Mission Start
Meet an acquaintance to lift one's spirits
Embark on a journey to gain confidence
Panthalassa was skimming through the marketplace and the noticeboard. Life has been pretty laid back recently, even boring at times. He felt his previous defeat at the Dark Tower to be quite harming to his ego and general mood. He read through the multiple notices and wanted posters, before lingering on the several bulletin news on the raids of the southwest corner of the Land of Fire.
Panthalassa was not affiliated with any village, but he had found harbour and comrades up north with the Hellsing clan. While it was extremely cold, much more than Panthalassa was ready to accept, a few of the people there were actually not half bad. He paused his reading for a bit, as his mind drifted off to his memories.
Barney, the insane doctor. That man was wild and awesome. A smile crept in on Panthalassa's lips as he reminisced about the Yuki shinobi. Yuki were born in the Water Archipelago, which is where he was raised. Destiny had it that both shinobi would meet the furthest from their homeland as there could ever be, but they clicked right away.
It was like Panthalassa could hear him now, in Keishi. " Captain, Captain". Panthalassa let out a chuckle. It's Admiral, not Captain, he laughed. But it was such a life-like image that Panthalassa had to do a double check down the street of the market. Oh would you look at that, it was Barney!
OH! My friend!
Panthalassa gripped the man's hand and then pulled him closer to a manly hug. The Yuki was a bright light that cut through the Admiral's blue mood. He pushed the man a way to take a closer look at the crazy doctor, making sure it was real and not just his mind playing tricks on him.
Now you're a bright sight for sore eyes! How have you been, what brings you here?
Maybe it was coincidence ( OOC: It was not ) but Barney had arrived right when Panthalassa was reading about the raids. What previously had no much weight, now seemed like something worth exploring. After the general friendly talk was done with, Panthalassa organized the news in his head and grabbed a few select pieces of journal. They moved their rendezvous to a nearby pub where Panthalassa was staying and Panthalassa would propose the journey.
I have been really homesick for quite a while. After our dinner party, I have travelled to the Darktower, west of here, and challenged the champion. But it didn't go as planned. After the events of the Raid, I have been down in spirits and without much motivation to do anything. I was actually thinking about you when I saw you! Imagine my surprise to see you here, so far away from our clan's homebase!
To be honest, you came when I was reading about these events.
Panthalassa showed the Yuki the documents detailing the pillaging of the southwest villages. It appeared that the general displeasure about Madara's ruling in the Fire Land, and his negligence towards the weaker and smaller villages gave rise to a lot of rebel activity.
It doesn't have that much to do with us, but it has to be a sign that I was reading this as soon as you arrived. I was thinking, maybe journeying with you would give me some sense of purpose and kinship. I don't have that much to return to in the Water Archipelago, because I feel like I outgrew them for now. But maybe I can find myself in these villages, with you. I think our clan could benefit from weakening our neighbouring village, even if slightly. Then again, it just sounds like an exciting opportunity to try out some new techniques of mine. What do you think?
This post contains a B rank storyboard mission called:
Reflect on your own accomplishments
Rendez-vouz and learn about a friends journeys
"I knew it wasn't Captain!" Barney burst in laughter as he embraced his good friend and thought to himself how he wasn't sure what it was. He laughed wholeheartedly as the Admiral spoke and then replied to his questions.
"Ah, after you left, I gotta admit, I felt a bit lonely. It struck me when you said that you wanted to go and explore the world but it just wasn't my thing at the time being. Instead, I did what I usually do best. I gathered some supplies for my laboratory and started some work to keep my mind occupied. It was very fruitful." Barney said as he grabbed the edge of his coat and proudly showed it to the Admiral. He probably wouldn't see any differences as it was the same coat that he used to wear even back when they first met, but deep within, it was nothing alike. A child of his own imagination. A fruit of his skills. A testament to his ability. A unique coat with unparalleled abilities that laid within. As he spun around, he could see the slightly joyful but uncertain look on the Admirals face because he wasn't sure what exactly he was looking at.
"Looks great, right?", said Barney but didn't give the Admiral enough time to respond.
"Right, I'll just let you in on a little secret and hopefully we'll be able to see the coat in action. It's almost got a brain of its own." He put emphasis on the almost because the coat didn't really have a brain but rather a chakra circulatory network which was mostly a ninja's brain anyway.
"But sorry, don't let me interrupt you. Please tell me what have you been up to!" apologized Barney quickly and let the Admiral speak as he followed him into the nearby pub, listening to his journey, how he was homesick for a while and how after their dinner party, he travelled to the Darktower, west of here, and challenged the champion that resided there. Unfortunately, as the Admiral put it lightly, it didn't go as planned. Barney felt sorry for the Admiral as it seemed it was a tough battle to lose, but he gave him a quick glance over and saw that he was alright and nothing was missing.
"Don't worry my friend, I'm glad you're okay. Perhaps we can deal with that Dark Tower together at some point." said Barney with a smirk, as if he held an ace in his sleeve, which was an intended pun because of the abilities of his coat.
Furthermore, Barney listened to the Admiral talk about the events after the Raid, and how he has been down in spirits and without much motivation to do anything. He told Barney that he was actually thinking about him when they bumped into each other. Would you imagine the surprise of them two meeting all the way here, so far away from their clan's homebase!
"Ah, Hellsing, yeah." Barney gave a sour smirk at the mention of Hellsing and quickly shrugged his shoulders.
"I have actually bumped into Alucard and Hei when I was fetching my supplies but they both, more or less, ignored me. Alucard was too busy to chat and Hei seemed zapped out of his mind quite literally ignoring me." said Barney with some visible angst towards those two. They weren't bad fellas and Barney didn't want them as enemies, that was for certain. But he wasn't sure if being part of the clan was beneficial to Barney anymore. He felt as if he outgrew the clan and was setting up for bigger things.
"Which brings me here actually. After my experiment I ran out of supplies and I raided the Khulna market quite a few times so they ran out of supplies which forced me to expand my search to the other nearest town with a marketplace. On my way here, I have also learned how to summon Cranes, would you believe that. Brother, you've gotta see this beautiful crane. It's nothing like you've ever seen before. If the winds will be generous, maybe we can utilize it on our journey for a flight through the countryside." said Barney with a mellow and calm, almost angelic tone.
It seemed as if Panthalassa took Barneys words with acceptance because his next few words focused on the noticeboard and the events that were posted there. Barney listened as Panthalassa showed him the papers and explained what was happening and how there were rebellions starting in the land of Fire. Rebellions against the ruling of some Madara, whoever he may be. Barney nodded as he listened, signaling to the Admiral that he was indeed interested. Sure, it would seem like a good idea for his last few acts as a Hellsing member to do some good for the clan, in case that the worst happens, to at least split in good spirits.
"I agree with you. I'd love to see what you've got and to show you what I've got as well." said Barney, thinking of his coat.
"Let's finish this drink then, I'm paying, and then lead the way my friend. I'm looking forward to this journey together with you." said Barney and stretched his hand forward to give the Admiral a handshake as a done deal.
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