The Stars and the Moon (Naruto AU Quest)

Lol did I say "this weekend" I obviously meant "next weekend".

Thanks to @keios and @Blazinghand for looking at drafts of this.

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The plan is simple, then. You have on-hand a collection of captives from an enemy you're sure is looking to actually avoid fights, whose motivation is most likely just the capture of valuables from lightly-defended merchants. They're also young, and if you had to guess you'd say that they took to this life purely out of necessity rather than any particular enjoyment of looting and pillaging. You're pretty sure, then, that they'd be willing to trade the lives of their teammates for the opportunity to not fight you to the death.

First comes the captives. Despite taking quite a few hits, most of them are in relatively good condition minus some bruises and (probably) a broken bone. Most of them are still unconscious, so you unceremoniously pile them on the tarp covering Fukui-san's goods. The single remaining conscious missing-nin looks like he wants to say something, but he immediately catches himself when you shoot him a glare. You direct him to sit on the wagon beside his teammates.

The captives accounted for, you press on. Less than half a mile later, you find yourselves face to face with another strung-out group of a half-dozen missing-nin with matching forehead protectors.

Though they're a bit older than the ones you encountered in the forest, they're still nervous and none of them are bothering to hide it. You can see their hands straying to weapons, hovering over blades and pouches, ready to let loose at a moment's notice. Between you and Ikki and Hotarubi-sensei, you're pretty sure you can take them, but you'd really prefer not to fight here if you can avoid it. After all, you're in the open with no surprise on your side this time: a fair fight, in other words, and therefore precisely the kind of fight you'd like to avoid.

Their leader steps forward, hands up and palms out in a universal gesture of parley. He's sandy-haired and thin and has the floppy gangliness of somebody who still hasn't quite settled into their last growth spurt, but his posture and his gaze bear a surprising seriousness. There's a fresh-looking scar running across the bridge of his nose, and his eyes are a distinctly striking shade of purple—a doujutsu? Then again, not all strange eyes are such, and your very own clan is a prime example.

"We just want to talk," he says, eyeing your group warily.

You notice you've been staring, and briskly avert your gaze.

Hotarubi-sensei handles the talking. The terms you've prepared are simple and straightforward: allow you to pass, unmolested, and abandon banditry in this area in the future. Of course, they'll probably just pick up and move elsewhere, but you're here to guarantee the safety of your client, and what happens on other roads is hardly relevant.

The missing-nin leader's name is Chinoike Yosuke, you learn, and he speaks it with a slight fleeting measure of pride not unlike what you've witnessed from your own cousins—a clan, then, and an important one—and also the merest hint of wistful sadness. Perhaps an exile? He's well-mannered but nervous, his posture a little stooped and his voice a little uneven, but he nods along through Hotarubi-sensei's proposition.

"I—we accept," he says. "As long as our friends are unharmed."

"They've only received superficial harm," Hotarubi-sensei replies. "We've done nothing to them except the minimum required for subdual."

He nods at you and Ikki and you cut loose your temporary prisoners. You can see the tension visibly drain from Yosuke's posture as you alternately frog-march and drag them forwards before depositing them in a heap at his feet. The missing-nin give you a healthy berth, but they rush forward to aid their teammates in getting off the road as soon as you've dropped the last one.

Yosuke alone remains facing you.

"Thank you for your generosity, shinobi-san," he says, with a stiff little formal bow that speaks to years of etiquette lessons. "We'll be gone before tonight, I promise it."

===

The rest of the trip goes relatively smoothly. Fukui-san is surprisingly unruffled by the attack, although you suppose he's probably seen worse in his travels. It doesn't even break the rhythm of his stories. You arrive in Iwa just before nightfall on the eighth day, a great deal more tired than when you left but otherwise no worse for wear.

Iwagakure is a village—a city, even—of spires carved from the very mountains themselves, a jagged synthesis of human artifice and living stone. Its buildings are connected not by streets but by hanging causeways and great bridges, all radiating out from a great brooding central tower adorned with the village's name. You're normally pretty good with directions, but you've never tried to traverse a space with so much verticality before, and were you alone you probably would have become instantly lost.

There isn't much opportunity to explore, though. Fukui-san is subjected to a surprise inspection at the city gates, and the duties of your station obligate you to wait with him. In return, you're treated to a sweeping view of Iwa's skyline coming ablaze in the night: a sea of spires jutting above the mountain fog, dotted with bright windows and connected by a million strings of lights, like a sandcastle draped in luminous filigree. It is perhaps the strangest and most wondrous thing you have ever seen.

It's quite late by the time he finally gets through and you part ways with the old merchant.

"Thanks for the cover," he says. "Guess paying for you lot was the better deal after all!"

He lets loose a hearty guffaw at this.

"Thank you for your business, as always," replies Hotarubi-sensei cordially.

===

Without a horse-drawn wagon to keep pace with, the trip back takes less than half the time, and even traveling at a leisurely pace the three of you manage to make it back by the third day.

It's also positively silent in comparison; even Ikki is a little bit more reticent than usual, and hardly volunteers half the conversation you've known him to. You're not sure if he has something on his mind, or if he's just a little bit tired of talking so much after your travels with Fukui-san.

The silence provides you the opportunity to reflect a little on the mission. It's undoubtedly a success, even if it's one attributable as much to your enemies' incompetence as your own skill. This is a little disappointing, but you suppose that it's probably for the better that you weren't subjected to a real fight for your life on your first mission. As much as you want the opportunity to prove yourself, you also recognize the very real fact that any such opportunity comes with it a commensurate risk of injury or death.

Your father agrees with this assessment wholeheartedly in the short debriefing you have with him, and then, one set of paperwork later, it's done. Your first mission is over.

Ikki suggests curry, and you think it's only fair to indulge him this time around.

===

A few days later, though, you once again find yourself in the waiting room for your father's office. You wonder why he insists on calling you to his office instead of simply telling you at home. Then again, there's something to be said about the formality of the office setting, and the need to head off any possible accusations of nepotism. Or something.

That, and you're pretty sure he hasn't actually come home to sleep for weeks.

You arrive at what seems to be the end of another meeting—you can hear voices through the door. Whoever's in there with your father is definitely not happy. He's not shouting, but he's speaking loudly enough that you can hear snatches of it through the thick door.

"—my son—"

"—no precedent—"

"—Takeo should be—"

That last name is familiar to you. Mitsui Takeo is a surly boy, technically your cousin and three years your elder. He's always been pretty rude to you and you've never been able to figure out why, so at some point you gave him up as a lost cause; these days you just avoid him.

Regardless, if this man is talking about that Takeo as his son, then he can only be one person—

At that moment, the door slams open, and a thin, gaunt man storms out, pausing only to give you a baleful glare. You recognize him as your uncle: Mitsui Shoda, styled Akahoshi— Red Star—for his exploits in the Second War. You know that he and your father are not on good terms, but you were never really clear on why.

"Do not be too concerned with Akahoshi. He is simply passionate about matters of family," your father says, as he motions you in.

His office isn't dusty, quite—it's used far too often for that, and he is nothing if not diligent—but it has an air of bookish negligence about it, strewn about with neat little piles of half-read books and half-written letters.

"What did you require of me, Father?" you ask.

He sweeps aside some of the scrolls littering his desk to rest his clasped hands upon it, and fixes you with his gaze.

"I think you are ready," your father says, "to see the star."

You nod. One of the privileges of your clan is training with the meteor that the village was founded around. Many rumors exist of its benefits—some even believe that the seiton was not truly a kekkei genkai at all, but just a consequence of the fallen star's radiation—but the details are largely kept secret, even from you.

"You will be training personally with me, until such time as your mastery is sufficient to handle the process alone."

"I understand," you reply.

"We will begin tomorrow, and do so weekly on that same day. Is that acceptable with your training schedule?"

"It should be no problem," you say.

"Good. There is one more thing." He leans forward and steeples his fingers in that way he does when he's about to say something Important.

"Someday, Kana, you will be head of this clan," he says. "Regardless of what some might say." He gives you a meaningful look.

"It is not an easy position, nor will it be a welcoming one. You must be prepared for it, as much as you can be. Therefore, you will be attending council meetings from now on as my guest."

"What will my duties be?"

"Initially, none; you will attend in a purely observational capacity. There are some that would object to another voice for the Mitsui, after all. But I hope it gives you an impression of what might be expected of you in the future."

"I understand, Father. Thank you for the opportunity."

"That's all, Kana. You did well on your first mission." He pauses, and for the first time you can remember he seems unsure of what his next words should be. For a second, the two of you sit in silence.

"I am proud of you," he says, finally.

"Thank you, Father," you say, and you mean it.

===

As is customary in peacetime, you're provided with a few weeks of leave from long-term missions after your most recent one. Therefore, your next month is almost completely free for training, as well as any other activities you have in mind.

You will be spending one day per week training with your father, as well as attending one clan meeting. You will also spend some time completing your study of your father's scroll. Otherwise, both your training regimen and leisure activities are up to your discretion.

You chose to spend your time training your:

Article:

[] write-in. You have 8xp to distribute among any items on your character sheet. XP costs to next level are displayed.

You spend time and interact with many people during this month. However, you feel like you spent the most time with:

Article:

[] Ikki
[] your father
[] Hotarubi-sensei
[] someone else (write-in)

You're a little bit worried about the brief exchange you dropped into between Akahoshi and your father. You feel like you should:

Article:

[] do nothing. You trust that your father has it handled.
[] ask your father. You're pretty sure it's something to do with you, and you'd like to know what it is, if only to avoid awkward situations in the future.
[] confront Takeo. You're related by blood, after all, even if he seems to hate you for no good reason. Whatever the problem is, you're sure you can talk it out.
[] confront Akahoshi. While the man is kind of creepy and definitely doesn't like you, he's also your uncle, and you deserve an explanation from him.