Deliver a Package [Group Mission]

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Kokoro stirred in her bed, the sun's rays shining through the window of her room, interrupting her slumber. She wasn't in a deep sleep, forgetting how long ago it was that she had slept more than three or four hours. She opened her eyes slowly, adjusting her pupils to her surroundings. Yawning loudly she rose from her bed and looked around. She had fallen asleep at the crack of dawn and again only managed to get four hours. It was only fortunate that she had the grace of youth, feeling full of energy despite sleep deprivation. She made her way downstairs to where her breakfast was, with a note from her stepfather telling her to be careful today.

Ah yes, a mission! She had completely forgotten about taking a mission, her first one in fact, having been asked to join another shinobi in delivering some package to the Moon Village. She had only agreed because it meant she'd be able to finally get out and travel. Since graduating from the academy she had never left Nikkosatou. It was high time for some adventure. The girl threw off her pajamas, so she was only wearing her undergarments and pulled her black coat over her body, tied with the same colour waist strap. Her weapon pouched strapped to her left knee, she grabbed her sword, took the two wrapped riceballs that were supposedly her breakfast and was out the door in a flash.

The sun's rays blinding her, the girl made her way down the now busy streets of her village. Merchants were busy selling fresh produce and light snacks to passerbys and the streets littered with all sorts of people, going about their business. Kokoro inched slowly through the crowd, annoyed at herself for not waking up earlier. She was supposed to meet her partner just by the gates. While she impatiently progressed down the street, she wondered who was going to be going on the mission with her. She'd never taken the time nor energy to actually meet anyone and a loner like her didn't have any friends so the idea of spending time with another person unsettled her greatly.

The kunoichi reached the village gates and showed the guards her mission scroll. They allowed her to pass and she would sit down on the sand, waiting for her partner. The desert like surroundings and the heat of the sun always made her extra edgy. The girl shoved a riceball in her mouth while she waited. She also hated getting sand on her coat. Today will be an interesting day, she thought, her eyes glancing every few seconds towards the gates to see if anyone coming from the village may be her potential partner.

"Sakura-chan?"

A voice would interrupt both her eating and thinking, as she put the last remnants of her rice ball in her mouth. As she chewed, she would turn to the origin of the voice. Her gaze stopped over a young woman with long black hair. She was beautiful, she sighed as she stared, a little more obviously than she had perhaps intended to. She was not one to compliment people on their physical appearance. Actually, she was not one to compliment people in general, but the girl in front of her was...very pretty. Kokoro would take a few moments to recover before nodding her head. She was not used to being called that, but it felt strangely relaxing.

"Y-yes!" she'd say as she got up from her position, forcefully swallowing what was in her mouth. She probably looked a little ridiculous. The young kunoichi would walk towards the newcomer and introduce herself. The tone she used was almost unfamiliar to her as she was never quite this cheerful nor light to anyone else. "Sakuragi Kokoro. Nice to meet you!" she sounded like someone answering to a roll call at the academy. This was the first mission she would do with another girl and somehow that in itself frightened her. She didn't know how to communicate with someone of the same gender, having very little experience.

"It looks like we're going to deliver something to the Moon Village?" She would say, stating the obvious. She didn't have the package with her so she assumed Shizuka had it. Kokoro began to fret on the inside as she looked over at the girl, knowing that she was probably unmatched with her partner in both strength and skill. She just hoped she could manage to keep her own butt covered if something were to come up on their trip. The last thing she wanted to make a bad first impression.

"Ah, apologies Sakuragi-chan."

Kokoro would give Shizuka a genuine smile, which was very rare. She felt like the other girl gave off a very "big sister" vibe, and since finding out she had an older brother, she had somewhat longed for an older sister too. She shook her head a little, trying to get the thought out of her head. She had only just met the girl after all! "Right! We should probably get going!" she would say in answer to her partner's exclamation. She never liked sand and entertained any ideas of crossing the desert quickly as a result.  

"You can call me Sakura-chan if you want! I quite like that nickname," she would add quietly.

{Travel}