Mission Description:

Spoiler:

The night was young as Eden walked around the town, watching the many villagers walk around talking with one another and the children running around using up all their energy to laugh and play games and pull pranks. Eden felt so content being here in this village; finally, after so many years of being resented and even hated by all or most of the villagers here in Tsukigakure, he was finally able to be at peace and even join in the many festivities alongside the adults and their children. He would often pull pranks with the children and run around with them, making sure they were all safe and having the time of their lives.

On a different note, there was no breeze flowing gently through the air and yet he couldn't help but feel a little cool and relaxed by the temperature of the atmosphere this night. The night could not have gotten anymore perfect. The stars twinkling brightly in the night sky...the moon ever so the brightest, lighting up our little piece of the earth...the temperature had a slight humid touch to it, just enough to make the atmosphere even better. Tsukigakure has been around for so many years. It was no wonder this place had such a perfect climate, even though it was so close to Mountain Country where it was so hot, dry and humid all at the same time. What helped was most likely due to the ocean that surrounded our country's borders, making the connection between the ocean and the heated land collide and neutralize their natural temperatures to give our land such a perfect atmosphere at every time of day.

The night drew on without a single glitch, and knowing that made Eden smile. Just as Eden had smiled, another jounin of Tsukigakure appeared next to him and spoke kindly to him. "I know what you're thinking in the back of your head and I can't help but agree. This almost seems too perfect, even for Tsukigakure which is usually peaceful in the first place. I would like you to come with me a while. Would you allow me the honor, Eden?" Eden looked at the jounin and nodded in silence, thus following him to wherever they planned to go. After a few moments of silence, the jounin spoke calmly and kindly. "I'm sorry to take you from the festivities. I only wanted to speak with you for a moment. A letter came this evening and it is addressed to you. It seems suspicious, so just be wary of whatever lies inside." Eden took the letter and placed it within his right pant pocket. Eden then replied with the same kindness, "I thank you for bringing this to me. I also thank you for watching out for me, regardless of whether I need it or not. I will read it later this evening when I return home, so you may return to your other tasks. Thanks again." The jounin nodded and then vanished; then after he left, I returned to the festivities which still roared on.

Word Count: 520

As hours flew past Eden's watchful eyes, he could not help but yawn from all of the moving around he had been doing all of this night. He pulled a prank with two other kids and the victim was a crowd of women. The prank was to throw a snake into the center of the somewhat large group, which the prank succeeded and all the women were screaming and running around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off. Eden and the kids never got caught either, so it was a complete success. After that bit of fun, he helped an old, foreign couple carry souvenirs and showed them back to their temporary home where they thanked Eden kindly for the assistance, thus allowing Eden to return to the festivities, knowing that villagers slowly but surely began returning to their respective homes.

Before he realized it, the festivities for the evening had finally ended and it was all but silent all around him. Even the homes themselves were silent, the lights out and the street lights being the only vestiges of light which allowed Eden to see clearly through the deep darkness of the village. He finally took a deep, full breath that relaxed his entire body. I can finally relax a little before I head home. I won't read this strange letter until I get home, so I want this silence to last just a while before I go. Before I read whatever is in the letter. He then shook his head, his hair shaking lightly along with his head, wondering why so much had to happen in his life in order to become the man he was today. Perhaps it was because that was just how life managed to work out for him and now, more often than not, Eden found himself not regretting the hardships he had endured all his life. Now, it tended to make himself smile and chuckle a little at how he once used to view his past. How Eden used to view his past? Well, he hated it. He hated his father for the pain he put him through and hated his father for not being what a father should have been. He also hated himself and how he just dealt with the strict nature of his father. Even after all of those things, I still could never bring myself to truly hate my father. I remember the feeling quite well within the dark parts of my heart. Well, nothing I can do about now and I know now that my father wanted me to be strong so that I could take care of myself in the future. Now, for my sake and my father's, I have to keep on pushing forward, as I have been. If I have faith in myself and in my power of will, I will surely achieve what is to come in the future. With that, he began his casual walk to his home, where he would tackle the strange letter head-on, no matter what lies inside.

Word Count: 515
Overall: 1,035

With the strange letter delivered to him by another jounin of the village in his right hand, he began his casual and relaxed walk to his simple home to read the contents that resided within it. He couldn't help but recognize the seal that locked the flap that covered the opening to the envelope that held the letter. He recognized the seal because he had received a letter with the same seal some time ago. It was on his 19th birthday when he received a letter of challenge from the grand master of nintaijutsu and the wielder of the Raijin Nigirikobushi, or Fists of the Thunder God. That man was a legend to the shinobi who followed the path of nintaijutsu and Eden felt a deep sense of pride and honor for having received such a letter from him. The seal the envelope had was the same seal that was used on the letter he had just received earlier this evening. It was rather strange to Eden as to why he received such a letter, but as he thought, perhaps it was a letter of challenge to see who is a greater master. Since Eden had defeated the grand master 3 years ago, he had received many challenges from many different shinobi but none of them bore the seal of a master until this very night. A letter of challenge, huh? And the seal...the seal of a true master. This is the real deal, I guess. By decree of my title, I must accept the challenge, if that is indeed what this letter is, but I wonder if I am still as strong and skilled as I was back then. Only one way to find out. In the time that he had been thinking all of this, he had already reached the halfway point in terms of where he was in relation to where his home was.

The weather changed minimally but just enough for Eden to have noticed. It got just slightly cooler and the breeze that swept the area was just a little heavier. There was no moon out at this point in time, but the stars were just as bright, lighting both the sky and Eden's path home. The streets were quiet and there was nobody to be seen out in the streets except the jounin doing their patrols and writing up their nightly reports. Fortunately enough, Eden had already met his quota for the day so he was free to relax and enjoy himself, though it didn't work too well for part of the night, specifically the part where the mysterious letter introduced itself. A rather interesting mix tonight. Such a calm night and yet such tension in this point. All because of this letter. Such is the way of the human heart. He then scoffed and shook his head slowly from left to right a few times as he walked, continuing to mull over the possible contents of the strange letter.

Word Count: 500
Overall: 1,535

Through the night, the Thunder God of Tsukigakure walked toward his home, pondering continuously upon the contents of the envelope that held the letter that was addressed solely to Eden. The possible contents of the letter which rested comfortably in his pocket was weighing on the man every step he took. It was not a matter of being stressed or scared, but rather he was anxious to read what was inside. If anything at all, Eden was extremely anxious and excited to read it, because there was the possibility that it would be a letter of challenge from a master of taijutsu, which made him very happy. He knew the chances of this was high as he recognized right away the seal that held the envelope closed, the seal only used by masters of hand-to-hand combat. If it is what I believe it is, then I am very excited and most willing to accept the challenge. It has been far too long since I have fought a genuine master of such an art as hand-to-hand combat. There is truly nothing better than speaking to your opponent with only the movements of your body. Such an enlightening feeling it is. Eden then smiled and clenched his hands into fists, getting almost too excited at the thought of such a challenge. By this time, he reached the door to his house and opened it in a civilized manner, closed it behind him, and took his gear off which left nothing but his casual, off-duty clothes on his person. Alright. Time to read the letter. So excited right now.

Before the moment of truth, though, he decided to get in the shower and get himself cleaned up. He took his time in the shower, taking a whopping eight minutes and twenty-one seconds and then he got dressed, walking to his large enough kitchen in order to make some good old-fashioned ramen with chicken and assorted vegetables mixed in with the noodles. As a side dish, he made steamed white rice and cooked up a few steamed buns with butter at their centers. With these in his hands, he sat at his dinner table and commenced scarfing down all of his food until there was nothing left except for the plate and bowl, which he did not feel like eating because he was full enough already from the actual food and he also did not feel like coughing up pieces of glass in the middle of the night. He often hated that feeling, more so than not. Having finished eating his dinner for the night, he washed the two dishes and put them away neatly in their designated cupboards. After putting his dishes away, he walked over to his desk chair, sat in it and picked up the envelope that held the letter that seemed to have been beckoning Eden to open it and read its contents thoroughly. Alright. It's time. I'm so excited and I haven't even opened it up yet. I'm dying of anticipation right now.

Word Count: 515
Overall: 2,050