Cleaning the Beach!

Mission Details:

After a quick stop by the mission board Tsubaki picked a simple mission that was risk-free and helped benefit the Land of Water's environment. Tsubaki was well aware of her own capabilities but did not know much about what Alkaid or Yanagi were capable of. She figured it ought to best to stick with something safe. She would not want to put her new friends in a line of direct harm. They were each given some bare supplies needed for the job. They were each given a roll of plastic garbage bags, a pair of disposable gloves, and a short pike to skewer garbage. Tsubaki dresses very light and loose to accompany her clan's ability. She wears a pair of deep blue sandals popular among many Shinobi which is coupled with a lavender haori kimono. The kimono is secured with a blue sash secured around her waist. Beneath the kimono Tsubaki wears a light mesh shirt to provide additional coverage.

Tsubaki herself is of short height among her clan, standing only 5'6 and weight 140 lbs. Just like her kin she shares a very pale, soft skin. This is coupled with sapphire eyes and pearly white hair which extends all the way down to her lower back. Although having a somewhat fit figure her endowed chest and lower body balances her out. Tsubaki would travel with Yanagi and Alkaid to the shores of the Hozuki Isle. For the most part the beaches throughout the entire Land of Water does not suffer from pollution. It was mainly the Ota portion, which received a lot of traffic from the other lands to deal with training. As expected, visitors had no respect for the Land of Water's environment. But Tsubaki was there to change that!

The party would follow a dirt path through light jungle as they approached the beach. There were few trees with random, small clusters of wild bamboo sprouting from the ground. The earth had little vegetation, being primarily dirt, though the road they took was clearly more weathered than the surrounding ground making it a bit more obvious where to follow. The light shined through the canopy layer rather nicely providing a bit of shade for the ground to travel under. The smell of ocean water and eminent as seagulls squawking could be heard in the distant. "We should reach the beach any minute.
If we work hard we can get this done before dinner!" Tsubaki said excited and totally motivated to finish the job. She was not a fan of leftovers and preferred her food piping hot.

Alkaid had been wondering what sort of mission her slightly older cousin would select for them and it seemed her assumption it wouldn’t be dangerous was a correct one as now they where heading towards  a beach strewn with small pieces of debris preparing to clean it up.   Thank god she hadn’t gotten a sword after all because right now it would have just been extra weight to lug around which was about the last thing she needed.

“This is so far below my class.” she thought with a short sigh. Was this type of thing normal when instructing gennin? Picking up literal trash was such an under use of even the the ninja’s abilities that it wasn’t even funny.  Shouldn’t they have some academy students or civilians on this?  Their had to be some way to get make some lemonade from this lemon but for the life of her she couldn’t think of one.

She wasn’t likely to see anything here that she could use for her profiling assignment.  Not that she needed anything on Tsubaki. She knew her cousin like the back of her hand and could write pages and pages on the princess with her eyes closed.  Yanagi was another story though. She had a pretty good idea of the youngers girl’s personality but needed to know more about her current combat capabilities in order to writer a proper report.

The jungle they passing though was rather warm and Alkaid was begging to regret her chose of attire for the day. She looked like a stock Kirigakure ninja. A navy blue vest with a low cut v-line to help show of her modest assets paired with a set of navy blue slacks and the typical sandles most shinobi seemed to wear.  Topping it off was a a purple scarf dangling around her neck that ran down behind her almost all the way to the back of her knee

It was a great outfit for blending in with the other ninja in her village which tended to be on the damp side, but not entirely ideal for the beach.   “I should have worn a swimsuit.” She whined to herself while wondering just how much longer it was going to take for them to even get to their destination.

Walking just a few steps behind Tsubaki they seemed like a set of twin sisters, only Alkaid wasn’t quite as busty as her elder and sported a shorter hairstyle to make it easier to tell the two apart, thought she wouldn’t be above stuffing her bra and putting on a wig on to act as Tsubaki’s body double if her cousin asked her to.

“I don’t care if it’s an entire shipwreck, we’ll have the place spotless before we’re done” She declared loudly in an effort to work herself up for what was sure to be a tiresome task ahead. “Speaking of dinner what should we have?  Udon? Yakisoba?” she asked suggesting a couple of noodle based dishes in the process.

“Of course you’ll eat with us as well Yanagi and we’ll get your sister Yui to join us. Having the best 4 girls in the clan around one table would be a real treat. Maybe I could even get you guys to tell me how you always manage to stay so thin, I’m so jealous” she said adding the last part jokingly.

"Hmmm. Some Udon would be perfect." Tsubaki said this, considering the nutritional aspects of the meal plan as well as taste. She was not a health-nut by any means, though she grew up eating clean. Thus fried foods, heavy sauces, and the like were off her regular menu. Along with her desire to stay in tip top shape gave her some healthy habits. She would shake the idea off her head for now. It was not the time to be thinking about food. They had a mission to complete, and although it was a low ranking one, it helped them grow and represent the Kaguya clan. A cool, refreshing breeze picked up, the smell of sea water becoming more eminent. They were to their destination. Breaking the tree line they stepped onto a mixture of dirt and sand. Tsubaki stopped in her tracks, placing her hands on her hips and scrying the beach for trash. It was obvious at her first glace, finding the empty bags, water bottles, plastic rings, and all sorts of stuff that shouldn't be on the shores. It dampened the environment of the beach, especially on such a pristine day. Luckily, they were there to help.

Tsubaki dressed light for a multitude of reasons. One of them being climate adaption. Kirigakure was mostly cool, hovering around sixty degrees Fahrenheit for the high in most parts, though on clean days it can easily reach eighty degrees, such as today. She could tolerate the cold well, and the sun was no problem as long as it was mild. She was worried about damaging her skin more than anything. She was told Kaguya never get tanned, though she never wanted to risk it. She tried to avoid the sun as much as possible, and thus Kirigakure was the best place for her clan to settle down. "Here we go!
Let's get to work! The one who picks up the most trash doesn't have to pay for dinner!" In a brief blur Tsubaki heads towards the shore. Her feet kicking up a cloud of sand made her almost seem like she disappear. She would blitz the beach, piercing the trash with her pike and setting it in her bag at top speed, moving between sites of leftover trash. She would work hard and diligently to meet her goal.

As Tsubaki decided upon their dinner Alkaid thought about how to best go about actually making it. One of the things about being an infltration specialist was that she had been taught to be a pretty decent cook. She’d heard rumors about people able to make food that could provide temporary boosts and of course wasn’t up to that level, but she was good enough to at least make a normal meal.

Cooking udon wouldn’t be too hard if she at least got the noodles premade. It wasn’t like she had the time to do everything from scratch after all, not when she was going to be busy picking up trash from the beach for the next while. Even with the three of them together it was likely going to take a while to get everything cleaned up.

“Oh good point Yanagi. Cleaning up garbage is dirty work. I think once this is over we’re all going to need a shower.” She replied matter of factly. “It’s been too long since I last took a dip with you Onee-sama. I can’t wait to see how much you’ve grown.” she added with a lecherous grin on her face as she squeezed her hands in front of her in the same way one might use them to fondle someone. As usual it was hard to tell much of her was being serious and how much of it was just an act.

When they finally arrived at the beach she let out a loud sigh of relief that their wasn’t in fact any ship wrecks on hand to deal with. Sure she’d talked a big game but the simple truth was that their was no way they could actually clear an entire boat away if it was anything larger then a small dingy.

As Alkaid went to get her bag and pike ready she heard her cousin say something about the one to pick up the most trash not needing to pay for dinner, before she stole a head start on the contest she had just declared.

“Hey, no fair!” She called out feeling a bit conflicted about the whole thing. Paying implied that they where going to a restaurant rather then having her cook for them. She looked up to Tsubaki too much to allow her to pay, and the last thing she wanted was to heap the cost on poor Yanagi who already took too much shit from the rest of the clan. But at the same time she didn’t want to be shown up either.


“Come on, we can’t just sit back and let her win like that!” Declared Alkaid as she pulled up her sleeve and went to work starting by picking up the nearest can and placing it into her sack.

It was no surprise Tsubaki had the edge in this competition. Although her friends were fast, she was faster. Perhaps one of the quickest Genin in Kirigakure. It was due to her Taijutsu focus, which encouraged her to train her speed to stay within close quarters. She nearly reappeared between hot spots of trash leaving nothing but a feint blur as she moved between places. In a quick flash she appeared back to here Yanagi still stood, seemingly not enthused to participate in their activity. Tsubaki did not mind. She felt Yanagi was feeling somewhat outcast, as it was expected. Yui had the same outlook, though was more optimistic about her situation than Yanagi was. She could not criticize her for the way she felt. At least she would also reap the benefits of the mission. Perhaps that was a good start to earning her trust. Setting the tied black bag on the ground she dashed out back to the shores to resume gathering. By then she was already somewhat out of breath. She would pass a quick glance over her shoulder to Alkaid to check her status. She was unsure how well she was doing, though she was the first to put a bag down. Perhaps she could keep this lead for long.

Alkaid knew that her slightly older cousin had the edge on her in speed and so was trying to work smarter not harder to make up for it. But their was a limit to how clever she could be which meant her strategy to concentrate on the biggest piles of garbage first wouldn’t work very well if her cousin beat her too them which had happened twice already.

Pretty frustrating really since Tsubaki had already finished her first bag while Alkaid was barely halfway though hers. It was still more then Yanagi however, but only by virtue of the fact Yangai hadn’t bother to lift a finger so far which was quite strange. Sure she could be sullen at times, but she’d usual do her fair share of the work.

“You ok?” asked Alkaid her voice full of concern. She’d heard reports that lots of people had mysteriously fallen ill lately. The first sign of the illness was a general listlessness which was quickly followed by a coma and then death shortly their after. She wouldn’t know what to tell Yui if something happened to her sister during a d-rank mission which was supposed to be perfectly safe.

There was a few people in Kiri she wouldn’t lose sleep over if they fell victim to this plague. Hell their was even this one kid she had been tempted to skank in the back after he’d gotten in her way during the middle of a battle, but she would never ever wish ill on one of her clan members. Family was the greatest strength she had.

Tsubaki had finalized her second bag of trash by the time Alkaid had approached Yanagi. Tsubaki had slowed down as she stared from across the shore at what was going down. Alkaid was sincere and somewhat worrisome. Now that Tsubaki had thought about it, Yanagi had not moved a finger since they reached the shore. Even now she was staring blankly in the ocean even after Alkaid approached her. Tsubaki stored her pike in her work belt as she approached Alkaid, tying the trash bag in a double knot so no trash will blow away in the wind. Approaching the trash pile she set her bag aside while meeting up with the other Kaguya. "Is she alright? Do you think we should deliver her to the hospital?" After all, it was mysterious to see Yanagi in such an awe state. Somewhat disturbing to the naive Kaguya who had no idea what was going on. Yanagi seemed like a cutie to be friends with. Tsubaki was worried she might be ill.

When Yanagi didn’t reply to Alkaid’s question her concern only grew. Her cousin simply continued to stare blankly into the distance, even when Alkaid waved a hand right in front of her. It was as if she had fallen asleep on her feet, a theory supported by the glassy look in her eyes and general unresponsiveness.

“No.… No she’s not alright.” said Alkaid and she bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. She wanted to shout out that this couldn’t be real, that this wasn’t happening but denying the facts that where right in her face. Like it or not it seemed Yanagai had contracted the plague, the question was their really anything they could do to help her or was it already too late?

“I’m not sure the hospital is the right place to take her. Normal meds doesn’t work on our clan remember.” said Alkaid bitterly. It was great being immune to most poisons but it sucked when you got a headache and aspirin did nothing for you like it would a normal person.

The hospital in Kirigakure was not a very nice place. There was a reason her village had a reputation for being blood thirsty. Alkaid had heard rumors that they wouldn’t hesitate to harvest the organs of shinobi that was deemed too weak be be worth the effort of treating.

She wasn’t sure it those rumors where true but was it really worth the risk? Especially when they wouldn’t be able to do much if anything to save Yanagai in the first place and likely would know that which would make her a prime target for such activities.

“Maybe we should take her to the clan elders. If anyone knows how to save her it’s them.” she suggested. It was a long shot but really it was the only one they had to save her cousin. The fact that she might have to twist the elders arms to get them to help made her feel even more bitter about the situation. When would they grow up and get over their petty prejudice?

With a sigh Alkaid reached out and attempted to scooped Yanagai up into her arms. If Yanagai didn’t resist she would end up being carried like a princess. She was really cute so if the situation had been less serious Alkaid would have found holding her like this pretty fun.

“It’s your call Onee-sama, I’ll take her wherever you think is best. Guess this means we failed the mission huh?” said Alkaid as she looked up at the sky barely holding back tears that what should have been a milk run had turned into such a disaster.

It was a tough call to make. Tsubaki was not one to easily accept failure. Especially not in the eyes of the village. She did not want this performance to reflect badly on her clan. In the same context, she couldn't blame Yanagi's illness on why they failed. This would give the defective Kaguya and her family a bad name. A worse name than what they already had. Tsubaki processed this information slowly with deep thought. "Hmmm... She hummed to herself while stroking her chin. "Our elders would not be happy to see Yanagi, especially in this state. I think it would honestly be best if she was put home to rest. It would be the only safe option. Her family understands her the most and will do the best they can to ensure her survival. But we can't fail this mission. If it gives the Kaguya a bad name, they'll point their fingers at Yanagi. The last thing we need is more distrust for the girl. In the end, if we fail this mission she will suffer the hardest drawback either way. Start taking her back to her home. I'll catch up with you shortly."

Tsubaki did not wait for a confirmation from Alkaid. She quickly shifted into high gear and ravaged the beach for trash. Going at full speed she dashed along the shore line to grab whatever trash she could find. It took her roughly twenty minutes to clean up the beach. She was panting heavily and most of all, sweaty. Her lungs felt like they were on fire, but at least she was able to finish the task. Setting the filled bags aside she would leave them for the dump workers to transport and dispose the trash correctly. Racing down the dirt path into the forest she would catch up to the moving party to deliver Yanagi back.

[Exit]

Alkaid hated to admit it but Tsubaki had a point. The elders saw Yanagai as defective and would not be happy to see her. Even if they knew something that would help she knew in her heart that they wouldn’t share it out of spite. As much as Alkaid wanted to force the issue she lacked the both necessary clout or force to do so which meant she’d have to find another way.

“I swear that if she dies because those senile old farts hold out on us, there will be hell to pay.” grumbled Alkaid who at this point was sick and tired of how close minded most of the adults in the clan where being. Yes it was true the clan was different then the rest of humanity and that difference was strong, but that didn’t mean they where actually superior like the elders seemed to think.

Anyone who actually bothered to read the old records of the clans early days could see tht setting themselves apart from the rest of the world for so long had actually caused their bloodline to stagnate and grow weaker. A shadow of what it used to be capable of.

One of Alkaid’s goals in life was the boost her bloodline back up to it’s original level, where one touch of a bone could reduce the target to a pile of ash, If they had that back then maybe they could claim to be superior.

There where different ways to go about this but ultimately Alkaid was an just a really good actor and a spy not a scientist. She wasn’t nearly smart enough to go about genetic tampering in order to restore it to existing member's and frankly even if she could she wouldn’t because most of them didn’t deserve the boost they’d be getting. Given their attitude it’d send them on a power trip that would either end with them lording over the land or result in the clan’s extinction.

No she was looking to do things the good old fashioned way. Finding a strong candidate of a suitable bloodline and having kids with him. With luck the combination of their two bloodlines would result in something stronger. It was an idea that was absolutely heretical within her family so she had never spoken of it, instead simply keeping her eyes out of a for an ideal mate while doing her spying.

In conduction with this she was working on reforming the clan’s attitude and for this she absolutely needed Yanagai and Yui. If they became strong it would show the elders that maybe having red eyes wasn’t so defective after all. It would be a small step, but one that would need to be taken if she was going to change things without resorting to more drastic measures.

Ultimately while she thought they elders where dumb they where still family she she wanted to avoid spilling their blood if possible. Plus Kirigakure already had a reputation for being bloodthirsty as it was, a reputation she’d like to avoid feeding. But if it came down to it and Yanagai passed away because they held out of her, Alkaid would murder the lot of them.

They where already old after all. If she killed them in their sleep she was simply shuffling them into the grave a little sooner and improving the outlook of the clan towards outsiders in the process since their absence would place Tsubaki firmly in control of the clan in every way rather then being the leader in name only as she was now. She wouldn’t be the princess anymore but the queen.

“Good thinking. I’ll get her home safely while you finish up the mission.” Confirmed Alkaid as she cradled Yanagai gently in her arms. The younger girl was slightly smaller then her and surprising much lighter as well. If it wasn’t for her weak breathing Alkaid would have sworn she was holding an over sized doll instead of a person.

“Jeez you’re practically a stick. Maybe you just haven’t been eating enough and passed out from malnutrition” Alkaid mused to herself as she took off the top speed she could manage. Given that she was slower then Tsubaki to start with it wouldn’t take long for her cousin to catch up with her, especially since she was slugging another extra hundred pounds around which meant she wasn’t going as fast as usual.

[exit]