Mission Stories

Title: Let the Festival Begin!
Fandom: Naruto
Characters: Yoshi Aoki, Ryouichi Aoki,
Pairing: N/A
Ratings: K+
Warnings: N/A
Author Notes: Since I can dish out fics faster than drawings, I'm gonna stick with these for now 8)

"Can't catch me, Ryu!" Yoshi hollered as he sped into the village.

"Slow down, Yosh!" Ryouichi called out, looking utterly exhausted.

Yoshi knew his brother hated it when Yoshi ran off but he couldn't help it. He was super excited about the festival! He loved the Lantern Festival more than... well, more than he loved hearing about ghost stories. Yoshi ran through the streets, barefooted as always. His green haori and kimono were waving in the breeze as he ran. The faint clanking of his necklace echoed through the air. His messy and curly blonde hair bounced with each step. The excitement on his face was abundantly clear to anyone that looked at him.

He looked back at his brother, wearing a similar outfit like he was but with purple, was struggling to keep up. Even Sei was running ahead of him and wasn't too bothered by the exercise. The difference between Yoshi and Ryouichi was that one was a shinobi and the other was a monk -- not that it bothered either too much but moments like this did occur more often. Unlike Yoshi, Ryouichi choose to devote his life as a monk -- a high honor amongst the Aoki as they usually contemplated on the seven chakras. Their mother wanted Yoshi to join too but his father said otherwise. Someone had to carry the family torch and Ryouichi wasn't interested.

Yoshi slowed his pace to skip and then stopped. He waited for his brother to catch up, busily panting to try and catch his breath. Yoshi wasn't bothered by his brother's indifference to shinobi life, he understood it but knew that meditating in a temple all day wouldn't solve many issues. They never talked about it but knew that that was the difference between them. Still, they were close and always encouraging each other. Sei climbed on Yoshi's leg and dashed up to his shoulder as Ryouichi nearly fell into him. Yoshi caught his brother and helped him stand up.

"You know I hate it when you do that." Ryouichi panted.

"Sorry, but I'm just so excited!" Yoshi grinned. Even among his own class, he was pretty fast. Well faster than both his teammates at least.

"I know." Ryouichi exhaled. "But slow down a little. Not everyone can run like you."

"You sound like Aki." Yoshi laughed.

The brothers poked each other before Yoshi dashed away again. He didn't go into a full sprint like he usually did but still was running pretty fast compared to his brother. They ran into the village, which was full of various villagers and little vending stalls with either games or food. The brothers played a few of the games, Yoshi winning a few of them and then having to let his brother win more than he did. They had a collection of lanterns, toys, and stuffed animals before they knew it. A few Aoki girls approached them and Ryouichi simply gave them the stuffed animals they had won. The girls giggled and walked away, Ryouichi smiling at them as they walked away.

"Well, if you're done Mr. Smooth, we can go get some food."Yoshi said, nudging his brother with his elbow.

"Don't worry, you'll pick up a girl one day." Ryouichi laughed as he mussed his brother's hair.

Yoshi wasn't jealous that his brother could easily talk to girls but he was impressed he could do it with that much confidence. Not so much as a second thought before talking to a girl and making he laugh. Lots of the girls in the clan liked him, and Yoshi couldn't really argue -- because he was easy to talk to and just be yourself around -- but this was his brother. He nudged Ryouichi again before they walked towards a food vendor and bought a few treats. Yoshi, after they found a place to sit down to eat, looked around to see various Kitsune drinking, several people playing Fox-Sword-Monk, and even a few going into the fighting ring to test their strength.

"Looks like the Kitsune are up to it again." Yoshi nodded towards a group of Kitsune and their foxes cheering on one of their clansmen as he as drunkenly trying to hit one of the Asukai from the Main House.

"They never learn." Ryouichi chuckled, shaking his head.

"Can't blame them though, they know how to have fun." Yoshi laughed.

"That they do." His brother nodded. Ryouichi looked at the fighting ring for a moment and back at his brother. "You gonna have a go? I mean you run like the wind and you do know how to pack a punch."

"Ha! That's when I'm holding back." Yoshi laughed. He and his brother did fight but Yoshi had to watch it because his brother wasn't as strong as he was after all.

"Well, then show me what you got Mr. Tough Guy." Ryouichi laughed.