Act 4, Scene 28: People of the Desert! The Chump Jobs?
The night before a mission was always a time of preparation and consideration. She was going to be gone for at least a decent portion of a week, and perhaps longer, and it meant that if she was missing something, she'd be missing it.
So she took bandages, and books, scrolls and carefully wrapped packages of food, and while she was at it she tried to stuff in more kunai and other weapons, because if she ran out, if there was some sort of crisis, she would want the extra protection. Plus, considering that the mission was to go out among the desert tribes, this would be exactly the wrong time to underestimate the threats she might face.
Not that she suspected the Ancikar of being a threat, she'd met enough of them to know if anything the real threats were the people who kept on saying that they were threats that needed to be dealt with. The ranchers who had been so suspicious of the Naiporo family had in fact been the exact group of ones that were actually behind the thefts.
But that didn't mean that there couldn't be problems.
On top of that, she brought just in case things. More underwear, for obvious reasons. Extra bras, an emergency set of rations and some water. Emergency hot chocolate provisions. More pads, since if her math was right, she was actually due to need them before too long, and wouldn't that be inconvenient.
So all in all, it was a long time packing… in less than ideal conditions.
The music that had been a comfort before was now a slight annoyance as people hung out and started to play cards. They were very noisy and active, Okiie especially, watching her as she prepared and trying their best to distract her, or so it seemed.
Seiichiro blushed slightly when he saw her stuffing padding into her bag, and Okiie seemed like he was trying to play it cool, but Saya sniggered and took a pose of supine arrogance upon the couch which she didn't give up even when Ichiman had come and left, even when Junko had been driven off by Seiichiro deciding to talk about whether they should bring his comic books with him.
And there was Saya.
Shizue took a breath, trying to calm herself, because she did have a thought, something she needed to deal with. "Saya-chan."
"Yes?" Saya asked, looking up, smiling a little as she looked at Shizue. It wasn't the kind of smile Shizue could trust to stay that way, but she knew that she was at least in a good mood. That'd work well for this.
"Can you run this… room while I'm gone?" Shizue asked. "I'm going to be gone, but people should be able to play around here if they want. Have fun, mingle. Work on training, too." Shizue tried to make it sound obvious and simple, when in truth she'd wondered about it.
After all, Saya did have a talent for making enemies and a skill at being high-handed, but there needed to be someone who managed things, and while Rika-chan might be able to manage it, and manage it fairly… the feud between her and Saya was one where Shizue almost trusted Saya to not push it more than she did Rika.
Saya wouldn't push it out of the same arrogant disregard that had made Rika hate her, sure, but it came down to the same thing in the end.
Saya's face broken into a surprised gape, "Really? Me?"
"You seem to be doing well enough, lately. Junko-chan, the way you're talking to Genta-kun, the way you led the mission," Shizue said. "I believe in you, Saya-chan. I think that you can talk to people and try to hold this together. You were the ring-leader of an entire group of people before, and you just have to make sure that everyone is having fun… and not going through my stuff. You can do this."
If Shizue had stepped on Saya's instep and then kneed her as hard as she could in the stomach, she couldn't have produced that stricken, startled look that seemed almost, for a moment, panicked.
"Why, of course I can, Shizue-chan. I'm surprised you have been able to stand up to the pressure for so long. Perhaps this vacation out into the sticks will allow you to relax from having to live up to my standards."
Shizue tried not to smile at the words, but it was a losing battle. "Right, right, of course."
"Sarcasm does not fit you, Shizue-chan. It does not fit you at all," Saya said. She sniffed and said. "But I shall do my best not to make you look too shabby and incompetent in comparison to my skill at managing and befriending them and getting them to 'hang out' together." Saya smirked.
"And… another question: how is Genta-kun doing?"
"Ah," Saya said, frowning. "Better and worse? I don't know. I think I can help Genta-kun. Or… something." Saya waved a hand vaguely and said. "I think it was a good idea that you didn't get involved, Shizue-chan. You really don't have the right mindset for these things. You'd be too… something. I'm not sure what." Saya frowned thoughtfully, not quite tilting her head, but clearly trying to find the right word for it. "However, I think that you shouldn't worry as much as you are. Genta-kun's a clever person. He can cope."
"Being smart and being happy aren't the same thing," Shizue said. "I want him to be happy."
Saya frowned, "You do, don't you? A part of me wants to think it's some sort of group thing, but you really do care. It's the kind of mindset that's charming in a rustic way, but sometimes you must deploy your vices. But I'm sure that Genta-kun'll find a way to be happy, one way or another. Or unhappy." Saya shook her head, as if the two weren't that different. "He'll find a way, is what I'm saying, and honestly just trust Emiko-sensei. It's all most of us can do. She's the Daimyo and we are her vassals."
"...make sure the Daimyo relaxes," Shizue orders. "Try to get her to unwind at least a little instead of merely training. Talk to Emiko-sensei. If she's here, she could pop up to say 'aye aye' or something like that." Shizue almost giggled at the absurdity of the idea of ordering Emiko around, but if the shinobi was, then she wasn't saying anything.
Which, to be fair, would be a very, very clever trick. She'd managed to make it so that they all assumed she was everywhere and doing everything, and no matter how much she unwound in front of them, no matter how casual and relaxed she was, it was almost impossible not to understand her in that way, see her like that.
"This is a tall task. I will have to employ all of the powers I have. But I do have a few ideas," Saya said. "Oddly enough, they involve Genta-kun." Saya smirked and said, "Now, get to packing."
"I'm done packing."
"Then pack some more."
[Opening Credits]
They left before dawn, Okiie the least loaded down, Seiichiro the most, with Chuichi and Shizue somewhere in the middle. Of course, she had bulkier clothes, so she had no idea how Seiichiro had so much.
She continued to have no idea until comic books began to fall out of his pouch from a hole that ripped open when there was a stiff breeze.
"Aw man!" he said, frowning, and scrambling to pick them up.
"Seiichiro-kun, why do you have all these comics?"
"Well, I know these people live out away from the cities, so they might not have the latest comics. So I decided I'd share. As long as they gave them back," Seiichiro said, with a nod. "But my bag had a hole in it, and I tried to sew it up… but it kinda was canvas."
Seiichiro was pouting, and it was adorable. Shizue stepped forward, looking at the hole. There was indeed a decent stitch, not great but the kind of thing Shizue had learned to do in the years after her mother died, since she could hardly have afforded to get a tailor to do them. She'd lived lean years with nobody to provide for her.
… and she knew little enough about Seiichiro, except that some point he'd become a decent, but not great, mender of clothing, and that he was also goofy enough to think that the same talent and stitches would apply to a thicker, heavier backpack which had a lot more weight put on the seams.
"Huh," Okiie said. "That's kinda nice."
"Thanks," Seiichiro replied, as he tried to pick up all of the colorful, beautiful looking comics, their artwork a little childish, but with a sense of motion and immediacy, before the fierce winds blew them away.
As they well might. And then, despite the wind and the cold of the desert before the sunrise, they stopped and Shizue began to sew up the bag.
"You should probably learn this too, Seiichiro-kun. You have to do a lot more to keep a backpack closed. A lot thicker, and a lot stronger. You should get a new backpack too. I know you can afford it," she said, humming a little and glancing up at Okiie, in case he wanted to learn how to do this.
He seemed interested, but not enough to step closer, and Chuichi was huddling up against the rock outcropping as she worked. He'd no doubt be interested… except he already knew. She tried to remember what she knew of his independence. Certainly, Okiie was a good cook. But… hopefully he didn't wear his clothes patchy. She'd happily, well somewhat happily, take the short time it'd really be to fix that up.
After that, they continued on their way a lot faster, and by the time the sun rose they were halfway there, the terrain starting to grow rockier and harder, but also less sandy, the desert growing flater, and even sloping downward as if they were at the edge of a great valley.
The sun beat down, and Shizue pulled out the veil and hood and decided to see if she could wear that just… so.
Okiie smiled, no doubt remembering the last time she wore it, and they continued onward. Seiichiro could have used a hat, but the veil itself did seem to protect her from the worst of the sun's glare, its relentless attempt to beat everyone down.
It took some time to travel, but at last she saw it at a distance. It was a series of outbuildings that seemed to have been made of… adobe? She wasn't sure, but around and with them were dozens and dozens of tall, broad looking tents, each of which, even from a vast distance, drew her eyes.
Even before she'd seen the watering hole, the streams, and the caves etched into the side of the cliff-face that the whole area was leaning against, she knew that this was a community, because it had the same… no, not the same, merely similar, patterns.
It probably meant the same thing: this is mine, that is not yours.
There was a herd of cattle, a small herd, congregating around the watering hole, and the whole area was grassy. The hard rock gave way to grass, though it itself seemed very thing, and Shizue couldn't imagine the animals as all that happy. The cattle were joined by horses, which only made the straing greater, she bet.
But she also saw veiled children playing amid the water, laughing and being chided by their mother, if her wagging finger was any indication.
Shizue could imagine the words, and she could also imagine the way they'd whine. It made her smile as they began to slow down and just walk the rest of the way.
"This is just one of many watering holes. When they're done with it, they'll move on to greener pastures, and we'll probably be following them through at least one move."
"Wait, why do they have buildings, then?" Okiie asked.
"Some of the older people, and some of the people who like it here, might stay for a while," Chuichi explained. "Make sure nobody attacks the water supply, or steals the spot for when they'll next show up."
Shizue, counting tents, stopped at well over a hundred tents. If each was a family, then that wasn't a small group at all. "Are these the only Ancikar in the area?"
"No. There's about two other groups, but this is the largest. And of course, there are outlaws and other nomads that don't play along, and they've been…" Chuichi shook his head. "They used to have even better watering holes, but they've been forced back by the numbers of the ranchers."
"Ah," Shizue said. Seiichiro looked frustrated, and as if he were about to declare it unfair.
But Shizue just tried to look at how they lived as they made their way down, drawing close enough that she could hear their words.
And she blinked, startled by something. She couldn't understand them. "What are they speaking?" Shizue said.
"Another language," Chuichi replied, easily. "They're their own people, even if most of them also speak… what do you even call a language everyone speaks? Everything's been weeded out into dialects by interaction and time, mostly, but here? Here it's a language, an entirely different way of speaking that at most shares some words and ideas."
Shizue gaped at the idea of that: it'd been hard enough trying to learn the dialects, the extra words and the accents that were a normal part of going from one country to the next, without adding in a new language.
Okiie seemed even more stunned, though also curious. "So, we'll be able to talk with them, right?"
Shizue listened the the babble of sounds, and even, as she got closer, the sound of what seemed like an older woman singing a song that she didn't understand. She listened, trying to capture the sounds if not the meaning, the woman's voice high and clear as she sang from one of the tents.
Shizue stepped forward, trying to ignore it as people turned and looked at her, but then went about their day, clearly far too busy to spend too much attention on what was clearly a team of ninja there to help.
"Alright, then, we need to head in the direction of the permanent buildings. That's where we'll find the board."
"The board?" Shizue asked.
"When they heard we were coming for a while, they set up a board of missions," Chuichi said. "We'll pick a few easy ones and then see if we can build up trust, then do bigger deals."
"Ah, right!" Seiichiro said, hurrying ahead.
"...I didn't tell him which of the buildings," Chuich said, drily, and then followed.
*******
So, what missions taken? (Choose three and indicate order)
[] [Easy] Weeding is a simple task, and one that the people here take seriously. Helping out could free others from the chore.
[] [Easy] Some of the cattle are cows, and some of the cows have milk. Milking cows… and churning butter is… wait. Horses too?
[] [Easy] Running messages across the tribe does sometimes feel like an exercise in helping the lazy not get out of their tents, admittedly.
[] [Easy] An extra hand is needed for sewing. Or two.
[] [Medium] Passing a message on to another nearby tribe shouldn't be too dangerous, but it does involve going out into the desert, and it's at least a decent amount of hard work.
[] [Medium] When it comes time to move, they could use someone to help them carry things.
[] [???] Babysitter… wanted?
[] [Medium/Hard] Digging a well is definitely not something done casually, and even with a team, it'll be… at least hours and hours of work.
[] [Hard] Digging through sheer rock is even harder, but there are apparently parts of the cliff-face, and areas of it down below, that could use some exploring.
[] Write-in.
******
A/N: Okay. There. Bluh. This is unedited because reasons, so if you see any errors, please point them out.
