Thanksgiving Day! [Contest]

Hello and welcome to the first contest for the server. Thanksgiving is a day celebrated by most of playersbase, and as such, we will have a contest to commemorate it! Seeing as how the day of most players will be spending time with their families, This contest will be relatively simple but as a result, have a short time frame. All that is desired is that you write a small themed story revolving around the principles of thanksgiving. Members of the DM team may participate in this contest should they so desire.

Rules and Guidelines:
-Story must take place in the current world.
-Story doesn't have to revolve around one of your characters [Though that would be perfered]
-Story must follow a theme revolving around thanksgiving.
-Story must be at least 500 words to be considered a valid entry.
-Story must be posted in reply to this post to be considered a valid entry.
-DEADLINE IS NOVEMBER 25 AT NOON

Rewards:
1st Place: 50 Tokens!
2nd Place: 25 Tokens
3rd Place: 10 tokens
Participation Award: 3 tokens.

It had been a rather horrible day, and a day of little import save for the fact that he had no only made a terrible mistake to perhaps turn a potential 'friend' against him, but had perhaps severed all of the last possible ties that he may have had with the people of Kumogakure, and of Lightning Country in general on a professional level. Shinobu had left the hospital that night more than a little upset though mainly at himself.

At the orders of the Tenkage, he was to return back home, alone, and immediately. He had a lot to think about on the walk back. How he had failed himself and acted out in anger at something that should have been beneath him, the look of disgust he had been given, the fact that no matter what he tried to do to show Tida that his way of doing things was valid, and the sheer fact that the Tenkage was perhaps absolutely furious with him. To top it all off? It was particularly cold during the walk through Frost Country.

Upon his return, the Tenkage had been waiting for him. He accepted his punishment for his foolishness, and had his chakra network rather substantially damaged and then fused back together with new energies. Now he felt physically as bad as he had mentally, but even still he didn't really complain. Wandering off to a local bar, he grabbed his bottle of drink looking pale and weak, and began to drink back about as much as he could, hoping to try and forget the entire day. That evening, the bar was quite full, loud, noisy, people laughing all around. This was the sort of place he knew well, the sort of place he felt he fit in.

But his usual method of drinking himself into a stupor didn't seem to help him this time as it had before. Heavily intoxicated, he could see the voices in his head talking to one another. The new hopeful side of himself he had been trying to listen to that he was now drowning away, and the cynical usual self, the cold logic center telling himself what he was doing was foolish. As he seemed to just focus on his glass he heard the voices play out in their civil conversation mixed with the pounding of music and a hell of a headache coming from the mix of low chakra and alcohol.

Why the hell did it hurt so much this time to be rejected? I've had plenty of people stab me in the back, or run me off, or walk away from me. So why is it this time that it's somehow different?

The logical side, bastard that he was, responded with the answer he hated knowing, but was something he felt deep down though he didn't care to admit it.

Because this time, you actually tried and gave a shit.

Sickened at himself for his behavior, as well as for his own failings, Shinobu got up and walked home late at night, early in the morning. He had run out of money to pay his bar bills, but he knew that in the Tenkage's fridge, he had hidden a bottle of sake just in such an occasion that he may have desperate need of it. This seemed like one of those times of course, and so he drunkenly stumbled his way back towards Etsuko's home in the south of Hot Water Country, his feel surely guiding him even if his mind was fogged up beyond comprehension. His eyes found the door, and his hand eventually found the doorknob, as Shinobu wandered into the house, being careful to be as quiet as he could, and to not bump into anything. He took his time, found his way to the fridge, rooted around within it, and pulled out his emergency sake, before heading out to the swing set.

Sitting down on it, he opened the bottle and began to drink. The bitter and burning taste of the drink filled his mouth as he downed it time and time again, swinging himself somewhat slowly on the swing. No, wait, he wasn't moving himself. That was the world around him constantly in motion of it's own volition. He had decided at some point, he would need to find a way to stop the world from spinning the way it did when he got like this, with how inconsiderate it was currently being in trying to make him sick in his horrid state, it was the last thing he needed to vomit. He eventually somehow found his bottle to be far more empty than it should be. For a moment, he considered tossing the bottle somewhere in the yard, but then a voice struck him.

So, the Tenkage fucked up your chakra, and now you intend to... litter on her property Shinobu?

Nope. He's right. That's pretty stupid, Go throw it out, dumbass

He hated it when those two got along. Muttering under his breath he slowly got up, trying to keep his balance and make sure the ground didn't fall out from under his feet. He shuffled back to the house, and moved inside. Thoroughly drunk, he didn't realize the two women who were in the kitchen and dining room respectively. There was a delicious smell eminating from the area, however he walked past and dropped the glass bottle in the waste bin where it belonged. As he slowly turned around in his wretched state, he came face to face with a woman who seemed way too happy for the way he currently felt. Yui. Sitting not too far away at the table, was her friend, somewhat silently just seeming to watch him, whom he had remembered was named Sora.

He didn't really comprehend at first what was being said as he was greeted. But then he saw it, and the words made sense that the woman had been trying to get through to him.

"Would you like to join us for some pancakes?" Yui had been the one to ask this of him, having it seemed just made a rather large number. Shinobu stopped for a moment and looked to them. The pancakes smelled delicious. And he was hungry. Before he really knew it, it seems he had spoken a few words of acceptance, and was trying to find a way to land on the ground that was constantly moving under him. He eventually dropped ungraciously to the pillow below him, and looked up.

Despite his state, they seemed a bit more concerned than they were judgmental of him. And within but a small amount of time, they had him spouting all that had gone on that day, why he was upset, and why he had basically gone to binge drinking for the night. When a woman who makes you pancakes tells you to talk about what's going on, you treat them as though they were the Kage, after all. And despite the fact he hated talking about personal things, something began to happen the more he rambled on about his problems.

He started to feel a bit better, in a way that the alcohol hadn't really done for him in a long time.

This is what it is to have friends it seems, or at least, people willing to listen to you.

It was actually enough to make Shinobu smile, in between mouthfulls of the delicious pancakes. They were a bit burnt, but he didn't seem to care at all. They were quite good indeed. And despite not completely remembering what was all said, and how far he went with his ramblings, everything in the end made him feel a lot better about himself, and his situation. They told him, this was what friends do. It wasn't something he had been used to... nor had he ever really called anyone his friend before. But these two... they seemed alright.

For the first time, Shinobu was thankful for other people, for their help when trying to handle things on his own didn't work...

But can they trust you? Or will you run off when you're scared again?

I guess... we will have to see.

An early morning rain dripped down atop the fallen leaves of Hot Water Country. The trees, now mostly naked as the days grew colder and colder, seemed to shiver and sweat as the rain came down. A single figure interrupted them, laying a well-worn hand on a nearby tree trunk as he stepped over a small borough. From beneath his hood, his silver eyes surveyed the horizon. While he stood alone in the forest, his heart pounded.

'At first the thought of taking another life seemed a necessary evil… But as I draw closer, it is like my body is wrenching me away from the act. My stomach feels like its splitting..!' Yamato took in a deep breath and tried to calm himself enough to take the next several steps. He thought back to this morning, when he had blindly agreed to help Etsuko-chan with something without knowing the details first. While taking the life of an animal did not break his vows, he still treated all life as sacred.

In a flash, his skin lit on fire as he nearly jumped out of it. His body's explosive response was his jumping at the hoot of a nearby owl that he had woke. Eyes wide, he slowly turns up to the owl. "Ah… It's just an owl.. Sorry to wake you, I'll be leaving now..!" He bowed his head as he sidestepped away from the owl's angry-looking face. After he had made some distance, he wondered if Etsuko would notice the difference between an owl and this grounded bird he was supposed to find. She said she had seen it earlier, and that it would be in the surrounding countryside. Not exactly specific… But he made an effort to always do his best when it came to Etsuko-chan.

But it wasn't just her… It was Saia, Mina, Hotaru, Nara-san, Yui and her friend Sora, and even the most recent addition - Shinobu. Sure, it was a strange gathering of people at Getsugakure… But as disciples of Etsuko or even just friends they had all become a small family of misfits, Yamato liked to think. For them, he would never doubt his own conviction to help another. As he finished the very thought, his mind drifted to the hobbies of Shinobu and the idea of him asking Yamato to 'help'… He promptly waved the thought cloud away. A monk is a monk is a monk.

His bare feet padded their way across the muddy ground as he continued his search. In the distance, he heard some rustling from a handful of feathers ducking around a larger tree. Yamato's fears resurfaced in an instance, and while he did not fear his own personal safety he wished for the x-ray vision of the Byakugan right now. Etsuko's voice from earlier played again in his head, 'All I need you to do is find the bird I described….. And kill it and bring it back for us to eat!' Her contagious cheer was having less of an effect on him than it normally did. His feet carried him slowly across the ground, trying to stay quiet as he approached the tree. He rounded the tree to find a bunch of brown feathers curled up in a ball, unmoving. As he stepped closer to it and reached out a hand, the creatures head darted up and turned nearly 180 degrees to face him. It's beady eyes locked on his hand as it uttered out a gobble.

Yamato froze for a few moments, but then his heart began to soften as he saw the condition of the bird. It had a broken wing and leg, seeming to have suffered a fall. But that was the least of its problems. The bird was born a mutant, whose very existence was painful to witness. Its neck was far too long, and the body bloated. In addition, its neck was the color if greyish-pink flesh as it was devoid of any feathers. There was even some kind of fleshy growth from the bird's beak, hanging uselessly below its face. Yamato kneeled beside the bird, which flapped at him once or twice as it watched him with its beady eyes.

His medical training kicked in as he began mending the creatures bones with a newly learned technique. The turkey gobbled and pecked at his hands as he did so, but he held the creature still just as he would a patient in pain. When he finally completed his work he did not take his hand off of the turkey's body. The beady-eyed bird looked at him, and seemed to say, 'You know this is not the pain I suffer. My very existence is pain, and my body struggles to fly or eat… There is none like me, so I must suffer alone. Please, end my suffering.' The turkey did not actually think these things, but Yamato was caught up in the mysticism of the turkey's beady gaze.

With a steady hand, he reached up and seized the turkey by the neck.

Several of the shinobi of Getsugakure gathered around the table, many of which Yamato thought of as family. Saia pulled the turkey from the oven and brought it to the table with grace earning her a light applause at the table. As Nara began to carve up the meat, Yamato recounted his tale of finding the bird earlier that morning. By the time he had finished his tale of how he had shown the bird mercy in killing it, the table quieted a little as the patrons paused mid-bite to look at one another. Finally, it was Yui that spoke up. "Um… So, why did you kill the bird again?"

Yamato told her about the creatures head and face, which looked to plague the bird since its birth as the shape of its body also did. With a solemn nod he adds, "I learned today that even in killing, you can also show mercy…"

Etsuko's wry grin grew as he spoke, and she spoke with a mouthful of food. "Yamato… Sweetie…." She chewed her bite a few more times and then swallowed, wiping her mouth before continuing. "That's how all turkeys look. They're born like that, and live their lives perfectly fine. They are probably quite happy birds, all things considered."

Yamato's eyes widened as his heart sank into his stomach, which was filled with the bird he had murdered just for being ugly earlier that day as he let out a small "Oh." The table erupted into laughter at his response, which brought a smile out of the placid man. He let his inner objections slide as he focused on enjoying the evening with his friends. This bird had brought everyone here together, and he added it to his list of things he was thankful for.

So in the conclusion of the contest, I'm having a hard time deciding which of the two stories i perfer. Both are very good, and the determining factor is practically none existant. So for me, this decision took a bit to come too. I'm going to do my best though, and I hope you both are still happy with the results. >_<;

1st) Sigka
2nd) Silksteel

I came to this descision almost exclusively on adhearence to the theme. Again, both of you talked a theme of thanksgiving, and the same theme at that, but from 2 different directions. The theme of friendship and togetherness is a very important part of thanksgiving, and both had me smile for diferent reasons. But I feel like Sigka's Story had a bit more of that togetherness feel to it than Silksteel's, which lead to my final decision.

Silver lining for you though Silksteel, since we had no entry to qualify for 3rd place, I'm also giving you 3rd places token amount in addition to 2nd places.

TL:DR
1st Place) Sigka - 50 tokens
2nd/3rd Place) Silksteel - 35 Tokens

Thank you both for participating, and I hope that next time the contests will get a higher turnout.