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Post by Eto Rika on Jul 9, 2013 19:43:01 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,10,true]MAYBE IT'S A DREAM, MAYBE NOTHING ELSE IS REAL Rika stood outside the Raikage's tower, a pack slung over her shoulder, a wrinkled map in her hand. She nervously retraced the path she had outlined from Kumogakure to the small village in Frost Country that was her destination. This wasn't her first escort mission by any means, but it was one of the first that she was taking as a chunin, and thus, on her own. Usually, she didn't worry about missions very much, since most of the time it was just her own life at stake. If she died, she did so in the service of her father's village, and that was alright with her. This time, however, she had the life of an innocent civilian in her hands. If this girl was hurt, or died, Rika would never forgive herself. Lives were precious and should not be tossed away for any reason.
"Excuse me, miss?" a young woman asked, tapping the chunin's shoulder.
Startled out of her thoughts, for a moment she didn't respond. "Er, yes? What do you need?" Rika asked, grinning sheepishly. It wasn't like her to be so lost in thought that she didn't even hear someone speak. She was just so preoccupied, worrying about the woman she had to escort... Her violet eyes widened. "Oh, you're Kawaguchi Kameko! I'm sorry, I didn't realize."
"Oh, it's no big deal. So I guess you're my escort, Rika, then?" she responded, matching the chunin's wide grin. Kameko was a young woman, barely eighteen, with long blonde hair and pretty blue eyes. She apparently hadn't hit a growth spurt at all, standing at barely five feet tall, which made her look a lot younger, more childish, than she was.
"Yup, that's me!" Rika confirmed, holding out her hand. Kameko took it and they shook. "Are you all ready to go, then? I've mapped out the shortest route that we can take without hitting any trouble, so we can arrive at your family's home in about five days. I'm sure you can't wait to see them again, you've been here for how long by yourself?"
"I've been on my own for two months.. I really do miss them." Kameko told her, a frown crossing her face momentarily. "But yes, I'm ready to go, so long as you are."
Beckoning for the girl to follow, Rika headed down the main path out of the village. and it wouldn't mean a thing if i told you how i feel WORDS: 419. NOTES: --- TAGS: --- LYRICS: bad apple, christina vee CREDITS: made by akemi of btn |
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Post by Eto Rika on Jul 10, 2013 16:51:17 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,10,true]MAYBE IT'S A DREAM, MAYBE NOTHING ELSE IS REAL The first day of their travel passed quickly. After being pretty much entirely on her own for so long - without anyone near her own age to talk to, at the very least - Kameko was filled to the bursting point with stories about everything imaginable. And Rika loved hearing them, encouraging her to keep telling them whenever silence occurred. The girl was more than happy to oblige. But she was also trying to coax Rika into telling her own stories, which the chunin was reluctant to do - not only because it was distracting, but because her past contained stories she would never be able to tell someone she'd just met, someone that wasn't a shinobi... maybe she'd never be able to tell them to anyone.
"Rika-chan, have you ever dated a boy?" Kameko asked, wide a wide-eyed curiosity that tended to appear in children more often than not. Rika realized again just how young this civilian was compared to herself, or even just shinobi in general.
"I did, once." she admitted, face reddening. "It wasn't anything spectacular. This guy I took the chunin exams with took me out afterwards to celebrate our promotions. We... didn't really get along, to say the least."
"Oh... I've never gone on a date. My father won't let me." Kameko seemed upset about that fact, and the chunin could only shake her head.
"Boys tend to be more trouble than they're worth." Rika warned her, tough her tone wasn't very serious. "Trust me, I have a little brother. I know how boys are."
"I have a brother too, but he's older than I am." The civilian made a face. "Brothers suck."
Rika was tempted to speak harshly - to tell her that she was lucky to have a loving brother, a father that protected her and knew she existed, a family that wasn't torn apart by their matriarch's machinations. She and her two siblings all had different fathers, and of the three, Rika was the only one who had even met hers - she didn't even think Koji and Hisako knew their fathers' names. This perfect fantasy world where the worst problem was not being allowed to date boys? Rika wished she had that.
But she kept her tongue in check and laughed when Kameko told her about how she had almost gotten her brother to swallow a live koi once. and it wouldn't mean a thing if i told you how i feel WORDS: 408. NOTES: --- TAGS: --- LYRICS: bad apple, christina vee CREDITS: made by akemi of btn |
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Post by Eto Rika on Jul 10, 2013 17:58:10 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,10,true]MAYBE IT'S A DREAM, MAYBE NOTHING ELSE IS REAL Kameko started yawning just before the sun began its descent below the horizon. They had actually gotten a little further than Rika had expected them to, and so they had reached some wooded land that would provide a good place for a camp. Within a few minutes, the chunin had a tent erected and a fire started. Kameko was fascinated by the ease of her movements - claiming that if it had been her that had to set up the tent, they would have ended up sleeping on the ground. Somehow, Rika didn't doubt that.
"You might want to go ahead and sleep, Kameko-chan. We're going to be getting up early in the morning, and you want to be well-rested for the walk." Rika advised, watching the girl yawn again.
Her face fell immediately into a pout. "But I'm not that tired, and-"
"Kameko, don't argue, please. At least go lay down - you can still talk to me if you want, but you need rest." the chunin reasoned. A less patient person might have hit exasperation by now, but Rika had the patience of a mother - much better than that of a saint, in her opinion. After a long, tense, silent moment, the girl acquiesced and disappeared into the tent. "If you're hungry, I have some trail mix."
"No thanks." Kameko poked her head out of the tent."Rika-chan, tell me a story."
"Alright. What do you want to hear a story about?" Rika asked, smiling warmly. Honestly, this trip was already pretty interesting. Half the time she had someone her own age to talk to, and the other half of the time it felt like she was babysitting a child - a strange mix of behaviors, perhaps, but certainly not a boring mix.
"Tell me... tell me about your family." she decided.
Rika winced. Of course, the one topic she didn't like to discuss. She loved her family with all her heart, despite the many flaws, the abuse, the neglect, and the countless other downfalls. The chunin wasn't going to avoid the topic, but it was a long time before she began to speak, to tell of the light, the good times she had had growing up - which were far and few between. and it wouldn't mean a thing if i told you how i feel WORDS: 382. NOTES: --- TAGS: --- LYRICS: bad apple, christina vee CREDITS: made by akemi of btn |
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Post by Eto Rika on Jul 13, 2013 10:53:24 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,10,true]MAYBE IT'S A DREAM, MAYBE NOTHING ELSE IS REAL The second day of their travel passed without issue. Rika woke Kameko an hour after sunrise, they ate a small breakfast, and then set off. Most of the travel was through sparsely wooded areas, so they had some decent shade for when the sun was really beating down upon them. They stopped again after Kameko timidly asked if they could rest for a while - as she wasn't used to the walking and, since she was wearing a long, heavy dress, the heat was already kind of getting to her - and wasted about an hour of time just sitting and talking again. If they had to make many more stops like this, they might end up having to travel part of a sixth day, too. But Rika didn't mention that to the girl, figuring she would probably stop speaking up if she knew, and her client's well-being was more important than getting there as fast as possible. They stopped to set up camp just outside of a tiny village that neither of them knew the name of.
The third day was also blissfully uneventful. They packed up camp, ate at a small diner in the village - which had surprisingly good food, and wrapped them up some pastries to take with them for a little extra ryo - then set off again. It was cooler, but it had also begun to rain sometime during their meal. It was a light rain, not too heavy or cold, but it was persistent. Not once did it stop that day. So Rika called off the walking a little bit early, and they set up camp and tried to dry off a little and ate their pastries for dinner. Sleep came more quickly than it had the previous nights, which they were both thankful for.
Day four was a long one. The rain had not let up at all - in fact, it had developed into a full-blown storm, with thunder, lightning, heavy wind and rain, the works. Rika did her best to shield them from the worst of it, but they were still soaked through to the bone by the time sunset came. To their delight, they had reached another of the small villages along the way, and Rika shelled out some hard-earned cash for a room they could stay in for the night.
By the next morning, the rain had petered out, and that was welcome, because they had quite a bit of lost time to make up for. and it wouldn't mean a thing if i told you how i feel WORDS: 419. NOTES: --- TAGS: --- LYRICS: bad apple, christina vee CREDITS: made by akemi of btn |
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Post by Eto Rika on Jul 13, 2013 11:51:18 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,10,true]MAYBE IT'S A DREAM, MAYBE NOTHING ELSE IS REAL Day five felt even longer than day four. The sun was shining, and it wasn't too hot, and there was a cool breeze blowing, but they had to set a relentless pace. Rika didn't want to set aside almost another full day for travel, so they were traveling as fast as Kameko was capable of. Being that they were around the same size, Rika had lent her some shorts and a t-shirt to wear instead of the dress, which the girl was grateful for. They stopped only twice during the walk, and for short periods of time. By sunset, they had made up most of the lost ground.
Feeling a little guilty for pushing Kameko - who had barely laid down before she fell asleep - Rika let her sleep in a little bit. Then they set off, at a moderate pace, to reach her family's sprawling vacation home in Frost Country. Two and a half hours into their journey that day, they reached their destination.
"Kameko-chan!" An older lady, around fifty, practically sprinted out of the house to hug the teen. "It's so good to have you back with us, sweetheart!" She looked over the girl's shoulder at Rika. "Thank you, thank you so much for bringing Kameko back to us."
"Yes, thank you, Rika-chan!" Kameko added grinning at her as the rest of the family swarmed around her. While they were engaging in a group hug, Rika smiled sadly and turned to leave.
"It was no trouble.. I was just doing my job."
Her journey home would not be near as long or near as hard. She could set her own pace and travel through even the worst weather, being that it didn't bother her as much as it bothered a civilian. But still, the three or so days it would take to get back to Kumogakure would seem longer than the whole trip to Frost Country, because this time, she was alone. and it wouldn't mean a thing if i told you how i feel WORDS: 332. NOTES: --- TAGS: --- LYRICS: bad apple, christina vee CREDITS: made by akemi of btn |
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