out to Barlow and began walking over to him. Truth be told, Shimiko was less mad at him and more about the general situation. The Administrative District had been totally ruined and Kumo's morale was low. The whole devestation was a reminder of her own failings and it was a bitter pill for her to swallow. Rather than dwelling on it, she channeled her frustration and desire to do better outwards.

"Hey you! Get back to work!"

Shimiko would stand right over the genin and put her hands on her hips. A stern face looking down at the insubordinate genin.

"Put your back into it! What do you think this is? A tea party? I'm a girl and I could take less breaks than you"

She knew that shinobi tended to have very fragile egos. The fastest way to motivate a male ninja appeared to be comparing them to a kunoichi.

And that was where Orihime came to play.

Orihime briskly paced the dead battlefield looking for the jounin she had been assigned with. It was typical for her to be late on events; it was typical for her to apologize for her tardiness. Without a heartbeat passing after she finally spotted them, she came rushing towards them and as she did, had already came up with all sorts of apologies and excuses in her head.

She abruptly halted when she had reached a few paces close then quickly bowed, deeply, until her hair touched the ground. “I’m terribly sorry I’m late!” Her voice bursted out, audibly yet softly exhaling out crescendos of jagged breaths. It took a few moments after the jounin excused her, only then she would raise herself back.
  The jounin and Orihime’s eyes met and involuntarily, she cocked a brow at her. Her eyes moved at the jounin’s head to toe to head. She gulped. The jounin was Chinoike Shimiko, the man behind the desk back in administrations forgot to give Orihime the name or, perhaps, didn’t bother to at all. She generalized all jounins to be ragged looking, frightening to face, like the teachers she had back in the academy, but the one who stood before her was different. She was almost surprised to see how easy on the eyes she was. She would ask for a name, but it would mean to have to give her own name first as common courtesy. Frankly, she wasn’t sure if the jounin would care to know. Though Orihime would very much like to be trained by a proper looking shinobi like herself. Especially from another Chinoike herself. Her mouth opened—but she hesitated—then quickly shut it. Maybe the name could wait until later, she thought.

“Yes, I will get right into work.” Her voice, clearer this time, muttered. Bowing her head once again to the jounin and at the boy resting beside her before begun. She twisted her body away from them, gazing at the littered field. There were plenty of dry leaves, some clustered together but still too many scattered onto the ground, with the wind blowing through them; There were weapons of different kinds, rusted no longer capable of use, some stuck in the dirt, some clinged into the wood; Some opened scrolls here and there extended to their lengths, some were hanging on a tree branch; And there was blood. Blood that was once splattered on the ground. coating what was left of the withering grass. The farmer inside Orihime pitied the nature around her. She considered herself fortunate to only clean litter instead of bodies. Though it felt somewhat ominous that a littered battlefield could look so clean, without the bodies. Her eyes narrowed. Her spine shivered at the chilling thought. “What even happened here?” She whispered the question to particularly no one.
  She grabbed a trash bag she had prepared out from her hip pouch.

The young man started working harder, or maybe he hadn't. It was tough to tell with genin. Shimiko found them very weak and therefore it was hard to ascertain when they were truly giving it their all. She sighed and shook her head. A new girl ran up to her and apologized profusely for being late. Shimiko stared at the girl and put her hands on her hips.

"What's wrong with you? You see your comrades breaking their backs trying to get this village in order and you're disrespecting their hard work by showing up late. Don't just apologize to me, apologize to the rest of the genin. Right now!"

Shimiko's brows were furrowed and her expression severe.

If the genin apologized, Shimiko would jerk her head in the direction of where the work needed to be done. Hopefully the younger Chinoike would take the hint and start pitching in.

“What even happened here?” She whispered the question to particularly no one.
 She grabbed a trash bag she had prepared out from her hip pouch, crackling the bag to slit open it’s plastic seal until —
  “What’s wrong with you?” The jounin’s words gravely ventured away from her mouth. Orihime jumped, slipping the plastic trash bag out of her hand.
  Earlier she had expected to be scolded but she wished she was scolded any earlier than now.
  The trash bag drifted it’s feathered weight away to the wind, too far for Orihime to begin reaching toward it. She abruptly turned around to face them again, attempting to regain a dignified composure however, without any noticeable success. “Don’t just apologize to me, apologize to the rest of the genin. Right now!”
  What did she exactly mean by that though? Orihime aroused the question to herself. Did she mean all genin in Kumogakure or all the genin here? ...There are only two genins present here. She imagined she’d be hit in the head for asking a question with an obvious answer but the answer hadn’t quite hit her, it was clouded by anxiety. And the anxiety showed.
 
The older Chinoike had a knack, Orihime had to admit. Orihime’s guard was usually as thick as a jawbreaker, it would take more than a single human mouth to reach its way into her core but she was different. The jounin was more of a wooden mallet, easily hammering through the jawbreaker. She hasn’t yet met a jounin who was as grave until her.
  Maybe it was the way the older Chinoike had warned her, whatever aura she had radiated; behind the beautiful facade, a woman who was as stern as a military general stood as her tyrant shadow behind her, or so Orihime felt.
  Now, she had better do as she’s told before the wooden mallet pulverises her completely.

  Orihime took what she thought was the safest choice to make. She faced herself at the other genin, Barlow Barlow, who had begun his chore. “I’m” — Her chest swelled as she breathed. Then released only bits of her tensions as she continued. — “I’m sorry.” She apologized demurely, bowing her head as she did.
  Barlow Barlow excused her as he cocked his head away. “I don’t really care.” He said anyways.
  She raised herself from a bow once again and faced towards the jounin. This time, patiently awaiting the orders.

Shimiko's stern visage pierced Orihime as she scrutinized the girl. A moment of realization crept on her face. "I know you. You're Orihime right?" Every since marrying the Clan Leader she had made it her business to know most of the names and faces of her "subjects". If Orihime answered in the affirmative she'd nod and then jerk her head in the direction of where the work was, essentially dismissing the genin to her task. She had heard the girl's question and would answer it in due time. For now she wanted most of this trash cleared away. Shimiko activated her Ketsurygan and watched the area as the genin kept working. They were painfully slow and if this took any longer she'd be tempted to clear most of the debris herself.

“You’re Orihime, right?” Orihime slightly tilted her head when the question rose. And once again, she was caught off guard. “Yes, ma’am” she had said gingerly as she nodded. How rude of me to not know your name — was all her mind was thinking. “Rude” was just scratching the surface because of the fact that the wiser Chinoike held the name which weighed heavier than a bar of gold to their clan and to the Jashinists. Orihime had yet to know the trouble she could have been in. The wiser Chinoike nodded and jerked her head, gesturing where to begin. Orihime had caught on, her eyes had shifted to the direction then her body had followed as well.

The jounin studied Orihime and Barlow as they did their chores, Orihime gave a few glances towards Barlow Barlow and at Chinoike Shimiko but did her best not to make any eye contact especially at the jounin. She did her best. For a flicker Orihime met the jounin’s ketsuryugan— she felt as though her heartbeat along with her breath halted for a second. “She’s just like me.” She whispered to herself.
And unbeknownst to Orihime, there were more.

Her gaze stayed to the jounin. If she had noticed Orihime would have quickly looked away and returned back to doing her chores, faster this time.

Shimiko waited quietly as Orihime worked. She'd give the group another hour or so to do the clean up before she decided she had had enough. It was an excruciating waste of time to watch these genin work. In the hour that passed, 50% of the debris had been cleared and at this rate they'd take three hours to get the rest done. Shimiko released a metric ton of blood from her armour. It poured out a pressurized stream and flooded the area, covering the genin up to their knees in the crimson liquid. Shimiko increased the density of the blood and used its thicker viscosity to lift tons of the object from the area and into designated dump trucks. She worked like this for a solid twenty minutes before the work was finally completed. The blood lurched back into her armour and she folded her arms and addressed the group.

"This mission should have taken you guys less than an hour. But your weak, slow, and sluggish. Train harder. This village needs you now more than ever. If you put your all into your shinobi craft....then one day you'll all be as strong as I am"

Shimiko normally wasn't this stern. She always was a happy go lucky kind of girl. Unfortunately the stress and pain of the contemporary political situation had worn on her character. She could no longer wear a mask of niceties when every week was a new headache and challenge. It was an aspect of her personhood that she had sacrificed at the altar of duty to God and State. That and many other things.

"You are all dismissed....except Orihime"

The group including Barlow would shuffle away leaving only the female Chinoike. Shimiko walked up to the girl and looked her in the eye.

"I trust you know who I am"

The girl was apparently star-struck. She stared there completely dumbfounded and in awe of her commanding officer. Shimiko rolled her eyes and wrote down her contact info before handing it to Orihime and leaving. She was rapidly losing faith in the genin in this village.

"Just....here...give me a shout if you need anything"

She did it out of a sense of obligation. She was the wife of the Chinoike Clan Leader. This meant she needed to take a more active role in the affairs of her clan mates. Just another thing to do on my endless to do list...



[Exit]