The Competition to End All Competition (LifeandDeath, Mission, Closed)

Age : 31 Posts : 81

The day had gone from bad to worse in only a matter of seconds, as the dark clouds above disemboweled themselves spraying their fluids upon the unsuspecting citizens of Kaminari no Kuni. At this point in his story, Azo found himself at The Fishermen's Port, a most illustrious locale which exported anything from fish to travelers themselves. He was currently spending the night at one of the inns nearby, if it wasn't for the fact that he was a contracted Shinobi, the Nara would be finding himself sleeping in a corner on the streets right about now. The small locale was full to the brim, nearly exploding by the massive influx of visitors all there for the same reason. A competition was taking place which involved fishermen from all over the elemental countries, clashing in several events which would test their skills in the art of trapping the underwater denizens. Apparently though, one of the more renown fishermen who goes by the name of Fumou hires one or two Shinobi every three months in order to decrease his chances of losing to nearly zero. I mean, it'd take a pretty incompetent Shinobi to lose to a bunch of fishermen, thought Azoth in the solidarity of his room. He retreated from the window which granted him a vision of the foreign area before him, sitting on one of the two beds which made up his surroundings.

It was the night before, and Azoth was currently awaiting a comrade Shinobi who was supposed to be assigned to help with the assignment. He didn't know who it could be, but it never hurt to have an extra pair of hands around. The Nara lad pulled out the Mission Specifications from under a nearby book which sat atop a night stand. From what he could gather, they were hired for a single event which would last up to six hours. During this time span, the competitors would be pitted against one another with nothing but the rod as their weapons. Thankfully Shinobi were gifted with more practical tools for murder, though they were under strict rules saying they could not use Jutsu. After all, one could only cheat to such an extent.

He looked back at his weapons, perched at the wall behind him on the far left side of the room where one would enter. His toothpick in motion as his mind began its usual routine, formulating all the various methods he could capture the small fry, and weeding out the more ineffective ones. If he could find the fish, his bow and arrows would no doubt be a tool of immeasurable power. Though he couldn't overlook the bad weather which loomed overhead, there was a slight chance that it would only last the night, but one couldn't be certain. Even with his great aim and his arrows, Azo would still need to formulate some strategy as to actually capture the fish. Most fishermen had some sort of net hidden somewhere in the boat, maybe he could leave that up to Fumou, as him and his comrade focused on what they were trained for: The arts of murder and carnage.

His bare feet carried him from the edge of the bed toward the fridge which was tucked away in a small corner on the rooms left hand side, adjacent to the bathroom. Inside, Azoth retrieved a small water bottle he'd pay for later, opening it up with a flick of his wrist followed by a couple of quick gulps in succession. "Man, where is this guy? Im about to knock out quicker then in academy student in enemy territory" he thought. He laid down with his legs crossed, one a top of another as he waited for his fellow Shinobi, or sleeps sweet embrace.

Age : 31 Posts : 1490

It was not quite your generic happy and sunny day…

To say Magato was in a bad mood would be an understatement. To say he was in a terrible mood wouldn't quite cut it. As if there weren't enough of the dark and storming clouds over Kumogakure and its Fisherman's Port , it would seem that there was quite an over-sized cloud brewing over the young Inuzuka on this too early morning. To make matters worse, this was hardly the type of cloud that was likely to hover contently over Magato until his foul mood would dissipate, much like the storm above the village might. Instead, (most likely because of Migato´s general asshole-ish nature) this cloud was likely to shoot lightning bolts at and passerby and try to create another cloud there. If Magato could have his way, everyone in the village would be in a similar if not worse mood. As he trudged (to trudge: : the slow, weary, depressing yet determined walk of a man who wanted nothing more of this day to make everyone absolutely miserable) his way through streets of the village, headed towards the port, he mumbled and grumbled and growled to himself as well as everyone around him.

"Ofcourseitwouldfuckingrain!" He grumbled rapidly and under his breath, "Fuckingmission!Fuckingmorning!Blargh!" There could be no real attempt to reason or alleviate his mood at the present time and further, no real way to determine exactly what he was saying unless you paid very close attention. To simply say "the rain was pouring" would be such an ill-fitting choice of words. The rain did not so much pour over as it did drench the village, the only reasonable way of description would be to say that the clouds were quite determined to empty all of their absorbed water as quickly as possible. It was not unlike standing beneath a waterfall, a very violent and cold waterfall. This of course, did not help Magato feel any happier about the day ahead of him.

If one were to try and decide exactly why Magato was in such a monstrous mood, they would first have to make quite the list.

A: First, he hated water. There were a number of things that Magato hated in life (which could be argued is quite the waste of energy, but he hated people who told him that). This list included, the mailman, dolphins, odd numbers the sound that nails made when they scratched along a chalk board, but most of all, he hated two things. Fish and Water. So as you can imagine, the Fisherman's port was most certainly on his list of hatred. And of course, guess where he was going on this very very gloomy day of all days ?

B: Because of this water, Magato´s brand new suit was soaking wet, even whilst it was 'protected' by the cleverly advertised and expensive coat which he wore. The kind of coat that was supposed to repel liquids. A cleverly advertised lie. (Why pray tell did he not have the common sense to wear something other than an expensive suit today? No idea.)

C: Missions. MISSIONS! ~~MISSIONS.~~ To put it lightly, Magato found missions to be the most idiotic and useless waste of time. He understood, blah blah the village was like a business and as such the missions were the way that the village could generate income and further pay its shinobi (those like Magato himself). But the kinds of missions that the village was payed for (Especially those at Magato's pay grade) were the kind that were mostly just demeaning or disgusting and not even remotely ninja-like.

D:And finally (Well not finally but for the sake of keeping it short..) Magato was unable to get a room of any sort near the Fisherman's Port and there was no way his pride would let him sleep on or near the street anymore in the entirety of his lifetime. This meant that Magato had to get up before the godforsaken sun had even risen just to make it from where he lived to the port in time to meet his partner. That was one more thing, Magato hated being assigned a partner. He had a great preference to work alone and especially not with someone whom he had never met before .

Rin walked next to Magato, cold but not overly cold. Her redish-golden fur kept her quite warm. She was well aware of her partner´s mood or at least as aware of it as any close bonded canine companion could be. This was the first time in many many years that Magato had paid his companion little or no mind when he had left the house alone this morning, he did not call for her or beckon for her to follow, she instead followed on her own accord. If it could be described like any human emotion, then Rin felt the need to protect Magato no matter what his tasks could be on this morning. Thus she cared not what kind of weather she was forced to confront during her task, her only care was obligated to her companion.

There is little to describe about there walk as they were each silent in their own way, lost in thought or wallowing in a mood, whatever the case may be. Magato was aware of Rin accompanying him, but paid her no mind still, which was a bit harsh and undeserved on her part. He led their little party down the streets, pushing his way through the small crowds of people preparing for the contest and/or taking any number of back alley pathways if they could save time. He was informed by the mission papers where his partner had been would be staying and of his appearance.

As he trudged (much in the same manner as he had done through the streets) into the small inn where his soon to be partner was staying. Magato merely grunted discontently at the owner of the rather quaint little place as he mostly ignored the small pig-like man and marched towards Azoth´s room, off in the corner of the inn. It could only be said that Magato was rather bitterly resentful of the fact that this 'Nara, Azoth' had managed to procure a room when Magato and his endless amount of charm, had not and this fact was clearly evident as Magato pounded his fist hard onto the door of the room. His knock could only resemble the sound of him violently punching the door in an attempt to make someone else suffer from his own mood.

Magato hoped to god he woke the bastard up from the most peaceful sleep of his life.

Age : 31 Posts : 81

The sounds of nature were overbearing, crowding in on the empty room which the young lad had all to himself, but over time he found a serene bliss to the harsh pitter patter. His thoughts walked for once, instead of racing from place to place in search of not enough answers to the everyday questions of Shinobi life. For the first time in quite awhile, Azoth Nara was able to actually say he was relaxed, at ease in a foreign environment which surprisingly offered the most sure sense of security he had ever felt. Well, this was until he felt the room shake all around him, vibrations spreading all over the place but originating from the sole entrance to the room. " Sheesh, what did the door do to him?" Thought Azo as he stood up hazily, completely absent minded with only one eye really open to see the path ahead of him. His movements were sluggish as he made his way to the door, resembling a sloth who made no effort in accomplishing the task at hand. He'd get there eventually, why over work yourself? He'd want every single ounce of strength available for the mission tomorrow, he wasn't getting any commendations for opening doors after all.

Seconds later, the Nara lad finally crossed the dreaded carpet wasteland to the door, yawning as he opened it to a most ghastly sight. Standing on the other side was someone rather taller then Azoth (What a surprise) but what really stood out was his canine companion, both donning a completely drenched appearance. Indeed, the two seemed to have faced no simple ordeal in making it over to their destination, anguish clearly apparent in at least one of their demeanors. The severity served to shock Azoth a bit, forcing him to open both eyes and look at the Genin with a stern expression. " Tough night? You don't have to bother answering. Come on in, we have quite a lot to discuss me and you. Name's Nara Azoth, But I assume you already know that much. You have me at a disadvantage...?." Azoth moved out of the doorway in order to allow his guest a proper entrance, pausing momentarily as he awaited him to state his own name. He had no clue as to what kind of person he was, so for all intended purposes the young Nara decided to keep himself at a distance as he gathered information. From the dog at his side, he surmised the lads ancestry as that of the Inuzuka Clan, a clan of fierce Canine warriors who's origin was also in the Fire Country, where the Nara Clan hailed from. This allowed him to further relate to his guest, though his shroud of professionalism wouldn't show it. Instead, Azoth closed the door behind him and made his way back onto the bed in order to find his lost comfort before it would escape his reach once more, forver replaced by the overdose of thoughts he constantly fed himself.

" We have refreshments and snacks in the fridge, they charge for those so don't try anything, we each pay for what we use. There's a shower if you'd like, you and your companion can use it however you please" He glanced toward the dog, who's pelt brandished the colors of bright autumn. Azo was also a person who appreciated wildlife, from more domesticated creatures to the savages of the jungle, two very different sides of the same coin which he found apparent in the canine's expression. He knew that if given the chance, the dog would make short work of any other wild denizen in its path. Azoth waited in order to see what his comrade would decide to do, leaving any talk of the mission for once he had settled in. He toyed around with the cream colored toothpick between his lips in the meanwhile, distracting himself in order to give the Inuzuka some time.

" So, Il assume you've briefed yourself properly but lets go over some of the basics of our assignments anyway in order for me to cover my bases. We have one Fisherman with what could be argued to be too much Ryo on his hands, so he decided to go pay Kumogakure no Sato for our help. Now we have to catch fish just as he does, without the invocation of our Jutsu. What all of this adds up to is a giant hassle and six hours of us fishing, do you have any battle plans going into this? We are Shinobi, and there isn't any way im going home with fishermen here telling stories of how they pulled a fast one on us. ". The thought of such an absurd notion angered Azo, though it was just a fleeting thought. He would make sure that they weren't out done, even in a matter as trivial as this. They were men dammit, and as such losing was not a term they accepted lightly, no, they would win and gloat over it later regardless of the hassle which the mission posed.

Age : 31 Posts : 1490

Now he really remembered why he hated missions.

Magato´s hatred of missions was not based only on the fact that he hated being told what to do, being ordered to complete some impossibly lame task. He remembered that now. The number one reason he hated missions was because he had a hatred for dealing with people. Reason numero uno. If there was ever a person more misanthropic than this particular Inuzuka, Magato himself would love to meet him . People were disgusting, lying, cheating and in general they made rather terrible companions. Magato never understood how he was supposed to trust someone on a mission when he saw no reason why his companion wouldn't do whatever was best for him, whilst paying Magato no mind. But these reasons weren't really the only reason why he hated people, mostly he just figured that there must be some sexual excitement in acting like an idiot and not using your brain.

" Tough night? You don't have to bother answering. Come on in, we have quite a lot to discuss me and you. Name's Nara Azoth, But I assume you already know that much. You have me at a disadvantage...?."

´Oh come on..´ Magato let out a very audible sigh as he let the man speak, barely waiting for the man to move out of the doorway before he pushed himself through the doorway, his hair drenched with the wetness from the falling rain. "Well then clearly I did my work properly Azoth." He made no effort to seem polite. Were he in a better mood he would he would have went into a rather long-winded dialogue in which he would insert an insult which was most likely cleverly masquerading as an insult, but he didn't really have the patience for that. Sometimes it was just easier to call people stupid. "Well if you could have requested information on the partner in your mission, which would allow you to be far better prepared. Or you could even use your powers of deduction... I mean how likely is it that anyone other than an Inuzuka would bring a dog with them on such a mission." To put it simply he was an asshole, he wasn't really in the business of making friends today. He sighed as he pulled off his jacket, tossing it into the small sink which was hid away in one of the corners of the room. "Inuzuka, Magato. Taijutsu. Earth and Lightning Elements." He had no mood for any sort of facade as he stripped out of his wet shirt and tie in a series of rapid movements in an attempt to warm up while trying to expedite this meeting. As he spoke, he quickly sprinted over and grabbed a towel, barely popping his head into the bathroom.

" So, I assume you've briefed yourself properly but lets go over some of the basics of our assignments anyway in order for me to cover my bases. We have one Fisherman with what could be argued to be too much Ryo on his hands, so he decided to go pay Kumogakure no Sato for our help. Now we have to catch fish just as he does, without the invocation of our Jutsu. What all of this adds up to is a giant hassle and six hours of us fishing, do you have any battle plans going into this? We are Shinobi, and there isn't any way im going home with fishermen here telling stories of how they pulled a fast one on us.".

By the time the Nara had even begun speaking Magato had not only already fetched a towel, but he also stood shirtless before the man, his mess of black hair visible only in flashes as he vigorously attempted to remove some of the dampness from his hair, while contemplating how best to complete the rather stupid mission they had at hand.