Master of Tides

3 Missions:

Raphael would let out a heavy sigh as he exited the Uzumaki clan district, the mist was so thick that he could barely make out the lights of the street lanterns that were scattered down the street. Simply a barely visible faint glow could be seen from the ones that were within three meters of the gate of the district, even the moonlight seemed to be blocked for the most part by the thickness of it. He never understood why the district had seals blocking the mist from it until now, but he wasn't going to let a little mist stop him from his evening stroll. Mostly because it was his duty as a Jounin, but also because he enjoyed the peacefulness that seemed to wash over the village at night. Dressed in his full Kirigakure Uniform from his flak jacket to the black body armor that covered the rest of his body and the leather fingerless gloves, his Kiri Hitai-ate tied firmly around his forehead. The only thing he would be wearing that was not Kiri Standard Issue was his pure white Gi that he wore only over his left shoulder, making the Gi look almost toga like in appearance, albeit shorter as it only covered his torso.

Raphael had a usual path he took when he was on patrol, he thought he knew it by heart, but he soon found himself in a part of the village that he did not recognize. The building were far more run down than the rest of the village, he wondered how he hadn't noticed them before. They were sure to stand out against the rest of the village, but with the thickness of the mist, seeing the rest of the buildings of the village wasn't really an option. The real questions on his mind was not only what part of the village was he even at, but also how did he get there. It was times like this that he wished he payed better attention to where he was going. Of course, even if he had tried, it would have been hard to keep track with the mist as thick as it was. Raphael would let out another sigh, of course he was the one person who could get lost in their own village. He was terrible with directions, though he did think he could just retrace his steps to return home, but then he wouldn't be able to report in that he finished his patrol. Raphael would let out an audible groan as he realized he was going to have to find the administration district from here, this was turning into a real drag for the man.

It would be around this time that he heard the sound of glass breaking and hurried footsteps running away to his left, no longer thinking about how he was going to find his way home, Raphael would run off in the direction of the glass breaking to investigate. Reaching the scene of the crime, the male would find that the glass that was broken was a window to a small bakery. Whoever broke in obviously did not do it for the money or valuables, so why break in at all. Raphael would consider his internal question for a few minutes before, moving in the direction he had heard the foot steps went, or at the very least where he thought they were going. He couldn't be sure but he thought he saw blood on the window around where it was broken, it was possible one of the thieves cut themselves on it in their escape. If that did happen then it was highly possible that the individual left a trail, even if it was a small one. Raphael would scan the ground as he walked looking for any sign or clue that could lead to them, even just a drop of blood. Unfortunately, after several minutes of carefully looking as he walked, he could not find a thing. He was about to give up, believing he had gone the wrong direction when he heard muffled words coming from a nearby building. As he entered the building, he wasn't exactly quiet like he probably should have been. Either way, he would eventually stumble into what looked like it might have been an large office, long since abandoned and almost empty save for dust covered items. He was beginning to believe he was mistaken in what he had heard, but as he turned to leave he heard a soft cough that gave him pause.

Stopping in his tracks Raphael would turn right back around and begin to fully scan the room, at first he didn't see anything until he stepped further into the room and saw a shadow behind some objects. "I know you're in here why don't you just come on out and we can talk," he called out across the room. There was not response at first, but after a few seconds three men cam out of their hiding. Raphael would smile and was about to say something when two men came at him from behind, swinging their fist at him. Raphael would move quickly dodging the attacks, never launching one of his own, simply moving in and out of the way of the strikes and using the thug's momentum against them. "Come guys, I just came here to talk," he tried to tell them as the other three joined in the fight, but they were not listening. The entire time fists were coming at him, Raphael would simply dodge never lifting his own fist to strike, nor did he act aggressively for being attacked the way he was. In fact the entire time this was happening Raphael would hold a smile on his face, his palms remaining open to simply bat the attacks away from him and maintain distance between them.

He would dodge here and there, redirected some attacks causing the thugs to attack their friends, but never laid a hand on any of them. When only one of them stayed standing, unwilling to give up the fight, Raphael would hear the soft cough again. It was from the same area as before, and that meant there was someone else in the room. Ignoring the last guy Raphael moved around the obstacles that were blocking his view to find a makeshift room formed out of sheets and blankets with a small bed made out of cushions, and there laying on this garbage bed was a young girl who couldn't be older than none or ten. It only took a glance to see that the girl was suffering from malnutrition and seeing the bread on the ground around her, he could see why they had stolen it. They were trying to provide for this girl but she needed more than just bread, Raphael would go to approach but the big guy would get in his way and take another punch. "You don't understand, I am a doctor. I can help her." But it was no use his words were falling on deaf ears it seemed, finally Raphael would grow annoyed with the man not listening and when he threw a punch, Raphael instantly shifted his weight. Ducking below the punch and strengthening his own muscles with chakra, grabbed the man's arm and threw him over his shoulder into a pile of boxes before rushing to the young sick girl. He would hear the big guy get up, but he didn't come at Raphael, he could only assume the others had stopped him as the focus of the young Uzumaki was on that of the sickly girl in front of him.

After a quick assessment of the girls condition, Raphael was able to confirm that she was malnourished as well as was suffering from a cold due to poor living conditions in this weather. He couldn't do anything for her hear, even his techniques had limitations. "Tell me something," Raphael would start as he stood up from the girls bedside and turned to look at the five men that were behind him. "Does this girl mean so much to you that you would risk not only your life but her future? What would of happened to HER, if I had killed you when you attacked me? What would SHE do?" Raphael was sure to emphasize the words her and she when referencing the young girl, if they were merely committing crimes for their own and her survival than he hoped he could get through to them. It was at this point that the big man would speak, "me and my boys would do anything for her." Raphael would look the big man square in the eyes as he spoke his next words, "then allow me to take her to the Uzumaki clan district. We have a hospital there, where she can receive proper medical treatment." Raphael would pause for but a second as he considered the options, "you all can come as well, you can stay as my guest until she is recovered, and then we can talk about what to do from there." The five men seemed to want to talk about his offer, as they huddled around the big man, and so Raphael would turn his attention back to the sickly girl. After a few moments the big guy spoke again, "alright fine, but if you hurt her... I'll kill you." Raphael would smile to himself, he expected nothing less from a father. With careful hands and movement Raphael would pick the girl up into his arms and head for the door, leading the group back to the Uzumaki district.

Sitting within his office of the Uzumaki district, Raphael would rub his temples with the index and middle fingers of both hands. It had been three days since he had found that small family within the slums of the village, they had said they would do anything for the little girl, but today he was going to be putting those words to the test. He needed to shape them beyond mere thugs and into Shinobi of the hidden mist, but he wasn't sure he was up to the task. Asking these men to be willing to lay down their lives for the village just because his family helped the young girl, was a major ask to say the least, but if he had any hope of stopping Tetsura it was something that had to be done. It was less about whether or not he wanted to do it, it was a matter of it having to be done. They were good fighters, with the proper training they could even prove to be an effective force, but this was still a dangerous mission that they would be undertaking.

The lights would be off, and the curtains drawn close, just barely lighting the room as Hayami entered the office. The young well-endowed Uzumaki not saying a word as she moved over towards him, her long red hair flowing behind her as she moved across the room. Raphael wouldn't lift his head, he knew it was her, she was the only one that ever entered his office. His self-appointed assistant, as well as now self-appointed secretary. She insisted on such, and Raphael wasn't much for arguing, so he simply shrugged and allowed it at the time. Of course, it was easier this way. They knew each other rather well and could often times know what the other was thinking. As she reached the desk she would simply walk around the desk, standing behind him and grabbing his head she would take over rubbing his head for him as his hands would drift down to the desk. Slowly raising his head from how it was positioned, back until it was resting on his bosom. A small sigh escaping his lips almost as a think you as she did so, his arms fell limp to his sides relieved that he knew she was always going to be there for him.

After a few minutes Hayami would break the silence, "Sir. The young girl you brought in, she is awake, it seems the treatment you set her up with is working. She will be capable of returning home soon." Raphael would lift his head up and shake it at her words, "she doesn't have a home to return to. None of them do, you didn't see the state of the place I found them. It's not suited for even an adult let alone a child." Raphael would let out a sigh, "I've never seen anything like it, Hayami. I could not live with myself if we sent them back there." Hayami would step out from behind him, bringing herself back around to the front of the desk to face him. Placing her hands on the desk as she leaned in and locked her eyes on his, "so then don't send them back." Hayami stated very plainly letting her words linger in the silence for a moment before she continued, "we have plenty of places here they can stay. Why do we have to send them away? You are the clan leader, aren't you? You decide what the clan does in these situations, so decide what to do." Raphael would simply smile at her, he couldn't really argue with her, she was always right after all.

Exiting his office and heading down the hallway to the medical wing they held within the clan district. The whole building really serving multiple purposes, though his office would stand in the exact center of the building allowing him quick and easy access to the multiple wings of the Uzumaki Complex. Upon reaching the room that the young girl was put in, he wasn't the least bit surprised to see her father and six older brothers all within the room, gathered around her bed. It was hard to believe that just three days ago five of these eight individuals tried to kill him, and now they were his welcomed guest. "It's good to see you all here, it seems our patient here is responding nicely to the treatment. She should be able to check out in a few more days." The smiles in the room were almost blinding as much as the cheers of happiness that she was ok was deafening. "Now I know it's not my place to insert myself into your family, but we have a house within the district that is available. If you want it, it is yours for your family." There were hushed whispers among the family at his words, hard for him to tell if they believed him or if they thought it, was a good thing. The three younger ones seemed excited by the idea, but the father and the four older males did not seem so trusting of him. Raphael of course was not an impatient man; he knew it would take time to earn that trust and to take that trust and shape them into true shinobi of the hidden mist village.

Over the course of the next few days however, Raphael was able to get them to understand that he was offering the house because it was the right thing to do, not because he had a hidden agenda. He was also able to convince the older ones as well as the father into training with him. Over the course of the next few weeks, Raphael would work on their skills as well as them working together as a team. Finally, after nearly two months of training, Raphael would bring up the question that had been eating at him over the past weeks. Waiting until the four boys left, leaving just him and the father to talk. "So tell me, have you ever considered joining the shinobi of the hidden mist?" Isegi, as he had learned the man's name during the training and weekly dinners, would look at him in both shock as well as skepticism. "You're joking right? I mean with the exception of yourself, no one from the village has ever done anything for us. why do you think we were where you found us?" Raphael considers the man's words as they leave the training area, stopping so that he could pick an apple from the tree before he would answer the man. "It's not about what the village has done or will do for you. It's what you can do for the village, you and your boys would make a great unit in the field and with proper training you could be viewed as some of the best." Raphael would pause as he rubbed the apple, he had plucked across his Gi, "If you want to look at it this way, what better way to protect your daughter than to protect the village that she lives in. Or even better, add to the shinobi that care about the lower-class citizen, make it so that I am not the only one that is looking out for people like you." Isegi would think about what Raphael said but he wouldn't give him a definitive answer, leaving him with a simple but expected. "I will speak with the boys, and we will let you know something tomorrow." With that Isegi would take his leave from Raphael, and Raphael would return to his own home to rest from the days training.

The next morning when he arrived at the training area, Raphael was surprised to see the five men already there. Before he could even get all the way on the grand arena, Isegi would speak. "Me and the boys have talked it over, and if it meant we would get to provide a better life for our family, then we accept." At the man's words, Raphael would smile. "Good then let us begin the advance training shall we," would be all he stated as he got to the top of the platform training area. This is what he had been waiting for, now that they were ready to be true shinobi, he could begin to shape them to be willing to give their all, in order to protect the village and the people within it. It was going to take several months of work if not longer, but every step in that direction is the Right direction. No matter how long it took, he would be patient in their training. Tetsura was a man that was not to be taken lightly and as such, he could not take any chances with their training, he had to ensure that they were ready for what laid ahead of them all. The Tide was rising to deal with Tetsura, and soon he would be crushed by the waves.

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