Escorting the Circus [Event Mission. C-Rank.]

Mission:

Well, this was gunna be fun. He'd been told about this little escort mission about 15 minutes before he left for his shift at the wildlife center. Said shift was going to take him out near where the mission started at, so it worked out perfectly. He'd just stay out on the plains instead of heading back into town; give him time while he waited for his mission partner to make it out to the meeting point. He didn't even know who he'd be working with, all that information would be handled after he'd left for the day; so he'd be playing catch up for a bit. That was fine, however. He was a bit of a fan of the circus, so making sure they made it to town aligned with his interests.

"We're heading out Karu, you sure you'll be okay?"

"Yeah, I'm going on duty early today. There's a mission meeting point out here, so us tracking the herds in the area worked out perfectly for me. I get to escort the circus caravan in."

"Sounds fun. Be safe, we'll see you this weekend."

"Same to you. Later Sanji."

He watched as his squad took off in the jeep, half wishing he was with them, but still excited about what he was going to be doing. They where at one of the camps the plains people's used, and it was very much inhabited at the moment. You could almost call it a city when it was this full; but he also knew that in a few weeks when the herds moved on, it would be little more than a ghost town again. He made his way between buildings and tents, heading toward the far edge where the circus had set up camp overnight. He was going to meet up with the owner and check in, get an idea of what and whom he'd be working with.

"Are you the owner?" He was addressing an older man that was shouting commands to people breaking down the camp. Not an unfair guess, and if he was wrong this guy could tell him where to go.

"Yeah. Cha' want, kid? Kinda busy here."

"Sir, my name is Kaname Karukaya. I'm one of the ninja that will be escorting your caravan. I was in the area already due to other obligations, so I'm reporting in a bit early. My partner should be arriving shortly."

"Eh? Right, good. Well, until yer buddy shows up, you can help us load up."

"Of course, sir. Just tell me where to go."

"See the big hulking man in the cheetah skins? That's Bato. He'll get you working. I'm Kensei, by the way."

"Yes sir. Excuse me, I will go talk to Bato and get started."

"Good kid. HEY! HAKUSEI! QUIT DICKING AROUND AND GET THOSE POLES LOADED!"

Aaaand off he went. He'd help do things while he waited.

WC: 537

"Is this where the mission is...?"

Joifuru asked himself, looking at the camp he had recently arrived at. It was pretty crowded at the moment, but nothing he wasn't used to thanks to living in a popular tourist spot like Hinowagakure. The camp itself seemed to have a mixture of buildings and tents that stuck out from the ever so constantly moving crowds, and immediately the boy's first instinct would be to make sure he had everything of value to him tied down in order to prevent pick pockets from making short work of him. He needed his equipment in case any trouble comes so he can't just allow some selfish jerk steal and sell it.

Letting out a small sigh, Joifuru would begin making his way through the crowds and towards his destination. He didn't know why two people were needed for a single mission like this, though he honestly didn't mind as he just finished doing all the things he thought about doing that could keep him busy beforehand. He only hoped that his teammate on this mission isn't an incredibly rude one or else this mission will become less of a job and more of a drama mess that isn't very well needed right now.

This would be the very first time Joifuru has actually seen a circus in general, let alone this town, so he would be looking from right to left, taking in the sight of it all while his bushy, light brown foxlike tail gently swayed. His ears perked upwards as he would, after quite a few minutes, make through the town itself along with the actual circus, reaching the far edge where he too would meet up with the owner and check in. He had to make sure he apologized for being late, as he was caught up doing other things first that had made him forget when he needed to arrive.

Soon his eager, amber eyes would lay upon an older man that was shouting towards passerby workers to carry some equipment. This older man had to be the one in charge. Either he's in charge or he's probably the rudest civilian in existence. Either way, Joifuru already made his way up to the man, tapping him on the shoulder in order to get his attention.

"Eh? What do ya want, weirdo?" The owner asked. He seemingly wasn't in the greatest mood at the moment. In fact, he seems to have a bit of an attitude, which is something the young Genin made a note of for later interactions if any should occur.

"My name is Joifuru Itsuwarimono, Sir. I've been assigned here in order to aid in escorting your caravan. I apologize fo-"

"Eh? You're here too? Your buddy came already. He went over to the Bato over there. You can't miss him. He's the big guy in Cheetah skins. I'm Kensei, by the way."

"Thank you, sir." Joifuru responded as he quickly turned around and left to go find Bato. Hopefully his partner would still be helping the man so he wouldn't have to scour every inch of this place for him."

WC: 538

"Lift the canvas! Don't let it drop!" The strongman was shouting orders so loud that they carried easily over the general noise of stuff being done and packed away. The occasional trumpet of an elephant or roar from a lion or whatever other noise from some unidentified animal was an interesting counterpoint to the humans screaming on more languages than he could figure out, both from inside the circus camp and the nearby market. This place was alive, in a way he'd rarely seen, and it was awesome.

"Canvas is loose! CLEAR THE AREA!" Karu was calling to the workers below, he was the last one to unhook the canvas from the large multi-story tent that had housed the animals while they where camped, and would house them when they set up in the village later on.

"Clear! Let it drop!"

"Releasing!" Karu and the other's up on the ladders holding the canvas let it drop to the ground, where the ground crews could fold and pack it while they moved on to other things. Making sure lower the bucket with the attachment hardware down the ladder first, he happened to look over and notice a kid in ninja garb heading toward the area. Oh, that must be his partner. He slid down the ladder the easy way, it wasn't like he had to worry about falling, he was too strong for that. Trotting over toward Bato, which seemed to be where the other ninja was going, "It's down, and they are packing up. My partner is here, I need to check back in with Kensei. Thanks for watching Coen for me." Said kangaroo was settled on a chair in the shade beside Bato, playing with a length of braided rope happily. He was settled in a special pack that Coen had found; a large backpack that could carry the baby easily on his back and offered far more protection that the cloth sack he normally used. "Come on, buddy. Karu's gotta meet with more people."

Coen chirped happily and tugged on Bato's wrist, offering the rope back. "Keep it, little 'roo. A gift for being such good company." Coen all but squealed for joy and tucked the rope into the pack for later, before diving in after it to settle in so that he wasn't bothering Karu. "Thank you, sir. He'll treasure it." Karukaya pick up the pack and settled it on his back, clipping the special catch across his chest that held it firmly in place far more effectively than just shoulder straps.

He trotted toward where the other ninja was, meeting him at about the half way point between the two elder males. "Hey, you the guy that's supposed to meet me here? For the mission, I mean."

WC 500 + 537 = 1037

Joifuru would continue his walking. Moving at a rather average pace, he would soon come face-to-face with what he could only assume to be his partner partway through. His partner appeared to be five feet and eleven inches tall, which would make him around seven inches taller than Joifuru himself. This Shinobi also had a pair of grey eyes and red hair. This hair color would be an uncommon sight to someone like Joifuru, whom of which hasn't exactly been around many unnatural things, but nonetheless it wasn't a large detail to keep in mind.

In response to his possible partner's question, Joifuru would stick out a hand in greeting. "I am the guy, yes. My name is Joifuru Itsuwarimono. I apologize for being late." He would tell his possible partner. As he waited for a response, Joifuru would look around while his ears twitched ever so slightly. Even while it was being taken down it was still a very new sight to him to be around a circus area. There are most certainly plenty of oddities that he has interest in which he could observe for what felt like a while. Hopefully this mission can be just as interesting as those he and his partner are escorting.

"I've never been to a circus before, let alone seen one in the process of being packed up. I like it." He would continue, not bothering to hide the blatant look of wonder on his face.

wc: 256

twc: 794

"Joifuru? Interesting name. Better than mine. Dunno why my parents named me after grass. I'm Karukaya. Kaname Karukaya. I'm surprised you've never seen one of these; there's usually one or two in the village every year." Karu turned when he heard a sharp whistle, he recognized it as the signal for the elephants and other draft animals to line up. "We need to get moving, we've got a long trek, and this country is dangerous if you don't know it. There won't be any trails until we've nearly hit the main road. Ride in the main wagon with Kensei. I'll scout ahead, radio you directions."

He wasn't normally the type to leave his mission partners behind like that, but one look at the poor kid told him he was no tracker, and even less so a scouter. Karu knew this land now, after spending so much time out here recently. Not as well as a plainsman, but well enough to navigate it, well enough to know where the danger lay.

"Line UP! We move in 5 minutes!" Bato was standing atop the largest of the wagons, relaying orders from the softer voiced Kensei. Bato's voice cut through the air easily, he barely had to raise his voice to be heard.

"Bato! I'll be running scout! Tell Kensei that my partner will be passing my directions!"

"I hear you, little one! I'll let him know!"

"I'll see you in a few hours, Joifuru. Keep your eyes and ears open, there's no guarantee I'll catch everything, and you'll learn a great deal just by watching the land with your eyes and mind open." Coen decided to take the moment to stick his head up and out of the pack, looking around before ducking back in for some more quiet time.

Karu darted off with the second blast of that same whistle, trotting ahead at a good, solid jog that could be maintained for long periods of time without tiring. Out onto the plains, the dried grasses where shorter than they would be in few weeks after the rains came through, making it easy to see if you where up high enough; but also making for an easy follow trail. After a few minutes, he was past a rocky outcropping and impossible to see without binoculars or the like.

The first hour or so was simple enough, he'd tap his radio to relay landmarks, directions, and the like; this part was simple. The largest beasts they would see was a herd of wild 'roos lounging under a large scrub tree half a mile from the route Karukaya was carving. The second hour passed about the same; more rocks in places, but nothing special. It was in the third hour when they needed to skirt a river canyon for while that he actually started talking.

"Joifuru. There's loose rocks on the trail down the canyon. Tell Kensei to take it slow, if the rocks get any looser there'll be a rock slide. One they're across the river they'll be safe enough." He was already at the base of the trail, and half way into the river; pack off his shoulders and held up high to keep it dry, Coen up and looking around at everything and anything. The river was shallow at this point, slow moving and easy to ford. It'd be a raging torrent after the rains hit, so it was good they where crossing in the dry season.

An hour later and they where nearing the main road; he could almost see it himself. He knew the treeline meant they where hitting the forests, and once they hit the forests they'd reach the main travel routes, which meant roads and an easy rest of the time.

Too bad he nearly got blasted off the face of the planet. He was walking over what looked like a dried pond bed when the ground beneath his feet cracked and released a blast of super hot steam so strong it lifted him into the air and sent him flying into a nearby tree. Well, that hurt like a bitch; but beyond being hot and wet now, he was fine. His natural Katon affinity meant he had a high tolerance for heat, and while his skin was red and stung, he'd be fine in a few hours. "Joifuru, 400 meters ahead. Looks like a dry pond. Avoid it. It's a blocked steam vent. Divert around the western edge, it's smooth rock, so safe. Should only add 10 minutes or so to the trip."

He sprawled in the tree for a minute, checking Coen over for injuries. Outside of a small scratch on his ear, the joey was fine. So long as Coen was fine, Karu was happy. He waited until the caravan was in sight again before moving off, keeping a bit closer to it than he had for safety sake.

It was more caution than needed at that point, they hit the main road with no more problems, and once the road was hit, he settled into walking with the caravan itself; he didn't need to scout ahead anymore. The road was patrolled and relatively busy, so they didn't need to worry about getting lost here.

When they reached the edge of the village, he directed them to the field they'd been given to set up in; it was more than enough room to keep the animals happy and still set up the tents and such.

"Alright Kensei, I'm going to go check in with the mission board, have a medic check me out, take Coen to get checked out, then I'll be back to help set up. Joifuru, you're free to stay behind and help out if you want. If not, go ahead and head off, I'll write up the report and turn it in. For now... I need to go stick my head into some cold water, these steam burns sting."

WC: 1049 + 1037 = 2086/250