When the comforts of civilization begin to dull our senses, we must never forget that in the beginning, there was war. And war. And more war. Long before there were empires, there were humans consumed with greed and the hunger for power. Resources, territories, information—these were the forms of sustenance upon which we preyed. Today, we call such habits vices. Oh, how arrogant we have become! Are we not still impelled by those primordial emotions? Is the advent of war so far-fetched? But alas, for you to truly understand, we must dive deeper into this land’s half-forgotten past.
There was a time when might was the only law that humankind knew. Fearsome clans roamed throughout the land, seeking amenable grounds within which they could take root and opposing forces against whom they could test their mettle. Given the irregularity of nature’s bounty, certain regions appealed more than others, and dominion over such coveted territories became the spark that ignited the earliest inter-clan wars. These fierce, internecine affairs tended to conclude only when one side had decimated their competition into oblivion, and many clans of story were rendered extinct during this period.
The victors of war, having claimed their territories, often made truces with surrounding locals, offering protection in exchange for access to the yields of agriculture. Over time, certain communities emerged as more dominant than others, either due to numbers or sheer talent, and their rapid expansion would force smaller, neighboring communities to either collapse into their fold or be devastated. When the dust settled, humankind found itself divided into the five major territories that we are familiar with today. And was the bloodshed over? With our lands obtained and our bellies filled, were we finally content?
06/01/2023 June is for Juggin
We made it y’all, another month of OTA, and fresh off the press we have another promotion ready. Leaving behind the opening bonus sadly, we welcome the jugggggg! June is for juggin AKA working hard, so we are making it a double rewards month for every mission completed! Yes we said it's double rewards, now you all can really get into the thick of those builds if you work hard enough. And who knows what you might uncover in the process. AND all jobs are free to enroll no quest EXCEPT ANBU(Black Ops) roles.
Name: Cat Scratch Fever Rank: D Repeatable: Yes Description: Little Ayane has gone missing yet again. Lady Haruni can't seem to keep her in one place. Normally this would be considered important. However Ayane isn't a child, but rather, a cat that likes to run away from time to time and venture the village. Objective: Catch Ayane and bring her back to the client. Reward: 100 EXP and 10,000 Ryo
'....Sigh..'
If there could be any certainty within Konohahakure - it was that that fucking cat would get lost. Unfortunately for Yuurei, with his father feeling a level of responsibility for Lady Haruni's wellbeing ("Because you see, her family have always treated us well, Yuurei..") it's not been the first time that he'd been sent unceremoniously around the village trying to find the beast. It was embarassing - was a chuunin, not a cat's babysitter. Wasn't Lady Haruni wealthy anyway? Couldn't she just hire someone to keep an eye on the cat to make sure that it doesn't escape the reach of her restate? Several such questions ran through Yuurei's mind as he trapsed through the streets, though it would be untrue to say that these were the first time that he'd pondered them. The woman was a useless cat owner - end of story.
And so because of one woman's uselessness, here he was - trapesing through the rain, looking out for any sign of that bastard that he could catch. Ayane (Or - at least he was sure that thing was called Ayane) was fortunately not the most well-hidden of cats. Not only was the cat gifted with incredibly fluffy white fur, but it was also tremendously overweight due to the way that Lady Haruni spoiled it. Both qualities meant that whilst Ayane was slow-moving and easily detected, it was suspected that the lingering smell of cooked food from neighbouring homes and establishments would draw it out of the confines of its home, and being very food-motivated - the thing seemed to somehow traverse the whole of Konoha several times each week in search for food. Yuurei had already been out walking for thirty minutes, directly outside of Lady Haruni's estate, and no glimmer of white had caught his eye just yet. Fortunately, having caught the cat a couple of times, he knew exactly how best to coax it forwards once found. For this reason, in Yuurei's left hand was a travel bag suitable for carrying a cat, in a disgusting shade of pink. Within the carrier, a small bag of treats - and not the cheap kind. Born and bred in luxury, he'd learned that Ayane wouldn't be convinced with your regular lowly cat treat - it was a brat. But then again.. does it take one to know one? Maybe he had more in common with this cat than he once thought.
Turning a corner, he met with a street lined with different food stalls, and the smell hit him. Never a big fan of rich foods, his nose crinkled at the very smell of his surroundings - but fortunately for him, if Ayane was going to be anywhere, it was here. The hard thing was figuring out exactly where she would be. Though the main throughfare of the street was clear, bar from a few Konohagakure citizens making their way through, there were many nooks and crannies for a cat to wiggle their way in to. Luckily for him, he guessed, that the sheer size of the cat meant that many choices of said wiggle room would be limited - hopefully.
Yuurei eyes were moving so fast they felt as if they would fall out of his skull. Bright lights, the rain, the smells around him - it was all a little bit disorientating. '..Just think of the money' the repeated in his mind, like some kind of mantra. His eyes darted from doorway to doorway, under seats and above boxes, glancing intently within any open vessels that he could find as he walked the strip, looking for anything that could be big enough to house an overfed housecat. The more he looked around, the more he recognized particular shopkeepers serving their customers.. it was clear that he'd done this job far too many times. The next step would be to be on first name terms with them, and whilst he did consider for a moment that that may be useful in helping to find the damn cat faster the next time around, did he really want to have to converse with the good people of Konohagakure? More of a loner, Yuurei had always preferred to keep to himself. His father had always droned on about the joy of community and how important it was to befriend your neighbours, but Konohagakure was huge, and he already had enough friends.
......!!!
A tuft of white fluff caught his eye! His steps came to a sudden halt as his vision locked on to a discarded cardboard box, laying sadly at the side of the street, its sides curved inwards due to the ongoing rain. Approaching the scene carefully, he began to crouch down to get a better look at what lay ahead of him. Long, thin fingers reached out towards the box as if to shake it a little, and upon doing so, he saw.. nothing. No movement. '..Huh?' his gentle shake turned in to a firmer grasp, and he uncovered the box, only to find that there was something fluffy in there, but it sure as hell wasn't Ayane. Before him lay a sad sight - a children's toy, likely a cat or a teddy (it was quite hard to tell as it was soaked through with rainwater) forgotten, or intentionally left aside. Rolling his eyes, Yuurei sighs, pushing the box back a few inches to its original place, and rises back to his feet. Before leaving, his eyes catch the sad-looking buttons that decorated the face of the toy, and a small part of him actually felt sad for the thing. He spent a moment or so more looking in to the lonely eyes of the stuffed animal, before continuing on his way.
Ramen, Okonomiyaki, Tonkotsu, those little things on sticks - all kinds of places passed him during this quest, each with happy, laughing people enjoying their food, and the longer he spent looking for this cat, the more disgruntled he became. Where was she? Didn't she know that he had far better things to do?!
Kicking a stone beneath his foot as he kept stalking the streets of Konohagakure, he watched as it bounced up and down, rolling to the far right meter or so ahead, and that's when-
Yuurei's eyes light up with rage-
"-YOU!"
Ayane clearly couldn't have cared less about him. Perched on top of a short wall, she looked down at Yuurei with perhaps the most judgemental look that a cat could muster. A fire burned in the Nara's eyes as he locked on to his target, approaching her cautiously as to not scare her more than the kicked rock had already managed to do. Fortunately however, with his free hand digging in the carrier to pick up the bag of treats, any reservation Ayane had felt towards the entire situation soon melted away as she heard the familiar crinkling of plastic. Just as he was intent to scoop her up and throw her in the bag, she kne what she wanted and padded towards him eagerly. It was transactional - an agreement, if you will. The two met, with the fluffy white cat drawing close and grazing lovingly past Yuurei before looking up to him and uttering a pitiful 'Meow!'. It circled around him a few times - if you hadn't seen the treats in his hand, you might have thought you were looking at an owner and their devoted pet.
Sighing (was that in relief he'd found her, or just in general at the dissatisfaction that he felt in his life?), Yuurei kneels down and with one fell swoop, picks up the heavy cat, his fingers sinking in its thick white fur. Ayane's body grows limp as she allows him to pick her up, and put her in the garish cat carrier. Once plopped in, she recieves her treat - a single small biscuit, shaped like a fish. The bag, half empty, was then stashed in Yuurei's pocket. Zipping up the metal closure, he returns to a standing position, picking up the carrier and beginning to turn on his way back to Lady Haruni's manor. The rain hadn't ceased at this point, but the only thing driving him forwards at this point was being given that ryō parcel at the end. Sad meows sounded out from the carrier, but were somewhat drowned out as they walked back through the busy food district, and Yuurei paid a cursory glance to Ayane in the carrier, but she was fine - he couldn't count on one hand the amount of times they'd lived this situation.
.....
Time passed, and he soon found himself back at Lady Haruni's estate. Knocking at the door of the grand manor house that she called a home, he waited patiently for a response. It wasn't long until the door creaked open - whilst this was typically a servant that answered the door, he was partly surprised this time to see that it was actually Lady Haruni herself who had answered his call. Soundlessly, he thrusts the cat carrier towards her, and she shoots him a confused glance before her mind puts two and two together and realises that-
"MY SWEET BABY ANGEL GIRL, MY PRINCESS FLUFFY LOVEY!"
He grimaces, he hears a faint 'Meow', and she gladly takes the cat off his hands.
And in that moment she disappears, taking the carrier elsewhere only to return a few minutes later with a small pouch in hand. She thanks him excessively '..as she always does, though it would help if she doesn't just lose the thing in the first damn place' and mentions something about saying hello to his father. His mouth straightens in response, and with a nod of his head he turns to leave.