Cleanin [p]

http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t31928-e-rank-the-mizukage-monument

((I apologize for whoever has to read what is surely the dullest thing I've ever written.))

Spoiler:

Hanabi arrived at the Mizukage's office for her first mission as a Genin. She was pleased to discover that she could undertake her first mission alone. The young woman had lived in relative solitude beyond her family until becoming a shinobi. Consequently she was nervous about being in a squad, so this worked out well. Getting her first mission out of the way solo would at least separate her performance jitters from her teamwork jitters.

Her excitement was considerably lower after actually getting her assignment: cleaning the Mizukage Monument. Nevertheless, a job was a job, and she set out. It was later in the day than she liked to travel. There were plenty of civilians about, running errands and visiting acquaintances. She had an odd relationship with the populace. She wanted to help and protect them, but she wanted to do it from a distance. Crowded places just made her...uncomfortable.

Thankfully things thinned out considerably as she approached her destination. Evidently, the populace didn't spend much time basking in its shadow. Looking around at the statue, it was evident why. Well, she thought, I guess it's time to get to work. With a bit of looking around, she discovered the maintenance shed. Whoever had used it last hadn't returned the equipment with much care. With a sigh Hanabi knelt down, picking the grimy cloths off the floor and tossing them into the bucket.

Thus loaded up she picked up the bucket and made her way to the water. She sat the bucket on the shore and knelt beside it. Then, one by one, she took each cloth from the bucket and rubbed them to relative cleanness in the water. With that accomplished, she filled the bucket itself and returned to the statue. She set it down gently, happy to have the weight out of her hand. Now fully equipped, she started her job.

The shinobi began by grabbing a broom from the shed. She ran it over each piece of the statue from top to bottom. In this way, she dislodged any larger debris and cleared away most of the loose dust. She then applied the bristles to the ground, clearing away what had fallen. It wouldn't do to get the statues clean and leave a pile of dirt at their bases. She brought it all into a single pile, to be collected and properly disposed of later. Before getting to that she wanted to get the statues clean, in case the pile would need to be added to in the process.

"Okay, that's the first step done," Hanabi said to herself. The preliminary work complete, it was time to get into the nitty gritty. The kunoichi grabbed a cloth from the bucket and approached the nearest statue piece. She folded the cloth in two and laid it neatly on the stone. Then she gripped the top of it with both hands, being careful to make sure none of her skin was touching the statue. Thus positioned, she began vigorously scrubbing. Once every several strokes a loose bit of fiber from the cloth would get stuck and rip off, but otherwise the process went smoothly and she was able to fall into a rhythm.

It had been a while since the statues had been cleaned. Rather than all of the dirt collecting within the cloth, her washing created a brown, bubbly film across the statue's surface. Nevertheless, she continued until she had scrubbed the entire top section. Once she had, the lavender haired girl wrung out her cloth and tossed it in the bucket. She grabbed the next one, hanging at the ready from the bucket's rim, gave it an extra wringing to make it as dry as possible, and ran it over her workspace. With this second cloth she drew most of the remaining filth from the stone. A third going over left it looking not too shabby. She would've liked to finish by going over it with a completely dry cloth, as leaving some moisture was likely to draw more dust to it. Unfortunately there were none clean, she had had to wash them all. In this weather she doubted any would dry quickly enough for the task, and she didn't want to wait around to see.

Now, after making sure the bucket was positioned well beside her, she got into a kneeling position. She then repeated her process of scrubbing, collecting the residue, and finishing with a final wipe. After completing it she would toss the cloths into the bucket, slide it around the corner of the statue, nubbily knee walk around to meet it, and start on the new side. Once she had completed cleaning her first piece, she took the bucket and returned to the water. Hanabi poured the bucket out, freshened up each of the cloths, refilled the bucket, and returned.

Over the next couple of hours, she cleaned each piece this way. Some took more time than others, having dangerous pieces of metal jutting out of them that needed to be considered. Alas, every once in a while the monotony of the work would lead her into a careless haze, and she'd wind up cutting herself. She didn't entirely mind. The sting would wake her up, and at least this way, healing herself with her medical jutsu, she was doing something ninja-like on this mission. See a janitor do that! She sighed.

Finally, all the pieces had been scrubbed clean. However, she didn't stop there. The young woman grabbed a mop from the maintenance shed, going over each piece of the statue a final time to get anything she may have missed. Then she collected all the debris on the ground and removed it. Afterwards, laden with mop, bucket, and several cloths, she went to the water a final time. She set the bucket in the water and ran a cloth around its inside, then rinsed the mop and all the cloths, certain to leave the tools in better condition than the last person had.

She didn't haul the equipment back up right away. Instead she took off her shoes and sleeves and sat down at the water's edge, letting her feet soak. She used her hands to splash herself and wash off the thin sheen of sweat she'd acquired. Thus refreshed, she put her shoes back on, picked up the mop and cloth-filled bucket, and walked to the shed for the final time. She set the bucket down and hung each cloth along its rim, not wanting them to mildew from sitting in the base. Then she closed the door on them, happy to not have to see them again.

Hanabi returned to the Mizukage's office and confirmed the success of her mission. Once her record was updated she collected her reward and set out for home for a much-needed bath.

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Claiming mission rewards