Team Souran Mission #1: Nighttime Nomad Affairs

It was around 7 PM when Souran dashed into Mukade's room, by opening the door without knocking - the usual - and walking straight up to his son. 'Get your useless self ready, we need to get going!' with a disgusted look he slammed the door again and left, before Mukade had any chance to reply. Lately it had seemed like Souran was more ill tempered than usual and he took it all out on his son. Mukade would know this current scolding was about the upcoming mission for today.

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About half hour later Souran [and Mukade, unless he found a way to get rid of his dad] would be standing in front of the Kazekagetower to wait for the other teammates. They had been assigned a new useless addition to their team: some Sabaku named Asura who he liked to refer to as Flyboy for always walking with his head up in some cloud. And the little brat, who was positively a prodigy? That thought made him laugh. Together with his son he feared the worst for the future of HEAT. On the positive side: they had been able to complete a few simple tasks so far, so it was time for something better, something more entertaining for him. Most possibly not for them.

As the students would arrive they would notice an irritated Souran with folded arms standing there. He had drilled them to be there at least 15 minutes early and neatly dressed for any possible situations, with their headbands on. Next to the missions they already had to do he also had a twice a week army drill, where they had to go to a training ground and do intensive training: like running at three o clock, the warmest time of the day while being followed by one of his huge puppets and trying not to die.
Even tough the HEAT team only had some simple missions he wanted them to be prepared for the worst. In this case it might have been necessary. He looked at a clockwork on a building and found himself waiting. As he waited longer the annoyance grew, showing a vein on his forehead. When finally the first student would arrive he wouldn't even greet them, just a: 'Did you prepare well for today?' in an almost shouting way.

(Kazuo would not have been present for the past month's time, due to illness. Everyone can decide whether or not they visited or even knew about it, he was delirious or sleeping most of the time.

Illness Stage 4: Mild condition: -1 FCS, -1 chakra per 10, -1 maximum mental energy)

Returning from a long month of total bed rest, Kazuo still looked pale as a ghost. He'd used every method he learned about to at least make himself physically capable of attending today, and it showed. Barely a week earlier he'd been nearly strapped to bed, mumbling incoherently and suffering sudden seizures. The medics had no answers for his condition, and rather than his 'normal' attitude of bland indifference, he held an unhappy sneer as he entered the tower.

'Did you prepare well for today?' Forcing himself to bite back a caustic remark, Kazuo merely twisted his sneer a little harder at Souran. "Yes... Sir." I will not suffer this lightly. I will not rest because my body groans. I will have what I want, even if I die getting it.

Asura would arrive around ten minutes before he was meant to. The day he joined the team, all of the drills had taught him a valuable a pair of lessons about his new sensei. Firstly, this guy was a total jackass. Constant drilling and roaring at them had developed a sense of annoyance within Asura, and he regarded the teacher like a bully. He would generally do what was expected of him more out of a sense of duty, rather than because the teacher said so. Second, he quickly learned that simply doing what was required meant less yelling, so he would just do it to prevent the screaming old man from... Well, screaming.

Today, he had a feeling he was expected to do something a little more than just simple tasks. He was eager to jump into the action, even without a sword, and showed up relatively on time. "I'm as ready as I can be, teach." it was true, he was always prepared for missions... Aside from the sword he didn't have. He felt lighter without it, and always felt defenseless without the metal at his side. He'd gotten used to carrying a practice one around in the academy, before he graduated and had to leave it behind.

Mukade was sitting near his work bench with the The Suna Prophet, taking a break from his studying. 'So Konoha's failing students? Well at least they're not getting mortalities like here.' he thought to him self as his eyes moved over to the story next to it. 'Ohh yes, myth busted, pack up your bags, this master ninja in hiding couldn't be found, what a shock, next they'll come to the conclusion that-' "Get your useless self ready, we need to get going!"

Mukade was startled out of his train of thought as Souran barged in, yelled, and quickly barged out... It only took a few moments of thought before Mukade had come to a conclusion, 'He's not happy about today's mission... ugh... Why did Dad of all shinobi have to be our Sensai?' He then put away the paper and quickly began getting ready. as he did he looked out the window above his work table, noting the setting sun and grumbling to himself.

He'd left with Souran and arrived there with him. He didn't ask any questions, simply following obediently behind his father. and standing in silence as they waited for the other two to arive. as they did Mukade noted the paleness in both of them, like a pair of ghosts. Though he new this was Asura's normal complexion, he realised Kazou must have still been sick, and silently pitted the boy.

As the other two students would arrive, Souran would grunt a bit. 'Ah, the kid's finally back I see.' Souran suspected Kazuo to only be back because he was told by official letter he would be send back to the academy if he would stay home much longer. The puppeteer didn't have any need for lazy students who were too weak to fulfill their duties.

When the Sabaku kid would arrive, Souran's vein on his forehead would get bigger. 'Flyboy!' he shouted mildly annoyed. 'You are still supposed to call me Sensei, you tool!' The man sighed and looked at the kids. He really hoped this night would make up for the past three months. This is what he had been training them for, it better all be worth it. 'Let's go!'
They weren't going to get the mission at the Kazekage tower, instead Souran decided to meet here so even these fools could find the location. The man walked into the direction of the east gate of the town, he hadn't really much of a clue if the students were following, but they'd better be or they would get another hell training in the dessert.
'We are going to meet up with the nomads,' Souran told his following students. 'We need to deliver a package to a different Nomad Tribe at half a day travel. We'll be traveling at night, so I assume you girls decided to wear warm clothes for tonight.'

They would arrive at the nomad camp half an hour later. It had been a nice walk, as it wasn't really warm anymore, but rather a decent and nice temperature. They were welcomed by someone Kazuo would know: Arutha, the caravan leader. Most of the caravan was already packed up and it seemed like they would leave in the next two days. 'Lil Kazuo!' the man said with every form of enthusiasm Souran lacked. He bowed in front of Souran and smiled at him.
The Sensei would nod towards the man.
Then he would say to a nomad woman who sprinted away after she got the following order: 'Ga Musfat eens halen joh, z'n bestelling is er!' and to Souran and his team: 'I would like to invite ye all to my tent for some tea and sweets while we wait for Musfat to arrive.'

Kazuo, still a little weak and tired from forcing himself to be on this mission, was perfectly fine with not paying attention until Souran mentioned the nomads. He'd spent time in the past four months studying the people who had rescued him in the desert survival exercise, and now he could perhaps use that knowledge a little to assist.

Academics B(Historical specialty) and Politics E

When they arrived, Kazuo would bow politely to Arutha, who'd been nice enough to help him without teasing him -much- about it. Of course, when they'd been invited to sweets, his enthusiasm was physically visible. They may have been desert nomads, but they really knew good sugar. He awaited Souran's affirmative answer earnestly, with the closest thing to puppy dog eyes he could manage.

Asura sighed at his sensei, not really caring what the old man had to say about what he wanted to be called. He watched the others as they headed to the east, and followed behind at a bit of a distance. He didn't like the idea of going out into the desert at night... too many things that could pop out of nowhere. Like scorpions. He shuddered at the thought, then moved quick to catch up to the rest.

Time passed as they traveled, the moonlight shimmering down around them. The pale blue reflected off the sand, giving the desert an otherworldly appearance. He was used to it, though... he'd come out here many times, exploring and adventuring. He'd heard of the nomads, but knew little about them otherwise... due to this, he kept to himself, only watching the events unfolding around him with an aloof eye. He moved over to near Mukade, his right hand down at his waist making a hand seal just in case something went wrong. He wanted to be able to jump into action.

As the nomads invited them in, he smirked at Kazuo's happy look, and relaxed visibly.

Mukade tented to take his missions quite seriously, and even more so when Souran was there watching and judging them.

Upon reaching the camp Mukade remained a few feet from his father and listened to the caravan leader who he was somewhat surprised to learn that Kazou knew. He must have been the one that helped him out during... the last mission.

At the mention of sweets Mukade's thoughts turned to wondering how they would be, but attempted to hide any enthusiasm outwardly, and simply began to look around to try and judge just how big the camp was, and how many nomads looked like there was, while waiting to hear what Souran would say.

(Investigation D?)

Needless to say after half a day's travel, even if at night, a change to rest was becoming more and more welcoming.

The nomad camp had about seven small tents standing around one bigger tent, which was the tent of the nomad leader. They were made of leather. On the west side of the camp some camels were drinking water from buckets, chewing hay or sleeping in the sunset. The people inside camp looked really busy, but at the same time colorful and happy. They were singing songs in the nomad language. Some children were chasing a dog and soon called out by their mothers. "Ouassima! Laat da beest es met rust joh! En ruim je zooi op!" a woman shouted to one of the children. The child ran towards the woman and was lifted by her and dragged back into the tent.

Arutha led the people to his tent. It was the biggest tent, but still not bigger than the usual master bedroom. On the floor were blankets and animal skin to sit on. It only had a small table and in the middle a fireplace. For some reason the tent smelled sweet, sugary but at the same time fruity. It was warm inside.
Arutha told the children to sit down and hung a kettle above the fire place. One of his wives smiled at the children and continued giving her child breastfeeding, but walked to a separate part of the tent, separated by animal fur and out of sight. It was a normal day for the nomads.
 The man got a plate and filled it with dates, sugared fruits and all kind of foods. Treat guests, even your enemies like your best friends was one of the things they lived by. He sat down across the children [if they were to sit down at all].

Souran stayed at the entrance, to look around a bit without losing his students out of sight. The nomads were always a place to visit when they settled close to the capitol. It was like a fancy fair. Even though people always talked bad about them, they still visited them. 'Scorpion lollies anyone? Take whatever you like!' Arutha put the plate on the ground and grinned as he handed the scorpion lollies to the children. The lollies were yellow on wooden sticks with a baby scorpion in the middle. The recipe the nomads are famous for!
'We'll just wait for Musfat to arrive, he's probably taking care of his tent. His wife is looking for him now.'

By the time the tea was ready another man came walking into the tent. Arutha gave the children tea and offered Souran a cup as well, who accepted it. It was the sweetest tea in human history, with a fruity taste and mostly liquid sugar.
'Goeienavond!' the man spoke, as if the children could actually understand him. He had black hair, a beard and was wearing harem pants. 'Dus... dit de mensen die me komen helpen?'
Arutha replied by saying "Ja, dat ken kloppen. Why don't you introduce yourselves to Musfat... And me of course? Musfat doesn't really talk your language that well..."
'My name Musfat. Very nice meeting! Who you are?'

Before the plate had even reached the ground beneath them, Kazuo's hand had snaked out to grasp at a lollipop with abandon. Just as quickly as he'd snatched one away, it was in his mouth, and a look his teammates would normally associate with a fighting focus was on his face.

Of course, when he was finally distracted by the entrance of the nomad leader, he realized what he was doing, and who was watching. With considerable embarrassment, he shifted the candy around so that he could still at least speak. He had considerably less success hiding his reddened cheeks. "Arutha, Musfat..." He left the affix out after a moment's hesitation, he wasn't quite sure if they cared or demanded such verbal shows, considering they didn't quite speak the same tongue. "I am Kazuo. It is good to meet you."

Mukade followed the lead of his companions as they were offered seats, though did occasionally glance over to Souran multiple times to check for his approval. Mukade smiled and nodded as their friendly host brought the peculiar shaped and named lollies. He hesitated to take any, though as Kazou so rapidly took one without any objection from their Sensai, Mukade decided he might too as well. It would likely be rude not to anyway. He stared at it for a few moments, making sure his eyes did not deceive him that indeed there WAS a baby scorpion inside them before licking it and being surprised by the sweetness, which was beaten only by the tea which he excepted soon later.

Mukade turned to the entrance as the new man named Musfat entered, He moved a hand to his side in order to control the puppet hidden under the cloth on his back and followed Kazuo's example, "I. am. Mukade. Hello."

Asura ignored the scorpion lollies... Or to be more precise, his body froze up when the word came up, and he had to restrain himself from fleeing the tent as he saw the tiny bugs inside the candy. Nothing but panic gripped him as he fought the urge to obliterate the created of these abominations with a sandstorm, and ensure they would never exist again. The disgust and fear was clear on his face as he decidedly looked away from the candy. "I... I'll pass, thank you." His voice was strained with fear, as if he was having trouble breathing in to get the words out. As he was handed some tea, he simply held it as the others introduced themselves.

"Sabaku no Asura..." His introductory words were much briefer and harsher, but at this point, it would be clear why. The scorpion candy had taken a toll on the boy's psyche, and it was obvious to all that he did not feel comfortable with the yellow sweets out in the open as they were. As the others spoke on, he would eye the candy nervously until it was put away.

'Please take something else then!' Arutha offered to the Sabaku. He didn't expect a reaction this extreme. "And they're dead scorpions and not poisonous... Right Kazuo-kun?"

'Ah! Nice to meeting you Kazou, Moekadu, Sakabu!' the man with the beard said. 'My sister getting wedded! We go there and bring package!' the man - Musfat - sounded really enthusiastic about him being escorted by three shinobi. He smiled. 'We walk with my camel! What you think? You like?!'
Meanwhile Arutha bursted out laughing and put three pieces of sugared fruit on a mall scale and walked it over to Souran, who acepted it with a bit of a smile. It almost seemed unnatural for the Chikamatsu to smile. Whenever Souran smiled, it always seemed like he was laughing away something extremely painful, as if his face didn't even know the expression.
'Why you want to be shinobi?' Musfat continued with his storm of questions and Arutha stayed at the entrance with Souran.

'It's always quite a happening for Suna to see us,' the man said to Souran, he suddenly seemed ten years older. 'I'm almost surprised someone wanted to accept this request...'
Souran nodded. 'It's been 12 years since I last went to the Nomads, but their reputation didn't get any better.'
'I am very aware of that, unfortunately. How did your newspaper call us? "Nomad Scum?" I did an interview hoping the people from the capitol wanted to come visit more, but they just stay away and lock their doors.'

Kazuo nodded absently at Arutha's mention, having decimated much of the lollipop already. He was now encountering a new problem. He was a terribly picky eater, and last time, when he'd been in the middle of nowhere after finishing the lollipop, he'd removed the scorpion. He had no such protection this time. As less and less sugar surrounded the arachnid on a stick, Kazuo was now beginning to fill with a rising dread. It wouldn't be polite or nice to ignore a gift, and as abrasive as Kazuo could be, he was barely ever deliberately unkind. He couldn't do what he did last time with the scorpion, and nobody was going to cover by eating his own snack. He suppressed a horrible shudder at the realization of his only option.

He'd have to eat the scorpion inside.

He barely registered Musfat's continued yammering questions, humming in semi-silent agreement with whichever familiar voice next to him said. He had to figure out what to do with a massively embarrassing scene he'd cause for not being able to handle the feel of scorpion goo being swallowed, and all the chewing to make sure it didn't get stuck... He felt a little green just imagining it.

Musfat's question about their motivations drew him out of thought for a moment, his barely-there thoughts noticed this particular answer couldn't be cheated on, and he'd actually have to use his precious brainpower for something other than dealing with his food problem. "I want to create a masterpiece. Something that makes people... feel good to see it."

As he listened into the conversation, Asura began to understand something of the nomads. He'd never paid attention to them during training, as they weren't in front of him doing something, but he knew they existed. His knowledge on them was limited to 'Oh, those people. Yes, I've heard of them.' Now that he was actually going to be dealing with them, he figured he should learn more of them, some of their customs, and so on. Kazuo seemed to know them well enough, and the mission seemed simple. An escort mission. They'd protect this guy on the way to see his sister, who was being wed. Easy enough... right?

He happily accepted a piece of sugared fruit, thankfully scorpion-free, and chewed on it thoughtfully as the talking continued around him. He took up another piece as he was halfway through the first, and looked at it while he was tuning into the questions being asked. He'd seen the fruit before, of course, but having it sliced up and coated in sugar, then baked to a crispy treat had never occurred to him. He wondered briefly what other sugary gifts they could make. As the question of motivations was asked, Asura perked up slightly, listening to Kazuo answer. Huh... well, isn't that interesting... is Kaz an artist? He remained silent, however, not knowing if the question was directed at all of them, or just Kazuo.

AHAH! Mukade looked up. So that was their mission! To escort this man to a wedding. It sounded simple enough, but Mukade still wondered why they where needed to protect him... Hopefully that was a question that wouldn't need to be answered.

Once he'd neared the lolly's centre Mukade entered a similar conundrum to Kazuo, though his thoughts were more on the hygiene of arachnid then anything else. A brief moment of his thoughts considered how this was almost revenge Mukade was having over the scorpion that stung him at the start of their last mission. He realised also that such a meal would likely have been eaten by all the nomads at some point or another, it was surely healthy enough. So he ate it without to much hesitation... Well... it tasted awful, but at least it didn't try to come back up. Though he knew he wouldn't be accepting another one soon.

The question surprised Mukade but it was clear the man was simply trying to be friendly, and perhaps getting to know those who he'd be traveling with. But before mukade could say anything Kazuo answered first... That sounded almost like something a Chikamatsu would say. He looked over at Kazuo wondering exactly what he meant... wondering just what kind of 'artist he was.'

Koe spoke hidden on Mukade's back, "I. want. to. protect. my. village. and. clan..." The answer was rehearsed and felt almost more robotic then usual before he added "... and. make. those. I. respect. proud." His eyes wondered over to the doorway were the other two adults were talking.

"Do. not. worry. Musfat. We. will. keep. you. safe."

To Kazuo's reply, Musfat didn't quite understand it. 'Masterpies? Big cakes?' he just replied. The man seemed confused, but he just smiled. 'Nice dream' The man grabbed a date and slowly chewed on it, listening to what Mukade had to say.
'You from clan? What clan?' he asked. He really seemed enthusiastic about the whole idea and everything involving Shinobi life. As he grinned a big grin he moved on to Asura. 'And you?'

Meanwhile Souran and Arutha continued their chat. 'The people from Suna see us as thief's, murderers... They always have, we mean nobody harm. Our way of life is just different.'
'It has become worse after the war.'
'We rule by our own politics, the politics of our ancestors. We never interfere with others, so we wonder why they keep interfering with ours, and meanwhile our way of life is threatened by your laws and they expect us to accept that. It wasn't our war and we didn't want to fight a war that isn't ours to fight.'
Souran nodded. His face didn't show much emotion, but he did pity them. Even though most people in Sunagakure are traditionalists, it almost seems like the tradition is to hate the Nomads. 'I'm sure you'll be alright.'
'Don't worry, we always have been and we always will.' Arutha smiled and looked at the sky with a worried face. 'It seems like it's time to go. We have packed supplies for the journey, food mostly.' And with a grin to Asura: 'Scorpion free... mostly.' He winked jokingly and walked back into the tent. 'Musfat, jullie kunnen later bijkletsen, 't is tijd om te gaan.'

Even though they were sitting in a tent, they could see it got darker outside from the smokehole in the roof. Rapidly it got colder outside and some stars started showing. They all knew it would be a hell of a cold night tonight.

Quickly chewing and swallowing the scorpion as attention was drawn to the others, Kazuo could barely suppress his gag reflex before finishing. Almost with excessive pride, he removed the little stick from his mouth and put it to the side of the lollipop plate. He'd somewhat tuned out of Musfat's speaking in favor of the interesting conversation by the tent's opening.

As for Arutha's conversation with Souran, Kazuo was surprised to hear the hardened puppeteer seem almost approachable. Apparently, he had a soft spot for something Arutha said. Was it the unfairness of their position? Kazuo couldn't think of any other reason for it, but he couldn't reconcile Souran with a person who actually cared whether or not someone was being treated fairly, he certainly didn't seem to mind brutalizing his team on a regular basis.

"Uh... I'm from the Sabaku clan." Asura was surpirsed that someone was asking about the clan. He genuinely thought everyone in Suna knew about the Sabaku... then again, this guy and his kin weren't exactly from the city. He thought about what the others had said. Did he have a real dream to fulfill? What exactly was his goal in life, other than to become a great swordsman? Despite his thoughts, he couldn't come up with a better answer, and went with what he knew best.

"I will be the greatest swordsman Sunagakure has ever seen!" He said this with all the enthusiasm he could muster, knowing full well that his dream was silly when he said it without a sword. "I don't know who or what might be after you, Musfat, but you can count on us to protect you! I wouldn't be much of a samurai if I couldn't protect someone important!" He looked to the others for approval and agreement, but as per usual, completely ignored his sensei outside. The jab about the rations being scorpion free did lighten his mood slightly, and he nodded thankfully to Arutha.

Musfat's genuine enthusiasm towards them was beginning to make Mukade smile. Between that and Asura's sudden enthusiasm in answering the man, Mukade was begining to loose track with the conversation going on at the doorway. He was familar with the bad reputation the nomads possessed, but never gave it a whole lot of thought, It was clearly not factual, or at the very least not entirely.

It was peculiar to hear that Asura considered himself a samurai... "Samurai?" Came Koe's voice, "Asura. you. are. a. shinobi." Truth be told it did not concern Mukade much on what Asura considered himself so long as it didn't affect their missions... still it was a confusing and strange statement to make.

Souran and Arutha had joined the group and with a worried look on Arutha's face he said to Asura after his Samurai comment: 'Ben je gestoord?! I wouldn't yell that too loud if I were you.' Even Musfat looked a bit worried on the Samurai-comment, but none of them actually said too much about it.
He would shake his head and help Musfat up. 'Klaar om te gaan?'
'Yes!' Musfat found all of his energy back and jumped up, ready to go. 'We go get my camel first. Can any of you ride camel? I can teach!' he called out enthusiastic, walking towards the exit.

'It was nice meeting you all,' Arutha said to the Genin. 'Come visit us any time!' he said, shaking the young Genin's hands.

With a roll of his eyes, Kazuo ignored Asura's ridiculous samurai comment and thanked Arutha. The handshake threw him off a bit, halfway through a bow, but he awkwardly and reluctantly shook the man's hand.

"I can ride..." I hope...

Asura nodded to Musfat, happy to be of service. He seemed to completely ignore the comments and looks his samurai statement had received... though secretly, it did bother him. He could feel a bit of anger bubbling up within him, but pushed it down to give off a happy, excited vibe towards the others. As he followed the others out, he lagged behind a moment, pulling Mukade back with him. He leaned in to whisper to the mute boy as they walked towards the camels. "Yeah, I'm a shinobi, pal. That doesn't mean I can't be a noble swordsman, too. That's all a samurai is, a warrior serving his clan and village with a pure blade." He thought for a moment. "That's all they are to me, anyway. I guess all of you have a different definition." He pushed past him, moving up to stand near Souran and Arutha.

He'd seen camels before, during his adventures before he joined the academy. He'd ridden a couple, long time ago, but he'd grown since then and didn't know if his size made a difference. He awaited instructions from the others, and stood ready to move if anyone needed him to do something.

"Yes. Thank. you. Arutha. It. was. a. pleasure." as they walked out Mukade remembered his reading on riding and horsemanship. "Ahh. yes. I. have. done. plenty. of. reading. on it... I. can. ride." spoke Koe, Mukade's face confident that his academic research would translate well into practical application.

His brows furrowed as he suddenly felt Asura pull him back. He listened to the boy, but before he had a chance to mention it was far more complex his team mate moved on ahead... he simply sighed and followed them to the camels.

As Musfat would walk the Shinobi towards the camels he would just rattle on in his broken language about how they would take shifts on the camel to spread their walking time and get them from getting tired. The man must have been a nice change from dealing with Souran every day.
Souran himself kept his distance a bit, almost as if he wanted to see how his students would coop with everything, as if he was testing them again, like he always was.

The camel was already packed with a saddle and a lot of other things that seemed like food and even a small tent. It didn't seem to bother the animal at all. He was just chewing on some hay with a dull face like only camels have.
'We go to south!' the man smiled and grabbed a compass from one of the bags, looked at it for a short while and nodded. 'Who will ride Karita first? She pretty right?' he just asked bluntly. It wasn't the nomads nature to put themselves before others.

As soon as the Genin decided who would ride first Musfat would walk into the direction which the compass had told him to walk. Their mission could finally begin!