The Saga Begins (Mission/Shin)

Gate Duty:

As the sun began to dip behind the walls of the chasm that housed the Village Hidden in Stone a music would carry over the village walls on the air. It was a beautiful, haunting tone, the sound of a tortured soul releasing their pain through their music, but a tone created by a master of their craft. The sounds of the Biwa were impossible to mistaken, everything about the instrument unique and that uniqueness accentuating the pain that was poured into each note. You could feel his longing to feel his mother’s gentle touch wiping away his tears once more, to see his father’s smile as he helped the boy learn to perform the great plays of the generations. You could feel the pain of watching their murder at the hands of the shinobi who had for some reason spared him, at his rejection in the cities and the terrible mistreatment he had dealt with in his youth. There was no hope, no happiness, only darkness...

The wind would toss the wild red hair of the man, no longer a boy, playing the stringed instrument sitting atop the walls of the village. His fingers danced like the flicker of a candle against a cavern’s walls, and the instrument reacted as though caressed by a lover’s gentle touch. His eyes would stay closed as he played, completely occupied by the act of performing for no one in particular, but releasing his soul through his music. This may confuse the person whom he was waiting for, as he was technically sent here to do a mission, but for one like him it was too easy to get wrapped up in what you were doing otherwise. That hair would stand as a stark contrast to his pale features, the silver scars lining his face, and especially the simple black robes that he was wearing. This was not a combatant, this was a man on his first mission, and he had come with naught but his will and a song.

Wandering eyes would occasionally glance up towards the wall, some gathering to listen to the song, many leaving wiping tears from their eyes as Yasashi Horosha made his debut to the village...

After having spent the last few days finally settling into the village, Shin started to feel he had more free time than was necessary. Having solved his lodging situation and taking some time to rest up, the Iwa native, who had been out of the village longer than he lived within its walls, began to take his duties more seriously. No longer was Shin just idling his days away, but now he had picked up a training regimen, got to know some of his neighbours – at least knowing their names – and was now at the stage of helping out the village as a shinobi would. Today’s task seemed relatively simple; guard duty. He wouldn’t be alone in his endeavour, as he would be partnered up with another shinobi. Shin had no idea who the other person was except for a name, Yasashi. He hoped it would be a simple task of identifying the other person, yet with no knowledge of any physical characteristics, he would need to ask around to find the individual. Though it would be a task made simple if the individual was the only one at the rendezvous point detailed in the document he received.

The wind picked up as he approached his destination, blowing his ponytail, conveniently, behind him. The sound of music, an instrument he was not too familiar with, began to ring louder than it had been when he first approached the area. Shin had dressed more appropriately for the situation he had tonight, having forgone his attire that seemed more formal than required. Instead it was a dark brown long sleeve shirt paired with black pants and combat boots; simple and efficient should any unnecessary situation arise.

He spotted just a single person; a red-haired individual playing the instrument; the source of the music. Shin approached, not trying to hide his presence and waited until there was a lull in the bard’s melody. When the lull would hit, Shin cleared his throat and spoke. “Are you Yasashi? I’m Muramatsu Shin. We’ve been assigned guard duty together.” Shin would stand at his full height, nearing six feet, his amber orbs listlessly watching the bard, awaiting a response to assure him this was the correct individual.

The young musician was so wrapped up in his playing that he didn’t notice the man approaching him. Unfortunately it seemed that this man was uncultured, interrupting Yasashi before his piece was finished and nearly causing him to stumble on his play. He, of course, wouldn’t stumble, but would instead look up at the man who was standing in front of him, his eyes a storm of emerald green as they beheld the person who had decided it was appropriate to interrupt him. If it wasn’t for the absolutely basic attire he had chosen, Yasashi would have conceded that he was attractive, something that was e easy to note from his strong facial features. Yasashi, however, wouldn’t give him that and instead would allow his tune to soften a bit more as he continued to pluck away, the melody coming down into a place where they would be able to have a conversation with the simple tune as a backing track.

“I am Yasashi, yes...” His melodic voice shared hints of the power that hid beneath it, and while he hadn’t been singing, he was known to have a phenomenal voice. This voice, in fact, had also been used in order to convince people to assist him several times in the past, and the commanding presence that surprisingly was packed behind that voice was impressive to say the least. That was at his peak when he was truly trying, however, and right now he was not so concerned with such things. His eyes would wander over the wall, keeping an eye on the nearby gate as he did so. “Guard duty would be more interesting with music, would it not? There isn’t much traffic in this area, even if the village is at war, and we’ve only just met. Music is a wonderful thing, however, that spurs the soul and spirits, allowing them to reach heights that they never could otherwise.”

If Yasashi was going to be stuck here with this man for the evening, he was going to at least work on giving him an appreciation of music. By the end of the evening he would never interrupt a bard again without thinking twice about it...

Ignoring the slight irritation that was climbing up his chest, wishing for the words to be released as this supposed ‘Yasashi’ character continued his tune, Shin’s own amber orbs meeting the emerald of the male before him. Refusing to feel unsettled, Shin continued to apathetically observe the male with the biwa, waiting for the response that would eventually come. Tuning out the music that verberated through the air, Shin would patiently wait for a response; he had to wait a decade to return home, what was a few more mere minutes?

The confirmation that the person before him was Yasashi – the person he was tasked gate duty with – had Shin questioning how the next few hours would play out. Given their initial introduction, with Yasashi essentially outright ignoring his question, Shin figured it would be hours that would feel unnecessarily lengthy. One could only hope that time would fly by and he’d be able to return back home sooner rather than later.  Shin would mentally note that this Yasashi character had a voice that was suited for singing, yet that point remained moot compared to the actions that had taken place so far between himself and his forced companion for the evening.

“I suppose if you were inclined to listen to music, then it would make for a more interesting night.” Shin had spent the majority of the past decade without music, so whether Yasashi ended up playing music or not mattered little to Shin. The comment about there not being much traffic, even given the time of day and the current state of the village was the most intriguing thing Shin had heard escape his associate's mouth thus far. “If you wish to keep playing, then go on ahead. I have no inclination toward or against your performing.” Shin’s comment would come out as blunt as it sounded, for it was clear the Muramatsu was apathetic towards the musical arts. It simply was something out of his element, nor did he care much for it either.

Yasashi could see the annoyance on the face of the man whom he had been assigned to work with, something he simply didn’t understand. He was in the presence of a great performer, one of the best, and yet here he just seemed to angry for seemingly no reason. Had Yasashi said something wrong? It’s not like he was the one who had interrupted Shin’s performance. And his comments were so blunt, so devoid of feeling and joy. This was a man with no sense of enjoyment of life, someone who clearly went from moment to moment simply because he had to and not because he wanted to see what was coming and enjoy it. It was a disappointing realization that he first ninja he had been asked to work with was someone who was so empty inside, but he would fill his cup.

He would complete the song he was playing, moving to a spot where he could see better and taking his seat, glancing over the outside of the village gates. He didn’t need to look to hit his notes, and hadn’t had to for years, and so playing and keeping watch was no issue. His concern wasn’t with the gate, anyway, but more with the man standing nearby. “So how does one become so starved of joy that they can’t appreciate music? I’ve dealt with some horrific things in my life, but it only pushed me on to love music more. It’s good to have something in your life that brings beauty and joy to you and those around you.” His long red hair would blow in the wind and the young shinobi would feel a well of sadness over not only his past, but the thought of living without music. At this point he felt bad for Shin, not annoyed or angry with him...He’d have to help him, no matter the cost....



60

Indifference was the sole word that Shin would use to describe how he felt with the individual assigned to gate duty with him tonight; irritation had definitely been present from the very few words exchanged between them, though mostly from the lack of response from Yasashi. Shin did not mind being assigned to work with someone else, it often helped pass the time when the world’s pace would slow down significantly. Yet it seemed tonight would not be the case, he assumed based on what had occurred thus far.  He would step away slightly, providing a decent distance between himself and the red-haired individual, his eyes no longer watching his colleague, but rather the gate they were meant to watch over and the scenery in the distance. It hadn’t been long since he was one of the few people who had trekked through these gates to return home to Iwagakure no Sato.

As the music continued, Shin let the sound meld in with sounds of nature and the rumblings of people that could only vaguely be heard in the distance. Amber orbs would watch for any bit of movement, the movement being a welcome distraction for his eyes rather than settling for a completely inanimate object. It would help keep him aware and much less likely to doze off. Eventually, audible words would enter his ears; words produced by Yasashi that had nothing to do with his music – at least not playing it at the current moment. Shin would listen to Yasashi’s rambling about his lack of appreciation for music. “Starved of joy?” Shin would repeat, taking a moment before he would fully answer the question. His answer likely wouldn’t be one that Yasashi sought out, but it would be the one he’d receive. “Suppose you’d have to ask someone who lacks that quality. As for myself, music is just music to me. Some people enjoy it, others do not. Personally, I don’t have any feelings towards or against it.” Shin would supply his answer with a slight shrug, his time as a child might’ve been more appropriate towards enjoying music, but the years in Kumogakure no Sato had been ones that lacked it; more concerned with the day to day living. “Much like most people, not everyone shares a similar opinion on everything.” He would tack on to his answer.

Time passed by with a relatively uneventful evening passing by. His last exchange with Yasashi had been left with nothing much else to talk about; Shin had given his input and simply left the conversation at that. He would return back to watching the gate and the few people that would come to and fro the village gates. Time would continue to tick by with no activity happening, a reprieve from the busy days that Shin had recently had himself. It was nice to relax, even though he was still alert enough to do a respectable job on checking the cargo coming into and out of the village; whereby he had to do a total of two checks in total in the amount of time that would pass during his shift. As for his companion that joined him for the gate duty, Shin would leave him be and aid in the job wherever necessary, though he would mostly keep to himself. Whether he and Yasashi started off on the wrong foot remained to be seen, but Shin was content in letting the sounds of the night drown out their earlier conversation and instead focusing on letting him mind relax. Eventually, the time would come for Shin to depart the village gates. There was not much activity happening this particular night, thus the night had passed by achingly slow for Shin. He would give Yasashi a parting word, a simple ‘bye’, before Shin would be on his way to return to the Muramatsu clan district.

[exit thread]