Defending the wooden gate (D-Rank mission)

on the job learning:

Same a s last time the sun was in the process of rising slowly over the horizon, giving the people of Konoha the light and warmth they loved so much. Taking a relaxed walk to the villagw walls Kanara thought about the events from last time. What was the reason those people wanted to smuggle things through them gate, and what did they even smuggle? Questions after questions formed in Kanaras head. Questions shehadnt asked herself yet, as she didnt think that she would be assigned to this mission anymore. However she was. Either by will of the chunin she was guarding th egate with last time or by the will of the aritokracy, it didnt matter to Kanara. What mattered to her was the end of her shit. After all she didnt have a good night today, so staying awake would maybe become a problem. Meeting hibiki, Kanara asked about the group of smugglers the two of them caught last time, Hibihi layed open the things they smuggled. Weapons. It always had to be weapons of any kind. Even when the villages claimed to be in peace with another, there always was a need for weapons and shinobi, which was strange as the real shinobis were ment to be killing maschines. Not people doing minor jobs as she now did. Those d-ranked missions were there in order to give the "new generation the feeling that what they were doing as soon as the got somewhat powerful -aka killing the enemies of the village- was jsut as good as helping old ladies pull out the weed from her garden. And it worked. HIbiki, now seeing how tired Kanara was, introduced her to an ancient technique that not even the gods could resist. It was how to brew the perfect coffe, that had just the right amount of bitterness, and keffeine to wake someone up, but also enought taste of roasted beans and armona to be something to enjoy. Thanking him for the cofee, Kanara resumed teh shift she had together with Hibiku, spending it through talking ot him about all of lifes aspects, though keeping the topic simple. After all he still was a stranger to Kanara.

This had to be some kind of strange punishment devised by the leaders of the village to prove to him that he was helpless. His efforts were futile. Every time he came here all he could think about was that time he almost died trying to flee the leaf. He didn't want to have to explain that to anybody ever again. What is left of his family doesn't even believe his story.

This was the second time that he did a mission here, as well, and he remember it as especially boring. With this in mind, Yuichi was purposefully late. Very late. As late as he thought he could get away with. It was around the one-and-a-half-hour mark past when he was supposed to arrive that he finally got around to it.

He discovered Kanara having a drink of coffee with Hibiki. He never had coffee before. It smelled nice, so Yuichi approached them.

"Hello, I apologize for being late, I got caught up in something on my way over."

After being reprimanded for being so late, it's not like he could fire Yuichi from ninja life, he got the coffee he desired. It tasted horrible. So, he poured it out into a sink that was in a room that people on guard duty used as a sort of break room. Then he returned to spend time with Kanara.

Kanaras face ligthened up as she saw the new arrival. She didnt ecpect to make this mission today with another shinobi, even less so with someone she called a friend. It was yuichi, however he was late. Jduging from the relaxed look that Hibiki had, he didnt mind his late arrival too much. After all there handt been too many things that happened while he wasnt there and todsay seemed to be a slow day anyways.

"Hey yuichi, rough day huh?"

Same could he ask kanara though, as she still looked sleepy, despite being fully awake from the coffee, that hibiki made for the two of them. As youichi also tried something of it, it was clear that he couldnt stand the taste of it. THis was made even clearer by the fact thta he disappered with the still nearly full cup of coffee and returned with an empty one. Surely he couldnt have drunken the hot beverage in that short time. Bringing her attention bach to hibiki they contnued their talking about the weather and whatnot all. While kanara liked the qietness and peacefuleness of her shift, that had kept up until now, she also noticed herself oftne taking looks at the clock, watching the minutes pass slowly by. Admitting to herself that her shift would be over sooner if there was some kind of action she sighed. However there was nothing to be done, except listening to hibikis endless stories about the women he made "happy", the awsome feats he accomplished and the times he nearly escaped death. If even half of his stories were true however, he must have been an even greater warrior then the Hokage himself. By the time his stories got repetetative and clearly more fiction then anything else, Kanara noticed that their shift was over. Saying her goodbyes to hibiki and gathering her few things she got ready to head ot the mission office together with Yuichi, clearly desperate to escape this awkward situation she found herself in. Waitig for yuichi she stood a few meters away from the gate, ready to begin their journey.

{EXIT}

"Only a little, I simply have a lot on my plate sometimes."

Hibiki had some really funny stories that he told them while the waited for their shift to end. Some of them were clearly untrue, but Yuichi didn't mind because he found them entertaining. When Kanara finally found that her shift was over, she collected her things from the nearby office, and Yuichi simply did the same. She was clearly impatient to be out of this situation. Yuichi followed her. The two left the gate together. Yuichi was trailing behind her. He smiled when she stopped to wait for him. Kanara was always nice to him.

[Exit]