Mission Stories

Title: Fox-Sword-Monk!
Fandom: Naruto
Characters: Yoshi Aoki, Jinta Hibiki
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)

Yoshi, now on his own as his brother became suddenly more interested in the girls they met earlier, was playing a few games on his own. He didn't mind but had nothing else to do. He was trying to wait out the rest of the festival for the last batch of lanterns. He was feeling kind of giddy about it as he thought about the history behind the festival yet again. As he threw a handful of shurikun at the targets once more, he noticed a weird burning feeling on the right side of his head. He looked to his right and saw a boy, about his age, looking at him with bored, golden eyes. However they lit up when Yoshi looked at him.

"Hello?" Yoshi smiled, not wanting to offend him.

"Hey." He said curtly. Despite how nice the boy looked, Yoshi had a feeling he might want to keep a hand on his money. It wasn't because he felt offended by the boy but realized he was a Hibiki. He wasn't wearing the stones he should have acquired by now or anything, but the way he dressed -- fine looking clothing -- and his hair gave him the idea.

"Sorry, did you want to play?" Yoshi asked, hoping he wasn't hogging the booth or anything.

"No, it's fine." The Hibiki replied. "I just figured I'd watch someone play the games around here for a bit."

"Oh, well okay then." Yoshi said, suddenly feeling more anxious again. He couldn't help it but the Hibiki were known for their... well sticky fingers. He used his left hand to check his haori's pockets and felt relieved that his money was were it should be. Yoshi was too busy checking his things to notice the boy had changed his expression. He gritted his teeth as he looked at Yoshi and then shrugged.

"Well, do you wanna play with me for a bit?" Yoshi offered, looking at the boy again -- who's expression changed back to being somewhat amused. "I'm waiting for... my brother to come back. Oh! My name's Yoshi by the way."

"I'm Jinta." The dark haired boy replied. "Won't your brother be upset if you're with someone else?" Jinta looked around, as if scanning the area for Yoshi's brother -- not even knowing what Ryouichi looked like.

"Nah, it's fine." Yoshi smiled. "He's busy trying to chase some girls at the moment."

"Oh..." Jinta replied. Yoshi swore he saw a glint in the boy's eyes and had an uneasy feeling all of a sudden.

"Hm... how about we play a game of fox-sword-monk instead?" Jinta offered. "And instead of drinking, we can bet on stuff?"

"Okay!" Yoshi smiled. He was actually looking forward to playing this game with Ryouichi, knowing the two could finally play it without either of their parents knowing about them drinking alcohol -- which was the fun part of the game to both the boys.

"Awesome." Jinta said, smiling. "But... you seem to be underage as well, so it would be wrong to play with drinking sake... so... how about something else to compensate for that?"

"Well what do you have in mind?" Yoshi asked. He really didn't see an issue with the sake though, many other villagers went along with the game. Then again, the ones who got obnoxious about the alcohol were mostly Kitsune...

"How about a bet instead? Such as..." Jinta starting, he pretended to look around for a moment as if mulling over an idea, "how about... you bet your necklace?"

“This?” Yoshi said, tugging lightly on it. “I can’t do that, my brother gave me this as a way to repel evil spirits!”

"Well then, if you don't lose then you won't have to worry, right?" Jinta said, smiling yet again.

"I suppose so..." Yoshi muttered. He still wasn't sure betting against a Hibiki would be a great idea but it's not like he could offer anything else as a possible prize or anything. He felt pretty sure that Jinta wouldn't be interested in the other trinkets he and his brother won at the stands they played at earlier. "So if I'm betting my necklace, what're you gonna bet?"

"Um..." Jinta looked puzzled, as if he hand't thought that part out yet.

"How about the stones you Hibiki have?" Yoshi joked but then jumped at the sudden glare he received. "O-or not. Um... how about food then? It could be something around the stands here?"

"Okay." Jinta said, still looking sore about Yoshi's first offer. "Okay, let's play until one person wins three times."

"Okay then." Yoshi nodded.

The two left the stand and found a table. They sat down, facing one another. They both had their hands on the table and were ready to guess which pose the other would play. Yoshi had a hard time reading Jinta's face, unsure which stance he'd pick. He guessed Jinta would probably think Yoshi would go with the monk on the first so he tried to focus on the other two, the sword and the fox. They both counted to three and Yoshi raised his arms, putting a fist on each side of his head as his pointer fingers flew up towards the sky. Jinta mimicked Yoshi and both looked at one another. Yoshi felt happy that it was a draw -- he wasn't too keen on losing his necklace.

"A draw." Jinta said.

"All right, round two!" Yoshi said.

They both waited until the count of three once more. Yoshi raised his right arm into an acute angle, his left holding his right arm as it sliced down towards the table. The sword was Yoshi's choice and Jinta, to Yoshi's dismay, had clapped his hands together -- as if he was praying. Yoshi frowned and looked at his necklace. The monk stopped the sword and Jinta smiled.

"1 - 0." Jinta said.

They rested their hands on the table again. Yoshi furrowed his brows as he tried to guess which one Jinta would pick next. Yoshi played the sword again as Jinta played the fox once more -- figuring that Yoshi would would go for the monk. The next round, Yoshi played the monk and Jinta played the fox again. 2 - 1 so far and Yoshi was starting to get nervous. They stared at each other before they played their next move; Yoshi clapped his hands together and Jinta karate chopped the air. 2 - 2, Jinta and Yoshi both looked determined. They had both their hands on the table once more. On the count to three, Yoshi panicked as he played the fox once more. Jinta's grin etched into his mind as his karate chopped the air once more.

"Looks like I win!" He grinned.

"Yeah..." Yoshi said, looking a little dejected. He took off his necklace, looking at it for a moment before handing it to Jinta.

He couldn't believe he lost it. Ryouichi gave it to him for his birthday to encourage him to go and see the haunted places around the village with him. Yoshi, at first, didn't like ghosts but felt a little more confident in seeing them once his brother gave him the necklace. He learned a while ago that it wasn't what he thought it was but the gestured behind it remained the same. He watched as Jinta looked at it, looking like the Hitoyo who swallowed the canary. The boy looked at him and then frowned.

"Come on, let's go." Jinta said. Yoshi raised a brow as he watched the boy stand up.

"Well, let's go get something to eat." He said. "I'm kinda hungry anyways and it's on me." Yoshi smiled again as he got to his feet.

"All right!" Yoshi said, following Jinta towards one of the vending stands. Yoshi wondered if Jinta was clumsy, as he bumped into a few people and suddenly remembered where his wallet was. Yoshi checked his pockets again to make sure he hadn't been pickpocketed either.