Reflections [Private]

Chapter 1: No Breaks (D-Rank) 200 Ryo

Ryo had just finished up his ending meditation on the Dry Grounds when he got up from the sandy earth and walked towards the village. Shortly after taking a few steps, one of the village’s Jounin had approached him. His physical strength appeared to be quite strong, as his shirt exposed his large muscles, and his sharp jaw structure made him appear quite intimidating. Ryo had stopped his forward progress to listen to his superior, and was given a challenge to work harder, and train harder. The Jounin claimed that Ryo would be much more likely to advance through the ranks if he could train a bit longer each day. He didn’t believe a bit of it, and asked the Jounin what his true intentions were. The Jounin backed away from Ryo, after his cover story failed to work, and told him the truth, that ANBU members were watching from afar, and if he could prove himself a bit more in his training, it may allow him to be promoted much faster.

Now that was something Ryo could believe. With his sword on his back, he stepped away from the shinobi and found two of his fellow genin training on the field. The young ninjas were all practicing their kenjutsu skills with the swords they had just received, and asked the two to spar against him. One of the genin was excited to have a three way fight, since most of the time spars were one on one, but Ryo let him know that this battle would be the two of them fighting together. Ryo unsheathed his sword, and with his other hand, he encouraged his companions to begin their sparring session.

He held his blade in front of him as each passing swing was blocked. His opponents’ were skilled when fighting together, as one would strike Ryo while the other would cover his weak spot. Eventually, Ryo would have his moment to break through the duo’s barrage of attacks. After a swing missed Ryo and fell close to the sand, Ryo kicked the shinobi back, effectively disarming him. He then would have to duck to avoid the counterattack by the other genin, just missing as the sword would go over his head. Ryo used his free hand to grab at the collar of his opponent and would hold the tip of his katana to the neck, pushing him to the ground.

After a moment, Ryo sheathed his sword within the case on his back, and helped his opponents off the ground. He then thanked them for their help before the two walked back to the village. Ryo finally found the Jounin who had tipped him off and asked him about his spar session, before the Jounin reluctantly admitted that it showed off his skills fairly well. Happy with his performance, Ryo thanked the older shinobi for his tip, and would walk home with a smile on his face. Hopefully soon, he would be moving up the ranks and continuing to hone his skills.

(WC: 504)

Chapter 2: Dispose of the Bodies… Secretly (A-Rank) 425 Ryo

During his time as an ANBU Captain, Ryo met often with the Kazekage to discuss matters surrounding the shinobi of the village, as well as the status of their village among the other four powerful nations and the lesser nations. Matters of the highest importance were talked about in their short encounters, and today was no different. The Kazekage was more tense than usual, and when Ryo began to ask, the answer was revealed to him. His boss tossed five folders at him, landing across the desk in his office, which contained information about five of Ryo’s favorite ANBU members. Upon opening the file his worst fears were realized, and unfortunately, it was one of the truths about the world Ryo was living in. Stamped across the front of all of the five files was the word “DECEASED” in large red letters.

Ryo was in doubt, some of these men made up the best shinobi the village had to offer. From rare abilities and clan leaders, to masters of taijutsu and genjutsu, these five were highly revered, and were given the toughest missions the village had at any given time. He had asked what was his next assignment regarding these individuals, and it was ordered that they be disposed of privately. When further asked, all the Kazekage would say was that the cause of death was unknown, and that until we know, we must not risk public outbreak of this news.

After finishing their meeting, the Kazekage guided Ryo to a room just off of one of the hallways in the Administration Building. Inside were the corpses of the five ANBU members, untouched by battle, but cold to the touch. These bodies were definitely long dead, and it would be Ryo’s job to move them and bury them in a suitable location. The Kazekage left Ryo as the Captain soon devised a plan for removing the bodies. He spotted a few wooden boxes down the hall and decided they would make it simple to transport the bodies, at least to a more suitable location. Ryo took the cold corpses and put each one into its individual box, with most of them going in fairly easy. He placed the lids on top, and nailed them shut, leaving each one outside of his office.

Ryo searched the village for civilian movers to take the boxes for him to the Terumi compound, where he would then have to find a spot to bury them later. He finally found a group of men at a blacksmith and asked for their cooperation to help move some of his belongings from his office in the administration building to his home at the Terumi clan compound. The burly group asked few questions, especially when they heard of how much the village would be paying for their services. One by one the crates were labeled by Ryo, with his name and the name of the mask of each of the fallen ANBU, and were carried across the village to his home. Ryo supervised the group as they made their way to the compound, which was at the edge of the village, and with each crate being carried very carefully, the group successfully made it through the village without too many stares from civilians. The ANBU Captain had the men place each of the wooden boxes down after stepping foot inside the compound gates, stacking them as best as they could.

Ryo would then have to take things easy until the darkness of the night would give him the cover he would need. As the shinobi and villagers fell asleep, Ryo was making preparations to dispose of the crates that now lie inside his home. He had moved the crates to a more open area of the compound, and began to dig graves by hand. In his lifetime, there was no better way to honor in individuals service than to dig their grave by hand, invest hard work and effort, and bury them. Eventually, the five graves were finished, and the sweat upon the Captain’s forehead was proof of the effort it took to keep the sand out of the pits. He wiped his brow before he began to open the boxes and lay each one of his fallen friends into their final resting place. Although the Terumi compound was a burial site reserved only for clan members, he would defend this decision to the bitter end if he had to. These men had saved his life on more than one occasion, and he would honor them in the best fashion he could think of.

Finally with all of his comrades in their respective tombs, he picked up the handle of the shovel he had been using, and began to fill in the exposed corpses and their masked. As he was shoveling though, he thought he had heard some movement within the main house of the compound, and as such, he hid himself behind the wooden crates, hoping that whoever had awoken would not come outside and simply go back to bed. Eventually this noise seemed to retreat back into the silence, and a light within the house had been extinguished. Ryo resumed the slow process of filling each of the graves full with the sand of the village as he thought through all of the trials he had been a part of with these soldiers. Many missions and training were shared between the Captain and his loyal followers, and with the final scoop of sand, their presence within the Terumi household would only be known to Ryo.

The next day he would return to the administration building and let his Kage know of the burial being complete. He returned to his office saddened by the loss of his best friends among the ANBU, and would long for a day where somebody could relieve him of this emptiness. Opening his cabinet of prospective ANBU members from the village shinobi, he would begin panning through the files in order to fill the remainder of his ranks as soon as he could.

(WC: 1011)