E - Rank Mission: Trafficking (solo)

Mission info:

Kari sat in the lobby alone in a black cloak with brown shorts and a red shirt. Her feet dangled from the chair barely scraping the ground. She was awaiting her first mission as a genin. She did not have a team so she doubted they would assign her something dangerous. She heard rumors about people running around for the pets of nobility but that would be a waste of talent. She wondered if she should have spoken to a the other kid who was here shortly before being called in. In the end, it would not matter. A mission was a mission and every little bit of ryo helped. 

"Kari Tsukami!"

Finally it was her turn. She slid onto her feet and walked into the room. Atmosphere was dry and heavy as 2 secretaries stared at the girl. They were not pleased in the slightest. The room was filled with mountains of scrolls, books, and papers on everything about the village. Between the two secretaries was a sheet with Kari's name on it. Kari could only assume her history was on the paper, not that she was unknown by the village. She was the weird girl after all. Her eyes finally locked onto the secretaries. 

One of them was a medium size man with grey hair that came down to his shoulders. It appeared to be smooth and neatly combed. The other secretary was as an even older and taller looking female who was missing a few teeth but could easy hide the fact with her lack of smiling. Winkles invaded both their faces though and their eyes struggled to find an opening in their sagging skin. Kari personally knew the two but that would only sever to hinder her.

"You're the girl of that inn owner. Nice place by the way. If only they did not have the little twerp who stares at everyone roaming. Though i suppose since you left business has boomed." mocked the man. 

Kari remained silent and still. She remembered that day very clearly. It was then she learned the man was bald and was curious on how he managed to have his hair fall off. She did apologize by the man was destiny to take his anger to the grave.

The woman elbowed the man despite not having a high opinion of the girl herself. To her, Kari just was not normal and it was enough to get on her bad side. Lucky for Kari, she rarely pointed that out which saved the girl many pointless lectures.

"Anyway, you are here for a mission, correct?"

Kari nodded her head.

"Lets see... I don't think we have anything fitting of girl of your stature." 

The woman started whispering to the man starting a full conversation of tiny breezes and harsh sounds. Kari started looking around again, wondering if the man was insulting her or being truthful.

"Yes, At the moment, our current missions require genin with more... communication skills." added the woman.

Kari took a deep breath. She was not knew to this flaw in her character. She did not have any real friends as a child and could count on her fingers the amount of friends she had now. Still, she needed to become a better ninja and so she took a step forward. 
"I will adapt."

The two frowned, not expecting or enjoying her determination. 

"Very well, we will start you off with something easy... How well do you know Hoshigakure?" They both asked as if they were twins or creepy psychics.
Kari could already tell, it was going to be a long day.

Standing at the gate, Kari watched as people trickled in and out the village in waves. It was noisy and every so offend the sound of a unruly child or adult broke through the ambient noise of commotion. It was scene Kari despited. It took so much effort to hear herself think and everyone was moving at such a rush she felt isolated from the world. 

She watched as other genin and even some chunin effortlessly picked apart the crowd for tourist and guided them to there overall goal. They shown smiles, personality, and a warm that she could not replicate, be it fake or real. Even though her face was partially hidden behind her cloak, she felt as if she was naked and the world could see her inability to empathize with the lost. The secretaries offered Kari a chance to back down should she feel overwhelmed, but what would that say about her record. If she wanted to rank up and leave the village, she would have to overcome this one way or another. With a deep breath, she stepped forward. Her mission was to survive the crowd and grow. 

Her first person walked up to her. It was a tall woman dressed very conservatively. Following the woman was a little boy shorter than Kari and what could only be assumed as her husband. They all had smiles on their faces beaming warm and happiness. Kari could not help but stare and take mental notes. She wanted to smile like that. She wanted others to have the same feeling when being around her. Maybe then they would look at her like she was normal. 

"Hello? are you okay?"
"Daddy, I think she is broken."
"That's not nice, Sorry about that."

Kari snapped out of the trance, to see the family standing around her all with varying expressions, none of which had that same warmth as before. She looked up to the mother who seemed to be leading the group. She still had a smile but it was forced and cold. Kari could see if she did not do something quick, she would lose them and possibly fail her mission. She took a deep breath, hiding her mouth behind her cloak. Then she took a very respectful bow.

"Welcoming to Hoshigakure. My name is Kari Tsukami. How can I help you."
This had to be the one time her fathers drills on politeness actually became useful. The family happy atmosphere slowly returned though the kids were still pointing out the girl's flaws. 

"Daddy, she's like a robot. She is funny."

Kari's eyes darted towards the boy as she wondered what she should do. Kids were brutally honest so there were some truth in that statement. Her lack of personality was standing out like a mountain in the middle of a plain. She needed to find a solution or at least a distract. Hopefully they would just ask a question and leave. That would be the best scenario. 
"Well, we were wondering if you could give us a tour."

There were countless words Kari wanted to say, but she just remained silent. They were joking. They had to be joking. She turned back to the city before returning to the family. They were still there waiting for this tour. 
"Oh... Okay. Um right. Follow me please."
Fighting her instinct and better judgement to remain mute, she guided the family to the reception station to get the family and herself a map and a route. Each guide was given a particular path to prevent places from getting too crowded. As they were explaining the route to Kari her eyes darted back to the family. The mother was working up the kid while the father looked around, appearing uninterested when his wife was not looking. It looked as if her success would be bent on how happy the kid was and probably the wife. 
"Tsukami-san, do you have any questions?"

Kari eyes snapped back to the receptionist and shook her head. She was then handed 2 maps and then sent off. Kari returned to the family with the extra map. The question now was who to give the map to. Obviously the kid would not get it, but would the non attentive father or leader mother be the best choice. Kari picked the mother holding out the rolled up paper with a red string tying it together. Only the father took the map instead.
"Thank You."

Surely the man was not interested a minute ago. Kari turned away, waving the family to follow. As she took glimpse in the back to see her theory proven. The man kept his eyes on the map the entire time, only removing them to check on his family or by request of the wife. The wife was thoroughly invested in making sure her child was seeing everything interesting. The kid was constantly asking questions, most she could answer easily. However, he eyes would find its way back to her aloof personality. 
"Are you bored Tsukami-san?"

Kari did not answer. She was not bored, though she also would not say she was having fun. The problem with his question was the hidden message. Her personality was not outgoing and he kid would not let it go. Still, she could answer the question truthfully without upsetting him. She stopped but did not turn around.
"No."
Then Kari resume walking. The tour was almost over, so she wanted to keep moving. 

"I am so sorry, You must have seen some really bad things being a ninja," said the mom while she pinched her son's cheeks.

Kari did not respond. She did not know how too. She never seen anything bad due to her just obtaining the rank of genin not long ago. She has not even left the Haven Country yet. To point that out might take away some of the magic of the tour. The elders would probably get upset if she admitted to only doing the job because they would not give her something more dangerous. She took a deep breath but no good respond came to mind. She would have to lie. 
"Let's finish off at the market."

She decided to sidestep the comment instead. She did not want this to last any longer than it had too. After pointing out the the different food options, she showed the family the way back to the gates on the map and returned to her post. The tour was done and the family seemed happy. It was success though she could not appear normal. She would have to work on that in the future.

WC:1708

EXIT

1708 -> Puppetry Performance: Skillful Achievement with a Human Body 
+8 stats
+1 AP
+1 CD Post with Village leader
+500 Ryo

Approved